Descendant to Show Photos by Pioneer

John Sparhawk Appleton, a pioneer who arrived in the Simi Valley in 1887, was a rancher by trade, but a photographer by hobby.

His great-grandson, William Appleton, carries on the tradition as a Simi Valley photographer. Tonight, he will present a free slide show of his great-grandfather’s photographs at the Canoga Park Community Center.

Taken at the turn of the century, the images depict the work and social activities of early ranchers in the Simi Valley. They were preserved in a collection that included 400 glass plate negatives.

Many of the photos appear in a 1997 book co-written by William Appleton, “Simi Valley: A Journey Through Time.” They include images of John Appleton’s wife, families of early settlers, large groves of oak trees, cowboy ranchers on horseback and a steam-operated barley threshing machine, said Peggy Haggarty of the Canoga-Owensmouth Historical Society, which is sponsoring the program.

When she looks at the old photographs, Haggarty said, “I think about what hard work it was and how so much was done with manual labor before a lot of machines were in use--and how smart man is.”

The slide program begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Canoga Park Community Center, 7248 Owensmouth Ave.