Gale Wrausmann is the owner and guide of Carmel Walks tours.
This article appeared
in a recent Carmel publication.
Gale Wrausmann and her Airedale
are a familiar sight walking around Carmel
followed
by visitors interested in learning about the village.
Gale Wrausmann—in her own words
Kay Ambro intended to write a profile of Gale Wrausmann but a long power outage kept her from finishing. Because Gale had provided well-written, fascinating comments, we decided that they can stand on their own. Wrausmann has a BA in math and MBA from UC, Berkeley. She is a walking-tour guide, photographer, classical pianist, world traveler and former corporate executive.
“While living in San Francisco, I spent many years visiting Carmel and playing tournament golf. I won a few tournaments here, including a division of the California State Women’s Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach in 1976. Laird Small was my caddie!
“During those years, I had the opportunity to stay with my Airedale in Edward Weston’s cabin in Wildcat Canyon. At that time his original darkroom was intact. My days were spent photographing the area, and evenings spent reading the diary of his experiences in Carmel, while listening to Bach (his favorite composer).
“I moved to Carmel in 1995 ... lured by its nature, culture, golf, love of dogs and most of all as a mecca for photographers. The Shivas Irons Golf Society offered me a part-time position here. We held a conference at Stanford University with Michael Murphy, Ram Dass, George Leonard and Fred Shoemaker—exploring golf as a vehicle for personal growth and transformation. I played the Stanford Golf Course with Michael Murphy, who signed a copy of his classic book, Golf in the Kingdom, for me, ‘For Gale—of gorgeous swing. With admiration, Michael Murphy.’ That day I couldn’t miss a putt, even though I hadn’t played for some time. I concluded that looking through the viewfinder of my camera all those years sharpened my ability to read the lines of putts. It was a lesson that you can’t compartmentalize your life experiences ... everything you love to do enriches other things you do.
“Carmel was originally built during the Arts and Crafts movement, which fostered the idea of ‘living in simplicity, in harmony with nature.’ I have always collected Arts and Crafts furniture, and appreciated the ideals of that movement. When I saw photographs of early Carmel, I had an instant affinity with the spirit that created such a unique place.
“I saw Carmel as a haven for creativity and spirituality. Since my primary reason for moving here was photography, I began photographing the village with the idea of doing a book. Fascinated by my discoveries, I shared them with friends and neighbors ... places like Salvador Dali’s apartment, the cottage where John Steinbeck originally met Ed Ricketts, a cottage built by Julia Morgan and tiles she created for Hearst Castle, the clubhouse of the first golf course built along the waterfront, Edward Weston’s photo studio, Mary Austin’s first log cabin home and a house made of 57 ships. This evolved into Carmel Walks, a guided tour featuring the history, artists and architecture of Carmel, which I’ve been giving for 12 years. You can set off in any direction in Carmel and find something of interest. There is beauty in the details. Carmel has 60 hidden courtyards and lots of secret pathways worth exploring. I know of no other place like it. After I gave a tour to USA Today, the author of the article advised Carmel walkers to ‘close their wallets and open their souls.’
“I have had people from every state and almost every country in the world on my tours. They find Carmel a place of inspiration and often bring home ideas to share with their own communities. Over the years, many have been inspired to express their talents while walking through town. Broadway actors performed for us on the stage of the Forest Theater, architects spoke of the influence of European style on American buildings in the 1920s, the woman whose face inspired her husband to write the song, ‘The First Time Ever I saw Your Face,’ sang it for us and poets have shared haiku poetry.
“It’s important that Carmel remain a place of inspiration and freedom of expression. That is what it was originally about. We’re often concerned with re-creating or preserving things from the past, but if we only focus on the outward sense of things without the spirit that prompted their expression, we get forms without real substance.
“On the tour I ask foreign visitors from unusual countries to tell us something we might not know about their homeland. Inevitably this leads to a broader conversation about their culture. Many of them are visibly moved that Americans care. This interaction provides an opportunity for understanding, appreciation and healing.”
[Gale’s photography book on Carmel will be released later this year. You can view some of her photographs on the web site www.carmelwalks.com. Her photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Santa Fe and San Francisco and have won international awards.”— ed.]