Ventura County CA Archives News.....Tightrope Walker to Author; Ernest Stein Tells His Story April 8, 1948
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Lisa Stein-Caruso Lisacallenwood@aol.com February 21, 2007, 3:40 pm

Saticoy Journal, Volume 24, No. 27 April 8, 1948
There is just a trickle of water flowing in the Santa Clara river now but 
ERnest Stein, pioneer Saticoy resident, remembers when rain was plentiful. 
Stein, who was born in what was then called Saxony, Germany, seventy three 
years ago, is an ex-actor, farmer and author, but today he lives peacefully in 
a home next to the fire department. 

Stein was one of the original builders of the Saticoy bridge that now spans the 
Santa Clara river south of town.

"Back in 1915 when I was helping to build the bridge we had some real rains," 
he recalls.

"No one out of work in those days either," said Stein, "laborers were scarce 
and when we had completed work on the bridge we had to do it all over again 
when a storm washed out two spans of the structure."

The 73-year-old Saticoy man got his start in building bridges only after he had 
been a tightrope walker and had been across the Atlantic ocean twice.

TOURS EUROPE
In 1892 he started a tour of Europe and the Americas playing in open-air arenas 
throughout the country. Stein recalls one of his acts was billed as "A 
Naturalist's Adventures in China."

After six years of walking a tightrope Stein formed his own company, "Stein's 
Eretto Troupe." The troupe played before audeiences in the Royal Theater in 
London and performed before the king and queen of England. 

The troupe came to the United States from South America in 1902 in what was to 
be the last tour.

"But when we were offered the then huge sum of #300, with all expenses paid, to 
perform in San Francisco, we kept the act."

Stein's troupe played towns up and down the west coast until Stien found 
tightrope walking a little too strenuous. 

"That was in 1912," he said, "and I thought it time I settled down to try my 
hand at farming."

The ex-trouper bought a farm in Hayward but in 1913 the Stein family came to 
Ventura county in a covered wagon. 

"All I had was the wagon and three horses," said Stein, "but I bought a piece 
of land from a Mr. Meeker on what is now known as Foothill road."

Stein recalls that at that time a rock wall separated the Mission ranch from 
the Ex-Mission ranch.

"Those were back in the Indians days," Stein continued. "Then we bought nothing 
and grew everything we needed right on our own land."

"Forty tons of hay each year was a good average crop for me," said Stein. 

The farmer said, however, his prize crops were peanuts, corn and watermelons. 

"People came from as far as Santa Barbara just to buy my watermelons," Stein 
said, "and Santa Barbara was a long ways away in those days by wagon."

Stein would not admit he raised bears in his watermelon patch but said he 
remembered the time a 150-pound bear was caught in one of his gopher traps.

"The gophers were doing a lot of damage to my crops and I had set several 
traps," Stein related. "One day I caught a bear in the trap. I didn't figure 
the bear meant any harm so I put my foot on his head and sprung the trap and 
the bear run off in the bushes."

PERFECT SERVICE
Stein remembers the time the Southern Pacific railroad that runs through 
Saticoy used to give almost-perfect service.

"We would just stand beside the track like a hitchhiker," said Stein, "and the 
train would stop for us. Stations did not mean anything."

Stein turned author after an attack of tuberculosis. He is the author of 
several articles one of which, "Can TB be Cured?" has appeared in the Reader's 
Digest magazine.

"It's the open air that cured me," said Stein, "I guess I should have never 
given up tightrope walking, I got a lot of fresh air then." 




Additional Comments:
Article by Blanche Claridge

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