Conejo Valley Days Parade Photo From 1963 Captures Relations with Cuba at the Time

Photo from 1963 Conejo Valley Days Parade

Here's a throwback photo from the 1963 Conejo Valley Days Parade in what the following year would officially become the City of Thousand Oaks. An entry with "Care Package for Castro" with a missile with the caption "Y's Men" (which I suspect is in reference to the Y's Men, a service group that helped construct the original Conejo Valley YMCA building in 1964). 

Just months prior, in October 1962, was the Cuban Missile Crisis, the confrontation between the United States and Soviet Union over the placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. After intense negotiations between President Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviets agreed to remove the weapons in Cuba in exchange for public declaration that the U.S. would not invade Cuba.

My how times have changed since then, with the United States in process of re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba.

The Conejo Grade in 1970

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Conejo Grade 1970 (Photo by Frank Knight; Image courtesy of Conejo Through the Lens, Thousand Oaks Library)

Here's an aerial photo of the Conejo Grade from the Frank Knight collection in 1970, looking towards Newbury Park. Things look quite a bit different today. Click here for other historical photos of the evolution of the Conejo Grade.

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In this shot from slightly further away, you can clearly newbury park high school, which opened in 1967

St. Mary Magdalen Chapel in Camarillo Captured By Local Artist in Oil Painting

St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Camarillo by Linda DarkLinda Dark of Camarillo has admired the St. Mary Magdalen Chapel for years, so she decided to put oil paint to canvas in this rendition. The cornerstone for the Chapel was laid on July 1, 1913 and the Chapel was dedicated on July 4, 1914. The Chapel is named after Adolfo Camarillo's oldest sister, Magdalena. The church is located in Old Town Camarillo at 2532 Ventura Boulevard.

Learn more about the church at www.smmcam.org.

Also check out this rendition of El Tecolote Cafe in Camarillo by Linda.

Historic and Iconic Baseball Artifact Exhibit at Reagan Library, April 4th to Sept 4th

Baseball Artifacts in “Baseball! The Exhibition”

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum

April 4 - September 4, 2014

Babe Ruth bat (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

Running through September 4, 2014, Baseball is a 12,000 square foot exhibition featuring over 700 artifacts, including some of the rarest, historic and iconic baseball memorabilia from the largest known private collector in the U.S. The exhibit displays extraordinary artifacts from Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, and scores of other historically important players and organizations. Also featured will be rare artifacts related to Ronald Reagan and baseball from his days calling Chicago Cubs games, to signed balls and jerseys he received while President.

Joe DiMaggio jersey (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)Honus Wagner trading card (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)The exhibition celebrates the great American pastime of baseball by showcasing the glory days of baseball from the first balls, bats, gloves and uniforms ever used, to bringing together the most iconic pieces of baseball history, such as Joe DiMaggio’s record-setting ball that drove his 56 game hitting streak and Babe Ruth’s 1939 uniform from when he coached the Brooklyn Dodgers.  

Featured items on display in Baseball! The Exhibition include:

• An exhibit dedicated to Babe Ruth, which will display his traveling trunk, including his 1939 uniform while coaching the Brooklyn Dodgers, his baseball bat and his famous fur coat
• A Honus Wagner trading card - the rarest and most valuable of all baseball cards
• Jerseys/uniforms worn by Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Don Sutton, Orel Hershiser, Barry Bonds, David Ortiz, Fernando Valenzuela, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and more
• Baseball hit by Barry Bonds (the homerun ball that tied Hank Aaron’s record), as well as a Hank Aaron-signed ball
• Baseballs from Joe DiMaggio, including his record-setting ball that drove his 56 game hitting streak as well as the ball that ended the streak
• Baseball signed by Pete Rose that broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hitting record
• A special section featuring the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers and their legacy in Los Angeles
• Some of the first historic bats, balls, gloves, uniforms, stadium items and folk art related to the sport as well as an unmatched collection of rare baseball cards and photographs of all the astonishing athletes who played the game
• And much, much more

The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley.  Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  The Museum is closed only on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  For General admission is currently $16; $13 for ages 62+, $9 for ages 11-17 and $6 for ages 3-10.  Museum exhibit tickets may be pre-purchased at www.reaganlibrary.com/tickets.  For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com/baseball.

Parkers Brothers Game Box (Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

Impressions of the Conejo Valley Presentation by Photographer Ed Lawrence

The Thousand Oaks Library Special Collections contain some amazing items, including one of the largest American Radio Archives in the world, a Local History Collection containing thousands of books, pamphlets, maps, photos and other items, and a 300 volume Book Arts Collection. Learn more about the Special Collections at www.tol.lib.ca.us/Specoll/index.html.

The Local History Collection contains well over 100,000 photographs from Ed Lawrence, The News Chronicle and professional photographers Frank Knight, Herb Noseworthy and Scott Harrison.

The Ed Lawrence Collection chronicles the growth of Thousand Oaks with over 15,000 images of the Conejo Valley through more recent times. Through a partnership between the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation, the City of Thousand Oaks, Conejo Recreation and Park District, and California Lutheran University, the Lawrence Collection is now permanently part of the Thousand Oaks Library archives.

In the 50 minute video below, Lawrence takes us through a journey of the history of Thousand Oaks in "Impressions of the Conejo Valley."

To see more of Ed Lawrence's photos, visit edlawrencephoto.com. You can actually purchase high quality prints of some of his best photos there.

Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula is on National Register of Historic Places

Built in 1911, the Glen Tavern Hotel is Ventura County Historical Landmark No. 65 and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in September 1984. The Glen Tavern is a Craftsman/English Tudor style hotel with original dark wood paneling, some original light fixtures, stone fireplace and Craftsman columns.

Located at 134 N. Mill Street in Santa Paula, The Glen Tavern is the only national historic landmark in Ventura County you can actually stay overnight in. The 3rd floor of the hotel was once a gambling parlor and um, house of ill-repute. And stars like John Wayne, Carol Lombard, Harry Houdini and Steve McQueen stayed at the Inn.

There are 36 guest rooms and suites available in this historic hotel, which is walking distance or a short drive to a number of other attractions and points of interest, including:

• Santa Paula Art Museum
• Murals of Santa Paula
• Aviation Museum of Santa Paula
• California Oil Museum
• Agriculture Museum
• Southern Pacific Railroad and Moreton Bay Fig Tree

Enzo's Italian Restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner at the Glen Tavern Inn.

Visit www.glentavern.com to learn more and to book a room!