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Rugged
climber
Berkeley
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^ That's why this site is worth visiting on occasion
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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I met a WWII combat vet who said he'd been housed in the Ahwahnee Hotel after being sent there for rehab after Guadalcanal. Seems he was the marine who manned the Browning 30 caliber MG that mowed down close to a 1000 Japanese trying to advance down a beach through a shallow river bottom. I guess he must have had what we call today PTSD, so his commanding officer took him out of the line and sent him to the Ahwahnee states side for R&R. He said he spent a whole year there relaxing in Yosemite Valley. His CO told him, "Boy, you've done enough for your country".
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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I knew the history of Ma Curry residing on the 6th floor of the Ahwahnee Hotel. She was a local resident ,,,and i bet she payed very little rent money....if any?
I personally was thinking in the direction of a long term visiting guest.. who payed top dollar to stay at the Hotel. I certainly waited on many wealthy guests and some celebrities..
Currygirl, do you have a photos of you as a kid staying on the 6th floor?...I only got to see the place once..i can only remember that the balcony was fantastic.
Employee made T- shirts from the Queens visit..They gussied up the 6th floor and the Hotel for her visit.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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neebee and I have been discussing the US Navy's use of the Ahwahnee as a facility to care for the swabs, many of whom probably would have been stuck at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland had they not been sent to Yo to get well.
She wanted to start a thread on the subject and I offered to help, but it's now moot, I think.
At first, the Ahwahnee was used primarily for the battle-weary, unstrung psychiatric patients, but this wasn't working out for some reason; thereafter, they sent only the physically wounded to stay there.
There were some scenes from the Caine Mutiny with Humphrey Bogart shot in Yosemite, for one of the main characters, Ens. Willis Seward Keith, went away with "May." He was recovering from battle fatigue, I think.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, mouse... wow, yes!!! you SHOULD start a thread on this...
i was hoping to learn more and see who would chip in...
sounds great, :)
can't wait... will check in and see... say, or should i start it for you?
let me know... wow!!
nita:
wow, neat info on the share, farther up...
will post more on that, but i am on the phone now, with a boston friend, :)
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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How long was Seatters reign at the Awahnee..?
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Something to strive for. It could get boring after a few decades.
At $500 a night +/- you have to be pretty well heeled.
Stayed there once. Liked it and want more of it.
My dream is to stay at the Ahwahnee with family, get up early and climb the Royal Arches. Tea and aperitifs in the afternoon, dress well for dinner. Perhaps arrive there after walking up the trails from Giant Forest at Sequoia or even further south.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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I took family there last year for one of my long beloved banana splits.
I was rudely informed they no longer serve them.
WTF?? A ploy to keep dirtbag climbers away?
Well, I am no longer a dirtbag climber. I am an older middle class gentleman with family and folding money in my pockets!!
So, BOO HISS!!!!!
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mastadon
Trad climber
crack addict
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I remember when the Ahwahnee brunch was $6.50. That was almost enough to live for a week in the dirt on close rations.
Ahwahnee brunch now: $45
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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CurryGirl-I knew you would make a guest appearance and enlighten the folks on ST. Don't stop now as you have a wealth of knowledge and artifacts from the past.
Now, if we could only get the "sweet" shop back at the Ahwahnee and the world's finest malts and shakes............
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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This all smacks of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) leanings that were the underpinnings at Mohonk as well as at many other of the 'Grand Hotels'.
WASP
is an informal, sometimes disparaging and offensive term[1] for a group of high-status and influential White Americans of English Protestant ancestry. The term applies to a group believed to control disproportionate social, political, and financial power in the United States.[2] It describes a group whose family wealth, education, status, and elite connections allow them a degree of privilege held by few others.[3]
Scholars agree that the group's influence has waned since the end of World War II, with the growing influence of other American ethnic groups.[4] The term is also used in Canada and Australia for similar elites.[5][6]
When the term appears in writing, it usually indicates the author's disapproval of the group's excessive power in society. The hostile tone can be seen in an alternative dictionary: "The WASP culture has been the most aggressive, powerful, and arrogant society in the world for the last thousand years, so it is natural that it should receive a certain amount of warranted criticism."[7] People seldom call themselves WASPs, except humorously; the acronym is typically used by non-WASPs.[8]
okay I added a stupid symbol and lost half a post, the half that I wrote.
The cut paste does not point out that for years a calm overtly friendly bond existed between climbers and the Wasp y set. and shared climbing experiences led to some unique partnerships.
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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Wonder if anyone else here worked for Miss Bee... man, she could be tough.
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C4/1971
Trad climber
Depends on the day...
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I took a lady friend there for dinner last year. We hiked all day and changed into our dress clothes for dinner in the public bathrooms in the hotel. She got a lot of comments evidently. I also bribed the hostess so we got the best alcove table, for dinner and breakfast!!!
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BBA
Social climber
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My grandfather worked at the Ahwahnee for 19 years, 1927-1946. I wrote a biography of him for the family, but the Yosemite years may have general interest to Yosemite lovers, and special interest to Ahwahnee lovers and rock climbers as Willem Kat was one of the pioneers. Volume IV, linked below, is 193 pages, but it has detailed contents and an index which may allow you to focus in on an item of interest. Lots of photos.
Did you know that the floor boards in the bungalows represent notes in musical pieces? Did you know that a Schubert song is carved in the ceiling molding of room 723? These were things done out of my grandfather's imagination as they pretty much left him alone.
Dave Brower and Ansel Adams are also in there.
http://sites.google.com/site/katbiography/
I should also mention the interview with Ranger Naturalist Douglass Hubbard in Volume I as it is a classic.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Hey BBA...Thanks for sharing your family story and pictures...Way Cool...After work i will have to check it out more...
You mentioned a Berkeley fire in the 20's..was that a big fire in the hills?
Chris Falkenstein's, neighbor (i forgot his name) also was a carpenter who help build the Ahwahnee Hotel. If i remember correctly, he used some wood beam scraps to build his home in El Portal..
BBA, I bet if they knew each other.
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BBA
Social climber
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The Berkeley 1923 firestorm was like the one in Oakland 1991, but in 1923 it came down north of the UC campus. My grandfather was a contractor with a couple of houses being built in Berkeley, and he had no insurance. Whoops! Volume III has more on the firestorm, but that gets away from Yosemite.
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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BBA, His last name was Anderson, and he went by Andy...A friend just told me that his home is now owned by Nature Bridge...
His daughter lives in Chico, though i rarely see her. Next time i see her i will ask her if she has any pictures.
Love the Half Dome cable shot 1930's.....Only three people from your family.. visible on the cables...
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, all... had fun re reading all these ...
say, the only time i really got a chance to enjoy and have fun, at the ahwahnee, was back a few years ,when lynda b (anji's mom), took my mom and me there and we walked around and had tea, and a cookie... from the morning set up...
it was a lovely time... we also saw the 'chapman' shoes, in the window museum thing...
forgot what floor, or room?? that was on...
also, i loved sitting in the one room, where the chair was, so you could see out that HUGE wonderful window, and see the trees... :)
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Long term residence is actually quite economical. The daily rate goes down to $399 for stays of 30 days or more.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Long term residence is actually quite economical. The daily rate goes down to $399 for stays of 30 days or more.
I'm in!
edit: err. wait. does that include nights?
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