The Ojai Valley Museum sharing the history, art and culture of the Ojai Valley through museum exhibitions, programs and events. Ojai Valley Museum is proud to present their newest exhibit: The Art of Dennis Shives on display now.  See the Events and Exhibits sections below for more information about this featured Passport 2 History site.  
PASSPORT 2 HISTORY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER  November 2017, Vol. 68
 
What better way to show gratitude to our California heritage than to pay homage to a variety of historical sites that played a part in it: see who they were, how they lived, and what they contributed to the development of the Golden State.  You'd be surprised at what you'll find!  Grab a "Passport 2 History" passport book from any of our 86 participating locations for $5 per passport book and begin your historical journey!  As you visit each participating location, be sure to get your passport book stamped, receive potential special benefits and win prizes! Listed below are the latest events, exhibits and announcements from our participating historical sites and museums. 

For more details, visit us at our website  passport2history.com or check out our Facebook page here

For the latest Passport 2 History video,  click here !

NEW! Watch the latest episode of the  "Passport 2 History" Show
 
Pick up a  "Passport 2 History" passport book 
at the Leonis Adobe or any of the participating sites for $5 & explore 86 historic sites in Southern & Central California.  
Collect "Passport 2 History" seals and collect prizes! 
...Stamp your passport to the past and discover the future!

What's New at the  Leonis Adobe Museum?
  
Did you know the Leonis Adobe Museum and Ranch is the Los Angeles  Historic-Cultural Monument #1 and is  located in beautiful Old Town Calabasas, CA?

To learn more about the Leonis Adobe Museum, be sure to view KCET's " Visiting with Huell Howser: Leonis Adobe" episode, available online at YouTube.com or click here to see it now! 
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UPCOMING LEONIS ADOBE MUSEUM EVENT:



leonisadobemuseum.org  |  818-222-6511  |  [email protected]  

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UPCOMING EVENTS*

Fri., November 3 
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Ojai Valley Museum
"First Friday Free"

FREE ADMISSION ALL DAY!

 

Sat., November 4
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Ojai Valley Museum
"Treasure Sale & Native Plant Sale"

Back by popular demand, the Treasure Sale will feature collectibles from the museum, antiques, art, books, postcards, Hollywood memorabilia, and other donated items. Plantasia Landscape will offer a variety of native and drought-tolerant plants suitable for the climate and water conditions in the Ojai Valley and nearby counties. Landscaping experts will be on hand to offer planting advice.


Sat., November 4
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Rancho Los Cerritos
"Creation Station"
 
Get creative with history! Using a wide variety of colorful materials, children can experiment with old-fashioned arts and crafts. This  free, drop-in  program takes place rain or shine. November's theme, Brilliant Brown, celebrates autumn.
.

Sun., November 5
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Muckenthaler Cultural Center
"Dia de los Muertos Fiesta"

Free Admission
 
The Muckenthaler celebrates this special Mexican holiday with an afternoon filled with arts and crafts, altars, art workshops, food vendors and live music! The historical roots of this holiday date back to the pre-Hispanic cultures of Meso-America of the indigenous people, especially the Nahua (Aztecs, Mayans, and Toltecs) and others native to Mexico. Please join us as we gather together to enjoy regional dance groups and festive activities honoring Dia de los Muertos traditions. 

 

Sun., November 5
12:30 PM - 5:50 PM
The Victorian Tea & Dance Society
at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Hall
" The Truly Victorian Tea Social"

Admission $20

Join Tom Willson, from the Simi Valley Vintage Dance Society, as he brings us "truly Victorian" era dances!
Tom's popularity with beginner and experienced dancers alike keeps growing and we are happy to have him back with us!
Music by Victorian Capers


Sun., November 5
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Rancho Los Alamitos
"Conversations in Place - The Future Today"
 
$25 per person | Advance Reservations Required

The sixth season comes to a close as this year's finale brings together yesterday, today, and tomorrow in real time and cyberspace. In this final conversation wide mix of innovative professionals including Alex Steffen, award-winning author, speaker, and foresight consultant, Lance Eliot, Ph.D., a successful high tech entrepreneur and business leader, Alenda Y. Chang, PH.D., environmental scholar and digital media -expert, Jeff Watson, Ph.D, award-winning artist and game designer, and Alan Pullman, AIA, the Founder/Senior Principal of Studio One Eleven, an architecture, landscape, and urban design firm, consider how - time is, "flexible, stretchable, and even reversible." This flexibility creates the situation in which, "we are all futurists today", as the past, present, and future morph together in real and virtual time, but tomorrow may depend on leaving options open now. 
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Sat., November 18
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Strathearn Historical Park & Museum 
"ROCKET DAY- The Fires of Creation"
 
Admission:
Adults $10, Children $5, Under 4yrs old FREE

A celebration of the men and women who for 60 years worked in our local
Aerospace Industry, creating the American Space Program.

Our Rocket Day will include "Mission Control" in the big barn with three giant screens showing Rocket Launches, Planetary Missions and Hubble photographs.  Our JPL Solar System Ambassador will be on hand to answer questions about the Planetary Missions.  Display cases in this area will show Space program and NASA memorabilia.  Mission Control feed will be projected into the rafters.
 
Mon., November 20
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Heritage Museum of Orange County
"Stargazing Night w/ OC Astronomers"
 
Come enjoy the beautiful night skies with OC
Astronomers at this FREE stellar event!
Wear warm clothes and come view the
heavens through telescopes brought by
OCA's volunteer astronomers.

Anticipated viewings include :
ORION NEBULA
ANDROMEDA GALAXY
GLOBULAR & OPEN CLUSTERS
AND MORE!

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Fri., December 1
6:00 PM or 8:00 PM
The Camarillo Ranch
"Christmas at the Ranch"

The Camarillo Ranch invites you to celebrate a true Victorian Christmas with us. This year's Christmas at the Ranch will take place on Friday, December 1 from 6:00-8:00pm. Guests will enjoy a four course plated dinner from Martino's Catering, beer and wine, plus live music from The Other Reindeer (Victorian Christmas carolers) and Harp Music by Vonette & Musical Networks. 

For tickets click:
EXHIBITS*
Wallace Hartley_s sheet music_ Wallace Hartley was the band leader who continued to play as the ship sank.  The sheet music was recovered from his body a week after the ship sank
"Titanic" Wallace Hartley's sheet music - Wallace Hartley was the band leader who continued to play as the ship sank. The sheet music was recovered from his body a week after the ship sank

Currently Ongoing
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library 
and Museum
"TITANIC"
May 27, 2017 - January 7, 2018
 
Titanic at the Reagan Library is a fascinating look at Titanic, combining real artifacts with the real stories of the people onboard 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.
 
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!


Now - January 7, 2018
Ojai Valley Museum
"The Art of Dennis Shives"

A master wood carver who works in a variety of mediums, the work of Dennis Shives is often playful, always original, with a story behind every piece. Visit OjaiValleyMuseum.org for details.






Now - December 31
El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society at Carnegie Library

Free: "Randal Gene Young Photos Collection"

The El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society is exhibiting another group of extraordinary photographs from the Randal Gene Young collection at the Carnegie Library.  Produced from the Society's scans of photographer Richard J. Arnold's glass plate negatives, these beautiful prints give us a unique view of life in San Luis Obispo County at the end of the 19th century. 
 
Mr. Arnold's most significant contribution to early California photography was his choice to photograph all sorts of people, not limiting his subjects to paying clients.  While most commercial photographers at the time photographed the wealthy and elite on commission, Arnold did not limit the diversity of his subjects based on their financial means.   While he took commissions and ran a successful studio in San Luis Obispo, he was endlessly drawn to all types of people and his body of work presents a prescient vision of California's cultural diversity. 
 
Admission is Free, the exhibit will run through December 31, 2017.  



Currently Ongoing
Camp Roberts Museum
"Kiddie's Corral"

The Camp Roberts Historical Museum recently dedicated a space in their Museum Annex for children to dress up in various military uniforms.  The collection includes US Army uniforms from World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Afghanistan.  There are also uniforms from the armies of Iraq and Great Britain.  Children can don their choice of uniforms, and pose with any of several replica weapons in the historic wheeled vehicles inside the Annex if they like.  It's a great "selfie" opportunity for adults as well as children.  This "Kiddie's Corral," which is sectioned off from the other exhibits, is proving to be quite a hit, especially with school groups and families with children.  

Take exit 244 from Hwy. 101, and make sure you have your drivers license, registration and insurance card.  The museum is open to the general public on both Thursdays and Saturdays.


Currently Ongoing
Mullin Automotive Museum
"Citroën: The Man, The Marque, The Mystique"
 
Come experience a sampling from one of the most innovative French automobile manufacturers of the 20th century, Citroën!  These fascinating automobiles encompassed technology way ahead of their time, in futuristic bodies.  Come enjoy some of the best examples built by this marque in a retrospective exhibit at the Mullin Automotive Museum.
 
Reservations required. Semi-Private tours held Tuesdays at 10 AM and Thursdays at 11 AM for $40 per person.   Saturday admission is Adults $15, Seniors $12 (65+), Children $8 (3-11), Children under 2 & active Military with ID FREE.  
 
Please call 805-385-5400 for information or to make reservations.

 

Currently Ongoing
Pleasant Valley Historical Society Museum
"Hello! -- Antique Phones Exhibit & Silent Auction"
 
Bill Doctorman, who recently died at the age of 89, had an extensive collection of historic phones. He willed that collection to the Pleasant Valley Historical Society(PVHS).  Receipts found for phones that were purchased in his home state of Illinois indicate that he had been accumulating them for most of his lifetime.  
 
The PVHS museum currently has about 100 phones on display from the late 1880's through the 1980's.   Included are the wooden (usually oak) farm phones of various styles through the candlestick and art deco phones. It is fascinating to see how creative American manufacturers could be.  We also have some European phones that illustrate the standardization of style throughout the world.
 
We received over 200 phones from the Doctorman legacy and will be having a silent auction offering the excess to the community.  In the meantime, stop by to see this unusual exhibit, including a set-up for young children to experience "dialing" a telephone.  
 
Operating Hours:
Saturdays and Sundays from 12 - 4 PM.
 
Come by and say "hello"!




Now - Dec. 2017
African American Firefighter Museum
"Burning Bright: African American Women in the Fire Service"

You're invited to the African American Firefighter Museum's exhibit  "Burning Bright: African American Women in the Fire Service" with an opening r eception & celebration on Sunday, March 19, 2017 from 1 pm - 4 pm.

African American Women have played a major role in the fire service ever since the 1800's when a slave named Molly Williams served as a volunteer firefighter in New York City. Today, African American Women play a significant role in the fire service nationwide. Currently, 5 African American women serve as Fire Chiefs of municipal city and county fire department's across the United States.
Here in Los Angeles, the beginning of African American women in the fire service started in 1978 when Carlesta Wells became the first African American woman paramedic hired by the Los Angeles Fire Department. She was followed by Michelle Banks in June of 1984.

We are proud to acknowledge that our first President was Firefighter/Lead Paramedic Michelle Banks of the LAFD (pictured). Firefighter Banks was instrumental in the opening of the Museum. She served as President from 1997 to 2003. Michelle retired in 2016. She is now the Vice President of the African American Firefighter Museum.

There are many women serving in the fire service today as chief officers, company officers, dispatchers, arson investigators, training officers, paramedics and fire chiefs.

Museum   Hours:  Sundays 1pm - 4pm
 & Tuesdays/Thursdays 10 am - 2 pm
 

Currently Ongoing
 
The Olivas Adobe Historical Interpreters, welcome you to come for a docent led history packed tour. Tours are given Saturday and Sunday's starting at 11:00, with the last tour departing at 3:00. Come and travel back in time to the Rancho Period at the home of Don Raymundo Olivas, his wife Teadora, and their twenty one children.



Feb. 14 - Dec. 21
Lanterman House 
"The Legacy of Frank Lanterman: 1901-1981"
 
The Lanterman House presents "The Legacy of Frank Lanterman," an exhibition giving insight into the multi-faceted life of this famous La Cañada resident. From his early days as a musician and political activist to his 28-year term in the California State Assembly, Frank Lanterman was always a champion for the local community. The exhibit will run from February 14 through December 21, 2017.

Watch for exhibition-related events throughout the year on our website.



 

Currently Ongoing
Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe Museum & Historic Site
"The Vietnam War"

The Vietnam War was the second-longest war in United States history, after the war in Afghanistan.

Commitments to the people and government of South Vietnam to keep communist forces from overtaking them reached back into the Truman Administration. Eisenhower placed military advisers and CIA operatives in Vietnam, and John F. Kennedy sent American soldiers to Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson ordered the first real combat by American troops, and Richard Nixon concluded the war.

Despite the decades of resolve, billions and billions of dollars, nearly 60,000 American lives and many more injuries, the United States failed to achieve its objectives. Learn about Montebello's Reggie J Rodriguez who made the ultimate sacrifice and is honored by having a city park named after him. 


Currently Ongoing
Pleasant Valley Historical Society & Museum
Free: "Allis-Chalmers WD Row Crop Tractor"
 
The Pleasant Valley Historical Society & Museum has received a working tractor to be part of their permanent display.  Lou Oliver of Camarillo and a member of the Topa Flywheelers Tractor Club has given his fully restored 1952 Allis-Chalmers WD row crop tractor to the Museum.
 
"Allis," as she is called, was purchased new in 1952 from Power Tractor by the Tanaka Bros. Farms.   She worked well and hard for over forty years.  She was restored by Leonard Oliver and brought back to Camarillo in 2006 by Lou.  On a bright, sunny morning in late November, members from PVHS met at a ranch in the Las Posas Valley where Allis was stored.  She started right up and drove onto the flatbed that took her to the Museum where she now resides.  Plans are underway to build her a protective home that would be in keeping with her history.


Currently Ongoing
Camp Roberts Historical Museum
"75th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary"
 
It has been 75 years since Camp Roberts first opened as the United States Army's largest basic training installation, just before our nation entered World War II. For the last 30 years, the volunteers at the Camp Roberts Historical Museum have been preserving and relating the camp's important history-as the US Army's largest basic training camp, through its 45-year history as the main training site for the California Army National Guard.
 
While there are always new exhibits for our guests to enjoy, our biggest project lately is a big expansion of our Afghanistan Exhibit, which focuses on our California Army National Guard units and our partner nations from around the world that are working hard under NATO and the UN to stabilize the government and train its police and armed forces.  The work is finished now, and we invite you to come and enjoy it, along with everything else we offer.  We think you'll be amazed at all the exhibits in both our historic buildings, plus all the tracked and wheeled vehicles and helicopters.  We're the largest Army museum in California, and the state's official military museum.  
 
Admission is always free.  We invite everyone to visit the Museum when it is open to the public (free) every Thursday and Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. Our two large historic buildings full of exhibits will take you through the camp's entire history.


ANNOUNCEMENTS*
Angels Flight
Officially Reopened for Passenger Service!
 
Photo by Gary Leonard. 
 
The Angels Flight® funicular is one of Los Angeles' most enduring landmarks and has been featured in numerous artworks, books, and films including the winner of multiple Academy Awards - La La Land.  First installed in 1901, Angels Flight® has provided reliable transportation to tens of millions of passengers up and down Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles.  By the late 1950's the area surrounding Angels Flight® had fallen into blight and urban decay.  In 1969, Angels Flight® was disassembled and rebuilt nearly 30 years later 2 blocks south of the original location. Urban renewal efforts of the 1970's created redevelopment opportunities that continue today in what is now one of the most vibrant areas of Los Angeles. 
 
The Angels Flight® Railway has officially reopened for passenger service. The Railway is open daily, seven days a week, 365 days a year, including holidays, from 6:45 in the morning until 10:00 at night. Passenger service operations are subject to occasional closures for maintenance. The one-way fare is $1.00. Holders of valid Metro passes may ride for fifty cents. Five-ride and 40-ride discount commuter books, good for one person only and for thirty days, are available for purchase.
 
The Railway's Top Station is located at California Plaza, 350 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90071. The Lower Station is located at 351 South Hill Street, Los Angeles 90013, across from Grand Central Market.
 
We hope that you will come by and enjoy a ride on this wonderful, historic Los Angeles treasure!


More information >

The Pleasant Valley Historical Society
Stan Daily Essay Scholarship Award 

The Pleasant Valley Historical Societyannounces the Stan Daily Essay Scholarship Award, an opportunity for original research on local history. An award of $1,000 will be made to the Camarillo, Somis, or Santa Rosa Valley graduating senior who produces the best piece of work.
The subject can be a biography or an article about an early family narrative, early industry, location, or event. The selected paper will be considered for publication in the Society's quarterly newsletter.
Members of the Society will be available to give a personal tour of the Museum to interested students, and the Fulkerson Library will available for research. Interested students may consult with Society members on the selection of subject matter.
Three paper copies of the completed work should be sent by April 30, 2018 to P.O. Box 570, Camarillo, CA 93011-0570
The Museum is located at 720 North Las Posas Road in Camarillo, open to the public without charge from noon - 4 PM on Saturday and Sunday. For further information, contact us:

Phone: 805-482-3660

The mission of PVHS is to identify, acquire, and provide classification and conservation measures to local historical artifacts, art, buildings, landmarks, photographs, documents and other forms of information. PVHS is dedicated to serving the community by preserving and presenting the history of the Pleasant Valley area and sharing our rich heritage. Please join us by submitting your local history research paper.


More information >