It's not hard to find soul in our family. The pictures and words of those from times long past sound stoic and terse at times, but beneath the surface is a longing for life and spirit. Henry Dakin (April 25, 1863, far right) had a vocation of nurturing life. He lived in Knights Ferry in central California when this picture was taken. He was about 7 yrs old.
He came to Santa Cruz, CA, with his mother, Laura, father, Isaac, sister, Alice and brother, Wilbur, in 1877 when he was about 13. That is about the time this picture of Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz downtown was taken.
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In the fall of '77, the family moved to Laurel Glen. Moving effectively ended school, but not learning. Henry writes, "I wasn't strong in body, but had a mind, and had to do something with it, so decided to study mankind... lived with God all my life."
Isaac's vision for the new home was expansive. In a few years, he and his sons had planted orchards, dammed the stream into a pond and built several structures to house guests. They had built the more than 100 acres into the Laurel Glen Fruit Farm and Resort. Most of the summer boarders were upper class residents of San Francisco. A regular part of summer routine was meeting the afternoon train in Santa Cruz. Boarders did not make reservations, but simply came and were met by hospitable Dakins at the Capitola station.
"I looked after the children and helped entertain the boarders and every fruit season sold fruit and sweet corn, all the while mingling with all the people, learning from the people."
Growing up, I thought of Henry as a kind of lonely man. I've changed my mind. As he worked his orchards in the foothills of Soquel by himself, he carried in his mind and heart all that he had learned and continued to learn from people and from God.
