OUR LAGUNA:Stories abound about the Dilleys

The Laguna Canyon Conservancy and Laguna Greenbelt Inc. honored the late Jeanette and James Dilley at the first post-Festival season conservancy dinner.

Laguna Beach is surrounded by 17,000 acres of open space, which many people credit the Dilleys with getting started.

"The LCC, the Greenbelt and the Laguna Canyon Foundation are derived from the Dilleys," said Harry Huggins, who put together a slide show for the dinner meeting.

Huggins is known as the executive director of the "The Walk," which in 1989 sparked the city's successful opposition to the development of Laguna Laurel in the canyon. He said any conversation about the Dilleys would also have to include the late Barbara Stuart, who survived Jim, but predeceased Jeanette.

Stuart was an early supporter of the Dilley's dream of a greenbelt of open space. She was honored for her contributions to the environment in 1997 as the Patriots Day Parade Citizen of the Year. And that was before she left a significant legacy to help further the dream.

Huggins prefaced his narration of the slides by inviting everyone to contribute information about the Dilleys to fill voids in their history. Many of the slides were taken by Doug Miller, the city's peripatetic photographer.

Jeanette and James Dilley came to Laguna Beach a year after they married in 1927, thought to have happened in Palo Alto, where he taught at Stanford University. Dilley had earned his doctorate before they married.

"She had master's degrees in math, science and English — they must have had some good debates," Huggins said.

Huggins met Dilley on a walk around town with [now-retired county Chief of Harbors, Beaches and Parks] Eric Jessen. Huggins described Dilley as a typical professor-type, wearing an "80- or 90-year-old" sport coat, with a unique button on the lapel and carrying a pipe that had gone out two days earlier.

"Only one other person has that button, which is given to the President of the Greenbelt: Elisabeth Brown." Huggins said.

The Dilleys opened their first bookstore on Forest Avenue in 1958 and relocated in 1962 to South Coast Highway, where the Sherwood Gallery is today.

Then, as now, June and Art Fong owned an import shop just down the street. The couples became friends.

Art Fong was among the speakers at the dinner.