The Carl Janke Day
The ghost of Carl Janke says hello to the University of California from his MASS GRAVE in Redwood City.
I sent this message to UC – months ago! No reply!
JP
Belmont – My Ancestral Home
I just sent this email to the University of California History Department. (6/12/2025
Dear Sirs; I welcome you to Belmont where UC just purchased Notre Dame De Namur University. My grandfather founded Belmont. William Stuttmeister was one of the first graduates of the the UC College of Dentistry. I am am an armature historian who may have the largest blog in the world, Royal Rosamond Press. I could use your help in solving several historic mysteries.
Sincerely
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
Notre Dame de Namur University Announces the Completed Sale of the Belmont Campus to UC Investments
By Notre Dame de Namur University | September 29, 2025
Belmont, CA (September 29, 2025) — Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) announced the final Vatican approval and completed sale of its historic Belmont campus property to UC Investments, the University of California’s Office of the Chief Investment Officer.
This milestone caps a thorough approval process and represents a pivotal step in securing the future of both NDNU and the property. Included in the 96.5 acres is Water Dog Lake and its associated open space, which will remain leased to the city of Belmont. The 50.5-acre preserve includes popular community hiking trails and a stocked fishing lake.
As part of the agreement, NDNU will continue to operate on the Belmont campus for up to the next five years, ensuring continuity for students, faculty, staff, and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur during this period of transition.
“This final approval marks an important moment in our university’s history,” said Beth Martin, PhD, President of Notre Dame de Namur University. “The closing of this sale allows us to look to the future with stability and confidence, while continuing to serve our students and community in Belmont. We are deeply grateful to UC Investments for its partnership and respect for the legacy and mission of Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Our ability to remain on campus for up to five years provides us with the time needed to thoughtfully plan for the university’s next chapter and new campus location in San Mateo county.”
Said Jagdeep Singh Bachher, UC’s chief investment officer, “UC Investments is honored to steward the Belmont campus property in partnership with NDNU during this historic transition. This agreement allows NDNU to continue its vital mission while UC Investments plans for the future of this unique property, one that will serve not only the University of California but also the broader local and statewide community.”
The sale, which required final Vatican approval due to the university’s Catholic affiliation, reflects a shared commitment to honoring the heritage of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur while positioning both NDNU and UC Investments for long-term success.
About Notre Dame de Namur University
Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) is a Catholic, not-for-profit, coeducational institution serving adult learners from diverse backgrounds. Established in 1851 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, NDNU is the third-oldest college in California and the first authorized to grant women a baccalaureate degree. The university is WSCUC accredited and offers master’s in business, education, and psychology, undergraduate degree completion programs in business administration and psychology, along with teacher credential programs. NDNU maintains a strong commitment to academic excellence, social justice, and community engagement. For more information, visit www.ndnu.edu.
Media Contact:
Kurt Allen, Vice President
Enrollment, Marketing and Communications
pr@ndnu.edu – (650) 508-3533
University of California acquires Belmont college campus
Deal comes after arrangement with Stanford fell through
May 30, 2025, 11:45 AM PDT
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The University of California system is expanding its land holdings in the Peninsula.
Under a newly announced deal, UC will acquire nearly 100 acres of land in Belmont from Notre Dame de Namur University, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The arrangement includes NDNU’s 46-acre campus in the middle of Belmont as well as Water Dog Lake, a 50.5-acre preserve on the city’s east side.
UC will lease the campus back to NDNU for up to five years. Water Dog Lake will remain leased to the city of Belmont. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
For now, UC doesn’t have its own plans for the campus, but that could change. Dianne Klein, the university system’s investments director, said in a statement to the Business Times that the site could have a UC “institute or other such research center” one day.
“Land is one of the most precious resources in the state of California, and especially land close to our UC campuses and Silicon Valley,” Klein said.
The University of California has five campuses across Northern California including Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz as well as San Francisco and Berkeley in the Bay Area.SIGN UP
NDNU’s agreement with UC comes after the Catholic university was in talks with Stanford University for a leasing deal. Stanford first attempted to purchase Notre Dame’s Belmont campus in 2021 and bolstered its pitch with plans to build out the campus and add as many as 200 homes. But the school backed out in February, citing factors that “could not be anticipated” and an uncertain future for research universities.
UC’s arrangement with NDNU isn’t the only way the university system is expanding its presence in Silicon Valley.
In 2023, UC Berkeley announced it would partner with NASA and San Francisco-based developer SKS Partners on a 1.4-million-square-foot research and education facility at NASA’s Moffett Field in Mountain View.
That development, called the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park, will feature housing as well as state-of-the-art R&D labs for tech companies and UC Berkeley researchers and classrooms for UC Berkeley students. Some of the new buildings could be ready for move-in as early as 2027, according to the project website.
— Chris Malone Méndez
William Oltman Stuttmeister
Posted on November 13, 2018 by Royal Rosamond Press
I am considering authoring a biography of my great, great grandfather, William Oltman Stuttmeister. But, I do see a serial, a Black Mask treatment……
Doctor Stuttmeister
Yesterday I found a image of an appartment building William built on McCallister street in 1910 four years after the earthquake. My great, great, grandfather helped rebuild San Francisco. This morning I found an old photo of the Dental College he attended in San Francisco that became a part of the University of California. That these apartments are named ‘Laurel’ goes with my theory that William built around forty homes in the Laurel District – that could have been named by him. William, who helped build Oakland, is a pioneer in the field of Dentistry, and is labeled such by Redwood City. The Stuttmeisters lived in Fruit Vale, and their kin, the Jankes, founded the City of Belmont. They are listed as Pioneers of San Francisco.
In contrast, is my father’s father, Victor Hugo Presco. He was a gambler in the Barbary Coast made famous in a couple of movies. I can write a Grasshopper and the Ant tale about two men whose grandfather’s immigrated from Germany. One is a Bohemian fair-thee-well, and the other is a ambitious student at the University of California. William is a Humphry Van Wayden type whose seed will give birth to Captain Victor von Wolf Presco, real estate pirate, and father of a famous female artist and hippie spiritualist egghead a.k.a. ‘Blacky’. My father told me he raised his two sons using Wolf Larsen as a model. He made a loan to Jack London’s daughter. Jack worked in Belmont at a boys school doing laundry. It is evident the family mythos is based on real people.
My real father, Victor William Presco, played violin at Oakland High, and William played violin for the Oakland Symphony Orchestra. Did he hear the ‘Pique Dame’ as an honored Alumni?
P.S. What is going on?!! I just googled ‘Pique Dame’. She is the Queen of Spades! Last night I watched ‘Cloud Atlas’. The music at the end of my life – has been found!
John Presco
1868–1898 The Origins of the University of California and Affiiated Colleges
Creating a UC Dental Department
“We need a college of dentistry on this coast and if we have not a necessary talent among ourselves, we can import it. We owe those who take our places, greater facilities for study and professional breadth than the times have afforded us. The future will demand men educated in all that constitutes the scholar and professional man, and refined in all that makes the gentleman.”
Dr. CC Knowles, June 26, 1870
The same impulse that prompted physicians and pharmacists to organize, standardize, and regulate their professions motivated a group of the city’s leading dentists to call for creation of a professional dental school. S.W. Dennis, M.D., D.D.S., was typical of this group of early organizers. He had graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, received an honorary D.D.S. degree from the Indiana Dental College, and began practice in San Francisco after studying with a local dentist. In the midst of general lobbying for a school of dentistry, Dr. Dennis contacted colleagues at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania to help plan for a dental college in San Francisco.
Three Flags – One Grave
Posted on May 27, 2023 by Royal Rosamond Press
It is 8:33 A.M. May 27, 2023 – and I am still in shock having discovered my grandparents are buried in the same grave! I saw TWO flags put on one gravestone. That was a half hour ago. THEN – I see another flag! There are three of my ancestors buried in the same grave! WHY? Did the caretakers conclude this was a very poor family? William Stuttmeister knew they were Belmont before he died. At great expense to himself, he moved the Jankes to Colma after they were evicted from the Odd Fellow cemetery – at great expense! This was a wealthy pioneer family whose graves keep being defiled! They were moved to the Union cemetery i 1972?
In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins is the ring bearer who carries the One Ring from the Shire to Orodruin, almost to the Cracks of Doom. Bilbo gives Frodo the ring on Gandalf’s advice. Gandalf also holds one of the Elven-rings, but he keeps it hidden until he leaves with the other ring-bearers at the end of the Third Age.
Goel (Hebrew: גואל, romanized: goʾel}redeemer), in the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic Judaism, is a person who, as the nearest relative of someone, is charged with the duty of restoring that person’s rights and avenging wrongs done to him or her. One duty of the goel was to redeem (purchase back) a relative who had been sold into slavery. Another was to avenge the death of a relative who had been wrongly killed; one carrying out this vengeance was known as the goel hadam, commonly translated to English as “avenger of blood.”[1]
The obligations of the goel include the duty to redeem the relative from slavery if the latter had been obliged to sell himself into slavery (Leviticus 25:48–49); to repurchase the property of a relative who had had to sell it because of poverty; to avenge the blood of his relative; to marry his brother’s widow to have a son for his brother, in the case that the brother had no son to pass on his name (Deuteronomy 25:5–6); and to receive the restitution if the injured relative had died (Numbers 5:8).
Jewish tradition has also attributed the blood avenger role in modern times to a prosecuting attorney, who pleads on behalf of the victim in the case against the criminal. Thus, he is responsible for bringing the offender to court, finding evidence against him, presenting the case, and collecting damages from the offender. His task is also to argue against any attempts to pardon the sinner. It is presumed that the court would be the party who would avenge the wrongful death via the imposition of the death penalty,[3] though Deuteronomy 13:9 suggests that the witness to an offence and afterward the whole of the people would carry out the penalty of death by stoning.[4]
Bay Area university agrees to sell campus to UC after Stanford deal falls through
By Sam Whiting,ReporterUpdated May 30, 2025 1:25 p.m.
Gift Article
In a quick pivot, Notre Dame de Namur University on the San Francisco Peninsula has agreed to sell its 46-acre campus and surrounding property to the investment arm of the University of California, officials said.
The private Catholic university will lease back its Belmont campus for up to five years under the deal, which was announced Tuesday — just months after a similar deal with Stanford University fell through.
That sale would have relocated some Stanford programs from Palo Alto 13 miles north to a campus to be renamed Stanford Belmont, and would have required the relocation of 400 students, faculty and staff at Notre Dame de Namur, which has operated for 102 years in the hills along Ralston Avenue.
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Stanford canceled that deal in February, citing a longer-than-expected timeline as well as an era of new uncertainties for research universities involving “a different set of institutional and financial challenges.”
The replacement deal, brought about by a cold call from UC Investments to NDNU President Beth Martin just days after Stanford canceled, will allow Notre Dame to remain while it figures out its future, Martin said.
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No financial terms of sale were announced. The purchase and sale agreement has been signed by both parties and approved by both the Board of Trustees and the Sisters of Notre Dame East-West Province Leadership team. It must still be approved by the Congregational Leadership Team, an international body, the archbishop of San Francisco, and finally the Vatican in Rome.
As part of the sale, UC Investments, which manages the university’s investment portfolio and is separate from the campus system, has agreed to renovate both the Ralston Mansion and the Carriage House, two campus buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places.
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UC will also take over ownership of Water Dog Lake, a 50-acre preserve of hiking trails and a stocked fishing lake that is operated as a park by the city of Belmont under a 50-year lease that has 40 years remaining. That arrangement will continue. The preserve, which was not included in the Stanford deal, brings the total property to 96.5 acres.
“We are delighted that we have this deal, partly because UC Investments is very supportive of our mission and our legacy,” said Martin, who has spent four years trying to figure out the future of Notre Dame. The university had 1,600 students as recently as 10 years ago, but enrollment declined precipitously when the undergraduate program ended in 2021. It is now primarily a graduate program of around 300 students with additional courses for adults returning to complete their undergraduate degree.
Martin told the Chronicle on Wednesday that the NDNU campus is too spread out with too many buildings for the size of its operations. The Board of Trustees has been actively pursuing relocation to a new site in San Mateo County. Martin said the school needs only about 25,000 square feet, or about the size of one floor of an office building.
“UC Investments moved quickly to explore this unique investment opportunity close to the heart of Silicon Valley,” said Jagdeep Singh Bachher, the University of California’s chief investment officer. “Centennial investing is one of our 10 investment pillars, and we’re convinced this long-term asset will greatly benefit UC, Notre Dame de Namur University, and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur for at least the next 100 years.”
Dianne Klein, investment adviser for UC Investments, told the Chronicle there are no firm long-term plans for the property.
“Land is one of the most precious resources in the state of California, and especially land close to our UC campuses and Silicon Valley,” she said in an email. “We envision that the property might eventually be used to house an institute or other such research center.”
Martin expects the UC deal to close this summer, with no noticeable change on campus for students who arrive for the fall semester. The campus is usually quiet when students arrive around 4 p.m. for evening courses, Martin said. In August, the last remaining vestige of on-campus student housing will close for good. There are no sports or theater productions, but evening speaker events will continue.
“With five years, we have the right amount of time to find just the right atmosphere for our students, staff and faculty,” Martin said. “We want to continue the legacy of NDNU for another 100 years.”
Wahl Building exterior.
San Sebastian Avenue
by
John Presco
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
What a red letter day! I fuund two newspaper items that join the Janke and Stuttmeister family. William Stuttmeister and William Janke graduated from the University of California School of Dentistry (at the same time?) and Stuttmeister may have met Augustus Janke through her brother. They got married in Ralston Hall, and took the Janke stagecoach to honeymoon in Halfmoon Bay. The two Williams grads, then opened a dental office in the Wahl Building. How ideal! This is a far cry from the newspaper accounts that slime the Janke family, that may have caused them to be dug out of their grave in the middle of the night. Alas I find a article in the Times Gazzette – that tells the truth! They were good and honest people, who ran Belmont Park – AND OWNED A LOT OF LAND! Alas – the motive!
How perfect! You got the hardware store, the drug store, the bar, and upstairs , the dentist office. I can’t use my magnifying glass. Is it possible the family names are on the window?
What could go wrong? How about the war with Germany? I suspect there was anti-German sentiments in the area. There looks like a lot of vandalism at the Union cemetery. I’m going to ask the Governor and the heads of Archeology at UC Berkeley and Stanford should do a complete study – along with Israel! We have to put an end to the hatred. We got another Hitler on our hands who is selling Lost Heritage. I am reminded of John Steinbeck. We now know William Augustus Janke owned Belmont Park and do a records search. Did her leave lot of money to his daughter Augusts who bought eight track of land in Woodcare? Where else? Did William get dug out of his grave at the Oddfellows cemetery in SF?
I should have been encouraged to bring my newspaper to Belmont – and make a new Belmont Soda! Is there a soda fountain in Ryan’s Drug Store – with ice-cream floats? I was denied my American Heritage by hostile members of the Belmont Historical Society!
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
EXTRA! On July 21, 2024, I found an article in the Redwood Gazzette Times about the court battle over the legacy of Pioneer Carl A. Janke. Finding out his father was dying, William A, Janke CHARTERED a locomotive in San Francisco and sped to Belmont in or get there before Carl died. What is interesting, Elizabeth Johnson is claiming FIVE ACRES near the center of Belmont. She is the mother of Doris Vannier who said Elizabeth told her the Janke grave was dug up in the middle of th night. This is evidence a LAND FIGHT took place! Is the BHS aware of this article – and fight – that I copyright!
John Presco
Copyright 2024
JANKE’S JOURNEY. The Big Belmont Stake in Course of Probate. Twe«l) .r»,r Mllr,’ Itldr .n . 1 mm. live-1 hr Lrgnl Srarrh for • MflsaiKK
Text
Why may this text contain mistakes?
JANKE’S JOURNEY. The Big Belmont Stake in Course of Probate. Twe«l) .r»,r Mllr,’ Itldr .n . 1 mm. live-1 hr Lrgnl Srarrh for • MflsaiKK
On the 13th of Sup ten; her last) Carl Augnst Janke, of Belmont, died of the disuast) Known as diabetes, leaving three surviving children, and considerable projierty. His will has been tiled fur probate in the Super* ior Court at Redwood City, ami for the past three weeks, a protracted legal contest between the heirs has been going on. The litigation is being conducted by Fox & Ross, of Redwood, representing the contestan s, and Kincaid & Fitzpatrick, with Charles F. U Hanlon, an enterprising young advocate uf San Francisco fur the will The costs uf the suit are rapidly roiling up. Extended short hand notes of the testimony are being taken, and medical experts Lum a distance, including the distinguished Dr. Shurtlefl* of the Napa State asylum, are prolonging the issue, to the eminent satisfaction of the legal luminaries engaged in the trial. From the mass of material already extracted from the mouths of willing and unwilling witnesses, and from other information the interesting particulars which follow are extracted.
At the time of the last illness of the deceased, William August Janke, the secund son,who occupied a store in a Belmont building belonging to his father was in San Francisco. Upon receiving the news that his parent just lingered in he shadows of the unknown and the hereafter, he hastened like a dutiful son to his bedside. Chartering a locomotive he reached the bed of the dying not long before death closed around the aged man. A notary was brought from Redw‘»od, and the will was prepared and witnessed some 36 hours before the eyelids of the deceased closed on Earth forever. By the terms of the testament, the picnic grounds and resort known as Belmont park, valued all the way from twenty to thirty thousand dollars, was bequeathed to Charles F. and William A., his two sons to share alike. A sum of 53.500 in in money was left, one third each to his three children, (the two sons aforesaid, and his daughter Elizabeth the wife of a resident of Belmont named Johnson,) all of whom are residents of this county. A store in Belmont owned by the testator, was left to Mrs Johnson, together with a tive acre lot which it is claimed already belonged to her husband. The land on which this siore is, was left to the two sons, and all the personal property to the son William August Janke.
Thu contest is made on the ground of mental incapacity of the Accused, and undue influence. It is sought to be proven, that the disease from which the old man suffered, was so painful and severe that his mmd was affected. Diabetes is said by the books to be an affection of the urinary organa, and is excruciating in the extreme. Irregularity in the making of the will is also endeavored to be shown. The whereabouts of a sum of $50,000, which the dead man had from the sale of real estate in San Francisco, is a matter of great interest and anxiety to counsel. Thus far it has not been found, and if discovered, and the will is sustained as the personal property of the estate, it would add materially to the legacy of the son William August. The events surrounding the drafting of the will, substantially are, as the contestants expect to prove them, that upon the return of William A. by express, ho had an interview with his father in the sick chamber, and that the rest of the family were directed to leave the room. A witness named Schmoll translated the contents of the will to the father and children, the whole conversation being conducted in the German language. ‘ These are the principal points of contention between the lawyers, and as usual in an extended trial over an important stake they are conducting the case with vigor, and occasionally indulging themselves in a little humorous relaxation. The eminent, but juvenile jurist from San Francisco, is conducting his case with much enthusiasm. During the trial he seems to have determined to put a certain question, not only agaiqst the objection of opposing counsel, but his associates as well. Judge Kincaid thereupon retorted on him with the sarcasm—“As Senior counsel in this case your Honor I withdraw that question.” The young man submitted.
https://anthropology.berkeley.edu/graduate-program/anthropology-phd/archaeology
Wahl Building exterior (c.1915). The Wahl Building on Main Street was built in 1883 by William Wahl, a native of Germay. The building housed small businesses on the ground floor and professional offices on the second floor. The Wahl Building was torn down in 1928 when Broadway was extended through Main Street.
EXTRA! EXTRA!
I just found a Masque Ball with Janke members in it, and a Hull. This is a dream com tru in regrds to my daughter, Heather Hanon, coming into my life when she was sixteen. We has dinner with Nancy Hmren, Hether wanted me to promote her as a singer!
John Presco
Copyright 2024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Hall_(San_Francisco,_California)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Carlos_(play)
THE MASQUERADE BALL. A Very Successful Carnival in Germania Hall. The Hook and Ladder Company Pleased With Their Hall. Henutlfiil Costume*.
Dean’s Message
A continuing tradition and a vision for the future
For more than 140 years, beginning as the lone outpost of dental care in the West, the UCSF School of Dentistry has advanced the field of oral health and met the challenges of its time. Today, we continue that tradition with a mission to connect dentistry with medicine and the broader health sciences.
Our priorities are clear: innovation, interprofessional education, integrated health, and community connection. We are advancing science, embracing technology, and moving toward data-driven dentistry, while keeping people at the center of care.
Through active learning and mentorship, we prepare the dental professionals of the future to lead with skill, integrity, and a commitment to lifelong learning. In doing so, we champion a holistic approach to health that acknowledges the deep connections between dentistry and overall well-being.
Our greatest strength is our community of learners, faculty, staff, and alumni whose curiosity and compassion propel us forward. Building on our legacy, UCSF Dentistry remains a pioneer in research, education, and patient care. We are committed to shaping the future of dentistry for generations to come.
Michael S. Reddy, DMD, DMSc
Dean, UCSF School of Dentistry
Associate Vice Chancellor, Oral Health Affairs
UCSF was founded as Toland Medical College in 1864. In 1873, it became affiliated with the University of California as its medical department. In the same year, it incorporated the California College of Pharmacy and in 1881 it established a dentistry school. Its facilities were located in both Berkeley and San Francisco.[11] In 1964, the school gained full administrative independence as a campus of the UC system, headed by its own chancellor, and in 1970 it gained its current name. Historically based at Parnassus Heights with satellite facilities throughout the city, UCSF developed a second major campus in the newly redeveloped Mission Bay district in the early 2000s.
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