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Photograph was edited for publication purposes Mary Logan Orcutt was an important fixture in the San Fernando Valley community as a leader in numerous women's clubs and charities and the founder of the Guadalupe Youth Center. She was also the wife of William Warren Orcutt, vice-president of the Union Oil Company in California, largely credited with the development of the oil industry in the Western United States through his pioneering use of geology in oil production. Together, the Orcutts were the owners of many ranches in Southern California. Mrs. Orcutt was determined that one ranch in particular, the Rancho Sombra del Roble (ranch in the shade of the Oaks), named for its signature 500-year-old oak trees, be preserved and given to her community as a park. In 1965, the city of Los Angeles named a 24-acre portion of the estate, Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 31 and shortly after, was acquired by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and preserved as a public historic park. It is now known as the Orcutt Ranch Horticultural Center Rancho Sombra del Roble. Photograph article dated January 28, 1964 partially reads, "'I bet you thought you would find me in a wheel chair,' she told a reporter recently at her 25-acre estate on Justice street. But the wife of the late William Warren Orcutt, founder of the Union Oil Co., is anything but physically or mentally dependent. On the contrary. Many persons regularly depend on her active participation in community affairs. And as a result of her current activity, the Canoga Park Chamber of Commerce honored her as the community's oustanding woman for 1963."; Photograph was also used in an article dated July 5, 1965. The caption partially reads, "Mrs. W. W. Orcutt, founder of Our Lady of Guadalupe CYO Youth Center in Canoga Park has established the Mary Logan Orcutt Scholarships for Mexican-American high school students..."
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Orcutt, Mary Logan Awards--California--San Fernando Valley Civic leaders--California--San Fernando Valley Women--California--San Fernando Valley Flower arrangements San Fernando Valley (Calif.) Portrait photographs Valley Times Collection photographs
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