Buy and Donate all in one! 20% sales revenue helps out Evergreen and Ocean Health

For every copy of "Ghosts in the Gulch" sold, 20 % of proceeds goes to Evergreen Cemetery Restoration and  UCSC's Ocean Health Education Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Evergreen Cemetery is the resting place for many of Santa Cruz's non-Catholic founders and longtime residents.
Established privately in 1850, its first burial was a young girl named Julia Arcan. She lived all of 19 days, born after her mother, Abigail Arcan, endured a wagon train disaster of epic proportions. This terrible journey and the historical journal published by its leader, William Manly. started a famous rumor. Death Valley Monument State Park, it is claimed, was named that by Abigail Arcan as she turned around to face, one last time, the view of the valley where they had lost all their belongings. It was recorded inaccurately that Abigail said: "Goodbye valley of Death." No one can accurately say which of this ill fated party said this particular phrase, but Manly has a mountain nearby named for him and the park is a fantastic site to visit in the Spring.
Julia Arcan died 19 days after this family's arrival in Santa Cruz. The rest of the family survived, however, and continues to thrive. You may view a precious family artifact, explore the history of this wonderful family, and view the exposition here commemorating this arduous and tragic journey
Officially a "public" cemetery, Evergreen was bought by the City Trustees for $1.00 in 1859. Today, a few burials a year are conducted by descendants who still own plots within this wonderful green space.
The Cemetery is open to the public and the tours can be booked in advance by clicking here

If you would like to support renovation and restoration of this historic site, direct donate to Evergreen Cemetery.

Our Ocean is like no other...

Santa Cruzans pride themselves in being the original Surf City. Hawaiian Princes set out on homemade redwood boards in the 1880s and surfed what is now called the San Lorenzo River Mouth.
Ocean Health and its preservation ever drive us to protect our precious resources. Part of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary is a blessing, but in order to maintain and keep our ocean health, education is the key. Nothing says love for our ocean than teaching the next generation to preserve and study it.
The University of California at Santa Cruz and the Long Marine Lab have a unique Ocean Health Studies program that contributes to our Ocean's Health, not just locally, but globally.
Please donate to the memorial fund for J. Gordon Smith, a research vessel Captain who was tragically gunned down in his office in 2013. This fund helps provide scholarships to those students interested in the Ocean Health Studies program. To direct donate or for more information please click here.