A few days ago I retold the tale of the 1958 capture in Sleepy Hollow of a murder suspect named Lester Dean Bonds, who fatally shot Officer Russell Grower of the Ontario Police Department in a vacant ranch house in Soquel Canyon.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a resident on his way home stopped in at the Sleepy Hollow Cafe and heard about the manhunt for Bonds. That evening, Bonds was found in this person's house and was eventually nabbed there.
There are two images here: a photograph of the front facade of the structure, which looks like a log cabin with high interior ceilings, dormer windows on the roof and an attachment at the right that looks like it may have been an addition; and the postcard made from the photo. The caption reads "SLEEPY HOLLOW CAFE -- Good Food -- Beer -- Wine -- Carbon Canyon Rd., Chino, Calif." On the reverse of the postally unused card is the name of National Press, Inc. of North Chicago, Illinois, the publisher of the card.
The font type, the crinkled edges of the photo, and the very small portion of a car at the lower left of the photo would indicate a late 1940s or early 1950s date for the card, several years (or a decade, perhaps) before the Bonds manhunt. It is difficult for me to see where this structure was located. Behind the oak tree that is next to the cafe there appears to be a house up on a hill and there are trees in the background, but I really can't tell anything more. If there is anyone who has information on the Sleepy Hollow Cafe, I'd love to hear about it.
These are items 2008.7.1.1-2 of the Carbon Canyon Collection.
A good read and, yes, this is a photo of the Sleepy Hollow Cafe. I bought my first guitar from a barmaid there (Susie Terrell), with $7.00 of the money I had made selling mistletoe & holly with my friend/neighbor, Dennis Frampton, outside the door of his parents bar/cafe, Floyd & Dots just up the road. I think it is more likely the person (Bill Squires) whose home Mr. Bonds finally ended up in and subsequently captured, would have found out the info about Bonds at Floyd & Dots, not the Sleepy Hollow cafe. This is because Mr. Squires driveway started at the end of Floyd & Dots parking lot. There were three homes that used the same driveway, which was part of the old Carbon Canyon Road. They were, starting at the rock wall on Carbon Canyon Rd.: Art & Mabel Long, my family, Norris (Butch) and Dorothy Graham, and Bill & Lucille Squires, whose home Bond was captured. When Mr. Squires investigated noises inside his home in the early morning hours and found Mr. Bonds, he calmed the intruder by asking if he'd like some coffee or a beer. Mr. Bonds who had been on the run all day, from Soquel Canyon to Sleepy Hollow asked for a beer. Mr. Squires, who was devoutly religious, told Bonds he didn't have a beer but could get him one in just a minute. Courageously, Mr. Squires left his sleepy family alone with the intruder, long enough to run the end of the driveway, arouse and alert Floyd Frampton of the situation, and return home with the beer. Mr. Frampton alert the police, who later surrounded the home and captured Bonds without a struggle.
ReplyDeleteHi Randy, welcome back and this is great additional insight and information about the Bonds incident from the 1950s. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteI happened to come across this blog while looking to find pictures of the Sleepy Hollow Cafe which my grandmother once owned sometime between 1958 to around 1962. The cafe sat at the corner of Rosemary lane and hwy 142. The addition you referred to was a studio sized place she lived in while she owned it. Behind the oak tree in front was a set of steps that lead to that addition. The steps I believe are still there. I wouldn't say it was a cafe when she owned it as it was more of a bar with live bands and dancing. I recall there being a lot of bikers stopping there as well. Even at 5'1", she wouldn't hesitate to jump in the middle of a fight to break it up, and for sure, no one was going to tell her what she could or couldn't do. Saturday nights were always packed, and the excess of people would flow to the patio in the back of the the bar. I don't know what happened to the bar or when, but would love to see and know more about it.
ReplyDeleteHello Pic, re-reading Randy's comment from 2 1/2 years ago and now yours, I now realize that you both are saying this postcard and photo of the Sleepy Hollow Café show the building to be at Rosemary and Carbon Canyon Road. My son uses those steps every day to and from the school bus. When I first saw Randy's comment, I didn't put 2 and 2 together, but you've cleared that up. I'll ask some long-time residents if they know when the buildings were removed. Meantime, leave your e-mail address and I'll send you a good hi-res scan of the photo.
ReplyDeleteHi prs, can't believe you live so close to to there. Do you have access to the newspapers from that era? I've heard stories but can't confirm my grandmothers run ins with law enforcement. She had a very colorful life.
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