Elise Acker
A&E Staff Writer
Pepperdine benefactor Dorothy D. Stotsenberg can add another notch to her list of literary undertakings.
The longtime writer and Malibu resident had a signing for her new book “My Fifty Years in Malibu” Tuesday in the sculpture garden of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art. The signing coincided with the opening reception of “The Eclectic Eye” exhibit at the museum.
As major financial contributors to the campus, the Stotsenbergs have lent their name and support to a number of campus activities including the Stotsenberg Recital Series, the Stotsenberg International Classical Guitar Competition, the Stotsenberg Track and Pepperdine’s Center for the Arts.
Stotsenberg said she was inspired to support Pepperdine arts programs because her mother was an artist. Stotsenberg also said she minored in music in college.
Stotsenberg, born in Wisconsin in 1914, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and her master’s degree in journalism from UCLA. Stotsenberg and her late husband, Ed, moved to Malibu in 1949.
It was Stotsenberg’s interest in local history and journalism that eventually produced her book, which she described as a compilation of articles she wrote for the Malibu Surfside News, the Malibu Times and the Santa Monica Evening Outlook.
“My Fifty Years in Malibu” took Stotsenberg nearly three years to compile.
She said her desire was to “collect the [most memorable] things about Malibu’s history for everybody” to read.
“I would recommend [this book] to anyone who loves local history in general,” said Rick Gibson, who designed the cover for the book.
Gibson, who has been fielding calls from local newspapers about some of the photos of Old Malibu Road and other pictures of historic Malibu, said they are some of his favorite aspects of the book for their portrayal of historic Malibu.
“Obviously the photos were pretty exciting,” he said.
Among the historic images featured in the book are photos of old Malibu Play Days. When it was just a village in the 1950s, Malibu’s Township Council called upon Stotsenberg to coordinate these themed summer festivals with a home-style cookout, rides in a fire truck and a potluck supper with a square dance.
Gibson said he also enjoyed reading the historical stories Stotsenberg tells in her book because they offer insight into “how Malibu was formed before celebrities and Pepperdine came into play.”
The early part of the book narrates Malibu’s origins and eventual ownership. It began as the native land of the Chumash Native-American civilization and became the Tapia family’s property. Later ownership was transferred to Don Mateo Keller, and the land finally belonged to Frederick Hastings Rindge and his wife, who owned the renowned Malibu castle.
Rindge fought to prevent the development of a public highway open to through traffic across her 27-mile long rancho, but she eventually lost the battle after 33 years of litigation, and Pacific Coast Highway was constructed through Malibu.
One of the significant events Stotsenberg said she witnessed in Malibu was the city’s transformation from a place with “more horses than people” into a college town. She said the coming of George Pepperdine College, now Pepperdine University, was an event in Malibu history that brought her much joy.
In one chapter titled “Then Came Pepperdine!” Stotsenberg recalls riding with a friend to the top of a hill that overlooked Malibu Lagoon and wondering what would become of the area.
Ten years later, the answer came: an 830-acre campus for a Christian college.
Stotsenberg’s book, which chronicles Malibu’s development from Native American land to an incorporated city with a university, offers a broad sweep of Malibu history and culture through the eyes of a longtime resident.
“The word is out on this book,” Pepperdine bookstore employee Mark Jackson said.
“My Fifty Years in Malibu” is on sale at the Pepperdine bookstore for $20.
08-29-2005
