Guide to the Walter Jerome La Novia Ranch Collection

Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives

Title: Walter Jerome La Novia Ranch Collection

Creator: Jerome, Walter

Identifier/Call Number: SC.WJN

Extent: 1.30 linear feet

Date (inclusive): 1927-1930

Abstract: Walter Jerome lived on a ranch in Zelzah, California (now Northridge) with his wife Helen and his children in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He kept a diary from November 27, 1927 to January 15, 1930, in which he chronicled daily life on the ranch.

Language of Material: English

Walter Jerome and his wife Helen owned and operated the La Novia Ranch in Zelzah, CA (now Northridge) in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The Walter Jerome La Novia Ranch Collection consists of his daily diary, a piece of correspondence from a man looking for work, and a few pieces of ephemera. In his diary, which he kept from November 27, 1927 to January 15, 1930, Jerome chronicled daily life on the ranch. In diary entries he noted the weather, including temperature and wind direction, as well as ranch events relevant to their chickens, hogs, apricot trees, peach trees, orange trees, and other crops. Other ongoing ranch business, including irrigation practices, equipment acquisition and repair, frequent flooding, and the employment of Mexican-American farm laborers, is also discussed. Jerome occasionally mentions neighboring ranchers, including Perry Mulholland, and community events, like the opening of a new City Hall building, sale of land on a neighboring ranch for construction of new roads in the San Fernando Valley, American Legion receptions, and membership in the Orange Association. Family events including a trip to Hollywood for haircuts, and a vacation spent camping in Yosemite National Park, are also described. The last few pages are filled with lists of humorous statements made by family and friends. There are a few pieces of ephemera, including a poem, and clippings about Charles Lindburg and the Spirit of St. Louis, pasted into some entries.

The collection is open for research use.

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materials  guide.

Ellen Jarosz, 2014