For $42,500 – or about $608,250 in today’s prices – the New Life Foundation acquired the Sulphur Mountain property, now known as Meher Mount, on July 31, 1946.
At least two of the area newspapers carried news of the purchase:
“Shri Meher Baba to Establish Center in Upper Ojai Valley” (The Ojai, August 9, 1946) and
“Baba Will Start New Foundation” (Santa Paula Chronicle, August 13, 1946).
The Ojai article began, “Of interest to the numerous valley residents who follow the history and development of the numerous religious groups that are prominent in the world today… is the news that Shri Meher Baba will come to Ojai from Europe within a few weeks to establish a center of his New Life Foundation up on Sulphur Mountain.”
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Caretakers of a beloved oak tree in Upper Ojai say they're cautiously optimistic the tree will survive.
Baba's Tree, on the property of the Meher Mount retreat, at 9902 Sulphur Mountain Road, was shattered by the Thomas Fire, which consumed the main trunk of the tree and destroyed 90 percent of its canopy.
But now the iconic tree is coming back to life. "It's looking good, so far," said Meher Mount President Sam Ervin.
The giant coast live oak, named for Indian spiritual master Avatar Meher Baba, overlooks the Pacific Ocean from the brow of the mountain, 1,200 feet above the Ojai Valley. Meher Baba sat under the tree and sanctified the property during his only visit in August 1956.
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The following is a reprint of an article about the making of three benches from the fallen wood of Baba's Tree. It is from the Ojai Valley News published April 27, 2018.
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The news coverage started with Perry Van Houten, who had written an earlier article “Ojai’s Trees” for the Winter 2014 edition of The Ojai Valley Visitors Guide, which included Baba’s Tree as one of six trees featured. He approached Meher Mount for a story for a story about Baba's Tree after the Thomas Fire. His article, “Group mounting significant effort to try to save Baba’s Tree,” was published on February 2, 2018, in the Ojai Valley News.
Later, Claudia Boyd-Barrett, an Ojai resident and journalist who had visited Meher Mount before, contacted Meher Mount to set up an interview. She talked with Board President Sam Ervin, Manager/Caretaker Buzz Glasky, arborist Michael Inaba, and Interim Caretaker Cassandra Bramucci. Her story for the Ventura County Star, “Baba's Tree, burned in Thomas Fire, fights for survival in Ojai,” was published on February 18, 2018.
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The following is a reprint of an article about Baba's Tree and the 2017 Thomas Fire from the Ojai Valley News published on February 2, 2018.
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