Santa Maria Times from Santa Maria, California • 23

Santa Maria Times Sunday, June 8, 1997 C-3 THE GOOD YEARS Los Rancheros Visitadores keeps rodeo spirit alive A last-day rodeo events led by the cowboy star Montie Montana. Through the years, some of the celebrity guests and members of Los Rancheros Visitadores have included Walt Disney, Art Linklet-tcr, Clark Gable, Leo Carrillo, Duncan Reynaldo, G. Alan Hancock, as well as Ronald Reagan. When one famous actor came as an invited guest and brought pink sheets and his valet with him, his sack was doused with perfume. 1 1IC HlClllUtl UillUUGd men from almost every state in the Union, as well as from the United and Mexi" co City.

Some of the recognizable Santa Maria names include Ac-quistapace, Brogue, Cossa, Doud, 'J i A Eggert, Fee, Feliciano, Fesler, Jim Glines, Hampton, Murray, Newark, Osburn, Parsons, Pollard, Righetti, Torres and Vogt. Guadalupe is represented by Clarence Minetti. Although the rancheros give out various prizes throughout the trip, the most coveted trophy that at the Santa Ynez Mission, two boys watching from the belfry sounded the bell when the first riders, led by Jack Mitchell, appeared on the horizon. Approximately 5,000 spectators from all over Southern California cheered the men as they rode into the mission courtyard for the final ceremonies. Bareheaded seminarians sang the chants of long ago.

Stagecoaches and buckboards filled with more rancheros followed the horsemen with the riders wheeling to form a hollow circle in front of the old mission. After- -Father O'Lcary gave his blessings, the ceremonies continued with much fanfare. Finally, as the crowd sang "La Golodrina," the cavalcade began to move away and the group's journey into yesteryear came to an end. Los Rancheros Visitadores, having completed its 67th annual ride last month, consists of men many different ages, occupations and interests who recreate the spirit of the annual roundup and have a love of tradition. Beginning on the first Friday in May, the group not only pays tribute to the vaqueros and rancheros of another time, but the soul-satisfying camaraderie that the members feel for each other creates a common love for good fellowship which lasts a lifetime.

Los Rancheros still set up camp at the Jackson and San Marcos camps as well as on 200 acres of the Janeway, the ranch purchased by the group in 1976. With 17 different teams within the organization, each camp supplies its own bar, tents, wranglers and other amenities while the organization itself provides the food, feed for the animals, veterinarians, medical facilities and cattle for the Life on the California Rancho was one of simplicity and conlenl-menl. Wild grasses swayed in concert with the ocean breezes, and springtime found wild mustard painting the hillside with a sea of vibrant yellow. The cattle industry, which began with Captain Caspar de Portola and his group of missionaries and soldiers bringing 2(i() head of cattle to the area in 1769, grew to such an extent that, by 1863, just before the big drought, approximately 3 million cattle were grazing on the hills of California. Those were the days, when "generous ranchero provided a home for a host of poor relatives, entertained strangers as well as friends with unending hospitality and made the simple ranch fife of a day long gone by one of content- ed happiness.

The 'sameness of life brought a sense of comfort and peace. When each day ended the family ate its meals beneath the trees and spent the twilight hours listening to the seemingly endless music of the guitars. This was tradition. 'The annual spring roundup, spelled out by the state legislature in 1851 for the most part, merely recognized the practices already in effect among California ranches. Rancheros and their vaqueros, in a cooperative effort, rode from rancho to rancho, rounding up all of the calves in the unfenced hills and valleys, for cutting out and brandings The California vaquero, the most skillful horseman the world has ever seen, used this rodeo to show off his riding skills.

When the roundup was finished the fiesta began. This was also a California tradition. Los Rancheros Visitadores. a group now numbering in the many hundreds, had humble beginnings Shirley Contreras when a group of men made their first ride through the beautiful back country of Santa Barbara County. On May 9, 1930, a group of 90 horsemen, wanting to recreate the days of the rancheros and vaqueros, gathered at the Los etos.

Ranch a traditional JfJal i fornia barbecue and camp-out before starting out the next morning on a historical trek through the mountainside. Almost in unison, the clatter of horses' hooves began to sound as the cavalcade of riders headed eastward, their heads silhouetted against the rising sun. The next morning the group headed down the Santa Ynez River, where luncheon was served at San Marcos Rancho near Lake Cachuina. On the third day, "Los Rancheros Visitadores," the brainchild of Jack Mitchell, was formally organized. Mitchell was elected "El Presidente," a position he held with honor for 25 years.

Some of the riders in this new ly formed group consisted of the artist, Ed Borein, C.R. and F.P. Mattei and W.C. Oakley, as well as the actor Leo Carrillo. Having been forewarned to "bring your own liniment no loaded dice permitted," for five days these horsemen camped, rode and ate as they rode into the hills of (he historic San Marcos Pass.

Santa Ynez country and, finally, to the Juan Lohta Ranch, singing the songs of the rancheros the group has to offer is the George J. O'Brien Perpertual Tro- phy for outstanding horsemanship. The winner, determined by seven fellow rancheros, is judged on his general horsemanship, which includes his conduct on the trail, the care of his horse and the condition of his tack. Through the years the good fellowship, love of California's heritage and traditions, shared by the appreciation of a good horse have been the guiding force behind Los Contributed W.C. Oakley, the second mayor of Santa Maria and one of the first riders in the "Los Rancheros Visitadores," men dedicated to preserving the traditions of the rancheros and vaqueros.

iuiii.iih ud i3iiuuuiL3. int. waiia of a special meeting room at the Santa Maria Inn are covered with pictures of this group of modern-day vaqueros. Sim ley Comrems writes Jor the Santa Maria Historical Society. alfalfa field.

On the last day, when the rancheros were scheduled to arrive as they rode. The men played hard and legend tells of their first rodeo of the ride being held in an RELICS King of collectors finding it hard to uncollect Jewels Gciiis by Mark Melby ENGAGING WORDS Diamond has come to be almost syn a battered pickup stopped in front of the trading post and the driver asked Curtis to look at some secondhand stuff he wanted to sell. Minutes later, Curtis had bought a pair of ice skates, four hubcaps, a cold chisel and a long, black duster such as horsemen wear. And with that transaction, the man who had everything had even more. Unfortunately, Curtis's collection is a lightning rod for even more stuff.

Some days fie comes to work to find that someone has dropped a load of thingamabobs at his front door and skedaddled. On top of that, Curtis can't resist the temptation to add to his collection. Shortly after he vowed that he was ready to get rid of everything, onymous with the engagement ring. It is quite appropnale as a symbol of the "35 commitment shared by two people, because diamond is the hardest known substance on earth. Discovered more than 2,000 years ago in India, this gem-stone derives its name from the Greek word "adamas," which means unconquerable.

According to Greek mythology, diamonds were regarded as the tears of the gods. In Roman mythology, they were splinters from the stars that Eros (the god of love) had made into tips for his arrows. In some cultures, a couple divided a piece of silver or gold in half to mark their engagement. This practice eventually evolved into the custom of the engagement ring, which the Italians improved upon by attaching a diamond to the ring to symbolize enduring love. Is there a wedding in your future? If so.

we invite you to visit us at MELBY'S JEWELERS to choose the thing I do know: I never had nobody looking down my shoulder." A friendly man with an easy way about him, Curtis not only has an eye for a bargain, but also an ear for music. As a boy, he played guitar. As a man he plays a mean piano, Jerry Lee Lewis-style. The piano sits on a small stage in one of the 10 buildings he uses to house his collection. Fellow musicians drop by from time-to-time to play with Curtis, who has memorized hundreds of songs and insists that "this is what keeps my brain active." In fact, it is his interest in mu-, sic that has made Curtis restless after all these years.

What he would like to do is sell everything he's accumulated and start a new life as a Nashville musician. "If I could just sell all this, I imagine you'd find me in one them cafes in Nashville playin' I've got some grandchildren down that way (Curtis's son. Shannon, is an orthopedic surgeon in Franklin. and I'd like to be down there right now." Trouble is. Curtis can't leave the material gatherings of 40 years behind him.

"I feel like I've got a tiger by the tail." he says. "There are boxes here that I haven't even looked in. and there's no one but me who knows what it's worth, piece-by-piece. But I'm looking for a buyer and -Im sure there's one out there. I'd like to find him.

sell out and live long enough to see what happens here when I leave." An assortment of World War II radios. An entire ice house dating back to the days when people hung cards in their front windows so the ice man could tell if they wanted 25, 50, 75 or 100 pounds of ice for their icebox. Unlike most people who collect the old and the unusual as a hobby, Curtis turned his search for almost anything recyclable into a full-time job. "I'd get up at midnight and head out for an auction," says Curtis, who grew up in Randolph, the Mississippi River town that washed away years ago. "Mostly, I bought things that people didn't want anymore, and after a few vears these things just took over my life." Curtis set up the J.B.

Curtis Trading Post in 1958 after working as an instrument technician for the Navy for 20 years. His original intention was to operate a small repair shop or maybe a music store, but his enthusiasm for buying and selling crowded out everything else. The sign on the trading post reads, "let's put it back together again." a recycling philosophy that Curtis sometimes carries to the extreme, "I'm bad about secondhand goods." said Curtis, who went into business in the days when cows and pigs roamed his pasture. "This shirt I'm wearing don't belong to me. I didn't buy it; this pair of pants ain't mine somebody gave 'em to me I don't have to live this way.

but it seems to satisfy me. "The truth is, I've had quite a time out of this place, but it's beejr'a lot of work. Considering -the hours I've put in and the miles I've driven. I don't know if I ever made any money or not. One By Bill Thomas Scnpps Howard News Service The man who has everything no longer ants it.

He's 80 years old and he reckons it's time to lighten up. For most aging Americans, cutting their lifestyles down to size is fairly easy. They simply sell the home-place, auction off the furniture, leave the family heirlooms to the ki3s and move to some small, uncluttered place where they can reinvent their lives. But for Burt Curtis, the king of the collectors, scrapping the past is not that simple. He's been accumulating the gizmos of civilization for 40 years he's got everything from adzes to kitchen zinc; from cuckoo clocks to powder horns; from baseball gloves to butter churns and he's not sure how to get out from under it.

"If I could just get rid of all this, I'd be on cny street." says Curtis, as he picks his way through a jungle of miscellany piles of stuff scattered higgledy-piggledy across a mind-boggling acre of land on U.S. 51 north of Memphis. It's not hard to see why Curtis is stuck. Here are some of the items that turned up on a quick tour of Cur-tis's dizzy spread; A stuffed alligator that was caught in Tipton County. 25 years ago.

A pile of "Liberty" magazines that were owned by Baby Face Nelson, the outlaw. A 40-foot-taiI windmill. The skeletal remains of a gang of motorcycles. A foxhunter's horn to call the hounds. A flat iron that operates on gasoline.

A bust of a young, thin Elvis Presley. Hospice Volunteer Training Classes Offered By: The Visiting Nurse Service, Inc. You are invited to reach out and make a difference in your life and the lives of others Volunteers are needed for our Hospice Program, a service that promotes emotional, spiritual and physical comfort while placing emphasis on the quality of life rather than the length of life. Classes begin June 1997 Please Contact: Paul Smith, RN, BSN Hospice Director, VNS, Inc. (800)870-3108 engagement ring, wedding bands, attendant's gifts, etc.

We have all kinds of cuts and designs, from traditional classics to contemporary dazzle. Take a few minutes from your busy day to browse here at 109 W. Main Street. You'll find no pressure, just pleasant, friendly faces to help you when you have questions or decisions to make. PH: 925-1678.

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