‘A Bobcat’s Tail’

The creation of Elings Park — which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and now has bragging rights as the largest privately supported nonprofit public park in the United States — has been turned into a reimagined picture book for children. A Bobcat’s Tail, a 32-page, hardback book written by park supporter and local businessman Bruce Giffin and the park’s Executive Director Dean Noble, with whimsical illustrations by Laura-Susan Thomas, a former Disney Imagineer, is based on the real-life community leader Jerry Harwin, who led multi-decade efforts to establish and build Santa Barbara’s nonprofit park.

Once the site of the City Dump and now a beautiful 230-acre public park, Elings Park’s main road is named Jerry Harwin Parkway in honor of Harwin’s unique civic contribution. 

Like many of us who grew up in town, Giffin remembers visiting the dump as a child. “Jerry had a vision that was far ahead of his time,” he says. “He saw how to take this city’s dump and turn it into an area for people and kids, and have it funded by people and kids. That’s what this story is really about. It’s also about how one person, even kids, can make a big difference in the world.”

In this imaginary tale, Jerry takes a sick bobcat he found in Las Positas Canyon to a veterinarian, who sends the pair home with medicine and special milk. Jerry learns that it isn’t easy to care for a wild animal, and he gets the idea of turning the dump into a park suitable for both kids and animals.

He enlists the help of local children to make signs to rally the community to get park plans approved at a meeting with the mayor at City Hall (which really happened). In A Bobcat’s Tail, the bobcat nicknamed “Puff” plays a funny role in the outcome as well. The many-years-later happy ending depicts people and animals playing and living side-by-side in the new park, just as Jerry had envisioned.

In addition to the sweet story, the book’s endpapers have illustrations of animals and plants seen at Elings Park, including monarch butterflies, Matilija poppies, manzanita, coyotes, beetles, rabbits, and, of course, bobcats.

All sales of the book benefit the nonprofit Elings Park. A Bobcat’s Tail is available at Chaucer’s Books in Santa Barbara, Tecolote Book Shop in Montecito, and at the Park Office (credit cards only). For more information, visit elingspark.org/bobcat.