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Residents re-create 1940 Ventura County after release of census

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Actor/rancher Joel McCrea and his wife, Frances Dee, look out over the Conejo Valley.

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Actor/rancher Joel McCrea and his wife, Frances Dee, look out over the Conejo Valley.

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  • Actor/rancher Joel McCrea and his wife, Frances Dee, look out over the Conejo Valley.
  • Contributed photo The view of Mount McCoy from the late 1940s.
  • The Hotel Oxnard stood at C Street and Fifth Street in 1940.
  • World War II brought a momentous change to Ventura County, beginning with the development of a deepwater harbor at Port Hueneme. Here a group of "Rosie the Riveters" celebrates the opening of the new harbor on June 20, 1940, by posing on a piece of heavy machinery.
  • Plaza Park in Oxnard at C Street and Fifth Street is where the Hotel Oxnard formerly existed. Now Western Dental is there.
  • The Maulhardt family home still occupied by the family stands on Camino del Sol, surrounded by orchards as it has been for generations, including when the 1940 Census was taken in Oxnard.
  • Ruth Maulhardt recounts her experiences as a 19-year-old girl living in Ventura County in 1940 from her home in Oxnard on Monday. Seated with her is her daughter Donna Maulhardt.
  • A photo of the Maulhardt family in 1940 identifies (from left) John Maulhadt, Edwin Carty, Marie Maulhardt Miner, Alma Maulhardt, Dottie Miner (girl), Jeanne Graves Maulhardt, Bobbie Maulhardt (boy), Billie Maulhardt (boy), Robert Maulhardt (back), Frances Maulhardt and Marian Graves. The Oxnard farming family dates back to the 1800s and was included in the 1940 Census.
  • Wyatt McCrea stands near the top of the McCrae ranch at Moorpark Road. The ranch is the same as it was in 1940, with about 280 acres left of the original ranch. All the buildings on the ranch have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Looking east on Fifth Street in Oxnard.
  • B Street and Fifth Street in downtown Oxnard, as pedestrians use the crosswalk to get to the theatre and restaurants.
  • From her home in Santa Paula, Florence "Tia Babe" Elwell, owner of Tia Babe's Restaurant, looks at a newspaper story about her family heritage as she recalls what life was like in 1940. Elwell lived in the Tortilla Flats neighborhood of Ventura at the time. The Valdez family, on her mother's side, can be traced to a member of a Spanish expedition who settled in California in the late 1700s while her father's side, the Elwells, can be traced to Robert Elwell, who came from Boston and settled in Santa Barbara in 1825.
  • A Street and Fifth Street in downtown Oxnard overlooking Banco Buenaventura.
  • Joe Chavez was 3 years old in 1940. Along with his sibling and parents, Chavez is listed in the 1940 U.S. Census.
  • Joe Chavez sits in the living room of his Simi Valley home surrounded by photographs of his family.
  • The Bank of A Levy with autos on an Oxnard street in 1940.
  • More than 15 baseball-card-like images from the 1940s era are presented online. They combine actual census data from Ventura County with modern imagery of homes where the census was taken, plus landmark historic photos from the time.

Glenn Miller's 'In the Mood' topped the charts for one week that year. World War II was raging in Europe, but the United States was still a year away from being drawn into the conflict. 'Life was good,' said Oxnard native Chuck Covarrubias, 75. 'We were getting out of the Depression. People were feeling good.' The year was 1940.

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