The Pioneers of Ventura

As calendar pages turn over to the year 2000, consider what San Buenaventura was like in the days of pioneer California families.

You can read about one local clan--the Olivas family--in “The House of Olivas--A Family History” (Charon Press, $15.00) by Meredith Stevens. It’s available at the Olivas Adobe Museum and the Ventura County Museum of History and Art, both in Ventura.

Stevens’ book spotlights a time when most people were illiterate, except for missionaries and military officers. For that reason, few written accounts recorded everyday life, from the mundane to the mind-boggling.

But she found that members of the Olivas family were involved in many major events that happened in California’s early years.

She highlights, in particular, Raymundo Olivas, who ended up owning the Olivas Adobe through a land grant from the Mexican government after retiring from the country’s army with 17 years of service in 1841. He and his wife, Teodora, had 21 or 22 children--no one knows for sure.

In a common practice of the day, “They didn’t marry until after the second child was born,” said Stevens. The family lost the property in 1899, when they couldn’t pay the taxes.

“Until the Americans came in, if you wanted to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles, you stayed in whatever house was available when the sun went down,” Stevens said. “The Yankees came in and started businesses and taxes and newspapers.”

As for the Olivas family, Stevens figures there are about 10,000 descendants in Southern California--many still living in Ventura County. She mentioned William Olivas, in his 80s, who became a priest and serves at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ojai. Another descendant, Georgia Olivas Madrid, owned a secondhand clothing store on Main Street in Ventura until recently.

A native daughter of the Golden West, Stevens lives in Oxnard.

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Local author Marguerita Geier also has written a book about the early days. “San Buenaventura, Serra’s Last Mission” (Pentland Press, Raleigh, N.C., $15) tells of two young orphaned boys who joined forces with Spanish missionaries trying to establish missions for the Indians in California during the late 1870s. Check with the Olivas Adobe Museum gift shop for a copy.

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Back to the future and the blizzard of calendars available at booksellers.

They come in a variety of sizes and shapes--wall calendars, desktops, cubes, month-at-a-glance, day-at-a-time, 12-month, 16-month, two-year. You can get them roomy enough for a short essay or small enough to slip in a pocket.

They’re about everything from Elvis to Van Gogh, pigs to Picasso. And if you’re too insecure to choose, here’s a few from the top 10 list at Barnes & Noble’s Web site at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/gift/calendar.

There’s the “ ‘N Sync Wall Calendar 2000,” “The Secret Garden Calendar for 2000,” “Mary Engelbreit’s Life: Put Your Heart Into It 2000 Desk Calendar.” Others feature “Star Wars,” Georgia O’Keeffe, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the “Far Side,” “365 Kittens” and “The Quotable Bart.” Or how about the “Old Farmers Almanac Gardening Wall Calendar,” “365 Wines and Teddy Bears Engagement Calendar.” A word of caution, though. The “Mensa 365 Brain Puzzlers” calendar may intimidate you, while the “Feng Shui” wall calendar might stir up poor vibrations in the wrong spot.

Finally, there’s the calendar that truly flies--”The World Record Paper Airplane Wall Calendar 2000.” The planes are ready to fold and fly. Details printed on the back. Happy calendaring.

HAPPENINGS

* Today: 7 p.m. Poetry night with featured poet, followed by an open mike at 8 p.m. Borders Books & Music, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 497-8159.

* Monday: 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Toddler time, an interactive story time with Miss Mona, followed at 11:30 a.m. by a new preschool story hour. Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., 446-2820.

* Monday: 11 a.m. An early New Year’s Party with games, music and make-your-own confetti makers. Borders, 497-8159.

* Monday: 7 p.m. “Conversations with God,” an ongoing group facilitated by Jim Newell and Jim Michael centered around Neale Donald Walsch’s book. Borders, 497-8159.

* Tuesday: 7 p.m. Story time on the 1998 Caldecott Award winner, “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolen. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., 339-9170.

* Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. Celebrate the new year with Happy New Year books. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 339-9170.

* Wednesday: 7 p.m. The sci fi/fantasy discussion group will focus on “Galilee” by Clive Barker. Borders, 497-8159.

* Saturday: 7 p.m. Pajamamania story time. Parents are invited to read their family favorites. Borders, 497-8159.

Information about book-signings, writers’ groups and publishing events can be e-mailed to anns40aol.com or faxed to 647-5649.