The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1918-03-22
FORMER PARTISAN TELLS OF
SUNNY CALIFORNIA.

A member of THE NEWS staff Is
in receipt of most interesting let
ter from former resident of Paris,
a schoolmate, friend and neighbor.
who is now living in sunny Califor-
mia. The writer is Mr.. T. Clarence
Erringer. of Chicago. Mrs. Erringer
and family after leaving Paris many
years ago. located in Chicago, where
fbe bows became interested in bust
ness ventures. Frank Erringer re-
NAMED in Chicago, while Clarence,
filled with a desire to live the simple
life. went to the sunny cline of Cali
fornia. where he now owns a fine
fruit rancho. Mr.. Erringer's letter
will be of interest to our readers AMI
to his many friends here:
"Rio Vista Rancho, Fillmore, CALI,
Dear Old Chum:-
Frank has kept me pretty well
posted concerning yourself and other
of my Paris friends of the old days,
and to-day the occasion seems SO mt
viz-rain and stormy outside that /
propose line or two, perhaps several
paragraphs.
II have at last reached the goal Of
my ambition, the height of content
ment and happiness, rancho life. It
is the only life, in fact, for the poor
as we'll as the rich man: At the age
of fifty find myself physically fit,
for another term of perhaps fifty
more years on the good old earth.
And sure do love old America.
Now, concerning my rancho, it
may perhaps interest you to know
something of the place, the surround
ing country, etc. We are located in
the beautiful Santa Clara Valley, in
Ventura county, California, the
rancho proper being in the foothills
of the Sulphur Mountains to the
south, with the Santa Clara river OIL
the north. "Camulos," the famous
home of Ramona, is two miles to the
east of this place, and Fillmore, 4
city of 5000, on our west. 1t is de-
lightful panorama, all around, in
fact.
my rancho is planted mostly to
fruit, forty acres being in four-year-
old lemons, now just beginning to
bear nicely; fOrty-five acres in wal
nuts, six-year-olds, all bearing heay-
lily; forty-five acres in fifteen-year-
old apricots, full bearing; five acres
in Valencia oranges. On the rancho,
which comprises about three hun
dred acres, we have the best of pas
turage for our cattle back in the
hills, have apiaries, etc. Recently,
Mr.. E. L. Doheney, the oil magnate,
has acquired holdings all around us,
and / have just refused a large sum
for my oil rights, as some day it ia
my desire to develop.
ut is quite interesting during our
apricot harvest, which is drawing
near June u to see our small army
of apricot pickers, cutters and drierS
working full force, some 100 to 250
girls being employed for the work.
We have a large drying shed, sui
phur houses, tramways, ETC., for the
purpose of carrying on this work
The campers have their tents in a
beautiful eucalyptus grove near the
orchards, and they manage to enjoy
themselves hugely, at the same time
earn vacation money ranging any
where from $1.00 to $500 per day,
the season lasting about thirty days.
We generally have a crop of about
$50 tons of the green fruit, or when
dried, one-fifth of that amount, be-
ing thirty tons of dried apricots, sell
ing anywhere from 10 cents to Is
cents per pound, last season bringing
fifteen cents per pound, being war
prices.
1.-The walnuts follow soon after
harvesting of our beans, about Octo-
Der l. The beans are interest in the
young lemon groves, by the way
forty acres yielding about seven
sacks to the acre. This applies to
the Blackeyed Susan variety or Coon
Beans The walnuts are of the
'budded' stock or Familiarity known as
the Placentia Perfecto or Santa Clara
soft-shell variety. These command the
highest prices, last season bringing
% cents for the Jumbo, and 20 cents
for the orchard run stock.
I'VE are having our first rains af
ter a dry period of eleven months
and the rancho men are all smiles
Our normal rainfall in the vallej
averages about twenty inches, while
since the 25th of February we have
had fifteen inches, thereby insurine
not only an immense crop, but com
ing at time when things looked
very encouraging for rainless sea,
son.
my youngest son, Orville, is man
| ager of the rancho, having taken tbs
place of Theodore, my oldest son
when the latter left to marry an(
| locate in the East. 1t would be {
] great pleasure to me to have any q
my old friends who should happen tt
be journeying in Southern California
visit me at "Rio VISTA" and l would
insure them an interesting time a.
well as taste of real rancho life
We have a commodious rancho HON,
/ and all the comforts of life, an(
would make things interesting fol
our visitors.
my mother, who is with me, a.
we'll as Mrs. Erringer, joins me il