Perry Newberry
Mayor Perry Newberry (1922)
5th Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea
In office
1922–1924
Preceded byWilliam L. Maxwell
Succeeded byWilliam T. Kibbler
Personal details
Born
Perry Harmon Newberry

(1870-10-16)October 16, 1870
Union City, Michigan, US
DiedDecember 6, 1938(1938-12-06) (aged 68)
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, US
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1892; died 1934)​
    Ida L. Brooks
    ​
    (m. 1936)​
    OccupationWriter, actor, director, mayor
    Known forMayor and publisher of the Carmel Pine Cone

    Perry Harmon Newberry (October 16, 1870 – December 6, 1938) was an American writer, actor, and director. He was a past editor and publisher of the Carmel Pine Cone and the fifth mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Newberry is best known for his efforts to "keep Carmel free from tourists." At his death the Pine Cone said he was "Perry Newberry...Creator of Carmel." He lived in Carmel for 28 years.[1][2]

    Early life

    Newberry was born on October 16, 1870, in Union City, Michigan. His parents were Captain Frank D. Newberry (1840-1912) and Frances "Fannie" Ellsworth Stone (1848-1942). His father served in the American Civil War. His mother, began a career as a writer of children's literature. Newberry married Bertha Blair in 1892.[1][3]

    Career

    Newberry was a printer and real estate agent in Chicago. In 1897, he and his wife Bertha, came to San Francisco and was reporter and editor of several newspapers, including on the art department of the San Francisco Examiner, and the San Francisco Post. He purchased the San Francisco Wave in 1901. He went to Frank Coppa's restaurant, known among Bohemians in San Francisco where he heard about an art colony at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He and his wife came to Carmel in 1910 by stage coach.[1][4]

    He bought one of the first lots sold by Frank Devendorf and Frank Powers in 1910.[3] The Perry Newberry Cottage, or "Sticks and Stones" Craftsman-style house was built in 1937 by builder Maynard McEntire. It can be found on the northern side of Vista Avenue, specifically the second house to the west of Junipero Avenue.[5][6]

    Black Boulder Claim by Perry Newberry (1926).

    Newberry remarried Ida L. Brooks, a Berkeley public health nurse in September 1936. His first wife Bertha died several years prior to this.[7]

    Forest Theater

    Program for Alice in Wonderland in 1912

    Newberry became involved with the Forest Theater Society of Carmel. He became actor, producer, playwright, and president at the Forest Theater.[8]

    On July 9, 1910, Herbert Heron produced the first of the annual theatrical productions at the Forest Theater. The play was David, a biblical drama by Constance Lindsay Skinner under the direction of Garnet Holme of UC Berkeley. Newberry's wife, Bertha, had a role in the play.[9] The play was reviewed in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and was reported that over 1,000 theatergoers attended the production.[10]

    The second play was the Twelfth Night, produced on July 3 and 4, 1911 at the Forest Theater. Newberry played the character Sir Toby Belch.[9][1]

    In July 1912, Newberry produced the play Alice in Wonderland, at the Forest Theater, which was a dramatization of Lewis Carroll's book.[9]

    In 1917, Newberry enlisted as a soldier during World War I and served as a YMCA secretary with the 77th division, American Expeditionary Forces. He was gassed in the war.[2] He developed a plan, that the Monterey County endorsed, to arm and equip a military body of men for the defense of the county and coast line.[11]

    Politics

    Ex-mayor and author Perry Newberry reading 'Mass Meeting' sign on community bulletin board on February 1, 1924.

    In the late 1920s, Newberry, concerned about Carmel's growth and being commercialized, he entered city politics. In 1922, he was elected to the Carmel board of trustees and became the fifth mayor of Carmel. Newberry was known for his efforts to "keep Carmel free from tourists," and Keep Carmel off the Map."[1][12]

    Believing that what 9.999 towns out of 10,000 want is just what Carmel shouldn't have, I am a candidate for trustee on the platform, DONT'T BOOST! I am making a spirited campaign to win by asking those who disagree with me to vote against me.

    Don't Vote for Perry Newberry
    If you hope to see Carmel become a city.
    If you want its growth boosted.
    If you desire its commercial success.
    If street lamps on its corners mean happiness to you.
    If concrete street pavements represent your civic ambitions.

    Don't Vote For Perry Newberry[13]

    He was elected again in 1929 as city trustee and a second term as mayor on a similar anti-expansion platform.[4][14]

    Carmel city attorney, Argyll Campbell, shared the same philosophy as Newberry. They were both known for their efforts to prevent the town from becoming "another Santa Cruz," with beach amusements and commercial tourist attractions. Campbell even suggested "building a wall around the town and restricting entry," much like the neighboring community of Pebble Beach, California.[4][12][15]

    In 1926, Newberry was the editor and co-publisher of the local weekly newspaper Carmel Pine Cone. He was the paper's co-publisher until he sold it in 1935.[16][17]

    Plays

    Books

    • The Last Mayor of Las Pasturas (1911)
    • Tom Westlake's Golden Luck: A Story of Adventure in California (1913)
    • Castaway Island (1917)
    • The Million Dollar Suitcase (1922) with Alice MacGowan
    • The Mystery Woman (1924) with Alice MacGowan
    • Shaken Down (1925) Alice MacGowan
    • Black Boulder Claim (1926)
    • The Seventh Passenger (1926)
    • Forward Ho! A Story of the Argonne (1927)
    • Who Is This Man? (1927) with Alice MacGowan
    • The Houseboat Mystery (1935)

    Death

    Newberry died on December 6, 1938, from heart failure, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, at age 68.[1]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Perry Newberry, Writer And Former Carmel Mayor, Dies". Salinas Morning Post. Salinas, California. December 7, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
    2. 1 2 3 4 "We Lose Perry Newberry, Guardian of Old Carmel, a Friend and Counsellor". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. December 9, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
    3. 1 2 "His checkered career path led from tinker and soldier to Journalist" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. December 27, 2019. p. 30. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
    4. 1 2 3 Wright, Connie (2014). "Perry Newberry: Our One Man Band". Stories of old Carmel: A Centennial Tribute From The Carmel Residents Association. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Carmel Residents Assoc. pp. 19–20. OCLC 940565140.
    5. ↑ "Homes of Famous Carmelites" (PDF). ci.carmel.ca.us. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. 1992. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
    6. ↑ Dramov, Alissandra; Momboisse, Lynn A. (2016). Historic Homes And Inns Of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 9781467103039. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
    7. ↑ "Perry Newberry to Marry Berkeley Nurse Saturday". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. September 9, 1936. p. 2. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
    8. ↑ Edwards, Robert W. (2012). Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel and Berkeley Art Colonies, Vol. 1 (PDF). Oakland, Calif.: East Bay Heritage Project. p. 39. ISBN 9781467545679.
    9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Forest Theater Plays". Harrison Memorial Library. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. July 9, 1910. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
    10. ↑ "Poet Walks With Plumber In Play". he San Francisco Call. San Francisco, California. July 10, 1910. p. 39. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
    11. ↑ "County Council Of Defense Meets". The Californian. Salinas, California. October 3, 1917. p. 4. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
    12. 1 2 Hudson, Monica (2006). Carmel-by-the-sea. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Arcadia. p. 64. ISBN 9780738531229. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
    13. ↑ Bostick, Daisy F.; Castelhun, Dorothea (1925). Carmel--at Work and Play. Seven arts. p. 21. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
    14. ↑ "First Poet Mayor Will Allow No Civic Boosting, No Industries, No Cement Sidewalks, No Paved Streets". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, California. April 27, 1922. p. 9. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
    15. ↑ Wright, Connie (2014). "Argyll Campbell: A Man Who Truly Loved Carmel". Stories of old Carmel: A Centennial Tribute From The Carmel Residents Association. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Carmel Residents Assoc. pp. 19–20. OCLC 940565140.
    16. ↑ Hale, Sharron Lee (1980). A Tribute to Yesterday: The History of Carmel, Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Point Lobos, Carmelite Monastery, and Los Burros. Santa Cruz, California: Valley Publishers. pp. 54–55. ISBN 9780913548738. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
    17. ↑ Lindsey, Robert (July 1, 1984). "Carmel's Charm Resists the Tide of Change". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
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