Public invited to “The Mill Walls Talk”

The public is cordially invited to the opening reception for“The Mill Walls Talk” a special exhibition about The Mill, “Ventura County’s Oldest Operating Business” on Sunday, May 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. with an Historical Program and Special Presentation at 1:30. This exhibit is presented by the Santa Paula Historical Society. Located at 1001 E. Main Street, the City of Santa Paula’s California Oil Museum is two blocks north of the 126 Freeway on Highway 150. It is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 to 4. Admission is $4 for adults and $1 for children. Admission to the Museum is always free for Museum members.Venerable, historical, and aged is Santa Paula’s The Mill. A county landmark and a local institution, THE MILL holds the honor of being the oldest, continuously operated business in Ventura County. It has been operated since the 1950s by the equally legendary Hengehold family. Today the building houses an antique mall that caters to the visiting treasure-seekers. For over a hundred years the building served as the headquarters for all things agricultural, offering everything the farmer, rancher, stockman, pet owner or gardener could possibly want or conceive of needing.Back when it was a feed and grain store, its musty odor was a blend of the aromas of hay, leather and animal feed. Those were magical fragrances that transported the oldsters back to forgotten childhood smells and carried the young to a place only imagined. Through historical narratives, vintage photographs, authentic machinery and original documents, the Society’s exhibit will portray this gone but not forgotten chapter in Santa Paula’s rich and colorful history.