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Area to check on the home’s progress. One such visit was described in the social section of the August 9, 1902 Gilroy Advocate, “Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson is again enjoying the quietude of her picturesque mountain home with a party of friends, among them are Gelett Burgess, an artist and a literary man.” When Vanumanutagi was finished later the same year, Fanny threw a housewarming party. “Hundreds of Japanese lanterns shed their mellow light upon the scene, lighting up the surrounding forest of madrones and giant redwoods,” the Gilroy Advocate reported. Her guests were treated to a tour of the new cottage, with its stone foundation and redwood- paneled rooms. “The air was still and cool and the wide veranda in front was the haven of the tired dancers,” the paper noted. The cottage interior was described as English lodge style, with rafters decorating the low-ceilings and built-in seating along the walls. Mrs. Stevenson’s bedroom was papered with Samoan tapa fabric. Her usual attire was described as Polynesian style, with loosely fitting garments. She was said to wear considerable quantities of jewelry. Fanny’s sister, writer Nellie Van De Grift Sanchez, described the Redwood Retreat estate as a place of “sweet seclusion,” adding that the wooded surroundings offered a connection between the grieving widow’s California home and the one she’d shared with Stevenson in Samoa. For the next several years, Vanumanutagi was Fanny’s summer home. In 1908 she sold her San Francisco residence and moved to Montecito where she died in 1916. Her Redwood Retreat home passed to her son, Lloyd Osbourne and his wife, Ethel. Over the following years, Lloyd, a much-published author, edited his stepfather Stevenson’s last works and published a biography, “An Intimate Portrait of RLS.” He died in Santa Barbara in 1947. Ethel remained at Vanumanutagi until 1954, welcoming artists and writers and continuing the ambiance set by her illustrious mother-in-law. HIGH QUALITY THERAPY FOR ADULTS Are you feeling anxious? Are you having a hard time concentrating or enjoying the things you used to enjoy? Are you feeling depressed or overly angry at times? You might be experiencing an Anxiety and/or a Depression Disorder. I’ve been treating anxiety and depression successfully in private practice since 2001. I also specialize in relationship issues . Call for an appointment today! SPECIAL First 2 Sessions: $62.50 (half off regular fee) Angela Fowler, MFT 15105 Concord Circle, Ste. 110 • Morgan Hill • 408.778.8347 CA License #MFC41723 GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN april/may 2019 gmhtoday.com 61