Ventura County Memories (Del Mar: good schools, restaurants, fence)

[lukemccain]

Originally Posted by Charles

There was a Northrop facility on the far north end of Rancho Conejo. I think they made something to do with the lunar module parachute system or something because I remember seeing photos on the wall of this in the TO library. I think those Northrop jobs went to Pico Rivera in the 1990s. Don't think it is a Northrop anymore; maybe it is part of the sprawling Amgen facility...not sure.

I worked at the Northrop Ventura Division from 1976 to 1980 when I left to work for Rocketdyne. The Ventura Division was best known for making target drones such as the MQM74C and the earlier MQM-33 when it was known as Radioplane and located in Van Nuys. They also made large subassemblies for the Boeing 747.

My days at Rocketdyne ended in 1995, a casuality of the massive layoffs at that time. I probably could have transferred to Huntsville a little earlier and saved my aerospace career. Like you said in an earlier post, most of the engineering jobs in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County have moved elsewhere.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by lukemccain

I worked at the Northrop Ventura Division from 1976 to 1980 when I left to work for Rocketdyne. .

In your time you may have come in contact with Ed Lawrence, a legend in Thousand Oaks for his Conejo Valley photography. He was a photographer at Rocketdyne too. Many old photos of the Conejo Valley from maybe the late 1950s to pretty recently were taken by Ed. I attended a photo slide show in which he presented his photos at the Conejo Valley Historical Society about seven years ago.

I think this was it:

Photographer’s history of Conejo Valley on display at Stagecoach Inn | www.ToAcorn.com | Thousand Oaks Acorn

Historical Conejo Valley Pictures From Ed*Lawrence - Welcome! - Conejo Valley Guide

Westlake Village used to be the Russell Ranch. Below is a good shot of the ranch before it became the lake in Westlake Village:




Here are three excellent books on the region :

Amazon.ca: Branches on the Conejo: Leaving the Soil After Five Generations: Books: Anne Schroeder

Another two by Mr. Russell are "Cattle on the Conejo" and "Heads and Tails … And Odds and Ends" You can probably get them at the Westlake Village or Agoura Hills branches of the Los Angeles County Public Library or the Thousand Oaks Library.

Russell Ranch

Looking Back Through Time

[Charles]

I'm homesick. Will be back there the week of October 5th (Huntsville City Schools Fall break).

Beaches, cycling, sunny weather, hole in the wall Mexican restaurants, Isla Vista, Topa Topa mountains, the scent and sights of oranges on trees in January, trout fishing on Lake Piru, Ojai, Super Taco in Oxnard, Sycamore Canyon, Rincon, Mugu Rock, UCSB, Big Yellow House, California Street, State Street, Andria's Seafood at Ventura Harbor.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Charles

I'm homesick. Will be back there the week of October 5th (Huntsville City Schools Fall break).

Beaches, cycling, sunny weather, hole in the wall Mexican restaurants, Isla Vista, Topa Topa mountains, the scent and sights of oranges on trees in January, trout fishing on Lake Piru, Ojai, Super Taco in Oxnard, Sycamore Canyon, Rincon, Mugu Rock, UCSB, Big Yellow House, California Street, State Street, Andria's Seafood at Ventura Harbor.

Date shakes from Kaiser's.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Charles

I'm homesick. Will be back there the week of October 5th (Huntsville City Schools Fall break).

Beaches, cycling, sunny weather, hole in the wall Mexican restaurants, Isla Vista, Topa Topa mountains, the scent and sights of oranges on trees in January, trout fishing on Lake Piru, Ojai, Super Taco in Oxnard, Sycamore Canyon, Rincon, Mugu Rock, UCSB, Big Yellow House, California Street, State Street, Andria's Seafood at Ventura Harbor.

Oh, and speaking of IV, remember "La Jicora?" (gone but not forgotten)

Their burritos with the secret gravy sauce ... a true original! I've been searching in vain for another place that makes them for decades!

[jc76]

Originally Posted by Charles

I'm homesick. Will be back there the week of October 5th (Huntsville City Schools Fall break).

Beaches, cycling, sunny weather, hole in the wall Mexican restaurants, Isla Vista, Topa Topa mountains, the scent and sights of oranges on trees in January, trout fishing on Lake Piru, Ojai, Super Taco in Oxnard, Sycamore Canyon, Rincon, Mugu Rock, UCSB, Big Yellow House, California Street, State Street, Andria's Seafood at Ventura Harbor.

Charles I have sensed your missing CA in many posts. Maybe it's cuz your in Alabama, or should I say another world.
*I didn't just say that! I live in the #1 hole of a state*

Good to read everyones accounts of a fun, sunny, exciting memories! Wish I had some Not in bfe Indiana, sorry.

[jc76]

Why did they turn such a pretty peaceful looking ranch into a lake???

Why would they DO that? It looked kinda like one of those old scenes from the Lone Ranger...now it's filled with water? Insane.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Oh, and speaking of IV, remember "La Jicora?" (gone but not forgotten)

Their burritos with the secret gravy sauce ... a true original! I've been searching in vain for another place that makes them for decades!

I don't remember that place. I do remember Freebirds, and another burrito place I think TQ or PQ or something like that, and still another Mexican place called the Cantina, McBurleys, Woodstocks Pizza and the Anaconda.

Isla Vista is a one of a kind place. Some of the stuff I saw there, I'll never forget.


I think my wife (UCSB 1991) and I will head up there in October. Nothing like walking around and reinforcing the feeling that I'm getting old.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Charles

I don't remember that place. I do remember Freebirds, and another burrito place I think TQ or PQ or something like that, and still another Mexican place called the Cantina, McBurleys, Woodstocks Pizza and the Anaconda.

Isla Vista is a one of a kind place. Some of the stuff I saw there, I'll never forget.


I think my wife (UCSB 1991) and I will head up there in October. Nothing like walking around and reinforcing the feeling that I'm getting old.

909 embarcadero del mar isla vista CA - Google Maps

I believe this was roughly the location of La Jicora (for sure, it was on Embarcadero Del Mar, somewhere on the side of the street opposite the west edge of Anisq Oyo Park).

The building was a converted 1950s hamburger joint (you could tell from the architecture and layout). Alas, based on my search up and down the street, it appears they demolished it, probably sometime in the very late 80s or early 90s. I suspect the parking lot to the left of the pictured building was its location. And what was La Jicora's tiny little parking lot is where the pictured sushi restaurant now sits.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jc76

Why did they turn such a pretty peaceful looking ranch into a lake???

Why would they DO that? It looked kinda like one of those old scenes from the Lone Ranger...now it's filled with water? Insane.

The Russell Family owned the land. Mr. Russell wrote two books on the early days in the Conejo Valley. I read both of them.


"In 1881, the Russell brothers purchased a large portion of the land for cattle ranching. The area was sold in 1925 to William Randolph Hearst and again in 1943 to Fred Albertson. [Note: there's an Albertson motorway, actually a dirt trail/fire road, from where I used to live in Lang Ranch to about where the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Lab is near the edge of the San Fernando Valley. I rode my mountain bike on it many times.] The Russell family leased back part of the land to continue its successful cattle ranch operation while the Albertson Company used the vast acreage as a movie ranch. Many movies and television shows were filmed here, including “Robin Hood,” “King Rat,” “Laredo,” and various episodes of “Tarzan,” “Buck Rogers,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Bonanza.”’

In 1963, the American- Hawaiian Steamship Company bought the 12,000 acre ranch for $32 million in partnership with Prudential Insurance Company and commissioned a master plan for a “city in the country." The original master-planned community of Westlake Village is transected diagonally by the Los Angeles and Ventura County line. The Los Angeles County side, consisting of 3,456 acres, was incorporated as the City of Westlake Village in 1981 and became the 82nd municipality in Los Angeles County. The Ventura County side, comprised of the remaining 8,544 acres of the original Russell ranch, was annexed into the City of Thousand Oaks in two portions in 1968 and 1972. "

from

Westlake Village CALIFORNIA PHOTOS AND INFORMATION