We are reprising last year’s Christmas story. So, here we go back near 150 years to Christmas at the Sierra Madre Villa.
William Lauren Rhoades Gets a Donkey for Christmas
As you might have guessed, this is a post about a donkey, — a very special donkey.
You see, the donkey was a Christmas present to a seven-year-old boy. Granted, no 21st Century Pasadena kid wants a donkey for Christmas. But, if it’s 1878, and you live in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, then I’d say a donkey for Christmas would be just grand, or whatever superlative kids used back then.
William Lauren Rhoades was born in 1871 and grew up at the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. In his short book, The History of the Famous Sierra Madre Villa Hotel, he devotes several pages to describing a typical Christmas day at the old hotel. He describes one very memorable Christmas morning:
“I well recall Christmas of 1878. After breakfast I was taken to the front of the house and they stood my donkey… and I named her after my mother Jennie.”
There you have it. The donkey was so special, he named it after his mom. And that’s not all. He got a harness and cart with leather seat to hitch up to his donkey, Jennie. Of course, the first thing he did was give his mother a ride.
The guests all stood admiring my delight. I took Mother in it at once and we drove off in style. Many were the happy days I had with the children at the Villa in that turnout.
We will get to the photos in a moment. But first, let’s not give William Lauren Rhoades second billing to a donkey….
William Lauren Rhoades was born in New York in 1871 and, in 1874, moved with his family to southern California. His grandfather, William F. Cogswell, had purchased 473 acres of foothill property on which he would soon build the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. Rhoades’ mother, Jennie, was Cogwell’s daughter.
His father, the genteel William Porter Rhoades, was the manager of the old hotel. Under the elder Rhoades’ guidance, the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel grew in fame and attracted the famous and powerful of the day. Young William Lauren lived and grew up in an extraordinary setting.
And so it was from 1874 to about 1885 when William G. Cogswell, son of the famed painter, took over the hotel and the Rhoades family moved to San Francisco. William Lauren was married in San Francisco but then returned to southern California.
Not surprisingly, William Lauren chose to live in the City of Sierra Madre and bought a place on West Highland Avenue. He was a active in the Audubon Society, Pasadena Historical Society and Braille Club. Most notably, he served many years as president of the Sierra Madre Historical Society.
He was proud of his grandfather’s work and, in a 1932 Pasadena Post piece, noted that Cogswell’s famous Abraham Lincoln portrait “succeeded in getting onto canvas that peculiar complexion which was typical of Lincoln.” Rhoades also pointed out, as we have many many times, that “a copy of the famous painting is owned by the Pasadena Public Library.” (We are still waiting for the Pasadena PL to find the painting.) William Lauren Rhoades died in 1948.
Rhoades was often asked to write the history of the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. Ever respectful of local history, Rhoades obliged with his 25-page book titled “The History of the Famous Sierra Madre Villa Hotel.” Although Rhoades’ memoir was never officially published, the April 19, 1940 Pasadena Post reported that it was “accepted” by the California Historical Society and given to local historical societies.
While Rhoades’ book relates important historical facts and talks about prominent people, I like that he mixes in boy-level memories. Like the tarantulas at the San Gabriel Mission, his fascination with the Chinese use of chopsticks, and the fun of Christmas day. Drawing from Rhoades’ History, I”ve written before about Christmas at the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. It was a unique event with a giant Christmas tree, gift exchanges and a mix of hotel guests, the Rhoades and Cogswell families and Chinese workers.
Then there is the donkey.
No doubt Rhoades, the longtime historical society president, realized it was important to document the Villa’s history. And, when he wrote his History, he probably realized he was among the few still living who experienced the Villa’s hey-day. Seems a rather welcome but heavy burden for a writer.
So, why in a history of a world-famous hotel which hosted dozens of luminaries, did Rhoades include a story about his donkey? Well, maybe it was because the memory of a seven-year old’s joy, wrapped up in a donkey named for his mom, endured through the decades and remained so vivid that it found a paragraph in Rhoades’ 25-page memoir.
The donkey was clearly important to Rhoades, but to a photographer too? The photographs here were taken in 1880 by Carleton Watkins, “one of the most highly acclaimed of early western photographers.” Seems reasonable to assume, but I don’t know for sure that the boy pictured above is William Lauren or the donkey photographed was William’s donkey. Regardless, the eminent Watkins, whose photos helped convince Congress to protect Yosemite Valley, thought enough of the images to direct his considerable talents to the photographs. In fact, Watkins took one photo of Rhoades and two of the donkey.
So, the donkey took the name of Rhoades’ mother, commanded a full paragraph in Rhoades’ memoirs and bagged two Watkins photos. That is one special donkey!
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