• A Message from CVHS Co-Presidents
• The Snows of Carmel Valley
• Muriel Vanderbilt’s Carmel Valley Motor Corps Unit
• Upcoming Events
• Financial Contributions
• Documents, Photos, Artifacts, Etc.

A Message from CVHS Co-Presidents

Jane Chaney and Cherie Ohlson

We are proud to introduce the inaugural digital version of The Carmel Valley Historian, confident you will find it as interesting and informative as the paper version that has been retired out of financial necessity.

​Our Annual Membership Meeting & Reception is coming up on Saturday, April 11^th from 4:00-5:30. We look forward to sharing the many activities that have happened at the Museum over the past year. We will also vote on the nominees for three-year terms: Cherie Ohlson & Dave Terdy (continuing), and Anna Williams (new).

Our mission to preserve and showcase Carmel Valley history relies on donations from our members. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members for their continued support in our efforts to preserve and share Carmel Valley history. If you are not yet a member, please click here to find out more.

The Snows of Carmel Valley

by Jeff Ohlson, CVHS Historian

This George T.C. Smith photograph below was taken above the Robles del Rio Lodge looking north during the January 1962 “Big Snow” in Carmel Valley. Carmel Valley Village and the old Vintage Airfield are seen in the distance.

On average, there are almost 300 sunny days a year in Carmel Valley Village, which sits at an elevation of 450 feet and also gets about 20 inches of rain a year. Some precipitation falls as snow if the conditions are just right during winter months.

The James Ziegler photos below were also taken during the “Big Snow” on the Tularcitos Ranch in upper Carmel Valley. Mr. Ziegler won prizes at the Monterey County Fair with these photos.

Celebrating Women’s History Month

Muriel Vanderbilt’s Carmel Valley Motor Corps Unit

by Jeff Ohlson, CVHS Historian

Granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt and James Fair of the Vanderbilt and Comstock Lode fortunes, Muriel was one of the wealthiest women in the U.S. She is pictured in May of 1941 in the photo above with her late 1930s Cadillac convertible – five months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The photo below shows her at a thoroughbred horse racing venue with one of her thoroughbred racehorses.

Long before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Muriel served on Newport, R.I.’s National Red Cross Committee on Volunteer Services. She thereafter owned the Los Laureles Rancho in Carmel Valley where she was Chairperson of its Red Cross Unit and Captain of its Motor Corps Unit. At the onset of WWII, she devoted all her time to war work.

The Motor Corps Unit had 33 members, all women volunteers from the Peninsula. They were qualified in Morse Code, first aid, knowledge of motors, changing tires, etc. Their primary purpose was to provide transportation to/from hospitals, homes, and railroad stations. They transported supplies, helped disaster relief, and drove ambulances.

In 1946, Muriel, then Mrs. John Pasyson Adams, sold her 1100-acre Los Laureles Ranch, thus ending one of the most amazing chapters in the history of Carmel Valley. At age 71, Muriel Vanderbilt Church Phelps Adams died in 1972 at her residence in Florida.

Upcoming Events

Financial Contributions

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT!

Membership Donations
Lynn & John Archer, Marvin Biasotti, Stanley Courtney, Bruce & Stacy Crane, Christian Darken, Gwyn DeAmaral, Steve Dorrance, Patrick & Trudy Dowd, Larry & Rheta Downs, Capt. Eugene Erner, Roberta Firoved, Carl Ray French, Bill Godwin, Robert Gularte, Chris Harold, Catherine Kennedy, Cathryn Madrid, Shelley McFadden, Jana & Scott McKenzie, Ellen McNeely, Susan Michelson, Penny Myers, Nicole Nedeff, Robert & Katherine Nielsen, Katie O’Connell, Craig & Julianne Painter, Ken Poppovich, David Potter, Charlene Randazzo, Trulee Ricketts, Stewart & Meryl Robertson, Suzanne Sanders Shaw, James Smith, James Sweeney, Peter Thomson, Judy Verlenden, John & Priscilla Walton, Anna Williams, John Willsen 
General Fund Donations
Laura Tocchet Curtis, Herbermann Charitable Gifting Fund, Neumeier Taylor Foundation, Cherie & Jeff Ohlson, PSTS/Stephanie Carminati, Sue Pius, Suzanne Saunders Shaw, Talbott Family Foundation, Gary Tate
Grants
Yellow Brick Road
Tile
Nancy & Charlie Costanza

Documents, Photos, Artifacts, Etc.

Brenda Clough-Reese: Loan of Centennial belt buckle
Bryce Goeking: Jewelry bag and linens belonging to Harriet Hatton
Michael Jones: Dr. Paul Tocchet painting by Sunday Collins
Zack Kaufman: CV Little League Baseball sign, 13 framed CV Little League team photos and a home plate
Adam Mayfield: Loan of a 1959 CV Little League patch and 25th anniversary appreciation plaque to Ed Mayfield
Scott & Jana McKenzie: CV Little League pins
Toni Moulaison: CV Little League All-Stars shirts, CV Little League Pirates shirts, CV Little League team shirt, CV Little League jacket
Bill Neidinger: CV Little League score books from 1968-69
Linda Ocampo: CV Little League baseball caps, CV Little League pins, CV Little League team pictures of the Volunteers and Hornets, appreciation plaques for Sal Ocampo and Tom Ocampo
Larry Parrish: CV Little League memorabilia
Jim Pedersen: Watercolor painted by Jim Pedersen of Hatton Dairy in 1946
Karolyn Stone: 1999 California Cowboy Show wine glasses

The Carmel Valley Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in 1987 and incorporated in 1988 in Califronia.

The future of our Society depends upon memberships and contributions from our community. Membership dues cover ongoing expenses such as archival preservation, exhibits, computing, and building maintenance. Please consider contributing to the Historical Society today!