San Buenaventura Sesquicentennial 1866 2016

SAN BUENAVENTURA

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SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

3 — City of Ventura @ 150

Celebrating 100 Years of service to our community!

Ventura’s history is Ivy Lawn’s history. If there is a street named after someone in Ventura, chances are that person is buried at Ivy Lawn.

Ivy Lawn Memorial Park is the final resting place for the largest percentage of historically significant and contributing individuals in all of Ventura County. In recognition of this the Ventura City Council gave Ivy Lawn its Historic District designation making us the only Historic District Cemetery is Ventura County. This sets our cemetery apart.

Why it is important to know about Ivy Lawn…

You can make all the money in the world, and you can have all the material things that you could desire, but when you die none of those things go with you. You leave all that behind as well as the mark you made on the world through your deeds, so take the time to think about how you want to be remembered.

When you choose our cemetery you ask us to help tell the stories of the lives of loved ones that are gone. We understand that they are never forgotten and we know the importance of having a place to come and remember.

That is why we exist.

We believe in the sanctity and great value of human life; we promise to respect and honor each one entrusted to our care. We pledge to act with honesty and integrity in all of our contacts with family members and friends as you face the difficult days of a new reality and the grief which accompanies the loss of a loved one.

Excellence is the hallmark of our company and we intend to maintain this reputation through service to those in need.

Ivy Lawn is an oasis, a nonprofit organization in a world of competitors that are corporately owned. Our Board and our leadership are local people who have lived in the community for many years.

ivylawn.org

Ivy Lawn Is A Place For All Time.

5400 Valentine Road 805-642-1055 FD2156

2 — City of Ventura @ 150

Today there are over 50,000 individuals interred at Ivy Lawn.

SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016 4 years gone by

Scratching the surface of Ventura’s history

By Cynthia Thompson

6 a look back

150 years of history, in brief

By Cynthia Thompson

12 cultural ancestors Chumash heritage

By Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, Jose Alamillo, Linda Bentz

The VCReporter office at 700 E. Main St. was built as a First Church of Christ Science in 1929.

16 150 years of art & music

EDITOR Michael Sullivan CONTACT US ART DIRECTOR T Christian Gapen PHONE 805.648.2244 FAX 805.648.2245 CONTRIBUTORS Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer, MAILING ADDRESS 700 East Main Street, Chris O’Neal, Jose Alamillo, Linda Bentz, Ventura, CA 93001 E.J. Harrison & Sons Inc., Cynthia Thompson,

By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer VCREPORTER.COM Julie Tumamait-Stenslie ©2016 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Bret Hooper, Tim Twaddle ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Warren Barrett, Kasey Black, ON THE COVER: Illustration of Ventura circa 1876.

Barbara Kroon, Diane Newman, Kelly Spargur, Stephens Please check this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly. You will haveDave a “1st Proof”, “2nd Proof”, and “Final Proof”. If we receive no proof after the 1st or 2nd Wann-Davis Proofs, Ad Will Run As is. If this proof meets your approval on the 1st proof, checkCIRCULATION off “FInalTeresa ProoF (aPProved)” box, date and sign at the bottom.

PUBLISHER David Comden ISSuE: 3/31/16 notice: pleAse FAx this pRooF to (805) 648-2245 AsAp

By Chris O’Neal

A brief overview of Ventura’s cultural legacy

24 Ventura’s flavorful past Client: Salzers The history of food, agriculture and booze in our city by the sea

Ad Proof

Ad Executive: Dave Stephens

(805) 648-2244

City of Ventura @ 150 — 3

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SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

Courtesy of San Buenaventura Conservancy Taken in the early 1930s looking west down Main Street from about mid-block east past California Street. Note the Cadillac dealer where Mission Park is now just past the San Buenaventura Mission with the growing Norfolk pine in the distance.

YEARS GONE BY

Scratching the surface of Ventura’s history BY

CYNTHIA THOMPSON

a

s the city of Ventura celebrates its founding 150 years ago, on March 10, 1866, a journey through the city’s timeline reveals so much, it’s overwhelming. From longstanding natives to founding settlers, the bourgeoisie to the working class, agricultural roots to oil booms, industry to innovation to recreation and so on, the culmination of all people and things Ventura simply cannot fit into one newspaper, book or even a single library or museum. This special edition of Ventura’s sesquicentennial delves into many areas that we feel helped sculpt the city into what it is today. We hope you enjoy this look back at the often amazing, sometimes controversial and always interesting history of Ventura.

William Dewey Hobson (1829-1915) Arrived first in Ventura in 1851 and came to stay in 1854. He was a prolific builder, constructing the first courthouse, the first school (Hill School), the Peirano Grocery building on Main Street, the first meat packing plant and much more. He was a hotelier and a city official. He successfully lobbied state government to separate Ventura County from Santa Barbara County, for which he became known as the “Father of Ventura County.” He is probably the most important influential person in the development of Ventura and Ventura County in the 19th century.

4 — City of Ventura @ 150

The Ventura County Reporter would like to thank the following for their help, support and knowledge in compiling this special issue in commemoration of Ventura’s 150th anniversary: Anna Bermudez and Charles Johnson of the Museum of Ventura County, Laurie Dunning at E.P. Foster Library, Mary Galbraith and Donna Granata of Focus on the Masters, John Mosby, Moses Mora of Tortilla Flats Archives, Jeff Smith of the Smith-Hobson Foundation, Cynthia Thompson, Hiroko Yoshimoto and Helen Yunker. Also a special thanks for the work of the San Buenaventura Conservancy to help preserve Ventura’s architectural history.

— Michael Sullivan

Abram Lincoln Hobson (1861-1929) The son of William Dewey Hobson, he was a co-owner with his brother, William A. Hobson, of Hobson Brothers Meat Packing Company (where Patagonia is today) and the Santa Barbara Packing Company. The brothers developed and subdivided Pierpont Bay by literally creating land when they directed the run-off of the Santa Clara River through gates and weirs. He developed and subdivided Hobson Heights in midtown. He and his brother, William began purchasing land in the Rincon area in 1895, believing there was oil. It took 35 years for the technology to catch up with his hunch, but a major strike created the Rincon Oil Field in 1927. He was one of the foremost promoters and developers of the oil industry in Ventura, purchasing land for leasing to the major oil companies that launched the period of significance in Ventura called The Oil and Land Boom of the 1920s. His obituary called him the “Father of the Oil Field.”

Abram was an accomplished horseman and invested heavily in cattle grazing lands throughout the state of California. He was one of the founding directors of the

Ventura County Fair Grounds. He was the original president of the Elks Corporation that made possible the Elks Lodge on Ash Street in Ventura; and he was president of the Masons Building Corporation that created the Masonic Temple on Santa Clara Street. He deeded land along Rincon Highway for parks and was instrumental in providing 240 acres of land for Foster Park, being a life-long friend of E. P. Foster. He was very much at the forefront of the “subdivision fever” that gripped Southern California in the 1920s.

His purchase and development of the Redrup Ranch east of the Ventura Cemetery became Hobson Continued on Page 6

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familes Continued from Page 4 Heights in Ventura. His joint development with his brother of the Rancho San Miguel beach area for agriculture by directing the river silt through levees and gates led to the creation of the development of Pierpont Bay and eventually the Ventura Keys and the Ventura Harbor. Outside of Ventura, he and some partners developed 90,000 acres in Riverside for irrigation and subdivision and he became president of the Palo Verde Land and Water Company, founding the city of Blythe. He was instrumental in developing land throughout both Southern and Central California for all of his life. A. L. Hobson was one of the founding members of the Ventura Securities Company for Ivy Lawn Cemetery in 1917.

Charles Wesley Petit (1888-1973) He truly was “Mr. Ventura” and a largerthan-life personage for decades. Charles Wesley Petit is known as the longest-serving mayor in the history of the city. He was also one of Ventura’s longest-serving public servants, first joining the City Council at the age of 66 in 1948 and

served in that capacity until he stepped down as mayor in 1969. He was first voted in as mayor in 1953. He presided over the greatest expansion of growth since the 1920s oil boom in the city during the time of urban renewal.

He was involved in the creation of the Ventura Harbor and the complete transformation of the Pierpont Bay/Rancho San Miguel area into the Ventura Keys and Ventura Marina Village Shopping Center. He presided over nearly every single major development that happened in Ventura during the 1960s, including the Downtown’s coping with the impact of the mall that included the Redevelopment Project resulting in Mission Park. He also faced challenging and sometimes controversial projects, such as the conversion of the Ventura Cemetery into Cemetery Memorial Park.

Petit began his career as a Ventura County engineer and serving in that capacity from 1915 to 1935. In 1915, he was appointed chief engineer for the Ventura County Highway Commission, and prior to that he was the official surveyor and bridge engineer of the county. He was the designer of the Ventura River bridge that was so highly celebrated at its opening in 1913, along with the Ventura County Courthouse (today’s Ventura City Hall). He is credited with the Ventura “Good Roads” system that was a political movement in 1915. He was the engineer who worked with Abram Hobson to design the concept for the Pierpont Bay Subdivision on the family’s Rancho San Miguel land in 1925. The close working and personal relationship he had with the Hob-

son family was reflected in their approving of his home in Hobson Heights to be the very first English Tudor-style residence in the subdivision (as opposed to Spanish Revival). Today this home is Landmark No. 93; it was designed by famous Los Angeles City Hall architect John C. Austin.

His relationship with the Hobson family became even closer when his daughter, Janice Petit, married Abe Hobson’s grandson, Rodney Hobson Smith. He then left the county service to work for the U. S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, retiring in 1944. He died at the age of 91 as a distinguished pubic employee and public official for most of his life.

Walter Scott Chaffee (1835-1894) One of the “first nine Americans” (not Spanish/Mexican/ Californio) in San Buenaventura. He was instrumental in the city incorporation process in 1866. He established the oldest mercantile store, Chaffee Dry Goods, in 1862 at the corner of Palm and Main Streets. It was the largest mercantile until 1929. He was personally appointed by the State Legislator as a member of the Board of Trustees (council) and became Ventura’s first mayor. He was one

of the original incorporators of the Bank of Ventura (established in 1874).

Thomas Bard (1841-1915) Bard was sent specifically to Ventura as the agent of the largest landowner, Thomas Scott, to search for oil.

Bard began drilling in Ojai and successfully brought in some oil. He continued this process all over the county (which was not Ventura County until 1873), but the technology was not efficient enough to produce a profitable product. Bard partnered with Lyman Stuart and Wallace D. Hardiman to eventually create the Union Oil Company in Santa Paula, which grew into one of the largest oil companies of today, UNOCAL. Bard turned his attention to selling the land in small parcels of 20 acres each instead of oil development, and this is what started the huge migration of immigrants from all countries (Germany, France, Italy, etc.) to dedicate the land to agriculture. This was in the La Colonia and Los Posas areas.

Continued on Page 8

A LOOK BACK 1869-1886: FIRST LAND BOOM

Completion of stage coach line (1868) that connected Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and the transcontinental railroad (1869); Ventura experienced its first land boom, created by railroad advertising. The first European settlers (Italian, German, Swiss, French, Austrian, etc.) arrived. First real hotels were built, across from the Mission (Ayers, Palace, and Santa Clara hotels).

Pierpont Inn in 1908. (A Pictorial History of Ventura County, California) This adobe was occupied by Catholic Priests. Taken in 1863.

(Ventura County California History 1782-1917)

1906-1920: CITY EXPANSION

1848-1868: CITY FOUNDING/INCORPORATION

United States won war with Mexico; California became 31st state (1850); Americans (not Native Americans, Spanish, Mexicans or Californios) arrived in Ventura (1850-1860s), Americans, Spanish, Mexicans and Californios began planning an official city in the 1860s; and the city incorporated in 1866. Most of the original city documents at this time were in Spanish.

Crowds await the arrival of President Benjamin Harrison in 1891 at Front Street at Kalorama Street. (Then & Now Ventura)

This was a major period for the city. It came into the modern world. The Pierpont Inn is built (1908), the museum is established (1913), the County Courthouse (City Hall today) was built (1913), the Cross was reraised (1912), the Landmarks Committee was formed (1913), the Rincon Causeway was built (1913), the Ventura River Bridge was constructed (1913), Ivy Lawn cemetery was conceived and begun (1913-1917), prismatic glass transoms are installed on all Main Street (1913), all of Ventura was given electricity (1912-1913), Ventura Union High School was built (1912), the Mission celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of Father Junipero Serra (1913), city “Boosters” of Ventura were featured in a national magazine, Way Out West by Charles F. Lummis, (1912). It is called the “Big Bang” era of Ventura.

1887-1905: SECOND LAND BOOM

This land boom was created by the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad line from Newhall through Ventura to Santa Barbara. San Buenaventura’s name is shortened by the U. S. Post Office to Ventura. Population tripled. Big hotels were built.

(Anacapa and Rose hotels, now demolished.) This created a more sophisticated Downtown and a large residential expansion.

The Mission with Norfolk pine saplings in front of the parish, which is no longer there. Taken in the 1870s. (Then & Now Ventura)

6 — City of Ventura @ 150

Rincon Causeway in 1920.

City of Ventura @ 150 — 7

SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

familes Continued from Page 6

Eugene Preston Foster (1848-1932) Arriving by covered wagon with his parents in 1854, he was a visionary philanthropist who became president of the Bank of Ventura.

He used his position to motivate the community to financially and emotionally support the creation of Seaside Park, the creation of the entire recreational parks system in Ventura County, develop the highway system of good roads, build the Foster Library/City Hall in 1921, became head of the Ventura High School Trustees, guided the construction of the causeway (the elevated road along the coast between Santa Barbara and Ventura), personally invested in the development and construction of Foster Memorial Hospital, which became Community Memorial Hospital, and much more. On Sept. 5, 1921, a citywide celebration called Foster Day was held for all of Ventura County to celebrate his contributions.

He and his wife, Orpha Foster (a partner in every sense), were responsible for the modernday infrastructure of 20th century Ventura.

Orpha Woods Foster (1850-1938)

A full partner and supporter of her husband’s endeavors, the wife of Eugene Preston Foster also made contributions of her own to the development of the community. She was a co-founder of the Ventura County Chapter of the California Federation of Women’s Clubs, along with Alice Bartlett.

Gov. Hiram Johnson appointed her as one of the first woman trustees of the School for Girls on Ventura Avenue. This institution was the first of its kind to be managed wholly by women. She was a personal Charles Fletcher Lummis appointee for the Ventura County El Camino Real Bell program in California. She was also very influential and involved with the raising of the replacement cross at Grant Park in 1912. A tireless fundraiser, she was the vice president of the Big Sisters League Hospital (originally Bard Hospital at the corner of Fir and Poli streets). Her and her daughter’s activities in this organization led to the development of a new hospital called Hospital de Buenaventura. The final donation of $50,000 to begin the construction was donated by her and her husband. This hospital was renamed Foster Memorial Hospital and today it is Community Memorial Hospital.

John lagomarsino (1892-1969) Son of the Lagomarsino family patriarch, John Lagomarsino, he furthered the family businesses of liquor and tobacco enterprises and broadened his interests through banking. When his father died in an automobile accident in 1923, he stepped into the role of board member and representative of the Ventura Securities Company. He played an active role in the business development of Ventura and Ventura County through financial investments CSUCI LAGOMARSINO ARCHIVES and planning. His family had gone into the banking business as a natural outgrowth of their many businesses, and he had a personal friendship with the Gianninis, founders of the Bank of Italy that would become Bank of America. He became the manager of the Bank of Italy in Ventura, helping to guide the financial futures of many families. He was also the brother-in-law of Albert C. Martin Sr. of the architectural firm of Albert C. Martin & Associates who designed and built the Ventura County Courthouse (City Hall today). He married Ida Borchard, sister of Carolyn Borchard (the Borchards were well-known Oxnard farmers), who was A. C. Martin’s wife, in 1915, and they produced a large family. They employed

A. C. Martin’s talents to design their home at 63 Lincoln Drive, which exists today. There are countless activities, charities and organizations with which the Lagomarsinos were affiliated.

Fritz Huntsinger (1920s-1986) As a young engineer, Huntsinger bought a small tool company on the Avenue (Schwab Tool Company) and realized, as the oil boom took place, that his fortune could be made by creating tools for the oil industry. He renamed the business as the Ventura Tool Company, manufacturing drilling equipment and tools for the oil industry. He modified the borescope in the 1930s, developed high-speed sonic drilling during the 1940s war years, created tools for drilling on oil ocean platforms in the 1950s, developed underwater mobile robots in the 1960s, created the Vetcolog pig for the Alaskan pipeline in the 1970s, and diversified product mix to survive and thrive during the oil industry turndown of the 1980s. This company became Vetco, the largest manufacturer Continued on Page 10

A LOOK BACK

Ventura Avenue oil fields in the teens and 1920s. (A Pictorial History of Ventura County, California)

1921-1929: OIL AND LAND BOOM OF THE 1920S A major strike in the Avenue oil fields in 1921 set off an economic, commercial, residential and architectural expansion/ explosion in Ventura. The Rincon Oil Field came in 1927, continuing the explosive growth. More than 80 percent of the existing buildings in Downtown today were built in this era.

Ventura Bath House near the pier, where Aloha Steakhouse is currently.

Taken in 1928. (A Pictorial History of Ventura County, California)

8 — City of Ventura @ 150

In February, 1936, a fire fueled by static in a gas line ripped through the wharf at the Ventura pier causing $100,000 in damages, according to an article from The Madera Tribune.

1930-1944: GREAT DEPRESSION AND WWII

The stock market crash in 1929 was not felt in Ventura until the early 1930s, but was severe when it hit. Building came to a halt in residential areas. FDR became president in 1932 and alphabet government programs (WPA/PWA/CCC, etc.) spurred some growth. Pearl Harbor began WWII in 1941 and Port Hueneme’s completion as a naval base brought large numbers of civilian and military workers to the area (including Ventura), creating demand for businesses and housing, ending the Great Depression.

Aerial panorama in 1935. (The First 100 Years of Ventura)

Highway 101 construction begins in the 1950s, demolishing the Tortilla Flats community near the Salad Bowl Curve, where Thompson Street, formerly Meta Street, turns into Garden Street.

(Courtesy of Tortilla Flats Archives.)

1945-1962: PROSPERITY AND THE FREEWAY

End of WWII — Wartime housing shortage created new residential subdivisions from Seaward to Mills Road and population growth. Mid-century modern infill in Downtown creates new look. Thompson Boulevard was Highway 101 and roadside motels/hotels were built. The freeway planning began in 1958 and it opened in 1962, separating Downtown from the beach.

Redevelopment from government funds created State Beach and

Construction at Ventura Harbor. (The First 100 Years of Ventura)

City of Ventura @ 150 — 9

SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

familes Continued from Page 8 of oil-related tools in the world. Huntsinger was one of the most generous philanthropist of the 1950s-1980s, responsible for a great deal of the continual expansion of Community Memorial Hospital.

E.J. and Myra Harrison Myra was born on February 17, 1915, in Ventura, one of 12 children of Francisca Moraga and Elias Velarde. (He was of German descent but was adopted by his mother’s husband, Ascencion Ve l a r d e ) .

Elias was born Oct. 26, 1872, in Santa Barbara.

Myra’s mother was born in Ventura on September 16, 1881, and she was a direct descendant of Lt. Jose Moraga, a member of the De Anza party that established the Missions in California. He was the founder of the city of San Jose and died in 1785.

Myra’s parents were married in 1898 in the San Buenaventura Mission by Father Grogan and lived to celebrate over 60 years of wedded bliss. Their first home, which they built at 207 Meta St. (Thompson Boulevard), was their home for 58 years until the freeway caused them to move into a new home.

Myra at 15-1/2 married E.J. on August 2, 1930, and their American dream began.

E.J. and Myra hauled their own rubbish to the dump with a trailer hitched to their car.

Until one day, Mr. Harrison got an idea.

“The neighbors said, ‘Mr. Harrison, are you going to the dump?’ and he said, ‘Yes,’ and they said, ‘Can you take some of our stuff ?’ Well, he went over there and he looked it over and he charged them a little bit and he hauled their stuff to the dump. And they said, ‘Now when you go to the dump again, can you come by and take my stuff because I would really like for someone to haul it away for me?’ That got Mr. Harrison to thinking that other people would like their rubbish hauled, too. So we started a rubbish company,” Myra Harrison said.

After about a year, Harrison Transfer, as it was known then, had a modest route of about 50 customers. The Harrisons spent the following decades building their trash collection business. The tradition continues today in what is the largest self-contained, full-service facility in Ventura County. The hands-on approach and the cost-effectiveness of the operations have enabled the business to endure as one of the oldest, privately-owned trash haulers and recyclers in the nation. Today, Harrison Industries serves more than 90,000 customers in cities and unincorporated areas of Ventura County and the city of Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County.

E.J. died in 1991. Myra died in 2014.

— Courtesy of EJ Harrison & Sons

Helen Yunker (1921-present) Born in Chicago during the rise of organized crime, she was just an adolescent when the St. Valentine’s Day massacre happened — and she remembers it well. When she was in her late 20s, she decided to leave Chicago for California, working in sales, and wound up in Long Beach, then Bakersfield and finally in Ventura in 1958.

Shortly thereafter, she got involved in a singing group called the Belles of San Buenaventura, among other artistic performance endeavors. She also created the historical book The First 100 Years in Ventura.

She says the city of Ventura fought against its publication in 1966, but she prevailed. Yunker may actually be best-known, however, for her work in real estate, particularly in annexing Pierpont into Ventura in the mid-1960s.

Anyone who has visited the Pierpont community via Seaward Avenue has seen her real estate office on Pierpont Boulevard. Yunker was also a longtime resident of the neighborhood; she relayed that she had 13 desert tortoises at her residence. But Pierpont wasn’t always a part of Ventura. In fact, Marina Park used to be a trash dump and there used to be an “air park” for use by private planes where the Ventura Keys are today.

While Pierpont enjoys the same services and amenities that all Ventura residents use today, it wasn’t always that way. Prior to the 1960s, two-thirds of the neighborhood was

county property. With a desire to have the same privileges as Ventura residents, community residents voted for annexation — the first two attempts failed. The reason: Residents would have to comply with city building codes, which were stricter than the county’s. Yunker knew that coming into full compliance beyond safety codes would force people out of their homes; the bone of contention were noncompliant granny flats created for soldiers who had returned from war decades earlier. (Granny flats in the city remain a controversial issue today.) She fought tirelessly to prevent annexation until the city compromised by grandfathering the granny flats. Yunker said that when the annexation finally passed, the city reneged on its promise and sent code compliance workers into the neighborhood to snoop and find issues with the homes. Yunker, however, stood her ground and finally got the city to back off and agree to grandfather the granny flats as long as they were up to safety codes. Because of her work, she has been named the Guardian Angel of Pierpont and even has a plaque on a bench overlooking the harbor in Marina Park.

Yunker remains active in the community, particularly in theater arts, and is well-known and loved for her contributions to the Rubicon Theatre and Ventura College’s Helen Yunker Theater.

— Michael Sullivan Internationally known artist and local resident, Michael Kelly, has engaged the contributions of local historian, Cynthia Thompson, to assist him in constructing the chronological and social elements of Ventura’s 150th Centennial Art Mural in tile. The Museum of Ventura County Library has been the primary research resource.

A LOOK BACK 1963-1977: URBAN RENEWAL

Government funding and private development created eastward movement of Ventura, including expansion of the mall. The Ventura Harbor and the Keys were built.

Downtown Ventura removed many “old fashioned” facades (including the buildings that made “Pocket Park” between Palm and Oak Streets on Main Street) to compete with the mall.

Ventura Cemetery (Cemetery Memorial Park) was turned into a public park.

The Ventura County Museum of History and Art (Museum of Ventura County today) was built on Main Street. All of the buildings from Figueroa to Ventura Avenue on Main Street were removed to create Mission Park. The city celebrates its 100th Anniversary with two books and many events.

The council passed an ordinance that would require demolition of all buildings in Downtown for the purpose of earthquake safety, but it was repealed.

Mark and Kathy Hartley renovated and reinvigorated the 1920s building, originally the ventura guarantee and loan company, to form Watermark.

1978-1999: CULTURAL/HISTORIC AWARENESS

A cultural awareness of the importance of Ventura’s history and artistic contributions began as did many nonprofits that supported multidisciplinary arts (music, art, dance, etc.).

Historic preservation became important and many landmarks were designated.

2000-2016: REVITALIZATION/CULTURAL RENAISSANCE/NEW URBANISM

Buildings at Pocket Park (mini-park between Oak and Palm Streets) before demolition, taken in 1929.

10 — City of Ventura @ 150

Revitalization of Downtown Ventura began. Major investment by local developers in existing old/landmark buildings took place. Development of cultural organizations and awareness of historic importance began to be used as marketing identity for the city. Artists began documenting Ventura history in and on buildings.

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www.gpproperty.net City of Ventura @ 150 — 11

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SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

Maria Barrios Tumamait (grandmother of Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, author of story), Maria Antonia Tumamait Levya (Julie’s great aunt, married to Henry Levya), Margaret Tumamait (aunt), Henry Levya (great uncle), Cecillo Tumamait (grandfather), on the laps: Vincent Tumamait (father) and unknown in the 1920s.

Cultural ancestors Reflecting on the Chumash, Mexicans and Chinese CHUMASH HERITAGE

by Julie

Tumamait-Stenslie

Mitsguanaga’n, Tongue of the Coyote, was the closest village to the San Buena Ventura Mission, with 500 inhabitants. There were several hundred villages documented by ethnographic history, archaeological and mission records. When Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo came in 1542 he saw the rich fertile land. He saw a vibrant group of people living in villages along the shore. The village of Shishalop, “In the Mud,” was a very powerful village, in which high political and spiritual leaders, known as Antap, resided there. When the missionaries came in 1774 they used the labor of the Chumash to establish a small chapel, San Miguel, which is on the corner of Palm Street and Thompson Boulevard. The next chapel, San Gertrudis Chapel, was placed in the now Cañada Larga area. The Mission San Buena Ventura was completed on March 31, 1782, with Fray Junipero Serra as its founder.

The Chumash lived in a 7,000 square mile territory, including four Channel Islands — Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel. The Chumash were taken from their native birth places and made to live on Mission grounds, and were baptized into the Catholic religion, their own religion forbidden. They learned Spanish, their own language was taken away. Spanish soldiers tracked down any who tried to flee.

It became the responsibility of the Chumash to tend the crops and livestock for the padres and soldiers. The work was endless; when not working they attended church. They were given Christian names, their native names taken away.

They built the Mission from brick and mortar, as well as a wate-way system, an aqueduct 7 miles long that ran from the Mission north toward the Ventura River. Pieces are still standing.

12 — City of Ventura @ 150

The impact to these people’s way of life canfamilies were still subservient to the new land not be measured. Disease was the biggest threat grantees. They picked and dried apricots, travwith three major epidemics running through eled to Santa Cruz Island to shear sheep, then the Mission. By the end of the Mission Period returned to their boss to be ordered to the next only 10 percent of the population had survived. job. My grandfather Cecillo Tumamait was an The average lifespan of a child in that time advocate for the workforce to see that all were was 8 years old. When in 1833 the Mexican gov- paid for their work. It was a hard time. The Chuernment divested mash intermarried the Padres of the into the Spanish culMission, it was ture, but there was rented to Don Jose a lot of prejudice Arnaz and Narciso against them. LandBotello. In 1866 the owners more often area was incorpohired the Spanish rated into a city. than the Natives. My The few surviving father had to change Chumash were his last name to get released and many work. People who moved into the still carried the spirwest end of Venitual knowledge hid tura, Tortilla Flats, it for fear of anger Ventura Avenue from their families. and other parts The language was of the city. Some used in my father’s stayed in Saticoy house when he where they were was a boy, but he working.

They and his siblings were not allowed to were not meant to go back to the vilunderstand it. Most Maria Concepcion Jacinta Dominguez Ortega (1817-1905) lages or the islands. families adopted the who married Emigdio Miguel Ortega (1813-1893) who built My great-grandSpanish lifestyle the Ortega Adobe on a former mission lot in 1857. They father Juan De and language. raised a large family of 21 in this adobe home.

Jesus Tumamait During the Miswas part of this sion Period the transition. He became a captain in this post-mispadres allowed the Hutash Festival to continue. sion time. He refused to change his Chumash Hutash is our word for Mother Earth. This was (Tumamait) name and kept it as a surname. moved from the traditional time in August to The Chumash paid taxes on the small homes coincide with the Feast of St. Michael, the last they lived in. The labor that was forced on them Sunday in September. This was a five-day event became the only work they could do. Some and is well documented. This festival lasted well

into the 1930s. The location was changed to the beach and later became the Ventura County Fair. Since then, the community has gone silent; jobs, military, family all took priority.

My father, Vincent Tumamait, retired from Shell Oil in 1986. He was approached by Michael Ward and Clarence Sterling and the Painted Cave Choir was born. Like Vincent’s grandfather Juan De Jesus, Vincent became a singer and storyteller. He was known as Paha, one who greets people and performs invocations. Vincent passed into spirit in 1992 and left a great void in the communities.

In 2001 several families gathered together and we talked about forming a group. The goal, federal recognition. We agreed we would get together again. The only recognized tribe is in Santa Ynez in Northern Santa Barbara County.

I have been tribal chair since 2002. We received land in Saticoy in 2009 and became a non-profit at the same time.. We have not filed for our federal recognition. In 2003 we held a Hutash Festival of just one day in the traditional place, the San Miguel Chapel site. Since then we have been representing our tribal group at events throughout the county and beyond. We still have the goal of federal recognition. My goal is a land conservancy; I want us to be the group that people donate land to. Our culture is under attack by the bulldozer. When you remove and desecrate 13,500 years of culture without conscience or remorse you are telling us we are not valued and our voice is mute.

Julie Tumamait-Stenslie resides in the Ojai Valley with her family. She is an elder/tribal chair of the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians (Chumash) and an educator. She does classroom and outdoor presentations at all educational levels and is a cultural resource consultant.

She performs ceremonies and blessings and is a storyteller/singer. Visit the nonprofit’s website at http:/mvestuto.wix.com/bvbmi.

SAN BUENAVENTURA’S MEXICAN HERITAGE

by José

M. Alamillo, Ph.D.

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Ventura we should not ignore the historical contributions of Mexican Americans to the city.

In 1866, the “City of Good Fortune” was very fortunate to have Ángel Scandón, a saloonkeeper, lead the fight in Sacramento to have Ventura incorporated as a city. Scandón was elected the city’s second mayor and, along with other bilingual City Council members, conducted city affairs in Spanish and English. After being elected to the state Assembly, Scandón pushed a bill to separate the county from Santa Barbara County in 1873, despite opposition from Thomas R. Bard, the pioneer oil and land developer and politician.

Although the majority of the Mexican rancheros were effectively dispossessed of their land holdings through squatter settlement, high legal fees, indebtedness and violence, there were a few families that kept their land titles. In 1841, Gov. Juan Alvarado granted Rancho San Miguel to Raymundo Olivas for his service to the Mexican Army. After gold was discovered in Northern California, Olivas’ cattle business became profitable enough to build a large two-story adobe home to accommodate a growing family of 22 children. Despite droughts, floods and rob-

Continued on Page 14

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SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

culture Continued from Page 12

the western end, Main Street on the northern end, Seaside Park on the southern fringe and Palm Street on the east. This neighborhood was originally called Indian Town due to its Chumash presence, but decades later became ethnically diverse as Asian, African American and white Dust Bowl families moved in and renamed it “Tortilla Flats” (based on the John Steinbeck novel). This close-knit community, however, came to an end in 1958 when the state condemned all the homes and properties to make space for the 101 Freeway and the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Like Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles, residents were displaced and forced to move, but Tortilla Flats remains very much alive in the hearts and memories of its former residents.

Throughout the decades Mexican Americans have made enormous contributions to the city and deserve recognition for their many accomplishments.

beries, the Olivas descendants retained pieces of the land for farming and grazing livestock up until 1968. The adobe was donated to the city of Ventura and remains standing today as a living museum, a reminder of the Mexican past.

A dark and sad chapter of the city’s history was the injustices and hardships that confronted ordinary Mexican residents. In 1869, three years after the city was incorporated, Lucas Garcia was hanged by a mob of residents who suspected him of killing a stranger. While Garcia waited to be transported to Santa Barbara for trial, a group of residents broke into jail and, despite begging for his life, Garcia was hanged on a pear tree on the northwest corner of Main Street and Ventura Avenue. Most are unaware that thousands of Mexicans were targets of lynch mobs throughout the American West.

Even if Garcia had made it to court there was José M. Alamillo, Ph.D. is a professor in the Yee Hay with Nellie. William and George, 1894. Nellie Yee Chung Collection. was in existence from around 1870 until 1906. located between Main and Santa Clara Streets no guarantee of a fair trial since there were Chicana/o studies program at CSU Channel few Hispanic jurors, judges or lawyers in the During the 1890s, Chinatown, or China Alley, along Figueroa Street, was torn down for modIslands. county’s criminal justice system during the 19th was a bustling district that included mercantile ernization at that time. What was left of the CHINA ALLEY century. businesses, employment firms, a barbershop, Chinese community moved to Main Street and The city’s historic Mexican neighborhoods

by Linda Bentz gambling houses and opium establishments. the Avenue and lived there until about 1924. remain obscure and under-researched. The The Chinese migrated to North America The Chinese population there, however, began There are descendants of two families who lived lands surrounding the Mission of San Bue- from their homeland in the 1800s due to wide- to decline after 1898 when many Chinese set- on China Alley, Nellie Yee Chung’s family and AD PROOF naventura were subdivided into tracts and sold spread poverty, hunger and death from overpoptlers moved to Oxnard to work in the sugar beet Soo Hoo Bock’s family. Soo Hoo Bock’s family to private parties. By the late 19th century a ulation, the Opium Wars, rebellions and natural factory. According to the Yee Gee immigration to Main and the Avenue 1906; this was Client: Ventura Hillside Conservancy Ad Executive: Diane moved Newman (805)in648-2244 dozen adobe homes were located west of the disasters. The demand for farmworkers in San case file, by 1902, China Alley had been reduced Ventura’s second Chinatown.

Missioncheck and Restaurante Mejicano, a popular Please this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections will have Proof”, “2nd Proof”, and “Final Proof”. If we receive no proof after the 1st or 2nd Buenaventura broughtclearly.

Chinese You immigrants to a “1st to three Chinese stores, two Chinese laundries MexicanAD restaurant on Main theproof early meets Proofs, WILL RUN ASStreet.

IS. IfBy this your approval on the 1st proof, check off “FINAL PROOF (APPROVED)” box, date and Michael sign atSullivan the bottom. the area, many of whom had come from agrarcontributed to this article using The and approximately 100 residents, down from 1900s a thriving Mexican American ISSUE: NOTICE: PLEASE FAX THIS neighborPROOF TO ian(805) regions 648-2245 of China. TheASAP historic China Alley 200 at its peak. The majority of the community, Journal of Ventura County History , by 3/31/16 Linda Bentz. hood emerged between the Ventura River on

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14 — City of Ventura @ 150

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SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

150 YEARS OF ART & MUSIC

A brief overview of Ventura’s cultural legacy BY

NANCY D. LACKEY SHAFFER

or 150 years, San Buenaventura has seduced the world as much with her cultural riches as with her economic and environmental ones. That history is simply too copious to contain between the hardbound covers of a ponderous tome, let alone a handful of pages in an alt-weekly. But even a cursory glance at the art, music and culture of our seaside community reveals a diverse array of influences and a lively, artistically engaged population.

F

Early Artists Ventura’s first artists of note were Chumash. Basket weavers Petra Pico (1802-1902) and Candelaria (sometimes spelled Candalaria) Valenzuela (1838-1915) produced vessels of exceptional artistry, and their work remains highly prized by collectors and anthropologists alike. Their baskets can be found in collections worldwide, from our own Museum of Ventura County to the Musée de l’Homme in Paris.

Petra Pico and one of her baskets. buildings and landmarks, and Marguerite Hardeman (1911-1990), whose murals are at the Olivas Adobe. From 1936 to 1937 Gordon Grant painted murals depicting scenes from a pre-World War II Ventura; an excellent example of his work can be seen at the post office downtown. Aileen Worthley may have been Ventura’s best known Cubist and silk screener.

Advances in photography exploded at the end of the 19th century, and Ventura was as interested in this increasingly popular medium as the rest of the nation. Our first professional photographer was John Calvin Brewster, who, from his downtown studio, took portraits of some of the area’s most notable personages and documented the streets, neighborhoods and daily life of the Ventura of his time. His sweeping vista of the city is considered one of the finest historical images we have from Ventura’s youth.

Watercolorist Nellie Church Beale (18801937) did not paint exclusively in Ventura (she was born here, but spent most of her adult life in San Francisco) but she painted many of Ventura’s historic buildings, including the Mission and the Olivas Adobe. She was also a noted plein air painter at a time when women did not often leave the drawing room, making Beale truly ahead of her time.

Others who documented Ventura’s earliest history through art were Junie Harp Hamblett (1902-1994), known for her paintings of famous

16 — City of Ventura @ 150

Ventura College: Center of the Local Art World When William McEnroe became head of the Ventura College Art Department in the 1950s, he recruited a number of artists who would help shape the creative spirit of the city in the modern age. Gerd Koch, Carlisle Cooper, William Winterbourne and Hiroko Yoshimoto were just a few of the many movers and shakers McEnroe brought to Ventura.

Through their teaching, they influenced a new generation of artists, including (but by no means limited to) Gayel Childress, Pat Richards-Dodds, Maggie Kildee, Sherry Loehr and Jackson Wheeler — names familiar to anyone with even passing knowledge of the local art scene today.

During these fertile decades several galleries, studios and arts collectives sprang up. The New Media Gallery, Gallery Two and the Buenaventura Art Association were among the first. Winterbourne helped found the Ventura Potters Guild in the 1960s, while Yoshimoto

John Calvin Brewster

started Studio 83 with her students in 1983 — one of the first artists’ co-ops, the model for which would later inspire the Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo.

Westside and Beyond When Paul Lindhard founded Art City in 1985, it became the nucleus for an artistic revival rooted in the Westside. From the many public art projects of glass and mosaic artist Helle Scharling-Todd, to the Bell Arts Factory, Green Art People (which sadly closed its doors in 2015), Vita Art Center and even WAV (Working Artists Ventura), art has thrived up, down and off Ventura Avenue.

The rest of Ventura has had its share of creative types, too. Modern dance company Plexus Dance Theatre was started in the Liv-

ery on Palm Street in the 1990s, and after some trials and tribulations was reborn as the NAMBA Performing Arts Space on Oak Street.

For more than 20 years ArtWalk has been a draw for artists and art lovers from all over Southern California. The Buenaventura Art Association opened a gallery downtown, and the Museum of Ventura County — which has undergone several name and address changes since its founding in 1913 — found a permanent home right across from the Mission in 2010. And everywhere it seems are examples of public art: tile mosaics, the Tortilla Flats murals, painted bus stops and more. “Bus Home,” by Dennis OppenContinued on Page 18

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www.primarymedical.net City of Ventura @ 150 — 17

SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

HIROKO YOSHIMOTO AND THE MAGIC FLUTE When Hiroko Yoshimoto joined the faculty of Ventura College in 1970, she was the first female ethnic minority hired full time in the Art Department. As a talented and insightful artist, she was integral to the development of the local contemporary art scene. As a dedicated teacher, she influenced and inspired many of the students who would go on to have an impact on the art world, in Ventura County and beyond. She reminisces about her involvement with The Magic Flute.

One of my proudest moments at Ventura College was my involvement in the 1990 production of the Mozart opera The Magic Flute, for which I designed the stage set and 40-plus costumes. Burns Taft walked into the cafeteria where I was eating lunch and asked me to design

Chumash Mission Band

art and music Continued from Page 16 heim, has polarized the community since its 2002 installation at the Ventura Transit Center in Midtown, but love it or hate it, it’s also one of the most renowned works from an internationally recognized, award-winning artist.

Documenting all this art history (for Ventura, and the entire county) is Donna Granata, an artist, photographer and protégé of Gerd Koch. In 1994 she founded Focus on the Masters, one of the largest and most thorough catalogues of the artists, musicians, writers, and other creative minds who call Ventura home.

Big Bands

G. Bartlett’s Cornet Band had some 16 members, while a smaller one was led by Al Ayers. They entertained Ventura’s residents at parades and other civic events. The Sansone Band featured 30 musicians, and in 1907 became popular throughout Southern California.

In 1914 Ventura got her first orchestra, conducted by J. H. Hall, which frequently played at the Lagomarsino Opera House, the hub of high society until its demise in 1926. While there were a variety of ensembles and chorales that formed in the ensuing decades, it wasn’t until 1962 that a formidable orchestra was established: the Ventura County Symphony Orchestra, founded by Ventura College’s Frank Salazar. Over its 30-year history it would grow from a provincial community group to a professional organization that drew players from across the country. It later merged with the Conejo Symphony Orchestra, forming the New West Symphony in 1995. The Ventura Music Festival, a major highlight of the spring event season, was founded with the help of Burns Taft, also of Ventura College, who served as its first artistic director in 1995. The festival has recently been moved to the summer, but will nevertheless attract an ever-growing crowd of music lovers.

Sounds of the City

Fred Hall of KVEN-AM 1450.

At the time of the city’s founding in 1866, residents exalted to the music of the Chumash Mission Band, a group formed in the early 1860s to play for church services and other celebrations at Mission San Buenaventura. In 1880 came José de la Rosa, a gifted singer and guitarist, originally from Mexico, who spent his golden years in this new yet bustling township. Age was no deterrent to this 80-years-young entertainer, who packed the music halls of his day.

Large bands were popular at the turn of the century, too. Charles

18 — City of Ventura @ 150

The heart of Ventura has always pounded hardest to the beat of popular music. In the early 20th century, one center of entertainment was the Ventura Bath House. With a swimming pool below and a ballroom above, folks swam by day and danced by night to live performances; later the pool was converted to a roller skating rink. The ballroom hosted sock hops in the 1950s until it closed in 1957.

When the Ventura Theater was built in 1928, it was heralded as an extraordinary Spanish Colonial Revival strucContinued on Page 20

the sets. I had no experience, but I’m an opera lover, so I immediately said yes.

The research alone took over a year. We had 13-foot-tall flats that were painted on the floor; I projected the imagery onto them and assigned color numbers so my advanced design students could paint. My students and I spent the entire spring vacation finishing the sets. We did the costumes, too. I purchased bolts of pure white China silk in downtown LA, and my students and I hand-painted and dyed all of them. Then Abra Flores sewed them up.

I asked a small group in my color and design class, headed by Cathy Day (who now teaches art at the college), to design animal masks for small children, who were cast in one scene of the opera.

The opening day was coming close and no masks.

I became concerned. Finally, with one week left to the opening day, they produced beautiful, but very heavy, papier-mâché masks. When worn by one child performer, she almost fell head over heels! Shirley Clement and I spent two days and nights making stiff paper, painted masks just in time. Eddy Baron, the artistic director, wore the lion mask on campus every day until the opening night as advertisement.

After the show came down the costumes and masks were auctioned off to raise funds for the theater department.

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SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

JOSÉ DE LA ROSA: SOLDIER, PRINTER, POLITICIAN, MUSICIAN

José de la Rosa, known as “Don Pepe” in his later years, was one of Ventura’s most fascinating residents and a true Renaissance man. Originally from Mexico, he fought in the Mexican War of Independence, printed some of California’s earliest documents, was a magistrate of Sonoma and played a pivotal role in the Bear Flag Rebellion. Along the way, he became a skilled and highly sought-after musician.

De la Rosa was born in 1790 in Puebla, Mexico.

His priesthood studies at the College of San Juan de Letran in Mexico City came to a halt in 1810, when the Mexican War of Independence broke out. Serving in the Ventura Theater. patriot army, de la Rosa appears to have spent some time in the government publications office in Mexico City, where he became a proficient printer. In 1833, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna sent de la Rosa Continued from Page 18 (and his printer) to Monterey in Alta California.

He started printing sometime around 1844 (possibly ture, indicative of the luxurious movie palaces of its time. Crowds flocked to enjoy earlier), and may have been the first professional printer on a gala (with considerable help from W.S. Chaffee the cinema, as well as popular musicians and vaudeville performers. Later, dance in California history. He was certainly the first person to and Stephen Bowers) for his 100th birthday, inviting halls like the Green Mill Ballroom (part of the long-lost neighborhood of Tortilla print in English, for U.S. Consul Thomas Oliver Larkin. citizens from all of California to the celebration. The Flats) booked big acts such as Tommy Dorsey, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.

In the 1840s, de la Rosa moved to Sonoma, where he event on Friday, June 6, 1890, in Ventura’s Union Country music lovers headed on down to the Ban-Dar (named after founders Banbefriended Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, a general and Hall, was packed. Amidst the speeches and other nister and Darwin), known as “the only honkytonk in town.” wealthy rancher, and was appointed alcalde. When entertainments, de la Rosa’s own performance was a People enjoyed the popular music of the day over the airwaves as well. Fred Vallejo was captured by American forces during the standout. The centenarian played a solo on his guitar Hall started Ventura’s first radio station, KVEN-AM 1450, in 1948 from a studio Bear Flag Rebellion, de la Rosa helped negotiate the and sang in his beautiful, powerful voice, giving an in Pierpont. The disc jockey, chief engineer and program director broadcast the PROOF general’s release. unforgettable performance, the memoryAD of whose news and played the hits, especially swing, for which Hall had a particular love.

By then a courtly older gentleman, de la Rosa retired virtuosity has been passed down through the decades.

In the 1960s and 1970s, some of the biggest names in rock and roll came to town Client: Ad Executive: Kasey Black (805) 648-2244 to the booming town of San Buenaventura in 1880, De la Rosa died peacefully at 101 years of age . . . in someZanzilla surprising venues. Lucky were the audience members who saw The he became familiar and popular figure.and “Don in 1891. His was held the Mission San 1st or 2nd Please check this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly. Youwhere will have a “1sta Proof”, “2nd Proof”, “Final Proof”.

If funeral we receive no at proof after the Pepe,” as heoff was“FINAL called, became famous as abox, date Buenaventura fittingbottom. coda for a man whose own Proofs, AD WILL RUN AS IS. If this proof meets your approval on the 1st proof, check PROOFlocally (APPROVED)” and sign—ata the adventures were so inextricably linked to the history of ISSUE: 3/31/16 ContinuedTO on Page 22 648-2245 ASAP composer, guitarist and singer.

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20 — City of Ventura @ 150

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ISSUE: 3/31/16

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Our Home Became Your Home deAdline for Ad ChAnges is 12:00 noon

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g date:_______________________________ 40 years

Downtow n Signature: __________________________ the tuesdAy pRioR to thAt issues ReleAse. The Story – Back in 1974, when waterbeds were trendy and cool, Brian Seelos was a partner in a Pasadena firm making quality

products for that market. But he'd always wanted to live near the sea and, after falling for the charms of Ventura, moved here. Soon after, he decided to open a store and recruited his younger brother Kevin to join the adventure. He'd found a great location on Main Street in Downtown, with two huge floors, skylights and a rustic, historic feel. Dreamweaver Waterbeds, as it was originally called, opened its doors.

From Trendy to Timeless – Now approaching 40 years later, For Your Home has become a go-to place for unique, high-quality

furniture and accessories, much of it made in America. Showcasing a wide range of popular California styles and a decades-long relationship with top providers, it’s no wonder top interior designers and discerning buyers know they can rely on For Your Home for superior products and the expert personal service you just can't find at a chain store. One customer, struggling to describe the store to a friend, put it this way, "They're like a boutique with all kinds of beautiful, unusual, carefully selected items. But they're huge. So I guess that makes them a gigantique!" – We like that.

For Y our Home California Style Furnishing SINCE 1976

Mission • Arts & Crafts • Mid-Century Modern • Amish-crafted California Casual • Rustic • Shaker • Eclectic • 50s • Lamps • Rugs • Art Brian & Kevin Seelos 1979

805

641-1919 • 443 East Main Street • Downtown Ventura • fyhfurn.com City of Ventura @ 150 — 21

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SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

art and music Continued from Page 20

THE BAN-DAR REMEMBERED

Midtown’s big-band dance club, the Ban-Dar, got its name from its original founders, Bannister and Darwin, who opened the venue in the 1930s. Even after Bannister and Darwin sold the business, the name stuck.

“I had a good deal going at the Ban-Dar,” longtime owner John Mosby recalls. He and wife Jonie were recording stars, with country hits like “Trouble in My Arms” and “Just Hold My Hand,” and they played the Ban-Dar numerous times. Shortly after settling down in Ventura in the 1960s, they bought the bar, turning it into the city’s premier dance hall for country music lovers. “We were the only honkytonk in town,” Mosby says. “And in those days, there was more money floating around.” Many of his back customers came from the oil fields, where workers hailed from in, sit at the bar and be Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas. “Those guys had more money drinking buddies.” than they knew what to do with.”

The Ban-Dar was packed nearly every night in the 1980s Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were frequent Ban-Dar when line dancing became all the rage. “But the biggest night headliners. “We had them before they became too big of stars. . . was always Wednesday, wet t-shirt night,” Mosby chuckles. “Our . Waylon was a great guy. We’d get him a bottle of tequila and sit KHAY commercial said, ‘Come on down to the Ban-Dar — where him in the corner.” At one performance, Willie Nelson didn’t start the girls are!’ And that was true. They say that more families were singing until 2 a.m. — closing time, which was strictly enforced — started in the Ban-Dar than any other place in town.” and kept at it until 5 a.m. The Mosbys were reluctant to end the Mosby sold the Ban-Dar in 2002, and it was demolished show, but worried the entire time that the police might show up. shortly thereafter. He and Jonie were ready for retirement, and the Jonie ended up in jail on another occasion because patrons were Ban-Dar’s best days seemed to be behind it. “Ventura’s nothing still drinking after 2 a.m. “We weren’t selling drinks — people were PROOF compared to those days,” Mosby says. “They don’tAD have night still finishing up. But we got in some trouble for that.” clubs.

They don’t have any honkytonks with big dance floors.

And Special thanks to the following for their assistance and Overall, though, Mosby says that the Ban-Dar didn’t really have Client: San Buenaventura Mission - Holy Cross Adcame Executive: Newman (805) 648-2244 they don’t Diane have the paychecks, either.” much trouble. “The only time it got wild was when the rodeo support: Donna Granata and Mary Galbraith of Focus “VenturaProof”. was a smaller then,” no Mosby remembers fondly, Please check thisCharles proof Johnson over carefully and indicateofall corrections clearly. have a “1st Proof”, “2nd and Proof”, and “Final If wecity receive proof after the 1st or 2nd to town,” he says You with awill laugh.

“Fellas would start drinking on the Masters, and Anna Bermudez “but it felt alive to me.

It was growing.”

Proofs, AD WILL RUN AS IS. If this proof meets your approval on the 1st proof, check off “FINAL PROOF (APPROVED)” box, date and sign at the bottom. talking, and they’d go outside to fight.

After a while, they’d come the Museum of Ventura County, Moses Mora, John Mosby, Yardbirds play at Ventura High School in 1966. Canned Heat showed up at a club on Front Street called The Back Door. In 1970 Ventura hosted both Jimi Hendrix (Ventura Fairgrounds) and Carlos Santana (Ventura College).

The hit-makers just keep on coming. Ventura Theater continues to reign as the leading local venue for today’s headliners, although Bombay Bar and Grill, The Garage, Discovery and The Tavern get their share of the action, too — from near and far, established names as well as up-and-comers, showcasing rock, hip-hop, punk, reggae, metal and every genre in between. More recently, Squashed Grapes and The Wine Rack have provided space for jazz lovers. It’s no surprise that the Ventura music scene remains one of the liveliest and best-regarded throughout Southern California.

Even 150 years ago, when Ventura was just a township of a few hundred people, it was a vibrant, growing, happening place. It didn’t take long for the rest of the world to discover our seaside charms and commercial and industrial opportunities. The people and places mentioned here represent just a handful of verses in a never-ending ballad of the city’s artistic and intellectual development. The song continues to evolve, becoming ever more intricate and fascinating with time.

ISSUE: 3/31/16

NOTICE: PLEASEand FAX THIS PROOF TO (805) 648-2245 ASAP Cynthia Thompson Hiroko Yoshimoto.

Now Enrolling for 2016-17

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The founding of San Buenaventura Mission traces to the decision on Palm Sunday, March 30, 1749 by the Franciscan priest Junipero Serra to journey to the New World as a missionary to the native peoples. The education of children at San Buenaventura Mission has flourished intermittently since 1829 and continuously since 1922. Originally a four-classroom structure, Holy Cross School served its students and the parish admirably. A new three story school building, with pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1-8 located at the base of the hill behind the Mission was dedicated in January 2001.. The assembly room was named after Monsignor Patrick O’Brien who was the pastor of the church for 25 years until his sudden death in 2005. The Mission celebrated its 225th Anniversary with a year-long series of events and activities during 2006-07.

805-643-1500

holycrossventura.org 211 East Main Street

22 — City of Ventura @ 150

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Built in 1974...

Every Pizza a Master “Pizza” for 58 years in Ventura County ~ Still Family Owned & Operated ~

Golf Nʼ Stuff in Ventura shows the maturing design capabilities of the George Brimhall team at GNS Development Corporation. It is the third facility built by the Corporation of the four Family Fun Parks under itʼs umbrella. With two beautifully landscaped and themed Miniature Golf courses, Litʼl Indy Raceway Go Karts, Ram Rod Bumper Cars, Wet Nʼ Wild Bumper Boats, a Lazer Tag Arena, and the best in video and prize games, Golf Nʼ Stuff has something for everyone and has become one of the most popular places in the county for family fun and entertainment. Be it first job or first date, many Ventura County residents have memories that will last a lifetime.

Johnny “TONY” Barrios, Founder April 29,1928 – May 27, 2013

Under General Manager David Blaser since 1994, and Group Sales Manager Kevin Martin, Golf Nʼ Stuff WWII Bronze Star and Purple Heart Award Recipient has created “Awards Incentive” programs to help promote academic achievement, citizenship, and sportsmanship. They have also initiated a “Perfect Patient” awards program to encourage the need Ad Ad Proof for dental and medical care for children, as well as an “Awesome Reader” awards program to help Client: Carrows Ad Executive: Diane Newman (805) 64 promote reading literacy throughout the year withExecutive: various libraries throughout the county. Golf Nʼ Stuff (805) 648-2244 ldman Designs Ad Kelly Spargur Please check this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly.

You will have a “1st Proof”, “2nd Proof generously takes part in many worthwhile causes throughout Ventura County. his proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly. You will have a “1st Proof”, “2nd Proof”, and

“Final Proof”. we receive no proof after the 1st or 2nd Proofs, Ad Will Run As is. If this proof meets your If we receive no proof after the 1st or 2nd Proofs, Ad Will Run As is.

If this proof Ifmeets your approval on the 1st proof, check off “FInal ProoF (aPProved)” box, date and sign at the bottom. of, check off “FInal ProoF (aPProved)” box, date and sign at the bottom.

IssuE: 3 notice: PleAseISSuE: FAx this PRooF to (805) 648-2245 AsAP 3/31/16 eAse FAx this PRooF to (805) 648-2245 AsAP

DAILY DOUBLE SPECIAL

(Victoria exit from 101 Freeway)

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5555 Walker St., Ventura 644-7131

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Michael Waldman, UDCP DEADLINE FOR AD CHANGES IS 12:00 NOON THE TUESDAY PRIOR TO THAT ISSUES PLEASE NOTE: DEADLINE FOR AD CHANGES IS 12:00 NOON THE TUESDAY PRIOR TO THAT ISSUES RELEASE.

Waldman Designs

All advertising produced by the production department of Southland Publishing, is the copyrighted property of South produced by the production department of Southland Publishing, is the copyrighted property of Southland Publishing.

Any use other than the placement of advertising in any of Southland Publishing’s publications is prohibited without the ex han the placement of advertising in any of Waldman Southland Publishing’s publications is prohibited without the express consent of Designs provides practical Southland Publishing, plus any applicable fees. ishing, plus any applicable fees. ❐ OK to run RESIDENTIAL DESIGN designs at a reasonable cost to homeowners Date:_______________________ ❐ OK to run Date:_______________________________ This proof is to check for accuracy and is ❐ OK to run are looking to create a remodel or an check for accuracy and is ❐ OKwho to run not intended to show quality of reproduction. with correction Signature: __________________ Signature: __________________________ to their existing home.

In addition o show quality of reproduction. withaddition correction

Michael Waldman, UDCP

Waldman Designs, in collaboration with other building professionals, can assist clients that are looking to design and build their first new home.

209-225-6545

Order your Freshly Baked Pies on line at

www.carrows.com

Email: mikew@waldmandesigns.net PLANS AND DESIGNS FOR : www.facebook.com/waldmandesigns Carrows has been serving Ventura www.linkedin.com/in/mikewaldman • ADDITIONS • RENOVATIONS • REMODELS since November 11, 1987 and wish • RESTORATIONS • NEW HOMES to thank the community for making

209-225-6545

PLANS AND DESIGNS Serving all of Ventura County FOR : Email: mikew@waldmandesigns.net  ADDITIONS www.facebook.com/waldmandesigns  RENOVATIONS www.linkedin.com/in/mikewaldman  REMODELS  RESTORATIONS Located in Moorpark  NEW HOMES

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Carrows Restaurant your breakfast, lunch and dinner spot.

2401 Harbor Blvd Ventura, CA 93001 805-642-3780 City of Ventura @ 150 — 23

S

SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

Ventura’s flavorful past

The history of food, agriculture and booze in our city by the sea

by

Chris O’Neal

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entura: land of abundance. A proper history of the fertile land we call home isn’t complete without a trek through the culinary world. Though many of Ventura County’s farms and ag-related businesses are elsewhere in the county, many trends, both local and international, began right here in the city of Ventura.

At the time, the ranch was the world’s largest of its kind, stretching from modern Sanjon Road to the Santa Clara River. California was the first place in the world to grow the lima bean outside of its native Peru and produced three-fourths of the world’s supply, about 50,000

a prohibition ordinance by a vote of 3 to 1; the president of the board, William McGuire, refused to sign it, forcing two of the members to take the matter to court to obtain a writ of mandate, this according to a Sacramento Union article published on June 16, 1908.

The beginning of Ortega Chile On the far end of Main Street, just before the overpass carrying travelers toward Ojai on the 33, sits the Ortega Adobe. Built between 1855 and 1857, the adobe was the home of Emigdio and Maria Conception Jacinta Dominguez Ortega. In the 1890s, Emigdio and Maria’s’s 11th child (of 13), Emilio, traveled to New Mexico, where he took a liking to the red chili peppers grown there.

Emilio returned to Ventura with seeds and began growing the New Mexican chile, which would later become known as the Anaheim chile pepper.

Emilio became the first person in California to make Spanish-style chili sauce for general consumption, according to Cynthia Thompson, historian with the Museum of Ventura County. From humble beginnings in the adobe’s kitchen was born the Ortega Chile Packing Company, the first commercial food operation in the state.

Emilio would later move his company to Los Angeles, and in 1946 he sold the business.

Though now it’s run by multinational B&G Foods, Ortega’s legacy can still be seen by visitors to the Ortega Adobe, which stands to this day.

Gluten-free started in Ventura Chile peppers aren’t the only item tied to a “first” for Ventura. Though gluten-free food items from muffins to pizza seem to be the trend in the gourmet “health food” lifestyle as of late, the demand for gluten-free baked goods was perfected locally by a baker named Wilhelm Koch, who changed his name to William Cook Baker to reflect his passion.

In the 1920s, Baker began working at the American Bakery in downtown Ventura and later opened the Bill Baker Bakery in Ojai.

Baker, true to his name, became famous for his larger-than-life cakes formed into the shapes of well known buildings, such as a cake resembling the California Missions for the 1939-40 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco.

As well as being known for his glamorous baking skills, he also became known in the industry for his wheatless flours. Utilizing soy and lima beans, Baker marketed his baked goods sans wheat as health food. Today, we

24 — City of Ventura @ 150

Farmworkers hauling lima beans around the turn of the century in Ventura. would call them gluten-free.

At the start of 1930, Baker was baking 500 loaves of gluten-free bread a day using lima bean flour, a number that would increase to over 1,600 a day, according to The History of Soy Flour, Grits and Flakes by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi. In 1931, he began making a soy flour bread as well. In 1942, Baker contracted poison oak at Lake Sherwood and later died at a hospital in Ventura.

Baker is considered an early pioneer in gluten-free baking and was, at the time, the best in the country, having won a $500 prize from the U.S. government for creating a wheatless bread, which inspired his name change.

Baker’s goods were shipped from coast to coast, and were enjoyed by Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt.

Lima beans galore Baker more than likely got the lima beans for his flour from Ventura, where a 2,300-acre ranch known as the Dixie Thompson Rancho was established by Dixie Wildes Thompson in 1873. Lima beans were Ventura County’s primary cash crop, and up to 1,500 acres of the Thompson Rancho were devoted to growing the bean, alongside sugar beets, corn, barley and pumpkins.

tons per year, according to City Hall Through the Years by historian Glenda Jackson.

Ventura’s teetotalling roots In 1933, a beer bottle washed ashore on a Ventura beach, collected by a visitor from Pasadena. Though its contents were long gone, a note inside, scribed with the name William J. Peggs and a few numbers, was the subject of a classified ad in the Jan 17, 1933, edition of The Madera Tribune out of Madera, California. That same year, the federal government repealed the 18th amendment, also known as Prohibition. Venturans no longer had to desperately scour local beaches for bottles in hopes that they might contain beer rather than lonesome notes from faraway shores.

Passed in 1920, Prohibition affected the entirety of the U.S., but in Ventura, the battle had been raging for decades as a strong contingent of prohibitionists had earlier petitioned the city to get ahead of the curve and ban alcohol outright.

In 1900, the city voted to enact Prohibition, and in 1908, a group of “hostile” busybodies known as the Anti-Saloon League convinced the Ventura County Board of Trustees to pass

McGuire lost his battle in July when the Court of Appeal ruled against him.

McGuire was fighting against the tide, however. A vote in 1916 to enact statewide prohibition failed at the ballot box, but the County of Ventura was one of seven southern California counties to vote to become a dry county, with only Santa Barbara voting against. Ventura County became one of 20 out of 58 counties statewide to vote for the measure.

Of course, by 1920 it didn’t matter as the 18th amendment became law nationwide, and Ventura’s dozen saloons were forced to close.

The evolution of beer Ventura’s first brewery, Hartman Brewery, opened on North Palm Street in 1876 by Bavarian immigrant Fridolin Hartman. Up until the 18th amendment was passed, also known as Prohibition, it was the only brewery in Ventura. Though the 21st amendment repealed Prohibition in 1933, it would be another 50 years before a new brewery would open.

In 1983, California passed a law allowing Continued on Page 26

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Relax,

We’ve Got You Covered Serving Individual Needs with Custom Made Medicine

Compounding Available for People and Pets!

1986. Jim Hall II (Center), Jim Hall Sr. (Right), Mrs. Hall (Left). “Congratulations for your many years of very successful operation!” – Jim Hall Sr. (Prominent racer and race car designer.)

Established in Ventura in 1982 by World Kart Champion Jim Hall II, Jim Hall Kart Racing is the longest-running karting school in America.

Ad Renowned for its champion-building instruction and respected for its Ad Proof Client: Caffrodite Ad Executive: Kasey Black (805) 6 excellent safety record, JHR has taught Please check this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly.

You will have a “1st Proof”, “2nd Pro ria’s Ad Executive: Warren over 55,000 students theBarrett art, science (805) 648-2244 “Final Proof”. If we receive no proof after the 1st or 2nd Proofs, Ad Will Run As is. If this proof meets you is proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly. You-will have aracing.

“1st Proof”, “2nd Proof”, and and excitement of motor on the 1st proof, check off “FInal ProoF (aPProved)” box, date and sign at 9:00 the bottom.

Monday - Friday am - 6:00 pm

Serving Customers for Over 50 Years

Cabrillo Pharmacy

If we receive no proof after the 1st or 2nd Proofs, Ad Will Run As is. If this proof meets your approval notice: PleAse FAx this PRooF to (805) 648-2245 AsAP of, check off “FInal ProoF (aPProved)” box, date and sign at the bottom.

www.jimhallkartracing.com Ase FAx this PRooF to (805) 648-2245 AsAP 2600 Challenger Place Oxnard, CA 93030 805.654.1329

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146 N. Brent St., Ventura Across from Community Memorial Hospital

805-643-9939

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produced by the production department of Southland Publishing, is the copyrighted property of Southland Publishing. community.isIt isthe currently owned solely byproperty Christine of Sout All advertising by the production department of Southland Publishing, copyrighted 7 DAys Aprohibited WEEkproduced Burke.

Her sister, Michelle, was the original owner, than the placement of advertising in any of Southland Publishing’s publications is without the express consent of Any use other than the placement of advertising in any of Southland Publishing’s publications is prohibited without the e and her neice, Kiana, developed the clever name. blishing, plus any applicable fees.

Southland Publishing, plus any applicable fees. p ok to run ❐ OK to run date:_______________________________ the arts Date:_______________________ o check for accuracy and is p ok to run Caffrodite is a proud supporter of local artists and This proof is to check for accuracy and is ❐ OK to run __________________________ __________________ to show quality of reproduction. with correction Signature:not artistic endeavors in addition to fundraising for intended to show quality of reproduction. with correction Signature:

tHank You

For Making us Your best Choice For Fresh seafood Year after Year

artistic pursuits and community members who might need a hand up. We seek out local, healthy, alternative, and gluten-free goods and products for our friends who come to enjoy coffee, pastries, and specialty drinks.

our footprint We led the way with recycling coffee grounds to local gardeners and support original musicians who want a place to busk. We also started and hope to re-start ‘the bARTering garden’ ~ a once monthly trade space for art and garden goodies (first Saturdays) in honor and memory of our good friend who just crossed the threshold: Jim Mangis.

we want your story idea Now that you know our story, we want to hear your story ideas! We are looking for a mythical story about Caffrodite, the Goddess of Coffee.

Bring in your story ideas and enjoy a cup of coffee!

VentuRA hARboR VillAge •

654-8228

www.andriasseafood.com

1876 E Main St, Ventura (805) 648-6005 City of Ventura @ 150 — 25

SAN BUENAVENTURA SESQUICENTENNIAL 1866-2016

food and drink Continued from Page 20 microbreweries to sell beer on the premises. In 1989, Bob and Trudy Shields, Ventura residents, attempted to open the city’s first brewpub, which would have been one of only three dozen in the entire state at the time.

The Shieldses eventually managed to open the brewpub, Shields Brewing Company, in 1990 on the corner of Santa Clara Street and Ventura Avenue and it became the first brewery in Ventura County since before Prohibition.

Shieldses’ brews included the Gold Coast ale, the Channel Islands strong ale, and the Shields stout, served alongside standard pub fare that the L.A. Times were none too kind to in a 1992 review. The beer, however, was the stand out.

Bob and Trudy separated the brewery from the restaurant in 1996, and by 1998 the brewery had closed. A few years later, Anacapa Brewing Co. opened on Main Street.

Now, it’s hard to throw a rock without hitting a brewery, though one may wonder about the “could have been” had Prohibition never occurred.

fishing steelhead

LONGSTANDING EATERIES THE SPORTSMAN RESTAURANT The Sportsman opened up in 1950 and not much has changed.

Behind the bar, an ornate mirror featuring topless cowgirls is older than many of the restaurant’s diners. According to a patron, in the late 1970s, many dishes were named after local lawyers who would often frequent the business, given the current City Hall used to be the courthouse. The restaurant is located at 53 S. California St. in downtown Ventura.

CASA DE SORIA Established in 1958 by the Soria family, Casa de Soria is Ventura’s oldest Mexican restaurant. It has since been sold to the Caramanis family in 1970 and then to the Giamela family in 1992. While the business has since expanded and opened another location in Canoga Park, the original sign still stands at the original location at 1961 E. Thompson Blvd.

TONY’S PIZZARIA Opened on the corner of Thompson Boulevard and Figueroa Street in 1959, Tony’s has been slinging pizza ever since in its original location. Founder Johnny “Tony” Barrios operated the joint until he passed away at the age of 87. His son, Bruce, owns the place now, ADadditional PROOF and has plans to expand the operation by adding parking in the rear.

HONG KONG INN In 1964, Jimmy Kwan, then an eight-year immigrant from Hong Kong and a former foreign exchange student at Ventura College, partnered with brothers-in-law Wellman Jue, William Jo and Danny Chin and his father, Leung Sum, to open Hong Kong Inn, a Chinese restaurant at 435 E. Thompson Blvd.

Brothers Jimmy and Tom partnered to run the business, and retired in 2012.

SEAWARD SUSHI The original owner, Reiko Shimada, opened Seaward Sushi in 1979 making it the original sushi bar of Ventura. The neighbors like to tell the story of how everyone thought she was crazy because sushi wasn’t a popular dish back in the 1970s. New owner Rachel Woodward loved eating there as a child.

In the early 1900s, the Ventura River steelhead trout were abundant. For centuries prior to the arrival of modern Venturans, the Chumash Native Americans sourced ANDRIA’S SEAFOOD the river for the steelhead and other fish as a nutritious Ad From its beginning as a seafood market in Santa Barbara, Andria’s part of their diet. By 1921, the Los Angeles Herald even AWS Automotive Ad Executive: Warren Barrett (805) 648-2244 Seafood grew into Harbor institution.

Opened

by Michael J. reported when parties would leave the area to fish the Planet Beauty Ada Ventura Executive: Kasey Black (805) 6 BUSY BEE Client: CAFÉ ck this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly. You will a “1st Proof”, “2nd Proof”, andin 1963 in Wagner in May of 1982, Andria’s was more market than restaurant at Ventura River, as if it were a rite of passage.

Hilda andhave Edmund Warren opened Warrens Coffee Shop Please check this proof over carefully and indicate all corrections clearly.

You will have a “1st Proof”, “2nd Proo of”. If we receive after 1st or 2nd Proofs, AD RUN AS IS. If thismerchants proof meets your approval onset. is located at 1449 Spinnaker Drive.

This wasno theproof case up untilthe 1946, when construction on WILL downtown Ventura, the area, ano popular meeting “Finalserving Proof”. If weinreceive proof after theits1st or Andria’s 2nd Proofs, Ad Will Run As is. If this proof meets your proof, check off “FINAL PROOF (APPROVED)” box, date and sign at the bottom. the Matilija Dam began, choking the Ventura River off spot. By 1989, Warrens longed for a change rejuvenated the (aPProved)” onthe the 1st proof, check offand “FInal ProoF TIPP’S THAI box, date and sign at the bottom. blocking forTO the (805) spawning steelhead. ASAP The 3/31/16 restaurant into what is now known as theISSUE: Busy Bee Café.

With its PLEASEand FAX THISpassage PROOF 648-2245 Chang LianpetchakulAsAP opened Tipps Thai in Ventura at 512 E. Main IssuE: FAx PRooF 648-2245 steelhead numbers declined and now one or two fish suc1950s themenotice: and waiters inPleAse full period attire, the this Café became knownto (805) St. in 1983. At the time, it was the only Thai restaurant in Ventura. cessfully making the return trip to the spawning grounds for its shakes, malts, burgers and jukeboxes on every table.

Though now Main Street is home to many Thai restaurants, Tipps in upper Ojai is considered an accomplishment. has been a local favorite for decades.

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CBC Federal Credit Union

Proud volunteer, supporter and friend of Ventura County since 1952.

Being located in Ventura County is such a privilege — one we do not take lightly. That’s why since our founding in 1952 we’ve been an active part of the community.

In 2015 alone, we participated in or supported over 80 community events and local charities.

Thank you Ventura County for supporting us since 1952.

We look forward to being an active community member and friend for years to come.

Happy 150th Anniversary, Ventura!

Come visit our friendly Ventura staff at 3636 Dean Drive by Lowe’s.

(805) 988-2151

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