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1919 & 1920 Articles about Hotel El Roblar

The following articles were first run in “THE OJAI”. That newspaper is now “THE OJAI VALLEY NEWS”. The articles are reprinted here with their permission. The author(s) are unknown. Dates of editions in which each article was run are provided at the beginning of each article. The articles are about the “Hotel El Roblar” (formerly named “The Ojai Tavern”, “The Ojai Valley Inn”, “The Oaks at Ojai” and others). The 1919 drawing of the “The Ojai Tavern” (now, “Hotel El Roblar”) was added by the “Ojai Valley Museum”.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1919:

THE OJAI TAVERN

Architect Mead, upon whom rests the honors and responsibility of preparing the plans for The Ojai Tavern, soon to be erected, met Wednesday with the directors of the hotel company and tendered to them the complete plans and specifications for the proposed handsome structure.

The directors have asked a few contractors for estimates of cost of construction, and it is apparent that satisfactory information along that line was gained, as the treasurer was instructed to call for the payment of 40 per cent of the stock subscribed, or so much as the law requires of such corporations prior to proceeding to carry out the enterprise.

J. J. Burke, Boyd E. Gabbert and S. D. Thacher have been named as the building committee and work will proceed without unnecessary delay.

Hur-ray!

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 1919:

OJAI TAVERN NOW NEARING THE REALITY

On Saturday bids were opened for the construction of the new civic center hotel, soon to be erected, and to be known at the “Ojai Tavern”.

Three bids were submitted, but as yet the hotel company has not made public the figures, the matter of accepting the lowest bid having been taken under advisement.

Before another issue of “The Ojai” goes to press, we have every assurance that all details will be finally settled and the work of construction will begin early in April.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1920:

“El Roblar” is Name of New Hotel

After some six of eight months “reconnoitering, conflabbing and gestulating”, the directors of the Ojai Valley Hotel Company have finally and definitely decided on a permanent name for the civic center hotel. It is “EL ROBLAR.” the name is of Indian origin and signifies “a cluster of, or among the white oaks.”

The Ojai is pleased that this matter has finally been settled for we started out calling it “The Ojai Tavern,” then it was changed to “The Ojai Valley Inn,” but this last title did not last long, and was cast aside for the more euphonious title of “El Roblar.”

The last carload of furniture for the new hostelry arrived Wednesday and was hauled to the hotel Thursday and is now being placed in order and the official and formal opening of the hotel will take place within the next ten days or two weeks.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 1920:

El Roblar Hotel Opens Its Doors

Hotel El Roblar, the valley’s new hostelry, opened its doors to the general public informally, Wednesday evening, and although not fully ready Manger Roach took care of the large number of guests that “knocked” for admission, in a very happy and pleasant manner.

The opening has been delayed far beyond calculations and plans, owing to the non-arrival of much of the furnishings, which are still “in transit”, and Mr. Roach has been forced to gather up substitutions here and there as best he could, in order to accommodate his patrons.

The supper menu for the opening evening was:

Soup, Cream of Green Peas, Olives, Celery, Roast Lamb, Fried Chicken Southern Style, Red Currant Jelly, Fruit Salad, Potatoes, Posse Duchesse, Garden Peas, Saute Bananas, Raspberry Jelly Mound, Peach Pie, Coffee, Tea, and Milk.

The date for the formal opening has not yet been set, but it will be in the near future, and will be one big evening in Ojai.

The stationery for the hotel, letterhead, envelopes, menus, etc., printed in four-colors, was executed at The Ojai printing office, and they are what critics say, “about the niftiest ever produced of their kind.”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1920:

NEW MANAGER FOR THE EL ROBLAR

W. A. Roach, who leased the new Ojai hostelry, “El Roblar,” before its construction, has relinquished his interests, and Chas. A. Cooke succeeds him as lessee, and has assumed its management.

Mr. Cooke has long been identified with Southern California hotel enterprises, and as directing head has been highly successful, both financially and as a popular host.

For some time he was president of the Hotel Men’s Association, and more recently was manager of El Encanto at Santa Barbara.

He has opened El Roblar under most encouraging conditions, the patronage being excellent, with many reservations listed, among them one-half of the lower floor, the occupying party to arrive soon from Santa Barbara.
———————

Beginning February 5th the following rates will prevail at the Hotel El Roblar:
Breakfast, ……………………………………………………………….$1.00
Luncheon, ……………………………………………………………….$1.50
Dinner, …………………………………………………………………….. $1.50
Special Sunday Dinner, ………………………………………..$2.00
Special Sunday eve. Supper, …………………………….$1.50

Daily and weekly rated on application.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1920:

The Popular El Roblar Entertaining Many Guests

Among the week-end guests at the Valley’s new and popular hotel, El Roblar, were the following:

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Carrington, Mrs. Steward, William Gammell, from the Ambassador, Santa Barbara; Mr. and Mrs. William Sweet, Boston; Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Ballon, Woonsocket, R. I.; Mr. and Mrs. Harold Chase and boys of Santa Barbara; Mr. and Mrs. Chas. P. Austin of Santa Barbara; Mrs. McCrabb and Miss Norton, Seattle, Wash.; Mr. and Mrs. Francis Farnsworth, W. J. Farnsworth, Santa Barbara; Mr. and Mrs. D. Bryant Turner, Colorado Springs; and Mr. and Mrs. E. D. Wetmore, Santa Barbara; J. J. Bayler and family of Chicago.

The hotel has had a large run of patronage all this week, many of whom have engaged quarters for an indefinite time.

FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1920:

Ojai Hotel Company Hold Annual Meeting

The first annual meeting of the stockholders of the Ojai Hotel Company, owners of the El Robalr, was held at the office of the secretary of the Company in the Ojai Realty Company’s office, Wednesday forenoon. The report of the past year’s activities and accomplishments was presented and read, and proved quite pleasing.

The men who did most of the real work in organizing the company and in the preliminary work of getting the hotel constructed, were congratulated.

The following officers and directors were elected for the ensuing year:

S. D. Thacher, president; D. A. Smith, vice president; B. E. Gabbert, secretary; E. W. Wiest, treasurer; E. L. Libby, Geo. Holsten, J. J. Burke.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 1920:

El Roblar to Open Tomorrow August 14th

The many friends of the El Roblar Hotel will be pleased to learn that the new lessees, Messrs. Flander and Frank Barrington, will open that popular hostelry to the public on tomorrow noon, August 14th. A cordial invitation is extended the public to dine at the El Roblar whenever opportunity permits.



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WORK TO START ON “THE OJAI TAVERN”

The following article first appeared in the FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1919 edition of “THE OJAI” on the front page. “THE OJAI” is now the “Ojai Valley News”. The article is reprinted here with their permission. The author is unknown. “The Ojai Tavern” is now the “El Roblar Hotel” (formerly, “The Oaks at Ojai”).


WORK TO START ON “THE OJAI TAVERN”

A new hotel for Ojai (formerly Nordhoff) and the Ojai Valley.

The Ojai Valley hopes soon to have a hotel. In June 1917, the Foothills Hotel burned when the Ojai was swept by a disastrous fire and sixty dwellings went up in smoke.

The war prevented the rebuilding of the hotel and consideration of the matter was postponed until after the war.

However, Mr. E. D. Libbey of Toledo, Ohio, and a few of the Ojai people subscribed stock, organized the Ojai Hotel Company, and immediately proceeded to develop plans for a popular tourist and business hotel for the town of Ojai.

The architects are the San Diego firm of Mead and Requa, who built the notable “Arcade” and Pergola and Mission Towered postoffice for the town and civic center of Nordhoff, then changed to Ojai, which has just been further beautified by a most charming little Roman Catholic Church in the best Mission style.

The hotel is to be also of Mission or Spanish architecture, a unique piece of work, with low straight lines, tile roof, pergolas, arches, and very interesting and comfortable interior arrangements in the way of lobby, dining room, grill, lounging places, baths connected with every room, etc. There will be about twenty-five bed rooms, each with twin beds. The location is in the town of Ojai, convenient to the stores and business offices, and yet set refreshingly among white oaks, live oaks and sycamores.

The directors wish to have it meet the needs of the community in every way as a home for permanent guests as well as transient business visitors, and also for automobile parties and summer and winter tourists with whom the Ojai Valley has long been a favorite resort.

The directors have specially in mind to make the little hotel—to be known as The Ojai Tavern—a place with a distinctive charm of its own, in keeping with the reputation of the beautiful valley—a place that anyone catching a glimpse of with wish to investigate, and having visited, will be drawn to again and again. They are looking for the right sort of manager to undertake the development of such a unique and alluring hostelry.

The work of building will begin, it is hoped, in a very few weeks.




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THE OJAI TAVERN

The following article first appeared in the “PICTORIAL EDITION OF The Ojai” (VOL. XXIX; NO. 29; August 1919). “The Ojai” is now the “Ojai Valley News”. The article is reprinted here with their permission. The author is unknown. The Ojai Tavern is now referred to as the Hotel El Roblar (AKA: The Oaks at Ojai).

THE OJAI TAVERN

In designing and planning The Ojai Tavern or Hotel for Ojai, the problems to be given special consideration and study were: a building thoroughly modern and up to date and meeting the requirements of the discriminating traveler; a plan and arrangement that would furnish suitable accommodations for the commercial man, the causal visitor and the tourist and also provide a pleasant, restful home for the guest who desires to extend his sojourn over weeks or months; a structure that would be sunny, warm and comfortable during the cool days of winter, airy and restful during the summer; a design conforming and harmonizing with the present civic improvements, of which it forms a part; and providing by means of treillage, pergolas and broad , plain wall surfaces the greatest facility for the growth and development of the vines, plants and shrubs so essential for maintaining the verdant charm and country atmosphere of the village.

A large comfortable, homelike lobby and outdoor sitting room is provided to tempt the guest to prolong his stay. The dining room has been made especially airy and attractive. The two sides of the room facing east and south are practically all glass looking out upon an interesting California garden and commanding a most fortunate view of the post office tower, the park, the pergolas and arcades of the main street and the wooded hills beyond. The entire east side opens, by means of French windows, onto a generous pergola-covered terrace shaded and sheltered by a large spreading live oak. This terrace will make a very popular open air dining room during the warm days of winter as well as summer. Provision, also, being made under the large Oak and Sycamore trees in the east garden to serve meals to auto parties, and other guests, to whom this picnic feature appeals. The kitchen and service department have been planned and will be equipped along the lines of the most up to date California hotels with the latest modern ranges and cooking, serving and dishwashing appliances. A most noteworthy feature is the arrangement of the plumbing fixtures in connection with the guest rooms. Each room is provided with its individual toilet and lavatory and each suite or pair of rooms has its private bath. Another feature deserving special mention is the furnishing of the tavern. No expense will be spared to make the building homelike and attractive, and the whole scheme novel, harmonious and imposing to the guests. At least six different schemes will be used in furnishing the bed rooms, providing a variety in color, furniture and hangings so as to cater the greatest measure possible to the tastes and desires of the patrons.

The building and the enclosing garden walls have been designed in the spirit of the early Spanish Colonial and California Mission architecture to fit into and form a part of the already completed civic improvement scheme. The main features are the plain modeled, plastered wall surfaces, dull vari-colored roofing tiles, quaint, overhanging balconies, interesting window lattices and grills and rustic log covered pergolas all so reminiscent of the earl Spanish inhabitants and fitting so harmoniously into its semitropical environment. A simple, yet imposing Mission arch breaks and relieves the straight lines of the enclosed garden walls and serves as the main entrance to the grounds and the tavern.

The hotel will be conducted by Mr. W. X. Roach, who has stock in and has taken a term lease on the property.

Mr. Roach, who comes directly from the Belvedere of Santa Barbara, has been with the Linnard Company for several years, having been associated with the hotel del Coronado before going to Santa Barbara, and previous to which he was with the Reed-Whipple Hotel Company of Boston.

Mr. Roach has some new, original and unique ideas and features which he will apply in the conduct of the hotel, and which will give to Ojai additional fame and prestige.

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All Kinds of Fun

The following article first appeared in the Spring 2017 issue of the “Ojai Valley Visitors Guide” on pages 158 through 164. That magazine was published by the “Ojai Valley News”. The article is reprinted here with their permission.

All kinds of Fun

Pop Soper steps up to the bag at his training camp in the 1920s. (Photo courtesy of the Ojai Valley Museum)

Ojai’s past is full of unusual amusements that attracted everyone from gangsters to golfers
____________________________
story by Perry Van Houten
____________________________

It was long before the invention of the smartphone and the MP3 player and prior to the proliferation of video game consoles, but folks in the Ojai Valley still found plenty of ways to keep themselves amused and entertained.

Of course, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, and tennis were already long-established pastimes for residents and visitors of the Ojai Valley, but as early as the 1930s, entrepreneurs were finding other clever (and, at times, profitable) amusements for the populace.

Pop Soper’s nickelodeons
Prior to World War II, Clarence “Pop” Soper ran a training camp for boxers at the mouth of Matilija Canyon. The most famous boxer to train there was heavyweight Jack Dempsey, in 1927. Another famous visitor was notorious gangster Al Capone.

The camp had a canvas-roofed boxing ring, with benches for spectators, along with entertainment for visitors, such as nickelodeons, including a player piano. Drop five cents into the slot and it would play.

A crowd watches a boxing match at Pop Soper’s Training Camp. (Photo courtesy of the Ojai Valley Museum)

“Around his boxing ring, inside the building, he had all these music players — a self-playing violin, self-playing drums and a big guitar that would play,” explained Dwayne Bower, whose family owned Ojai Van Lines.

“After he died, my dad and I went up there and brought all those to our warehouse in Meiners Oaks, and we stored them there. His brother, Lenny Soper, sold them off one at a time, probably when he needed a little money. I remember delivering one to Hollywood and elsewhere in Los Angeles. They’re very, very, very rare items.”

Bower, an avid car collector, restored Soper’s 1929 Packard, which he purchased in 1957 for $75.

Kiddie land
Tucked into the mountains north of Pop Soper’s was a resort that offered hot mineral springs, indoor and outdoor games and sports. Wheeler Hot Springs changed owners many times, the most notable being radio and TV star Art Linkletter, famous for his program, “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

After Linkletter purchased the resort he added a new attraction called Kiddie Land, with rides and other features designed for children. But the idea never really took off and Linkletter reportedly lost a bundle.

Ojai movie theaters
J.J. Burke opened the Ojai Valley’s first movie theater in 1914. The first film screened at the Isis Theater was Jack London’s “Valley of the Moon.” Admission was 20 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. In addition to showing movies, the theater also hosted vaudeville acts, plays and dances.

The theater changed names and ownership numerous times, becoming the Ojai Theatre in 1926. It got some competition in 1964 when a theater at the “Y” opened its doors. Los Robles Theatre at 1207 Maricopa Highway screened movies until 1972 and advertised “acres of free parking.”

The Ojai Theater is depicted in this 1954 postcard. (Image courtesy of the Ojai Valley Museum)

The Ojai Theatre became the Glasgow Playhouse in 1966, then the Ojai Playhouse in the early ’80s when it was purchased by the Al-Awar family. Sadly, the theater was closed in July 2014 due to a water main break under Ojai Avenue in front of the building. A battle continues after more than two years between the owner, the water company and its insurer over who should pay for the repairs.

Golf
Years before the golf courses at Soule Park and the Ojai Valley Inn opened, golfers were teeing off on a course set up in 1893 by Mary Gally, proprietor of the Gally Cottages at Ojai Avenue and Gridley Road. Charles Nordhoff, for whom the town was originally named, stayed at the cottages each time he visited the valley.

The Cottage course featured putting greens made of sand and a fairway pocked with tree stumps and squirrel holes. Mary Gally’s son, Howard, remembered as a child being held by his ankles, upside-down, and lowered into a hole to retrieve a golf ball lost by a player. An entire day of golf at the six-hole course would set you back a whole 25 cents; a week’s play only a buck. The links were watered by artesian wells on the 40-acre property and the grass cut by a flock of sheep, according to Ojai historian David Mason.

Miniature Golf
In the 1960’s, the Townsend family opened the miniature golf course on East Ojai Avenue at the current location of Ventura County Fire Department Station 21. The course presented players with the usual challenges, such as the hole placed at the apex of a cylindrical cone. “I loved it except for the volcano,” said one golfer. “I hated that hole.”

A miniature golf course once stood at the current site of Fire Station 21 in Ojai’s East End. (The Susan Sawyer Roland Collection)

A woman who played the course told of a natural obstacle she encountered. “I remember seeing a snake on one of the holes. It scared me to death,” she said.

After the mini-golf course closed and was torn down, some locals turned it into a BMX track for a short time before they built the fire station.

Bowling
The popularity of bowling exploded in the U.S. in the 1950s, and folks in Ojai soon caught the fever. The valley’s first bowling alley was a single lane affair on Ojai Avenue, across from the Arcade. A second bowling alley, Topa Lanes, opened in 1960 at Ojai and Golden West Avenues.

The 16-lane facility also featured arcade games, birthday bowling parties and organized league play. “We actually had our senior all-night party there, and that was a big, big deal,” recalled Bower. “The lanes were brand new, so we stayed there all night and partied.”

A girl who had her eighth birthday party at the lanes remembered a mishap involving a relative. “My grandma broke her shoulder ’cause she decided not to wear her bowling shoes and flew down the lane head-first,” she said.

Ojai resident Drew Mashburn bowled at the former bowling alley, played the pinball machines and ate at the restaurant there. “My buddies and I probably drove all the restaurant patrons crazy by playing ‘Loco-motion’ over and over again on the jukebox.”

John Sawyer of Ojai bowled a perfect 300 game at Topa Lanes in January 1963, the first ever at the facility. He was 21 at the time. He later appeared on a Los Angeles TV bowling show to talk about his game.

The lanes, last known as Ojai Valley Bowl, closed in the late 1990’s and the building sat vacant for many years. In 2016, a new owner of the property unveiled plans to build a craft brewery, pub and eventually a boutique hotel on the site.

The bowling lanes inside the Ojai Valley Bowl advertise that winter leagues were forming. (Photo courtesy of the Ojai Valley Museum)

A Downtown Carnival

Carnival workers drive stakes for a carnival tent in downtown Ojai.
Curious boys try to sneak a peek at a snake exhibit at one of the carnivals that frequented the Ojai Valley.

In the 1950s, when a carnival came to town, it would set up at the present location of the Westridge Midtown Market on Ojai Avenue. Mashburn remembers riding an attraction called “The Octopus” when he was 6.

“What in tarnation was I thinking?” Mashburn asked. “Each bucket of The Octopus was on the end of a long arm. The whole apparatus went in a circle and each arm went up and down. To make matters worse, each bucket rapidly spun in a circle. I felt like I was in a food blender. I got down on the floor on all fours and prayed for the monster machine to stop. Mom yelled at the operator to stop it each time it passed him. I think he must have thought Mom was yelling, ‘Speed it up!’ I’ve never been on one since.”

One year, Mashburn’s mother, Arlou, ran a booth where carnival-goers lobbed darts at balloons. “Mom was up near the balloons and bent down with her back to the dart-throwers. Yep, a dart hit her squarely in the butt! She said she thought the person did it on purpose.”

Ya think?

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FORMER OAK VIEW BROOM MAKER LOOKS BACK FONDLY TO OLD DAYS

The following article was first run in the Thursday, November 9, 1961 edition of “THE OJAI VALLEY NEWS” (“ALL THE NEWS AND VIEWS of Oak View”) in the “B” section. It is reprinted here with their permission.

FORMER OAK VIEW BROOM MAKER LOOKS BACK FONDLY TO OLD DAYS
By
HANK PEARSON

With the influx of families in the Ojai valley increasing each year and with subdivisions sprouting up like mushrooms after a heavy rain, it’s a little difficult for many people to realize that it wasn’t too long ago that the valley was composed mainly of large fruit orchards and a comparatively small number of homes.

One person who can remember vividly what Ojai valley was like back at the turn of the century is Percy Watkins of Oak View. When he moved there with his parents in 1901 from Nebraska, and the existing home was erected on a level plateau east of the present business district, the only other place of any consequence in the area was a cider mill.

Watkins is frank, too, in drawing a comparison of that era with today.

“Frankly,” he says, “I prefer the old days when land sold for $125 per acre and there wasn’t the hustle and bustle there is today. My place today, “he added, ” is completely surrounded by subdivisions. This has more or less forced me to do the same thing with the land I have.”

BROOM FACTORY

Watkins admits however, that things weren’t exactly easy the first decade or so of the family’s existence in Oak View. His father, H. L. Watkins, established a broom factory in a barn on the property in an effort to bring in enough money to keep things on an even keel.

The broom factory was then one of the few on the Pacific coast and consisted of a press manufactured in an Ojai machine shop, a treadle and a few other appurtenances necessary to turn out a finished product. Broom corn, raised on the Watkins property, furnished the bristles for the brooms, but the wood for the handles had to be shipped in. The whole Watkins family, including two boys and six girls, pitched in to aid in the manufacture of the brooms.

Watkins recalls today how he set for hours on a box twisting and pulling on broom corn — an operation necessary to get the bristles in proper alignment for fastening to the handles.

It was also necessary to use stout string to bind the broom bristles together and in the early days this was accomplished by hand-sewing — a task Watkins says was extremely difficult on the hands even though a metal guard was used. A large homemade hand-press was used to crush the broom straw into a flattened aspect prior to sewing.

CALL ON HOMES

When enough brooms were manufactured, the next and most important step was to sell them. This was done in the early days by use of a horse and wagon and calling on homes. Watkins recalls that many days were spent from early dawn until dusk calling on homes as far away as Santa Barbara — a long distance in these days of slow transportation.

Brooms then sold for fifty cents each or if the customer wished a bargain, three for $1.25. “We didn’t get rich at it,” Watkins said, “but we managed to make a living.”

That business venture lasted until the early 1940s and then folded forever, with the death of Watkins’ father. Modern machine methods employed in factories and the emergence of grocery stores within easy driving distance of homes saw to that.

At one end of Watkin’s yard today mementos of days gone by are pretty well in evidence. Old model cars, trucks and outdated machinery items give mute testimony to the early days of the Ojai valley. Outside the yard in the large field where the subdivision will no doubt come into being one of these days, two sleek horses roam rather abjectly. Their days no doubt are numbered.

PERCY WATKINS operates a hand-made press he used in the manufacture of brooms at Oak View a half-century ago.
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Body found in Sespe area probably Manson attorney

The following article first appeared in the Wednesday, March 31, 1971 edition of “The OJAI VALLEY NEWS” on the front page. It is reprinted here with their permission. The author is unknown. The photo of Ronald Hughes was added to this article by the “Ojai Valley Museum”.

Body found in Sespe area probably Manson attorney

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies traveled to Los Angeles today to pick up dental records which will conclusively tell if the body found Saturday in the Sespe area is that of missing Manson case attorney Ronald Hughes.

Although the body is the right size and a friend has said he is “firmly of the opinion that it is Hughes,” tests conducted so far by the Sheriff’s Department and the county coroner have proved inconclusive. The body was of a large man. Hughes weighed 235 pounds.

Hughes disappeared in the remote area of the Sespe Hot Springs during a sudden storm Thanksgiving weekend. The body, found Saturday by two fishermen, lay in ice cold water about 7 miles south-east of the hot springs, the Sheriff’s Department said. The spot is in the middle of the Condor refuge near Pigeon Flat, close to the west fork of the Sespe Creek and Alder Creek.

Although search and rescue teams and a mystic-led party had combed the general hot springs area, they had not entered the region where the body was found.

“It was not searched before because the area is so rugged and the creek was up so far it was inaccessible,” a sheriff deputy said. “The area is known as the narrows. The creek runs from mountain to mountain.”

Although the fishermen found the body Saturday, it was not reported to the Sheriff’s Department until Sunday night. The body was lifted out by helicopter Monday and taken to Skillin Mortuary in Santa Paula.

Same head form

Ronald Hughes, Manson defense attorney.

The body was naked except for remnants of a shirt around the neck. Although the head was battered beyond recognition apparently from the body being washed downstream, officials said the remains were quite well preserved by the icy water.

Autopsy work began Tuesday and is expected to take another couple of days. There were no outward signs of foul play. Along with dental records, fingerprints will be used to aid in the identification.

Samples of Hughes’ fingerprints were provided by the lawyer’s friend, Paul Fitzgerald, also a defense attorney in the Manson case. Fitzgerald was in Ventura County Tuesday to view the body. He said he was positive it was Hughes’:

“He had a strange shaped head, sort of a majestic configuration,” Fitzgerald said. “The head is the same. Some of the beard is still there.”

The discovery of the body came on the same day that Charles Manson and his three female co-defendants were given the death penalty for committing the Tate-LaBianca murders.


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Exiled To Mira Monte

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.

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Betzino Casino : Analyse complète d’une plateforme de jeu nouvelle génération

L’univers des casinos en ligne évolue à une vitesse fulgurante, et il n’est pas toujours simple pour les joueurs, qu’ils soient novices ou vétérans, de s’y retrouver parmi les centaines de plateformes disponibles. En 2023, un nouvel acteur est entré dans l’arène avec une proposition audacieuse : Betzino Casino. Opéré par Purple Bay B.V., ce site a rapidement fait parler de lui grâce à une interface épurée et une promesse de simplicité.

Mais au-delà du design alléchant, que vaut réellement cette plateforme ? Nous avons exploré les moindres recoins de ce casino pour vous offrir un avis transparent, basé sur une expérience réelle de jeu. Si vous cherchez à comprendre comment fonctionne un casino moderne sans vous perdre dans le jargon technique, vous êtes au bon endroit.

Pour les joueurs en France, Betzino Casino se positionne comme une solution adaptée aux attentes du marché local. La plateforme propose une navigation en langue française, des méthodes de paiement couramment utilisées par les utilisateurs français ainsi qu’un service client réactif. L’accent est mis sur la sécurité des transactions et la protection des données personnelles, afin d’offrir un environnement de jeu fiable et encadré. En combinant accessibilité, transparence et diversité de contenus, Betzino cherche à répondre aux standards modernes que privilégient aujourd’hui les joueurs français.

Une immersion immédiate dans l’univers Betzino

Dès nos premiers pas sur le site, nous avons découvert une interface pensée pour l’efficacité. Contrairement à certains concurrents qui surchargent l’écran d’informations clignotantes, betzino france mise sur la clarté. Pour un débutant, le concept est simple : c’est une plateforme numérique sécurisée où vous pouvez jouer à des jeux de hasard (comme des machines à sous ou de la roulette) avec de l’argent réel, depuis le confort de votre canapé.

L’opérateur Purple Bay B.V. a clairement voulu créer un environnement où la navigation est intuitive. Que ce soit pour trouver un jeu spécifique ou accéder au support client, tout se fait en quelques clics. Nous avons testé la réactivité du site sur différents appareils, et la fluidité reste constante, ce qui est un point crucial pour le confort de jeu.

Pourquoi cette plateforme se démarque-t-elle ?

Au cours de notre évaluation, nous avons identifié plusieurs atouts majeurs qui distinguent Betzino de la masse des casinos en ligne actuels. Voici ce qui a retenu notre attention :

  • Une bibliothèque massive mais organisée : Avec plus de 7 500 titres, le choix est vaste, mais les filtres de recherche permettent de ne pas s’y perdre.
  • La rapidité des transactions : C’est souvent le point noir des casinos, mais ici, les délais de traitement des retraits sont optimisés pour réduire l’attente des joueurs.
  • L’accessibilité mobile : Pas besoin de télécharger une application lourde. Le site s’adapte parfaitement aux navigateurs de smartphones et tablettes.
  • Un support client réactif : Nous avons interagi avec l’équipe d’assistance, et les réponses sont rapides et pertinentes, souvent disponibles en français.

Pour un joueur débutant, ces points signifient moins de frustration technique et plus de temps consacré au divertissement pur.

Plongée au cœur de la ludothèque

Le nerf de la guerre, c’est évidemment le jeu. Nous avons analysé le catalogue pour voir si la quantité annoncée (plus de 7 500 jeux) ne se faisait pas au détriment de la qualité. La réponse est rassurante : Betzino collabore avec des éditeurs de renom comme Play’n GO, Pragmatic Play ou encore Evolution Gaming.

Voici comment se décompose l’offre :

Les machines à sous

C’est la catégorie reine. Vous y trouverez des “slots” classiques à trois rouleaux, rappelant les casinos terrestres, mais aussi des machines vidéo modernes avec des graphismes en 3D et des scénarios complexes. Pour les novices : il suffit de choisir sa mise et de lancer les rouleaux. Si les symboles s’alignent, vous gagnez.

Les jeux de table

Nous avons exploré les classiques indémodables : Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat et Poker. Ces jeux demandent souvent un peu plus de stratégie que les machines à sous, mais les règles de base s’apprennent très vite.

Le Casino Live

C’est l’expérience la plus immersive. Grâce à la technologie du streaming, vous jouez face à de vrais croupiers filmés en direct. Nous avons testé quelques sessions de Blackjack en direct, et l’interaction humaine ajoute une dimension sociale très appréciable, même derrière un écran.

Zoom sur l’offre de bienvenue

Un casino en ligne cherche toujours à séduire ses nouveaux inscrits, et Betzino ne déroge pas à la règle avec une offre plutôt généreuse.

Actuellement, le bonus de bienvenue se présente souvent sous la forme d’un package : 100 % jusqu’à 1 000 € + 100 free spins (tours gratuits).

Concrètement, qu’est-ce que cela signifie ?
Si vous déposez 100 €, le casino vous offre 100 € supplémentaires en bonus, vous permettant de jouer avec un total de 200 €. Les 100 free spins sont des tours de machine à sous offerts, parfaits pour tester un jeu sans risquer votre propre argent.

Cependant, nous avons appris qu’il faut toujours lire les petites lignes. Ce bonus est soumis à des conditions de mise (le “wager”). Cela signifie que vous devez jouer le montant du bonus un certain nombre de fois avant de pouvoir retirer les gains qui y sont liés. C’est une pratique standard dans l’industrie, mais il est important de l’avoir en tête.

Sécurité et confort d’utilisation : notre verdict technique

La confiance est l’élément clé lorsqu’on joue de l’argent en ligne. Nous avons vérifié les protocoles de sécurité mis en place par Betzino. Le site utilise un cryptage SSL avancé pour protéger vos données personnelles et bancaires. C’est le même type de sécurité que celui utilisé par les banques en ligne.

Côté paiements, la flexibilité est au rendez-vous. Vous pouvez utiliser :

  • Cartes bancaires (Visa, Mastercard)
  • Virements bancaires
  • Portefeuilles électroniques (Skrill, Neteller)
  • Cryptomonnaies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.)

L’expérience mobile mérite une mention spéciale. Nous avons testé le site sur un iPhone et un appareil Android : l’interface s’ajuste parfaitement, les menus sont accessibles au pouce, et les jeux se chargent rapidement sans faire surchauffer l’appareil.

Betzino est-il le choix idéal pour votre prochaine session ?

Après avoir passé plusieurs heures à tester, déposer et jouer sur cette plateforme, le bilan est globalement très positif. Betzino réussit le pari d’allier modernité et simplicité. L’opérateur a compris que les joueurs cherchent avant tout une expérience fluide, sans friction, où le plaisir du jeu prime sur les complications administratives.

La combinaison d’une ludothèque riche, d’un bonus de bienvenue compétitif (jusqu’à 1 000 € et 100 tours gratuits) et d’une sécurité robuste en fait une option très sérieuse sur le marché francophone. Que vous soyez un curieux désireux de faire tourner vos premiers rouleaux ou un habitué des tables de blackjack, Betzino offre un environnement de jeu sain, dynamique et résolument tourné vers l’avenir. C’est une plateforme qui a su capter l’air du temps pour proposer un divertissement de haute qualité.

Attention : plonger dans l’univers des jeux d’argent, c’est comme ouvrir la porte à une dépendance. Pour explorer les ficelles de la gestion de cette dépendance, vous pouvez consulter ce lien : https://gaeconseil.fr/addictions-2/tout-savoir-sur-laddiction-aux-jeux/

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Mixin’ it Up AT TOPA TOPA ELEMENTARY

The following article first appeared in the WINTER 2021 (VOLUME 39 NUMBER 1) issue of “Ojai MAGAZINE”. The magazine is published by the Ojai Valley News. The article is reprinted here with their permission. Photo of Drew Mashburn and George Turner together, and photo of Kent Campbell added by the Ojai Valley Museum.



LOOK BACK IN OJAI
with Drew Mashburn
Contributed on behalf of the Ojai Valley Museum

————————————————–

Mixin’ it Up
AT TOPA TOPA ELEMENTARY


Mikey Payton broke my spectacles more than once; in all fairness, I busted his several times, too.

1947-1948 Yell leaders Arlou Wells (my Mom) at far left, Marie Ford at far right.

Mom (Arlou) moved to the Ojai Valley in 1947 with her mother (Peg Wells). The school year had already begun at Nordhoff High School when Mom enrolled. She wound up being one of the four yell-leaders. She became lifelong friends with one of them, Marie Ford. Marie married George Turner. Their eldest child was George. Mom married Dad (Harold) and I ended up as a result. Georgie is a few weeks older than me. He’s the first kid I ever knew. I’ve always liked him, but he did convince me to get into his toy box, then he sat on the lid and scared the pee-waddin’ outta me! I shoulda pounded him when I finally got out, but I was raised to respect my elders.

Read the rest of the article in the Ojai Magazine.

Posted on

Rampaging storm damages valley

The following article was first run in the Sunday, February 12, 1978 edition of “The OJAI VALLEY NEWS” on the front page. It is reprinted here with their permission.

Grand Avenue after the storm: LOOKING EAST up Grand Avenue Friday across what was once the little “dip” in the road. The flood ravaged homes when the barranca broke its banks. (Seba photo)


Rampaging storm damages valley

— Wind, flooding rampant —
by
Polly Bee

Ojai Valley geared for a possible repeat of the devastating floods of 1969 after a storm roared through Thursday night, dumping nearly nine inches of water in 24 hours and leaving a wake of destruction.

Undersheriff John Gillespie, as Disaster Services Chairman, declared a state of emergency Friday morning, and supervisors called an emergency session for Monday, Feb. 13 to assess damage. If destruction is as severe as it appeared Friday noon, the county could be declared a disaster area to make it eligible for state and federal assistance.

AT PRESS TIME the rampaging Ventura River, San Antonio, Lion, Matilija, and Thacher Creeks still threatened homes and property. The valley’s water supply was cut off near Casitas Springs, electricity was still out to many homes, a gas main, bridge, and sewer lines were endangered on Creek Road.

Witnesses said four homes washed into Matilija Creek in Matilija Canyon and were destroyed, at least four homes in the East End were severely damaged when Thacher Creek jumped its banks, one man died of a heart attack while sandbagging his home in Siete Robles, and eight persons were airlifted from Matilija Canyon.

MATILIJA DAM on Thursday afternoon. The “notch” in the dam was cut as a safety measure some years ago. Four homes were lost up the canyon. (Horner photo)


A BARGE carrying a backhoe was swept over Matilija dam, the barge eventually wedging against a gate at the Los Robles diversion dam causing a build-up of tree limbs and debris. The diversion pond in front of the canal gates completely silted so that water roared unchecked down the river. Crews were taken out Thursday night at the diversion canal because of hazardous conditions.

The Red Cross set up evacuation headquarters at Nordhoff High School to assist persons forced from their houses. At least 20 homes were abandoned in the Riverside and Santa Ana Boulevard area in Oak View after firemen and sheriff’s deputies issued warnings. Trailers in the Arroyo Trailer Park at Casitas Springs — hard hit in 1969 — were pulled away from the river bed, as floodwaters eroded embankments.

Innumerable trees toppled and power lines failed. The Edison Company said that 30,000 customers were out of service in the county Thursday night. Service still had not been restored to 5,000 by Friday noon. Officials said that power outages were greatest in the Ojai Valley because of falling trees.

AT SOULE GOLF Course floodwaters threatened the No. 5 green and took out part of the No. 10 fairway. Crossings teetered dangerously, and numerous small trees crashed. A big oak by the No. 5 green fell, as did several behind the No. 9 tee. On Friday the course was still too wet for crews to thoroughly assess damage.

Schools closed Friday because of flooded grounds and hazardous road conditions. They will remain closed Monday because of the Lincoln birthday holiday.

GRAND AVENUE bridge linking the East End to the city was isolated when San Antonio Creek washed out one approach. Roads throughout the valley were closed at intervals as streams and barrancas rampaged over culverts and bridges.

Highway 150 was closed from Lake Casitas to the county line, and from Gorham Road to Santa Paula at the height of the storm. In Upper Ojai water poured over the Ferndale bridge, which was seriously threatened. Mudslides closed Highway 33 at Wheeler Gorge.

Dead of an apparent heart attack from sandbagging his home is Wesley Frazee of 386 Avenue de la Vereda. Frazee died while trying to protect his property from floodwaters pouring off Ojai Avenue, according to reports.

Ojai’s police department was bombarded incessantly with calls reporting power outages, falling trees, flooding conditions, wind, and lightning. Public Works Director Barry Lockton said an estimated 70-100 trees and branches were reported down throughout the city. Extensive debris compounded drainage problems.

At least two Ojai homes were inundated, Lockton said. One was at the corner of Grand and Shady Lane and another in the Golden West tract. Friday roads were thick with slippery mud to make driving extremely hazardous.

ROBERT MCKINNEY, general manager of the Casitas Municipal Water District, issued a press release Friday afternoon to announce a break in the 42-inch water line that serves the entire Ojai Valley. The rupture occurred south of Casitas Springs, and the mainline was shut down Friday morning. Water in storage tanks, however, could serve valley needs for several days while a bypass line is constructed, McKinney said. Valleyites were asked to use water sparingly until full service is restored, however.

At the Grand Avenue bridge in the East End, another CMWD line was also endangered. Plans were underway to bypass it Friday with an additional line, McKinney said.

Only about 50 cubic feet of water was being diverted from the Ventura River through the Los Robles Diversion Canal Friday because of debris piled up against gates. Normally 500 cubic feet would be sent down the canal, McKinney said.

Sheriff’s deputies and firemen were called to the aid of a man in Matilija Canyon Friday night when his home was flooded. Mudslides blocked the canyon road, however, and it was not until Friday morning that the man could be flown out when eight were airlifted.

About 20 other residents elected to stay in their homes in Matilija canyon, although a major mudslide blocks access. How long it will take to remove that block was not known Friday.

The storm dumped 10.36 inches of rain in Ojai, (6.77 inches in a 24 hour period) for a total of 32.15 inches for the season. Some 13.25 inches were recorded at the Summit station for the storm total, bringing the season to date there to 31.42 inches. In Oak View, only 7.55 inches of water fell during the storm, for a season total of 28.81.