William Friend papers, 1900-2011 MVC061
Finding aid prepared by Krystell Jimenez, 2020.
This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura
County Community Foundation
Museum of Ventura County
December 2020
Contributing Institution:
Museum of Ventura County
Title: William Friend papers
Identifier/Call Number: MVC061
Physical Description:
9 Cubic Feet
(7 cartons)
Date (inclusive): 1900-2011
Abstract: William "Bill" Friend was a former resident of Ojai and later Ventura. Friend was also a local historian. He passed away on
April 14, 2011. This collection contains photographs, notes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletters, reports, maps,
periodicals, and research compiled by Friend, mostly related to Ojai and other local history, the forest service and forest
management, wildfire management, and management of the Sespe watershed and Piru creek.
Physical Location: Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior
to your visit: library@venturamuseum.org
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. Collection has been minimally processed. All requests to access materials must
be made in advance by contacting the Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, have
not been determined. Contact the Research Library for further information: library@venturamuseum.org
[Identification of item], William Friend papers, (MVC061), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Unknown executor of Bill Friend's estate; gift; 2016.
Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2020.
William "Bill" Friend was a long-time resident of Ojai and later Ventura. Friend was also a local historian. He passed away
on April 14, 2011.
This collection contains photographs, notes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletters, reports, maps, periodicals,
and research compiled by William Friend, mostly related to Ojai and other local history, the forest service and forest management,
wildfire management, and management of the Sespe watershed and Piru creek. There are several binders that were compiled by
Friend on a variety of topics, including weather conditions, fire conditions, local highways and scenic byways, fire-fighter
training, land records, and local ranches.
This collection has been minimally processed at the collection level and has box-level description.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Forest fires -- Prevention and control
Wildfire fighters
Sespe Creek (Calif.)
Watershed management
Box 1
Binders, photographs, and notes on various topics 1958-2009
This box contains correspondence and newspaper clippings; pamphlets and bills for California House of Representative reports,
California Assembly, and Senate; pamphlets for public laws; government pamphlets on hydroelectric development in Alaska, National
Forest System Roadless Area Review, and land conveyances studies; Polaroid photographs; Ojai Valley Historical Society and
Museum newsletters; US Forest Service newsletters, and clippings; copies of articles from
California Cattleman magazine from 1965-1968. There are binders with notes on weather and fire conditions for the periods 1985-1997, 1997-2000,
2001-2003, 2004, 2005-2008, and 2009. A binder that was labelled "The Way it Was or Should've Been", containing clippings,
correspondence, articles, business cards, photographs, issues of
Forest magazine, Journal of Forestry issues, and information on the Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan. This box
also contains a copy of the "Selected References Concerning the USDA Forest Service: Social, Political, and Historical Sources
of Information" from 1990 and
California Under Twelve Flags by Phil T. Hanna from 1969.
Box 2
Binder, scrapbooks, and maps 1900-1997
This box contains: one ViewMaster Pana-Vue 2; a Thacher School yearbook "El Archivero" from 1908; small binder with notes
and clippings, circa 1934-36; contents of a binder containing clippings and information about Sespe watershed; a map of Los
Padres National Forest land and a resource management plan; a scrapbook of clippings; a shoebox with addresses, photographs,
notes, and business cards; and a commemorative book on the Rio School District titled
Rio School District, 1885-1985: Serving the Children and Community of El Rio for 100 Years.
Box 3
Binders 1902-2011 1980-2011
This box contains the contents of several binders. Contents from the same binder have been kept together and the original
binder labels have been retained. Original binder titles are used below in quotations. There is one unlabeled binder containing
stamps, clippings, stickers, photographs, business cards, correspondence, and notes. The other binders include: "Homesteads",
with maps, notes, correspondence, and township listings; "Who we are Pt. II/Been there done that", with clippings, obituaries,
photographs, copies of census records, a copy of William Baker's diary, and an issue of Broadcaster magazine; "Jacinto Reyes
Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan", with clippings, maps, photographs, notes, a geological road log, and an issue of "Noticias";
"Los Padres Angeles Training Camps; Old LA Basin Sites 1800; "Large Wildfires...Histories...2000-2011, A/C used in Fire mgt",
reports, maps, photographs, press releases, and clippings; and USFS Oldtimers", with Southern California revised forest plans,
maps, biographical material, correspondence, clippings, photograph, and
Journal of Forest History issues. This box also contains the unpublished memoirs of John S. Edwards, a Forest Service ranger for the Klamath District from
1925-1926.
Box 4
Binders 1943, 1976-2009
This box contains binders compiled by Friend on various topics. Original binder titles have been retained where possible and
original titles are included below in quotation marks. The binders include: "Ojai Valley Museum", with mailers, article clippings,
genealogical research, Ojai Music Festival programs, newsletters, and correspondence; CA and the EPA; Francis and the river
runs downhill; R-3 old timers", with clippings, article clippings, newsletters, and correspondence; "USFS History or How Smokey
wants it done", with correspondence, articles, USFS and government publications; "Oil Patch", with articles, correspondence,
clippings, notes, a McDermott Co. annual report, Halliburton Services manuscript, and Alyeska reports; and "USFS R-5 Arch.
HB", with a handbook for archaeological survey and cultural resource reports. There is one unlabeled binder containing photographs,
clippings, correspondence, genealogical materials and tables, notes, and Nordhoff HS reunion information. This box also contains
a copy of
California Livestock and Poultry: A Statistical Summary, 1867-1942 (March 1943).
Box 5
Binders 1970-2009
This box contains binders compiled by Friend on various topics. Original labels have been retained where possible and original
titles are included below in quotation marks. Binders include: "Casitas Rancho. Rancho Matilija", with maps, notes, and a
manuscript; "7-8-9N Cuyama", with articles, notes, township listings, clippings, reports, maps, correspondence, and newsletters;
"Sespe and Piru Watershed Management Research", photographs, clippings, newsletters, Sespe PACFISH watershed analysis, Ventura
watershed analysis, Sespe watershed, and forest fire protection problem analysis; "The Ojai Valley", with a postcard history
series, clippings, flyers, photographs, notes, and newsletters; and "Maps", maps and article about the SS Leopoldville disaster.
There is an unlabeled binder that contains copies of land records, notes, and article clippings.
Box 6
Binders 1922, 1950-2009
This box contains the contents of binders compiled by Friend on various topics. Original labels have been retained where possible
and original binder titles are included below in quotation marks. The binders include: "OVM [Ojai Valley Museum]", with newsletters,
ephemera, periodicals, USDA publications on Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway, a copy of
A Traveler's Guide to California's Scenic Highway 33 by E.R. Blakely, and Historical Overview Los Padres National Forest; "The Way it was from someone who very much does remember
the way it was", with notes, clippings, articles, newsletters, USDA writings and publications, correspondence, photographs,
and letters addressed to Theodore Roosevelt; "Research and reading list", with ephemera, notes, clippings, magazines, and
business cards; "Families … who we are", with ephemera, notes, maps, correspondence, genealogical research, clippings, magazines,
and photographs.
Box 7
Binders 1970-2011
This box contains binders compiled by Friend on various topics. Original labels have been retained where possible and the
original titles are included below in quotation marks. The binders include: "The Ojai Land: Religious, communists, Ojai Valley
School, Mega Mosuls", clippings, correspondence, newsletters, notes, and magazine; "The North Ventura Kern Co settlers, When,
Where, Why. Ft Tejon, Lost Mines", correspondence, clippings, history of the Cuddy Ranch, genealogical chart and research,
newsletters, notes, photographs, USDA publications, and manuscripts; "Ranchos … Ojai … Sta Ana, Matilija. 1900 Canada Larga",
articles, maps, biographical materials, clippings, manuscripts, and correspondence; "1st ridge Rte. 14 … Santa Maria, Cuyama,
Maricopa-1933", articles, maps, clippings, manuscript, photographs, and correspondence; "Old Doc Fire mgt and the Ojai Valley",
articles, clippings, photographs, and reports. This box also contained a copy of VCHS quarterly Vol. 44, No. 4.