In this issue
- VSC Perspectives
- Message from Christine Petit
- Mark Your Calendars: January 11 Kickoff Meeting
- Whiskey Punch Recipe
- Goodbye Pampas Grass, Hello Allen Chickering Sage
- Teamwork Made Rancho Voices Celebration a Success!
- It's All in a Name, Preston
- 2025 Public Programs
- 2025 Volunteer Enrichment Field Trips
- In Memoriam, Remembering Friends and Colleagues
- Happy Holidays!
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In the Spotlight
- Normajean Janssen, RLA Volunteer
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VSC Perspectives
Doug Cox, VSC President
With the holiday decorations coming down as the torrent of ideas to seriously address the Rancho’s myriad parking limitations skitter away into the debriefing notebooks, the Rancho seems finally ready to embrace its annual public siesta.
It’s been quite a year. Boomers still head up the volunteer ranks, but a new generation of leaders is now setting the Rancho’s course for new horizons every bit as decisive as those that not so very long ago challenged Pamela Seager and Pam Lee.
New RLAF board members are settling in with the veterans and our new RLAF Board of Governors is coming aboard as the indefatigable Christine Petit calmly fills notebook after notebook long into the night.
Deergrass and Allen Chickering sage are popping up faster than the misshapen history nuggets that float up the Ranch house’s back stairs and into Pam Lee’s astonished ears.
Children’s voices may have faded away with our school programs now in the holiday recess, but the donkey’s hourly honking gleefully reminds us that the Rancho never completely nods off and our annual January return to action will be here before we know it.
Yep, it’s been quite a year. We done good, comrades, and 2025 awaits.
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Message from Christine Petit
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Dear Rancho Los Alamitos volunteers,
On behalf of our whole staff team, I want to express our deepest gratitude for the many ways you contribute to ensuring Rancho Los Alamitos is a welcoming and engaging place for our visitors to learn about and enjoy. Thanks to your efforts, we were able to take good care of the Rancho’s historic buildings and gardens; strengthen our connections to the surrounding community with impactful outreach and programming; and welcome visitors of all ages from near and far to RLA.
Even during this time of organizational transition, the Rancho’s operations and programming are top notch, and your dedication has been the cornerstone of this success. Be it your love for history or plants, sense of fun, dedication to building an inclusive community, organizational skills, creativity, and so much more …
Each of you brings something special to our team. Looking ahead, we’re excited to see the newly added native plants continue to grow and fill in, the restoration of the historical Fred H. Bixby Ranch Company business offices completed, and new opportunities to welcome community members to RLA. At some point next year, we anticipate welcoming RLA’s next long-term Executive Director and will keep you apprised of the recruitment efforts.
We’re so glad you’re a part of this journey.Please know that your insights and experiences are welcome. Wishing you a joyous holiday season and a wonderful start to the New Year—thank you for being you and for everything you do!
Sincerely,
Christine
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Mark your Calendars!
Yearly Volunteer Kickoff on January 11, 2025
Steve Squire
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The Volunteer yearly kick-off meeting is Saturday, January 11th, at 10:00 am in the Rancho Room and over Zoom. (Link will be sent closer to the date.)
We will cover the major Rancho events for the year. The meeting includes some guest-centered experience information as well as overall operations-focused information.
This is an important meeting that helps ensure we are all well-informed and working together to deliver the Rancho's mission. We hope all volunteers will be able to attend in person or via Zoom.
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While we don't have a recipe handed down from the Bixby family, back in 2012 Faux Foodie Laura Williams did some research and found this colonial-era recipe for an authentic American whiskey punch in historian and author Dennis Pogue's book, Founding Spirits. The book is a history of the American whiskey industry.
It was this recipe that was whipped up for the Faux Foodies to copy as they created the faux-whiskey punch featured in the holiday decorations in the ranch house. Katharine Bixby Hotchkis’ book, Christmas Eve at Rancho Los Alamitos, mentions that at the annual Christmas party after all the gifts had been distributed, Fred H. Bixby would dip “up whiskey punch from a big cut-glass bowl for the men who came out to talk and have fun with the Boss.”
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American Whiskey Punch
1 cup granulated sugar
2 lemons – zested and juiced
4 cups water, divided
16 oz. Wild Turkey Rye Whiskey
Muddle 1 cup sugar with the peel of two lemons. Add 4 oz. lemon juice and 8 oz. water until sugar is dissolved.
To that, add 16 oz. Wild Turkey Rye and 3 cups of water.
Serve in a punch bowl over a large ice block. Garnish with lemon wheels.
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Horticulture staff, Andrew Chaves, Jesse Herrera and Gunnar Thordorson, and members of the gardening committee have been removing the Pampas grass and English Ivy from the area in front of the parking lot. They are replacing it with deergrass grown from seeds his wife Amanda collected from RLA's existing plantings. She brought about 300 seedlings back in flats, and garden volunteers have planted them over the past few weeks.
Other plants include white sage, basket rush, sagebrush, and Allen Chickering sage. Andrew is looking at various nurseries for California fuchsia this winter. Narrowleaf milkweed will be planted in the spring to support Monarch butterflies.
The parking lot isn't the only area that will see new plantings. Western Blue Flag iris seeds are on moist towels in a Ziploc baggie in the maintenance kitchen's refrigerator. After eight weeks, Andrew will plant them in pots where they will germinate. Eventually, they will go into the native garden or the Rancho Center garden. Hummingbird sage has been planted in the Shade Garden, outside the windows of the Rancho offices. Andrew is also optimistic the California poppy, grape soda lupine and beach sun cups he planted from seed will soon peek through the soil and grow into pretty, flowering plants.
Top photo: Linda Whitman, Andrew Chaves, Elaine Swift, Cass Henderson, Gail Wasil
Photos by Doug Cox and Andrew Chaves
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Replacing Pampas Grass will continue for the next five years | |  |
More than 175 deer grass seedlings were planted. About 50 died during the heatwave. There are 75 yet to be planted. | | |
Hello Allen Chickering Sage
First of a Two-Part Series
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Allen Chickering sage is a profusely blooming mint with aromatic grey-green foliage and purple flowers. One shrub can perfume the whole garden on a warm, summer afternoon. It is a popular hybrid of purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) and Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii.) As such, it is a plant of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub in Southern California. Hummingbirds adore the nectar from the flowers. The plant also attracts butterflies, bees, moths, and other pollinators.
Photos and description from calscape.com
Who was Allen Chickering, and Why Does He Matter?
He was Fred Bixby's college roommate, DKE Fraternity brother, and longtime friend. Next month, we'll feature Allen Chickering and his influence on the Rancho's Native Garden and Susanna Bixby's Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
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Volunteers Made Rancho Voices a Success! | |
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This year, 720 people attended RLA's Rancho Voices event. They enjoyed touring the house, hearing stories of people who lived and worked on the ranch, and visiting the Museum Shop to pick up decorations, books, and other artfully arranged merchandise.
Volunteers and employees worked together on everything from set-up and lighting to story hosting, way-finding, serving up cookies and cocoa, helping with the RLAF board and donor event, and selling merchandise in the Museum Shop.
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Megan O'Connor hosted stories in the Blacksmith Shop. | Volunteer Kim Campanelli and her husband Ron Trowbridge worked with Darius Conner, Chris Fountain, and other volunteers to light the walkways and other parts of the Rancho. It was magical! | |
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Volunteer Tom Taylor made ceramic sugar beets for the Albert and Margaret Cosyns story.
One beet lost its leaves, the story explained the beet tops were removed before they were tossed into the wagon!
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Programs Coordinator Margarete Villalobos filled in as host for the Blacksmith Shop stories. |
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Photos from the top:
-Volunteers and staff serving drinks to RLAF board and Circle A members
-Cookies and cocoa with Hospitality volunteers
-Jewel Box carolers bringing music, dance and youthful energy to the festivities
| Photos by Doug Cox and Sam Tanng | |
Actors from left: Madison Mooney, Rick Reischman, Lisa J. Salas, Noah Wagner, Roxanne Martinez, Bob Fetes, Jill Prout, and Giovanni Navarro | Duane Mills reported setting records for one-day sales. Our story hosts reminded guests to visit the Museum Shop and they did! | Roberta Rogoff was this story's host. Virginia Sisneros and other family members told Roberta, Roxie, and Bob how much they enjoyed watching them tell Petra's story. | |
It's All in a Name
Preston Bixby Hotchkis and English Shire Preston
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Preston Bixby Hotchkis (1929-2017) was the son of Katharine Bixby Hotchkis and Preston Joseph Hotchkis and was the eldest grandson of Fred & Florence Bixby. As a boy, he worked summers on the family's ranches north of Santa Barbara to learn the ways of the cowboys.
Known as Pres, he was the President & CEO of the Bixby Ranch Company from 1964 until the company was liquidated in 2007. He was also the founding Board Chair of the Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation (RLAF) in 1985. Although he remained on the board until his death, he stepped down from his role as RLAF Board Chair in 2012.
When the Rancho’s English Shire mare, Valentina, gave birth to a foal on June 18, 2012, he was named in honor of Preston Bixby Hotchkis.
In 1990, Pres placed the silver saddle on a long-term loan to the Rancho. After his passing, the loan was converted to a gift.
Below: Preston Bixby Hotchkis, in 1932, pictured at the ranch on his pony. Photos from RLA archive
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Volunteer Spotlight
Normajean Janssen
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Normajean Janssen has been a Rancho volunteer in various capacities for several years. This year, she volunteered to work the Rancho Voices event as the host for Sarah Bixby Smith and Pilar Linares who told their story on the front porch.
How long have you been volunteering at the Rancho?
I was a volunteer many years ago for several years. At that time, I was still working, so I was only able to help out at special events. I just started back as a volunteer this Spring. I took the docent training that was offered this Fall and I am working on my knowledge and courage to become docent.
Tell us a bit about what you do as a volunteer.
I love being able to greet people as they come onto the campus for special events, as well as helping the children create a bracelet for their Footprints Field Trip.
What made you decide to become a Rancho volunteer?
I wanted to be part of something that links our lives today with the past. A way to honor those who have been before us and try to help keep the history alive. I also love how I feel as if I have taken a step back in time each day that I get to be at The Rancho. The air also just seems nicer to breathe on site.
What do you like best about the time you spend here?
The other volunteers have done such a good job of making me feel like I am part of the group. Everyone is so kind and welcoming.
What is the most interesting question you’ve gotten from a visitor at the Rancho?
Can I have my wedding here?
What do you like to do when you’re not at the Rancho?
I love to take walks with my dog, Axel, and I enjoy reading a variety of books each month for the book clubs that I am a part of.
What’s the one word your friends and family would use to describe you?
Friendly.
What else do you want us to know?
I loved that I was able to teach fifth grade for 30 years. I have one daughter and an adorable one-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter.
Below: Normajean with granddaughter Aspen, daughter Stephanie's husband Colton, and Stephanie.
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2025 Volunteer Enrichment Field Trips
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San Gabriel Mission
February 18th 10:00AM
Followed by Dim Sum at NBC Seafood Restaurant
Willmore District Walking Tour
April 14th and 21st
Lead Sherron Leno (Thursday docent) would like small groups on two different Mondays
Rancho Santa Margarita
Camp Pendleton on June 24th
Boat Tour of the Long Beach Coast
Provided by the Port of Long Beach
Possibly in August, date TBD
California Botanic Gardens
September 30th, 10:00am
Founded by Susanna Bixby Bryant
Old Town San Diego
Tentatively October 21st
Possible train ride or overnight
Updates will be provided as details are confirmed.
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Note from the Editors
Next month, we'll have the questions and answers from Pam Lee's "Stump the Curator" session during the December 14 VSC meeting and information about the Majestic Stove in the Ranch House kitchen.
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In Memoriam
Remembering Friends and Colleagues
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Jean Preston
June 1930 - January 2024
Longtime volunteer and docent, president of RLA Associates
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Dr. Barbara Mahaffie
October 1940 - June 2024
Longtime docent, donated doll given her by Susanna Bryant
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Linda Barrett
February 1956 - June 2024
VSC Secretary, Faux-Foodie, Crafters, and Livestock helper
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Jerry Miller
December 1946 - July 2024
RLAF Board Member, Past Chairman, Cottonwood Founder
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Mary Ellis Carlton
May 1918 - April 2024
Journalist who advocated for Rancho Los Alamitos
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We remember and honor the dedication and contributions of all of these individuals. | |
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On behalf of the Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors...
Thank you for your support this year!
Staff pictured: Andrew Chaves, Chris Fountain, Christine Petit, Darius Conner, David Quinn, Erin Wilson, Jesse Herrera, Karen Thompson, Kathy Manuel, Kristen Cecil, Margarete Villalobos, Merinelle Marchione, Pam Lee, Robin Herrera, and Tracy Flaming.
Photo by Doug Cox
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