“Lake Tahoe’s Accidental Conservationists”-George Whittell and his wife Elia. Local authors and historians David & Gayle Woodruff re-enact the characters of one of the wealthiest couples on the West Coast during the 1920s through 1950s. They kept an African Lion for a pet, owned over 25 miles of Lake Tahoe waterfront, built one of the most beautiful estates on Lake Tahoe’s shore, hosted high stakes poker games with the rich and famous, and unintentionally conserved a large portion of Lake Tahoe lands for the public to enjoy today.