BajaNomad - Tom Miller bio info?

Tom Miller bio info?

BajaAnthro - 7-23-2012 at 01:51 PM

I am doing some research about some of the earliest folks who traveled down to the Baja peninsula, and am wondering if anyone knows if any biographical info has been published about "Baja Book" writer Tom Miller? I have read the standard book bios about him, but am wondering if anyone if there's any more info about his life and writings here in Baja. Thanks in advance for any info.

thebajarunner - 7-23-2012 at 04:58 PM

David K will have some info
grab him when he gets back from Cabo

I met Tom, does that count?
nah, probably not

tiotomasbcs - 7-23-2012 at 05:10 PM

Hang tight, many here knew him. Have you searched archives? I know one Nomad, or more, who knew him well! Mention of his name will bring them onboard! I bought/ used all his books. Let us know what you come up with. Tio

bajagrouper - 7-24-2012 at 07:03 PM

I would google " Tom and Shirley Miller"

tiotomasbcs - 7-25-2012 at 06:51 AM

Search an article I remember here. Someone from Punta Banda knew him well and wrote re his life and passing. PB? Anyone else remember the posting? Tio

BAJA.DESERT.RAT - 7-25-2012 at 01:16 PM

for years, he wrote in the weekly sports paper the WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS for years.

perhaps you could contact them and they may be able to point you to where you can get the info you're seeking ?

BIEN SALUD, DA RAT

David K - 7-25-2012 at 07:41 PM

Tom was a great guy... loved helping Baja through his writings. W.O.N. (he replaced Ray Cannon (who passed away) doing the Baja articles there). His 'The Baja Book' was about the first guide to Baja with the new Transpeninsular Highway completed. He published several updated editions and other books on Baja (fishing, eating, etc.). I am on Shari's computer, but once I get home I can show you all his books. We camped with Tom and Shirley Miller at Laguna Manuela in the early 1980's and at Posada Don Diego in Colonia Guerrero with other members of the Mexico West Travel Club.

Tom was big on 4WD Subarus and convinced me to get a Subaru 4WD wagon to replace my Jeep in 1977... Subaru of America hired Tom to write a newsletter for 4WD Subaru owners (Subaru West 4x4)... Tom's license plate read 'Sr. Baja'... He was the Mr. Baja of the 1970's and 1980's!

After Tom and Shirley divorced, Shirley continued to operate their Mexico West Travel Club and eventually sold it. Shirley came over to help Hugh and Carol Kramer start their new Discover Baja Travel Club... which continues to be the #1 Baja travel club today, years after Tom and Shirley have passed away.

Ken Bondy - 7-26-2012 at 06:06 AM

I never met Tom but I did meet Shirley on a Laguna San Ignacio whale trip when she was with Discover Baja. Sorry to hear she is gone, que lastima.

Skipjack Joe - 7-26-2012 at 07:10 AM

You might try reaching out to these people:

"Miller is survived by his widow, Carol, of Huntington Beach; a son, Thomas E. Miller of Fountain Valley; a daughter, Diana Johnson of Buckeye, Ariz., and a brother, Chuck Miller of Costa Rica"

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-12/local/me-1276_1_tom-m...

He was a frequent speaker on the Fred Hall Sportman's Show in the winter where he promoted fishing in baja. I spoke to him a couple of times at his booth.

BajaAnthro - 7-26-2012 at 08:29 AM

Thanks for the responses everyone, I really appreciate it. Thanks also for the suggestions. The first book about Baja that I ever bought was Miller's "Baja Book III." That was back in the late 80s and early 90s when I was a teenager from North San Diego County who went on lots of surf trips in northern Baja. Now I am doing a research project here in southern Baja, and trying to look into some of the histories of the early waves of Americans and Canadians who came down here. And Miller's name comes up a lot.

@tiotomasbcs: good idea about search the archives of this forum. Thanks.

@BAJA.DESERT.RAT: Great idea about contacting WON. I should look through his work for them as well. I am hoping to find more information about his travels, but also what life was like in Baja in those days.

@DavidK: Wow, thanks for the info. If you have time it would be great to talk to you more about your experiences with Miller. Do you know if there are any biographies that have been written up about him? I am also trying to learn more about his life and work in the southern part of the peninsula (cape region). He mentions in the Baja Book that he had a "palmthatched ramada on a remote beach south of La Paz" and I am trying to find out more about that time period.

@Skipjack: Another good idea about contacting family members.

Thanks, everyone.

[Edited on 7-26-2012 by BajaAnthro]

Skipjack Joe - 7-26-2012 at 08:51 AM

You could also get in touch with Gary Graham. Those two were close at one time.

bajafly@bajafly.com

David K - 7-30-2012 at 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaAnthro
Thanks for the responses everyone, I really appreciate it. Thanks also for the suggestions. The first book about Baja that I ever bought was Miller's "Baja Book III." That was back in the late 80s and early 90s when I was a teenager from North San Diego County who went on lots of surf trips in northern Baja. Now I am doing a research project here in southern Baja, and trying to look into some of the histories of the early waves of Americans and Canadians who came down here. And Miller's name comes up a lot.

@tiotomasbcs: good idea about search the archives of this forum. Thanks.

@BAJA.DESERT.RAT: Great idea about contacting WON. I should look through his work for them as well. I am hoping to find more information about his travels, but also what life was like in Baja in those days.

@DavidK: Wow, thanks for the info. If you have time it would be great to talk to you more about your experiences with Miller. Do you know if there are any biographies that have been written up about him? I am also trying to learn more about his life and work in the southern part of the peninsula (cape region). He mentions in the Baja Book that he had a "palmthatched ramada on a remote beach south of La Paz" and I am trying to find out more about that time period.

@Skipjack: Another good idea about contacting family members.

Thanks, everyone.

[Edited on 7-26-2012 by BajaAnthro]

I would be happy to help... I have maybe every issue of Tom and Shirley's Mexico West Newsletter (how we stayed informed about Baja before the Internet!)... Their home was in Cabo Pulmo, and a hurricane (Kathlene?) in '76(?) damaged it.

Tom Miller Books

David K - 7-30-2012 at 10:14 AM

After Tom passed away, Ginger Potter published:

Here is a photo of Ginger and Chuck Potter, next to her dad, Mike McMahan:

Tom also wrote a small Baja restaurant guide called 'Eating your way through Baja'...

I told you so!!!

thebajarunner - 7-30-2012 at 04:42 PM

Didn't I say "wait til David gets back"

You have more info than you can likely use

always count on DK for the right answer, maybe several of them
:yes:

David K - 7-30-2012 at 05:56 PM

BajaAnthro, there are many other authors who traveled and wrote about Baja before Tom Miller published the Baja Book series. Let me know how far back or what kind of travelers you are interested in. I have a pretty decent Baja book collection and I am happy to share them online, since they don't leave my home!

Howard Gulick, Walt Wheelock, Erle Stanley Gardner (yes, the Perry Mason creator), Ray Cannon, Arnold Senterfitt, Bruce Berger, Joseph Krutch, etc. have published one or more great books on traveling in Baja.

Still alive are Harry Crosby, Greg Niemann (a member here), Graham Mackintosh (a member here), and others...

DavidE - 7-30-2012 at 06:30 PM

Who remembers the "purple panaderia"?

Did you actually stop there? I chuckled when I saw it in his guide book. The baker made the best polvorones I've yet tasted. That was sometime in the 1970's, my memory fades.

Shirley adopted Costa Rica. The insurance company that funded the Mexico West newsletter, went on a very brief sojourn with "The Mexico Monthly Travel Report".

Tom built a home in Barra de Navidad Jalisco.

David K, do you have an issue of the Mexico West newsletter with an article entitled "Night Of The Camarones"?

David K - 7-30-2012 at 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DavidE
Who remembers the "purple panaderia"?

Did you actually stop there? I chuckled when I saw it in his guide book. The baker made the best polvorones I've yet tasted. That was sometime in the 1970's, my memory fades.

Shirley adopted Costa Rica. The insurance company that funded the Mexico West newsletter, went on a very brief sojourn with "The Mexico Monthly Travel Report".

Tom built a home in Barra de Navidad Jalisco.

David K, do you have an issue of the Mexico West newsletter with an article entitled "Night Of The Camarones"?

Give me the year (and month too if you can), and I will look!

The Purple Panaderia was just north of Colonet, and business must have been too good, because the owner painted it another color some time after Tom gave it that name!

DavidE - 7-30-2012 at 07:10 PM

Too long ago for me to remember which issue or what year David late 80's perhaps. The original color of the panaderia was impossible to describe. Fuchsia? The place was repainted with whatever color his cuñado had left over from the ferretería in Ensenada, BTW*. Tijuana to San Lucas, to Puerto Vallarta was my route in those days. Nine dollars for a cabina**
and Fourteen for la camioneta.

*I asked him. "Why no sign other than 'panaderia'? "Well, everyone knows this place"

**The "Especial" toward the bow.

BajaAnthro - 7-31-2012 at 02:01 PM

David K:

"I would be happy to help... I have maybe every issue of Tom and Shirley's Mexico West Newsletter (how we stayed informed about Baja before the Internet!)... Their home was in Cabo Pulmo, and a hurricane (Kathlene?) in '76(?) damaged it. "

Thanks so much for your responses--and the photos of Miller's books. Very cool. Did Miller ever write much about his place in Pulmo?

"Let me know how far back or what kind of travelers you are interested in. I have a pretty decent Baja book collection and I am happy to share them online, since they don't leave my home!"

Right now I am focusing on some of the early travelers to the Cape Region, especially the East Cape. I am trying to get a good idea of the history of this area, including the expats and others who started coming down here in the 1950s or so (or earlier?). I have borrowed a copy of the book about Ray Cannon, and have read Niemann's chapter about the East Cape in his book "Baja Legends." There is also another good chapter about the East Cape in CM Mayo's book "Miraculous Air." I started looking into Miller because some folks have mentioned that he had a place down here on the East Cape somewhere. It's interesting to read through all of the stories of people who have traveled and lived down here.

Any other suggestions for some of the histories of the East Cape?

Thanks for your help!

-Ryan

PS: Do you happen to know Greg Niemann's username here? Might be interesting to contact him as well.

PPS: What part of San Diego are you from? I grew up in North County--in Carlsbad!

David K - 7-31-2012 at 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaAnthro
David K:

"I would be happy to help... I have maybe every issue of Tom and Shirley's Mexico West Newsletter (how we stayed informed about Baja before the Internet!)... Their home was in Cabo Pulmo, and a hurricane (Kathlene?) in '76(?) damaged it. "

Thanks so much for your responses--and the photos of Miller's books. Very cool. Did Miller ever write much about his place in Pulmo?

"Let me know how far back or what kind of travelers you are interested in. I have a pretty decent Baja book collection and I am happy to share them online, since they don't leave my home!"

Right now I am focusing on some of the early travelers to the Cape Region, especially the East Cape. I am trying to get a good idea of the history of this area, including the expats and others who started coming down here in the 1950s or so (or earlier?). I have borrowed a copy of the book about Ray Cannon, and have read Niemann's chapter about the East Cape in his book "Baja Legends." There is also another good chapter about the East Cape in CM Mayo's book "Miraculous Air." I started looking into Miller because some folks have mentioned that he had a place down here on the East Cape somewhere. It's interesting to read through all of the stories of people who have traveled and lived down here.

Any other suggestions for some of the histories of the East Cape?

Thanks for your help!

-Ryan

PS: Do you happen to know Greg Niemann's username here? Might be interesting to contact him as well.

PPS: What part of San Diego are you from? I grew up in North County--in Carlsbad!

Yes, Tom Miller wrote about their place on Cabo Pulmo, in the 1970's and maybe after a bit. Tom and Shirley divorced and he was with Carol Hoffman after. I never met her.

Do a search on 'Chopy', El Surfo Loco (ESL) who was the legal owner of land at Cabo Pulmo. A Mexican citizen born to American parents (Crawford), who were part of the Cabo development, including building the Finisterra hotel. He was murdered (died mysteriously) after waging a fight against the squatters on his land. He was 'silenced', not far from his home in San Jose del Cabo. We all met Chopy in 2002, and he was dead just a short time after this September BBBB event: http://www.vivabaja.com/bbbb4/page8.html

'GregN' is Greg Niemann's Nomad name.

I am now in Oceanside, I lived also in Vista, spent many yerars near Escondido (1970-1994), also as a kid in Rancho Santa Fe and Del Mar. I graduated from Orange Glen High, in Escondido, in '76.

sancho - 7-31-2012 at 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DavidE
Tijuana to San Lucas, to Puerto Vallarta was my route in those days. Nine dollars for a cabina**

David E, you're getting me all teary and nostalgic,
'87 put a Toyota truck, camper shell on the Cabo/
PV ferry, cabin for 2, total $11 US, Barra was my
first encounter with the Palapa/Banana/Mango
Mex coast. That short sandspit with sand floor
restaurants, a couple bars of sorts, pure bliss

DavidE - 7-31-2012 at 07:12 PM

God did they party hearty. A full mariachi band used to go over and back sometimes during high season. One accordion player said he made more in tips on one trip than he did the remainder of the winter. The booze flowed freely and so did the pesos for music. The rule then was to pay more for c-cktails than for a cabina.

The "sand spit". Free camping. Wander down to ave Legazspi and get fooded up and pickled for under four dollars. Remember the trips to Melaque on the blue and white Ford school bus for 12 cents? The full length of the peninsula twice and then Mex 200, with dirt with occasional asphalt buttes. I remember a kid standing in the road near Santiago with a huge wadded up bundle of newspaper. Inside was a few kilos of scarlet pitahaya. ¿Four pesos, señor?" I gave him a ten peso banknote.

Speaking of Miller, I did see him many times around the boat docks and in the little restaurant bars along the lagoon in Barra de Navidad. Also in Beer Bobs book exchange. Never occurred to me who or what he was then. What a shame. I knew he appeared to be all wrapped up in fishing. Don't remember seeing Shirley. She did say to me that she "absolutely remembered my pickup and utility trailer parked out on the spit" when she was in her office astride the insurance outfit and we chatted.

EDIT
I do remember buying a large autographed book from Shirley with a title like "The Mexico West Book". Tom & Shirley both had put a short note inside. Generic, "que le vaya bien" message. The book saw one too many hurricanes and I believe Gilberto on the Yucatan peninsula finally finished it off.

[Edited on 8-1-2012 by DavidE]

BajaAnthro - 7-31-2012 at 09:02 PM

Hey David K,

Wow, Oceanside! Small world. I have spent a lot of time in good old O'side, and stop by there to visit family and friends whenever I am back in socal. Do you know the Hill Street Cafe? I used to work there on and off for a few years. The owner is one of my really good friends.

I graduated Carlsbad High in 1993. I lived there from 1986 onward, but have been away for several years now because of graduate school.

"Yes, Tom Miller wrote about their place on Cabo Pulmo, in the 1970's and maybe after a bit..."

Did he write about Pulmo in WON or somewhere else? Do you know if their back issues are still available somewhere? I'd be really interested to see what he wrote about Pulmo and the East Cape in those days.

"Do a search on 'Chopy', El Surfo Loco (ESL) who was the legal owner of land at Cabo Pulmo..."

I will look into Chopy ESL. Sounds like a character. You also answered one of the questions I had about some of the early residents--how they 'owned' land before the changes to the Constitution that took place in the early 1990s. I have heard that a lot of people owned land through proxies...sounds like this may have been the case with Miller in Pulmo.

DavidE - 8-1-2012 at 07:50 AM

Sponsors are still the rule rather than the exception. Obtaining a fideicomiso is not an inexpensive process nor is it dirt cheap on a yearly basis. My casita in Michoacán is being built with my grand kids as title holders.