April 30, 1956

APRIL 30, 1956

CBH

From the diary of Clinton Bennett Hale Hollister

This is Monday Twelve noon and I am on my way down to Carpenteria to pick up parts at the Ford Motor place, for Dennis Biro. He was in town Sunday night, last night and we talked over matters of the Ranch and he told me that he had Louie raking hay over on the permanent pasture. I have Tony Machado, who called me last Sunday, who is worried about the hay getting mildewy, but it has been taken care of. As you know we had almost an inch of rain at the Salsipuedes. I cannot remember the exact day. We are in the process of drying out now.

Now I am waiting at home for my Mercury to get fixed.

I had to get a permit to shoot deer out of season. Frank Hollister told me that the deer are eating the walnut buds off the new trees. I called Woody and he confirmed the situation. It is getting to be quite a serious situation. So I got Jim Lane who is handling the permits out of season.

We talked about the deer problem and he seems to be well up on the importance of shooting does and putting recommendation for game increases and control and effect in this area. Bob Fordice is going around and teaching us the importance of preserving our game. So now I know who to talk to and maybe we can get something organized as far as the deer situation on the Gaviota Ranch through the Federated Sportsman and Mr. Fordice.

I answered Bill Faversham’s letter inquiring about a friend of Phil’s son coming out here to the ranch this summer looking for a job. We have about seven or eight young fellows coming out. Incidentally they will come in very handy because of this controlled burning, and if we can get into this cooperative movement why these boys will be very handy in fighting fire on the controlled burning. Not only our place but other people’s places. I am still in the process of looking for a cook up at the ranch this summer. I think the boys should be fed better than if they batched. It is going to be an additional expense. I don’t know whether the Hollister Estates will take it over but I think I will probably have to swing it myself and then collect from the boys to pay for the expense.

Before leaving Santa Barbara I found Father home. He had been up looking at the ranches and met Frank Pacheco bringing a 390 of beef heifers out of the Gato Bronco Hondo pasture. He said that they do not look too well so he decided to keep them rather than try and sell them and buy Pedotti’s young heifers. They will need extra feed and if they pick up sufficiently later on he might sell them. Some of them anyway, but we need them so he is going to hang on to them.

We paid out the checks today. I’ve got them with me. We will leave them at the Gaviota store. I am here at the burn area just coming onto the Arroyo Hondo area. It is kind of a miserable day. Very little wind. Avila has gone to the Salsipuedes with the one man baler to bale the hay over there.

Father thinks that the alfalfa is getting pretty nearly ready to cut up at the Bulito. There is a good growth and they are about ready to start farming again following the rain on the Cojo hills and the Arrow Gulch region.

I have just been up to Las Cruces and found that Mickey had finished the job on there of the crossing just at the entrance to the Walnut Orchard. Cliff Weber and Frank Hollister were fertilizing the trees.

I did not get to see them. I met Lane the game warden who is inspecting the orchard and said we had a very potential danger of the deer injuring our walnut trees. I talked with Mickey on the Las Cruces where I saw Red who had just come back with Frank having rounded up the beef heifers on the Bronco Hondo and Gato area Mickey is going to be able to move tomorrow, sometime. Sanchez is going to help him take his D-6 over to his house where he will start working on the brush clearing program making fire breaks for the fire this summer.

I left the deer tags and permit for the hunting at Frank’s house. I guess he will find them on his fancy dining room table when he comes home.