Help save a bit of history

| Thursday, June 13, 2002 10:00 PM PDT ∞

GREG SCHARF
Commentary

If you passed this way in the early '80s, you were sure to see a big sign advertising the Temecula Wild West Museum. It stood where the Army-Navy Store now sits on Jefferson Avenue, and it was fascinating to anyone interested in the Old West.

There were guns, saddles, memorabilia ---- pictures of how it used to be. It was great.

Well, it closed, and most of the stuff got sold to the Gene Autry Museum in Burbank. And that seems a little weird, because although Burbank and the surrounding area was certainly where a lot of movies about the West were made, Temecula actually had an interesting role in the history of the West.

It was a stop for the Butterfield Stage and has a past that includes the Indians, the padres, the Immigrant Trail, the Mormon Battalion, the Temecula Massacre, the Louis Wolf Store and the Vail Cattle Ranch. In fact, the last man hanged in California came from here.

To commemorate our role in the history of the West, the folks at the Vail Ranch Restoration Association have worked hard to save the remaining buildings of the "soul of Temecula," the Vail Ranch. Bill Stone of Price Legacy, the owner and developer of the property, has been true to his word; Price Legacy is committed to using the association ---- VaRRA, as it's known ---- as an advisory group for the usage of the buildings, the design (inside and especially outside) and site landscaping for the 4 acres.

I love San Diego's Old Town and, once restored, I think the Vail Ranch will be equally as interesting.

OK, so we don't actually have a haunted house like the Whaley House, but last time I was there I was scared half to death by an actress who was really good at her job, so who needs that anyway? Perhaps we'll have a cigar store or a good Mexican restaurant. The possibilities are amazing.

The developer has hired a very renowned historical architect, Don Ash. But what is displayed on the inside of the building is up to the VaRRA and the builder has said it's up to them to provide "static museum displays" for each of the buildings. As I understand it, this means that we will have unmanned museum displays.

VaRRA has a minuscule treasury, so it can't purchase historical display items. So I'd like to solicit the help of all interested parties. The association would like to receive donations of historic things for the displays and monetary donations, too, for setting them up.

Perhaps the city would like to help out? After all, this is where the city of Temecula started, and predates what we call Old Town by quite a few years.

Perhaps some of the historic families in the area may want to give furnishings and other memorabilia back to the ranch. They may have furniture, photographs, cowboy paraphernalia, cooking vessels, etc. that were original to the Vail Ranch, or earlier times there.

The association would also accept books and papers relating to local history. VaRRA hopes to maintain an office onsite with a collection of local history resource materials that will be accessible to researchers. This will be our museum, and it won't ever be for sale ---- and we need your help.

VaRRA is a nonprofit organization. It is prepared to give a charitable donation receipt to donors. People can contact Darell Farnbach at 699-5148 if they have questions about donations.

Greg Scharf of Temecula is a regular columnist for The Californian. E-mail: Gscharf7@cs.com.

6/14/02

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