The verdict -- Judge Gardner

I often wonder what might have happened to the Irvine Co. had Myford

Irvine lived.

Myford’s older brother James, who had been groomed by their father as

heir apparent, died. Then the father, J.I., died, and in 1947, Myford,

who had been living in San Francisco with little to do with the company,

suddenly became a major stockholder and president.

Myford, or Mike as he preferred to be called, was a big, friendly,

homely man with a peculiar, shambling gait. He loved to play golf and the

piano, and was good at both. He was kind, thoughtful and generous. He was

quiet, reserved and, in my opinion, shy and insecure.

But he was not unaware of his position as one of the wealthiest men in

California, and he was painfully aware of his responsibilities as

president of the Irvine Co. Mike also had a keen sense of social

responsibility that his wealth and position brought him.

The whole world knows of the Boy Scout Jamboree because he turned his

ranch over to the Boy Scouts for their annual event. Other aspects of

Mike’s personality may not be so well-known.

One day, he invited a group of us to lunch in Santa Ana and announced

that Santa Ana needed a Boys Club. It did, but no one had ever done

anything about it. With him as a ramrod, we organized a successful Boys

Club in that town. He put up some money but saw to it that the rest of us

and the townspeople did the lion’s share of the work.

Then one night he had a group of us to the ranch for dinner and we met

a man who was advocating some kind of a one-world program. I have

forgotten the name of the man and the name of the organization, but this

was during the McCarthy era, when any such notion was considered

Communist-inspired.

The McCarthy influence was big in Orange County, and it took guts to

present such a program, even for one as wealthy as Mike. Nothing came of

it, but it was a courageous step in a sincere effort at doing something

about world peace regardless of the popularity of the program.

The Irvine Coast Country Club (now the Newport Beach Country Club) was

really Mike’s baby. In this respect, many may not be aware that he

insisted that the club would never be completely private. By the terms of

the lease, it had to be semiprivate.

Mike didn’t approve of private clubs. He thought they smacked too much

of elitism and that everyone had the right to play golf, not just those

who belonged to country clubs. This may annoy the present membership of

the club, but that is Mike Irvine’s legacy.

Mike ran the company like a ranch. It was the Irvine Ranch, not the

Irvine Co. Mike was the patron with a strong sense of community

responsibility. Real estate development was sparse. The big-land

development aspect occurred after Mike’s death. Of course, land

development was inevitable, but I wonder just what path it would have

taken under Mike.

Mike’s father intended that the ranch remain in the family. That was

the purpose for establishing the foundation. I haven’t the slightest idea

whether Mike could have staved off the sale of the company to its present

owners. If he could have, I have a very strong feeling that relations

between the company and the community would be radically different today.

We will never know. On Jan. 11, 1959, this kind, thoughtful and

public-spirited but troubled man killed himself for reasons we will never

know.

* ROBERT GARDNER is a Corona del Mar resident and a former judge. His

column runs Tuesdays.