Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

The shipwreck that destroyed the Pier

The SS Coos Bay cut the pier in half.

by Richard Senate

One hundred and seven years ago, on December 19th, 1914, the small steamship SS Coos Bay was forced by surging tides into the Ventura Pier, cutting the structure in half. In these early years the wharf was a working pier where coastal steamers and schooners landed to take on cargo and passengers. The discovery of oil made the pier more economically attractive with tankers coming to fill their bunkers with oil from Santa Paula.

The rail roads had taken much of the business from the pier but it was still the cheapest way to bring in goods. Still, it was never a good place to land and without a breakwater several ships were pushed onto the beach and wrecked. The SS Kalorama and SS Crimea in 1876 were wrecked lending their names to Ventura Streets.

In the winter months the tides became unpredictable and treacherous to coastal shipping. The SS Coos Bay was coming in to deliver a cargo of toys for the Christmas season that year. Three years before the same vessel was ran aground in Ventura but was refloated. Perhaps memories of that disaster caused the captain to steer the craft toward the wooden pier, but he overcompensated and the inrushing tide pushed the bow of the Coos Bay with such force that the ship cut the pier in half! In so doing it also cut the oil pipeline from Santa Paula causing a massive oil spill. The shut off valve was miles away. The small steamer went right though the pier and beached itself of the sand where the vessel was pounded to pieces by the surging tides. In time the hull was buried by the sands only to expose the rotting ribs of the streamer in storms (the last one in 1941).

The pier was out of commission until reconstructed by the People’s Lumber Company in 1917. They used it to off load lumber from Oregon and Washington State. With silt packing the coast it was no longer able to have ships land there with the last barge leaving the pier in the 1930s. Perhaps an archaeological dig should be undertaken to see if anything of the ill fated SS Coos Bay still rests near the Ventura Pier?

St patrick’s day parade years gone by

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Ventura! This year everyone’s favorite St. Patrick’s Day Parade is sadly, yet understandably cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. However the clever CAPS Crews and the Ventura Elks Elves have conjured up something special to fill the Saturday morning celebration. Ventura County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Years Gone By is a fun-filled, festive trip down memory lane (in place of Main Street). The hour long program will feature great moments from past and recent St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Ventura County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Years Gone By will premiere on Saturday, March 13 at 10AM on CAPS Channel 6 and repeat multiple times throughout the month. The program will also stream on the CAPS Media website – capsmedia.org. and air on CAPS Radio – KPPQ 104.1 FM. We hope everyone settles in with a bag of popcorn and a set of streamers to enjoy the show.

All of the CAPS Media board of directors, staff and members are excited to welcome Ventura’s newest Councilmember, Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios as the District 4 representative. We look forward to working with Ms. Sanchez-Palacios on all the city projects and initiatives, and especially on those that are of greatest interest to her.

Speaking of City Council collaborations, recently CAPS had the pleasure of collaborating with City Councilmember Lorrie Brown on an historic initiative to have the Ventura City Council proclaim February as Black History Month in Ventura.

Working in coordination with Ms. Brown and city staff, CAPS produced a special video in support of the city proclamation. The video premiered at a recent City Council meeting and has been featured on the city website and in social media and has been shown on all CAPS Media platforms including Channel 6, Channel 15, KPPQ 104.1 FM, and streaming online and on social media.

March/April is the time of year for annual staff recognitions and CAPS Media is working with numerous governmental agencies to pay tribute to their dedicated employees. CAPS is producing video profiles for the Ventura County Fire Department’s annual awards program honoring inspiring firefighters and support staff as well as outstanding citizen volunteers. CAPS is also working with the City of Ventura directors to create a series of profiles recognizing the city’s outstanding Employees and Supervisors of the Year. And since March 30th is National Doctor’s Day, CAPS is collaborating with the creative folks at VCMC to produce a special Thank You, shout-out to the compassionate and passionate doctors.

Due to the COVID-19 emergency the CAPS Media Center remains closed to Members and the public until further notice. CAPS Member/Producers can submit programming via the online portal at capsmedia.org for broadcast and streaming on CAPS public access television Channel 6 and on CAPS Radio KPPQ 104.1FM.

Every week CAPS Crews record and broadcast the County COVID updates at the County government center and locations throughout the community. These reports provide the public with the latest, accurate information on the crisis and the relentless efforts by government and health officials to keep us safe and help all of us through the pandemic.

All of us at CAPS Media hope everyone stays Safe, Strong, Distant and Healthy during these very challenging times.

Mission Basilica San Buenaventura installs new lighting and sound systems

The lighting project was envisioned five years ago.

by Fr. Tom Elewaut

With gratitude to our parishioners who continue to support our Called to Renew capital campaign, the Basilica lighting is now a reality! As Lent began, an extensive new lighting upgrade that highlights the sacred art and liturgical appointments for parishioners, pilgrims, and tourists is completed. The state-of-the-art lighting system replaces a 1980s era system with LED energy efficient theatrical enhancements that create a spirituality uplifting appreciation of the sacred paintings, statues, and tapestry, some of which predate the completion of the 1809 church. Each appointment is separately illuminated with sufficient congregational lighting.

A new sound system was installed as well. The new speakers offer clearer fidelity for both proclamation of the Word, and the liturgy of the Eucharist and the uplifting voices of the cantors and musicians. This project was gifted by Bill Simon, Jr. and parishioner donations to our building fund.

The lighting project was envisioned five years ago and is the second major project funded by the capital campaign by parishioners. The first campaign project remodeled restrooms in the garden utilized by parishioners and guests visiting the historic downtown Mission. Additionally, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles funded the exterior painting of the rectory, the Gift Shop building, wood flooring refinished in the rectory and a new roof on the Gift Shop building.

In June 2020 Pope Francis elevated Mission San Buenaventura to a minor basilica in the Catholic church, becoming the seventh Minor Basilica in California. The new lighting is befitting a basilica and now highlights the oil paintings of the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) painted in New Spain approximately forty years prior to the completion of the present church. Statues of patron San Buenaventura, St. Mary, and St. Joseph behind the main altar are strikingly visible as is the tabernacle, altar, and ambo (pulpit) among several other statues and a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Many of the eighteenth-century statues have been restored in the past decade by the South Coast Fine Arts Conservancy funded by the California Missions Foundation and the Nicholas and Margaret Carlozzi Charitable Foundation and private donors.

The seven-week lighting installation project was engineered by John Maloney, P.E., designed by Mar-Vista Lighting and Chauvet Professional, and installed by Taft Electric.

Forensic handwriting expert Sheila Lowe establishes Write Choice Ink

Sheila Lowe announces the formation of Write Choice Ink, a publishing imprint, to produce and distribute the complete catalog of her non-fiction and fiction work. Lowe will re-issue her backlist, totaling 14 of her titles over the next few months, starting with Poison Pen on February 23, 2021, and leading up to Dead Letters, a new Claudia Rose novel that will release on August 3, 2021. The fiction titles will be available across the three primary formats for books – print, digital. Audio versions continue to be available throughout. The nonfiction titles are available in print and digital format.

Sheila Lowe (like her character, Claudia Rose), is one of the world’s leading forensic handwriting experts. She is frequently engaged by attorneys and government agencies to verify handwriting and signature authenticity on official documents.

“After 16 titles, over 200,000 copies sold, and more than 20 years in traditional publishing, I felt the need to secure the rights to my currently published work and have greater control over my publishing career,” says Lowe.

Ms. Lowe has secured the publishing rights to all of her current works, including four of her six books on handwriting analysis and ten novels of suspense—eight featuring Claudia Rose, a professional handwriting consultant, and the two titles in the new “Beyond the Veil” paranormal series. Lowe also developed two versions of a handwriting analysis software program and an Independent Study Program in Gestalt Graphology, both of which are used around the world.

Note: Write Choice Ink solely publishes titles by Sheila Lowe and does not accept submissions.

Island Packers Cruises now offering trips to Scorpion Anchorage

Scorpion offers a beautiful backdrop for picnics, hiking or camping.

Island Packer Cruises, established in 1968, has recently begun to operate daily scheduled trips for day visitors and campers from Ventura Harbor Village to Scorpion Anchorage in Channel Islands National Park – The Galapagos of North America.

The new pier at Scorpion Anchorage now allows Island Packers, the official park concessionaire, to offers safe and accessible access at Scorpion Anchorage.

Channel Islands National Park Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island is located 18 miles off the coast of Ventura County. At 96 square miles, Santa Cruz Island is the largest of Southern California’s eight Channel Islands. Visitors can opt to arrange a kayak tour of Scorpion Anchorage from Santa Barbara Adventure Company.

At present, the upper Scorpion Canyon Campground is now open, but the lower Scorpion Canyon Campground remains closed until further notice.

Scorpion offers a beautiful backdrop for picnics, hiking or camping as well as a user-friendly beach area with access to one of the Marine Reserves. Snorkel with the diverse sea creatures of the kelp forest or take a kayak tour through the sea caves with Santa Barbara Adventure Company.

Island Packers will also continue to offer daily trips to Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island, regular service to Anacapa Island, weekend trips to Santa Rosa Island, and special day trips to lesser-known island destinations. There will also be multi-island day trips and inter-island camper shuttles to expose visitors to the great diversity of the Channel Islands.

Along with their regularly scheduled Winter whale watching cruises, Island Packers plans to also offer extended Wildlife Cruises, most of which will include a brief cruise along the shoreline of one of the iconic islands.

The Bookmark About Libraries and Friends

by Jill Forman

Happy almost-Spring! Hope is springing up all over: those horrible illness numbers are going down, vaccine supplies are going up. The libraries will eventually implement their reopening strategies when it is safe. The Friends will be able to resume having book sales.

Meanwhile, both organizations are continuing with their virtual and take-home activities. Here’s a sampling of what is happening:

Online book store news

We have a huge supply of audiobooks, in addition to new adults and kids’ books that changes weekly. Remember, you order online and pick up your books at Hill Road Library. www.vfol.org.

Do It Yourself (DIY) Home Energy Savings Kits

Simple DIY home improvements can help increase the energy efficiency of your home to make it more comfortable, affordable, resilient and better for the planet.

Created by 3C-REN, these free DIY Home Energy Savings Toolkits give you the knowledge, tools and equipment to improve your home with easy upgrades. Check out a toolkit and get empowered to fix up your home, yourself!

Use the free tools and supplies in the kit to complete your DIY projects. When you’re finished, return your kit to your local library and enjoy your new and improved home!

Bad Art!

Near Boston is The Museum of Bad Art. Of course it is closed now, and it’s a long way away, BUT we can interact with it through a program set up by Librarian Mary Birch of the Avenue Library. This program is scheduled for March 30. While we’re waiting, check out the website at http://museumofbadart.org/

Pi Day!

Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi is 3.14159265 and on to infinity, commonly written as 3.14. So of course we celebrate Pi Day on March 14. The Library can’t be left out of this one. You can pick up Pi Day packages, with books about Pi and math with games and puzzles to make it understandable and enjoyable, at the Hill Road Library during the week leading up to March 14. Even more fun, Ms. Charry is hosting an “Irrationally fun story time, all about Pi.” And what time? Why, 3:14 of course. The Storytime can be seen on the Ventura County Library Services Association Facebook page; the live video will start.

And if you prefer your “pi” to have a crust and be baked, the library has books put aside for you to learn about that delectable treat.

STEAM Activity Kits

Phillip Yocham at Foster says that these kits will now be available monthly.

Hill Road Book Club

The Vanishing Half by Bennet, March 30 at 5 p.m.

Donations

We love donations! But please don’t bring truckloads to Hill Road; we only have our personal vehicles and sometimes are overwhelmed. If you could limit them to two boxes or two bags it would help us out. For large numbers of books, the warehouse is open for donations Monday and Friday mornings 9-11. Map on the Friends website. Any questions, or to make an appointment, [email protected].

 

The shipwreck that destroyed the Pier

The SS Coos Bay cut the pier in half.

by Richard Senate

One hundred and seven years ago, on December 19th, 1914, the small steamship SS Coos Bay was forced by surging tides into the Ventura Pier, cutting the structure in half. In these early years the wharf was a working pier where coastal steamers and schooners landed to take on cargo and passengers. The discovery of oil made the pier more economically attractive with tankers coming to fill their bunkers with oil from Santa Paula.

The rail roads had taken much of the business from the pier but it was still the cheapest way to bring in goods. Still, it was never a good place to land and without a breakwater several ships were pushed onto the beach and wrecked. The SS Kalorama and SS Crimea in 1876 were wrecked lending their names to Ventura Streets.

In the winter months the tides became unpredictable and treacherous to coastal shipping. The SS Coos Bay was coming in to deliver a cargo of toys for the Christmas season that year. Three years before the same vessel was ran aground in Ventura but was refloated. Perhaps memories of that disaster caused the captain to steer the craft toward the wooden pier, but he overcompensated and the inrushing tide pushed the bow of the Coos Bay with such force that the ship cut the pier in half! In so doing it also cut the oil pipeline from Santa Paula causing a massive oil spill. The shut off valve was miles away. The small steamer went right though the pier and beached itself of the sand where the vessel was pounded to pieces by the surging tides. In time the hull was buried by the sands only to expose the rotting ribs of the streamer in storms (the last one in 1941).

The pier was out of commission until reconstructed by the People’s Lumber Company in 1917. They used it to off load lumber from Oregon and Washington State. With silt packing the coast it was no longer able to have ships land there with the last barge leaving the pier in the 1930s. Perhaps an archaeological dig should be undertaken to see if anything of the ill fated SS Coos Bay still rests near the Ventura Pier?

One year of self care in the wake of the pandemic

During the pandemic self care businesses (like other businesses) have been struggling to stay alive. By carefully following the guidelines to serve their clients these 3 Ventura Harbor self care businesses have managed to still serve their customers and stay open. Just another reason to visit the Harbor.

Silhouettes By The Beach

We are a full service salon, catering to men and women, located just steps from the beach in the beautiful Ventura Harbor Village. Whether you are local to our community or vacationing in Ventura, Silhouettes by the Beach is a convenient destination for everyone.

Our salon has been meticulously designed, with custom elements to help us provide exceptional service in a comfortable, relaxing environment. We invite you to indulge and treat yourself in this beautiful space. We offer an array of services, all in the unparalleled coastal beauty of Ventura. Our professional team is passionate and talented, with extensive training and up-to-the-minute styling. We love what we do and it shows!

Call ahead to make an appointment, and check out our Yelp! page to see what other satisfied customers are saying about Silhouettes.

1591 Spinnaker Dr. 117B 805-650-9014

Hair Extensions By Shirley

Welcome to Hair Extensions by Shirley and gift shop! Where you can get your perfect look!

Switching up your hair to a longer, fuller, more voluminous style is fun, and it’s one of the best (most non-committal) ways to achieve a major hair makeover is experimenting with extensions. Your hairstyle options are practically endless when it comes to extensions—they give you even more freedom to rock unexpected cuts and colors. Trust, once you look in the mirror, you’ll feel like a whole new woman. This is coming from a reformed extensions addict—I hid my natural hair underneath extensions for two years straight at one point in time.

Our salon specializes in hair extensions, and can help you determine the best method for your hair type, lifestyle and budget. With hair extensions, you can achieve any hair style you desire, whether extreme or subtle. Your extensions can be straight, wavy, or as curly as you want. Our stylists are trained in medical hair loss.

1559 Spinnaker Dr.  103 805-500-3402

Frenchies Modern Nail Care

Frenchies Modern Nail Care is a one-of-a-kind nail salon offering a full lineup of services for hands and feet. Services range from a classic manicure to a deluxe pedicure with a sugar scrub, massage and moisturizing mask.

The unique nail salon is currently adhering to state and city COVID protocols and offering their services outdoor in a lovely environment with comfort and shade

Frenchies is a modern, clean and friendly environment using natural and vegan products, porcelain pedicure bowls, dedicated hand washing station, hospital grade autoclave for sanitizing metal instruments and huge rainbow of colors that are free of the most harsh chemicals typically found in nail polish.

Our beautiful space at the Ventura Harbor Village features ten manicure stations and nine pedicure benches to enjoy with friends and family. Frenchies also hosts parties for brides and birthdays! Frenchies was founded on the principles of cleanliness and healthy nail care.

We look forward to welcoming you, our amazing guests, to the cleanest nail studio in Ventura. If you have any questions, please message us on Facebook @FrenchiesVentura and or Instagram @FrenchiesNailsVentura! And remember, at Frenchies – We Love Clean!

1583 Spinnaker Dr. #105 (805) 200-3883

Bike MS: Los Angeles Coastal Challenge 2021 returns to Ventura

To participate in Bike MS you can ride in person or choose to participate virtually.

Celebrating 75 years of progress in their movement to change the world for people affected by MS, the National MS Society will be hosting Bike MS Los Angeles Coastal Challenge on May 15th in Ventura. The ride will start and end at the San Buenaventura State Beach Park, featuring beautiful ocean views for a 20 or 40-mile relaxing route along the Pacific. Or cyclist can choose to take on the 75-mile route. Each scenic route will feature fully supported rest stops and highlight the mission and the local businesses supporting the event. This year’s Coastal Challenge is the perfect ride for all experience levels.

This event raises critical funds to provide services, fund research, and advocate for those living with Multiple Sclerosis an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Nearly 1 million people are living with MS in the United States.

The MS Society representatives are members of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, and have been working with local hotels and businesses like In N Out, Trek, UCLA Health and Visit Ventura “We are thrilled that BikeMS is returning to Ventura. First and foremost, we’re proud to be part of an event that raises awareness and funds for such an important cause. Though we’re admittedly biased, we also feel there’s no more beautiful venue for a ride than our town. A lot of Venturans are already excited about being in the event, including one of our own Visit Ventura board members. Heartfelt thanks, BikeMS, for teaming with our town!” ­- Marlyss Auster, President/CEO for Visit Ventura 

The organization is also dedicated to creating a safe event – with masks, social distancing and other measures and protocols in place, putting safety and health at the forefront – while still offering the experience to ride in person “At Bike MS events, I have witnessed the power of community, of coming together and supporting each other. We know how far we’ve come not just as cyclists but as people actively working for a cure.” Shemar Moore; Bike MS Presenting Sponsor, CEO of Baby Girl clothing company; Bike MS team captain, and star of CBS’s S.W.A.T. 

Co-Chair of the event, Gordon, went on to say, “The Ventura area has some of the most scenic and beautiful, yet very challenging, routes in California.  Additionally, the support and enthusiasm we receive from the community of Ventura made it an easy choice.  Obviously, in planning for an in-person event our number one priority is for the safety of our riders and volunteers.”

To participate in Bike MS Los Angeles Coastal Challenge, visit www.bikemslosangeles.org to sign up – you can ride in person or choose to participate virtually. volunteers. For more information, contact JJ Hoffman [email protected].