A clipping of Frank Morales in 1980 with Fillmore's F in background.
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Georgia & Frank Morales
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The F now lights up at night.
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Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Recently museum staff was sorting files and found the following story about the Fillmore High School “F” up on the hill. The following story was written by Dorothy Lynch for the Fillmore Herald January 10, 1980. We hope you will enjoy it.

One of Fillmore’s best kept secrets has to be the origin of the big white “F” on the hill east of town. Everyone we asked was eager to tell us how the letter is limed annually. But had a soul known of its beginnings. Until a call to Joel Schwartz ended the search. “Frank Morales built it,” his daughter told us.

And so he did.

Mr. Morales, who recently retired from the Fillmore High School custodial department, tells it this way: “The letter went up on May 10, 1936. My cousin, Leonard Riesgo, a friend, Mike Sanchez, and myself were chatting. We knew Santa Paula had letters. It would be nice if we could make an “F” for Fillmore. So we started looking. At first we thought we would make it where the star is now. But that was quite a ways to climb. Then we decided to put where a cross was then. We thought we could see all the valley from there. We took some tools and went there around noon that day and started working. Then went back the next day to finish. It was a pretty good-sized letter. The funny thing is, the city didn’t say anything. They never said anything at all.”

In searching through newspaper copy for May and June 1936, there is indeed not one word regarding the new letter on the hill.

The letter, however, has not always gone unnoticed. Edith Jarrett told us that the Fillmore High School Alumni Association had hunted for information several years ago. Records at the Museum were gone through. People got out old pictures. And finally, Mr. Morales himself offered a $10 reward to whoever could find the builder and the date. Nobody could and the prize was never claimed.

“I finally told Charlie Mozley that I did it. It’s nice to look at it. You can see it from Santa Paula and, on a clear day, if you stand by the letter, you can see the ocean,” Mr. Morales said.

The letter was originally a just a bare spot and burned off at least once in a fire.

Morales, Riesgo and Sanchez vowed to always keep the letter neat, and that they did. One year, however, it snowed on the hill and as the snow melted the deeper snow on the “F” remained, leaving a beautiful sight. It is believed this started the tradition of having the students lime the letter to keep the look of the snow.

Mr. C. J. Herrill, Fillmore High School student advisor, told us, “The work is done the first Saturday in May each year by the freshman class. They lime the “F” and have a class party afterwards. It takes 50 sacks of lime, which are paid for out of the district budget for educational expenses. It takes about two hours of cleaning and liming. This is not a required subject, it’s extracurricular. The “F” is about 50 yards long and 30 yards wide at its widest point. Work is done when the growth is finished and the rainy season is over. We figure it probably won’t grow much until they do it again next May.” He keeps a record of the time it takes from the first hoe to the last liming, and they are back on Highway 126. Then they take a look at it and deduct points if it’s not a good job.

“It’s a tradition and the students like to do as good or better job than the class before them,” said Mr. Herrill.

Harry Bigger, principal from 1955 to 1967, told us that Mr. Herrill’s students developed a unique method of painlessly and hurriedly finishing the lime job. Each student would hold a sack of lime on his or her back and stand at the top of the hill. Then someone would slit the bottom of the bag and the student would run toward the bottom of the letter neatly depositing the lime in the chosen path.

Rumors regarding the “F” on the hill are many. The most common story has it that the lime was not put on the hill during the war so as not to attract attention.

Access to the letter is either by climbing or by driving (as the freshman class does) through Texaco back roads, which is private property.

Considering the fact that all residents of Fillmore live under the “gaze” of the great letter “F” on our hill, and are guided homeward by its presence, we for one are pleased to know its origins and thank Frank Morales, Leonard Riesgo and Mike Sanchez for their contribution to Fillmore history.

Long may it stand.

Congratulations to Michael Camilo Torres as he advances to the CIF Cross Country State Championships after placing 6th at CIF SS Finals. Photo courtesy Fillmore High School Facebook page.

On Saturday, November 20th, the Fillmore boys varsity cross country team returned to Walnut, California, one of 16 teams to compete on the fabled Mt. San Antonio College cross country course. These are the best Division 4 teams in the Southern Section. At this stage, every team’s goal is to be one of the top 7 teams to advance to the State Finals. A tough task indeed.

On an overcast day, Camilo ran in the front pack with the goal of qualifying for the State Championship meet in Fresno. Even though he was not 100% today, he managed to will himself to a 6th place finish, thereby earning a spot on the starting line in Fresno. Camilo earned a medal and covered the course in 15:34.3. Following Camilo was teammate Kobe Lizarraga 96th in 17:48.5, Joshua Estrada 100th in 18:01.3, Nicholas Hurtado 101st in 18:01.4, Eduardo Vigil 105th in 18:08.7, Diego Estrada 108th in 18:26.3, and Angel Garcia 111th in 18:58.6.

As expected, the team competition was very tough. Fillmore was unable to qualify as a team. In the team competition, Fillmore finished in 16th place at the CIF Southern Section Division 4 Cross Country Finals.

So ends another fine season for the Fillmore Cross Country team. But the season continues for Camilo, who will run next week in Woodward Park in Fresno at the California State Championships. His race will start at 9:00 a.m.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office celebrates 37 years of giving back to the community though the annual Share-iff’s Toy Drive. This year the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the Fire Departments in Ventura County to make the holidays brighter for those in need.

As a Spark of Love partner, the Sheriff’s Office will be collecting new, unwrapped toys and sports equipment for underserved children and teens in Ventura County. The toys can be dropped off at many local businesses, VCSO patrol stations or fire stations throughout the county.

This year, the Sheriff’s Office is also partnering with Food Share in the fight against hunger in Ventura County by collecting non-perishable food items. Food Share will be providing boxes of food to families served thru this year's toy drive.

Throughout the year, members of the Sheriff’s Office respond to calls throughout the county and encounter families who do not have the resources to provide their children with a traditional Christmas celebration and each year thousands of children experience a Christmas morning with no gifts to open. Fortunately, some of these families will be the recipients of gifts this holiday season, thanks to generous community donations made to the toy drive.

All VCSO patrol stations will have boxes where staff members and the public can leave new, unwrapped toys or non-perishable food items from November 15th through December 17th. The station lobbies are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. Toys and food collected will be delivered by deputies during the week prior to Christmas.

Ways to Donate:
1. Drop off your new, unwrapped toys or sports equipment and non-perishable food items at any of the
Sheriff’s Office locations listed below.

2. Bring your new, unwrapped toys or sports equipment to any participating business or fire station.
Find all participating businesses throughout Ventura County here.

3. Donate online through the Ventura County Professional Firefighters Association (VCPFA). All proceeds are tax deductible and will go towards buying toys from local, small businesses.

4. Purchase a gift from the Amazon Gift Registry.
Participating VCSO Locations:
Camarillo Police Department - 3701 Las Posas Road, Camarillo (805) 388-5100
Thousand Oaks Police Department - 2101 E. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks (805) 494-8200
Moorpark Police Department - 610 Spring Road, Moorpark (805) 532-2700
Fillmore Police Department - 524 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore (805) 524-2233
Ojai Police Department - 402 S. Ventura Street, Ojai (805) 646-1414
Sheriff's Headquarters - 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura (805) 654-2304

Nature of Incident: Sheriff’s Office to Kick Off Annual ‘Share-iffs’ Toy Drive
Location: Countywide
Date & Time: November 15, 2021 through December 17, 2021
Unit(s) Responsible: All Sheriff’s Facilities
Prepared by: Sergeant Timothy Lohman
Approved by: Undersheriff Monica McGrath

Fillmore’s Andrea Laureano on her way down Reservoir Hill at the 2021 CIF Prelims Andrea finished 57th with a time of 23:47.4.
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Kobe Lizarraga and teammate Nick Hurtado at Poop Out Hill
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Athena Lopez on her way down Reservior Hill.
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On Friday, November 12th, the Fillmore boys and girls Varsity cross country teams traveled to Walnut, California to compete on the legendary Mt. SAC Course. Thirty eight teams in three heats of the boys and forty two teams in the girl race, also divided into three heats competed to finish among the top 16 teams to advance into next week's CIF Southern Section Division 4 Finals.

In first race of the day for the Flashes, the boys toed the start line along with 12 other teams. This race featured 3 ranked teams, and 8 individual qualifiers. Leading the Flashes was team Captain Camilo Michael Torres. Camilo ran at the front, as he has throughout the season and finished in second posting a time of 15:53.8. Camilo was followed by Joshua Estrada 25th in 17:49.1, Nicholas Hurtado 30th in 18:00.9, Kobe Lizarraga 33rd in 18:06.6, Diego Ramirez 41st in 18.30.2, Eduardo Vigil 50th in 19:00.1, and Angel Laureano 65th in 19:49.1. Earning a berth in the Finals, teams had to finish among the top 5 teams in their heat, or be the fastest 6th team. Fillmore captured 6th place in their heat. Then came the long wait for the final heat to finish in order to compare times for the fastest sixth place. Fillmore boy squeezed out a victory over the other 2 sixth place teams by a margin of 2 seconds.

The girls followed. This race also featured 3 ranked teams and 7 individual qualifiers. The Flashes were led by Niza Laureano 26th in 21:40.0, followed by Nataly Vigil 35th in 22:17.1, Athena Sanchez 41st in 22:49.4, Diana Santa Rosa 46th in 23:12.3, Andrea Laureano 57th in 23:47.4, Monique Hurtado 58th in 23:48.2, and Angelica Herrera 65th in 24:28.0. As a team in this heat, the girls finished in 8th. After a fine year, the girl’s season ended on Friday.

Next Saturday, the boy’s team returns to Mt. SAC to compete in the SS CIF D4 Cross Country Championships. In order to advance and compete in State Finals they must finish in the top 7. The race start time is 8:05.

Courtesy Fillmore Fire Department
The Fillmore Fire Department in conjunction with the Fillmore Fire Foundation is kicking off the annual Holiday Toy Drive this week. Collection drop off boxes for new toys are available at the Fillmore Police and Fire Stations. As part of the Toy Drive, on Sunday, December 5th, the Fire Department will be holding the annual Chicken Dinner Fundraiser to collect donations that are used to purchase hundreds of toys for children in the Fillmore/Piru area. A complete chicken dinner meal is prepared for anyone wanting to donate ten dollars ($10) that will be used to purchase a new toy. Because of necessary COVID-19 precautions, the dinner will be held at the Fillmore/Piru Veteran’s Memorial Building City, 511 Second St. Dinner will be served from 5:00 -7 PM. Again, due to COVID-19 restrictions, all meals will be for take-out only and will be available via a contactless drive-thru process. For this year only, we are requesting a monetary donation in lieu of a new toy to avoid less person to person contact. The hundreds of toys purchased from this event will be combined with those that are donated by the Community and then distributed the following week on Saturday, December 11th, in a huge Community Holiday Giveaway event. The Community Holiday Giveaway event will also be a drive-thru and reservations are mandatory. To order your tickets for the December 5th BBQ Chicken Dinner call 805-524-1500 ext 226. To register for the Community Holiday Giveaway, go online to the City of Fillmore website at www.fillmoreca.com/Home/Components/News/News/3410/48

This year’s annual Fillmore Community Holiday Giveaway will be held Saturday, December 11th from 9 AM – 12 PM at Two Rivers Park, the corner of River St and “D” St. This is the annual event where holiday commodities are given to the children who reside within the Fillmore Unified School District boundaries. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the location and format of the Giveaway has changed. This event will be a drive-thru, contactless format. Anyone wishing to receive holiday commodities must preregister prior to December 6th. The age and gender of each child will need to be included so that age appropriate toys, reading books and socks may be pre-package for pick up. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, personal sizing of coats will not be available, instead, nice warm individual blankets will be distributed to each child. As is customary, a holiday bag of groceries will also be available. To ensure that Santa is well for Christmas delivery of toys, he will only be available to wave at the children from a distance this year. Everyone must remain in their vehicle. To preregister for the Holiday Giveaway go to the City of Fillmore website at www.fillmoreca.com/Home/Components/News , you must provide proof of residency within the School District.

Annual sponsors of the event include our local Fillmore Police and Fire Departments, Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid, One Step A La Vez, Soroptimist International of Fillmore, Rotary International of Fillmore, Fillmore Lions Club, Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Fillmore Citizen’s Patrol, Fillmore Women’s Service Club, Fillmore Friends of the Library, Super A, The Fillmore Fire Foundation and numerous other generous personal and business donors. Our sponsor list will be updated week to week.

If you would like to help donate to the Fillmore Community Holiday Giveaway, you may give new toys, socks, reading books or canned food; drop boxes are located at the Fillmore Police Station and at the Fillmore City Fire Station. Monetary donations are preferred this year to reduce person to person contact, checks may be made out to “The Fillmore Fire Foundation” with a notation of “Holiday Giveaway”. Donations may be mailed to Fillmore Fire Foundation, PO Box 331, Fillmore , CA 93016 or for drop off, please contact Scott Beylik (805) 732-1101 or Keith Gurrola (805) 558-0932.

Don’t forget to join in the Fillmore Lions Club Christmas Parade coming up in December. Parade participant applications can be found on their website: www.fillmorelionsclub.org.

On Thursday, November 11th, in honor of Veterans Day, Fillmore will celebrate with the traditional Veteran’s Day breakfast at the Fillmore Piru Veterans Memorial Building. The Veterans Day Parade rolled down Central Avenue, with a ceremony following at Fillmore City Hall. On Saturday, November 13th, from 10am to 5pm, a Veterans Day car show will be held on Central Avenue, hosted by the Sespe Creek Car Club. These events are sponsored by the City of Fillmore, Fillmore Lions Club, Fillmore Rotary Club, Fillmore VFW, Piru Neighborhood Council, Knights of Columbus, Soroptimist Club, Villegas Public Affairs, Union Bank and Sespe Creek Car Club.

The oath of appointment of Council Member Simone Alex was heard and she took her place on the Council.

The Trunk or Treat People's Choice Award was tabled until the next meeting.

A Proclamation declaring November 2021 Native American Heritage Month in the City of Fillmore was read by Mayor Mark Austin.

Emergency repairs to Well #8. Most of the items which remained to be completed are now finished. Sanding content reduced to an acceptable level. New equipment has been installed. Water samples being taken to confirm purity acceptable. Well up and running Monday or Tuesday of next week. Hope to declare emergency over by December 14.

Parking on Hwy. 126: City Engineer Roxanne Hughes updated Caltrans agreement with City for restrictions on curbside parking of large trucks. Questions about putting a sidewalk along this area (north along 126) is City responsibility, not Caltrans'. Staff recommendations were unanimously approved.

Potable Water System assessment. City Engineer was asked by Council Member Lynn Edmonds that process be more proactive rather than reactive with completion of related requirements. Motion carried unanimously.

NEW TRUCK FOR CODE ENFORCEMENT. Motion to authorize City Manager to negotiate with local Bunnin Chevrolet of Fillmore for purchase of new truck approved.

8-D: Council approves ordinance (21-933) to adopt State Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance - exemption from CEQA.

City Manager asks for Prop. 68 Parks "PER CAPIA" Grant, of $187,000. Discussion of ADA needs. 10-15 things needed for compliance. Fiscal impact approx. 234,000. 25 % match. $850,000 available. Approved.

COMMENTS. Two requests to reopen catch basin at Rio Vista Park for general recreation.