Fruit Pick Planned Saturday at Orcutt Ranch

Historically minded souls who want to hark back to the days when citrus groves blanketed the San Fernando Valley--or perhaps just see some pretty flowers and pick some fresh oranges and grapefruits without trekking too far--will get their opportunity Saturday at the historic Orcutt Ranch Horticulture Center in West Hills.

The city-owned ranch--at 23600 Roscoe Blvd., between Fallbrook Avenue and Valley Circle Boulevard--will be the site of a fruit pick from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday for Valencia oranges and white grapefruit. No picking of other fruits or flowers will be allowed.

Participants are urged to bring their own fruit pickers, bags and boxes. They must pay a fee of $2 per grocery bag and $5 per medium-sized fruit box. Only A-frame ladders will be allowed, and tree climbing will not be permitted. Those who do not have fruit pickers can rent them for $1.

The Orcutt Ranch was the property of William Warren Orcutt and his wife, Mary. Orcutt, an oil hunter who discovered the bones of an ancient ground sloth at the La Brea tar pits, was vice president of the Union Oil Co. and is considered one of the fathers of modern geology.

The former head of the Canoga Park Citrus Assn., Orcutt and his wife hired architects to build a mission-style home on the grounds, and surrounded the property with grapefruit and orange trees.

The couple also employed a gardener to plant exotic trees and shrubs on the ranch’s 23 acres. The Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department purchased the estate in 1966, and it has been open to the public since 1969.