San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
@Miss Bigelow
Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik bids adieu.
For 35 years, Leah Garchik, recently crowned an “emerita” Chronicle columnist (meaning she’ll occasionally write for the paper in between enjoying off-deadline jaunts), entertained her devoted fivedays-a-week audience over breakfast. And many of those bold-faced names (Cissie Swig; protocol chief Charlotte Shultz and her husband, The Hon.
George Shultz; Ellen Magnin Newman; recently retired SFFD Chief Joanne Hayes White) turned out in force last week for a spirited fare-thee-well soiree hosted by Chronicle Editor Audrey Cooper.
Yet amid her terrific, 47-year tenure at Fifth and Mission, Leah (and since 1995 when I joined The Chronicle, I’ve never called her “Garchik”) was also a hero to a legion of young women classified as “Schedule C” editorial assistants.
Many of us landed in the newsroom with reportorial stars in our eyes. But those dreams were often deferred by a highly stratified totem pole — the lower rungs of which required daily sorting of eight mail buckets. Those nascent internet days also featured clever hoarding of thermal fax paper (!) and manning the lone Datebook email for at least 25 full-time writers, columnists and critics. Yet proximity to the swirling, ink-infused stardust always dazzled.
Leah was perpetually on deadline. But she always made time to impart encouragement — because she persisted in her dream of breaking through the “assistant ceiling,” finally contributing as a fullfledged writer at the newspaper. She’d patiently listen to gripes, share wise counsel, even wipe away a tear. Leah was our den mother. And her success encouraged us to keep trekking along the newsroom path she paved for so many women.
Brava and thank you, dear Leah.
Splish-splash: Every Hearst Castle visitor dreams of diving into the magnificent 345,000-gallon Neptune Pool atop the San Simeon hillside crowned by an exquisite Spanish renaissance enclave designed
by famed architect Julia Morgan for press baron William Randolph Hearst. (The Chronicle is owned by the Hearst Corp.)
And following the recent Twilight on the Terrace fundraiser for the Foundation at Hearst Castle, that dream is now a reality. Well, for the lucky swans who splash out $500 for a foundation membership and the chance at a VIP pool party (there will be four beginning July 6). Each party is open to 40 foundation members, and each of those members needs a $950 pool party ticket.
The Art Deco-Roman-style pool recently underwent a $10 million makeover to address leaks. And this 36-year-old foundation has also reinvented itself.
The nonprofit continues to support preservation and art conversation at the castle, which is basically a swoon-worthy, world-class museum. But executive director Michael Young has added a STEAM (STEM+Arts) education initiative: introducing underserved middle school students to the castle’s artistic-engineering history and marine science along the nearby coastline.
“Here students will see how technology, and dreams, can make amazing things happen,” said Young. “The castle brings to life what these students are learning in school. They can discover how art, science and math have applications to their lives, to think about their future and inspire them to dream like the man who built this place.”
Fore-get-me-not: Not to be too much of a downer, but the truth is that last year was a very rough one for PlumpJack President Hilary Newsom Callan. Sure, her brother won the governor’s race. But in heartbreaking succession, cancer claimed the lives of adored men in her family: her uncle, Paul Scherer, uncle-in-law Michael Farrah and her beloved father, Judge William Newsom.
Then just days after her 50th birthday in December, Hilary elected to undergo a prophylactic doublemastectomy and reconstruction.
But last month atop the Lake Merced Golf Club greens, Hilary was fit as a fiddle as she and her husband, Geoff Callan, hosted their 20th PlumpJack Golf Classic, raising $300K for San Francisco Cancer Initiative through their PlumpJack Foundation.
Their tournament also has deep meaning: They established it in honor of Callan’s mom, Barbara Callan, a 36-year breast cancer survivor, and Hilary’s mom, Tessa Newsom, who died from breast cancer in 2002.
Yet the event also heralds joy: Hilary and Geoff announced their engagement at the first; and later, the arrivals of their daughters, Talitha and Siena Callan. And in 20 years, they’ve raised almost $6 million for cancer research, education and prevention programs.
Still, Hilary receives calls weekly for advice from people who’ve just received a rare breast cancer or early-stage ovarian diagnosis.
“The science now is so impressive. But the reality of cancer is daunting, it gets you down,” she admits. “But Geoff and I lift ourselves up, knowing our energy for this event raises money for incredible organizations like UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, a partner with the S.F. Department of Health under the SF/Can umbrella.”
Since her mother’s death, Hilary has contemplated her mastectomy choice. But as she does not carry the BRCA breast cancer gene, it was a bold one.
“Everyone asks: ‘If you don’t have BRCA, why do this?’ ” she says. “I chose this because my mother was diagnosed with stage-four cancer at 52 and died at 57. We think she was BRCA-negative, too. So there’s no guarantees.”
Hilary was also emotionally prepared and believes in the power of sharing health stories to yield information, resources and exchange of best practices.
“I just turned 50. My pathology came back clear. Now I can eliminate a stressful reality that’s been weighing on me,” she continues. “This choice is about self-care and being your own best advocate. I did this for my family; I did this for my daughters.”