Santa Ynez Valley News from Solvang, California • B1

00 1 VALLEY LIFE TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2020 syvnews.com SECTION A couple of people wrote to me stating that no historical article on Gaviota Pass would be complete without mentioning Las Cruses and the impact it had on the history of our area. The de- velopment of Gaviota Pass in the late 1700s provided a direct route between the coast and the interior val- leys and the mission set- tlements. It is no surprise then that Las Cruses became an important junction during a colorful part of our history. Back as early as the 1830s, the settlement was located at what is now the intersection of Highway 101, at the Santa Ynez Valley and Highway 1 cross- roads, leading to the Lompoc Valley. Las Cruses was a small community in the 1950s and no longer exists, but it has an important history.

Many of us older Santa Ynez and Lompoc Valley residents remember stopping at the Las Cruses store for ice cream cones and soft drinks on the way home from Santa Barbara or a day at Gavi- ota Beach. How did the settlement of Las Cruses get its name? In the early 1800s legend has it that there was a huge between the Chumash and Spanish soldiers. The Chu- mash had a large village at the site of Gaviota Creek. With the opening of Gaviota Pass, their village was in the way of a ma- jor Spanish travel route which created friction between the two groups. In the battle, many Chumash were killed, and their graves were marked by the na- tive survivors with totems, sea- shells, etc.

Franciscan priests later replaced these headstones with Christian crosses. With more than 100 graves marked, the area became known as or Las Cruces in Spanish. In 1837, Miguel Cordero was awarded an land grant, which he named Las Cruses Rancho. father had been a member of the Gaspar de 1769 expedition, which was the rst Spanish-land exploration of the California coast. Miguel Cordero followed in this fa- footsteps and was a sol- dier at the Santa Barbara Pre- sidio.

The Las Cruses Rancho became a successful operation with elds of wheat and barley, vineyards, orchards and cattle pastures. The 1860s were not kind to the Cordero family as their claim to the land was in question due to the United States having won the Mex- ican-American War. Also, during that time the rancho was having trouble staying sol- vent due to oods and drought. Historical records show that during the drought of 1863 and 1864 over of the cattle, horse, and sheep population in Santa Barbara County, died. The family began to lease part of the land to American settlers to produce income.

In 1864, a plan to take the stagecoach route through Gav- iota Pass created great interest in Las Cruces. It was the per- fect place to rest and water the horses before the long trek up the mountains leading to the Santa Ynez or Lompoc Valleys. Operating a stage stop could mean a substantial boost in income by providing travel- ers with food and lodging as well as servicing the horses. Competition became erce for who would get the con- tract for the stage stop. When it became appar- ent the route would cross land occupied by Wilson Corliss, he built a house to serve as the stage stop and inn.

Shortly thereaf- ter, Corliss and his wife were beaten to death, their house locked from the outside and set of re with the bodies inside. Their hired hand, Franco Coronado, was found a few days later, his bloody body wedged between some rocks nearby. The murder caused a huge uproar in Santa Barbara and a vigilante committee of 50 men and a sheri posse of 15 men was formed to catch the mur- derers. After a 16-day investi- gation, the main suspects were three brothers, Bill, Elize, and Steve Williams from Oregon who were sheep farmers and lived close to the in an adobe house built by the origi- nal Cordero family. The brothers were competing to get the stage stop on their land in Las Cruces.

They were so sure that they would get the new station, that they had built a corral and barn for the stage- coach horses and expanded the original adobe house to serve as a restaurant and hotel. After much discussion, a vote was taken, and it was decided there was not enough evidence to hang the Williams brothers. A lot has happened in a matter of weeks. 40 million people have pulled together swiftly and are getting high marks for the sustained stay-at-home COVID-19 virus mitigation, credited with helping to end this pandemic. Immediately protective masks were launched into production, many creatively homemade which we now wear strategically and at distance queue in our grocery shop- ping stores.

We are trying to implement the new social custom of not shaking hands and washing them more frequently. There have been these social and cultural changes briskly rolled out one after an- other. How are we doing with all of this emotion- ally? For the best protective men- tal health, our approach should be to con- tinue implementing what we know works best. Experts tell us that despite these uncertain times we are facing, we should capitalize on what we are in control of. Here are some ways we can reframe the circumstances and start to take back control of our lives: Family: Capitalize on the opportunity to enhance in- teractions between family by scheduling your favorite meals.

Have older children plan and prepare one dinner each week. Assign other tasks that will help them feel part of the plan and make valuable contributions to the family. Socializing: Schedule vir- tual social dates for adults on Zoom or house party and play dates for the kids. Reaching out and connecting is so im- portant at these times for both adults and children. Health: Structure meals and sleeping patterns.

Ev- idence suggests being less-physically active, adopt- ing irregular sleeping patterns, having less-favorable diets and too much screen time, di- minishes well-being and good health. Exercise one hour a day, possibly two thirty-min- ute sessions. The Debbie Allen Dance Academy founder is posting classes; Monterey Bay Aquarium ers Jelly- sh guided morning medita- tions; Deepak ers a 21-day meditation sequence; and there are countless You- Tube videos on origami, puz- zles, audio books, of math and science classroom games. Children look to their par- ents and mentors for the way they react and express their emotions about the situation at hand. We can understand our readiness to un- derstand by the questions they ASK YOUR VALLEY THERAPIST COVID-19: Taking back control LITERARY CORNER LAS CRUSES The forgotten crossroad This small 1950s community no longer exists, but has an important history PHOTOS COURTESY OF GOLETA HISTORICAL SOCIETY The undated photo shows the Las Cruces adobe house which used to serve as a stagecoach stop for those crossing the Gaviota Pass, in a dilapidated state.

A stage coach stops by the Las Cruces adobe house, circa 1890. TERRY WHITE LISA Local brewing company Fire- stone Walker has announced its orts to go green with the in- stallation of a new state-of-the- art solar array at its Paso Robles facility. According to a spokesperson for the brewery, the 9.7 acre buildout is currently underway and projected to go live by the end of the year. always strive to improve beer quality while minimizing our environmental said co-founder Adam Fires- tone, referring to the other sustainability orts that include converting spent grains from the brewing process into feed for local livestock, using specialized equipment, looped systems and careful engineering strategies to conserve and reuse water, natural gas and electric- ity, as well as repurposing retired tanks and other equipment into usable items such as booths for Taproom restaurant seating. new solar array is an ex- tension of this It is estimated that the 2.1-megawatt array being built on the land adjacent to the brew- ery will generate 4,570 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity each year, setting up to of its overall energy use, the spokesperson said.

A second, smaller 277-kilo- watt solar installation will oc- cupy a parking shade structure spanning 14,000 square feet just south of the brewery. In partnership with the City of Paso Robles and REC Solar, co- founder David Walker says using sunshine to fuel the brewery is a simple way they can work to re- duce their carbon footprint. have sought to con- serve energy for centuries, and we want to continue that tradi- tion here on the Central said Walker. For more information on Fire- stone sustainability programs at re- stonebeer.com/sustainability/ Lisa covers Valley Life for Santa Ynez Valley News. Firestone Walker goes solar, converting 80 percent of energy usage FIRESTONE WALKER, CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Firestone Waker Brewing Company owners David Walker, left, and Adam Firestone stand at the solar array buildout site that is currently under construction on the land adjacent to their Paso Robles facility.

JUDITH DALE Please see DALE, Page B3 Please see WHITE, Page B2.