The San Fernando Valley is only about 50 miles from ocean beaches at Ventura but first the road takes us up and over Santa Susanna Pass between the Simi Hills and the Santa Susanna Mountains and down through the Simi Valley. The valley was originally inhabited by the Chumash people until the Spanish came to the valley in 1769. In 1795 much of the valley was given as a land grant to the Pico brothers known as “Rancho Simi.” In the 1860’s the rancho was purchased by the Philadelphia and California Petroleum Company. Little oil was found and the rancho was sold off in parcels to various individuals. Cattle ranching and agriculture on the valley floor dominated the valley until the 1970’s when the suburban sprawl of neighboring Los Angeles began to spill into the valley. Today the view coming down from the Santa Susanna Pass is of residential developments carpeting the valley and creeping up the hillsides to the north and south.
In the 1880’s the Simi Land and Water Company purchased a large part of Rancho Simi and began advertising throughout the Midwest and New England for settlers. A group called the “California Mutual Benefit Colony of Chicago” bought land for a town site with nearby acreage for farming and established the little town of “Simiopolis”, quickly shortened to “Simi.” The colonists arranged for twelve small identical houses to be precut and partly assembled in Chicago and shipped to California. Two of those houses still exist in what is now the town of Simi Valley and one is one display at my first destination, the Strathearn Historical Park.
Strathearn Historical Park
In the early 1890‘s Robert and Mary Strathearn purchased 15,000 acres of the old Spanish Rancho which included the original Mexican adobe headquarters from the 1840’s. They kept the old adobe structure as part of their newly constructed Victorian farmhouse. The home and surrounding five acres remained in the Strathearn family until 1969 when the house and land was donated to the Simi Valley Park and Recreation District. Today the house is included in a collection of historical structures that have been gathered from around the Simi Valley. This photograph includes the Strathearn House on the right and the 1910 St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church on the right.
Walking around the 1892 Strathearn House addition, one sees the original 1840’s one story adobe headquarters attached to the rear.
Across the way is one of two remaining Chicago “pre-built” 1888 colony houses, originally owned by Henry and Grace Haigh.
Ranching and agriculture were the heart of the valley economy until the 1970’s and a couple of farm buildings hold machines and equipment from the times.
Growing crops was a challenge to the early farmers due to the relative lack of water and the tremendous heat of summers. Trial and error revealed that apricots were the perfect fit for the conditions as they ripened before the heat of the summer reached its’ peak. A “pitting shed” from the Currier Ranch used in the 1920’s is in the historical park. The pitting shed held large tables where the fruit was pitted and placed flat side up on large 3ft. by 6ft. trays that at the end of the day were stacked in the Smudge House where the fruit was exposed to sulphur fumes and then set out in the sun to dry. The dried fruit was then shipped all over the nation.
Also in the park are a general store and barber shop.
An interesting little lunch stop for Joey and I. The town of Simi Valley today has grown tremendously over the last 30 years as wealthy individuals moved in, escaping the growing urbanization of the Los Angeles. The new growth has spread out across the valley floor but the narrows at the base of the Santa Susanna Pass still hold neighborhoods from earlier times. The quirkiness of California folk art is celebrated at a rather unique stop, Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village. In 1956 Tressa Prisbrey, nearly 60 years old, began creating a “village” of shrines, walkways, sculptures and buildings from recycled glass bottles and discards from the local dump. For 25 years she worked on her project and eventually created 13 buildings and 20 sculptures. The Northridge Earthquake of 1994 did significant damage to the village and today it is in a state of disrepair. I could only peak over the fence and take pictures from afar.
Clearly, art is open to individual interpretation… The primary reason for my stop in Simi Valley is to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
Perched on the top of a hill above the Simi Valley, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is a privately funded operation supported by donations and a relative healthy entrance fee ($29 for a senior!). The entrance drive winds its way up through the hills on a road bordered by banners celebrating each president of the United States.
Near the top of the hill a spectacular view across the Simi Valley to the north unfolds before the eye.
My visit is in the afternoon, planned to avoid the morning field trips of the elementary children, but as I turn the corner and see the library complex my hopes are dimmed.
As one would expect from something associated with the Reagans, the complex is simple but elegant in a Spanish mission design. One enters through a courtyard and is greeted by a statue of President Reagan.
Whatever one might think of President Reagan and his wife Nancy there is no question in my mind that they were decent people who lived by a firmly held set of principles and were true leaders of their time.
The library unfolds in a series of galleries that create a multi-media experience for the visitor. A bit of a surprise is how little is told of President Reagan’s life before he became president.
A replica of the Oval Office is complete down to every detail.
An example of the interactive displays seen throughout the galleries is a display explaining a state dinner at the White House. A round table with individual video screens allows the visitor to explore the intricacies of a state dinner. One touches the screen at a place-setting and explores a menu of topics.
Nancy Reagan’s impact on American fashion is explore in a gallery.
A long gallery takes one out to the “hanger” that houses Air Force One. A statue of President Reagan on a horse stands in a side courtyard.
The large three-story hanger that houses Air Force One is also a favorite scene for political and social gatherings of the Republican elite. Banquet tables are set up in preparation for a future event on the lower levels.
This particular version of Air Force One flew seven presidents, from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush. In 2003 the plane was dismantled at San Bernardino International Airport and shipped via truck to the Reagan Library where it was reassembled. The structure was built around the plane and opened to the public in 2005. The United States experienced a number of crises during the Reagan Presidency and he flew numerous trips around the world in the pursuit of diplomacy. The approach to Air Force One displays a chronological order of his trips.
Let’s walk through Air Force One from front to back.
Below the aircraft on the second level is a facsimile of a presidential motorcade.
The view from the hangar west down the Simi Valley is stunning.
Returning back to the museum the tumultuous years of the Reagan Presidency are detail in gallery after gallery.
The Iran-Contra scandal rocked the Reagan Presidency and it is not ignored, a specific display explains the facts as well as the refreshing public acceptance by President Reagan of responsibility for the actions of his administration.
Perhaps the crowning foreign policy achievement of the Reagan Presidency was normalization of relations with the Soviet Union, achieved through a series of summits between President Reagan and Premier Gorbachev.
Finally, life after the presidency is honored with a gallery that leads to a somber remembrance of his state funeral.
My last stop is a patio outside where an actual piece of the Berlin Wall stands in silent salute.
As with any visit to a presidential library, truly a memorable occasion.
Next up: Microclimates
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