No Place Like Home - Page 4

Out back, the Caplans have transformed their backyard into what might best be called a folk-art garden. Jerry has planted fruit trees on terraces, and wages a never-ending battle with gophers.

Meanwhile, Doris' idea of meditation is to haul in large rocks and stones that she collects, meticulously bringing them together as one would a jigsaw puzzle.

Back over on Campbell Avenue, we met up with Marcia Sheffield, a realtor who lives in a Claude Oakland-designed VC-584 model with a glassed-in center atrium.

"When we first moved here in 1979," Marcia says of the 'olden days,' "there was actually a shepherd who would move his sheep across the pastures to Calabasas," 13 miles away.

Inge Maffeo, Marcia's former next-door neighbor and longtime real estate partner, chimed in. "I moved here in 1979 also," she says. "We raised our children together here. I had a pool, so all of Marcia's kids—three daughters and a son—went swimming in our pool. It was a great time!"

Before long, we are joined by two out-of-towners, Marcia's twin sister, Marlene, who bears a striking resemblance, and husband John. Then the Ducketts—Merle and Suzanne—who live a few doors down on Campbell, dropped by, bringing along an original set of Eichler house plans.

"Suzanne grew up in an Eichler in Palo Alto, the Fairmeadow neighborhood," says Merle, a retired teacher. "I taught at Palisades High School, mostly graphic arts and math," he says. "I had one of those old renaissance credentials, where you could teach anything. They don't give those out anymore!"

"And I always said I would never buy an Eichler when I grew up," Suzanne confessed with a smile. "So, the realtor I was working with back then [in 1989] said, 'I want you to see this house 'cause you're gonna get a lot for your money.'

"So he drove me up Lynn Road, turned onto Camino Manzanas, and I said, 'Oh, my god, these are Eichler houses!' And he said, 'How did you know?'

"Well, [as the story goes], Campbell is my grandmother's family name. As we turned onto Campbell Avenue," and drove in front of the for-sale Eichler, "I said, 'Oh, no!' And before I got out of the car, I said, 'I'm buying this house!' And we've been here ever since, for 34 years."

When Inge mentioned that Marcia had a transfer of an 8mm home movie showing the Thousand Oaks Eichlers being built in the 1960s, our ears perked up. Back then, there was lots of pastureland, the original Lynn Ranch, and of course none of today's housing.

Viewing the footage, which was filmed in May 1965 by early original owner Dan Doyle, was like discovering gold. Titled 'Terry and His Friends,' the Kodachrome color short shows the Eichlers under construction, vintage cars driving on newly paved streets, and curious kids from the area hiking up Tarantula Hill.

Inge recalls the second Eichler owner to move into Thousand Oaks, Kathy Vieth. "She only put a deposit of $160 down on her house—imagine that!"

Snapping the group back to reality, Merle Duckett chuckled while adding his own two cents. "Imagine buying a house here with a tar-and-gravel roof, and no air conditioning. No wonder nobody stayed!"