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Midwinter Fair of 90’s Gardeners 1st Triumph (Part 10)
Monday, January 25, 1943 The Call-Bulletin presents, herewith, the ninth of a series of intimate articles describing the life and work of “Uncle John” McLaren, famed “father” of Golden Gate Park. The series was written by J. Lawrence Toole, noted San Francisco newspaperman. By J. Lawrence Toole When John McLaren, at 92, planted the first tree for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, he grinned at the fine new and shining spade that trembled a little in his shaking hands and remarked: “Well, it’s a pretty spade, anyway.” Behind the remark were memories of other spades he had handled in famous exposition first-tree plantings in San Francisco. For John McLaren…
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Scot Enlisted Wealthy S.F. Men to Aid in Park (Part 5)
Monday 18 January 1943 The fifth in a series of articles on the life of Uncle John McLaren is presented herewith by The Call-Bulletin. Their author, the late J. Lawrence Toole, noted San Francisco newspaperman, was a friend of the man who developed Golden Gate Park. By J. Lawrence Toole Strawberry Hill, with its native oaks, and atop of it the McSweeney Panorama, later shaken down in 1906, was here, of course, when John McLaren came, but there was no waterfall leaping down its steep sides and no beautiful, winding lake at its base. Both of these he added to the beauty of the park. The story of the falls,…