Cora Hinckley
Enlarge Photo

First Hinckley home, John and Cora
Enlarge Photo

Second Hinckley home
Enlarge Photo

Vinnie Hinckley
Enlarge Photo

Dr. Hinckley's first car with wife Fannie (c) 1909.
Enlarge Photo

Fannie, Mary (May) and Dr. JP, (c) 1914.
Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Three generations of the Hinckley family had impacts on Fillmore in very different ways.

Dr, John Powell Hinckley, his wife Cora, and their children, Ira, Eugenia, Mary and were the first to arrive. The family was originally from Vermont. In the 1870 census, John White Hinckley, John Powell’s father was listed as a blacksmith, later censuses listed him as a farmer. By 1876, John Powell Hinckley was in medical school at the University of Vermont. It’s not clear now what made him move west by 1880. Dr. Hinckley and family were now in Tulare, South Dakota, where he had set up a practice. Apparently the Great Plains didn’t hold him because by 1890 he was in Ventura County and in 1893 daughter, Vinnie, was born.

According to his obituary which was written by Dr. D. W. Mott of Santa Paula, Dr. Hinckley in 1890 was one of 10 licensed physicians in the county and was a charter member of the Ventura County Medical society. Dr. Mott and other physicians in the county often consulted with Dr. Hinckley because of his excellent training, clinical expertise and dedication to the profession.

John Hinckley was not important to our community just because he was our first physician. He was also one of the founding members of the Fillmore Masonic Temple and an early Worshipful Master. He was on the first board of directors of the Fillmore Citrus Association and a trustee of the Fillmore Grammar School.

Dr. Hinckley came to Fillmore permanently in 1904. Cora passed away in 1907. John married his second wife, Fanny Barnes in 1908. The family eventually built a beautiful two-story home at A St. and Ventura St. (Hwy 126). This home still stands but was moved and now is located on the east side of Central Avenue near Foothill Drive.

Of Cora and John's children, Ira, the eldest went to Berkeley School of Dentistry and after a few years practicing in Ventura, he to set up his shingle in Fillmore ... more about that later.

The eldest daughter, Eugenia, married James Sallee in 1910 and they had one son, John. Eugenia died in 1915.

Their second daughter, Mary "May", never married. The 1940 census lists her occupation as citrus grader. She passed away in 1962.

Vinnie the third daughter, was born in 1893, making her only 7 years older than her nephew, Lawrence Hinckley. By all accounts she was a popular young lady, but was taken from the family in the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Dr. John Hinckley practiced medicine until his death in 1933 serving the community in many ways.

Friday, June 26, 2020

The Fillmore Unified School District will be providing a weekly update to district families regarding actions to prepare for reopening of schools each Wednesday. On Wednesday, July 1, 2020 all district families will be provided with access to a survey regarding the reopening of schools. We invite all district families to complete the survey by no later than Monday, July 6, 2020.

We are working in close partnership with Ventura County Public Health and are sharing the following message prepared for our community.

The following is a message from Ventura County Public Health:
As Ventura County and Fillmore start to open up more businesses, the need for continued vigilance is more important than ever. Even though more businesses are open, this does not mean that you are no longer at risk for COVID-19. Ventura County
Public Health is concerned that Fillmore continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases and wants to ensure that all Fillmore residents have the information they need to prevent COVID-19 infection.

Here are some basic things that you can do to reduce your risk and the risk for others of infection.
1) wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
2) don’t touch your nose, mouth or eyes and teach your children to do the same
3) Maintain 6 ft. distance from others when in public areas.
4) Use face coverings when leaving your home and going out into public areas. This is State mandated.

If you think you have COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone with it, get tested for free. There are various locations throughout the county.

Please go to venturacountyrecovers.org for all COVID-19 related information for Ventura County.

Thank you for your time and, above all else, please stay safe.

A project for groundwater recharge capturing stormwater amid the dry months of January and February has been completed. Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Watershed Protection and United Water Conservation District have reported 17.6 AFY of captured stormwater runoff for Piru this winter season. Courtesy Ventura County Public Works Agency.
Enlarge Photo

According to the state, this year is the 11th driest snowpack on record since 1950 and with the State Water Project announcing it will deliver only 20% of requested water supplies in 2020, projects like the Piru Stormwater Capture for Groundwater Recharge Project are critical to Ventura County’s important water supplies. This project will provide a sustainable source for recharge of the Piru Groundwater Basin and improve water quality in Piru Creek.

The project, which began capturing stormwater in December 2019, has treated all stormwater runoff as well as other nuisance flows from 36 urban acres located in the Piru community. During an average wet year, available runoff for capture was estimated at 17 acre-feet per year (AFY). The important water is saved from the existing storm drain system then transported to the existing United Water Conservation District (UWCD) Piru Spreading Grounds and spread for infiltration and recharge of the Piru Groundwater Basin. Debris, trash and other pollutants are removed by a pre-treatment device, a 10-ft diameter Continuous Deflective Separation (CDS) unit, before entering the spreading grounds. (see video news release) www.dropbox.com/sh/255cgn4n1bqia6e/AADpbUGXbAWzC-efs7YDDAtXa?dl=0

“The Piru Stormwater Capture for Groundwater Recharge Project has multiple benefits to the Piru community including better water quality to meet compliance with Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load, groundwater recharge, and water supply enhancement,” explains Ewelina Mutkowska, Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Watershed Protection (VCPWA WP), Senior Stormwater Manager. “This will massively help improve the water quality of Piru Creek and add recharge to the Piru Groundwater Basin. Capture of stormwater runoff is a sustainable source for groundwater recharge, and we need to look for more similar opportunities to enhance our water supply sources countywide”.

The State has determined that Santa Clara River (SCR) downstream of Piru Creek does not meet water quality objectives for bacteria as required by the federal Clean Water Act. Wet and dry discharges from urban areas were found to be major source of bacteria pollution. This project was developed by VCPWA WP in collaboration with UWCD and funded by the State Proposition 1 Stormwater Grant Program, to capture urban runoff, improve water quality and recharge our precious groundwater.

Antibody Testing: The Ventura County Health Care Agency is offering free covid-19 antibody testing. The test is a blood test that tells individuals if they have been previously exposed to COVID-19 and have developed antibodies to the disease. Testing is offered at locations throughout the County. Testing will take place Monday, July 6th from 10 am to 6 pm at Shiells Park, 649 C Street, Fillmore, CA. More information at: https://www.ventura countyrecovers.org/antibody/ or by calling 805-482-1904. The testing is part of a study with UCLA and California Lutheran University. Courtesy County of Ventura.

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Story courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Mrs. George King, known as Hattie, was born Harriett Busick in El Dorado, California, the daughter of a pony express rider. She came to Bardsdale at age 12 to live with her aunt, Mrs. S. A. Guiberson. She married George King, who was property agent for Thomas Bard, in 1896. Together they had two daughters, Ona and Agnes.

Mrs. King had many interests but two were the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (when she registered to vote it was as a member of the Temperance Party while her husband was a registered Republican), and education. She financed the construction of building that was used for the first high school in Fillmore while the permanent building was completed.

This is an excerpt from a History of Bardsdale Mrs. King wrote in either 1915 or 1922. If you would like to read the entire history, here’s the link to the Museum’s website.

Part 2:
. . . The land on which Bardsdale tract is situated was in cultivation as early as the years 1870-1871, two years before Ventura County was cut out of Santa Barbara County. When Ventura County began with 3,500 inhabitants, its assessed valuation [was] $120,000. The principle products then were horses, cattle, sheep, wool, cheese and butter and the proceeds from these products in the year of 1873 amounted to $307,000. The first newspaper in Ventura County was the Signal, published in Ventura, 1871, by J. L. Bradley. The first election in Ventura County was on the twenty-fifth day of February, 1873. The total vote polled was 630. . .

. . . One of the first projects [Royce] Surdam entered into was the development, or the bringing of water, onto the tract for irrigation. The water was taken out of the river above Mr. G. W. Edwards' and brought through wooden flumes and ditch, totaling about ten miles and said to have cost $8,000. [The] first crop raised after Bardsdale town site was laid out was potatoes, yielding, it was said, 75 -150 sacks per acre. Corn was also raised and [it] yielded surprisingly. There was an abundance of water, and everyone was thrifty and prosperous. One of the first new buildings was the home of Grandma Robertson (now the resident of [the] Robertson sisters). Later the church and school were combined. The now German church, also the German parsonage, the home of Mr. Klages (now the home of Dare), later the Robertson home (now the Walker home) -- on and on, the houses were built. . .

The early colonists were about equally divided between German and English speaking people. Germans from the first maintained their church. The two denominations, of course, held their meetings at different times in the same building. Sunday school was held twice a day, and the church building was occupied most all the day Sunday. [The building that was the German Church is now a private home on Owens Street in Bardsdale.] . . .

In the Spring of 1889, Mr. Surdam, with the help [from the] residents, got up a May day picnic and barbecue. The picnic was held a little to the left of Will Wileman's place, or on the Grandma Robertson place, under a beautiful live oak grove. There were 1,500 people in attendance, and it was estimated that a thousand came from other parts of the county. A special excursion was run from Ventura. All the teams in the county were engaged to bring the people from Fillmore. The car of state led the procession and the small boys and men followed behind on foot. In the car of state all the young girls in the county rode dressed in white dresses in blue and white trimmings. The May queen, Miss Zulieka Guiberson, seated on her throne. The whole exercise of dancing around the maypole and the crowning of the queen was gone through with by the young maidens. Santa Paula and Bardsdale were to furnish the program jointly. Mr. S. A. Guiberson, then the singing school teacher, was to train the singers of Bardsdale. R. G. Surdam was anxious that Bardsdale should not be outdone and did everything possibly to help in the program. Bardsdale's quartet sang their very best. Santa Paula had a quartet and they did their best. When Bardsdale took part, all this end of the county cheered and clapped. Likewise, when Santa Paula took part, the people did the same. There was great enthusiasm in those days. When the meat was done, Ari Hoper went through the crowd and called out in [a] tone loud enough to be heard a mile, "the meat is now ready." This man, in his younger days, was preacher, but the people never wanted him to preach excepting at camp meetings as they could not stand the noise. This picnic was a great success, and it cost R. G. Surdam, a thousand dollar [sic] or more besides what he gave the people. . . .

Bob Crum

To all who sent me an email encouraging me to continue writing Focus on Photography, thank you. They all touched my heart in ways heretofore unimaginable. For example, this email: "I've had the pleasure of meeting & chatting with you twice; once while you were shooting trains at the Railroad Festival last year, and again earlier this year while you were working at Nova Storage. On both occasions you were thankful for my interest in your writings.

Your column is one of the reasons I seek out the Gazette every Friday. Sometimes the articles are a little too technical for me, but you always find a way to blend your local charm into your rants (phonetographers)and colorful descriptions of local, and not so local (poppy fields) places to shoot photos.

Although I'm sorry to learn of your health problems, I pray that you can find the strength to keep contributing to the Gazette. Please continue to teach and educate us on how to shoot photos that enhance our collective memories of beautiful and/or unusual So. Cal. scenes.......and keep trying to explain to us novices the mysteries of shutter speed, f-stops and all the other details of photography that only your experience and words can explain to those of us who don't wanna depend on "auto focus"!!!

You provide Fillmore with an invaluable wealth of information and experience.......and I would hate to lose that! Yours truly. Greg B."

Another: "I was so distressed by your medical issues I felt I needed to add my voice to your request for a vote to continue with more articles. The photography not being my main interest in your writings, but your "eye" for beauty in all that you see & the pains you take to capture it all in a photograph on paper is truly inspiring to this artist's eye. So for that reason, I want your articles to continue....,.as one artist to another...! I have truly enjoyed each and every one tho I have no idea what all the photo lingo is about. I just enjoy viewing your results. Judy D."

I had no idea that I helped so many to varying degrees but good to hear that I brought some photography newbies up to speed and creating better photos. Others (phonetographers) mostly enjoyed my escapades and shenanigans as I traveled the countryside photographing everything from naked mermaids to majestic arches in Utah. Collectively, I am also pleased to see that all those readers garnered something out of my tech talks and musings. And to see that I also appealed to non-photographers (artists), well, it doesn't get any better than that!

I had hoped that at least half of my 2,692,585 readers would have responded with the two words "keep writing" in the subject box. I'm sad to say that it fell 37 emails short. So, after 811,000 - give or take a couple hundred - words, it's time to put Focus on Photography in the closet and turn off the lights.

My only disappointment was that no one nominated my magnificent, stupendous incomparable Focus on Photography column for a Pulitzer Prize. Hmmm.

Farewell! I love you all, including, ahem, phonetographers!

Fillmore Fire Department

The Fillmore Fire Department in conjunction with the Ventura County Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service and CalFire will be conducting live grass fire training in the west end of Fillmore on Wednesday July 1st from 10 AM – 4 PM. This will be a controlled burn under ideal circumstances that are favorable to training fire crews.

Crews will light small fires that are easily controllable with fire engines and handcrews. The main objective is to give valuable wildland fire fighting experience to all firefighters participating in the drill. Firefighters will be attacking the small fires with water from fire hoses and with hand tools.

The area to be burned is boarded by roads on all sides. Ventura St to the north, River St to the south, E St to the west and D St to the east. There may be a smell of smoke in the air for a few hours but burning will take place to minimize the overall smoke production.

All questions may be directed to Fillmore Fire Department 805-558-0932

Update: The City of Fillmore decided to cancel the 2020 4th of July Fireworks Show.