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the cabin and said, “That’s a compact little cabin. How in the hell did
you build it for nineteen dollars?” After Buck’s explanation, he said, “It’s a
good example of what a guy can do for a little money.”
At Lake Tahoe, Max convinced the local authorities to swear him in as
a deputy sheriff. He wore his star and carried a pistol and spent his days
trying to discover criminals who frequently let the air out of his tires when
his back was turned.
an account of a day spent hunting, he wrote, “We jumped a Sambar
coming through the jungle and the writer also jumped a bunch of biting
tree ants which fell down his neck and in his shirt. It was necessary for the
writer to stop and rip his shirt off.”
In August 1951, Max and Sarah invited their Tahoe friends, Sessions
S. Wheeler and his wife to join them on a month-long fishing excursion
on the
Haida
in Alaska. As the days progressed, Fleischmann seemed
to weaken and grow unsteady. When Sessions was enlisted to talk him
out of fishing one day, Fleischmann said, “Buck, why in the world are
they worried about me? I’ve had a damn good life. I’ve been every place
I’ve wanted to go and done everything I’ve wanted to do. Most of these
things I can’t do anymore, I won’t fall out of that boat, but if I did, I’d
rather die here than in a hospital. And when I die, no one should feel
badly about it.”
One story he liked to tell about himself occurred during the Depression.
He had been on a hunting trip and after several days emerged from the
woods wearing dirty old clothes and a ten-gallon hat over a besmirched
face. He went into a diner for a bite to eat and afterwards tipped the
counterman 50 cents. The counterman flipped the coin back to Max
saying, “I think you need this more than I do.”
Max’s sense of humor is revealed through the journals of his hunting
trips. During the 1907 safari to British East Africa, a local chief sent
presents but excused his absence saying his nephew had smallpox. Max
wrote, “…his absence was entirely excusable and the only thing that
would not be excused was his presence.” On the same expedition they
were traveling by boat on the Red Sea and he noticed that the German
band, which provided their entertainment, was much improved. His
fellow travelers had begun taking turns buying kegs of beer and treating
the boat party, including the band, each evening. “This, I think, in great
measure accounts for their improvement,” Max quipped.
In 1928, he and Sarah took a disappointing trip to Indochina where a
good day was described thusly, “Again no ants in bed last night.” Giving
Several days later, Fleischmann collapsed in his office aboard the
Haida
.
The boat sped for Seattle. When he regained consciousness, he insisted
on walking off the boat. Then ensued a series of doctors and hospitals
until he was flown to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara where surgery
revealed inoperable pancreatic cancer. He insisted on being moved home
to
Edgewood
. On October 16, 1951, after inviting his doctor to dinner,
Max Fleischmann went to his room and shot himself. Sessions Wheeler and
other close friends believe he did so to spare Sarah further agony.
In his will, he gave his entire estate but one million dollars to the
Fleischmann Foundation centered in Nevada. He stipulated that the
Foundation would last 20 years past the death of Sarah at which time all
money must be spent.
For 28 years after his death, Max Fleischmann continued to benefit the
communities he had loved.
(The author wishes to express appreciation to the following for their
assistance: Michael Redmon, director of research at the Gledhill Library
of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum; Kathi Brewster, local historian;
Janet O’Neill, Public Affairs, Cottage Health System; Alixe Mattingly, vice
president, Communications and Marketing, Santa Barbara Foundation; and
Terri Sheridan, librarian, Museum of Natural History; and to acknowledge as
a source Sessions S. Wheeler’s book, “Gentleman in the Outdoors.”)
The Fleischmann Wing in the 1960s is the narrow wing in the photo and
the oldest part of Cottage hospital. It will be razed in the final stages of
reconstruction.
(Courtesy Cottage Hospital)