I was unaware that Paul Van Houten had passed...

Paul Matthews Van Houten
Old soul and free spirit departed this earth to where his path led him. He will be missed by his wife and devoted friend, Kay; his children, Paul, Leslie, Elizabeth and David; grandchildren, Ben, Molly, Mika, Dana, Coco, Paul; two great-grandchildren, Isa and Soro and friends too numerous to mention. Van began his life's journey in Dumont, Iowa on November 11, 1918. In 1936, he joined the Army Horse Cavalary as a private. He remained in the Army until his enlistment was up in 1942. He joined up again in 1942, transferred to the Artillery. He served on the Italian Front during WWII. He was discharged as a Major in 1947. Since his profession of 40 years as a used car auctioneer only required two days work a week, he had many hobbies: training Labrador Retrievers for field trials, owned and bet race horses. The last year of his life were spent on a spiritual quest. His 33 years in AA was where he began, volunteering for hospice and reading gave him the peace he needed for the end of his journey. He was a wonderful husband, fabulous cook, avid reader and raconteur extraordinaire. He will be missed by his family and many friends. A celebration of his life is planned for a later date. Arrangements by U OF A ANATOMICAL PROGRAM.

Original post here.

8584 Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon

After he arrived in California and before joining the Manson Family in the fall of 1968, Tex lived at 8584 Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon (pictured here).

Rosemary LaBianca's estate

ColScott said...
As a serious researcher can someone please tell me where this $2million dollar Rosemary estate estimate comes from? Thank you. ( and Helter Skelter is not a resource)

ColScott raises a very good question. This is something I've never questioned, I thought it was unchallenged fact.

Anyone?

*image from cielodrive.com

1600 Summitridge Dr.

This is where Sharon and Roman lived just prior to Cielo. It's just a few blocks up the road from the Barrymore Mansion. In fact, you drive past the mansion to get there.

Beach Boys Never Learn Not To Love - 1968

The Beach Boys singing "Cease To Exist".  I wonder if anyone in the Family has ever seen this.

Inmates Clothing

"Lizzy Skelter" asks-

I was just curious as to if anyone knows what happens to an inmates clothing after they are arrested.  For example Charles Manson was arrested in that brown buck skin suit, is that kept in his "belongings" waiting for him for his release that will never happen? Was he allowed back then to give or receive clothing from his girls? If by any chance it is kept in storage for him by the police? What happens to it or any inmates belongings after they die?

Joel Rostau's Apartment

840 North Larabee St 

Karlene Ann McCaffrey, receptionist for Sebring, Inc. told authorities that Rostau had delivered narcotics to the Tate residence on the night of the homicide. Rostau informed McCaffrey that he had delivered cocaine and mescaline to the house but that Frykowski and Sebring wanted some additional narcotics and that he had gone back down the hill but was unable to locate the other narcotics they requested and therefore he did not return to the Tate residence. McCaffrey stated that on August 7, 1969, she had talked to Sebring and he had informed her that he had been burnt on $2,000 worth of bad cocaine. McCaffrey stated that in her opinion Sebring would do almost anything to get back at the person who had burnt him.

Rostau was later charged with interstate theft of securities from the mail at Kennedy Airport. He was found shot to death in a parked car at that airport. The car had been rented in Boston and driven to New York at least 12 days before his body was found.

 

* The description above was gleaned from charliemanson.com and truthontatelabianca.com

Western Surplus Location Today (The Hawthorne Shootout)

The front has had a facelift and new concrete was poured in the back, but everything else is the same. If you Google Map the place, you see the grading being done for the new concrete next door. Others say the back was built after the fact. That is untrue.

The images are in sequence with the police report here. The 6th picture of the old white building is next door and where they hid in the corner.

The address is 13355 Hawthorne Boulevard, Hawthorne and the side street is 134th. Image #4 of the alley with the block wall and home is described in the police report. It says this "Officer McInernv at this time took cover behind a 3' block wall of the residence at 4429 "A" W. 134 St. and fired six shots from his service revolver into the direct front of the van" I read in one of the reports that when the officer ran out of bullets, the home owner came out and gave him a .38 to use.

 Western Surplus is still in business elsewhere on Hawthorne Blvd. in Hawthorne.

Winifred Chapman's Apartment

1163 E. 46th St. LA

Miss Hathaway being transferred. Will this change chances for a meaningfull Barker Ranch dig?

National Park Service names Sarah Craighead as new Mammoth Cave superintendent.
Posted on August 22, 2012 by James Bruggers    

Mammoth Cave National Park has a new boss.

Superintendent Sarah Craighead comes from Death Valley National Park, where the temperatures commonly exceed 120 degrees, to one that’s all about the world’s longest cave system, where the mercury is typically about 55 degrees.

Many would see that as a step in the right direction.

For Craighead, it’s a step back home. She was valedictorian of Caverna High School in nearby Cave City in 1974.

The National Park Service, in a press release today, said that just as many college students do, Craighead took seasonal employment at Mammoth Cave National Park while attending Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in biology in 1978.

“I worked several summers at Mammoth Cave, as a campground ranger and a cave guide,” said Craighead.  “My very first job was selling crafts at the Mammoth Cave Hotel.  The cave was my jumping off point with the National Park Service.  Now, more than thirty years later, I have the honor of managing the park.  I look forward to reconnecting with park staff, retirees, and the surrounding communities.”

Prior to Death Valley, Craighead served as the superintendent of Saguaro National Park, just outside of Tucson, Ariz.  She was the first superintendent of Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in Cheyenne, Okla., from 1997-2002.


Original story HERE

Photo Credit: National Park Service