Just how mom's cousin and her husband came to own a hotel on Catalina was never really made clear to us. I guess it fell under "not our business" so we didn't ask. Bob, Shela's husband, was a quite guy that kept to himself. Shela on the other hand was an out going person that was a friend to everyone she met. She was a pretty woman and liked very well by the other islanders. I truely believe that she knew everyone on the island by their first name. Actually, Shela is an entire story of her own. A story I'll tell at another time. She was very much the person portrayed in the movie "Auntie Mame". 

My brother and I were playing in the hotel court yard one fine California day when we heard Shela shout a greeting to someone. This of course brought us back into the real world from where ever our imagination had us exploring. We looked up to see the biggest sun tanned and just plain scarey man we'd ever seen. Little brother ran and hid behind a palm tree. At first I thought the man was naked. He had on a "billed" captains hat, A pair of old Ked's canvas shoes and white "Charles Atlas" type swim trunks that gave the very minimum of coverage. This guy had muscles on top of muscles. Sort of reddish hair all over his body along with a zillion freckles.  He smelled like suntan lotion and scared me silly. I was hoping there was room for two behind that palm tree. Then the guy smiled. It was the friendliest smile I'd ever seen. He stuck out his big paw of a hand and said call me Duke. Shela walked up and said "I see you've met the Duke". Thus entered the Duke into my world. Duke was a fixture on Catalina. Local color so to speak. In Bob and Shela's case, Duke came with the hotel. He had lived there at one time. Bob let him store some weight lifting equipment in a cabana just off the court yard. The Duke would drop by from time to time to work-out or do odd jobs around the hotel. Knowing Duke would prove to be a benefit in my future.

Not far from the hotel was a large walled in court yard. It contained several small open front shops that sold souvenirs and keepsakes of all kinds. There was also a mini-movie theater and hot dog stand. However, the "hands down" neatest shop was the glass blower. The place was ran by two older gentlemen. Both were fantastic artist where glass was concerned. They turned out an array of beautiful glass objects. Words cannot describe or do justice to the creations turned out in that shop. All made from glass tubes heated red hot and hand formed as you watched. I got to be friends with both fellows. They even let me try my hand at making something. After several attempts I managed to produce an acceptable small glass fish. In two colors no less. My mom still has that little fish. A gift from me to her.

The glass blowers were very popular. I wouldn't hazard a guess at how many of their creations left the island as souvenirs. Many ladies would stop by the glass blowers shop as they went for a night of dancing at the Casino ballroom. The stop was made so the ladies could have the old guys make a very thin glass bubble that was blown up to the point of bursting. This bubble, when it burst, showered tiny glass fragments into the hair and on the dresses of the ladies. This created tiny jewel like sparkles as light reflected off the tiny bits of glass. I often wondered if the whole idea wasn't dangerous. Oh the price of vanity!