Evie Ybarra - Ghosts of Ventura Countys Heritage Valley

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2016 by Evie Ybarra

All rights reserved

Front cover: Newhall/Piru Mansion has been depicted as the haunted house on television programs such as Charmed and in various films. This Queen Annestyle home was built in 1890 by David C. Cook for his family. Later, it was owned by Hugh Warring and his family. Scott and Ruth Newhall purchased the mansion, and after the fire, they had the mansion completely restored. Today, it is privately owned as a wedding and event venue. It is Ventura Countys Historical Landmark No. 4. Photo by Robert Ybarra.

First published 2016

e-book edition 2016

ISBN 978.1.62585.771.2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016930810

print edition ISBN 978.1.46711.985.6

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

DEDICATION

My mother has been very influential throughout my life, and when I was a child, she told me my first ghost story. I dedicate this book to my mother, Minnie Ybarra, who always enjoyed sharing stories with my sister, Barbie; my brother, Robert; and me. She was known throughout our neighborhood as the greatest storyteller. Halloween was always special for us that way, and it was so much fun. She taught me the art of storytelling and the importance of technique and using ones own voice and style. She always kept us entranced with each of her stories, some of which were historical, while others were folklore and legends. It was always a great experience to gather around and listen to Moms stories. I also dedicate this to my aunt Clara Gonzales, who used to keep me tirelessly entertained with her stories and still does to this day. She has also been a positive influence in our lives. This is also for the storyteller in all of us. Without stories, our past would be forgotten. Stories enrich our lives and are a form of historical preservation.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

When people ask me if I grew up in Santa Paula, I tell them, Not yet! Theres too much for me to learn and do here in the Santa Clara River Valley. Im learning new things every day. I learn old things that are new to me. Evie Ybarra is one of my teachers and role models. She is digging deeper into the stories scattered throughout this valley than anyone I know. What a set of skills that requires! It takes a history detective to track down each story. Then it takes a researchers skills to assemble all the details. Next, it takes a creative writer to reveal the stories behind the stories. In the end, it takes shamanic powers to connect the basic humanity revealed in all the stories with todays readers collective humanity. By reading these tales, we all become more deeply connected with our own humanity by delving into the humanity of those who came before us. As we are entertained by Evies stories, we become touched, moved and more deeply connected to the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

The first book I wrote in 2002 was also from Arcadia Publishing. It was in the Images of America series. It was titled St. Francis Dam Disaster. I told the story of that flood using over two hundred photographs from my collection with extensive captions. I learned that out of every tragedy comes a certain amount of rebuilding and rebirth. I also curated several exhibits on the disaster for the California Oil Museum. I received a powerful piece of advice about exhibit design from Mike Nelson, who was the director of the museum at the time. He told me, Tell the human story. Facts matter, but only if we use them to connect us to what it is that makes us human.

It does not make any difference if the stories that Evie collects and retells are fact or fiction, myth or reality. People throughout time have passed on all kinds of stories from one generation to the next, including myths, legends or facts from the newspapers of the time. All those stories deemed important enough to be passed on to future generations must contain the universal truth of what it is to be human.

That is the story that needs to constantly be retold, generation after generation.

John Nichols, Author and Historian

JohnNicholsGallery.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank all of the people in the communities of Santa Paula, Fillmore, Bardsdale and Piru who shared their stories with me for this book. I am grateful to those who were consultants for this project. A special thank-you to my son, Robert Jr., for his additional photographs and for driving me to all of those haunted locales. Thank you to my sister, Barbara Leija, for her encouragement and support, and to my brother, Robert Ybarra, for his assistance. I want to thank John Nichols for sharing his photo collection and stories. The photographs are one of a kind, and they tell the story of the Heritage Valley. I appreciate the assistance Craig Held provided as the research librarian for the Santa Paula Blanchard Community Library. Thank you to Mike and Kris Hyatt for all of their support and encouragement and to Ernie and Becky Morales for their support and for sharing their stories. Bob Cox, as always, has been very encouraging and extremely helpful and supportive. Thank you to Celeste Arnette, Pam Henderson Preciado, Missy Pennington Cervantez, Georgia Haase Beck, Linda Starnes Faris, Jeremy Leija, Eric Leija, Nancy Lehnhardt and Robert G. Sr. This project would not have been completed without everyones encouragement and assistance. A special thank-you to Megan Laddusaw, Darcy Mahan and Hilary Parrish of The History Press for their assistance and excellent suggestions throughout this project.

INTRODUCTION

There are many stories and tales that are passed on from one generation to the next. There is no explanation about why these stories persist, but they become a part of our culture and our being. The ghost tales and stories about hauntings and the unexplained continue to fascinate. I wanted to chronicle some of these tales from the Heritage Valley, and I collected the most popular stories from the communities of Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru. People were reticent at first because they did not want to be perceived as alarmists, but once they realized that there are others who have experienced similar sightings or have seen the unexplained, they shared their personal experiences.

Many of us grew up with the story of the Lady in White by the Sycamore Tree off Highway 126 between Santa Paula and Fillmore, California. Numerous people have reported seeing her, but then she disappears before their eyes. There is a story of buried treasure off Kenney Grove Park. Others claim to hear the cries of La Lloronathe crying womanand see her along the Santa Clara River at night. The shadow people have been spotted in numerous places in the Heritage Valley, from private homes to inside schoolhouses.

The Billiwhack Dairy has been famously haunted in Aliso Canyon, and since the old hotel building was knocked down, not much activity has been reported there. The hotel was used as a barracks to house the workers in its early days, and when the building was abandoned, it seemed to serve as a magnet for those wanting to search for the Billiwhack Monster. August Rubel built the dairy in 1924, only to have to close it down when his prized steer, Prince Aggie, died after ingesting some barbed wire. Rumors still abound about why this happened. Was it intentional? Why would he have ingested barbed wire? Then August Rubel moved his family to Rancho Camulos in Piru, where he built a schoolhouse for his children. August then disappeared in Tunisia during World War II, and the official story was that the ambulance he was driving hit a land mine. He had preserved Rancho Camulos in its original condition, and his widow carried on the same tradition even after she remarried. The family still owns the ranch to this day.