Palomar Mountain News

Dutchman, Bram Camper-Titsingh, and his American wife, Evelyn ended the last years of their long lives on an 86 acre ranch on Palomar Mountain that they bought in 1954.  He had been a tea-planter in Indonesia as a young man and, homeward bound, met and married Evelyn Gore, a student at Stanford University in 1922. They lived the next 20 years in Holland, Rumania, and Germany where Bram was a chemical engineer with the Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum Company.

In August 1939 they and their two daughters, Mary and Dora, were kicked out of Germany as alien foreigners by Adolf Hitler, Germany’s dictator, Luckily for them, since WWII began in September 1939. After a year in Chester, England where German bombs were dropping all around, the family crossed the submarine-infested Atlantic Ocean and was welcomed by Evelyn’s parents in California. Bram was still employed by Shell Oil company in Curacao, Dutch West Indies until his retirement.

During a visit with Dutch friends in Julian, California the couple fell in love with the area and began to look for a home to purchase. Bram felt that the San Diego County mountains reminded him of the forested areas he had loved in his years in Indonesia. After months of visiting homes for sale a very frustrated real estate lady finally showed them a long-deserted 86-acre ranch off East Grade Road on Palomar Mountain. THIS WAS IT! In 1954 they moved all of their belongings acquired in Europe into the four bedroom Main House. It had been built of adobe bricks in 1930 by an admiral stationed in San Diego who wanted a country house and a secure refuge for his family in case of a Japanese attack on California!

The Camper-Titsingh’s two married daughters and the grandchildren came to Palomar Ranch from their homes in Arizona and Oregon nearly every summer vacation and on holiday. The three Druliner grandsons, Bill, Bruce and Cliff kept returning to live at the ranch, first to help their aging grandparents then later between jobs elsewhere. Bill Druliner married Abbey Balin in 1980 and they continue to be the longest full-time residents at Palomar Ranch. Their daughters Meriah and Danielle Druliner are now the Fourth Generation to enjoy and cherish Palomar Ranch.

See also Mary’s book that is available on line.