The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1914-01-30
5 b X 50. 1914.
Seeing california With James 6
Nv 70 ey;; Delightful Tour OF.
Remarkable Mountain Resort

w. ~ s%, " so. -
TO the Times:
Los Angeles, Ian. 22.-Down at San
Diego, 1875 milea south Of here, there
IRE many wonderful things, including
Colonel Ed. Fletcher. Fletcher is;A
Yankee. born in Massachusetts. and
has made his way in the world since
he was S12syearBs odd. And. he has made,
is about six feet tall, big boned, angu-
lar, a. typical western spirit, and one
Of the real five wires OF the country
ono Of the kind that sizxfes' and
squirms when you take hold Of It. He
y never idle. and He has more busi-
ness than half q dozen men ought to
do. He is Interested in San Diego
pro perties. water powers. hotels. coun.
try inns. fashionable watering places,
ranches and q dozen and M other
/, things, and just now his chief interest
' Hes In. developing q suburb OF San
Diego that he has called .Grossmont.,
Grossmont. lies about twelve miles
from San Diego, over among the
mountains. Its outlook is wonderful,
Standing on the top Of The mountain
you look east and count eight ranges
Of mountains. the farthest peaks a
hundred and fifty miles distant. Be-
fore you and two thousand feet below
lies a great valley, green and beauti-
fu1, eight miles across, and sixteen
miles long. Before you. at q greater
elevation flash the sn~ow-crowned
peaks oftanother mountain range, and
itself. majestic and glorious in he
sunlight, q hundred miles away but
looking not more than ten miles. At
your left, a hundred and twenty miles
distant o can see on a clearEday the
peak of ""Old Badly" another nov
crowned crest. At your further left
flashes the Pacific ocean, at a distance
lance of sixty miles are the Mexican
Islands. looking not over a score of
miles. On an especially clear day. you
can see Catalina islands, a.. hundred
and sixty miles away, Oh, distances
are deceiving I'm this clear atmosphere
from these great elevations, and
/ have come, totbe afraid to go across
what seems like "a country road. for
fear 1t should prove to be q distance
Of sforty~or fifty miles aad..Is should
starve to death before j. got back.
Fletcher IS making G%rossnont an
artists colony, and he has already To-
Gated many famous literary men, mu-
sicians and artists who maintain sum-
mer homes there. Schuman-Heink,
the world-renowned contralto, has
erected q summer home. that COM
mands q splendid view. Owen Wister
has a lot, a ranch and a summer place.
John Vance Cheney, the poet, has q
home at the foot Of the mountains.
Teresa Carena, the grand opera star,
has a place there, and dozens of 9TH
ers are interested. Before many years
a. SnUNrra{unu % l~ ~Sa 90 H. -~ck -
nous summer home resorts in the
world, from the nature of the country,
the climate and the people who arc
c~ongregating there. And at the very
top of the highest peak OF Grossmont.
Carrie Jacobs Bond, world famous as
q singer, composer and music pub
Usher, has built a cottage, that Is a
model for restfulness. quiet and
peace.
It was at Mrs. Bonds invitation that
We spent five days at her home on
@rossmont. We went down with Miss
Elizabeth WaggOner. one Of the most
popular teachers in the Hollywood
schools. and q former Bismarck girl.
The atmosphere of the whole place
Is one of artistry, peace Of mind and
perfect rest and q%uietude. TO reach
It o wind around n around the
mountain, sometimes at a h~air-raising
ascent, with the road hugging the
mountain and looking out over preci-
pieces and chasnis Of alarming depths.
The mountain Is crowned with im-
mense granite boulders. and covered
with wild vines and shrubbery. All
along the road that winds up and up
and up are country places, Command
ing a splendid view of this beautiful
expanse Of country. And over it all
there Is he smile Of an almost per-
petual sunshine and calm--for the
weather around San Diego is perhaps
as nearly perfect as that Of any coun-
try in the world.
Far off in the valley is the little
town Of Ell Cajon-and Of that I win
tell you after a while. IL I.don't for
get it, for OH the road past it occurred
n OF those little meetings that show
how shall the world is after all, and
how you meet people you know In un.
expected circumstances and out Of the
way places. Farther off in the val
mountains for q back ground, having
a wide variety Of shade and color. It
was through these mountains that we
made a trip of a hundred miles into
the back country-and such a back
country I did not know there was in
the world, outside possibly of the
Alps.
Mrs. Bond is one Of the country's
most interesting figures. Personally,
she is a generous. warm hearted, kind
and splendid woman. and az a hostess
she has all the qualities Of mind and
heart that go to make companionship
with her an unending delight She
HAS a bdbbling hGmor, a fund of hui
I1orous and. pathetic %anecdote. music
drips from her fingers like water over
the deeps and shadows of q mountain
brook, and her songs reach the heart
and that is after all the real test.
Left a widow at an early age, she
struggled her way through adversely
and poverty. trial and misfortune,
with q calm and patient serenity, con.
fdent that her talent would in the
end earn her comfort, recognition and
q competence. And her patience has
been rewarded. For her songs are
sung all: over the. world. Her .Per..
feet Day. and 'sWearyin' for You are
household melodies through the Uni.;
- -----