Scenes Near the Corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Rancho Road in 1970

Conejo Valley Days Parade 1970 with auto promoting Sizzler.

Some of you may remember the Sizzler restaurant on Moorpark Road that is now a Hooter's. Well, before that, there was a Sizzler at 1259 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, in a space that today (thanks to a generous donation from Thousand Oaks Storage) is the home of affordable housing non-profit Many Mansions.

Thousand Oaks Sizzler on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, just east of Rancho Road, in 1970

Many Mansions moved in Spring 2015 at the long ago former home of the first Sizzler restaurant in Thousand Oaks.

Sizzler was directly east of the Enco gas station at the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Rancho Road.

Enco was a short-lived brand name from the Humble Oil Company, which is now part of ExxonMobil. Apparently it translated into "stalled car" in Japanese.

Conejo Valley Days Parade 1970 at intersection of Thousand Oaks Blvd and Rancho Road.

Notice the Shell gas station across Rancho Road in the above photo. Today of course a different kind of fuel is served there at the first Thousand Oaks Drive-Thru Starbucks. I also notice the gas price at that time was 28 9/10th cents a gallon.

Today, there is a Chevron station located at this former home of Enco. It is the exact same building shown above! But instead of "Happy Motoring!" there's a sign on the building that says "Food Mart."

This Chevron station is the former home of the Enco station pictured above.

And this last photo shows a 23 North sign west of Rancho Road. Partially hidden behind that sign is a Chicken Delight that was located at 1165 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Today, the closest Chicken Delight is in Winnepeg, Canada. 

The Seabee Museum at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme is a Local Must-See

The U.S. Navy Seabee Museum at 1001 Addor Street, Port Hueneme is a state-of-the-art, free of charge must-see for local residents and visitors alike. One of the U.S. Navy's 11 official museums, the Seabee Museum displays historical material relating to the history of the Naval Construction Force, better known as the Seabees, and the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps.

The 38,000 sq ft museum was recently renovated and features modern exhibit spaces, memorial garden, theater, education room and well-stocked gift shop. Well worth a visit with the kids. Additionally, the STEM Center at the Museum is a hidden gem!

The second oldest of the official Navy museums, the Seabee Museum was established in 1947 in Port Hueneme, which today is part of Naval Base Ventura County.

The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm. Closed Sundays and all Federal holidays. Admission and parking are free. Learn more at www.usnavyseabeemuseum.com or call 805.982.5165.

Photos From Janss Conejo Ranch in 1960-1961 in What is Now Wildwood Park

In the 1930s to 1960s, a number of TV shows and movies were filmed in what is now Wildwood Park, like Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Spartacus and Wuthering Heights. Steve Dibblee of Ventura Views has provided these shots taken by his father, Walt Dibblee, of a western ranch town in Wildwood Park in 1960-1961.

You can see the same, familiar Mountclef Ridge in Wildwood Park today

Steve indicated the above photo shows The Rifleman's house and barn. It may also have been used in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

And here is a bit of a depressing scene at the ranch on September 28, 1960.

View more of Walt's Ventura County area photography, including an extensive collection of aerials from the mid 1950s to the late 1960s, at VenturaViews.com.

Status of the Downed Windmill at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in Newbury Park

The old windmill in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa fell down last December apparently as a result of the very strong winds we had at the time. No word on plans to get the windmill back in places as of November 2022, six years later.

Rancho Sierra Vista "Mountain View Ranch" was the name given to the area by Carl Beal when he purchased thousands of acres of the northern section of Rancho Guadalasca in 1936 (the southern section was purchased by William Richard Broome). Beal brought modern ranching to the ranch, including a series of wells, springs and reservoirs from Boney Mountain.  Later the property was sold to Richard Danielson, who farmed and ranched here with his family for 32 years. It was sold to the National Park Service in 1980.

Prior to it falling on its side, the windmill was a favorite destination in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. As you'll see in the latter part of the video, the windmill did function prior to its fall.  The NPS will be looking into the best approach to stand it back up and assess damages to the windmill as a result of the fall. Since the windmill is located in the protected Satwiwa Native American Indian Natural Area, NPS must be mindful of its approach to minimize impact to this sacred land.

Satwiwa means "the bluffs" and was the name of a nearby Chumash village. The Satwiwa area was established to reflect the Chumash heritage. Visit the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center on weekends from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to learn more about the Chumash from a park ranger. 

The Windmill in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in September 2016.

Conejo Rambler and "Mister Buttons the Clown" at the 1963 Conejo Valley Days Parade

In Spring 1963, soon after the effort to incorporate the City of Conejo (subsequently Thousand Oaks) was initiated, the Conejo Valley Days Parade took place. Back then, Thousand Oaks was still an unincorporated town in Ventura County.

In 1963, at 2594 E. Ventura Boulevard (later changed to Thousand Oaks Boulevard) in Thousand Oaks, was Conejo Rambler. Today, Allen Motors occupies that spot. 

Seen in the photo below is what appears to be a 1963 Rambler Classic Cross Country station wagon. The sign on the car indicates it was loaned for use in the parade by Conejo Rambler. Sitting on top of that station wagon is "Mister Buttons the Clown." No word on whatever happened to Mister Buttons the Clown, who does not appear to be wearing a seat belt in this shot.

Titanic Exhibit at the Reagan Library May 27, 2017 to January 7, 2018

Original deck chair from the Titanic

Titanic at the Reagan Library is a fascinating look at Titanic, combining real artifacts with the real stories of the people on board the ill-fated ship. This new exhibit tells the story of the unsinkable ship in a way no museum has done before. Artifacts from passengers, dispersed over time, will be reunited in this exhibit for the first time in over 100 years.

This brand-new 10,000 square foot exhibition, reuniting hundreds of Titanic artifacts that have not been together since the ship’s fateful night in 1912 with material and artifacts from the 1984-1985 discovery of the Titanic as well as with items from the 1997 movie, is a first-of-its-kind exhibition not seen anywhere else before. The exhibition was made possible through the generous support and assistance of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Cedar Bay Entertainment, parent company of The Titanic Museums of Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO, and Lightstorm Entertainment/20th Century Fox.

Found in 1985 during President Reagan’s administration, the Titanic quickly became a dive site for many different companies and explorers trying to get a piece of her history.  To protect the historic site and preserve it for generations, President Reagan issued the 1986 RMS Titanic Memorial Act to designate the wreck as an international maritime memorial.

None of the artifacts displayed in this exhibition were salvaged from the wreck itself – a sacred final resting place.

A historic collection of real artifacts from the Titanic alongside items used in the discovery of the famed ship, Titanic at the Reagan Library combines real stories and real artifacts from the real people onboard the ship. Dramatically set with props, sets and costumes from the blockbuster movie about the RMS Titanic, it is a must-see collaboration of secrets, cinema and artifacts!

Highlights include:

• “Alvin” – the titanium submersible sphere that brought Dr. Bob Ballard down to the wreckage of Titanic; the first such submersible to do so
• Sheet music for “Narcissus” which was found on the body of Wallace Hartley, the Titanic’s bandleader who refused to stop playing, even as the ship began to sink
• A deck chair from the Titanic, one of only eight known to exist, as well as the only known “widow’s seat” deck chair from the Carpathia
• The only known complete set of boarding documents and tickets from the Titanic
• John Jacob Astor IV’s pocket watch, found on his body days after the Titanic sank, and his wife’s life vest she wore to her safety
• The claim form from Margaret Brown (otherwise known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”) and the Egyptian Talisman she carried off the ship
• Marion Wright Woolcott’s wool coat; the one she wore when she escaped in lifeboat 9, then later wore to her wedding; then later cut strips of fabric from to make Bible covers for her three sons as they served overseas
• Pocket watch and pocket knife recovered from the body of Oscar Woody, one of the five mail clerks onboard the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic
• Original film footage of the Titanic’s maiden voyage and the Mackay-Bennett’s recovery mission
• Movie sets, props and costumes from the blockbuster movie about the RMS Titanic, including a full-size life boat and Rose and Cal’s Suite
• And so much more

This is not a traveling exhibition.  To see the story of the Titanic told in such a unique way, visitors must come to the Reagan Library.  Whether you are a fan of genuine history or larger-than-life Hollywood, this is truly an once-in-a-lifetime exhibition that sheds light on the Titanic in a first-ever way no museum has attempted before!

Learn more at www.reaganfoundation.org.

The Murals of Santa Paula Provide a Pictorial History of the City

The City of Santa Paula is the geographical center of Ventura County, located in the rich agricultural Santa Clara River Valley. The city is surrounded by rolling hills and rugged mountain peaks in addition to orange, lemon and avocado groves. Santa Paula is often referred to as the "Citrus Capital of the World."

Santa Paula covers an area of 4.7 square miles and at the date of the 2010 U.S. census had a population of 29,321. It is the 7th largest (and inversely 4th smallest) city in Ventura County in terms of population. The city was incorporated on April 22, 1902.

Something unique to see while in Santa Paula is a series of nine murals that depict various historical aspects of the city, including its first inhabitants, the Chumash, the discovery of oil, its Latino culture, founding of the Santa Paula Airport, local farming and more. Learn more at this link and by visiting www.santapaulamurals.org.

Click this link for other things to do in Santa Paula!