The Nethertons

1906 to 1932

Mr. and Mrs. William P. Netherton bought the lot at 96 Riverside for $10 from Edwin G. Shafter on June 30, 1906. They built their house later that year.

The house they built is a very early Craftsman cottage, and very modern for the time. Although it is hard to image it today, originally the house had only two bedrooms and a small office on one side of a central hall, and a living room, dining room, and kitchen on the other. Porches ran the width of the house on the front and back. The front looked out onto a residential street and the gardens of the Riverside Hotel; the back porch looked over the river. Pocket doors neatly seal off the private areas from public; a perfect and modest house for community service-minded people.

Although I learned through a chain-of-title search who first owned my house, I knew nothing about them until I was at the local historians' meeting. When I announced to the group that I was looking for information about William Netherton, another historian Esther (Fields) Rice--who grew up on Riverside Ave a block away--told me, "His son-in-law lives out in Live Oak." Mrs. Rice's brief comment changed everything. The next day I called this son-in-law, Haswell Leask, and we later met for two interviews. He told me stories, gave me photographs, and brought the Nethertons and their city to life. He also told me stories about his father, Samuel Leask and other Santa Cruzans, and I include them in a three-part interview.

Mr. Leask died a few years later, as I learned when I saw his obituary. My few hours listening to him was the closest I'll ever get to a trip in a time machine. I treasure the memory of our meeting. Mr. Haswell's daughter, Margaret Leask Epstein, visited me a few months later, and has been generous in sharing her memories and family photos with me.

• Haswell Leask on The Nethertons
• Haswell Leask on Samuel Leask
• Haswell Leask on Santa Cruzans