The facility included a community hall, buildings for lodging, a swimming pool, and much more. Some of these structures survive as part of a horse and cattle facility on the east side of Canyon Hills Road north of Carbon Canyon Road on the Chino Hills side of the canyon.
Incidentally, the elderly owner of the site recently passed away and there are rumors that the property may be sold. If that happens, expect developers to hungrily eye the property for more homes and for the camp buildings to be destroyed without documentation of their historical value or importance.
That happened not long ago with the ruins and remains of other structures and elements of the camp, wihch were razed a couple of years ago without so much as a report or survey about their existenc as the construction of the Hillcrest housing development, now in its third phase, went underway.
Today's entry is a postcard titled "A View of the Workmen's Circle Camp Plunge," the swimming facility for the camp. It shows the large cement pool, what were likely changing rooms, and nine persons in swimsuits on the pool deck. In the background are a portion of the Chino Hills, where the Oak Tree Downs and Oak Tree Estates developments are today.
On the reverse of the card is the camp's name, mailing address and city (of course, Chino Hills was some fifty years away from incorporation!). A date stamp from a Los Angeles post office shows the date of 28 July 1942 and there is a stamp encouraging the purchase of defense savings bonds and stamps and a 1-cent mailing stamp "for defense." The United States had entered World War II, just seven months before after the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor.
A note from "Herbie" to Mrs. Tillie Katz of Glendale mentions that he was swimming and hiking as part of his stay at the camp. |
It's extremely rare to find anything about Camp Kinder Ring, so this is a very welcome addition to the documentation about an important element of Carbon Canyon history.
Mr Klavins, who owned the front portion of the property, which includes the duplex & 2 story building ( a little over 1 acre), did pass away. Mr Grenier, who owns the horse ranch,which is over 20 acres, is still alive and kicking. The ranch has not been listed for sale.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous, thanks for the clarification about the property and the two different parts of it. Appreciate your doing that!
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