Ojai Magazine Summer 2024

3369 THACHER ROAD

Nestled at the end of a rural and tranquil cul-de-sac, this picturesque 2220 sq ft residence o ers an idyllic retreat on one of Ojai’s most sought-after streets in the esteemed “East End” neighborhood. Set back from the road on a slightly elevated acre parcel, this property boasts a sense of privacy and serenity rarely found.

$2,395,000

417 WEST MATILIJA STREET

On a half-acre with multiple tucked-away patios, an outdoor kitchen w/pizza oven, wisteria covered dining patio, bocce court, re-pit, plunge pool, spa, and an intriguing spiral staircase with viewing tower above. Single-level custom home with 2,616 sq ft interior, Spanish tile oors, vaulted ceilings, library nook w/built-ins, replace & French doors that open to the gardens. There is also a delightful Bonus Room/Art Studio w/vaulted ceilings, skylights & built-in desk. Just blocks from the heart of Ojai’s charming village.

$2,679,000

1758 WARD WAY

At the end of a cul-de-sac close to Lake Casitas, this 3 bedroom, 3 bath home on a 1/2 acre o ers mountain views, a variety of fruit trees and plenty of room for outdoor entertaining. The open concept living space has high ceilings and an abundance of natural light. The attached guest suite is versatile and could also serve as a home o ce with private entrance.

$1,595,000

1221 FOOTHILL ROAD

A truly enchanting retreat behind the artistry of stone walls in one of Ojai’s most coveted neighborhood. The 1940’s residence & guest cottage have been completely restored. There’s also a detached o ce/gym and separate writer’s studio, plus a brand new 1,200 sqft, 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath ADU that has transformed this haven into an entertainers dream; the embodiment of relaxed luxury, resort-style living.

SOLD for $8,950,000

RANCHO ROYALE

21-Acre Equestrian Estate with Main House + 8 Rentals, 7 Horse Barns, 20 Covered Corrals, 4 Arenas, 2 Round Pens, Hay & Equipment Barns, Panel Walker, Entertainment Barn, Archery Range, Mountain Views & More RanchoRoyaleOjai.com | $8,199,000

OAKSTONE ESTATE

Three-Bedroom Main House with Fireplace and Wood Floors on Three Acres in the East End with Separate Office, One-Bedroom Guest House, Pool and Spa, Solar Panels, Bocce Court, Multiple Outdoor Living Areas. $3,790,000

BURNHAM ROAD

Three-Bedroom Home on .25-Acre Lot with Large Family Room, Fireplace, Formal Dining, Country Kitchen, and RV Parking Close to Lake Casitas, Downtown Oak View, and Ojai Valley Trail. $850,000

FIVE PALMS

4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms with 2 Primary Suites, Fireplace, Walk-In Pantry, Dual-Sink Vanity, Swimming Pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Covered Patios, 2-Car Garage, Gated RV Parking. 1084WoodlandAvenue.com | $1,295,000

BRYANT PLACE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Ojai Commercial Property with Parking Lot, Showroom, Workshop, Office, Breakroom or Storage Room, Two Bathrooms, and Great Location in Industrial Area Evolving into Hip Entertainment District 907BryantPlace.com | $1,785,000

LEANING OAKS PLACE

Three-Bedroom, Two-Bathroom Mid-Century Modern Oak View Fixer on Large Lot with Gate and Fruit Trees Within Walking Distance to Oak View Shops and Minutes from Ojai and Lake Casitas. $899,900

UPPER OJAI LAND

Build your dream home on 1.25 acres in Upper Ojai with 20-25gpm well, water meter, Edison drop, and beautiful mountain views minutes from downtown Ojai. $697,500

ROCA VISTA RANCH

Seven-Bedroom Main House on Approximately 10 Acres with Pool House, Pool, Spa, Outdoor Kitchen, Three-Car Garage, Two-Car Garage, Artist’s Loft, Lighted Tennis Court, Family Orchard, and Horse Facilities. RocaVistaRanchOjai.com | $5,550,000

RUNNING RIDGE RETREAT

Fully Remodeled Five Bedroom, Five Bathroom Mid-Century Modern with Spanish Colonial Influence with Brazilian Wood Floors, Pool & Spa, Two Primary Suites, Guest Quarters, Media Room, Amazing Views 276 RunningRidgeTrail.com | $3,499,000

ROSE VALLEY LAND

Create an off-grid, country retreat on 40 acres with mountain views, trails, and a natural spring in Rose Valley in the Los Padres National Forest. $1,200,000

ROYAL OAKS RANCH

5 Bedrooms, Upscale Finishes Throughout, Media Room, Wine Cellar, Tasting Room, Gym/Massage Room, Pool & Spa, Putting Green, Well, Six-Car Garage, Bocce Court, Views, and So Much More RoyalOaksRanchOjai.com PRICE UPON REQUEST

RIVERSIDE DRIVE

Two Bedroom, Two Bathroom Manufactured Home + Outbuildings on Flat, Usable, .81-Acre Horse Property Close to Lake Casitas and Oak View Shops & Restaurants. $899,000

LITTLE ORCHARD FARMS

33+ Acre Fenced, Private Retreat with 5 Wells, Orchard, Chicken Coop, Separate Studio, Stone Fireplace, Vaulted Ceilings, Reverse Osmosis, 2 Copper Outdoor Soaking Tubs, Expansive Outdoor Living Areas, Private Pond, Amazing Views, and Many Recent Upgrades.

LittleOrchardFarms.com | $2,999,000

LONE PALM COTTAGE

Three Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, Huge Family Room, Hardwood Floors, OverSized Soaking Tub, Lots of Closets, Breakfast Bar, and Mountain Views. $899,000

MIDCENTURY MODERN LUXURY

This pristine 5br/4ba mid-century modern masterpiece is artfully positioned on its nearly one acre lot to command uninterrupted views of the Topa Topas and the northern ridge. It offers 3,673 sqft of refined living space and lush, private grounds with stately oaks, drought-resistant landscaping, and fruit trees. Floor to ceiling windows create an ambiance of airy openness, while the pool, spa and lounging areas invite one to enjoy the outdoors. A Tesla Powerwall and 28 solar panels are among the many upgrades. It is a slice of architectural heritage infused with the magical experience of Ojai.

Offered at $3,875,000

Volume 42 No.2

EDITOR’S NOTE - 20

COVER STORY:

Hammerin’ Hank - 26

BIG ISSUES

UnBroken, the Movie - 44

ART & CULTURE

Hawk Koch - 34

Street Typewriter Poets - 54

Junior Joiners - 70

Serendipity Toys - 118

FARM

Ojai Olive Oil - 62

Local and in Season - 90

FOOD & WINE

Pho for All - 78

Kelpful Sea Vegetables - 84

Ojai Mountain vineyard - 98

CALENDER OF EVENTS - 104

LOOKING BACK

Road House, Takin’ the Hits - 110

& SANTA BARBARA HOMES

“Built like a shrine on sacred ground”

– ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

National Historic Landmark Home Celebrates 115 Year Anniversary

2024 marks the 115th anniversary of the Pratt House, one of the seminal homes designed and built by the renowned architectural firm Greene & Greene, completed in 1909. A celebrated jewel of the Ojai community, often referred to as Casa Baranca the Pratt House is a stunning example of early 20th-century Craftsman architecture.

Commissioned by Charles M. Pratt, the house showcases handcrafted stonework, natural materials, and a design that harmonizes with the landscape. Its simplicity, functionality, and craftsmanship reflect the Arts & Crafts movement’s ideals, thus making the Pratt House one of the City of Ojai’s greatest cultural and architectural treasures.

EDITOR’S NOTE: SUMMER 2024

In a small town, the circle of life gets upfront and personal. Perhaps especially in a town like Ojai, where the population is older, we learn the daily details of the maladies, frustrations, achievements and milestones of our neighbors, their kin, and their four-legged friends. Maybe it’s the frequent bites of the reality sandwich that keep us real in Ojai.

No one around here believes your social-media-profile life, so you don’t need to waste your time posting it. At least that stress is over! Go outside to a public meeting or gathering; visit a local watering hole; lurk the aisles at Rainbow Bridge; soak in the waters of the Ojai Valley Athletic Club jacuzzi; or just hang out on your front porch … you’re bound to catch a glimpse, learn the joys and sorrows, and just maybe absorb the wisdom, of Ojaians in their habitat.

Our community cast of characters has stories to tell and this Summer Ojai Magazine o ers your next installment. Few tellers are more real and engaging than Dave LaBelle, who touches home with a classic Ojai baseball story, Hammerin’ Hank (pg. 26).

Learn the local spirit from the artful tap of Devo Cutler-Rubenstein as she shares the typewriter-poet phenomenon happening about town and heard at Ojai’s farmers’ markets in Street Typewriter Poets (pg. 54)

Hawk Koch is a master film producer, and his stories of work with titans of industry — among them, his dad — show how much movies reflect our own human condition … Magic’s in the Stars (pg. 34)

Documentarian Beth Lane always felt the epic story of her mother and six siblings escaping from Germany during WWII was not hers to tell. As time passed she realized she had become the last one left with the ability to document the story of seven Jewish children who arrived in New York in 1946, together and UnBroken (pg. 44).

Our Senior Reporter Perry Van Houten visits the Junior Joiners (pg. 70) of Ojai Valley School, where students learn lessons in the slow-life, milling downed wood and using hand tools in their 100-year-old woodshop.

The true joys of small-town living include a drop-in chat with Joe and Lilly, owners of Serendipity Toys (pg. 118). They have been growing up with our kids and grandkids for 25 years now and probably remember their stories as well as you do.

Life in this small SoCal town is not anonymous. It’s weird, intimate, at times puzzling, at times life-saving, and always worth knowing. This is our town in our time and we live it side by side, inseparably.

With affection,

Laura Rearwin Ward

EDITOR/PUBLISHER

Laura Rearwin Ward

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Karen Lindell

ART DIRECTOR

Paul Stanton WRITERS

Karen Lindell

Perry Van Houten

Dave LaBelle

Mimi Walker

Ti any Paige

Kerstin Kühn

Johnny Fonteyn

Sharon Palmer

Michael Rider

Devo Cutler-Rubenstein

PRODUCTION SUPPORT

Tori Behar, Mimi Walker Georgia Schreiner

ADVERTISING

Linda Snider, director of sales

Ally Mills, Kim Klester

CONTACT

magazine@ojaivalleynews.com advertising@ojaivalleynews.com www.ojaivalleynews.com/magazine @ojaimag

Cover photo: Dave LaBelle @dave.labelle

Designed by Santa Barbara architect William Mahan in the Spanish Colonial Revival style for the neighboring Ojai Valley Inn, this private home has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and a media/family room. Surrounded by incredible views and featuring multiple outdoor areas around the pool and jacuzzi, the property is completely enclosed for those that seek privacy. Downtown Ojai is a short distance away and readily accessible by way of the bike path.

Offered at $3,950,000

This 2022 build designed for indoor-outdoor living blends Modern and Contemporary styles and is set among heritage oaks on a private, gated lot a short drive from downtown Ojai. Three beds, three & a half baths, impeccable design and upscale finishes including custom countertops, rift-sawn cabinetry and Wolfe and Sub-Zero appliance. Each bedroom features an ensuite bathroom, blackout shades, and a sliding door leading to outdoor living areas.

Offered at $3,959,000

Dave Lynn | 805.207.8122 | DRE #01962468

Lynn | 805.798.0322 | DRE #01962469

might become a skilled baseball player like Henry Aaron. Although my wife liked the name, imagining her son to be a deepthinking writer, philosopher, and naturalist like Henry David Thoreau, her mother felt it was risky, because a boy named Henry might sit alone and read all the time. Ultimately, we agreed upon Henry David, and he did turn into all that we prophesied, while also carrying forward the name David, a connection to men on both sides of his family. As soon as he could hold a ball, Henry wanted to throw it. He would throw all kinds of things from his highchair, seeming to know the mechanics somewhere deep in his soul. He’d play baseball wherever we found ourselves, especially on outdoor excursions like the beach or bike path, where he’d always find a stick and endlessly hit small stones.

Returning to Oak View after being away from the county for years was a dream for me, and watching our two sons play on the same field I did as a Little Leaguer a halfcentury earlier was a gift beyond my wildest imagination.

We found a house on Valley Road, across from what was once Oak View Elementary, my alma mater. In the street between our home and what is now the Oak View Park and Resource Center, I would hit fly ball after fly ball to young Henry, who never tired of playing baseball. And with an old mattress as a backdrop, he would practice pitching to his older brother, Tucker, whose favored position was catcher.

Henry was obsessed with baseball. He spent hours watching VHS tapes of Dodger games I’d recorded years earlier. Playing shortstop and pitching on all of his Little League teams, he practiced imitating the moves of Dodger shortstop Rafael Furcal. Smooth and poetic on the field, like a gifted dancer, he made plays that surprised his parents and coaches, as well as spectators, with people often saying he was a natural.

Parental dreams

Like many fathers, I dreamed one of my three boys would play professional baseball, hoping it would be for the Dodgers. After all, they had the genetics. Their greatgrandfather was a star high school pitcher in Oklahoma who was offered a contract by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sadly, his parents refused to sign for him, saying baseball offered no future. In frustration, the manly looking Clarence ran away, joined the U.S. Army, and was sent to France. When he returned to the states, his window of opportunity for baseball glory had closed. The knuckleball pitcher continued playing on semi-pro West Coast teams for years, sometimes pitching for $50 a game.

Bergen, my oldest son, a 6 foot, 6 inch hard-throwing, right-handed pitcher from a previous marriage, whose high school team made it to the final game in the Georgia state championship his senior year, was offered a college scholarship to play baseball in Northern California, but decided not to pursue baseball further. Tucker, my second son, big for his age, with good eye-hand coordination, was a decent hitter but fell in love with lacrosse in middle school, following it to the college level and then coaching.

So, when Henry, my youngest, began demonstrating uncanny skills, my dream of a son playing on a major league field was revived. Watching this boy play baseball was like witnessing a skater glide effortlessly across ice. He was a true natural, as if the baseball gods determined his destiny even before his birth, and he arrived already equipped for the game.

And then something changed. No more baseball

In 2010, we moved to Tennessee and then to Ohio, where I began teaching and directing the photojournalism program at Kent State University.

After two years in Ohio, 12-year-old Henry said he didn’t want to play baseball anymore.

It broke my heart, and I wondered where I went wrong between him and the game.

When he started high school, I encouraged him to try out for the freshman team, hoping it might reawaken his love of the sport. It felt like a waste for him not to keep playing with his natural ability, but he refused, saying he was no longer interested. “It’s not fun anymore,” he said. “Everybody takes it too seriously.”

Seeing only hype and money around the professional game he once lived for, teenager Henry had little interest in even watching baseball on television with me anymore.

I held out hope my boy would change his mind, but he held firm.

He continued growing his basketball skills and began playing lacrosse, but didn’t pick up a baseball bat for years.

“It wasn’t fun anymore,” he answered every time I asked if he missed baseball.

Always intensely competitive, 4-year-old

Henry plays with cousins during a summer vacation.

Field of Dreams

And then something unbelievable happened in the most magical of places. A buried seed, watered with imagination, began sprouting.

When big brother Tucker, now 6-foot-5, was offered a lacrosse scholarship at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, we traveled as a family during winter break to visit the school. While there, we visited the Field of Dreams Movie Site in Dyersville. It was a freezing, blowing, icy early spring day, but as Henry ran the bases — a thin layer of ice and snow on the famous infield — I saw a sparkle in his eyes I hadn’t seen in years. His childhood love of baseball and that longing to play the game again began to resurface.

Afterward, he said, “I want to come back here and get a summer job and play on this field every day.” I could barely choke back my tears. But the next few years were hard for teenage Henry, and he couldn’t seem to find where he fit in the world. Like many his age, he became quietly rebellious, and we were worried.

Baseball runs through us

And then around age 18, Henry asked me to play catch and pitch to him again. Even though I needed rotator cuff surgery and it hurt to throw, I embraced the opportunity to share the father-son experience again. With his love of the game rekindling, and

our relationship growing deeper, we began almost daily trips to a nearby park, where I would hit and pitch to him until dark, just as I did on the streets near the Oak View Parks and Rec center when he was a little boy. Though he was rusty and no longer fluid in his taller, unpracticed body, he was still fleet-footed and showed flashes of those natural childhood gifts. I was sure, even after years away from the game, he could play again at a high level if he applied himself.

In fact, I asked several times if he wanted to play college ball somewhere, reminding him that at 20 years old, his window was rapidly closing. As we practiced, his swing improved, and those line drives kept landing closer to the right and center field fences, eventually hitting them. “I’m going to hit one over,” he kept assuring, with it finally happening one afternoon.

About this same time, in Athens, Ohio, Henry began playing “unorganized” weekly softball with a ragtag group of wild, funloving social misfits. They called their game “Weird-O-Softball,” which was appropriate. I decided one afternoon to watch him play on the old field at the Athens Asylum, a former state mental hospital.

Some players held a beer in one hand and a glove on the other, a cigarette hanging from their lip. Others smoked

marijuana, even though the field was only a few blocks from the police station. It was a Sunday afternoon game where all comers were welcome — men, women, old, young, tattooed, bearded, clean-shaven, experienced, former college players and beginners, unstable drug users, and drunks. I even photographed an entertaining fight on the field after the shortstop got upset because the beer-drinking third baseman urinated between the third-base line and the dugout.

Suffice to say, it was a fun and unusual affair that delighted Henry and drew him back to the game he once loved. For the first time in years, I saw Henry truly having fun. Playing barefoot, making diving catches, and launching home run after home run, he quickly became a star.

Best of all, his teammates loved and accepted him, and he, them.

Fate, irony, or serendipity?

One summer while visiting Iowa, we watched Tucker catching in a semi-pro game, and I could see the wheels turning as Henry watched with interest. I knew he was thinking: “I can do this. I can play at this level and hit these pitchers.”

Six years after initially visiting the Field of Dreams, Henry decided to leave Ohio and spend the summer in Dyersville the next year. He got a job grilling hamburgers and hot dogs at the Field of Dreams’ concession stand called The Stretch. Meanwhile, Tucker petitioned the coach of the Dyersville semi-pro team, the White Hawks, to give his brother a chance. Once a proud and competitive team, the White Hawks now struggled at times to suit up enough players, so inviting Henry onto the field wasn’t a tough decision, even if he hadn’t played organized baseball in nine years.

The league consists of teams with high school and college players, as well as 50-year-old former star pitchers. Because rosters are thin early in the season before college kids get out of school, coaches are willing to give newcomers a chance to play. Though excited to see Henry in uniform again, I was nervous, fearing a bad

Left: Playing the infield as a 7-year-old in an Ojai Valley Little League game.

performance might discourage him and cause him to again shrink back from the game. He was now 21 years old, playing in a semi-pro baseball league, his skill level behind most players after sitting out almost a decade. But batting ninth in his first game, Henry went 3-5, just missing a home run, beating out an infield hit and stealing a base. I was shocked, as were most of the players and the coach.

Several asked in disbelief if it had really been years since he played. The night was surreal, like a scene from The Natural. “It can’t be this easy,” I thought.

The next game, the coach moved Henry up in the lineup, batting him fifth. And then reality hit.

Pitchers quit throwing strikes, knowing the eager hitter would chase bad pitches. Over the next 10 games, Henry hit less than .200, with too many strikeouts. The frustration was growing. The coach dropped him back down to the bottom of the order,

and even sat him down for several games. Henry’s love for the game had not waned, but his confidence had. Still, with his passion for the game reignited, he looked forward to coming back for another season.

The next summer season began much the way the last one ended, with occasional good games and a lot of frustrating ones. Always an infielder, Henry was learning the outfield. Fleet-footed with a strong arm, he was becoming a respectable and dependable defender. The team was having another disappointing season, playing about .500, and Henry wasn’t hitting to his potential. But the low point of the season came when the White Hawks played in the Cascade Tournament. (In Iowa, especially northern Iowa, semi-pro baseball is historic. Men go to their graves talking about games they played against other teams, and in recent years, the Cascade Reds had fielded dominant teams.) The coach informed Henry that he wasn’t going to play him in this game. Hoping to increase his odds of

winning against the stronger team, he’d recruited a couple of “ringers.”

Henry was heartbroken, and though he never let the coach or team know, he thought about quitting. Instead, he decided to take the high road and ride out the season, regardless of what the coach did. He went to the game (I photographed it for the newspaper) and Henry stayed positive, offering to be a base coach while encouraging his teammates, even though he felt he could outplay some on the field. (Those of you who are parents or grandparents know how painful and frustrating it can be to watch helplessly when your child — even a young adult child — doesn’t get playing time you believe he or she deserves.)

The White Hawks lost the game and were ousted from the tournament.

Meanwhile, Henry learned a handful of players were having their own practices, and they invited him to come along. One player, both a pitcher and good-hitting first baseman, noticed that because Henry’s timing was off, he was compromising his power when landing on his front foot too early. He suggested trying a timing mechanism, tapping his toe to keep his weight back. Bingo.

In no time, Henry was driving the ball again. Though I kept encouraging him to slap the ball to the left side of the diamond and use his speed, he argued: “I know I can hit. I’m going to hit a home run this season, I know it.”

And then it happened

On the heels of the Cascade Tournament, Dyersville held its annual tournament.

Every town wants to win its own tournament, and last year, the White Hawks lost their first game and were tossed from their own show. (It is important here to offer a brief history of White Hawks Baseball. There was a day when the talented and proud Dyersville White Hawks were the talk of the region. Players like Hank Lucas, a star high school pitcher from nearby Holy Cross and drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, was once paid $70 to pitch seven innings in a tournament game. Thousands came from miles away to attend the famous Dyersville White Hawks Tournament. It was standing room only and prizes were given, even new cars. Through the years,

Seven-year-old Henry practices hitting rocks with a stick along the bike path in Oak View while brother and mother swim in the creek.

many great baseball talents have played in this tournament.) Again, the coach recruited a few former college players to increase their odds of going deep into the tournament.

Though Henry had not had a good year, he was always dependable, and looking forward to playing in front of family and friends. It appeared he wasn’t going to play, or at least start, but some of the players the coach hoped would be available for the first game weren’t, and Henry was put in the lineup.

And then lightning struck

Now 22, the bearded outfielder for the White Hawks comes to the plate with two on and two outs, his team trailing by a run. On the first pitch, he slams a three-run homer to move the team ahead — his first round-tripper of the season.

In his second at bat, Henry crushes another home run that sails a good 50 feet over the center field wall. Fans cheered, teammates celebrated, and tears filled my eyes. I could barely photograph him crossing the plate.

“Where did that come from?” Several of his teammates asked, shocked at what they had just witnessed.

As he approached the plate for his third at bat, you could feel the electricity of anticipation from the crowd. “Now batting for the White Hawks, ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ LaBelle,” the announcer bellowed.

The crowd roared

Goose bumps crawled up my arms as I remembered that day in Oak View after Henry, who’d just turned 8, won the home run derby. I half-expected to hear the tear-jerking music from the Field of Dreams movie wafting over the field and see Ghost Players walk through the outfield walls.

Henry didn’t hit a home run in this at-bat, settling for a double to left, but to the joy of the nightly crowds, “Hammerin’ Hank” did hit two more home runs over the next two games, winning tournament honors for most home runs, hits, and even sportsmanship.

In the small baseball town known for the Field of Dreams Movie Site, another local legend was born.

After the game, Henry asked, “Did you put the announcer up to that?” Referring to the “Hammerin’ Hank” introduction.

I had not. In fact, I didn’t know the announcer.

Soon Henry was recognized around town. People approached me on the street, at the coffee shop, or during assignments, and asked, “Aren’t you Hammerin’ Hank’s dad?”

In the local newspaper story following the tournament, he was even referred to as “Hammerin’ Hank.”

Making peace with our dreams

Henry now plays college lacrosse and semi-pro baseball in the summer. And he continues to work at the Field of Dreams Movie Site, where he often gets the chance to play with kids of all ages on the field. He even played catch one afternoon with Florida Gov. and then presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis after the media left.

Twenty-three years after we named him, Henry David is more than we imagined — a

good athlete, a deep thinker, a gifted writer, and a talented musician. And while I still wish he would play college baseball, I’m thankful this kindhearted young man knows himself and has the courage to be authentic and follow his heart.

His third season as a White Hawk is around the corner, and he’ll turn 23 about two weeks before their first game. I’m betting an older, stronger Hammerin’ Hank will send a few balls over the wall and across the street this season. But more importantly, he’ll be having fun again playing the game of his youth, and I’ll get to watch my youngest son circle the bases on a field in a town where dreams really do come true.

Editor’s note: Tucker, who will be 25 in August, is finishing his second year as the coach and director of both men’s and women’s lacrosse for Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, and he’s always recruiting. He was just named lacrosse college coach of the year in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

After a breakout tournament, Henry became Hammerin’ Hank.

LUXURIOUS RANCHO MATILIJA RETREAT

In the private, gated community of Rancho Matilija, this luxurious property offers a sanctuary of calm and relaxation. The 3,742 sqft, 4br/2.75ba home sits on 2+ acres surrounded by mountains. Interiors are both chic and inviting, with exposed wood ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, and open-plan living/dining areas perfect for entertaining. The lush grounds include Mediterranean-inspired vegetation, a beautiful pool, a stone deck with pergola, a bocce ball court and 2 garages. With direct access to horse trails, this estate is a haven for horse lovers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Offered at $4,175,000

the stars

Howard W. Koch Sr., as head of Sinatra Enterprises — brought in by Frank Sinatra himself — and, eventually, Paramount Pictures, has an iconic list of films under his name: The Manchurian Candidate, The Odd Couple, and Airplane! are a few.

Wearing many hats — studio executive, producer, assistant director, or first or second AD — Hawk’s credits expand even further: Rosemary’s Baby, The Way We Were, Marathon Man, Peggy Sue Got Married, Wayne’s World, Primal Fear, and many more. He also reached the coveted position of president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Hawk ascended the internal confines that a stardusted legacy can beget; yet, he realized a few years ago, all that wisdom he gained needed a life of its own, too.

In 1986’s Nothing in Common, Tom Hanks’ character visits his father, played by Jackie Gleason, in the hospital before an operation, in the midst of a highly embittered relationship. Hawk, who was then head of the Rastar production company, mentioned the story of his father in the hospital to the film crew.

“And you see in the movie, Jackie Gleason touches Tom,” Hawk said. “And you see Tom’s face … the love between the two… art imitating real life.”

A lot in common

Fast-forward to July 26, 1996: the day Hawk and Molly met. “I had been in a relationship and it ended,” Hawk said. “And in talking to a shrink, I said, ‘You know, I really miss so and so.’ But I really missed her dogs — she had two little labs ... I’d run on the beach early in the morning with the dogs and throw the sticks.”

On the Paramount lot with Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount Pictures, on his 100th birthday in 1973.

On the set of This Property is Condemned with Natalie Wood and Robert Redford, 1965.

At the 2013 post-Oscars Governors Ball with Barbra Streisand, Adele and Shirley Bassey.

Right:

On the stage at the 2013 Oscars in front of over 1 billion people.

Hawk decided to rescue a black shepherd-lab mix of his own named Pepper and began hiking with her in Benedict Canyon.

Hawk continued: “Molly’s side of the story is that Molly met a man, and within a little while, they fell in love. They got married, and almost immediately he was diagnosed with lymphoma. For two years, Molly tried along with his family to save his life. He passed away in 1994, in July. And for two years, Molly didn’t date. She basically stayed home, went and did her work and came home, and was really — she was non-social, not antisocial.”

Molly resolved that day, which was the second anniversary of her husband’s death, to hike up to the top of Benedict Canyon with her two rescue dogs, and to say goodbye to him through a ritual.

“She’s coming down the hill with her two dogs. Guess who’s coming up the hill with my dog?” Hawk said. “Well, the dogs met. ... And they seem to like each other. We met. And we walked around for about an hour, just in the area talking. And at the end — I’m kind of a horrible romantic, incurable, maybe — but it was a Friday, I remember saying to her, ‘Hey, Tuesday is going to be a full moon. Why don’t we meet back up here, and we’ll take our dogs, because the full moon is in this area. … Maybe I’ll even make you dinner?’”

Molly said she “started to say no. I felt this ‘no’ coming, because I just felt like a married person whose husband had to be dead. But I also felt that in this enormous moment of the universe, on the heels of my having made that declaration that I’m getting on with my life, that I would meet him made my ‘no’ seem so insignificant. … So I said yes.”

“What I liked about Molly is she knew the industry, she understood the industry, and was not in awe of the industry,” Hawk said. “She wasn’t starstruck… she was not impressed with somebody just because of who they were. She actually wanted to meet them and see who they were, like a good shrink does.”

Molly had much to relate to with Hawk: Her grandparents were radio comedy pioneers Fibber McGee and Molly (Jim and Marian Jordan); her father, Jim Jordan Jr., was a live TV director; and her mother,

Peggy Knudsen, was a Golden Age character actress.

“It’s home to me. It’s the language I grew up with, it’s the altar at which my family served, just like Hawk’s family served, so I think I understand it,” Molly said. “My father was the son of very famous people; he was a junior. He was very invisible in his way. Although my parents were divorced, I understood Hawk’s experience from my father’s experience.”

While going through a stack of old papers in Molly’s mother’s archives one day, both were met with a strike of kismet.

“In the old days, in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter daily trade papers,” Hawk said, “on Fridays they would always put in the back ‘films in production’ or ‘films in pre-production,’ and they’d list who was directing it, producing it, who the actors were and who some of the crew were. And when I went over to Molly’s house — we’d only (been) dating a few months — she had a scrapbook, and I opened it up. In the scrapbook, circled, was some movie, and there was her mother’s name, Peggy Knudsen… Right next to it on the other side was another movie, and it said ‘Assistant Director Howard W. Koch.’ They were on the same line in the newspaper,” dated circa 1948 or 1949.

Hawk and Molly were married in 1998.

“The book never would’ve gotten written, and never would’ve been what it is, if it wasn’t for Molly,” Hawk said. “Every producer should have a shrink as a partner!”

“I think one of the things that may be more ‘shrink-y,’ or some combination of Jungian and wife, is understanding that story needed a personal thread. It couldn’t just be a sort of sequence of movie stories. It was just built into Hawk’s story,” Molly said.

“This guy has sustained an enthusiasm for what he’s done, like a 12-year-old, all through his life,” she continued. “Being told no a million times, knocking his head against the wall a million times, it doesn’t seem to really matter … the root of the word enthusiasm means to be filled with God, whatever your idea of that is, and that is you, Hawk, when it comes to your business.”

And no matter how much cinema shifts with the times, “it’s still the same process: you have to create,” Hawk said. “When they first invented fire and people started telling stories — people love to hear stories, good ones — you’re enraptured in this story, and you want to see how it ends. I’m just lucky enough to have been part of a true American art form.”

On the set of Chinatown with DP John Alonzo and Director Roman Polanski in 1974.

canvasandpaper.org

At Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland is a room with an exhibit of 2 tons of hair, shorn from the corpses of nearly 40,000 people murdered at the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp. During the Holocaust, the hair of many other murdered people was packed, dried, and sold as raw textile material. Hair is such an intimate, personal thing. Ojai documentarian Beth Lane knows that well.

Lane’s Jewish grandmother, Lina Weber, once had long, dark hair. But she sold it to a wigmaker when she needed money to return to her Berlin home after helping other Jews escape Nazis. Weber, a mother of seven, was later taken to Auschwitz, where she was murdered on December 1, 1943.

The youngest of her children was 3-year-old redhead Ginger, Beth’s mom, born Bela. Ginger and her six siblings — Alfons, Senta, Ruth, Gertrude, Renee, and Judith — underwent a harrowing few years of hiding from and eluding the Nazis before they came to the U.S. in 1946 and were

by KAREN LINDELL

Beth Lane of Ojai filmed a documentary about how her mother, a Holocaust survivor, and six siblings escaped Nazi Germany.

adopted as orphans by families in the Chicago area.

Beth, an actor, artist, and teacher, decided to make a documentary about their lives after visiting Germany with her family in 2017. The film, UnBroken, is now making the rounds at film festivals.

To tell the siblings’ story, Beth relied in

Photo: Chad Batka

part on the remembrances of her Uncle Alfons, who recorded the Webers’ history in a 40-page document. But Beth knew she also needed to hear from her mom and aunts, who had never shared openly about their experiences, choosing instead to build lives and families of their own in the U.S. without focusing on the past.

Once again, hair played a role.

Ginger, now in her 80s, is a professional choreographer and dancer.

“Like me, she’s very performative,” Beth says. “I needed to make sure that any interviews with her were not performative.” So for one interview, Beth suggested to her mom that they “make her hair pretty,” and the film crew followed them into the bathroom. Throughout the documentary, mother and daughter are seen talking via a reflection in a mirror. Beth gently brushes and curls Ginger’s still-fiery hair, as her mother shares her experiences during the Holocaust.

“I love that we get to see those shots through the mirrors,” Beth says. “It doubles as a reflection of a memory, and it’s such a mother-daughter bonding experience. She used to do my hair.”

Beth begins to choke up.

“We did not put this in the film,” she says. “But when I was doing her hair, [I recalled that] we had also toured Auschwitz, the summer before. And if you’ve been to Auschwitz, you walk into a room of hair. You walk in and see what the fates of so many millions of people were, and it just

really got me, knowing the movie I might be making. And doing her hair, realizing how lucky I was to be able to touch her hair.”

Saving seven siblings

The Weber siblings are not new to media attention. In 1946, when they arrived in the U.S. on the S.S. Marine Flasher, dubbed the “Ship to Freedom,” they were featured in newspapers, including The New York Times, and eventually heralded as the only known example of seven Jewish siblings who survived the Holocaust and emigrated together to the U.S. At the time, Alfons was 18, Senta, 17, Ruth, 16, Gertrude, 14, Renee, 11, Judith, 9, and Ginger, 6. Even though they were adopted by di erent families, they kept tabs on each other. Ginger, as the youngest, was kept the most separate from her siblings growing up so she could grow close to her new family. But as an adult, Ginger wanted to reconnect with her siblings. Forty years later they came together for a reunion; video of that gathering is included in UnBroken.

Below: The seven Weber siblings in front of the train in Bremerhaven, Germany. They arrived at New York Harbor on May 20, 1946. Photo: Weber Family Arts Foundation

The siblings’ story is harrowing and disturbing, but with glimpses of light, thanks to the courageous, good-hearted people who risked their lives to help the Webers.

Their mother, Lina, a Hungarian Orthodox Jew, had married Alexander Weber, a Catholic, after he converted to Judaism. When Hitler came into power and the Nuremberg Laws revoked citizenship for German Jews, people tried to go underground into hiding. Lina began to help other Jews escape Berlin, against

Alexander’s wishes. Both were arrested and jailed several times, until Lina was taken to Auschwitz. Alexander managed to escape a similar fate and did what he could to protect his children.

A German couple, Arthur and Paula Schmidt, who owned a produce store in the Webers’ Berlin neighborhood, o ered to hide the siblings on their rural farm. The children stayed in a confined laundry shed for two years, frequently hungry, terrified, unable to bathe, and with only each other to cling to. They were baptized in a church for their safety.

Toward the end of the war, when Germany was under attack, they had to escape the farm, and ended up back in Berlin with their father, where they still had to hide.

After the war they were sent to displacedperson camps and a Catholic nunnery, where they were treated well, although they had to pretend their father was dead or they wouldn’t be allowed to stay there, then traveled on a ship to the United States. The second part of the film depicts family reunions of the siblings as adults, and what happened when their father was finally free to travel to the U.S.

Above: Ginger Lane, Director Beth Lane’s mother and the youngest of the Weber children, was adopted after escaping to the U.S. and became a professional dancer.

Photo: Weber Family Arts Foundation

‘I had to make a movie’

Beth has been an actor, dancer, writer, director, and producer for film, TV, stage, and audiobooks, and also coaches other actors. She and her husband moved to Ojai during the pandemic, and also have a home in Santa Monica. She earned her MFA from UCLA in 2018, and during her graduate school years planned to focus on theater so she could teach at the university level, but after visiting Germany, began to produce, write, and direct UnBroken as part of her school work.

Beth had been planning to visit Germany with her Uncle Alfons, who had become a physicist, but he became ill and died in 2016 before they had a chance.

Alfons had wanted to honor the Schmidts, the couple who hid the siblings on their farm, by going through the lengthy documentation process of applying to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, for the couple to be named Righteous Among the Nations, a special designation for non-Jewish people who risked their lives to save Jews.

To continue that work, Beth and her mother returned to Warin, the German city nearest the farm, to meet with town historians. “They had a surprise,” Beth says. “They invited the grandson of the farmers to meet us. And that was truly the watershed moment. He had never met his grandparents; he never even knew the story until then. That was the moment I decided I had to make a movie.”

In 2018, Beth and her mother were among those who traveled to Jerusalem to a ceremony at Yad Vashem honoring the Schmidts as Righteous Among the Nations.

Beth used the history Alfons had written to “create a roadmap in Germany to make the film,” she says. Over three weeks, Beth and her small crew visited sites such as the neighborhood in Berlin where the Webers had lived (their building was destroyed during the war, but the courtyard still exists), a prison camp where Alexander had been detained, the farm where the Weber siblings hid, the church where they were baptized, the nunnery, and the port they departed from to America.

Beth did not want to use any fake-looking recreations in the documentary, so to depict some of the events that happened directly to her family, she worked with Misfit Animation to create eloquent black-and-white animation.

“I had to find a way to bring the viewer into the film through the eyes of a child,” Beth says. “The animation really allows us to remember what it is like to be a child.”

For example, the scene where Lina is taken away to Auschwitz is vividly shown in the film via animation. Ginger, age 3, was the only one at home with their mother at the time. As Ginger remembers it, Lina hid her in a closet. She watched from a window as her mother was loaded into a black car. The scene is all in black and white except for Ginger’s red hair and blue eyes.

The documentary includes modernday video from Beth’s trip, as well as video imagery from the World War II era, gathered from various historical archives, including footage of the Weber siblings when they landed in the U.S., plus newspaper clippings and family photographs.

In a poignant modern moment, Beth interviews a trio of young adults outside, near the Webers’ former home in Berlin. She tells them a little about her family’s background and asks them, “If this were to happen again, would you hide me?” (The documentary’s original title, now one of its taglines, was Would You Hide Me?)

Left: German couple Paula and Arthur Schmidt hid the Webers on their farm during World War II.

Photo: Weber Family Arts Foundation

Beth Lane and historian Marlis Schuler (left) explore Warin, Germany, the town near where Lane’s mother, aunts, and uncle hid during the Holocaust.

Photo: Weber Family Arts Foundation

Among the people Beth interviews for the film are the grandson of the mayor of Warin, who knew the Weber siblings were hidden nearby but kept their secret, and a nun from the nunnery that cared for the siblings.

Beth says her aunts all had di erent responses to being interviewed for the documentary, with some more reluctant than others. A key figure throughout the film is Ruth, the second-oldest of the girls, who was in her mid-teens during the war and had more of a “take charge” personality than her sisters and older brother. She felt it was her responsibility to keep them together, as her father had instructed. Ruth, who died in 2023, in the film is still as talkative and feisty as ever.

Beth says she was 6 years old when she learned her mom was adopted: “I don’t think at that time she told me her birth mother was murdered at Auschwitz, nor did she talk about her birth father, but I did learn she had an older brother and five sisters. I was told I would never meet them. But I’ve always been a very imaginative thinker and I would ruminate.”

Her mom, Beth says, “was so little that she had few memories, and I think she blocked so much.” As Ginger assimilated to her new family, “she actively pushed things away and decided, ‘Let me move forward.’ She was not embarrassed by it. She was not trying to hide it. But I think she felt she didn’t have anything more to say, and it’s only been since I started making the film that she has been much more willing to come out and not just talk about her memories, but actually be a speaker to students or congregations. I think my mother felt that because she was in hiding

and not in a concentration camp she didn’t deserve the title of Holocaust survivor. And that’s just absolutely not true.”

Building bridges

UnBroken had its world premiere at the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis on October 8, 2023 — one day after the Hamas attack on Israel. It won the award for Best Documentary Feature Premiere. The film’s West Coast premiere followed at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and it played to sold-out crowds at DOC NYC. It’s also screened at film festivals in Miami, Boulder, and other cities.

“I would like us to eventually be a seminal teaching tool internationally for every age and educational institution,” Beth says. “I think the film is such a story of hope and bridge-building across generations, religions, and cultures. We want to be in every museum and house of worship — mosque, temple, church, doesn’t matter. But right now we absolutely want it in theaters. I think it is such a cinematic experience.”

The film is the first project of the Weber Family Arts Foundation, a nonprofit established by Lane in March 2023 to

“[combat] antisemitism and hate by driving awareness, engagement, and activism through the arts.”

The purpose of UnBroken, she says, “is to inspire people to always do the right thing and to stand on the right side of history and take action. Silence is complicity, and we never have to say that in the movie, but we feel it. The way this story is told is not a banner for anything political. It’s a banner for the human heart.”

For more information about UnBroken, visit bethlane.com/unbroken or theweberfamilyartsfoundation.com Follow on Instagram @bethlanefilm

Ruth (Weber) Gilliana

Photo: Weber Family Arts Foundation

Left: German Catholic nuns, like the predecessors of Sister Borromäa, pictured, helped care for the Webers and other children who survived the Holocaust after the war ended.

Photo: Weber Family Arts Foundation

Street Typewriter Poets

Ojai’s street poets ply their literary trade at the Farmers’ Market

Almost everyone I spoke to said something like, “Oh yeah, I know what that is ... My dad’s got it packed away somewhere.”

The “that” is a typewriter. A throwback writer’s tool that has sprung to new life in the hands of young, streetwise typewriter poets. Part improvised writing, part performative theater, a posse of emerging poets bring a vibrant, new idea to Ojai and Ventura County’s farmers’ markets, swap meets, and pop-up arts-and-crafts fairs. Brandi Cervantes, Ojai local and self-professed wisecracker, finds the comeback of typewriters hilarious: “Back in the day, and we won’t say when that was, I used to do my homework on them.” As a longtime barista at Westridge Market’s bakery-coffee counter in downtown Ojai, Cervantes has seen these “colorful poet typewriter people” about town recently. “It’s intriguing, spontaneous, and my kid

story and photos by DEVO CUTLERRUBENSTEIN

was inspired to dig out my old typewriter and likes to write on it.”

Charles Johnson, retired director of the Research Library at the Museum of Ventura County, said: “Now typewriters seem quaint and personal — and somehow more honest and sincere … the more efficient we get, it seems less personal. Emoticons are popular because they add emotion back into our communication. They serve an important function. Emoticons, at one level, could be seen as an even greater synthesis of expressionpictures instead of words, but they can also be seen as a supplementary offset to an increasingly abbreviated language. Emoticons are keeping it real.”

Cynthia Warner Weirick, an Ojai-based artist and arts educator, shared that she used to type up the poems of Emily Dickinson and incorporate them in her lithographs.

Maybe the pendulum was swinging toward things taking more effort? Asking and observing the street typewriter poets and their customers, I hoped to find out.

Similar to buskers who make their money on the street performing, street typewriter poets sell their poetry, often typing on torn, brown paper bags or small, colored paper swatches. All poetry is written from a prompt given to the poet on the spot by passersby willing to donate a buck (or

three) to have one written for them or a loved one. The poem is a keepsake, a reminder of an intimate union with a poet, a moment of revelation, reconciliation with some inner demon, or a choice to revel; i.e., do not forget to have fun!

At Ojai’s busy Sunday farmers’ market, the first day of spring set the stage for a few winter-bird poets to set up shop. I ventured forth to buy my broccoli, but planned on interviewing and photographing these denizens and their craft. Like a sleuth bird-watcher, I observed street typewriter poet and entrepreneur Oliver Daleo, also a musician with the Speakeasy Jazz Cats,

“How people come, from delight or the scars of damage, to the comfort of a poem.”

— mary oliver

at his “poetry table-booth” at the edge of the market thoroughfare. I told a stranger passing by, “You should try it if you haven’t done it,” conspiratorially collecting points to win me an interview.

“I think I will,” said Ryan Moore, a father nodding to his family that he was going to stop for a poem. Oliver said to his customer, “One poem coming right up, just take a moment.” With a Willy Wonka gleam, Oliver ushered the father closer. “Watch, if you want,” Oliver said in his signature, New Orleans gravelly drawl and poised his hands above his keyboard and waited for his customer’s muse to speak. More folks gathered, jostling their baskets of organic produce and bread, to watch

Inspired polyglot-artists, like Maka Moon (left), Ojai resident, sell photography, jewelry, upcycled clothes and poetry at local markets.

Above: Natasha Heeszel

the wildman poet prepare a simple piece of brown paper waiting for the typewriter’s grip. “Let it be birthed,” he seemed to say to the crowd. Somehow able to double-task craft with commerce, the poet entreated the leather-jacketed Corvette Club people passing by to be next; Oliver grinned, “No one else here, just the spark of imagination, but I do accept Venmo.” There was an audible hush for a second in this busy market as we waited for Ryan to ante up with a theme. Oliver asked the pensive but shy father: “What would you like your poem to be about? One word?”

“Dreams,” answered Ryan the father, whose wife and kids waited a wink away. Oliver inserted the torn piece of brown paper bag, roughly in the shape of half a piece of paper, and commenced the poem about “dreams.”

The rustle of paper and insistent typewriter keys seemed to mesmerize the gathering, with reverence that had a mythic vibe. Ryan watched intently, kneeling as the keys found their rhythm and pace. He was clearly moved and whispered to me, “I can’t wait to tell him, but without me telling him, he used my son’s name.” Then it was quiet as Oliver read the poem to Ryan, who was visibly moved by its content. Another observer said: “I love that sound, and I haven’t heard that since I was a kid. The sound is magical. No way to capture that sound.” Wiping away a tear, the father handed over a bill; I did not see how much, but both seemed happy, and he nodded to his family, time to move on.

Things like that happen often, said Natasha Heeszel, another typewriter street poet who is an artist, writer, designer, DJ, and producer living in Ojai. She knows the evocative power of poetry — especially this format. “Yes, the surprise of it. People cry,” Natasha said. “And there is an awe as out of nothing — as word or a theme, something grows and flowers in front of you… Typing on a typewriter has a rhythm to it, a beat … as you flow through the letters and words the clack of the keys punctuates and propels you forward like a song. It’s poetic and auditorily stimulating.” She added, “I still love writing poetry and words with a pen and sometimes the computer for longer works.” As we looked at the kids having fun with a pink typewriter nearby, she said: “People are craving authentic connection; they are craving something physical to hold onto

… the typewriter hearkens back to a time before the complexity in technology. We romanticize or are curious about it … plus the mesmerizing mechanics and rhythm of the typewriter.”

Dr. Joe Puglia, a local author, teacher, classics professor, and former Marine, has noticed the trend, too, and he has purchased a poem or two. “Natasha is very talented. I have seen her work with others,” he said.

“The experience feels warm and fuzzy.” Ojai artist, local cultural icon and Ojai historian, Mark Tovar, shared his perceptions on the allure of typewriter poetry: “It’s handmade, hand-grown, handpunched versus AI. I want a sunset.” Debby Finley Delamore, a retired lawyer turned singer-musician, and president of Southern California Old Time Fiddlers Association, District 8, said she likes retro and hands

Street-Typewriter-Poet Oliver Daleo reads aloud his improvised, completed poem “Dreams” to a waiting farmers’ market crowd.

on; she loves typewriters and even used carbon paper. “As soon as the court started receiving e-fillings, I knew it was time to retire.” Although most people seem to welcome the sight of street poetry, some do not approve of poetry as a business. “It’s a bit intrusive when all you want to do is just get your shopping done.” Luckily for street typewriter poets, the poetry business is booming, and a home-grown poem might change your life. Some poets have met clients years later who said they cherished the poem so much they kept it in their wallet or purse.

Delores Dahl, a novelist, former actress, and frequent visitor to Ojai, published her first novel at 82 using a computer, but at 19 ran a typing service with two friends out of their Hollywood Boulevard apartment. “We paid our rent and met all the famous writers and directors of that era who used us to type their scripts,” Delores said. “Years later a neighbor told us at a party she thought we young women were prostitutes.” It turns out street poets are not the only typists who are misunderstood at times.

Recalling typing scripts as a young screenwriter for Raleigh Studios, Susan Kelejian, an actor, writer, director, and co-founder of OVATE (Ojai Valley Artists Theater Ensemble), said of the typewriter: “I love everything about it. Doesn’t the kid

in all of us love the typewriter’s clicketyclack as each key is struck? It’s hypnotic and magical.”

As I talked with more folks about the phenomenon, it was not just hype. Most people said the typewriter street poets create a kind of communal, sacred space. The simplicity of the typewriter’s altarlike placement among wrapped sage, homemade candles for sale, or gemstones helps to create the magic. Kids always seem intrigued with the “old stuff,” said Kaitlin Pearl, a mother and vendor at the Spring Awakening Moon Market in Meiners Oaks. Kaitlin allowed her kids to type a poem on a circa 1960 pink typewriter, and she shared that her kids also use her mother’s typewriter to write stories: “The sound of the keys and the touch of a piece of paper is something calming to them. It’s easy for them to quickly grasp how it works. It never fails to entertain.”

Restaurateur Jenny Newell, owner of Bonnie Lu’s, who donated to a recent typewriter poetry slam held at Greater Goods, said of course she remembers typewriters. She was a terrible student, but always got an A in typing. “Something wonderful about them. But not sure where that machine is now,” Jenny said. Sponsors for prizes for the typewriter poets included Evergreen Chiropractic & Wellness, Bonnie Lu’s, Feros Ferio Winery, Rainbow Bridge

“‘One poem coming right up, just take a moment.’ With a Willy Wonka gleam, Oliver ushered the father closer. ‘Watch, if you want,’ Oliver said in his signature, New Orleans gravelly drawl...”

Natural Foods, Soul Match, Mark Tovar, Lolo Unicorn Jewelry, Type-O-Mecca, Greater Goods, Heavenly Honey, author Joseph Puglia, and Southern California Old Time Fiddlers Association, District 8.

When all is said and typed, street typewriter poetry is a kind, yet powerful, reminder that sometimes simple is better as a way to connect to each other. It is a way to defend against the complex world that often splinters the connection between us and with ourselves. The sound of the tapping ignites our imagination and connects us through curiosity. The trend

might even be tied to a search for meaning, and something seemingly transient — like an improvised poem — can leave an indelible mark on our souls. As a theatrical experience, street typewriter poetry goes deeper than our abbreviated text conversations. And yes, poetry always is a call to go deeper.

Local artist, arts and culture supporter, Ojai resident and Louisiana transplant, Cynthia Warner Weirick, sits at the author’s pink typewriter.

Ryan Moore waits, captivated by the “music of the typewriter.”

Reimagined with an emphasis on quality construction, exceptional materials and elegant finishes. This extensive remodel completed in 2024 is something to behold. Situated on just under an acre effuses warmth and refinement surrounded by natural beauty that seamlessly flows from the indoor to outdoor living space.

FOOTHILL LANE $4,399,000 276 AVENIDA DE LA VEREDA | $1,590,000

Reminiscent of the 1940’s construction including cove ceilings and hardwood floors. This East End property includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the main house and a one bedroom + one bathroom ADU with a private entrance. River rock hardscape and family orchard of citrus and fruit trees throughout the nearly half an acre. A historic Ojai Valley Inn Bungalow which would make a lovely guest cottage or office. Gardening shed, built in Santa Marie style BBQ and a covered Barn, fenced in garden with raised beds and a bird coop.

ADA, Medicare Card Holders, and Seniors 65-74 are 1/2 price. Seniors 75 and over, children under 45” tall and all students are FREE riders on the Trolley

The Ojai Trolley Service Continues to Run Serving the Needs of the Ojai Valley

e Ojai Trolley Service, established in 1989, is owned and operated by the City of Ojai. e Trolley provides daily xed-route transportation to approximately 9,000 riders per month throughout Ojai, Meiners Oaks and Mira Monte.

e Trolley is a well-known feature in the Ojai Valley, and in addition to the daily xed-route services, participates in many local community events, fund raising activities, community service, and educational functions. 408 South Signal Street, Ojai, CA 93024 Phone (805) 272 3883 • E-mail: transit@ojai.ca.gov • www.ojaitrolley.com

e

Ojai Valley can be an oasis for olive oil growers

Sunshine bouncing between the silvery leaves of an olive tree drove Pierre-Auguste Renoir bonkers.

The impressionist painter, living out his final days in France while suffering from arthritis, wrote of the olive trees he saw at his villa on the French Riviera: “Look at the light on the olives. It sparkles like diamonds. It is pink, it is blue, and the sky that plays across them is enough to drive you mad.”

The Asquith family’s nearly 200-year-old heritage olive grove in Ojai, depending on the time of day and year, and the tinge of the Ojai Valley sky, has the same bewitching visual effect. But the sensory experience doesn’t end there, because the oil made on the premises from the fruit of the trees will similarly tantalize your taste buds.

This organic Olea europaea oasis on Ladera Road and the surrounding land has been owned and farmed by three generations of the Asquith family, starting with Mary Jane Asquith, the first to arrive in Ojai. Her son and daughter-in-law, Ronald and Alice Asquith, started out as citrus farmers, then in the 1990s discovered century-old Lechín de Sevilla olive trees planted near the farm in the 1800s.

The hardy trees were still bearing fruit even though no one had been tending them, and the Asquiths decided to purchase the additional property and start making olive oil.

Today, their son, Philip Asquith, runs the family’s Ojai Olive Oil Company, which not only harvests and mills olives from its farm and sells the resulting “liquid gold,” but also produces oil for other California growers — from commercial operations to local residents. The company offers consultations about olive horticulture, and

by KAREN LINDELL

photos

by PHILIP ASQUITH

welcomes visitors daily to its tasting room.

Philip Asquith has lived full-time in Ojai for about a decade; he grew up in Los Angeles, and as a little boy started visiting his grandparents’ Ojai property on weekends and during the summers.

“I spent a lot of time looking for frogs in the creeks, and just being in the groves of orange and olive trees,” he recalls.

Eventually, Philip’s parents retired there, and his dad, who previously worked for another type of oil company — Occidental Petroleum — started making olive oil.

Philip says the venture started as a lifestyle project rather than a serious business undertaking.

“I’d come up once a week from college and we’d make olive oil together,” he says. His family sold the oil at the Sunday Ojai Farmers’ Market because they produced far more than they could use, but that was the extent of their entrepreneurship until they decided to scale up operations and start the Ojai Olive Oil Co.

Olive trees aren’t native to California — Spanish missionaries and Europeans brought them over and planted them in the 1800s.

(Asquith says the Ojai Olive Oil property was originally owned by a Danish family.) Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey by far produce most of the world’s olives, but California, with a similar climate, holds its own in the olive-growing realm. According to the California Olive Oil Council, a trade association, more than 37,000 acres in California are devoted to producing extra-virgin olive oil, with 45 mills and 400 producers who grow more than 75 varieties of olives.

The oldest trees in the Ojai Olive Oil grove are the Lechín de Sevilla from Spain, whose olives yield a peppery oil. Columella olives from France produce a sweet, buttery, fruity oil. Tuscan cultivars, when blended, add a grassy flavor.

The olive trees themselves were grown from cuttings taken from heritage trees in Tuscany, Provence, and Sicily, many of them thousands of years old. Cuttings are no longer allowed to be transferred from Europe due to fears of transferring horticultural diseases or pests, so many of the trees are not easily found elsewhere in California. The company’s milling equipment was custom-built in Italy, and Asquith and his father traveled numerous times to Italy to learn how the mills operate.

Asquith graduated from Pomona College, where he got a degree in molecular biology, then co-founded and served as CEO of various companies. He began the transition to taking over the farm and company after his father died in 2013.

“I liked the idea of coming back to Ojai, and settling here and living on the farm,” he says. His mother, who still lives in Ojai, retired from business duties in 2015. Asquith added the tasting room, which opened to the public in 2020.

“The growth of the business has been slow and steady for three years” — planting more trees, and building relationships with other farms and the community, Asquith says.

When the company started, the farm had one mill, but now owns two, including a nearby one purchased from another company, Regalo, after it closed. Milling season takes place for up to five months straight, from October to as long as February, depending on the strength of the year’s crops.

The 2023-2024 season, Asquith says, was “the biggest crop season we’ve ever seen,” thanks to favorable weather — ample rain, and a mild summer and winter. “The olives hovered in the trees well into February,” Asquith says. “Usually they all would have fallen off by then.” Plus, olive harvests are “cyclical,” he says, with an “off ” year followed by an “on” one, and the most recent season was an “on year” for olives.

The Ojai Olive Oil mill serves growers whether they are a local resident with one olive tree who just wants to take home a Mason jar of oil, or a larger operation with more than 1,000 trees that ends up with a truckload to sell. The company mills olives for farms and ranches around Ojai — many with trees planted or recommended by the Asquiths — and other regions north and south of the valley.

Making sure everyone’s olives get milled is “a fun little dance and scheduling game,” Asquith says. “We’re usually booked up to four months ahead.”

Maynard “Mickey” Brittan, a property manager from Beverly Hills, owns Fair Hills Farms, a 70-acre site in Topanga that boards horses and is home to the Fair Hills Polo Club and Riding Club. After his daughter became interested in the Mediterranean diet, which includes olive oil, they planted 140 olive trees on the Topanga property. They conferred with the Asquiths — “olive mavens,” Brittan calls them — who recommended they plant three different types of trees. For years, the Brittans have milled their crop of olives at

Ojai Olive Oil, yielding bottles of oil that earn “rave notices” from friends and family.

“It tastes better and seems to digest better, but maybe that’s just the feeling of proprietorship,” Brittan says, laughing. “We give it as gifts, and always have plenty left over that we store in the equivalent of a wine cellar.”

The olives are mostly handpicked and sorted by human beings, not machines, although the process has become a little more hightech: Asquith says his pickers use battery-operated carbon fiber harvesting wands that knock the olives onto nets, improving speed and efficiency, but they still take care to sort and select only the highest-quality olives.

After picking, the olives are cleaned, then pulverized and churned into a purple paste of water, oil, and olive skin and flesh. The paste is added to a centrifuge that separates the pure oil from the paste, which is turned into compost. The glowing extra-virgin oil is stored in a dark, temperature-controlled space.

Ojai Olive Oil offers extra-virgin olive oil blends (mixes of more than one type of oil), plus others infused with garlic, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, lemon, habanero peppers, Ojai Pixie tangerines, or white truffles. This year’s “signature” extra-virgin olive oil (offered only in years when the crop yields a singular all-star olive oil) is a “mono-varietal” oil made “only from Columella olives,” Asquith says. You might be surprised to learn how many olives it takes to make the oil — about 50 to 100 pounds of olives for 1 gallon of oil, which is the amount of olives harvested from one to three trees, depending on the year and the health of the trees.

Olive Oil Company is an organic operation — no chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers are used. Climate change, Asquith says, hasn’t much affected olive trees because they don’t need a ton of water to survive, and although they thrive in a Mediterranean climate, can survive more extreme temperatures and even fires.

The trees are popular in people’s yards, he says, because “olives are pretty easygoing.”

For home growers, he says, “if you want to do something with olives, get on it early — don’t wait until they fall off the tree. Also, it’s fun to cure and brine them.”

His family uses olive oil “on literally everything,” Asquith says, from pancakes (much better than when made with butter, he insists), to soups, meats, and popcorn.

How long extra-virgin olive oil will last depends on how and where it’s stored, he says. Plop it on a kitchen counter or windowsill, where sunlight or heat from a stove might hit it, and it lasts a month or two before losing flavor. Asquith keeps a jug in the fridge, where it solidifies while preserving the flavor and thaws quickly, in about five minutes.

Visitors to the tasting room get a wooden tasting tray, similar to a tasting flight, with miniature cups to fill with oil and vinegar dispensed from stainless steel containers, in which tasters can dip pieces of baguette from the local eatery Ojai Rôtie, while sitting outdoors in the grove of old olive trees.

Or, like Renoir, they can be dazzled to the point of madness by watching the shimmering dance of light on centuries-old trees in the Ojai sun.

Ojai Olive Oil is at 1811 Ladera Road. The tasting room, which also sells the company’s olive oils, vinegars, and other products, is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, including holidays. The company also ships items via its website.

Visit ojaioliveoil.com or call 805-646-5964.

Left: Ojai Olive Oil’s nearby secondary mill used for community milling; i.e., for processing other people’s olives.

Below: Philip Asquith’s daughter, Soleia, holding one of the family chickens that roam the property.

The shop at Ojai Valley School where Ryan Lang teaches woodworking looks nearly the same as it did when the school was founded by Edward “Ned” Yeomans in 1923.

The first building on the lower campus of OVS, the woodshop once housed workers while Frost Hall, the school’s dormitory, was under construction. “Once the bunkhouse was not in use, it turned into the woodworking workshop for the school, and Ned was in here all the time,” says Lang. “This was his happy place.”

Yeomans spent half his day as head of school and the other half teaching woodshop.

With its old brick fireplace (still in use today) and old-growth Douglas fir flooring, the woodshop attracted students curious about what was going on inside. “It became the hub of the school,” Lang says, and for more than a century it has retained that character, becoming a happy place for countless OVS students. “This place has a nostalgic feeling for kids.”

Lang, 43, has taught woodshop at OVS for 14 years, guiding pre-K through eighth-grade students on projects that range from making tables and chairs to skateboards and model airplanes. Every student takes woodshop all year long, their entire time at the school. “It’s a phenomenal program,” he says.

Students learn woodworking starting at the age of 3. “Interestingly enough, the pre-K kids are the best listeners, and you’d be surprised at how amazing these young kids are at building with their hands,” he says.

The majority of tools used are hand tools. Some, like Japanese pull saws, have a sharp edge, so Lang emphasizes their safe use, and any injuries are usually slight. “A little pinch, a little splinter, things that they learn from, and it’s in an environment that’s supervised,” he says. “I’m a guide on the side and I show them how to be safe.”

Woodworking is for everyone, according to Lang, “although, in the past, it seems to have been more of a male-dominated field. It’s so fun to see any gender, any background, and any culture coming into this room and really experiencing the same thing — just a love of working with their hands.”

Often it’s the girls who are best at the craft.

“They have such nice penmanship that it translates to woodworking,” Lang says. “They take their time.”

Pre-K through fifth-grade students have woodshop one day a week, while grades 6 through 8 are in Lang’s classroom four days a week.

For many students, woodshop is their favorite class. “Quickly they realize they just want to be in here. They don’t want to leave when the time is up at the end of class. And they’re running to get here. It’s an easy class to sell,” says Lang, an Ojai native raised in Matilija Canyon, where he still resides.

“Ryan is a fantastic asset to the school,” says Lars Kuelling, head of school for both the lower and upper campuses of OVS. “The beauty of seeing him work with students in the woodshop is seeing the way in which he gets them to go beyond what they see and begin to imagine and create.”

Woodshop is central to students’ experience, according to Kuelling, and the skills they learn are both creative and practical. “They have to do math and they have to learn how to measure, but they also have to learn how to put what’s in their head into the real world. And that’s the perfect blend for us,” says Kuelling.

Pre-K students learn measuring by making their own rulers. They also make small school buses. “Anything that rolls, flies, or floats is very popular,” Lang says.

During the school year, Lang will teach 180 to 200 students, who have 800 to more than 1,000 projects underway at any time. “The projects have to be something that the students can accomplish but challenge them,” he explains.

Kindergarten students make jeeps and sailboats, while first-graders make bulldozers, snowplows, and small picnic tables. Second-graders make sail cars and Alaskan-style float planes. Lang used to work in Alaska, so a lot of the projects are based on his life experiences.

In third grade, students make planter boxes, tortilla presses, and boomerangs; fourth-graders make folding beach chairs using recycled fabric; fifth-graders make checkerboards; and sixth-graders make wooden chests or boxes. One student

recently made a wooden sunglass case. One of the projects seventh-graders in Mr. Lang’s class complete is an end table for their bedrooms. Students also make wooden spoons. “If I finish my spoon quickly I just might make a fork,” says Ethan Morey, who worked in his father’s woodshop when he was only 5. A classmate says she’s set up her own woodshop at home.

“The workshops are going away, in people’s homes or in the garage,” Lang says. “Not every student is going to be a woodworker for their profession, but at least they felt like they know how to use their hands.”

In eighth grade, students make skateboards. “That’s the only thing that we don’t cut on campus,” says Lang, who gets the pre-pressed skateboards from a woodshop teacher in Santa Cruz. “He taught the guys who started Santa Cruz Skateboards and now they give them to any woodshop teacher all over the country for cost, as a blank template,” he says.

Years ago, Lang started milling his own lumber for student projects. That led to the purchase of a miniature sawmill for the campus, paid for with funds raised by students. The students also helped pour the concrete foundation and assemble the saw. “Third grade and above can even help push it to make lumber,” Lang says. “They love watching what a log turns into and using it to make their projects.”

All wood used is downed wood, and except for a few dowels and other specialty items, he never has to purchase wood, and no trees are cut down. “Since 2001, we’ve made our projects with lumber from either the area or wherever I’m traveling where I can grab a nice log,” he says.

Recycled wood includes oak, sycamore, and Je rey pine. “A good-sized log goes a long way,” says Lang, who is building a cabin in the Sierras near Mammoth Lakes and brings back logs that he mills. The majority of the projects the past two years have come from June Mountain, he says.

Lang says his classes have a calming e ect on kids. “If there’s a student that has a reputation of maybe being a di cult student or has trouble in certain classrooms sitting still, that doesn’t exist in this class.”

Junior Joiners:

Tales from the OVS Woodshop

story by PERRY VAN HOUTEN

Right: Charlie Caspary, a kindergartner at OVS, uses a farrier rasp to shape his dreidel to perfection.

Photo by Nick Almanza

Left: Valor Tremiti with his Alaskan-style float plane.

Photo by Perry Van Houten

OVS woodshop teacher Ryan Lang explains a project to second-graders, from left, Dylan Hajas, Lila Byars, Jamie Jones, Felix Cannon and Valor Tremiti.

Photo by Perry Van Houten

And it’s the nature of woodworking that teaches students to take it slow, according to Lang. “When they come into the woodshop, wood is the teacher,” he says. Students learn that projects aren’t going to go together quickly. “The kids start to respect it and really appreciate that, and they slow down.”

Many students say they feel calmer when they’re working in Lang’s woodshop. “Being a teacher for this era, I see everything going faster and faster in their daily life everywhere else, in regards to technology and instant gratification,” he says. “We’re going opposite in this class. We’re trying to make things really hands-on, using tools that aren’t even electric most of the time.”

At OVS, academics are important, but so is getting to use your hands and finding out the beauty they can make. “The kids just start to feel that, and they feel it at 3 years old,” Lang says.

A comment heard frequently in Lang’s classes is, “Why does this feel so good?”

Ned Yeomans’ ideal was a school that taught woodshop as a main subject, a subject that’s been good for kids for more than 100 years and remains good for kids into the next century. You can still feel his presence today, according to Lang. “He’s truly in this room,” he says. “I feel like sometimes I’ll get a pat on the shoulder.”

Left: The sawmill behind the OVS woodshop lets students mill their own wood.

Photo by Ryan Lang

Right: Woodshop teacher Ryan Lang helps OVS second-graders Cammi Barrientos, left, and Oona Caspary with their Alaskan-style float planes.

Photo by Misty Hall

Beatrice Wood Center For the Arts

Topa Mountain Winery

Pho for all

Ojai’s very own Noodle House

Marko Shafer and Shiny Chan opened Ojai Noodle House after being inspired by her mother’s home cooking.

story by KERSTIN KÜHN

photos by EMMA LARKAN

It’s

official: The way to hype your business in 2024 is not to bombard the media with news releases, not to build a fancy website, and definitely not to be on X (formerly Twitter). So far, the no-publicity publicity machine has been working for Ojai Noodle House, the coolest new restaurant in town, where tables are as hot as, well, a hot bowl of pho. This hasn’t been a deliberate strategy. The trio behind the place — husband-and-wife team Marko Shafer and Shiny Chan, along with friend and business partner Chetan Mangat — have simply been too busy working to find the time to woo the media. Until I came along.

After more than a year in the planning, Ojai Noodle House quietly opened its doors at the tail end of last year. But once word got out, it spread like wildfire. Show up at the restaurant, tucked in a business complex off El Roblar Drive in Meiners Oaks, and you’re guaranteed a wait for a table. The place is abuzz with a mood of busy cheerfulness: Families, young couples, and old friends are gathered, slurping noodles, fiddling with chopsticks, and having a good old time. “It’s really been our community that has supported us from the get-go,” Shafer says. “It’s our school community and the Meiners Oaks and Ojai community; we haven’t really done any marketing at all.”

Like so many business ideas, Ojai Noodle House started as a conversation among friends. “Shiny’s mom is Chinese-Vietnamese and she has been cooking for us for 15 years,” Shafer says. “Her food is just incredible and we really wanted to share it with our community. For a long time, we talked about opening a restaurant and we used to joke that we should call it Phojai.” But when a space in Meiners Oaks became available and a friend in the know put in a word with the landlord, the joke became serious. “We totally weren’t ready, but the opportunity was just too good to pass,” Mangat says. So they jumped right in.

Although opening a restaurant is a new adventure for the trio, whose backgrounds include marketing (Mangat) and fashion (Chan), Shafer has experience in hospitality. “I’ve had a live music venue in Los Angeles for 25 years,” he says modestly.

In fact, his Hotel Café in Hollywood is an iconic breakout venue, where audiences get to watch up-and-coming singer-songwriters before they make it big. Music industry heavyweights like Adele, Billie Eilish, and Ed Sheeran have all performed at the Hotel Café. But a music venue is not a restaurant, Shafer insists: “We gave a restaurant a shot at the Hotel Café about 15 years ago with a kitchen partner and it did OK. But honestly, this is our first shot at a real restaurant.”

Yet there’s something about the Hotel Café’s comfy, intimate ambience — tucked away down an alleyway off Cahuenga Boulevard — that is reflected at Ojai Noodle House, too. The restaurant — with its dark vibe, walls plastered with vintage Vietnamese newspapers (bought from a seller on eBay in Vietnam), and cozy wooden booths

lining the windows opposite the central bar — is captivating yet unassuming. This is intentional, Mangat says, and the restaurant is loosely modeled on small noodle spots in New York City. “Asian restaurants in California tend to be really brightly lit, white spaces, and while the food is amazing there’s often not a lot of atmosphere,” he says. “In New York these restaurants have a darker, cooler vibe, with music playing, and that’s kind of what we wanted to create here. We’re so lucky we got this space because it has a bit of a dive-y feel about it. We haven’t dressed it up or changed it too much; we just used what it was and made it our own.”

Shafer says no interior designer was involved, and the trio’s combined creative vision brought the restaurant to life. “We totally winged it,” he laughs. “But it was a collaborative effort and we each brought a different strength so it all came together in the end.”

The outside space — a party tent covering tables and chairs along with outdoor heaters

Chetan Mangat and Marko Shafer used to joke about calling their Vietnamese restaurant Phojai.

— was a charming but rustic setup during the winter months, when diners literally huddled together during intense rainstorms. But as the weather changes, the team has big ideas for the outdoor area. “We’re lucky we don’t get a lot of sun in this location,” Shafer says. “We’re mostly shaded, so for the summer months we want to open it all up. Our plan is to create a fun beer garden vibe, with a lounge area and a dartboard, where people can drink beer, order snacks, and hang out. The menu will also continue to evolve.”

The food, inspired by Chan’s mother, Khanh Chan, and with consultation of a group of professional chefs, the original recipes have been tweaked and elevated from talented home cook to restaurant level. “The menu was a work in progress for a long time,” Mangat says. “We got some high-end chefs from New York to consult, but for a while the food just wasn’t landing. When [current head chefs] Van Le and Luis Ortiz started working together, it all just clicked. All of a sudden everything that came out of the kitchen was just so good.”

The dishes are generously portioned, with everything except the pho less than $20. Summer rolls, sliced in half and standing to attention in their silky white skins, are served with a small bowl of pungent dipping sauce. They’re bulging with vegetables, mint, cilantro, and fine rice vermicelli. But it’s a surprise and ingenious bit of crunch from a piece of deep-fried spring roll in the center that really makes these beauties stand out.

Then there is the banh mi, those huge lengths of slightly sweet baguette, over-stuffed

with carrot and daikon pickles, sliced jalapeno, cilantro, and whatever protein you desire (we chose grilled beef). The smash burger is American, but with a Southeast Asian twist in the form of housemade Vietnamese salsa seca. Then there are crispy, sticky chicken wings; homemade wonton dumplings in a signature sweet and spicy sauce that lacks heat but not flavor; and deliciously garlicky egg noodles.

But the highlight is, of course, the pho. Arguably Vietnam’s most famous dish, at Ojai Noodle House it is everything it should be: a huge bowl steaming with a 12-hour simmered broth, whose warmth and rich savory depths make you feel like you are being good to yourself. While there’s a vegetarian option, the carnivorous one is made with oxtail, beef bones, and various cuts of beef, served with slices of short rib and flank steak, a tangle of slippery rice noodles, and handfuls of fresh Vietnamese herbs. It is a dish so nourishing and deeply flavorful you can return to it time again and again.

While for the first few months Ojai Noodle House served dinner only, lunch service launched in spring, along with some new dishes, including a fresh citrus and shrimp salad with grapefruit, mango, celery, and cucumber, as well as a Vietnamese version of a dip sandwich made with rye bread and slow-cooked brisket in pho broth, layered with a homemade horseradish crème fraîche sauce, pickled red onions, and fresh herbs.

“In the summer we’re going to bring more cold dishes onto the menu,” Shafer says. “We’re going to do gourmet shaved ice because nobody else is doing that in Ojai, and

we’re also going to have a big barbecue in the corner of the parking lot, where we’ll grill and smoke the meat for the banh mi.”

Chan says the menu will continue to evolve. “We have lived in Ojai long enough to know how repetitive eating out can be,” she says. “So we know that we need to constantly rotate our menu, add new things, and introduce special dishes to the community. It feels like everyone is really embracing all of what we’re offering and that’s been so great to see.” Shafer adds that he’s been surprised at the openness of local diners when it comes to trying new things. “We weren’t quite sure how spicy we should make things at first,” he says, “But people have really enjoyed the spicier dishes on the menu.”

Ojai Noodle House has hit a space in Ojai that nobody knew needed to be filled. By weaving together their personal history and a keen sense of what their community craved, Shafer, Chan, and Mangat have created a restaurant that is fun, delicious, and a place you can return to without getting bored. It’s all so fresh and vibrant and clearly done with love.

So, if the word of mouth campaign hasn’t reached you and you haven’t yet been to the Ojai Noodle House, go. I suspect that you will like it very well indeed.

Ojai Noodle House, 100 E. El Roblar Drive. Call 805-272-8898 or visit ojainoodlehouse.com

Left: Head chef Luis Ortiz runs the kitchen together with Van Le.

Above: Banh Mi stu ed with grilled beef and carrot and daikon pickles, sliced jalapeno, and cilantro.

Inset: Shiny’s Mom’s Summer Rolls and Citrus Salad.

BLADDERWRACK: A brown alga grown all the way south to Santa Barbara County, it attaches to rocks and musselshells in intertidal areas.

BULL KELP: The predominant kelp north of Santa Cruz County, it attaches to rocky substrate in depths of 4 to 22 meters (13 to 72 feet).

KOMBU: A kelp that resides on rocks in low intertidal to subtidal areas all along the coast.

NORI: A red alga found all along the coast in intertidal and upper subtidal areas on rocks, manmade structures, and other algae.

FORAGING SEA VEGETABLES IN CALIFORNIA

GIANT KELP: Abundant south of San Francisco and San Mateo County, it grows on rocky substrate in depths from 6 to 30 meters (20 to 98 feet).

SEA LETTUCE: A green alga that grows on rocks, mollusks, wood, and other algae all along the coast.

GRAPESTONE : A red alga found all the way south to Cambria and San Luis Obispo County, found on rocks in the mid-to-high intertidal area.

WAKAME: A kelp found all the way south to San Luis Obispo County, growing on rocks in low intertidal to shallow subtidal areas.

Source: California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Zone” Okinawan and Mediterranean diet patterns, which are associated with health and longevity.

Sea vegetables are also among the most sustainable foods on the planet for multiple reasons. They require no land to be cultivated, and even farmed sea vegetables are usually grown without fossil-fuel-based agricultural inputs, like pesticides and fertilizers. In addition, sea vegetables are 20 times more e ective at sequestering carbon than land-based plants, and they contribute to ocean habitat, biodiversity, and restoration.

While many cultures have long enjoyed sea vegetables as part of a healthy diet, they can be very rich in iodine, which might be a concern for some people. Sea vegetables can help you get more iodine in your diet, which many people fall short on, yet high iodine levels may be an issue, especially if you have thyroid disorders. If too much iodine is a concern, read labels, switch varieties (some have lower amounts), and aim for moderate consumption of about 3-7 grams dried (about 1 teaspoon) or 9-21 grams (about 1 tablespoon) fresh or rehydrated sea vegetables one to two times per week.

Seaweed photos courtesy CDFW.

COOKING WITH SEA VEGETABLES

So dive into your kitchen and start cooking with sea vegetables! If you’re trying locally harvested sea vegetables, Marsh shares her favorite tips: “Just store it in a bag in the refrigerator for two to three days, then wash it with fresh water before using it. You can also dry it in the sun, dehydrator, or oven at low temperature, then store it in a paper bag or jar in the pantry. Then rehydrate for use later on.”

SEA VEGGIE TIPS FOR THE KITCHEN

Rehydrate dried sea vegetables by soaking in water to use in recipes, like salads, power bowls, and soups.

Add fresh or rehydrated kelp to veggie burgers, smoothies, and bean dishes. Wrap up sushi rolls, sandwich fillings, and salads in nori sheets.

Pan-fry grapestone, which has a bacon-like taste, as a meat substitute.

Use fresh or rehydrated kelp as an addition to stir-fries, soups, or salads.

Roast and season kelp to make chips.

Ferment kelp to make pickles.

Sprinkle furikake (Japanese seaweed sprinkles), seaweed granules, or dulse flakes over rice, avocado toast, noodle dishes, and popcorn.

You might be surprised to find dulse as a key ingredient in this bright, aromatic seaweed-pesto pasta dish. Makes 8 servings (about 1 cup each)

Ingredients: Pasta

Boiling water

1 pound dried penne pasta

Seaweed Pesto

⅓ cup packed dried dulse

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves and stems

2 cups packed arugula leaves and stems

⅓ cup roasted pine nuts

2 garlic cloves

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Topping

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (plant- or dairy-based)

Instructions

Fill a large pot two-thirds full of water, cover with a lid, and heat over medium-high heat until boiling.

Add penne pasta, stir, and reduce heat to

medium. Cook according to package directions (about 10-12 minutes) until al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, prepare pesto. Place dried dulse, basil, arugula, pine nuts, garlic cloves, and lemon juice in the container of a food processor. Pulse on low until finely chopped, while gradually adding olive oil to the food processor through the spout. Process until smooth. May need to stop and scrape down sides while processing the pesto. Remove from the food processor and place in a large serving bowl. Season the pesto with salt and pepper according to preference, stirring well to combine. Add hot, drained pasta, and toss together with tongs to distribute the pesto well.

Top with shredded Parmesan cheese (may use plant- or dairy-based, according to your preference). Serve immediately. May chill and serve as a cold pesto pasta salad, if desired.

Top right: Kelpful CoFounder and CEO Jules Marsh holds up Giant Kelp during an educational seaweed foraging tour in the tide pools of Cayucos.

Center right: Grapestone (or Sea Bacon).

Bottom right: Feather Boa laying next to some Eel Grass (which is a marine aquatic plant and not seaweed).

Recipe by Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RD. Follow her at SharonPalmer.com and @sharonpalmerRD on Instagram.

SEAWEED PESTO WITH PENNE

SUNFLOWER COTTAGE. hartmanncottages.com

“We really enjoyed our stay. e beds were super comfy, linens were fresh, no dog smell for a place allowing pets. Lots of sun coming thru windows, bright and airy. Loved the cute kitchen, cooked most of our meals, co ee on the porch, breakfast outside, plenty of room the little pups to run around the yard! Amazing heat and water pressure too! Met the neighbor behind us, she recommended a farmers market, everything close by:) We did not want to leave!”

FARMHOUSE. hartmanncottages.com

“Beautiful, newly remodeled house - rustic chic, just like the pics. Had everything we needed and beds were super comfy. Probably even better in warm weather when you could enjoy the lovely side cards and outside dining, but very comfy and cozy in the winter too. Well located about halfway between Ojai and Santa Paula with easy access to both. We had a great stay and recommend!”

What’s Local AND

e farmer’s delusion is that we can bend the will of the world to deliver the appropriate amount of sunlight, warmth, and water to the elds for the crops to grow.

In a weird way I’ve followed in the footsteps of the family business: plants. My plant journey started with growing weed in my 20s and led me to farming other nonnative edible cultivars, while my father’s passion was botany. As a California desert ecologist, he was quick on the draw with his Latin taxonomy, and as a child, I was bored to tears with lessons about the nighttime behavior of a plant’s stomata, their proclivity toward chlorophyll stem storage, or their resiliency regardless of environmental extremes. I was far more interested in Bon Jovi, Cindy Crawford, and Swatch watches. Poor guy, he deserved a much better audience than a 12-year-old boy. Even at 22, I just could not understand why anyone would be so taken with such common things as drab-colored, scrubbylooking bushes flaunting their barely visible flowers for a very brief moment after the tiniest amount of rain.

My dad, Paul Fonteyn, was the kind of plant fanatic who would spend extended periods of time in a trailer in the Mojave, waking up in the middle of the night to crawl among the sleeping cactus and secreting kangaroo rats to measure the activity of creosote roots. I should have paid more attention and been more interested. Why wouldn’t I? My dad’s research on competition among desert perennials was published in the notable scientific journal Nature, and he can flash the belt buckle of the longest continuous study of structural alterations on a Mojave shrub community, a 37year experiment published in the Journal of Ecology about Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa

It’s a real page-turner, and I’m not sure why it hasn’t gone viral. How could I not see as a kid that Larrea had a ton of rizz? Although I didn’t attribute my leaning toward farming

Above: Great Valley Phacelia (Phacelia Ciliata) Below: Desert Sunflower bloom on the Carrizo Plain

in Season

story by JOHNNY FONTEYN photos by GEORGE MOLL

and growing food to my early exposure, something of the mythos around plants and soil must have taken root.

Unlike the field biologist who observes objectively and uses scientific reason, the farmer’s delusion is that we can bend the will of the world to deliver the appropriate amount of sunlight, warmth, and water to the fields for the crops to grow. It is easy to drift into a fuzzy belief that our actions and pure intentions can compel the arugula and radishes to flourish like an offering to our own overall worthiness and demiurgic abilities. For me, as a farmer, it was as if my desires were so strong that spring did much to fluff my ego. Every spring in Ojai, I was certain I knew what I was doing. You might have found me wandering row to row with all the pomp of an heirloom Kentucky Bourbon turkey, my bright red waddle sagging low and my snood dripping pendulum-like from my big dumb blue head. By summer, humility would once again set back in as the unrelenting heat melted my smug meretricious ass back

down to right size. Eventually I sold the business, stepped out of farming, and checked my god-size ego into recovery.

Now for work, I drive the Casitas Pass at least eight to 10 times a week going from farm to farm. These trips over the hill allow me to listen to the Be Here Now podcast, monitor the lake (it was at record lows in 2021-2022), and refamiliarize myself with the natural flora that row crop farming had caused me to ignore in an effort to plant pennies and harvest dollars. Learning to identify native and naturalized plants along the roadside was like waking up in a stadium full of people you grew up with, realizing you know the names or faces of only one or two, and none of them had been drinking enough water. In the winter of ’23 when Mother Earth decided to turn on the hose and leave it on, the sides of the pass gave way, and sleeping giants rolled their boulders and trees into the road. Compared with last year, the rains were downright polite, depositing perfectly respectable amounts of water in short, powerful bursts

and allowing adequate time between each event for the fields to dry out and Caltrans to put out even more orange cones. As much as the rain caused the recently burned mountainsides to slip, that was also when the adventure of new growth really began.

In the last half of February, I felt something of my father’s mania wake up in me (other than his obsessive monitoring of the lake levels). The bloom of native flora this past spring rivaled anything I can remember in the 25 years I have been lucky enough to call Ojai home. This is the longest I’ve lived in any one place, yet still, my wife, Elizabeth, who was born in Ojai, gently reminds me of the distinction that even a quarter-century doesn’t qualify to make me a real local. Though it’s been half my life, I’m still just a naturalized transplant. Firmly planted, now I find myself fixated, like my dad, tied to the mast, waxing on excitedly to anyone who will listen with the names of dun-colored plants such as Malacothamnus fasciculatus “Casitas,”

street name chaparral mallow, or Artemisia californica (California sagebrush). The native plants of the chaparral with their mercurial siren song scents penetrate my rolled-up windows, tempting me to swerve off the roads and crash the ship onto the rocks. If the hillsides could sing, it would be this song:

“Draw near to us, on our green island, we’ll teach you wisdom, We’ll give you love, sweeter than honey. The songs we sing, soothe away sorrow, And in our arms, you will be happy.

The songs we sing will bring you peace.” — “SONG OF THE SIRENS”

I could not believe that I had driven by these roadside beauties for at least two decades and never stopped to ask their name. My deepest, most passionate enchantment has become Ceanothus (her Only Fans name), or California lilac. She’s that OG local having her moment, all dressed up in purple and white, winding her way through each valley, canyon, and hillside from Santa Paula to the North of Refugio. Normally, she announces herself around Easter, slowly turning on her charms as we move from early to mid-spring. This year her pastel parade was breathtaking. The variety of roadside

wonders is so great, I find myself dipping a toe in with the ethical non-monogamy crowd, sharing my affection and devotion equally with sumac, manzanita flowers, miner’s lettuce, nettles, and of course, California poppies. Perhaps, though, the Southern California attractions are less like an East End partner swap and more like a 30th high school reunion coming home to celebrate old friends despite the marked changes in the valley. These plants evoke a feeling much different from the nostalgia for row crop vegetables and stone fruit. They conjure a feeling that I can only

describe as audacious hope. A feeling that after the fires, the plague, the decade of drought, earthquakes, and crowds, there is a slow and steady pulse of design and beauty.

Could this land and its inhabitants — and by that I mean the real locals, flora, fauna, and fungus — show us a living biome that is resilient and forgiving?

Despite what seems like insurmountable odds — like taking a left onto Ojai Avenue from Montgomery through visitors trampling downtown Ojai as if it were a constant superbloom — these locals have the unflinching faith that eventually their opportunity will come as things wind their way in and out of harmony in cycles. And that, in fact, it isn’t the wine bars, spas, ayahuasca ceremonies, Tesla Cybertrucks, and endless road construction on the way to luxe eateries that dictate the valley’s soul. Rather, it is the spirits in the valley that glow like gentle neon from the river bottom to Rose Valley, and from Creek Road to the bluffs of the Topatopas. Do we hear the coda of the collective sigh when both native and nonnative species alike stop and turn their gaze toward the hills? To the pink and orange sherbert glow? Being here, right now, drawn together in the beauty of a place, we have this moment that is always in season.

You’re stepping foot into a place of tranquility, with a feeling of peacefulness that washes over you, that permeates the air. On days like today, when the sun graces the sky, you can even see the Channel Islands off in the meditative distance.

You’re 2,800 feet above sea-level, nestled atop Sulphur Mountain, a scenically winding 20-minute drive from downtown Ojai. Welcome to Ojai Mountain’s estate vineyard, where man and nature meet, and the fine art of crafting high-altitude wines is being practiced.

Working in harmony with the land and the elements is a team of seasoned experts led by winemaker Erich Bradley, and supported by viticulturists Phil Coturri and Martin Ramirez and master pruner Jacopo Miolo. Together, they are cultivating grapes for winemaking with a holistic approach that celebrates the delicate balance between vine and soil, sun and wind, tradition and

innovation. Farming at such elevations is no easy feat. “Phil, Martine and I have this in common,” winemaker Erich says, “this obsession with high-elevation sites. To use a musical analogy, growing grapes at this elevation allows us to hit notes that can’t be found anywhere else.” Growing grapes for wine production at such high elevations worldwide is relatively limited. “We’re working with a unique set of circumstances.”

The alchemy is also in the elevation, coupled with its proximity to the ocean: above the fog line, and just 10 miles away from the Pacific. You sense into why this is the perfect climate for what the winemakers are after: getting the heat, the diurnal shift from daytime to nighttime, where there can be 40-50 degree swings in temperature. You learn that this brings out the sugars and ripens the fruit during the day, then preserves the acidity with the cooler temperatures at night.

Success demands a deep understanding of the land and a profound respect for its rhythms. That’s clearly woven into the team’s philosophy, using principles of biodynamic and regenerative practices, with minimal intervention at every step of the process.

As you explore the 7 acres currently under vine, you learn that Ojai Estate vineyards is poised for growth, with plans to expand to a sprawling 125 acres. But even as they plan for the future, they remain rooted in the present, nurturing their boutique vineyard with care and devotion.

Erich shares: “Everyone has their strengths. One of my strengths is my palate—my ability to zoom out, see the bigger picture, and connect the dots. Phil’s strengths are developing and nurturing vineyards in challenging spots, getting them to take root. Martín is out in the vineyard more than anyone else, connected to the land in a way no one else can be.

High-Altitude

Released in spring 2024, the Ojai Mountain Estrella River clone Syrah, a cool-climate structured wine, has a limited production of just 86 cases.

Ojai Mountain estate, set in extreme terrain with no other vineyards in sight, stands as one of the most unique viticulture projects in the industry.

“He’s very intuitive. Jacopo is a specialist in pruning—he’s decided to immerse himself in this and become the best pruner in the world. With these experts—playing the different instruments that they play—it allows the wine to achieve its potential.”

Owner Olga Chernov tells you what she has learned: “Exceptional wines start with exceptional grapes. While we do not produce ‘natural’ wines, our approach does involve minimal intervention. For example, we avoid using new oak, which means

there’s nowhere to hide imperfections; the quality of our fruit must stand on its own. This method is challenging, but I believe it’s a more honest approach to winemaking.”

Planted in 2018, the virgin vineyard you walk through had no topsoil; it was all regenerated using native crop seeds to plant the hillside. While grapes self-pollinate, you watch bees continually pollinating the native species growing in between the vines for cover crops, which help along with composting and the natural fertilizer

collected from the family-run chicken farm. At moments, you hear some roosters. There are six of them amid 120 chickens, all vineyard employees. Olga shares: “We are on a constant quest for natural and regenerative solutions to enhance soil health and vine vitality. Chicken manure is rich in essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. What started originally as my kids’ rainbow-eggs project grew into a constant source of composting, which supplements the manure we bring from the neighboring ranches with horses.”

Other “family members” you meet along the way are two Pygmy goats, Lemon and Zephyr, that roam free, but are mostly pets that follow the family everywhere they go. When you ask if they’re part of the controlled grazing, Olga tells you: “We would need a bigger heard to make a real dent in the surrounding brush. For the vineyard, it would be great to have a smaller breed of sheep, mowing our cover crop after it drops seed, so we’re considering this for the future.”

Something they are doing is using birds of prey, through the Ojai Raptor Center, a nonprofit that rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured birds, and raises babies that

Wine

Up in the clouds with Ojai Mountain’s estate vineyard

story

by TIFFANY PAIGE photos by QUOC NGO

Jacopo Miolo, a Master Pruner from the renowned Italian company Simonit & Sirch, demonstrates gentle pruning techniques aimed at enhancing sap flow and vine longevity to the crew at Ojai Mountain.

Ojai Mountain vineyard marks a crucial stage as grapes accumulate sugar and require protection from birds and foxes.

have fallen from the nest when people trim trees. The owls, hawks and kestrels from the center are released on the Ojai Mountain property periodically; and sure enough, you can hear the calls of some unseen kestrels in the air. Olga says: “Given our biodynamic approach, we can’t and would never use poison. But because ground squirrels and gophers are so prolific, we need these birds for the natural pest control they provide us.”

You think as you look around it feels very upscale, yet at the same time has a hometown atmosphere; a kind of rustic

elegance and charm. Soon, the tours that you take will be landscaped with olive trees and wild rosemary, also tables and chairs to sit and breathe, relax, and take in the views of the grand rolling hills.

“The mountain and Mother Nature, the season and the weather — they’re all part of the personality,” Erich quietly notes.

“Part of the reason each vintage is unique. I’m afraid that if I do more, it’ll be too much and I might overshadow the beauty that’s already there. On Ojai Mountain, I want to be a caretaker, or custodian, a steward. I’m trying to step aside and let this light shine. Not everyone sees it this way, but that’s how I do.”

The first-ever release from the vineyard featured two wines: the 2020 Estate Red, a Rhône-Bordeaux blend, and the Châteauneuf du Pape-inspired 2021 Estate White. The white is fresh, crisp, bright, flowery, a little citrusy, with no oak getting in the way of the fruit. The barrels used are 100% neutral.

“Ninety percent of domestic U.S. wine production is done by the top 30 companies. Yes, it’s wine, but it’s business, and there are profit margins. That’s the beauty of a boutique wine,” David Brodowsky, the director of hospitality, explains. To give you an example, a highvolume company like E & J Gallo might do 75 million cases a year in the U.S.

Ojai Mountain currently produces about 500 cases per year. You won’t find their wines lining the shelves of your local wine shop, but they are pouring them at Olivella, the signature restaurant at Ojai Valley Inn. Patrons there get the opportunity to enjoy the small production wines alongside the excellent cuisine. They also distribute direct to consumer, so you can purchase wines online through their website. Release reminders are sent to members on the mailing list. There’s a spring and fall release.

“When it comes to the red, we’re on board the Syrah train,” Brodowsky says. Ojai

Mountain recently offered their 2021 Estate Syrah and a 2022 White as of February, for spring release. The next vintage release will be the end of August.

When I was up on Sulphur Mountain, I asked Olga why the focus on organic and regenerative practices? “Because we’re committed to sustainability for the long term. Although organic farming is expensive and challenging, it is the only method to sustain vine health for up to 100 years. Our plan is to offset these initial costs over time. Unlike conventional vineyards that may have to replant every 20 years, in agriculture there are no shortcuts to real quality.”

When you think about it, every sip of wine tells this story. The eternal bond between earth, vine and grape. Everything up here is horizontal into the beauty, and vertical for the potentizing elevation. It’s hard not to be touched by the Nature, nurture and bottled wonder.

Learn more at OjaiMountainEstate.com

“HIGH-ALTITUDE WINEMAKING is primarily about concentration and intensity. When grapes are grown on a hillside or hilltop, there’s less soil, creating a more extreme and rugged environment for the grapevines to thrive and ripen their fruit.

“This typically leads to smaller grapes compared to those grown on the valley floor, where the soil is richer and the vines have more vigor.

“Since the color, tannin, structure, and flavor all come from the skin of the grape, a smaller grape at harvest yields a better skin-to-juice ratio. The higher proportion of skin means more color, tannin, and flavor can be extracted into the liquid that ultimately becomes the wine.”

—ERICH BRADLEY

Ojai Mountain’s pet goat, Lemon, marks the initial foray into integrating a small estate herd for vineyard grazing.

The Ojai Mountain vineyard team prepares for pruning, carefully deciding on timing and technique, blending art with science to optimize vine health and productivity.

JUNE

The Missing and the Found:

The Art of Ray Gabaldon & Tona Wakefield

Through June 30

Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts

8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd.

805-646-3381 beatricewood.com

canvas and paper paintings: Victor Pasmore, Graham Sutherland and Keith Vaughan

Exhibiting paintings and drawings from the 20th century and earlier. Through July 7

311 N. Montgomery St.

Open: Thursday – Sunday

noon – 5:00 p.m. free admission canvasandpaper.org

36th Ojai Wine Festival

June 15, 12-4 p.m.

Lake Casitas Recreation Area

Wadleigh Arm Event Site

11093 Santa Ana Road

Ventura, CA 93001

Tickets: ojaiwinefestival.com

Daniel Adam Maltz, Fortepianist

Performing on an 18th-century Viennese fortepiano

June 16, 3 p.m.

Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts

8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd.

Tickets: $35 at beatricewood.com

“Spamalot”

Ojai Art Center Theater

June 21 - July 21

113 S. Montgomery St.

Tickets: ojaiact.org

805-640-8797

ABBA Tribute by FABBA Libbey Bowl

June 22, 7 p.m.

210 S. Signal St.

Tickets: axs.com or call

888-645-5006

Bacon Brothers Libbey Bowl

June 30, 5 p.m.

210 S. Signal St.

Tickets: axs.com or call

888-645-5006

JULY

4th of July in Ojai Free Concert

July 3, 6 p.m.

Libbey Bowl

210 S. Signal St., Ojai 4thofjulyinojai.com

4th of July in Ojai Parade and Fireworks Show

July 4

10 a.m. - Parade along Ojai Ave. 5:30 p.m. (Gates open) –Fireworks show at Nordhoff High School

4thofjulyinojai.com

Beatles - VS - Stones: A Musical Showdown

Beatles Tribute Abbey Road

Rolling Stones Tribute Satisfaction

July 5, 7 p.m.

Libbey Bowl

210 S. Signal St.

Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

Silence Day Open House

Meher Mount

July 10, 12-5 p.m.

9902 Sulphur Mountain Rd. mehermount.org

canvas and paper paintings: Ivon Hitchens

July 18 – Sept. 15

311 N. Montgomery St. open: Thursday – Sunday noon – 5:00 p.m. free admission canvasandpaper.org

Happy Together Tour

Libbey Bowl

July 18, 5 p.m.

210 S. Signal St.

Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

Fleetwood Mac Tribute by Mirage at Libbey Bowl

July 20, 7 p.m.

210 S. Signal St.

Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

Kathy Yoshihara: Mottainai Exhibit

July 27 – Sept. 14

Beato Gallery

Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts

8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd. 805-646-3381 beatricewood.com

Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers – Spirit Trail: 25th Anniversary Tour

July 28, 7 p.m.

Libbey Bowl

210 S. Signal St. Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

Ventura County Fair

July 31- Aug. 11

Ventura County Fairgrounds

10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura venturacountyfair.org

AUGUST

Don McLean

Libbey Bowl

Aug. 10, 7 p.m.

210 S. Signal St. Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

Pablo Cruise

Peter Beckett of Player

Yacht Groove

Aug. 31, 6 p.m.

Libbey Bowl

210 S. Signal St. Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

SEPTEMBER

Grateful Dead Tribute by Cubensis

Phish Tribute by Shaky Feelin’

Sept 1, 5 p.m.

Libbey Bowl

210 S. Signal St. Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

Chris Isaak at Libbey Bowl

Sept. 6, 5 p.m.

Libbey Bowl

210 S. Signal St. Tickets: axs.com or call 888-645-5006

Chris Isaak Sept. 6

My Summer of Fighting in the Sun

by MICHAEL RIDER

eOjai resident Michael Rider reminisces about his experience shooting the original 1989 movie Road House, in time for the 2024 release of a remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

lming of Road

movie producer Joel Silver is sitting behind his desk.

I am seated across from him. Between us, resting on Joel’s desk, is the prop head of the monstrous alien from Joel’s film Predator. I am there to read for a part in Mr. Silver’s next feature film, Road House (1989).

The director, Rowdy Harrington, and his executive producer, Tim Miller, are also in the room. Clutched in my hand are a few pages (“sides”) of the script that contain the scene casting has given me to read for the audition. My agent told me it’s a fight movie starring Patrick Swayze, produced by the legendary Joel Silver. The hero is a martial artist bouncer in a bar down South.

In the scene, my character, Jack O’Connor, is having a confrontation with Dalton, the heroic bouncer, that ends in a fight. Of course my guy gets his ass kicked, falls down, and … cut! Hollywood doesn’t have much need for classically trained

House

cold by the invincible guy with the cool hair! “Cut!”

I get up, and exchange a high-five with Patrick. Charlie is pleased and gives me an attaboy thumbs-up. I’m OK, but feeling a little lightheaded from the exertion in the vaporized air.

“That was great, O’Connor! Looked f----- real! Stand by, we gotta go again for camera,” says Rowdy.

After a brief pause, the assistant director announces, “Quiet on the set!” And away we go … Patrick and I get down with the fight, moving through the routine with precision and speed until he loses his place. The final blow by Dalton, as rehearsed, is an

elbow technique to the side of O’Connor’s head. I’m set, looking for that elbow out of the corner of my eye to time my reaction to the hit. Instead, Patrick delivers a forceful punch to my right temple, staggering me for real. I collapse face forward onto the table, without any need of artifice or exaggeration.

“Cut! Print!” yells Rowdy. “S---, Rider, are you OK? Sorry, man. I got confused, bro, my mistake.”

“Yeah, I’m fine buddy,” I say, shaking it o . He hit me hard. A bigger guy would have knocked me out. “Hey, let’s do another take. Maybe it’s time for my mistake, ha ha ha …” That take was printed, and is in the

film. And by the way, shortly thereafter, the Screen Actors Guild banned the use of vaporized mineral oil on set.

Show business is not necessarily a business for ladies and gentlemen. That being said, I have met a few, and Sam Elliott is on the shortlist.

Sam was always on set watching the filming, even scenes he wasn’t in, squatting down on his haunches, humbly out of the way. He didn’t just hang out telling stories and drinking co ee. His work ethic was inspiring. Sam treated everyone on set with professional courtesy and respect. When he would arrive in the morning looking

like a rock star, driving his black Mercedes SL with Katharine Ross beside him at the wheel, all we could think was, “Whoa! That guy is cool.”

Patrick Swayze had injured his knees performing a spectacular leap from the stage at the conclusion of Dirty Dancing. Every morning before he commenced to fight all day, a doctor came to the set and drained fluid from his knees so he could kick. When he was dying of cancer, Patrick carried a TV series. That job is very challenging to an actor even in fine health. Patrick tackling the gig, ill as he was, is a remarkable demonstration of his moral and physical courage. He has my respect, as an actor and a man. A real fighter. Pain don’t hurt.

Joel Silver is an authentic movie mogul, one of the last of the breed. He knows every aspect of filmmaking, and is often on set advising the crew. One afternoon we assemble beside the spill waters of Lake Piru. The scene, cut from the final film, takes place right on the shore of the stream. Joel looks over the setup and shakes his head. “Rowdy! Rowdy! The river is in the wrong place! We’ve got to move the river!” Move the river!? A few moments later a huge D18 Caterpillar fires up and commences pushing boulders and dirt around to alter the course of the stream to compose the shot to Joel’s liking. A producer like Joel Silver is not unlike a general on a battlefield, seemingly able to improvise miracles. True Hollywood magic. To fight. To fall. To say a line. Our Road House Summer wrapped.

The cast all went their separate ways, and most of them I never saw again. The summer of our youth passed as rapidly, and many of us are now gone. Every show must close, every piece of luck must come to an end, for the time arrives when you must leave the party and quietly find your way home.

I am grateful that Road House has found and sustained such a loyal fan base over years. Thanks for watching. We had a hell of a good time making it for you. Gratitude to MGM, Joel Silver, Rowdy Harrington, and my old pal from Juilliard, my agent, Craig Wycko , for the ride.

Let it roll, baby, roll …

Look for Ojai resident Michael Rider’s upcoming book release, The Art of Our Necessities.

Above: Patrick Swayze, John Young and Michael Rider on the set of Road House.

Photo: Peter Sorel, unit photographer

Below: Guest-starring role on “How I Met Your Mother”

Photo: Ron P. Ja e, unit still photographer

The little shop

Serendipity Toys, Ojai’s beloved toy shop: spreading joy for 25 years

by KAREN LINDELL

The smudges on the glass windows were a sign — not of serendipity, but stability.

When the pandemic hit, Serendipity Toys in Ojai, like other small retail businesses, initially had to close for several months. Lilly and Joe Barthelemy, who founded the small toy store in 1979 on Matilija Street behind the Arcade, didn’t want to go online and become e-tailers. “We just have to hunker down; people will come back,” Joe insisted. Periodically, he stopped by the shuttered store.

“As time went by, there were more smudges all over the windows and doors,” he says. “People were walking in town with kids, making promises — I could just see it. I knew when we were able to reopen, that first day, we were going to be busy.”

He was right. When the beloved shop reopened, it was “filled with people working from home,” he says. “We sold lots of Legos, puzzles, and crafts” to people who wanted to keep their kids — and themselves — busy.

Whether society, the economy, or Ojai itself has been in sickness or health, for better or worse, Serendipity and the Barthelemys have been a steadfast presence in the town for 45 years, a reallife mom and pop — they have three adult children — with what they say is the only momand-pop toy shop still in Ventura County.

Joe, who has a dry sense of humor, explained the store’s longevity: “I think it’s our ruthless business practices. I guess we drove them all out, including Toys ‘R’ Us.”

Ruthless? Not even close. This is the couple who, on Christmas Eve in 1991, after a Ventura family had all their Christmas presents taken, opened Serendipity at midnight so the parents could shop for new toys for their children.

In the 1990s, when purple Beanie Babies

bears were released in honor of the late Princess Diana and started a teddybuying frenzy, the Barthelemys refused to mark up the price, then went one step further. “We didn’t let people know we had the bears,” Joe says. “We turned them over to a homeless 11-year-old in town, and said, ‘Sell ’em for whatever you want.’ He had a trench coat with the Beanie Babies pinned inside.” Joe doesn’t know how much profit the boy made. Joe, a lookalike of a trim Santa with his white beard and silvery glasses, and Lilly, who prefers to stay behind the scenes and let Joe do most of the talking, met at Ventura College and got married in 1974. They moved to Wheeler Hot Springs in 1977 with their two boys, then had a

Opening a toy store wasn’t originally in their life plans.

Right: Joe and Lilly Barthelemy

of wonders

Joe, who grew up in San Francisco, was an engineer. Lilly, raised in Germany after World War II, had few toys growing up: a jump rope, a deck of cards, and a ball. “I played outside, climbing trees,” she says. Her parents and sisters passed away when she was young, and she spent several years in an orphanage. She studied developmental psychology in college, and after moving to Ojai, noticed the town didn’t have a store with high-quality educational toys that “stimulated a child’s curiosity.”

The nudge to finally open the toy store was a 1978 family musical production in Ojai based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

“We just winged it completely,” says Joe, who at the time was still working his engineering job. “We took a week off and drove up to the Bay Area to check out toy stores. From there we just learned as we went along.”

Lilly’s goal was to focus on carefully selected merchandise from around the world, such as wooden toys, puppets, and other items that have educational value and encourage constructive, imaginative play. They chose the name “Serendipity,” Joe says, “because we wanted the store to be an unexpected, pleasant discovery for anyone coming in.”

and was scared and wanted to call the police,” Lilly recalls. For some reason, the man then became interested in buying a rubber ducky, which the store didn’t have, but Lilly did find a plastic wind-up one, which she sold to him for $1. Police, searching for a man who had reportedly just attacked a woman working at the bar and stole money, arrived at the store, immediately recognized the customer as the man who fit the description of the culprit, and arrested him.

Joe says they framed the dollar bill because the duck was, after all, their first sale.

“There’s a song in it about how you have to take the initiative, and not wait for your dreams,” Joe says. Lilly “decided that night we needed to open the toy store she thought Ojai needed.”

They had no experience running a business, nor funds to start one, but Lilly immediately started looking for a storefront, found one, and called to tell Joe, “We’re in escrow.”

“We were pretty hippie-ish back then, and almost became capitalists, “ Joe says.

Their toy-business “training” was brief.

The store opened in December 1979, an event that made the local news, but not for the reason you might think.

On the Thursday before the store’s opening weekend, Joe, Lilly, and their sons, with their daughter asleep, were up late at night unpacking a large shipment of toys when a somewhat disoriented man entered. One of the pockets of his leather jacket was stuffed with money, and he had a gun.

“He said he’d been in a bar across the parking lot drinking and heard gunshots,

The Barthelemys expanded to add the suite next door, but most of the time weren’t making a huge profit, so in 1985 they decided to open an additional store in Ventura.

The opening, once again, was in the news … for a reason other than heralding a new small business.

Three days before the opening, the Wheeler Fire in July — one of the largest fires in California history — started 150 yards from the Barthelemys’ home and burned it down. The story made front-page news, but was surprisingly optimistic, with the headline, “Hopes for new store ease fire nightmare.” The Barthelemys rebuilt their home, and eventually closed the Ventura store, but kept the Ojai Serendipity Toys open.

The inventory hasn’t changed much over the years. Long-running favorites include basic balls and the Slinky, which Joe describes as “harder to untangle than a Rubik’s Cube is to solve.”

“We carry a combination of some mainstream toys, Legos, that sort of thing,” Joe says, “but we still focus on the unique items nobody has anymore.” The store is packed with science and nature toys, puzzles, board games, art and craft supplies, educational books, musical instruments, dolls, animal figurines, and much more.

The popular wooden running train, however, went away after the pandemic. “We figured we wouldn’t keep it, with all the germs and everything,” Joe says.

Lilly is proud of the store’s puppet selection, even though they aren’t the most popular playthings anymore. “Autistic kids are into puppets,” Joe says. “We sell a lot of them to therapists and older people.”

Lilly hopes parents will consider “soft, nurturing” toys for boys, such as stuffed animals, and science toys rather than “unicorns, mermaids, and pink things” for girls.

Serendipity has also followed fads, selling Cabbage Patch Kids, Teddy Ruxpins, and the aforementioned Beanie Babies, which Lilly says “paid for the cost overruns when we rebuilt our house.”

The store doesn’t sell war toys or play guns. “I’ve been a pacifist from early on — my family died because of war,” Lilly says.

Sorry, parents, but you’ll have to find the latest video games elsewhere. Joe says their daughter Melissa was very into Nintendo when she was young, but Serendipity didn’t (and still doesn’t) stock electronic toys, so he had to wait in line like everyone else at Toys ‘R’ Us to purchase one for her when she was 10. “People would say, ‘What are you doing at Toys ‘R’ Us?’” Joe recalls. “I told them, ‘We’ve got to make the kids happy.’”

Melissa verified her dad’s story: “I told my parents I didn’t need all the toys they had given me for Christmas, and I wanted to return them to the toy store so I could instead buy video games. My parents said they would (refund) me what it cost them, but I demanded full retail.”

Later, as a teenager, Melissa helped her parents run Serendipity, and after college worked there full-time for two years. Now living elsewhere in California, she still returns to Ojai every year during the holidays to help provide free gift-wrapping.

“I admire my parents’ big hearts, their generosity, and work ethic,” Melissa says. They “really did begin the toy store to serve the community and because they care about children’s education. They see themselves as more than merchants. They also donate to school funds; they give to

Remodeling hasn’t been a part of Serendipity’s business model. “If you’re an anachronism, you might as well be an anachronism,” Joe says. “People seem to enjoy there’s not much that has changed. We deliberately keep it old and funky.”

Customers include longtime Ojai residents as well as their kids and grandkids, but the overall demographic has changed, with more tourists nowadays.

“When we first opened, Ojai was a different town, and had more of a diverse population, more families, more blue-collar workers,” Joe says, and many more kids liked to hang out in the store. Now, thanks to electronics, cellphones, activity-filled days, and fears of letting little ones wander on their own, fewer kids come to just hang out.

Numerous celebrities have visited the toy store over the years, including Barbra Streisand, who bought a “fly-in-theice-cube” prank toy; Diane Keaton; and “a bunch of other people I didn’t know,” Joe says. By far his favorite famous customer was his “first crush,” actress Hayley Mills.

Running the store, even after 45 years, is still a joy for the Barthelemys. “This is our social life,” Joe says. How long will they keep going?

“Until they carry us out,” he says, only half-jokingly.

He admits that “the masses have gone one way” — online — to buy today’s toys, “but people still want to get out and see, witness, feel things.”

Frederick Bunsen, an artist and fan of the store who lives in Germany, captures the heart of the shop and its owners: “Toys sometimes have mechanical contraptions to make them tick or tock, to move or go, but Joe and Lilly are the true heart of each doll, puppet, or game they seek to find a deserving home for, and have been for a lifetime. Now that’s serendipity!”

Serendipity Toys is at 221 E. Matilija St. For more information, call 805-646-2585 or visit serendipitytoys.com

Originally

$3,995,000

GOLDEN OAKS GLEN

3

NEW LISTING

1205 Country Club Drive, Ojai 2 HOMES | 4.67 ACRE LOT LISTED AT $2,950,000

NEW LISTING

3180 Tower Road, Ojai

1068 Cuyama Road, Ojai

4 BD | 3.5 BA | 2,350 SQ. FT. | .44 ACRE LOT LISTED AT $2,200,000 NEW LISTING

300 W Santa Ana Street, Ojai

3 BD | 2 BA | 1,260 SQ. FT. LISTED AT $1,250,000 NEW LISTING

5 BD | 5 BA | 3,490 SQ. FT. | .85 ACRE LOT LISTED AT $2,200,000

3 BD | 2.5 BA | 1,536 SQ. FT. | 1 ACRE LOT LISTED AT $2,300,000 NEW LISTING 413 Crestview Drive, Ojai