The following article first appeared in the “Ojai Valley Guide” (VOLUME 37 NUMBER 2/SUMMER 2019) on pages 154 and 155. The “Ojai Valley Guide” was published by the “Ojai Valley News.” The article is reprinted here with their permission.
Exiled To Mira Monte
(LOOK BACK IN OJAI)
with Drew Mashburn
My parents built their dream home in 1963 in Mira Monte on South Rice Road just at the crest of the steep hill. We moved into it that summer. I dug on having my own bedroom for the first time, but we were no longer in downtown Ojai where I had lived my entire life with all my neighborhood buddies. I had just turned 12 years old and was about to begin junior high school and would have to ride a school bus for the first time. I had always enjoyed the freedom of walking and riding my bicycle to school. Dang it! I had to figure out how to entertain myself now that I lived out in the sticks.
Read the rest in the Ojai Magazine.
Yesterday, was a very stange day. Our office was enveloped in fog and from my eigth floor window, you could not see anything , much less the ground. Then, upon taking a break, this article flashed upon my mobile screen and that was when things really became strange. What was this article about Mira Monte? I had grown up on South Rice Road and this sounded like my childhood. Without seeing who wrote the article, initially, I was very confused. All these places were familiar and some of the neighbors, were our neighbors. Who wrote this? Upon seeing the author as Drew Mashburn, it was such a fun surprise. The Mashburn’s were our next door neighbors. This had to be shated with my siblings, especially Russell Gkenn, who was mentioned as having the “famous” neighborhood sheep. Thank you Drew for a wonderful ride down memory lane. It was such a special place and we all have fond memories. Hello to you and your family. Best, Laura “Glenn” Pratt. ( I was the youngest of the Glenn bunch)