'RAMONA' A LINK TO LOCAL HISTORY.Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer NEWHALL - Inspired by her friend and fellow author Harriet Beecher Stowe, Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning American actress, perhaps most widely known for her role in the television sitcom Mad About You. Jackson campaigned for the rights of American Indians American Indians: see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the; Natives, Middle American; Natives, North American; Natives, South American. in the late 1800s and chose a local rancho for the setting of her now-famous novel ``Ramona.'' The popularity of the book, which chronicled the life and romance of a young, mixed-race Indian woman, spawned a short film starring Mary Pickford, which will be screened at 7:30 tonight at the Saugus Train Station, Heritage Junction Historic Park. The D.W. Griffith-directed film was shot at Rancho Camulos Rancho Camulos, just east of Piru, California, was the home of Californio Ygnacio del Valle, an alcalde of Los Angeles and member of the California State Assembly. and Piru, just north of the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. , in April 1910. ``This book was so popular as a romance, people began to see the message behind it,'' said Pat Saletore, secretary of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, which is hosting the free screening. ``She went all over California gathering information ... about Indians and how the Americans mistreated them. She wanted to make them real people, not animals,'' Saletore said. ``She went to Camulos and chose it for the setting for the opening of her book.'' ``Ramona'' grew from Jackson's travels across Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, and followed her first tome, ``Century of Dishonor To refuse to accept or pay a draft or to pay a promissory note when duly presented. An instrument is dishonored when a necessary or optional presentment is made and due acceptance or payment is refused, or cannot be obtained within the prescribed time, or in case of bank collections, ,'' which she sent to every member of Congress in an attempt to raise awareness about the mistreatment mis·treat tr.v. mis·treat·ed, mis·treat·ing, mis·treats To treat roughly or wrongly. See Synonyms at abuse. mis·treat of American Indians. According to historian Albert Greenspan, Jackson sought to write a book that would assist American Indians just as the book ``Uncle Tom's Cabin'' had drawn attention to the plight of African-Americans. ``If I can do one-hundredth part for the Indian that Mrs. Stowe did for the Negro, I will be thankful,'' Jackson said, according to one Web site biography. The 17-minute film screening is free and there will be an opportunity to win an antique copy of the novel. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: This photo, circa the 1910s, shows Piru's Rancho Camulos, said to be among the inspirations of Helen Hunt Jackson's ``Ramona.'' |
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