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120th Anniversary of Her Passing

What's in Your Sugar Bowl?

The Year 2012 is special in that it's the 120th anniversary since a tender young life was snuffed out for the selfish and ruthless purposes of others. We know the Lizzie Wyllie was pregnant by John Longfield, so Kate Morgan's blackmail plot was clearly bogus. The owner of the Hotel del Coronado, John Spreckels, was a very wealthy and powerful man. Spreckels, in this regard, was also an innocent vicim.

John Spreckels had nothing to do with Lizzie's 'ruination,' but there was every reason for his army of operatives in San Diego to cover up what could have been a terrible compromise during the delicate negotiations with President Benjamin Harrison and Congress over the fate of Hawai'i. It was all for nothing. Spreckels' business rivals, led by the Sanford Dole pineapple interests, overthrew the Hawai'ian monarchy a few weeks after the Beautiful Stranger's coincidental death at the Hotel Del.

Ever resilient, the Spreckelses moved their sugar operations to California, harvesting sugar beets in what is today the town of Spreckels near Monterey. Next time you have coffee in a California restaurant, check the sugar bowl. Chances are, the packets will read either Spreckels, or C&H (California and Hawaiian).