Mrs. Adriana van Kaathoven, mother of Elizabeth Jongeneel, was born in the Netherlands. She immigrated to California arriving in Santa Cruz in 1909. She was an accomplished musician. She took a keen interest in all things musical and was strongly interested in art and artists in the community. Shw was a lifetime honorary vice-president of the Monday Music Club. She died in 1939 at the age of 91.
Mrs. Elizabeth Jongeneel was born in the Netherlands. In 1907 during a visit to Santa Cruz she became known as the Fish Heroine of Santa Cruz – she caught the largest fish without the aid of a hook and line. She found a 65 pound sea bass washed up on the beach, using a stick she kept the sea bass out of the water until help arrived. She moved to the Santa Cruz area circa 1928. Her husband, Martin, and Elizabeth established the Beth-Mar Nursery in Aptos. She was a music patron in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. She was a charter member of the San Francisco Opera Association. She was also a member of the Monday Music Club of Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Garden Club, and the Santa Cruz Women’s Club. She died in 1955 at the age of 80.
Beth-Mar Nursery – in a 22 July 1929 article “Flower Lovers’ Club Caravan Visits Three Lovely Gardens” in the Santa Cruz Evening News, page 8, column 1. The nursery was one of gardens visited. Highlights from the article include “Beth-Mar has been created almost entirely within a year….” and “Mr. Jongeneel experiments with many government specimens and at the present time have several rare and interesting plants….”
