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Frederick Hastings Rindge (1857-1905) http://tinyurl.com/FHRinge

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The Storm

From Happy Days in Southern California, 1898. Read Online Download PDF

Reader: Kevin Hearle

When picturing Malibu, most of us visualize warm, balmy summers and surfers eager to hit the waves. However, early owners of the one-time Mexican rancho knew a more capricious Malibu.

After the Massachusetts-born Fredrick Hastings Rindge finally settled on the land of his dreams, he wrote Happy Days in Southern California. Writing in the persona of a rustic farmer, Rindge unexpectedly finds his halcyon days threatened by stormy ones.

Before the storm broke, the scudding clouds fled as if to escape the fury of the approaching gale. A fierce wind foretold the battle; all nature seemed to cower in fear. The gulls shrieked their alarm. Fright was in the air. The surf beat angrily on the shore and the foam rose high. The trees bent before the blast and the birds lay low. The sharp gusts of wind shook the windows and speckled the panes with raindrops. The farmer gave a final look to the shelter of his stock; his good wife put a stout oak stick on the fire, that a bright warm blaze might cheer her coming husband.

Fredrick Hastings Rindge never let such trials trump the love he had for his land. He and his wife dedicated themselves to protecting Malibu's pristine beauty by fighting the construction of the Pacific Coast Highway, but their efforts were of no avail.

–Contributed by Lauren Adamson