In the 1970s I received this short bio of Ralph E. Wall from daughter Laura Wall Taylor
“Ralph E. Wall
“He started to work for the Ocean Shore R.R. in April of 1912. As he, my mother, and oldest sister, rode the train down to Tunitas Glen, they were pleased with the Depots, as they were going to live in the one at Tunitas. When they got there, they found it was a two-room tar-paper shack. My mother was pregnant with my sister, Katherine, who was born there on April 30, 1912. The Dr. drove by horse from Pescadero because they couldn’t reach Dr. Brooke in Half Moon Bay. Tunitas was the end of the tracks and from there one went by stagecoach or a Stanley Steamer, to Swanton, to pick up the train tracks again to finish the trip to Santa Cruz. The Ocean Shore never finished building the track line thru to Santa Cruz. My oldest sister, Louise, reached school age (6) in 1914 and they moved to the Depot in Moss Beach so she could go to school.
In 1915, my father left the R.R. and came to San Francisco to drive a jitney during the World’s Fair. After the Fair, there was little work, and he returned to the Ocean Shore R.R.
In August 1916, they moved to Half Moon Bay, and my next sister, Ella, was born Nov 4, 1916, in the Depot. I surprised them and was born Dec. 20, 1917, also in the Depot. In 1918, my father hurt his back, and perhaps seeing the decline of the R.R. went to work for Standard Oil driving a truck. In July, 1919, we left Half Moon Bay and moved to San Francisco, where my father continued to work for Standard Oil, only now it was in a service station.
The Depot was located on the east side of the tracks. When my sister, Katherine, was born, the Asst. Gen. Mgr. of the Ocean Shore, a Mr. Randall, sent my folks a telegram of congratulations, and asked, seeing as how she would probably be called Katie or KT, that her middle name be Tunitas. She was given the name. She is no longer living but my other sisters still are here.
Laura Wall Taylor
San Francisco
[Note: I communicated with Laura and her sisters in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Laura gave me a beautifully designed place setting for a party that the Tunitas Creek sculptress Sybil Easterday and her mom, Flora, were hosting at their home. I donated the art to the San Mateo County History Museum, along with some photos of the railroad at Tunitas.]