The Canyon Chronicle - March 4, 2022 (Volume 3, No. 4) - www.thecanyonchronicle.com

T O PA N G A’ S I N D E P E N D E N T V O I C E S I N C E 1 9 7 6 March 4, 2022 • Vol. 3, No. 4

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March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

Thinking Out Loud ‘When Will They Ever Learn…?’

War is not the answer.

Tonight as I write this, the sixth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine dawns and promises to worsen before it gets better (please, God!) as Putin’s diabolical plan moves forward.

Growing up, my sister and I and everyone around us thought that my father was Russian. We knew nothing about Ukraine. I learned later that he was born in Kharkiv, where a dense residential district was reported to have been under siege from Russian rocket attacks. The family later moved to Kyiv and names I’m hearing today in news reports were places he knew and spoke about. He emigrated, became an American citizen, spoke beautiful English with a lilting accent, played piano, was an artist. People loved him. In 1951, as Sen. Joseph McCarthy continued his purge of American communists, something happened to him, what we called then a “nervous breakdown.” Today, it would be diagnosed as PTSD. He served in three different branches of the Russian military during the 1917 revolution, and often said, “I don’t know why I wasn’t killed.”

Survivor’s guilt.

He spent two years in the New York Psychiatric Institute, none the better for treatment, in my opinion. I often think it might have seemed a safe space for him at the time. I was a child when he left and a teenager when he came home.

Our relationship changed from “his little champion” to him having to deal with a mouthy teenager with a temper.

There are so many questions I would like to ask him now but am grateful for National Archives Virtual Event, Tuesday, March 8, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST / 10-11 a.m. PST—Female Genius: the stories he did tell me after school over Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the tea at the kitchen table.

Constitution. Author Mary Sarah Bilder looks to the 1780s—the age of the Constitution—to investigate the rise of a radical new idea in the English-speaking world: Female Genius. (womenshistorymonth.gov)

In the News

March 1 begins Women’s History Month (womenshistorymonth.gov), and International Women’s Day follows on March 8 (internationalwomensday.com; #IWD2022; #BreakTheBias).

The Canyon Chronicle kind of got the jump on the holiday last November when Claire Denis, proprietor of Cafe Mimosa, suggested that we spotlight Topanga’s women entrepreneurs. On November 26, 2021, we created a center spread, “Women in Charge in Changing Times,” featuring three women whose businesses survived the COVID lockdown: Claire ,whose cafe is one of Topanga’s most popular gathering places since it opened in 1993; a newcomer, Elizabeth Carter, who in the middle of the pandemic, opened a yoga studio and skin care business in Pine Tree Circle; and artist Lori Precious, who also has a long Topanga history and no stinkin’ virus is going to stop her.

In that same issue, we featured 16-year-old Zoe Mack, who was invited to train with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow for six months. She remains there in training even as Russia’s leader pursues a disgraceful war of choice. Like many Russians, members of the Bolshoi Ballet signed a petition in protest of the war. We stay in touch with Zoe’s parents who say she’s safe.

The idea laid fallow for the rest of the year, the Chronicle took a break, and our January 21, 2022 issue featured Kim Zanti and her documentary film project about the Akumal Festival in Mexico, as a feature, not under the “Women in Charge” series. (See “Akumal Diary,” on page10.)

Since there are so many accomplished women in the Chronicle’s purview, “Women in Charge” will be ongoing. Suggestions are welcome but they will be added to a long list.

“Tycho and the Trash Warriors” is a delightful story about five-year-old Tycho Hendry and how he became an honorary Trash Warrior (Page 4). Part 3 of “The Stone House” continues (pages 8-9) as an ongoing serial publication of an unpublished book by Topanga Historical Society archivist Pablo Capra and Ed O’Neill, current owner of the Stone House. Paula LaBrot’s column, “All Things Connected,” has an interesting take on the Lost Art of Medicine (Page 12).

There’s more, but I’m out of space. Practice kindness during the next two weeks, be grateful for what you have and who you are, and pray for those in distress.

—Flavia Potenza

TheCanyonChronicle.com

Publisher / Editor Flavia Potenza Creative Director Nira Lichten Senior Reporter Annemarie Donkin Advertising Manager Jenise Blanc-Chance Creative Consultant Eiffel Nazaryan Contributors Linda Ballou Joel Bellman Kathie Gibboney Paula LaBrot Kait Leonard Amy Weisberg Copy Editor / Distribution Ellie Carroll Contact US editor@thecanyonchronicle.com General inquiries: info@thecanyonchronicle.com Advertising inquiries: ads@thecanyonchronicle.com P.O. Box 1101 Topanga, CA 90290 (310) 460-9786 Follow us on Instagram @thecanyonchronicle, & Facebook and twitter @CanyonChronicle The Canyon Chronicle is an independent community newspaper published bi-weekly by Canyon Media, Inc.©2020. All rights reserved. thecanyonchronicle.com

Detail of a mural in the courtyard of the children’s library by A Cool55, aka Luca Babini, is part of a series called GMH, or ‘Genetically Modified Humans.’ According to the artist, it incorporates symbols and shapes evoking, in a ‘sad/fun’ way, new generations of life adapting to changes to the planet. From bees to babies, to turtles, and birds, we’re all in this together. Babini is a festival sponsor through his company, Third Rail Art. A successful photographer, designer, filmmaker, and philanthropist, he is originally from Italy and lives in New York.

March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

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News ‘One Day, I Will be a Trash Warrior!’

PHOTO BY FLAVIA POTENZA

Holding his “grabber” to display his school project, “I have a dream that one day I will be a Topanga Trash Warrior,” honorary Trash Warrior Tycho Hendry (5) sets the example for his younger brother, Rio (3), as the Warriors prepare to clean up trash on the Boulevard on Sunday, February 27, a task they have done for eight years. (l-r): Chris Conway, Lionel Heredia, Joseph Rosendo, Yuriko Sakamoto, David Carbo, Will Alford. Not pictured Beth Goode.

By Aaron Hendry

do to help their community and their hopes for all mankind. In this particular assignment, they each got a piece of paper with the incomplete sentence, “I have a dream that one day I will…“ and a space to complete it and draw a picture.

Tycho completed the sentence, “I have a dream that one day I will be a Topanga Trash Warrior,” and drew a picture of himself on the side of the Boulevard with a grabber and a bag,

Transitional Kindergarten Comes to Topanga

By Amy Weisberg Topanga Elementary Charter School (TECS) is excited to announce its expanded Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program!

We are thrilled to be part of California’s Universal Transitional Kindergarten through LAUSD’s participation in this program.

TK is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.

Senate Bill (SB) 858 establishes the intent that the TK curriculum be aligned to Preschool the California

Learning Foundations California Preschool

and

PHOTO BY AMY WEISBERG

That is the actual story of my kid, Tycho, and his admiration of the Topanga Trash warriors.

Tycho is five years old. He takes littering very personally. When he sees trash on the side of the road or at the beach he says, “Why would anyone not love the earth?” or “Why don’t some people want to take care of the earth?” It’s a thing he feels pretty sincerely and deeply.

He also really loves Topanga.

When we drive to school he often says, “We live in the most beautiful neighborhood in the world.”

Two Christmases ago, I got him a “grabber,” the kind they use to pick the trash up off the side of the road, just as a fun thing to screw around with. One day we drove past the trash warriors on the side of the road picking up garbage and he noticed they had the grabbers! He asked what they were doing. I told him they were a group who got together to clean up the neighborhood every Sunday by picking up the trash, and they called themselves the “Topanga Trash Warriors”.

Well, he thought these people we’re the coolest. I think they have kind of a legendary hero status in his mind. When we pass by them, he rolls down the window and shouts, “Thank you, Trash Warrior!”

Now, I don’t think he wants to “be one when he grows up,“ per se.

He’s in transitional kindergarten (TK) and I don’t think he has a concept of an occupation or career.

It’s more something that would be amazing to do in his mind. Not “I want to be an astronaut when I grow up.“ Rather, “I want to walk on the moon someday.”

I’m pretty sure the exercise that prompted the drawing was around MLK day. They had assignments talking about things they could

COURTESY OF THE HENDRY FAMILY.

Tycho’s project surprised and pleased everyone, especially the Trash Warriors.

big smile on his face, blue skies and sun overhead.

Now, he’s five but he really loves to think about things in thorough ways, and then loves to talk about them. I mean the kid can talk and talk and talk. On other days, he’s got nothing to say. Like I said, he’s five.

When I told him about you guys reaching out, he was incredibly enthusiastic. I’m not sure if he would just be excited to take the picture, or if he would want to talk.

Personally, I think it’s great because it could be a vehicle to highlight the Trash Warriors as the amazing bad ass heroes they are for this town. I’m not sure most people realize how completely trashed the Boulevard would be without them. In his mind, I believe they are complete action heroes, a posse riding the range armed with bags and grabbers vowing to “clean up this town.” I think it would be awesome to give them their due through the eyes of a kid who admires and appreciates them.

At this point I think he is just excited to take a photo in an awesome orange vest with some cool people!

So if that’s all that came of this, that would be just great, too.

Curriculum Frame- works

Amy K. Weisberg is a teacher at Topanga Elementary Charter School in Topanga, California with 42 years experience and teaches TK and kindergarten.

I love you I love your newspaper I love your editorials

We’re almost neck and neck. I was only in the hospital for 12 days but I did not get out a newspaper.

On the other hand, I have been writing Myasthenia Gravis: The Musical!

developed by the California Department of Education.

The adult-to-student ratio will be 12:1.

Letters Loving the “Listening Party” Thank you for publishing Miles Erickson! So refreshing. As an aging audiophile and one-time college radio DJ, I’m thrilled by his words, perspective, and musical suggestions. Keep the columns coming.

—Jill Cotu

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March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

Dear Cockroach, you are amazing (not news) no one knows shit about covid (not news) We march on, resilient, flexible, returning like narcissus or mushrooms.

—Cockroach Jane (aka Jane Robbins) Who, after two vaccines, only had two neurological challenges: Shingles and a rare autoimmune disease elegantly called myasthenia gravis.

Topanga’s Homeless Count Finds More Than 100 in the Canyon Three volunteer teams scouring Topanga on February 23 counted more than 100 unhoused people on the streets, in tents and in vehicles.

By Annemarie Donkin The Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count enables the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to gather important data that they feel is key to bringing about an end to homelessness in Los Angeles.

Thousands of volunteers participate annually in the pointin-time count of the tens of thousands of homeless youth and families, veterans of the armed forces, and men and women who are our neighbors.

The 2022 Count was held on February 22, 23, and 24 and covered all of L.A. County except the cities of Glendale, Pasadena, and Long Beach, which conduct their own counts.

Moderated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and coordinated locally by LAHSA, the Greater Los Angeles Homeless count is the largest homeless census count in the nation.

LAHSA said the numbers from the 2022 Count will be published in June.

Yet, according to the Times Editorial Board of June 12, 2020, “The results of the 2020 annual count of homeless people in Los Angeles are grim—perhaps not surprising to any of us who witness daily the tragedy of people living on sidewalks.

According to the editorial, “Homelessness increased by 12.7 percent in the county, to 66,433, and by 14.2 percent in the city of Los Angeles, where the number stands at 41,290. The homeless population has now increased by a double-digit percentage for two years in a row.

That’s despite a record 22,769 homeless people getting off the streets and into housing last year.

The maddening reality highlighted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s survey is that, despite billions of dollars of investment in housing, shelter and services, we still can’t house people as fast as they fall into homelessness.”

Topanga’s Count On Wednesday, Feb. 23, three teams spread around Topanga at about 7 a.m. to participate in the annual Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count and were assigned to census districts ranging from PCH to Top O’ Topanga.

One day prior to the count, Topanga’s teams were alerted via email to look out for vehicles spotted around midnight on Tuesday, Feb. 22—a white van on the east side of TCB about one mile north of Summit Valley park;

PHOTO BY ANNEMARIE DONKIN

L. A. Homeless Count volunteers Jaspreet Katrib and Simon Van Meervenne walked the areas of Alta Drive, Henry Ridge, and Summit to Summit but had no sightings.

van aqua blue mini school bus on the east side of TCB north of Topanga Creek Outpost; a white pickup down behind Froggy’s near the creek; a dark SUV on the west side of TCB in the far corner dirt turnout just north of Topanga Elementary School; a white Isuzu at the site of the former Corral at Santa Maria Road; and a dark sedan at 649 Old Canyon parked on the west side dirt turnout in front of the bridge.

In order to count these people parked on the roads and others, The Canyon Chronicle joined Topangans Jaspreet Katrib and Simon Van Meervenne on Wednesday morning to count on Alta Drive, Henry Ridge, and Summit to Summit.

Our team’s count was zero as we did not find anyone camping in a tent or living in a vehicle in spite of reports of at least eight unhoused people in the Alta Drive area.

“I was prepared,” Katrib wrote in an email. “I watched the count tutorials, how to use the app video, and read all the instructions.

Perhaps that’s why my team and I were rewarded with such a beautiful Summit to Summit hike. It was a stunning and crisp morning date with the mountains for us. Had to remind myself why we were there.”

On Wednesday, another team found their Census tract was so large that they spent seven hours driving up and down the Canyon while entering the numbers into the AKIDO app that LAHSA uses to compile the data.

A member of that team, Alisa Land Hill, Vice President of the Topanga Town Council, reported that they counted 27 unhoused people in the area that included Tuna, PCH at Topanga Canyon Blvd., Los Flores in the creek, and scattered in cars through the Saddle Peak area.

On Friday, Feb. 25, the Topanga teams gathered online for a debriefing hosted by the County. There was concern during the debrief that they may have undercounted in Topanga, especially in the Old Center, yet a LAHSA spokesman said the count usually balances out in the end. “The theory is that by doing [the count]

across the County on those nights, if they weren’t in that spot, they will be counted elsewhere,” the LAHSA spokesman said by phone.

One of the teams included Topanga volunteer Norm Berezowsky and was accompanied by members of the Sheriff ’s homeless outreach team as they searched Topanga Beach, PCH, and the hills behind the AM/PM mini market at PCH. “It was rather quick for us,” Berezowsky said during the Friday debrief. “We were out there at 7 a.m…we found about 29 people along the beaches and about 15 or so in motor homes along the route.

It went really well…the app seemed

to work okay.”

So, while there are indeed homeless people in Topanga, they are primarily concentrated at the beach, on PCH, at the Topanga Town Center, camping in the hills, and in vehicles along the Boulevard.

“To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the census tract that we were appointed to,” said Van Meervenne by email. “I expected to count areas where we would find some homeless people.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed our excursion into nature. The fact that we helped does give me satisfaction.

Overall, I found the organization, preparation, and the app very well organized…I hope the count serves its purpose and gives LAHSA the tools to better serve the homeless.”

About LAHSA. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is a joint powers authority of the City and County of Los Angeles, created in 1993 to address the problems of homelessness in Los Angeles County. LAHSA is the lead agency in the HUD-funded Los Angeles Continuum of Care and coordinates and manages more than $243 million annually in federal, state, county, and city funds for programs providing shelter, housing and services to homeless persons.

For more information visit lahsa.org

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March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

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Eco-Living Creating Clean Water with Solar Stills

By Yale Climate Connection Team

As droughts make water more scarce, every drop counts.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world lack easy access to safe drinking water. And water scarcity is expected to worsen as droughts become more extreme.

“With climate change, water is just becoming a bigger issue,” says Robert Foster, chairman of the American Solar Energy Society. He says one small-scale solution is to use the sun to purify any water that is available, such as contaminated well water. It’s an age-old technique called solar distillation.

The sun heats up water in a glasscovered basin. The water evaporates, leaving salt and impurities behind.

That pure water vapor condenses on the glass and runs down to a trough where it can be collected.

Foster says most stills produce only a couple of gallons of drinking water each day, but they can help people who have few other options.

Foster has helped equip families along the U.S.-Mexico border with solar stills to purify well water polluted with arsenic and fluoride.

And he’s worked with Pacific Islanders who use stills to turn

saltwater into fresh, drinkable water.

“So it’s a great opportunity for people to clean their water who might not otherwise have an easy way to do it,” he says. “You don’t need

electricity … you just need sunlight.”

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy/ ChavoBart Digital Media DIY Solar Still There are many solar stills available online but in an emergency, you can build your own solar still with some plastic sheeting and a collection cup, and a bit of sweat equity.

Dig a pit into the ground Place a bowl at the bottom of the pit that will be used to catch the

condensed water Cover the pit loosely with plastic sheeting using stone or other heavy object to hold it in place over the pit.

Be sure that the lowest part of the plastic sheet hovers directly over the bowl.

Leave your water “trap” in the sun by day, or overnight and collect water from the bowl in the morning.

Credit: Daniele Pugliesi Source: usgs.gov/media/images/ how-build-your-own-solar-still

The Difference Between Gray, Blue, And Green Hydrogen Hydrogen has potential as a clean fuel, depending on how it’s produced.

Hydrogen fuel burns clean, so it has potential as a low-carbon energy source—depending on how it’s made.

Today, most hydrogen is known as “gray” hydrogen. It’s derived from natural gas using an energy-intensive process that emits a lot of carbon dioxide.

“Blue” hydrogen is sometimes touted as a clean alternative.

It’s essentially the same as gray hydrogen, but the carbon dioxide emissions are captured during production, so they’re kept out of the atmosphere.

But Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, warns that blue hydrogen is not really a climate-

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March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

friendly option. That’s partly because it still relies on natural gas, and producing and piping natural gas is a major source of climate-warming methane leaks. Jacobson says there is a better way to make hydrogen fuel.

“The easiest way to produce hydrogen is to pass electricity through water,” he says. “And if you generate the electricity with clean renewable energy like wind or solar power, then the whole process of producing the hydrogen is clean, and that’s called “green’ hydrogen.”

As solar and wind power get cheaper, so will the cost of green hydrogen. So, Jacobson says, it’s a more promising path forward than gray or blue.

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBartDigital Media, and Diana Madson.

Yaleclimateconnections.org.

LONG DISTANCE LISTENING PARTY 72-Hour Watch

By Miles Erickson

T

his week I’m taking a deep dive into the world of mental health facilities. I’m doing this by placing myself under an involuntary 72hour watch at a psychiatric center. Or at least that’s what my Mom said was happening when she dropped me off.

Lately I’ve been pondering the power of positive thinking. It’s good to think positively, partially because its beneficial to your mental well-being. But mostly it’s good because when Elon Musk finally plants a chip into your skull and meta-invades your brain, you can sell those positive thoughts for lucrative ad space.

For instance, having thoughts about harming yourself or others? Here’s a commercial about a golden retriever drinking a bud light firing directly out of your synapses so that you can’t look away. To skip the ad, please stop screaming and say, “Good boy.”

Please do not think about the fact that you’re going to die before the last Star Wars movie comes out. There’s no tension in a story when you know the character is going to survive. There’s also no tension when you know the franchise is going to outlive you.

When I die, please only bury me five feet deep rather than six. Even in death, I’d like to be able to stream Netflix on my brain implant, but the dirt and coffin insulation are known to disrupt the signal. How am I supposed to spend eternity down here if my rotting corpse can’t even watch “The Office” reruns in my “man-cave?”

This playlist is available on Spotify. Search “Long Distance Listening Party” or my username, Mileserickson-354. New songs will be added every two weeks.

Long Distance Listening Party Vol. 3

• • • • • • • • •

And I Love Her—Kurt Cobain The Chauffeur—Deftones Goodbye Horses—Venus Infers If I Had A Gun—Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Red Right Hand—Arctic Monkeys Baby’s On Fire—Brian Eno Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth— The Dandy Warhols Brave as a Noun—AJJ She Used to Love Me A lot—Johnny Cash

And I Love Her is a Kurt Cobain cover of a song originally performed by the Beatles. The song was discovered as part of Cobain’s personal belongings and released posthumously more than twenty years after his death. It was released as part of the 2015 documentary Montage of Heck, when a compilation album of the same name was also released. Overall, the compilation was poorly reviewed as distasteful and exploitive. That being said, And I Love Her is widely considered the standout from both the album and documentary and is held in higher regard than the greater compilation it’s part of. To call this cover “transformative” is an understatement. The non-existent production value pairs with Cobain’s famously jaded cadence and flat vocal inflection to

create something pained, haunting, and sorrowful.

Baby’s on Fire is a song whose only intention is to sound good on the ears. Amongst music enthusiasts there’s a school of thought that suggests there are two kinds of vocalists: those who use their voice as an instrument, and those who use their voice as a method of delivering poetry (someone like Bob Dylan or Lou Reed).

Eno’s singing on Baby’s On Fire and on Here Come The Warm Jets as a whole is a perfect marriage of the two styles. Also, this weeks hot take is that Here Come The Warm Jets is by far Eno’s best album.

If I Had A Gun is probably Noel Ghallagher’s best known work outside of Oasis, Other than In The Heat Of The Moment, which is a song I dislike even more than Noel Gallagher dislikes Liam Gallagher. If you think Kanye West is the most childish man in modern music, then you clearly are unaware of the fact that the Ghallagher brothers turned down $100,000,000 to reunite solely to spite each other.

Red Right Hand is an Arctic Monkey’s cover of a Nick Cave song. Cave’s original version of the song has a sort of epic quality to it; it sounds like something Ennio Morricone would write as the backdrop to a nameless cowboy riding into a crime-ridden Old West town. This cover takes those qualities and adds a fast pace and heavy rhythm while still remaining cool and heavy on the mystique.

“Long Distance Listening Party” is a bi-weekly column by Miles Erickson. Its vague intention is to discuss topics framed in the context of what he’s currently listening to. Erickson is a recent graduate of CalArts, a published author, and currently enrolled in a prestigious, four-year student loan repayment program. Spotify (Mileserickson-354)

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March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

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The barn in the foreground is where Rose Wiley’s birthday was celebrated in October. A car is parked, at right, beside the stone house, hidden by a shadow. The Palmaymesa family lived in the house on the hill. Photo c/o Doris Fredendall, the Topanga Historical Society, early 1920s.

Bert and Mary Palmaymesa. Photo c/o circa 1915.

The Stone House, Part 3: ‘John Bonne

By Pablo Capra

I

n 1918, the man who would have the biggest impact on Old Topanga Canyon arrived, John H. Bonnell (1864–1938).

“He was a cultured man and the possessor of moderate wealth.

The small valley owned by Jack Woods [sic]... offered such appealing charm that he bought it and many acres of adjacent hill land. He acquired the old apple orchard and the rows of unkept grapes that Mazet had planted many years before. The Mazet home, improved somewhat by Jack Woods, became Bonnell’s new home in his private valley.” (“Mountain Echoes,” Topanga Journal, 1950-04-14)

Bonnell had made his fortune, first, by following his father into the banking and oil industries in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then, by entering into the lumber business in 1891, after marrying Helen Hackley (b.1863), the niece of a lumber baron. By 1900, he was a widower.

Why he came to Los Angeles with a dream to build “an earthly paradise” “Lots... in Topanga Park can be bought with all oil rights.

This may be your opportunity to buy an immense income very cheap.” Ad in the Santa Monica Evening Outlook, 1926-06-02.

John Bonnell’s Topanga Park. Map c/o the Topanga Historical Society, circa 1926.

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in the mountains called Topanga Park (later Bonnell Park) is a mystery.

It might have had something to do with a woman he was involved with, Claudia, who was 30 years younger. They married in Los Angeles in 1922.

That same year, Vance (1889-1967) and Ruth Hoyt (b.1894) bought the first parcel in Topanga Park. Vance, an osteopath, would go on to write two bestselling novels about the area, Silver Boy: The Gray Fox of Topanga (1929) and Malibu (1933). The latter was made into a film called Sequoia (1934) that was groundbreaking for its use of animal actors.

Dr. Hoyt saw Topanga grow rapidly.

“Right after we had built our cabin in Bonnell’s Topanga Park in 1922, the post war weekenders started to buy into the Canyon. Other real estate tracts were launched in the following order: Fernwood, 1923; Topanga Oaks, 1923; the Post Office Tract, 1924; Calabasas Highland, 1924.

“There were more real estate developments in the Canyon during the twenties than in all the years since.…” (“Call Back Yesterday,” Topanga Journal, 1961-02-09)

For other Topanga Park buyers, the incentive was not Bonnell’s “earthly paradise,” but the oil rights that came with the purchase of a cabin. Topanga was predicted to have vast oil deposits at the time. An advertisement urged, “This may be your opportunity to buy an immense income very cheap.”

One barrier to development was Old Topanga Canyon Road, then called Old Calabasas Road, which ran partly in the creek bed and washed out in the rains. Bonnell, together with Red Rock Canyon’s German pioneer Anton “Tony” von Arnswaldt (1878-1948), paid the County to move the road to higher ground. Bonnell further stipulated that the road be moved to the opposite side of the canyon, so that it would no longer pass in front of his house.

Although Bonnell made his presence felt, he didn’t actually live in Topanga, preferring a less rustic lifestyle at the Rex Arms Apartments, one of Los Angeles’s most luxurious residential buildings in downtown. His Topanga ranch was where he kept his four dogs: two big Airedales and two German Shepherds named Victor and Nanette. Nanette was the daughter of Rin Tin Tin (1918-1932), the most famous acting dog in Hollywood.

When Bonnell did stay at the stone house, he brought a servant.

The caretakers of Bonnell’s ranch were Bertrand “Bert” (1887-1977) and Mary Palmaymesa (1895-1967). They lived in two small cabins by the creek with their son Floyd (1916-2010), Mary’s teenage cousin Doris Weber (1910-2003), and a hired hand named Juan S. Valdez (b.1879)… whose mother’s name, Maria Tapia, suggests a connection to Malibu’s first settler, José Bartolomé Tapia (c.1766-1824).

Soon, Bonnell built them a new house on the hillside. The Palmaymesas made their home cozy with a piano for Mary, a record player that ran for three minutes when wound up, and a glass-fronted cabinet with a set of Book of Knowledge encyclopedias. Bert dug a cellar beside the house to store food.

Bert’s paternal lineage was Basque, by way of Santa Barbara’s Californios. His father Domingo Palma y Mesa (1857-1893), an earlier

Floyd Palmaymesa with Mary’s sister Hazel and friend Ruth Choisser.

Photo c/o Doris Fredendall, the Topanga Historical Society, 1920s.

o Ancestry.com,

ell and the Palmaymesa Family’ spelling of the surname, had homesteaded in Calabasas, where he inevitably clashed with the land-grabbing thug Miguel Leonis. In 1885, Leonis falsely accused Domingo of stealing cattle. Domingo sued and won $500 in damages, with the help of attorney Major Horace Bell (18301918), a noted adventurer and historian. Leonis countersued but dropped his case after a year.

Bert’s mother, Maria Camarillo (1832-1973), was a descendant of the family that founded Camarillo. His sister-in-law, Erlinda Pico (18581917), was a grandniece of California’s last Mexican governor, Pio Pico (1801-1894).

Mary Palmaymesa had grown up with Bert in Calabasas, and their marriage united a Democrat and a Republican. She sold butter to a Santa Monica bakery. Her cousin, Doris, was an orphan. Doris’s mother, Hattie Weber (1883-1912) had died young, and her father, Joseph Weber (18781920) had committed a headline-grabbing suicide by poisoning and stabbing himself. Doris came to Topanga for refuge and healing.

By 1925, Bonnell had given up on his vision of a Utopian community because of a lack of water.

“Two water wells had been drilled over 500 feet deep, but they proved to be meager producers... This was a blow to [John Bonnell] and had a profound bearing upon the life and comfort of all who had bought lots in Topanga Park. His gift of a park and playground to the property owners in Bonnell Flats suffered too, for water was essential in developing it into the kind of a place he dreamed about.” (“Mountain Echoes,” Topanga Journal, 1950-04-14) Dr. Hoyt, Bonnell’s first customer, now switched roles and listed Bonnell’s house for sale. As Bonnell backed away from the property, more unscrupulous developers moved in. Their unpermitted dynamite blasting in Dry Canyon started a fire that burned 5,000 acres in 1927.

Dr. Hoyt remembered how precarious things got back then.

“At that time any male with two good legs and arms could be conscripted to fight fires. Oh boy, oh boy! And we had some big fires in those days, with no trucks and no water—only shovels and wet gunny sacks to fight with. Backfiring was our main weapon...

“Sometimes the natives got really rough. There was the ‘eternal triangle’ incident at the Narrows that reached the point of peril.

By the time [Constable Al Cheney] got there with his trusty Colt and I arrived with my little black bag, there was no need for either service. The paramour had been blasted in the groin with both barrels of a shotgun and the husband had received a similar charge in the chest.

“On another occasion I was summoned to care for a teenager who had been shot in the neck. In the twenties the open deer season in the Santa Monicas was something to dread by both residents and “sportsmen” alike. The accident occurred at the base of the escarpment of Raven Rocks in Red Rock Canyon.” (“Call Back Yesterday,” Topanga Journal, 1961-02-09)

Bonnell’s marriage to Claudia had ended by 1924. Their relationship lasted roughly the same length as his dream for Topanga Park. She complained that he treated her as socially inferior. He accused her of being a gold digger. After returning to Grand Rapids, he died at age 74 of syphilis. His name lives on in Bonnell Park and Bonnell Drive.

On May 6, 1928, another development opened at the fork in the creek, Topanga Del Mar, built by the John A. Vaughan Corporation of Beverly Hills. To help promote it, Bonnell Park was given a new “formal opening” on the same day. Both developments shared the same General Sales Manager, William J. McGhee, formerly an executive of the Walter M. Murphy Motors Company in Pasadena. Yet even though “Artistic Tract Offices,” constructed on both properties, purported to sell “all the exclusiveness and dignity of The Riviera,” the water problem remained unsolved.

Ironically, a “liquidation sale” of Topanga Park (briefly renamed the Topanga Vista Tract) followed in 1931, with developers still promising “an abundance of water,” “water to every lot.”

Next, developers tried dividing Topanga Park into four units.

“The first unit of Bonnell Flats was surveyed in 1933 with the second half following soon after. The hill land was included in units Three and Four.” (“Mountain Echoes,” Topanga Journal, 1950-04-14) Today, only “Bonnell Flats” remains in Bonnell Park.

Despite Bonnell’s problems, the Palmaymesas had a good life in Topanga. They left when Mary became pregnant with Patrick Palmaymesa (1927-2017), moving to Owensmouth (now Canoga Park), where Bert got a job in a grocery store. Three more children soon followed: Robert Palmaymesa (1929-2012), Jean Palmaymesa (1931-2013), and Barbara Palmaymesa (1931-2008). In 1941, the family moved to Ripon, CA, where Bert worked for Meyenberg Milk Products.

The Topanga children, Doris and Floyd, both treasured their memories of life in the Canyon.

Doris married Mercer Fredendall (1904-1975), a Pomona rancher, when she turned 18 in 1928. Shortly before her death at 93, she shared many stories and photos with the Stone House’s then-owners, Ingrid Lindquist and Dede Potvin, which offer a vivid glimpse into the Topanga of her youth.

“The turkeys and chickens ran in the high-fenced apple orchard that produced out-sized winter banana apples of nice fragrance.

Deer came into the orchard in the early evening, reached up into the apple trees and took their fill. Water for the house came from a well dug at creekside and pumped with a gasoline engine to a tank on the hill above the house.”

(The Topanga Story, 2012) Floyd grew up to be an outdoorsman. He loved camping, hunting, woodworking, making jewelry from his rock collection, and telling family stories to his grandchildren.

Pablo Capra is the Archivist for the Topanga Historical Society and author of “Topanga Beach: A History” (2020). More at topangahistoricalsociety.org.

March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

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PHOTOS BY KIM ZANTI

AKUMAL DIARY

Bold colors, evocative scenes, and imaginative characters transform the streets of Akumal, Mexico. Approximately 100 artists converged in late January on this seaside town to paint murals — not in a sequestered district, but on homes, schools, businesses, park walls, bus stops, the library and the bridge.

Since 2018, this community collaboration has left a vibrant cultural trail. Viewers are invited to stop, see, imagine, and absorb the beauty of life on this planet. (Above left-right) murals by: @Dutek46 (Dutek Pacheco, Mexico);@theanunaki (“Ron,” Mexico),@jimvision (Jim Vision, England),@kevscraps (Kevin Burdick, Michigan), @4c0n (“Acaymo,” Spain)

The Moment When Everything Falls Apart

By Kim Zanti

W

hile preparing to direct a short documentary about the Akumal Arts Festival in Mexico, I faced a pivotal moment.

Icy fear coated my gut. The ghost of low self esteem screamed, You f***’d up!!! You have no idea what you’re doing. What made you think it would work in the first place???

I hadn’t heard that crippling voice in a long time. Now it blasted on an internal loudspeaker as I contemplated canceling my first film. I’d disappoint many people. I might need to return money, some of which was already spent. Looking back, I saw where fear could have crushed my resolve. Instead, I used creative thinking skills to my advantage.

Specifically, I used the set of 20 Creative Thinking Skills first articulated by Torrance and Safter in 1999, then expanded upon for educators by Burnett, Figliotti & Salzberg in 2020. Applying these different skills throughout the stages of a conflict can turn brick walls into water in almost any situation.

This was mine: manipulation had slithered into exchanges with the director of photography (DP). Yet, I admired her artistry and felt I had to ‘keep the faith.’ My feelings changed after key contract issues were either hastily considered or ignored. Ten days before boarding the plane, I received a dashed-off email describing unacceptable terms. I didn’t know what to do. Finding a skilled, harmonious replacement seemed more than unlikely, it seemed impossible. Creative Thinking Skills in Play: Keep Open, Embrace the Challenge, Be Aware of Emotions I reached out to friends who are pros behind and in front of the camera. They responded to my crisis with sage advice, which I followed. My efforts were met with continued deflection, and I chose to part ways with the DP. Creative Thinking Skills in Play: Produce & Consider Many Alternatives,

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March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

Topangan Joe Gutesha served as Assistant Producer for Catalyst Muse’s documentary film on the festival. Here, before he interviews her in Spanish, he shares a laugh with Kaori Sueki, Akumal’s children’s librarian, a central figure in the community’s educational landscape. Director of Photography Pablo Sauti checks his frame.

Take Risks, Practice Mindfulness While frantically considering alternatives, I reached out to a connection of an entrepreneurial colleague in Akumal. She told me she knew a wonderful musician, “who also had a camera.” This was all I had to go on. He was happy to talk and not long after our Zoom meeting, I had so much more: a signed contract with a bilingual director of photography based in Tulum, twenty minutes south of Akumal, with a killer / dope / awesome camera and a stellar network of his own. He recommended a boom mic operator and liaised the negotiations to bring him on board.

Both acted with kindness, commitment, and professionalism from the first hello. This is what ‘team’ felt like! Creative Thinking Skills in Play: Embrace Ambiguity, Break Through

and Extend the Boundaries, Get Glimpses of the Future, Take Risks, Embrace the Challenge We planned each day of the brief, intense shoot. The stateside editorial team stayed in touch as footage accumulated. We left time and space for last-minute schedule changes and moments of grace. Those spontaneous situations elevated our work—lifting our hearts and minds, and hopefully, our documentary. (Coming soon!)

So, if it feels like everything is falling apart, use your creative thinking skills—Keep Open, Produce & Consider Many Alternatives, Embrace Ambiguity, and Look At It Another Way. You might find that’s when the light of possibility shines brightest.

Arts Interactive Art Events from Topanga Canyon Gallery

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Painting of Debbi Green’s Cows viewing Flying Pig as if saying, “I could paint better than that!”

“Fun With Drawing,” Saturday, March 5, 3-5 p.m.

Enjoy an interactive art experience on the patio with Debbi Green, whose paintings in the north gallery reflect her love of the beauty surrounding her. She describes some of her paintings as a tongue-in-cheek but honest mantra, representing compassion for all animals (including humans) and true respect for nature.” Moving from working in oil for 15 years, Green now plays with torn pretty papers, various pastes, oil and acrylics, mark-making with charcoal, pastels, and graphite.

Green’s art invites visitors to appreciate her subtle humor as in one painting where two cows critique her work saying, “I could paint better than that.”

Green’s fine art training followed a career in clothing, fabric design, and costuming in the film industry. She has been involved in Topanga’s art community for more than 15 years and has a broad following throughout Southern California.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

“Sweet Anticipation” from Marek Buchwald’s “Transluminations” body of work.

Artist’s talk and conversation with Marek Buchwald, Sunday, March 13, 3-4 p.m., showing pieces from “Transluminations” [transmissions + illuminations], a large body of work developed over a decade. The works are both intricate and bold, and include the use of gold, silver, and copper leaf as well as ink integrated with oils. “They are a journey of discovery through ancient sacred yoga texts such as the “Bhagavad Gita,” filtered through the lens of Chaos theory and Mandelbrot’s fractal geometry of nature,” he explains.

Art is available to view and purchase online.

CALL TO ARTISTS! Studio Tour 2022, June 11-12.

The Topanga Canyon Gallery is excited to announce Studio Tour 2022, the weekend of June 11-12, 10 a.m.5 p.m., and invites Topanga artists to apply by March 15 for this juried show.

Artists will participate in a three-week gallery and online show of one piece per artist and are also invited to participate in the 8” x 8” art auction. Cost to participate: $125.

Unlike many other art shows or “walks,” the Topanga Tour invites people to drive to artists’ home studios throughout the canyon, meet the artists and see a collection of their current work. Each year the number of art buyers attending the tour has grown, with more than 500 people visiting 20 open studios in the canyon in last year’s tour.

Artists show in their home studios and often host out-of-area artists, so patrons can see a few types of work at each site. Patrons will receive a full-color map with the Tour locations and an example of each artist’s work and contact data. Each artist also displays work at the Topanga Canyon Gallery for a full month before the tour, providing guests with time to see the artists’ works before deciding where to go on the Tour, and to purchase the pieces being shown in the gallery.

Artists can apply at: https://form.jotform. com/220367746727161; or topangacanyongallery. com. Space is limited.

For more information: contact Kate Kinkade, studio tour coordinator at: (747) 204-4020; or studiotour@topangacanyongallery.com.

Topanga Canyon Gallery is located at 137 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290. For more information: info@topangacanyongallery.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Studio Tour guests view painting at Dana Huffman’s home studio.

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jenise@CanyonCarService.com www.CanyonCarService.com March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

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ALL THINGS CONNECTED Electronic Records & the Lost Art of Medicine

by Paula LaBrot

D

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLOATING DOCTORS

r. Paul Farmer, a pioneer in global medicine and champion of those for whom medical care is as remote a possibility as their locations, passed away in Rwanda this week.

My children worked alongside his group, Partners in Health, in Haiti during the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.

Farmer and people like my own children, who founded Floating Doctors (FD), a global medical aid and capacity development organization, have created outstanding communitybased treatment strategies that demonstrate the delivery of highquality health care in resourcepoor settings. Volunteers from FD are about to launch a new, patientcentered electronic medical records platform.

There is no doubt electronic medical records can play a useful role in patient care, but they can also be a real distraction from good clinical care. According to Medscape.com, “there is a general consensus that clinical skills, history-taking skills, and physical examination skills have progressively deteriorated during the past 15 years.” So, it is important to understand the value and hazards of electronic medical records as you negotiate your own health concerns.

Dr. Ben LaBrot, founder of Floating Doctors, whose first call was Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.

What is an EMR? EMR stands for electronic medical record. Before EMR’s, patient histories were kept on paper charts in a medical practice or hospital.

Peter Garrett and Joshua Sideman, writing for HealthITBuzz, explain that “an EMR contains the medical and treatment history of the patients in one practice. But the information in EMRs doesn’t travel easily out of the practice. In fact, the patient’s record might even have to be printed out, faxed or emailed to specialists and other members of the care team.

In that regard, EMRs are not much better than a paper record.

Jennifer deSpain, CPA, CFP®

Business/Personal Tax & Financial Services

Photo by Miriam Geer.

Tel. 818.883.4800

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CanyonOakFinancial .com March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

The late Dr. Paul Farmer, a pioneer in global medicine, first met and worked with La Brot and his team in Haiti.

What is an EHR? Electronic Health Records are a next-generation advance in digital health records. They have all the information of the EMR. They also contain all the information from all the providers for a patient, including office visits, lab results, x-rays, specialists, pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes—the total picture of the patient’s history.

These records travel with the patient beyond the providers that collect the information. All members of a care team have ready access to the latest information allowing for more coordinated, patient-centered care.

Early Beginnings, Problems and Stakeholders An article from PubMed Central of the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine reports that electronic medical records were developed for billing purposes, not for research and quality improvement efforts.

Herein lies the problem for providers. The providers are forced to spend inordinate amounts of time as data entry clerks. If they don’t fill in all the boxes presented to them, they don’t get paid for their work. And you wonder why your 15-minute visit includes so little actual communication with your provider!

A doctor’s narrative note, the fluid recording of the patient’s history, the impression or analysis and suggested treatments, is constantly interrupted as the doctor is pulled away from the narrative to check boxes which often have nothing to do with improving the quality of health care delivered to the patient. The patient becomes a checklist, not a person, says Timothy Snyder of Yale University. There are templates for histories and physicals, follow-up visits, procedure notes that have boxes to check that providers document, but have not really done.

(If it’s documented, you’ve done it. If it’s not documented, you have not done it, even if you have, and you won’t get paid.) This causes the medical record to be often inaccurate and unreliable.

Robert Wachter, who leads the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco says making providers data drones “had become a main contributor to the growing problem of physician burnout...during the day, doctors at UCSF Medical Center spend much more time on their computers than they do with patients, he says, and they still need to spend a further two to three hours in the evening catching up on data entry.”

Have you tried to find an internist or pediatrician lately? Geriatric care for the aging is disappearing. The lack of reimbursement and odious administrative and documentation demands mean a lot of folks will be getting primary care in an emergency room. Clearly, improvements are necessary.

It’s the Medical ARTS, not the Medical Business!

Last November, Dr. Ben LaBrot, founder of Floating Doctors and a home-grown Topangan, was invited to speak at the World Extreme Medicine Conference in Edinburgh.

His speech is called “Searching in the Jungle for the Lost Art of Medicine.”

Providers so want to be allowed to practice this kind of medicine, the kind they anticipated they would enjoy when they decided to go to medical school, far out of reach of the many masters who, according to Snyder, “seek to pry open every aspect of medical practice for profit.”

Ironically, it is in the remote and impoverished areas of the world that a modern doctor may find the opportunity to practice what Paul Farmer refers to as the “privilege” of caring for a patient.

As for the future of electronic records, well, just as there are new platforms springing up to compensate for the monopolies of the social media tech giants, so organizations like Floating Doctors are innovating more patientcentered electronic record platforms for the future.

Hang on!

Vamos a ver!

MY CORNER OF THE CANYON Gophers Be Gone

By Kathie Gibboney

R

oses were blooming in the garden when we moved to the house in an April of some 27 years ago. They must have been planted by the landlord’s grandmother long before we ever imagined moving to a place called Topanga, which seemed then as distant as the moon. The blooms were a variety of colors from gentle pink, yellows, modest whites, to a bold and brazen red. I so appreciated the roses being here as they lent an enchanted cottage appearance to the home. When visiting with the landlords before moving in, we were introduced to an aging, somewhat senile lady, who, I believe, must have been responsible in her long-gone days of yore, to having planted the flowers. I regret not ever thanking her for the roses.

The blooms were a hardy variety and required little effort on my part to burst forth faithfully each year, fortunate because my gardening skills, as with my driving and housekeeping skills, could be more accurately described as unskilled. Yet, from time to time, I would prune and water the bushes, spraying a bit for aphids while mumbling an encouraging word or two. Then, after so many, many seasons of loyal splendor, they were gone. Disappearing from the light and sun, vanishing beneath the ground, snatched away like Persephone by the dark God of the Underworld. Yet it wasn’t Hades himself, but one of his evil and relentless servants toiling to rob the upper world of bright and beautiful growing things, leaving plants withered and dead or just sadly, utterly absent.

The evil imp is a small but pugnacious rodent of the species Thomomys and a member of the Geomyidoe family, also known as Botta’s Pocket Gopher from Hell. It is obviously a relentless, heartless creature, caring not a shake of its wicked whisker, for causing devastating destruction of flowering fauna and gentle grasses; in fact, I suspect it delights in reducing a Topanga yard to nothing but barren ground covered with the dirt mounds that are its callous calling card. It may as well raise its head from the burrow and tauntingly sing, ‘”This land is my land/no longer your land/from the old white fence to the hillside view/this land was made for

me not you! Ha, ha!”

I attempted replanting roses, but they too were torn asunder. In another part of the yard, we planted glorious colored bougainvillea within their pots to deter the gophers. It’s hard enough for bougainvillea in the Canyon as it’s too cold for their tropical vines to flourish in winter, but I had hopes. Those hopes were cruelly dashed as we helplessly watched them gobbled from beneath even through their pots, and frozen from above until only a scraggly lone branch with a single bright orange flower remained. For a few years I actually nursed

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARIN ROSE SOCIETY

it along and whereas it didn’t exactly thrive, it continued to gallantly, with great effort, produce a few flowers every summer. Then one day, I saw it lying prone on the ground and went to its aid only to find the stem chewed through.

I picked it up and cradled it as an old friend. I may even had shed a tear. First the roses and now this! It was time to get serious.

We had tried a variety of environmentally friendly, non-lethal gopher deterrents in the past. We attempted flushing out the burrows with the hose. That didn’t work. Ironically, it caused more grass to grow, only increasing their food supply. I sprinkled tabasco sauce around the openings, but I think the rodents rather enjoyed it as an exotic complement to plain grass. Perhaps we should have offered margaritas as well, in hopes an inebriated

rodent might become confused, losing its way somehow and waking up over at Bonnell where there is a thriving colony. However, with our luck, the whole hoard would end up partying in our yard, along with their special invited guest band, The Ground Squirrels.

In researching how to be rid of this pesky pestilence, I read that gophers do not like peppermint. Coming across a bag of old candy canes, I spread the joy of the season by sneakily inserting the unwrapped candy into all the gopher holes I could find. I admit to having felt a bit of Grinch-like delight in executing my evil plan, but it came to naught. The candy canes disappeared; the gophers remained.

The Beleaguered Husband actually bought a commercial peppermint spray dispenser and while dousing the tunnels caught one of the culprits right in the act of popping his head out and diligently gobbling up all of the grass he could stuff into his greedy mouth, almost as if to say, “Nuts to you, old man and the surfboard you rode in on!”

Mike hit him right in the face with a squirt of peppermint which seemingly had no adverse effect, whatsoever.

Not being quite ready to employ nature’s own deterrent, live gopher snakes, our latest method of defense is the solar powered, ultrasonic yard stake that releases a continuous mechanical, annoying beeping sound that will deter, supposedly, “gophers, moles, voles, and armadillos.” May God save us from a plague of them all, especially the dreaded Topanga Armadillo.

Personally, I find the beeping sound akin to being repelled by playing a continuous loop of Barry Manilow and irritating enough to make me move on, but I had little faith it would vanquish the varmint.

Surprise!!! Can it be? I am seeing no fresh gopher mounds. Can we have won? Is victory ours? Shall we raise the flag yet show compassion for the toppled? Graze free, just somewhere else, dear gophers.

Spring is coming. I will plant roses and hope that, some many years from now, a lady living here might enjoy them and smile softly to see roses blooming in Topanga.

Living with Wildlife

A

young Botta’s Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae) arrived at California Wildlife Center (CWC) late in January, its 40th patient of the new year, after being caught by a cat. Gophers’ encounters with cats are frequently fatal, with roaming pet and feral domestic cats killing an average of 2 billion birds and 12 billion mammals each year in the United States.

There’s a tendency for people to focus on the negative aspects of sharing our neighborhoods with gophers, as they make their tunnels in lawns and gardens and pile up mounds of disturbed earth. But gophers are native animals who in nature play a beneficial role in the ecosystem. Their digging helps aerate the soil, which is especially important when the ground has been compacted by livestock or machines. Their tunnels become habitats for other species, catch rainwater runoff, and their droppings help fertilize the soil. The gophers themselves are part of the circle of life;

they are prey to carnivores like hawks, bobcats, owls, and coyotes.

Gophers are well adapted to their lifestyle. Their big, growing incisors can gnaw tough roots into digestible bits. They can close their lips behind the incisors, allowing the teeth to help dig through packed soil. In fact, these teeth are the primary digging tools for this species, having a thick layer of enamel to make them more durable when in harder packed ground. After the teeth help break up the dirt, they move it back using the big claws on their front feet, kicking it behind them with their back legs.

Long sensitive whiskers help navigate the dark tunnels. Spending most of their time underground, they can pull entire plants into the burrow by the roots, so they can eat in safety.

California Wildlife Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides medical and rehabilitative care to more than 4,300 sick, injured, and orphaned native California animals every year.

ANIMAL CLINIC

OF

TOPANGA

Caring for Canyon Pets for 20 Years

310 455-1330

Holly Scoren, DVM

TheCanyonChronicle.com March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

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Events Spring Gatherings & Fun at Kidiwische Corner

By Kat High

S

pring has come to Topanga, thanks to the rain, and the following sunshine. Kidiwische Corner is in bloom, and we are out gathering the early bounty of the garden, weeding, and sprucing up in preparation for the return of hands-on workshops outdoors in the garden, mindful of social distance and classes limited to 10 participants on a first come, first served basis. Light refreshments of native foods will be offered, but it is advised to bring your own lunch.

We are also expanding the variety of offerings by craft persons and culture bearers who will share their skills and knowledge with participants. We are reopening at Kidiwische Corner with small, outdoor workshops to revive your connection with nature and spark your creativity. For more information: katcalls@aol.com.

Sunday, March 13, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Dogbane and Milkweed Cordage. Peter Rice, currently a teacher for the Topanga Canyon Docents, has been an educator and scholar in the ecology and pre-history of the Los Angeles area, including the material culture of the Chaparral since 1984.

He has worked with students and teachers in hands-on, fun-filled workshops using an interactive teaching style, including visuals, games, authentic crafts, sensory participation, and storytelling. Rice has presented training sessions for many organizations, including museums, nature organizations, elementary schools, cultural

centers, and park systems. He has taught and presented craft workshops, creating items such as tools, games and musical instruments out of the natural materials of the chaparral. To register: doctorcaryopsis@ gmail.com Sunday, March 27, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Acorns in Your Kitchen with Sarah Irani and Kat High. Topanga resident Sarah Irani is an artist and creator of “The Paradise Realm,” and an interpersonal transformationist.

We are joining forces to share the ancient traditional way of preparing acorns for eating, and the modern, creative way of incorporating this nutritional food in your diet. Some cooking of traditional wiiwish and a modern adaptation will be included.

To register: katcalls@aol.com Sunday, April 3, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Beginning Round Reed Baskets with Kat

High. Make a twined basket from modern materials using traditional basket-weaving techniques with a modern twist.

High is a long-time resident of Topanga and a nonenrolled Native Californian of Hupa descent, who served as the Director and Program Coordinator for the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center for more than 15 years. She is an advisor to the Satwiwa American Indian Cultural Center, The Autry National Center, and the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, a non-voting member of the California Indian Basketweavers Association, and Neshkinukat, the California Indian artists network. She is also a member of the California Indian Storytelling Association.

Kat is the founder of Giveaway Song Productions and has produced several award-winning documentaries on the connections between California Indians and Native Hawaiians, and more than 200 public access TV programs on Indigenous culture. She, and her gathering garden were part of the Emmy award-winning d o c u m e n t a r y, “Tending the Wild,” and were included in the Jennifer Jewells book “Under Western Skies” To register: katcalls@ aol.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF MALIBU HISTORY COLLECTION, LOS ANGELES COUNTY LIBRARY

‘On the Road to the Past,’ March 6, 3 p.m.

Photos like this of May Rindge and a friend crossing a railroad trestle (ca. 1906) will be part of the Topanga Historical Society’s virtual Zoom presentation by Malibu historian Suzanne Guldimann about the “crazy history of roads, rail, and routes in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Sunday, March 6, 3 p.m., “On the Road to the Past.” The Topanga Historical Society (THS) presents a virtual Zoom presentation

by Suzanne Guldimann, Topanga New Times editor and longtime Malibu historian. She will discuss the complex and sometimes

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March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

crazy history of roads, rail, and routes in the Santa Monica Mountains, including a trip along the infamous Malibu Railway and a scenic drive through Topanga on the Auto Club’s “Big Oval” route, circa 1915. Check the THS website for a Zoom link on the day

of the event.

Learn more about Topanga in the Society’s books and archive at: topangahistoricalsociety. org. Support THS by becoming a member: $20/year for individuals, or $30/year for families.

THE MARKETPLACE S er ving Yo ur Business t hr o ugh O u rs TEXT TOPANGA TANYA WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BUY SELL OR INVEST TANYA STARCEVICH REALTOR

®

Ranked Top 10% Keller Williams Pacific Palisades | Malibu | Topanga

T: 310.774.3824 | C:310.739.4216 tanyastarcevich@gmail.com www.tanyashouses.com Broker #01499010 | BRE Lic #01864259

Complete Eyecare for All Ages

B O U T I Q U E O P T I CA L

Installing solar in Topanga for over 12 years!

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Call or Schedule Online

747.232.2202

Dr. Emily James | Optometrist

lunaoptometry.com Located Within Gelson’s Village 22247 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas

P h i l i p D’Ar b anv i l l e Real Estate Financing Specialist

Sales, Purchase & Refinance | Residential & Commercial

310.663.5007

pdarbanville@gmail.com Real Estate Agent, Senior Mortgage Loan Officer DRE # 01902357 NMLS# 1124693

California Home Solution, California Commercial 20301 Ventura Blvd. Suite302, Woodland Hills, CA. 91326 | 818-999-6070 X 309

Batteries will keep your lights on!

SmartSolar is your local Installer LEE RHOADS

w 310.455.2958 | c 310.487.5750

smartsolarcorp.com | leesolarconsulting@gmail.com CSLB #998255

t Really Magi o N It’s Barbara Allen E.A. c!

Residential & Office Interior Design Kitchen & Bathroom Renovations New Furniture Specifications Space Planning Alice Wright-Wilson | 424.325.9360 awrightdesign.com | alicekmwilson@gmail.com

BODY • MIND • HEART • SOUL

Holistic Wellness & Healing Dianne Porchia, MA, DMBM

310-455-2375

310.455.2851 porchiaswish.com

riklin@barbaraalleneataxservices.com

Tax Preparation & Audit Representation For Individuals, Small Businesses,

Estates, Trusts and Tax-Exempt Entities www.barbaraalleneataxservices.com

LIFE IN BALANCE

Featured in HEAL Documentary

of the Seventh Ray Creekside dining for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Sunday Brunch.

Searchlight Insurance Services Craig Phelps T: 888-257-8200 C: 626-437-7900 F: 877-777-5199 SMS: 310-455-8205

A perfect place for that special moment Weddings, Events & Private Parties (310) 455-1311 128 Old Topanga Canyon Road, Topanga, CA 90290

cphelps@searchlightinsurance.com www.searchlightinsurance.com

innoftheseventhray.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN

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awards-winning graphic designer

310.460.9340 | niraten.com

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Contact us: ads@thecanyonchronicle.com 310.460.9786 The Canyon Chronicle P.O. Box 1101, Topanga CA 90290 March 4 • Vol. 3 No. 4

15

Pritchett-Rapf Realtors TOPANGA

Offices in Malibu & Topanga (310) 455-4363

•

PRTopanga.com

Call for more information!

NEW LISTING Old Topanga Canyon Blvd.

3 Bed | 2 Bath

$5,000,000

Saddle Peak Rd.

4 Bed | 3 Bath, Guest House

$3,125,000

Chryssa Lightheart & Devon R. Stiteler - (310) 663-3696

Kirsten Bohman - (310) 403-4818

Perfect combo of country living and business opportunity. Topanga’s original gem, this was one of the original homes in this corner of the canyon. Since 2005, it has hosted a successful private facility offering dog training, boarding, and daycare.

Perched high atop Saddle Peak on over 2 acres of very usable land, sits this beautiful Contemporary Mediterranean with cross canyon views stretching all the way downtown and beyond.

SOLD

SOLD

Old Topanga Canyon Blvd. 3 Bed | 2 Bath $1,250,000 Kirsten Bohman & Chryssa Lightheart - (310) 403-4818

Stites Drive 4 Bed | 4 Bath Chryssa Lightheart - (310) 663-3696

This ideally situated Old Topanga A-frame gives you that Topanga treehouse feel, being only a few minutes from the center of town. Represented buyer & seller. Sold for $151k over asking!

Stunning 4-bedroom with abundant sunshine in Fernwood. Complete with vaulted ceilings, tropical hardwood decks, and gorgeous French doors opening out to parkland canyon views. An entertaining paradise nearby peaceful mountain trails.

IN ESCROW Greenleaf Canyon Road

3 Bed | 2 Bath

$999,000

$1,950,000

LEASED Liberty Lane

3 Bed | 2 Bath

$5,700/mo, unf.

William Preston Bowling - (310) 428-5085

Christine Kapetan & William P. Bowling - (310) 804-8336

Over 11 Acres of Privacy in this Gated Greenleaf Canyon Estate. 4 Separate Assessor Parcel Numbers allows you to be creative and expand Your Compound outside of the original footprint.

Private and peaceful gated remodeled home with guest house, large usable front and back yards in quiet mountain setting. Designer updates throughout. Hardwood floors, travertine fireplace, granite & stainless kitchen, Air conditioning. Unfurnished.

LAND

LAND

LAND

AMAZING OCEAN VIEWS AND BOULDER OUTCROPPINGS BEAUTIFUL CANYON VIEWS OUTSIDE COASTAL HUGE BUILDING SITE WITH OCEAN VIEWS Everding Motorway $650,000 Zuniga Road $599,000 Hawks Nest Trail $410,000 2.53 acres 1.5 acres 2.5 acre William Preston Bowling William Preston Bowling William Preston Bowling (310) 428-5085

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Pritchett-Rapf Realtors

(310) 428-5085

CalDRE 00528707