Princeton by the Sea

I was thinking about the Ketch Joanne today–the no frills, honest homecooking restaurant that has been a friendly place to dine– at Pillar Point Harbor for several decades.

I’ve always admired Joanne Franklin, the strong woman who, almost singlehandedly, established and turned the Ketch into the popular place it has become. She did everything herself–has anyone given her a gold medal?

In the early years of the business, the entire Franklin family worked there–Wendy, Heidi and Johann. Who can forget watching them all grow up? Anyone who ate there regularly became part of the extended Franklin family.

I just realized I’m overdue for Joanne’s terrific clam chowder!

From the “Half Moon Bay Review,”1960s

“Expansion of the present missile tracking station on Pillar Point will be started soon, a reliable report said this week.

“At present the station is regarded as a key observation spot for tracking missiles on the Pacific area. Equipment can also be used for space ship tracking.

“Half Moon Bay is on the ‘great circle route’ between Camp Vandenberg in Southern California and the missile target area in the South Pacific.

“The locally operated equipment has been used to track long-range missiles fire from Vandenberg to an area near Ulithi and other points such as Eniwietok atoll in the South Pacific.

“Among the various types of missiles tracked by the local station is ‘Honest John’ which had a range of 8000 miles.

“The station located on the north end of Half Moon Bay was built in the summer of 1962 and became operational in Sept. Original equipment was built by Radio Corporation of America and civilian operators under U.S. Navy supervision operated the station at the start. The civilian employees were hired by Federal Electric.

“Improvements reported for the present local electronic equipment include two new “dish-type” antennas. One of the largest “dish-type” structures is the million-dollar radio telescope built on Stanford campus to track space ships.”

Tracking Station…..

(Photo courtesy Jerry Koontz)

Some kind of a survey had already been made supporting the idea that a railway could be built from San Mateo to the shores of Half Moon Bay. Assuming this iron road was constructed (which it wasn’t) experts said the railroad would be one of the first things the enemy would take control of.

If they commandeered the railroad, and somehow cut-off communications with the rest of the Peninsula, the enemy (hypothetically) could have the wealth of the Santa Clara Valley at their feet–they could even establish headquarters at San Jose “and live off the fat of the land.”

When a Southern Pacific Railroad official was asked to estimate how many men the train could move in 24 hours from San Francisco to San Mateo, he said using two trains with 12 cars each and 72 men in each car— 1680 men could be moved in one hour; 320 in 24 hours.

All of this led observers to believe that if an enemy landed at Half Moon Bay, unobserved, he could disembark an army, cross the country to the railroad line, and seize it before any counter force was gathered to oppose him.

There were those who wanted to see fortifications built at Pillar Point because they believed the combination of a calm sea and smooth beach would make it easy for a large enemy force to land quickly.

“There is no beach,” said one unidentified source, “on the coast better fitted for such a purpose than that of Half Moon Bay.”

Using steam launches and electric lights, the source added, a landing in could be accomplished at night. “By keeping the gangways going on each side, 1000 men could be discharged in an hour from one vessel alone.”

Other estimates concluded that three hours would be needed to disembark a calvary regiment, that is, men on horses–as the horses would have to be hoisted over the side. Field artillery, stowed in sections, could be handled rapidly as ordinary freight and set up on the beach in short order.

Once the enemy reached shore, the rest would be easy.

…to be continued…

All efforts to protect San Francisco from invasion by a foreign enemy was useless, it was believed in 1891, unless something was done at Pillar Point, some kind of fortifications.

The federal government’s partially completed survey of the coastline between Point Lobos and Half Moon Bay showed a number of black rocks several hundred yards from Pillar Point, the most identifiable called “Sail Rock.” Also identified was a reef that stretched to the southwest, perhaps a mile in length, and known as the “inner reef,” which broke the swell and made it safe to anchor.

Remnants of an old decaying wharf were still visible–believed to have been once used as the northern headquarters of Portuguese whalers, who had a second whaling station at Pigeon Point, south of Pescadero. The wharf near Pillar Point required workers to wade out to it, to deliver goods to steamers and to pick up materials.

….to be continued…

In 1891–as today–Pillar Point cast its dramatic shadow over the northern part of the crescent shaped bay. This was a very old cliff, a familiar landmark standing guard, towering some 180 feet above the Pacific Ocean–where coastal steamers anchored during the summer months, the safest time of year.

But some began to fear that Pillar Point was just the place where an enemy fleet might anchor and come ashore, then march all the way to San Francisco, capturing the city with little or no resistance.

These worriers suggested that “proper fortifications” be established atop Pillar Point to prevent such a catastrophe.

The locals in Half Moon Bay said they had heard this before but in the 1890s the argument “for” had gained fresh support.

Pillar Point was described as San Francisco’s “back door,” a point that invited attack.

…to be continued…

“Instead of being as formerly the outpost of the earth, San Francisco is at the present time practically almost as near London as Halifax, and within 20 days from the declaration of war an army of 30,000 British troops could be off the Golden Gate. How would they get in? Well, they would simply slip in the back door. They would land below Pillar Point, cross the divide, strike the Southern Pacific at San Mateo, have a few skirmishes on the way up to the Industrial School, perhaps meet with an hour’s resistance from a battery at that point and a few hours later the invader would dictate terms from the Mayor’s office in the City Hall.” Unidentified military source, 1891…

…to be continued..