Grey also wrote baseball books and outdoor stories, nearly 90 books in all. He wrote and fished on the island right up until his death in 1939. Grey is well remembered at the Pueblo Hotel, the home he built in 1929. The old beams and rugged red adobe of the lodge offer a rustic charm, but there is a swimming pool, stunning views, and that sense of western history seeping through the walls. We take pride in the peace and privacy.
People come here to get away.
Those were the qualities that lured Wayne Griffin to Catalina Island 17 years ago, the last seven of which he has devoted to a balancing act, as director of the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. We have clean water, no traffic, and no smog. Griffin gives a firm grip, then steps outside his office, across from fish stalls on the Avalon pier, and waves while I skip back to the fabulous Casino Ballroom, just in time for the final encore. While couples dance the jitterbug, Joe Arno throws a slender arm around his wife Rose. They both smile.