Issuu

IN PR

G 20 22

OJAI AT THE CROSSROADS WHAT PUBLIC ART SAYS ABOUT US AN ALLIANCE FOR OJAI’S WATER

Donna Sallen

Welcome home! You will love this downtown Ojai home with an open spacious floor plan, vaulted ceilings and gleaming wood floors. The kitchen has a large island and is open to the dining and great room. The living room is light-filled and has a beautiful rock fireplace. All the bedrooms are generous in size and the bathrooms have been remodeled. You will love the great room looking out into the very private back yard. Bring your finishing touches to the unfinished building in the back and create a dream space for your guests to come stay and/or Art Studio. Don’t miss this one!

There’s no place like home ... Let me find yours.

Gated and private, this beautiful Mediterranean-style estate is sitting perfectly on 2 acres in Rancho Matilija. Designed by local renown architect, Marc Whitman, the special attention to detail can’t be overlooked. With a dramatic entry which leads you to the open spacious great room you can’t help but notice the perfect mix of indoor/outdoor living where light filled rooms blend with the lush landscaping. Perfect for entertaining with two outdoor kitchens, saltwater pool and spa and a private pool house or art studio. Back inside you will love the gourmet kitchen with commercial grade appliances. Vaulted ceilings, three fireplaces, a media room. You will love the sweeping staircase leading you to an exquisite room which can be used as an office or family room. There is a gentlemen’s orchard, an oversized three car garage along with lovely mountain views. This home is one of a kind and a must see.

Donna Sallen

805-798-0516

w w w. D o n n a S a l l e n .

Service that’s as elevated as your standards.

Clinton Haugan and Tyler Brousseau | Top Producing Ojai Natives “ Tyler and Clint were able to find us the perfect house in a very difficult market with little inventory. We found that they were extremely knowledgeable about the market and were able to get us access to homes before they hit the market, including the home that we ultimately purchased. Tyler and Clint provided great service throughout the entire process. They were very detail oriented, incredibly responsive and dedicated to finding the perfect home for us. We highly recommend Tyler and Clint for buying or selling a home!” - The Quick Family

NEW LISTING

IN ESCROW

230 Fairway Lane, Ojai

15990 Maricopa Highway, Ojai

608 East Ojai Avenue, Ojai

3 BD | 2.5 BA | 2,294 SQFT

4 BD | 3 BA | 3,207 SQFT | GUEST HOUSE

COMMERICAL LOT | 18,104 SQFT

OFFERED AT $1,900,000

OFFERED AT $1,895,000

OFFERED AT $485,000

Visit OjaiForSale.com TYLER BROUSSEAU

CLINTON HAUGAN

805.760.2213 Cal DRE 01916136 tyler.brousseau@sothebysrealty.com

805.760.2092 Cal DRE 02019604 clinton.haugan@sothebysrealty.com

© 2022 LIV Sotheby’s International Realty. All rights reserved. All data, including all measurements and calculations are obtained from various sources and has not and will not be verified by Broker. All information shall be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. LIV Sotheby’s International Realty is independently owned and operated and supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act.

OQ / SPRING 2022

810 Foothill Road | $2,730,000 |1 Acre | Classic Ojai Sanctuary A bold & refined Ojai hideaway, blending the beauty of nature w/everyday living! Framed by ancient oaks and stone accents, you’re welcomed to nearly 1-acre of vibrant grounds emphasizing tranquility, wellness and wholeness, convenience, and luxury, in one of the most distinguished downtown, yet private, neighborhoods in Ojai! This single-level property features a 3br-2ba main house, plus an attached, lovely 1bd-1ba studio, totaling 3,234 sqft. Explore the lovely gardens, sparkling pool, enormous Oak Tree canopies, citrus trees, vegetable & flower gardens plus greenhouse

2249 McNell Road | $2,900,000 | 2 Homes | 1.5 Bt | Desirable Neighborhood Ultra-private exceptional 2-acre Ojai Retreat featuring TWO HOMES! Located in one of Ojai’s most priced, tranquil neighborhoods, set against a backdrop of majestic Topa Topa mountain views, this exceptional property embodies the essence of Ojai w/unrivaled tranquility & natural beauty! Explosive, dramatic mountain & valley views will take your breath away. This just under 3,000-sqft California Farmhouse is flooded with natural light and happy vibes. This property makes the California lifestyle easy. Upstairs are 3-bd/2-ba with stunning views.

CAL DRE# 01983530

G A B R I E L A C E S E ÑA

Unwavering commitment to my clients’ satisfaction. Driven by passion for the work I do. 805 236 3814

gabrielacesena@bhhscal.com

OQ / SPRING 2022

gabrielacesena.bhhscalifornia.com

Est. 1914

R AINS

A Specialty Department Store

Over 100 years of exceptional quality and good value.

RAINS

805-646-1441 | www.rainsofojai.com | 218 E. Ojai Ave.

Ojai

The Luxury of a Natural World.

The luxury of time. Of space. Of the beauty of living in a natural world. If that sounds like the home of your dreams, you’ll find it in Ojai.

Recently Sold ojaisharonm@gmail.com

805-766-7889

Sharon MaHarry & Co. Live The Ojai Dream.

Each ofﬁce is independently owned and operated

•

Sharon MaHarry, Broker Associate BRE #01438966 OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ / SPRING 2022

THE TRUSTED NAME IN REAL ESTATE FOR OVER 20 YEARS

SOLD

Spanish Charmer Close to the Beach $1M

SOLD

Sophistication Meets Casual in this Modern Arbolada Farmhouse! $3.5M

ILiveInOjai.com

Team@PeraltaTeam.com @PeraltaTeamOjai

DRE# 01862743

An Uniquely Rare and Utterly Private Opportunity in the Foothills of Ojai $4M

Tonya Peralta BROKER ASSOCIATE 805.794.7458

Steven Sharp TEAM REALTOR 805.223.5315

Rachelle Guiliani TEAM REALTOR 805.746.5188

Paula Edmonds TEAM REALTOR 805.665.7382

Ashley Ramsey TEAM REALTOR 805.302.4175

Brooke Stancil OPERATIONS MANAGER 805.794.7262

OJAI QUARTERLY

p.36

HERB WALKER & AUTHOR Lanny Kaufer Publishes Field Guide to Medicinal Herbs Story by Kit Stolz

p.64

THE DUTCHESS ARRIVES Rustic Canyon Crew Finds Home in Ojai Story By Richard Camp p.44

rethinking arts & community Reflecting Ojai Values In Public Art Story by Robin Gerber

OQ / SPRING 2022

FEATURES 112 OJAI’S BADLANDS Caliente Ridge Or Bust By Chuck Graham

p.102

Cover

yellowstone park, all to yourself

RING 202

Ojai at the Crossroads Illustration by Uta Ritke

America’s Most Treasured Hot Spot Story By Jerry Dunn

OJAI AT THE CROSSROADS WHAT PUBLIC ART SAYS ABOUT US AN ALLIANCE FOR OJAI’S WATER

OQ / SPRING 2022

2763 sq ft residence 3 bed / 2 bath - SOLD

3 bed / 2 bath / close to downtown SOLD... details on my website Representing Sellers & Buyers throughout the Ojai Valley

Riki Strandfeldt

(805)

794-6474

Search all Ojai Valley & CA Regional MLS Listings in-real-time ( No sign-in required )

www.Riki4RealEstate.com CA DRE Lic. # 01262026

Arbolada treasure on nearly a full acre with pool and private guesthouse. Walk to downtown Ojai. SOLD Guesthouse

More Available Every Day.

Vivienne Moody

(805)

798-1099

Email: vmoody10@sbcglobal.net CA DRE Lic. # 00989700

OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | DEPARTMENTS OJAI LIFE: p.29

Ojai Notes 2 Degrees: OK Corral & Ojai

p.25 Editor’s Note

By Bret Bradigan p.26 p.30

Contributors

Lauren Dollie Duke’s Memoir

p.29

Takes on Trauma

Ojai Notes

House of Horror, Healing

By Bret Bradigan p.51

Artists & Galleries Where Ojai Finds Its Purpose

p.41 Top Hikes of Ojai

p.51 Artists & Galleries

p.56

Food & Drink

p.53 Food & Drink Section

Dinner & a Show in Ojai By Ilona Saari

p.111 Healers of Ojai

p.134

Nocturnal Submissions Owhy Mayor Descends into Madness, Hilarity By Sami Zahringer

p.133 Calendar of Events

NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Midtown Medical Group – Pirie Road

Offering Internal Medicine and Geriatric Care in an Academic Medicine Environment HEIDI HENSON, D.O. Dr. Heidi Henson earned her medical degree at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency at Community Memorial Hospital. She is a member of the American College of Physicians, American College of Osteopathic Internists, Society of Hospital Medicine, Gold Humanism Honors Society and Endocrine Society.

MAZIAR GOSHTASBI, M.D. Dr. Maziar Goshtasbi earned his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine, completed his residency in family medicine at RWJ University Hospital Somerset, and spent a year at Hackensack University Medical Center for his geriatrics fellowship. He is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, and he is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Geriatrics Society and American College of Physicians.

Call 805/948-6650 to Book Your Appointment 117 Pirie Road, Suite E, Ojai

5IF *WZ öSTU PQFOFE JUT EPPST PO 7FOUVSB #MWE JO 4UVEJP $JUZ JO BOE DMPTFE JO BT TP NBOZ DPSQPSBUF TUPSFT XFSF PQFOJOH BOE JU EJEOhU GFFM SJHIU GPS 5IF *WZ B OZNPSF #VU OPX XF EJTDPWFSFE UIF NBHJDBM UPXO PG 0KBJ BOE UIPVHIU UIBU UIJT XPVME CF UIF QFSGFDU QMBDF GPS 5IF *WZ UP SF PQFO 0VS XJEF SBOHF PG JUFNT JODMVEFT BOUJRVFT öOF FTUBUF KFXFMSZ TUFSMJOH TJMWFS &VSPQFBO QPSDFMBJOT BOE QPUUFSZ MJOFOT BOE FYDFQUJPOBM BOUJRVF GVSOJUVSF GSPN BSPVOE UIF XPSME ̓"T BMXBZT BU 5IF *WZ UBCMFUPQ B DDFTTPSJFT BCPVOE JO öOF EJTIXBSF DSZTUBM BOE TJMWFS UP öOJTI Pò ZPVS UBCMF JO TUZMF $PNF TFF PVS OFXMZ FYQBOEFE TIPXSPPN GFBUVSJOH FYDMVTJWF WFSZ NPEFSO BOE VOVTVBM GVSOJUVSF BSU SVHT BOE BDDFTTPSJFT *G ZPV OFFE UP öOE UIF FMVTJWF QFSGFDU HJGU 5IF *WZ JO 0KBJ JT UIF POF TUPQ TIPQ GPS BMM ZPVS OFFET $PNF KPJO VT BGUFS BMM h&WFSZPOF TIPQT BU 5IF *WZ h

OQ / SPRING 2022

OJAI QUARTERLY Living the Ojai Life

SPRING 2022 Editor & Publisher

Bret Bradigan Sales Manager David Taylor Director of Publications Ross Falvo Creative Director Uta Ritke Social Media Director Elizabeth Spiller Ojai Hub Administrator Jessie Rose Ryan Contributing Editors Mark Lewis Jerry Camarillo Dunn Jr. Jesse Phelps Columnists Chuck Graham Ilona Saari Kit Stolz Sami Zahringer Circulation Target Media Partners

CONTACT US: Editorial & Advertising, 805.798.0177 editor@ojaiquarterly.com David@ojaiquarterly.com The contents of the Ojai Quarterly may not be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher. SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe to the OQ, visit ojaiquarterly.com or write to 1129 Maricopa Highway, B186 Ojai, CA 93023. Subscriptions are $24.95 per year.

#OJAI IG #revelkombucha

OQ / SPRING 2022

Real Estate Team ZabillaGroup.com

Let’s Partner for Success in 2022!

745 Lilac Drive, Montecito $6,920,000 - Sold

1417 Foothill Road, Ojai $1,410,000 - Sold

1605 Daly Road, Ojai $3,100,000 - Sold

1600 Foothill Road, Ojai $1,730,000 - Sold

929 Cuyama Road, Ojai $1,825,000 - Sold

226 Puesta Del Sol, Oak View $1,170,000 - Sold

Rosalie Zabilla 805.455.3183 Rosalie@ZabillaGroup.com DRE: 01493361 © Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All rights reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty is a registered trademark. This material is based upon information which we consider reliable but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. 24

OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | E D ITO R’ S N OTE

OJAI AT THE CROSSROADS “Avoid fried foods. They angry up the blood.” — Satchel Paige

What Satchel Paige, at age 59 the oldest man to play a professional sport in America, said about fried foods reminds me of the attendent umbrage at every proposal for the Ojai Unified School District headquarters — the choicest piece of remaining real estate in the choicest village remaining in southern California. Avoid mobs, they angry up the blood. It’s easy to be against something. It’s harder to come up with a plan and lean into it and persuade people to join you. As Mother Jones said, "Don't get angry. Organize." If a dedicated group of people 75 years ago didn’t do just that, we might not have an Ojai to rally around. The cover story this issue, “Ojai at the Crossroads,” fits into that narrative. What happened in Ojai in 1947 was a triumph of visionary action. In many ways, we are still living in the Ojai they created 75 years ago. But we have come to that crossroads once again. Besides the school district property, our retail landscape has changed dramatically since the pandemic, and we have hundreds of new residents, many of them refugees from the urban jungles. There’s a paradoxical, unintentional danger that they will create the same situation from which they escaped. Mark Lewis again masterfully pulls together the time and place in which these big plans became real and invites us to to ask the big questions. Who are we? What are we to become? You’ll find clues in these pages. For one example, Richard Camp’s profile of Zoe Nathan and her The Dutchess crew shows us that Ojai’s profile in the world of cuisine has never been higher. With her partnering all the influences, including our homegrown baking sensation Kate Pepper, we’ll be spoiled for culinary choice. And Ilona Saari’s inspired “dinner-and-a-show” take on where Ojai’s cultural scene meets its cuisine scene makes the case that nowhere can you find a better mix of urbane sophistication and small-town charm. Robin Gerber’s story teaches us that in “the Little Orange” our public art can, does and should reflect our community values. Nao Braverman’s Watershed Alliance story is another example of how we can and must think locally about sustainability as the climate crisis presents existential danger. In Lanny Kaufer’s book, “Medicinal Herbs of California,” he assembles his own half century of accumulated knowledge with the wisdom of centuries of science and folklore. Chuck Graham’s artful Caliente Ridge journey takes us through the astonishing natural beauty that surrounds us and, hopefully, informs us. And where would we be without Sami Zahringer? In a dull, cold and humorless place, that’s where. Her absurdist style reflects Ojai with insight and no small amount of affection. It is a filter that clarifies rather than disguises. We’ve been at the Ojai Quarterly & Ojai Monthly project for 12 years now, never missing a deadline even during the darkest days of the lockdown, and we are now proud to be Ojai’s oldest magazines. And as you go through these pages, you’ll see the advertisers who have stood by us throughout this time. Thanks, readers and advertisers, we could not do it without you.

OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | C O N TRI BU TO R S SERGIO ARAGONÉS

began drawing for Mad Magazine in 1963 and he has drawn tens of thousands of cartoons since. He is regarded as among the world’s most distinctive and prolific cartoonists.

Ojai pixie tangerine peelin’ native and an editorial and destination wedding photographer. Check out her work at fancyfreephotography. com

JERRY DUNN

CHUCK GRAHAM’S work

worked with the National Geographic Society for 35 years and has won three Lowell Thomas Awards, the “Oscars” of the field, from the Society of American Travel Writers.

ROBIN GERBER

is the author of four books and a playwright. Check her out at robingerber.com

KIT STOLZ is an award-winning journalist who has written for newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and online sites. He lives in Upper Ojai and blogs at achangeinthewind.com.

BRANDI CROCKETT is an

RICHARD CAMP

is an Emmy and Writers Guild Award-winning TV writer; theater director, Artistic Director of the Ojai Performing Arts Theater. Wine aficionado and Tenacious Tuesday Trivia competitor. richardcamp16@gmail.com

MARK LEWIS

is a writer and editor based in Ojai. He can be contacted at mark lewis1898@gmail.com.

has appeared in Outdoor Photographer, Canoe & Kayak, Trail Runner, Men’s Journal, The Surfer’s Journal and Backpacker.

ILONA SAARI is

UTA CULEMANNRITKE

a writer who’s worked in TV/film, rock’n’roll and political press, and as an op-ed columnist, mystery novelist and consultant for HGTV. She blogs for food: mydinnerswithrichard. blogspot.com.

is an independent artist, designer and curator. She is a member of Ojai Studio Artists and runs utaculemann.design.

JESSE PHELPS

SAMI ZAHRINGER is

grew up in Ojai and has written extensively for and about the town. He enjoys freelance projects and throwing things. He can be reached at jessephelps@outlook. com

an Ojai writer and award-winning breeder of domestic American long-haired children. She has more forcedmeat recipes than you.

OQ / SPRING 2022

the art of

relationship

WITH SELF, OTHERS, & THE ENVIRONMENT

OAKGROVESCHOOL.ORG Ojai, California

OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | oja i n ot es RIDGEWAY’S SEVENTH BOOK ON ‘LIFE LIVED WILD’

Ojai was first developed in the early 1870s by Royce Surdam, who purchased the land from railroad baron Tom Scott. Surdam relentlessly promoted the town sites, naming it Nordhoff, after Charles Nordhoff, author of a popular book extolling California for its salubrious climate.

IN BRIEF: OJAI TALK OF THE TOWN PODCASTS Joel Fox and Jennifer Day of Smile Mountain are busy creating content for many artistic projects all the time. Their latest project is the most far-out of them all — a nine-minute promotional film for the James Webb Space Telescope, which launched December 24th into an orbit one million away from earth, where the $10 billion project will listen and watch into the deepest recesses of space and time. Joel grew up in Ojai, and met Jennifer in Santa Monica. They’ve been living and working together ever since. An early web developer, Joel was also a film editor and creative director for kid’s cult classic “Yo Gabba Gabba.”

Explorer, conservationist, mountaineer and author Rick Ridgeway has lived a life that is best summed up in the subhead of his seventh book, “Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map.” Each chapter of this book covers a different adventure, all of them told in Rick’s compelling style. These adventures include climbing uncharted peaks in the Himalayas, searching the rivers of eastern Siberia for tigers, crossing the remote fastnesses of the Chang Tang Plateau in Tibet in search of the calving grounds of the enigmatic and endangered chiru — an antelope-like goat prized for its fur and now protected, and returning to the site of a tragic avalanche to bring closure and comfort to a grieving daughter. He also talks about his efforts helping two CEOs tackle the formidable Seven Summits, climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents. Rick served as the he expedition leader for perhaps the most grueling climb — summitting Antarctica’s Mount Vinson. Rick also talks about the death of his close friend Doug Tompkins, founder of North Face and a visionary conservationist, on a kayak trip which nearly claimed Rick’s life as well.

‘COMMUNITY- POWERED JOURNALISM’ & OJAI WITH AUTHOR KEVIN DAVIS Kevin Davis, co-author of “Community Powered Journalism,” has studied deeply the ways in which newspapers and local media can remain relevant, profitable, and enable communities to make informed decisions about their future. He’s also studied the ways

in which many newspapers have lost their way. He explains how, in a perverse twist, the most profitable companies in the world — Google and Facebook — do no original reporting themselves, and yet are getting richer and richer off the few reliable and

THE SHOOTOUT AT THE OK CORRAL & OJAI

ONE: On Oct. 26, 1881, the Clanton Gang were flouting the Tombstone, Arizona’s law against open-carry firearms to such an extent that action was required. The firearms restriction was designed specifically to give law enforcement the tools to police the rambunctious silver town against the Clantons and other Cochise County Cowboys. One of those enforcers was the legendary Wyatt Earp, along with his brother Virgil (who was actually the U.S. Marshal that fateful day) and Doc Holliday. In the years after the incident, which lasted all of seven seconds, Earp was often portrayed as a rogue. He was also notorious for a

2OJAI of

TWO DEGREES OF SEPARATION BETWEEN

trustworthy news sources that remain. Davis talked about journalists and Nobel Prize winners Maria Ressa and Dmitri Muratov. We also talked about his project to start the First Amendment Foundation of Ventura County.

1907 botched heavyweight title fight that he was accused of fixing. TWO: One of the journalists who wrote unflattering articles about Earp was the Los Angeles Times’ John Milton Scanland, who claimed Earp was a thug and murderer. He was surprised in 1922 when Earp, presumed dead, showed up Scanland’s office. What transpired between the men is a mystery, but since that day until his death six years later, Earp began to set the record straight about his life. Before being hired at the Los Angeles Times, Scanland had worked at the Ojai Valley View and the Santa Paula Graphic.

OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | oja i not es

SURVIVING THE 'SH!THOUSE' “I wrote it for catharis and it was cathartic. It’s also an entertaining and vulnerable human story. The marrow of it is ultimately generational trauma and generational transcendence.” Just because events are traumatic doesn’t mean they can’t be funny. Ojai resident Lauren Dollie Duke presents the case in her memoir, “Sh!thouse,” that humor is necessary to process emotional and sexual abuse, poverty, depression and other forms of dysfunction and trauma. It is an important tool for the work of healing. Duke joined the Ojai Talk of the Town podcast to talk over her recently published (Unapologetic Voice House) memoir. The story begins with her driving her father, who was in and out of prison, on a mysterious roadtrip with a packet thick with medical documents. She also steals liquor with her adored stepfather at age 7 before their car crashes. Not long after that incident, her errant father sticks up a bank with a finger gun. When released from jail years later, he moves into the basement of the titular house. It's humorous and poignant, often in the same sentence. The book follows her journey toward meditation, redemption and understanding. The fast-paced book does not shy away from examining those past traumas, including a harrowing account of sexual assault, and sifting through it for insight and selfforgiveness. 30

Duke, a yoga teacher and community activist with successful practices in Encinitas and Ojai, grew up south of San Francisco in the Pacifica-Half Moon Bay area, living in and out of tenuous situations as her fiery mother went through a string of failed relationships. Her biological father was a heroin addict and chain-smoker, who took his unlicensed, underage daughters into a car dealership and drove away with two cars. As Duke describes it, "Laying in bed, with my sister, after we had played a part in stealing these cars with my dad ... laughing and crying ... one day I’m going to write a

book about this, and someone is going to make a movie. I was 15, it was very catalyzed in my mind, for years I wanted to be doing it." The project started to take shape in 2014 when she was living and teaching in Costa Rica. "I decided it couldn't be inside of me anymore, that it was actually hurting me. I was definitely sick, (it was) playing out in my body, my life. I just started writing to make myself feel better," she said. Duke talks about her parents' traumas and how they can be transmitted across generations. "I call myself a traumatologist. I study the nervous system, I study the mind. I think by the time that book was finished, I had realized I had ... 20 percent of a person is nature, genetics, and 80 percent is environment. By the end of it, that was my revelevation. No wonder how I was the way I was. I had to unwind, culturally, globally, all the shame — or feeling not good — living from that place of core wounds." You can purchase "Sh!thouse" at local outlets like Bart's Books, Poppies Art & Gifts, online at Amazon or through her website, laurendollieduke.com. OQ / SPRING 2022

monicaros.org

JOYFUL LEARNING

75 years of

Blending academic fundamentals with the richness of the visual arts, drama, and music. Preserving the magic of childhood in Ojai’s beautiful East End. Pre-K - 3rd Grade • Toddler Program • Summer Camp 805.646.8184 783 McNell Rd. Ojai, CA 93023 monicaros.org

OQ / SPRING 2022

an Ojai tradition since 1964

Open Every Day 9:30 - Sunset

302 W. Matilija Street | 805-646-3755

OQ | A RTS & L I T ER ATURE

ojai’s medicinal plants Lanny Kaufer Goes Beyond Herb Walks to Book Project By Kit Stolz

artists & galleries The People, Places That Make Ojai an Arts Destination

44 public art, public values The Role of Art in Building An Intentional Community By Robin Gerber

Frameworks of Ojai custom picture framing

archival quality friendly service Explore Ojai Valley’s History, Art and Culture 130 W. Ojai Ave. 805 640-1390 OjaiValleyMuseum.org

Hours: Monday ~ Friday 10 - 5 Saturday 11 - 3, or by appointment. (805) 640-3601 236 w. ojai ave, #203, ojai, ca 93023 info@frameworksofojai.com

Krotona Institute of Theosophy An international center dedicated to understanding, harmony, and peace among all peoples, comparative studies in religion, philosophy and science, altruism and the ideals of a spiritual life. • BOOKS

• LEGO

• SCIENCE TOYS

• PLAYMOBIL

• MUSICAL TOYS

• PUZZLES

• KITES

• ART TOYS

• PLANES FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1979 221 E. Matilija Street in Downtown Ojai (805) 646-2585 Open Monday - Saturday, 10 - 5:30 Sundays from 10 - 3

Library and Research Center Quest Bookshop School of Theosophy

2 Krotona Hill, Ojai 805 646-2653 www.krotonainstitute.org 34

OQ / SPRING 2022

Fair Traded India exclusive clothing. Unique Mud Lotus designs. Natural & sustainable fabrics.

FAIR TRADED INDIA EXCLUSIVE CLOTHING. UNIQUE MUD LOTUS DESIGNS. NATURAL & SUSTAINABLE FABRICS. Tribal & Artist Jewelry One of a Kind Clothing & Accessories Hand Block Printed Bed Covers, Ojai Handmade Tie Dye PHONE: 805 252 5882, 305 E. MATILIJA, SUITE G, INNER ARCADE’S COURTYARD themudlotus

themudlotus.com

OQ | OF F T HE S HEL F

STORY BY KIT STOLZ

WHEN a new virus known as COVID-19 first came to the US in 2020, scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee put the world’s largest and fastest supercomputer, SUMMIT — which has the power of a million laptops working together — to search out compounds that could block the virus from invading cells in a human.

SELMAN BOOK

YERBA SANTA PLANT

LANNY KAUFER ON HIS HERB WALK

YERBA SANTA FLOWERS

Jeremy Smith, who led the effort at the Center for Molecular Biophysics at the famed Oak Ridge lab, said that “life on earth evolved over billions of years and produced many many different types of compounds to help it live. The variety of natural compounds in the natural world is stunning, and many drugs that are in use today are derived from natural products.” In search of this helpful compound, in February of 2020, 30 scientists working with the lab built a digital three-dimensional model of the molecular structure of the novel coronavirus’s famous spike protein and the ACE2 interface in human cells with which it docks. Using the power of the supercomputer they looked for “small molecules” that could likely bind to either the virus’s spiky key or to the ACE2’s lock-like receptor. The supercomputer quickly examined 8,000 compounds and identified 77 compounds that could potentially hinder the viral docking, and highlighted four top candidates likely to block the novel coronavirus. The fourth compound on that highlighted list, eriodictyol, comes

ERIODICTYOL (ZINC ID: 58117). ORANGE RIBBONS REPRESENT THE S-PROTEIN AND PURPLE RIBBONS CORRESPOND TO ACE2 RECEPTOR.

OQ | OF F T HE S HEL F

from a wild Southern Californian yerba santa plant well-known to indigenous healers, herbalists, and native plant experts such as Ojai’s Lanny Kaufer. Kaufer has been leading “herb walks” into the backcountry for decades, and just published a new book through Falcon Guide called “Medicinal Herbs of California.”

Yerba santa, easily found in the backcountry, is an extremely vigorous plant with gray resinous leaves long reputed for its healing qualities by Natives such as the Chumash. The plant’s medicinal qualities impressed newer arrivals to California as well, including the Spanish, who called it “holy herb,” and white settlers, who included it on the official US Pharmacopeia for lung conditions in 1894, Kaufer writes.

For Kaufer, a former biology teacher, this implicit vote of confidence in indigenous knowledge of native plants by a high-tech scientific pursuit stands as a prime example of “the consilience of evidence,” which can occur when two very different disciplines arrive at the same conclusion. “Native people have observed over centuries which plants work,” Kaufer noted. “Scientists call that empirical evidence. If the plant didn’t work, it would have fallen by the wayside. So that’s observational evidence, but that’s not scientific proof. Modern science requires laboratory and clinical evidence of effectiveness and safety. That’s what I’m trying to do, is bring together the observational evidence for the use of certain plants with the confirmation that comes with a scientific understanding.”

Kaufer has led “herb walks” for those curious about native medicinal plants into the Ojai backcountry for decades, sometimes in collaboration with his friend Jim Adams, a research pharmacologist recently retired from USC. Kaufer, Adams, and another scientifically-trained Southern California herbalist, Kevin Curran, a molecular biologist formerly 38

at UC San Diego, share an interest and belief in the usefulness of native plants, which they have all in their own ways explored in books, websites, and backcountry walks. But they don’t always agree on exactly on how best to prepare and use medicinal herbs. One plant that Kaufer and Adams both feature in their walks and in their work is yerba santa, and its potent compound Eriodictyol. Jim Adams said that he knew of several people infected with COVID-19 who had been helped by the inhalation of steam vapor from boiled Yerba Santa. “For thousands of years the Chumash have been boiling Yerba Santa and inhaling it,” Adams said. “It’s important that it be done correctly — Eriodictyol isn’t absorbed well into the blood, and if drunk in tea form it won’t reach the lungs where it’s needed. But it’s helpful against pneumonia and tuberculosis, and against COVID-19 I’ve had several people feel improvement after just 20 or 30 minutes of inhalation of the steam vapor.” Adams, through a Facebook page called “Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West,” offers a YouTube video on the correct use of the Yerba Santa vapor for a COVID-19 infection. Kaufer offers a similar recipe for vaporization for yerba santa in “Medicinal Herbs of California,” but in his discussion begins by putting the plant in historical context, and thoughtfully notes the differences in the way this herb (and 70 others in the book) are used medicinally by different peoples. He names nine tribes from throughout California who brewed a tea with yerba santa leaves for colds, coughs, and rheumatic pains. He also prominently mentions the contrasting method of vaporizing yerba santa for lung conditions, the method advocated by Chumash elder Cecilia Garcia and her former student, the pharmacologist Adams. Such differences in the use of medicinal herbs can sometimes be subtle. Another herbalist Kaufer calls one of his “teachers,” Michael Moore, calls for using an infusion of yerba santa tea instead of an inhalation of the vapor, which Moore described as “one of our best decongestants.” These sorts of variations spurred Kaufer to insist on including over 350 citations to medical research OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | OF F T HE S HEL F

LANNY KAUFER’S FALCON GUIDE

studies and historical examples in his book, even though he said the Falcon Guide publisher did not initially want to include references in a field guide. Kaufer takes a reserved stance toward these different herbalist remedies, succinctly and with minimal comment laying out the differences and variations. In the case of yerba santa, he notes that before the advent of antibiotics, the Chumash “used yerba santa for all breathing problems, including asthma, tuberculosis, and pneumonia,” but unlike Adams he doesn’t recommend it specifically against COVID-19. He does say, in the recipe, that teas “may help combat an infection” and adds regarding yerba santa recipes that “You’ll have to find what works for you.” Kevin Curran, who describes himself as an “Internet friend” of Kaufer’s, is a molecular biologist from San Diego, a former professor at UC San Diego, and an expert on native plant compounds. He offers a popular online guide to California medicinal herbs called the Ethnoherbalist, and consults with manufacturers. He said that although he knows yerba santa is often recommended for lung inflammation, he personally wouldn’t suggest yerba santa preparations for people with COVID-19 without seeing the results of clinical trial testing first. “I’m a little square that way,” he said, but he stressed that he trusted Kaufer, whom he recommended to the Falcon Guide publisher, in part because of his long experience teaching in the wild with native plants. Kaufer has led hundreds of “herb walks” in the Ojai area since 1976. Although herbalists such as Adams, Curran, and Kaufer bring slightly different approaches to medicinal plants and their uses, they all support public health measures against the pandemic. Adams in a 2020 video touting the benefits of yerba santa

inhalation in the case of COVID-19 first strongly stresses the benefits of masking, and Kaufer agreed this January. “Although I have a distrust of Big Pharma, I am double vaccinated and boosted and I observe religiously the COVID protocols,” Kaufer said. “Because this is a global pandemic and I believe in science.”

To usefully explore the benefits and powers of wild herbs speaks to Kaufer’s deeper intention: to inspire readers to find a closer relationship with the native plants of the land on which they live. “My primary mission is something that came to me on a personal vision quest, into the mountains behind Ojai in 1970,” he said. “At that time I made a commitment to myself to help protect these native plants. I realized that people want to protect what they value so my goal has always been to instill in people a sense of the value of these plants, so that people see them for their

OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | OF F T HE S HEL F intrinsic value, not just as brush on the hillside to bulldoze out of the way.” Curran points out that Kaufer’s long experience with native plants gives him experience not available commercially, because Kaufer doesn’t rely on herbal supplements available in stores. "You can’t just go into a store and buy a medicinal herb and be certain you know what you are getting,” Curran said. “It’s the Wild Wild West. It’s a problem with the entire supplements industry.” Curran said that because supplements in stores superficially look like medications, people tend to expect that manufacturers will meet pharmaceutical standards for purity, potency, and concentration. These standards are tightly regulated in the pharmaceutical industry, with manufacturing facilities that are inspected routinely. Such is not the case with dietary supplements in this country in part because, he said, customers don’t really want it. “To be quantitative is not a direction that a lot of people in this market really want to go,” he said. “A lot of people would rather know an herbalist who lives in the mountains and has a little shop that makes infusions. It’s a lot cooler to have some sort of spiritual connection than to look at a certificate of purity from a registered analyst.”

Kaufer writes about the history of this conflict between the spiritual and the scientific regarding medicinal plants. In an introductory chapter in the book, he contrasts how in this nation the indigenous knowledge of plants was all but lost to genocidal attacks on Native tribes, and then in the early 20th century, to a focus on “scientific” learning that excluded past plant knowledge. “A racist bias prevented most Europeans from accepting medical advice from people they deemed inferior, or even worse, subhuman,” he writes, of early settlers in North America. The release of the “Flexner Report” on medical education in the U.S. in 1910 further setback herbal treatments for common ailments, he writes, as it led to the closing of half the schools providing medical education in the country, “including those who taught herbal or naturopathic medicine, as well as those that taught Black or women doctors.” 40

“I’m just trying to restore herbs to their rightful place in the pharmacopeia,” Kaufer said. “In terms of laboratory and clinical evidence, synthetic drugs and the medication education around them has a 100-year head start on herbs. So it’s going to take a while to level the playing field, and we still have a commercial problem, which is that a drug company can’t patent a whole plant. They can isolate an extract from the plant, and patent that, but that’s not necessarily the best use of the plant, because with some of these plants, the compounds work in synergy with each other. Sometimes nature does a better job.” Kaufer reports that interest in his backcountry “herb walks” has risen slowly but steadily over the decades in which he has been leading walks. On many walks he invites collaborators, such as herbalists or naturalists or scientists, including pharmacologist Adams, the prominent artist, writer and naturalist Obi Kaufman, and the forager Christopher Nyerges. A walk with the mushroom collector/writer Jess Starwood early in the year proved so popular that Kaufer added two dates for walks with her and still sold out with a substantial waiting list in January. He said that people have been asking him for years when he would have a book for sale at the small store he runs via his herbwalks.com website for those interested in medicinal herbs. “This book is really my attempt to bring together the ancient knowledge that I value so much and has been so badly disregarded with the science that confirms that plants have been shown for centuries to be effective for certain conditions by Native Americans,” Kaufer said. He adds that the pandemic’s arrival in 2020, by forcing him to halt his herb walks, ironically gave him the many months of uninterrupted time he needed to write and fact-check the book. Now that he can safely lead walks outdoors again, Kaufer looks forward to resuming his schedule of herb walks, which will feature him exploring Matilija Canyon, the Ventura River Watershed, the Potrero John Trail, and many other favorite locations rich in medicinal herbs.

“Go for a hike with Lanny. Get out in the woods and check out the plants,” urged his researcher friend, Curran. “Get to know your local plants, grow them in your yard, and be connected with the world around you. It’s a great reminder of what we always have available to us in Southern California for free.” OQ / SPRING 2022

OQ | HI K I NG M AP 1

SHELF ROAD 3.5mi EASY | Elev. Gain: 200 ft | Overlooks downtown Ojai.

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Trailhead at Rose Valley Campground. Leads to a spectacular 300-foot, two-tiered fall.

PRATT TRAIL 8.8mi STRENUOUS | Elev. Gain: 3,300

GRIDLEY TRAIL 6-12mi MODERATE | 3 mi to Gridley Springs

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SULPHUR MTN. 22mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 2,300 ft |

Topa Topa Bluffs. Trailhead at end of Sisar Road. Trailhead on eastern side of Sulphur Mountain Road. Only for experienced, f it hikers. Views are unsurpassed. OQ / SPRING 2022

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SYLVIA RAZ’ EARLY BIRD SHOPPER, SOLAR PUNKED

OJAI WHALE ROCK

Public Art in Ojai

VERA LONG PAINTING TIERRA SOL EVENT

STORY BY ROBIN GERBER

I’M

standing in a small clearing staring up in wonder at a life-sized rock of a whale with her baby nestled at her side. Whale rock is thousands of years old, set in a

rocky outcropping now on private land overlooking the Ojai Valley. Could Whale Rock have once been “public art,” a place where First Nations Chumash

SYLVIA RAZ’ EARLY BIRD SHOPPER IN THE ARCADE PLAZA

TED GALL’S STEEL HORSE AT THE “Y” INTERSECTION

ARCADE PLAZA’S MATILIJA POPPY SCULPTURE

TRIMPIN’S SOUND ARCH AT LIBBEY BOWL MURAL ON THE SIDE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT’S MONTGOMERY STREET BUILDING

people gathered for ceremonies? A place that stimulated dialogue, thought and wonder? “It’s possible,” says Chumash elder Julie Tumamait Stenslie. “The Chumash likely held ceremonies there for the full moon, new moon, solstice, comets streaking in the sky or vision quests.” Today, we think of public art as statues of famous people, sculptures or murals in public or private spaces 46

that are accessible to all of us. The emphasis is on the art being in public view. Think Ted Gall’s huge steel horse at the Y intersection, Sylvia Raz’ Early Bird Shopper in the Arcade Plaza, the wrought iron patio gates behind the Art Center, or the Trimpin Arch at Libbey Bowl that rewards visitors who walk through with percussive bursts of music. OQ / SPRING 2022

But what if we emphasized art that speaks to community values, needs and ideas? Static creations, even interactive ones, are narrow examples of an expansive and ever-changing idea of public art. Kristopher Wallin, who founded Tierra Sol, an art and resiliency project, says, “public art can align communities toward

issues like equity and climate. This can accelerate policy change.” Murals are one example of public art meeting community ideals. Dr. Tiffany Morse, Superintendent of Ojai's public schools, had the idea for a mural on the side of the District’s Montgomery Street building. She turned to Ray Powers who put together a

OQ / SPRING 2022

MATILIJA DAM

team, including mural artist Lisa Kelly and 25 students. The completed 30-by-14 foot mural depicts the Ventura river rich with plants and wildlife under Ojai’s famous pink sky. It is a future vision of the local watershed after the controversial Matilija Dam has been removed. “Enlivening the Matilija Watershed,” is the mural’s title, but it is enlivening the thinking of the community about its relationship to the natural environment and the critical role of water. The mural is also interactive with a QR code that explains elements of the scene. Paul Jenkin, who has worked for decades to remove the dam says, “Art is such a powerful tool to illuminate things in front of our eyes that we don’t see.” The dam itself had protest art of a scissors cutting a dotted line down its wall. The iconic image, turned into bumper stickers, reminds people of the movement to remove the dam. New technology in clean energy is allowing public art to evolve into “sustainable art.” For example, custom laminates and painted thin films can be placed on solar panels creating new kinds of public art. The Ojai Unified School District will soon be leading the way with new solar installations around town that will carry artistic designs and possibly distinctive architecture, some of which may be created by students and the community. These works of art will enrich Ojai’s community narrative about sustainability, while generating renewable energy. New visions of public art also include performance. Tierra Sol’s 48

TIERRA SOL’S ZERO WASTE EVENT

solar powered, zero waste event this summer used the valley view from the Ojai Retreat as an inspiring backdrop for a profound event including music and poetry. As Kristopher Wallin said, “The arts function as a needed catalyst for a Renaissance of humanity’s relationship with our planet. We need to be activated and inspired through a deeper engagement that the arts provide.” Tierra Sol has also brought the Land Art Generator Initiative to Ojai. This group has worked around the world designing renewable energy infrastructures that are also beautiful and culturally relevant. This focus on renewable energy that pleases the eye blends perfectly with Ojai’s race to resiliency and art-focused culture. Ojai city government began taking an active role in public art thanks to two brilliant and visionary women who created Ojai’s first arts advisory council in the 1990s. Nina Shelley served on the City Council and as Mayor in her nearly two decades of service to Ojai. During World War II, she was in the first group of women to serve in the Marines after getting a Fine Arts degree in college. Shelley enlisted Vivika Heino, the renowned ceramicist, to convince the City Council that public art was important to the City’s civic and cultural life. The arts council they created led to the present day Arts Commission. The City began working on a public art ordinance in 1997, but it took until 2002 for glass artist Susan Amend, Maudette Fink and artist Karen Lewis to draft language that the City acceptOQ / SPRING 2022

ARTIST VERA LONG, PAINTING AT TIERRA SOL’S ZERO WASTE EVENT

PHOTOS THIS PAGE BY BRENDAN WILLING JAMES

ed. “Sitting together on the Arts Commission, we tried to base our drafts on other cities' ordinances, but it was a lot of work because we had to shape it for our unique city and valley,” Amend recalls. Lewis remembers Fink spearheading the effort at a time when the City had a great deal of building and remodeling going on. Fink had run a museum in Orange County and saw the opportunity presented by construction in the Arcade Plaza, Cluff Vista Park, Bryant Street and other locations. Ojai is an arts city, and the City Council finally approved “2% for the arts,” an initiative tied to development that created both a public art fund and installations of public art on private land. Similar programs are in place in many California cities large and small, as well as cities nationally. Ojai’s public art provides people the experience and the pleasure of seeing art in their daily routine and increases their quality of life. Ojai resident Corrina Wright, who has been the director of numerous art galleries, points out that public art also “breaks the traditional barriers of seeing art. People don’t have to go to institutions to see art, it’s right here in their day-to-day lives.” But is it enough for public art to be pretty and pleasant? Can we use art to shine a light on public issues like affordable housing,

fire readiness, and racism? What if city government engaged artists to help illuminate social issues, spark dialogue, educate and support community consensus building? Barbara Hirsch, longtime arts curator and collector says, “It used to be that you commissioned an artist to do a piece. It was about art for art’s sake, but now art is about ideas, community, place-making and presenting larger ideas and ideals.” Hirsch is right. The definitions for percent-for-art programs are expanding, along with the recognition that art is a powerful force for social change. One vision of the future of public art is a movement called “Solarpunk” which imagines a world fueled by renewable energy. In that world, artistic expression harkens back to nature with inspiration from Art Nouveau and handcrafted work. Solarpunk is egalitarian, anti-everything from consumerism to racism, sexism and war. In a Solarpunk future, Whale Rock might once again be public art. It would be a place that anyone could visit. Standing before that magnificent expression of earth’s mysteries, humans would find inspiration for facing what lies ahead.

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OQ | A RT i sts & GA L L ERIES Perhaps it was potter and “the Mama of Dada” Beatrice Wood’s influence, going back nearly 90 years. Maybe it even goes back further, to the Chumash people’s ingenious and astounding artistry with basketry. It’s clear that Ojai has long been a haven for artists. The natural beauty

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framed so well by the long arc and lush light of an east-west valley lends itself to artistic pursuits, as does the leisurely pace of life, the sturdy social fabric of a vibrant community and the abundant affection and respect for artists and their acts of creation.

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OQ | W I NE & DIN E

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H STORY BY ILONA SAARI

H H

GROWING up in NYC, dinner and a show meant going to dinner in a separate restaurant before the theater (or after … Manhattan is a latenight town!). Of course, across America, dinner theaters were popular in many suburban environments, but that wasn’t my kind of “dinner and a show.” I preferred to have dinner in a cabaret, blues or nightclub to

hear a singer or other musical performers. One night when I was 22, I was at the Palmer House during my brief time in Chicago. I was a minor journalist in the music biz and had scored a front row table with friends to hear legendary performer, Tony Bennett. As we were eating dinner, two busboys dragged in another table and plopped it right in front

DIANE MILLER BAND AT THE VINE

RANCH HOUSE APPETIZER

THE VINE: PRESTON SMITH

THE SWILLYS AT THE VINE

of us. After it was dressed with a table cloth and silverware, two couples were quickly ushered out of the kitchen and seated. I didn’t know who they were, but a “buzz” erupted in the nightclub. A man at another table pushed his nose sideways with his index finger, the universal sign for “Mafia.” The men wore shiny sharkskin suits (I don’t know why this fabric is called sharkskin, it never looked like the skin of a shark to me and I’d seen a few off Long Island shores, but I digress). The women had super-sprayed shiny, teased hair, were wrapped in glittering, sequined, form-fitting, mini-dresses and wore spiked, dyed-to-match heels. The men lit up cigars as they ordered drinks for the table. This was straight out of a scene from “Goodfellas," which hadn’t even been filmed yet (maybe Scorsese was there that night and remembered). These men and women were the predecessors to television’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey” (but, again, I digress). Though it was difficult to see him because of all the big hair and cigar smoke blocking my view, Tony was spellbinding and that night will always define “dinner and a show” for me. But this is Ojai. No nightclubs. No dinner theaters. However, we do have bars and/or saloons (Frank Sinatra actually called nightclubs and bars, “saloons,” but there I go, digressing again.) Two such venues are The Vine and the Deer Lodge, where one can see live musical performances while sipping a cocktail and having a bite to eat. Recently, Ojai’s famous RANCH HOUSE restaurant has added a “Music Under the Stars” night where you can enjoy the music in the restaurant’s designated outside “listening tables,” while savoring a cocktail and the delicious bites from its new happy hour menu at happy hour prices. Featured each week is performer Jimmy Calire — who will tickle the keys with jazzy blues and ballads, or rock it out with the Ranch House’s general manager, Russ Brunelli on harmonica — plus weekly guest musicians. The 58

SMITTY & JULIJA AT THE VINE

music echoes throughout the Ranch House’s beautiful setting, allowing diners elsewhere in the restaurant the pleasure of hearing the music, while enjoying a multi-course meal. Yes, live music has returned to Ojai. THE VINE is again serving up, along with its menu, live music Friday-Monday. Local duo Smitty & Julija play every Saturday night to its dedicated following and others who are lucky enough to be at The Vine that night. And Dianne Miller and her band rock the rafters on the first Friday of the month in conjunction with the “First Friday” promotion set up by the Chamber of Commerce. Friday and Sunday nights, owners Amber and Sam Gay rotate various musical acts. Preston Smith, Jared Bergmann, The Garden Group, and Tom Collins Jazz make frequent appearances. “The Young Ones,” a local young performers group organized by Julija Zonic, perform Monday nights. It’s a great opportunity to see up-and-coming talents. Grab a table, have one of Sam’s special cocktails, order the cheese platter or try their homestyle meatloaf or bowl of vegetarian chili and enjoy the music. The historic DEER LODGE on Maricopa Highway started as a gas station/grocery in 1932 serving weary travelers. Now an iconic Ojai tavern, it’s still serving weary travelers, as well as Ojaians and tourists. Music thrived till Covid-19 interrupted, but the music has returned! The Lodge is once again offering dinner and a show 2-4 times a month. Those nights will feature dinner sets and ticketed events showcasing local and traveling performers, as well as well-known acts, such as renowned jazz/rock drummer Simon Phillips with a few of his talented friends. Grab a beverage and a burger, or try their delicious steak or fried chicken entrées, sit back and enjoy. Stop by the “from their farm to your table” restaurant, THE OQ / SPRING 2022

JIMMY CALIRE, RUSS BRUNELLI & HANK VAN SICKLE AT THE RANCH HOUSE

RANCH HOUSE’S MEDITERRANEAN PIZZA

DEER LODGE: SIMON PHILLIPS & FRIENDS

DEER LODGE’S FRIED CHICKEN

THE FARMER & THE COOK

THE VINE’S MEAT LOAF

FARMER & THE COOK on Sundays and enjoy one of the restaurant’s signature dishes such as the Swiss Chard Enchilada, which is offered with organic cheese or Vegan cashew cheese, or a healthful burrito or a veggie burger while listening to live music. In addition, the owners of the new kid on the block, THE DUTCHESS, located in the old Azu space with inside and

outside dining, hopes to have live music nights this summer featuring local musicians and singers. ***Restaurant owners, patrons and performers are ready to go with the show, but of course, Covid is still disrupting everyone’s lives and best-laid plans … so please continue to check with the restaurants/saloons for their current musical offerings.

OQ / SPRING 2022

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Love is greater than everything.

OQ / SPRING 2022

FAMILY COMFORT FOOD IN THE HEART OF OJAI Offering Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian Food, Paleo Wed-Thu 12-3 and 5-8, Fri 12-3 and 5-9, Sat-Sun 10-3 and 5-9 307 E Ojai Ave, Ojai, CA 93023, (805) 633-9232 Adjacent to Libbey Park orderharvestmoon.com

We’llOjai,get you there! Meiners Oaks and Mira Monte From and to: For Just $1.50!

ADA and Medicare Card Holders .75¢, Seniors 65-74 are 1/2-price • Children under 45” tall and Seniors 75 and older ARE FREE (I.D. required for discounts)

The Ojai Trolley Service The Ojai Trolley Service, established in 1989, is owned and operated by the City of Ojai. The Trolley provides daily fixed-route transportation to approximately 9,000 riders per month throughout Ojai, Meiners Oaks, and Mira Monte. The Trolley is a well-known feature in the Ojai Valley, and in addition to the daily fixed-route services, participates in many local community events, fund raising activities, community service, and educational functions. Photo: Michael Ojai Trolley Route Legend

Transfer Locations/ Punto de transbordar Transfer to and from Gold Coast Transit at this location

McFadden

Trolley A Services

Whispering Oaks & East End

Check out the smartphone app GoVCBus for stop-time arrival predictions.

Trolley B Services

408 South Signal Street, Ojai, CA 93024 • Phone: (805) 272-3883 • www.ojaitrolley.com • email transit@ojai.ca.gov trolley Stops/ Paradas

Ojai Valley Inn

(805)272-3883 trolley@ojaitrolley.com WWW.OJAITROLLEY.COM

El servicio de Ojai Trolley opera diariamente, excluyendo los siguientes días feriados: Día de Año Nuevo, Día de Conmemoración de los Caídos, Día de Independencia, Día del Trabajador, Día de Acción de Gracias, y Navidad.

www.Ojaitrolley.com Effective 1/1/18

The Ojai Trolley is a Service of the City of Ojai & the County of Ventura

Timed Trolley Stops/ Paradas Mayores

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“...The feel is fun, energetic & evokes the perfect Ojai picnic...” 469 E. Ojai Ave.

www.OjaiRotie.com

805–798–9227

Boccali’s Oak View

Boccali’s Ojai 805 646 6116

3277 E Ojai Ave Open Mo - Tue: 4-9pm Wed - Sun: 11:45 - 9pm

805 649 1057

840 Ventura Ave Closed Tuesdays Wed - Mon 4 - 9pm

SERVING THE OJAI VALLEY SINCE 1986 OQ / SPRING 2022

BOCCALIS.COM 63

STORY BY RICHARD CAMP, PHOTOS BY MARIANA SCHULZE

WHEN did you last go to a restaurant where the owners encourage you to be so comfortable that you want to lean back, put up your feet, have fun and feel as if you’ve just dropped in on your BFF? Where at least one table in 64

every room is set aside for last-minute locals? This is the feel-good ambience of “The Dutchess,” a newbie in the old Azu space that’s making a splash in the melting pot of Ojai’s rich kettle of cuisines. OQ / SPRING 2022

THE DUTCHESS: FRONT DINING ROOM & BAR

THE DUTCHESS: FRONT DINING ROOM

FRONT DINING ROOM IN FULL SWING

Step through the front door into the open kitchen as the bustling staff moves swiftly and efficiently to place orders. The front room features wood-beamed ceilings, large bay windows and old tables from Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Flea Market. The original wooden bar is lined with Parisian-inspired, woven bar stools underneath globes adorned with butterflies, representing the soul in

Burmese mythology, an homage to Chef Saw Naing’s Burmese upbringing. A long wall in the middle dining room boasts dramatic, floral wallpaper that envelops the diners with hints of British colonial charm, while the back room features another bar abuzz with

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1. A STACK OF BREADS 2. VARIETY OF DISHES 3. TANDOORI CHICKEN 4. PASSIONFRUIT LASSI PIE 5. PEGU CLUB COCKTAIL

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INSIDE MAIN DINING ROOM

THE DUTCHESS’S TABLE SETTINGS

LUCKY DEVIL COCKTAIL

wallpaper that envelops the diners with hints of British colonial charm, while the back room features another bar abuzz with mingling patrons and a pool table cued to the laid-back zeitgeist. Look up in the vine-filled patio to see colorful Burmese umbrellas suspended from the trellis. In 2020, Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan (co-owners of the Rustic Canyon Family restaurants and semi-finalists for the James Beard “Outstanding Restaurateurs”) moved to Ojai with their three children, bought a 3.5-acre farm and dubbed it “50/50” be-

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BAKER & PARTNER ZOE NATHAN

PARTNER JOSH LOEB

CHEF/PARTNER SAW NAING & BAR MANAGER BRITTANY NAING

BAKER & PARTNER KATE PEPPER

cause half of everything grown is donated to the needy. Zoe, a baker and chef herself, believes that “making really great baked goods means that you have to rely on the process … you have to be involved in each step … baking is great meditation.” The 50/50 Farm supplies much of the vegetables and herbs that go into the dishes created by Chef Saw who, in the past, has created delicious dishes for Joachim Splichal’s “Café Pinot” in 68

L.A and Thomas Keller’s “Bouchon” in Beverly Hills. Saw loves to share his recipes that he learned from his Indian grandmother in Rangoon, Burma. The bread maker is Kate Pepper, who’s lived in town since she was nine and has been tantalizing Ojaians since 2014 with her luscious loaves, baked and sold from her own home. The pastry chef is Kelsey Brito, who joined “Huckleberry Bakery & Café” in Santa Monica at the age of 19 as a morning baker, then moved her way up to lead baker and pastry sous by the time she was 21. After five years she joined San Francisco’s Tartine — the place where Zoe first fell in love with baking and honed her craft. These culinary luminaries all got together one day on the 50/50 Farm and cooked up the idea for The Dutchess, now on the site of OQ / SPRING 2022

PASTRY CHEF & PARTNER KELSEY BRITO

CHEF DE CUISINE — VINNY FRANCO

one of Ojai’s original bakeries, where Bill Cook Baker started baking cakes and bread in 1926. His original brick oven is still there, inscribed “Dutchess,” and now serves as the dining room fireplace. Kate is very happy to have found a brick-and-mortar space to bake her breads, and is thrilled that it’s on the site of one of Ojai’s iconic locations. As she relates the story, a German immigrant named William Koch won first and second prize in a cooking contest which allowed him to afford a legal name change to Bill Cook Baker. His bakery eventually turned out 1,600 loaves a day, and he’s credited with creating “gluten-free” bread before it was even a thing, since his breads were made from lima beans, which grew prolifically in Ventura County. He also baked cakes for Presidents (Coolidge, Hoover, FDR) and turned out a 1,000-pound cake, five-feet wide and three-feet high for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition. A photo of that cake now hangs in the restaurant after it was discovered in the renovation, a tactile link to the restaurant’s history. “The thought of having a bakery back in Bill Baker’s building tugs at a lot of heartstrings,” says Kate. “To also know our Ojai history and respect the stories and people that have gotten us here makes me smile.” The Dutchess, indeed, is permeated with the past, present and future of Ojai, and you can enjoy the atmosphere all day in this “everything place.” In the mornings, choose from an array of pastries … extra-large Cinnamon Rolls, Pain au Chocolate or Kate’s Savory Croissants. Sample Kelsey’s Samosa Hand Pies or Gluten-Free Citrus, Olive Oil & Pistachio Teacakes, plus coffee, espresso and cappuccino from locally-roasted Bonito Coffee, and teas from Ojai’s Magic Hour. For lunch, dig into fresh salads and sandwiches, including a Grilled Cheese on Kate’s sourdough. Or, try a flatbread pizza topped with leek cream and oyster mushrooms. You can also grab one of Kelsey’s savory or sweet cakes, pies, or cookies using flour

milled from the Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project. At night, enjoy Saw’s unique take on Burmese cuisine, using only what’s local, fresh and in season. Savor his versions of his Indian grandmother’s stewed curries, flavored with his proprietary spice blends, complemented by house-made naan and paratha, or skewered meats or vegetables cooked over coals. Burmese classics include Biryani, a fragrant rice dish made with yogurt-marinated lamb, topped with a flaky, buttery crust. A Tea Leaf Salad, Tandoori Chicken and Coconut Chickpea Curry are just a few of the other delicious selections. Kelsey’s desserts also lean subtly South Asian, such as Passionfruit Lassi Pie on a gingersnap crust. The Bar Manager is Saw’s wife, Brittany Naing, who’s mixed a mirthfully eclectic cocktail menu, with delightful names such as Smokeshow, Rookie of the Year, Lucky Devil and Vesper. Josh curated the extensive wine list with Bob Huey from Ojai’s Point de Chêne wine shop, focusing on grapes responsibly farmed. One of the most charming aspects of The Dutchess is to experience the effervescent joy in each of the owners and partners, who clearly love what they are doing. Zoe calls the partners her family and says “our goal is to celebrate what small communities are capable of, and that our farmers are valued and cared for.” The majority of ingredients come from less than 50 miles away, including seafood from Real Good Fish’s Eric Hodge, pasture-fed beef from Ojai’s Watkins Cattle Company, herbs and vegetables from the Ojai Roots Farm and BD Dautch’s organic Earthtrine Farm, as well as eggs, honey, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs from 50/50 Farm. The dream is that the customers support The Dutchess, which supports local farmers and their employees, and those farmers support their land, animals and workers. “If we do everything right, The Dutchess is not ours, it’s the town’s,” Zoe believes, and after many years in the business, she hopes that this adventure will allow her to say “for once in my life I can breathe easy and put my arms around a place.”

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OQ | OJA I W I NE MA P CASA BARRANCA ORGANIC WINERY & TASTING ROOM Historic Downtown Arcade. Stop by and relax in Casa Barranca’s Craftsman style-designed tasting room. Taste our award-winning wines made with organically grown grapes, also our USDA certified wines containing no added sulfites! Join our Wine Club!. 208 East Ojai Avenue, 805-640-1255. OPEN DAILY: Sunday — Thursday 1 to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday until 1-7 p.m. CasaBarranca.com or facebook.com/casabarranca.

VENTURA SPIRITS Ventura Spirits is a California Craft Distillery specializing in distilled spirits inspired by the native and cultivated flora of California’s Central Coast. We offer distillery tours and tastings of our award winning spirits in our new onsite tasting room. For more information or to contact us please visit: venturaspirits.com, email to: info@ venturaspirits.com or call us at: (805) 232-4313

TOPA MOUNTAIN WINERY Topa Mountain Winery offers handcrafted wines made from grapes grown on its estate in upper Ojai and sourced from other premium vineyards in the region. Located on two acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, Topa Mountain Winery has been voted Ventura County’s best Tasting Room two years in a row, is family and dog friendly and offers live music every Saturday and Sunday. TopaMountainWinery.com

OJAI OLIVE OIL Ojai’s no. 1 rated visitor experience, our Olive Mill & Tasting Room is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for free tastings and shopping. We also offer free guided tours on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Visit an organic family permaculture farm and learn everything about extra virgin oil. We also have balsamic vinegars, olive trees, skin care products and more. No reservations required, pets welcome. 1811 Ladera Road , Ojaioliveoil.com, 805-646-5964.

BOCCALI VINEYARDS & WINERY is a family-owned and operated winery located in the scenic Upper Ojai Valley. Father and son winemakers DeWayne and Joe Boccali are the driving forces behind the label. Boccali Vineyards produces 100 percent estate wines; grown, produced and bottled at Boccali Ranch. Visit us in Ojai’s East End on weekends for a tasting at 3277 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai. Visit us on the web at BoccaliVineyards.com.

OLD CREEK RANCH WINERY Old Creek Ranch Winery is Ventura County’s only rural winery situated on an 850-acre ranch in the Ojai Valley. A tasting room as well as lawns and guest areas with handcrafted chairs and couches, surrounded by lush landscaping, have been designed for relaxing and enjoying fine wines. Pack a picnic, gather up the kids and dog, and head to the Ranch! A selection of 25+ red and white varietals are available for wine tastings and purchase. Check oldcreekranch.com for a schedule of live music and food trucks. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Located at 10024 Old Creek Road, Ventura, CA 93001. 805-649-4132. OldCreekRanch.com OQ / SPRING 2022

MAJESTIC OAK VINEYARD Hidden in the stunning Ojai Valley, the Majestic Oak Vineyard is deeply rooted on land our family has held for decades. As fifth generation Ojai-ans, we had a dream of bringing you the quintessential Ojai experience — something as beautiful and unique as the Valley itself. We believe a great bottle of wine represents the hard work that goes into it. From the land, to our hands, to your table, we are proud to offer you our labor of love. We invite you to be part of our legacy. 321 East Ojai Avenue (downstairs), 805-794-0272, MajesticOakVineyard.com. OQ / SPRING 2022

OJAI ALISAL’S handcrafted wines are made only with grapes we grow in Upper Ojai. We grow Syrah, Grenache, Malbec and Viognier in our beautiful vineyards dotted with California walnuts and sycamores (or Alisal in Spanish), bringing the spirit of the Rhone region to California. Please visit our Weekend Tasting Room at Azu Restaurant, 457 East Ojai Ave, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12 noon to 5 p.m.. For more information 805-640-7987 or online at OjaiAlisal.com and AzuOjai.com.

ESCAPE IN A MOMENT

Share magical moments with loved ones and discover new culinary adventures at Ojai’s beloved 220-acre retreat. Delight your palate with seven original dining outlets, from signature Italian-California fine dining at Olivella and a one-of-a-kind epicurean experience at The Farmhouse to handcrafted food and music every Sunday at our rollicking Bluegrass Brunch. Come escape in a moment that only feels far from home.

855.407.0275 OjaiValleyInn.com

OQ | YEST ER DAY & TODAY

102

Ojai at the crossroads

watershed allies

uncrowded Yellowstone

Parallels Between 1947 And Now By Mark Lewis

Ojai in the Age of Climate Crisis By Nao Braverman

Maximizing Your Park By Jerry Dunn

S L

Offered at $3,150,000

2100 Maricopa Hwy

Offered at $2,490,000

Offered at $2,150,000

1571 Kenewa Street

Offered at $3,950,000

909 Del Oro Drive

Offered at $2,575,000

465 Gridley Road

701 Del Oro Drive

I match people and property. My goal is always to creatively solve problems so that everyone in a transaction is happy. I am proud to represent some of the grandest properties in Ojai and I specialize in unique architectural homes. I am equally enthusiastic to represent family homes, commercial property and buildable lots. Building positive and lasting relationships is the secret to my success.

O L D

PAT T Y WALTCHER

25 years matching people and property in the Ojai Valley

S L

8190 Sulphur Mtn Road

Offered at $2,650,000

Offered at $2,400,000

2350 Ladera Road

Offered at $6,700,000

Offered at $2,450,000

e Ag ’s

r ye

Azu Restaurant

nt I love working with buyers. One of the most satisfying aspects of my job is supporting the vision of my clients. If the property is out there that is a perfect ﬁt, I will ﬁnd it; then we will work through the process of connecting the dots so that the vision becomes a reality. Every transaction is unique and I do everything in my power to ensure that a transaction will be smooth and successful.

ye r

’s Ag e

161 Oak Glen Avenue

PAT T Y WALTCHER

175 Miramar Ave, Montecito

$5,850,000

(805) 340-3774

pattywaltcher.com

We know Ojai.

2020 Remodel on 17 acres with gated entry, lighted tennis court, approximately 15 acres of avocado orchards, multiple outdoor living areas, outdoor kitchen, 3,000-square-foot shop, two fireplaces, multi-room master suite, amazing views, and much more. $4,999,000 www.2871MaricopaHwy.com

20 Acres with Mountain and Ocean Views, Gated Entry, Avocados, Citrus, Well, Two Water Storage Tanks, House Pad, and Parking Structure $1,000,000

The Davis Group ojaivalleyestates.com

Nora Davis

BRE License #01046067

805.207.6177

nora@ojaivalleyestates.com

We’re lifelong residents.

Seven-bedroom main house with pool house in resort setting on app. 10 acres with amazing views, pool, spa, outdoor kitchen, three-car garage + two-car garage, artist’s loft, lighted tennis court, family orchard, barns, and more. $6,200,000 www.RocaVistaRanchOjai.com

33+ acre Live Oak Retreat in Wheeler Canyon with amazing views, private pond, five wells, fruit trees, chicken coop, multiple outdoor living areas, jetted soaking tub, stone fireplace, and vaulted, exposed-beam ceilings. $2,495,000 www.8577LiveOakAvenue.com

Kellye Lynn

BRE License #01962469

805.798.0322

15% Discount Restrictions apply. Not to be used with other offers or discounts.

Call for free design consultation

805-988-7861

the art of organization

Now available at

frontier paint

227 Baldwin Rd., Ojai 805-646-0459

www.frontierpaint.biz 78

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Joan Roberts 805-223-1811

roberts4homes@gmail.com 727 W. Ojai Avenue Ojai, California, 93023

CalBRE# 00953244

nternational Realty. All rights reserved. All data, including all measurements and calculations are obtained from various sources and has not and will not be verified by Broker. All information shall be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. LIV Sotheby’s International Realty is indeoperated and supports the principals of the Fair Housing Act.

ACTIVE

130 SOUTH ALVARADO, OJAI 93023, $1,150,000 Large 3+3 home with rare European Old World Charm build in 1935 in the Downtown Village of eclectic Meiners Oaks, OJAI. There is an additional large upstairs finished attic with cathedral ceiling and storage room. This bonus area could be 4th bedroom, offices, kids play room, Family/TV/Game room or guest room. Beautiful house interior with lots of windows, solar tube lighting and original refurbished stone gas & wood fireplace. An expansive Primary Bedroom Suite with exterior door lays on one side of the house with the two bedrooms/one bathroom hallway on the other side plus a separate guest Powder Room. Large open sunny lot has front and back decks, vegetable garden area, beautifully cared-for oak trees, room for family orchard and RV parking. Newer oversized 2- car garage with windows, built-in cabinets and pull down ladder to attic (for an ADU conversion?).

RECENTLY SOLD

207 SOUTH VENTURA STREET Sold for full price, $1,500,000

Joan Roberts 805 -223 -1811 CalBRE# 00953244

Roberts4Homes@gmail.com 727 W. Ojai Avenue Ojai, California, 93023

© 2022 LIV Sotheby’s International Realty. All rights reserved. All data, including all measurements and calculations are obtained from various sources and has not and will not be verified by Broker. All information shall be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. LIV Sotheby’s International Realty is independently owned and operated and supports the principals of the Fair Housing Act.

OQ / SPRING 2022

STORY BY MARK LEWIS

SEVENTY-FIVE years ago, in the wake of World War II, the people of the Ojai Valley faced several enormously consequential decisions that would profoundly shape the community we know today. They decided to bet big, and as a result, in that extraordinary spring of 1947, both the Ojai Valley Inn and the Ojai Music Festival were born, while the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament sprang back to life after a five-year wartime hiatus that might very easily have become permanent. Imagine Ojai today without these three institutions, each of which connects us with the wider world while allowing us to maintain a separate, small-town existence.

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Now, in the (possibly, hopefully, tentatively) post-Covid spring of 2022, this community again faces a fateful decision about its future. This time, the question before us is whether we’ve become perhaps a little too interconnected with the wider world, and if so, what should we do about it. The answer may well determine whether Ojai can preserve its delicate balance as a small-town Shangri-La respectfully supported by big-city tourists — or whether we soon pass the tipping point into a future as a beautiful but artificial stage set for visitors who don’t even notice whether a genuine, authentic local community still endures here, behind the lovely natural scenery and the tourist-friendly amenities. As the community grapples with this issue, the Ojai Valley Museum is preparing an exhibit — “Ojai At The Crossroads,” opening April 1 — that revisits the epochal events of spring 1947. The exhibit will celebrate the 75th anniversaries of the Inn and the Music Festival and of the Tennis Tournament’s return, and it will remind museum-goers that we once again stand at a crossroads in this potentially epochal spring of 2022. Arguably, we got it right in 1947. Can we get it right today?

ROAD TO OJAI World War II was winding down in April 1945, when Bob Hope and Bing Crosby came to Ojai to play a round of golf to benefit a Navy charity. The two film stars were gearing up to promote their latest picture together, “Road to Utopia,” in which they played two vaudeville grifters trying to strike it rich during the 82

BING AND BOB TEE IT UP IN OJAI, 1945

Klondike Gold Rush. In Ojai, they kept the crowd laughing with the back-and-forth banter they had perfected in their popular “road” films, of which “Utopia” would be the fourth installment. OQ / SPRING 2022

The match took place on a nine-hole course that was all that was left of the Ojai Valley Country Club links laid out two decades earlier by the famous designer George C. Thomas, Jr. The other nine holes were hidden under a village of Quonset huts and barracks buildings put up by the Army in 1942, when the former golf club had been converted into a training facility in the wake of Pearl Harbor. After the Army pulled out in 1944, the Navy moved in and operated Camp Oak as an auxiliary facility for sailors based at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme. Many of those sailors were on hand to cheer as Hope and his serviceman partner beat Crosby and his partner by a single stroke.

Goodrich tire fortune, and his wife, Valerie, of Ladera Ranch; Fanning and Ann Hearon of Running Ridge Ranch; the ironore mogul Clement Quinn of Twin Peaks Ranch; Robert Calder Davis, Sr. of Crooked Creek Ranch; and others. They were growers rather than developers, and they preferred Ojai as the rural paradise it was.

The golf course owed its existence to the philanthropist Edward Libbey’s plan to transform Ojai’s Arbolada and West Hills neighborhoods into an upscale enclave of Spanish-style mansions. Their owners naturally would need a place to play golf and socialize together over cocktails, so Libbey created an adjacent country club, which opened in 1924. In time, he planned to add a swanky hotel that would turn the club into a full-fledged resort. Those plans were still on the drawing board when he died in 1925, and the advent of the Great Depression rendered them moot. The trustees of Libbey’s estate were based in Toledo, Ohio, and they managed his Ojai properties to benefit the Toledo Museum of Art, which Libbey had founded. The estate’s man in Ojai was Rawson B. Harmon, who maintained his office in the distinctive little building near the Ojai Library that these days houses the “Twice-Sold Tales” bookstore. Harmon’s main job was marketing building lots in the mostly empty Arbolada, a tough sell during the Depression. He loved Ojai and he particularly loved the Ojai Valley Country Club, and he refused to give up on it when hard times forced the Trust to close it in 1930. Harmon evidently prevailed upon the trustees to double down on the club. It reopened it in 1935 with a new 25-room hotel next to the clubhouse, along with a dining room and a bar. This small resort was only open in the winter, and it struggled to attract guests during the Depression. Then came the war, and the Army and Navy took over for the duration. Now, in April 1945, the well-publicized Hope-Crosby match reminded everyone that underneath all those Quonset huts lay a first-class golf course. Which raised the question of what would become of the 200acre property when the war ended.

That question was of particular interest to a local group of gentlemen ranchers and their wives who got together for regular poker parties. The group included the lawyer Charles Teague, a Limoneira heir and future Congressman, and his wife, Marge, of Hitching Post Ranch; Charles Raymond, an heir to the

THE POKER BUDDIES CAVORT AT THEIR NEW INN

“They were the voice of agriculture in this community,” says Bob Davis, Jr., who remembers his father hosting poker parties in the family home on Gridley Road. Most of these poker buddies were avid golfers, eager to bring back that classic George C. Thomas course. Those who didn’t play golf still valued the country club as a social hub. None wanted to see the property carved up into a new subdivision full of tract homes — which seemed its most likely fate when the Libbey estate announced in September 1945 that it planned to dispose of the property after the Navy pulled out. The poker players had a better idea: Bring the country club back to life, by expanding its small hotel into a full-fledged resort. “The idea was, ‘Hey, boys, let’s put into this, and the hotel is going to pay for our golf,’ ” Bob Davis says. The poker players had an ace in the hole: Rawson B. Harmon.

OQ / SPRING 2022

He was a regular at their poker parties, and he was still the Libbey estate’s representative in Ojai, so he was perfectly positioned to orchestrate the desired outcome. Harmon originally had made his fortune developing subdivisions in Detroit during the 1920s boom, so he knew exactly how profitable those 200 acres would become during the coming postwar Southern California boom. But Harmon did not want to see his beloved Ojai golf course plowed under and reinvented as a bedroom suburb for Ventura. In 1916, he had co-founded Detroit’s storied Oakland Hills Country Club. The Ojai Valley Country Club was similarly a jewel, and Harmon did not intend to preside over its demise. In October 1946, he brokered its sale for a reported $450,000 to two groups of investors, one from Ojai and the other from Beverly Hills. The Ojai contingent included Harmon himself, along with his poker buddies Chuck Teague, Charlie Raymond, Clem Quinn, and Bob Davis. (Other Ojai investors included their friend Louis Boyle of Orchidtown.) The Beverly Hills group included the film stars Loretta Young, Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott, and was led by a former Hilton Hotels executive named Don B. Burger, who would take managerial charge of the project. No one seems to recall who it was who first alerted Burger to this Ojai opportunity. It might have been Ojai’s own Scotty Chisholm, the well-connected golf journalist who had helped arrange the Hope-Crosby match. Whatever it was that brought Burger here, he arrived with a plan. The golf course would be restored to its former glory,

and the little 25-room hotel would be transformed into a major resort, to be renamed the Ojai Valley Inn.

TENNIS, ANYONE? Reviving the defunct country club was not Harmon’s only Ojai reclamation project. That Hope-Crosby match of 1945 took place on April 29, on a weekend usually monopolized by the venerable Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament – a.k.a. “The Ojai.” This tournament was a huge deal in the tennis world, and a cherished annual tradition in Ojai since 1896. Not merely a tournament, The Ojai was a three-day, valley-wide festival, and the social event of the season. But, due to wartime restrictions, it had gone on hiatus after the 1942 tournament, and its supporters feared it might never come back. Nevertheless, they would not give it up without a fight. In The Ojai newspaper on Feb. 7, Harmon announced that he was chairing a finance committee “to secure funds for the reopening of the tennis tournament,” and that the committee would make “a communitywide appeal for support.” Other finance committee members included Harmon’s poker LORETTA YOUNG & TOM LEWIS

AVA GARDNER, AN INN REGULAR 84

DON B. BURGER

IRENE DUNNE OQ / SPRING 2022

buddies Teague, Quinn, and Raymond, plus Lou Boyle and — tellingly — a brand-new Ojai resident: Don B. Burger. The same crowd that was bringing the country club back was also rallying to save “The Ojai.”

Valley Inn, its new bungalows were still under construction. Ojai residents responded to the Tennis Club’s appeal by offering their spare bedrooms to house visitors. Soon, the Thacher School teacher and budding historian David Lavender, who was handling publicity for the tournament, was able to announce in The Ojai that “The Ojai” was back in business. “It is always hard to pick up the threads after a four-year layoff, and there are those who hoped Ojai would not try, for other towns and clubs would like to divide among themselves its tradition-hallowed dates and events,” Lavender said. “But Ojai’s old-timers all jumped back into harness … They make the Ojai tournament an integral part of the whole community’s life. Perhaps that is why the meet has gripped the imagination and the interest of the town in a way difficult to explain to those who never saw and shared it. Certainly, it helps to account for Ojai’s uniqueness, its warmth and an intangible air of friendliness unmatched by any other large sports event in the country.” The spring of 1947 was not only about the return of tennis and golf. A major public controversy arose over the Matilija Dam, then under construction, when unstable clay was discovered oozing from under the partially built concrete foundation. But the county Board of Supervisors voted to complete the dam. Meanwhile, on April 20, the Art Center and its folk-dancing maestro, David Young, held their second annual spring folk dance festival at Sarzotti Park. This was arguably Ojai’s biggest public event that spring, attracting 500 dancers and 1,000 spectators from across Southern California. Thanks to Young and his group, Ojai was beginning to make a name for itself as a cultural hot spot.

GUSSIE MORAN LOST TO LOUISE BROUGH

“The fate of the whole grand tradition of Ojai Valley tennis depends on whether or not we hold the tournament this year,” Irene Burns wrote in the newspaper on Feb. 11. “The powers that be in the Southern California Tennis Association have decreed that if the Ojai tournament is not held this year we will lose for all time our traditional dates — the last full weekend in April. Are we going to allow this to happen after half a century of annual tennis tournaments?” In addition to needing money to fix up the courts, the Tennis Club desperately needed to find beds for the visiting players. The Foothills Hotel was no more — since 1942, its former building had housed the California Preparatory School. As for the Ojai

But ultimately it was a different impresario, with a different festival, who would put Ojai on the map of America’s cultural landscape. His name was John Bauer, and his timing seemed perfect, for just as he was gearing up to launch his project, the world beat a path to his door. An internationally renowned writer from Paris, the world capital of culture, arrived in Ojai to visit one of Bauer’s key collaborators.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC Simone de Beauvoir slipped into Ojai via Creek Road in a little yellow car driven by her protégé Nathalie Sorokine Moffatt. The date was Feb. 28, 1947 — a Saturday, as it happens. The two women were heading for the East End home of Moffatt’s mother-in-law, where they would spend the night while en route to San Francisco. Beauvoir, the celebrated Existentialist writer, was on a lecture tour of the U.S., and she was taking notes along the

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way that she would turn into a book, “America Day By Day.” “The valley we’ve entered offers just the kind of landscape you’d expect to find in California,” Beauvoir noted. “Enclosed by mountains on three sides, it opens wide on the fourth and descends toward the sea, which can be seen in the distance. This whole amphitheater is planted with orange trees, lined up as regularly as the trees in orchards on old tapestries.” To Beauvoir’s delight, one of those orchards surrounded the house of her host for that night: Moffatt’s mother-in-law, the English actress and playwright Iris Tree. “In an obscure corner of the valley Nathalie shows me a little isolated pavilion that they’ve made into a theater,” Beauvoir wrote. “There, a troupe of amateurs puts on modern or classic plays from time to time under Iris’s direction. Iris takes the female leads; the rest of the troupe is made up partly of actors from Los Angeles, partly of Ojai residents. Among others, there is a carpenter whom Iris is patiently training. At the moment they are preparing for a performance of "Macbeth.”

bliss. The carpenter was a young Phil Harvey, who was helping to convert the schoolhouse into a theater. Tree had cast him as Malcolm, the son and heir of the murdered King Duncan. The troupe recently had renamed themselves the Ojai Festival Players, because this "Macbeth" was scheduled to be the first play produced by Bauer’s brand-new organization, Ojai Festivals Ltd. It was “Festivals,” plural, because the original idea was to present separate annual festivals for classical music, serious drama, and ballet, like the Salzburg Festival in Austria. Tree and her troupe had come up with the idea themselves, in collaboration with Bauer and his wife, Helen. But it was Bauer, a veteran classical-music concert promoter, who took charge of the new organization. He recruited a volunteer Ventura County Committee made up of socially prominent music lovers, and tasked them with building countywide support for the project. The plan was to lay the groundwork and then debut the Ojai Festivals in the spring of 1949, to coincide with the Gold Rush Centennial. But recently they had decided to test the waters first by presenting a single, scaled-back “prelude” festival in 1947: two concerts, one play, no dance. “In order to learn how best to bring about the creation of a successful international event of highest order in Ventura County, the committee decided to present three performances of widely different character this spring,” Charles Raymond told the Ventura County Star-Free Press. Wait, who? Charlie Raymond, again? Yes. Many of the same people involved in bringing back the country club and the Tennis Tournament that spring also had volunteered to help Bauer with his Festival project. Charlie and Val Raymond signed up as sponsors of the inaugural series, as did Rawson and Mary Harmon — and Irene Dunne and her husband, too. There were obvious synergies: “The Ojai” tournament and the Festival would benefit from having another first-class hotel in town, and the Inn would benefit from having prestigious events in Ojai that drew visitors from all over Southern California and beyond. As for Charlie Raymond and his poker buddies, they would get back their golf course and their beloved Tennis Tournament, and would get to enjoy some high-quality concerts to boot. But Bob Davis notes that these poker pals also were motivated by an altruistic notion of helping the community.

IRIS TREE AND FORD RAINEY IN "MACBETH"

The little pavilion was an old schoolhouse in Upper Ojai that was being converted into the High Valley Theater. Tree’s troupe consisted mostly of her fellow former Chekhov Players, such as Ford Rainey, Ronald Bennett, and Woody and Erika Cham86

“They were pretty civic-minded,” he says. It wasn’t only members of the upper crust who rallied to support these projects The rest of the community pitched in, too. Case in point: the Chavez family. Dan, the patriarch, was among the new Inn’s first hires as a maintenance man, and he also helped get the tennis courts ready for “The Ojai.” His tennis-playing daughters OQ / SPRING 2022

Maxine and Rose had competed in “The Ojai” in the past and would compete again in future editions, but in 1947 they were busy working their way through Ventura College, so instead they signed on as waitresses in the Inn’s dining room. Rose also served as a tournament volunteer that year, and in her spare time served as the Inn’s first tennis pro. The youngest Chavez daughter, Helen, worked for Don Burger as a babysitter for his young son, Karl, and also worked for John Bauer as a volunteer in the Festival office. And it was Head Usher Helen Chavez, in a formal gown, who welcomed the audience to the Festival’s inaugural concert, featuring the French opera star Martial Singher.

as Lady Macbeth. (After the play ended, the audience trooped over to the Inn for supper.) On June 7, the Inn’s golf course re-opened. On June 15, the Festival concluded its spring run with another concert: Thor Johnson conducting the Ojai Festival Chamber Orchestra, an ad hoc group cobbled together by the violinist Sol Babitz using available musicians from various Los Angeles orchestras. Simone de Beauvoir did not stick around to see any of these performances. She must have heard about the Ojai Festivals plan during her stay in Tree’s home, but she did not mention it in “America Day By Day.” Nevertheless, her one night in Ojai was marked by music, thanks to Tree’s impressive record collection: “We eat the dinner Nathalie has prepared; we drink whiskey and listen to records. … Music escapes the limitations of time and space. It can capture something out of thin air and give it to me. At least that’s what I think tonight.” Music — and "Macbeth" — did indeed capture something out of thin air in Ojai that spring, and the fledgling Festival was deemed a success. “Already we have learned a great deal regarding what not to do, but this should help make the 1948 preliminary series an even greater success than our initial efforts,” Raymond told the StarFree Press. One thing they learned was that the triple-festival concept was too ambitious. They eventually dropped drama and dance and became the Ojai Music Festival, which in this spring of 2022 celebrates its 75th anniversary — as does the Ojai Valley Inn. As for the Tennis Tournament, it returns this spring from another multiyear hiatus, this one due to Covid-19, and re-establishes its traditional hold on the last full weekend in April, just as it did back in that marvelous spring of 1947.

MARTIAL SINGHER

"The whole community supported these projects," Rose Chavez Boggs recalls. "The war had ended, and we were energized." What seems amazing in retrospect is that all these projects came together at just about the same time. The Inn’s dining room and bar soft-opened in early April, then officially opened in the middle of the month. A week later, “The Ojai” made its triumphant return, with Louise Brough defeating Gussie Moran for the women’s singles title, while Ted Schroeder won the men’s. The Martial Singher concert took place on May 4 in what is now Matilija Auditorium, followed two weeks later by "Macbeth" in the same venue, with Ford Rainey in the title role and Iris Tree

AND NOW? If you’ve read this far, you may be hoping to find some specific proposals for choices the community could make in 2022 that might have the same beneficial long-term effects as the choices our forebears made in 1947. Belated spoiler alert: You won’t find any. The point here is to make clear what’s at stake as we mark the 75th anniversary of the great events of 1947, which reminds us what can be accomplished when a community comes together to embrace an inspiring vision. The prevailing vision hereabouts is Edward Libbey’s, which he put forward in 1917 when he transformed the dusty, dowdy town

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of Nordhoff into the faux-historic, Spanish-style village of Ojai. Ironically, the Ojai old-timers who defend Libbey’s legacy today sometimes find themselves at odds with more recent arrivals who — like Libbey — are wealthy newcomers with their own agenda, and with the money to put it into effect. The challenge now is to find a way to make Libbey’s “City Beautiful” vision work for everyone, not just for those who can afford multimillion-dollar homes and who enjoy patronizing chic, upscale, hipster-friendly boutiques and eateries. And yet, if the community reflexively rejects every initiative put forward by newcomers, it will lose its dynamism and sink into sclerosis. And change will come anyway. Unplanned, and possibly unwelcome, but it will come. The alternative is to seize this moment to come together and make some big decisions. Small communities aren’t entirely helpless to shape their fates. They can adopt smart strategies that nudge destiny in constructive directions. Which brings us back to 1947. Back then, Ojai had to figure out how to ride the postwar wave that was transforming greater Los Angeles into a multicounty megacity. By creating the Inn and the Music Festival and bringing back the Tennis Tournament, Ojai found a way to profitably interact with the wider world while still keeping it at arm’s length. Balance arises from a push-and-pull approach. In 1947, we pulled the wider world in, but only so far. Around 1960, when development threatened to subsume Ojai into the fast-metastasizing megacity, this community leaned the other way and began to push the wider world away. We fought off the freeways, shopping malls and cookie-cutter suburban tracts that threatened to pave over our cherished way of life. And so today we remain a small town, physically isolated from the L.A. sprawl, still surrounded by the same citrus orchards and mountain views that so impressed Simone de Beauvoir. We have pushed when necessary and pulled when necessary, and as a result we have held fast to our original business model, going back to this town’s founding in the 1870s, as a small resort community that makes its living off wealthy visitors who come here for a weekend or a week, spend lots of money and then go away, leaving us to enjoy our lovely valley in peace. Today, however, it seems to many locals that we are choking 88

on the success of that model. They point with dismay to the current issue of Sunset Magazine, in which an article headlined “Red Hot Ojai” proclaims that “the formerly sleepy ranch town is serving up more lodging, shopping and dining than ever before.” Tourists clog the downtown Arcade district every weekend, and that’s with the Oaks Hotel still closed, as it has been since the Thomas Fire. What will happen when it reopens next year? No wonder the local social-media masses arose in fury to oppose a developer’s recent proposal to erect a big hotel and spa on part of the school district’s strategically located downtown campus. Ah yes, the school district. Back in 1947, Ojai’s schools were bursting at the seams with new arrivals, and in April — amid all the other stuff going on that month — the community overwhelmingly approved a $75,000 bond issue (big bucks in those days) to deal with the overcrowding. These days the student body is shrinking, putting the district under financial pressure, and prompting the board to consider whether to lease its underutilized downtown property to a developer. The idea of a big hotel there now seems to be a nonstarter, and the redevelopment project has gone back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, the Historic Preservation Commission has put forward a proposal to create a Downtown Historic District, which would in effect formalize Libbey’s vision. The commission’s timeline for approval includes public meetings with plenty of public comments, followed by a City Council up-or-down vote in June. The commission’s proposal and the school board’s project really are two sides of the same coin, in the sense that together they force the community to grapple with the existential question of Ojai’s future direction. That’s because the school district’s property, which would overlap with the proposed historic district, is so big and so strategically placed. Deciding what to do with it is tantamount to deciding whether we want a town that is primarily for tourists or primarily for locals — or a town that is both. Option C is the model that has sustained this community since its founding almost 150 years ago. But it requires a delicate balancing act, and currently the balance seems to be out of whack. Repurposing the school property in ways that would draw more locals downtown could help restore that equilibrium. Of course, the property belongs to the school district, and whatever happens there must in some way benefit the district and OQ / SPRING 2022

A BUSY OJAI DAY BY SERGIO ARAGONES, FROM THE COVER OF THE SPRING 2019 OQ.

the children it serves. In the wake of the recent uproar over that proposed hotel, the board may even decide to abandon the redevelopment project and keep things as they are. If that happens, the community will have missed a rare opportunity to take its destiny in hand. We did that in 1917, when the community embraced Libbey’s “City Beautiful” concept, and Nordhoff was reborn as Ojai. But that was a far simpler process. A visionary arose and presented his plan, and it was a very good plan, and Libbey was persuasive, and he was willing to write big checks to make things happen. So, the

community went along with him. Things were very different in 1947. Libbey was two decades in his grave, and no new savior arose to lead Ojai into its postwar future. Numerous ideas and projects were floating around, and the community made choices and coalesced behind three of them: The Inn, the Music Festival, and “The Ojai.” Their success solidified Ojai’s identity as a beguiling refuge for visitors and a bucolic paradise for its permanent residents. Seventy-five years later, as Ojai celebrates the achievements of that miraculous spring of 1947, we have to wonder: Do we have it in us to do it again?

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WHEN I returned to Ojai from a stint in Los Angeles six years ago, I felt my entire body relaxing into the landscape. I could let my daughter toddle, carefree through the Meadow Preserve, stopping to pick sticks off the ground, or dig her little fingers in the dirt. I watched the light turn pink on the mountains every evening as if it was my first sunset. I want to stay. But what can we do about this looming fear of thirst? I can’t escape this drought without leaving Southern California. STORY BY NAO BRAVERMAN

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The issue of our falling water table is so overwhelming it nearly paralyzes me. The two water districts that serve the City of Ojai, supplying water to a total of approximately 69,000 customers including some in Ventura and the Rincon Beach area are sourced by Lake Casitas, and groundwater alone. Lake Casitas is at 35 percent of its 238,000 acre-foot capacity as of January 12th. The groundwater, which is Ojai’s primary water source, is in danger of depletion.

I am not alone. Everywhere I go Ojai people are talking about drought. When we get even a drizzle there’s collective rejoicing to be heard in the coffee shops and grocery lines, and the farmers markets. So what can be done? A locally based organization, Watershed Progressive, has answers. Their intent is to connect California communities with our watersheds, ultimately giving us tools to recharge groundwater, conserve what rain we get when it comes, and use that water responsibly. “Ojai does have enough water," Regina Hirsch, founder and executive director at Watershed Progressive assures me. But in order to continue to thrive here, the way we manage water has to change. In the city of Ojai alone, if all residents changed their water use by reducing their demands and using water-saving solutions, like gray water (domestic waste water from laundry, bathing and food prep) we could conserve 182 acre feet,” said Hirsch. “That’s just residents!” The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home, according to the EPA. Most Ojai residents are making an effort to use less. But there are a lot of surprisingly easy and low cost changes that could help us conserve even

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more, according to Hirsch. While conservation is an important component of the organizations work, they are focused on not just water itself, but the land surrounding water at its source, the watershed. “Water is part of our everyday life but it also connects us with multiple ecosystems, distant communities, other species” explains Aja Bulla-Richards, creative director of Watershed Progressive. She pauses during our interview, when a little bird in a tree catches her attention. With multiple degrees in architecture and a lifelong dedication to environmental issues, she has come to focus on water infrastructure, and watershed, leading up to her work with Watershed Progressive. “I’m interested in how can we design our homes and our cities differently so we really understand that we are part of that cycle, and also design the places we live to be more resilient.” Resilience for our community means drought resilience, soil fertility, fire prevention, and more. For my family, the easiest change we can make is in our backyard. On a crisp fall morning, a small team of landscape architects and water resource experts from Watershed Progressive ring my doorbell to make a professional site assessment. Nicole Stern, a Watershed Progressive landscape architect, also a mother, notes my non-native milkweed, apparently poisonous. Good to know, I will be moving that out of reach of my three year old. But more importantly, the lawn of weeds that covers most of the backyard and still gets irrigated twice weekly must go. We are in agreement on this. She gives me a plant palette for Ventura County; labeled illustrations of shrubs, trees and wildflowers, sage greens, purples and yellows, golden yarrow, California lilac, deergrass, creeping sage. The soft hues are of plants that are meant to be here, and use very little water. There is also a spread of native plants that require moderate irrigation, but I’ll get to that later. For now, I want to erase the image of our suburban boxed-in back96

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yard, and visualize a small piece of Mediterranean wilderness in its place, and to lower our water bill while we’re at it. Joe Madden, water resource project manager for Watershed Progressive trudges through our mowed weeds and haphazard array of potted plants in his heavy boots and brown felt hat, surveying the laundry room, the location of bathrooms, taking notes on a clipboard. He describes a system that we could install to use grey water from our showers to irrigate plants in the backyard. Another grey water system called “laundry to landscape” could reuse wastewater from the washing machine to irrigate our front yard landscape, particularly an old redwood, which is neither native nor drought resistant, but too precious not to keep. “Aside from a little drip irrigation to water vegetables, you could reduce your irrigation water use to almost zero,” says Bulla-Richards. When I hear gray water, I imagine transporting a bucket of soapy suds from my shower to the garden. So this technology, which will require no more work than an automatic sprinkler system, is good news. Gray water can also be used to irrigate the native fruit trees, medium water-use native plants mentioned earlier. To be water resilient doesn’t mean that we can’t plant the fig, persimmon, and orange trees I want, according to Stern. We would just have to irrigate them with the used water from our showers and laundry, which, with a family of four is not a small amount. I tell Madden the number of loads of laundry we do each week (at least 3) and the number of showers, which he notes on his clipboard. This site visit is part of a collaborative program, the Land Resilience Partnership, between Watershed Progressive and state and county agencies (California’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the California Office of Resource Bonds, California Department of Water Resources, Ventura County Resource OQ / SPRING 2022

WATERSHED PROGRESSIVE'S NICOLE STERN, JOE MADDEN AND AJA BULLA RICHARDS. NOT PICTURED IS REGINA HIRSCH OQ / SPRING 2022

Conservation District, the City of Ojai and the Ventura River Water District). Bringing together multiple agencies and government entities, the partnership fosters collaboration on this very precious goal of improving our watershed.

Almost all that they do, at Watershed Progressive, revolves around other partners, says Hirsch. It’s all about collaboration. As an organization they are constantly exchanging ideas, improvising, trying out new solutions.

The Land Resilience Partnership started up in Tuolumne County in Northern California, along with Watershed Progressive in its early years, where it was a huge success. There, they were doing assessments, technical assistance, designing and building systems for water reuse. Based on that idea, the organization started a similar partnership in Ventura County.

“The idea is not just to design something that sits on paper. It’s really to engage people in trying things in their own backyard,” said Hirsch."

The site visit to my home in particular was made possible by a partnership with the Ventura River Water District, the water utility that serves the Ojai neighborhood where I live. By facilitating work on sites like mine, the water district can help reduce consumptive use of water with many small actions that add up to a significant amount of water to be left in streams and aquifers, explains Madden.

The landscaping of homes, backyards, and small parcels is just one function of the organization. They also have a handful of larger projects under their belt, including those at Thacher School, Besant Hill School, the Ojai Valley Inn, and the City of Ojai. At the expansive and scenic campus of Besant Hill School, they designed and proposed a system of rainwater collection from the roofs of buildings, and a large storm-water retention basin to store water from seasonal rain that the school can dip into during the dry summer season, and frequent droughts.

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“As a result of climate change we may be experiencing less rain, but when the rain comes we can expect more dramatic rain events,” says Bulla-Richards. The water collection tanks and natural landscape features can be used to collect and store that water for the future. At Besant Hill School, for example, they proposed the restoration of oak woodlands, which provides habitat for a number of native wildlife species. The restoration of habitat in turn improves the health of our rivers, lakes, ponds, and the surrounding wildlife. Some of this restoration work has been installed with Watershed Progressive staff, local volunteers and Besant Hill students. The Ojai Valley and Ventura watershed, for a variety of factors, is a good location for the organization to focus on, explains Bulla-Richards, who was born and raised in Ojai. “We have a diverse geographical landscape on a small scale, and the need for water conservation. The Ventura Watershed is now becoming a model for strategies that build land and water resilience for future generations.” But Watershed Progressive’s projects span across the state. Hirsch’s watershed work began in Morro Bay, at the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board. There, she worked on different water use solutions. She then moved to Tuolumne County and opened a plant nursery café called Mountain Sage, where the seed for Watershed Progressive was born. The nursery also functions as an event-center, hosting talks and other educational gatherings, bringing together members of the community. It’s become a hub for learning, and discussion, a place where people can exchange ideas about water conservation and environmental restoration, among other topics. It was there that Hirsch developed a contracting arm, which allowed the organization to design and install water reuse systems. Not far from the nursery is one of the organization’s early water reuse projects at Yosemite’s Evergreen Lodge, where a gray water system to this day recycles 1.9 million gallons of water annually from guest cabins, staff housing and laundry. A subsequent project at the nearby Rush Creek Lodge reuses over 3.3 million gallons of gray water annually. In and around Yosemite National Park, there is more rainwater to reuse. But with Ojai’s climate, the need for conservation is immediate and dire. When Watershed Progressive was invited to expand their work to the Ojai Valley, they readily accepted. “We found, with coastal watersheds, that were more shallow we could understand the hydrology better than in the complex environment of the Sierras” said Hirsch. “In this location we can get a better idea of how these solutions would help not only people

where they live, work, and play, but also improve the health of our watersheds and create opportunities for people to connect to the natural world around them.” With the help of partnerships, the organization already has its hand in a number of watershed improvement efforts in the Ojai Valley and throughout the county. They’ve opened a small office in downtown Ojai and are here to stay. What remains is the future. With a long list of local projects, the organization needs workers. In the summer of 2022 they will be expanding their training and mentorship program to a Ventura branch. Dubbed the Headwaters Initiative, the program provides youth with pathways toward careers in watershed resilience, conservation and restoration. Participants will gain a variety of skills, including, but not limited to, gray water design and installation, rainwater harvesting, graphic design and other tasks connected to watershed transformation. Following completion of the program, they will have an opportunity to be hired by Watershed Progressive. While this will help the organization expand, it also has the added benefit of educating future generations about watershed improvement, training more professionals in water reuse technology and increasing local jobs. (for more information, visit www.watershedprogressive.com/headwaters-initiative). Educating future generations, the Watershed Progressive team also hopes to foster a change in mindset regarding our relationship with natural systems and other species. To this end, the organization is a partner in the Green Valley Project, a youth leadership in restoration program led by CREW. This spring, Watershed Progressive will support the local youth council in designing and planting pollinator corridors around the Ojai Valley. Trends in residential landscaping are shifting away from highly irrigated lawns, imported plants and manicured bushes. Perhaps we can take that further and replace the traditional suburban residential landscapes with the wild beauty of native plants and flowers, butterflies, hummingbirds and the occasional heron. Patch by patch, we can transform our lawns and backyards into thriving, interconnected native habitats and vibrant ecosystems that will sustain our future here. The practices used to save water in homes can simultaneously create healthy soils and vegetation, ultimately providing shade and fire resilience, and benefitting wildlife for years to come. Watershed Progressive hopes to make Ojai an example of what is possible when a community, even one as perilously dry as ours, comes together and really cares for their land and watershed. To have a site visit and consultation, sign up at watertoolkit.org.

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STORY BY JERRY CAMARILLO DUNN, JR

our short-attention-span society, it’s a trend for magazines to reduce a travel destination to a list of attractions, like “14 Things to Do with Kids in Paris” or “The 7 Sexiest Hotels in St. Bart’s!” But if you’re traveling to Yellowstone National Park, the roster of things you need to know is relatively short. In fact, just a single item: 1) In summer, Yellowstone gets really crowded. Our first national park, established in 1872 and located in the upper left corner of Wyoming, is a wonderland that attracts up to four million people annually. (Visitors far outnumber the combined populations of Wyoming and Montana.) Areas around the major sights, such as geysers and waterfalls, often look less like a wilderness park than a Wal-Mart parking lot. But on my visit I discovered a foolproof way to avoid the summer crowds. Here’s my secret for seeing the park’s wonders — the rainbow hot springs and bubbling mud pots, the wildflower meadows and trout streams, the elk herds and grizzly bears — in silence and solitude: Get up early. Really early. Wa-a-a-y too early.

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LAMAR VALLEY

WOLVES AND BEARS wake up at dawn to go out for breakfast, so at that hour you have a much better chance of seeing them. (And not seeing other people, who are still in their warm beds and sleeping bags.) I rallied my wife, Merry (“Call Me Intrepid”) Dunn, at the brain-numbing hour of 4:30 a.m. We stumbled out of our cabin in the darkness, got in the car, and made it to the Lamar Valley just as the sun rose. This river valley is home to elk, wolves, grizzlies, and other free-roaming wild animals. (Hence the nickname “The Little Serengeti of North America.”) A former Santa Barbara Zoo keeper, Merry hoped to encounter some critters in quiet solitude. But even though the day had barely dawned when we drove into the valley, there was already a traffic jam. Of buffalos.

A HERD was slowly meandering along the two-lane highway. (Buffalos like paved roads for the same reason we do: easy passage through rough terrain.) We stopped, and in ten seconds our car was engulfed by woolly brown beasts. Shuffling past, they edged up to our car and snorted into our half-open windows. (Please pass the breath mints.) Buffalos (properly, bison) are the park’s largest animals. A male may weigh 2,000 pounds, yet it can turn on a dime and run 35 miles an hour, way faster than an Olympic sprinter ... and then trample you. More park visitors are injured each year by buffa104

los than by bears. Despite signposted warnings, camera-toting tourists get out of their cars and, as if in a daze, approach within a few yards of these unpredictable behemoths. Sitting in a sturdy metal box on wheels, though, we were safe from random trampling and goring. We could see the buffalos’ shiny horns and pointy beards up close, and look into their calm, cow-like eyes. We also watched new calves gamboling on skinny stick legs, just like children playing. Lucky for them, there were no wolves in sight. As we headed out of the valley, a lone driver coming the other way waved for us to stop. A genial man with an Indian accent leaned out the window. “There’s a grizzly just ahead! Look on the ridge, up to the left.” We parked farther down the road and spied a dark silhouette a hundred yards away. Was it a grizzly? Shaggy brown coat: check! Dish-shaped face: check! Hump on its shoulders: check! It was North America’s kingpin predator. The grizzly was rambling across a grassy hilltop, digging up roots with a massive paw. A Yellowstone grizzly bear’s diet ranges widely, from pine nuts to moose (especially and sadly, calves). But grizzlies rarely view us humans as prey, despite their advantages in speed (35 mph) and strength (their powerful jaws can crush a bowling ball). Our bear simply ambled along, digging up breakfast and, I imagined, humming to itself contentedly. OQ / SPRING 2022

BUFFALO HERD

OLD FAITHFUL ERUPTION

and steaming fumaroles than the rest of the world combined.

ROOSEVELT LODGE PORCH

By now Merry and I were hungry ourselves, so we drove to Roosevelt Lodge, the smallest, quietest, and least crowded of the park’s accommodations. The log lodge wasn’t open for breakfast yet, so we sat in rocking chairs on the porch with a few other early risers. A little girl scampering in the cool morning air reminded us of the buffalo calves we’d just seen. At seven o’clock the front door opened. We took seats in the dining room and ordered the chef ’s daily scramble — mushrooms and Swiss cheese — with blueberry muffins and some wake-up coffee. Ahhh.

THAT AFTERNOON we drove the Grand Loop road, which links most of the park’s iconic sights, to see some geothermal features. Yellowstone has 10,000 of them — more boiling hot springs, erupting geysers,

It was therefore hard to forget a Big Fact: We were now on top of the world’s largest supervolcano, one that could blow at any minute. In fact, it has done just that three times. The first eruption, 2.1 million years ago, was 6,000 times more powerful than Mount St. Helens. The explosion sent burning gas, molten rock, and ash blasting across the landscape — thereby, as two local geologists describe it, “vaporizing forests, animals, birds, and streams into varicolored puffs of steam.” I kind of counted on this not happening. Still, the possibility added a frisson of excitement to our visit. The most recent eruption took place 640,000 years ago, creating the Yellowstone Caldera that fills the center of the park. (The 30-by-45-mile caldera is bigger than Rhode Island, but what isn’t?) And it’s not as if things are quiet now: Each year the Yellowstone volcano generates 2,000 earthquakes. We got out of the car at Norris Geyser Basin. By this time of day, the parking lot looked like the one at Disneyland, jammed with Homo sapiens and their RVs. Norris is the hottest, most unpredictable geyser basin in the park, with new steaming pools and geysers appearing regularly. Beneath

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OLD FAITHFUL INN WITH GEYSER

our feet, the land was five inches higher than it had been ten years ago, thanks to the pressure of hot magma pushing the whole region upward. (In simple terms, the molten center of the Earth wants to escape.) Merry and I set out on a wooden boardwalk designed to keep visitors from falling into a geothermal feature and being inconveniently parboiled. Emerald Spring simmered away, a pretty blue-green color. We passed the world’s tallest geyser, Steamboat, which spouts water in a column 300 feet high — but eruptions can be decades apart. Soon we came to reliable Vixen Geyser. It was just a small, steaming hole in the ground when we arrived, but we heard subterranean plumbing, the sounds of water sloshing and gurgling. Suddenly, steam and boiling water burst into the air, shooting twenty feet high. A little girl came along just as Vixen went off. “Wow!” she said, “I was NOT expecting THAT!”

NEXT MORNING Merry and I again tumbled out of bed at a ridiculously early hour and headed to the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone." This gorge

OLD FAITHFUL INN LOBBY

was carved 10,000 years ago by a rush of water from melting glaciers, and today it’s 20 miles long, up to 1,200 feet deep, and still growing. From a viewpoint on the north rim we gazed at the thundering Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. Standing in dawn light, we were the only people around. Green water poured over the lip of the falls and fell 308 feet, its impact sending clouds of mist up into the morning air. With no one else there, we saw what mountain men and early explorers saw, a pristine wonder of nature. This is the sight painter Thomas Moran captured on the 1871 Hayden expedition, in his 7-by-12-foot masterpiece Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. When magazines and newspapers back East splashed images of the painting across their pages, along with William Henry Jackson’s photographs, the public saw the marvels of Yellowstone for the first time. This led to its preservation as a national park in 1872. That year the park had 300 visitors. It’s not like that now, but if you follow my one and only travel tip and get up very, very early, your sacrifice of sleep will earn you a great privilege — that of having Yellowstone National Park all to yourself.

Humorist Dave Barry once made fun of Yellowstone visitors who treat nature as some kind of popular entertainment. He described “Old Faithful Geyser, an amazing natural phenomenon that, at regularly scheduled intervals, erupts out of the ground and performs ‘Hello, Dolly.’ Tips are appreciated.”

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LAKE YELLOWSTONE HOTEL

OLD FAITHFUL INN, HISTORIC BUS

COMPASS POINTS WHERE: Yellowstone National Park occupies nearly 3,500 square miles in the northwest corner of Wyoming (along with small bits in Montana and Idaho). VISITOR INFORMATION: www.nps.gov/yell. Masks are required, regardless of vaccination status, in NPS buildings, crowded outdoor spaces, and enclosed public transportation.

the shore of vast Lake Yellowstone. Utterly unlike other park accommodations, the gracious hotel is yellow clapboard with stately white columns, and guests gather in an airy sunroom with live piano music and jigsaw puzzles to assemble, as if in a bygone era. CAN’T-MISS WILDLIFE SPOTTING:

WHERE TO BUNK: The park’s excellent concessionaire, Xanterra (www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com), offers a range of accommodations, including rustic cabins and a variety of lodges. Note: Reserve far ahead! Most popular is the Old Faithful Inn, a 1904 classic of national “parkitecture” that looks like an Alpine lodge translated for the Wild West. It is built of native logs and stone, and the towering lobby surrounds a massive four-sided fireplace. The rambling Lake Yellowstone Hotel (1891) stands on

The excellent Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (www. grizzlydiscoveryctr.org) in the gateway town of West Yellowstone, MT, educates you about these animals up close. If you don’t see any in the park – well, at least you’ll have seen some here. TRAVELER’S TIPS: Pack a sweater and rain poncho for changeable weather. (In June we had sun, rain, hail, and snow – all in one day.) Park lodges have no TV, and Internet service is spotty at best. (This encourages spending time with family and friends.) To see wolves, look for wolf spotters, people in roadside pullouts with long scopes; they won’t mind if you quietly join them. Keep your distance from grizzly bears; about 70 percent of fatal attacks here are from mothers defending their cubs.

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ALAN CHANG, L.Ac 2nd generation Acupuncturist who brings 15 years of Meditation, Tai Chi and Kyudo Zen Archery experience to his healing practice of Functional Medicine and TCM. AmaraOjai.com | 805-486-3494

LAURIE EDGCOMB Lic. Acupuncturist since 1986, voted best in Ojai! Natural medicine including Microcurrent, nutritional and herbal consultation, Facial Rejuvenation. LaurieEdgcomb.com 805-798-4148

LAUREL FELICE, LMT Offers Swedish, deep tissue, reflexology, reiki, cranialsacral and pre and post natal massage with a reverent and joyous balance of hands and heart. laurelfelice54@gmail.com 805-886-3674

DR. JOHN R. GALASKA Dr. John R. Galaska, PsyD, BCN, Cht, university professor of Psychology, Neurofeedback, biofeedback, hypnosis for past troubling experiences and enhancing subjective life experience. BeCalmOfOjai.com facebook.com/BeCalmofOjai 805-705-5175

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SOMATIC SANCTUARY Welcome to Somatic Sanctuary — a somatic-based healing and movement arts center. Explore healing treatments, group movement sessions, workshops and community events. 410 W. Ojai Avenue 805-633-9230 SomaticSanctuary.com

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STORY & PHOTOS BY CHUCK GRAHAM

SNOW

flurries, hail and intermittent rain was just enough to dampen the top layer of loam along the serpentine spine of the Caliente Ridge; the Caliente Mountains being a west-to-east uplifting mountain range in the remote southeast corner of

MBRACING THE LOAM

San Luis Obispo County. After leaving an epic sunrise on the floor of the Carrizo Plain, I was mountain biking up the winding Caliente Ridge Road, greeted by a dense canopy of menacing, smoky gray storm clouds swirling above.

SELBY CAMPGROUND SUNRISE

Aided by chilly, piercing, gale force winds, I easily ascended well above the sweeping grasslands and the Selby Campground. I left behind the semi-arid grasslands, pushing upward into a forest of juniper woodland scrub, surrounded by one of the most sparsely populated regions of California.

MOUNTAIN FORECAST It was a crapshoot gauging weather reports, especially in one of the more remote regions of the state, but there appeared to be a small, favorable weather window for mountain biking the 16.9-mile, out-and-back route out to Caliente Mountain and its Wilderness Study Area (WSA).

The WSA encompasses 35,600 acres of the 250,000-acre Carrizo Plain National Monument. While mountain biking above the grassland biosphere, I left that unique biome pedaling mightily into the Calientes, peering directly across the plain and the rolling crest of the barren Temblor Range. The national monument not only encompasses the sweeping grasslands, but also these two remote mountain ranges. The contrast in ecosystems was stunning and distinct as I continued my ascent toward the Caliente Ridgeline. From that knife

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PHOTO BY JUCK GRAHAM

At 5,106 feet tall, Caliente Mountain is the highest peak in San Luis Obispo County. Ecologically, Caliente Mountain is botanically rich, with juniper woodlands and Tucker’s oak groves. Wildlife abounds from roadrunner and mountain quail to black-tailed deer, black bear, and mountain lion. Endangered California condors are nearby and occasionally soar overhead in the afternoon thermal updrafts.

JUNIPER IS PREVALENT THROUGHOUT CALIENTE RIDGE

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PHOTO BY JUCK GRAHAM

SWEEPING VIEW OF THE CARRIZO PLAIN NATIONAL MONUMENT

ridge a whole new perspective morphed into the complexities of California Coastal Ranges surrounding the Caliente Mountains. The Sierra Madre Mountains cloaked in dense chaparral dominated the western horizon, the Cuyama Valley and Highway 166 separating the two ranges. To the southeast, Mount Pinos stood taller than any other peak in the region. At 8,847 feet, it’s the highest peak in the Los Padres National Forest. To the east, on the other side of the Carrizo Plain, the more stark, seemingly barren Temblors jutted prominently from the grassland floor above the San Andreas Fault.

I had also noticed an extreme dip in temperature now hovering in the low 30s. However, with storm clouds still billowing in the north and bands of rain pelting the Sierra Madre to the southwest, I still felt as if I could make it to the Caliente summit and beat any inclement weather.

DIRTY BY NATURE Once within the WSA, the dirt road melded into a rolling single-track trail. First, I buzzed by a repeater station, then a

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bedraggled old cattle camp and finally a unique contraption at the bottom of a gully that ended up being a corrugated metal platform that works as a cistern, essentially a water source for any thirsty, mountain wildlife such as mule deer, mountain lion and bobcat. 116

As I approached the summit, the trail became more challenging to ride, more sand in the steeper sections of the route. Reluctantly I left my bike beneath a juniper and hiked the rest of the way. The summit was an impressive, triangular shaped uplift of lichen-covered sandstone and at its apex lied what was left of a OQ / SPRING 2022

PHOTO BY JUCK GRAHAM

flattened World War II lookout for Japanese planes. At the time it was feared the Japanese would potentially aim for nearby oilfields in Taft. The lookout collapsed over a decade ago, weather-beaten and in utter shambles. Still though, a sign-in box

was there for peak baggers to scrawl their names into, a moment in time on a far-flung meridian. My moment on the sandstone summit was brief. Foreboding weather had arrived, and quicker than I had anticipated. Visibil

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COLLAPSED WORLD WAR II LOOKOUT

SUMMIT SIGN-IN BOX ATOP CALIENTE MOUNTAIN, 5,106 FEET TALL

ity was almost nil in every direction. The canopy of dark clouds had engulfed not only the summit, but the entire 8-mile-long Caliente Ridge. I ran with my camera pack back to my bike. From there a mixture of snow showers, rain, and a couple of bouts of hail mucked up the trail just enough to make mountain biking impossible on the rolling ascents. The moisture had dampened the top layer of loam sticking to my tires like thick, gooey clay. Even pushing my bike was a real effort to the point where my bike would not budge at all, dirt caking the treads until I removed enough muck to continue forward. That only allowed for about 10 paces at a time before I was forced to remove more gunky dirt. Sometimes I elected to carry my bike as my trail shoes collected an inch of mud along my ridgeline slog. Downhills were a grateful reprieve from the mudslinging, allowing me to ride fast enough for the loam to spin off the treads. That meant eating plenty of dirt, my eyes already welling up with moisture and more than enough dirt finding my nostrils, mouth and even my ears.

GRASSLAND DESCENT As I raced along Caliente Ridge as best I could I anticipated my first grassland visual. What would I see first? I needed

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BADLANDS, CUYAMA VALLEY, CALIENTE RIDGE

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CALIENTE MOUNTAIN SUMMIT LOOKOUT

CHURNING THROUGH THE MUD WHEELS

CUYAMA VALLEY, CALIENTE RIDGE

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HERD OF TULE ELK TRAVERSE THE CALIENTE FOOTHILLS

SODA LAKE AND OUTLYING VERNAL POOLS SWEEP ACROSS THE FLOOR OF THE CARRIZO PLAIN

something I knew well, a point of reference to energize me, pushing me through the mud, while dipping below the dewy, clouded canopy, knowing a warm sleeping bag awaited at Selby Camp.

Rocks. My eyes welled up from the frigid, mountain air as I S-turned down the Caliente Mountains. Puffy clouds hovered above Soda Lake, where I was gratefully forced to pull off into several turnouts reveling in the jaw-dropping grassland vistas.

The ridge descended sharply, as I startled a massive golden eagle on a juniper. In a few seconds it soared off behind me to the west. The first significant landmark revealing itself beneath the canopy was the gritty row of angular sandstone slabs at Selby

At each pullout my camera was in one hand and binoculars in the other, long lines of tule elk herds browsed the tan, beige, and brown ecosphere below. Suddenly I wasn’t cold anymore, and the mud was soon forgotten.

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WWW.DREWEGGEBRATENDDS.COM 121

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Photo by Lisa Nix

Hike a lot?

Give a little!

¡Camina lo que quieras, dona lo que puedas! OVLC has permanently protected 2,400 acres of open space and maintains 27 miles of trail for all to enjoy. This is all done with donations from you—our community.

El OVLC ha protegido permanentemente 2.400 acres de áreas naturales y mantiene 27 millas de senderos para el disfrute de todos. Todo esto se hace con sus donaciones—nuestra comunidad.

LEARN MORE AND JOIN US INFÓRMESE Y ÚNASE A NOSOTROS: OVLC.ORG 124

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f o o d f u n l i b a t i o n s •

•

Taste of

o f o d f u n o i t a b i l •

•

T a s o et

Ojai

Club of Ojai

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OQ | A NIM A L N EI GHB O R S

1 TURTLE CONSERVANCY

turtleconservancy.org info@turtleconservancy.org.

The Turtle Conservancy, located in Ojai’s East End, is dedicated to protecting threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide, and to countering the illegal trade in such animals, which is decimating their numbers. Working with partner organizations, they’ve purchased land and established preserves for endangered turtles in Africa, Asia and Mexico. They’ve established a captive breeding center with the ultimate goal of re-wilding species to their native habitats when it is safe to do so. The Turtle Conservancy depends on donations to fund its programs, and welcomes volunteers to help out with numerous projects at our Ojai facility.

2 LOCKWOOD ANIMAL RESCUE CENTER

info@lockwoodarc.org phone: 661-220-5505

The Lockwood Animal Rescue Center (LARC), founded by Dr. Lorin Lindner and Matt Simmons, offers a therapeutic work environment for returning combat veterans and a “forever home” to wolves, wolfdogs, coyotes, horses, parrots and other animals. Located on a 20-acre facility, they offer both the veterans and animals an opportunity to heal and thrive in a back-to-nature setting. “Though not open to the public, we cater to veterans suffering from trauma, and are welcome to participate in our work therapy program. We offer an immersion program for veterans to stay and participate, and to learn basic skills for caring for animals and self healing,” Dr. Lindner said.

3 OJAI RAPTOR CENTER

ojairaptorcenter@gmail.com phone: 805-649-6884

ORC was founded and is directed by Kimberly Stroud, who started her training at the Raptor Rehabilitation and Release Program in 1992. In 2000 she went on to found Ojai Raptor Center. First and foremost, Ojai Raptor Center is a fully functional and permitted wildlife rehabilitation center, specializing in birds of prey. Every year they take in 500 to 1,000 sick, injured or orphaned birds (including many non-raptor birds, and a small percentage of mammals) with the hopes of rehabilitating them and releasing them back to the wild. Our four-acre campus is comprised of a medical room and hospital, as well as outdoor flights, aviaries and mews. The center also features the largest flight in California.

4 HUMANE SOCIETY OF VENTURA COUNTY

animals@hsvc.org phone: 805-646-6505 or 805-656-5031

Nestled in the rolling hills of the Ojai Valley lies a 4.4-acre hidden haven for wayward animals. Founded in 1932, the Humane Society of Ventura County has been serving not just the animals of the Ojai Valley, but all of the animals in Ventura County. Traditionally, an animal shelter is thought of as solely a place for animals to seek refuge until a permanent home can be found. While here at the Humane Society of Ventura County they provide this safe refuge, they also strive to remedy the greater problem of animal overpopulation, abuse and neglect.

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Comprehensive Cancer Care. Close to Home. Ridley-Tree Cancer Center delivers multidisciplinary cancer care using the most advanced treatments and technology. Experienced physicians trained at top institutions and a compassionate staff are why we’re the leading provider of cancer care on the central coast.

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HOUZZ.COM: bit.ly/TalaBDesign OQ / SPRING 2022

The Ojai 120

TENNIS TOURNAMENT The Ojai Tennis Tournament celebrates its 120th year at historic Libbey Park in downtown Ojai. Tournament Honoree and former Ojai champion Patrick McEnroe is this year’s special guest at the annual Friday fundraiser event. SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

WED: Pac-12 Championship Dual-Match Play Begins

THU: Annual Rotary BBQ In the Park, 5 pm FRI:

SAT:

Fundraising Event at Ojai Museum with Tournament Honoree Patrick McEnroe

Pac-12 Women’s and Men’s team finals Boys’ CIF singles and doubles finals

SUN: Juniors, Collegiate and Men’s and Women’s Open finals

APRIL 20-24, 2022 www.TheOjai.net

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OQ | EV ENTS CA L ENDA R m a r c h - a p r i l - m ay galleries

CANVAS AND PAPER | THU-SUN | info@canvasandpaper.org TO MARCH 14 “It’s My House” at Porch Gallery Times: Location: 310 East Matilija Street Contact: 805-620-7589 porchgalleryojai.com CURA Art, in collaboration with Porch Gallery, invites you to "It's My House!," a collective space and exhibition celebrating the role of collectors in their embrace and support of creativity. MARCH 26 The Lola Haag Jazz Quartet Time: Saturday at 7 p.m. Location: The Underground Exchange, Contact: 805-340-7893 undergroundexchange.com The award-winning entertainer returns to this intimate Ojai stage. APRIL 1 "Tomatomania!" Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Location: Wachter's Hay & Grain, 114 South Montgomery Street Contact: tomatomania.com Get expert advice, find rare heirlooms, classic hybrids and all you need for a successful season.

recurring events

“THE OJAI | APRIL 20-24 | LIBBEY PARK & ELSEWHERE APRIL 9 Rotary Club of Ojai’s “Taste of Ojai” Times: 1 to 5 p.m. Location: Libbey Park Contact: 805-620-7589 tasteofojai.com Taste of Ojai, the region’s finest food-related event, is back with a different approach this year; a walking tour of Ojai’s amazing restaurants and art venues. APRIL 2024 The 116th “The Ojai” Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament Times: Varies Location: Libbey Park & Elsewhere Contact: 805-646-7421 theojai.net The country’s oldest amateur tournament resumes after a two-year pandemic-related hiatus, with the PAC-12 championships and many other top matchups. TO APRIL 30 Thomas Hardcastle’s “Car Culture” Time: Opening Reception March 5 at 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 12 to 4 p.m. Location: Ojai Art Center Contact: 805-646-0117 Original automobile paintings by fthe amed Ojai artist. OQ / SPRING 2022

concerts

LOLA HAAG JAZZ QUARTET | MARCH 26 | OJAI UNDERGROUND EXCHANGE

MARCH 3 to MAY 8 canvas & paper present Cornelis Kick, William Scott & Louis Valtat Location: 311 North Montgomery Street Times: Thursday to Sunday, noon – 5 p.m. Contact: canvasandpaper.org Free admission — canvas and paper is a non-profit exhibition space showing paintings and drawings from the 20th century and earlier.

Ojai Community Farmers’ Market Times: Thursdays, 3 to 7 p.m. Location: Chaparral School Courtyard 414 East Ojai Avenue Contact: (661) 491-0257 ojaicommunityfarmersmarket.com JUNE 9 to 12

Ojai Music Festival Times: Varies Locations: Varies, most in Libbey Bowl. Contact: ojaifestivals.org 805-646-2094 This year, the artistic directors are the ensemble group AMOC, the American Modern Opera Company, performing six world premieres, plus an exciting program of classical contemporary music. 133

OQ | N O C TU R NA L S U B MI S S I ONS

A Housewife’s Log

BY SAMI ZAHRINGER

In picturesque Owhy, CA, Mayor Clint Overdub’s infamous fall from grace happened rapidly over just a few months. It’s a rags-to-riches-tostraitjacket story filled with success, tragedy, portable toilet solutions, corruption, unsuitable footwear, a damp gopher, and finally madness. National Inciter reporters investigated the case for months, examining police files, interviewing attractive freelance occultists and outspoken hat-wearing people close to the case. Now in a world exclusive, we can reveal the full story of one mayor’s tragic flight from reason. Clint Overdub always wanted to be a politician. By age 6 he had memorized both Reagan’s inaugural addresses and the full details (with citations) of the landmark Owhy study, “Common-Sense Hedge Ordinances for A New Millennium,” a classic of late century municipal by-laws. By 12 he was the precocious owner of the 7th busiest mobile hot-dog truck in the county. In a TV interview at the time the young Clint said: “Its been a struggle. I can’t drive for a start so I hire my grand134

mother to drive around the bars at closing time. She tried to unionize with uncle Larry, my mechanic, a month ago claiming unsafe work conditions. But I already knew that unions must be strangled at birth so I put a ramp in the truck for her wheelchair, moved the buns to make room for her precious oxygen tank, and gave them a gift card for Red Lobster. They’ve promised not to do it again.” TV reporter, wearing a very brave yellow for her age: "How do you respond to accusations of unsanitary conditions around your food? The four people falling dead within feet of your truck, partial hot dogs still clutched in their stiffening hands?" Clint (raising hands): "Alleged, Christine, please, alleged. There were 4 ALLEGED hot-dog related fatalities but three of the four victims/customers had only a decade at most left to live anyway, and my lawyer managed to make the jury doubt the science in a dramatic courtroom experiment featuring a round-bottomed flask, a too-small rubber glove, a single human hair, the court reporter’s hummus wrap, and a small, mostly-contained explosion. Total acquittal on all charges." (Sotto voce) "There’s no story here, Christine, so don’t bust my balls, sweetheart." (Loudly) "But don’t you want to know what advice I’d give to other OQ / SPRING 2022

young entrepreneurs?" (The young Clint looks directly into the camera) "What I would tell them is JUST DON’T GIVE UP! It’s all about fearless self-examination, rigorous market analysis, and your godmother being a well-connected trial lawyer. Dare to dream!" Well, the young Clint did dare to dream and all went well for a while. Very well. For a while. We caught up with the former Mayor in his padded cell at Fulsom Prison, having gradually won his trust over countless long Mountain-Dew fueled games of Prison Cluedo (“It was Travis with the fentanyl in the trailer park; Miss Bambi with the urethral prod in the love dungeon, etc); National Inciter: "What happened next, Clint, and where, where did it all go wrong?" Clint: “Well, after high school, business boomed and soon I was the 4th busiest hot-dog truck in the county. Well, that caught the eyes of the right people and at 18 I became the youngest ever member of Owhy’s Sanitation Board where I served with distinction for 14 years, a 6 times winner of The Golden Air-Freshener.” NI: "And during that time you married Genevieve, known beauty, (38 - 26 - 38) and fun-loving heiress to the Krappeasey por-

table toilet solutions empire. You had twins, Lorum and Ipsem, and opened your home to an accidentally partially-microwaved rescue guinea-pig called Believe." Clint: "Yes, it was a fairytale life but on our 6th anniversary, tragedy struck. " NI: "The papers say that that Genevieve died in a freak gratitude-journaling accident? " Clint: (growing animated) "No! It was murder! I can’t prove it but I KNOW that was no mere freak gratitude-journaling accident!” NI: "How do you know that, Clint?” Clint: "At that time a rival portable toilet company arrived in town. Big Chicago shithouse outfit, guys who play real rough, rumored to be mafia who needed to get out of the city fast. There was something real rotten in the air, the whole thing stunk of Glade and menace, and oddly, hidden under all that, something…something delicious … … Everyone was uneasy. Already we’d seen prowling blackedout “plumber vans” scoping the house. At the same time, totally untrue rumors had been going round that I’d used my position at the sanitary district to advance Krappeasey interests. There was

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one politician, in particular, Don Persiflage, who didn’t like me because his granny was one of the four people I definitely didn’t kill with my thoroughly cooked, scrupulously regulation-temperature hot dogs. But get this: Persiflage is a Chicago Bears fan. Coincidence? You tell me…” Still Clint: “Arrgh! I know it was them! Look, all I can tell you is that, as well as the novelty rainbow-poop emoji pen the coroner found stuck in Gen’s beautiful heart, he also found a squeekin’ of cider, a boodle of beer and a bishop’s fist of gin in her teetotal stomach! (The coroner was British.) There can be no question that her kale ’n’ cashew oat tahini ka’chava equinox smoothie was spiked! Everybody knew she couldn’t handle more than a quarter-boodle at the most. She was wearing her favorite house slippers that day: 4-inch mule slides. With the booze and the mules, and that novelty poop pen, she was an “accident” waiting to happen. You have to tell the story, National Inciter! Find justice for my Gen!" At this point we had to break for some physical restraining and a cup of tea. Resuming… NI: "But how did a humble hot-dog seller/sanitation district manager/sudden new heir to the Krappeasey millions become mayor?" Clint: "After Gen passed, I became a different person, you know? I joined the golf club for one thing and met the man who would pluck me from the bowels of sanitation district management and catapult me through Owhy’s hallowed corridors of power right to the top job." NI: "You mean the now notorious convicted piglet-trafficking kingpin, Henry Oggsham." Clint: "Yes. Old Oggy. Nice guy behind it all. Big softie, really, for a piglet-trafficker. Does a very funny impression of Blanche from the Golden Girls. Anyway, politics has always been my passion, I needed a new direction and he saw a way that could benefit us both." NI: "You mean pork barrel spending, bringing home the bacon, greasing palms, feeding at the public trough? " Clint: (Pause) "I think you went one piglet metaphor too far 136

there, but, essentially, yes, he was a crook. I know that now. But I trusted that sunnovabitch! Goddamn his S3, Ep4. Blanche and Sophia reenactment! He broke my heart, the devious hilarious bastard!" (Bit of bitter weeping for a while) Clint: (now composed): “Oggy financed my campaign. Anything I wanted he got, especially pork products. He introduced me to the right people and sent me to a Sincerity Coach. I was doing everything right on the surface, but emotionally I was Van Gogh’s right ear. As if things weren’t bad enough, Believe died of partially-cooked kidney failure so I sent the twins to lute camp in Minnesota, hoping the beauty of the Great North Woods and some applied plucking would help them mourn him and their mother. Meanwhile under Oggy’s tutelage I threw myself into the political jungle. I honed my infant-kissing technique, perfected my mirthless guffaw, and with Oggy’s golf club knowledge, did some serious boning up on who was having an affair with whom — useful information for a politician, you know.” (Clint taps veiny nose conspiratorially) Still Clint (but sadly now): "Ah, I see you’ve noticed my veiny nose. I could lie and say it was 'A Condition,' but around that time, I began drinking more. Socially at first, at the golf club and at fundraisers but all the years working in the heavily Febreezed air of the sanitation department had left me with a chemical need and now suddenly, sniffing a bottle of Febreeze a day wasn’t enough. I started hitting the whisky. Then Success hit me. It was all very hitty. O Success, you fickle mistress! So yes. I became mayor and I owed it all to Oggy. Krappeasey had folded but I never had the nose for that business anyway. But the hot dog business went stratospheric! We began winning all sorts of tastiest ‘dog prizes and getting write ups in the LA Times. I didn’t question it. I was successful, yes, but I was lonely, guinea-pigless, and now estranged from the twins. My Febreeze’n’whisky habit grew deeper. Then Covid hit." NI: "Can you tell us what happened at Jim & Rob’s Fresh Grill on September 15th 2021?" Clint. "Please ignore the so-called local “reporting” on that. I wasn’t 'drunk.' I didn’t 'cry.' And I didn’t 'claim to have introduced thrash bodhran music to the USA.' All I did was huff a little too much Febreeze with a whisky chaser at home for OQ / SPRING 2022

breakfast and forgot to get dressed, which could happen to any mayor. I popped my head into the restaurant and told a socially distanced joke about tacos in queso they needed cheering up but it left young girls shrieking like alarmed herons and caused a furloughed Front End Web Developer to tearfully soil himself. But I was the mayor! It was easily explained away by saying I had a bad Ambien reaction. I mayored on, keeping my political enemies at bay, or so I thought." NI: "What about Oggsham?"

communion with the universe. “Dare to dream!” they whispered. When the vomiting stopped and the drug finally kicked in, the vision I saw was of my own car telling me to take better care of it. Huh? I mean, that couldn’t be it, right, could it? Obviously, to get to the incredible spiritual communion part, I needed more, right? The alpha farmer obliged and soon I was throwing up rainbows. Too late I saw the name tag neatly sewn into his pre-faded reproduction Bowie 1974 tour T-shirt: — “DON PERSIFLAGE JR”! Panic surged. It was a trap. Too late, too late! I fell back and hallucinated I was licking a huge Werther’s Original.

Clint: "Oggy wanted more and more. Permits for this, that, and the other. Introductions to other mayors. Said he could lower my overheads, supply the hot dogs for me, gratis and, you know, they were good, I mean, like crazy good. I asked him where this delicious meat was coming from. How many piglets was he trafficking, for God’s sake? He patted me on the back in a way that nearly sent me sprawling, and drew air through his teeth. “I got some fellas, see, big shots from Chicago that owe me big time, that thought they were smarter than me, that didn’t give me due respect, and now? Well now it’s time to collect my pound of flesh…

"Hours, maybe days later, I woke, covered in sick, still licking my Werther’s Original, only it wasn’t any longer a delicious culturally-beloved hard candy. Now, it was a weak and very wet gopher, clutched vice-like in my strung-out hands, staring at me in bugeyed terror.

"The next day, about three kissed babies in, I saw Oggie again. He was with Persiflage and the meatloafiest Chicagoan. They were coming out of Bonnie Lu’s together. Laughing. Laughing in a way that sent ice through my coccyx. I went home and lay very still for a long time, the TV burbling in the background about seven missing Midwest businessmen with possible mob links.

"I screamed then, and the screaming seemed to go on for hours."

"That evening, I went to the Farmer’s Market, buzzed on extra strength Febreeze. I had some glad-handing to do and an artisan cheese-maker to encourage. I met some bearded young farmers and we got to talking. We drank beer and talked about farm-totable heritage leeks and they told me about this dude, Jordan Peterson, their, like, guru or something. Pretty soon I started feeling undefinable anger towards women, science, and socks. I was having a brilliant time. These smooth-handed farmers were my bros, man! It was the first time I felt properly relaxed in months. "It got dark so we got into the alpha farmer’s Saab 900 and drove deep into the Sespe to talk about Jordan Peterson some more and ceremonially drink of the sacred ayahuasca. We stopped after about an hour, got out, and everyone took their shirts off. They said they were preparing me to have an incredible spiritual

"Suddenly, the events of the last few days came screaming into focus. Oggy, Persiflage, the Chicago toilet mafia, the sudden glut of delicious mystery meat, the missing CEOs, the pound of flesh…

Police Report December 13th 2021 Hikers report screaming near the North Fork of the Matilija Creek in Sespe Wilderness. 2 units and a helicopter dispatched. 11:04 a.m.: Screamer located. Male, mid-40s, covered in vomit, clutching rodent. Appears to be the mayor? Belligerent. Assistance requested — medical and veterinarian. Screamer distraught, mumbling. 11:15a.m:. Screamer (mayor? really?) suddenly lucid. Says he wants to explain. Body camera activated: Bodycam footage: “I didn’t know where the meat was coming from. I didn’t know he was Mafia. (Mayor sobs) How could I know the citizens of Ventura County have been happily enjoying minced up missing Chicago CEOs all summer long? How could I know? Where is Believe? Who is Heaven? Why is Saab? (Turns spitting and violent) Give me that goddamn gopher, mother-fuckers! (Sobbing again. Appears to attempt to masturbate.) “You don’t know how far we’ve come together, it and I! I’ll have your badges you cocksu…” Footage ends.

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