Originally published as a two-part series for the Borrego Sun (August 10 and 24, 2006). After the publication of Marshal South and the Ghost Mountain Chronicles: An Experiment in Primitive Living (Sunbelt Publications, January 2005), further research revealed more details about Marshal South's life after his divorce from Tanya and his relationship with Myrtle Botts, Julian's librarian. That research led to this two-part article.
By Diana Lindsay
Author and artist Marshal South lived in a remote area of the Anza-Borrego Desert after the Great Depression, writing about his family's experiment in primitive living for the readers of Desert Magazine. The experiment ended in a bitter divorce surrounded by rumors and gossip regarding the relationship between South and the local Julian librarian. After years of speculation, the real story has emerged.
If time had had its way, the stories of Marshal South and Myrtle Botts would have continued to swirl in rumors until future generations would no longer remember them. But it was not meant to be. Rider South was instrumental in unlocking his father's past by sharing family documents and photographs that revealed there was more to Marshal than anyone had ever guessed.
And just recently, Jeri Botts Wright has gifted to the Julian Pioneer Museum volumes of materials disclosing her mother's history and many civic contributions to that mountain community. The museum will house the permanent Botts Collection, which contains many historical documents, photographs, and rare manuscripts. The Julian Public Library has plans to install photographs of both Jeri and Myrtle on a wall of the new library as the founders of the original branch library—a fact that was almost lost to that community.
For all her civic contributions, why was Myrtle Botts almost forgotten? Was it the alleged relationship with Marshal that negated Myrtle's past, or was it jealously, envy, or even anger on the part of a few citizens? Julian Pioneer Museum Curator Edwina Silbernagel surmises that it was probably both, and the facts seem to corroborate that speculation.
Those who discredited Myrtle are no longer around, and the facts can now speak for themselves. Myrtle rightfully deserves her respected place in Julian's history.
After Myrtle passed on in December 1973, her daughter gathered all her papers, files, and photographs. Jeri was angry that the community her mother served so long did not hold Myrtle in the highest regard. Some in town chose to malign her reputation when the family befriended Marshal after his divorce from Tanya. Many also knew of Tanya's belief that there was something between Marshal and Myrtle. Rumors grew and became "fact" for some, overshadowing the real story.
The truth was that Myrtle was a well-read, independent woman who enjoyed the publicity she received as the long-time chair of the annual Julian Wildflower (originally Wild Flower) Show. She loved wildflowers and was an amateur botantist who received letters from many university and museum botany departments asking her for the location of elusive plants. Her picture and interviews appeared in local newspapers and in regional magazines and newsletters.
As the Julian branch librarian, "Bottsie," as she like to be called, helped research many term papers for high school students in her 35 years as town librarian. If anyone in town needed a special book, Myrtle would order it for them. She was also the town's historian, and her History of Julian, written for the town's centennial celebration, is still in print and distributed by the Julian Historical Society.
If there was a job to be done, Myrtle rolled up her sleeves and did it. She was inventive. For several years, her creations won the "Crazy Hat" contest at the Del Mar Fair. She was also active with the Julian Woman's Club, the Chamber of Commerce, Julian Apple Days, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and was charter president of the Julian American Legion Auxiliary.
Myrtle Gladys McHenry Botts was not afraid to try something new, to assert and promote herself, and to do what she thought was right. She was basically cheerful and known for the perpetual smile on her face.
Her model was her mother, Edna McHenry Smith, who was a civic-minded, independent, and talented woman. Edna was very active with the DAV and often took trips to Washington, D.C. She was a talented painter who was called "San Diego's Grandma" when she was nearing 85 years of age. One admirer said that Edna's paintings "are as good or better than any of Grandma Moses' that I have seen." Edna remained active until she passed on at the age of 94 in 1971.
Myrtle was born November 27, 1898, near Dana, Illinois. Her interest in helping others began in high school when she passed the requirements for "Mine Rescue" and "First Aid to Injured." Soon after high school graduation, she married Louis Botts, six years her senior.
The Bottses began regular visits to California in 1914. Two years later, their only child was born—Gayle Harriet Botts, who they called Jerry (after graduation from high school, she spelled her name "Jeri"). They decided to move to San Diego in 1922, but Louis missed Illinois, and they returned the following year. When Jeri became chronically ill in 1926, they decided to make a permanent move to San Diego where the climate would be better for Jeri's health.
In 1927, Louis accepted a position working at "Babcock's" 1,000-acre "Oak Ridge Ranch" in the Pine Hills area. When he was laid off the following year, the Bottses moved into Julian and opened the Cozy Restaurant – where Mama's Pies is located today. They ran the restaurant until at least 1935.
JULIAN'S WILDFLOWER SHOW
The Julian Woman's Club became active in 1914, and Ida Wellington, daughter of Julian's founder Drury D. Bailey, served as its first president. The club disbanded when WWI began and reactivated in September 1926, electing Ada Hildreth as the new president. At one of the first meetings, Elizabeth Ranson and Sadie Thomas suggested that the club hold a flower show exhibiting the many cultivated varieties of flowers grown in the town's various gardens. That first show was held on the porch of the Town Hall in May 1927 and may have involved the local PTA.
In 1927, the Bottses were living on the Oak Ridge Ranch. Myrtle had just picked a bouquet of white, blue, and pink wild lupine when Charles "Mac" McCloud drove on to the property with the wife of one of the ranch hands who had forgotten to bring his lunch. During the conversation, Mac asked Myrtle if she liked wildflowers, and she said, "yes." He asked Myrtle to join them the following morning when they planned on going out to pick wildflowers.
Mac was insistent that the flower show that May needed to display some of the local wildflowers in addition to local cultivated plants. Myrtle later recorded that she was too shy to carry the flowers in because she did not know any of the ladies. Mac carried them in.
Each year from then on, Myrtle went out with Mac gathering wildflowers for the show, and eventually she became acquainted with all of the women and volunteered to help them. Myrtle wrote that in these early years, "Mac kept insisting it should be strictly a wildflower show not mixed with cultivated plants—all the ladies were very justly proud of the beautiful flowers they raised,…so they resisted this idea manfully for years."
Not at all discouraged, Mac continued each year to take ladies out who were willing to gather wildflowers. Up to this point, there was no formal committee organizing the flower show. Women just brought flowers in to be displayed on a designated day. Then, according to notes recorded by Myrtle, a committee of 20 women, chaired by Pearl Meyers, was formed to set up for the show on the prescribed date, but only Pearl showed up.
Myrtle wrote, "Not one woman showed up to help Mrs. Meyers—she was almost in tears when Mac talked to her." Mac assured her that he could find someone to help. "So it was Mac, my mother Edna Smith, Mrs. Meyers and myself who put on the show."
Myrtle basically chaired the event for the next 32 years. For several years, some of the women still brought cultivated roses and other plants, which were kept separately. The public primarily showed interest in the wildflowers, and it gradually became strictly a wildflower show as Mac wanted it to be.
Myrtle began going out regularly throughout the year with Mac and her husband Louis so that they learned the locations of the various plants and determined when they would be ready to bloom. It was during the May 1939 show that Mac had a heart attack and died. For the next five years, during the war years, Myrtle wrote that she put on the show "single handed as no one wanted to work." Even with not many travelers coming to town because of gas rationing, she stubbornly continued the yearly show so that it would not lose any continuity or momentum following the war.
Myrtle freely took credit as the key organizer in the following years and wrote that "many try to lay claims to having started the show and claims of working on it." She recorded that, "I originated it and did practically all the work outside of someone to drive [the] car for me until 1939." There is no doubt that some of the women in town were unhappy with her claims and the recognition she received.
The San Diego Journal of May 10, 1948, called her the "Lady of Wild Flowers," and the San Diego Union of November 30, 1968, attributed her as "the founder" of the show. Her name had become synonymous with the annual show.
She stepped down as chair some years later, writing that "due to a false friend, I resigned and refused to work any longer." She wrote this as an explanation as to why she was no longer doing the show, adding that the Julian Woman's Club still sponsors it and that it was taking 50 women to do the job she did by herself or with one helper for many years.
Unlike her years of service as chair of the annual Julian Wildflower Show, her many years as branch librarian ended with a happier note.
Were the rumors of a relationship with Anza-Borrego's Marshal South justified or just an excuse to discredit Myrtle Botts by some spiteful townsfolk who found her self-assurance and independence a little arrogant? Were they angry that Myrtle tended to take credit for things instead of sharing the limelight with others who contributed to the success of civic projects? Did she inadvertently set herself up for the tragic consequences that followed? Part 2 of this series looks at Myrtle the librarian and her relationship with author, poet, and artist Marshal South.
Julian's civic leaders honored Myrtle Botts at an open house and community reception at the public library upon her retirement as Julian's veteran librarian. Residents had petitioned the county hoping to retain their 70-year-old librarian, but the law required her retirement because of her age.
Literally hundreds of people attended the event on November 30, 1968. Elementary school children sent pictures they painted of the library and the high school art class painted a huge banner that spanned the front of the building saying "Thanks Bottsie."
She served an official 30 years as the Julian Branch Librarian, 5 years as the assistant librarian, and at least another 3 years as her daughter's helper when the library consisted of a shelf of books that could be toted in a box. At her retirement, the newspaper reported that she had handled "more than 500,000 books" in her years as the town's librarian.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE JULIAN LIBRARY
Sometime at the end of 1929 or early in 1930, the San Diego County Library created a "station" at the Julian telephone company when a company employee offered a shelf for the county's use. The shelf was under the counter and faced the public entry. According to Myrtle's notes on the history of the library, "Folks would pick up a book or two when they happened to visit the office. No one bothered to check them out and most were never returned."
On December 15, 1930, Marjorie Kobler was appointed San Diego County's fifth librarian since the county library was established in January 1913. Soon after her appointment, she made a trip to Julian to see what she could do to remedy the situation at the telephone company.
While in Julian, Kobler met Jerry "Jeri" Gayle Botts. Jeri served as the "acting librarian" at the high school. Kobler asked the 14-year-old if she would be interested in assuming the Julian Branch Library work. Jeri agreed on the condition that her mother could assist her while she was in school or otherwise occupied.
A space was found in the east half of the Marks building next to the drug store and a bookshelf, desk, and table were installed next to the window facing the main street. The library was open every day of the week, and the county paid Jeri $10 every three months, or $3.33 per month. Myrtle did not receive a salary.
After Jeri graduated from high school in 1935, she accepted a position with the downtown county library and moved to San Diego. Myrtle agreed to run the library on a temporary basis under her daughter's name until a new librarian could be named. Her salary was $5 per month. In 1938, Kobler insisted that Myrtle become the official branch librarian for Julian and Myrtle agreed. Her salary was increased to $10 per month in 1939.
The library made several moves before it settled into a large room in the Chamber of Commerce building between the Town Hall and the feed and supply store—now a real estate office. For two years it was even in a craft shop run by Myrtle and her friend Mary Smith, called the "M&M What Zit Shop."
The library became "a social center and public information office," according to Myrtle. It was used by the water company and the draft board, for rummage sales, and for meetings of civic organizations. As a consequence, Myrtle was active in virtually all of these groups.
The San Diego Union ran a feature article about Julian's famed librarian on July 12, 1968, a few months before her retirement. The reporter made note of a sign above Myrtle's desk that was her motto for the past 30 years: "Nobody who is somebody looks down on anybody." The motto was put to the test when Myrtle and her family befriended Marshal South.
MYRTLE'S RELATIONSHIP WITH MARSHAL SOUTH
In all likelihood, Myrtle met Marshal when she was working at the library, or possibly the Souths first visited the Cozy Restaurant and met the Bottses there. In the following years, Marshal would visit the library to borrow or return books as part of his monthly trip to Julian. When Tanya and the children came to town, they would also go to the library and spend time visiting with Myrtle. On occasion, Myrtle and Louis Botts would visit the Souths on Ghost Mountain, always signing their guest book when they visited.
The Bottses where there also when the Souths needed help moving back to Ghost Mountain in Spring 1946 after the Navy gave permission for the Souths to return to their isolated homestead. The Souths had been forced to leave the previous year when they were notified that their house was on the flight path to a bombing range.
Myrtle and Marshal shared common interests and aspirations. They were both independent and energetic, avid readers who also liked the desert, and they were creative and great at marketing themselves. They were "different" from the townsfolk and not willing to conform to expectations.
Although Myrtle and Louis were very close, reading was not an interest they shared. Louis was interested in mining, and while Charles "Mac" McCloud was living, Louis often went out prospecting for gold with Mac. Louis, however, did enjoy taking Myrtle out to search for desert wildflowers.
Jeri Botts said that her father admired Marshal because of his education and never felt that he had anything to worry about regarding Myrtle, as they were happily married. Jeri said that her parents were very close, and that Louis was very proud of Myrtle.
Marshal told the Bottses that there were difficulties with his marriage. Jeri said, "It wasn't a secret." The worse the arguments became, the more time he spent in Julian just to get away, often staying with the Bottses.
During the divorce, Marshal asked Jeri and her grandmother Edna Smith to attend court proceedings in San Diego to give him moral support, which they did. Jeri recalls Tanya testifying that Marshal struck the children. "I didn't believe anything she was saying because I knew what she was saying was exaggerated," she said in an interview.
Jeri said that her family felt sorry for Marshal. They admired his brilliance, talent, and energy, but they thought "he was weird" and "an unusual person." Jeri felt that "it was too bad that people didn't see him. Mostly they spoke against him." She added that "the townspeople didn't like him because he was different. They didn't like people who were different or bright."
Jeri described Marshal as "romantic" and "able to write beautiful notes." She felt that her Julian neighbors "wouldn't have understood his notes." He wrote love notes to the family—to Myrtle, to Myrtle's mother Edna, and to Jeri. They all shared the letters with Louis. Jeri thought his poetry "magnificent. I loved his writings and stories," she added.
The Bottses did what they could to help Marshal. Louis found him carpentry jobs in Julian and San Diego. He built a porch on Edna's house in San Diego. Myrtle made a space for him to live in the corner of the Julian Library. In exchange for the space, he painted the frieze on the walls of the library and other paintings in the Julian Town Hall. He cleaned the library at night and the Town Hall after events. He also became Myrtle's assistant during the 1947 flower show and helped to design and print advertisements for the flower show. Myrtle encouraged him to do crafts—notecards and jewelry under the name of Desertcrafts Studio, an enterprise they started together.
Eventually, library patrons complained when the library began to "smell," and after several months, Marshal had to move out. About that time, Jeri indicated that "two women" began "gossiping" about Marshal and Myrtle. She said that the women "hated mother," and began spreading stories. She felt that the women were "envious of her" and didn't like the way that the men in Julian praised her mother. Jeri indicated that the stories the women told were ridiculous, especially "if you had seen them together. He acted like a child and she treated him just like he was….This was just another kid she was trying to help out."
Marshal's health rapidly declined when he separated from Tanya. Visits to the doctor in San Diego revealed heart disease, and he was told to avoid Julian's high elevation. He lived for awhile with Adeline and Bill Mushet at the Banner Queen Ranch, but his health continued to decline. He then moved out toward Agua Caliente Hot Springs where he wrote his final letter to Myrtle on September 29, 1948, thanking her for her letters and encouragement. He acknowledged that the end was near and that he didn't want to be "a burden to my friends."
When Myrtle received the letter, she and Louis drove down and brought Marshal back up to Julian. They put him in a trailer beside their house and tried nursing him back to health. He died a few weeks later on October 22 with Myrtle at his side.
The Bottses paid for the gravesite with help from Marshal South Jr. Jeri said, "Nobody else gave a damn….We were just about the only ones that reached out to him."
Two years later, in November 1950, Louis Botts died of a heart attack. Myrtle kept herself busy as she always did doing community activities. Her mother Edna Smith died in 1971, and she died two years later on December 16, 1973, at the age of 75.
THE PRICE OF FRIENDSHIP
Myrtle paid dearly for befriending Marshal. Their friendship was just the excuse needed by those who harbored some jealously and anger toward Myrtle. Probably Myrtle's self-assurance and love of attention and publicity irked some women. She had failed to credit publicly those who laid the groundwork for her own recognition. She may have felt justified in taking credit when she viewed her own years of hard work and dedication to many civic projects, or she simply may have perceived that she was the driving force for everything that happened. She enjoyed working for the community and was quick to accept projects when asked to do so. She had a sense of history and perhaps wanted to assure her own place in Julian's history.
Fairly consistently, newspaper and magazine articles about the annual flower show overlooked key members of the Julian Woman's Club who actually started the show. Mac McCloud, who was insistent that it be a "wild" flower show instead of a cultivated flower show, was never credited, despite the fact that he was the one to originally involve Myrtle. Although Myrtle did not share the limelight, she kept meticulous details in notes that were unpublished.
Myrtle's own daughter Jeri, who was the town's first librarian, was not mentioned in later newspaper articles that described Myrtle as "the woman who used to check out books from a single room in the telephone office." She was quoted in the San Diego Union in 1968, stating: "I had one shelf of books in the telephone office and I got paid exactly $3.33 cents a month." Later she even took credit for the design and printing of postcards advertising the flower shows—cards that had been designed and originally printed by Marshal South on his own press before he passed on in 1948.
She may also have offended some of the local citizenry who were descendants of the town's founders when she worked on the History of Julian for the town's centennial in 1969. She told the San Diego Union in July 1968 that, "Some of the people living here 100 years ago wrote a lot down, but I'm afraid they were awfully good liars."
Like her friend Marshal, Myrtle was a complex person. Mention of her today in Julian still generates strong opinions, and her many contributions to the community are still evident.
