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MontecitoMag.com 29 cancer in a Glendale sanitariumon July 21, 1936, at the age of 56. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over the ocean from an airplane flown by his friend the movie star Wallace Beery. “E. L. Ovington Dies; First Mail Pilot,” The New York Times reported, adding that his wife, “the former Adelaide Alexander,” was with him at the end. ADELAIDE HAD 36 YEARS YET TO LIVE , and her career featured an unlikely third act as the co- proprietor of Cold Spring Tavern, near the crest of the San Marcos Pass on the road from Santa Bar- bara to the Santa Ynez Valley (see “The Venerable Cold Spring Tavern” story, page 70). She bought it in 1941 and moved in with her daughter, Audrey. Together, they began transforming this weather- beaten old roadhouse into the beloved institution it is today. Adelaide did most of the cooking while Audrey created the atmosphere. “They needed to make a living when Earle died,” Adelaide’s great-granddaughter Debbie Wilson Potts says. “And they both liked challenges.” For a decade or more, the two Ovington women lived out back of the tavern in a former packing crate they converted into a comfortable home, which they called Blisshaven. This was a long way from Gunston Hall and from Broadway, but it was the finale Adelaide chose for herself, and she was content. She died on July 28, 1972, at the (unofficial) age of 91. Today, museums across the country feature artifacts from Earle Ovington’s spectacular career, and his name adorns the original Santa Barbara Airport terminal, “in recognition of his outstanding contributions to aviation and his part in the development of aviation in Santa Barbara.” In 2009, he was the subject of a lavishly illustrated biography, Reminiscences of a Birdman , by Robert D. Campbell. Adelaide’s legacy is Cold Spring Tavern and her two books, An Aviator’s Wife (which can be read online) and The Star That Didn’t Twinkle . The second book, published in 1961, is mostly about her theater career, and it includes a foreward written by her old friend Dame Sybil Thorndike. “If she had gone on with the theatre, instead of giving it up on her marriage to that most exciting man Earle Ovington, I think she would have brought something to the theatre which it often lacks—a deep sincerity and belief in life, and the love of nature as she felt it,” Thorndike wrote. “But her work was somewhere else, in the art of writing, and the art of living.” u Your Montecito Real Estate Expert A resident of Montecito since 1980, Charlene specializes in residential real estate throughout Santa Barbara County. As a homeowner in Montecito, she is truly vested in the benefits of buying and selling within Montecito. Charlene is enthusiastic, professional and amazingly knowledgeable. Charlene carefully listens to her clients’ and is totally dedicated to achieving their goals and needs. Charlene’s client list is lengthy and exemplary and available upon request. Charlene Nagel 805.689.5959 queencharlene@outlook.com realestatebycharlene.com DRE 01149228 Your Montecito Real Estate Expert A resid nt of Monteci o since 1980, Charlene specializes in resid ntial real state throughout Sant B rb a County. As a homeowner in Monteci o, she is truly vested in the b nefits of buying and selling within Monteci o. Charlene is nthusiast c, professional and am zingly knowledg able. Charlene carefully listens to her clients’ and is totally dedicated to achieving their goals nd eeds. Charlene’s client lis is lengthy and exemplary nd available upon requ st. Charlen Nagel 805.689.5959 queencharlene@outl ok.c m real statebycharlene.com DRE 01149228

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