Where's Huell? (July 5-11)
Living pictures. Squeezeboxes. Giant trees. And more. Monday - July 5, 7:30pm: On Stage - Huell visits two unique outdoor California theaters with long traditions of their own. First stop is the Spreckles Organ in San Diego, the world's largest outdoor organ. Weekly summer concerts have been an event there since 1915. Then, the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, where the unique art form tableaux vivants, or "living pictures," is practiced to amazing effect.
Tuesday - July 6, 7:30pm: Getty Villa - In 1945, J. Paul Getty acquired his Malibu retreat which now includes a Romanesque gallery full of priceless art. Huell also tours the propety’s historically-accurate Ancient Roman crop garden. Here's a sneak peek at the museum's collection.
Wednesday - July 7, 7:30pm: Sauerkraut - In 1896 the Kruegermann family started making pickles in Germany. The family immigrated to California in 1965 with their secret family recipes for not only pickles but sauerkraut as well. Huell spends the day with this wonderful family at their 25,000-foot facility and learns all about the art of sauerkraut. Okay. So this film doesn't have anything to do with sauerkraut. But it does have to do with fermenting — the same process used to make sauerkraut. This time-lapse of fermenting beer, might make you think twice before ordering a tall one the next time you hit the bars.
Thursday - July 8, 7:30pm: Trees of Mystery - The giant statue of Paul Bunyan greets visitors to this family run road-side attraction that has been open since the 1930's. Huell hops on a ski lift for a tree-top tour through the impossibly tall California Redwoods. On his travels, he comes across some well known Redwoods: the Cathedral Tree — nine trees tightly knit together through overlapping roots; and the Brotherhood Tree, which, even after losing the top 74 feet in a storm, is still one of the largest living things in the world at19 feet in diameter, 60 feet in circumference and 297 feet tall. This tree makes even Huell seem small. Today there are great efforts to preserve these forests, but in California's not-too-distant-past, Redwood logging was a far-reaching and profitable business. Here's a 1947 reel about California's booming Redwood lumber industry.
Friday - July 9, 7:30pm: Hearst Castle Landcape - Huell tours the gardens of the world-famous Hearst Castle on our state’s central coast. These home movies show Hearst walking the grounds of his San Simeon and his pets that fill the on-site zoo.
Saturday - July 10, 7 pm: Placerville - Join Huell as he visits Placerville, founded after the highly publicized discovery of gold in 1848 in the tailrace section at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, only 10 miles away. The resulting migration of thousands of fortune-seekers established Placerville as an important supply center for the surrounding mining camps. Mining has always been a hazardous line of work. Here's a brief history of the industry, and its increased federal regulation over the decades.
Sunday - July 11, 7 pm: Cotati - What do you do if there are no good accordion festivals in your neighborhood? You start one. Huell Howser travels to the City of Cotati in Sonoma County and takes in the festivities at the 12th annual Cotati Accordion Festival. Here's a short DIY doc on the festival.
