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SPOTLIGHT











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                                                            Washington, D.C.



                                      BY SCVHISTORY.COM
                                      PHOTOS BY JESSICA BOYER

                                        Three sets of artifacts from the Rancho Camulos
                                      Museum collection were recently shipped to the
                                      Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. for
                                      inclusion in the "Many Voices, One Nation"
                                      exhibit at the National Museum of American   ...
                                      History.
                                        The new permanent exhibit, which opens
                                      June 28,"presents the 500-year journey of
                                      how many distinct peoples and cultures
                                      met,  mingled and  created  the culture
                                      of the United States:'  The artifacts from
              The original             Rancho Camulos are expected to be on
             wooden cross
                                       display three years or more.
                                                                 th
                                        The artifacts include: the late 18 Century
             red sacred heart from the 1860s Camulos chapel; the original wooden cross from the
             Del Valle family's chapel garden at Camulos; and a mortar and pestle attributed to the
             Tataviam  people who lived in the Piru  area  and  maintained a village on the (later) Rancho   The red sacred heart
             Camulos property until 1803, when they were removed to the San Fernando Mission.
               The  sacred  heart was  previously loaned for an  exhibit at Loyola  Marymount University, where Josefa  del Valle  Forster had
                                             donated other family heirlooms just before her death in 1943.
                                                Late 19 Century photographs show this elaborately jeweled Sacred Heart once
                                                      th
                                               resided on the altar in the Camulos chapel, easy to see for those participating in the
                                                liturgy, according to the LMU exhibit.  As an object of devotion, it referred to the
                                                sacred heart of Christ, representing His divine love for humanity.  Devotion of the
                                                   Sacred  Heart dates back to biblical times as a way to commemorate Christ's
                                                     acts of asceticism, love and salvation for mankind.  The possession of this
                                                     Sacred Heart was another demonstration of Ysabel del Valle's pious character.
                                                       The second item, the original wooden cross, had been in protective storage
                                                     at Rancho Camulos Museum.  Visitors can  see a replica of the cross  in the
                                                    garden area next to the chapel.  It is painted white, as the original seems to
                                                    have been at one time.
                                                     Adding some mystery to history, it is not known whether the mortar and
                                                  pestle, the third set of artifacts, were found on the Rancho Camulos property
                                                or at another location in the Piru area.  Rancho Camulos Museum director Susan
                                               Falck said they were donated by a museum volunteer prior to her tenure.  However,
                                             they were not among the grinding tools found in 2014 in August Rubel's  pre-1943
                                           museum in the winery.
                                          For an informational treasure trove of local history, please visit scvhistory.com.   60  ►

          58  June/July 2017                                                                   www.scvelitemogozine.com




     I  June-Julv 2017.indd  58                                                                             5/11/17  6:23 PM
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