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Aquila Chase Chapter, National Society Colonial Dames of the XVII celebrated the Glen Tavern Inn’s recognition of historical significance on October 12 with (left to right) Carol Becker, Chapter President and State Corresponding Secretary; Dustin Aremburg, Inn Manager; Nancy Hippert, State 2nd Vice President; Cher Bucknam-Sesma, State President; Mayor Rick Cook; Scarlett Stahl, Historian and Marking Chair; and City Councilmen Jim Tovias and Martin Hernandez. |
Glen Tavern Inn honored by Aquila
Chase Chapter, Colonial Dames XVIIC
October 31, 2014
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Pre-Revolutionary War history met more recent history when more than 100 people, many who can trace their ancestry to 17th Century America, gathered in Santa Paula earlier this month to recognize the oldest hotel in Ventura County.
For several years the Aquila Chase Chapter, National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century (CDXVIIC), has met at the Glen Tavern Inn, which they selected for the Marking Ceremony to honor the hotel’s historical significance. The chapter, the largest out of the 18 statewide, has members from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura and meets quarterly at the hotel, opened in 1911 at 134 N. Mill St.
“I’ve been hearing stories about the Inn since I was a kid,” said Mayor Rick Cook, a Santa Paula native, who told the group about the hotel’s storied past with celebrity guests as well as a rumored ghost or two.
The October 12 ceremony attracted society members - including Santa Paulans Virginia Gunderson and Margaret Blankenship - and supporters as well as special guests including chapter and state society leaders and Councilmen Martin Hernandez and Jim Tovias.
Other special guests were Margaret Kerry, famed for being the model for Tinker Bell for the 1953 Disney animated film “Peter Pan” and Mike Peraza, an animator and Disney art director for “The Little Mermaid”.
The Inn, designed by Hunt & Burns in the Craftsman style with English Tudor influences, is on the National Register of Historic Places and a Ventura County Historical Landmark.
And, noted Scarlett Stahl, chapter Historian and Marking Committee Chair, “It’s considered the most haunted hotel in the west!” and one that guests were invited to take part in tours following the presentation and marking ceremony.
The event drew CDXVIIC officials including California State President Cher Buckman-Sesma, 2nd Vice President Nancy Hippert, Carol Becker State Corresponding Secretary and State Librarian Nina Green as well as Williamsburg Chapter President Dorothy F. Peterson and Roger Williams and Chapter President Rosanna Weir.
Representing Inn owners Rosanna and Tom Jennett was Manager Dustin Aremburg.
Commander Jerry Olivas and Mercer-Prieto VFW Post #2043 provided the Color Guard for the program that featured remarks from society officials and solos by Virginia Gunderson.
Buckman-Sesma said she first visited the Inn more than 30 years ago for a Sunday brunch date, and she complimented the Marking Committee on selecting “Such a beautiful and historic place!” to be honored, one of about 25 statewide with the CDXVIIC recognition plaque.
As State Chairman of the Marking and Preservation of Historic Sites, Hippert said she particularly recognized how suitable Santa Paula is for such an honor.
“Your community,” said Hippert, “has a distinguished record of honoring its historic past... it is obvious to me that Santa Paula has embraced the idea of preserving and conserving its legacy to the future. Your rich historical heritage merits the attention,” of the society.
Hippert researched Santa Paula and “learned quite a bit about your community,” and its designation as a Preserve America Community, “speaks volumes to your recognition that historic preservation is an important investment in Santa Paula’s present and its future.”
Santa Paula, she added, is a community of firsts and being first in being unique, from the state’s first oil gusher, to the city once being known as the Citrus Capital of the World, its murals that display local history and culture.
The city’s history Hippert said, “clearly represents a microcosm of Southern California history - from its earliest residents, the Native Americans, through the Mission period and ultimately statehood. What a rich heritage you have!”
The marking ceremony fulfills what the society believes is one of their most important objects, to preserve historic documents, records, buildings, monuments and sites.
“I think one of the great challenges facing all of us is expanding public awareness of the benefits that preservation offers local communities,” Hippert said. “As I have learned about Santa Paula, I have no doubt that this community understands and appreciates what must be done,” for preservation.
Cook thanked the society and noted, “I’m glad everyone came west from where they landed here!”
He noted the Inn had hosted celebrities ranging from William Jennings Bryan, Harry Houdini and Clark Gable to pianist Poland Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski to Rin Tin Tin; and it had also housed a speakeasy, gambling den, bar and discreet third-floor brothel.
“And it is the most haunted locale in the region... maybe,” he joked, “We should start having City Council meetings here!”
“The motto of the Glen Tavern Inn,” said Aremburg, “is ‘Where the past comes to life... ‘ “
Stahl said she so enjoys the meetings held in Santa Paula that, “I would think about living here, it’s so very nice - the weather and the people.”
After the plaque placed outside the lobby was dedicated, guided tours of the Inn were offered: Lucy Blanco and her son Edgar, 12, of Santa Paula, were impressed with the Inn as well as the gathering.
“It was very interesting to hear the history of the Colonial Dames 17th Century and what they represent,” said Blanco, the city’s assistant city clerk.
“We also enjoyed the tour of the Glen Tavern, our first time... it was fun to see the rooms that were once occupied by famous movie stars, but unfortunately,” noted Blanco, “we didn’t get to see a ghost!”
