Com­mem­o­ra­tion: 90 year anniver­sary of the St. Fran­cis Dam Disaster

March 2018

This is a flood plain wide series of events every week­end. Almost all the events are free. For events that we have hired bus­es, we need to charge to cov­er our expenses.

Friday, MARCH 9, 2018

March 9, 10 — A col­lec­tion of St. Fran­cis News­reels, Doc­u­men­taries, Films

7:00 PM

Loca­tion: The Main/Hart Hall/Heritage Junction/Newhall The­atre (loca­tion to be determined)

We will be show­ing 1920s films, films of dam, doc­u­men­taries of dam and filmed pre­sen­ta­tions of dam, and live presentations.

Phil Scorza, E.J. Stevens

Cost: FREE

Saturday, MARCH 10, 2018

March 10 — SCVHS Pre­sen­ta­tion and Tour of St. Fran­cis Dam

Loca­tions: Her­itage Junction/Dam site

Speak­ers: Dianne Ersk­ine-Hell­rigel, Dr. Alan Pollack

Please arrive at Her­itage Junc­tion at 10:30 AM to check in and secure your seat for the presentation

11:00–12:00 Pow­er­point Pre­sen­ta­tion by Dr. Alan Pol­lack and Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel

12:30–3:00 Vis­it Pow­er­house 2 (exte­ri­or only), Dam Site Ruins

We will hike to the Tomb­stone ruins, the West­ern Wing Dyke, The Pyra­mid for­ma­tion, Block 16

Please wear long pants, long sleeves and ten­nis shoes/hiking boots. Water and a snack will be pro­vid­ed. You are wel­come to bring your bag lunch to eat on the bus. A hat and sun­screen are rec­om­mend­ed. Bring hik­ing poles if you have them. You will have a choice of short hikes which may include walk­ing in brush, on uneven sur­faces, and up a hill.

Return to Her­itage Junc­tion by 3:30

Her­itage Junc­tion address: 24101 Newhall Avenue, Newhall, CA 91321

For Reser­va­tions, please con­tact: 661–254-1275 or vis­it the SCVHS web site at: Scvhs.org to pay via Paypal

Cost: $35.00 PP, pre-paid, ($45.00 at the door, PP). Price includes a snack and bot­tled water

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Open­ing Cer­e­mo­ny and Ded­i­ca­tion of Com­mem­o­ra­tive Plaque

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Loca­tion: Fill­more City Hall, 250 Cen­tral Avenue, Fill­more, CA 93015

Our day’s events com­mem­o­rat­ing the 90th anniver­sary of the St. Fran­cis Dam dis­as­ter begin with the unveil­ing and ded­i­ca­tion of a brown­stone boul­der embed­ded with a plaque to hon­or the dead and remem­ber the sur­vivors. Local offi­cials will par­tic­i­pate, and Fill­more Uni­fied School Dis­trict essay win­ners will be announced.

Pre­sen­ta­tion by Jon Wilkman

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Loca­tion: Fill­more City Coun­cil Cham­bers, 250 Cen­tral Avenue, Fill­more, CA 93015

Jon Wilk­man, author of “Flood­path: The Dead­liest Man-Made Dis­as­ter of 20th Century

Amer­i­ca and the Mak­ing of Mod­ern Los Ange­les”, will give an infor­ma­tive and inter­est­ing account of the col­lapse of the St. Fran­cis Dam and its after­math. He will be avail­able to sign copies of his book, which will be for sale.

Fill­more His­tor­i­cal Muse­um Display

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Loca­tion: Fill­more His­tor­i­cal Muse­um 350 Main St. Fill­more, CA 93015

Fill­more His­tor­i­cal Muse­um will have arti­facts, videos, and visu­al dis­plays of the St. Fran­cis Dam and its vic­tims and survivors.

Lunch & Shop­ping Opportunities

Cen­tral Avenue restau­rants will be avail­able for lunch and include: Amer­i­can, Mex­i­can and Japan­ese cui­sine. Local busi­ness­es includ­ing unique shops and antique stores will be open for shopping.

Bus Tour to St. Fran­cis Dam site

Time 12:30 p.m. (to San­ta Clari­ta) to 5:30 p.m. (return to Fillmore)

Loca­tion: Loca­tion will be giv­en when reser­va­tions are made

Expert guides will review the his­to­ry of the Dam, and its vic­tims and sur­vivors, on the way to and from the Dam site. See the path­way the flood took, and hear about the com­mu­ni­ties and indi­vid­u­als it affect­ed. Cost of the tour is $30 per per­son, and seat­ing is lim­it­ed. To reserve a seat con­tact the Fill­more His­tor­i­cal Muse­um at (805) 524‑0948. Water will be pro­vid­ed on the bus.

March 18, 2018

Prayer Ser­vice, Remarks by Arche­ol­o­gist Ann Stansell, and Ceme­tery Tour — 11AM

Loca­tion: Piru Ceme­tery [tbd]

Sto­ry Shar­ing by Sur­vivors and Descen­dants of Vic­tims and Sur­vivors – 1:00 PM , Reser­va­tions Required , Ran­cho Camu­los Museum

Flood-path Faces — Pre­sen­ta­tion by Arche­ol­o­gist Ann Stansell – 3:00

Loca­tion: Ranch Camu­los Museum

Show­ing of the 1928 Delores Del Rio “Ramona” Movie – 4:30 PM, Ran­cho Camu­los Muse­um, $5 donation

March 23, 24, 2018

A col­lec­tion of St. Fran­cis News­reels, Doc­u­men­taries, Films

7:00 PM

Loca­tion: The Main/Hart Hall/Newhall Theatre/Heritage Junction

We will be show­ing 1920s films, films of dam, doc­u­men­taries of dam and filmed pre­sen­ta­tions of dam, and live presentations.

FREE

Phil Scorza, E.J. Stevens

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Loca­tion: Flood Plain Tour-52 miles/ Tour of affect­ed famous prop­er­ties in flood plain from San­ta Clari­ta to San­ta Paula

Itin­er­ary:

Pow­er­house 1/PH 1 Vil­lage-Quick view of the Pow­er­house and vil­lage, with a quick walk around the small park to view equip­ment used in the build­ing of the aque­duct and the St. Fran­cis Dam-pho­to oppor­tu­ni­ties Alan Pol­lack and DWP representative

St. Fran­cis Dam-short stop-short hike to the dam foun­da­tion over­look for photos.-Alan Pollack

PH 2 Vil­lage-View from bus Dianne Ersk­ine-Hell­rigel will tell you about the Lyman Cur­tis Fam­i­ly and the Ray Ris­ing Family.

Pow­er­house 2‑brief walk to the 2 plaques at PH2 and the For­est Fire Station.-Alan Pol­lack and DWP representative.

Har­ry Carey Ranch site (Tesoro Del Valle)-Walk around the grounds of Har­ry Carey’s ranch-Alan Pollack

Edi­son sub­sta­tion-brief stop for pho­to-Alan Pollack

Mag­ic Moun­tain Ridge Route Bridge washout-Brief walk to see where the flood took out the bridge. (Sub­ject to per­mis­sion of Mag­ic Mountain.)-Alan Pollack

San­ta Paula Oil Museum‑1/2 hour allot­ted for view­ing the muse­um exhibits-On your own

Stat­ue of Ed Thorn­ton in San­ta Paula-Brief stop for pho­tos-Alan Pollack

San­ta Paula Ceme­tery-Ann Stansell will talk to you about the St. Fran­cis vic­tims buried on this site, known and unknown

Bards­dale Ceme­tery- Ann Stansell will talk to you about the St. Fran­cis vic­tims buried on this site, known and unknown

Ran­cho Camu­los-Mini Tour at the Ran­cho by a docent

Got­tar­di Ranch-The loss of 5 mem­bers of the Got­tar­di fam­i­ly is one exam­ple of the many tragedies that occurred as a result of the breach of the St. Fran­cis Dam. You will hear their sto­ries. Dianne Ersk­ine-Hell­rigel and Five-Point Executive.

Edi­son Kemp Camp/Blue Cut-This is the site of the sin­gle largest loss of life in the flood plain. Dianne Ersk­ine-Hell­rigel and Edi­son Executive

Speak­ers: Dianne Ersk­ine-Hell­rigel, Dr. Alan Pol­lack, Ann Stansell, Edi­son Rep­re­sen­ta­tive, DWP Rep­re­sen­ta­tive, Five-Point Rep­re­sen­ta­tive, Docent at Ran­cho Camulos

Ten­nis shoes and comfortable/casual attire are rec­om­mend­ed. Sun­screen and a hat are option­al, but also rec­om­mend­ed. You will be doing some min­i­mal walk­ing on this trip. You may bring snacks/lunch on the bus.

Meet the bus at 9:00 AM at Her­itage Junc­tion: 24101 Newhall Avenue, Newhall, CA 91321

Cost: $55.00 PP pre­paid only, includ­ing small bag lunch

For Reser­va­tions, please con­tact: 661–254-1275 or vis­it the SCVHS web site at: Scvhs.org to pay via Paypal