South H

By Ron Fink and Myra Manfrina

Take a quiet stroll down South H Street and you'll take a wonderful step back in time. The two and three-story buildings in the first block of "South H" once housed the central business and entertainment district of Lompoc and it may soon again be the thriving "center of town". As the city grew out of its temperate beginnings the area became the hub of the growing community. You can take a casual walk through this area and absorb the mystique of the forties and fifties. The 200-400 blocks of south H are full of the charm and history of the early beginnings of Lompoc.

We start our journey at the corner of Ocean Avenue and South "H" Street. The building on the corner once was home to Miller's Pharmacy, George Miller later sold it to Carl Braun and it became Braun's Drug Store. You can almost feel the aura of the family-run drug store. The sweet odor of lotions and perfumes wafting through the air, the clatter of the soda fountain and smells of the "full service" grill, notions of every kind and the friendly clerks waiting eagerly to help you chose a card or small gift for your mom or sweat heart. These smells, sights and sounds, along with the throaty ringing sound of the cash resister are long gone.

I can see images of a soldier from Camp Cooke as he strode through the door in search of something to send back home. These men were from all over the United States and were sent to Lompoc in the forties to train for WW II and in the fifties to stave off the North Koreans. A trip to town was the only respite from "camping out" during war games. Perhaps someone else was looking for a cure for some ailment and, of course the buzz of the malt machine as it busily spat out malted milk.

We quickly notice the large art deco white, with black trim, Rudolph Building (#105-107), which was built in 1890 for Arthur Rudolph and his wife Lucy. It was later remodeled in the 1930's. This building once housed a fine clothier and its squeaky wooden floors recall a time when buying a new suit included tailoring and a hat was a must. For the ladies corsets, slips, lace and button-up high-heeled shoes went with the elegant full hoop dresses' and broad brimmed hats of the day.

I can see the clerk with his marking chalk in hand and a measuring tape around his neck as he carefully marks the cuff length and adjusts the taper of the jacket. Sure hope that he doesn't stick me with one of those pins. Whirring sewing machines can be heard behind a curtain to the rear as a female clerk helps the lady select her finery. Maybe a fine handkerchief for the pocket - now I am all set for my wedding!

This building now houses a friendly coffee shop and bookstore. Here a person can sit and sip their favorite flavor of coffee while reading the paper or book they just purchased. Political gossip and friendly discussions are heard at every table. This is a good spot to just sit and watch the street life on busy South H.

As we pass the alley on the southwest side of the street I am reminded of an evening many years ago that I witnessed a car firmly lodged in the front of the store on the south side of the alley. When the police arrived the car was running, brick and plaster dust was still in the air and the driver had disappeared. Many of us standing on the sidewalk suggested that the car "must have driven itself into the store", but the patrolman wasn't convinced as he looked for the registration.

Jasper's Saloon on the north side of the street has served libations to the community for many decades. It seems to have survived where many others have failed. This district was once the entertainment center of nighttime Lompoc however many of Jasper's competitors including Martin's and the Kuala Club, two country-western dance clubs, closed their doors years ago.

The Foresters' Hall, a big barn-like building was once near Jaspers. It housed the Catholic USO pioneered by resident Nellie Sperber. The USO helped the military families and servicemen with kitchen privileges, housing, entertainment, anything they needed while they were at nearby Camp Cooke. The USO carried on through the war years and Korean "conflict". It was later demolished.

Centennial Park can be found at the northeast corner of Cypress and H. This park was built with volunteer funding and labor hailing from nearby Vandenberg AFB and several city service clubs. Alice Milligan, a longtime organizer of community events recently coordinated the decoration of this park and the trees in the median with Christmas lights. The kiosk is used for caroling. This capped off a very successful summer of organizing the Farmers Market along with food booths and entertainment in the 100-block of South H.

The Farmers Market features many fine food booths and a potpourri of arts and craft's each Friday evening during the summer. It is a pleasant place to bring the family and taste the foods offered by several restaurants and to shop for trinkets. A band is usually playing as people stroll casually from booth to booth.

The Lompoc Museum (200 S. H) was built 1910 by the Carnegie Foundation and is listed as city landmark #1. Thousands of these libraries were built throughout the United States to help educate people in small communities such as Lompoc. The museum is full of Chumash artifacts, historical photos and remnants of another era.

The flagpole in front of the museum was built in 1925 as a memorial to World War I veterans with funds raised by the Civic Club - a group of ladies who were powerhouses in doing things for the community. It was formerly located in the intersection of "H & Ocean". Local lore has it that many early drivers tangled with this pole as they attempted to navigate the rutted roads of the early years. The museum is closed on Mondays and open on Tue-Fri 1:00-5:00 PM Sat & Sun 1:00-4:00 PM.

The Methodist Church was built 1875 on the southeast corner of Cypress and H and it is the oldest church building in Lompoc. This large white wooden church with a red roof issues melodic tones that waft through the neighborhood at hourly intervals. The peal of the bells has a calming effect on the area. Currently the Grace Temple Church is housed in this historic structure and they maintain it with the pride the building deserves. The impeccably dressed parishioners are a tribute to the impact a church has on a community.

Italian Stone Pines grace the 200 to 400 blocks. They were planted by the city on South "H" Street in 1940. These trees are unique and have often been referred to as the "best kept grove" of Italian Stone Pines in the west. The cities urban forestry division certainly takes pride in these trees and they are always well trimmed and provide a beautiful shady setting for the historic homes in this area. The shaded street reminds us that carefully aged trees provide an aura that cannot be synthetically created and slowly walking down this section of town will definitely put your mind at ease.

The "Sloan House" at #237 was built in 1890. James Sloan, a Scotsman, came to Lompoc as a sheepherder. He was once a wharfinger at the Lompoc Wharf. He acquired cattle, butchered them and sold the meat around town on foot. As business built he had a butcher shop on South H Street where Jaspers Saloon is today. He also had a slaughterhouse in the lower valley.

James Sloan later became the 2nd mayor of Lompoc; the first Chamber of Commerce President; First Pioneer Society President; and, for 35 years presided over the Bank of Lompoc which is now the Bank of America. He built his large home on the corner of Hickory and H, across from the Sudden home, in 1890 and his son Harry built a home next door, north, to his father's. Both homes are fine examples of our early building contractors' expertise - one in 1890 and one in the 1920's. Across the street are several very well kept cottage style apartments.

302 South H was home to Miles and Charlotte Lewis who built it in the 1920's. Wilma, one of their children was one of the highest-ranking women officers in the U. S. Navy before she died several years ago. Louis and Irene Huseman bought the home when Louis was the bank manager with Commercial Trust & Savings of Santa Barbara in 1936. It later became Security First National Bank and it stood on northeast corner of Ocean and H. Two of their children entered the legal profession and the house is now known as the "Huseman House".

#303 was built in 1910 and is known today as the "Sudden House". Just like other houses of the period it has a very large sun porch. Looking at these old porches you can smell the pies cooling and hear the easy squeak of the rocker as the occupants rest following a long day of hard work. The Sudden home was considered quite an elegant when it was built. It was the scene of many parties and dances and there was a ballroom in the basement when Ava and Bob Sudden and their boys Bill and Charles were living there.

James Moir Smith who was born in Scotland in 1869, built the home at #307 in 1908. Jim had a personality that radiated energy, vigor, ambition, determination, frugality and thrift. When he came to Lompoc as a youth, he worked at grubbing brush from 3 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. in the lower valley for men like William McKay and William Cantlay, for $25 per month. He developed, with partner James Sloan, also a Scotsman, the biggest meat business in the county with both a butcher shop and slaughterhouse. The butcher shop was on the northeast corner of the alley in 100 block of South H at #114 where Jaspers' is today.

James married Hattie Rennie in 1921 and they devoted their time to growing tuberous begonias and other exotic plants in their greenhouse in the rear garden of their home. One large sun porch can be seen from the street today. Hattie was a member of an original Lompoc family, and was a registered nurse. Born in 1890 she died in 1971. People came to Lompoc to tour their garden/greenhouse just like they came to see the flower fields. #307 is now known as the "J.M. Smith House".

The Bendasher House is at #311. Paul and Mary Bendhasher were married in San Luis Obispo in 1883 after Paul, who was known as "Bernardaschi" in his native Switzerland wooed Mary, who was originally from Tipperary, Ireland, her off of her feet. Paul and Mary started their life in this region on a dairy farm in the Honda area. Many fine farms and ranches were in Honda Canyon at the time and the population of the area increased by 50% as new settlers were lured into the area.

In 1893 the family moved to "town" buying 80 acres on Central Avenue at Douglass Avenue from John Ball. Mary bought a house in town and remodeled it and moved in with her younger children in 1918. The older girls were living in a home at 215 South H, because they were going to high school or working. Her oldest daughter married Arthur Rudolph.

The J.D. Black House is on the corner at #403 and it has been restored it to its original Victorian look, inside and out, except for a modern kitchen. John Douglass Black was a harness and saddle maker and had a harness and saddle shop on East Ocean Avenue. His wife Clara Wilkin had a millinery shop next door. Clara was an invalid for a long time and he wheeled her around in a large wicker wheelchair. They could often be seen coming down the aisle at the Lompoc Theater in the 1930's.

Black's harness shop was the public forum of the day where every problem under the sun was discussed and disposed of to the satisfaction of the Lompoc pioneers, at least. In the early 1900's Black was city treasurer, and he later opened an insurance office.

#411 is known as the Wright Peck House. It was built in 1875 and was the first house on South H. Wright Hunt Peck was a tinsmith and was in partnership for a time with his father in a hardware store on the northwest corner of I Street and Ocean Avenue. Wright Peck was a county supervisor for Lompoc for 1 term and was Postmaster for 1 term in the 1880's.

At the end of South H stands the Veterans Memorial Building, which was built in 1937. When you walk into this building you are immediately swept back to the days when the Saturday dance reined as "the event" of the week. These old wooden floors have witnessed many jitterbugs, waltzes, square dances and western swing dances throughout the years.

Speeches have been made from the stage as veterans returned and were remembered for the sacrifice to our country. Politicians have used its halls to extol their virtues and social groups have displayed their craftwork for all to see.