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The first section of a planned 2,665-acre development in Oak Park was approved by Ventura County this week in 1975, according to a front page article that appeared in The Acorn 30 years ago. More than 8,000 homes would be developed in four phases over the next 20 years, as well as two eight-acre elementary school sites with adjacent four-acre parks.

Approval came after the developer, Metropolitan, withdrew a $53 million lawsuit against Ventura County. County supervisors had instituted a ban on development until the area was annexed to the city of Thousand Oaks. That ban was withdrawn after the county and the developer came to an agreement.

A problem remained regarding schools. At that time, middle and high school students living in the 600 homes in Oak Park had to travel long distances by bus to attend schools in Simi Valley. A new plan still in the experimental stage allowed students to attend school in Agoura Hills, with the Simi Valley Unified School District paying tuition to the Las Virgenes Unified School District for those students. As part of the deal with Metropolitan, the county required the developer to notify new home buyers of the situation.

Actor Burgess Meredith and author Dr. John Lilly stopped in at Dorin’s Pharmacy in Whizin’s Arcade on Agoura Road. A photo of Lilly, Meredith and the pharmacy owners ran in The Acorn.

Bill Poremba, Acorn editor and publisher, and Ed Caffrey, Agoura real estate agent, commemorated the 20th anniversary of the forced landing of a charter plane they were both on in Spain. In 1955, Poremba was the pilot of a charter airline flight out of Casablanca, Morocco and Caffrey was a passenger. The two men did not know each other.

Two hours after the plane took off, a problem developed and the plane required an emergency landing in a plowed field outside a small Spanish town. Poremba and Caffrey did not see each other again until 18 years later in the Whizin’s Market checkout lane. Both discovered they were living within blocks of each other in Agoura.

Sumac Elementary School would not be completed until 1977 and students temporarily attended Lupin Hill in Calabasas, but Sumac mothers were busy with various Parent/Faculty Club activities. A morning bowling team was organized with about 24 mothers bowling every Thursday morning at Woodlake Bowl in Woodland Hills.

Another mother obtained about 115 Monterey pine and oak tree seedlings from the Forestry Division of the Los Angeles Fire Department and five-gallon containers and soil from other sources. For the next two years, 57 parents would “tree sit” the seedlings. The trees would then be planted at the new school, saving the district thousands in landscaping fees.

Local residents could have a 15by 30-foot, in-ground swimming pool installed in their yards for only $3,995, according to an ad that ran in The Acorn. Fans of the movie “Jaws,” released in June 1975, could buy a custom Jaws T-shirt as advertised by Tee Shirts by T.J. in Thousand Oaks. Another ad featured a horse for $250. The 12-year-old buckskin gelding was advertised as being perfect for a child and for trail riding.

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