OJAI : Family Will Restore Local Meeting Room

A longtime Ojai family has agreed to do what the city could never afford: restore a century old, one-room house that for generations has served as a local meeting room for Girl Scouts.

Dennis and Janice Prairie, whose community roots go back five generations, received permission from the Ojai City Council last week to purchase the “Girl Scout House,” a wooden bungalow at 301 Lion St.

“In private ownership, we can afford the building an opportunity to survive a few more years,” said Dennis Prairie, who spent the past year negotiating the purchase from the city.

“It’s basically going to be a little busy work project for my wife and me to see if we can bring a little life back to it.”

The Prairies, who both work for the U. S. Postal Service, live next door to the Girl Scout House. The building, which has a leaky roof and electrical problems, was built by the Thacher family and served as the town library for decades.

“It used to sit in the middle of the Arcade,” Dennis Prairie said. “Then when they got a new library, they moved it to Montgomery Street, and later it was relocated to where it is now.” Until the mid-1980s, the structure was used as a meeting place for local Girl Scouts.

“My wife was there as a Girl Scout, and her mother also used the facility as a little girl,” said Prairie, who agreed to buy the house and lot for $40,000.

The Ojai City Council approved the purchase agreement with little fanfare.

Mayor Steve Olsen said he hopes to once again offer the house to community organizations for use as a town hall.

“Ideally, we’ll make it available to some of these small civic groups that need a place to meet,” he said. “It would be a nice place to have some meetings for organizations that can’t afford other facilities.”