Wednesday, June 18, 2008

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - Buddy Guzman

Photo: "Furlans" picnicking on the Iacopetti Property in Bonny Doon, C. 1952. Back row, L to R: Guido Cantarutti, Evelina Cantarutti, Elena Moro, Giga Taurian, Mary Ferlizza, Ivano Comelli. Front Row: L to R: Louis Iacopetti ??, Mario Taurian, Norma Cantarutti, Lido Cantarutti, Phil Taurian, name unknown, Bronco Comelli, John Comelli, Reno Cantarutti. (La Nostra Costa Photo Archives)



CRAIG KILLE, WHO MANAGES THE BONNY DOON INTERACTIVE COMMUNITY WEBSITE AT: < http://www.bonny-doon.info/ >, forwarded the below request for information from Mr. Buddy Guzman.

Hello, My name is Buddy Guzman. I attended school in Davenport in the early sixties. If I had to guess the year, 1963-or 1966. This is why I'm attempting to locate someone who can help me find a time frame. My sisters and I we're staying at my uncles at the time, Jess Davila. We would charge our lunch at a store right across the school grounds. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I really am just trying to find out about the time I was there. Both of my parents were ill during that time period, and myself and two sisters were sent to live with my Uncle Jess Davila. I believe he owned a labor camp on the outskirts of town somewhere. I do a lot of writing and loved the time I was there. I remember the inside of the school vividly, and I remember it was more than one grade in the classroom. Everyone was very nice to us and I can’t get that time period out of my mind. My uncle had one son, who still resides in Aptos, but he was a baby at that time, Jess "Sonny" Davila Jr.; he has no memory of it. It is such a memory to me; I am just compelled to find out when I was there. My uncle and aunt who we were staying with, are both deceased. My dad is also and my mom doesn't like to speak of it. It hurts her that we were "sent off'", and I understand this, but it leaves me with a blank in my life. It actually took me awhile to get to this point to research it. I love what I read about Bonnie Dooners, I might have the spelling wrong? I don't expect you to go out of your way, but I would very much like some help in this. I also have become a pretty decent wood carver and have a few things at the Mission in Soledad. I was raised in Gonzales.

Thanks again Craig, it took me 52 years of age to face the fact I had to live someplace other than home, but what a place! Just this one response from you reminds me of the two friends that befriended me.

Take care, Buddy Guzman

If anyone has information you can send it to me directly at: ivcomelli@arilion.com or posted it as a comment to this article. Craig and I will get the info to Buddy. And Craig adds the following:

To all Bonny Dooners and people who have contacted me about Bonny Doon, There has been a wildfire in Bonny Doon and many of us were evacuated from Wednesday through Friday, and even today for the Martin Road folks. We still hear the chain saws and helicopters from our place in Pineridge today. Now that I could return, I updated the http://www.bonny-doon.info > website to allow residents, fire fighters and everyone touched by this fire to share their stories and pictures. Please visit the site and see if you would like to contribute. Depending on what I receive, I will organize pictures, links, and stories so we can all share.

Thank you Fire Fighters!!! ..Craig

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

IVANO: Can't help feel bad about the BONNY DOON fire; all that beautiful area gone. Did the
IACCOPITI Property get destroyed? The fact that I never was able to do the interview there has been one of the biggest disappointments of my life .
RENO

Ivano Franco Comelli said...

Reno: As you know (since we have photo evidence that you were there), the photo was taken on the Iacopetti Property. The exact location was just behind where the Bonny Doon Wine Tasting Room stands today. I do not believe that the fire did damage there.

As I write in "La Nostra Costa" we had many a picnic at that location.
Great Fun. Ivn0

Anonymous said...

(In the photo)I recognize Mario (Taurian). Interesting that it's 1952. That's the year my grandparents (Giacomo Bomben and Emilia Taurian Bomben) went back to Zoppola. They lived in the house at the end of Via Roma next to the church. My cousin Giaco lives there now. Claudia

Claudia Bodmer

Anonymous said...

Thanks Claudia: I added the names to the photo. Hopefully, this helps others ID the people.
ivn0

Anonymous said...

Ciao Ivano,

Reading the article on the Blog by Buddy Guzman has brought to mind a lady who was a good friend of Pia Mazzei and my mother, Ada Campioni.

They used to refer to her as "La Spagnolina", but used to say that her name was Nana Guzman.

She was very well liked by the Italian women, though communication was partly Spanish to Italian and vice versa.

I remember seeing her at our house once, a time long ago.

Saluti, Gino

Anonymous said...

Hey it's me again! The Canadian Furlan. Been away studying.. back again at University completing my last 5 weeks of my Education Degree. Can't wait to get back home. Ivano I have not forgotten La Nostra Costa. You have some excellent photos. The one photo with Reno and his parents and you is priceless. You must have an infinite archive. You will have to collect all your photos and permanently load them on a CD for future reference. Take care and a Special Happy 4th of July to all the Furlans and friends Su per La Costa

Anonymous said...

Hello Ivan, Bud Guzman here. I attached the e mail transaction I had with Craig (Kille) about Davenport Hotel. Maybe you can shed some light on this for me. It's 5:30 a:m, and I'm heading off to the high school, so I'll add more info when I return home this afternoon. Thanks, Buddy Guzman


Bud Guzman wrote:
Hi Craig, wanted to thank you for forwarding this,also Gino Campioni. I did speak to F. Serna, and he did live in the same town as I did. He could not help with the info I was looking for, but he did give me a number to try. What I did find interesting though was looking at the picture on Ivan's blog showing the old Davenport (Ocean View) Hotel. It felt like I saw what I remember to be the entrance to the little store I remember charging lunch at on my uncles account. Would this hotel be the one right across from the old school? And the store being attached to it, it would mean I was looking at the front of that store for the first time in many years. I still do not have a time frame I attended school there, but if this is indeed the store, then I will be making the effort to enlarge the picture, and that little piece of the puzzle is not only intriguing to me, but very endearing.

I work part time at the local school district print shop, and would be making a poster size of it. I'm also looking forward to wearing a tee shirt saying "Official Bonny Dooner", of course I would like to add the dates I attended school. Thanks again, Bud

Anonymous said...

Dear Bud: The store that was closest to the Ocean View Hotel was the "Cash Store". It was not attached to the hotel but it was located in the building next door (just south of it) which also housed the Post Office. The store that you are talking about close to the school was probably "Gregory's" on the north-east corner of the Coast Road and Ocean View (The street the school is located on.) There was also a store on the south-east corner at that location named the Miramar. I have written about all these sites and also Bonny Doon in my book "La Nostra Costa" (Our Coast). If you are interested in some fairly recent North Coast History (1923-1983) written in narrative form, you might want to order it from Authorhouse Publishers. You can get it on line at: www.authorhouse.com , or order by telephone: 1-888-280-7715. It can also be ordered through your favorite bookstore.


Keep in touch: Ivn

Ivano Franco Comelli said...

Hei Canadian Furlan: "Eppi forta Giu-lie". Haven't heard from you in a while. Missed your comments.

We can thank Valentina (my mother) for all those photos. Early on she bought one of those Brownie Box Cameras and took lots of photos. We were still using that box camera well into the 1950"s.

Then my brother, Giovanni Primo, took photography in school and bought a new 'fangle' camera. It never worked as well as that old box camera.

Sempre Avanti. ivno