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It is hard to believe we are now in fall and we are looking toward 2013. What a year to date! The Museum continues to produce activities, events, programming, and tours with the goal of preserving and increasing community awareness of early California history as it relates to the Dominguez family, homestead adobe, and the Rancho San Pedro, the first Spanish land grant in California.

This summer we had a couple of wonderful activities. We held our 4th annual Ice Cream Social, and it was a success. Over 150 people attended and were treated to ice cream sundaes provided by Fosselman’s Ice Cream, and as much popcorn and cotton candy as they could eat. The “Boys are Back” barbershop quartet strolled the lower grounds singing to everyone and the children partook of the many games like the three-legged race, water balloon toss, and “Guess the Flavor” contest. Two children tied guessing all three flavors: Peppermint, Blueberry, and Cherry.

We followed that event with our concert in the park, which over 100 people attended. This year we featured Camino Rio lead by Karl Grossman. Karl and Camino Rio (River Road) played fresh melodies, rhythms, and harmonies that featured nylon guitar, Latin percussion, and palmas, and there was a special performance by Angelita, LA’s own flamenco dancer. It was an amazing show! People came and brought their blankets, chairs, and picnic and enjoyed a breezy early evening on the lower grounds of the Rancho. It has been quite a summer here at the Rancho.

In September we featured our first Flamenco Friday where 40 people enjoyed a flamenco performance, talk about Flamenco, tapas, and a wine tasting. This Friday evening event was a great way to introduce new people to the Rancho, and will continue in the following month and into 2013.

We hosted our first Grandparents Day and over 100 grandparents and their grandchildren came and made bricks, learned to sew on hand crank sewing machines, panned for gold, made candles, enjoyed a complimentary lunch, and more.

Last, we had our annual Watercolor Day where Ron Libbrecht taught a beginner’s course in watercolor. Ron also gave a very interesting talk on the history of watercolor and how it has become so popular.

In October we will be having our first pumpkin decorating contest on October 27th. Try your hand at decorating a pumpkin and enter one of the many contests such as “the most colorful” or the “most creative.”

On December 8th we feature our annual Living History night starting at 3pm. And look for our 2013 event calendar, which will be coming out mid-October. We will have our annual events as well as new events such as Father Serra’s 300th birthday celebration and a Native American Indian Art show. So much is new at the Rancho.

The Museum is a vibrant place and we are so pleased to be able to continue our program-ming. As always, none of this would be possible without the generous financial support of the patrons of the Friends of Rancho San Pedro and our wonderful volunteers and docents. It is because of your collective financial and volunteer commitment to the Rancho that we are able to provide all the unique and interesting programming that the Museum offers.

If you would like to become a supporter of the Friends of Rancho San Pedro and the Museum there are many ways to contribute. Please contact us to find out more. There’s so much happening, come and experience the Museum!

A message from our Director

Fall 2012

Alison BruesehoffAlison BruesehoffMuseum Executive Director

Guess the flavor at the Ice Cream Social

Camino Rio performs at the Rancho

Flamenco Friday at the Rancho

Stay Warm in Dangerous StyleBefore the days of electric blankets and hot rubber water bottles, people used some pretty adventurous means to stay warm.

How much do you detest the sensation of climbing into a cold bed? Would you fill a pan on a stick with burning coals and move it around under the sheets to warm them? Well, that’s precisely what people in the 18th and 19th centuries did. This in-vention became much more stylized, of course, than the simple pan-on-a-stick, but still, there were some serious imperfections with these new-fangled “bed warmers”.

Basically, when a bed was deemed too cold, a servant would move a kind of sting ray-looking object made of bronze, gold, or silver, to and fro underneath the sheets before the master climbed in. This was done with caution however, as a warming pan held too long in one position meant burnt bed sheets—or fire in the bedroom!

The Rancho is lucky enough to have some of these fascinating contraptions. One of our bed warmers is a lustrous bronze color with a pierced pattern on its cover. This pierced pattern indicates that the bed warmer was for the home owner, and not servants. Generally speaking, servants had enclosed bed warmers without holes in them because they were less expensive and maintained heat for less time.

Warmers with holes generated heat for a longer period of time; however, depending on the materials used inside the pan, the outcome could give off quite an unpleasant odor. This did not seem to matter much though, due to fact that these objects were a status symbol.

Another one of our bed warmers has the bust of a horse pierced on the front, sur-rounded by a delicate circle of leaves. This design further asserts the wealth of its owners, as intricate designs would have cost significantly more.

The Rancho also has in its collection a bed warmer with what appears to be a “Fleur-de-lis,” which translates to “Flower of the lily” in French. It is a symbol of-ten seen on family crests, especially of those in France. This symbol was often used to assert royal connections, and was first featured on King Louis VI’s shield. Since then, the symbol has been adopted to a wide range of meanings, including “purity” and “light”. By the 19th century, the symbol became simply an aesthetic choice. Still, it harkened to a sense of nobility, and our bed warmer bares the mark.

The bed warmer was certainly dangerous, but it was another beautiful example of antique ingenuity. These curious inventions look oddly dignified at the end of an ornate bed, like an outstretched iron dog. Make sure you give them some attention next time you tour the Rancho. Examples of Bedwarmers found in the 18 and

19th century, note the sting ray like shape.

Virtual VolunteersDid you know that we have volunteers from around the United States? We do! Our volunteer range spans from California to New York to Canada and England. These volunteers help in the following areas:

• Web design• Graphic design• Editing our newsletters• Research

Join in welcoming our new online volunteer group as we spread the word about the Museum across the United States.

Upcoming Events to Mark on Your Calen-darsBattle Reenactment on October 13th and 14th

Two-day 1840s California based living history event featuring a reenact-ment of the Battle of Dominguez Hill, also known as the Battle of the Old Woman’s Gun. Join us for an action-packed afternoon each day featuring:

• Battle re-creations from the Mexican-American War• 150th Anniversary of California’s involvement in the Civil War• California and U.S. Navy encampment re-creation• Civil War encampment re-creation• Time period clothing and artifact sales• Dance Saturday night

Living History Afternoon on December 8th at 3pm

Join us for our holiday living history afternoon at the Rancho. Meet the Dominguez daughters and their family as you tour the Rancho. Santa will be visiting this year so be sure to get your photo with Santa while you enjoy light refreshments and music. It will be a fun afternoon for all the family!

Intern at the MuseumAre you ready for an extraordinary academic experi-ence – one that takes you out of the classroom and into the great laboratory of the working world? Would you like to extend your studies, acquire experience, explore career directions, and develop capabilities as a professional and a leader? Join the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum’s Internship Program.

We offer internships every fall, spring, and summer for history, education, museum studies, advertising and marketing, communication, and arts majors who wish to gain experience in a museum environment. As a Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum Intern you will:

♦ Get a rare opportunity to work at a state and na-tional landmark♦ Gain professional experience that will help you with your studies and in the workplace♦ Develop networking opportunities♦ Earn strong letters of recommendation as you suc-cessfully complete the program♦ Set yourself apart by adding valuable skills and talents to your resume or curriculum vitae that other candidates applying for the same job won’t have♦ Interact with other museum interns and volunteers at planned social events♦ Be placed in an internship that matches your inter-ests, abilities, and career goals♦ Learn about what life is like in the industry you are pursuing in your studies♦ Provide a much needed service to your community

All internships follow the national guidelines for internships in honoring course requirements and giv-ing credit towards the course linked to the internship. The Museum will provide supervision for the student throughout the term of the internship.Our three programs offer many great opportunities and each program can be customized to what an intern would like to do. Our three programs are:

Arts and Education: Provides students first-hand professional experiences working in a museum creating public programming, developing curriculum for school tours, creating and writing educational development plans and materials for children, and creating art projects for youth.

Media and Communication Program: Provides students first-hand experience in the field of com-munications, including advertising, public rela-tions, photography, graphic design, web design, and electronic media.

Curatorial and Conservation Program: Provides students first-hand experience in research, exhibit management, archiving, and conservation. Curatorial interns work on exhibits and research, and conserva-tion interns assist with the care of the actual objects in the Adobe as well as researching the latest conser-vation techniques for paper, paintings, artifacts, and plant material.

Open to the publicwith docent-led tours:

Saturday of each monthevery Wednesday and Sunday

All tours are held at1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.

Admission is free.

California Historic Landmark No. 152National Register of Historical Landmark

Friends of Rancho San PedroBoard of Directors

Mr. William BargerMr. Tom Huston

Brother Rene LepageMr. Manny MarreroMr. John F. Watkins

Ms. Jean WillardMr. Tom Van Woerkum

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLOS ANGELES, CA

PERMIT # 2016

18127 South Alameda StreetRancho Dominguez, CA 90220

(310) 603-0088 • fax (310) 603-0009information@DominguezRancho.org

www.DominguezRancho.org

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Flamenco FridayOctober 5th, 5pm to 7pm

Battle of the Old Woman’s Gun - ReenactmentOctober 13th and 14th, all day 10:30am-6:30pm on Sat. and 10:30am-4:00pm on Sun.

Pumpkin DecoratingOctober 27th, 1pm to 3pm

Living History NightDecember 8th, 3pm to 5pm

Meet Father Serra9:30am – 11:30amOctober 25th, November 7th

www.DominguezRancho.org