Slices of Mission History Raise Money for School

Dusty and brittle, they share shelf space in the San Buenaventura Mission gift shop with shiny crucifixes, glossy picture books of church history and videotapes of religious programs.

But ever since they went on sale awhile back, the pieces of wood have been hot sellers, snapped up by parishioners and tourists at $10 a pop.

After all, they promise something postcards and key chains cannot--an authentic slice of mission history.

The wooden blocks, church officials say, came from beams that supported the historic mission’s roof. Those beams came down in 1976, when the mission underwent extensive renovation.

At the time, the mission did just what it is doing now: chopped up the beams and sold them to raise money.

But not all were cut and sold.

Several months ago, Msgr. Patrick J. O’Brien said, parishioners stumbled across some old beams in a garage behind the mission. The parishioners, who were helping out on the current project to expand the mission’s Holy Cross School, were clearing out ladders, rundown furniture and other clutter.

When the beams were uncovered, O’Brien said, he instantly recognized them as part of the mission lore. And when a long-time parishioner suggested that the church once again use the beams to raise money, O’Brien thought that was a great idea.

“They are a keepsake of the mission,” O’Brien said. “A very, very special keepsake of the mission.”

So far, the mission has sold about 100 of the wood pieces, bringing in $1,000 toward the $5.5-million school renovation project. Only a few are left.

The $1,000 might not seem like much for such a big project, but churches need to be open to all sorts of fund-raising ideas, O’Brien said.

“We’re not in the commercial business, but we need all the money we can find to build the new school for the next generation,” he said. “Fund-raising is not an easy thing, and this was a creative thing. I like that kind of spontaneity.”

Just exactly how old the beams are, however, is a question as cryptic as the dusty wooden blocks themselves.

On a gift shop sign, the slices of wood--about a foot long, a foot wide, and a couple of inches thick--are advertised as 200-year-old original pieces of the mission. That suggests they date to the founding of the San Buenaventura Mission by Franciscan priest Junipero Serra in 1782.

However, O’Brien said he is not sure that date is right--he is only certain the beams were part of the batch removed in 1976. The parishioner credited with organizing the project was not available to shed light on the wooden beams’ history.

Moreover, gift shop workers say they are not even sure what kind of wood they are selling.

All they know is that the old pieces of wood have just about jumped off the shelves.

“It’s been really well-received, from our parishioners and tourists,” said gift shop manager Kyra Samaniego. “Some people have bought them to make bookends. Some just want them for the history. They like it because they can see the rings. They can actually count the rings.”

Ana Lemair, a 51-year-old Ventura resident, decided not to buy one of the wooden blocks this week. Instead, she bought a medallion of St. Michael for her godchild.

Lemair has close ties to the mission. Her daughter went to Holy Cross School and her son was married at the mission.

So she thinks there are better ways to get to know the old adobe building.

“I can come here and see it,” Lemair said. “That’s more meaningful.”

Tourist Carolyn Earls turned one of the wooden pieces--red on the inside, dark gray on the outside--in her hands. Eventually, she passed, too.

“I’m not about to buy it, but I certainly respect it,” said Earls, on a visit from West Virginia. “It’s a little slice of history.”

As the wood supply dwindles, gift shop manager Samaniego said she is thinking about buying one for herself.

“I think I’ll wait for just the last little piece,” she said. “Just a little piece of history would be fine.”