CHARLEY was raised in Pebble Beach across the golf course from his grandfather, who he called Boss, as did everyone in the family.

 

He was born in Auburn New York while his father attended Cornell Hotel School after WWII, Charley moved to Pebble Beach in the arms of his nurse at age three months. His older sister Susan, who was born in Carmel, rode west in the train with him. That nurse must have had a handful.

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Charley went to local schools until high school. The Cate School, a boys school near Santa Barbara, had rigorous academics and a varied sports program. For college he started at U.C. Davis, transferred to Cal and after a year off bumming around Europe was graduated from UCLA. He went on to get an MBA from the University of Santa Clara.

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THE WHY ~ There were many stories about Sam Morse and I was often asked if there was a book about him. He was legendary on the  Monterey Peninsula for his conservationist developments. A friend once asked me what motivated him to do what he did. That started me going.

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Simply put, "He was an artist who spent his lifetime working on a 20,000 acre canvas." So said his son Jack at an honors ceremony for Boss in 1965.