Ojai Quarterly - Winter 2021-22 by Ojai Quarterly

ST,

E R 2 0 21 - 2 T 2 IN

PRESENT & F

OLD HOLLYWOOD O PIONEERS!

R U T U

Relics & Ruins of the Golden Age When Ojai Colonized Alaska

ZHAO’S ACTION/INACTION

An Oscar-Winning Process

Donna Sallen

Enter through the gates of Rancho Matilija and instantly feel the majestic beauty of the area. Surrounded by the Los Padres National Forest, Rancho Matilija is one of the best-hidden secrets in all of Ojai. This neighborhood features estate homes that appeal to those who appreciate the tranquility and privacy of a secluded, gated community, in a country setting. Sitting perfectly on over two acres with gardens, meandering walkways and mature trees. Once inside you will be delighted with the open, spacious floor plan, vaulted ceilings, three fireplaces, cooks dream kitchen all the while showcasing views from every room. This home features five bedrooms and a separate guest quarters. Cool off in the pool surrounded by nature. The gardens produce an abundance of fruits and vegetables; all watered with your own private well.

There’s no place like home ... Let me find yours.

Perfectly situated on just under four acres lies the historic and unique Casa de La Luna compound. Comprised of over 8,000 sq. ft, with 11 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms, this magnificent estate is likely the best value estate compound available anywhere in California. The approximate 5,000 sq. ft. main house has three bedrooms and six bathrooms. Limestone and hand-scraped wood floors, magnificent wrought-iron doors, huge new gourmet kitchen, and numerous other upgrades make this residence the focal point of the estate. Guests and visitors can stay in the two-bedroom, two-bath guest house or any of the four other residences making this property perfect for a large family or an individual with an entourage. Private and gated, this property must be seen to be appreciated.

Donna Sallen

805-798-0516

w w w. D o n n a S a l l e n . c o m D o n n a 4 re m a x @ a o l .c o m

Service that’s as elevated as your standards. Visit OjaiForSale.com

Clinton Haugan and Tyler Brousseau | Top Producing Ojai Natives “ Tyler and Clint were able to find us the perfect house in a very difficult market with little inventory. We found that they were extremely knowledgeable about the market and were able to get us access to homes before they hit the market, including the home that we ultimately purchased. Tyler and Clint provided great service throughout the entire process. They were very detail oriented, incredibly responsive and dedicated to finding the perfect home for us. We highly recommend Tyler and Clint for buying or selling a home!” - The Quick Family NEW LISTINGS

RUSTIC MODERN

740 Tico Road, Ojai

MOUNTAINTOP

CERTIFIED ORGANIC

RETREAT

FARMLAND

OFFERED AT

2.43 ACRES

$2,050,000

OFFERED AT

15990 Maricopa Highway MAIN HOUSE | GUEST HOUSE | ART STUDIO OFFERED AT $1,895,000

$1,245,000

TYLER BROUSSEAU

CLINTON HAUGAN

805.760.2213 Cal DRE 01916136 tyler.brousseau@sothebysrealty.com

805.760.2092 Cal DRE 02019604 clinton.haugan@sothebysrealty.com

© 2021 LIV Sotheby’s International Realty. All rights reserved. All data, including all measurements and calculations are obtained from various sources and has not and will not be verified by Broker. All information shall be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. LIV Sotheby’s International Realty is independently owned and operated and supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act.

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

GAB R I E LA C E S E Ñ A THE NEXT LEVEL OF REAL ESTATE SERVICES Realtor | Luxury Specialist Berkshire Hathaway

Unwavering commitment to my clients’ satisfaction. Driven by passion for the work I do 805.236.3814 | gabrielacesena@bhhscal.com CAL DRE# 01983530 Gabrielacesena.bhhscalifornia.com

810 Foothill Road | $2,730,000 |1 Acre | Classic Ojai Sanctuary A bold & refined Ojai hideaway, blending the beauty of nature w/everyday living! Framed by ancient oaks and stone accents, you’re welcomed to nearly 1-acre of vibrant grounds emphasizing tranquility, wellness and wholeness, convenience, and luxury, in one of the most distinguished downtown, yet

private, neighborhoods in Ojai! This single-level property features a 3br-2ba main house, plus an attached, lovely 1bd-1ba studio, totaling 3,234 sqft. Explore the lovely gardens, sparkling pool, enormous Oak Tree canopies, citrus trees, vegetable & flower gardens plus greenhouse

2249 McNell Road | $2,900,000 | 2 Homes | 1.5 Bt | Desirable Neighborhood Ultra-private exceptional 2-acre Ojai Retreat featuring TWO HOMES! Located in one of Ojai’s most priced, tranquil neighborhoods, set against a backdrop of majestic Topa Topa mountain views, this exceptional property embodies the essence of Ojai w/unrivaled tranquility & natural beauty! Explosive, dra-

matic mountain & valley views will take your breath away. This just under 3,000-sqft California Farmhouse is flooded with natural light and happy vibes. This property makes the California lifestyle easy. Upstairs are 3-bd/2-ba with stunning views.

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

WINTER 2021

Adventures in Fashion

O P E N DA I LY 1 1 - 5 : 3 0 | 3 2 1 E AS T O J A I AV E N U E | 8 05 . 6 4 6 . 1 92 7 Fo l l ow M e O n I n s ta g r a M @ d a n s k I b l u e

Est. 1914

R AINS

A Specialty Department Store

Over 100 years of exceptional quality and good value.

RAINS

805-646-1441 | www.rainsofojai.com | 218 E. Ojai Ave. OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Hummingbird Haven, built in 2019, is truly a delight to the senses. Not joys of a home you don't have to retrofit to your modern lifestyle, it's situated on over 1/2 acre of flowers, rs, varieties, and a forest with lovely y spaces to meditate, relax, and renew. This one is special. Private tours only.

12437 Sisar Road $1,400,000 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath .67 Acres

Live The Th Oj Ojaii Dream. D OjaiDream.com

805-766-7889

SOLD FOR $2,450,000

OJAI owned and operated.

Sharon MaHarry, Broker Associate BRE #01438966

THE TRUSTED NAME IN REAL ESTATE FOR OVER 20 YEARS

SOLD

Chic & Stylish Property with Views of the Topas and a Sparkling Pool, Too! $1.295m

SOLD

Oh-So-Sweet Bungalow $905K

ILiveInOjai.com

Team@PeraltaTeam.com @PeraltaTeamOjai

DRE# 01862743

A Hidden Gem in Ojai’s Montana Circle $2.1M

Spanish Charmer Close to the Beach $929K

Tonya Peralta BROKER ASSOCIATE 805.794.7458

Steven Sharp TEAM REALTOR 805.223.5315

Rachelle Guiliani TEAM REALTOR 805.746.5188

Paula Edmonds TEAM REALTOR 805.665.7382

Ashley Ramsey TEAM REALTOR 805.302.4175

Brooke Stancil OPERATIONS MANAGER 805.794.7262

OJAI QUARTERLY

p.98

TANGERINE DREAMS Pixie’s Storied Past & Uncertain Future Story By Kit Stolz

p.74

p.62

ON UNCOMMON GROUND

sometimes a grape notion

Architect’s Pandemic Passion Project On The Arts & Architecture Story by Bret Bradigan

The Harvesters Toil in the Ojai Vineyards Story by Richard Camp

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

FEATURES 112 TRIPPING ON OLD HOLLYWOOD Ojai’s Getaway to the Glamour Years By Jerry Dunn

p.122

Cover

raptor rhapsody

Pixies: Past, Present & Uncertain Future Illustration by Uta Ritke

Birds of Prey: Lives on the Plain Story By Chuck Graham

ST,

T E R 2 0 21 - 2

PRESENT & FUTU

OLD HOLLYWOOD O PIONEERS!

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Relics & Ruins of the Golden Age When Ojai Colonized Alaska

ZHAO’S ACTION/INACTION

An Oscar-Winning Process

SEAVING SRNTR RA RRA & VENTURA COUNTIES

Joe Ramos | Graham Goodfield | Mary Mormann | Kerry Mormann | Brad Berch

LOCAL

LEGACY PROPERTY | 6,500 AC RANCHO CAÑADA LARGA | $27,650,000

JUST SOLD | 10+ AC PIXIE ORCHARD MARICOPA HWY | OJAI | $1,275,000

Kerry Mormann & Associates is the Gold Standard for Ranch and Lifestyle properties along the Central Coast of California. With over 75 years of experience, our team holds the highest level of hospitality, community relations and expertise in Ranch, Land, Agriculture, Residential and Luxury Real Estate. We are steadfast in our commitment to our clients with decades of regional knowledge and care.

LISTINGS

NEW LISTING | RANCHO MONTE ALEGRE 2,900+AC | CARPINTERIA | $45,000,000

51 AC | RANCHO DEL CIELO AVOCADO RANCH | $1,150,000

121 AC | TORO CANYON PARK OFFERED AT $5,500,000

Buying or Selling? Contact us today: (805) 682-3242 | www.CoastalRanch.com DRE: 00598625

©2021 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information. 14 OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | DEPARTMENTS p.27

Ojai Notes

OJAI LIFE:

“Wings” Takes The First Oscar By Bret Bradigan

p.25

p.44

Editor’s Note

Where Ojai Gets Its Purpose

p.26

Artists & Galleries Contributors

p.50

Food & Drink

p.27 Ojai Notes

Giving the Gift of Ojai By Ilona Saari

p.44 Artists & Galleries

p.58

Plaza’s Patio Sage Mindful Meals By Bret Bradigan

p.50 Food & Drink Section

p.94 p.30

Topa Talk Ojai Better Listen Up! By Bret Bradigan

p.134

Nocturnal Submissions Last Chance Dating Service By Sami Zahringer

Beyond the Arcade Map

p.110 Top Hikes of Ojai

p.131 Healers of Ojai

p.133 Calendar of Events

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Midtown Medical Group – Pirie Road

Offering Internal Medicine and Geriatric Care in an Academic Medicine Environment

Call 805/948-6650 to Book Your Appointment 117 Pirie Road, Suite E, Ojai

2763 sq ft residence 3 bed / 2 bath - SOLD

3 bed / 2 bath / close to downtown SOLD... details on my website Call Riki to List & Sell.

Riki Strandfeldt

(805)

794-6474

Search all Ojai Valley, Ventura County & CA Regional MLS Listings in real-time: (no sign in required)

www.Riki4RealEstate.com 20+ years representing Sellers & Buyers in the Ojai Valley CA DRE Lic. # 01262026

Arbolada treasure on nearly a full acre with pool and private guesthouse. Walk to downtown Ojai. Guesthouse

Call Viv for pricing & details.

Vivienne Moody www.OjaiViv.com

(805)

798-1099

vmoody10@sbcglobal.net

CA DRE Lic. # 00989700

The Ivy first opened its doors on Ventura Blvd in Studio City in 1993 and closed in 2011 as so many corporate stores were opening, and it didn't feel right for The Ivy anymore. But now we discovered the magical town of Ojai and thought that this would be the perfect place for The Ivy to re-open. Our wide range of items includes antiques, fine estate jewelr jewelry, sterling silver, European porcelains and pottery, linens, and exceptional antique furniture from around the world. As always at The Ivy, tabletop accessories abound in fine dishware, crystal, and silver to finish off your table in style. Come see our newly expanded showroom featuring exclusive, very modern, and unusual furniture, art, rugs, and accessories. If you need to find the elusive "perfect" gift, The Ivy in Ojai is the one-stop-shop for all your needs. Come join us, after all: 'Everyone shops at The Ivy.'

theivyinc.com

805.272.8912

OJAI QUARTERLY Living the Ojai Life

WINTER 2021-22 Editor & Publisher

Bret Bradigan Sales Manager David Taylor Director of Publications Ross Falvo Creative Director Uta Ritke Social Media Director Elizabeth Spiller Ojai Hub Administrator Jessie Rose Ryan Contributing Editors Mark Lewis Jerry Camarillo Dunn Jr. Jesse Phelps Columnists Chuck Graham Ilona Saari Kit Stolz Sami Zahringer Circulation Target Media Partners

CONTACT US: Editorial & Advertising, 805.798.0177 editor@ojaiquarterly.com David@ojaiquarterly.com The contents of the Ojai Quarterly may not be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher. SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe to the OQ, visit ojaiquarterly.com or write to 1129 Maricopa Highway, B186 Ojai, CA 93023. Subscriptions are $24.95 per year.

Photo courtesy of Marisa Ragonesi

#OJAI IG #nomad360degrees

blanchesylvia o j a i c a l i f o r n i a 212 a east ojai avenue

instagram: @blanchesylviaojai

a n O j a i , C A f a m i l y b u s i n e s s

M a t t

J e s s

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

est. 1914 reopening 2022

ojaiplayhouse.com

@ojaiplayhouse

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | E D ITO R’ S N OTE

THE AMBROSE BIERCE THEORY “Every choice is an invention.” — Jean Paul Sartre Some years ago I was one of the adult helpers for the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation’s leadership program. The attendees, ages 12 to 15 or so, were selected because they were at risk of joining gangs, aggressive behavior, bad grades, dropping out of school. That they were called leaders was more aspirational than actual. Each week we got together for an hour-and-a-half of group games and activities, as well as honest talks. At program’s end we spent a weekend camping, a trip planned in every detail by the kids. Our facilitator was Jim Bailey, the director of Rock Tree Sky school, who is the kind of teacher we all wish we had at the toughest moments of our school days. Those kids were transformed. It was transformative for the adults, too. I’d love to see that program resurrected. Bailey’s first instruction on the first session was there was to be no teasing, no snarky comments or mean asides. “Zingers out,” he’d say. As the weeks progressed, he had to say “C’mon now, zingers out!” less and less. Ironic detachment began to be replaced by earnest effort and authentic talk. You wish that there was a legion of Jims to moderate social media, where the public sphere seems especially toxic; people feel free in their anonymity to say things they’d never say in person. It disconnects what people say from the consequences of those words. It’s the low simmer of nihilism; nothing matters, what’s the point, why bother? It’s not new. What’s new is the astonishing and consequence-free ease of it. An earlier example is Ambrose Bierce, perhaps America’s most famous cynic. He was the pugnacious short-story writer and newspaperman who wrote “The Devil’s Dictionary.” Here’s sample entries to give you an idea: Advice, n. The smallest current coin. Blackguard, n. A man whose qualities, prepared for display like a box of berries in a market — the fine ones on top — have been opened on the wrong side. An inverted gentleman. Litigation, n. A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage. In 1913, at the age of 71, Bierce was on a tour of his old Civil War battlefields when he decided to investigate firsthand the Mexican Revolution. He joined Pancho Villa’s army as an observer (more on that in a later column) and thereupon disappeared. Why this biting satirist and cynic felt compelled to embed with one of history’s most enigmatic leaders remains unexplained. But one theory holds that if you scratch a cynic, you will find underneath a bruised idealist, someone who never gives up seeking despite continual disappointments: even an old man who survived a tragic war, bad marriages, greedy plutocrats and grifting politicians. You wonder if Bierce wanted nothing so much in this world as to be proven wrong. This issue of the OQ is dedicated to those like Bierce, and we hold up the lamp of his memory to these pages; it is a haven for the searchers and seekers. Look at Kit Stolz’ account of pixie tangerines; you’d be hard pressed to find a more optimistic group than farmers. Mark Lewis’ masterful piece colorfully connects Homer, Alaska and our humble home, wherein some of our residents sought to build a better way of living. Sami Zahringer’s hilarity about a dating service honors the truth that hope springs eternal. Scott Johnson’s skyscraper-building career has taken him all around the world, but he chose Ojai as his home. Between Richard Camp’s wine harvesting fun and Chuck Graham’s raptor rhapsody, there’s a bright line of connection between Ojai’s soil and sky. Reading Ilona Saari’s guide to Ojai gifts feels itself like a gift to us in the “Little Orange.” What connects all of these pieces is the refreshing lack of cynicism or the bitter brew of snark that pervades the online world. Here we live on a human scale where we matter to each other. As we navigate our way through the emotional minefields of the holidays and beyond, please accept this issue in that spirit.

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | C O N TRI BU TO R S SERGIO ARAGONÉS

began drawing for Mad Magazine in 1963 and he has drawn tens of thousands of cartoons since. He is regarded as among the world’s most distinctive and prolific cartoonists.

Ojai pixie tangerine peelin’ native and an editorial and destination wedding photographer. Check out her work at fancyfreephotography. com

JERRY DUNN

CHUCK GRAHAM’S work

worked with the National Geographic Society for 35 years and has won three Lowell Thomas Awards, the “Oscars” of the field, from the Society of American Travel Writers.

ABIGAIL NAPP is a freelance writer with a fondness for Italian food, passionate people and investigative journalism. Follow her @abigailnapp on Instagram

KIT STOLZ is an award-winning journalist who has written for newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and online sites. He lives in Upper Ojai and blogs at achangeinthewind.com.

BRANDI CROCKETT is an

RICHARD CAMP

is an Emmy and Writers Guild Award-winning TV writer; theater director, Artistic Director of the Ojai Performing Arts Theater. Wine aficionado and Tenacious Tuesday Trivia competitor. richardcamp16@gmail.com

MARK LEWIS is a writer and editor based in Ojai. He can be contacted at mark lewis1898@gmail.com.

has appeared in Outdoor Photographer, Canoe & Kayak, Trail Runner, Men’s Journal, The Surfer’s Journal and Backpacker.

ILONA SAARI is

UTA CULEMANNRITKE

is an independent artist, designer and curator. She is a member of Ojai Studio Artists and runs utaculemann.design.

JESSE PHELPS

a writer who’s worked in TV/film, rock’n’roll and political press, and as an op-ed columnist, mystery novelist and consultant for HGTV. She blogs for food: mydinnerswithrichard. blogspot.com.

SAMI ZAHRINGER is

grew up in Ojai and has written extensively for and about the town. He enjoys freelance projects and throwing things. He can be reached at jessephelps@outlook. com

an Ojai writer and award-winning breeder of domestic American long-haired children. She has more forcedmeat recipes than you.

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

What does it mean to be Educated?

oakgroveschool.org/begin OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | oja i n ot es Thornton Wilder, author of “Our Town,” was a student at The Thacher School, his first experience with small-town life. Though set in Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire, the time frame and even the people in “Our Town” were reminiscent of Wilder’s experience in Ojai.

IN BRIEF: OJAI: TALK OF THE TOWN PODCASTS 50 YEARS SINCE ATTICA! ATTICA! ATTICA! Ojai attorney Lenny Klaif was freshly graduated from the University of Iowa in September, 1971 when a group of inmates protesting inhumane treatment took as hostages several of their guards. Four days later, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller sent in state troopers, who killed 43 people, including 10 prison guards. Klaif shares on the podcast about his time representing prisoners during the lengthy and complicated aftermath.

FROM MEXICO TO CANADA, ON FOOT Writer Kit Stolz walked 2,560 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail, starting seven years ago and mostly keeping to his plan of 500 miles per year. He shares with Ojai’s podcast about the lessons learned along the way, the close bonds of PCT hikers as well as local topics of which Stolz is an informed commentator, including Ojai’s increasing aridification and the new wave of migrants to our “smiling vale.”

He was a close witness to the confusion and paranoia that resulted from this tragedy and the long legal struggle in its wake. The last case wasn’t settled until 1999, nearly 30 years after.

LIVING TREASURES ON RACIAL JUSTICE

FARMING & COOKING IN OJAI

Recently selected by Ojai’s Rotary Clubs as Living Treasures, Danny Everett and Tiarzha Taylor join the podcast to talk about their civil rights activism learned from their parents, the country’s lingering legacy of slavery and Ojai’s need to face up to its own issues.

Farmer & The Cook’s Steve Sprinkel talks about the challenges of farming in Ojai’s arid climate, the avoidable yet inevitable tragedy of the climate crisis and how he and Olivia Chase formed their partnership in life and business, opening their community institution more than 20 years ago. Plus, jokes.

Everett, a medal-winning Olympian and renowned chef (Soul Feté) and Taylor, former chair of the Ojai Education Foundation, grew up in very different parts of the country — he in Texas, she in Alaska, and met at UCLA, where both were standout athletes. They live in Upper Ojai where they’ve raised three children through the local school system.

THE FIRST ACADEMY AWARDS & OJAI

2 OJAI

TWO DEGREES

OF SEPARATION BETWEEN

ONE: The first Academy Awards (see Jerry Dunn’s story on page 112) was held May 16, 1929 in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. There were 270 people in attendance and the entire ceremony lasted 15 minutes. Best Picture (then called Outstanding Picture) was won by “Wings” a silent film about World War I aviators, directed by William “Wild Bill” Wellman, himself a flyer and member of the war’s Lafayette Escadrille.

casually invited him to “drop by” after seeing him play hockey (Wellman was also a former pro hockey player). TWO: Including a short-lived marriage to a French woman during the war who died in a bombing raid, Wellman was married five times, the last to dancer Dorothy “Dottie” Coonan, to whom he was married for 41 years and with whom he had seven children. One of those children, daughter Maggie Wellman Cerminaro, is a long-time Ojai resident, community leader and volunteer with the Rotary Club of Ojai, among other endeavors.

Wellman, discovered by Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Mary Pickford when he piloted his plane onto the grounds of their estate, Pickfair, after Fairbanks

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

TOPA TALK . . . O J A I B E T T E R LISTEN UP!

BY BRET BRADIGAN

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | oja i not es

tephanie St. James, then in her 20s and working in the Ojai Valley Inn’s Food & Beverage unit, saw an opportunity for Ojai’s younger people, often, like her, working service industry jobs with side hustles, to have a place where they can be heard, and listen to each other.

Also, they could offer hot takes on issues of the day and lots of dishing on celebrities, royals and reality TV.

The Topa Talk podcast — with its not-safe-for-work humor and often penetrating human insight — has met that need. Now about to enter its fourth season and with more than 100 episodes and counting, the podcast has staked a claim on Ojai’s cultural landscape. ORIGIN STORY: The podcast launched in March 2019 with co-host Melissa Lamb for the first season, then with third-generation Ojai native Cody Creighton joining Stephanie for season 2. Creighton, a former guest, was the consensus replacement choice of both St. James and Lamb. CONTENT: The flowing format often features interviews with local entrepreneurs, artists and activists. Favorite topics include the travails of the British royal family, Tim Robinson’s “I Think You Should Leave” sketch show, and Ojai’s boutique wars. Creighton said, “I tend to have fun, and like to think I’m more of a jawdropper … provocative!” Though he said he keeps a steady level of background caution. “It’s really important that nothing I say can be misinterpreted and misconstrued. I want to stand by it.” St. James agrees, noting that “Cody will ask me to edit out things, if he thinks people might take it the wrong way.” ON CO-HOSTING: Stephanie said the early episodes typically ran 45 minutes or less. Now, that amount of time is just prologue to their deep dives. “If you put a mic in my hand I can talk for hours,” Creighton says. “45 minutes in, I’m just waking up … Stephanie and I were just acquaintances, and this has cemented us as best friends. We just adore getting to know each other while other people listen.” St.

James added, “Cody and I like to bring in humor, personal stories, and still highlight community happenings.” MISSION STATEMENT: St. James said, “We’re trying to level the playing field and have conversations with people where they feel safe and available to express their opinion, whether it be popular or not.” FAVORITE RECENT EPISODES: Season 3 | Episode 17 | “Can you believe it?” Season 3 | Episode 15 “Hateration & Holeration” Season 3 | Episode 10 “He is Risen.” INSPIRATION: The “Call Your Girlfriend” podcast “and I have an obsession with all the small business owners and see them as celebrities in the community,” St. James said. They’ve interviewed city council candidates, artists, makers and health officials. “The goal started out as an opportunity to shed light on these businesses, the people who run them, and how hard work/determination leads to success. We, along the way, found out that the community played a huge role in all of that. Cody and I now like to bring in humor, personal stories, and still highlight community happenings.” SIDE HUSTLES: St. James owns Hands Up Studios “for people who always wanted a podcast, but you don’t know where to start and it seems like a scary venture and you have no experience with audio.” Creighton, on the other hand, prefers the reliability and benefits of a regular job, “though I’ve also been an entrepreneur.” WHEN: Every other week and often more frequently. “I want to have a big celebration for our 100th episode,” Creighton said. WHERE? iTunes, Spotify or wherever you catch your podcasts. You can reach them at topatalk@gmail.com or handsupstudio@gmail.com, or on Instagram at @topatalk. The hosts were recently interviewed for the Ojai: Talk of the Town podcast, from which excepts are printed for this interview.

DRE#01768956

YOU DON’T HAVE TO PUT YOUR HOME SELLING PLANS ON HOLD unless you want to. People are actively buying homes from a distance. We are open for business and here to help you!

LET’S TALK.

805.646.6768

NextHome 307 A East Matilija Street

Jeri Becker 805.340.2846

Lynn Goodman 805.573.5927

Ojai

Heather Erickson

805.798.3358

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Riley Becker

805.646.6768

monicaros.org

JOYFUL LEARNING

75 years of

Blending academic fundamentals with the richness of the visual arts, drama, and music. Preserving the magic of childhood in Ojai’s beautiful East End. Pre-K - 3rd Grade • Toddler Program • Summer Camp 805.646.8184 783 McNell Rd. Ojai, CA 93023 monicaros.org

Two Distinct Hotels the

Rooms, suites & Cottages in-Room sPa seRviCes fiRePlaCes & wood stoves Clawfoot oR whiRlPool tuBs

Emerald

One Unique Vision the

Blue

R ooms, suites & Bungalows Continential BReakfast lush g aRdens, Pool & sPa PiCtuResque CouRtyaRds

The Essence of Ojai

Escape the Ordinary

805.646.5277 iguanainnsofojai.com

Boutique Hotels & Vacation Homes

Providing the Highest Quality Custom Residential & Commercial Architectural Design and Construction Services.

Whitman Architectural Design “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” Winston Churchill

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

805.646.8485 www.whitman-architect.com 33

an Ojai tradition since 1964

Open Every Day 9:30 - Sunset

302 W. Matilija Street | 805-646-3755 OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | A RTS & L I T ER ATURE

38 Chloe Zhao’s Ojai Story 42

Oscar-Winning Filmmaker on Home, ‘Eternals’ & The Future of Cinema By Bret Bradigan

Covid sessions Music in the Time of Quarantine By Sami Zahringer

artists & galleries The People, Places That Make Ojai an Arts Destination

Frameworks of Ojai custom picture framing

archival quality friendly service Explore Ojai Valley’s History, Art and Culture 130 W. Ojai Ave. 805 640-1390 OjaiValleyMuseum.org

Hours: Monday ~ Friday 10 - 5 Saturday 11 - 3, or by appointment. (805) 640-3601 236 w. ojai ave, #203, ojai, ca 93023 info@frameworksofojai.com 36

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Call to learn more & schedule a tour of our NEW state-of-the-art building project!

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2022-2023 Ojai Valley School offers a challenging academic and co-curricular program for students in grades PK-12. Our offerings for high school students have expanded with new classrooms, science & tech labs, robotics Makerspace, a Student Commons & library complex, and a modern dorm with sweeping views of the Ojai Valley.

Small school. Huge opportunities.

OVS.ORG | (805) 646-1423

CHLOÉ ZHAO Talks Storytelling, ‘Nomadland,’ ‘The Eternals’ & Ojai BY BRET BRADIGAN Chloé Zhao screened her second feature film, “The Rider,” to an overflowing house at the Ojai Art Center on November 13 as the closing event for the Ojai Film Festival. She stuck around to field questions about this quiet, moving tale of a bronc rider recovering from a brain injury.

my mattress,” she said. “A week later, we came back, the air was still bad; (and then) I saw how the community came together and thought this could be home.” It reminded her of the rural communities in South Dakota where they shot those first two films. “It’s so raw, you feel part of something bigger.”

The importance of this film to her stellar career could hardly be overstated. “The Rider” led to her being hired to direct two very different films — one a quiet study of a woman in her 60s leading a nomadic life, and the other the latest event movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

She thanked the audience for coming out. “It’s so nice to drive 30 seconds and be here,” she said. She found Ojai through a “Google search for ‘small towns close to L.A.’” With the panoramic mountains, the oak forests, and “the mists lifting off the valley floor,” the filmmaker, known for her dramatic locations, was surprised so few films besides “Easy A” have been shot in the Ojai.

Her third film, “Nomadland,” won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and, for Frances McDormand’s portrayal of Fran, a transient low-wage worker, her third Best Actress win. Zhao worked mostly with a cast of wanderers, whose gritty reality bares scant resemblance to social media influencers’ #vanlife. She is only the second woman, after Kathryn Bigelow for “Hurt Locker,” to win Best Director. Her fourth and most recent film, the latest addition to the 26-and-counting roster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “The Eternals” was made with a high-wattage cast including Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Selma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani and the reunion of “Game of Thrones” heartthrobs Kit Harrington and Richard Madden. While Zhao’s choice to helm the MCU’s latest tale seemed at the time counter-intuitive, Zhao reflected that she grew up on anime and graphic novels. She added that Kevin Feige, MCU president, gave her leeway to take chances with this hero story because of the success of the recent “The Infinity Saga” movies. Zhao and her partner, cinematographer Joshua James Richards, moved to Ojai on December 4, 2017, the same day the Thomas Fire erupted. “I came up here with two dogs, my boyfriend and 38

“The Rider” follows Brady Blackburn’s struggle to recover from his injury and find a place for himself in a world constrained by poverty, lack of opportunity and the pressure to give up on his dreams. The quiet moments of the film, such as when Brady Jandreau, the real-life rodeo bronc buster who plays Blackburn, patiently trains a horse to the saddle, reveal layers of identity and complexity with few words and a careful building of suspense. Zhao told the Art Center crowd that that pivotal scene with Jandreau training the horse was serendipitous; they were wary of him putting himself at risk, but his quiet confidence working with the unbroken horse made for riveting viewing. “We just kept the cameras rolling,” she said. Since Jandreau was in reality recovering from a skull fracture that happened in the rodeo ring, the movie follows a broad outline of real-life events, including the casting of Jandreau’s father and sister as their film counterparts. Scenes where Jandreau visit his friend and fellow rodeo circuit star Lane Scott show the human cost of rodeo; Scott nearly died OQ / WINTER 2021-22

BRADY JANDREAU IN “THE RIDER”

during a bull-riding event and is in a care facility. The touching scenes with Scott helped build tension and demonstrate the human cost of rodeo. Zhao (pronounced jau) used the dramatic landscapes of South Dakota’s Badlands to great effect. She shot her first full-length feature film, “Songs My Brother Taught Me,” on the nearby Oglalla Sioux reservation, and it was where Zhao first met Jandreau. “I liked his face,” she said. And when real-life events with his injury presented themselves, they knew they had something worthy of being captured on camera. “There’s nothing in the script that measures up to what the real world gives us,” she said. “The Rider” became a festival circuit favorite and winner of several independent film awards. It brought Zhao to the attention of Hollywood, particularly McDormand, who had optioned the rights to Jessica Bruder’s nonfiction book, “Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century. Legend has it that McDormand left the publicity scrum at the Sundance Film Festival after her Oscar-earning performances in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” to hurry over to a screening of “The Rider.” McDormand knew in Zhao she had found the person to bring Bruder’s book about the largely invisible transient workforce that ekes out a living working a series of low-wage temporary jobs — harvesting beets, Amazon fulfillment centers and cleaning toilets in campgrounds among them. Zhao was born in Beijing to a steel company executive father

CHLOE ZHAO, ONLY THE SECOND WOMAN TO WIN THE BEST DIRECTOR OSCAR.

and a mother who worked at a hospital. She spoke little English and had even less interest in school when her parents sent her to boarding school, Brighton College, in England. She finished high school in Los Angeles, college at Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts, before attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She trained as a film editor, and said she still feels “most passionate editing” the films together. She said she incorporates Taoist practice in her approach to directing: “Action, non-action … not to do what we set out to do.” The ending of “The Rider” is an example. “It’s ambiguous, the audience can take away what they need.” Among her inspirations are Terrence Malick, whose explorations of nature, memory and transendence in such films as “Badlands,” “Days of Heaven” and “Tree of Life,” seem Zhao-like in their depth and beauty. Another is Zhang Zimou, whose “Raise the Red Lantern,” explores conflicts between old and new, between generations. She told the crowd her advice to young filmmakers is “You have to take five, to step away from it … in my earlier films I was too enamored of it all.” And the difference between working with non-actors and megastars? “The actors are making choices about the character. You have the navigate that.”

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

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An international center dedicated to understanding, harmony, and peace among all peoples, comparative studies in religion, philosophy and science, altruism and the ideals of a spiritual life.

Move-in ready 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath plus office on almost 1/2 acre, completely remodeled in 2003. Master bedroom with vaulted ceilings, large walk-in closet & ensuite bath with double vanity, steam shower & soaking tub. Living room with fireplace & sliding door out to resort style walk-in pool/spa. Separate fenced side yard with driveway access. Utilities ready for A.D.U, shop or RV pad.

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2 Krotona Hill, Ojai 805 646-2653 www.krotonainstitute.org OQ / WINTER 2021-22

SMITTY & JULIJA

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

STORY BY SAMI ZAHRINGER

For the artist, art is a habit, a compulsion even, and with sufficient determination and care, it can thrive against the odds, even during a pandemic. As Covid-19 swept the U.S., taking with it over half a million souls and counting, all our lives changed. The lives of musicians and performers, especially, were up-ended. A year’s worth of work disappeared as concerts, private events and festivals were summarily canceled. The restrictions affected all spheres of life but as they lifted in shops and other sectors of the economy, the one thing we still absolutely could not do for most of the pandemic was to gather together for live entertainment. All over the world, musicians struggled and, in short order, had to learn to adapt to new platforms in order to reach home-bound audiences more hungry than ever for fresh content.

At Euterpe Farms in Ojai, popular musical duo Smitty and Julija were ahead of the curve in keeping the music alive and helping local artists be heard. Not long into the pandemic they launched the Euterpe Covid Sessions. Nobody could say how long the lockdown and the waxing and waning restrictions would last. Nobody thought it would last long enough to record and produce 42 songs but, uniquely in the valley, Euterpe Music was well-placed, well-equipped, and highly motivated to provide a creative solution to the squalls of anxiety, frustration, and the sudden gale of free time blowing through all our days. “That is the soul of creativity, isn’t it?” says Julija Zonic. “A byproduct, a response to a challenging situation, and just like water

when it faces an obstacle, it either changes the course or rises above it. Either way, it has to move on!”

Euterpe Farms is named for one of the Nine Muses who entertained the Gods on Mount Olympus. Euterpe was the Muse of Music. The farm is situated on five acres and overlooks the OVLC’s Ventura River Preserve. It is a veritable Arcadia of native plants, and owner, Smitty West, is an educator and private supplier of native plant varietals. Smitty’s other passion is music, and together with his partner, beloved local singer and music educator, Julija Zonic, they launched the popular monthly summer sunset concert series — “The Euterpe Farms Celebration of Nature and Song.” The aim was to provide free, live, local music at the Tienda Stage under the oaks by the windmill and, from 2008, over countless enchanted evenings, many of the valley’s most beloved local performers have won new and loyal audiences: TD Lind, Danny McGaw, The Rose Valley Thorns, among countless others. The COVID Sessions offered an opportunity for artists young and old to play for an audience and under the seasoned direction of Julija, youngsters could continue to learn about music and both solo and ensemble performance. A few even learned to perform with animal actors, and enormous Norman, the farm dog, is credited on several videos. Especially for young artists such as Kyra Maal-King, Poeme Howard, Kaylie Turner, and Arshan and Shams Barati, the series has a much-needed focus in the darkest days of lockdown, when visiting friends and family or going anywhere at all was not allowed. Check out some of the 42 Covid Sessions online.

You can find the Euterpe Covid Sessions on YouTube.com For information about the Euterpe Concert Series, email smitty@smittywest.com

LEFT: KYRA MAAL-KING GETS ZOOM INSTRUCTION FROM SMITTY & JULIJA.

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | VIS UAL ARTI STS Perhaps it was potter and “the Mama of Dada” Beatrice Wood’s influence, going back nearly 90 years. Maybe it even goes back further, to the Chumash people’s ingenious and astounding artistry with basketry. It’s clear that Ojai has long been a haven for artists. The natural beauty

RICHARD AMEND

Mysterious equations of abstraction, nature, architecture, and illumination rolled into the stillness and clarity of singular, psychological moments. “Thought Form #1: Clearing.” Oil on canvas, 48” x 36.” Contact: amend@pobox.com or visit RichardAmend.net. 323-806-7995

PATRISH KUEBLER

is an artist who expresses herself in two strikingly different mediums: soft pastel and rich encaustic. 805-649-3050 PatrishKueblerFineArt.com

MARC WHITMAN

Original Landscape, Figure & Portrait Paintings in Oil. Ojai Design Center Gallery. 111 W Topa Topa Street. marc@whitman-architect. com. Open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

JOYCE HUNTINGTON

Intuitive, visionary artist, inspired by her dreams and meditations. It is “all about the Light.” Her work may be seen at Frameworks of Ojai, 236 West Ojai Ave, where she has her studio. 805-6403601 JoyceHuntingtonArt.com

framed so well by the long arc and lush light of an east-west valley lends itself to artistic pursuits, as does the leisurely pace of life, the sturdy social fabric of a vibrant community and the abundant affection and respect for artists and their acts of creation.

SUSAN STINSMUEHLEN AMEND Paints on

CINDY PITOU BURTON

Photojournalist and editorial photographer, specializing in portraits, western landscapes and travel. 805-646-6263 798-1026 cell OjaiStudioArtists.org

clear glass with kilnfired enamels, mapping unpredictable rhythms of thought. Custom commissions for art & architecture welcome. SusanAmend@pobox. com She is also on Facebook.

DUANE EELLS

KAREN K. LEWIS

Eells searches for beauty in his work. His paintings are about energy, empathy and connections. Bold strokes with classical drawing principles drive his work. Studio visits by appointment. Collect online at eells.com 805-633-0055

On a road trip to our new home in 1964, my children kept asking, “Are we there yet?” Our new town was integrating its schools.Reviewing these diverse faces in 2021, I ask myself, “Are we there yet?” KarenKLewis.com

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ROY P. GRILLO

Creating life-like highly detailed drawings and oil paintings of ballerinas, pet and people portraits. 805-450-3329 Roygrillo.com

Inspired by medieval chain mail — stainless jewelry, scarves, purses, belts and wearable metal clothing. UnzickerDesign.com 805-646-4877

LISA SKYHEART MARSHALL

TOM HARDCASTLE

Rich oils and lush pastel paintings from Nationally awarded local artist. 805-895-9642

An Ojai valley artist making original watercolor+ink paintings with plants and flowers, birds and insects. SkyheartArt.com

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | A RT GA L L E RIES

FIRESTICK GALLERY

Firestick Pottery provides classes, studio/kiln space and a gallery abundant with fine ceramics. 1804 East Ojai Avenue. Open from 10 am to 6 pm every day. Gallery Open to the Public. FirestickPottery.com 805-272-8760

NUTMEG’S OJAI HOUSE

Featuring local artists, including William Prosser and Ted Campos. American-made gifts and cards, crystals, and metaphysical goods. 304 North Montgomery nutmegsojaihouse.com 805-640-1656

PORCH GALLERY

Contemporary Art in a Historic House. 310 East Matilija Avenue PorchGalleryOjai.com 805-620-7589 IG: PorchGalleryOjai

CANVAS AND PAPER paintings & drawings 20th century & earlier Thursday – Sunday noon – 5pm 311 North Montgomery Street canvasandpaper.org

POPPIES ART & GIFTS You haven’t seen Ojai until you visit us! Local art of all types, unusual gifts, Ojai goods! Open daily 10-6. Closed Tues. 323 Matilija Street

DAN SCHULTZ FINE ART

Plein air landscapes, figures and portraits in oil by nationally-acclaimed artist Dan Schultz. 106 North Signal Street | 805-317-9634 DanSchultzFineArt.com

OVA ARTS

40+ LOCAL artists with a unique selection of contemporary fine arts, jewelry and crafts. 238 East Ojai Ave 805-646-5682 Daily 10 am – 6 pm OjaiValleyArtists.com

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

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OQ | W I NE & DIN E

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Giving the Gift of Ojai

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Local Makers & Their Creations By Ilona Saari

Local Winemaker Enlists Curious Crew By Richard Camp

58 plaza patio pleasures Sage Mindful Meal Reopens

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

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• 533 E. Ojai Avenue, Ojai

CRAFTED IN OJAI SPROUTED SNACKS, SPREADS & GRANOLA

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OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Happy H ARTISAN INFUSED OLIVE OILS BY CAROLINA GRAMM

OQ | FOOD & DR I NK

BEATO CHOCOLATE BY PORCH GALLERY OJAI

BY ILONA SAARI

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Holidays! OQ | FOOD & DR I NK

HAND CRAFTED PASTA BY THE OLIVELLA TEAM

COOK BOOKS BY PRIVATE CHEF ROBIN GOLDSTEIN

BREAD BY CLAUD MANN

FIG & OLIVE TAPENADE BY PRIVATE CHEF ROBIN GOLDSTEIN

While the Merry Bells Keep Ringing. Happy Holidays to You. OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | FOOD & DR I NK

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THE OLIVELLA TEAM. PRODUCTS AT OJAIVALLEYINN.COM

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I know! The actual song lyric says “Happy Holiday,” but the long holiday season encompasses more than a single, food-centric celebration. From Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day, since the first settlers gorged on corn and fowl, to children devouring holiday cookies, to adults sipping champagne as confetti falls, to lovers sharing a heart-shaped box of chocolates, the winter season should be renamed “the season of the gifts” for all those who feté and feed us, sending gym memberships spik52

ing during the

winter

months.

As a child, when my family would go over the parkways and through the streets to grandmother’s house in Brooklyn for Thanksgiving, mom taught me never go to someone’s house for dinner empty-handed, even to grandma’s. Always bring a “hostess” gift, she instructed. I say “hostess” because this was ancient, pre-women’s “lib” times. Even if the OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | FOOD & DR I NK

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host was a man, one brought a “hostess” gift. Usually, those gifts leaned toward flowers or whiskey (wine wasn’t a thing back then). So, as an adult going to friends’ homes for dinner, I always brought something —

usually wine (now a national craze) or flowers. My mom taught me well. However, after being a guest at a gazillion dinner parties, I’ve tried to be a little more creative in my host/ess gift giving, and living in Ojai with so many “made in Ojai” food and drink products has made it easier. Here’s a bible of blissful suggestions:

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | FOOD & DR I NK

If you insist on bringing a bottle of fine Ojai wine (and we have many good wineries to choose from), pair a bottle of white with a wedge of brie from Westridge Market and a loaf of Claud Mann’s freshly baked Rôtie Sourdough bread (très français). Or, if the wine is red, pick up Claud’s homemade “Hurricane Brownies.” Brownie backstory: Mommy Bea, Claud’s grandmother, lived in Galveston, Texas, and when her power went out during hurricane season, melting the butter in her fridge, she would use that melted butter to bake brownies for the kids waiting out the storm. Still warm after coming out of her gas oven, the tops would get brushed with more melted butter then sprinkle a pinch of sea salt atop of each. Bea’s husband, a Texas oilfield worker, coined them “Bea’s Hurricane Brownies.” Now, a hundred years later, you can find Mommy Bea’s “Hurricane Brownies” and Claud’s breads at Ojai’s Sunday Farmers Market or at his Rotie Restaurant in town. Of course, both the bread and/or brownies are perfect host/ess gifts on their own. Divine!

Step across the street into Poppies Art & Gifts, a specialty store featuring the works of Ojai artists and writers, as well as other Ojai products, including Ojai Olive Oil Company’s infused olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars. Reverential!!! These olive oils and vinegars can also be found in Rains and Westridge Markets.

WWW.POPPIESARTANDGIFTS.COM

If you find yourself strolling around Ojai’s beautiful Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, check out the terrific host/ess foodie gifts in the Libbey Market, including Ojai Honey, harvested in Ojai, assorted olive oil blends from the aforementioned Ojai Olive Oil Company, and handmade pastas from the culinary team of Olivella, the Inn & Spa’s signature restaurant. Celestial!

WWW.OJAIVALLEYINN.COM

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Speaking of chocolate, what host/ess wouldn’t grin from ear-toear when scoring a gift of The Porch Gallery’s whimsical and so delicious Beato Chocolates, inspired by artist Beatrice Wood (nicknamed Beato), who was the “Mama of Dada” (the art protest movement). When asked the secret of living to 105, she answered, “I owe it all to chocolate, art books and young men.” Who can resist these Beato-inspired chocolates each with a different added flavor: “Bored at a Cocktail Party” (pretzels), “Menage A Trois” (toffee, sea salt), or “Pinching Spaniards” (roasted Marcona almonds and smoked paprika). (Beato thought Spanish men were so handsome, “I could pinch them.”) Check out the Porch Gallery’s Store for all its Beato chocolates, including a new holiday entry, “Peppermint Retreat.” Beatific!

WWW.PORCHGALLERYOJAISTORE.COM

In a “healthy” frame of mind? Lark Ellen Farm has the most delicious six organic grain-free granolas, and six types of trail mixes and sprouted nuts and seeds. Not to mention it also offers three flavors of savory almond pâté spreads (also available in a gift pack). Seraphic!!! You can find these goodies in Westridge Markets, Rainbow Bridge, Revel, and Rancho Market in Oak View.

WWW.LARKELLENFARM.COM

Mix and match a creative gift basket of Lark Ellen Farm products and one or more flavors of Ojai’s own Lori’s Original Lemonade, also sold in Westridge Markets. Flavory!

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

OQ | FOOD & DR I NK

WWW.LORISORIGINALLEMONADE.COM Want to bring a book as a dinner party gift? Make it a cookbook from Chef Robin Goldstein. Her books are filled with innovative recipes and are just plain beautiful to page through. Robin’s cookbooks are sold in Ojai at Rains Department Store, Pixie General Store, Topa Mountain Winery, Caravan Outpost and the Ojai Valley Museum Store. Pair the book with her amazing fig and olive tapenade also sold at the Pixie General Store, Topa Mountain Winery, plus Carolina Gramm’s Shop in the Galleria. Glorious! WWW.PRIVATECHEFROBIN.COM

Another choice holiday gift for a host/ess is a jar of Heavenly Honey, which you can taste before buying at its tasting room in Ojai’s Arcade. Perhaps, pair a jar of Ojai Sage Honey with the shop’s new custom blend, organic, loose-leaf teas. Heavenly!

While exploring the shops and restaurants in the Arcade, drop in at the Carolina Gramm Store and marvel over her homemade, extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars, as well as Ojai made marmalades and jams, and Chef Robin’s fig and olive tapenade. Angelic! WWW.CAROLINAGRAMM.COM

How about coffee or tea for thee? It’s a perfect hostess gift — caffeinated or calming. Go for an aroma-filled bag of “Twenties Espresso” from Beacon Coffee, or Lo>e Café’s packaged “Dune” coffee in a single bag or in a gift box or the Café’s “Zip Zinger” espresso blend (including chocolate). Also on sale for a holiday host/ess gift are the specialty blends from Ojai Coffee Roasting, Java & Joe’s Specialty Coffee (and teas) or botanical potions from Magic Hour’s aromatic teas, including a yoga-inspired “Child’s Pose” blend. Namaste!

Happy Holidays WWW.HEAVENLYHONEYCOMPANY.COM

Whatever your heavenly, beatific, divine or angelic choices, you’ll be sure to leave your host/ess rapturous.

And don’t miss Rains Department Store filled with Ojai gourmet food delights (including Char Man 5-ounce hot sauce) and a selection of cookware just a few steps away from the Heavenly Honey Tasting Room. Sublime!!

WWW.RAINSOFOJAI.COM

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

NORTH ANN STREET, VENTURA

Fred Evans 805-267- 6701 CalDRE #00893591

Tori Pearson 805-216-2060 CalDRE #01346067

Beautiful 2.41-acre parcel offers panoramic coastal and island views overlooking the Mission town of San Buenaventura. Daytime presents breathtaking city and ocean views; nighttime offers a spectacular display of sparkling city lights along the coast. The property rests on gentle slopes located at the top of N Ann Street within walking distance of downtown and the beaches. Ocean breezes and a nearly year-round ideal climate make this a special place on the coast of California for a private estate. LISTED FOR $2,000,000 at NorthAnnStreet.com

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

MUSHROOM MOCHACCINO

LEFT TO RIGHT: CINDY TIRADO, ERIK THOMPSON, ANNA HERRERA, ROSA ACOSTA, MELISSA BLANCHARD, ERNEST NIGLIO AND CAMILLE MARTINEZ

STORY BY BRET BRADIGAN PHOTOS BY BRANDI CROCKETT

Ojai is known for its world-class people watching, for the “see-and-be-seen” scene. It’s been part of the Ojai experience since Beatrice Wood adorned the village with her vibrant saris. There are other places where you can bear witness to the parade of humans and canines, but none where you can sit amid the sycamore shade of the Arcade Plaza, presided over by Sylvia Raz’ “Early Bird Shopper” sculpture while imbibing potions from master mixologist Ruben Salinas Jr. The contemplative quiet of Sage Mindful Meal’s patio contrasts with the energy and hustle it has taken to create that space. With three busy businesses taking up most of a block of Matilija Street, you’d forgive Ernest Niglio, manager of Rainbow Bridge, Dharma & Dog and Sage Mindful Meals for taking a moment 58

every now and then to regroup on the patio backing up to Arcade Plaza. After all, it’s been a long while since that patio has been available to the public. After 40 years of (mostly) missing in action, Niglio, in partnership with David and Mary Trudeau, designed Sage’s layout and worked with David to get it built. All three participated; Mary Trudeau with her talent for interior design, colors and texture, and David for his experience as a contractor and builder. “Mary oversaw our first opening at Sage and we closed when Covid hit. I decided to try to reopen in March,” Niglio OQ / WINTER 2021-22

LEFT: THE ROSE BEAUTY AND THE SMOKING CATERPILLAR.

ERNEST NIGLIO & MELISSA BLANCHARD

LEFT: CAMILLE MARTINEZ MIXING IT UP AT SAGE LOUNGE, ABOVE

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

said. “I was very reluctant and designed a small menu with the help of Chase Elder, a local consultant. We are hoping we’re past the worst of the shutdowns and are now going to expand our hours to include breakfast and a dinner menu.” Then, Covid-19 hit, with its subsequent stay-at-home orders and quarantine. Niglio took up the reins from the Trudeaus and is carrying on the mission of providing clean, healthy food in an enchanting setting. “We’re here to help people with their health,” he says. “The store keeps me busy, but it’s different, restaurants take a lot of attention.” A big part of the job was assembling his team. Melissa Blanchard has plenty of experience; she helped open Love Social Café, and is part of the Bonnie Lu’s restaurant family. Landing Salinas was also a coup; when the journeyman sax player wasn’t on the road with Eric Burdon & The Animals, he was perfecting his craft for 15 years at his parents’ much-missed restaurant: Los Caporales. He was also one of the founding members of the Ojai Spirits Cabinet with Sam Gay, Megg Sicotte-Kelly and Richie Smith. “As our resident tequila expert and cocktail enthusiast,” Niglio said, “Ruben brings his expertise to Sage with a fun and creative bar program.” The patio, with the twinkle lights and blue-red flames from

the propane heaters, sets a particularly festive stage for holiday evenings. Salinas has concocted a cocktail menu with “An Alice in Wonderland” theme, such as “The Alice,” mixing up Amaro Angeleno, extra dry prosecco, topo chico and a wheel of lemon, or the “Cheshire Cat,” with butterfly pea flower vodka, a locally sourced limoncello, CBD and sparkling lemongrass. Or the “No Time,” with the tequila blanco, lime juice, cold-pressed cucumber juice and mint. Coming next, Salinas said, “The Mixtape Volume I menu.” Enlivening the patio’s stage like setting will be music. Niglio is looking at a jazz quartet, or soft rock. “It really is a great place for live music,” he said, which will be both for the enjoyment of patrons as well as passersby. Other plans for the place include expanding Niglio’s mindful approach to food: “We are a health food place, with Rhemannia Dean Thomas mixing up herbal tonics,” he said. “There will also be classes and seminars, (and) hosting health-related events. Niglio hopes people will enjoy the patio throughout the day as hours will expand in the near future. “For breakfast, this will be a place to come get a coffee and eat clean, healthy food. We want to create an atmosphere of health for people,” he said on one recent sunny morning. “After all, it is a beautiful patio.”

Photo by Stephe Johnsom

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OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Sometimes a

STORY & PHOTOS BY RICHARD CAMP

It’s not every day that an invitation arrives to take part in a grape harvest. Right here in Ojai. But, those who leaped at the chance had an early morning experience they’ll long remember.

Grape Notion Stevenson Oaks Vineyard and Winery on Montgomery Street is owned by David Cohn, who moved here in 2013 with his wife, Naida, from Dobbs Ferry, New York. David’s daughter Laina had visited and fallen in love with Ojai, and after moving here she felt that her parents would love this property. David bought it, following his mother’s advice to “retire near one of your children.” David had spent 25 years on the faculty of Notre Dame and 18 years as a research executive for IBM, but was looking for

something new. He had a hunch that Syrah grapes would thrive in the valley, and planted a vineyard, with the dream of making wine. At the time, though, he had no idea how to do that. So, he taught himself. A “retraining” package from IBM allowed him to take online wine-making and grape-growing classes from UC Davis. After falling in love with the romance of wine, he was ready to go all in with the intellectually challenging, physically demanding and as

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David says, “not remunerative” profession. He threw himself into the process by pruning, irrigating, training and tending the vines, followed by harvesting, de-stemming, fermenting, pressing, aging and bottling. Sadly, his wife Naida passed away soon after the new venture began, but not before painting a watercolor of a Matilija poppy, which became the image on the wine’s label. “It was the only thing she ever painted,” says David. David has since remarried to Nikki Horne, who helps with nearly every aspect of the winemaking, along with David’s children Laina and Alan, and Alan’s wife, Harmony. The biggest job is harvesting, because the grapes come to fruition at the same time and must be harvested before they become too warm. “In Ojai, that can mean before lunch,” says David. The family could easily handle the early harvesting, but as the vineyard grew, David put out an SOS. Friends Ann and Harry Oppenheimer stepped up with an opportunity to bring the community together. Thus, the invitations: “Come help harvest grapes! Be part of the winemaking community!” At 6:30 on a Saturday morning in September, roughly two dozen Ojaians — tennis players, hikers, actors, business people, and retirees — answered the call, perhaps bribed by the promise of a bottle of delicious wine for their efforts, plus coffee, muffins and breakfast burritos!

After a brief tutorial from David, the most important note being “snip the grapes, not your fingers,” the volunteers headed into the vineyard with five-gallon buckets and snippers in hand. Husbands and wives worked the vines with complete strangers, chatting while filling their buckets and loading them onto a wagon, which was pulled by a tractor to a small building (built by David). There, Rikki weighed the buckets (each roughly 20 pounds) before they went into the de-stemmer to prepare for pressing. David began by planting Rhone varietals (Viognier, Grenache and Syrah) but wanted to add a big, bold, boisterous wine, as well. Since this climate is not ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon, he chose the noble grape Aglianico, the most popular red grape in the hills of Italy’s Campagna and Basilicata. This proved to be a nice icebreaker as many of the volunteers broke into laughter trying to pronounce it! (Al-yawn-nee-ko). Because it’s very tannic (dry and somewhat astringent) and “tough to love,” David promised his son naming rights if he could come up with a blend that might soften the effect. Thus was born “Alan’s Blend,” a wine that’s 67 percent Aglianico and 33 percent Syrah, “very drinkable now and better after decanting for an hour or so.” Compare this with straight Aglianico, for which David suggests a 4-1/2-hour decant. Ever the innovator, David has created a process he calls “root zone clustering,” by which vines that were traditionally discarded are grown in clusters. This, remarkably, creates vigorous grape producers, which are more heat tolerant and use half the water usually needed per vine.

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PHOTO BY MAJA PETRIC

DAVID COHN INSTRUCTS THE VOLUNTEERS

Perhaps that innovation will help defray the “not remunerative” aspect of his labor of love; since he doesn’t yet have a license to sell, he shares the wine with family and friends, and occasionally donates to non-profits or to his harvesters. As Rikki says, “The fact that our community can gather simply for the delight and satisfaction in picking grapes is a testament to friendship and the good will of this valley. The wine is extra.”

STU CROWNER, LOST IN HIS WORK

RIKKI HORNE & DAVID COHN

ABOVE RIGHT: ANN OPPENHEIMER, CLUSTER PLUCKING

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OQ | YEST ER DAY & TODAY

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639 West Villanova Road, Ojai | $1,250,000 Long private driveway to a park-like serene world with mountain views. Solid built 1954 3 + 2 home has massive windows to let the outside in for a natural relaxing environment. Open floor plan flows out to the patios for a seamless convenient lifestyle. You will fall in love the moment you step in! Newer expanded dream kitchen has a wall of windows for natural light, LED lighting, large island work space and plenty of storage. Fruit trees and vegetable gardens are steps out the kitchen door with room for much more. Expanded master suite, owned solar panels. A large classic AirStream is included.

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1489 Foothill Rd, Ojai | $2,150,000 A quiet peaceful retreat, tucked away on a private elevated knoll placed to maximize the property’s 360 degree exceptional views! Nestled at the base of Ojai mountains, with hiking/biking trails, just minutes from Ojai village. The multi-room master features a walk-in closet plus a view office and private patio. With 5-bedroomsgunaysshop including a 2-bedroom separate entrance suite upstairs, there’s lots of room for creativity; offices, etc. With gunaysrug www.gunaysshop.com fruit trees and lots of land, just sit back or swim and savor the peace and solitude of dreamy Ojai living. Incredible views, exquisitely designed, custom-built home, owned solar, whole house water filtration system and alarm system in place!

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OQ / WINTER 2021-22

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SCOTT JOHNSON’S WRITING THE BOOK ON THE

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

UNCOMMON GROUND VISUAL ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

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STORY BY BRET BRADIGAN & SCOTT JOHNSON

Architect Scott Johnson and his wife, Dr. Meg Bates, had a lively Covid-19 quarantine. Their bubble included their children; daughter, son-in-law and their two children, now ages one and two-and-half, in their recently built Ojai westside home. The home was designed, in part, to accommodate large groups. It received its inaugural gathering with the performance of the Jack Quartet in 2019 for the Ojai Music Festival. “With this house, among other things, we wanted a room big enough (for such events),” Johnson said. One-hundred and twenty people listened to a concert with this renowned quartet. It’s built for just such a purpose; Johnson’s daughter is a singer, his son-in-law a concert pianist and conductor, so the sounds of music were a theme throughout the strange days of 2020. “It’s been a crazy life,” he said. It’s not the first home Johnson — best known as a designer of skyscrapers and other large buildings — has built for the more intimate patterns of family life. “Tracing through the houses I’ve built for our family I like to think I’ve been more responsible and flexible,” he said. “Meg loves roses and grows vegetables and she

does the work, while my son is a doctor, he (also) went to Cordon Bleu and became a chef, so I knew I needed a good kitchen if we were going to have such capable people cooking for us.” The melee of three generations under one roof did not stop Johnson’s creative output; he completed his fifth book in 2021, “Uncommon Ground: Notes on The Visual Arts + Architecture.” The book takes the reader on a sweeping journey through the connections between visual arts and architecture from the Romans and Renaissance to modern movements like Abstract Expressionism to the Postmodernists and Minimalists. He juxtaposes some of his own paintings with his architectural projects, in keeping with the book’s theme. “I’ve been reactivating the fine arts part of my life, so this was definitely a pandemic project,” he said. “I had some time to look over what I thought I had learned, or mislearned, (and in some way) this book is a review of what I was learning.” “While I consider myself reasonably savvy about the nature of practices in art and architecture, as an avid creator of both, I am interested how, in intent, and in means and methods, these

PHOTOS THESE PAGES BY TOM BONNER

JOHNSON: “THE ENTRY SIDE IS REALLY A WALL WITH SOME PENETRATIONS.” 76

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JOHNSON: “IT’S A LIVING ROOM WITH A LITTLE RECITAL HALL MIXED IN.”

“THE OTHER END OF THE ROOM IS FOR

“THE REAR OF THE HOUSE IS ALL GLASS TO THE OUTDOORS.”

SOCIALIZING AROUND THE HEARTH.”

practices occasionally align and frequently diverge,” Johnson writes in the foreward. Johnson was born in the Salinas Valley and educated at Stanford University. Then transferring to Berkeley with graduate work at Harvard, he worked thereafter in New York City. His introduction to his future career was circuitous. “I was a freshman at Stanford, and it took me a year to realize they didn’t have an architecture department.” It was oriented to civil engineering. “They asked me my sophomore year if I would like to go to Italy. Yes! I was living in Florence with 80 other Stanford kids along with the friars (at the villa, which was also a monastery). Between Brunelleschi’s Duomo and the halls of the Uffizi, I was hooked. Then that took me right into Berkeley,” he said, which did have a prestigious architecture program.

He returned to California in 1983 to join the firm of Pereira Associates. His first big project was Fox Plaza, the 493-foot skyscaper made famous in “Die Hard” as Nakatomi Plaza. The building took four years from the drawing board to the ribboncutting; a comparable building now can take at least 10 years to complete. In fact, Johnson was recently interviewed on Seth Rogen’s podcast. “He said it was his mother’s favorite film.” For good reason. “Die Hard” became a template for many modern action movies. As Design Partner with Johnson-Fain, which grew out of William Pereira’s practice, Johnson, and his partner, Bill Fain, have collaborated on nearly 100 projects since Fox Plaza, most recently completing the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma

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“THE ARTBARN IS JUST A BUNKER WITH GREAT LIGHT,” JOHNSON SAID. PHOTOS THIS PAGE BY SCOTT JOHNSON

One unanticipated, high-quality problem that emerged during the pandemic was with the 200 feet of frameless glass and the long rows of bookshelves, “I didn’t fully anticipate how dirty they can get,” he said about the home’s toddler-residents and their busy explorations. Johnson was interviewed recently on the Ojai podcast, “Talk of the Town,” about his book, life and future projects. Here’s a sample of topics discussed. OQ: On Art & Artists, post-pandemic: City. For this monumental work of cultural remembering, Johnson collaborated with 39 Native tribes on the museum, which opened in September. He has also lectured extensively around the world, before settling in Ojai for its “beautiful landscape and beautiful people” he said. Besides the main house, he and his family have built an Art Barn, where Johnson works on his visual arts project. He also built a pavilion, intended also for performances and gatherings. During the 2021 Ojai Music Festival, the Art Barn received the stamp of approval from conductor and composer John Adams.

THE PAVILION: “THIS IS THE PORCH THE WALL HOUSE NEVER HAD.”

SJ: I think it’s an existential moment; that people come out and they will be different. Mark Bradford said “I couldn’t be with my assistants, so I went in every day and made art. There was nowhere to go, so I just did it myself.” Rachel Feinstein sai,d “I’m not doing art, because I’m doing laundry, feeding all my kids and looking after them.” People’s circumstances are all different, but no one with a fine mind will come out and say “‘Let’s go back to where we were. That’s over.’” Why is art valued as it is? Why are some works of art worth much more than architect-built homes? Re: A Mark Rothko painting selling for $250 million: Rothko was a complicated guy ... he took his life at a certain point. Once he discovered his ethos, he stayed there. It was all about color saturation, and tones. He was always complaining about the forces acting on him to change, and he didn’t want to change. Didn’t know why he had to change. Why a painting of his would sell for that — or ( Jean Michel) Basquiat … he sold one to someone for $25, now it sold for $80 million — it has something to do with the market, social dynamics that buyers feel art confers to them. It’s not so much content, as how they value possession of art. OQ: On the rise of the arts and architecture as distinct disciplines: The Renaissance was the “Rise of the Ego.” Raphael, Leonardo, these guys were magnets for the Medici. It became important for the work to be done by Leonardo, for example.

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

SCOTT JOHNSON SAID OF THE ART BARN:

“WE CAN TAKE MEETINGS IN THERE,

“THE INTERIOR IS WIDE OPEN FOR WHATEVER HAPPENS.”

IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL.”

On Daniel Burnham and working in the exclusive world of skyscrapers.The Chicago World’s Fair facing Grant Park? You’ve got the whole history of tall buildings in those three blocks. OQ: On Ojai’s own Beatrice Wood and the early Modernists striking a blow for artistic freedom: (The) Bauhaus (Movement) intersects with lots of those movements. Then folks like Stalin and Hitler realized that the arts were signifiers and stepped in to control them as a part of their propaganda. Early inklings of architecture as a career: I grew up always doing a lot — my father had a toolshed, I was always building things. I was born in the Salinas Valley, moved to the Peninsula. People thought of me as artistic, but I was also a rigorous student. I read Frank Lloyd Wright’s writings in high school, and between that and “The Fountainhead,” I mean, an architect (spoiler alert) who blows up his own work, how can you not like that when you’re 15-16? On being a Los Angeles-based architect: From Mel’s Drive-In to the high restaurant period of the ‘80s, Disney Hall concert venues — Los Angeles is a buffett, not a fixed menu. I was 32, it was fun

and I loved it, and something is happening and I wanted to do my own thing. It’s still the same here ... you can invent the future. On the book’s juxtaposing of fine art with architecture: I think of Peter Eisenman who, inspired by Minimalist artists, attempted to transport fine art into architecture, challenging us to think about it differently. I think of the ironies of Le Corbusier making a plan to flatten Paris and replace it with skyscrapers — this is the same guy who spent summers at the beach in a wood box of a building and made beautiful paintings. Ojai’s good neighbor policy: While I built our house, I had an outdoor steel table moved up here and Jurgen Gramckow stored it for me in one of the barns on his farm across the street. The table I had designed weighed two tons and I had no idea how I would move it to the patio. He told me I should put plumbers tape on the paving and he came over with a crane, hoisted it over the house and dropped it in place. Imagine that. It also turns out that Jurgen and I were in the same engineering class at Stanford in 1970. Small world!

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STORY BY MARK LEWIS

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

PHOTO BY GRETCHEN BERSCH

FROM OJAI TO KACHEMAK BAY: THE ABBOTT FAMILY AND BILLY DORSEY ON YUKON ISLAND, 1961.

Andy Klamser grew up in Ojai, where his grandfather owned the local newspaper. Andy became a photojournalist, a career which took him to Anchorage, Alaska, where he settled in 1979. A year later, he switched to law enforcement and hired on with the police department in Homer, a small town on Kachemak Bay some 200 miles south of Anchorage.

“I came to Homer because a district attorney suggested working there because they had one of the best police departments in the state,” Klamser says. “But I quickly found a lot of Ojai and Ventura County people here.” The “Ventura County” category included the few remaining followers of the self-styled guru Krishna Venta, who founded an apocalyptic cult in a canyon east of Simi Valley, and later sent some of his devotees to Homer start a commune on Kachemak Bay. They were notable for going barefoot, even during the long, cold Alaska winters. But most of Homer’s many Ventura County transplants came from Ojai, wore work boots, and earned their livings as commercial fishermen or in

other boat-related businesses. Klamser himself has stayed mostly on dry land, working for the P.D. Nowadays he’s a private investigator. But there is one local mystery he never solved. “I once counted up 30 people I knew that were from Ojai or Ventura County,” he says. “I’ve always wondered why so many people from Ojai ended up in Homer.” The OQ has the answer. There are probably 100 or more Homer area residents and regular visitors who have Ojai connections. Most are part of an epic chain migration that has populated

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

THE HOMER SPIT IN KACHEMAK BAY. YUKON ISLAND IS VISIBLE AT RIGHT, ACROSS THE BAY.

Homer with enough colorful characters to make the Alaska-based 1990s sitcom “Northern Exposure” seem dull by comparison. And it all began at Christmastime in 1955, when a Homer businessman named Chuck Abbott headed to California to visit his brother Bill.

THE ABBOTT BOYS were originally were from Oregon. Chuck, the elder brother, found his way to Anchorage in December 1941 as a cartographer with the Army Corps of Engineers. The job gave him the opportunity to scout out the entire territory of Alaska, and he cast his appraising eye on Homer, a tiny hamlet near the tip of the Kenai Peninsula that was accessible only by boat or airplane. 84

After World War II ended, Chuck left the Corps and moved to Homer. The town is named for Homer Pennock, who came to the area in 1896 to mine for gold. He didn’t find much, although other miners had better luck with coal. A small community grew up around (and on) the Homer Spit, which extends 4.5 miles into the bay. When Chuck Abbott moved to town in the late ‘40s, its population was about 300, and commercial fishing had long since replaced coal mining as the main occupation. “It was less a town than a village in those days, but it was a land of opportunity,” says Chuck’s stepson, Phil Brudie. OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Chuck seized those opportunities with both hands, launching local businesses that still exist today, including the iconic Salty Dawg Saloon. He also married and started a family. But his wife fell ill, and by 1955, Chuck was a widower with two young daughters to raise. In December of that year, he brought his girls to Ojai to celebrate Christmas with brother Bill’s family. Bill and his wife, Alice, hatched a plan to introduce Chuck to their friend Phyllis Lander Brudie, a divorcee with an 8-year-old son. (That would be Phil.)

CHRISTMAS 1955, WHEN CHUCK ABBOTT, UPPER RIGHT, MET PHYLLIS LANDER BRUDIE AT A FAMILY PARTY.

“Our folks fixed Chuck up on a blind date with Phyllis,” says Gretchen Abbott Bersch, the eldest of Bill and Alice’s six kids. (The others were Findlay, Phoebe, Melissa, Becky and Meg.)

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The set-up took place at a Christmas party at the Abbotts’ house at the end of Bryant Street. (Nowadays that house is a dormitory for the Weil Tennis Academy.) “Chuck thought she was the prettiest thing he’d seen in a long time,” Phil says. “Sparks flew.” Phyllis took little Phil in tow, moved to Homer and married Chuck. “I went from semi-suburban Ojai to the wilds of Alaska,” Phil recalls. He and his mother were the first Ojai-to-Homer migrants, but they would soon have company. For years, Chuck had been urging his brother Bill to move to Homer, and the stars finally aligned in 1959, the year Alaska became the 49th state of the union. Bill Abbott was a scientist and an inventor who formerly had worked for the Navy at its Point Mugu facility. In 1954 he moved his family from Ventura to Ojai, where he bonded with longtime Meiners Oaks resident Pekka Merikallio over their shared interest in folk dancing, Theosophy, and the sea. Pekka had grown up in an exotically weird compound which his mother, Tyyne “Tooney” Miettinen, festooned with intricately designed art projects constructed from materials she harvested from her neighbors’ trash. Pekka graduated from Nordhoff High School in 1939, served in the Merchant Marine during World War II, then studied mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley

before returning to Ojai. A licensed master mariner, Pekka helped Bill Abbott head up a Sea Scouts troop in Ventura, which included at least two teenage scouts from Ojai: Billy Dorsey and Jack Estill. These four venturesome friends, plus their wives, girlfriends, children, siblings, nieces and nephews and assorted cousins, would create an informal Ojai colony on the south shore of Kachemak Bay that endures to this day. Ground zero for their project was Yukon Island, directly across the bay from Homer. Chuck Abbott already owned land on Yukon, but there was plenty more up for grabs — the island comprised about 700 acres in total, and most of them were theoretically available to newcomers. Part of Alaska’s strategy to attract settlers was to offer them free land via the Homestead Act. You filed your claim, built a house on it, made certain improvements to the site, and occupied it for a certain number of years, whereupon the title was yours. In 1959, Bill Abbott filed a claim on Yukon Island. The next year, Pekka and a third Ojai man, Claude “Bud” Horton, filed their own adjoining claims. Bud’s wife Jackie came along for the ride. “They kind of decided to have a little community,” recalls Gretchen, who at 14 found herself suddenly transplanted from Ojai to Yukon Island. Meanwhile, back in Ojai, two other teenagers were planning to crash the party. Billy Dorsey lived on South Montgomery Street near the train tracks (now the bike path). His father, Herbert Dorsey Jr., was a former Air Force meteorologist who had accompanied Admiral Byrd to the South Pole; commanded the first expedition to winter at the North Pole (on a floating ice island); and been the first man to drive a dog-sled team across the Greenland ice cap. Billy’s mother, Elizabeth Ballentine Dorsey, was a talented painter and a devotee of astrology and the occult. The family had lived near Anchorage from 1949 to 1951 when Herbert Dorsey was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, so Billy already was familiar with life in Alaska. PEKKA MERIKALLIO, LEFT, WITH BILL ABBOTT ON YUKON ISLAND

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Jack Estill’s parents were Hugh and Patricia, whose home on South Rice Road in Mira Monte was a refuge not only for their own enormous brood of 15 kids, but for Ojai teens like Billy Dorsey who had troubles at home. Billy and Jack were best friends who shared an independent streak, a thirst for adventure, and a willingness to take chances. At some point, Billy encountered Jack near the Ojai train station, getting ready to hop a freight and run away from home. “Stick around,” Billy advised. “Because I think we’re going to have a chance to go to Alaska.” After their Sea Scout mentors Bill Abbott and Pekka Merikallio lit out for the territory, Billy and Jack decided to follow along. It was summertime 1960, and school was out until fall. Why not head north for an adventure? No one seems to have mustered a persuasive counterargument, so off they went. JACK AND CATHY WITH PHOEBE AND MELISSA, 1965

The Homer that greeted these intrepid teenagers was a less isolated and more populated place than the one Chuck Abbott had stumbled across some 15 years earlier. The Sterling Highway from Anchorage had reached Homer in the ‘50s, earning the town a new nickname (“The End of the Road”) to go with its other sobriquet (“The Halibut Fishing Capital of the World”). But along the underpopulated southern shore of Kachemak Bay, the isolated homesteaders were outnumbered by orcas and grizzly bears. Billy and Jack were too young to file their own claims, so they homesteaded on five acres on Little Tutka Bay that Alice Abbott filed for. The claim was on the southern shore, not far from their friends on Yukon Island. They built a cabin, and then in the fall they went home to Ojai. Jack, who was still in high school, would return to Little Tutka Bay in the summers to continue proving up his claim. Billy, now done with school and uninterested in college, decided to make a permanent move north, and in dramatic fashion. After working for months for Hugh Estill’s tree-trimming service, he saved up $1,200 to buy a yellow Piper Cub, which he stashed at Henderson Field in Mira Monte. He only had a student pilot’s license and 50 hours of experience in the air — woefully (and legally) inadequate for a solo flight across Canada to Alaska. Nevertheless, one Sunday afternoon in October 1961, he took off. “Flying into the wild blue yonder Sunday was one of Ojai’s 19-year-old youths, Bill Dorsey, heading for Alaska by plane,” the local newspaper reported. “Proving that the pioneer spirit is

not dead, young Dorsey embarked on his daring journey with a minimum of equipment and only limited experience. … His destination in Alaska is Homer, and he expects to see a lot of Yukon Island, where ‘Little Ojai’ with former Ojai residents is located.” Billy made it to Homer in five days, whereupon he traded in his Piper Cub for a skiff, an outboard motor and a chainsaw, and joined the Little Ojai colony. In the photo of the Abbott family on Page 85, taken on Yukon Island in 1961, Billy is the young man second from right, balancing Becky Abbott on his shoulders. He and Jack eventually would prove up the Little Tutka Bay claim. But for their friends on Yukon Island, the homestead process would prove more challenging. “It turned out that Yukon Island has a long, long history of human occupation,” Phil Brudie says. The island is a major archeological site, with evidence of indigenous habitation going back thousands of years. Due to a bureaucratic slip-up, the Little Ojai group had been allowed to file their claims in an archeologically sensitive part of the island. When this was discovered, the federal Bureau of Land Management moved to cancel their homestead applications. A long, complicated legal tussle ensued. When the dust finally settled, Bill and Alice Abbott retained about 10 acres of their original 140-acre claim; Pekka had only five acres, in a different and less accessible part of the island; and Bud and Jackie Horton had no acres. The Hortons gave up and left; the Abbotts built a house and made their home there; and Pekka began a quixotic, years-long effort

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DENNIS SHIVES AFLOAT ON LITTLE TUTKA BAY, WITH THE ESTILL HOMESTEAD IN THE BACKGROUND.

to build a big log cabin on his hard-to-reach cliff overlooking the bay. “He kept coming back,” Gretchen says. Suzanne Retzinger met Pekka in Ojai in 1974, and she spent several summers with him on Yukon Island, helping him lay the groundwork for his dream house. They lived in a jury-rigged Quonset hut with no electricity and no running water, and they spent their days floating huge logs across the bay from Homer and hauling them up the cliff to the homesite. “He was going to build a fantastic cabin up there,” Phil Brudie says. The logs accumulated atop the cliff, but the cabin remained on the drawing board. “Then the Quonset hut burned down,” Suzanne says. After Pekka’s mother, Tyyne, died in Ojai in 1989, he planned 88

to move to Yukon Island and finally build his cabin, Phil Brudie says. But he fell ill and died in 1991, with his Alaska dream house still unbuilt. Suzanne shipped his ashes to Findlay Abbott to be scattered on the site.

CATHY ESTILL’S first trip from Ojai to Homer was, shall we say, memorable. She married Jack in 1965 when both were still teenagers, and soon found herself in a beat-up, barely functioning jalopy heading up the unpaved Alcan Highway through Canada in the dead of winter. On the last leg of the journey, they were dragged into Homer at the end of a chain along an unfinished road. “I was also pregnant at that time,” she says, “and there was no hospital in Homer. They gave Jack a pamphlet on how to deliver a baby.” Fortunately, there was a one-bed hospital in nearby Soldotna, so that’s where Cathy delivered her twins, Phoebe and Melissa, named after two of the Abbott daughters. OQ / WINTER 2021-22

“As soon as I could stand up and walk, they sent us home with those two babies. The car broke down on the way.” They finally made it home to their little shack at the end of the Homer Spit, way out in the middle of Kachemak Bay. “Two weeks of that, we’re going back to Ojai.”

Jack Estill died in 2006. These days Cathy lives in Ojai, but she still has plenty of relatives in the Homer area, including a daughter and a grandson and a sister. Some of Jack’s Estill siblings also moved up there, and Estills tend to have big families. Dennis Shives estimates that there are scores of Estills and their descendants living in the Homer area today.

They drove back in the same dysfunctional jalopy over the same unpaved highway, this time with two babies along for the ride.

“They just migrated up that way,” he says. “They migrated to Alaska.”

“We were like ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ ” Cathy says.

PATRICIA WILEY

After getting her nursing degree and having two more babies (Matthew and Priscilla), Cathy returned to Alaska as a full-time resident in 1981. The Estills lived in a modest house on the old homestead on Little Tutka Bay. The scenery was beautiful, but living out there in the wilderness “was hugely physically challenging, which is so different from Ojai,” Cathy says. “It was massively empowering. I baked bread and hauled water and chopped wood, I knitted a lot of our clothes.” She and Jack decided to make life in Little Tutka a bit less of a challenge by building a big new house there. Progress on this project was slow until March 1989, when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound. The resulting oil spill was an ecological disaster but a financial windfall for tugboat captains like Jack, who were in great demand to help with the cleanup. “He made a lot of money, so he hired me to come up” and finish the house, says the noted Ojai artist Dennis Shives. Alaska poses challenges unknown in the Lower 48, Dennis says. “You’ve got to be fearless,” he says. “Pretty soon you get used to it.” The Alaska bureaucracy, however, is less of a challenge. Compared to California, the 49th state imposes far fewer rules on homebuilders, “which suited me real well,” Dennis says. Perhaps his most artistic touch on the Estill house was the enormous round picture window which overlooks the bay. “Dennis did beautiful work,” Cathy says. Dennis passed several summers in the Homer area during the ‘90s, working on the house, crewing on Jack’s boat, net-fishing for salmon, and other only-in-Alaska activities. “It was an amazing adventure,” he says.

tells stories about her first drive to Alaska with her soon-to-be husband Billy Dorsey that are as harrowing as her friend Cathy Estill’s stories, minus the pregnancy. Pat’s trip, too, was made in winter, and the route included the same unpaved highway. “We drove up the Alcan,” she says. “Canada is long and cold.” En route, their meals included cans of Spaghetti-Os that Billy would heat up by placing them on the car engine while it was running. The amenities did not improve all that much when they got to Alaska. “I lasted four months,” she says. Returning to Ojai, they married in February 1967, and Billy pivoted to a career in pop music. He hired on at Screen Gems Columbia as a songwriter, penning tunes for the Monkees and the Partridge Family. “The Monkees came here (to Ojai) to visit us a couple of times,” Pat recalls. Dorsey songs also were recorded by the likes of Bobbie Gentry and Tiny Tim. None became hits, but it was a living. He also tried to make it as a performer, touring for a year as a duo with Michael Martin Murphy. (Murphy later had a big hit as a solo artist with “Wildfire,” which Billy did not write.) Then Billy stopped trying to craft hit songs and tried to cultivate a more esoteric skill. “He wanted to walk through walls,” Pat says drily. Well, it was the ‘60s. When the marriage ended after 10 years, Billy remarried and dragged Wife. No 2 up to Homer. “I returned to Alaska … and spent another 10 years up there, just about,” Billy said in an oral history recorded in 1998 for the Focus On The Masters archive in Ventura. “There is quite a

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AERIAL VIEW OF HOMER, ALASKA DURING SUMMER

contingent of Ojai people around Homer.” Returning to his old cabin on the Little Tutka Bay homesite, he designed and built small boats and worked as a lumberjack and a commercial fisherman. But his main ambition now was to forge a new career as a painter. Homer had become a magnet for hippies and artists, thus acquiring yet another semi-official nickname: “The Cosmic Hamlet By the Sea.” This milieu was familiar to Billy from his years in Ojai. The scene suited him, and he began to prosper as a painter of Alaska’s natural wonders. “Many people consider William Dorsey to be emerging as Alaska’s foremost wilderness artist,” Findlay Abbott wrote in 1985 in an artist’s biography he composed for his friend Billy. “In Alaska I was clawing a living out of the scenery,” Billy said in the oral history. Then, in 1987, he returned to Ojai to focus on painting California’s scenery instead. He became quite successful at it. Three decades and three wives later, Billy Dorsey died in Palm Desert in 2019, at the age of 76. “He got off a bus and stepped in front of a truck,” Cathy Estill says, shaking her head at the poignancy of it: After surviving 90

so many hair-raising and death-defying adventures for so many years in the wilds of Alaska and elsewhere, Billy Dorsey died while trying to walk across the street.

SIXTY-FIVE YEARS after Phyllis Lander Brudie headed north to marry Chuck Abbott, many of the original Ojai-to-Homer pioneers have now passed away. Chuck and Phyllis, Bill and Alice Abbott and their son Findlay, Pekka Merikallio, Billy Dorsey, Jack Estill and his daughter Phoebe — all are gone. But their siblings children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren still ply the waters of Kachemak Bay. Estills predominate in numbers, but other Ojai families have added their links to the chain migration. “In the ‘80s, a lot of us followed to make Homer our home, too,” says Anne Lambert, a sister of Cathy Estill. She adds that many of the Ojai transplants remain socially connected. “Estills and Lamberts definitely hang out together,” Anne says. “Sally Lander did my hair, Findlay Abbott was a close friend.” Members of these pioneer families who move back to Ojai also feel a sense of connection with one another, as Maryrose Sandness notes: “I’m back in Ojai 15 years now and still see people at the Farmers Market I used to see at the Homer market.” OQ / WINTER 2021-22

WILLIAM DORSEY BY DONNA GRANATA. INSET: DORSEY’S “DENALI.” IMAGES COURTESY FOCUS ON THE MASTERS.

Many people regularly go back and forth between Homer and Ojai, which helps keeps the connection alive.

Lambert notes, “and our daughters went to school together up here.”

Some former Ojai folks who live in Homer, like Andy Klamser, found their way there on their own, without being part of the chain migration. But it seems safe to say that most of them trace their presence in Alaska to the “Little Ojai” pioneers who homesteaded on or near Yukon Island when Alaska was a brand-new state.

The Estill family still uses the Little Tutka Bay house for family reunions. There are still Abbotts living on Yukon Island, and Gretchen Abbott Bersch operates the Yukon Island Center there in the summers, offering educational retreats, workshops and scientific outings.

Then there’s Brian Owens, whose imagination was fired as a Matilija eighth-grader when his teacher Al Vail showed the class photographs Al had taken in 1960 when he visited Alaska (including Homer) as a seaman-surveyor on a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey ship. “It looked so adventurous and exciting, I just had to leave Ojai to go see for myself,” Brian says. “I moved to Homer in 1975 and have been here ever since.” But he drove up there with Jack Estill’s brother Mark, and Jack himself later served as engineer and first mate on a boat Brian ran. So Brian, too, is closely connected to the chain-migration families. “Brian and I are old Nordhoff High School 1972 alumni,” Anne

“Our father wanted to do educational things there,” she says, “and that in fact is what I have done.” Everybody still tells stories about Billy and Jack and Pekka and the Abbotts, those larger-than-life adventurers who blazed an unlikely trail from Ojai to Kachemak Bay. Their accomplishments would not have surprised the unnamed local newspaper reporter who covered Billy Dorsey taking off for Alaska in that yellow Piper Cub, way back in 1961. After noting in his story that Billy was casting his lot with a “Little Ojai” colony on Yukon Island, the reporter ended it with this irrefutable observation: “Bill seems to be another proof that ambition burns high in the heart of youth, and that Ojai people just don’t fit into a conventional mold.”

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1. Azu Restaurant & Ojai Valley Brewery 457 East Ojai Ave. 640-7987 2. Bart’s Books 302 W. Matilija Street - corner of Cañada Street. 646-3755 3. Besant Hill School 8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Road 646-4343

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5. Boccali’s Restaurant 3277 Ojai-Santa Paula Road 646-6116 6. Emerald Iguana Inn Located at north end of Blanche Street 646-5276 7. Genesis of Ojai 305 East Matilija Street 746-2058

8. OVA Arts 238 East Ojai Avenue 646-5682 18

9. Ojai Rotie 469 East Ojai Ave. 805-798-9227

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11. Nutmeg’s Ojai House 304 North Montgomery St. 640-1656 12. Ojai Café Emporium 108 South Montgomery Street 646-2723

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13. Next Home Pacific Coast 307-A East Matilija Street 646-6768 14. Ojai Valley Museum 130 West Ojai Avenue 640-1390 15. Ranch House 102 Besant Road 640-2360

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133

OLD HOLLYWOOD Sites and Sights of Tinsel Town By Jerry Dunn

131 Healers of Ojai

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122 IN PLAIN SITE Birds of Prey Home on the Plain By Chuck Graham

Practitioners Healers & Helpers

Even in the Winter Time, Ojai Living is Easy

134 nocturnal submissions Last Resort Dating Site By Sami Zahringer

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STORY BY KIT STOLTZ

WILL THE OJAI

IN July, observant Ojai residents noticed that an entire orchard of Pixie tangerines bordering on Highway 150 not far from Soule Park had been picked and then dropped to rot on the ground. Thousands of pale orange tangerines lay abandoned in untidy profusion at the base of the glossy-leaved trees. A cloying sweetness filled the air: flies buzzed. Nobody was happy to see the waste of thousands of pounds of fruit, especially in a pandemic when — according to Food Share, Ventura County’s leading food bank — the need for food for the hungry was up 138 percent in 2020 in the county.

PIXIE SURVIVE? When an Ojai environmental writer named Pete Deneen posted pictures of the grounded Pixies on Instagram, comments poured in from residents troubled by the waste. Some wanted to volunteer to help, or in some way give the fruit away. “This is so sad,” wrote Jess Purple, a photographer in Ojai, adding that she had called a local non-profit to donate the fruit from a few trees, but would have had to wait months. Deneen said that he had heard many explanations for the wasting of the fruit and the large amount of water — approximately ninety gallons of water per pound of fruit — it took to grow the fruit. He still finds it hard to understand, given the need. “Food banks and restaurants lack the personnel to come and harvest and in our litigious culture it is a liability to ask people to come pick,” he said. “Maybe this

“IT WAS PRETTY SAD TO SEE THAT ORANGE CARPET” SAID

THE PIXIE LOGO WAS DESIGNED BY TRACY SABAN

CARLY FORD AS A GLUT OF PIXIES LAST YEAR FORCED GROWERS TO LET THEIR CROPS DROP TO THE GROUND.

farmer did the best thing they could in a system that perversely prioritizes slim margins of profit over all else.” In fact the property near Soule Park was one of four orchards that the Ojai Pixie Growers Association was forced to “pick to the ground” this year, for the first time ever in its quarter century of existence as a co-operative association. In a year-end letter to the Ojai Pixie growers, founder Tony Thacher wrote that “for the first time we could not find homes for all of the crop.” Thacher said that they could not sell all the crop; nor could they give it away, as “Food Share and Food Forward were overloaded with surplus tangerines.” Food Share did accept a donation of 22,000 pounds of the fruit, about three truckloads, said operations executive Brian Fisher, but that figure was dwarfed by the over 100,000 pounds of fruit that the Ojai Pixie growers had to drop to the ground. The Ojai Pixie farm near Soule Park belongs to Larry and Pat Hartmann, who have been growing Pixies for about 15 years, but this year had to drop their entire crop. “We had to drop our crop because there was no market for it all year,” Pat Hartmann said. “It’s in part pandemic-related. We couldn’t get trucking to send to a customer in Canada, and the schools, which used to have a program to give Pixies to the kids for their lunches, weren’t in session this year. It’s kind of sad, because we love the Pixie fruit, and it takes about six years before you can get your first crop. I really don’t have a lot of hope for the Pixie in the future.” 100

Carly Ford, a grower in the Camino Cielo area, also saw their crop picked to the ground, because the crop could not be sold or given away. “It’s pretty sad to see that orange carpet,” she said. “The last two years have been really bad,” she said. “A lot of it has been supply chain issues, and covid, and exports haven’t been working out. The fruit has been good, but sales have been tough because transportation is a big part of it. We’re also very worried about water. We don’t know what we’re going to do if we can’t water.” “This was the first year that Ojai Pixie Packers dropped fruit to the ground for lack of a market,” said Emily Ayala, a leading deal-maker for the Ojai Pixie Growers Association.

TOO MANY TANGERINES That was the story for Pixies and mandarin tangerines in California this year, Ayala said: too much fruit and too few buyers. Ayala talks softly, but when she speaks of the harvest, her voice hardens. “All the citrus companies, including the Cuties and Sunkist, had too much fruit,” she said. “Statewide much of the late-season mandarin crop was dumped, either left on the tree, dumped at the packing house, donated to food pantries or dropped on the ground. In some instances orchards were bulldozed as the double whammy of not having enough irrigation water also came along this year.” Emily Ayala’s father is Tony Thacher, who in his fifty-plus years of management for the Friend’s Ranch citrus orchards, has seen OQ / WINTER 2021-22

nearly every crisis that can afflict an orchard in Ojai, from floods to fires, freezes to droughts, pests to pesticide protests. In an interview in the Friend’s Ranch packing house he recalled with a trace of amusement a conversation with a new farmer facing for the first time the harsh reality of an existential threat to the famous Ojai Pixie tangerine. “A new grower who had bought a few acres of Ojai Pixies came up to me after a meeting (of the Ojai Pixie Grower’s Association),” Thacher said. “I think he realized all of a sudden that he might have made a serious mistake, buying an orchard at this time, and he said to me “What are we going to do if there’s no water?” Thacher cocked his head at the possibility, as if the thought had just occurred to him. “Well, if there’s no water, I guess we’ll all have to move to British Columbia,” he said, with a trace of sarcasm. “It’s like owning a beachfront home worth a bazillion dollars as the sea level is rising. When do you know when to go?”

TONY THACHER — ONE OF THE FIRST PIXIE GROWERS

TIMELINE FOR THE PIXIE TANGERINE IN OJAI:

1927: Howard Frost, a plant breeder, creates a new hybrid tangerine in Florida. He brings this experimental fruit to California when he is hired to lead the UC Citrus Research Center at UC Riverside. This fruit is a hybrid and seedless cross between a hybrid Kincy mandarin tangerine, the “seed parent,” and an unknown “pollen parent.” 1940s-1950s: UC Riverside researchers contact an Ojai grower named Frank Noyes. Noyes agrees to grow some of the new fruits at his East End orchard on an experimental basis. Elmer Friend, a prominent and successful citrus grower in the valley with a well-established packing house, Friend’s Ranch, tastes Noyes’ Pixies and decides to plant some of his own. 1965: The UC Riverside researchers release the hybrid

Thacher comes by the long view honestly. As a young man he pursued a graduate degree in geology at University of California-Berkeley, and still talks with fascination about the movements of the earth’s tectonic plates. But in the late 1960’s he married Anne Friend, a daughter of Elmer Friend, a pioneering family in Ojai who in 1871 launched the innovative orchard called Friend’s Ranch. Before they could finish their graduate degrees at UC Berkeley, fate intervened, in the form of the catastrophic 1969 floods that devastated Ojai.

cross as a “backyard tree” called the Pixie. They do not see

“In the early days everyone sold their own citrus, and at that time Sunkist wasn’t interested in tangerines, so my father-inlaw (Elmer Friend) stayed independent,” Thacher said. “Then in 1969 the packing house and much of the orchard here went down the river (in the floods), and Anne and I moved back from Berkeley to help rebuild. We came down in late summer to help out as Anne finished her thesis. We ended up staying and having a couple of kids.”

Friend’s Ranch packing house on Hwy 33. In the aftermath,

Thacher still works early mornings at the Friend’s Ranch packing house in close collaboration with his daughter Emily. He first planted the new variety called the Pixie in the 1970s, after the flood damage, drawing on the experience of his father-inlaw Elmer Friend and local grower Frank Noyes, whom Thacher describes as “a man with a curious mind.” Working in partnership with UC citrus researchers, Noyes had grown over time several experimental varieties in Ojai, including a little-known

Friend’s Ranch is once again badly damaged, and most of

it as a commercial crop because it’s slow to bear fruit, and produces tangerines in the spring, after the end of the traditional holiday season for tangerines. 1968: In the spring Elmer Friend, seeing commercial possibilities in the Pixie, plants 200 trees. 1969: The catastrophic floods of 1969 in Ojai wash away almost all of Elmer Friend’s Pixie trees in the canyon near the Friend, Thacher and Bob Davis begin to replant grafted Pixies with budwood sourced from Noyes’ trees. 1974: Churchill Orchard, which grew avocados at the time, contracts with Casitas Municipal Water District to buy an allocation of agricultural water. 1978: El Niño floods devastate California: the orchard at its young Pixie trees are lost in the floods. 1980 (approx.): Churchill tours the East End orchard belonging to the late Frank Noyes with Noyes’ grandson, Brian McFaddin, who grew up there, and takes budwood from good trees identified by McFaddin. This becomes the start of Churchill’s Pixie orchard.

new variety called the Pixie. “And when the (Pixie) trees got bigger, these two critters,” he said, nodding at his grown daughter Emily, sitting next to him, speaking of her and her brother George — “would eat about a quarter of the tree. After they were done it looked like the deer had gone through.” Despite the popularity with his children and with local customers, Thacher says that the present-day popularity and fame of the Pixie came slowly. “In the early days, for six or eight years, produce managers basically thought we were nuts,” Thacher says. “They had absolutely no use for Pixies. For one, they’re alternate bearing, meaning that one year they produce heavily, and the next year much less. And tangerines are microclimate dependent: grow a Pixie in Ventura and it’ll taste like water. It’s not hot enough. Ojai has the right amount of heat and the right amount of temperature variability, as it cools off at night. This year the Pixies tasted really good, because we had a hot summer last year, and the heat we’ve having now will make next year’s fruit taste really good.” Nine years later, before the Pixie became known as a fruit, came another catastrophic flood, this time one driven by a record-breaking El Niño rainy season. “Most of the trees we planted after the ‘69 flood were washed out again, along with a tremendous amount of material, sediment as well as trees,” recalls Thacher. “If you get a big flood year and go to the beach you can see citrus trees washed up from Goleta or Ojai.”

TONY THACHER, EMILY AYALA AND JIM CHURCHILL MAKING A DONATION FROM THE PIXIE GROWERS TO A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UC CITRUS RESEARCH CENTER. 102

In the early days, at Friend’s Ranch and other Ojai orchards, fruits such as Valencia oranges, lemons, and bacon avocados dominated the Ojai agricultural scene. The market for bacon avocados began to collapse in the late ‘70s, as the avocado industry moved to the Haas variety, forcing local farmers to consider other possibilities. “There wasn’t a great market for bacons and we were casting around for other things,” Thacher said. “We started to go to more Pixies.” About this time in Ojai a new farmer, Jim Churchill, a young college graduate and writer managing a 37-acre East End orchard for his father, began to question the practices he had been taught in order to manage an orchard of bacon avocados. He had thousands of trees, most afflicted with a root rot, and had no idea what to do. He realized he might never make money from the orchard. “One day I’m over at Friend’s Ranch visiting and I’m talking to Tony Thacher, and I pull something out of a bin and I peel it and I put it in my mouth and I say, ‘Tony, what is this?’ And he says, ‘That’s a Pixie tangerine.’ And I say, well, do you sell them? And he says, ‘Well I only have two trees and by the time I’m done selling my Darcies, the kids have eaten all the Pixies.’ And if you had been there, you would have seen a lightbulb go off over my head.” Ten years later, in 1990, according to records now kept by Emily Ayala, Ojai still had just an acre-and-a-half planted in Pixies, mostly at Friend’s Ranch, with a new planting of Pixies at Churchill’s orchard. Nonetheless, Churchill bet big on the

OJAI PIXIE GROWERS ASSOCIATION MEETS WITH DISTRIBUTOR REPRESENTIVES FROM MELISSA’S IN 1998.

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little-known variety, ordering 150 trees at a time in the early 1980s. “I started bringing fruit to the office and people went nuts,” Churchill said. “So I tried to sell my fruit and I get nowhere. I went to every produce manager I could find, and nobody will buy the Pixie, because it’s a little bit small, and it doesn’t get ripe during the traditional tangerine season. Nobody at that time wants tangerines that ripen in April. I have one customer, at a produce stand on Montana Avenue (in Santa Monica) and he buys like 14 cartons every two weeks and pays me about 15 cents a pound. It’s pretty discouraging.” Desperate for outlets for his growing Pixie crop, Churchill reached out beyond Southern California and called on the produce manager of the Monterey Market in Berkeley. Lisa Brenneis, then his wife, who grew up in Berkeley, convinced Churchill to try Bill Fujimoto, an enthusiastic buyer of seasonal fruits and vegetables at the Monterey Market. Churchill sent Fujimoto a box of Pixies, tied up with twine, and started calling. “It took me a week to get Bill on the phone, but finally I do get him, and I have a conversation with him that changed my life,” Churchill says. “He just asks me how much we got, and he takes me through the procedure for a standard pack, the sizes and the quality, how much goes in a standard box, and then the trucking and at the end of the conversation he orders a pallet. A pallet is 63 cartons, or 1,575 pounds. And he says, ‘I’ll pay you 80 cents a pound.’ Wow. So all of a sudden I’m in business.”

TIMELINE FOR THE PIXIE TANGERINE IN OJAI:

1985: By the late 1980s, Churchill’s Pixie trees are producing good fruit which he struggles to sell, as Tony Thacher at Friend’s Ranch sells their fruit locally and at farmer’s markets. After months of trying, Churchill finds one taker, a produce market in Santa Monica. 1988: Encouraged by the quality of the fruit, Churchill orders another 150 Pixie trees. His father “Church” tells him it would be unwise to commit to so many trees of a variety with no known market, so Churchill resells these additional trees to Thacher of Friend’s Ranch and another founding member of the grower’s association, Bob Davis, who plants them in the East End. 1988: Churchill calls Bill Fujimoto of the Monterey Market, a fruit and vegetable seller in Berkeley, to pitch him on Pixies. Fujimoto agrees to buy a pallet, arranges for trucking, and in time agrees to buy all Churchill’s Pixie crop for the next six years, paying 80¢ per lb. 1990: On December 23, a freeze hits Ventura County. Temperatures fell to a county low of 16 degrees in Ojai, damag-

What Churchill didn’t realize at first, as he sent his entire Pixies crop to Berkeley for the next six years, was that Monterey Market had become a nexus for the burgeoning “farm-to-table” cooking movement in California. Chefs from all over the Bay Area would gather in Fujimoto’s back room to sample the latest and best of fresh fruits and vegetables from farms throughout California. Within a couple of years, the Pixies were “discovered” by restaurateur Alice Waters and Lindsey Shere, the pastry chef at the famously influential Chez Panisse in Berkeley. The Pixies were put on the dessert menu without preparation or ornamentation, as “Jim Churchill’s Pixie Tangerine.” They can still be found there in season.

ing fruit and citrus and avocado trees in Ojai and throughout

“Jim and everyone in the citrus business in Ojai benefitted from a certain opening in the market at that time,” commented Mike Sullivan, a ranch manager who has worked with Churchill and several other farmers in Ojai and Ventura County. “This was the right time and the right place for the Pixie, but it wasn’t all luck. Jim came from outside farming, and he has a different perspective that allowed him to do some different things with Pixies

1990s: The Ojai Pixie Growers Association first brands the

the county. 1990s: Chez Panisse, the legendary farm-to-table restaurant in Berkeley, puts “Jim Churchill’s Pixie tangerines” on the menu for dessert. 1990s: Although the Pixie tangerine remains known mostly to Ojai residents, the fruit is becoming popular locally, and Friend’s Ranch and Churchill Orchard begin planting large numbers of Pixie trees, going from a total of 1.5 acres in 1990 to 90 acres in 2000.

Ojai Pixie. Lisa Brenneis of Churchill Orchard works with Emily Ayala to find an appealing logo. They use schoolkids for inspiration, launch a contest to find a slogan, work with an established artist to find a logo and an image and a font style for merchandise, at a cost of about $6,000 a year to start.

BRENT JACOBS BOUGHT A CITRUS ORCHARD ALONG HIGHWAY 33 IN 2017. AFTER THE THOMAS FIRE LATER THAT

and citrus in general.” Thacher admired Churchill’s ability to find new customers for his Pixie, including a Japanese importer of fine foods marketed under the name of Reputation Brand, whom Churchill met through a Japanese tradesman in Santa Paula. Decades after making this connection, the Churchill Orchard still every year sends a shipment of Pixies to Japan by freighter. “Jim is a great salesperson,” said Sullivan. “But it’s because he believes in what he’s selling. He doesn’t sell stuff he doesn’t like.” In the l990s, with the imprimatur of Chez Panisse as a badge of honor, the Pixie tangerine rode a wave of popularity and praise, buoyed by stories and kudos from the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Gourmet, Sunset and The New Yorker. Soon other well-established local growers began planting Pixie trees by the hundreds, and in the 1990s growers came together in a handshake deal to form a growers association to market the fruit, which was founded by Thacher, Churchill, the late Mike Shore, and Bob Davis, an early Pixie farmer in the East End. “For maybe two years, Tony sells all the Pixies for the people on the west side, and I sell for all the people on the East End,” said Churchill. “We have different price structures and different packing houses and different customers and it just begins to seem silly and so we decided we should get together and brand ourselves as the Ojai Pixie, because Ojai is famous for really good citrus. And that’s how the Ojai Pixie Growers Association starts.” Within a decade of its founding, the co-operative was selling well over half a million pounds of Pixies annually and returning

YEAR, HE REPLANTED A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF HIS ACREAGE IN BLACKBERRIES AND AVOCADOS.

nearly 80 cents a pound to the growers, boosted substantially by a deal with the national distributor Melissa’s. Despite floods, droughts, and fires, the volume of Pixie sales continued to grow, until in 2015 and 2017 the growers sold 90,000 cartons of Pixies, or about 2.5 million pounds. This was a high-water mark and a good number for a small town.

THE STRUGGLE TO COMPETE WITH THE CORPORATE BRANDS But with prominence came competition. Beginning in 2001, two huge conglomerates in the Central Valley, Sun Pacific, leaded by Berne Evans, and Paramount Citrus, controlled by Linda and Stewart Resnick, combined forces to plant hundreds of thousands of mandarin citrus trees to launch a small, seedless, easyto-peel brand dubbed “Cuties.” It looked to the Pixie growers like a rip-off. “They poached all our ideas,” said Thacher. “We were sweet, petite, and child-friendly, and at the OPGA, we had a budget of about $6,000 for bumper stickers and some hats. I can remember the Halos launched on the East Coast with a $20 million marketing budget.” Churchill echoes the charge, and adds detail. “‘Cuties’ are a really, really brilliant sort of extension and commercialization of what Pixies are,” said Churchill. “They’re not a variety of fruit, they are an intellectual property, and as an intellectual property, they are whatever variety the makers put in the box. In the springtime they use a W. Murcott mandarin, or a Tango, which is a new variety developed by the University of California. And then in the fall they import clementines from

TIMELINE FOR THE PIXIE TANGERINE IN OJAI:

1993: Melissa’s, a national distributor, agrees to handle Ojai Pixie tangerines, and within a few years is marketing, shipping, and selling 500,000 pounds of Pixies and more around the country. (See picture on previous page of OPGA meeting with Melissa’s representatives in orchard.) PHOTO BY LISA BRENNEIS

1996: Fujimoto of Monterey Market tells Churchill he can no OJAI PIXIES ON DISPLAY

longer handle his entire crop going forward, which leads to an expansion of the Churchill’s business into farmer’s mar-

the southern hemisphere, so the Cuties are year round.”

kets in places such as Ojai, Santa Monica, and Berkeley.

Churchill, who has represented seasonal Pixies in stores around the country, has found himself offering Pixie samples to shoppers just feet away from a massive display of Tangos priced at one third the cost of his fruit. He has no illusions about the one-sidedness of the competition between a few dozen growers in Ojai and huge vertically-integrated conglomerates in the Central Valley.

1998: Churchill Orchards begins planting a new variety of

“From the point of view of the Ojai Pixies, what matters is that in their first spring they planted 500,000 trees, dwarfing the total number of Ojai Pixie trees by a factor of at least ten, and they keep on planting, in California and citrus growing regions across the Southern Hemisphere,” he said. “Their aim is total market domination.”

ie will be small, easy-to-peel, sweet, and seedless. They will

Churchill and Brenneis, in order to distinguish their Pixies from the cheaper imitations, decided to take Churchill Orchard organic. Few Ojai growers have followed their lead, but even a seasoned and successful farmer such as Jim Finch, who grows Pixies and other citrus in Ojai and Fillmore, worries about the future of the Pixie in a competitive landscape dominated by massive quantities of Cuties, Halos, D’Lites, Bee Sweets, and Tangos, among others.

tangerine, the tiny and very sweet Kishu, which becomes a popular holiday fruit at farmer’s markets and in Ojai. 1999: Seemingly inspired by the growing success of the Ojai Pixie, two big commercial operators in the Central Valley, Sun Pacific and Paramount Citrus, agree to launch together a new brand of citrus — “Cuties” — that like the Pixbe not a single variety, but different types of citrus marketed under one trademarked brand name and kept seedless by netting to avoid pollination. 2000: In March, for an annual competition, Sunset Magazine names the Ojai Pixie the “Best of the West” citrus. 2004: As the new brand of “Cuties” hits the market, powered by the planting of 500,000 trees and a reported initial $20 million marketing budget, Churchill Orchard decides to go organic, to distinguish their crop. Few Ojai growers follow. 2005: Gourmet magazine publishes a story about the Pixie tangerine and mail-order sales. The calls come pouring in

“I’m concerned about the future of ag in Ojai,” Finch said. “So much of our fruit is now going up against foreign competition, much more so than just five years ago. We saw four million cartons of lemons imported from Argentina this year.”

to Churchill Orchard, and the customers who call become

CAN THE PIXIE SURVIVE?

2005: Three weeks of record-setting rains in December and

For Lisa Brenneis, who still runs the mail order operation for

disastrous flood in January 2005 damages roads in and out

the basis of Churchill Orchard’s new online order business. Friend’s Ranch, which had had a mail order business, in time launches an online order business.

Churchill Orchard, despite no longer being married to Jim Churchill, the crises can seem perpetual.

A NEW CONSERVATION FOR AGRICULTURE

Churchill agrees.

Concerned by the escalating threat to Ojai’s agricultural lands and character, Tom Maloney, executive director of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, has been researching the possibility of establishing a conservation easement program for farmers. He has been talking to local and state officials, as well as many Ojai farmers including Emily Ayala, Churchill, and Roger Essick.

“I should say I don’t give us very many more years,” he said. “There’s not any water. I mean, I just don’t see any way around that fact. After this year, unless we have a wet winter, I don’t see us surviving for long.”

“It’s exploratory at this stage, driven by the scarcity of water,” Maloney said. “Is there a way to marry the preservation of our rural and agricultural character with a more sustainable use of water, to retain what makes Ojai a special place?”

Ever since the floods of 2005 filled Lake Casitas, the reservoir has been in decline, falling below 50 percent in 2016, and standing this fall at about 33 percent. The threat of a Stage Four drought condition with sharp mandated cutbacks to both residential and agricultural customers helped motivate a strong conservation response from the community, which reduced consumption by more than 30 percent in ten years. But this fall Ventura county remains in “extreme” drought, according to the National Drought Monitor.

Maloney said that this is a new frontier for conservation easements, without much of an established model to draw on, but he believes it’s becoming necessary to preserve Ojai.

“It’s like a carousel of existential threats,” she said. “Lack of water, lack of labor, deadly pests — it’s never ending.”

John Krist, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau office, is retiring this year after 14 years with the organization. He also fears for agriculture in Ojai. Along with resistance to the spraying required for orchards threatened by the Asian Citrus Psyllid, he points to corporate competition, the decline of experienced local agricultural workers, and lack of water. He also mentions an often-overlooked factor: droughts such as Ojai has experienced in recent years, with high temperatures, dry soil, and little humidity, intensify what scientists call “evaporative demand,” which further stresses plants. “Warmer air is thirstier air,” he said. “We’re seeing this playing out in the wildfire arena. It’s been so hot and dry for so long that the moisture levels in fuels is falling to unheard-of lows. With warmer weather and more evaporative losses, if it only rains five inches in a year and you’re farming lettuce, you can let it go for a year, but citrus trees need more water to survive.” For the first time in decades of production, this year Churchill’s orchard exceeded his agricultural allotment of water from Casitas. He incurred a penalty of about $3,500, a bit less than ten percent of his annual billing, despite tracking his usage daily on every irrigation line. He points out that his orchard is not the only one under stress. “If you drive around the East End with your eyes open, you’ll see a lot of orchards that are dying,” he said. “People are just turning off the water.”

“The bottom line is that we are recognizing how challenging it is now for a Pixie or an avocado grower,” Maloney said. “The reality is that you can’t have an Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and not be focused on agricultural sustainability. We can’t fulfill our mission of preserving the wildlife and views here without thinking about a landscape-level threat to the character of the valley.” Bolstering Maloney’s effort is Andy Spykra, a conservation specialist with the local office of the state resource conservation district. Spykra says he often fields calls from new landowners in Ojai, who buy an orchard and then discover, with water rights issues, Asian Citrus Psyllid requirements, and countless other challenges, that it’s more than they want to handle. “It’s a confusing process and often they feel as if they’ve bitten off more than they can chew,” he said. “I get calls asking about a land retirement program for orchards — what would that look like?” To avoid seeing the orchard torn out and pulped, leading to soil erosion and the potential loss of irrigated orchards to buffer the threat of wildfire around Ojai, Spyka imagines converting orchards to a beneficial landscape, with funding from a variety of partners. “Instead of allowing orchards to go into a moonscape, we are exploring how to rest people’s water rights, in order to increase downstream water flows, while also promoting an idea of rewilding an orchard,” he said. “We would like to see a one-stop shop for landowners. If they tell us, “Hey, I got this orchard, I don’t know quite what to do with it,” we would encourage them to come in for help with the permitting and make it an easy process, to retire it for the landowner and help fund a program to share the costs.”

Spyrka encouraged interested agricultural landowners in Ojai to give him a call, to be added to a short list, saying that he hopes to find funding for an initial effort by the end of the year.

TIMELINE FOR THE PIXIE TANGERINE IN OJAI:

“I’ve talked to state-level officials about funding and there is interest,” he said. “It’s a different kind of conservation idea. We need different ideas.”

OJAI GROWERS CUT BACK — AND HOPE FOR RAIN

of valley, and private properties as well, but also fills nearly to the brim the Casitas reservoir.

While some growers are cutting back on expenses and hoping for a wet winter, which would mean bigger and better and easier-to-sell fruit, other growers are reducing the size of their Pixie plantings. Brent Jacobs, who in 2017 bought a Pixie orchard along Highway 33 not far from Friend’s Ranch, said that after he lost a substantial portion of his trees to the Thomas Fire, he decided to replant with avocados and blackberries.

2006: The Pixie crop sold by the Ojai Pixie Growers Associ-

“I haven’t had a successful crop since 2018,” he said. “This year we had a myriad of problems, a perfect storm of issues, but most of all we had a glut of mandarins. Not necessarily of Pixies, but of mandarins. The Cuties, the Halos and those other varieties have some of what Pixies have — they’re easy to peel, they’re used as a snack fruit, they don’t have seeds — but they don’t taste as good. But with the glut of mandarins, and the supply chain difficulties we had getting our fruit to customers, it’s been a very expensive hobby for me the past couple of years.”

percent in less than 20 years, according to the USDA.

Jim Finch, a Ventura County farmer with experience growing many different crops, said that he, too, had reduced his Pixie plantings.

ation totals 950,000 pounds. 2008: A tiny sucking insect, the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP), that can vector a deadly “greening” disease called huang longbind disease (HLB) in citrus trees, is first detected in California. There is no known cure or treatment. ACP and HLB have devastated the citrus industry in Florida by 74

2012: A drought takes hold in Southern California, and over the next five years, rainfall in Ojai averages about 11 inches a year. 2013: Water use by Ojai customers from the reservoir totals over 20,000 acre-feet a year, according to Casitas, spurring calls for what becomes a ‘Stage Three” conservation order from the utility and from Ojai officials. 2017: In December, the Thomas Fire roars from the outskirts of Santa Paula to Ojai and Ventura and into Santa Barbara county and the backcountry, burning more than

“I’m removing Pixies for lack of performance,” he said. “I will replace them eventually. What our water will cost in Ojai in a few years concerns me. I think the Pixie will survive, but it’s a niche play for a niche market, and it’s a small niche.”

200,000 acres in total. Firefighters credit the irrigated

Emily Ayala fears that after 13 decades of history in the valley, Ojai agriculture is fading away.

2018: A Southern California heat wave on July 6th brings

“With real estate prices as they are, when orchards disappear, they won’t come back,” Ayala wrote in a guest editorial this summer. Her father warns even more bluntly that the pressures on Ojai agriculture could soon push it over the edge into unsustainability.

ing tender young avocado shoots on trees throughout the

“It’s poor prices and overproduction and no water,” Thacher said. “It’s people moving to Ojai to get out of the city and paying anything for land. It’s not going to be a slow walk of the lemmings to the cliff.”

respond by cutting consumption more than the Stage Three

citrus orchards around Ojai for helping to slow and protect the town from the biggest fire in California history at the time.

117-degree temperatures to Ojai, spiking water demand, stressing citrus and other trees, and burning and destroyvalley. 2019: As the water level at Casitas falls to 35 percent of capacity, major cutbacks under a Stage Four Drought Emergency are threatened. Over several years Ojai customers reductions require, by nearly 40 percent overall, reducing water consumption in 2019 to 8,802 acre feet.

Ben Faber, a long-term crop advisor for the University of California’s agricultural extension in Ventura County, said that Ojai farmers feel “beleaguered.” Not only has their best crop been undercut in the market by mandarin growers, but while contending with rising prices for labor and transportation, and a diminishing supply of water, they also face criticism at home from neighbors who object to mandated spraying for pests.

TIMELINE FOR THE PIXIE TANGERINE IN OJAI:

2021: The Wall Street Journal runs a story touting the joy of mail order citrus that begins with a rave review of the Pixie

Faber thinks they will find a way.

tangerine available online from Churchill Orchard and also from Friend’s Ranch. The mail order list triples in a weekend.

“The thing about Pixie growers is that they have always been really innovative,” Faber said, “it’s a niche market, but they have been really clever about finding that niche. It’s a great piece of fruit, with a long harvesting period, and if we can get a handle on the Asian Citrus Psyllid, which I think we are, I think the Pixie has a future.” Faber thinks Ojai could do more for its farmers, for one, just by choosing the fruit of their labors. “Eat more Pixies!” he said. “Don’t buy those Halos and Cuties! Buy local, people. It’s right here and it’s good.”

PHOTO BY SAHAND BABALI

THE OJAI VALLEY PIXIE GROWERS ASSOCIATION GATHERS UP FOR A GROUP PHOTO.

THE PICTURE OF BILL FUJIMOTO AND LISA BRENNEIS COMES FROM THE MONTEREY MARKET ABOUT THE TIME LISA WAS MAKING A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT FUJIMOTO (“EAT AT BILL’S”) IN 2006.

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Trailhead at Rose Valley Campground. Leads to a spectacular 300-foot, two-tiered fall.

PRATT TRAIL 8.8mi STRENUOUS | Elev. Gain: 3,300

GRIDLEY TRAIL 6-12mi MODERATE | 3 mi to Gridley Springs

COZY DELL 2.2mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 740 ft |

MATILIJA CANYON 12mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 1,200 ft |

ft | Trailhead off North Signal Street. Goes to Nordhoff Peak. Clear day? See forever.

(Elev. Gain: 1,200 ft) 6 mi to Nordhoff Peak. Trailhead at north end of Gridley Road.

Trailhead 8 miles north of Ojai on Maricopa Highway. Short, intense hike that also connects to trail network.

Middle Fork. Trailhead at end of Matilija Road. First 1.5 miles of trail well-maintained, the rest a scramble.

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SULPHUR MTN. 22mi MODERATE | Elev. Gain: 2,300 ft |

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STORY BY JERRY CAMARILLO DUNN, JR PHOTOS BY GRAHAM DUNN

old hollywood Relics and Ruins of the Golden Era I ’m sitting in Booth No. 1 at Musso & Frank, Hollywood’s oldest restaurant, downing a breakfast of flannel cakes and coffee. This grill has been a Tinseltown fixture since 1919. But in the early days, a no-name nobody like me wouldn’t have been seated here in the corner booth. It was reserved for Charlie Chaplin. The silent film star and his pal Rudolph Valentino would race their horses down Hollywood Boulevard, tie them up by the restaurant, and step into Musso’s clubby realm of red leather and mahogany. They took the only booth with a window, so they could check on their horses. And this morning it’s mine. I prefer not to look through the blinds, though, at the passing throng of tourists and Hollywood weirdos. Instead I peer through the veil of the modern world, looking into the long-ago. Booth No. 1 is my first stop on an archaeological tour of

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THE ALTO NIDO APARTMENT HOUSE, FEATURED IN BILLY WILDER’S “SUNSET BOULEVARD”

Old Hollywood, in search of the sacred relics and ruins of a golden age. Musso’s is the perfect place to start, a bridge between movieland’s present and its legendary past. The restaurant has always featured a star-studded cast. It wasn’t unusual to see Greta Garbo talking over a script with Gary Cooper, or writer Dashiell Hammett (“The Maltese Falcon”) dining with Humphrey Bogart. Marilyn Monroe liked to sit in full view of everyone in Booth No. 3. To learn more about Musso’s glittering clientele, I sought out longtime waiter Sergio Gonzalez (who sadly has passed away since). He was wearing a short red jacket with a white towel over his arm, the picture of dignity, a man who did his job with pride and tradition for 47 years. But he also had a twinkle in his eye and a stock of stories about patrons who became his friends over the decades, everyone from a Munchkin in the “The Wizard of Oz” to Peter O’Toole. One special friend was Johnny Depp, who at the wobbly launch of his career used to hover at the back of the restaurant near a wooden telephone booth. “He’d sit there drinking coffee,” said Sergio, “and waiting for a call from his agent for a job.” The Rolling Stones knew Sergio so long and liked him so much that they treated him like a rock star, flying him to their concerts. Keith Richards still favors the secluded booth where Orson Welles used to hold court. (To get satisfaction, Keith orders liver and onions.) With paparazzi forbidden and patrons cool enough not to ask for autographs, Musso’s remains a haven where stars can be themselves and enjoy a private night out. The restaurant prides itself on treating celebrities like regulars and regulars like celebrities. For years the bar hosted a nonstop cocktail hour for a West

114

Coast version of the Algonquin Round Table. L.A. authors such as Raymond Chandler (“The Big Sleep”) drank with literary transplants F. Scott Fitzgerald and William Faulkner. They were all writing scripts for the studios. (Chandler once quipped: “If my books had been any worse, I should not have been invited to Hollywood, and if they had been any better, I should not have come.”)

WRITERS WERE ON MY MIND as I drove down Hollywood Boulevard toward the gritty fringes of filmland. At Ivar Avenue I swung left and nodded my respects to the once-grand Knickerbocker Hotel. Faulkner lived there during his studio sojourn and managed to work on “Absalom! Absalom!” in his spare time. On Halloween night in 1936, Harry Houdini’s widow held an unsuccessful séance on the roof, hoping to contact the vanished magician. Elvis Presley stayed in Room 1016 while making “Love Me Tender.” Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio often met in the hotel bar. (The Knickerbocker has since been converted to a residence for seniors.) Up the hill, I parked in front of the Parva-Sed apartments, a half-timbered, mock-Tudor building where Nathanael West lived in 1935 when he was turning out scripts for B movies. It was here he got the idea to write “The Day of the Locust,” his savage comic novel about Hollywood hopefuls and has-beens alienated at the margins of the film business — a story that ends with an apocalyptic riot at a movie premiere. He modeled characters on his neighbors in the bungalow court across the street, figures who led tragic lives among the palms and bird of paradise flowers, and on the prostitutes who resided in his building and sewed buttons back on his shirts. I climbed to the top of the hill to see an icon of Hollywood history, the Alto Nido apartment house. In the 1950 classic “Sunset Boulevard,” this Spanish-style building was the home of Joe Gillis, the failing screenwriter played by

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BELOW, PARAMOUNT PICTURES’ GATE, BUILT IN 1926

William Holden. At one point he confides to the audience: “I had a couple of stories out that wouldn’t sell, and an apartment just above Hollywood and Ivar that wasn’t paid for.”

house seem like a piece of flotsam, pushed aside by the rushing tide of Los Angeles, and forgotten.

Like so many others, he had come to Hollywood seeking the Yellow Brick Road, but instead ended up on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. The journey also ended badly for another resident of the Alto Nido, screenland’s most notorious murder victim of the 1940s. She was Elizabeth Short, but newspaper headlines called her the Black Dahlia. The thick walls of the Alto Nido were once painted creamy white, but today they’re pale pumpkin and could use cleaning. Broken glass glints in the street. A noisy stream of cars on the Hollywood Freeway just below makes the landmark apartment

of the darker face of the movie capital, I needed a bright overview, a panorama of golden-age glamour. One reason I’d come to Hollywood was to drift dreamily back in time, to revisit a glittering era when stars’ limousines purred up to the studios and movie idols waved to fans shouting their names. So I headed for the most evocative sight in the city of celluloid dreams.

AFTER THIS CLOSE-UP SHOT

Paramount Pictures’ 1926 gate is to Hollywood what the Parthenon is to Athens — a shining relic from a mythical age. Through this arched portal passed Mae West and W.C. Fields. At this studio, director Cecil B. DeMille parted the Red Sea.

RAY BRADBURY’S HOLLYWOOD In his novel “A Graveyard for Lunatics,” Ray Bradbury looked at Hollywood’s diamond dreams and rhinestone reality. He described Maximus Films (a thinly disguised Paramount Pictures lot) as “the most outrageous city in the world, where anything could happen and always did. Ten thousand deaths had happened here, and when the deaths were done, the people got up laughing, and strolled away. Whole tenement blocks were set afire and did not burn. Sirens shrieked and police cars careened around corners, only to have the officers peel off their blues, cold-cream their orange pancake makeup, and walk home to small bungalow apartments out in that great and mostly boring world.” 116

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DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS SR.’S MAUSOLEUM, HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY

The timeless arch also appears in “Sunset Boulevard.” Gloria Swanson plays forgotten silent film star Norma Desmond, desperate to make a comeback in pictures. In one scene a security guard greets the former leading lady at the Paramount gate — her portal to a descent into madness, ending with the classic line: “... Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” In those days stars could motor directly to the gate, but today it lies well beyond a security kiosk. If you drive in, the guard will ask you to make a U-turn and drive promptly back out ... but he just might let you take a picture as you go. Paramount Pictures shares a common rear wall with the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the final “location call” for many celebrities. The flower shop sells maps to the stars’ graves, an ironic twist on the “Maps to Stars’ Homes” that are hawked to Hollywood tourists. Within the cemetery, the squall of L.A. traffic faded and I was surrounded by trees, flowers, and ponds. Many stone memorials are above ground, and in this marble-orchard rests a Who’s Who of Hollywood, everyone from movie pioneer Jesse Lasky to screen legends Tyrone Power and Marion Davies. I even spotted the headstone of Mel Blanc, the voice of Looney Tunes cartoons. (The inscription: “That’s All, Folks!”) My stroll ended at the memorial of swashbuckling Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., whose marble shrine — erected in 1939 at a cost of $50,000 — stands at the end of a reflecting pool and shows his famous profile in bronze: his last close-up. It was a short drive up Santa Monica Boulevard to the classic Formosa Café, opened in 1929 and still a hangout for industry folk. Its neon sign cast a green glow into the night, as if the restaurant were a remote, exotic outpost of Old Hollywood. I pushed open the padded red leather door, an evocative relic from a bygone era of cocktail lounges, and entered a dark bar once frequented by stars such as John Wayne and Elizabeth Taylor. Ava Gardner danced among the tables and Frank Sinatra kept the drinks coming. A narrow dining room was created by converting one of the

1920s Pacific Electric Red Cars that once ran throughout Southern California. I sat sipping a gin and tonic and perused the menu of Chinese fare. On the walls around me, black-andwhite photos showcased a parade of famous diners from Grace Kelly to James Dean. But the Formosa also had its infamous ties. Mafia bad guy Bugsy Siegel stashed his gambling winnings in a secret floor safe at the restaurant. Lana Turner and her gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, were also regulars. In a scene filmed at the Formosa for 1997’s “L.A. Confidential,” a police detective approaches their table and Stompanato sneers, “If you want an autograph, write to MGM.” Returning the insult, the detective mistakes Lana Turner for a hooker. Gin seems the right thing to drink at a place like this.

MY TOUR OF OLD HOLLYWOOD, both the gritty and the glamorous, had one more stop — my hotel, the Hollywood Roosevelt, built in Spanish Colonial Revival style across the street from world-famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Like the Musso & Frank Grill, the Roosevelt is one of the last survivors from early Hollywood. Opened in 1927, it was financed by movie luminaries Louis B. Mayer, Sid Grauman, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., and Mary Pickford. In 1929, the first

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Academy Awards were held here, a ceremony that lasted only fifteen minutes. The hotel’s beautifully restored lobby has Spanish-castle beams and ornate tiles. On the staircase where Bill “Bojangles” Robinson famously taught Shirley Temple how to tap-dance, I tried a shuffle step. Luckily no one saw my clunky attempt; nowadays the hotel is the haunt of cool young Hollywood. Actors and the industry crowd join the trendy scene around the swimming pool. The white lounges at poolside fill with gaggles of aspiring actress-models, who raise hanging out to a truly professional level. They dive into a million-dollar work of art: The pool’s bottom was painted by British artist David Hockney with blue crescents once described as “swimming parentheses.” Under the swaying palms I sensed a faint aura, a lingering trace of Old Hollywood and its magic. Was it because Marilyn Monroe had her first photo shoot on the hotel’s diving board (now replaced) and lived for two years in a suite overlooking the pool? Or because Clark Gable and Carole Lombard carried on their affair in the penthouse? After a day spent exploring the movie capital, I realized that Hollywood is less a place on the map than a state of mind. Its old-time glamour can still be found if you peer through the veil of modern life. That night I dreamed of stars’ limousines gliding up to a movie premiere as searchlights crisscrossed a Technicolor sky.

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DISCOVER OLD HOLLYWOOD

SEE No. Ivar Avenue: Knickerbocker Hotel (1714), Parva-Sed Apartments (1817), Alto Nido Apartments (1851). Paramount Pictures Gate: Bronson Ave. at Melrose Ave. Hollywood Forever Cemetery: 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-406-7822, www.hollywoodforever.com. Map of stars’ graves $5 at the flower shop; concerts and movies on the lawn.

EAT Musso & Frank Grill: 6667 Hollywood Blvd., 323-467-7788, www.mussoandfrank.com. Unbeatable martinis; grilled steaks and chops. Formosa Café: 7156 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-850-1009, www. theformosacafe.com. Classic and tiki cocktails, Chinese cuisine.

STAY Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: 7000 Hollywood Blvd., 323-856-1970, www.thehollywoodroosevelt.com. Rooms start at $299.

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DR. DREW EGGEBRATEN, DDS

Dr. Andrew Eggebraten, USC Graduate and his family

GENERAL & FAMILY DENTISTRY “We specialize in biomimetic principles. Biomimetic dentistry is the reconstruction of teeth to emulate their esthetic and natural form and function. It is the most conservative approach to treating fractured and decayed teeth — it keeps them strong and seals them from bacterial invasion. By conserving as much tooth structure as possible, we can eliminate the need for many crowns and root canals.”

FOR A BETTER SMILE! 110 E PORTAL STREET OAK VIEW, CA 93022 PHONE: 805 649 1137

WWW.DREWEGGEBRATENDDS.COM

ILLUSTRATION BY KHIUS

TAKE BY

FOR CE

STORY BY CHUCK GRAHAM

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A RED-TAILED HAWK SCANS THE CARRIZO PLAIN

PHOTO BY CHUCK GAHAM

RED-TAILED HAWK USES HIS TALONS TO TAKE APART HIS MEAL

I HAD convinced my friend Hector to stand on top of a lonely cinder cone to offer some perspective through the viewfinder of my camera, revealing the grandeur of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. It wasn’t that

tough of a sell. I told him it was one of the most unique habitats in California, that it was remote, and no one would be around. It was chilly. It was late winter, and the grasslands were a lush green. It was the winter of

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2017, and the California drought had finally been stymied with enough moisture leading up to that point in time. What Hector didn’t know was for how long he would have to stand at its apex. It ended up being about 90 minutes. While he froze and stepped in place to keep warm, I moved around with my camera to capture some perspective of this epic, semi-arid veld. The solitary cinder cone had long been a photographic conundrum of mine out on the Carrizo Plain. I knew I needed someone or something to expose the vastness of this wild place and its 250,000 acres. Hector ended up being perfect for the task. He is 6’-3” tall, and with a powder blue puffy jacket on, stood out overlooking the teeming grasslands. 124

Then one day, not long after that frigid morning shoot, I spotted a large raptor perched where Hector had been standing. As I crept along in my truck on Soda Lake Road, I pulled out my long lens, a 300mm 2.8 with a 2x teleconverter, and zeroed in on the hefty bird. It ended up being a golden eagle. The predatory bird wouldn’t have been tall enough to make that photo opportunity succeed, but it obviously loved that vantage point to seek out prey with that superhero-like vision all raptors possess.

RAPTORS The word is derived from the Latin word rapio, which means seize or take by force. Raptors are well-equipped for this. Possessing keen eyesight, sharp, curled beaks, and talons to grip their prey. OQ / WINTER 2021-22

A SOLITARY CINDER CONE AMID THE VASTNESS OF THE CARRIZO PLAIN

Red-tailed hawks are arguably the most visible of the raptors on the Carrizo Plain, as they are year-round residents across the grasslands. However, there are other raptor species that also enjoy the vastness of one of the most unique biomes in the Golden State. “In the fall, other raptors move down from northern regions to winter in the Carrizo,” said Craig M. Fiehler, Environmental Scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “The Carrizo is a hot spot in general for raptors. I have observed all of the above raptors and multiple species of owls and the occasional Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon as well.” Migratory species touching down for fall and winter in the Carrizo Plain include Ferruginous Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks

and Merlins. Additionally, Golden Eagles, American Kestrels, and Prairie Falcons add to the year-round residents on the grasslands. There are some citizen science websites like ebird (eBird - Discover a new world of birding ...) or iNaturalist (A Community for Naturalists · iNaturalist). These are searchable data bases and will offer interested birders and laymen alike any known sightings for all the species of raptors (and other birds) in various geographic regions of interest.

TEARY-EYED Other than the wisp of a light, steady breeze, it was the distinct kree kree kree … kik kik kik of a resident prairie falcon soaring closely over a sandstone cathedral that drew my binoculars

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RED-TAILED HAWK WITH GOPHER SNAKE

THE WRITER AT ELKHORN PLAIN

skyward. They were the only sounds I heard on a quiet, sublime afternoon in the foothills of the Caliente Mountains. Similar in size and flight pattern to a peregrine falcon, this lone prairie falcon circled above repeatedly. I scrambled around to the front of the gritty sandstone monolith and discovered its nest atop a lofty lichen-covered alcove. With my binoculars I could clearly see its distinct, black tear drops streaking down its face as it flew with the quick, mechanical cadence they are known for.

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Eventually I lost sight of this prairie falcon, but I came across another out on Soda Lake Road. Perched on a convenient telephone pole, with one talon it had a firm grip on its prey. Crafty raptors, prairie falcons can sometimes emulate the flight patterns of other birds, fooling potential prey like small birds and rodents before making that quick strike. It remained there feasting in the warmth of the sun, dusk quickly approaching under a cloudless sky. When it left its perch,

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A RED-TAILED HAWK TAKES FLIGHT

PRAIRIE FALCON

wings flapping furiously, the prairie falcon was a small silhouette flying toward the foothills of the Caliente Mountains.

SEEING RED The steely-eyed red-tailed hawk landed on a craggy cliffside, its prey still attempting to slither away. There was no eluding its talons; still, the 3-foot-long gopher snake tried mightily to escape before the mottle-feathered hawk flew to the opposite side of the canyon. The snake was hanging tough. Through my 300mm lens I could see it still writhing within this broad-winged raptor’s grip. Again, the red-tailed hawk took flight. I could see the gopher snake dangling in the air, this time the red-tailed vanished into a canopy of cottonwood trees, not to be seen again, and the snake with it. “Red-tailed hawks are generalist predators which allows them to persist in many habitats within California year-round,” said Fiehler. “They prey on a variety of species including rodents, snakes, and rabbits. They are diurnal hunters, taking prey items during daylight hours, though I have seen them hunting in the low light conditions of dawn and dusk.” They are one of the largest hawks, but are not the fastest flyers, yet, like other Buteos (or broad-winged hawks) they can often be

observed taking advantage of thermal updrafts during the day to circle high in the sky to garner perspective and spot prey items with vision that is 8 times more powerful than a human. They can cover a lot of territory soaring from thermal to thermal. This is also where their hoarse or rasping 2-to-3-second scream is heard while they climb the thermals. There’s lots of old, splintered fence posts out on the Carrizo Plain, convenient perches for red-tailed hawks and other raptors to watch for prey. Once it is caught, watch them strip their food down with their sharp beak and powerful, yellow talons. Eightyfive to 90 percent of their menu is small rodents. The most commonly seen bird of prey on the Carrizo Plain and frequently identified in the Los Padres National Forest, redtailed hawks are the most widespread raptor in North America. They are a very adaptable bird, being equally comfortable in deserts and forests, and at varying elevations above sea level. There are some things I take for granted out on the Carrizo Plain, sightings of red-tailed hawks being at the top of the list. It wouldn’t be the same without them. Predators need prey, the sweeping grasslands providesfor a throng of raptors.

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Hike a lot?

Give a little!

If you hike in Ojai, you’ve probably hiked our trails. OVLC has permanently protected 2,300 acres of open space and maintains 27 miles of trail for all to enjoy. This is all done with donations from you—our community. LEARN MORE AND JOIN US: OVLC.ORG Photo by Nathan Wickstrum

SOCIAL SECURITY CHALLENGES by MARGARET MARAPAO Certified Financial Planner® Nov 1, 2021

very year the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report on the current and projected financial status of the programs. This year’s conclusion is clear, Social Security is in worse shape than we thought. The program’s Trust Fund for retirement and survivors benefits is now expected to be insolvent by 2033, a year earlier than anticipated. According to the annual report, its finances have been “significantly affected” by the pandemic and 2020 recession, in addition to a rapidly aging population. The ratio between contributors and beneficiaries has been shrinking for decades. In 1940, shortly after Social Security was implemented, there were about 159 workers for every Social Security recipient. This ratio fell rapidly and was less than 10 workers per beneficiary by 1955. For the last 50 years it has been under 5 and today, there is just about 2.5 workers per beneficiary. In the year 2034, a year earlier than previously expected, Americans age 65 and over will outnumber those 18 and under, according to Census Bureau estimates. The baby boom of the 1950s and 1960s has yet to be repeated and Americans are having less children in general. It’s believed that around 40% of older Americans depend on Social Security

Source: Social Security Board of Trustees

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTRIBUTING TO SOME SORT OF RETIREMENT PLAN HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER. as their only source of income in retirement. Next year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is expected to be above 6%, the largest increase since the early 1980s. Unless drastic action is taken, Social Security as we know it has a very uncertain future. The importance of contributing to some sort of retirement plan has never been greater. Even if Social Security is there for you when you retire, you most likely will not want to

Margaret Marapao is a registered representative with, and securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advice offered through Integrity Wealth Advisors a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. This material is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Integrity Wealth Advisors, Inc. and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.

live off of it’s benefit alone. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of starting early and planning ahead. You can use the chart in the Financial Planning section of this Review to determine if you are saving enough to reach your retirement goals.

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OJAI & VENTURA (805) 947-0202

iwaplan.com

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Comprehensive Cancer Care. Close to Home. Ridley-Tree Cancer Center delivers multidisciplinary cancer care using the most advanced treatments and technology. Experienced physicians trained at top institutions and a compassionate staff are why we’re the leading provider of cancer care on the central coast.

ridleytreecc.org • 540 W. Pueblo Street

Your Community Cancer Center

OQ | HEA L I NG A RTS JACALYN BOOTH Certified Colon Hydrotherapist Ojai Digestive Health With more than 30 years of experience in healing modalities, Jacalyn brings a deep level of caring to the art of colon hydrotherapy. Professional, nurturing, experienced. OjaiDigestiveHealth.com 805-901-3000

MICHELLE BYRNES Elemental Nutrition Nutrition & Wellness counseling focused on anti-aging, detoxification, personalized nutrition, & weight loss. For more information, visit elementalnutritioncoach.com 805-218-8550

JUDY GABRIEL Energy Landscaping Using intuitive vision and energy dowsing, Judy brings the health of your body, land, business, or home into balance to support your highest potential. Judy@EnergyLandscaping.com EnergyLandscaping.com 805-798-4111

NUTMEG’S OJAI HOUSE Functional Art for Heart & Home - American Made Fair Trade - Psychic Tarot and Astrology Readers, Energy and Crystal Healings daily by appt. Walk-ins welcomed: Open daily 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 304 N. Montgomery Street OjaiHouse.com | 805-640-1656

TO ADVERTISE HERE:

please call or

LESLIE BOUCHÉ, C.HT. Cert. Hypnotherapist Find your calm center. Release negative thinking, emotional reactivity, anxiety, fear and unhelpful behaviors. Improve sleep and comfort. Safe, loving, rapid change. It’s time to feel better! leslie@lesliebouche.com LeslieBouche.com | 805-796-1616

ALAN CHANG, L.Ac 2nd generation Acupuncturist who brings 15 years of Meditation, Tai Chi and Kyudo Zen Archery experience to his healing practice of Functional Medicine and TCM. AmaraOjai.com | 805-486-3494

LAURIE EDGCOMB Lic. Acupuncturist since 1986, voted best in Ojai! Natural medicine including Microcurrent, nutritional and herbal consultation, Facial Rejuvenation. LaurieEdgcomb.com 805-798-4148

LAUREL FELICE, LMT Offers Swedish, deep tissue, reflexology, reiki, cranialsacral and pre and post natal massage with a reverent and joyous balance of hands and heart. laurelfelice54@gmail.com 805-886-3674

DR. JOHN R. GALASKA Dr. John R. Galaska, PsyD, BCN, Cht, university professor of Psychology, Neurofeedback, biofeedback, hypnosis for past troubling experiences and enhancing subjective life experience. BeCalmOfOjai.com facebook.com/BeCalmofOjai 805-705-5175

NATHAN KAEHLER, MA, LAC Nathan Kaehler (Best of Ojai 2014). Licensed Acupuncturist, MA Psychology. Gentle acupuncture, 14 years experience Personalized herb preparations Large onsite herb dispensary OjaiHerbs.com | 805-640-8700

SOMATIC SANCTUARY Welcome to Somatic Sanctuary — a somatic-based healing and movement arts center. Explore healing treatments, group movement sessions, workshops and community events. 410 W. Ojai Avenue 805-633-9230 SomaticSanctuary.com

ALARRA SARESS Gong Meditation and Acutonics Sound Alchemist. Master Bodyworker. Founder of Harmonic Earth — sacred space for healing arts and performance. Call or text. 107 W. Aliso Street HarmonicEarth.org | 720-5303415

JULIE TUMAMAITSTENSLIE Chumash Elder Consultant • Storyteller • Spiritual Advisor • Workshops Weddings & Ceremonies JTumamait@hotmail.com 805-701-6152

NAN TOLBERT NURTURING CENTER Pre-birth to 3; pre/post-natal wellbeing; infant/toddler development; parent education/support. BirthResource.org info@birthresource.org 805-646-7559

email bret bradigan at

editor@ojaiquarterly.com or

805-798-0177

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F New Year!

g n i h s louri

WISHING OUR OJAI COMMUNITY A

@flo u r i s h oja i W W W. F LO U R I S H OJA I .CO M

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OQ | EV ENTS CA L ENDA R DECEMBER - JANUARY - FEBRUARY galleries

CANVAS AND PAPER | THU-SUN | info@canvasandpaper.org DECEMBER 2

Damien Jurado & Okkervil River Time: 7 p.m. Location: Ojai Women’s Club, 441 East Ojai Avenue Contact: ticketweb.com, ovwc.info Seattle-based Jurado is known for his innovative approach to folk ballads, as well as his lyrical style. Top songs include “Sheets,” “Ohio,” and “Silver Timothy.” Okkervil River was founded in Austin by Will Sheff. The band is known for hits “Black Sheep Boy,” “Unless It’s Kicks,” and “The President Is Dead.” DECEMBER 23 – FEBRUARY 20 Barbara Hepworth Henry Moore Pablo Picasso Works on paper Times: Thursday – Sunday, noon – 5 p.m. Location: canvas and paper, 311 North Montgomery Street Contact: canvasandpaper.org Free admission — canvas and paper is a non-profit exhibition space showing paintings and drawings from the 20th century and earlier in thematic and single artist exhibits.

recurring events

concerts

OJAI IMPROV CLASSES | SATURDAYS | | OJAI ART CENTER

DAMIEN JURADO & OKKERVIL RIVER | DECEMBER 2 | OJAI WOMEN’S CLUB

TO JANUARY 3 Before the Wilt: Works by Renée A Fox & Mary Warner Location: Porch Gallery 310 East Matilija Street Times: Thursday to Monday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday: 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guest curated by China Adams Before The Wilt features the work of painters Renée Fox and Mary Warner. Both accentuate the flower through dramatic scale, rich color and Realism (in places verging on Hyper-Realism). Contact: 805-620-7589 porchgalleryojai.com

Art Center, 113 South Montgomery Street Contact: 818-648-9540 Learn to own your power, embrace your feear, develop better listening skills, learn the value of collaboration, learn to adapt and be agile. Build a great ensemble troupe.

Ojai Community Farmers’ Market Times: Thursdays, 3 to 7 p.m. Location: Chaparral School Courtyard 414 East Ojai Avenue Contact: (661) 491-0257 ojaicommunityfarmersmarket.com Mission: To provide access to healthy food, cultivate community and promote education. Ojai Valley Improv’s Classes on Saturdays Times: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and Mondays Location: The Raymund Room at The Ojai OQ / WINTER 2021-22

Beginner’s Improv Classes are also available Mondays at Ojai Youth Entertainers Studio. Cost is $10 per session, first class is free. Shakespeare Reading Salon — every 1st and 3rd Monday Times: 7 to 9 p.m. Location: Ojai Main Library, 111 East Ojai Avenue Contact: Laurie at 805-646-3733 ojaibard@gmail.com Join our lively reading and discussion. Whether you like to read aloud or just listen, everyone is welcome ! Drop in and join the fun. We read and discuss Shakespeare’s play.

THURSDAYS “Ojai: Talk of the Town” Podcast New episodes come out Thursday evenings through OjaiHub.com newsletter. Sign up at OjaiHub.com 133

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BEING A YOUTUBE ADVERT FOR THE LAST RESORT DATING AGENCY. A Housewife’s Log

BY SAMI ZAHRINGER

TINY WOMAN WITH ENORMOUS OWLISH GLASSES Here at the Last Resort Dating Agency, we don’t believe in labeling anyone. We maintain that people must remain true to themselves whatever their lifestyles/beliefs/toast-shade preferences may be. Do you have strong opinions about, for example, how best to microwave peas and you want everyone to know your ideas? We can find you somebody who has struggled always with that particular pea problem! Has life not favored you facially? We can find you somebody who loves nothing better than a person with a face like a stuntman’s knee. Or are you simply an unbearable asshole? We can find you another asshole with whom to be unbearable together! Whatever your quirks, we can help!

SITS IN FIRESIDE CHAIR. TURNS TO CAMERA AS IF SURPRISED TO FIND IT THERE. “Hello, wannabe lovers! I am Harriet Sminks and I am the co-founder of The Last Resort Dating Agency. In a world of mass online dating sites, we curate a boutique experience for clients with extra special, unusual, or rigorously niche requirements; people for whom no other dating sites have worked. There are no logarithms. There is just me, Harriet. I am the logarithm. Well, also my co-founder Michelle but she’s having a Bitcoin-related breakdown with hemorrhoidal complications following some magnificent, thrashing sex and poor financial decisions with terrible human being and confidence-trickster (name bleeped out) of (address bleeped out). I get to know the clients personally, coach them in the dating arts, and with tact, discretion, and almost spleen-quivering discernment, find them the partner of their dreams.” Harriet leans into the camera “Let’s be frank. Are you unlucky in love? Have other dating sites failed to find you your ideal partner? Perhaps you have quirks that put you outside most people’s understanding? Are you struggling to find out what you’re doing “wrong” on dates? 134

OUR MANY SUCCESS STORIES INCLUDE GARETH AND CARRIE. Harriet turns to a sweetly smiling couple holding hands. GARETH: “It’s true! Harriet changed my life! I am currently entering the 4th year of a beautiful relationship with my soulmate, Carrie, after many years of “playing the field.” I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. Prior to Carrie, women have described me variously as (Gareth checks his notes) “a breathing OQ / WINTER 2021-22

pork-pie’; “an absolute casserole of a man with the personality of a relentless inner ear infection,” “An intellectual pygmy whose idea of stimulating conversation is chronicling his own male pattern baldness over the years 1992-97,” and the last woman said “If I ever see that man again I will beat myself to death with my own footwear.” I was beginning to despair I would ever find love in my life but then I saw an ad for The Last Resort Dating Agency in ‘Automated Gate Valves Monthly’ and I thought, “What the hey! Give it one last go, Gareth boy!” It took 6 months of coaching but I learnt some invaluable lessons, like not to list my top 5 favorite ducks to a woman on a first date. And then Harriet introduced me to Carrie. (Gazes fondly at Carrie)

CARRIE: I too struggled with relationships. I am a professional Balloon Animal Artist and static is a problem. On any given day my hair looks like a mad woman’s knitting or a young egret taking off on a blowy afternoon. Past dating feedback included the complaints ”Carrie makes lichen look dynamic”; “Her preference

for Federal Reserve Executive role-play in the bedroom put me off quite a bit”; “She runs the David Icke Fan Club, for God’s sake”; and “She showed up wearing a “Live, Love, Laugh!” t-shirt.” During coaching, I learnt that on a first date it is wrong to fill the awkward silence before ordering the starter by blurting out without warning my own poetry, particularly if the poetry begins “Now plashes the wingéd vole, And all Norway arises!” Well, we don’t use the word “wrong” at they Last Resort Dating Agency, but we learn some things are just very unright in a first date scenario. Right away Harriet spotted ways to help me. For example, I didn’t think I was a particularly uptight person until she pointed out that I eat Pringles with a fork. Over five sometimes painful weeks she helped me go forkless. Another strike against me love-wise is that in my spare time I race skunks competitively and not many people can put up with the smell that hovers about my person at all times. Harriet managed to find not only my perfect man in Gareth but also one with no sense of smell due to a childhood accident involving a toothpick and a bowl of

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scalding hot baked beans.

HARRIET: “How wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Gareth and Carrie! For more information, go to our website at www.hardtolove.com There you will find many profiles you can access with a small monthly fee. Here are two free profiles to show that truly, we will take even the most stubbornly entrenched cases in the great human tapestry. ”

CUT TO VIDEO OF UNBLINKING MAN IN A FIELD. “Good day. My name is Travis. I am a 48 year-old-male person. My hobbies include Off Road Wilderness Roller-Blading, live farmer-baiting (Wisconsin Rules) and Extreme Dude-Crochet so I think you can tell I’m a dynamic figure. I’m often to be found scaling tall cliffs to save motherless puffins and crushing my own proprietary blend of herbs and man-urine to make potent salves for any knee scuffs I might incur whilst being dynamic. Without exception I say “whilst”, not “while” and would prefer it if you did, too. I am the natural friend of the wolf and the ibex and the unnatural enemy of the hen. I seek out the high and wild places and eschew the soggy lowlands where men of weak character gather to wear lycra and drink light beer and competitively barbecue in backyard settings. I do not eat anything with eyelashes or a chin. I am passionate about gannets which any right-headed person knows are the thinking man’s seagull. My preferred Yankee Candle scent is Twilight Tractor and I never talk about crustaceans, my childhood, or Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary from the years 1993-96. Seeking Same. Or Similar. Similar will do, if necessary.”

CUT TO NEXT VIDEO. AN ELDERLY WOMAN PEERS AT THE CAMERA FROM A DARK SITTING ROOM HER FACE SHROUDED IN SHADOW. 136

“I’m Mary, 71, and a widow. I feel it only fair to disclose that, while I was once a Famous Beauty, now I have a face like a punched lasagna and teeth like a leper’s toes. When I don’t have horrifying flatulence, I smell of whippets, and am ventilated only with decrepitude and spite. I scream obscenities at traffic helicopters and post-office clerks and the lady who comes to cut my corns. My personality is ashen grey in color but spiky, like the EKG of a dying accountant. However. I do have a sizable amount put aside, I own my own home with ample road frontage in a leafy zip code, I have angina and breathlessness, my only friend is in worse shape than I am and I don’t speak to my ungrateful children. I shouldn’t last much longer according to my doctor and there should be a nice payday upon my demise for any lucky romantic partner. While I largely despise mankind, I am nice to cats, the homeless, and my whippet, Princess Maud, I staple all my receipts together, and I am good about putting the bins out. I can feel rain coming in my left knee which has proven useful on more than one miniature golf outing but I am banned from all the courses within the tri-counties area now anyway. In many ways, I’m quite a catch for a single older man of negotiable affection should the right one be out there. I ask nothing more of you than some hearty soups and the odd game of strip cribbage and, maybe, in time, some fondness of heart. It ought to be noted though that my indifference to sex can only be described as sexual in its intensity. Don’t ask for a picture of me. Just imagine a dropped pie and you will be in the ballpark. Oh, I’m also a bit of Nazi-sympathizer.”

HARRIET: “Well there you have it. A pair of absolute turnips but I matched them both in the last week! Are you a turnip on the larder shelf of love? Are you an industry standard arse, or perhaps just a very beige thread in the great tapestry of life. We can help! Visit us online and adjust your life accordingly. Fade to swelling orchestral music and Gareth and Carrie laughing with Harriet, firesidedly.

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

805 633 9099 305 E. Matilija Ave, Suite 101 A, Ojai Ca 93023 www.properbeautyojai.com I am beyond grateful for the gifts and opportunities bestowed on me. I have invited a beautiful, creative and authentic team of seasoned and gifted stylists. I am equally grateful to call Diane and Jody my friends. Welcome to Proper Beauty Ojai!

IN THIS PHOTO: JODY ALEXANDER, DENISE HELLER AND DIANE JAFFE DENISE HELLER OWNER: Proper Beauty Ojai 40 years in the in the beauty industry. LA stylist. Ojai native. Born, raised, departed, educated, and returned to Ojai in 2013 JODY ALEXANDER Jody has had a broad career as both barber and stylist. Jody holds dual licenses. He is also an instructor of barbering and cosmetology. He and his wife Vanessa have owned several salons in Ventura. DIANE JAFFE I owned my own salon in Ojai (Contempo) for over forty years. After all these years, I am also grateful to still love my work and my clients. Being at Proper Beauty and working with Denise and Jody is a joy and a gift. denise_properbeautyojai

OQ / WINTER 2021-22

j.alexanderbarbering 137

Co ve r Ba ck on Fe at ur ed

CASA DE LOS ENCINOS

This grand, spa-like 5,931sqft 7br/5ba Hacienda style estate on 2.35 acres in Rancho Matilija is walled and gated for maximum privacy. The main house has beamed ceilings, a grand foyer, a formal dining room, a spacious great room and multiple ﬁreplaces. The gourmet kitchen has Wolf appliances, an indoor barbeque, and a walk-in pantry. The primary bedroom suite has a covered patio, an adjoining office and spectacular views of the Topa Topas. The 400 sqft primary bath includes a sauna, steam shower, a jetted tub, 2 walk-in closets and a patio with an outdoor shower. A 4-car garage has a bedroom, a bathroom and a private theater with luxurious seating. There is a 2br/2ba guest house with full kitchen. The pool/jacuzzi area has a ﬁre pit, a covered patio with a cabana and BBQ. The beautifully landscaped grounds include an orchard and a private well for irrigation. $4,500,000 12147LindaFloraDrOjai.com

PAT T Y WALTCHER

25 years matching people and property in the Ojai Valley

w Ne ki As ng e ic Pr

BRILLIANT CONTEMPORARY

This completely renovated, contemporary home on nearly 3 gated acres has fabulous 360 degree views and is totally refined in every detail. From the organic interior layout to the cultivated surrounding environment, everything has been finished with the highest quality materials. High ceilings, windows, and open, connected spaces create a light, airy atmosphere while extensive use of natural materials makes the home feal earthy and warm. The kitchen is a chef’s dream, with amazing views, gorgeous marble counters and wood cabinets. A covered outdoor entertainment area features a fabulous fireplace and a finished garage could easily be converted into an ADU. The beautifully landscaped grounds include a stone labyrinth, cobblestone driveway, and mature avocado, citrus and olive trees. 2100MaricopaOjai.com Offered at $2,490,000

PAT T Y WALTCHER

(805) 340-3774

pattywaltcher.com

Patty Waltcher 25 ye a r s o f e x p e r i e n ce m a tc h i n g

p e o p l e a n d p ro p e r t y i n t h e O j a i Va l l e y

CASA DE LOS ENCINOS

This grand Hacienda style estate in Rancho Matilija is walled and gated. The main house has a grand foyer, a formal dining room, a spacious great room and a gourmet kitchen. The primary bedroom suite has a covered patio and spectacular views of the Topa Topas. The luxurious primary bath includes a sauna, steam shower and 2 walk-in closets. The property includes a 2br/2ba guest house, a 4-car garage with a guest room and a private theater, a pool/jacuzzi area, an orchard and a private well. 12147LindaFloraDrOjai.com Offered at $4,500,000

I will help you discover the home that brings peace to your mind and heart ( 8 0 5 ) 3 4 0 -3 7 7 4 ~ pa ttywa ltc her. c om