The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1918-05-02
US FOLKS ON THE FILM
California Town in the Santa Cruz Mountains That
Has Gone Stark Movie-Mad
By Earle Smell, in Sumse
By Earle Smell, IN Sunset


the untamed West, to be found
here in unlimited abundance.
When one speaks abstractly OF
mountain atmosphere he thinks
more or less concretely of cliffs
and trees and canyons and booming
waters. 1t was something like this
that the producers had first in mind
when they turned their faces to-
ward the Santa Cruz mountains =
and toward Boulder Greek in par
ticular. They soon learned that
the atmosphere has also its human
element, the most important and
interesting part of it. Call it the
human atmosphere as distinguished
from the natural. The theory of
its development is based on the
proposition that sour dough, bear
grease and other exigencies of the
hills can round out a better noun
taineer, before the camera and else
where. than all the crepe hair,
grease paint and similar artifces
of theatrical "make-believe."
When the producers found this
out they began calling upon Boul-
der Creeks permanent citizenship
for their backwoods types, and
this same citizenship fell into line
with remarkable agility. To give
true cast to its new identity it be-
gan to develop within itself profess
sional jealousies, and thus, by a
brand universally recognized, be-
came an established part of the
great motion picture fraternity.
They say that in days agone the
big event of the town was the an
nual horseshoe pitching contest be-
tween Judge Page and Mr.. R. j.
Hand. But that is all but forgot
ten now in the keener struggle
between the two for premier pic
ture acting honors. Fate has con-
spired in more ways than one to
set these two most ancient of the
boys" against each other in monu-
mental rivalry. The Judge, then
just grown into his first pair of
long jeans, arrived in San Fran
cisco in 1849. The following year
came Mr.. Hand, who was but six
years of age and just started in his
primer. The Pages came around
the Horn and the Hands across the
Plains. 1t is still question of
open and evidently Understandable
debate whether it was the Judge
missed the more by seeing naught
of the burly bison, the war painted
Indian and the rattle snake that
lived in the same hole with ground
owls and prairie-dogs, or Mr.. Hand
through catching no glimpses of
whales, porpoises and suspicious
appearing crafts that might have
carried pirates. Both came to
Boulder Creek at very early day
and saw the town grow from
when it warn't no more'n black
smith shop and turn in the road"
to its present dimensions. That
blacksmith shop gave rise, no
doubt to the pitching of improvised
quoits, at which the two men be-
came as keen rivals as in pioneer
prestige.
| In the late sixties Page was
elected Justice of the Peace for
the township. and the heavy duties
of that Office anchored him perma-
nently to the spot. He has not
visited San Francisco since 1869
when Montgomery street was the
waterfront, and, although some
time since retired from Office,
'reckons" he has no time to visit
the city now. It perturbed him
nightly when he learned from me
that I had been considerably in
San Francisco of recent years and
knew nothing of Tom Murphy, the
gunsmith. ''Tom knew nigh ev-
erybody," he explained, and I
reckon that poor boy must be dead
er you would have met up with
him some time er ruther."