Never30

Never 30 is a podcast of the Ventura County Star, in Southern California, and part of the USA Today Network. The show, which focuses on unique and obscure stories from Ventura County history, is co-produced by host Andrea Howry and showrunner Anthony Plascencia. New episodes are released every Wednesday each season.

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Episodes

Then a state hospital, now a university

In 1936, Camarillo State Hospital opened at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, between the city of Camarillo and the ocean. It was a project of the Great Depression, designed to put men back to work building public institutions. For 61 years, the hospital served people with mental illness, however that was defined at the time. At one point in the 1950s, it had more than 7,000 patients and nearly 2,000 employees, making it the largest hospital west of Chicago. The hospital officially closed ...

Dec 12, 2018•20 min

The case of murderous Ma Duncan

In 1959, a trial took place in the old Ventura County Courthouse – now Ventura City Hall – that was described at the time as bizarre, macabre and just plain weird. It drew reporters from around the world, and spectators lined up as early as 5 a.m. to try to get a seat in the courtroom. It was the trial of Elizabeth Duncan, who was accused of hiring two men to kill her daughter-in-law, 8 months pregnant at the time. Her motive? She couldn’t bear the thought of her grown son being married, of losi...

Dec 05, 2018•25 min

On the Forefront of History - Part 2

How will future generations learn about us? In this digital age, will we leave a mark or a clue as to who we were or what we thought? In this episode, we continue our interview with Charles Johnson, who recently retired after 30 years as the director of the research library at the Museum of Ventura County. Once again, we learn how he opened up the past with just one item – in this case, a stereo view card, and don’t worry, he’ll explain what that is. And he’ll tell us about his thoughts and his ...

Nov 28, 2018•17 min

On the Forefront of History - Part 1

"The whole story was just sitting there waiting to be opened — and told." Charles Johnson came across a lot of those stories in his 30 years as director of the research library at the Museum of Ventura County. Recently retired, he sat down for a "Never 30" podcast interview, where he shared stories of the research projects he worked on, where one clue led to another, then another, and history slowly revealed itself.

Nov 21, 2018•21 min

Rooting out the origin of the iconic Two Trees

The two eucalyptus trees that stand atop a hill overlooking Ventura, California, have become a symbol of the city. There have been trees there since 1898 — sometimes two, sometimes five — but they've always stood there as Ventura icons, despite drought, fire and vandalism. Today, one is dead and one is a sapling, but their caretakers are more determined than ever to make sure that two eucalyptus trees remain sentinels of the city.

Nov 14, 2018•17 min

Origins of the BackboneTrail

The Backbone Trail stretches 67 miles through the Santa Monica Mountains, from Point Mugu at its westernmost end to Will Rogers State Historic Park on the outskirts of the second largest city in the United States. Along the way, it yields secrets of its past. The trail itself is a story — more than four decades in the making, finally being completed on the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

Nov 06, 2018•20 min

Cemetery lost in plain sight

If it weren’t for occasional markers in the grass that list names, birthdates and dates of death, no one would ever know that a stunning park with ocean views in Midtown Ventura, California, was once a cemetery. In 1964, workers removed hundreds of tombstones that filled these seven acres. Some of the graves went back more than 100 years. But the property had become overrun with weeds, and many of the tombstones were broken. So the cleanup began... and so did a never-ending debate. This is Cemet...

Oct 31, 2018•20 min