Chic Lotz + keith Montgomery on mon 11 jun 07
Here's to the man who brought us Gerstley Borate!
James Mack Gerstley, a mining executive whose long and colorful
career ranged from the famous 20 Mule Team Borax products to raising
funds for San Francisco'sAsian Art Museum, died at his home on the
Peninsula onJune 2 at the age of 99.
Mr. Gerstley's management expertise enabled him to turn the Pacific
Coast Borax Co. from a small firm that mined borates near Death
Valley to a large andsuccessful corporation.It was the sponsor of
"Death Valley Days," a radio and television show that became part of
the lore of the Old West. At one time, Mr. Gerstley's company used
Ronald Reagan as the show's TV host. "Death Valley Days" helped
revive the actor's fading career. Reagan then turned to politics, and
the rest is history.
On his retirement from the minerals business, Mr.Gerstley devoted his
talents to raising funds for community organizations, including the
Asian Art Museum. He and George Jewett, a business associate,were
credited with raising more than $3 million to ensure that the Avery
Brundage collection of Asian art would remain in San Francisco. It
became central tothe museum's collection.
Mr. Gerstley also served as chairman of the Asian Art Commission and
held executive posts with the museum foundation. He spent more than
32 years supporting the museum, and when he retired from the Asian
Art Commission in 2002,he was named founding commissioner emeritus.
The commission's resolution naming him to emeritus status recognized
his "tireless work to secure the financial future of the museum
through contacts, persuasion and visionary recognition of the fiscal
needs and
responsibilities of the museum." He also set up an endowment fund
that enabled the staff to travel and scout for exhibitions. A much-
acclaimed show of Mongolian art and a display of terra cotta soldiers
from Xian, China, were among the results. "Without his foresight, we
never would have had those shows," said Terese Bartholomew, a curator
at the Asian Art Museum.
Mr. Gerstley was born in London in 1907; his father was English, and
his mother, Adele Mack, was a native San Franciscan with long ties to
the city. Mr. Gerstley attended Cambridge University, where he
earned honors. His father offered him a chance to sail around the
world, and he jumped at the chance. In 1929, he arrived in San
Francisco aboard a Japanese steamer. In 1933, he went to work as
assistant to the president of Pacific Coast Borax in Los Angeles. He
married Elizabeth Lilienthal in 1934. In those days, Pacific Coast
Borax was a small company, owned by British interests, with its major
asset a borate mine near Death Valley. The mines had a long history,
involving the colorful teams of mules and horses used to transport
the minerals to the nearest railroad in Mojave. Among the pioneer
borax miners was Francis Marion "Borax" Smith, who had parlayed his
borax earnings into real estate development in Oakland.
Most of the company's products were sold overseas. One of its major
products was Twenty Mule Team soap chips, which contained 85 percent
soap and 15 percent borax. When soap was rationed during World War
II, Mr.Gerstley, by then president of the company, developed a
product called Boraxo, which was 85 percent boraxand 15 percent
soap.Sales went through the roof.
Mr. Gerstley then converted the "Death Valley Days" radio show to
television and signed on Reagan, and later Robert Taylor, another
movie star, to be the hosts. Twenty Mule Team and Boraxo became
household words, and Mr. Gerstley's name was a household word in
miningcircles. He merged Pacific Coast Borax with the U.S.Potash Co.
to form the U.S. Borax and Chemical Co. A new mineral was discovered
at Boron in 1957 and named "gerstleyite" in his honor. He was named
to theNational Mining Hall of Fame in 2003.
He retired in 1973. He then devoted nearly all his time to community
service. He was a trustee of Pomona College and was a financial
adviser and board member of many other groups, including the San
Francisco Architectural Heritage, the Los Angeles Music Center,
Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, and the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley.
He was also the founding chairman of the Judah L. Magnes Museum in
Berkeley. "He was extremely talented as a fundraiser and kept himself
active in community service to almost the endof his life," said his
daughter, Anne Gerstley Pieper.
Mr. Gerstley is survived by Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley, his wife
of 72 years; his son, James Gerstley, of Los Angeles; his daughter,
Anne Pieper, of Concord; one granddaughter; and two
great-granddaughters.
The family prefers contributions be made to the Asian Art Museum, 200
Larkin St., San Francisco, CA 94102;Pomona College Scholarship Fund,
333 N. College Way, Claremont, CA 91711; or the Haas-Lilienthal House,
2007 Franklin St., San Francisco, CA 94109. Services will be private.
This article appeared on page B - 7 of the San
Francisco Chronicle
| |
|
