At 102 years old, Kathrine “Kay” Dana Shaw, the oldest living relative of Dana Point’s namesake, Richard Henry Dana Jr., has her own story to tell.
It’s a story of starting tradition and community in south Orange County alongside her husband, Fulton Shaw. Through her journey of being a publicist and play producer in the 1950s — and then her transition to becoming a business owner and philanthropist — Kay Shaw is a key player to the lore of early Orange County.
Kay Shaw, along with members of her family, visited the O’Neill Museum in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, Nov. 22, to read from her book, “Mover and Shaker: Remarkable Woman Making Her Mark In A Man’s World.” The book, which came out in March, tells the tale of Kay Shaw’s life, outlining her ongoing support for the Mission Viejo, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano communities through her own eyes.
“My parents have been influential in the San Juan Capistrano area and were both business owners who knew how much vision and sweat equity went into establishing a business from the ground up,” said Cynthia Shaw Bowers, the Shaws’ daughter and co-author of the book. “With this in mind, they wanted to help other business owners flourish.”
Kay Shaw’s story started at her first business, Cathrine Coleman’s Charm School. The theater company provided the means to meet Walter Knott, owner of Knott’s Berry Farm, who recognized her publicity skills and allowed her to own and lease the Bird Cage Theatre which she later sold to her partners, Woody Wilson and George Stuart, according to Bowers.
Kay Shaw produced and performed many plays at the Bird Cage Theatre such as “The Streets of New York” and “Riverboat Revenge.” The recognition of her plays and publicity work drew crowds to the theater and Old MacDonald’s Farm, a petting zoo farm on the Knott’s property.
It was at the farm where Kay and Fulton Shaw met. They married, and when Fulton Shaw moved the original Old MacDonald’s Farm to Mission Viejo in 1969 (now the site of the Kaleidoscope Mall), the Shaws opened a marionette stage so she could continue her love for shows, said Bowers.
Bowers said that as a little girl, she worked on the farm anywhere they needed her.
“It was a great experience,” Bowers said, “working with family and entertaining guests that came through.”
From this point, Kay and Fulton Shaw dedicated all of their time to supporting the south Orange County community.
“Fulton and Kay were unstoppable business partners who simply wanted to help other businesses thrive like they had, so they either started or supported many community organizations,” said Bowers. Those include the San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Fiesta Association, El Viaje de Portola and Women’s Club of San Juan Capistrano, she said.
Fulton Shaw also was one of the founders of the famous Swallow’s Day Parade in San Juan Capistrano.
“Fulton Shaw had a vision that the little street parade could be promoted and expanded to draw crowds to then-sleepy San Juan Capistrano,” said Bowers. “Fulton and Kay used their skill of promotion to invite Hollywood actors to be the grand marshall of the Swallow’s Day Parade, which paid off in incredible publicity.”
The Swallow’s Day Parade has exploded to become one of the biggest events in San Juan Capistrano and continues to draw families to the story of the Shaws. Kay Shaw was the grand marshall of the Swallow’s Day parade in 2008.
At the O’Neill Museum on Tuesday, friends and family took turns reading from Kay Shaw’s book.
After the reading, Shaw embarked on a train ride to meet one of her daughters in Albuquerque in time for Thanksgiving. She was accompanied by other family members, and they arrived in New Mexico Wednesday morning.
“Life is short, and a relationship with your maker and loved ones is what matters most,” said Kay Shaw.
In 2016, Kay Shaw read from her cousin’s well-known book “Two Years Before the Mast,” at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point. It was the first time Kay Shaw — who was 94 years old at the time — had participated in the Dana Point Historical Society’s annual reading of the personal account by Dana. “Two Years Before the Mast” is Dana’s memoir of a two-year sea voyage he took from Boston to California on a merchant ship in 1834; it was published in 1840.
“Mover and Shaker: Remarkable Woman Making Her Mark In A Man’s World” can be purchased online.
