Unique tour had historic ranch, garden, airport, and plywood paradise

 A historic ranch, a lavish kitchen overlooking an eye-popping garden hilltop garden, two unique airport hangars where women flyers hang their goggles and a plywood paradise were all open for the May 7 Hospice Spring Tour.

“Homes, Hangars, Garden and a Barn Tour” to benefit the Santa Clara Valley Hospice-Home Support Group stopped at many venues showcasing a variety of unique living.

“Many people said they thought it was the best tour we ever had and raved about,” said Tour Chairwoman Cathy Barringer, the former longtime president of SCVH-HSG. “It was very eclectic…we had something for everybody. Men loved the Axell barn and the 100-plus-year-old house being rebuilt and the plywood house fascinated a lot of people. The tour was extra special and people really enjoyed it!” 

The Telegraph Road home of Joanna and Randy Axell is an abode that shows the best in ranch living in the Santa Paula area, a showplace older than the city itself. 

The history of the house and homestead, dating back to 1867, is celebrated by the Axells, who have lived on the 40-acre ranch since 1985, raising children and growing avocados and lemons. The house and barn are a treasure trove of history, art, handcrafted furniture and turn-of-the-century machinery including an antique fire engine that Randy Axell painstakingly restored…and restored again in 2011 to update Rancho Rodoro for modern comfort.

Built by Abner Haines around 1870, the 2,500 square foot home — not including the attic — holds contemporary and vintage art with an emphasis on local artists and fine antiques.

Although she passed in 2015 the spirit of Jane Schrock is everywhere in her Glade Drive home, and especially outside where her husband, Dr. Jon Schrock, spends much time. 

A lover of roses, Jane bought the lot next door to create the garden that contains Double Delights, Lemon Spice, Chrysler Imperial and Angel Face among others, but it’s the diverse collection of fruits and vegetables that made Jane’s garden famous countywide.

Views from the property are breathtaking from sunrise to sundown but Home Tour guests were also taken aback by Jane’s kitchen, where the prize-winning cook and baker spent hours doing what she loved best.

A large stained glass window features hummingbirds, bringing Jane’s beloved garden inside; a large pantry is dedicated to cooking and a second to baking each stocked accordingly.

Wilma Melville went from being a retired physical education teacher to founding the National Search Dog Foundation, a year after the 1995 Oklahoma Bombing of a federal building where she volunteered with her Lab to help find live victims in the rubble. 

Wilma has been a private pilot for decades and the Santa Paula Airport hangar is her home away from home. She shares the ample space with her Van’s Aircraft RV-7, a two-seat single engine plane, always ready to go.

Or, stay home and entertain: the hangar has been the scene of various celebrations of fellow aviators’ special occasions, where the bird images throughout the hangar — and the printed linoleum restroom floor, an aerial view of SZP – reflect Wilma’s own deep seated love of flight.