Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Erle Stanley Gardner's residence in Temecula

Temecula's famous author of the Perry Mason series, Erle Stanley Gardner, was affectionately called "Uncle Erle" by his secretaries and younger friends. Gardner lived on a big ranch he called Rancho del Paisano which is now within the Pechanga Tribe's reservation boundaries southwest of the casino. The ranch with many outbuildings was a perfect compound for the many people who were part of his "Fiction Factory."

Gardner, who was more complex and interesting than any of his fictitious characters, put down his stakes near Temecula in 1927 when he stayed at Albert Nienke's Palomar Auto Camp on Pala Road, now called Pechanga Parkway, close to the Temecula Creek Bridge. Gardner pulled into the campground with a homemade travel trailer and liked the area so much that he asked Nienke to find a ranch for him to buy.

While Gardner traveled to New York on business, Nienke bought two ranches, one for Gardner to live on and another for speculation. The one he kept was on a hillside above the Great Oak tree, the largest and oldest in the area, one that is sacred to the Pechanga people. Gardner called his land Rancho del Paisano, meaning the "ranch of the countryman," or in slang, the "ranch of a pal." The way he invited people into his extended family lends credence to it being the ranch of a friend.

Gardner started writing his 82 Perry Mason mysteries in 1933 with his characteristic last-minute introduction of facts that changed the expected outcome delivering a surprise ending. Many of the stories were made into popular television shows in the 1960s starring notables of the time including Raymond Burr who played the part of Perry Mason.

Although Gardner was married, his wife preferred the amenities of city life and they did not live together. Gardner wasn't alone at the ranch. His ranch manager Sam Hicks was a trusted companion. Many of his seven secretaries lived at the ranch. His cook prepared meals for everyone in a communal living room and dining room where the group would socialize every evening.

"Uncle Erle" was a kind and fun-loving man who loved traveling with an entourage. Gardner, as one of America's most prolific writers, found inspiration for a story everywhere he went. He made many trips into Baja California, and at times, professors of anthropology accompanied him.

The same people who lived at the ranch traveled with him. Instead of committing his stories to pen and paper or sitting at a typewriter, the masterful storyteller dictated his stories on a recorder. Often after long, sleepless nights, as many as seven secretaries would transcribe his dictation for publication. Photos show his staff working on manual typewriters when they camped with him.

Although Gardner is most well known as the author of the Perry Mason series, he was also a practicing lawyer. Gardner's most well-known legal practice was to represent cases that were considered hopeless. He wrote about these cases in a series "The Court of Last Resort." He represented people who he thought were wrongfully accused and proved several innocent. Perhaps some of those true stories inspired some of his fiction.

With his generous heart, "Uncle Erle" rescued some of his secretaries from desperate situations when he hired them. Mildred Gagnon and Helene Seay needed income after their marriages upended. Hedwig Roripaugh and Lillie Golden were foreigners looking for work. Each person at Rancho del Paisano had a story, and they became part of his family. Maybe they rescued him, too.

After Gardner died in 1970 at the age of 80, a Dr. Boseker purchased Rancho del Paisano for a weekend residence. In 2001, the Pechanga Tribe of Luiseno Indians purchased the ranch to expand their reservation boundaries and to prevent a high-power transmission line from passing over the property and the sacred Great Oak. The tribe continues to maintain and preserve the ranch buildings, keeping them in much the same state Gardner left.

This property is not for sale and should not be confused with one farther south on Pala Road where his secretary Helene Seay lived that was mentioned in a previous article.

Rebecca Marshall Farnbach is a member of the Temecula Valley Historical Society and is an author and co-author of several history books about the Temecula area. The books are available for purchase at the Little Temecula History Center or online from booksellers and at http://www.temeculahistoricalsociety.org. Visit her Amazon author page at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01JQZVO5E.

 

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