(l-r) John Galvin in 1961, Erle Stanley Gardner in 1966.
Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

We say Fillmore was founded in 1887 when the railroad came through, but it was not an actual town until 1914 when it was incorporated. Incorporation was not an assured event. There was strong opposition, mainly on the basis that creating a city would put another layer of taxes on the locals. On the other side was the argument that taxes currently being paid weren’t coming back to the local residents but being spent elsewhere in the county. Streets were not paved and the only paved sidewalks were those put in by the adjacent business owner. In August of 1914 the election was held with the vote split 208 for incorporation and 193 against. Fillmore became the newest city in Ventura County.

In the same election George Tighe, the first station master and store owner, was elected mayor and Clarence Arrasmith was elected city clerk. Besides Tighe on the “board of trustees”, forerunner to the city council, were Bowman Merrill, druggist; E. O. Goodenough, merchant; E. A. Pyle, “financier”; and S. H. Mosher, hardware merchant. At the first trustee meeting two additional officials were appointed – John Galvin as city attorney and Jack Casner, city marshal, both would receive the salary of $25 per month.

Two of the new city officials would serve Fillmore well into the second half of the twentieth century – Clarence Arrasmith and John Galvin.

John Galvin was born in Kentucky in 1888, but grew up in Rawlins, Wyoming, where he graduated from high school. He then went to the University of Michigan Law School, graduating in 1910. Immediately on graduation he moved to California, originally settling in Oxnard but finding no legal work there got a job at the sugar beet factory. A chance meeting with C. C. Elkins brought him to Fillmore in 1911.

In 1913, other family members from Rawlins moved to Fillmore. His father, Warren, was employed as a bookkeeper at the refinery. His brother, Warren, served in World War One, then worked as an electrician before serving in various law enforcement positions. His sister, Leona, worked in the post office for many years and was active in the Soroptimists. Sister Mary graduated from Fillmore High school in 1919 and worked for several years at United Mercantile before graduating from the USC School of Music and having a career teaching in El Rio and the Briggs School district before coming to Fillmore school in 1942. Mary was the beloved kindergarten teacher to several generations of the children of our community. Youngest sister, Katherine, graduated from Fillmore High school in 1923 and married William Grady who also worked for the Post Office. Mary and Katherine were both accomplished musicians and entertained at Clarence Arrasmith’s “Happy Hours.”

When asked how he was chosen with little experience to be city attorney, he replied, “It happened I was in the right place at the right time to draw up the incorporation papers and become the attorney. I had personality, obvious and unimpeachable character and I was the only attorney in town.” (Fergus Fairbanks was working as clerk at the Fillmore State Bank but hadn’t finished law school yet).

In July, 1920, he married Elizabeth Grenier, who was a teacher at Fillmore Union High School.

City Attorney was not a full-time job. John Galvin had a busy practice handling both civil and criminal cases. In addition to his legal work, he was active in community and county activities. As a public speaker he was also in demand. The May 3rd, 1934, Piru News reported that “Aside from the fact that Johnny Galvin is one of the most capable lawyers in Ventura County, he also finds time to go to the smaller communities and give them the benefit of his findings on what constitutes good citizenship. . . Not only his unquestioned ability but his wholesome manner and pleasing personality always assure him a warm welcome in Piru.”

He was also active in the Rotary, serving as president in 1926. He was also a member of the Fillmore Club.

In 1933, he became the president of the Ventura County Bar Association upon the resignation of one Earl Gardner, aka Erle Stanley Gardner the creator of Perry Mason. Like Galvin, Gardner had been admitted to the California Bar in 1911 and he first practiced in Merced until 1917. Through the years the two men came to know and respect each other. In May of 1950 Edith Moore Jarrett wrote to Gardner for advice on the contract Houghton Mifflin had sent her for her text book, “El Camino Real.” While Gardner explained he had not practiced law for several years and so could not give her advice on the contract he did suggest several places that could help her. He ended his letter to her with “…. it is a pleasure to do anything I can for anyone who is a friend of John Galvin’s.”

John Galvin retired for the position of City Attorney in 1964 and was honored by both the City of Fillmore and the League of California Cities recognizing his long years of service. He passed away in 1966.

The speaker at last week’s Fillmore Rotary was one of the newer members, Sean McCulley. During college he began making videos and working on theater productions, while earning a double major in Commercial Art/Journalism. In 1993 he began his first business, Mudturtle Media, and started McLee Creations with his wife. During the pandemic he began making a video all about Corvettes, his favorite car. He showed the video to the group, which thought it was fantastic. Sean clearly has an eye for detail and knows how to keep the viewer engaged. He has also written a children’s book called Archibald The Airplane, Tales From Willoughby. Sean’s latest adventure is purchasing and restoring the Fillmore Towne Theatre. He presented a PowerPoint of the entire building and talked about all that needs to be done and his vision of the finished project. One of the main challenges is acquiring the funds for the restoration. Sean’s Company, Mudturtle Theatrical Inc, is a 501(c) 3, if anyone would like to donate to make our theater a wonderful destination for community theater, movies, music, lectures and more. Courtesy Fillmore Rotary Club member Martha Richardson.

Due to the onsite construction, the Fillmore Library will close to the public starting on Oct. 24, 202, for an indefinite period. It is anticipated the project will take about eight months.

Once the project is completed, the Fillmore community will have an expanded, modern public library. The newly expanded library will include a classroom, two study rooms, an Innovation/STEAM lab/community meeting room, a designated computer space, new public laptops, usable outdoor areas, new public restrooms, and more. This project will effectively double the footprint of the existing library.

To provide some library services in Fillmore during the closure, the Mobile Library will begin making stops at the Fillmore City Hall, Central Park, once per week on Tuesdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Such services will continue throughout the closure. Additionally, during the closure patrons may use the collections and services or return books at any other Ventura County Library branch, including the Piru Library and the Saticoy Library. Community members may also use the online Virtual Library 24/7 throughout the closure.

For more information please visit: https://www.vencolibrary.org/branch/fillmore-library-closing-renovation-...

Clarence Arrasmith Cira 1945. Clarence came to Fillmore in 1911 was the first City Manager for Fillmore in 1918.

Happy Hour Program February 5, 1932.
Enlarge Photo

Covers of the Annual Reports 1953 - 1954.
Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

We say Fillmore was founded in 1887 when the railroad came through, but it was not an actual town until 1914 when it was incorporated. Incorporation was not an assured event. There was strong opposition, mainly on the basis that creating a city would put another layer of taxes on the locals. On the other side was the argument that taxes currently being paid weren’t coming back to the local residents but were being spent elsewhere in the county. Streets were not paved, and the only paved sidewalks were those put in by the adjacent business owner. In August of 1914 the election was held with the vote split 208 for incorporation and 193 against. Fillmore became the newest city in Ventura County.

In the same election George Tighe, the first station master and a store owner, was elected mayor and Clarence Arrasmith was elected city clerk. Besides Tighe on the “board of trustees”, forerunner to the city council, were Bowman Merrill, druggist; E. O. Goodenough, merchant; E. A. Pyle, “financier”; and S. H. Mosher, hardware merchant. At the first trustee meeting two additional officials were appointed – John Galvin as city attorney and Jack Casner, city marshal, both would receive the salary of $25 per month.

Two of the new city officials would serve Fillmore into the second half of the twentieth century – Clarence Arrasmith and John Galvin.

Clarence Arrasmith was born in Newport, Indiana, in 1873. While in Indiana he owned two newspapers. After his marriage to Mary Grosjean in 1903 he moved to Illinois. He came to Fillmore in 1911 and served as assistant post-master to Richard Stephens.

In 1918, the town moved to the “City Manager” form of government that we still have. Arrasmith was hired as the first city manager for Fillmore. He would hold the position until his death in 1954.

Clarence Arrasmith was particularly known for his ability to communicate complex issues to the general public. Beginning in 1936, he wrote a weekly column in the Fillmore Herald called, “Over the Back Fence.” Through this column he would explain to the citizens of Fillmore why their water bill was what it was, why certain streets couldn’t be paved at the present time and what new ordinances meant.

The City’s Annual Reports during Clarence Arrasmith’s time as City Manager were actually fun to read. His final report for 1954 was “written” by one “Josiah Tuttle”, late of Vermont, and illustrated by Lawrence Hinckley. It was subtitled “Being a Fair-to-Middlin’ Report about City Doings at Fillmore, California, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1954. Printed and Published by the City of Fillmore, California (but not Guaranteed).” Under the heading “Street Improvements”, “Josiah” wrote:
“Street improvements were on the program this year – but somehow or another they mostly got sidetracked – but there is a good chance that some of them will be done up in the paper sack this coming year – provided the proposed sewer project doesn’t get too much in the way”.

No bureaucratic jargon here.

Like the rest of the United States, the Great Depression had an impact on Fillmore. To lift people’s spirits, Arrasmith organized weekly evening “Happy Hours”. These were programs which included singing, instrumental music, readings and skits. One in early April 1932 was considered by the local paper to have been a “smashing success.” The program opened with the Community Orchestra (Arrasmith led and played the cello) playing “The Bridal Rose”. This was followed by Eddie Perkins, Jr., “one of the city’s most talented youngsters” doing some snappy novelty dances, accompanied by his mother on the piano. A community sing-along was then led by Eddie Perkins, Sr.. Mary Galvin, accompanied by her sister Katherine, sang several songs. This was then followed by Fergus Fairbanks giving a short, but interesting resumé on George Washington. More singing, and the program was closed with the Star-Spangled Banner. One of the highlights of the evening was the Fillmore Fire Department presenting an “interesting and novel number called ‘Paying a Bet’.”

On the night of July 20, 1954, Clarence Arrasmith felt unwell. A doctor was summoned (this was still in the days of house calls), but Arrasmith died of a heart attack that night. At the time of his death, he was believed to have been the longest serving city manager in the State. His many musical instruments were donated to the Fillmore High School Music Department. He was survived by his wife Mary, daughter Mildred and son, Donald.

Christine Schieferle, Fillmore Unified School District Superintendent

September 23, 2021

This is an exciting week for Fillmore Unified School District. We began Homecoming week on Friday September 17, with a Flashes Football win against Oak Park. Our students played great, demonstrated positive sportsmanship, and our community came out and cheered on our team. Our new Flashes Spirit Tunnel made its debut and contributed to the exciting atmosphere. We thank the Fillmore Athletic Boosters Club for their generosity! On Saturday, September 18, FHS hosted a well-attended, outdoor Homecoming Dance in the West Wing. On Sunday, Trustee Morris and I had the pleasure of supervising Float Building, and we all look forward to seeing the floats this evening in the Blue and White Parade starting at 6:00 p.m. Our amazing Fillmore High Alumni Association has a great evening planned to honor and celebrate Flashes pride and tradition. We will wrap up the week on Friday, hosting Santa Maria High School for our 2021 Homecoming Football Game. These traditions are one of the many reasons why we are proud to live in Fillmore and have our students attend FUSD schools!

On Monday, September 20, Trustees and District Staff had the opportunity to attend the Agriculture Administrator’s night at Otto and Sons. I would like to thank The Fillmore High Ag. Department for coordinating a beautiful evening for the Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ventura, and Carpentaria Agriculture Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.

We’re close to the finish line for the CTE Building construction. Landscaping installation is complete, and they have checked all the irrigation lines. There are 2 final pieces of equipment will be arriving by Friday. Staff is being trained to operate the equipment. We have a Haas Mini Mill, Rotary lifts and Hunter equipment training scheduled. They are also finalizing the date for the plasma table training. We anticipate that the students will be touring the new facilities and trained on procedures and starting to train on the equipment prior to fall break and will fully move into the building after fall break. Finally, Desks are in place, the new building is getting its final clean-up and waiting for students to arrive.

On Friday, September 17, all schools celebrated Constitution Day by participating in a variety of activities from AP Government Students reciting the preamble, discussions, and lessons on the significance of the preamble and constitution. Our teachers planned engaging lessons, and students had fun while learning.

Today is the 26th day of school and we will continue to celebrate our students back in school full time. Fillmore Middle School and Fillmore High are preparing mid-quarter progress reports and will mail home to families by the end of the week. We are completing our beginning of the year testing in English Language Arts and Math and have started reading intervention at 3 of our elementary schools. We are still recruiting for intervention teachers at Piru School.

I’d like to thank our staff for their dedication to our students and for the time they are taking to implement the many new health requirements and public health mandates. I would also like to thank our families for their continued support and patience as we work through this school year prioritizing student and staff safety, teaching and learning, and social and emotional wellness. We ask that you please continue to prescreen your children each day and keep them home if they have any COVID Symptoms. Working together, giving one another grace, and putting our students first will make this a great school year. Thank you!

Fillmore City Council Member Ari Larson

Fillmore lost a special person on Friday, September 17th Fillmore’s Ari Larson passed away suddenly in her sleep. In honor of Ari there will be a vigil, Mass and reception in the month of October, dates times & locations as follows: Vigil – Friday, October 29th, 10am – 9pm at Perez Family Funeral Home, 600 Central Ave., Fillmore, Ca. Rosary begins
at 6:30pm. Mass – Saturday, October 39th, 10am – 11am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 23225 Lyons Ave., Santa Clarita, Ca. Reception – Saturday, October 30th, 12pm at Fillmore/Piru Veterans Memorial Building, 511 2nd St., Fillmore, Ca.

A Rainy Day with the Fillmore Billiard Parlor in the background in 1926.
Enlarge Photo

World Series Score Card at the Pool Hall in 1944.
Enlarge Photo

Centro de Salud circa 1983 in the former Pool Hall Building.
Enlarge Photo

Chili Franklins Pool Hall circa 1910.
Enlarge Photo

Earliest photo of a pool hall in Fillmore. One of the three one story buildings in the center.
Enlarge Photo

Jims Pool Hall circa 1940.
Enlarge Photo

Centro De Salud after the 1994 Earthquake.
Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Fillmore History Museum

Many years ago, long before equal rights for women, there was definite discrimination nationwide over “Pool Halls”. I don’t think that the girls or women really cared then that they were not allowed to spend their 5 cents for a coke in the Pool Hall. After all there were plenty of other places where cokes, candy and ice cream sodas were available.

Fillmore had four documented Pool Halls over the years.(We should first acknowledge that what we all called Pool Halls were at the timeand, in Fillmore, forever, consistently named Billiard Parlors and later Amusement Parlors. If you are familiar with the musical “The Music Man” you will recall that the major issue in the plot was the arrival of a pool table at the local Billiard Parlor.) In Fillmore, the first Pool Hall was built in the late 1880s or early 1890s. It was one of three buildings built shortly after the arrival of the railroad and the location where a broken oil lamp combined with an east wind burned most of the businesses on Main St. in the 1903 fire. Another Pool Hall was also a Public Bath house and was located on Santa Clara St. between Central Ave. and Palm St. One of the best documented Pool Halls was owned by Charles Cleveland “Chili” Franklin in 1910 and located at 340 Central just north of the theater. The sign above the entry said “Oasis, Sodas, Lunches”. Upstairs was the Odd Fellows Hall. In the 1920s a roller rink was installed upstairs where the Odd Fellows Hall had been located. According to Mose Fine, the rink was a popular spot for hockey games with locals and visiting teams from Santa Paula. It was also a popular place for weekly dances, but by the 1930s it was gone. This building became Briggs Hardware. The rink and dance hall were damaged during the Sylmar Earthquake in 1971 when a 70 foot chunk of the upstairs wall fell onto the roof and into the interior of Martha’s clothing store. The second floor was totally removed and reroofed as a one story building. The wooden dance and roller rink floor still remain under the reconstructed roof giving it a double ceiling.

The 1920s saw another pool hall in operation. Jim Ipswitch purchased the business, then known as the Fillmore Billiard Parlor, in 1923.It was located on the west side of Central Ave. in a building built in 1915 and originally used as an auto electric and parts store. This was the Pool Hall referenced in the story about the Bunion Race several weeks ago. The runner, “Whitie” Fitzsimmons, who won the race, couldn’t collect first prize but Jim took up a collection among the customers in the Pool Hall and provided candy, cokes, and milk shakes for him for the next three or four months. (This story is to be found in Mose Fine’s book.)

In 1940, Jack Ipswitch with a partner a Mr. Burrell purchased the pool hall from his dad, Jim. At about this time the Billiard Parlor name was changed to Amusement Parlor but it was still a pool hall.

According to Elaine McMaster Ipswitch, “cars would line up Friday and Saturday nights, and the men would come in and pick up shakes, malts, cokes and sundaes and deliver them to the women waiting in the cars while the men played pool. During the school lunch hour, they would have 50 malt containers full of ice cream and milk, waiting to be mixed with a chosen flavor and machine stirred., The flavors were vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, cherry, pineapple.” These were the days when the high school had an open campus. English teacher, Gladys Hackbarth, once told Ron Ipswitch “that the Fillmore High School teachers approved of the “Fillmore Boys going into the Pool Hall, as no alcohol was served and Jim would kick anyone out the cussed.”

“During the World Series a plywood board was set up with painted lines indicating bases and a scoreboard with runs, hits, strikes and balls and the score, as received by the radio. There were penny boards with 25 punch outs, punched out with a match stick. Youcould buy 1 to 25 and might win a pack of cigarettes.”

“Near the front of the Pool Hall was a potbellied stove with a big brass ring around it that always glowed red during the winter. Ranchers would supply the wood. On either side of the Pool Hall were two small businesses, a Barber Shop owned by George Palmer and a Shoe Repair Shop owned by “Doc” Maxwell.”

“In 1953, Jack sold the Pool Hall to Lewis Steelsmith who also owned a Pool Hall in Santa Paula.“ Steelsmith sold eventually to Kenny Rogers. And eventually it was owned by Dan Bowlin.

While girls were never welcomed into the Pool Hall, they often went into George Palmers’ barber shop where a “Dutch” door opened into the Pool Hall. From that opening they could order cokes or sodas without setting foot in the “forbidden” zone.

In 1983 Kenny Roger sold the building to El Centro de Salud Familiar. The 1994 Northridge Earthquake brought the end to the story when the building was badly damaged and had to be demolished.

Much of our information for this story was supplied by Ron and Elaine Ipswitch. As with much of our local history we are dependent on information from present and past residents. If you have stories to tell us, give us a call or an email and let us know. We would love to hear from you. Our email is Fillmore.museum@gmail.com

Fillmore City Council Member Ari Larson.

FILLMORE, CA – It is with sorrow that the City of Fillmore announces that Council Member Ari Larson passed away suddenly on September 17th, 2021. Our entire community mourns Ari’s loss. She was a woman who loved her family and saw the Fillmore community as an extension of that family. Ari was a longtime Fillmore Resident and was very active in the community. She was committed to numerous charitable efforts.

Ari was active in many local and county-wide organizations. Her ties with the community of Fillmore and County of Ventura were like no other. Ari served on numerous boards including but not limited to: the Fillmore City Council, Soroptimist International of Fillmore, Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley, Heritage Tourism Bureau, Santa Clara Valley Hospice, Rotary Club of Fillmore, Member of Civic Pride, Girls Scouts of Heritage Valley, Relay for Life of Heritage Valley, Ventura County Garden Club, and many others.

Elected in 2020, Ari quickly became a respected voice on the City Council. She served as the City’s representative on the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging and the Citizen's Advisory Committee and the Ventura Council of Governments. She was also named Fillmore’s 2019 Citizen of the Year. Despite her short time on Council, Ari made an impact on the community. Her connections to the community, her straight-forward manner, and her thoughtful approach earned her the respect of staff, elected officials, and the public. “We are devasted and in shock. Today we lost a great soul. Ari was loved by the entire community of Fillmore. She impacted many citizens lives and will be greatly missed,” said Mayor Mark Austin.

City Manager, David W. Rowlands expressed “our entire community mourns Ari’s loss. She was a wonderful person and an exemplary citizen; she will be greatly missed by everyone who admired her honesty and integrity.”

On behalf of Fillmore’s City Council and staff, our thoughts and prayers are with Ari’s family and many friends. Our deepest sympathies go out to them.

No information is yet available about a memorial service.