Shelley Stoody of the Double S Ranch, Carbon Canyon, and Cartoonist Carl Barks

Last month's presentation to the Chino Hills Historical Society on the history of industrialist Shelley M. Stoody and his Double S Ranch in Carbon Canyon began with a discussion of his humble origins in West Virginia and his family's migration in the very early 1920s to Whittier, where Stoody, his father and his brother set up a blacksmith shop catering to farming equipment and small-scale work.

In short order, however, with the booming oil industry running, literally, into barriers to deeper drilling and the tapping of petroleum deposits at lower levels, the Stoodys came up with a technique of "hard-facing" drill bits with coatings of super-durable alloys.  By the end of the Roaring Twenties, this not only revolutionized oil drilling, but had all kinds of applications wherever hard-facing could strengthen materials for aircraft, ships and other equipment.

A printed item to the inaugural events at the Double S Ranch in 1960 and 1961.  Courtesy of the Evans family, as are the others images below.

The Stoody Corporation's rapid rise meant, of course, significant wealth for its owners and Shelley developed interests in such areas as aviation, personally and professionally; astronomy, with his creation of a mobile telescope, attached to the top of a vehicle, so searching for the stars could be done in barnstorming fashion, while his Whittier house had its own small observatory; and radio for emergency purposes, including his World War II-era donation of equipment to the Whittier Police Department so it had a battery backup for its apparatus.

In the late 1940s, Stoody, who also had a residence at the top of the Puente Hills in North Whittier (now Hacienda) Heights, moved to a large property in Palos Verdes Estates.  He came up with the idea of commuting to the company plant, in what became Santa Fe Springs, by helicopter, which cut his travel time significantly.  

Shelley Stoody at left with the majority owner, Mississippi rancher Maurice P. "Hot" Moore, and their purebred bull, CMR Rollotrend 5th, valued at $320,000 and in which Stoody had a 25% stake.

The problem was that he ran afoul of the city administrators at the peninsula because he wanted to build a helipad that was considered too invasive for the municipality's tastes.  The conflict was such that he ended up relocating to Balboa Island in Newport Beach, where he could indulge in another passion, sailing.  Apparently, he ended his helicopter commuting, but, after purchasing some 450 acres in Carbon Canyon in the early 1950s, he continued his longstanding interest in aviation by building a simple airplane landing strip and keeping his personalized craft in a steel hangar.

The Double S Ranch (he had others, at various times, in Nevada and in the Hemet area of Riverside County) was quickly set up for the breeding of Hereford cattle and, by the end of the Fifties, Stoody was nationally known for his deep-pocket investment in these animals.  He built an 11,000 square-foot showbarn along with other structures and facilities for his ranching activity, along with a hilltop house overlooking his domain.

A panoramic view of the Double S showbarn.

By 1960, Stoody was holding events at the ranch, including shows and sales, that garnered some substantial attention within the cattle-raising industry and he seemed poised to expand his operations and became a leader in that realm.  The following year, however, as he piloted his plane, carrying two ranch employees and a salesperson for a vendor he was using, Stoody tried landing in the little valley or side canyon where the simple runway was and veered into the side of a hill opposite the house where his wife was watching.  The crash ended up killing all four men and a lawsuit filed by one of them alleged that Stoody was intoxicated and performing dangerous stunts.

In the aftermath, his widow, Corinne, sold the ranch, much of which was quickly developed into the Western Hills Country Club that is now in its 60th year of operation.  While Stoody left her company stock, it was not the substantial inheritance he evidently thought it would be.  She spent much of her remaining years in Whittier where she became friendly with some neighbors, the Evans family.  Later in her life, Corinne Stoody gave her friends some mementos that included some remarkable drawings and cartoons from a longtime friend of her and her late husband.

A Carl Barks cartoon referencing the conflict between the Palos Verdes authorities, represented by the charging ram at the right, and Stoody, shown flying his commuting helicopter near his home in the background.  This was published in the Palos Verdes News.

These remained with the Evans family for decades and were recently profiled in an Inland Valley Daily Bulletin article by columnist David Allen and there have been subsequent pieces by him about some of the items, comprising drawings by the well-known Disney illustrator, Carl Barks, who drew Donald Duck for comic books and came up with the design for Uncle Scrooge.

David got me in contact with Doug Evans, who shared the amazing drawings shown here as well as a framed collage of photos and an invitation related to the Double S Ranch and a field lunch and sale held there by the Stoodys in 1960 and 1961.  Doug not only made these available, but, after the presentation, gave a summary to the audience of the items given to his family by Corinne Stoody.  It was definitely a great bonus to have for the talk and it is with thanks to Doug and his parents that this post shares a few of the items that he brought that evening.

Another Barks cartoon in that paper concerning the helicopter controversy.

As for the next Chino Hills Historical Society presentation, that will be a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the official tract map for the Carbon Canyon community of Sleepy Hollow on Monday, 16 October at 7 p.m. at the Community Center on Peyton Drive across from Ayala High School.  There are also plans to have a community celebration in Sleepy Hollow on the afternoon of Sunday the 15th, though not much can be said beyond the anticipated date and time.

Meanwhile, in the three months before then, we'll look to share some more Sleepy Hollow history here in the run-up to the celebration, so keep an eye peeled for posts!