The Last Rancho’s Lone Ranger

Like the mythical Lone Ranger, State Park Ranger Russell M. Kimura works alone at Los Encinos State Historical Park--giving tours, taking care of the duck pond, shooing away troublemakers. He is the only state park ranger assigned to the San Fernando Valley.

And when extensive repairs finally begin on the park’s earthquake-damaged buildings later this month, Kimura will be there, overseeing the construction, just as he has been coordinating activity at the park the last 10 years.

After a decade at Los Encinos, it is his appreciation for the park’s special history that keeps him there.

“I still love it here. What’s missing is the interaction with people and buildings,” said Kimura, 41. “That relationship is nice. I know it’s there once you get the buildings back.”

Attendance has dropped about 40% at Los Encinos since the earthquake, but picnickers still come, and the 5-acre park usually has its weekends booked with children’s birthday parties, Kimura said.

The last five years have not been the best for Los Encinos, nestled in an Encino residential neighborhood on Moorpark Street off Ventura Boulevard. Its historic buildings, damaged and closed after the Northridge earthquake, are still cracked and missing pieces of limestone.

Last week, some $400,000 in state funds became available for park renovation, in addition to $1.2 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. It will take about two years to complete repairs on the buildings, including an adobe that is the second oldest structure in the Valley.

Los Encinos encapsules the history of such groups as Native Americans, Spanish Americans and French Basques. It was once a 4,460-acre tract called Rancho El Encino, where longhorn cattle and merino sheep grazed.

The first repair will stabilize one end of the Garnier building, a two story structure built in 1872, said Donald Bybee, associate architect with the California Department of Parks and Recreation office in Sacramento. Over the years, the building has served as workmen’s quarters, restaurant, speak-easy, bordello and museum.

The 1849 De la Osa adobe will also be repaired. Constructed with walls of sunbaked bricks 2 feet thick, it is the only Valley adobe that has never been added on to, and bears a semblance of its original condition.

Fixing quake damage is just one of many daily challenges Kimura faces at Los Encinos. For one thing, he has to watch for people trying to dump unwanted ducks at the park.

There are about 100 ducks, mostly Mallard, Peking and Muscovy ducks, along with about 20 geese, in the duck pond. Kimura has found ducklings that he figures were released by people who belatedly realized that pet ducks can be lots of trouble.

“I also caught an animal activist [who said she was] trying to save ducks from Chinese poultry places,” Kimura said.

Kimura has seen his share of eccentric visitors at the park. Once he found a fully-clothed woman swimming in the lake.

“ ‘What are you doing?’ ” Kimura remembered asking her. “She said she did it as a kid. In any public place, you get a lot of strange people coming in. I could write a book on transients.”

Kimura, who carries a .40-caliber pistol but has never made an arrest at the park, said his law enforcement powers help keep Los Encinos relatively crime free.

“He’s the king of his little domain there,” added Charles Shorts, acting chief park ranger with the Los Angeles park rangers. “Whether it’s conservation, interpretation, or law enforcement, he can shed light on any aspect.”

He divides his time between Los Encinos and four other parks: Pio Pico State Historic Park in Whittier, Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park in Chatsworth, Topanga State Park, and Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades.

Though many say he’s a natural at his job now, Kimura never really planned to be a full-time ranger. He was a private school science teacher looking for a summer job when he became a state ranger 15 years ago.

Kimura, who has an environmental biology degree from Cal State Los Angeles, said he found giving tours and lectures to park visitors more enjoyable than teaching in a classroom.

As someone who lives and breathes Los Encinos, Kimura knows its history well.

Native Americans occupied the ranch until Don Vicente de la Osa took control in 1857, Kimura said. De la Osa lived in the nine-room adobe and rented out two of its rooms to wearied travelers. In front of the adobe was El Camino Real, now Ventura Boulevard, which was the only road to San Buenaventura Mission.

Kimura said De la Osa advertised guest rooms in downtown Los Angeles papers, reminding the guests to bring money when they came.

“He was so hospitable he let people stay here for nothing and he probably got sick of it,” joked Kimura.

In 1945, Maria Stewart led a campaign to stop developers from subdividing what was left of the former rancho. Soon after, the city and state bought the property for $50,000, Kimura said.

Despite its closed buildings, the park still attracts visitors, mainly moms with their children. Talia Guy, who lives in Van Nuys and came with her two daughters, said she enjoyed escaping the urban hustle and bustle and to see the ducks.

“I like that in the middle of the city I have this jewel,” said Guy.