WEST GETS WILD : COWBOYS DISPLAY TRICKY WAYS TO HELP BOYS, GIRLS CLUB.Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer Wearing chaps and silver spurs The Silver Spurs is the honorary service organization responsible for the caretaking and transportation of the University of Texas Longhorn mascot, Bevo. Founded in 1937, the charter members felt that there was need for another spirit-service group on campus. , a clan of cowboys gathered Monday at the Boys and Girls boys and girls mercurialisannua. Club of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. to show youngsters the finer points of Western-style stunts and skits. Their morning show was a prelude to Old West Casino Night
A Casino Night (also called Vegas Nights, Las Vegas Night, Monte Carlo Night) is an entertainment event with a casino theme. , a fund-raiser planned for April 27, which will feature Western entertainment and a silent auction. Money raised will benefit Boys and Girls Club programs and efforts to preserve a historic area in the hills of Simi Valley known as Corriganville Park, said Paula Mackelburg, Boys and Girls Club program director. ``It's a way for us to work together to raise money for both causes,'' Mackelburg said. The cowboys who performed Monday were members of the Corriganville Preservation Committee, a group dedicated to promoting the park and its role in Western film history. ``Most people don't even know Corriganville existed, or that it put Simi Valley on the map,'' said Steve Gillum, committee chairman. ``We want to re-educate re·ed·u·cate also re-ed·u·cate tr.v. re·ed·u·cat·ed, re·ed·u·cat·ing, re·ed·u·cates 1. To instruct again, especially in order to change someone's behavior or beliefs. 2. people of its significance to the heritage of Western films.'' Ray ``Crash'' Corrigan bought the land in the hills east of Kuehner Drive in 1937 for $11,354. The actor, cowboy and stuntman stunt·man n. A man who substitutes for a performer in scenes requiring physical daring or involving physical risk. stuntman n → especialista m stuntman decided that the rocky landscape was the perfect setting for filming movies, especially Westerns, Gillum explained. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, hundreds of movies were made using Simi's hills as a backdrop. Corriganville also became the outdoor setting for many TV Western series. In 1949, Corrigan converted the property into a Western-themed amusement park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. , featuring stuntmen, shows, movie lots, stagecoach stagecoach, heavy, closed vehicle on wheels, usually drawn by horses, formerly used to transport passengers and goods overland. Throughout the Middle Ages and until about the end of the 18th cent. rides and pony rides. The park attracted as many as 20,000 people on the weekends. In 1965, Bob Hope purchased Corriganville. The park was closed to the public a year later and a fire in 1970 destroyed most of the movie sets and buildings. In 1988, nearly 200 acres were purchased jointly by the city of Simi Valley and the Rancho Simi Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y Simi is one of the land grants in California by the Spanish government. The name derives from Shimiji, the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish. Recreation and Park District for use as a regional park. The area soon became the focus of regional preservation efforts. That year, the Corriganville Preservation Committee became active. ``Some of us are true actors or just true cowboys who want to rebuild and preserve our film heritage,'' said Ken Tooman, a member since the group was founded. ``We are people who believe in what we're doing and believe in what the park meant to Western filmmaking.'' Since the committee's inception, it has secured an agreement with the Rancho Simi Open Space Conservation Agency to return the town of Corriganville to as close to its original state as possible, said Dave Hugo, committee public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most director. Other agreements have included designating Corriganville Park as a county historical landmark. ``We hope to see the town of Corriganville come back to life,'' Hugo said. THE FACTS WHAT: Old West Casino Night, a fund raiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Simi Valley and the Corriganville Preservation Committee. WHEN: 5:30 to 11 p.m. April 27. WHERE: Rancho Santa Susana Community Center, 5005-C Los Angeles Avenue, Simi Valley. COST: $25 in advance, $30 at the door. INFORMATION: (805) 527-4437. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box Photo: (1--color in SIMI edition only) Joy Conroy,a Boys and Girls Club counselor, lets cowboy Ken Tooman have it with a whipped cream pie during a western skit Monday. (2--color in SIMI edition only) Lynne Hugo is dressed for the occasion at Monday's show. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News Box: THE FACTS (see text) |
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