Editor,
We are reasonable people. How ironic it is that Mark Fudge, the man who bought Richard Halliburton’s 1930’s reinforced concrete modern house high on a 400-foot hill in South Laguna, is so-unreasonable.
The so-called hotel rooms at The Ranch, formerly known as Ben Brown’s and below Halliburton’s famous house, were originally built with full kitchens and large rooms for year-round living, not hotel rooms. The buildings are old, have been through at least two major floods from rain and need remodeling for hotel use.
I rented a bedroom on Ceanothus Drive, below the Halliburton house, 40 years ago and a neighbor told me she often spoke to Halliburton when he took walks and he was a “nice” man.
Halliburton traveled the world, wrote best selling books, was a syndicated journalist, was popular on the lecture circuit and according to Smithsonian Magazine, had pillow parties, wherever he lived.
We are reasonable people who are asking why is Mr. Fudge again trying to stop the remodel in our “little Yosemite”?
Perhaps the ghosts of Halliburton, his companion, and editor. Paul Mooney and William Levy, who was the architect for the “Hangover House,” all three who lived in the extraordinary dwelling could whisper through in the night and suggest to Mr. Fudge to keep in mind that this is Laguna Beach, where people try to get along with each other and where most of us want Mr. Christy to finish the remodeling of The Ranch at Ben Browns as soon as possible.
Roger Carter, Laguna Beach
I was amused and entertained by Roger Carter’s suggestion that the ghosts of Halliburton, Paul Mooney and Bill Alexander (Levy) should whisper at Hangover through the night to influence Mr. Fudge to be more receptive to change. Carter may have something there, judging from reports of ghost activity occurring at Hangover in the past. I commented on some as shown below in my Halliburton biography, “A Shooting Star Meets the Well of Death, Why and How Richard Halliburton Conquered the World.”
“Among the many tales that cropped up about the house over the years was one from South Laguna in 1954 dealing with ghosts and buried treasure. It reported that some old timers believed the ghost of Halliburton still prowled his monolithic monument searching for treasure he buried there and that eerie, flashing lights have been sighted when the house was vacant.
In commenting on the report of Halliburton’s ghost and the treasure, owner Wallace T. Scott had scoffed. Mrs. Scott added that their three small children had looked for a possible treasure trove but was sure Halliburton never buried any there.
As far as the “treasure” was concerned, Alexander was of the same mind as the Wallaces. ‘It’s unlikely. There wasn’t much treasure left after he paid the construction costs.’”
Hangover was born in controversy – as detailed in my book – and continues to generate more than its share as time goes by.
William R. Taylor, author.