Vivian Cornwall "Parsonage Fall Vineyard" Carmel Valley, California
- Vivian Cornwall
- 1925-2012
- Texas, California Artist
- Image Size: 9 x 12
- Medium: Oil on Board
- "Parsonage Fall Vineyard" Carmel Valley, California
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Details
Bill and Mary Parsons planted their seven acre Parsonage Village Vineyard in 1998. How they arrived at that point in time was through a highly circuitous path. They both graduated from high schools in Whittier, CA, Bill from Sierra High in 1960 and Mary from Whittier High four years later. They never met and they never kissed during their Whittier days. Bill went on to UCLA , graduating in 1965. Mary morphed from a Cardinal into a Sagehen and graduated from Pomona College at Claremont in 1968.
While Mary was finishing her courses in Claremont, Bill was playing hide-n-seek in the jungles of Vietnam while serving with 5th Special Forces. Bill got lucky after Vietnam, serving as an undercover agent handler/case officer for US Army Intelligence (the ultimate oxymoron) in Verona, Italy of all places.
Bill and Mary met on a blind date in June of 1969. It was love at first sight. They married three months later. A short while later they moved to New York so Bill, with the aid of the G.I. Bill and Mary’s salary at the Columbia Journalism Review, could earn a Masters in journalism from Columbia University. The day after graduation in June, 1971 Bill and Mary were heading down the interstate in their new VW bus to destination Monterey/Salinas. Bill had been offered a job at the NBC affiliate in Salinas as a TV reporter.
After a week on the road Bill reported for work but the job had dematerialized. The guy Bill was replacing changed his mind deciding to stay. Bill’s dreams of becoming the next Walter Cronkite were suddenly dashed. Desperate for a job, Bill hired on as a staff writer with the Carmel Pine Cone, a weekly newspaper. Sadly, his career as a journalist was destined to last only a year.
Through a series of bizarre and convoluted events Bill ended up in the garbage business for 20 years. His first incarnation in the garbage world was G.M. of the Monterey Peninsula Waste Management District. Later he became a partner in a group of waste disposal companies named Carmel Marina Corp., now owned by Waste Management.
After two decades Bill finally realized a career in the waste business was not the stuff his dreams were made of. Now planting a vineyard and creating a boutique winery – that was much more the stuff of Bill’s dreams. In 1997 after two years of wearing Mary down and getting her to buy into his dream the couple sold their Carmel home and bought a 9.25 acre parcel in Carmel Valley to begin a new chapter in their life.
Biography
Vivian Cornwall1925-2012
Vivian Cornwall1925-2012
Vivian Cornwall was an American artist known for her plein air paintings, capturing the beauty of the Monterey County landscape. Born September 26, 1925, in Dallas, Tx. she moved to California in 1972 and later to Carmel, where she began her art career. Cornwall studied with notable California watercolorists and oil painters, and her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries across California. She was also involved in interior design and served on the board of the Venture Gallery in Monterey. Her art, including "View of Carmel Mission, California" are great representations of the Carmel area, reflecting her significant contribution to the world of art.
September 26, 1925-May 22, 2012
