"I loved it when Agnes was our sub for the day!"
By Margaret Magnus
There is a “Growing Up in Santa Paula” group on Facebook, and these are some delightful remembrances about Meher Mount’s co-founder and lifetime caretaker, Agnes Baron (1907-1994).
If you are not familiar with the geography around Meher Mount, Santa Paula (Pop: 31,138) is about the same distance from Meher Mount as is downtown Ojai – just in the opposite direction. Santa Paula’s economy is based on agriculture — calling itself the “Citrus Capital of the World” — and previously oil. Ojai (Pop: 7,594) is a tourist destination with a number of metaphysical centers.
AGNES BARON in the early 1980s sitting in of front her screened-in porch where she slept and heated with a wood stove. (Photo: Bill Le Page Family)
She Told Such Great Stories
One of the ways in which Agnes supported herself and Meher Mount was by being a substitute teacher. Some of her former students and a co-teacher posted their memories on Facebook in September 2020.
“She was a substitute teacher for me and other teachers at Isbell [Middle School]. I remember talking with her many times and receiving some of her home canned goods, herbs, or produce. The kids called her Bacon Lady but mostly in a loving way since she told such great stories. Never needed to leave sub plans for her!" – Linda Pittman Spink
“I loved it when Agnes was our sub for the day! She always had great stories.” – Michael A. Lara
In addition to her stories, her former students remembered that she always smelled like a fireplace or campfire.
“Loved it when she subbed. Always smelled of a fireplace.” – Rog Brooks
“Agnes Bacon the kids called her, she always had the scent of Oak about her. She was nice.” – Eva Va
John Cisler explained:
“Agnes’ only heat was a fireplace and I think she didn't have electricity. The fireplace heating and cooking gave her that smoky smell. Inside her house their were tons of books and papers all over the floor like a hoarder of books. Her view from the mountain top was spectacular and she hated the actor from Dallas [Larry Hagman] building a mansion in the valley below and spoiling her views. Her source of water was from a well and her stories were close to truth. Dennis Renault, the cartoonist was a good friend and that is how I met her at the cabin.”
Agnes did have electricity, but she had a wood burning stove to heat the screened-in porch where she slept — winter and summer. She would use oak logs that volunteers chopped for her to heat that porch. There was a stovepipe inside, which ran halfway across the porch before exiting outside, and which leaked smoke. Hence, she and the room smelled like a campfire.
There was untreated water from the well that she used for watering. For her personal use, she would take empty gallon milk jugs down to a pipe that was fed by spring water near a stream along Highway 150 on the way to Santa Paula. She would fill up those jugs with water to cook with and drink. In the summer, she would shower using the hose on the lawn that had sat out in the sun, so the water was warm.
Fierce in Her Efforts to Retrieve Overdue Library Books
Agnes also worked with — maybe as a volunteer — the Blanchard Community Library in Santa Paula.
“Agnes Baron was connected with the library too! In the late ‘70’s, the ‘Agnes Baron List’ was typed each Saturday, consisting of names of patrons who had books that were way overdue. Agnes would actually go to their homes and attempt to get the books back for the library. An ‘AB’ was written on the patron’s registration card in red pencil, indicating to staff that the patron had previously had trouble returning books and had been referred to Agnes.
“She was fierce in her efforts to retrieve those books, and actually was pretty successful at times. In later years, I wished we’d had another ‘Agnes Baron’, but as we all know, she was one of a kind!” – Ilene Glasser Gavenman
She Was a Legend
Agnes was fearless and spoke her mind. She had no patience with rules and regulations that she felt were unjust or unnecessary or too bureaucratic.
Here’s a comment from someone who worked in the Ventura County planning department.
“Oh my, that brings up memories from my first years in Ventura County, but I cannot quite put my finger on them. When I worked at the County Planning Division in the late 1970s and early 1980s, other planners would talk about Aggie Baron, but I don't remember why. She was a legend, for sure.” – Mary Ann Krause
Paul Belgum — a former member of the Meher Mount board of directors — shared a memory:
“Agnes was an important and engaging person. We were good friends of hers during the 80s, and also helped out a bit after the [Ferndale 1985] fire and a lot with the re-building, also taking her to Doctor appts to try to figure out the back situation and the loss of voice. She would say.... ‘I have got to get my voice back so I can argue with people!’. Yep, that was the true Agnes.