CAMARILLO STORIES. Mrs. Alonzo Monk, the former Miss Patricia Newman of Camarillo has been awarded an alumni association scholarship for the fall term at Stanford University. Published in the Oxnard Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Thursday, June 29, 1946. PARTIES AND PERSONALS. Mrs. R. R. Newman and her daughter, Mrs. Harold Bell, were co-hostesses at a coffee party at the Bell home in Camarillo March 20. Published in the Oxnard Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Saturday, March 28, 1959. WATER PROBLEM TO BE DISCUSSED BY WOMEN VOTERS. The economic and financial feasibility of the state water plan for Southern California will be discussed at a meeting of the Oxnard chapter of the League of Women Voters Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the home of Mrs. Robert O'Bryan. Mrs. Harold Bell of Camarillo and Mrs. Frances Wood of Oxnard will lead the discussion. Members are asked to consider beforehand the question of how much of water development cost should be paid by municipal, industrial and agricultural water users and how much by general taxpayers. A league publication, "Water Lines," will be available at the meeting. Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Monday, November 9, 1959. CLUB NOTES. CAMARILLO Y-WIVES. Mrs. George Longo and Mrs. Harold Bell discussed the pros and cons of the propositions on the November ballot at the meeting of the Camarillo Y-Wives Monday at the home of Mrs. Thomas Griffin. Guests were Mmes. Jack Weinroth, Robert Tennet, Huber Banzer, Robert Rust, Ralph Cowelti and Russell Griffin. Refreshments were served by Mrs. Carroll Soenke and Mrs. Lloyd Stott. The next meeting will be a hospital party at Camarillo State Hospital Oct. 25. Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Thursday, October 20, 1960. WOMEN VOTERS. The Camarillo unit meeting will be at the home of Mrs. Harold Bell in Camarillo on Oct. 11 at 9:45 a.m. Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Monday, October 8, 1962. NEWS OF CLUBS. WOMEN VOTERS. This weeks's unit meetings of the League of Women Voters of Ventura County will continue the study of county government. Mrs. Harold Bell, local study item chairman, has announced that the emphasis in this week's meeting will be on the various means available for making changes or improvements in county government. Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Monday, January 21, 1963. LEAGUE TO FINISH GOVERNMENT STUDY AT UNIT MEETINGS. Members of the League of Women Voters of Ventura County will complete their study of county government at unit meetings this week. According to Mrs. Harold Bell of Camarillo, chairman of the local study, the consensus reached at these meetings will determine League action on vital matters affecting county government. Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Monday, February 11, 1963. WOMEN VOTERS MEET FOR LEAGUE DAY. County League Day, held May 12 at St. Paul's Methodist Church, by the League of Women Voters was enlivened by talks from Mrs. Spencer Fine, Attorney James Browning, Mrs. Stanford Church and Mrs. Harold Bell. Mrs Fine, of Ojai, chairman of the Republican Central Committee and Attorney James Browning of Oxnard, chairman of the Democratic Central Committee, spoke on :Political parties - Their Structure and Function." The speakers explained the different functions of "volunteer organizations" in their respective parties. Mrs. Stanford Church of Camarillo, Ventura county's delegate to the National Convention of the League of Women Voters of the U. S. reported on action taken at the 26th biennial meeting in Pittsburgh. After lunch, Mrs. Harold Bell delivered a report about the various districts and agencies concerned with distributing water in Ventura County, their problems and future plans. Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Thursday, May 21, 1964. 200TH BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANS. A concern that one day there may not be any material memories of past eras prompted Mrs. Harold Bell to help start the Pleasant Valley Historical Society. And it was this involvement and anxiety that led to her recent appointment as the liaison between the state and Ventura County for next year's Bicentennial Celebration. Mrs. Bell, a Camarillo resident, feels it "would be a frightening world where just 'new things' exist." Although she "hates to have people tag me with 'history is her thing,'" she feels that it is vitally important that "we don't forget our past. If we don't preserve it, it will disappear." Her work as bicentennial county coordinator will be centered around activities commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Spanish colonization of California. She loves the influences brought in and retained from that era, but also notes that "the Spanish-American period is not unique - every period has something to say. There are outstanding pieces of Victorian architecture. There's the courthouse in Ventura, the old library in Oxnard and so many more..." Mrs. Bell's great-grandfather arrived in the Camarillo area just a short time before her grandfather was born here in 1875. Her mother, Mrs. R. R. Newman, is also a native Camarillan. Although born in Los Angeles, Mrs. Bell has spent most of her life in Camarillo. She graduated from Oxnard High School (when it was the only high school in the district), and obtained her social welfare degree by attending Stanford and graduating from the University of California at Berkeley. Bell is a farmer. In their family are three children. Sally Monk, 18, is a biology sophomore at the University of California at Irvine. Nora Monk is a 16-year-old Santa Clara High senior. James Bell, who lives in Mexico with wife Patricia, has two sons, Chris, 3, and Steven, 1. Mrs. Bell noted that four generations of the family had attended Pleasant Valley School - her grandmother and mother, her husband, and their children. "I didn't spend much time thinking about our immediate history. But what struck me was a sudden realization that the old people who had the history in their heads were dying. I'd never been a person to whom this was important, but what I've seen in California made me realize that we could lose everything." Pat bell's appointment was made by Lt. Gov. Robert Finch, chairman of the California Bicentennial Commission, the state body designated to handle the celebration. Via the many state and county meetings planned, she will hear what other counties are doing to mark the date. "My main duty will be to alert the people to the celebration, and help plan the means of celebration," said the chairman. Local planning is just getting under way with her appointment, but she notes, "the state hasn't really gotten fully moving yet, so I haven't missed so much." Planning the dances, county tours, and so on will necessitate extensive research, Mrs. Bell said, so that they will be as authentic as possible. Mrs. Bell has a wealth of ideas for county execution. The state is discussing a re-enactment of the march of Father Junipero Serra and Portola, and she wants to make sure that Venturans have their chance to host the riders. Also under discussion by state officials is a flotilla of International ships, and Mrs. Bell would like to see, depth permitting, the ships make a Port Hueneme or Ventura stop-over. A traveling exhibit of books on California and county history could be set up, as well as a display of old pictures. Tours of county landmarks could be conducted too. "Readying ourselves for next year involves more than cleaning up the cities, and painting," reminded Mrs. Bell. "It's a marvelous opportunity for California to shoot for doing anything that will improve it." Some cities, especially San Diego, are "putting on a tremendous bash," said the coordinator. "San Diego is celebrating it's 200th anniversary then as well. They are planning international activities and have been working on a trade fair. Visitors at the fair will be naturally be traveling throughout California, so there will not only be benefits for that city, but benefits as for our whole image is concerned," she said. "We want to emphasize our means of heritage to make everyone feel he is a part of it. One of our problems is that California is a state of new people. We can show the newcomers what we have, and they as well can bring more enthusiasm to the old residents." What the average person can do is watch for the announcement of activities and volunteer to help in anything that comes up. "Almost all can be involved through their school, church, city or civic organization," said the liaison. County officials are holding their first planning meeting today at the Olivas Adobe in Ventura and hope "in a short time" to have definite events scheduled. "Some Boy Scouts in Monterey County are excited and want to help prepare campsites there if the Father Serra march takes place," Mrs. Bell reported. The Santa Barbara officials have planned their next year's gala to coincide with the march. The Rose Parade's theme, "A Time to Remember," fits in with the bicentennial, and permits a history-type emphasis there." Mrs. Bell elaborating on possible county doings, said she hoped that tours could be arranged for local landmarks. "I hope that we can take full advantage of the centennial to further our knowledge. Even if none of the others go - promotions, and cleaning up the community - we want to succeed in making history more alive for the Californian." Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Friday, September 27, 1968. CAMARILLO RAILROAD DEPOT BEING RAZED. The railroad depot in Camarillo, built and dedicated in 1910, is being demolished and will be gone by noon Friday. Workmen of the Mead House Wrecking Co. of Pasadena began tearing down the wooden structures today at the foot of Ventura Boulevard and hauling the rubble to a dump on Gonzales Road. The Pleasant Valley Historical Society had hoped to save the depot and move the building to a city site below Grandview Drive for rehabilitation as a museum in an arboretum setting. Negotiations between the Southern Pacific Railroad Co. and the society members have been going on for two years and the society had a gift of $5,000 from Mrs. Carmen Camarillo Jones, a daughter of the late Don Adolfo Camarillo, to meet the cost of moving the depot. Mrs. Harold Bell, secretary of the historical association today explained the reasons for the society's inability, even with strong support from Mayor Earl Joseph and city officials to save the buildings. Mrs. Bell said Southern Pacific, in the latter part of 1968 requested the society to hasten the removal of the depot as the company was concerned about accident liability in the depot's dilapidated condition. "The Southern Pacific superintendent was helpful, but we could not get the right-of-way division to give us the right in cross an easement." Mrs. Bell said. "When finally the division advised us we could do so, it was too late, for the developer of apartment buildings on South Glenn Drive could not wait any longer to build a retaining wall which cut off road access to the proposed site." She said the society was advised not to move the depot before Southern Pacific permission was obtained on legal grounds. "We tried to get another nearby site without success and were refused permission to move it off on a railroad car. We tried to have it moved to the city site by a roundabout route but the cost was prohibitive as the society would have been required to pay for a new road." She added that Mrs. Jones will be asked if she wishes her donation returned. The next move will be for the society to consider alternative plans to establish a museum in the city. Published in the Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, Thursday, January 16, 1969.