Merry Christmas

Henry Dakin dresses up as Santa Claus for Christmas at Laurel Glen

Henry Dakin was known for his dramatic story telling. Ruthalee, his oldest daughter, recalls seeing him pacing back and forth down by the barn memorizing stories later to be told either to the guests during the days when Laurel Glen was a small resort or for neighbors who visited.

One neighbor recounts how Henry slipped out unnoticed during an evening gathering at Laurel Glen and reappeared at the door as a vagabond. He then came in and told a story about his (fictional) situation without being recognized by the guests. He used those same talents to engage his daughters and relatives as Santa Claus during Christmas.

Isaac's Last Days

Ruth, Isaac (left) surveying the farm from the veranda and Henry tending his plants

When Henry and Ruth moved back to the Santa Cruz Mountains, they lived there three years before Ruthalee was born. Though she was only 6 months old when Isaac died, Ruthalee remembers her mother's fear that in Isaac's near blindness he might inadvertently hurt Ruthalee's eyes. Maternal fears about eye injuries seemed to be common through most of the 19th and 20th centuries.