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July 18 General Meeting and Program

The History of Los Angeles Agriculture, Past and Present

July General Meeting Features Authors of Book on Southern California Farming History

In today’s concrete and asphalt-lined megalopolis, it’s sometimes hard to remember that Los Angeles was once the agricultural center of North America up until the 1950s, with Culver City having played a large part.

On Wednesday, July 18, Rachel Surls and Judith Gerber, co-authors of From Cows to Concrete: The Rise and Fall of Farming in Los Angeles, will give an illustrated look back at our farming heritage and explore such history as the Tongva people who lived along Ballona Creek, the missionaries that brought European agricultural knowledge to the area, the rancho owners that cultivated West Los Angeles and raised cattle, and the beginnings of California’s citrus and winemaking empire.

We’ll also look at “fantastic farm” tourists attractions like Culver City’s own Monkey Farm, the malathion spraying of the 1980s that began in Culver City, and efforts to bring back urban farming amidst the current locavore and “eat local” movement.

Historical Society members and the general public are invited to enjoy this free program on July 18 at 7 P.M. in the Multipurpose Room at Veterans Memorial Building, located at 4117 Overland Avenue. The entrance to both the ARC and Multipurpose Room is through the back of the building and open to the public.

The Historical Society Archives & Resource Center (ARC) will be open for you to come and see our latest exhibits.

 

About Rachel Surls: Rachel Surls is the Sustainable Food Systems Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County. Cooperative Extension is part of the UC’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. As Sustainable Food Systems Advisor, she conducts research and extends information on a variety of food systems topics, including community and school gardens and urban agriculture. Rachel earned her BS in agronomy at Virginia Tech, her MS in Agricultural Sciences at Cal Poly, Pomona, and a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University.

About Judith Gerber: A second-generation Angeleno, Judith Gerber is a farm and garden authority who has written about sustainable and urban farming, local foods, and organic gardening for more than twenty years. She is also the author of Farming in Torrance and the South Bay.

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