Chino Hills Historical Society Talk on Early Boys Republic History Next Monday 12 October

Next Monday, 12 October @ 7 p.m. in the Chino Hills Community Center @ 14250 Peyton Drive, the Chino Hills Historical Society presents the third and final talk of the year, this one on some early history of Boys Republic, sharing rare photos from the 1910s.  These include some of the students, buildings and landscape of the property, which has been occupied by the institution since 1909 (it was in San Fernando for a couple of years prior) and which was then known as George Junior Republic.

The photos, on pages from an album compiled by Lydia Youmans Doyle, are from the collection of the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum in the City of Industry, whose director happens to be the speaker (and proprietor of this blog), Paul R. Spitzzeri.  Lydia married Clyde Doyle, the Republic's assistant superintendent and who came to the job after serving as secretary of the Y.M.C.A. of Long Beach in Los Angeles County.

The Doyles resided in a new house built on the grounds by students trained for the trade of construction and, after a couple of years, left when Clyde enrolled at the University of Southern California law school.  After graduation, he opened a law practice in Long Beach, though continued his involvement with Boys Republic, including years of service as a trustee.  In 1944, the Democrat won election to the House of Representatives and served a single term, but returned to Congress again in 1949 and remained there until his death 14 years later.  Notably, from 1951 until his death, Doyle served on the House Un-American Activities Committee.

We hope to see you next week for this talk!  

Soquel Canyon History Presentation at Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center

A week from today, Friday, 25 September @ 6 p.m. (a 5:30 meet/greet and light snacks, as well) for some history of Soquel Canyon at the Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center at 4200 Carbon Canyon Road in Brea.

The discussion goes back to the 1850s when a wanted murderer was captured in the canyon and includes the oil boom town of Petrolia from the 1880s, the Chino Ranch Ride from the 1930s onward and the Aerojet munitions testing facility during the Cold War, and more.

Hope to see you there!

Dell Vistas 95-Unit Housing Project Coming to Carbon Canyon

Warmington Homes has announced that the 95-unit Dell Vistas subdivision is coming to Carbon Canyon in Chino Hills.  The project site is north of Carbon Canyon Road and east of Canyon Hills Road, being adjacent to Canyon Hills Cottages (originally Camp Kinder Ring from 1928-1958 and a succession of social clubs, the Ski Villa lodge, Purple Haze nightclub, and so on), Hillcrest, Oak Tree Downs and Estates and the newly launched Serenity Grove.

The development will also lead to the installation of Carbon Canyon's second traffic signal, following the one at Olinda Village in Brea, at the intersection of Carbon Canyon and Canyon Hills.  Expect public meetings and comment to be announced soon.  Note also that future projects in the Canyon include 187 multi-family homes along a portion of Western Hills Country Club and a single-family development of 45 units (the last one here was supposed to be 28) between the golf course and the S-curves at the summit.

New Video on Proposed Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142) Widening by CalTrans

Chino Hills realtor Thomas Ryan has just posted a 12 minute and 40 second video on CalTrans District 8's proposal to widen Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142): https://fb.watch/JjcKOh1Thp/.

Southern California Edison Power Lines Undergrounding Project for Portions of Carbon Canyon in Chino Hills

A flyer, dated the 12th, and received by snail mail yesterday from Southern California Edison announces that "as part of our long-term plan to modernize the energy grid and reduce wildfire risk" there is a project "to further reduce the threat of wildfire by burying power lines in high-risk areas."  For those of us who live in or adjacent to Carbon Canyon, this is especially interesting because placing these lines underground protect the infrastructure and avoid the likelihood of problems from balloons, debris and vegetation, while also mitigating issues that could cause lines to go down.  It was also mentioned that this work would allow residents "to evacuate quickly during a significant wildfire."

What is called the "Targeted Undergrounding" project is anticipated to take place through all of 2028, with further information concerning timelines and construction details to follow.  It is added that work will mostly take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays with possible Saturday work from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.  There would, of course, be no activity on holidays, red flag days during high winds and when weather is severe.

The locations (see the map detail) will be along Carbon Canyon Road (State Route 142) from about Fairway Drive where Western Hills Country Club is located west to about the Orange/San Bernardino counties line.  There will be branch work along such roads as Canon Lane, Canyon Hills road and Valley Springs Road as well as throughout the neighborhood of Sleepy Hollow, totaling a little more than four-and-a-half miles of lines.  It is added that "construction activities may impact the surrounding areas as temporary road closures may be necessary to perform the work safely."

The Targeted Undergrounding project is in the planning stages and permitting is yet to come, but updates can be found at the TUG page on the SCE website.

Olinda History Presentation at Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center Next Friday

The Discovery Center at Chino Hills State Park is the setting for a series of Naturalist Night presentations and next Friday, 31 July at the facility, located at 4500 Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, is a discussion of some of the history of Olinda.

This includes the ranch, the briefly boosted boom town of Carlton, the oil field, and more.  A meet-and-greet is at 5 p.m., with the talk at 6 p.m. and a Q&A about the park at 7 p.m.  Artifacts related to Olinda will also be on display.

We hope to see you there!

Olinda History Presentation at Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center on 31 July

On Friday, 31 July at 6 p.m. at the Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center, 4500 Carbon Canyon Road in Brea just east of Carbon Canyon Regional Park, the Friends of Chino Hills State Park is hosting a presentation on some of the history of Olinda, the portion of Brea that was a ranch, location of the short-lived boomtown of Carlton and then, for decades, a very productive oil field, among the last of which is now being decomissioned and developed as the Brea265 project.

The illustrated talk will feature great historic photos, including of the Olinda School and oil wells, as well as maps, newspaper articles and more detailing some of the remarkable history of this area, with ties to Brazil and the Hawaiian island of Maui, as well as locally.

A caveat is that traffic eastbound at that time of day is quite heavy and the backup on Carbon Canyon can be lengthy from Valencia Avenue, so, anyone coming from the west (Orange County) should be aware of those conditions.  If you're from that side of the Canyon and have time, come early to see a bit of the park (bearing in mind summer weather) and see the exhibits at the Discovery Center before the talk.

We hope to see you there!