Ownership group will donate $100,000 over four years
Published in the May 11-25, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
Morgan Hill Life file photo
Hikers enjoys the trails in Henry W. Coe State Park.
Ladera Grill has grown into a downtown dining destination known throughout the Bay Area for its fine food and wine and friendly service. Thanks to a $100,000 grant program the restaurant owners have developed, Ladera will now play a key role in helping improve the visitor experience at Henry W. Coe State Park, the wilderness getaway east of Morgan Hill.
Ladera’s founder Dan McCranie, along with his son Morgan and chef Tony Garcia, have set up a special partnership with the nonprofit Pine Ridge Association organization made up of hundreds of volunteers who help keep the park open and assist visitors to ensure they have a pleasant experience. The restaurant will provide a cumulative cash grant to the PRA to fund projects such as maintaining trails and spring water sources. Money will also be used to develop interpretive projects to help educate visitors and students on the natural resources found in the nearly 90,000-acre park which attracts about 50,000 visitors a year.
Some of Ladera’s staff and PRA Board President Daniel Benefiel (in blue shirt) pose under the tarantula art piece on the downtown parking garage.
Photo courtesy Dan McCranie
A longtime nature lover, McCranie moved from Florida to the Silicon Valley in 1980 to work in the burgeoning semiconductor industry as the personal computer created a new market for high-tech products. The grind of working long hours six days a week and constant traveling for business meetings caused him to seek out challenging hikes through the Bay Area to deal with the stress. One life-changing day, the businessman followed East Dunne Avenue up a winding 10-mile climb through some of the most pristine ranch land in the Diablo Range. Arriving at the “headquarters entrance” at the end of the road, he stepped out of his car and felt spellbound gazing at the majestic splendor of the oak-spotted hills and the quiet tranquility of what once was a cattle ranch owned in the early 20th century by cowboy Henry Coe.
“I said, ‘Holy cow!’ It’s really kind of nice to just hike out there,” he recalled his discovery of the park.
He also learned the park’s history. “When I first hit California from the East Coast, I was impressed with the rounded, complicated shape of these hills and the nine months of the year that they’re golden, and these large oak trees,” he said. “Then there’s the cowboy history of California. If you go into Coe, you really step back into what it was like in the 19th century. You also have the panoramas, the vistas. You just can’t see it anywhere else in Silicon Valley.”
The park’s diversity of terrain and topology amazed McCranie. With only a 30-minute drive from his house, he made Henry Coe a weekend ritual, exploring the various trails by taking day hikes, backpacking and mountain biking. He became involved as a member of the PRA, joining the board and serving for 15 years as the treasurer. During that time, the PRA developed interpretive programs designed to introduce Henry Coe to families and individuals. Many people discovered the park when they came to check out the Tarantula Fest in October, the Mother’s Day Breakfast, Ranch Days and the springtime Backcountry Weekend, which opened up the restricted Oristimba Wilderness area of the park.
The description of why a tarantula adorns the parking garage. Ladera owner Dan McCranie chose this spot as it represents Henry W. Coe State Park, which he is supporting through a grant to the nonprofit Pine Ridge Association.
Photo courtesy Dan McCranie
Even though it’s the second largest state park in California (after San Diego County’s nearly 600,000 acre Anza-Borrego State Park), Henry Coe’s splendid desolation as a getaway into nature has made it one of the least visited in the state park system. Despite the fact that California’s parks system employ 2,500 permanent staff and 2,700 seasonal workers, the vastness of Henry Coe is usually patrolled by only one ranger. That means PRA volunteers must help with the Visitors Center and making sure trails and springs are maintained. The $8 parking fee and fundraising by the PRA provide only limited funds. The state of California puts more money into the better attended state parks. McCranie saw how hard the volunteers worked and realized more could be done to enhance the visitors’ experience by putting Ladera Grill profits into a grant that supports PRA projects.
At a booth in Ladera Grill in April, McCranie and PRA President Daniel Benefiel launched the partnership. The PRA received a check for $20,000 on the mutual signing of the agreement, presented to Benefiel under The Tarantula artwork on the fourth street side of the new downtown parking garage. The site was selected because artist Gordon Huether was inspired to create the spider out of car headlights when he heard about Morgan Hill’s famous Henry Coe tarantulas that came out to seek mates in the fall. Between Jan. 1, 2017 and July 1, 2020, as part of the deal, Ladera will give a check for $10,000 every six months to the PRA. McCranie hopes the money will inspire new ideas to improve the visitors’ experience with greater knowledge about Henry Coe.
Children view nature exhibits at the 2015 Ranch Day event
Morgan Hill Life file photo
“There are good volunteers. The PRA is populated with extraordinary guys and gals, but I frankly think some of the programs that were popular a decade ago or so have kind of fallen down,” he said.
There was a time when Henry Coe played host twice a week during the school year to first through ninth grade students who learned through a field trip program about the flora, fauna and geology of the park. The kids would spend about an hour learning in the classroom in the Visitors Center. The rest of the day they would go on guided nature walks with PRA docents. McCranie loved being involved in that program.
“I was on that for years. I found out my favorite grades to work with are fourth and fifth. They love everything. You can tell them they need to find scat, so they’ll be scrounging around for it,” he said with a laugh. “And they loved it.”
Henry W. Coe sunrise panorama in December.
Morgan Hill Life file photo
The PRA appreciates the financial generosity of Ladera Grill in supporting its mission, said Benefiel, who has been a volunteer for 20 years and still enjoys exploring the park with his son and daughter. McCranie has been a key supporter of the park not just financially but also as a leader who inspired others to get involved in education and outreach activities for Henry Coe.
“He’s done a lot over the years. This one (grant) in particular is helpful to the PRA to fund a lot of projects and give visitors a good experience,” he said.
With the new Ladera Grill and PRA partnership, he hopes local people and organizations in the South Valley will also get involved in publicizing Henry Coe as an awe-inspiring place people travel to from around the world to explore. An increase in visitors thanks to the grant money might even help draw more tourism dollars to the region as people visit downtown Morgan Hill or Gilroy after a day hike, he said.
“Morgan Hill should be proud to have Henry Coe right in our backyard. It’s good for us to work together and build up the economy,” he said.
