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Students studying the American Frontier
Fifth- and sixth-grade students studying the American Frontier were helped by teacher Margaret Ericson, a UCLA graduate who believed children learn by doing. She helped them make suits of burlap, wooden guns, and fur caps.
Topanga School teachers, 1940s
Topanga School teachers: Principal Elva Sigrist, Beulah Hendrix, Grace Wiley, Ivy Pearson, Florence Bruinsslot, May Peterson, Leon Hendrix, Rhoda Julian, Thelma Parker, Bertha Hangen, Jacqueline Wilson.
Topanga Elementary School contest winners, 1950s
Topanga Elementary School motto contest winners receive medals from Fire Department: Capt. Jack Connors, Heather Wallace, Connie Manlein, Bruce Haines, and Chief Harvey Anderson.
Messenger editor Colin Penno
Messenger editor Colin Penno is honored by Topanga Elementary School students as a citizen from abroad (England).
School Booster Club leaders and teacher Bonnie Wallace
Topanga Elementary School Booster Club leaders chat with teacher Bonnie Wallace: Sharon Morrison, Lynne Haigh, Rody Salkeld, Bonnie Wallace, Judy Heign.
Topanga Elementary School, Track and Field Day
Topanga Elementary School, Track and Field Day, organized by Marathon world-record holder Jacqueline Hansen.
Arlene Plotkin and Michelene (Mike) Kelly
Arlene Plotkin and Michelene (Mike) Kelly were familiar faces in the office at Topanga Elementary School.
Topanga Elementary School, Track and Field Day
Topanga Elementary School, Track and Field Day, organized by Marathon world-record holder Jacqueline Hansen.
Ann Stalcup with her student folk dancers
Teacher Ann Stalcup with her student folk dancers. Topanga Elementary School came through for Ann when her house burned down in the 1993 fire.
Sisters Candy Clark, Connie Clark, and unknown woman
Sisters Candy Clark, Connie Clark, and unknown woman spinning and weaving. After the Barton School closed, the Clark family continued to live on the property.
Barton School teacher Hildor Barton
Barton School teacher Hildor Barton was never happier than when planning and constructing buildings.
Barton School teacher Nancy Gluck
Barton School teacher Nancy Gluck came in 1940 and stay until the end. She was a dear friend of the Barton family.
Barton School teacher Howard Gutmann
Barton School teacher Howard Gutmann was a German Jew and had escaped war and persecution.
Community House playground
Community House playground built by parents of Topanga Cooperative Preschool.
Kedric Wolfe at Children's Corner Fair
Kedric Wolfe plays flute at the Children's Fair at Children's Corner Preschool. At top left, Bernt Capra holds daughter Michele.
Charles Greenleaf, daughter Mabel, and grandchildren
Charles Greenleaf, daughter Mabel, and grandchildren Charles and Janet.
James Craig, who owned the General Store
James Craig, who owned the General Store, became Topanga Post Office postmaster in 1913
A Cheney family outing
A Cheney family outing. George Cheney (right) used this 1910 Garford to carry passengers and mail to the Post Office.
Mail carrier Fred Leavitt
Mail carrier Fred Leavitt was a Republican, and his brother Les was a Democrat. Between them they kept the Topanga Post Office postmaster position for 25 years.
Mail carrier Les Leavitt
Mail carrier Les Leavitt was a Democrat, and his brother Fred was a Republican. Between them they kept the Topanga Post Office postmaster position for 25 years.
Dan Bovee, Ralph Kewitt, Les Leavitt
Dan Bovee, Ralph Kewitt, Topanga Post Office Postmaster Les Leavitt (selling stamps and defense bonds), unknown, unknown, unknown.
Postal workers at shopping center
Postal workers at the Topanga Post Office's rented quarters in the shopping center. Gordon Gleave, Ivy Mumby, Fremont Smith, Helen Zilmer, Alice Terry, Betty Niklas, Postmaster Hal Rolve, and mascot Tippy (the dog).
Fireman Tom Cheney sprays hose
Fireman Tom Cheney sprays hose of Topanga's first fire truck. Cecil Gehr (center) became Los Angeles Fire Department Chief in 1952.
Topanga firemen, 1943
Topanga firemen: Captain Harvey Anderson, Jimmie Hansen, E. W. Monkman, Fred Van Syrc, and Captain Des Barton.
Firemen after dousing a guesthouse fire
Station 69 Firemen after dousing a guesthouse fire. Nolan Feldman, Captain Chase, Steve Ford, Scott Greenelch, and Jay Fernandez.
The "Topanga Canyon Survival Guide" committee
The "Topanga Canyon Survival Guide" committee: Alli Acker, David Dijkstra, John Hargraves, Gayla Hertzog, Assistant Chief Reginald Lee, Pat Mac Neil, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Dean Lehman, Lance Grindle, Robert Kamm, and Abigail Bok.
Janet Marlborough leads Jegg Zolper on horseback
Janet Marlborough leads Jegg Zolper on horseback through Topanga State Park.
Bert Wilson selling native plants
Bert Wilson selling native plants at the annual Resource Conservation District (RCD) event.
Congressman Tony Beilenson
Congressman Tony Beilenson was interviewed while inspecting flood damage in Topanga. He authored the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area legislation.
Susan Nissman at Topanga Philharmonic concert
Susan Nissman, Senior Field Deputy to Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, leads children onstage during a Topanga Philharmonic concert she coordinated.
The Topanga Watershed Committee
The Topanga Watershed Committee being honored for their Wrecked Car Removal Project at a dinner thrown by the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Lucy Cheney at the bottom of the S-Turns
Lucy Cheney at the bottom of the S-Turns. She was the first to take a wagon down the rough road to Topanga Beach.
Stage and mail driver Joe Robison
Stage and Post Office mail driver Joe Robison with passengers near the "robber's hut" stone house at Topanga Forks.
Topanga Highway in the S-Turns
Topanga Highway in the S-Turns. Cars took over after the road was rebuilt in 1915.
Bridge near the old Post Office
This 1920 bridge near the old Post Office was replaced when the road was realigned 10 years later.
Topanga Highway descends into San Fernando Valley
Topanga Highway descends into San Fernando Valley. The marker near the sign for Girard (later Woodland Hills) is the LA city boundary.
Fernwood Pacific Drive
Fernwood Pacific Drive was built to encourage 1920s development. Considered strategic, it was widened during World War II.
Topanga firemen in front of Forestry Station
Topanga firemen in front of Forestry Station. SEATED: Jack Albright, Albert Carroll, Bill Santa Maria, Jack Connors, Bud Currier, Floyd Cunningham, Slim Pressler, Bob Butler. STANDING: Al Weinart, Cecil Gehr, Art Bishop, Freddy Stevenson, Jack…
Outhouse on Robinson Road
Due primarily to lack of water, outhouses were common through the 1940s, such as this one listing to its side on Robinson Road.
Lee Conger, Bill Sloan, and Jerry Harold
Lee Conger, Bill Sloan, and Jerry Harold lay water line in the 1940s near the junction of Old Topanga Canyon.
6 cartoons lambasting the Water Committee
6 cartoons lambasting the foibles of the Water Committee, in the Topanga Businessmen's Association pamphlet.
Topanga Permanent Water Committee
The Topanga Permanent Water Committee was formed by the Chamber to push for a reliable water supply. Elected in 1956, from left: Sherman Haeggquist, Dan McGovern, Tom McDougall, Peter Stimac, and Virgil Just.
Art Marshburn and family
Art Marshburn, an Old Topanga Canyon leader involved in the water controversy, with his family in the 1950s.
From left back row: Robert, David, Arthur, Carol.
Front row: Jean, Tom.
From left back row: Robert, David, Arthur, Carol.
Front row: Jean, Tom.
Dean Perry, Judge John Merrick, Greg Venturi
Judge John Merrick, with Chamber officers Dean Perry (left) and Greg Venturi chaired a committee in the 1970s charged with developing solutions to the water crisis.
"Mose" Cheney inaugurates the first electrical pole
Columbus Callan "Mose" Cheney turns symbolic shovel of dirt while children sing, commemorating the installation of the first electrical pole at junction of Old Topanga and Topanga Roads in 1928, which finally brought electricity to the Canyon.
Oka Stewart, Camp Wildwood Owner, Ham Radio Operator
Camp Wildwood owner Oka Stewart sits at his ham radio, used by local journalist Hugh Harlan during the 1938 fire to issue national reports covering the incident.
Topanga Journal 1943 Fire Coverage
The Fire of November, 1943 pictured from the Post Office Tract looking west. Circles mark homes lost. Arrow points to dwellings on Valley View Drive behind the Fire Station.
Fire of 1943, Old Topanga Canyon
Flames in the 1943 fire were halted 100 yards from the Defense Headquarters, situated at the junction of Old and New Topanga Canyons.
Mrs. Leona Soderstrom Homeless after The Fire of 1943
Homeless, Mrs. Leona Soderstrom and baby son Starr sit among what little was left after flames of the 1943 fire.
New Year's Eve Fire, 1958
The New Year's Eve Fire approaches the home of Evelyn McGovern on Saddle Peak in 1958.
Evelyn McGovern Surveys Fire Damage, 1958
Evelyn McGovern, her son Michael and daughter Patricia survey the ruins of their home after the fire of 1958.
Oscar E. Hiltbrand surveys wreckage from the Fire of 1943
Oscar E. Hiltbrand surveys wreckage from the Fire of 1943 at Earl Garber's house in the Bonnell Tract.
Mr and Mrs. James Merrin Lose Home, 1948 Fire
Mr and Mrs. James Merrin and son Joel at the site of their Sylvia Park home lost in the fire of 1948. Merrin taught English at UCLA.
Hugh Harlan's Home Lost to New Year's Eve Fire, 1958
The gracious Hugh Harlan home, built by William T. Gibbon on School Road, burned overnight in the New Year's Eve Fire of 1958. The new school nearby was spared.
Forestry Crew Prepares to Reseed Hills, 1958 Fire
In the aftermath of the 1958 fire, a Los Angeles Fire Department forestry crew prepares to take off in a helicopter from the Speer Ranch to reseed the hills.
Arson Fire of 1961
On November 6, 1961, folks gather near Pine Tree Circle watching smoke from an arson fire curl in the distance.
Flames Cross Topanga Canyon Boulevard, 1973
Flames cross Topanga Canyon Boulevard in the Twin Poles area on October 31, 1973
Fireman sets a backfire, 1993
A fireman sets a backfire to save Old Topanga Canyon homes on the first day of the 1993 "Old Topanga Canyon Incident" fire.
Landslide at Topanga Summit, 1927
A landslide at Topanga Summit caused by rains in 1922 continued to obstruct Highway 27 in 1927. Men are shown drilling holes for dynamite, to blow off the projection.
Home of Ral Curren suffers flood damage
Ral Curren, owner of The Corral, lost precious rock n' roll memorabilia when the creek scoured his home in the flood.
Car crosses 1980 Floodwaters
This sports car's owner was actually lucky; many cars were lost to the creek in 1980.
S-Turns Closed for Many Months
The S-Turns were open only to pedestrians and bike traffic for many months after 1980's "storm of the century" and flood.
Topanga Creek floods, 1992
The creek behind the market at flood stage in 1992. Due to tenants' demands, a wall was built to hold back flood waters.
Topanga General Store and Post Office
Topanga General Store and Post Office operated out of a pioneer's frame house, where Pine Tree Circle is today.
Topanga General Store and Post Office
Topanga General Store owner Irvin "Smitty" Smith chats with customers on the porch.
Fred Solomon
Fred Solomon built the first real shopping center in Topanga in 1946, using Quonset huts left over from World War II.
Alyn Ranson, Rosagua Trujillo, Eddie Gripp, and Pat Rasbury
Alyn Ranson, Rosagua Trujillo (Rose Wiley), Eddie Gripp, and Pat Rasbury at Lee's Hitching Post in Fred Solomon's shopping center, a hangout for teenagers.
The Outside Inn
After the Hansens bought Jim Fletcher's Outside Inn store, they added a restaurant and it became a local favorite.
Topanga Shopping Center, 1966
Topanga Shopping Center featured the Best Food Center and Topanga Cleaners.
Fernwood Market, 1949
Fernwood Market, 1949. Evelyn Russell, Paul Gripp, Joe Baker, Bill Smith, Mr. Crawford, Paula Crawford, Jim Lucas, and Mike Evans.
King's Charcoal Bar-B-Q restaurant
King's Charcoal Bar-B-Q restaurant on a rare snow day at Topanga Summit.
Ken's Pleasant Inn
Ken's Pleasant Inn. Whitey Marjenhoff, Ray McClure, owner Pleasant Buerge, unknown, owner Ken Buerge, Harry Long, Bob Ballentine, Chuck Russell, Jack Davis, Frank Romero. (Seated: Dewey Kemp.)
Wally High and Pat Burke
Wally High and Pat Burke at Pat's Topanga Grill in Coulson Center soon after it opened.
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