Decatur County Journal Thursday, March 8, 1917 A Letter from Mrs. Sallie Chastain, Los Angeles, California, February 20, 1917. Editor Journal: Will you allow me a little space in your valuable paper to tell our friends in Iowa that we are having the time of our life over the great mountains in California. We arrived here on December the seventh, 1916. We were two months in Los Angeles, making many trips over the city and out to Venice, Lunza, Linwood, San Diego, LaCanada, Altedena, Alhambra, Long Beach and Pasadena. To me the ocean is most wonderful with its tides and ever changing surfs, the sea gulls and great ships. The battleships are a wonder to those who view them for the first time. We had a view of the Oregon, Yale and Harvard, two submarines, besides twelve large ships of which the President was the prettiest. It is white gilt and of natural wood, being 408 feet long. Dead Man's Island and Reservation Point will be needed if war reaches this coast and will be noted places in any event later on. The breakwater is composed of rocks weighing eight tons on the ocean side and six tons on the harbor side. The light house at the end is the best equipped, on the coast. The search light in a heavy fog can be seen for thirty miles. A ten inch oil pipe on these rocks carry the oil to ships. One ship from South America loaded 85,000 barrels at one time. Many people in Iowa remember J.C. PORTER and family. His son, RAIF, is spending the winter in California with his brothers and sisters. We have had many good times together, ALLIE, now MRS. VENSCABLE, had us to luncheon and we met IDA, BEN and ALLIE's daughter and two sons. Later Prof. ROY PORTER and family and brother, RAIF, gave us a cafeteria luncheon and a sixty-mile drive in his Buick car. It was a drive of wonderful scenic beauty towns and mountains and not the least to as his father's homes in California. It was a great treat to us. On February 7, we went to Pasadena for a ten days' trip in and around this beautiful city. We were nicely situated near the Maryland and among friends from Des Moines who did much toward making us enjoy ourselves in sightseeing. A friend planned a picnic trip to Rubio Canyon, a climb of over four hundred steps incline with board walks, mountain walks and walks of all kinds. It was a great climb and the many falls and fine grotto were beautiful. We only wondered how nature could put the ferns in among such arches and have them succeed so well. Mt. Lowe incline tract of 3,000 feet starts at the mouth of Rubio Canyon. The direct ascent is 1,325 feet, the steepest grade 62 per cent. The trolly car takes one farther up and the mules finish with you (if not a good rider.) Mt. Wilson is reached by auto and foot, and has the observatory on the top and a Troop T down on the side which can be seen a long way from Pasadena. These drives and buildings make a pretty sight. About noon one day as we looked the sun was shining brightly on the mountain top and on us, while down in Pasadena the clouds of white covered the foothills between like a heavy veil of white and silver. It was wonderful, as if the children of Israel were passing between. We took a ride out to the almond, apricot and orange groves in Altadena. The almonds are in full bloom and are beautiful to see. We walked to the poppy field and gathered a nice bouquet of California poppies on our way back to the car line. A man stopped his Ford car and asked us to ride. We accepted and he brought us to our rooms. He was a Dr. Ford, of Pasadena, and it was a treat to us as we do miss our car while here. A friend planned a trip out near Lamanda Park to an orange ranch of 240 acres. A part was in grape vines, a small nursery of lemon and orange trees, two years old, which they had been offered 35 cents a tree for the whole lot. They are holding out for 50 cents and will get it. About 40 acres are in lemons, their first year to bear. The little trees were full with eight rows of lettuce between each row of trees was a great sight to an Iowan in February. A few acres of strawberries were just beginning to bear ripe berries. An eight acre orange grove of Naval and Valencia, and one hundred acres of lemons from which $3,300 worth were picked last year. They had just finished one picking in January and sprayed the trees which were just full of lemons. We could not believe any had been taken off the trees. They had 1,200 smudge pots in the orchard and had to use them more this year than in the last eight years. They have it so nicely arranged that a call bell in the caretaker's bedroom rings at a certain stage of coldness in the air, so he can light all or as many as are needed according to the ring. This was a great trip to us and the lady said for us to pick all the fruit we wanted so we had oranges and lemons and the flowers of both. It was great to pull them from the trees out in the warm sunshine in full view of the great mountains and white capped old Baldy. This is only a little of the many things but paper and pencil is poor material to express it all. Will close and prepare to meet our Iowa people on next Thursday, February 22. The Des Moines CHASTAINS are to meet and have our luncheon together. Five of us are now in California. With kind regards to all. --Respectfully, SALLIE A. CHASTAIN. Copied March 27, 2002 by Nancee McMurtrey Siefert

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