From the Ojai Quarterly magazine, Spring 2011. Most Ojai visitors arrive from the south on Highway 33 and turn right at the Y, heading toward the Arcade or the Ojai Valley Inn. Wheeler clearly was the newspaper’s favorite: “Situated in another canyon, a little at one side of the main Matilija Canyon, but reached by a pretty mountain road, is the famous Wheeler Springs, under the management of that prince of good fellows, Webb Wilcox. Your email address will not be published. When they returned the next day, only the chimney was left standing. The spa reopened in 1985, and among the employees was Julie Tumamait-Stenslie. Browse 30 wheeler hot springs stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. A second hot spring burbled nearby. (It was later renamed Matilija Hot Springs, and it’s still there, although currently not open to the public.) At one point, Roger Bowman was contacted by a friend who asked his opinion of Wheeler as a potential investment. … Several people interviewed for this story portray Marshall as the villain of the piece, and wonder how he managed to evade prison. The karma was not perfect, given that Wheeler’s previous owner, Rollen Haslam, had shot himself to death at the resort a few years earlier. Needham, who apparently had little luck with it. Wheeler Gorge Campground is a great place for families to explore the Los Padres National Forest all year long. In that fire we had a terrific battle to save the buildings of the Wheeler Springs resort and while we were busy at that the fire burned out of the forest and into the town of Ojai.”, The flames roared over Nordhoff Ridge and down into the town, but were stopped short of the Arcade. But before they can even reopen the restaurant, they will have to bring the resort up to code. With a large farmhouse occupying the center of the property and surrounded by acres of sun drenched open space, the possibilities are endless to … “The stories were lost,” she said. “I don’t think he was a crook,” Blatz said.”I think he just got over-extended.”, The resort limped along under Chapter 11 status until Jan. 23, 1997. Four months later, the Smiths’ neighbors know of no new developments since the fall concerning Wheeler Springs. The Baron of Wheeler Hot Springs Nationally known “power yoga” teacher Baron Baptiste is the new owner of Ojai’s long-shuttered Wheeler Hot Springs resort. “There it sits, with nothing going on. Across the street, Bob and April Hope have the same problem as the Smiths. A sudden shift in wind direction saved the town from destruction, but not before 13 homes were destroyed, and a man died of a heart attack while fighting the flames. “He just grimaced, turned away and started to talk to a friend. As described in a Los Angeles Times article in 1993, Marshall was a Brooklyn native with a checkered past as a stockbroker and restaurant promoter. A 2006 profile of Baptiste published in Boston Magazine described some acrimonious business-related lawsuits (one of which involved a son of the late Robert Kennedy). “It seems that he thought his wife’s heart was on the wrong side and he began pounding on her chest to put it right,” wrote Patricia L. Fry in The Ojai Valley: An Illustrated History. The neighbors noticed. So, like the Landuccis before him, Roger Bowman sought the county’s approval to take in overnight guests. “It’s a really popular destination, and not just with L.A. people. “No one really knows what’s happening across the street,” April Hope said. The planned auction of Wheeler Hot Springs is the latest in a string of tumultuous events that have plagued the resort in recent years. That would take money. But in 1894, Wheeler began to behave erratically. By 1943, if not earlier, it had been acquired by one L.E. “From that point on, my parents just wanted to sell the business,” Lanny Kaufer said. Then in June 1917, a carelessly maintained campfire near the resort touched off the epic Matilija-Wheeler Fire, one of the worst forest fires in California history. Location: Ojai, California is about 2 hours north of Los Angeles or 85 miles. (Or technically from Art Linkletter, who still owned the mortgage.) By 1913, when he was named postmaster of the newly established Wheeler Springs Post Office, Wilcox was clearly the man in charge. 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