March 18, 2004

Living was easy at Club Almaden, circa 1951 to 1968

By Jeanne C. Lewis
Staff Writer

Remember those long endless days of summer past? The days that stretched on forever at an idyllic resort where families swam in large clear blue swimming pools, ate juicy sizzling grilled hamburgers and charred hotdogs and sunbathing was mandatory? Children competed at pinball, winning prizes of chocolate candy bars that would melt in the midday sun. Young couples met and held hands when no one was watching while listening to the smooth sounds of Nat King Cole singing “Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer ” on the jukebox. This was Club Almaden at Casa Grande in New Almaden in the 1950s and 1960s.

The lush resort, designed by John Mc Laren before he planned Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, featured three pools on six grassy tree-shaded acres where soft warm breezes were perfumed from rose bushes on the estate. Barbecues and picnic tables near the rambling Los Alamitos Creek accommodated 600 people. The city, WMCA, CHP, Girl Scouts and school groups signed up for each summer. They escaped the valley heat, jumping from diving boards and slides into the cool waters, a baby pool for the small children, playing shuffle board or volley ball. Women in two-piece bathing suits that covered their navels spread out large towels for sun worshiping until the pink burn of overexposure drove them inside the community center for a soda. The children insisted on staying with their summer friends playing horseshoes, tether ball or plunging in the pools.

“We had families come from all over the peninsula,” Love Pope Balkwill, the owner of the scenic spot from 1951 to 1968, said. “And they came back every year.”

Some families came for the day; others owned or rented summer cabins on Almaden Road. They drove heavy metal cars of the 1950s and 1960s and the older, soft-curved autos of the 1940s, air conditioning supplied by rolled-down windows. The children ran to jump in the pools first, splashing and playing games. They'd amuse themselves playing badminton, ping-pong or games at the arcade. Winning tickets were surrendered at the snack bar for a strawberry milkshake to cool the afternoon heat. The jukebox played all the popular songs and couples would slow dance, maybe have a cocktail at the bar upstairs later in the day. Sometimes three-piece bands played until closing time at 8:30 p.m. Life was good and all was right with the world at the Club Almaden oasis.

And the simple pleasures of the retreat were easy on the pocketbook. An annual family membership cost $35 a year. A one-day weekend visit cost 90 cents for adults and a quarter for children. It opened for the season April 15 and closed in October.

Love Pope Balkwill remembers it well. Her husband, Norman Pope and she bought Club Almaden in 1951 while they lived in San Francisco and he was owner of Rex Novelty Company manufacturing metal animals. Deciding to move to Casa Grande, raise their family in the country and run the country club themselves in 1956, they added more play areas for children. They had five children already and one more was born while they lived on the second floor of Casa Grande mansion. It was the perfect environment for children. And for adults, too.

“Through the years I've met so many couples who were introduced at Club Almaden and later married,” the fair-haired pretty Pope reminisces. “They have wonderful memories of that time of their lives. They remember it all so vividly.”

Pope was busy during her tenure at Club Almaden. Besides raising six children, she helped in the office, ordered supplies, worked at the gatehouse and filled in at the snack bar. She remembers her time at the seasonal resort as happy and very busy. Her husband managed the club and hired employees to help with the chores besides being a postmaster for 13 years in New Almaden. In 1966, the post office moved into a small storage area of the Casa Grande building. He was known as the “candy man” because he gave out lollipops to the children who came in with their parents for stamps.

Their eldest son Gregory helped at the community center. Besides being a lifeguard, he had a magic show, entertaining children and adults at the outdoor stage [later covered, enclosed and called the Opry House], a talent he still enjoys today. Once, the Pope's six children tricked their babysitter and ran down to the creek that runs the length of Casa Grande for a midnight swim.

The Popes left Club Almaden in 1968. No children run up and down the stairs of Casa Grande looking forward to the families who came to find respite from the heat and play on the beautiful grounds. They're grown and have families of their own. The upper floor where the Popes' lived is now a storage area. The Almaden Quicksilver Museum occupies the bottom floor. The parking lot is empty. The snack bar is closed. The three pools are filled, covered with manicured lawns. The old picnic tables remain waiting for hungry guests. The Club Almaden sign is still attached to a huge redwood tree at the entrance of Casa Grande, a reminder of summers past.