June 2023 Homestead Headlines

Volume 67, Issue 6 June, 2023

Download the Headlines here

June 2023 Community Center Calendar

13| HVLT Board Mtg |

20| HVCA Board Mtg |

27| Sanitary District Board Mtg |

1st/3rd Weds. | Tam Design Review Board Mtg |

Saturdays | A.A. Mtg | 10:00 AM

Homestead Valley News

Summer at the Homestead Valley Community Center is a busy and wonderful place to be. The pool will be filled with swimmers, campers will be enjoying their days in the Meadow and weekends will have community members and others renting the clubhouse for parties and events. We also have our July 4th Parade and Picnic as well as the Music Festival to look forward to! The long days of summer are an excellent time to see how we fulfill the HVCA mission of enhancing our community through recreational, cultural and educational activities. We hope to see you soon!

Pool News

The Pool is open and ready for our Homestead swimmers. Come by to check out our new snack vending machine and ice cream cooler!

We have a great crew of lifeguards and gatekeepers ready to welcome you. This is a first job for many of our employees so treat them with respect and patience. Lifeguarding can be a challenging job, especially when the days get busy, so if you are visiting the pool with young kids, please remember that the lifeguards are 100% in charge, but could use your support as well.

The Homestead Valley pool is currently operating on our Spring schedule. This schedule continues through June 16th. For information on hours and rates, or to purchase a 2023 membership, please visit our pool webpage.

4th of July Parade and BBQ

Homestead Valley 4th of July Parade and Picnic

Save-the-Date for our annual Homestead Valley 4th of July celebration on Monday July 4th! Grab your coolers and blankets and join your neighbors as we march through Homestead Valley. Decorate your bikes, scooters and strollers and wear your favorite red, white and blue gear - after all, we are the parade!

Parade Details:

Parade Line up @ 10:30am at Volunteer Park

Parade Starts @ 11:00am

Picnic @ 11:30am in Stolte Grove

(parade route goes up Melrose to Laverne to Stolte Grove)

Picnic Details:

Live Jazz by Laura Weinbach

Food by Hal's Original NY Hotdogs

Mia's Famous Desserts*

Balloon Artist & Face Painting

*If any community members want to bake goodies to add to the dessert table, you would be welcome!

**Please help keep our beloved valley clean by packing up and disposing of any trash during and after the event

***Bring cash & credit card for food, beverage and dessert purchases

We look forward to seeing you all for a festive celebration!

Homestead Valley Music Festival

Saturday, August 26, 2023

11am - 6pm

We're back! Always the Saturday BEFORE Labor Day, the 2023 installment of the Homestead Valley Music Festival will be held on Saturday, August 26th in the meadow at the Homestead Valley Community Center (315 Montford Avenue).

The family friendly event is free to attend; however we greatly appreciate donations at all levels. If you're able to contribute as a sponsor this year please reach out to me directly (ascalisi@gmail.com). We'll be releasing the full lineup with poster designs in the coming weeks. And yes, there will be hats :)

See you in the meadow!

MHS/HV Joint Committee Meeting

Homestead Valley/Marin Horizon School Joint Committee Meeting Notes

Background

In 1991, the Marin Board of Supervisors approved the use of the Homestead School site on Melrose Ave (owned by the MV School District) for a non-profit independent school, Marin Horizon School (MHS). As part of the Use Permit reissued in 2005 that allowed for an increase in enrollment and new buildings, MHS was asked to form a permanent advisory committee to communicate with the HV neighborhood. The committee meets twice a year at MHS and meetings are open to the public. The meeting is co-chaired by Leslie Dixon and Bill Perrine. Please share any comments with either Bill (bill@marinhorizon.org) or Leslie (lesliekdixon@gmail.com).

Homestead Valley & Marin Horizon School Joint Committee Meeting Notes

May 3, 2023. Click HERE to view the meeting notes.

Homestead to Celebrate 50^th Anniversary of Bond Issue

By Curt Oldenburg and the ad hoc 50^th Anniversary Celebration Committee: Marilyn Barrett, Marabeth Grahame, Jim Derich, Diana Flasher, and Mike Cann

On September 18, 1973, Homestead Valley residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bond issue that provided County Services Area 14 (CSA14, the legal entity representing Homestead Valley at the County level) with $600K (about $4.2M in today’s dollars) toward the purchase of over 80 acres of open space and park land, and a new community center.

This year, 2023, marks the 50^th anniversary of this historic event. It also sets the stage for other 50^th anniversaries in the coming years as the actual major purchases and events made possible by the bond funds occurred soon after in 1974 and 1976. For example, the purchases of large parcels of land that would become the Homestead Valley Land Trust (HVLT) open space occurred in 1974, with official chartering of the HVLT in 1976. The park lands, Stolte Grove and parts of Three Groves, were also acquired in 1974. The Call property, which contained a house, an old swimming pool, and open area (now the meadow), was purchased by CSA14 in 1976 to be the site of a new community center adjacent to Homestead School (now Marin Horizon School).

A small ad hoc committee of community members has self-assembled to develop plans for celebrating the 50^th anniversaries of these momentous Homestead Valley events. One event has even preceded this article, namely a 50^th anniversary wildflower walk led by Marabeth Grahame on Sunday, May 21, attended by about 15 hearty walkers interested in learning about the plants and flowers that have grown luxuriantly in the HVLT open space this rainy winter of 2024.

While the details are still in the discussion stage, the ad hoc committee is considering setting up a table at the Music Festival in August to inform people about the passing of the bond issue in 1973.

Closer to September 18^th, the 50^th anniversary of the actual bond issue vote, the committee is planning a throw-back 1973-style potluck at the Center. The food will be home-cooked potluck items; paisley patterns and bell bottoms are optional. Featured guests at the event will be several of the original founders of CSA14, HVLT, and HVCA who can answer questions about how they feel now 50 years later about how their efforts have shaped Homestead Valley.

The committee welcomes participation and ideas for 2024 celebrations of upcoming 1974 and 1976 events.

Homestead Valley Vignettes by Chuck Oldenburg

Panoramic Highway

Today, Panoramic Highway starts at Highway 1 in Tam Valley, passes by Four Corners, Mt. Home Inn and the Pan Toll Rd. junction. It ends at Highway 1 in Stinson Beach. In 1913, the Bolinas Improvement Club circulated a petition to build an automobile boulevard connecting Bolinas with Mill Valley via what is now named Stinson Beach. It would put Bolinas closer to San Francisco. According to a preliminary survey made at the instance of the boosters of the project, the road would be 14 miles long with most grades between 3 and 4 per cent, the steepest grade being 6 per cent. The maximum elevation would be 1,200 feet. The then existing steep and narrow road to Bolinas was from Fairfax. A road from Mill Valley would make Bolinas 8 or 10 miles closer to San Francisco. The Marin County Board of Supervisors viewed the highway petition favorably. The petition stated, “The Marin coast is rich in scenery, and an easy road to reach it would lure many tourists. The proposed road would pass through many scenic spots, skirt Muir Woods and border cliffs overlooking the sea. It would be one of the most beautiful drives in California, and win nation wide fame.” It was anticipated that thousands of motorists visiting California during the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition would undoubtedly use the new road, and they would surely spread the facts regarding the charms of Marin County. There was no mention of the dirt road for stagecoaches, now highway 1, built in 1870 from Tam Valley to what is now Stinson Beach.

Photo: Pan Toll Road 1929