Santa Cruz Mountains History: Barbeque at Siesta

On May 5, 1912, the first grand annual barbecue and stag party of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen was held here in the Valley at Siesta, Brookdale. The “Chief Instigator and Booster” was Phillip Bouchard, conductor of the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) Oakland Special, assisted by F. R. King of Moss Beach. Phillip Bouchard owned two lots of land just south of the Siesta Station on the north side of the track, opposite the property of Santa Cruz entrepreneur and mayor to be, Fred Swanton.

Image: Jim Hartman Collection, San Lorenzo Valley Museum.

Trainmen from the Bay cities and surrounding area were invited to the party which lasted between 9am and 5pm, the main event being a huge barbecue, pictured here. Citizens from San Francisco with representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and the Panama-Pacific Exposition were present including the official herald, seen towards the back of the photograph. Also present were members of the chambers of commerce of San Jose, Santa Cruz, and Boulder Creek. Local residents were invited to attend and several automobile parties visited throughout the day. Other festivities included fishing, games, motoring, and “a general social cordiality.”

The barbecue menu included “Snapperless Beans a la Missouri, Bulls’ Tails Soup, Mountain Goat Goulash, Brook Trout a la Steelhead Shelby, Surf Sand Dabs a la Casa Del Rey, Baby Bear Fricassee, Boiled Heifer’s Skirts, Boulder Creek Spuds with Wraps, Auntie-Choks from Ben Lomond, California Home Brew, Brookdale Water, Santa Clara Valley Prunes, Tallow Pot Coffee Blend, and Stuffed Doped Hogs Head.” The invitation, published in several regional newspapers, stated that there would be “Plenty to eat and a good informal social time is assured.”

Several locals are pictured here. Closest to the camera, seated, is Fred Moody of Moody and Cress Livery Stables. To the right of Fred is Ben Lomond’s unofficial mayor, bar owner Charles Hartman. Across the table from Fred Moody, seated second from the end is Jacob Kober, who owned a winery on Love Creek, and further down the table in white and holding a butcher’s saw is Myron Swarthout, Boulder Creek’s “Maestro of Meat.”