Are you interested in serving the community of Fillmore seniors? The Fillmore Senior Center has two positions open on its Board. The Board of five meets once a month and applicants must be at least 55 years of age. Applications are now available until May 30th from Laurie Nunez at the Center, 533 Santa Clara St., Monday-Friday, 9am to 1pm; or from Annette Cardona at Fillmore City Hall, Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm. The two positions will be decided by the existing Board members.

Juan Jose Fustero was born on the Temescal Ranch near the mouth of Piru Canyon in 1841. He was a member of the Piru Indian Tribe. The Piru were originally called Pi'idhuku after the reed from which they created their baskets. There his tribe operated their temescals, or sweat houses, and many of the Indians from the coastal villages came there for the healing powers believed associated with temescals.
Juan Jose’s great-grandfather was the last chief of the Piru Tribe. Tribal members died off rapidly after the white man arrived with his diseases and crimes against the Indians which accounts for the assumption that Juan Jose was “the Last of the Piru Indians.”
When Juan was sixteen he and his father and mother packed up their belongings and drove a herd of horses up Piru Canyon to set up a homestead. The horses had been obtained from the herd of Don Ygnacio del Valle at Rancho Camulos as payment for ancestral land that had been deeded over to del Valle. Intent on grazing his stock on the ample grass along Piru Creek, de Valle convinced Juan’s and other families to move upstream.
Juan’s father, Old Juan Jose, had never taken a last name up to and including the day he died at the age of ninety. At that time Juan loaded his father's body up on his horse and transported it to the five-acre plot (that today is under Lake Piru) which served as the family burial grounds. His mother subsequently relocated to Newhall where she made her living doing laundry. It is told that she was often seen there carrying large bundles of laundry on her head.
Juan Jose remained on the homestead in Piru Canyon which had been granted to him by a U.S. patent in January of 1885. The grant was very important to Juan Jose because it allowed him to apply for U.S. citizen and thereby the right to vote.
Fergus Fairbanks, a longtime resident of Fillmore, told the story of when Juan Jose appeared in the Superior Court at Ventura for naturalization purposes and was asked by the judge his name. He said, “Juan.”
“But don’t you have another name?” asked the judge.
“Jose” said Juan. “Why should any man want more than two names.”
“What did your father do?” asked the judge.
“He made saddle trees (fustos),” was the answer.
So the judge gave him the name Fustero, and told him that hereafter his name was Juan Fustero.
Juan Fustero made his living by farming in the years with ample rain. In the dry years he would resort to raising livestock. But he was best known for making horsehair bridles and lariats.
Juan Fustero became as famous for the stories and legends associated with his gold. Whether his gold came from some secret mine or from the waters of Piru Creek, nobody ever knew although the treasure seekers often tracked him in an effort to find out. A number of claims were filed along Piru Creek by those who thought they had discovered the source of Fustero's gold. But he carried his secret to his grave if, after all, there was a gold mine to be secretive about in the first place.
Juan Fustero was stocky muscular man who was well built and weighed over 200 pounds. He had long hair and wore a beard and an oversized handlebar mustache which was unusual for most Indians. He had a superstition about the removal of ticks and usually carried a number of these companions on his weather-beaten neck.
He was identifiable by his wide-brimmed hat and large midsection. In his later years he weighed well over 250 pounds and was a heavy drinker. He spoke little English when sober; but after a number of drinks his colorful language would put a sailor to shame!
Wallace Smith recalled, “The final hours came on a hot summer day in 1921 and he died, at 80, of nephritis. It was Bill Whittaker who helped Santa Paula Undertaker, Earnest French stuff Indian Juan's massive body into an undersized casket. The weather was scorching and Juan had been dead for two days. French's ambulance broke down before he reached Piru Canyon, so a call went out for a wagon. Dale King and ten other men spelled off each other carrying the body from the house to the grave.
Once at the graveside, French found he had forgotten his casket harness. So Juan was lowered into the hole with two of his own reatas. There was no ceremony as he was laid to rest, facing east according to Indian custom, under an oak at the foot of the hill about 300 yards from the nearest wagon road.”

Don Snyder, Cabaret Entertainer

Cabaret Entertainer Don Snyder will be entertaining the Fillmore Ebell Club on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at 12:30 p.m., at the Veterans Memorial building.

Mr. Snyder is known as one of the premier Cabaret entertainers in the business. Whether accompanying himself on the piano or working with his musical director or band, his ability to transport an audience back to a more romantic, gentle and sophisticated era is unmatched.

Don cultivated his skills at a young age touring with his own act. Soon he was performing in summer stock and eventually began working in productions with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. He has worked with such luminaries as Robert Goulet, Carol Lawrence, Milton Berle and Michael Crawford and performed leading roles in productions from Carousel to Desert Song.

For over 20 years Don has been providing shows incorporating the talented friends he has met along the way. His personal performances proved a warm, beautiful and somewhat humorous look into the popular music that shaped the 20th century and uplifted us all.

Anyone interested in more information, or becoming a member of the Fillmore Ebell Club, may call Trisha Armstrong at 524-3471.

Come visit our thrift store on Mon. and Wed. mornings from 9:00-11:00.
Bingo on Tuesday mornings from 9:00-1:00.
Mondays – Puzzle Day
Thursdays- Game Day
Brown Bag every Wednesday morning 9:00-11:30.
Commodities every 3rd Thursday 9:00- 11:30.
Yoga class beginning June 1st at 8:00 a.m.

For more Information call 524-4533.

Adventures in Agriculture is coming to the Ventura County Fairgrounds! The free event will be an educational and informative agricultural festival Saturday, May 31; 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Adventures in Agriculture will be the Fairgrounds’ second annual showcase of the agricultural community and industry. Antique Farm Equipment, Hot Air Balloon, Open Air Farmer’s Market, Children’s Activities, Entertainment, and more are on tap with a goal of educating visitors about the productive fields and agricultural assets here in our own back yard. A tortoise show will highlight the preview of the Fair's new Fishes & Friends Building.

Fine Art and Music are important features of Adventures in Agriculture. Gail Pidduck and John Nichols, acclaimed artists whose work has become well associated with agriculture in Ventura County, will show their artwork in the Fairgrounds’ Callahan Art Gallery. Ventura County’s favorite songsters “The Tune Bandits” and “The Iron Mountain Boys” will provide musical entertainment

Professional Bull Riding (America’s original extreme sport) will round out the day in the Grandstand arena. The show starts at 2pm and tickets for this special attraction are only $15.

Wyndham Hotels, Toyota and many other generous sponsors make Adventures in Agriculture possible. Stop by the Wyndham booth and ask how you can get a free hot dog and drink!

“Agriculture is Ventura County’s most valuable resource. We are happy that we can bring it to the community so that everyone can see the processes, and learn the values and opportunities it brings to us all,” said Barbara Quaid, CEO of the Ventura County Fairgrounds. “We have mixed in some fun and we hope that our neighbors and friends will enjoy what we have to offer.”

For more information please call 648-3376 or visit www.venturacountyfair.org.

The Fillmore Chamber of Commerce has relocated its office to 557 Ventura St.
across the street from Burger King.
PRESALE CARNIVAL TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE at our new location
Starting May 5th through May 13th Price $ 15.00 for a sheet of 24.
Call 805-524-0351 for information.

Ventura, Calif. -- Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), stores in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, are gearing up to raise dough for the American Cancer Society. In addition, Domino's will be donating hundreds of Pizzas to the American Cancer Society’s Walk for Life Relay sites around Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

From May 12 - 18, 2008, the fifteen stores owned by Hishmeh Enterprises, Inc. will be asking customers to add two dollars to their orders to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. For each donation they will receive a FREE ORDER OF BREADSTICKS.

“The American Cancer Society’s goal is to prevent cancer, save lives, and diminish suffering from cancer,” said Sam Hishmeh, president of Hishmeh Enterprises, a Domino’s Pizza franchise. “By holding this fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, we at Domino’s are helping them meet this goal and improve the quality of life the people the society serves.”

“The goal of this fundraiser is to raise $2,500. We will be asking our customers to donate

2 with their orders, and all of the proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society,” said Hishmeh.

Participating stores include:
· Ventura Stores
· 5100 Telegraph Road, 805-658-0080
· 1017 N. Ventura Avenue, 805-648-1100
· 2950 Johnson Drive, 805-658-9911
· Santa Paula Store - 431 N. Ojai Road, 805-933-2771
· Oxnard Stores
· 2581 E. Vineyard Avenue, 805-988-1544
· 1259 Saviors Road, 805-487-5363
· 460 Pleasant Valley Road, 805-488-8101
· Ojai Store – 105 E. El Roblar, 805-640-0080
· Port Hueneme Store - 475 Channel Islands Blvd., 805-984-4344
· Fillmore Store – 529 Ventura Street, 805-524-1600
· Camarillo Store – 3661 Las Posas Road, 805-383-6666
· Santa Barbara Stores
· 1808 Cliff Drive, 805-564-4303
· 3006 State Street, 805-898-0606
· 617 N. Milpas, 805-966-6163
. Goleta Store – 185 S. Patterson, 805-683-1155

About Hishmeh Enterprises:
Hishmeh Enterprises, Inc. is locally owned and operated, with fifteen Domino’s Pizza stores in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

About the American Cancer Society:
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.

The Ventura County Library has two new web-based resources that make it easier for you to trace your family tree. HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition allow you to start exploring your roots by searching a surname.
Anyone with a Ventura County Library card can access the databases through the Library’s website at www.vencolibrary.org. Once you arrive at the website, click on either “Databases” or “Research.” There you will find the Library’s electronic resources collection arranged by subject and listed alphabetically. The links for HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition are under “Genealogy.” HeritageQuest Online can be searched from home as well as from within the Library.
This database is an essential collection of material for both genealogical and historical researchers, with coverage dating back to the late 1700s. Besides U.S. federal censuses, it offers family and local histories, Revolutionary War records, and other information.
Ancestry Library Edition can be accessed from the Library’s Internet workstations, available at 14 locations. Once connected to Ancestry Library Edition, you’ll find a friendly opening screen that asks for the name of the person to be searched. Key in the name, click on “Search” and Ancestry Library Edition scans its vast selection of U.S. census data, birth, marriage, and death records, World War I draft registration information, Social Security death records, and immigration lists. There is also an extensive collection of information from the United Kingdom.
HeritageQuest Online and Ancestry Library Edition each provide unique resources that complement one another and provide more information than either used alone. To find out more about how you can access the databases, contact your local Ventura County Library branch or visit the Library on the web at www.vencolibrary.org.

Letter Carriers Annual Food Drive will be Saturday May 10. Help stamp out huger and place your non-perishable donation in a bag by your mailbox. We’ll deliver to St. Vincent De Paul food pantry.

Learning to ride a horse, like learning to swim, is one of those lifetime skills many children and adults have yet to master. According to experts at Goodenough Farms Horse Spa, safety around horses, like safety around water, is an important skill to have. It’s also a great way to enjoy the outdoors in Southern California and the beauty of the Ventura County countryside.
“It’s not fun getting kicked by a horse or coming off on a trail ride. We hear a lot of stories of families on vacation, the kids want to ride a horse and somebody gets injured.
We provide a basic introduction to horses to improve the chances you or your loved ones will have a safe and enjoyable ride,” said Jeff Peters, a well-known horse trainer and resident trainer at Goodenough Farms Horse Spa. Mr. Peters is well-known throughout California for training riders in the Olympic sport of Three Day Eventing, including dressage, show jumping and cross country riding of horses over logs, ditches, ponds and other natural obstacles.
The free, Intro to Horses sessions will be held from 10 AM to 12 noon on Saturday, May 10,
May 17 and May 31. Class size will be limited to the first 16 children and adults reserving for each session, and all participants must be in moderate to good physical health and sign a release form. Long pants and boots covering the ankle with a small heal are recommended, such as cowboy, riding or hiking boots.
The first hour of the sessions will cover safety around horses, grooming, feeding and caring for horses. The second hour will feature a short mounted session where all participants will be able to ride a horse. That session will be followed by a demonstration ride over jumps and fences in the arenas and cross country course at the beautiful Goodenough Farms Horse Spa by future Olympic riders intent on reaching the Summer Olympics in London in 2012.
“This should be a fun morning for kids and families that haven’t had the chance to spend much time around horses. By getting off the couch and on a horse we hope some of these kids discover the joy of riding, like our kids did,” said John Lockhart, owner of Goodenough Farms and a member of the US Eventing Association’s Marketing Committee. “Who knows, we may discover a future Olympian at one of these sessions.” To reserve your spot in one of the sessions on Saturdays May 10, 17 or 31 please write info@goodenoughfarms.com or call (805) 524-2444. Goodenough Farms is located just one hour from Los Angeles, 20 minutes from Valencia and 30 minutes from Oxnard and Ventura. For more information visit www.goodenoughfarms.com

Step back to a simpler time by attending the 2008 Fillmore May Festival that runs May 15-18. A celebration of the community since 1917, the festival has it all - train rides, carnival attractions, great food and family fun.
Harrison Industries and Santa Clara Valley Disposal have long been sponsors of this wonderful small-town event in Downtown Fillmore which gets better each year.
This year’s festival boasts more carnival rides, more food and craft vendors, better access
to Downtown merchants as well as live entertainment, a karaoke contest, talent show and baby contest. Also, Thursday, May 15, is Family Night, with kids 16 and under getting into the carnival for free.

The Fillmore Sun Risers Rotary Club is featuring a series of keynote speakers during the year addressing issues and information relative to the community and the region. The May calendar will offer a diverse slate with the following scheduled speakers: May 6 Red Cross Disaster Action Team, Chris Johnson, CEO; May 13 Hwy 126 Update, Supervisor Kathy Long; May 20 Letters from Home, Kay Hodges, CEO; May 27 Clearwater Port Update, Jeff Gorell, Partner, Paladin Principle. Sun Risers Rotary meets every Tuesday at 6:45 a.m. at El Pescador Restaurant in Fillmore. The public is invited to attend. For more information, please call Ernie Villegas at 805-299-2388 or e-mail at ernie.villegas@hotmail.com.

Conway Spitler

Saturday the Santa Clara Valley Hospice had their house tours in Santa Paula. My wife and I as volunteers sat at 1320 Fair Oaks Avenue! There is an exclamation mark because our sitting was a astonishing experience.

Carlos and Heidi Juarez are the owners where we kept watch over the visitors in one of the cleanest garages I have ever seen. Carlos, who is with the Santa Paula Fire Department, had an exhibit in this garage of lunch boxes. He has been collecting these lunch boxes for over fifteen years.

As the visitors looked at these well-displayed lunch boxes you could almost guess their ages by the one that was their lunch box when going to school. There was the Bee Gees lunch box, along with many favorite characters of the years of our century.

The boxes were displayed on the wall of the garage in well arranged order.

Also displayed was a picture of the Santa Paula Police Department from 1940 to 1980. Also there was a replica of the Santa Paula railroad station with its original paint.

And to top it off, you were treated to a glass of home brewed wine if you wished.

These house tours are done each year by the Santa Clara Valley Hospice group. The Santa Clara Valley Hospice service are available to residents in Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru and Saticoy. These tours, each year, help maintain the services of the organization.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you agree, pass it on. If you can read this - Thank a teacher!

What’s your specialty? Do you have that certain dish or meal that gets rave reviews every time? Have you inherited possession of grandma’s best desert or Aunt Joanna’s pasta sauce, secret ingredients and all? If so, Soroptimist International of Santa Paula are currently seeking recipes for a cookbook of local recipes to be published and premiered this spring at their Annual Fashion Show & Luncheon on May 3rd.
The theme of both the Fashion Show and the Cookbook is “Generations of Women”. Consequently it is those special family recipes that will make this cookbook so unique and packed with delicious treats. One family’s tried and true standard can become a new and exciting delight to another family. To submit your recipe, please call Teresa Baron at 660-3066.