I must agree with the residents of De Butts Terrace, that street and what it has stood for in the past is not them. It stood for pioneering, for hardships (just to get up the dirt road in the rain), for no electricity, no water, for fighting the elements. It stood for down-to-earth people who didn’t live in fancy homes or have huge incomes, but took in all the stray animals and were public servants. What’s in a name? Edward Delaplane deButts, my papa, delivered mail in Malibu for 32 years. He was loved by all and president of several organizations. A very special person with a name that had dignity.
What’s in a name? Marianne Valentine deButts, my mama, a character of characters, writing in The Malibu Times about the good in people and the good things they where up to. People came a long way just to sit and listen to her wisdom and down-to-earth stories about life. Her name had honor and pride.
I have really pondered over this and am mostly surprised that the residents would even ask our input. But I don’t think it is really our input they want but our approval. No one asked us when they changed Fauquier Road to Winding Way (try living on that one). We named that road, too. That was a county in Virginia where my parents came from. So I do appreciate you folks asking us. I know my parents would not have wanted the name disgraced and brought down to “potty talk” by small-minded, history- ignorant newcomers. As far as history goes, it is pretty much gone already, except on the map, as there is no street sign, I am told, and no visual heritage there. My parents’ ashes are spread on the land that was once “Squeaky’s Mesa”(named for the family dog). I think it would be great to have a monument down by the mailboxes, as the residents suggested, but not a tree (fires kill trees), a cement one with a plaque. I also appreciate all the letters from the folks that knew the people with the name and their desire to hold on to some of Malibu’s history. I will not, however, approve of any other name, but you go ahead and call it whatever you want to. It is your area now, you pay the taxes and you have the view. My parents said you would some day, when they bought 10 acres for $3,000, over 60 years ago. Name it something a bit less embarrassing for you but, mark my words, you can’t protect your kids or yourself from name-calling or the brunt of bad jokes. Look what this has brought. As for the physical look of the area, I am told it is still pristine, rugged and wild, just dotted with mansions, greenery, a paved road and fire hydrants. What is no longer there is the spirit in which the deButts’ pioneered. It is gone with the wind.
Forrest deButts Nelson