by Jill Forman

Foster Library Temporarily Closed

Due to a water leak, Foster has been closed while the damage is assessed and mitigated. As of this writing, the re-opening date is not determined. The safety of the public and library staff will be the deciding factor.

Remember – you can still get books! The library has its online ordering and Hill Road is open with its sale shelves as well as pickup of library items.

Update on Online Bookstore

Pickups are on hold until Foster re-opens, as the inventory and items awaiting pickup are stored in the library.

Here is a note from online bookstore manager Leslie Bellmore: This April Ventura Friends of the Library online bookstore will have Vintage books on sale for $1 -$5. They don’t make books like these anymore, some with hand drawn illustrations and special bindings. All books have been selected by former librarians and teachers as quality books worth collecting and keeping to share with future generations. Buy online and pick up at Foster Library Bookstore, open Tuesday through Sat 11am to 4pm.

Friends of the Library Had a Book Sale!

We were so happy to once again have a large book sale last Saturday, March 19. I will report on it in the next column.

Exciting Musical Event scheduled for March 26 (check library website to see if Foster has re-opened)

(from library press release)

Ventura’s E.P. Foster Library will present a musical program, Lyrical Literature: The Songs and Theater Music of Ross Care, at 2pm on Saturday, March 26, in the Topping Room of Foster Library. Care is both a composer and a published author, and this program will be based on musical literary associations from poetry and theater.

Musically he has worked in a variety of styles from art songs to theater and film music. His scores for short films include Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat, and his musicals of Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and Gibran’s The Prophet have been performed nationally. His incidental score for The Glass Menagerie was heard in the Rubicon and Ojai Art Center productions, and his Rock Mass was recently performed in Ventura.

As an author/film historian Care has also written extensively on films and film music of the studio era for the Library of Congress, and the magazine, Scarlet Street. He has also written program notes for the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. His biography of Disney studio animator/director, Wilfred Jackson, was recently published by Theme Park Press and is available in the Foster Library collections.

Tyler Carlisle will serve as musical director/pianist with guest instrumentalists from Los Angeles, Ted Nichelson, harp, and Juan Antonio Rivera, flute. The vocal ensemble will include Ventura vocalists Dianna Burdick, Molly Kohler Pei, Steve Perren, and Peter Umipig. Ross Care will be serving as moderator.

This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Karen Cruze, Librarian Specialist, at (805) 648-2716.

by Carol Leish, MA

Roylin Downs, the owner of Trystology, said, “I love that the street is closed. Business has been doing well. I’d love to keep it that way. Customers come from all over, as they walk up and down Main Street. This helps our business. I love that we have been able to get more foot traffic.”

“I also like that they are trying to get some standards for the restaurants, along with outdoor qualifications. I haven’t disliked most of the offerings presents. I’m all in for keeping it this way!”

Visit Trystology at: 588 E. Main St. (888) 801-8952. Look at: https://trystology.com/.

Deborah Yahner, the owner, along with her husband Joe, of Ikat & Pearls said, “I think that the closure of the streets has been wonderful. And, we have received incredible feedback. Time and time again shoppers comment on the fact that it has made Ventura have a European appeal, which they really like. I would prefer that things stay this way, with the street closures.”

Visit Ikat & Pearls at: 28 S. California St. (805) 448-9526. Look at: https://ikatandpearlsboutique.squarespace.com/.

Feast of Lots, a joyous Jewish festival commemorating the survival of the Jews who, in the 5th century BCE, were marked for death by their Persian rulers. The story is related in the biblical Book of Esther. Purim is celebrated on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

Haman, chief minister of King Ahasuerus, incensed that Mordecai, a Jew, held him in disdain and refused obeisance, convinced the king that the Jews living under Persian rule were rebellious and should be slaughtered. With the king’s consent, Haman set a date for the execution (the 13th day of the month of Adar) by casting lots and built a gallows for Mordecai.

When word of the planned massacre reached Esther, beloved Jewish queen of Ahasuerus and adopted daughter of Mordecai, she risked her life by going uninvited to the king to suggest a banquet that Haman would attend. At the meal she pleaded for the Jews and accused “this wicked Haman” of plotting the annihilation of her people.

Upset, the king stepped out into the palace gardens. On returning, he found Haman “falling on the couch where Esther was.” The king mistook Haman’s frantic pleas for mercy as an attack upon the queen. The outraged king ordered that Haman be hanged and that Mordecai be named to his position. Esther and Mordecai then obtained a royal edict allowing Jews throughout the empire to attack their enemies on Adar 13. After an exhilarating victory, they declared the following day a holiday and (alluding to the lots Haman had cast) named it Purim.

by Richard Senate

Once a terrible gunfighter walked the streets of old Ventra. He was a violent, temperamental man with few redeemable qualities. His name was Joseph Franklin Dye and his murderous reputation still echoes in the legends of Ventura County. Born in Kentucky in 1831 he traveled to Texas where he held several jobs before coming west to California. As he matured his dark inner demons began to show themselves. When the nation was plunged into the grim and terrible Civil War Joe’s sentiments were  with the Confederacy but, unlike many who held such views, he didn’t make the long journey east to join the fight.

He joined the Beal Gang of highway men who told their victims the robberies were done to support the South but really to line their own pockets.  When the war ended, Joe left them and took a job as a deputy in El Monte where he achieved some note running down and arresting a local gang. This attention got him a job as a marshal in Los Angeles. He was given the worst section of the city–Chinatown. Then a crime infested red light district. Here Joe shined as he brought his own brand of harsh justice to the quarter as well as lining his own pockets with bribes and award monies. He got into an argument with his boss, City Marshall William Warren. There was a gunfight and Warren was shot dead! As the Marshall was dying in the street–Joe when to him and bit off his ear! Witnesses said Warren had fired first and Joe Dye was released.

He left LA and moved to Ventura County, buying a ranch in Sespi and marrying his girl friend and mother of his daughter, Lorena Grace.  In the 1870s Ventura County was experiencing an oil boom and Joe had an easy time finding work as a guard at the oil fields. He got into oil exploration, wheeling and dealing he made a lot of money, both legally and illegally. Most say that Joe Dye had only one redeeming quality, the love he had for his wife that bordered on obsession. When he discovered she was having an affair with one of his oil partners he snapped. Wisely, his wife quickly left the state.  She was mixed up with a merchant in Santa Paula named Herman Haines. Joe called him out and on the dusty streets of Santa Paula they had a classic western gunfight. Haines drew first but Joe’s bullet was more accurate and dropped him in the street, dead. Joe was arrested and the trial held in Ventura at the Santa Clara Street red brick courthouse.

With his money, Joe hired a “dream team ” of lawyers and was released. Joe terrorized the local people, making his detractors grovel on hands and knees and bark like a dog–at gunpoint, on Main Street, Ventura.  His end came when joe partnered with a cousin named Mason Bradfield in another oil lease deal that was shady. When Bradfield wanted  out,Joe beat him badly.  In Los Angeles to cut yet another oil deal, May 14, 1891, Bradfield got his revenge firing both barrels of a shotgun into Joe Dye.  Mason Bradfield was released saying he felt that his life was endangered by Joe. The jury, who knew Dye, believed him and he was released.  People in Ventura and Santa Paula breathed a sign of relief that  Joe Dye was no longer walking the streets.  He rests in a Los Angeles unmarked grave, a grim footnote in local history.

by Christy Weir

Arbor Day is a nationally celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care. California celebrates Arbor Day between March 7-14, this year on Saturday, March 12.

The city of Ventura has a fascinating tree history. One of the oldest trees in town is a designated historic landmark. The Moreton Bay Fig tree in downtown’s Plaza Park was planted in 1874 and, with a span of 150 feet, is one of the largest of its species. At 148 years of age, it is older than most of our buildings.

The two great Norfolk Island pines next to the Mission are estimated to be well over 100 years old. They reputedly were planted by a sailing captain in the hope that they would eventually provide a supply of ship masts.

In the 18th century, many species were introduced to Ventura, notably palms, eucalyptus and citrus. In 1898, thirteen Big Blue Gum Eucalyptus saplings were planted on a hilltop above Ventura. Over time, all have been lost to vandalism, fire, drought and disease. Two Trees, the much-loved symbol of our city, have not survived and replacements have been planted.

In 1922, several tall palm trees near the Mission were the inspiration for the name and logo of Las Palmas brand enchilada sauce, created by a talented Ventura cook named Rosa Ramirez. You’ll still see the Las Palmas label with distinctive Ventura palms on store shelves worldwide.

Thousands of acres of fertile land east of Seaward Avenue flourished with walnut, citrus and avocado orchards for most of the twentieth century, growing Ventura’s economy and enhancing the postcard-perfect landscape.

Ventura’s urban forest of over 30,000 trees is one of the most vital pieces of our city’s infrastructure, providing numerous benefits for our residents. Tree-lined streets retain large volumes of rainfall, reducing and cleansing runoff. They also increase property values, encourage shopping and business, reduce air pollution, calm traffic and lower noise levels. And trees reduce erosion and stabilize our hilly terrain. There are currently over 10,000 empty tree wells in Ventura, where street trees have been lost to drought, wind, fire and disease. Recently, the Ventura Tree Alliance non-profit organization was formed to help replace those street trees.

You can celebrate Arbor Day by planting a tree in your own yard, a living and lasting gift to our community.

by Jill Forman

Just scheduled – Friends of the Library Book Sale!

Saturday March 19 at Vons, corner of Telegraph and Victoria.

Times and details to be determined. Information: venturafriendsofthelibrary.org.

Libraries are open!

Not everyone is aware of this. They are open, same hours as pre-closure. Library activities are transitioning to in-person or possible a combination of Zoom and in-person. Check your branch’s website for schedules and formats, or talk to the staff.

Foster Library Bookstore is open!

Tuesdays through Saturdays 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Every genre, hundreds of good-quality books, very reasonable prices. Staffed by Friends volunteers who love to talk about books and libraries.

Hill Road book sale shelves are open!

Have been completely restocked. Adults, kids, CD’s and DVD’s also. Available whenever the branch is open, honor payment system.

Online Bookstore is always open! With a sale!

Children’s books, Youth Fiction and Youth Non-Fiction on sale in March for $1. Venturafriendsoftheibrary.org, tab for “Online Store.” Pick-up will be at the Foster bookstore; purchasers will get an email when their order is ready.

Support your libraries with Amazon Smile

Every purchase you make with Amazon Smile goes to the charity of your choice. To set up, go to smile.amazon.com; there is an option to set up your recipient. Of course, we encourage you to pick “San Buenaventura Friends of the Library.”

Goodbye to Dolly Knight, Ventura Senior City Librarian

Dolly has brought enthusiasm and a fresh perspective to the libraries. She will be missed.

Book Groups

Foster Library Saturday morning book group is on hold until April.

Hill Road book group meets the last Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. March’s book is The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.

New book group at Hill Road: Linda Cherry, Librarian at Hill, is starting a group focusing on children’s books for adults. The group will be called The Wise Owls Book Club (Little Books for Big People); the first meeting will be Tuesday, April 12 at 5:00 p.m., to discuss When the Sea Turned To Silver by Grace Lin. To be added to the mailing list, find out about forthcoming title selections and meeting dates, email [email protected].

New members wanted for a Friends of the Library book group. Not your everyday book group, this one does not discuss one book a month. Every member describes and discusses books they have read in the past month. We frequently exchange books also. Members enjoy learning about books they might never have been exposed to. We have been meeting via Zoom for the past couple of years, but anticipate in-person monthly meetings soon. For information, contact [email protected].

What Else is Going on?

So many things! Here’s a sample:

Zip Books – Request books you’d like the library to buy.

Brainfuse HelpNow – eLearning for all ages and levels.

Minecraft Mondays – Every Monday 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Storytimes – In person and on Facebook.

Bilingual Bedtime Stories – Tuesdays, 7:00 to 7:30 pm on Facebook.

Discover Science – Talk to library staff for schedule.

Your libraries offer activities and help for everyone.