Ojai History

The following article was written by Harriet Wenig for the “Ojai Valley News’s” OJAI GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY – 1921 TO 1971 celebratory booklet (page 4). It is reprinted here with the permission of the Ojai Valley News.

The story of the man who transformed Ojai

The post office tower, the arcade, the park with its tennis courts and festival bowl, the tranquil Arbolada residential district — these distinguish the village of Ojai from countless other small towns that dot the landscape of America.

But photographs of the business district of Nordhoff in the early days show it to have been a typical little cluster of stores with the false fronts bordering a dusty main street, utterly without distinction except for its background of oak trees. Who wrought the transformation?

Oldtimers will tell you that, although no man can be given the entire credit, the man who played a key role in conceiving, financing and executing the whole affair was Edward D. Libbey, millionaire glass manufacturer from Toledo, Ohio.

Mr. Libbey had come to the Ojai Valley in 1908 to spend a winter vacation at the new Foothills Hotel, on the recommendation of his friend Harry Sinclair. The natural beauty of the valley captivated him, and he returned year after year to enjoy its rustic charm. Possessing a rare combination of idealism and practicality, he decided to take and active part in preserving those features of the valley that he loved, and to transform those features which he considered to be a scar on the landscape into something more in harmony with their surroundings.

He gradually began to acquire land in the valley and to make the acquaintance of men living here who would be sympathetic to his dreams concerning its development. He held long conferences with civic leaders such as Sherman Thacher, Walter Bristol, John J. Burke, and Harry Sinclair, discussing various ideas for the improvement of the town and the valley. Mr. Libbey made no specific promises at these meetings, but indicated that he was interested in helping wherever he could.

As a result of these discussions the Ojai Valley Men’s League was formed to advance the interests and enterprises of the community, with Sherman Thacher as president and Walter Bristol as secretary-treasurer. Mr. Libbey was a member of the executive committee.

                                                      Mission arcade

The San Diego architect, Richard Requa, was consulted for suggestions as to ways of making Nordhoff into a distinctive town, patterned after the villages established by the Spaniards when they first came to America. Requa proposed a mission arcade extended the length of the one business block on the north side of Ojai Avenue, as and architectural device to unify the business district. When his plans were shown to the merchants of Nordhoff, Libbey offered to underwrite the cost of the arcade if the merchants would contribute $10 a front foot toward the cost. The merchants enthusiastically agreed. When, on the completion of the arcade, several of the merchants defaulted on their payments, Libbey quietly assumed their debts himself.

Meanwhile, having acquired title to all the land on the south side of Ojai Avenue, Libbey set about transforming it into something that would enhance the beauty of the downtown district. He ordered the razing of the decaying buildings that occupied the property, and had the area cleared of everything but its majestic oak trees. At the corner of Signal street and Ojai avenue the original post office was built with its landmark tower, designed by Requa, and constructed by Robert Winfield, who was brought from San Diego to execute Requa’s plans. In another part of the property were established the first of the tennis courts which were to bring such fame to Ojai. All of this Libbey proposed to donate as a gift to the people of the Ojai Valley.

                                                            Gift in trust

In March, 1917, the Ojai Civic Association was formed as a corporation to receive Mr. Libbey’s gift in trust for the people of the valley. On the board of the corporation were the men who had advised and counseled with Mr. Libbey throughout the entire project.

A gala picnic was held at the park by the residents of the valley on April 7, 1917. The climax of the affair was the presentation of the deed of the park and post office to Sherman Thacher, as chairman of the Ojai Civic Association.

The gratitude of the people of the Ojai Valley for the philanthropy of Edward Libbey is expressed in a plaque which can be seen today on the wall of the post office tower. It reads:

In appreciation of
the gift of this building and park by
EDWARD D. LIBBEY
the people of the Ojai Valley have
placed this tablet
April Seventh, 1917.

The arcade and the post office inspired other construction in the downtown area by private enterprise, with Mr. Libbey invariably assuming the role of sort of benevlent godfather.

In 1918-1919 the present Oaks Hotel, originally known as Hotel El Roblar, was designed by the firm Mead and Requa, and built by Robert Winfield. Mr. Libbey headed the subscription list for its construction with $10,000, with the remaining $30,000 necessary to build it being subscribed by local citizens.

The Catholic Church on Ojai Avenue was remodeled in accordance with a Spanish mission design by Requa, and the congregation was the recipient of generous donation from Mr. Libbey to assist in the remodeling.

The site of the present public library was a gift from Libbey to the trustees of the Thacher Memorial Library, accompanied by a donation of $10,000 toward the construction of the present building.

                                                             Arbolada

Libbey’s contributions to the development of Nordhoff were not limited to the central area of the town. One of his early land acquisitions had been several hundred acres of wooded area that lay south of the Foothills Hotel. There, on the east side of Foothill Road near Fairview he built a rustic home. Across the road he erected wrought iron gates to serve as an entrance to an area which was first known as Libbey Park, and later renamed The Arbolada, meaning “woodland”.

Libbey employed gangs of men to clear the underbrush from beneath the oaks, and proceeded to install winding roads with curbs lined by native stone throughout the area. He had three homes built in authentic rural Spanish architecture to set the tone of the development. Friends of Libbey were invited to purchase the first parcels of land in the park and erect homes whose architecture was carefully checked for its harmony with the surroundings. The area was later opened to the public for the purchase of lots, and happily, Mr. Libbey’s standards of construction have been consistently maintained.

In 1923 the Ojai Valley School was the recipient of a gift of land in the Arbolada area from Mr. Libbey, and in the same year he planned and financed the Ojai Valley Golf Course and Club House.

Mr. Libbey’s death in Toledo in 1925 from a sudden attack of pneumonia came as a great shock to his friends in the Ojai Valley. His accomplishments in the preservations and enhancement of the beauty of the valley remain as living monuments to his unselfish idealism

 

Edward Drummond Libbey and Florence Scott Libbey

 

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The following article was printed in the Ojai Valley News,  in 1979. It is reprinted here with their permission.

EARLY DAYS—Nordhoff founded dramatically by Ed Wenig

Few pioneer towns were founded so dramatically, and with so much fanfare, as was the town of Nordhoff on April 6, 1874. On that evening, R. G. Surdam, promoter-extraordinary, greeted over 300 people at the just completed Blumberg Hotel – a hotel built on the hope of a future population.

Months before, Surdam had advertised regularly in the VENTURA SIGNAL about the Ojai Valley as a delightful health resort, and just previous to the big hotel party, a large advertisement had appeared with a diagram entitled “PLAT OF THE TOWN OF NORDHOFF.”

It must have been a thrilling sight in that early April afternoon to see the gay society folk of Ventura and a hurriedly assembled band starting for the Ojai Valley on horseback and in all kinds of wagons. There was a road of sorts part way, but after that came to an end there was only a dim trail that crossed and re-crossed the San Antonio Creek a dozen or more times before reaching Blumberg’s Hotel.

$6.25 an acre!

After a sumptuous banquet, for which the guest paid $3, came a speech by Surdam. He explained that the new town would have a grand public square with a foundation in the middle, diverging avenues, a town hall, an academy, and a chapel. He also made it known that an “outside tract” of about 1700 acres was for sale at $6.25 an acre. The Ventura Band was scheduled to play for the dance after the dinner in a specially constructed bower. However, a furious east wind delayed the dance until 11 p.m., when the wind subsided, and then the happy crowd danced until daylight.

The following week the Ventura paper carried this headline: “NORDHOFF BALL A COMPLETE SUCCESS!” followed by the comment: “It was the biggest company which has ever been in the attendance at any ball in the county….The success of the affair is largely due to the enthusiasm and enterprise of the founder of the village, Mr. R. G. Surdam.”

Surdam had originally planned to name his town Topa Topa. However, by April 1874, he had decided to call it Nordhoff, in honor of the journalist whose writings had publicized California in the east.

The spectacular Mr. Surdam had many firsts to his credit in Ventura County. He was the first recognized real estate broker in Ventura County. With Thomas Bard, he built the first wharf in Ventura County in 1871. He founded the first town in the Ojai Valley in 1874. He built the first evaporating fruit drier on Poli Street near Ash Street in Ventura. He had come to California in 1854 where, it is said, he made and lost fortunes in mining.

The following article was printed in the Ojai Valley News on Oct. 8, 1969; Page D-6.  It is reprinted here with their permission. We have made several minor adjustments to update the article.

There were no roads here when Ayers arrived by Ed Wenig

It is hard to visualize Robert Ayers, his wife, and their seven children making their way into the roadless Ojai Valley of 1868, over a hundred [and fifty] years ago, as the first American family to settle in the valley.

After staying a short time in the old Tico adobe, Robert Ayers bought a ranch in the Upper Ojai. At that time the Upper Valley was the more desirable of the two valleys on account of the level, rich land, with abundant water flowing through it.

Four years later in 1872 Ayers bought a 400 acre ranch in the Lower Valley which extended north to the mountains from what is now Soule Park Golf course. Then in 1887 he sold this property and bought the 7,000-acre Casitas Ranch on which he raised some of the finest race horses in the county.

Ayers had come to California in 1850. After two years of gold mining, in which he had been exceedingly successful, he brought his family to California from the east, and settled in Sonoma County, not far from Petaluma. Here he farmed, built and operated the Washoe Hotel, and acted as postmaster of Stony Point.

The Ayers family were truly pioneers when they arrived in the Ojai Valley in 1868. There was no town of Nordhoff and no grade road from Ventura. Ventura County did not exist as a political unit, but was part of Santa Barbara County.

Six years later in 1874, we find the names of Mrs. and Robert Ayers and their daughter, Agnes, on the guest list of the promotional ball sponsored by R. G. Surdam and A. W. Blumberg to arouse interest in the establishment of a town which was later to be named Nordhoff [now Ojai].

Robert Ayers organized the first Ojai Grange in 1875, as a part of the national organization of farmers which had been started eight years before as the “Patrons of Husbandry”, and whose national membership numbered some 750,000 members. Soon some 20 prominent Ojai Valley farmers belonged to the local Grange. Robert Ayers provided the organization with a building in which they could store flour, potatoes, coffee, sugar, and soap that had been shipped from San Francisco.

Ayers served as county supervisor from 1885 to 1889, during which time he planned and constructed part of the first grade road from Ventura to Ojai.

Although Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ayers and their family of seven children have long since passed away, there are many descendants. Among the Ayers’ grandchildren who live[d] in the Ojai Valley are Frank and Kenneth Ayers, and Mrs. William Suytar. [Today there are no descendants of the Ayers living in the valley.]

PATH OF FLAMES MARKED BY BARE HILLS AND RUIN (ARTICLE #2)

There were two articles published on the front page of THE OJAI on Friday, June 22, 1917. THE OJAI is now the Ojai Valley News. The first article was posted on OjaiHistory.com on Sept. 23, 2016 with their permission. Following is the second article, posted with the approval of the Ojai Valley News too. The author is unknown.

Courageous Hearts Bravely Face Situation, With Hopefulness for an Even Greater Ojai, Inspired by Mr. Libbey’s Telegram of Sympathy and Cheer

Out of the ruin and desolation wrought by the greatest disaster in the history of all Southern California will arise a greater Ojai. The indomitable will of our citizens, bolstered up by the good offices of such men as E. D. Libbey, Chas. M. Pratt, W. M. Ladd, O. W. Robertson, Geo. O. Carpenter, F. H. Osgood and many others, has so willed it.

But the first thoughts of our people turned to the homeless and suffering–the refugee victims of the great catastrophy. While the embers were still smoking on the site of leveled homes, where the bare chimneys stood as monuments of the untoward disaster, and while the firelines in the hills about us still held the brawn and bravery of the community fighting for the mastery with tireless zeal, the Men’s League began to act, and with what grand and noble purposes they labored, and the good accomplished, may be gleaned from the following report of the secretary:

EMERGENCY RELIEF COM.

Meetings of the Executive Com. of the Men’s League were held at the Boyd Club Monday and Tuesday afternoons. A special Relief Committee was appointed as follows:

Harrison Wilson, chairman.
Boyd Gabbert, secretary-treasurer.
J. J. Burke
G. H. Hickey
S. D. Thacher

This committee was authorized to collect funds and to disburse them for the good of those suffering from the recent fire.

The chambers of commerce of Los Angeles, Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and other cities, have been requested to act as treasurers for relief funds which may be subscribed by people in their various localities, and to notify their local newspapers to this effect, remitting funds thus collected to the Ojai committee.

The Emergency Committee has established its headquarters in the office of the Ojai Realty Co. (Burke & Gabbert) and have met daily to work out plans for effective action. They have posted the following notice on the inside window, which represents the spirit in which they propose to work:

Consult us freely if we can be of
any use, to you or anybody else.
We are here to help.
Don’t be backwards.
We are ready to act at once.

NOBLE WOMEN TO THE FORE

The co-operation of the Women’s Club has been cordially given. All supplies of garments, bedding, utensils, etc., may be left at the clubhouse, and applications for such things may be left there.

Money subscriptions may be left with or sent to Mr. Gabbert, and requests for aid of any kind should be made at headquarters. Anyone will be welcome to state his or her own difficulties, or the needs of him or herself. The committee is anxious to aid everyone and to handle applications as confidentially as possible.

The Ojai State Bank is ready to make special loans or longer time than usual and at lower rate of interest.

FOR A GREATER OJAI

The committee is very anxious to help in rebuilding and hope they will be able to help every citizen of the Ojai who was burned out, back to as good a position as he was in before the fire. The committee is specially interested in the rebuilding and to have all structures built in the best possible taste. They hope to consult Mr. Requa or other competent architect in regard even to the simplest buildings, and they beg everyone who contemplates building without any assistance to consult with them, without charge, in order to obtain such architectural help as may be practicable.

It is hoped that the dreadful disaster of the fire may thus in many ways prove a blessing to the people of the Ojai, making it a better and more beautiful region than ever before, and the committee begs co-operation to this end.

The committee will cordially welcome at their headquarters, at all times anyone who has any suggestions to make as to ways in which the committee may be useful, or anyone who can tell of the need or special suffering of others.

No one should think of this help which the committee and the subscribers to the fund are giving as in any sense charity. It is merely ordinary neighborly helpfulness, such as any of us would be glad to receive. It is really a kind of mutual insurance whereby those who have not suffered desperately bear part of the burden of those who have lost heavily.

PATH OF FLAMES MARKED BY BARE HILLS AND RUIN (Article #1)

There were two articles published on the front page of THE OJAI on Friday, June 22, 1917. THE OJAI is now the Ojai Valley News. The first article is reprinted here with their permission. The author is unknown. The second article will be posted on this site at a later date.

Where the Fighting was Fiercest Along Great Battleline of Flame, with Figures, Facts and Fancies Concerning the Devastating Disaster

In our last issue we were only able to refer briefly to the devastating fire which with almost resistless force swept the adjacent hills for miles, leaving the watershed of a green forest reserve bleak and barren; then lashed into fury by a terrific gale, shot into the valley by leaps and bounds, leaving in its wake a checkered area of ruins, where a short time before stood the homes of our citizens, or the rich fruitage of orchard and field.

And even now, no word picture can be traced upon paper that would adequately and accurately portray scenes and incidents following closely the first realization that the civic center was in the lurid path of danger. It was the noon hour, or thereabouts, when the contingent of Ojai’s heroic fighters headed for the fireline in the Matilija, where the first struggle for mastery over the relentless fire demon was staged by our home guards and citizens generally, although at Wheeler’s a brave band of sixteen were at that moment facing a hell of fire, which commanded a position cutting off possible assistance, having eaten its way through the north fork, over and along the ridges, at a point near the new bridge at the turn leading to Matilija Springs, jumped into the canyon, while another lurid line reached out towards Fred Sheldon’s and the more open valleys beyond, until shooting hither and yon the billows of flame penetrated to and beyond Lyon’s Springs. Even then the hot breath from the seething furnace had not shaken us in our deep-seated sense of security. Men, women and children watched the rising pillar of smoke blacken and broaden without fear or apprehension, little dreaming that a few hours later the somber hues would be reflected in a bright red glare up and down the post office tower from the Ojai Avenue and Signal St. sides, with ominous significance.

It was at about this time that reports passed from lip to lip, highly tinged with exaggeration—Lyon’s Springs, rumor said, was burned and that Mrs. Lyon had perished in the flames; that the Sheldon place was in ashes and sixteen women and children were hemmed in at Wheelers, the latter statement being true. Then followed the terrorizing news that the Farnum place was in ashes and that the Lamb house did not burn and the family was safe, Mrs. Land and a few days old infant, with the nurse, finding refuge in a near field. The infant has since died, and the death of the nurse from shock was reported early in the week in these columns.

Forest Ranger Bald, at one time hemmed in by the fire at Wheelers, made his way to Ojai, reaching here almost exhausted at about 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon, to get in communication with Santa Barbara forest service station. The telephone line at Wheeler’s going out of commission 15 minutes after the first sweep of flames, but more particularly to get a line on the situation here. He found that most of the available men were fighting in the Matilija, at Fred Sneldon’s and in the vicinity of Cozy Dell and Loring Farnum’s. When asked his opinion of the situation here, he said it was very grave, and immediately began to muster a fighting force here and to get some of the 150 or more men back from the hills. It was then that the first real alarm was felt, and only shared in by a few. But as the moments flew by the menace grew, and with the approach of dusk the threatening tide of fire was rolling onward, nearer and nearer. After the Farnum home had been wiped out, the word passed along that the beautiful Sinclair home was doomed, and from the tower an appalling sight fairly blanched the faces of those who watched. A little before 7 o’clock, machine after machine rolled in from Ventura, in response to the call for aid to move out the women and children, and a little later Santa Paula got the startling message: “Ojai is doomed” and the response was immediate. At 7 o’clock, or a little later, a terrific wind added to the fury of the conflagration, which had divided and spread, reaching the southward to Sid Graham’s and beyond, cutting off escape in that direction and thereafter, for hours, cart loaded with terrified refugees sought safety in Santa Paula and Ventura via Sulphur Mountain Springs, until, so far as known, only Mrs. Hudlburg, Mrs. Munger, Mrs. Gallantine and Mrs. Russell remained, all refusing to go, but some time after midnight Claude Gallantine forced his mother out although at that hour most of the carnage had been done.

Before 9 o’clock a perfect whirlwind of fire was roaring through the northern, northwestern and western portion of the village with freakish, uneven strides, refusing to be conquered, the the cry, “we are doomed!” on many tongues, or reflected in the faces of those upon the street, and while it seemed a bedlam with whirring , honking cars, there was but little disorder and no hysteria when the excitement and danger was greatest, although the scene was most appalling to the clearest heads and stoutest hearts.

Fanned by the gale the flames shot upward from base and brow of the hills beyond the Foothills hundreds of feet, and the drop into the valley was swift and sudden. The destruction of property was just as rapid. When the Foothills hotel formed a pyramid of fire, with the Robertson and Sinclair homes in ruins, the work of havoc had begun in the valley. The streets were carpeted with ashes and cinders like glaring torches hurtled through the air, starting fresh fires far from the parent body of flame. Its early entry into the village was heralded by the report that the Hudlburg home was afire, to this was soon added Judge Wilson’s, but neither had to see his home and sit upon the porch (where a chair had caught fire and gone out) before he would believe it.

But there was still an abundance of costly fuel for the flames, which ate their way into the heart of the residence section, leveling the homes of F. H. Osgood, A. Rudolph, R. P. Menefee, S. L. Smith, D. D. Schurman, G. W. Mallory, Mrs. F. Weir, Mrs. B. S. Stewart, John King, John Timms, Jim Fraser, Geo. Foreman, Morris Cota, P. A. Crampton, C. A. Stewart, O. H. Busch, Mrs. W. L. and Clarence McKee, Mrs. T. G. Gabbert, Mrs. Wermuth, Frank Wolfe, Frank Kelley, C. C. VanFleet, P. K. Miller, Mrs. Ella Miller, G. B. Turner, Ed. Haas, Boyd Gabbert, Chas. Gibson, A. W. Helm, and further north and east those home of Jack Edwards, Dave Warner and Mrs. Rich. In the work of destruction on the hill and the flat below, Dr. Van Patten, Fannie Johnson, Miss Draper and Miss Scott shared the same fate.

Sweeping through Libbey park, the fire reached the high school grounds and reduced to ashes the Manual Arts building, leaving the main building and Domestic Science building to pounce upon the home of W. W. Bristol, the Bristol private school and Presbyterian manse, all being destroyed, while opposite, across the highway, the new residence of John Flanagan, not then occupied, and S. D. Nill escaped, after scorching shrubbery and burning paths around the houses. How the Kenworthy home in the open field south of the high school escaped, is one of the mysteries of the freakish fire. It was burned bare to the house and out buildings, but in spite of the wind the family conquered in the desperate fight. The escape of the Ojai Inn was just as miraculous, although mighty hard fighting was in progress in that quarter, and the fire was kept at bay along the west line of Ventura street, and little damage was done in that entire section of town, but close shaves were many and frequent during the rain of fire and reign of terror.

When a cinder-torch dropped into Frank Wolfe’s eucalyptus grove, sown to grain, short work wa made of the task of wiping out the home, and crossing over to Hugh Clark’s barn quickly reduced to an ash heap, clearing the yard of a valuable collection of wagons, buggies, ranch and road machinery. Tom Clark’s t * o tally-ho coaches were in the ruined area. In the tool house were stored Bill Clark’s fine saddle and Chas. Brady’s tool chest—now a scrap heap.

From there the fire swept down the alley between the Drumgold cottages and Drown place, burning outbuildings of Mr. Findley; setting fire to Willard William’s woodpile, burning our portable hen roost and charring the back-porch railing of the house, but the entire row was saved through the heroic efforts of Andy Crowe, who was on the job all the time.

The successful struggle to save Taylor and Clark homes and the garage, with the fighting sentinels back of the business houses, and on top of them, saved the entire row and the arcades, and probably about everything else now most happily in sight.

At that moment, all north of Ojai avenue and to the west was baptized in flames—the buildings heretofore mentioned, with the Baptist and Catholic churches, barns, garages, etc., included, were scattered heaps of smoking, blazing ruins, and that the village was not laid waste completely is an incident entitled to a place with the miracles.

An abundance of water, judiciously applied, backed by a strong fighting force, saved the Hermitage ranch of the Orr estate and the Fordyce place. Chas. Orr’s loss was confined to orchards and apirary, and Fordyce lost a line of flume along with the orchard loss.

Water also save Judge Daly, Mrs. Gardner, the Stetsons and others. The Limonerie firefighters numbering 35 accomplished heroic work on and near the Orr place, and on Sunday were hurried to Wheelers to relieve the high tension, it being the first outside help to reach that blazing inferno, where Forest Range Reyes, with a determined but inexperienced squad of employees of the Springs, and guests, including Webb Wilcox and his plucky wife, made a name for himself that will go down in history. Jacinto is a demon of the fire line, and the work done by Geo. Bald, his son Howard and Bert Cooper—all rangers—was of high order of efficiency, and Geo. Macleod, int the rural carrier service, aided loyally.

And the women of the Red Cross, and others—God bless them!—how they worked to sustain the firefighters! Mrs. Wilda Church kept open house for days, preparing food. Over 600 meals were carried by messengers to the exhausted men.

There wa not busier place—not even where flames were the thickest—than the telephone office. Miss Lewis, local manager, was at her post of duty, assisted by Miss Myrtle McQuiston when the excitement was at its zeneth, and a perfect bedlam of calls kept the wires hot. These young ladies kept their mental faculties clear and hands and tongues busy, but the strain was terrible, and when the danger was over Miss Lewis suffered a partial collapse, and Miss Ethel Dear, of Fillmore, has been assisting at the board for several days, and Miss Gifford is on duty for her regular shifts. Saturday night Mrs. Sam Hudlburg, former manager, came up from Ventura to do relief work, and was on duty when the fire burned brightest and when the shingles were hottest. All honor to there brave young women, one and all.

The work of Santa Paula and Ventura was the sort that makes mankind more akin. The response to the dry distress was instant and the efforts were unceasing. The honor roll is too long for publication, but Ojai is too deeply grateful to find expression in words. They inspired courage: they threw open their homes to the flood of refugees. None were neglected. Let us not forget.

THE INSURANCE

With the ruins of many homes still smoking, President E. W. Gerry, Secretary L. P. Hathaway and John Burson, representing the Ventura County Mutual Fire Insurance Co., arrived on the scene Tuesday, and without any quibbling passed out checks to the policy holders of the full amount of the risks, as follows:
C. A. Stewart…………………………………$1100
G. W. Mallory……………………………………1400
G. B. Turner………………………………………3000
R. P. Menefee……………………………………1550
Boyd E. Gabbert…………………………………750
Mrs. E. H. Hass…………………………………..800
Presbyterian Manse…………………………1800
Dr. P. S. Van Patten………………………….1000
F. A. Crampton…………………………………..1400
W. W. Bristol……………………………………….400
John Timms………………………………………….500
F. J. Bates (3 res.)……………………………3200
Mrs. Ceorgena Kelley……………………….4500
Baptist Church…………………………………….600
Total paid…………………………………….22,000
Frank E. Wolfe, insured for $1300—not adjusted as yet.
Boyd E. Gabbert is the legal agent and is fully justified in feeling proud of the prompt action of his company.

Representatives of five insurance companies—the Aetna, Hartford, Firemens Fund, N. Y. Union and Home—have been busy since the fire adjusting losses, the following are the fortunate policy holders, with the amount of insurance, several having more than one policy, covering different classes of property, the figures being in the aggregate.
O. H. Busch, $1100
Olive L. Bristol, $3750
Charlotte S. Draper, $2500
Loring Farnum, $5650
Fred W. Hawes, $1500
Edward H. Hass, $1500
Krull & Roeper, $800
J. B. King, $500
R. H. Miller, $1000
Geo. L. Marsh, $1000
P. K. Miller, $1000
John Meiners heirs, $1000
R. P. Menefee, $800
F. H. Osgood, $8800
Ojai Improvement Co., $37,650
Lucy Rudolph, $2200
Louis Roeper, $500
C. S. Rich, $2400
Harriet Robinson, $3000
Grace Sinclair, $10,400
Mrs. B. S. Stewart, $2000
High school, $3000
D. D. Schurman, $1400
Mary N. Smith, $2700
Henry Teideman, $200
Phillip S. Van Patten, $5500
Emily A. Van Patten, $1000
Frank E. Wolfe, $300
Susan D. Weir, $700
David Warner, $1000
Isabella Warmuth, $800
Total $107,100

These two articles were published on the front page of THE OJAI on Friday, June 15, 1917. THE OJAI is now the Ojai Valley News. The articles are reprinted here with their permission. The authors are unknown.

HUNGRY FLAMES DEVASTATE VALLEY

The devastating torch of carelessness was applied by campers in the Matilija Canyon, near the ancient Berry cabin, Saturday morning, causing a spread of flame that swept the near hills for miles, the lurid tongues of fire reaching to the beautiful Ojai, lapping up 60 or more buildings, with a toll of three lives from heat, shock and fright, with enormous property loss.

When the first alarm was sounded, The Ojai had gone to press, being late, owing to lack of help and too much heat, and with the menace of the flames growing greater every moment as the line of fire crept this way, with the Sheldon, Farnum, Lopez and other homes apparently in its path, the village awoke to the grave danger—not of the Ojai, but of the Matilija, of Lyon’s, of Wheeler’s, and concern and excitement grew until the climax was reached when all believed that Ojai was doomed, and the flight to safety began early Saturday evening.

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Property Loss is Great, Number of Families Homeless

Details of the appalling calamity, and the many distressing incidents associated therewith during the hours of intense battling with the seething mass of stubborn, hungry flames, will form a later story, as at this time a brief reference to the sad fatalities, together with an unofficial summary of property loss, with the telegram of sympathy and cheer from Ojai’s greatest benefactor appended, must suffice.

THE TELEGRAM:

Toledo, O., Apr. 17 H. WILSON—Am greatly shocked by calamity visiting Ojai, which I know must be a great loss to many. Please express to every citizen in Ojai Valley my sympathy.

From such devastation and ruin will spring renewed energy and courage. If I can be of any assistance, command.

Kind regards,
E. D. LIBBEY.

THE FATALITIES

Miss Sawyer, of Ventura, formerly employed at the Bard hospital, of late attending Mrs. Herb Lamb, to whom a son was born last Thursday, died suddenly at the Farnum place, soon after the home was destroyed, death resulting from shock.

As the result of fear and exhaustion, after a fruitless battle to save the family home, Miss Theresa Maroquin dropped dead at 5 o’clock Sunday afternoon. Eight hours later, Y. Valenzuella, a relative of Miss Maroquin, and aged father of Mrs. Frank Lopez, died suddenly, as the result of the intense heat.

John Travino, while fighting fire near his home close to the Van Patten residence (burned down) by Foothills Hotel, was struck by an automobile and suffered a fractured skull, injured eye and compound fracture of one limb. He is in the county hospital. His family knew nothing of the accident which occurred Saturday night, till today (Monday). He is unconscious.

The Loss

Foothills Hotel and three cottages; residences of H. T. Sinclair, Loring Farnum, Miss Draper, Miss Scott, Fannie Johnson, O. W. Robertson, F. H. Osgood, Dr. Van Patten, Pres. manse, Bristol school, W. W. Bristol, H. S. Manual Arts bldg., A. Van Curen, A. W. Helm, Chas. Gibson, Morris Cota, Bates cottages (3) Mallory & Dennison (3) Mrs. B.S. Stewart, F. A. Crampton, S. L. Smith (2), Mrs. W. L. McKee, Clarence McKee, Mrs. T. G. Gabbert, Geo. Foreman, Jim Fraser, Jno. King, John Timms, Mrs. A. I. Wermuth, D. D. Schurman, Mrs. Ella Miller, P. K, Miller, Frak Kelley, O. Klein, R. Menefee, Ed. Haas, Fred Hawes, G. B. Turner, Mr. Rudolph, Mrs. Rich, Jack Edwards, Meiners (small house), Frank Wolfe (2), Dave Warner, J. Maroquin.

Baptist and Catholic churches, Linder’s unoccupied plumbing shop, besides barns of G. H. Hickey, Hugh Clark, J. C. Leslie and Hobs, and a number of garages.

This article was published in the Ojai Valley News on June 12, 1974. It is reprinted here with their permission. It has been slightly edited for accuracy. 

 

How Soule Park Happened – “You can have your park and golf course”

 by Jerry Crary

One of the jewels in this Shangi-la called Ojai, is the Soule Park and Golf Course along the foot of Black Mountain. When it was suggested that our tree planting program, to further beautify the area, be dedicated to Zaidee Soule, we thought it an excellent idea. We also felt we should find out further facts about Miss Zaidee and the Soule family who left us such a lovely legacy to see what made them tick.

As a result we have interviewed a number of Old Timers, some native to the area. We have found in most cases that their forgetery is better than their memory, but let us pass the story along to you.

Actually it can be recorded that the Soule Park and Golf Course was born that February day in 1959 when Zaidee Soule walked into Doug Jordan’s Ojai Valley Grocery, saw Doug working in the produce department and said to him, “Doug, you can have your Park and Golf Course any time you want it.” Let’s let Doug recount the story. “I just about fainted, but after pulling myself together I asked her if she really meant it. She said, yes, that she and Nina had had an agreement that as long as the two of them lived they wouldn’t sell the ranch. She continued that Nina wanted it to go where the most people could enjoy themselves – like a golf course and park.”

“My produce stand could wait and I just took off to see Art Johnson, mgr. of the Bank of America to tell him the good news. He, in turn, dropped everything and immediately called Zaidee’s Attorney, Ferguson Fairbanks of Fillmore, who confirmed her decision. We stayed right with it and set up a meeting the following day with the Board of Supervisors. The meeting was held at the Pierpont Inn with Mr. Fairbanks, his son and the Board of Supervisors and the Park and Golf Course was in the mill.”

But let’s go back to 1874 when Cyprus E. Soule, who had a ranch near Healdsburg on the Russian River in Sonoma County, sold that ranch and purchased 310 acres in the Ojai Valley. He was born in Canada, his parents being of English-German descent and had come to California in 1859. In 1862 he had met and married Miss Addie Koger, the daughter of William and Matilda Koger from Virginia who was a prominent rancher in Sonoma County. There were four children when the Soules moved to the valley, William E., Lillian E., Nina E., and Earl E. The journey to Ojai took days with two wagons, a four horse wagon for equipment and home furnishings and a covered wagon for the family. Soule had visited the valley in 1873, purchased the land and arranged for a house to be built that was ready for them on their arrival.

Previous to this time the valley had been operated as a sheep ranch by Messrs. Olds and Daily with some 10,000 sheep. In 1874 there were eight families in the valley including Robert Ayers, H. J. Dennison, Richard Robinson and Joseph S. Waite. The early settlers had to get their mail at Ventura and for years had to pay themselves for delivery of mail in the valley. Originally Mr. Soule engaged in wheat farming but later went into hay, raising horses and fruit.

Zaidee was born here March 12, 1878. The family took an active part in the community life. They were charter members of the Grange, Soule was first Master of the Lodge and his wife held important offices in the same. Soule served as Justice of the Peace for four years, Clerk of the School Board for fourteen years and a member of the Board of Trustees during the building of the first Presbyterian Church. He also served for ten years as a member of the County Republican Committee. He died in 1890 at the age of 62.

Following Soule’s death Mrs. Soule, with Earl’s assistance, took over the management of the Ranch. We gather from those who knew her that Addie Soule was a real dowager, a woman of imposing and dignified appearance. She evidently not only supervised the ranch but ruled over the family circle. The following is a quote from and article written by Mona Breckner on the Soule family and published in the Golden Book on the 50th Anniversary of Ojai by the Ojai Valley News.

“Mrs. Soule was a very devout and social-minded individual. Mrs. Ray Craft, who knew and worked with her in community service, recalls she was an active member of the benevolent committee of the Society of Kings’ Daughters, a fore-runner of the Ojai Valley Women’s Club.”

“Writes Mrs. Craft, “Many early residents will remember the familiar sight of her buggy and old horse, Toby, going about the valley on errands of mercy: a cow was furnished to a needy family with small children; food, especially fruit and vegetables, was donated daily, from crops grown on the Soule Ranch; and finally the generosity of the Soule family thru the last two members, Nina and Zaidee, who gave the beautiful Soule Recreation Park, the picnic grounds of the old ranch, along with the Golf Course.”

“Perhaps bringing with them memories of manor house living in the south, the Soules sought to enjoy the same type of social life on their ranch. Centered in their picnic grounds and surrounded by gardens and fruit orchards, was the entertainment area where regular gatherings took place. “Ladies and Gents” in their “best bib and tucker” congregated to partake of the good foods. the watermelons were particularly famous, and Howard Gally recalls the watermelon patches as “nothing like them in the entire valley”.

Gally, whose family lived on an adjacent ranch, remembers how the Soule family improvised. He remembers very little of the father who must have died early, but he especially recalls Earl Soule. Water was one of the scarcest commodities facing the ranches, and he recalls the excitement when a drill point was sunk to deep levels and water was pumped out by hand. Eventually Earl Soule improvised and operated a gasoline engine to provide power, guarding this engine with his life, even sleeping in the engine house for fear that it might be tampered with. Later he used this power to bring natural gas, tapped from the mountain above , into the house for lighting and cooking purposes.”

In 1922, [one year after] City of Ojai was incorporated, Early Soule was elected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees – the equivalent of mayor in today’s government. [He succeeded Glen Hickey who served for only one year. Soule served as Chairman for four years] until 1926.

The following is a quote from the “History of Ventura County” published in 1926. “Mr. Earl E. Soule has made a fine record since becoming the mayor of Ojai, exercising the same sound business methods in that office that he does in his private affairs. During his administration a bond issue was authorized by the voters for the purpose of constructing a sewer system, which is now being installed. He is jealous of his community’s good name and reputation and is devoting himself indefatigably to the welfare of the town and the upbuilding of its interests.”

Earl continued to serve as a member of the Board until 1932. In the mid-forties he suffered a severe heart attack and was nursed and cared for by his two sisters in the family home until he died July 6, 1953.

We again quote from Mona Breckner’s article. “Mrs. David Davis, who now live in Siete Robles, Ojai, knew the sisters intimately, and knew that hard times had befallen on them. She describes Nina , who was slowly dying of an incurable disease, as the most talented of the family, of brilliant mind and happy disposition, who passionately loved the valley. In the last days of her illness Mrs. Davis visited her daily, and Nina loved to share her treasures with her – perhaps a beautiful poem which she may have composed, or and unusual wild flower, or a much loved story.

It was Nina, says Mrs. Davis, who handled the family business and carried out her mother’s wishes that no encumberance of any kind ever be placed against the property. It was Nina who sought out the council and advice of Al West at the Ojai Branch of the Bank of America on financial matters. And it was Al West and their old friend, Mr. Ted Fairbanks, Sr. of Fillmore, an attorney, who helped them draft and execute their final will.

Offer after offer, fantastic in price, came to them for the sale of the ranch for subdivision purposes, but always the same answer: “This beautiful spot will never be subdivided; it will remain as one piece for the people of Ojai to enjoy as we have enjoyed it.”

From the Ventura County Star Free Press of September 28, 1964, “Ojai Mourns Its Beloved Benefactor Zaidee Soule. Everyone who knew her knew Zaidee Soule loved Ojai, and when she died Saturday night of a lingering illness, it appeared that Ojai loved her, too.”

Unfortunately, park and golf courses require cuts and fills and unsightly wire fences, The Soule Park Tree Committee believes that the tree planting program will dress up the scars of progress. It is certainly most appropriate to dedicate the program to Zaidee, Nina and the Soule family. If they could speak we feel sure it would have their whole-hearted approval.

Mark Frost is the co-creator of “Twin Peaks,” with David Lynch. On May 15, he shared his own story in a Town Talk interview with Mark Lewis at the Ojai Valley Museum. Lewis’s story about Frost originally appeared in The Ojai Quarterly’s Spring 2016 issue: 

 

The Storyteller

Ojai writer Mark Frost is working with David Lynch on the sequel to their classic television series “Twin Peaks,” set in a small town in Washington state. But Frost’s next writing project will be set in a different small town: Ojai.

 

By Mark Lewis

When Mark Frost moved to Ojai four years ago with his family, he was not quite sure what he was getting into.

“I’d always been a big-city guy,” Frost says. “I didn’t know what to expect.”

The only small community Frost really knew well was Twin Peaks, the fictional setting of the classic 1990s television series of the same name, which he co-created with David Lynch. Twin Peaks is an idyllic-looking place – until Frost and Lynch pull back the veil to reveal a surreal snake pit full of psychotic drug dealers, greedy intriguers, and murderers possessed by evil demons. A person nowadays who binge-watches “Twin Peaks” on Netflix might easily develop an aversion to small-town living.

But to Frost, Ojai is the opposite of Twin Peaks.

“There’s something very special here,” he says. “There’s a kind of magic that you rarely find in other places.”

Nevertheless, Frost has been spending a lot of his time in Ojai thinking dark thoughts about strange doings. The explanation is simple: He and Lynch were writing a “Twin Peaks” sequel, which will feature many of the original cast members, including Kyle MacLachlan as FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper. Currently in production with Lynch as director, the sequel is scheduled to debut early next year on the Showtime premium cable network.

So the fictional town of Twin Peaks is much on Frost’s mind these days – but then so is Ojai, which will figure prominently as a setting for his next project, a book about Krishnamurti. Nor will that be the first book Frost has set in this valley. He may only have lived here for four years, but in a way, his association with Ojai goes back four decades, to the very beginning of his career.

BACKSTORY

Frost was born in Brooklyn in 1953, and grew up in New York, Southern California and Minnesota. His father was an actor and his sister became one too, but Frost would rather put his own words on paper than read someone else’s aloud.

“I knew I was going to be a writer by the time I was 7,” he says.

After spending two years in a high-school internship program at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Frost enrolled in the drama program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, with the goal of becoming a playwright. But in the summer of 1974 he took a break from his studies and went out to L.A., where a Carnegie Mellon alum named Charles Haid introduced him to another alum, Steven Bochco.

Bochco at the time was story editor of “McMillan and Wife,” a TV series starring Rock Hudson that was produced by Universal Studios.

“He got me in at Universal,” Frost says.

As a result, Frost stayed in L.A. and began his career by co-writing two episodes of the Universal series “The Six Million Dollar Man.” It starred Lee Majors as Steve Austin, an astronaut-turned-cyborg who, per his backstory, had grown up in Ojai. (The town would figure even more prominently in a spin-off series, “The Bionic Woman.”)

“It’s almost like it was foretold that I was going to end up here,” Frost says.

It did not seem that way at the time, however.

“I was aware that the show had an Ojai connection – it was mentioned in the scripts – but it made no impression on me,” he says. “At the time, I don’t think I even knew it was a real place.”

Then he began hearing about Ojai in a different context.

“My interest in Krishnamurti and Theosophy dates to the ‘70s, under the category of ‘spiritual curiosity’ for a young adult who was decidedly non-religious by nature and nurture,” Frost says. “K was still speaking in Ojai and I did have a couple of close friends who attended lectures in the Oak Grove, but regrettably I never made the trip.”

Still set on becoming a playwright, Frost returned to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where he was a “literary associate” for several years. But he kept in touch with Bochco, who meanwhile had gone on to develop a groundbreaking police drama, “Hill Street Blues,” which debuted in 1981. (The cast included Charles Haid as Officer Andy Renko.) Bochco lured Frost back to L.A. to join the writing staff starting with the third season, and Frost worked on 35 episodes as a writer and/or story editor.

“Hill Street” was an enormously influential show. With its large ensemble cast, its gritty themes, its realistic sets and exterior locations, and its use of sophisticated cinematic techniques (including hand held cameras), the show looked and sounded like nothing else on TV.

Another innovation was its complex narrative approach: “Hill Street” featured multiple story lines, many of which unfolded from week to week instead of being wrapped up neatly within each hour-long episode. During its seven years on the air, the series racked up 98 Emmy nominations (including one for Frost) and a record 26 wins.

“It was a hell of a ride,” Frost says.

The “Hill Street” writers’ room constituted a challenging, competitive, high-pressure environment, where Frost had to keep up with the likes of David Milch (who went on to fame with “NYPD Blue” and “Deadwood”) and Anthony Yerkovich (who went on to create “Miami Vice”). To decompress, Frost liked to get away from Hollywood occasionally to relax on a golf course. As it happens, there was a good one in Ojai.

By this point, Ojai was no longer the make-believe home of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman. But it was the real-life home Linda Kelsey, an old friend of Frost’s from Minneapolis, and more recently an Emmy-nominated actress on “Lou Grant.”

“I remember her telling me about it,” Frost says. “I started coming up here to play golf at the Ojai Valley Inn. Who knew that that would end up being my home course?”

After three years on “Hill Street,” Frost tried his hand at screenwriting, and he often incorporated supernatural elements into his scripts. Among his early efforts was “The Believers,” adapted from a novel about a murderous voodoo cult. “The Believers” was produced and directed by the noted filmmaker John Schlesinger, with Frost serving as associate producer and directing some of the second-unit work.

“That was sort of my master’s education in filmmaking,” he says.

It was around this time that Frost began working with the writer-director David Lynch. Best known at the time for “Eraserhead” and “The Elephant Man,” Lynch was wrapping up work on “Blue Velvet,” and preparing to make a film about Marilyn Monroe. The script was to be adapted from “Goddess,” a recently published Monroe biography.

“David and I were introduced by a mutual agent of ours at the time, who thought we would hit it off on the Monroe project,” Frost says. “We met over coffee and did hit it off and went from there. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes a creative match like that persist other than chemistry and affinity and, as it turned out over the long haul, tolerance, friendship and success.”

The Monroe project didn’t pan out. But Frost and Lynch went on to collaborate on a script called “One Saliva Bubble,” a comedy about two sets of twins and switched identities. Steve Martin and Martin Short signed on as the stars, with famed producer Dino de Laurentiis providing the funding. Frost says they were only a few weeks away from production when the De Laurentiis production company went bankrupt, pulling the plug on the film.

Next, the ABC network suggested that Frost and Lynch try their hands at creating a television series. The result was “Twin Peaks.”

The two-hour pilot episode aired on April 8, 1990, and created an immediate sensation. Co-written by Frost and Lynch and directed by Lynch, it introduced MacLachlan as Agent Cooper, who arrives in Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of a local high-school student named Laura Palmer. Twin Peaks is a small community surrounded by a thick forest, which hides many secrets. Cooper soon finds that nothing in this bucolic-looking town is as it seems.

As the series unfolded during the first season, the clues lead Cooper to a supernatural suspect, a demon who has possessed a local resident. But which one? Viewers tuned in week after week hoping to find out who – or what – had killed Laura Palmer.

“We were trying to do something a little different,” Frost says.

They succeeded, and then some. “Twin Peaks” was unlike anything seen on TV before. Like “Hill Street Blues” before it, but to an even greater degree, “Twin Peaks” was novelistic and cinematic. It was also deeply, compellingly weird.

Frost and Lynch took a surrealistic approach to storytelling, grafting dream sequences and otherworldly elements onto their murder-mystery plot. On one level, the show came across as a parody of a genre that did not actually exist: the horror soap opera. But on another level, “Twin Peaks” was genuinely scary. It was smart and funny and creepy and disturbing, all at the same time. It caught America’s imagination and became a cultural phenomenon, the sort of hit show that everyone talks about, whether they watch it or not.

Lynch was a recognized film auteur, and “Twin Peaks” seemed to be of a piece with “Eraserhead” and especially with the much-celebrated “Blue Velvet.” But Lynch was not involved in every episode. He had other irons in the fire, such as directing the film “Wild At Heart,” while Frost, as the “Twin Peaks” show runner, kept his hand on the tiller. When the show took off, both co-creators found themselves in a powerful media spotlight.

“It was like hanging on the end of a rocket,” Frost says.

In addition to its edgy themes and artsy affect, “Twin Peaks” stood apart for its long-form approach to storytelling. At the end of the first season, viewers still did not know who had killed Laura Palmer.

“Long-form drama was always very compelling to me,” Frost says. “I felt we could take it further.”

Ultimately, they may have taken it too far, at least for TV audiences of the time. Halfway through the second season, under pressure from the network, they finally identified the killer. After that, some of the audience faded away, in part because ABC kept moving the show to different time slots, and in part because it was frequently pre-empted by coverage of the Persian Gulf War.

“The wind went out of the sails,” Frost says.

Amid diminishing ratings, the second season ended with a cliffhanger episode designed to pique viewers’ interest in Season 3. But at that point, ABC pulled the plug. There would be no third season, and no plot resolution. Nevertheless, “Twin Peaks” already had made a permanent mark on the culture. Frost suspected as much, even at the time: “I felt like we were building something that might last.”

He was right. “Twin Peaks” has endured, and not just as a fondly remembered cult classic. Cultural historians regard it as a milestone television event that paved the way for the sophisticated, challenging, novelistic shows that have flourished since the advent of cable – shows like “The Sopranos,” “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “True Detective” (the latter created and written by Ojai resident Nic Pizzolatto). In short, “Twin Peaks” was important, and it represents a career peak for the team that created it.

“We all realize this is going to be the first line in our obituaries,” Frost says. And that’s OK with him: “Everybody wants to be remembered for something. It may as well be this.”

PLAN B

After “Twin Peaks,” Frost co-wrote and directed “Storyville,” a 1992 movie starring James Spader. But he also started writing books, both fiction and nonfiction, and these days he views himself primarily an author rather than a scriptwriter.

“That was Plan B,” he says of book writing. “I now consider that my primary career.”

His first novel, published in 1993, was an occult murder mystery called “The List of Seven” that featured Arthur Conan Doyle as a protagonist, with Helena Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, in a supporting role.

“I started writing “The List of Seven” right after “Storyville” – another disillusioning experience in the Hollywood shark tank, this time as a director – so Plan B was officially launched at that point,” Frost says.

He continued to work for the studios as a screenwriter for hire for the next dozen or so years, to pay the rent while he developed his book-writing career. (His screen credits during this period included the first two “Fantastic Four” films, based on the Marvel comic book series.)

“It’s a terrible way to make a terrific living,” he says. “As Oscar Levant – or maybe it was Dorothy Parker – once said: The thing about Hollywood you have to understand is, underneath all that tinsel is real tinsel. The impulse to write books harkens back to why I originally chose to be a writer instead of an actor: the overwhelming desire to be able to speak, and write, in your own voice. “

He now has seven novels to his credit. (His most recent effort, published last fall, was “Rogue,” the third installment of Frost’s “The Paladin Prophecy” series for young-adult readers.) As for his four nonfiction books, they have all been inspired by historic sports contests. They include “Game Six,” about the epic sixth game of the 1975 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds; and “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” about the 1913 U.S. Open, during which a young, unheralded American amateur defeated the famous English professionals Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff.

In 2005, Frost adapted “The Greatest Game” as a screenplay and then co-produced the film version, which was directed by Ojai’s own Bill Paxton. Paxton’s friend and fellow Ojai resident, the artist Mick Reinman, served as a visual consultant. And that was how Frost eventually found his own way to Ojai as a permanent resident.

“We really bonded on the movie and became really good friends,” Frost says. “I have to give Bill Paxton and Mick Reinman a lot of credit for beguiling us with tales of the Ojai while we were making the picture, which led directly to our exploratory interest here.”

Frost and his wife, Lynn, were looking to escape from L.A. and raise their son, Travis, in a child-friendly environment. Lynn grew up in a small town in Tennessee, so she was primed to embrace Ojai. Frost, a city boy, was more hesitant about settling full-time in such an out-of-the-way place. His ambivalence seems to have colored the first installment of his “Paladin Prophecy” series, which he was writing at the time. The book begins in Ojai, where teenager Will West and his parents recently have settled:

“After only five months here, he liked Ojai more than anywhere they’d ever lived. The small-town atmosphere and country lifestyle felt comfortable and easy, a refuge from the hassles of big-city life.”

But, this being a Mark Frost novel, sinister machinations are stirring beneath the town’s placid surface. Will detects intimations of a “queasy cocktail of impending doom,” which haunts him like “the hangover from a forgotten nightmare.”

Unsurprisingly, the move to Ojai ends badly for the Wests. But that did not deter the Frosts. The turning point came one day during a scouting expedition, when Mark and Lynn were driving around the East End and they passed three teenage girls walking along the road. The girls did not know the Frosts, but they smiled and waved, as people do in a friendly small town. That was enough for Lynn.

“She turned to me and said, ‘We’re moving here,’ in a way I knew better than to argue with,“ Frost says.

Continuing on their drive, they ended up at the end of Thacher Road, where they encountered a sign that was a sign in more ways than one: “Twin Peaks Ranch.”

That did it: “Six months later, we were here.”

Four years later, all three Frosts have taken root. Travis attends the Ojai Valley School, and Mark and Lynn are big supporters of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund.

Ojai reminds Frost of the Southern California he fondly remembers from his childhood during the 1960s, before most of the orange groves were paved over for shopping malls. The idea behind the Defense Fund is to amass a war chest big enough to deter mining companies and big-city developers, and thus to preserve Ojai as a pristine rural paradise.

“I don’t know of any other town that’s taking these steps to defend itself” from encroachment, Frost says. “It’s the walls of Troy!”

If Frost needed a sign that moving to Ojai had been the right decision, he found one shortly after he settled here, while he was playing a round at the Inn. Arriving at the 13^th tee, he encountered a commemorative plaque that he had never noticed before, which highlighted two very familiar names. The plaque informed Frost that when the Inn (then called the Ojai Valley Country Club) first opened in 1924, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray played an exhibition match there. Having already written both a book and a movie featuring these two English golfing legends, Frost now found himself literally following in their footsteps.

“I have this secret theory that all roads lead to Ojai,” he says. “Every time I start down a path, it leads me here.”

He encountered yet another sign in the Fall 2013 issue of The Ojai Quarterly, which featured an article about Thornton Wilder’s time as a student at The Thacher School. Wilder is one of Frost’s favorite writers, and “Our Town” is his favorite play, so he was fascinated to read that Ojai – or Nordhoff, as it was then known – may have been the original model for Grover’s Corners, the small town where Wilder set the play.

Whether it’s Wilder or Krishnamurti, or Vardon and Ray, or even Steve Austin of “The Six Million Dollar Man,” Frost keeps turning up Ojai connections that long preceded his arrival here as a full-timer.

“This place has been calling me for a long time,” he says. “I’ve never felt as much a part of a community as I do here.”

BACK INTO THE FOREST

More recently, another community has been calling to Frost, the one he and Lynch invented: Twin Peaks. People who watched the original show still recall it vividly, and it has won new fans over the years via video rentals, cable reruns and Netflix streaming. Meanwhile, cable television evolved to the point where today it offers a vastly more hospitable environment for Frost and Lynch than they found on broadcast television back in the early 1990s. Eventually it occurred to them that the time was ripe to have another go at it.

In a way, Lynch had given it another go back in 2001 when he created “Mulholland Drive” as the pilot for a proposed ABC series.

“It began, much earlier, as a piece we were going to do as a ‘Twin Peaks’ spinoff, following the Sherilyn Fenn character, Audrey Horne, to Tinseltown,” Frost says. “Although I ultimately was not involved with either the pilot or film, I was living on Mulholland Drive at the time, and that’s the title comes from.”

By 2001, the concept had evolved to the point where it was no longer a “Twin Peaks” spinoff per se, although stylistically and thematically reminiscent of the earlier show. But ABC passed on the series, so Lynch completed the pilot as a feature film. Released by Universal, it made a star of Naomi Watts and earned Lynch a best-director Oscar nomination (his third). But he remained interested in exploring the long-form possibilities unique to television. It took another decade, but TV culture finally caught up with “Twin Peaks.”

“David and I always stayed in touch,” Frost says. “We suddenly looked up and realized that it’s back in the zeitgeist.”

They devoted two years to writing one long script, which Lynch is now filming, with himself and Frost as co-executive producers (and with Naomi Watts reportedly among the new cast members, although Frost would not confirm this). When this epic movie is in the can, it will be carved up into multiple episodes, the exact number of which has not yet been determined.

This process represents the culmination of a career-long progression for Frost, from the single-episode story arcs of “The Six Million Dollar Man,” to the multi-episode arcs of “Hill Street Blues,” to the season-long arcs of the original “Twin Peaks,” to the series-long arc of the sequel, which Showtime is billing as a “new limited series.”

“It’s not a reboot,” Frost says. “It’s the story in continuity.”

Currently, Frost is writing a companion novel, “The Secret History of Twin Peaks.”

“I’ve just finished the first draft,” he says. “It goes back to the 18th century and weaves the tangled, mysterious history of the town, its people and the region, up through and including the events of the old series.”

He expects to publish the novel this fall, ahead of the new series premiere early in 2017.

Given that Frost was living here while he was writing the “Twin Peaks” sequel, will local residents who watch the show be able to detect some echoes of life in Ojai? Frost says that he did not consciously draw upon Ojai while recreating Twin Peaks. But he concedes that he might have done so unconsciously, because writers tend to be inspired by their surroundings, and he finds Ojai inspirational on many levels.

“It can’t help but show up in the new series,” he says. “I’ll leave it to others to figure out how that manifests itself. But that’s probably inevitable.”

THE POWER OF MYTH

Novels, nonfiction narratives, feature films, epic TV extravaganzas: As a storyteller, Frost is associated with just about every long-form format except the one he started out to hoping to master. Will he ever go back to writing plays?

“It’s on my bucket list, I’ll put it that way,” he says. “But if you’re a born storyteller, the format shouldn’t matter. You’ll be drawn to the process of storytelling, the way we’re all drawn to water.”

Frost will stick with the book format to tell his next story, that of Krishnamurti. He has not yet decided whether to write it as a novel or as a nonfiction book, although he’s leaning toward the hybrid approach, also known as the nonfiction novel, which Truman Capote pioneered with “In Cold Blood:”

“I’m not far enough into the work yet to say definitely which approach I’ll end up using,” Frost says, “but such a remarkable human story will dictate the style and form of the storytelling, and a hybrid approach feels now like the most appropriate.”

Frost’s narrative will follow Krishnamurti from his childhood in India, where Theosophists identified him as their future World Teacher, through his early years in Ojai, where he found a lifelong home, to the pivotal year 1929, when he rejected the messiah role and choose the philosopher’s path instead.

Along the way, Krishnamurti encountered and befriended Joseph Campbell, who will figure prominently in Frost’ book. Meeting K turned out to be a milestone on Campbell’s path to the mastery of comparative mythology.

“For me, Campbell is one of the century’s most influential thinkers, and having an opportunity to depict the way in which their paths crossed with such lasting impact is tremendously appealing,“ Frost says.

In his 1949 book “The Hero With a Thousand Faces,” Campbell identified what he called the monomyth, common to all cultures: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

If that sounds like a description of Agent Cooper venturing into the supernatural precincts of Twin Peaks, it’s not a coincidence. (To find out whether Cooper wins a decisive victory, we’ll have to wait for the sequel.)

Campbell’s explication of the monomyth, also known as “the hero’s journey,” is an idea that has launched a thousand plots, including the one George Lucas devised for “Star Wars.” Frost embraces Campbell’s concept with enthusiasm, on both a personal and a professional level.

“Look, at a certain point you can realize that all of life is both literal and metaphorical, and that approaching or perceiving your own journey through the lens of myth and narrative brings enormous benefit, insight and enrichment to the experience of being alive,” he says. “We need to feel connected to myth. And that’s the job of the storyteller. We’re the intermediaries.”

It’s a job Frost takes very seriously. “It’s a sacred role,” he says. And there’s no better place to perform it than here in Ojai:

“The idea of the single myth appeals to me far more than any sectarian or mediated truth,” he says. “That’s also a central tenet of K’s message, as well as Campbell’s, and that’s also in some way an essential part of Ojai’s appeal as a place.

“All these myths are free to live and thrive here, in equal measure, with none trying to crowd or drown out another. It’s a model of tolerance, civic responsibility and self-reliance that offers something like a way forward at what feels like a decisive moment for our troubled and quarrelsome species. I think truth, as K famously said, really is a pathless land. You won’t find it on a map, but you just might find it here.”