“Vaqueros & Buckaroos” exhibit at the California Oil Museum

Cattle Ranches of Santa Paula” is a newly opened exhibition by the Santa Paula Historical Society at the California Oil Museum (1001 E. Main St., Santa Paula, 805-933-0076, Adults $4, Seniors $3, Children $1; www.oilmuseum.net). The exhibit looks at the many historic family ranches in Santa Paula and the Santa Clara River Valley, with venerable names like Jauregui, Hengehold, Esparza, Atmore, Cummings, Orcutt, and more. An exhibit reception will be held Saturday, November 18, 2006, from 1 - 3 PM at the Museum. Cowboy chili and sourdough bread will be served to visitors from a ranch chuck wagon for the price of admission. A speaker program about Santa Paula ranching history with Lou Hengehold will begin at 2:00 PM. This will be followed by a vaquero roping demonstration by expert Pat Puckett with Californio-style rawhide riatas. The exhibit runs through March 11, 2007.Cattle ranching has been a way of life in Ventura County for more than 200 years. Early documents indicate that longhorns came to the Santa Paula area by 1843, when Manuel Jimeno Casa_in was granted Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy by the Mexican government. Cattle have continued to graze in the hills and arroyos of Santa Paula ever since. Many local families have run cattle ranches for generations. Private family collections of local ranching memorabilia are on display including vintage saddles, bridles, lariats, cowboy attire, Santa Paula cattle brands, and historical photographs and documents.Santa Paula Historical Society curators Joe Jauregui and Mike Shore are assembling the exhibit from local collections. “My family has been in local cattle ranching for decades,” noted Joe Jauregui, “so this exhibit is about many of the people I have known.” Mike Shore added, “The Santa Paula Historical Society wants to bring the many faces of Santa Paula history into the public eye and ranching is one of the most important.” Museum Curator Jeanne Orcutt, who oversees exhibit development at the Museum, noted that, “This exhibit is one of seven that are presented by community groups each year giving the Museum a fascinating variety in its exhibit presentations.”