Final Day

Come and get it. 10am-6pm; extended hours for last minute, after-work shopping.

Extended

Open today 10am-4pm

We're open. Now through Sunday night.

We're getting ready...

Alison Kendall's new paintings

Countdown! Open this Friday, Dec. 18th!

Amber's mittens!

Come see for yourself.

Find us on Twitter @lestersstore.

http://twitter.com/lestersstore

Clare and Ali show paintings at Acupuncture Kitchen Dec. 10th! See new works at The Lesters Store opening, Dec. 18-20th.

http://www.acupuncturekitchen.com/events.html

Preview: Clothing designs from Amber McInnis

Clare Judith Bowers paintings at The Lesters Store

Jessica Martin sculpture at The Lesters!

http://www.jmartinart.com/

Check back for a preview of her new paintings, on display at The Lesters Store grand, ephemeral opening, Dec. 18-20th in Healdsburg, CA.

Sneek Peek: Country Industrial, "Purveyors of fine rustica." Available at our grand, ephemeral store opening Dec. 18-20th.

The Lesters at Arboretum Apparel

We're pleased to announce:
The Lesters Store window display November 22 at Arboretum Apparel in Healdsburg.

Thanks Teagan

Thank you to Teagan Tall, a San Francisco graphic designer,
for the shout out. We'll see you soon.

San Miguel Island

MEET THE LESTERS STORE TEAM

THE LESTERS STORE is a project from friends Alison Kendall and Megan Mansell Williams, based on their scientific expeditions to San Miguel Island in the early 2000s and the stories of the Lester family.

The idea for the store has its roots on the rugged island of San Miguel, in the Channel Islands National Park, where Ali and Megan, both trained marine biologists, conducted a biodiversity study of the intertidal; walked on long, endless, shipwrecked beaches; tiptoed silently through a caliche forest; bobbed among cartoonish, giant coreopsis; and read books in the field station to escape the wind.

One of the books encountered was The Legendary King of San Miguel, about the life of Herbie Lester and his family, who lived on the island in the 1930s. From the field station today, it's a short walk out to the site of Herbie's Killer Whale Bar, where he entertained luminaries from the mainland and showed off his collection of shipwreck paraphernalia.

THE LESTERS project embraces design, decor, branding, marketing, and more. We're celebrating our first year in business with a series of ephemeral, pop-up store openings. Our first event takes place December 18-20, 2009, when we'll fill "the loft" in downtown Healdsburg with items we admire that harken back to another time and remind us, if not solely of the Lesters and of San Miguel Island, of Herbie's love for collecting and his love for the landscape around him.

We hope to meet you soon,

Megan + Ali

A History of San Miguel Island
& the Lesters

Human occupation on the island dates as far back as 10,700 years ago. There are at least 542 Native American archaeological sites on the island. The Chumash Indians called San Miguel "Tuqan."

The first European to land on San Miguel was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer, on October 18, 1542. Cabrillo's expedition named the islands of San Miguel and nearby Santa Rosa, "Islas de San Lucas." He later changed the name of San Miguel Island to "La Posesion."

Cabrillo wintered on San Miguel Island in 1542, during which time he broke either an arm or a leg that later became infected. He died as a result of his injury on January 3, 1543, and many believe he was buried on the island, although his grave was never found.

In 1937, the Cabrillo Civic Clubs of California, a statewide Portuguese organization, placed a monument to Cabrillo on a knoll overlooking Cuyler Harbor on San Miguel Island.

After Cabrillo's death, the island was renamed "Juan Rodrigues" or "la Capitana" in his honor. In 1748, however, it appeared as "San Bernardo," a name adopted by Miguel Costanso on his 1770 map. The name "San Miguel" won acceptance by English explorer George Vancouver in 1793.

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded California to the U.S. Government, but the Channel Islands were not included. The treaty was redrawn a few years later, but San Miguel Island was again inadvertently omitted from the the list of islands the United States was to acquire. In 1895, Great Britain intended to take advantage of this technicality and acquire a coaling station between Vancouver and the Hawaiian Islands. President Grover Cleveland must have heard of the threat, some say, for in July, 1896, Nicholas Covarrubias, a local U.S. Marshall, was ordered to sail with a group of surveyors to appropriate the property. The surveyors completed their work, and the island was assumed to be a United States Possession from then on.

As on the other Channel Islands, squatters, fisherman, and otter hunters lived on the island over the years. In the 18th and 19th centuries, fur trappers came to the island in search of sea otters (Enhydra lutris).

Ranching began on the island around 1850. Early "owners" of the islands were owners by possession only. The first record of a long term resident on San Miguel Island was George Nidever. Nidever purchased 6,000 sheep, 125 head of cattle, and 25 horses and "All the right, title, interest, claim and ownership..." to one half of the island. The sale was made by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff to settle the debts of Samuel C. Bruce. This is the first recorded deed for San Miguel Island. It is unknown how Samuel Bruce obtained his interest.

San Miguel Island was bought and sold several times over the next 18 years. In 1887, one half of the island was sold to William G. Waters for $10,000. Captain Waters was a veteran of the Civil War and a commissioned officer with the Fifteenth Massachusetts. After the war he moved to California and resumed his trade as printer.

In 1888, Captain Waters moved his wife, adopted daughter, maid, and ranch hands to the island and began ranching. In 1897, Waters formed the San Miguel Island Company with the assistance of investors. In 1908, Waters and investor Elias Beckman became involved in a lawsuit which resulted in the U.S. Government exercising its right of ownership.

Between 1911 and 1948. San Miguel Island saw its share of lessees . One of these was Robert Brooks. Brooks hired his long time friend, Herbert Lester, to help manage the island. Lester was a victim of shell shock from World War I. After spending years in an Army hospital, Brooks felt the island would help him.

In 1930, Lester and his wife Elizabeth moved to San Miguel Island. They lived in the house originally built by Captain Waters and had two daughters on the island. They seldom went to the mainland and when it came time to educate the children, Mrs. Lester did it herself. Herbert Lester became quite proficient in obtaining unusual memorabilia from shipwrecks and displayed them in his Killer Whale Bar. Lester even proclaimed himself "King of San Miguel." Lester's endless charm and astonishingly likable personality, together with Elizabeth's humor and intellect, served as a magnet to draw famous people out to the island. In 1935, Mutiny on the Bounty was filmed near the island.

Sadly, Herbert Lester, despondent over his health and ever tightening Navy restrictions, committed suicide in 1942. He was buried above Harris Point on San Miguel Island. His wife Elizabeth raised her children on the mainland. In 1974, she published The Legendary King of San Miguel, a history of her life on the island. She died in 1981 and is buried next to her husband.

In 1948, the Navy revoked Robert Brook's lease and ordered him off the land within 72 hours. Brooks left behind much of his belongings and livestock.

Sheep grazed undisturbed until the 1960s when the Navy ordered the elimination of all the animals. In 1966, the last 148 sheep were hunted and eliminated. The island continued to be a central point for naval training well into the 1970's. In 1980, San Miguel Island became part of the Channel Islands National Park.

Sources:
Santa Cruz Island Foundation
Channel Islands National Park, San Miguel Island

READ ABOUT BETSY LESTER ROBERTI, HERBIE AND ELIZABETH LESTER'S DAUGHTER