Early Topanga Beach residents endured tense times during WW II but had a front row seat for the birth of Californias surf culture. Their experiences were a key chapter in Topangas creative and colorful history.
In 2005, Topanga Messenger editor Susan Chasen and I interviewed the Rusts daughter, Thais (b.1925), about growing up in Lower Topanga. Her memories, many of which we published in the newspaper and re-published in The Topanga Story, presented a vision of our hometown so unfamiliar that it astonished us.
One of Thaiss earliest memories was watching the enormous German Graf Zeppelin fly by Topanga Beach on its 1929 trip around the world. A few years later, the zeppelin would become a symbol of Nazi propaganda and carry the swastika.
Thais also remembered the gambling ships of the 1930s, which would sometimes anchor off Topanga. They had to stay three miles from the coast to avoid U.S. laws.
Holiday fun was had at the annual Webster Christmas Party for the Children of Malibu, a 20-year tradition at Judge John L. Websters Malibu Courthouse that started in 1932, and drew hundreds.
A simpler ritual was collecting honey with painter Laura Way Mathiesen, who kept her bees in a side canyon that doubled as a shooting range for the police.
Thaiss favorite memories were of spending whole summers on the beach with her cousin Marilyn Kays, and neighbors Dick Carhart and Ida Lee Carrillo. Ida Lee was the daughter of Octavio (Ottie) and Bessie Carrillo, the niece of actor Leo Carrillo, and the descendant of one of Californias oldest Spanish families.
We were at the beach probably from eight or nine in the morning til five or six at night. It didnt matter how large the waves were, we just had fun. One day, Marilyn and I went with Ida Lee and her dad to the beach. The three of us got out beyond the waves, not knowing that there was a strong riptide. When we couldnt get back to shore, Ottie called the Santa Monica lifeguards to rescue us. We were picked up just before Sunset Boulevard. We were having a great time, but Ida Lees dad was frantic.
Other swimming options were the bathhouse of Alfred T. Stewart, rebuilt after the 1926 fire, nicknamed The Plunge, and the private swimming pool of actor/Olympian Johnny Weissmuller at Tuna Beach, where the neighborhood kids liked to jump in from the balcony.
Later, actress Natalie Talmadge lived in the Weissmuller house with her sons Joseph (James) and Robert (Bob). She legally changed their surnames to Talmadge to avoid being reminded of her famous ex-husband, Buster Keaton.
In the early 1940s, actors David Niven and Errol Flynn took over the house, with Bing Crosby and Paulette Goddard living on either side. In the mid-1940s, it became the Las Tunas Isle Motel. Today its a private residence again.
After high school, Thais became engaged to Bob Talmadge, but they broke up before the wedding. During World War II, she spent Friday nights scanning the sky for enemy planes from a lookout tower that was across the street from todays Getty Villa. In the early 1950s, she was briefly married to a second beach resident, Dave Sykes (1926-2009).
However, a third man from the beach was destined to become her life partner, and surprisingly it was Daves younger brother, John (Jack) Sykes (1935-2017), whom she married in 1956.
Jack, Dave, and their sister Beverly were the children of Sherman and Gladys Sykes, who owned a bar called The Glen, in Beverly Glen. It had a reputation for being tough, and Sherman carried a gun that he would sometimes leave out on the table. Their house had a gangplank that led onto the sand. When it was pulled up, it covered the door to keep big waves from splashing in.
Chasen and I simultaneously interviewed Jack, and he shared vivid memories of what Topanga Beach was like during World War II.
By then, the gambling ships had been outlawed, but the Air Force kept an abandoned ship moored off Topanga for target practice. The hills along the coast were full of artillery. It was a common sight to see 100 army vehicles at a time driving down the highway in convoy. At night, drivers kept their headlights off, and a Blackout Warden fined houses where light was visible.
The Coast Guard had a headquarters at Sunset Blvd., and patrolled the coast on foot every evening, passing by Topanga Beach with bayonets and German Shepherds. Sometimes the army closed the beach to play war games.
On either side of the lagoon, machine gun nests were placed on dirt mounds. One was in front of Jacks house.
They dug a big hole in the sand, and had soldiers in there. I would bring them cookies from our house, and my dad got so mad at me. I was taking all our stuff out for these guys to eat.
Contrasting with the wartime grittiness was the glamour of Jacks celebrity neighbors, like actresses Greta Garbo, with whom he took walks, and Shirley Temple, who occasionally asked his dad for a ride to town.
Jack was also surrounded by icons of early California surfing, which included his brother.
[Dave] Sykes was the best surfer I had seen at that time because he lived there and surfed all day, every day. He could just glide and glide. (Joe Quigg, The Archivist: Turning Points, The Surfers Journal, September 19, 2017)
Topanga dweller Sykes finely honed speed lines and turning were years in advance of others. Sykes delighted in [perfectly] planing surfaces and placed 15 layers of hand-rubbed lacquer over his boards creating a hard-shelled outer surface many years before the discovery of fiberglass and resin. (Craig Stecyk, The Surfers Journal)
The Malibu Point was first surfed in September 1927, when it was still a private ranch, by Tom Blake and Sam Reid. We dont know who first surfed Topanga, but it would make sense for Tom and Sam to have tried it before Malibu. Reid is often quoted as saying that there were only six surfboards in the entire United States when he graduated from Santa Monica High School in the early 1920s.
Although Reids count was meant more to give an impression, two of those six surfboards belonged to brothers John E. O. (1915-1990) and Jim Larronde (1917-1989), who had them engraved with their initials in Hawaii and shipped to their parents Topanga Beach vacation house (Johns redwood surfboard is now in the Museum of Ventura County). In the late 1930s, a transition balsa-redwood surfboard was called the Larronde Model. In the late 1940s, John made a 16-minute home surf movie, popularly known as Sweet Sixteen, of trips he took between Malibu and Santa Barbara.
Their father, Pedro Larronde, supposedly built their beach house in 1917, just after the prison camp closed. He may have been given this privilege because his brother John M. Larronde was an executive of the Title Insurance and Trust Company, who owned the land before the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC). Or it may have happened because their grandfather, Pierre, had been the legal guardian of future-Sheriff Eugene Biscailuzs Uncle William, who was also of Basque ancestry.
Pedro was an executive of the Franco-American Baking Company, and a member of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. For some reason, his wife, another Gladys, was forced to move their beach house across the street to Old Malibu Road when the LAAC took ownership in the mid-1920s.
The Larronde house was bulldozed, along with the Rust house and the rest of the neighborhood, when State Parks took ownership in the mid-2000s.
Other early Topanga Beach surfers that Thais and Jack remembered were Don James, Bob Simmons, Ed Fearon, Jack Quigg, Bob Talmadge, Warren Miller, half-brothers Jerry Hanes and Bobby Jacks, Dave Sweet, Matt Kivlin, and twin brothers Corny and Peter Cole.
More than just a random surf pack, this group is actually noted for evolving the sport with their skill, precociousness, and other contributions. James was Californias first dedicated surf photographer; Simmons and Sweet were influential shapers; Miller was an early surf filmmaker who transitioned to ski filming, a passion which he traced back to a freak snowstorm at Topanga Beach.
Many people and businesses change forever because of a simple event. Mine changed on the beach at Topanga Canyon in 1929. It had snowed about an inch the night before and as I walked barefooted in ankle-deep warm ocean water, I stepped out onto the snow and a kind of visceral feeling happened that to this day is impossible for me to explain. (Nostalgia, Idaho Mountain Express, January 22, 2010)
Kivlin was considered to be the best California surfer of his generation, and Kathy (Gidget) Kohner caught her first wave on his board, which led to an explosion in surfings popularity.
The Cole brothers opened a primitive surf shop at the gas station. Peter later moved to Hawaii to become a big-wave rider, and Corny became the art director of Topanga Beachs own Surf Guide magazine.
World War II interrupted the lives of many of these young surfers but offered unexpected opportunities for the Rust women. Thais followed her mom into the aerospace field, getting her first job at Douglas Aircraft. She went on to work at the RAND Corporation and the Planning Research Corporation.
Jack was too young to fight in World War II but embarked on a military career anyway when he came of age. He then worked as a plumber and eventually started his own company. Jack and Thais raised two daughters, Lisa and Lori, and retired in Orange, CA.
Thais will be 95 on April 5, 2020.
Pablo Capra is a former Lower Topanga resident, and continues to preserve the history of that neighborhood on his website, http://www.brasstackspress.com, and as a board member of the Topanga Historical Society, http://www.topangahistoricalsociety.org.
Go here to read the rest:
- Days of our Lives' Suzanne Rogers on the Evolution of Maggie: "She Knows Who She Is Now, and She's Not Relying ... - Michael Fairman TV - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Kylie Jenner Talks About Her Style Evolution - The Cut - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Equator Coffees Unveils New Packaging Design, Reflecting Brand Evolution & Vision For The Future - Sprudge - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Rosewood Hotel Group Accelerates Growth And Evolution Across Its Four Distinctive Brands - Hospitality Net - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Thomson Reuters Unveils New Brand Evolution - Adweek - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Is It Becoming Acceptable to Speak of Design? - Discovery Institute - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Did Charles Darwin Convert to Christianity and Discredit Evolution on His Deathbed? - Snopes.com - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Milk, it's not just for mammals: An amphibian makes it too - NPR - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Discover Puerto Rico Debuts Evolution of Its Successful 'Live Boricua' Brand Campaign Aimed at Engaging Visitors ... - Yahoo Finance - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- A Journey Through Time: The Evolution of Ras Al Khaimah Art - Business Wire - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Empowering Women: The Evolution and Innovation of coto Social Platform - CXOToday.com - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- The Evolution of Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Root - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Study on mating behaviors offers clues into the evolution of attraction - Phys.org - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Dragonball Evolutions live-action Goku says goodbye to Toriyama: Sorry we messed up - AS USA - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Investec, evolution of SMEs in the materials handling sector - Leasing Life - March 14th, 2024 [March 14th, 2024]
- Pride & Prejudice and the evolution of the female gaze on screen - Yahoo News UK - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Joe Wong's Musical Evolution - Shepherd Express - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- A global survey of prokaryotic genomes reveals the eco-evolutionary pressures driving horizontal gene transfer - Nature.com - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Redefining Intelligence: Chimpanzees Break Through the Cultural Evolution Barrier - Medriva - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Mollusk Eyes Reveal How Future Evolution Depends on the Past - Quanta Magazine - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Levy Delves Into the Evolution of ADCs in NSCLC - OncLive - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Snake Is The Spearhead of Reptile Evolution, But Why? - ScienceAlert - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- 'A very special day: Birds linked to Darwins theory of evolution reintroduced to Galapagos Islands - Euronews - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Why the Powerhouses of Cells Evolve Differently in Plants - College of Natural Sciences - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Driving the DevOps Evolution: ArgoCD, Tekton and Seamless Migrations - DevOps.com - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Finding the Balance: The Evolution of Public Health Guidance Amidst Controversy - Medriva - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Insider Podcast: Paolini dishes on her Polish roots and hard-court evolution - WTA Tennis - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Interview: Sara Gruen and Rick Elice Talk About the Inspiration and Evolution of the New Musical Water for Elephants - TheaterMania.com - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Evolution of the Laravel Welcome Page - Laravel News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- A Serpentine 'Explosion' 125 Million Years Ago Primed Snakes for Rapid, Diverse Evolution - Smithsonian Magazine - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Evolution of Modern Technologies in Car Development - FinSMEs - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Milwaukee Transformed: From Bronzeville to Veterans Park, Aerial Timelapses Reveal City's Evolution - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The eyes are a gateway to evolution of daddy longlegs at least. - University of Wisconsin-Madison - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Adrian Newey: RB20 is the next step in Red Bull's design evolution - PlanetSport - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- LiveScore releases its 'Evolution of Fan' report - Gambling Insider - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The loyalty program evolution makes its way to the full-service restaurant category - Nation's Restaurant News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 spoiler-free review: goes hard on the action, but ... - Gamesradar - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Exploring U.S. Financial Evolution: DAR Hosts Talk on Federal Reserve History in Thomasville - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Why cloud evolution needs a cohesive approach to succeed - CIO - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Gilead Sciences CEO on Company's Evolution and Commitment to the Bay Area - BioSpace - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Navigating the AI Quandary: Human Supremacy vs Machine Intelligence Evolution - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Denis Villeneuve breaks down the evolution of sandworms in 'Dune: Part Two' - Mashable - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Continued evolution of law improves governing capacity - Chinadaily.com.cn - China Daily - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- The Evolution of the DEX Space with dYdX's CEO Antonio Juliano - Blockster - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Quick Commerce Evolution: 3PL Firms Aim for Same Day Delivery, Chasing Blinkit and Zepto's Lead - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- What If...? Star Jeffrey Wright Addreses the Watcher's Evolution and 'Epic' Season 2 Finale - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Evolution of the Connected Autonomous Vehicle - Ward's Auto - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- A project to capture the evolution of human culture. - Psychology Today - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The Evolution of a Digital Soul. Beyond Code: A Journey of Heart and | by Mark Randall Havens | Dec, 2023 - Medium - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- 4 Clues That Reid Is Finally Returning In Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2 - Screen Rant - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Evolution of Samoyed and Kitten's Friendship Delights Internet: 'Wholesome' - Newsweek - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Crypto Evolution: Pullix (PLX) vs OKB (OKB) & KuCoin (KCS) - Crypto Reporter - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Alfa Romeos mediocre F1 season heralded its era of evolution: Prime Tire - The Athletic - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Beyond The Uniform: 10 Years of Evolution in SYNC Performance's Custom Program - SkiRacing.com - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Why SZA's evolution into a popstar has earned her recognition as artist of the year - Salon - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- AI in 2023 Rises, Falls and Evolution - Finance Magnates - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Indonesia's Indosat pursues evolution from telecom to tech company - Nikkei Asia - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- EdTech Evolution: 3 Stocks Educating the Next Generation - InvestorPlace - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Informa Tech Interview with Huawei about voice evolution and innovations at 5G Core Summit 2023 - Informa Tech ... - Light Reading - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Looking ahead: What will the DeFi evolution look like in 2024? - Ledger Insights - Ledger Insights - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Why Cat Bohannon wrote 'Eve, How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution' | India News ... - IndiaTimes - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The smart-design evolution of the laboratory space - pharmaphorum - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The WILD Evolution of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TMNT (VIDEO) - FandomWire - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The supernatural invades American museums via indigenous artifacts - Why Evolution Is True - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Baleen Whales First Evolved Large Body Size in Cold Southern Waters, New Fossil Shows - Sci.News - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The Evolution of Identity in Taiwan The Diplomat - The Diplomat - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- From the Archive: The Evolution Of Hockey Pools - The Hockey News - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- 'X-Men: Evolution' Is Better Than 'X-Men: The Animated Series' - Collider - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Unveiling the Silver Screen: The Evolution of Celebrity Nudity in Cinema - The Hype Magazine - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Are Humans Still Evolving? 'Maybe More Rapidly Than Ever,' Says Scientist - Newsweek - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- The Intersection of Real Estate and Fintech: Evolution, Impact of Policies, and Global Dynamics - CXOToday.com - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Kyle Richards' Style Evolution: Her Best Looks - Us Weekly - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 2's "Deeper Secrets" Teased By Aisha Tyler - Screen Rant - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Saturday: Hili dialogue Why Evolution Is True - Why Evolution Is True - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- NBA 2K24 MyTEAM New Year Resolution Adds 14 Evolution Cards - ClutchPoints - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- dive into the history of NASA's logo evolution from the space ... - Designboom - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Resolving the puzzle of same-sex sexual interactions - Nature.com - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- The History and Evolution of Black Friday And How It Got Its Name - Yahoo Life - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Evolution of Terran R, with Tim Ellis (Relativity Space) - Payload - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Brownell Raves About Breakout Junior's Evolution - The Clemson Insider - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]