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NDREDS JOIN
"RAMONA"
PILGRIMAGE
Play
M. FINCH
of romantic spec-
all parts of the
join this week in
pilgrimage to
County's renowned
amphitheater to ob-
1951 production of
Outdoor Play.
by 350 play-acting
of the twin cities of
and San Jacinto April
28-29 and May 5-6,
will be observed
ue and natural-
Bowl.
Pageant play is a dram-
of Helen Hunt Jack-
immortal novel, "Ra-
'" Staged in the very locale
its Indian heroine lived
and died, by the de-
of the very pioneers
Part in its stirring
Year bankers, drug-
ranchers, teachers, stu-
and Others in all walks of
grease and thrill
ty to take part
incidents in the
their ancestors. Many
have appeared in the
more than a decade.
annual production is a
to the genius, en-
nd persistence of the
and San Jacinto people.
gave them a set-
is envied by dramatic
and architects the
OVer. Two parties of quail
ere climbing up op-
aides of a canyon on the
)f Mt: San Jacinto near
cities:
ltear Conversation
a huge pocket,
in the canyon, and
Was Immediately startled
that the .ordinary
of the opposite
of yards away,
audible and under-
the remarkable
of the spot
engaged in planning
Production of the Ra-
The plan:
a natural outdoor
advantages of
did not dream ex-
towering summit of
itself as an awe-
the huge
a made-to-order
agnificent propor-
side canyons cut
rock furnished
entrances and exits.
the gorgeous setting
pilgrims from near
view the 24th an-
To date, nearly
have made the
the play.
ia a modern amphi-
on the canyon wall,
Coy Watson Photo,
ESPERANZA MORALES, FEATURED SPANISH DANCER
She will brighten 1951 Ranlona outdoor play.
they look across a merrily bab-
bling brook to a replica of the
old Camulos ranch house in the
center of the natural stage.
Gay Scenes
They view gay scenes in the
life of the Erly California
rancher of more than a half-
century ago, at sheepshearing
time.
They will view the budding
of the love idyll between the
beautiful ward of the haughty
Moreno family, Ramona, and
Alessandro, captain of the
sheepshearers, the hero.
Ramona will keep her secret
tryst vCtth Alessandro in the
wistaria bower of the rancheria
garden, unaware of shadows
hovering over their romance.
The onlookers will witness the
discovery of the lovers by the
senor and her rage that her
ward should stoop to a clandes-
tine meeting with an Indian
ranch hand.
They will watch the lovers
flee the wrath of the senora,
and just as the setting sun casts
long purple shadows into the
bowl, will come the poignant
climax of the drama, marking
the passing from glory of the
redman.
Finally in a gorgeous epilogue,
they will see Ramona finding
real happiness again, with the
closing of the old ranch estancia
bringing a nostalgic note to the
finale.
Artificial Properties
The fact that no artificial
properties are used and that
avery word of the player is
heard across the magnificent
distances of the natural stage
combine to create the illusion
that the spectators are seeihg
actual events of decades ago
transpire before their very eyes.
None of the artificialness of a
stage setting mars the presenta-
tion. Mountain birds twitter in
the brush and wild quail send
their strident calls from the rock
piles in the bowl during the per-
formances.
Horsemen gallop in and out of
the bowl in its stirring episodes
The Cover
The love tragedy botween
Ramonh, ward of the rich,
haughty Moreno family, and
Alessandro, the Indian sheep-
shearer, is symbolized in this
photograph by Coy Watson
Photos.
These two players, Dorothy
Bailey, University of Cali-
fornia at Los Angeles drama
student, and William Putlen,
portraying the Indian hero
for the fourth year, will be
highlighted in the Ramona
outdoor pageant.
This is the natural setting
for the pageant, held in an
open mountain amphitheater
near Hemet and San Jacinto,
the twin cities sponsoring the
annual show.
J,,,, , H , H, ,,, ........ ,H
and the sharp click of the steel
shoes of the horses on the rocks
is heard long before they can be
seen entering the defiles.
Real Indians
Real Indians from the nearby
Soboba and Cahuilla reservations
are seen in many of the roles of
the play, and all the ranch cus-
toms of early days are faithfully
reproduced.
The play is enacted by a cast
of 350, with local residents por-
traying all the leading roles.
More than a score of the prin-
cipal players have portrayed
their parts year after year until
they have attained the profici-
ency of professionals.
In 1922, the play was inaugu-
rated as a chamber of commerce
enterprise. The late Garnet
Holme, wizard of California
pageantry, was brought in to
organizo and direct the first pro-
duction. He served continually
until 1929 as the director, when
an accidental fall brought about,,
his death.
The initial production, on
three successive days in 1923,
was witnessed by 302 persons
who found vantage spots on
ledges of the canyon wall to
witness the spectacle, taking
their automobile cushions along
for seats. The following year,
3871 persons viewed the pageant.
In 1925, 9509 persons traveled
to the bowl to witness the color-
ful play, presented on two sue-
eessive week-ends. Seeking to
enhance the comfort of guests,
the residents of the twin cities
erected wooden seats and per-
manently improved a road to
the rim of the bowl.
Bleachers Fixed
The next year, some of the
wooden bleachers were replaced
with permanent concrete seats
in line with a progressive plan
-of improvement that has re-
sulted in the construction of the
modern, up-to-date amphitheater,
seating 6000.
The growth of attendance and
spread of the fame of the play
led to the formation of the Ra-
mona Pageant Association to
relieve the chamber of commerce
of the inct, easing responsibility
of tagingsuch a production.
In 1950, the play attracted
26,742 persons for the six per-
formanees, the second largest at-
tendance in the 23 years the
drama has been staged. The
pIay has not fallen below the
25,000 attendance mark in four
years.
The 160 acres including the
bowl is held in trust as a public
park by the association, which
maintains year-round headquar-
ters in the bowl offices, where
reservations for various produc-
tions may be made, often for
months in advance.
Paved roads lead to the bowl,
three miles from both tlemet
and San Jacinto. A gentle in-
cline runs to the rim of the am-
phitheater where passengers are
discharged directly in t o the
aisles. Automobiles and busses
carrying guests are driven to
the bowl entrance and returned
to the parking area at the foot
of the incline, with space for
5000 motorcars. As an added
convenience, station xagons re-
turn the drivers to the bowl en-
trance.
R[t II10 lla's (;rave
The graves of Ramona and
Alessandro are in the little ceme-
tery on the Cahuilla Indian
reservations, 40 miles south of
Hemet. '
The remains of the tiny adobe
hut occupied by Ramona and
Alessandro may be seen at Juan
Diego Ilats, not far from the
reservation. Unoccupied since
the tragedy of the story, the
little cabin is crumbling into
dust.
The famed Casa Loma ranch
house, five miles west of San
Jacinto, is a fimed landmark of
the valley. It was erected 128
years ago by the Franciscan
fathers of the San Luis Rey Mis-
sion as an outpost to guard mis-
sion lands. It now is owned by
descendants of Pio Pico, last
Spanish governor of Calil'orni.
Noted for ttir hospitality to
visitors, the people of the twin
cities of Hemet and San Jacinto
ordain the days on which the
pageant is produced as holidays
when all but necessary business
is suspended and the entire pop-
ulaee turns out in costume of
the Ramona era to make wel-
come guests from near and afar.
Afternoon Show
Each performance of the color-
ful play starts at 2:45 o'clock in
the afternoon, cloMng at approx-
imately 5 o'clock, leaving ample
time for motorists to enjoy the
scenic beauties of the region in
going to and from the pictur-
esque bowl.
Motorbusses run direct to the
bowl from Riverside, connecting
with motor transport lines from
all principal Southern California
cities on pageant days.
In alternate years the cities of
Itemet and San ,lacinto hold Ra-
mona street fiestas, and the Cali-
fornia Newspaper Publishers'
Association, many service clubs,
fraternal orders and other or-
ganizations occupy huge blocks
of seats on the three week-ends
of the play,
GOV. EARL WARREN ANNUAL GUEST OF HONOR AT PAGEANT
He greets Mrs. lsadore C'pste, appearing in play 18th year.
MAGAZINE CALIFORNIA--PAGE 3