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Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Do you remember the earthquake? For most in Fillmore that question would seem to refer to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake which devasted our downtown area, leaving vacant lots seen even today. But that was by no means the only quake to cause damage to our town.

July 12, 1952, at 4:52 am, the Tehachapi Quake hit in a series of waves which lasted in diminishing strength for nearly 45 minutes. The damage here in Fillmore was noticeable but relatively light. There was firewall damage on roof at 340-340 1/2 Central Avenue (formerly Ragtyme Station). Ballard Furniture at 348 Central Ave. was also damaged.

The train line through Fillmore suddenly became important once more after the Tehachapi quake. Train tunnels were caved in, the Ridge Route was blocked by a king-sized landslide. Trains were diverted through Fillmore for a time while the tracks were repaired.

Fifty years ago, on February 9, 1971, a strong earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale occurred in the Sylmar area of the San Fernando Valley. The shocks caused the upstairs wall of the Briggs Hardware Building (first known as Chili Franklin’s Pool Hall and Dance Hall when it was built in 1910) at 340 Central, to ripple and a large 70-foot chunk of bricks fell onto the roof of Martha’s, a dress shop just north at 344 Central (now Genesis Hair). An eye-witness later said when the brick mass hit Martha’s, the impact collapsed the roof and blew out the front windows.

The store at 344 Central had to be rebuilt. The second story of 340 Central was so badly damaged it was removed. The second story had been a dance hall. The floor was left intact and is believed to still be there to this very day as part of a double ceiling.

The Fillmore Hotel and the Filmore Citrus Association Packing House at A and Sespe had cracks in walls, but nothing major. Although the Fillmore Hotel survived the 1971 quake, In the 1994 quake it was destroyed.

Luckily, and perhaps surprisingly, none of the school buildings suffered and damage from the 1971 quake. Several had already been taken out of service as class rooms under the Field Act which had been passed in 1933 after the Long Beach Earthquake, mandating that school buildings must be earthquake-resistant. Even these were not significantly damaged.

As expected all the grocery stores in town had major clean up to do after the1971 quake. Aisles had to be cleaned as jars were thrown from shelves and damaged canned and boxed goods had to be disposed of. Enterprising high school students picked up some spare pocket money helping the store owners.

Neither of these earthquakes were as devastating to our community and the 1994 Northridge Quake, but it’s good to remember that the 1994 quake was not an anomaly. We live in earthquake country and we are sure to have another one. The question is just when.

Scott Vargen, 42, Fillmore.

A check the wellbeing call results in the arrest of a 42-year-old Fillmore man for various weapons violations.

On April 16, 2021, deputies received a call that Scott Vargen had been acting and talking in a bizarre manner. Deputies were told that Vargen had made statements about visualizing things and having messages sent to him. The reporting party was concerned about Vargen’s mental health wellbeing and notified law enforcement.

Although the reporting party’s concern for Vargen’s wellbeing needed to be investigated, there was no immediate or imminent threat to the public. Deputies had the time to develop a plan, which included contacting the Ventura County Mental Health Crisis Intervention Team and requested their assistance. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) and deputies collaborated and conducted an investigation regarding these statements and behavior exhibited by Vargen.

Deputies and CIT went to Vargen’s residence and spoke with him about his bizarre statements and behavior. During the interview, deputies learned that Vargen recently purchased several firearms. The deputies were able to inspect these firearms and determined one of the firearms was an illegal assault rifle. Vargen was in possession of several high capacity pistol and rifle magazines, in violation of California weapons regulations.

Deputies arrested Vargen for PC 32310 Possession of High Capacity Magazines and PC 30605(a) Possession of an Assault Rifle. Vargen was booked at the Ventura County Main in lieu of $30,000.00 bail.

The Fillmore Police Department would like to take this opportunity to express to the public if you see or hear something that is out of place or just not right, please say something. The adage of “See Something. Say Something.” relates to many different facets of our life. The Fillmore Police Department has access to many different resources and we can provide people with contacts to access those resources.

Report Number: 21-50260
Location: 200 Block of Primrose Street, Fillmore 93015
Date & Time: April 16, 2021 @ 2:40 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Police Department Patrol Services, Ventura County Mental Health Crisis Intervention Team
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent, City of Residence, Age
Scott Vargen, Fillmore, 42
Prepared by: Sergeant Daniel Blanck
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

Close up of some of the many flowers blooming in Alumni Park this year.
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Fillmore Civic Pride presented FHS Alumni Park the March 2021 "Yard of the Month." They received a $40 gift certificate from sponsors Otto & Sons Nursery located at 1835 Guiberson Rd. in Fillmore.

“Alumni Park is a gathering place for Fillmore High School Alumni," Mark Ortega, the president of the FHS Alumni, said. It is located at 559 Sespe Ave. right next door to the FHS Alumni office.

According to Mark, currently featured in the garden are tall flowering stocks of delphiniums, fox gloves, Hollyhocks, and others. "All the daffodils were planted between Thanksgiving and Christmas of last year. They are all blooming at this time along with the other plants and flowers," he said. The entrance to the garden features a cute, white picket door.

"We encourage the communities of Fillmore, Piru, Rancho Sespe, Bardsdale and especially our alumni to open our gates and come in and take photos. Alumni Park was created by our Fillmore High Alumni, for our Fillmore High Alumni. However, we hope all those who live in our beautiful surroundings can stop by enjoy the beautiful flowers and plants. Thank you again for awarding us Yard of the Month! We are honored," Mark said.

For more information on Fillmore Civic Pride please call 805.794.7590 or email: petenari55@hotmail.com.

Barnstormers at "Basolo field" circa 1917.
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Basolo field" circa 1946.
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Aerial Picture of Fillmore taken by Edith Moore Jarrett, 1928.
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Edith Moore Jarrett disembarking in Dublin, September 1956.
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Courtesy Fillmore History Museum

After the First World War, a new phenomenon swept the United States – Barnstormers. Men, who often had learned to fly during the war, traveled the country doing aerobatics, showing the skill of the pilot and the sturdiness of the airplane. Frequently these barnstormers were employed by aircraft manufacturers.

That was the case in August of 1919 when the first barnstormer came to Fillmore. Lieut. Arnold Popic was an “aerial demonstrator” for the Zenith Aviation Company. The August 8, 1919 Herald reported that Lt. Popic had arrived the prior Wednesday “floating gracefully over the city” in his open cockpit machine and landed in a field to the west of the Sespe bridge. Two tickets for flights had been sold, one to C. C. Bufkin and one to John Opsahl. Mr. Bufkin took the first flight. Unfortunately, the field had not been prepared properly and the plane struck a deep gully and “its snoot plowed in the opposite bank.” Neither Mr. Bufkin nor Lt. Popic were injured but the plane was damaged to the point it could not fly without repairs.

The next week the following ad ran in the paper:
“Fly in the air like a bird. Lieut. Popic is here with a brand-newmachine. Flights made from Basolo field today, Saturday and Sunday. Get you tickets at the White Garage.”

Basolo field was a recently mown alfalfa field, located just south of the Bardsdale Bridge. Tickets were $10 for a 10-minute ride and it was reported that 53 tickets were sold for the three days, with the understanding Mr. Bufkin and Mr. Opsahl would get the first flights. For an extra charge, a customer like Homer Cheek, the manager of Rancho Sespe, could take the stunt flight which included flying upside down, along with dips, dives and spins. You could also pay extra to fly higher, up to 3500 feet.

It was not just the men who took flight, several women including Edith Moore, age 21, and Hortense Wood, age 14.

It is clear that this event and others like it inspired many folks in Fillmore to take up flight – either as pilots, or like Edith Jarrett, becoming world travelers.

The news reports didn’t mention whether Betty Elkins, daughter of C. C. Elkins, Jr, and granddaughter of C. C. Elkins, took one of these flights in August of 1919. But according to a story in the May 21st, 2008 issue of the Gazette, Betty became interested in flying at the age of 9 when she won a ride in a Curtiss Jenny by selling magazine subscriptions. In 1929, she married a stunt pilot, Fred Lund, who was World Aerobatic Champion in 1930. Lund taught the former Betty Elkins to fly, and she soon set the woman’s record for doing sixty-seven barrel rolls in twenty-eight minutes.

When Lund was killed while competing in a pylon race in Kentucky, Betty took over his appearance contracts and eventually began barnstorming on her own.By the end of the 1930s she was one of the leading stunt pilots in the country. During World War II she served as a WAF transporting airplanes from the West Coast production plants to the East Coast for transport to Europe.

Some young people were not content with flying the machines, some wanted to build them too. Two high school students, Don Shaw and Edward “Ebbie” Wileman, built a glider about 1931. No one expected it to fly but fly it did. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a windstorm.

Fillmore’s first airstrip was created in 1928, just east of town and south of the highway, near the current fish hatchery. The area had been swept clean of vegetation by the St. Francis Dam flood. The oil from the Ventura Refinery (later Texaco) was poured on the future runway, covered in sand, disked in and the steps repeated. After compacting by driving heavy trucks over it, the airfield was ready. Many Fillmoreians learned to fly on this strip. This strip was eventually abandoned with the Depression and World War II.

Before it went out of service, L. E. Hammond announced the opening of a complete aircraft and engine service. To help advertise his new venture, he flew his own plane under the Bardsdale Bridge, with several inches to spare above and below.

Despite not having a formal airfield, airplanes did insist on landing at Fillmore. The story is told of one dark, rainy evening residents hearing the sound of a large plane circling the town. No one is sure how the word got out but within minutes a line of automobiles hurried out of town to a likely flat spot and divided into two rows of bright headlights, one on each side of the impromptu runway, to guide the pilot in. Through the rain a Lockheed Electra made a three-point landing with five terrified passengers. Apparently, the plane had left Bakersfield for Burbank and had gotten lost.

After World War II there was renewed interest in having an airport and a new airfield opened near where that first barnstorming plane landed in 1919 and once again became known as Basolo Field, but never received support from the town fathers so lasted only a few years.