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Description
Beryl Jean Symmes grew up in Richmond, Surrey, England. In 1943 she met Laurence M. Symmes Jr., an American serviceman. They married in 1947, and Laurence brought her to Mill Valley where he had settled after the war with his aunt Ruth Boericke White, the widow of Ralston White, who owned the Garden of Allah. Beryl and Laurence spent two weeks living at the famous Mill Valley residence before moving into their own home, named El Nido (The Nest), at 309 Tamalpais Avenue. In this written oral history narrative, read by the author on the recording, Beryl recounts the history of the Garden of Allah and El Nido, and that of their owners and inhabitants, in the context of major events like the 1906 Earthquake and the Great Fire of 1929. She recalls many friends and neighbors from over six decades of living in Mill Valley, and relates the development of the family she started with Laurence. Beryl also describes her foray into novel-writing, which commenced in the 1970s under the pen name Geraldine Boyce and led to the publication of three novels by the time this oral history was recorded, including the well-received A Daughter's Inheritance, published in 2012.
Identifier
05F7F3A6-1FEC-4F3D-A3B1-556876548114 2016.059.001
Subject
1929 Fire Authors - Marin County Civil service Earthquakes El Nido Fires Garden of Allah Lyon, Laura Marin Grand Jury Military service MV history - Baby boom years (1950s and early 1960s) MV history - Music and counterculture (1960s and 1970s) Oral history - Visual, performing, literary arts Ralston L. White Retreat Rudebeck, Bob Rudebeck, Priscilla San Francisco Junior League Symmes, Anthony Symmes, Jonathan Symmes, Marilyn Symmes, William White, Lovell Williams, Elizabeth World War II Writers
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