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MD: The library was in the main adobe?

SRL: Yeah, yeah, but when mother would read it would be in the master bedroom in front of
the, there was a lovely fireplace there, and lovely small couches and things, so we'd be in
there and she'd read.

MD: In the adobe, did you guys each have your own rooms as siblings or did you share rooms?

SRL: Well, my earliest memories, we had a nurse, we had a nanny, and we were in these lower
rooms in the back there, that's called Ramona's room, and Boo and I would have our
meals there, but when we discovered, decided, that we were human·enough to come to
the dinner table, then we came to the dinner table. Dinners were always fantastic because
there such wonderful conversation and we talked and sometimes there were friends there
and sometimes it was just us, but they'd been listening to the radio and been up with
what's going on in the world and there'd be discussion about all these things, and what's
going on in our lives, but also what's going on in the whole world. Dad had friends he
was in contact with, writing letters to, all over Europe, some of them even from the
Philippines. So that was all very interesting, so we had a pretty good idea of what as
going on in the world, without realizing that we did, you know? Of course we had to eat
everything on our plate, and we had to have good manners, but it was always fun, there
was always a lot of joking and so forth.

MD: Would a lot of, because I know a lot of the workers were your dad old friends, would
they come in and join you at the dinner table or was it just mostly you and your family?

SRL: No, no, well there were enough ofus to fill up the table, they had a wonderful bunk
house, and they had a very fine cook, and I remember going with dad to Smart and Final
before it was open to the regular people, when it was just for restaurants and businesses
and so forth, and he'd get all of this stuff from Smart and Final. And of course it was
during the Depression too, and no matter what, even though things were scarce, money
was scarce, there was always a way of being able to feed the tramps who came through,
and so forth and so on. And sometimes, if there was a something, a job for them to do,
they could do that for a few days if they wanted to, but there was always no question
about taking care of these people, because you know the ranch is in the boonies. Yeah I
remember that very well, those days were really something.

MD: Would you get a lot of travelers coming through,just stopping through, not only during
the Depression, I know there were a lot of Ramona seekers, did that continue after the del
Valle family was gone?

SRL: Oh yes! We called them Ramona hunters and they would just peer. We'd just be sitting at
the luncheon table and just look out and here are these people wandering through and you
know dad or mother would go out and ask if they could help them in any way. The ranch
was always open to visitors until after WWII, when dad was gone and mother remarried
and then it was closed. And that's why so many local people never knew this was here. I

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