Billy Don't. William OSB Baker
to the office door. The gentle sea breeze, alive with the fragrance of the towering pines, filled the car and spoke to her senses. Rays of the late afternoon sun shimmered down through the pine bows and cast patterns upon the tan sandy soil. "How quiet and serene," she thought. A gray squirrel jumped down from the nearest tree, extracted a seed from a fallen pine cone before bounding back up the tree to an overhanging limb. Gertrude watched as the squirrel, sitting on its haunches, cleaned and stored the seed in its cheek then descended for another. "Oh, the children would love you." she said aloud. The sweet freshness of the gentle breeze upon her face and the soft rustling sound of the pine bows lay in the back of her mind as she took in the scene around her. The cabins appeared to be small yet inviting in their rustic style. She counted, "Three over there in front of the bath house and three behind it" It was a small court, she thought, very neatly laid out beneath the towering pines and obviously done so with preservation in mind. "This cabin," she thought, "must be where the owners live. It looks rather large, three bedrooms, maybe."
The office door opened and Bill came toward the car.
"Do they have a cabin?"
"Yep. That one right there." He pointed to the cabin closest to the bath house. "Good. That's the one I wanted." Bill got into the car. "How would you like all of these beautiful cabins and all that goes with them?
"What in heaven for? To raise squirrels? Oh, Bill you should've seen the cute little gray squirrel which jumped down in front of the car to get a nut out of a pine cone. The children would have squealed with delight at seeing him."
Bill again asked his question, "How would you like to own all this?"
"Are you serious?"
"Yep. The guy in there," he nodded his head toward the office, "says they're for sale."
"Well who would manage them? Certainly not us."
"Why not? Nothing to it." He started the engine and slipped the clutch easing the car to the nearby cabin.
"Bill," her voice was stern, "we are not going to own nor manage these cabins." Thinking that Bill was possibly teasing her, she asked, "Are' they really for sale or are you just kidding me?"
"I'm not kidding. They are for sale. I told Tim, that's his name, I'd talk to him while we are here."
"Well, you weren't in there long enough to find out anything. Did he just come out and say they were for sale?"
"As a matter of fact he did. He asked me if we were touring, and when I told him no, that we were looking to settle in the area, he said they were for sale. He also mentioned something about a divorce and having to liquidate all assets. I thought I'd talk to him tomorrow."
"Oh, Bill. I don't know. What would we do with them. We don't know anything about running a court."
"Well, we can always learn."
"Oh, Bill, you are impossible."
"Well, it's a nice house. Looks like the other cabins from the outside, but it must be a lot larger .. We can take a look at it tomorrow. Okay?"
"Oh, I suppose so."
It was on their way home from Carmel after a full day of conversation with the owner of the cabins, and exploring the area that Gertrude said, "I'm still not satisfied with his price. He's got to be hurting, and I don't believe his story of an unfaithful wife. As sure as it takes two chickens to make a stew, I'd bet he is the unfaithful one." She shifted her sitting position, bringing her body more squarely to Bill. "Let's suppose for a minute that he is being sued for divorce and not the other way around. In that case she is going to get it all, and she doesn't want the property. She wants the money. You know what any decent judge will do, don't you?" She didn't wait for an answer. "He'll decree the courts to sell the property and distribute the money. Probably three-fourths to her, and one-fourth to him." She scooted back into the seat, facing the front of the car, her head tilted back onto the seat. "After all she had six kids ....my God...and has to support them. I really don't believe his story, and I'm sure you can get his price down. "She spun her head toward Bill. "Why, did you see him perk up when you told him the sale would be on a cash basis? Oh, I just know he's playing some kind of game."
"Maybe .so. Come to think of it I did notice his reaction to the cash offer.
Kind’a gave himself away. Not much of a poker player." Do you think you can trust him?"
"I'm not worried about that. We'll handle everything through Pete," referring to the Munroe's lawyer.
"Well, before we do anything you've got to get his price down."
"Ya know Gertrude, I didn't think the price was unfair."
"That doesn't make any difference. Whoever buys something because the price is fair? He's in a spot. I'm convinced I'm right, and you should get him down to his lowest dollar, even lower if possible."
Bill studied her last remark before asking, "Are you sure you want to consider buying the court?" "Yes. Why do you ask?" .
"WelL, I sort of got the impression you're looking for a denial from him based on price."
"How can you be so foolish? Of course I'm all for buying them, but at our price, not his. As a matter of fact, you may be surprised to learn that I like the idea of owning the courts. I'm not crazy about having to manage such an operation, but the added income could be very nice. And, the house is nice, even if it has only two bedrooms and looks like a cabin."
"I can always add on a bedroom." "Yes. I know."
CHAPTER TWO
Bill met several more times with the owner of the court before coming to an agreed selling price, which was also acceptable to Gertrude. She had been correct in her assessment of the situation. Papers were signed, the school in Hayward was completed, the Oakland house put up for sale, and arrangements concluded for relocating the family and business. The Munroe’s, with their two children, Beth 5 and Billy 3, moved to Carmel. The year was 1930.
Life took on new dimensions for the Munroe's. Happiness and contentment filled their lives, each devoted to the courts and their individual interests. For Bill it was establishing his business in Monterey. For Gertrude it was planning improvements to the courts and engaging herself in the social activities of the country club. Together they worked to improve the court.
Bill moved two small one-room cabins together making a large one-bedroom cabin equipped with modern toilet facilities, and he erected three additional one room modern cabins. In the sandy soil, he etched graciously flowing driveways through the towering pines and bordered them with Monterey slate rock forming flower beds. Gertrude nurtured the beds into plots of glorious blooming flowers which attracted both passers-by and members of the local horticultural society. The court took on beauty and a reputation of the place to stay in Carmel. By the end of the second year the courts were booked in advance and producing a handsome profit.
Bill's performance on his first contract in Monterey brought him additional contracts at a pace faster than local qualified workers could be found. He moved several of his old employees from Oakland and put them in charge of individual projects. Although it was the years of the Great Depression, Bill Munroe had found success for his family and his friends. Beth and Billy loved the court where they were free to run and play, making pets of the squirrels and watching the deer come to lick the salt block set out by their Dad. The children's weekends were often spent on the nearby beaches jumping off and sliding down the high sand dunes when they were not busy building sand castles for the incoming tide to wash away.
When the mackerel were running, Bill would take Billy to the Monterey Pier where hundreds of fisherman, standing two and three deep suspended their long bamboo poles out over the surging water waiting for the mackerel to make a pass alongside the pier. As the fish moved in, the poles would roll up in one continuous wave, a mackerel on every hook. Bill cured his catch in a large wooden barrel of salt brine, to be enjoyed with an ample amount of homebrew supplied by his friends.
Early in the third year, Randolph, the third child and an unwanted surprise to Gertrude, was born. The new baby drastically