Henry Dakin Remembered

This is a transcript of a letter to the editor by Robert Burton dated August 4, 1955 under the banner: Voice of the People.

About Henry Dakin

Editor: Your picture of the Laurel Glen Fruit farm in your July 31 number of the Sentinel-News brought back many pleasant and interesting memories of its late owner, Henry Dakin.

Henry Dakin possessed all the sagacity, wisdom and inventiveness one might inherited from Maine and Vermont parents. His ability was along horticultural lines. Some years back the California Cultivator featured his farm as a horticultural wonderland. Of special interest was the orchard of avocado trees which is said to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, such orchard in California.

During his youth, Henry had done a tour of duty in Mexico as foreman on one of the Hearst ranches. He became interested in avocadoes in their native home, expecially the Fuerte variety, which he claimed to have introduced in California. Far from confining his activities to the Laurel Glen farm, at certain times of the year h3e would disappear for a month or two with a bundle of grafting and budding wood en route for southern California, where he became one of the most famous budders and grafters of these trees in the commercial orchards; which were just beginning to be established in that land, which he considered no better than what he had at home. Many such trees are also found in Santa Cruz county and city. The original trees are still on his place and in good production under the care of Ray Bethel, former city water foreman of this city.

Tourists who return home from Hawaii often bring home macademia chocolate candy as a famous exotic rarity may be interested to know that there are very old and large macademia nut trees on Henry's place and, what is more, they are in bearing. Being native trees from Australia, very little was known about them until recently, when they began to cultivate them in southern California. It is difficult to know how Henry procured the origiqanl trees or seeds.

There are hundreds of acres of walnut trees that woe their good and uniform quality to Henry's grafting.

An ornamental to which he gave much thought was the English holly. In their native habitat these trees come as either male or female trees. The male tree is the most symetrical and beautiful, but, of course, only the femalebears the berries of traditional Christmas fame. Henry, by close observation, found a sport (mutation) on one of the trees which bore both male and female characters. This became the foundation stock for considerable budding and grafting of these trees.

His place was so full of various varieties of fruit trees that it was a handicap when it came to cultivation and marketing.

Far from being a recluse, Henry was a most gregarious and public spirited man. Knowing at frst had the difficulties of marketing fruit in these early days, he associated himself with such men as the late Fred Hihn and other progressive growers into an association for the marketing of apples. In due time it failed. When asked for the reason, Henry said:

"Men working together or jointly will make mistakes they never would make by themselves."

A deeply religious man, not of trhe sectarian type but from a conviction which comes from deep and silent contemplation with God and his great works, he acquired a sortr of prophetic outlook and an intimacy with his soul.

One of his most common topics being the weather, especiallythat part which pertains to the rainfall. He claimed that by communion with god he could not only prophecy, but also set the amount of rainfall. He was, therefore, a frequent visitor at our weather station to consult the past and present records.

Not until after his death did we dare say much about it for fear Henry might come inot disrepute for having spoiled the sset of cherries, the drying of clothes, the wettingt of picnics or the dampening of weddings. Thatwas our secret even if wewere not convinced. Henry was firm in his beliefs, and you did not change him by arguing.

His passing was a distinct loss to his many friends, who admired in him his honesty, his loyalty, his self education, which bordered on wisdom, and his industry. Heleft theworld a better place because of better people and better trees.

Crippled in his old age and unable to carry on political discussions as formerly, he called us to his death bed at last for what might have been a confession. His last words were: "Watch Roosevelt; he is responsible."

That was after Pearl Harbor. Henry can, therrefore, be said to have been a staunch Republican, the Maine and Vermont variety, until his dying day. Like his ancestors, he w2as a great lover of freedom and of our institutions.

He is buried in the Soquel cemetery, near the road he so often traveled on his way to Santa Cruz market and friends; also past the school house where he received the fundamentals of his education for which he was ever so grateful.

Robert Burton

1187 Prospect Heights

Ruthalee Dakin Mauldin: Robert Burton, as I recall, was a science teacher at Santa Cruz High School. He and Mrs. Burton had three or four children. They were interesting, vital peole. During WWII he went somewhere in the Pacific to grow fresh produce, especially melons. These proved more helpful in enabling the wounded to live and recover than the chemical vitamins. While there he made exquisite plates of configuration, foliage, flowers and seeds of the local vegetation. Wish I could remmber where he was! He said he had to hire natives to beat the bushes around the melon fields to keep the rats from coming and eating the crop as it ripened. Mondy meant nothing to these people, but Mr. Burton could do slight of hand tricks that kept them coming back to keep the rats out for him.