Adolfo (Al) Huerta retired from the Fillmore Fire Department in December 2020.

Al began as a volunteer firefighter on March 1, 1983 until September 1992, when he was hired as Fillmore’s first Fire Captain.

During his tenure Al served on numerous committees, such as the Fillmore Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordinator and Spanish instructor for the Santa Clara Valley. Al provided C.P.R. instructions for the community, and Fire Safety Instruction for all pre-school and elementary school students of Fillmore. He could be seen promoting the Fillmore Fire Department at Career Day events and speaking to individual classes about the merits of volunteer service. Al protected the citizens of Fillmore in some of the largest fires the area has experienced, and saved many lives performing rescues during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Al also served as Vice President of the Fillmore Lions Club, as a member of the Fillmore Youth Task Force, and a Director Secretary of the Fillmore-Piru Boys and Girls Cub.

He is perhaps best known for his ever-pleasant demeanor, his easy-going attitude and warm smile, which has been a comfort to so many in the community in times of critical need and personal crisis.

Al was the epitome of dedicated service, answering 911 calls, and responding to medical, fire and traffic collision emergencies as needed, 24/7.

He was named Fillmore Firefighter of the Year in 2000.

Al was born in 1954 in Cueneo, Michoacán, Mexico to Salvador and Rosario Huerta, and came to Fillmore at the age of 13 on a student visa to live with his grandmother Guadalupe Rangel.

He graduated from Fillmore High School in 1974, and during his years at FHS loved to play soccer and run track, where he established the FHS mile record in 1972--a record which held for 15 years. Upon graduation, Al went to work for veterinarian Dr. Charles Nelson, serving as a veterinarian's assistant for 17 years. During this time Al became a member of the Fillmore Fire Department.

Congratulations on a job well done Al!!

Fillmore Police Continues to Help SCV Boys & Girls Club
The Fillmore Police Department partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley earlier in the year to provide learning opportunities for children in need. The School Resource Officers (SRO) in Fillmore have expanded the partnership to add an afterschool program for teenagers that teaches mechanical skills, gives the teenagers a safe place to hang out, and gives back to the community.

While getting to know the students at the Boys & Girls Club, the SROs learned that many of the children at the club did not have bicycles. The SROs also found out that one of the students and his friends enjoyed mechanical work and were interested in learning how to fix bicycles. The SRO’s reached out to the Fillmore and Ojai Police Departments, who gladly donated a total of 16 old, unclaimed bicycles that were sitting in storage collecting rust. The Boys & Girls Club provided tools and a workspace for what is now known as The Fillmore Boys & Girls Club Bike Builders Club.

The Bike Builders Club consists of 4 teenagers who spend their afternoons learning how to fix the donated bicycles with help from the SROs and the Boys & Girls Club director. The teenagers then donate the bicycles they fix to Fillmore children without bikes. The Bike Builders Club gave its first refurbished bike away on February 23. “Time to start the next one!” The Bike Builders Club exclaimed as they enjoyed their experience giving back to the Fillmore community. News of the Bike Builders has spread and kids are coming to the club in need of bikes as well as to have their old bikes fixed. The club enthusiastically helps many children in need.

The police department is proud to work with citizens and organizations in Fillmore to provide such a great opportunity to teach youth and give back to the community it serves.

Prepared by: Deputy Jonathan Schnereger
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

At 5:20am, on Monday, March 15, the driver of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck lost control of the vehicle in the SR-126 westbound lane, crossing the center median into eastbound lanes, just west of Center Street, Piru. The truck was broadsided by a white Freightliner box truck in the eastbound lane. The Ford driver was killed at scene. Contributing to the collision was speed and wet roadway due to light rainfall, according to CHP. Authorities did not immediately known whether drugs or alcohol were involved. Both vehicles continued a short distance and came to rest on the eastbound shoulder. At 6:16am CHP reported flames involving an Edison pole/wires. A good Samaritan was able to pull the driver of the Ford out of the truck but the 45-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver's name was not immediately released pending notification of family.

Catholic Church circa 1925.
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Architectural Digest photos of the Christian Science Church.
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Fillmore Community Church.
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The former sanctuary at the Presbyterian Church, now an event space. Photo courtesy Fillmore on Central.
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New Foursquare Church on Sespe circa 1940.
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Fire at Foursquare Church 1939.
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Mexican American Methodist Church - Asamblea De Alabanza.
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First Brethren/Church of the Nazarene.
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Olga Graves visiting Foursquare Church circa 1938.
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Presbyterian Church on Central circa 1935.
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Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

One of the regular readers to this column requested more information on the various “vintage” churches. The first three decades of the twentieth century was a golden age for church architecture in Fillmore. The town was incorporated in 1914 and some stability had come to what had been a rather wild west town.

In 1912, a Catholic Church was built on the corner of First and Central on property donated by Leon Hammond. A simple, wood structure which would have been at home in a New England village was erected. By the mid-seventies, the congregation had far outgrown its capacity and St. Francis of Assisi Church was built on Ventura Street. The original building is now a private residence.

Shortly after the Catholic Church was built, down the street the First Brethren Church was completed in 1918 on Central, just north of Sespe. In 1978 the Church of the Nazarene moved to the building from its former home at 962 Third Street. Its presence anchors the 400 block of Central Avenue.

The Presbyterians congregation was organized in 1889 on the corner of Clay and Sespe. The original building was destroyed by fire so in 1912, a new, larger structure was built. The congregation remained at the location until 1929.

The new Presbyterian Church was an impressive, Spanish revival structure on the southwest corner of First and Central. The fundraising for the new building was spearheaded by Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Price. The construction of the church was followed closely by the community. It was built by local builders, Hasting and Yeakle. It later became Faith Community Church and is now a private event space, Fillmore on Central.

When the Presbyterian congregation left the building on Sespe for the new building on Central Avenue in 1929, the Full Gospel Tabernacle, led by Rev. Elmer Gottschalk, which had been holding services at 352 Fillmore, moved in on February 1, 1930. For reasons that are hidden in the mists of time, they closed in May 1930.

The building did not stand vacant long. Foursquare Gospel Light Church had been started a few years earlier was a branch of Aimee Semple MacPherson’s Angelus Temple Foursquare Church in Los Angeles. It had been meeting at Central and Santa Clara in the former Fillmore State Bank building. They moved into their own church building in May of 1931. Besides its own pastor, if often hosted guests such as radio evangelist, Olga Graves, who had a national following.

Unfortunately, on September 23, 1938 in the late afternoon, the wood frame building caught fire and was destroyed. The fire department found the cause to be juveniles “playing” in the outhouse next to the structure. Suspicion was the juveniles involved were probably smoking. The Congregation moved to temporary quarters at 361 Central Avenue.

A new building on the same site was completed the next year in May. A clean lined building that called to mind the “foursquare” name of the domination, it remained the Foursquare Church until just a few years ago. The location is now in its fourth incarnation as Sembradores Church.

Finishing off this era of church building on Central Avenue (no slight intended to more modern structures), is what is now the Wayfarers Chapel Lutheran Church at Second and Central. This building was built in 1929 for the Christian Science Church. It was designed by award winning architect H. Roy Kelley and was highly praised for its beauty and simplicity.

It was later purchased by Rev. Ernest Miller and became the Fillmore Community Church. It continued as the Fillmore Community Church until Rev. Miller’s death in 1982.

Not all the era’s churches were built on Central Avenue. The Mexican American Methodist Mission Church was built about 1922 on the corner of Clay and Main Street. The church was founded by Reverend Dr. Vicente Mendoza with financial backing from George N. and Hattie King. In 1971 the Asamblea de Alabanza Cristiana Church took over the building.

These buildings are a testament to the optimism and dedication of the early settlers in Fillmore. They were built to last, and they have.

Fillmore Lions Club annual Student Speaker Contest winner Emilia Magdaleno, a junior at Fillmore High School.

The Fillmore Lions’ Club hosted the Student Speaker Contest on Monday, March 15 with the topic “Distance and Virtual Learning, Pros and Cons”. It was a tightly contested competition with excellent speakers Alanna Garcia and Carmen Isabela Ibarra as finalists and Emilia Magdaleno as winner. All of the speakers had done in depth research, but also shared their personal views. Some of the positive points were that it increases the student’s ability to manage their time, gives them more time to concentrate on each subject and there is no bullying. Negatives mentioned were the strain on the body for sitting so long in one position, looking at a screen all day long, lack of peer interaction, difficulty for those families that didn’t have someone to stay home and help the younger children access the internet and focus on their classes.

The Student Speaker Contest was held at the Edmonds’ Hall in the One Step a la vez facility and was held both live and on Zoom. It is fitting that the event was in the hall named after the last Chairperson of the Speaker Contest, Bill Edmonds. Bill was the Student Speaker Chair for 37 years and passed the chair to his wife, Lynn and Gaylynn Brien.

A special thank you to the judges, FUSD Board Member Tricia Gradias, Dr. Cynthia King and Rev. Bethany Carpenter. President Steve McKeown opened the meeting and congratulated all of the participants.