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Saturday January 25, 2003
The House Sisk
Built
(A Working Title)
By Thomas Hobbs, Staff Writer
CAMBRIA
-- We saw the sunny little beach town of Cambria from the south.
It was mid day. State Route One is that lonely strip of macadam
pavement winding its way from San Diego beaches to the northern
reaches of Yreka at the Oregon border.
Somewhere between the two extremes
there is always a marked change in temperature. Most travelers will
admit the drive is well worth the time and travel, but road conditions
do require caution.
One Saturday, I was to find the roadway
dry and the sky a deep sapphire blue with temperatures in the low
60’s. Deep down, as I drove along the spiraling coastal uplands
I had a feeling this trip would be worthwhile.
The coastal weather was full with
windy northern gusts that sent the surf first high in the air and
then crashing down on rocks and then sand. The air was filled with
expectation for travelers and homebodies alike. As we approached
Cambria, the taste of sea salt was unmistakeable. We were there.
The Pacific Ocean sprawls over the
lowland sandy soils of densely blanketed stands of Pine and Coastal
wildflowers and papery red barked mountain Madrone, more than a
hundred miles west of the San Joaquin Valley metropolis we call
home, in Fresno.
Nearing the northern reaches of the
town of Cambria my co-pilot, Leann, had written directions and a
map to our destination. At a point along the way she said, “Slow
down and turn right up here ahead onto a dirt access road.”
Then we were on pavement again and climbing sharply into the beautiful
pines and homes just above the town. We caught a view of world famous
Moonstone Beach and of the coast towards San Simeon, with Hearst’s
Castle nestled at the crest of the mountain.
On this excursion we were invited
to come to Cambria, CA by a friend of a friend who is the owner
of a secluded residence of a well-known California congressman,
now deceased. As we climbed the steep Cambria upland I was surprised
to find the home built by California Congressman B.F. Sisk after
his retirement. I wondered what I might discover about this man.
From the street you can’t see
much of the house. It’s positioned on the bank of a steep
hill facing the Pacific Ocean. Winding down a driveway about 50
feet leads us to a beautiful and modern, two story house with commanding
views of pines and surf.
My
first impression of the place is a modest, yet well built 2-story
house with lots of rooms. The entryway
hosts an ornate congressional hat rack from a bygone era. Beyond
is a short hallway leading to a cavernous living room about 80x40-feet
wide, and a 20-foot high ceiling, quartz and granite fireplace,
with dining and sitting areas. Outside, a large wood deck with an
expansive view of the sea. Two large bedrooms are upstairs and three
more downstairs, each with private access to a lower wooden deck
facing the ocean.
On the walls around the place hang
many accolades, accomplishments and memorabilia of Congressman Bernie
Sisk. In the hallways, photos and signatures of great men such as
John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower and many others
that worked with B.F. Sisk which now pay quiet homage to the man
and his vision.
Surprisingly, there isn’t much
of a library in the house, but there are several bookshelves loaded
with great selections of science fiction classics from Ray Bradbury,
Arthur C. Clarke, and Isaac Asimov. Mixed in with these I found
a few rare books on the history of the San Joaquin Valley, and even
a copy of B.F. Sisk’s memoirs published by the Regents of
U.C. Davis.
As I thumbed through a new-condition
copy of his memoirs, I was reminded of something I read about Senator
John Kennedy when he made an appearance at a political rally in
Merced in 1960.
At this rally, JFK quoted Abraham
Lincoln who said, “There is a God and he hates injustice.
I see a storm coming, but if he has a place and a part for me, I
am ready.” Kennedy went on to say, “This is a great
country. 100 years ago when this state was founded, the people who
came here worried about their farms. Now, we concern ourselves with
the whole globe around us. I think in 1960 the cause of all mankind
is the cause of all America.”
I’ve been told that Bernie Sisk
was there at this rally and whispered into Senator Kennedy’s
ear, “ If you make it to the White House senator, don’t
forget that we need dams and irrigation water in Central California.”
In 1960 Congressman Bernie Sisk’s
San Luis Project water bill passed through the U.S. Senate and was
then signed into law by President Eisenhower.
This year marks the 100th anniversary
of the Central Valley Project. The CVP is a complex water agreement.
Shasta
Dam, at one time considered the key to the CVP, acts as a flood
control dam for the Sacramento River. Shasta Lake stores water for
controlled releases downstream. The Trinity River diverts surplus
water into the Sacramento River. Downstream, the American River
provides flood control for the Sacramento River, irrigating parts
of Placer County. The Friant Division impounds and diverts the entire
flow of the San Joaquin River. Friant Dam sends irrigation water
south through the Friant-Kern Canal, and north through the Madera
Canal. The New Melones Dam and Powerplant on the Stanislaus River
primarily operates as a flood control and power facility. CVP serves
as a hub transporting water from the Sacramento River to the San
Joaquin Valley and to the farmland throughout the Delta via The
San Luis Project and the Delta-Mendota Canal. For more on the CVP,
click here.
In spite of social, environmental
and political controversy surrounding the Central Valley Project,
it remains an impressive accomplishment in the biography of Congressman
Bernie Sisk. The Central Valley Project ranks first among reclamation
projects during Sisk’s time in office.
Cambria
is an upscale artist’s community located at the gateway to
the famous “Big Sur” highway on the central coast of
California. Homes that this writer saw ranged in price from $600K
to $1.3M where some of the features included 18th century Pennsylvania
farmhouse beams, original hand-forged replica door latches and latch
keys, eighteenth century doors and paneling, multiple fireplaces,
hearths trimmed in chestnut or stone, and “Stool & Apron”
trimmed windows that capture beautiful views over terraced gardens
and the Pacific Ocean.
[Editor’s Note: Bernie Sisk was a U.S. Congressman
for 24 consecutive years from 1955 to 1979. He managed and enacted
into law the legislation
authorizing the San Luis Project, which is of major significance to
agriculture in California. As a congressman, his sphere of influence
affected agricultural matters on a national level. For a transcript
of JFK’s 1960 speech in Merced, click
here.]
Letter to Editor ©2003
by The Fresno Republican Newspaper.
All rights reserved.
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