Browse Items (16 total)

Paul Varela, Executive Director of the Chumash Interpretive Center in Thousand Oaks is interviewed about Chumash culture. He discusses cultural assimilation and erasure, his own heritage as a descendant of basket maker Candelaria, the importance of…

Robert was a teacher and policeman in Oxnard. He lived in China Alley and the Colonia area of Oxnard. Robert reviews how social attitudes, segregation and prejudice changed over his lifetime.

Content Warning: The following oral history may contain…

Interview with Harry Lechler about his life in Piru. Lechler was born in the Piru Hotel in 1912 and was a lifelong resident of Piru. Lechler discusses collecting objects for over 60 years and creating a eclectic museum containing a little of…

Interview with Helen Yamamoto about her family history, life in Santa Paula, trip to Japan, Japanese internment during WWII, and her life following the war. Helen died in 2010.

Content Warning: The following oral history contains outdated language…

Interview with Margaret Pascoe Thacher about her and her husband's work at Thacher School, her life in Ojai, the Pierpont Inn, fires, and Lee Quong.

Content Warning: The following oral history contains outdated language and may include terms that…

Interview with Nao Takasugi about his family, discrimination as a Japanese American, and the beginning of his political career. Takasugi discusses Alien Land Law, internment camps of WWII and reparations, and the Asahi Market in Oxnard. Nao was mayor…

Interview with Gene Stafford about his family and life in Port Hueneme. Stafford describes his Chumash heritage, work as a box-maker at a lemon ranch, the harbor at Port Hueneme, the Seabees and China Alley in Oxnard.

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Interview with Annie R. Smith about the history of the Black community in Ventura. Smith's parents were the only Black family in Ventura when they first moved to the city in 1895. Smith discusses school, work, and her house burning. She was born in…

Interview with Maria Sanchez Rios about her family and life in Fillmore. Rios discusses her family history, the 1918 Flu Epidemic, and her experiences with discrimination as a Mexican American.

Content Warning: The following oral history contains…

Interview with Francisca "Pequita" Burket Parker, the granddaughter of Adolfo Camarillo, about her family, horses, and life in Ventura County.

Content Warning: The following oral history contains outdated language and may include terms that are…

Interview with Grace Brigham Maxwell about her childhood and visiting her grandparents' ranch in Simi Valley. Maxwell describes life on the ranch and her family and friends in Simi.

Content Warning: The following oral history may contain outdated…

Interview with Ventura's pioneer surfer, Jack Cantrell. Cantrell was born in Oxnard on Halloween in 1928. He started surfing the same year that he started the Jack Cantrell Oil Company, 1953. Known as "the tennis shoe kid" because he wore tennis…

Interview with Jose Flores about his life and time living in Saticoy and about his military service. Flores was born in Mexico but came to Ventura County as a toddler where he continued to live for 82 years. The Saticoy Community Center was named for…

Interview with Monroe Everett about his life in Moorpark and the history of water access in the area. Born in Montalvo in 1907, Everett was a lifelong Ventura County resident. He grew citrus, avocados and walnuts on his Moorpark farm. Graduated from…

Interview with Alejandro Ruiz about his life in Piru, work on Rancho Camulos, and his Yaqui heritage and family roots in Sonora, Mexico. Ruiz began working on Rancho Camulos in the 1930s and worked there for 50 years.

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George Biggers and Harry Banks are interviewed about bee behavior and the history of beekeeping in Ventura County. Biggers worked as a beekeeper professionally, and is noted for his appearance in Ripley's Believe It or Not! with a "bee beard." Banks…