Contemplation on Catalina

April 25, 2022
Macey

Ah Catalina Island, a place so surreally quaint I wasn’t sure where I was in the world. California, yes… but also hints of the Cook Islands, Thailand, Ireland, The Bahamas, a small town off the coast of Italy? Looking up at the swaying palm trees, the seagulls stealing fries from the tourist I imagined that it felt like the “good old California” described by my in-laws and documentaries or the type of place that made “California Dreaming” make sense. Perhaps this feeling clinged to me especially for it reminded me of a dream I had where all the colorful little buildings were stacked on each other, or the tiny towns drawn by my friend https://www.instagram.com/taekode/

Even the journey over was magical, a herd of dolphins, in the distance an eruption of air then the giant body of a whale following. I’m a sucker for any experience that reminds me of what tiny creatures we are. Have you ever heard the terrifying sounds of a thousand seagulls doing their thing? It’s majestic.

Plant Life

And the flora, oh the flora! A perfectly maintained botanic garden that surrounds the Wrigley’s mausoleum contains many plants unique to the island, among other rare or just plain beautiful varieties. No doubt, the whole island is bountiful.

 

Strange Bones

So even now I can’t quite tell, was it strange because there were bones hanging in a tree or was it only strange in contrast to this seemingly perfect place?

One of it’s charms is that it has essentially stayed the same for the past 100 years, but a mere 100 before that? As often the case it doesn’t take long to find spilled blood. And while I found no information on these particular bones (I have concluded it is most likely a local who wants to keep the pesky tourist out and I can’t blame them) my search led me to a story so un-surprising,  so familiar to any American soil.

Catalina Island was occupied by Native Americans for over 7,000 years, until claimed by the Spanish in the 1600s, by the 1830’s the islands entire native population was either dead or migrated to the mainland. For a short time it was owned by Mexico and then from one rich American to another. It wasn’t until 1920 when Wrigley (of chewing gum fame) turned it into what it is today. This quest was paused during WW2 where the island was used by the military for training but resumed immediately afterward.

As the gum man was turning it into a resort town a man named Ralph Glidden had been digging up the remains of the native, Tongva people, and displaying them at his “Indian Museum.” This lasted for 30 years but the damage this man caused is permanent.

Other interesting things I learned about the island:

It is home to a heard of bison. During the filming of a Zane Grey movie “The Vanishing American” or “The Thundering Herd”, several bison were brought to the island. Now in a conservatory effort there are about 100.

In 1972, 26 members of the “Brown Beret” a pro Chicano organization came to the island, raised a Mexican flag and spent 24 days trying to reclaim the island for Mexico. As people in tourist towns do, they viewed this occupation with amusement as a new “attraction” and on the 24^th day when they were asked to leave, they left peacefully.

In 2011, Avalon beach was considered top 10 most polluted in the world, and they were cited for dumping tens of thousands of gallons of waste into the ocean with over 6 spills since 2005. Nearly 10 million dollars later and conditions have “improved.” There is no easy way to fix anything, is there?

Everything is Beautiful and a Little Terrible:

Don’t get me wrong I am grateful to have visited this lovely little place. To call it “picturesque” is an understatement and there are many who work hard in the name of conservation, I do not doubt their efforts or think of this as a “bad place”, quite the contrary. There’s always more to the story and always a dark corner to explore. I often have conflicted feelings about beautiful places that are well liked by the general public. No matter where you go, there is something of immense value and the reason for our visit was simple:  “You must visit Catalina Island” was once suggested to me by Dustin’s grandfather, who’s gone now, and as words spoken by those no longer speaking, they seem to carry more weight.

 

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