Arts Panel Honors Founder of Museum

An Oak View man who single-handedly began the Ojai Valley Museum by building displays and filling them with artifacts he dug up from his own land has been honored posthumously by city officials for his effort.

Robert O. Browne, a 91-year-old retired research chemist and amateur archeologist who died in August, was chosen by the Ojai City Arts Commission for the 1993 Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award.

“He really did contribute to the community,” said commission Chairwoman Kathleen McCann. “He was the single force behind establishing the historical society and the historical museum. Many of the pieces he was digging for on his land became part of the museum collection.”

Browne’s widow, Malinda Browne, said her husband of more than six decades deserved the recognition, but suggested he would have preferred others be honored before he was.

“I think it’s long overdue,” Malinda Browne said. “It’s time that people realize he did play an important part in preserving the history of the area.”

But, she said, “he would say that other people needed awards as well as he did. He would mention some of the people who had helped him and the others who really cared about the area.”

Ojai Valley Museum Director Sherry Smith said Browne brought his worldly experiences to life inside the facility.

“He had been everywhere and done everything,” said Smith, who said that before his death. Browne was still visiting the museum almost daily to update the archives he spent years cultivating.

“This museum would not exist if it weren’t for the efforts of Bob Browne,” Smith said. “He gave his life to this place.”