ALTAR OF HISTORY MISSION LA PURISIMA PROVIDES UNADORNED LOOK AT LIFE IN 1800S.Byline: Story by Eric Noland Travel Editor LOMPOC - Along most of California's mission chain, the imagination has to be applied liberally for visitors to get a sense of California life in the early 1800s. Not so at La Purisima, an outpost just outside Lompoc that is an absolute treasure of restoration - and of suspended reality. No modern conveniences here. No overheard radios or ringing telephones. Time appears to be frozen, circa 1820. La Purisima, the 11th mission in the string of 21 settlements that once stretched from San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. to Sonoma, is no longer an active parish but rather a state historic park, and as such exists solely to provide a glimpse into early-18th-century mission life. ``Can you guess what we're making here?'' asked a docent in period dress as we happened upon an industrious operation in one of several small courtyards. Let's see Let's See was a Canadian television series broadcast on CBC Television between September 6, 1952 to July 4, 1953. The segment, which had a running time of 15 minutes, was a puppet show with a character named Uncle Chichimus (voice of John Conway), which presented each : rendered fat (for tallow tallow, solid fat extracted from the tissues and fatty deposits of animals, especially from suet (the fat of cattle and sheep). Pure tallow is white, odorless and tasteless; it consists chiefly of triglycerides of stearic, palmitic, and oleic acids. ), ashes (for lye), lemon blossoms (for scent). Of course: soap. ``Yes,'' he said, brightly. ``It doesn't lather real well, but it'll get you clean. If you want, you can buy a cake of it at the visitors center on your way out.'' La Purisima once stood square on El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
 `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. to the north. Following secularization of the missions in 1834, however, it began to fall into a ruin - a fate shared by many of the mission establishments. By the 1930s, little was left of it, but after the land on which it stood was donated to the state by Union Oil Co. and the Catholic Church, the Civilian Conversation Corps was put to work restoring its residence buildings, workshops and gardens. Today visitors cross a wooden footbridge that spans a bordering creek and gain a fascinating perspective on the era. All the pathways are dirt, and if you need to use a restroom, you have to head back to the comparative civilization of the parking lot and visitors center. The animals penned up on the grounds are intended to be close approximations of what was brought here by the Spanish settlers: Churro chur·ro n. pl. chur·ros A thick coiled fritter of fried dough. [Spanish, perhaps from dialectal xurro, dirty, Valencian.] sheep, longhorn cattle, horses, goats, turkeys. They're held in corrals made of twigs (although wire mesh is also employed today to make the enclosures a bit more secure). Rooms are restored to look as they might have then, with soldiers' weapons hanging on the wall and tables set for a meal. You can also peer into any number of rooms where bustling work once took place. The original residents tanned leather for shoes, wove wove v. Past tense of weave. wove Verb a past tense of weave wove, woven weave cloth, fashioned pottery roof tiles, forged iron implements, made candles and turned grape juice into wine. Near the gardens, you might be intrigued by a water system that ensured little was wasted. Water from a spring on the hillside fed a fountain that was used for drinking and cooking. The remaining water then was channeled by gravity to a lavenderia, where clothes were washed. Finally, the soapy water was funneled into a cistern cistern /cis·tern/ (sis´tern) a closed space serving as a reservoir for fluid, e.g., one of the enlarged spaces of the body containing lymph or other fluid. , where it was filtered for use in irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. . The mission gardens are extensive - they were not only a source of food, but of medicine, perfume and fiber. It's a peaceful place today, with mature olive trees, a vineyard with vines as thick as your arm and a wealth of herbs. Quail dash across the path. A cottontail rabbit scampers away when startled star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. . Birds call out from the brambles. You almost long for the gong of a bell, calling you to vespers vespers (vĕs`pərz) [Lat.,=evening], in the Christian Church, principal evening office. In the Roman rite, vespers have consisted since the 6th cent. of a few prayers, five psalms, a lesson, the Magnificat, and an antiphon. . IF YOU GO La Purisima Mission State Historic Park is just northeast of Lompoc, where Purisima Road connects Highway 246 (from Buellton) with Highway 1 (toward Santa Maria). The park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; the admission fee is $4 per vehicle. A self-guided tour is a fun way to explore leisurely, but free guided tours of 60 to 90 minutes are also offered (2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays). Information: (805) 733-3713; www.lapurisimamission.org. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2) Visitors to La Purisima Mission State Park will find things much as they were in the early 19th century, including the fountain for drinking and cooking, right, and the bell tower, above. (3) The dormitory where the mission's soldiers slept remains free of modern amenities. Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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