A
Last Wave to Natalie
Sunny Magdaug
and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to the following copyrighted
material. For permission to reprint or excerpt it and/or link it to another
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Natalie
Kotsch wasn’t a surfing champion, famed board shaper or surf
artist. Nor did she have a line of surf wear named after her. She didn’t even
surf. But, she was a giant in the world of surfing, who left a lasting legacy
for surfers and all who love the beach and ocean - the International Surfing Museum.
Located in Huntington Beach (411 Olive Avenue) in the
heart of “Surf City,” the International Surfing Museum, established in 1987, is
the labor of love that Natalie created with grass roots support from the
surfing community.
The museum was needed, she thought, as a way to honor and
remember surfing’s evolution and achievements and the surfing legends who made
the sport what it is today. Now Natalie, who passed away on February 20, 2014,
is a surfing legend herself.
A Canadian who moved to Huntington Beach in 1976 and
became a realtor, Natalie was enamored with the beach and surfing culture from
the start, relishing the warm SoCal weather and welcoming vibe.
Finding out that the city didn’t have a place to showcase
surfing memorabilia or to safeguard its heritage, she set about to make the
surfing museum a reality, explaining, “I founded this museum to preserve what
used to be.”
Visitors to the museum can see rare photos of legendary
surfer Duke Kahanamoku.
Dick Dale’s 1954 California electric guitar is here and a
Jan and Dean gold record, along with countless mementos, surf trophies,
historic surfboards…
and the Bolex camera that Bruce Brown used to film The Endless Summer, the 1966 surf movie
that put surfing on the map.
Over the years the museum has staged exhibits showcasing
surfers, board shapers, artists, musicians, and even board wax itself – the
exhibit “Wax On! History of Surfboard Wax” featured over 1,000 bars of
surfboard wax.
All of this is thanks to Natalie’s tireless efforts.
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel remember
Natalie as one of those people who could light up a room with their smile. This
was certainly true of Natalie, who never seemed to run out of energy and was
always ready to lend her support to civic projects in her beloved adopted city.
In recognition of her work, Huntington Beach named Natalie
Citizen of the Year in 1991 and in
1998 she was inducted into the Surfing
Walk of Fame. Then, in 2013, Huntington Beach gave Natalie its highest
honor, a Key to City. In presenting
the award, Mayor Connie Boardman said, “This is a very special woman who has donated
thousands and thousands of hours to the City.”
Surf artist Dave
Reynolds, who has served as the surfing museum’s artistic director, knew
Natalie well and told SurfWriter Girls about how he first met her.
“I had heard about
the new surfing museum in 1988 and had this wild thought that the museum might
like to display some of my work. I called and soon after met with Natalie. She
really liked what I was doing and put my art on public display for the first
time.”
Museum Director Cindy
Cross said, “Natalie’s passion drives me and the memory of her wonderful,
throaty laugh and dazzling smile sustains me. I will love and miss her every
day of my life.”
Even when health issues conspired to slow Natalie down in
recent years, she still kept going and attended as many surfing museum and
community events as she could.
When Natalie received the Key to the City she said, “This is really something to cherish.” The
same can be said about her.
Natalie Kotsch will be cherished by all who were
fortunate enough to know her and by anyone who steps inside the International
Surfing Museum to celebrate the spirit of surfing.
A memorial service honoring Natalie’s life is being held
March 8, 2014, at noon at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. There will
be a “paddle out” at 10 a.m. at the Huntington Beach Pier.
If you would like to post your comment or memory of Natalie below, it will appear in our SurfWriter Girls blog the next day.
