the romance of the ranchos los angles 1850 college founded at lugo townhouse bell 1856 cattle boom brings sudden wealth to rancheros bell 1927 firestone tire and rubber company builds huge plant the title insurance and trust company of los angles presents the romance of the ranchos a weekly dramatization of the historic events which formed a colorful background for our southern california of today each week our wandering vicaro frank graham narrates another fascinating chapter of romance and adventure and tonight's story is indeed a fascinating one because of the fact that it deals with the land on which are now located the communities of bell huntington park burnon walnut park southgate linwood and east los angles we extend a special greeting to the residents of those communities but the story is so exciting and romantic and it had such an important bearing on the development of the entire southland that it will be of equal interest to all of you listening wherever you live title insurance and trust company of los angles is happy to present it for your enjoyment and here is our wandering vicaro frank graham to spin the story when us no chess senior us is in your ways tonight our magic carpet of radio takes us back through the years to visit one of the greatest of the ranchos one of the most aristocratic of the dones the rancho san antonio of don antonio mario lugo it is a story steeped in the romance of the ranchos the story of the illustrious family of the lugos starts in 1769 when among the first Spanish settlers to come to california jose mario lugo landed and settled at santa barbara a few years later in 1775 a son was born a son who has become one of the patriarchs of california don antonio mario lugo like most other spanish gentleman of his generation he served as a soldier in the armies of the king of spain and in that capacity he came to los angles in 183 there one day he made a chance and come it is more pleasant to live see the climate is nice but some of these soldados have received grants of land around here that is fine perhaps i too can manage why not for me i would rather be at san diego there is more to do more life look at this sleepy little pueblo just look at it here we are in the main class and what do you see a few houses a church and merchant or two not for me is that all you see of course and you are blind senior look crossing the street on her way to church no doubt just the senator like any other senator now i know you're blind she's beautiful she beautiful perhaps but not very resourceful she seems to be stranded in the middle of the street oh see there's a great puddle of mud for the cross see you're right perhaps we should we senior but to you she's just like any other seniorita oh no no no senior you shall wait here this is my honor i still have this good luck my friend adios ah pardon seniorita may i assist you certainly not senior i can manage quite well myself but i protest allow me to take your hand senior i do not know you oh seniorita that is my bad fortune one that i shall try to remedy at the earliest opportunity and why not now senior please go away i do not speak to seniors to whom i might not been formally introduced go away and leave you hopping about in the mud i can manage quite well be careful seniorita senior how dare you take your hands away but you would have fallen in the mud if i had not caught you never mind i hear you stop this quibbling i shall take you up like this carry you across the puddle like this and deposit you safely on the other side like this you are bold sold out almost be bold seniorita in love as in war love senior you are more than bold oh a figure of speech only but i could not stand idly by and see a beautiful young lady in such distress oh you must not say such things but you are beautiful i will not listen to you am i so unattractive is that oh no you are not unattractive senior but it is not proper i do not even know you then you shall right now seniorita lovely flower of the desert allow me to introduce a senior don antonio maria lugo you're an admiring servant when i see a senior don antonio maria lugo and you seniorita you shall have to find that out elsewhere my hero of the mud puddle but seniorita wait if you find out you may ask my father if you may call but seniorita hey you may be sure i will oh very sure and don antonio did call on margarita ruiz in fact he called up and they were married within the year soon after the young husband built his first home at a place called saukua or the elders which is the present site of bell station but he didn't give up the dream of owning a great rancho seven years later he was successful in his petition to the governor for a grant of land over 29,000 acres were provisionally given him and the rancho san antonio was started on this great domain life progressed peacefully and quietly rancho san antonio became one of the great haciendas of spanish and mexican days noted for its great herds its fast horses its magnificent hospitality and don antonio attained the eminence of a patriarch as the years went on among other honors he served as huiz de comfo or judge of the plains which was the ultimate authority for all disputes in that simple and peaceful era the judge of the plains was a justice of the peace on horseback the on the spot arbiter of every quarrel often don antonio was called to an outlying rancho uh don antonio i'm glad you've come several matters for you to say see well let us see the first then and we shall see what can be done very well first there is the question of don ramon's calves already the calves don ramon found on his land see that is better they are not his calves but mine how do you know that senior if they were found on don ramon's land then the orianos belong to him but senior those orianos were following the madres see it was plain to see i have witnesses that they were the calves of cows which carried my brand so is this true senior very well that makes a great difference even in dumb animals the tie of blood must be respected senores we can suppose that these calves should not have strayed onto the land of don ramon and not their madres done so therefore i rule that the calves do not belong to don ramon but to this senior here gracias gracias your honor now what else is there the question of the cattle fees who have stolen 200 head of cattle from the rancheros in the valley we have found out that the leader of the bond is the indian Joaquin see i have heard of him you have proof of this senor see one of my vaqueros paid so and recognized him very well i order the capture of this Joaquin on the charge of cattle stealing i shall instruct a posse to attempt his capture at once see that is fine uh now your honor see what else a dispute over one cow senior it is an unbranded orianos which senor ortega and i discovered he was standing on the line between a two ranchos half in his half in mine and uh you both claim the creature see but my claim is the more worthy your honor for the cow stood with its head over my land and what does senor ortega claim that since the head is useless for high the part which was the the greater valley was on his land perhaps you should cut the cow in half as senores what are we to do where is the cow now i do not know while we were arguing about it the oriano wandered away and became lost in the brush but we shall find that your honor we marked its flank with a great cross of white hey a great cross of white you say see on the plan but senoras that is the cow which wandered into my garden and began trembling my calling it is she said it is found you shall return it senor oh i fear that will be impossible senor why impossible pardon i am sorry but you see i ate it i the pleasant peaceful life of the ranchos when it's even course for years then suddenly california found itself the object of covetous glances from several different nations including the united states and presently before many of the sleepy inhabitants were well aware of the situation the american occupation was underway and great events touched the lugo domain as the last battle of the war was fought on rancho san antonio on january 9th 1847 the battle of la mesa the spot at the present site of the union stockyards in los angles is marked with a monument of stones now the life of the sleepy pueblo began to undergo a gradual change as the american settlers came pouring in but with them came another and less desirable element the gold russian northern california had brought every kind of rough neck and desperado into the state and presently los angles was overrun by a wave of extreme lawlessness respectable citizens of the little town were becoming alarmed strong measures were needed things came to a head one night whoa whoa well bet you all girl here we are back home just a minute and you'll have your hands what is this all right temple hand over your money i don't understand a temple my name i said handle that money if you don't but you're making a mistake my name's cliff dead by the hand of a notorious desperado and gambler the citizen pink me clifford quickly the irate people of los angles gathered around the tiny jailhouse where the captured culprit was held this is the last straw these things must stop let's get him let's put a stop to this business bring him out we'll fix him we'll show bring him out give him up we got a necktie party already come on everybody what are we waiting for let's go in and get him hold on hold on all right now just hold your horses everybody this doesn't benefit them the citizens of a city like ours here we are trying to clean up los angles making it a city of law nor what do you fellas do throw over everything we've tried to do we ever expect to have order here we gotta establish it from the ground up we gotta let the courts take care of the criminals not disregard their laws and you talk about lynching you're just as bad as the men you're trying to get look who's talking yeah what's the matter with you steve may get soft you used to ride with a vigilante all right yes i know i used to ride with a vigilante now we have courts and authorities to handle these things sir duty and it's ours as good citizens to give them a chance oh go on home now let that murderer get away scot-free he won't get away i promise you that he would get what he deserves i give you my word mayor of los angles and a citizen like you i promise you that justice will be done if this man isn't hanged for his murder i promise you i'll resign my office and march at your head to see that he is stephen c foster one of the first mayors of los angles under the americanos who was also don antonio maria lugo son-in-law risked his office to stop the lynching but a month later out of my way i'm going in to see the mayor come in come in so foster you promised that brown would be hanged for murder in clifford eh yes i gave him my word well what are you gonna do now i what do you mean brown was sentenced to be hanged yeah he was supposed to get strung up tomorrow morning well but he isn't i just found out the supreme court has granted him a stay of execution he's gonna get out of it oh is that all you can say you gave your word foster i know i did and now let's see you make it good well how can we respect the law of weak and no matter i did give my word is that all you're gonna do sit there writing i'm writing my resignation be with me because the policy of title insurance is so readily procurable you might think it must be simple and inexpensive to produce but the fact is that the issuance of even the simplest title policy no matter how recently the title may have been searched requires no less than 21 separate operations each of which requires the services of highly trained personnel furthermore the operations i've just referred to do not include the routine work of maintaining the system of records or title plan which of course must be maintained whether or not any title policies are issued in other words the title insurance and trust company must maintain an up to the minute record on every parcel of land in the county in order to be able to issue a policy of title insurance on any parcel of land it is only because of the size and completeness of its great title plan and the trained efficiency of its record searches and examiners that the title insurance and trust company of los angles can issue title insurance policies so promptly remember these facts the next time you have need for title insurance remember too that the rates of the title insurance and trust company of los angles are substantially lower than the average cost of similar protection elsewhere in the united states fighting the lawlessness of early los angles demanded strong measures such as steven c foster was forced to use and although conditions gradually improved the little city was never to refer to the peaceful and quiet village of the dawns and so it was that many of the rancheros abandoned the townhouses to retire to the more peaceful ranchos outside the city such was the case with don desente lugo don antonio son won the lugo townhouse don versetti i don't know what to say this is indeed a generous gift not at all i would rather that this house were to be used for some good purpose rather than another gambling them well i'm happy that you feel this way i am only sorry that i cannot change the location to a more desirable spot for his food well that's not important senior i believe the saint vincent college will prosper in spite of any unfortunate surroundings senior i hope so it is a bitter thing for me to see this lovely plaza once the center of the finest residences the front yards of our finest citizens turned into a thoroughfare of drunk and obscene brawling gamblers yes it is unfortunate but that's senior is life and life is changed and we must accept it i can only hope that this beautiful house which you have so generously donated to our college shall not change but shall remain an inspiring memory of the great days of los angeles for all to see the townhouse of the lugo still remains standing on the east los angles street on the south side of the los angles plaza historic as the first two-story house in the pueblo it served as the home of saint vincent's college until in later years it was taken over by chinese merchants and is now a curio shop but the rancheros was still the leading citizens of los angles even though the americans progressive spirit was slowly forcing them out they had a few more years of prosperity in fact the greatest they had ever known her in the early fifties wealth came to los angles stop it oh don't be sent in here we go come get in on the game catch the face on jose stop it you are mad come with me come oh no my amigo we are playing games i cannot leave you are coming with me we were having such fun me amigo why do you take me away oh say i could not believe my eyes you have suddenly gone mad i never could have believed that you should be so foolish foolish me amigo see foolish you realize what you were doing tell me what was i doing you were throwing money away gold pieces throwing them to the crowd have you gone mad no me amigo it was great sport but gold pieces oh poor what a day for me nothing spare change gold pieces see you don't not seem to realize me amigo i'm a rich man now a very rich man and so are you you are mad what do you mean i have just returned from san francisco i took a herd of cattle there and i came back with thousands thousands of paces of gold now i'm rolling in gold you have been gambling oh no senior it was not necessary i sold my cattle see for 75 dollars a head senior you are local 75 dollars for a cow oh no no no senior not for the hide for the cow for the meat what for the meat but the meat of a cow is not worth 75 dollars it only makes them connie's acre oh no senior always it was the hide which was worth more but not now the americanos thousands of them in san francisco they want food meat now the beef is far more valuable than they hide 10 20 times as valuable and we were all rich you with your thousands of heads you can sell them for a princely fortune is this true see see hurry me amigo drag your heart to san francisco there a fortune is awaiting you the soaring cattle prices of those times brought on dreamed of prosperity to the ranch arrows of the southland and not knowing that it could not last forever they took advantage of their new riches to indulge in an orgy of extravagance look look here comes don filipe logo see splendor see look at this saddle on his horse in late with solid gold and silver mounted must have cost the fortune oh no no no not at all only 2000 pesos lavish expenditures on clothes lavish display and hospitality the good-hearted californians welcome the chance to pass their prosperity on in happiness and good cheer with their neighbors great fandangos were held guests strong the aciendas and gayety ram hi welcome welcome miss amigos my house is yours come in come in don't be something i took the liberty of extending your invitation to a few friends of mine wonderful welcome all of them and the french they invited some friends of theirs oh no they're more than better i have most of it'll have you all come in come in come in please see me we go see you i just want to tell you i must be leaving leaving but senor you are not enjoying yourself i see see see but i must go i i i've been here two days already what only you have been here only two days oh oh me meiko then i shall not hear of your leave you must not leave until you have been here two weeks no but really i i must go i i cannot waste any more time i am saying have you ever heard what time is what was made for time was made for slaves of course you have time come now no nonsense enjoy yourself we shall try our hand at the gaming table no no don't listen to me i am almost out of money oh then borrow some borrow some see that is what i do whenever i run short of gold it's borrow it is very easy about the interest they charge you senior six percent a month oh it is not much senior six percent besides you shall pay it back no yes you will pay it back when you drive the next third to san francisco so why not oh come you are timid maybe senior but this cannot go on forever money does not grow on trees oh no senior you are right no money does not grow on trees but it does grow on four legs on who ah we do not have to worry as long as we can raise our cattle until that time yes until that time we have money to burn see see but have you thought perhaps that time might come soon see your two percent see one what is this senior there is still no rain see i know how long has it been we have had no rain for over a year a year senior it is serious the earth's parts the grass is dried up there is nothing for our cattle to eat how many have we lost so far oh it is hard to say they fall down and die out on the hills we do not find them but i have counted the hundred purchases on one little hill it must be thousands for an i don't know what to do you i have borrowed money expecting to pay from the cattle i know there has been no cattle money for a year at no it is as you say serious you mean the rancho must be sold i hope not kwan how many cattle have we left how many could you wonder perhaps five hundred perhaps a thousand he answered it is our last hope round them up we shall try to drive them to san francisco but senior they have stopped they'll never get there we'll try it's our only chance but senior from here on we should be all right with fresh grass and water our cattle will be able to make the rest of the trip see on the far the north we go the more grazing land we will find this over and we still have almost seven hundred what is that coming out of the canyon up ahead men on horseback they are banded cattle roster sir you're after our cattle no there's too many of them we cannot hope to stand them off or what shall we do do we shall fight come on hold on man hold them up dead three kills we were lucky it wasn't more see and they heard they got away with over half of it what we still have about three hundred head see but that is not enough one not enough misfortune came with the aristocratic lugos as it did to most of the old families of california bit by bit they lost their vast branch of san Antonio until today all that remains is a small track the pond which stands the home of don't be sent a lugo one of the first wooden houses ever to be built in los angles county in the years that followed part of the land which once had been the ranch of san antonio came under the ownership of jonathan s slawson for whom slawson avenue was named and on this part a few years ago the great firestone tire and rubber company factory was built on other parts of the ranch oh the towns of huntington park vernon walnut park bell southgate linwood and east los angles were built and today the land of don't antonio maria lugo is the heart of a great industrial area over this land echoes the hum of factories its houses the greatest concentration of industry and commerce in western north america such is the story of progress and such is the romance of the ranchos in a moment frank graham will tell you the subject of next week's true story he's already told me that it's going to be one of the most interesting thus far the title insurance and trust company of los angles hopes however that these stories are providing you with more than just a half hours entertainment each week more than a series of history lessons sugar coated with drama and music the real hope of the company is that these broadcasts will increase your interest and pleasure in living in southern california for all of us can enjoy our southland more when we're familiar with rich and adventurous background when we know the romantic origins of its colorful names and landmarks when we can picture our individual communities as they look to the strong men and brave women who pioneered them for us and what's the story for next week frank next week we're going to react to the adventurous life story of one of the early american pioneers in southern california don benito wilson it's a thrilling and exciting chapter in the romance of the ranch and so until next week then this is your wondering vaquero frank graham saying the romance of the ranch shows a presentation of the title insurance and trust company of los angles featuring frank graham as you're wondering vaquero is dramatized by john donkel introduced by ted blitz with special music arranged by urbineau bob laman speaking this is the columbia broadcasting system