August 2023 Homestead Headlines

Volume 67, Issue 8 August, 2023

Download the Headlines here

August 2023 Community Center Calendar

08| HVLT Board Mtg |

15| HVCA Board Mtg |

22| HV Sanitary District |

1st/3rd Weds. | Tam Design Review Board Mtg |

Saturdays | A.A. Mtg | 10:00 AM

****Save the Date****

Homestead Valley Music Festival

Saturday, August 26th

11am-6pm

50th Anniversary of HV Bond Issue

Saturday, September 30th

5:00 PM

Homestead Valley News

Happy August Homestead Valley!

We want to start by giving a huge thank you to all who attended the wonderful July 4th Parade and Picnic and an even bigger thank you to our organizers and volunteers. What an incredible day! Speaking of volunteers, we have a number of great opportunities coming up with the annual Homestead Valley Music Festival on Saturday, August 26th!

After that, summer may be coming to a close, but we'll have more programs and events coming up in the Fall. Stay tuned for our September Headlines when we will share more details.

The fun just keeps on rolling here in Homestead Valley and we hope to see you all soon.

Homestead Valley Music Festival

Saturday, August 26, 2023

11am - 6pm

We're back! Always the Saturday BEFORE Labor Day, the 2023 installment of the Homestead Valley Music Festival will be held on Saturday, August 26th in the meadow at the Homestead Valley Community Center (315 Montford Avenue).

We are currently looking for volunteers and would love to give you an opportunity to help out! If you are interested in helping to support our event, but can't volunteer on the day, we are still looking for Community Sponsors. This level of sponsorship is open to families and individuals and comes with a number of perks. For more details, please reach out to Jen Hochschild ([email protected]).

Recently voted one of the Best Music Festivals in Marin County, this family friendly event is free to attend; however we greatly appreciate donations at all levels. If you're able to contribute as a sponsor this year please reach out to Alex Scalisi directly ([email protected]). Please visit our website for the full lineup and additional details.

See you in the meadow!

Pool News

Come visit our great crew of lifeguards and gatekeepers at the Homestead Valley Pool! This team has been working hard to keep our swimmers safe and happy. See below for photos of a part of our fabulous group. You can revisit the July Headlines to see the other members of our team.

The Homestead Valley pool is currently operating on our Summer schedule. This schedule will be in place until August 20th. As of August 1st, we are offering Second Half of the Season passes. To purchase one of these memberships, please visit our pool webpage.

Camille Wilkinson

Henry Tuttle

Sarah Rasic

Nadia Bryson

Chas Veley

Teo Green

Eloi Devanneaux

Ian Machleder

Cameron Collman

4th of July Parade and BBQ

It started as it does each year behind one shiny red Southern Marin Fire District Fire Truck......

By Patrick Wyman

Our amazing community gathered decked out in red, white, and blue- featuring our MANY new families and young ones, Maverick’s beloved Goats, and our revered long-standing members that keep the history of our special valley alive and well. We marched up Laverne by foot, hoof, paw, and pedal waving to our neighbors (aka the cheering section) as we passed.

Upon arrival at majestic Stolte Grove, we were ecstatic to see Hal’s Fabulous Hot Dogs out for the second year, a dizzying array of drink and chip served with a smile by Jim, Jen, and her husband Lenny, and of course, the desert table featuring Mia’s famous pie and baked goodies + A LOT of extra yummy baked goods provided by community members. Extra thanks to Erica Posner for her lovely Bundt and for stepping in to help Mia keep up with the brisk dessert table business! Alex and family primed the pump again for our upcoming annual Homestead Valley Music Festival (taking place at the community center meadow Sat August 26^th) selling HVMF Goatwear Merchandise and signing up folks to help sponsor the event.

Entertainment took the form of Irena Eide - Norwegian born Americana Singer Songwriter who resides in Louisiana but used to live in Mill Valley. She performs in the bay area regularly both solo and under her band name - Rainy Eyes. It touched us to see our budding performer kid’s join Irena on stage as her informal dance troop! The kids were also very excited to line up at balloon artist Noah Samuels’ table to receive a colorful hat, necklace, sword, microphone, dog…you name it!

The weather cooperated with our special Homestead Valley Goldilox Temps; the community came out and greeted each other enthusiastically; new connections were made; and old one’s were strengthened. It was good to be together, and good to celebrate the beautiful piece of earth we call home. We were thankful for the contributions of so many community members making the day special- Jonnie Alper, Jim Derich, Jen and Lenny Hochschild, Alex and Lindsay Scalisi, Mia Wyman, Erica Posner, Lindsay Tucker, Maverick, and many more! We were also truly thankful for those who came before us to secure this oasis and the open space that surrounds us.

In the end, the people departed (maybe feeling slightly tight around the waist from that 2^nd slice of Apple Pie), the decorations were packed up for next year, and the peace and serenity of Stolte Grove returned to its resplendent, natural state.

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Homestead to Celebrate 50^th Anniversary of Bond Issue

50^th Anniversary of the Homestead Valley Open Space Bond Issue

By the ad hoc 50^th Anniversary Celebration Committee: Curt Oldenburg, Marilyn Barrett, Mike Cann, Jim Derich, Diana Flasher, and Marabeth Grahame

In 1971, Geoff Barrett asked in a letter sent to residents active in the community, “Whither Homestead?” In the letter, he made the case that if Homestead Valley did not protect its open space lands, the lands would soon be developed. Community leaders responded positively to protect open space, and Geoff and others led the effort to secure bond funding to purchase and preserve land in Homestead Valley. These lands included large parcels on the north slope of Homestead Hill (south side of Homestead Valley), unpaved parts of Pixie Trail, and the parks Stolte Grove and Three Groves (both then in private ownership), along with a house and meadow at 315 Montford Ave. for a community center. Many people volunteered their time working hard to secure the funds.

On September 18, 1973, Homestead residents voted 69% in favor of obtaining $600K ($4.2M today) in bond funds for purchasing land in Homestead Valley. CSA14 (the entity by which Marin County recognizes the unincorporated Homestead Valley) facilitated the receipt of these funds derived from bonds issued by the County.

These bond funds, along with other funds and land donations, resulted in 80+ acres of open space land with several miles of trails to be managed by the Homestead Valley Land Trust (HVLT) and the community center managed by the Homestead Valley Community Association (HVCA). The lands include 315 Montford and many large parcels on the south side of Homestead Valley, Weedon Redwoods, Cowboy Rock, and the Pixie Trail area. Homestead Valley has three parks (Stolte Grove, Three Groves, Volunteer Park) and the Meadow.

This year, Homestead residents are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the passage of the bonds that kicked off the purchase of these key community properties.

Join us at 5 PM, Saturday, September 30^th at the Community Center for a potluck dinner featuring some of the people who were part of the group in the 1970’s who made it all happen.

Safety/Firewise Committee

LRAD is now in Homestead Valley

During the week of July 24 – 28, an LRAD emergency alert system was installed at the Homestead Valley Community Center.

What is LRAD?

Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) emergency alert systems are unique in that they can project both siren and voice recordings to alert and inform community members during a large-scale disaster.

Why LRAD Sirens?

The purchase and installation of the LRAD system goes a long way to improve the resiliency and redundancy of our communication systems. LRAD systems are highly effective in communicating warnings, instructions and notifications throughout incident sites and over vast areas during life-threatening events. The growing network of LRAD sirens is funded by Measure C tax revenues that are administeredthrough the Marin Wildfire Protection Authority (MWPA). The Southern Marin Fire District (SMFD) and Mill Valley Fire Department (recently merged) are the agencies facilitating installations in Southern Marin County. Mill Valley has replaced five(5) sirens with LRADs, and SMFD is completing Phase 3 of seven (7) LRAD installations.

What happens now?

Six months of the year (September through February) the Homestead Valley LRAD system will be tested on the first Saturday of the month at 12:00 pm with a siren and recorded verbal message. The remaining 6 months of the year the system will be monitored and tested, but in silent, or low volume mode. The monthly tests are to ensure that, in the event of an actual emergency, the LRAD system is fully operational 365 days a year.

What does the LRAD sound like? Click here for 90 second video.

Homestead Valley Vignettes by Chuck Oldenburg

Homestead Valley Riding Club

From the 1930s to the 1960s, the Homestead Valley Riding Club used a horse ring, stable and tack room on the property at 315 Montford Ave. Nearby residents E. Carol Jackson and his daughter Peggy Adams taught riding lessons. In 1922, a small house had been built on the 1.13-acre property close to the street, separated from the horse ring by trees.

In 1950, Hughes Call, his wife, Volinda, and their four children were residents of Kent Woodlands. In April, he took their son Lewis, age 7, and their daughter Phoebe, age 6, to the Cow Palace to see the Grand National Rodeo, Horse and Stock Show. Hughes put their ticket stubs into a large wire drum for a raffle. The next day he was informed by telephone that one of the tickets had won the raffle. The prize was Hopalong Cassidy’s Shetland pony named “Little Topper”, plus complete riding tack and a cowboy outfit. The children must have put quite a bit of pressure on their father to accept this prize. He met the challenge by buying the property used by the Homestead Valley Riding Club. He had the small house enlarged and they moved in.

Early on, the children learned from experience that Little Topper was a well traveled professional who knew every trick. He did lots of moves on Lewis, and threw him off several times. When Phoebe got a concussion from being thrown off, it was goodbye to “nasty” Little Topper. The children rode other horses stabled at the horse ring. Five years later when Phoebe was 11, her father bought Bobby, a “gentle child’s horse”. But it soon became evident that Bobby had never been broken. Bobby threw Phoebe off right away. Peggy Adams solved the problem by instructing both Bobby and Phoebe. On how to behave. Bobby became a gentle child’s horse which both Lewis and Phoebe came to love.

The Homestead Valley Riding Club, horse ring, stable and tack room were gone by the late 1960s. Hughes Call sold the property to the community in the 1970s. The house after renovation became the Homestead Valley Community Center. The horse ring area now known as “The Meadow” is used for various outdoor community activities including an annual fall music festival.