Ojai loses longtime community stalwart
By Jesse Phelps

In a loss swift and tragic, Ojai is without one of the men most directly responsible for preserving its legendary quality of life.

A rancher, businessman and community activist, Carl Huntsinger was pronounced dead at 6:42 a.m. yesterday morning by Life Line Medical Transport paramedics in a hot tub at his home om the 1000 block of Rancho Drive. He was found after a 911 call was placed around 6:30 a.m. by a family member.
Authorities say Huntsinger, 73, appeared to have died from natural causes.

News of the well-respected Huntsinger's death rapidly spread throughout the valley, inspiring an outpouring of respect from the community and condolences for his wife, Carolyn.

Former Mayor Nina Shelley worked with Huntsinger closely to defeat the Weldon Canyon Dump in the late 1990s and said he will be missed. "He was an important person in the community. He was responsible for many good works," said Shelley. "One of them was his decision to do what he could with respect to the Weldon issue. What he could and did do was to organize and raise funds and contribute considerable funds from his own holdings to help to defeat the Weldon issue. And his connections with one or more members of the Board of Supervisors were extremely important. I have felt, though I don't have any direct proof, that his influence with Supervisor Maggie Erickson-Kildee was instrumental in getting her from being the swing vote to taking a position against Weldon Canyon."

Mayor Joe DeVito said Shelley's assessment was correct. "To me, Weldon Canyon would be with us today and in operation," said DeVito. "Carl Huntsinger single-handedly went to each of the Board of Supervisors. He was so bright, he found out about what dump sites are all about. The good versus the negatives and how Weldon Canyon would affect Ojai. He even paid for staff from the county and himself and flew to Seattle to research the issue. After he did the research, he met with the county Board of Supervisors. He convinced them, he got them to deny that project. About that time a bunch of movie stars came on board but if it wasn't for Carl, we would have Weldon today."

Shelley said that, particularly, his talk with Erickson-Kildee had a profound effect. "She was the swing vote with respect to turning down the application by Waste Management of California," said Shelley. "It was very important that he could sit down and talk with her and explain the damage that would be done if Weldon were approved. After that conversation, things improved immeasurably."

In addition to his work to defeat Weldon Canyon, Huntsinger served for many years on the board of directors for The Ojai Tennis Tournament, was an active member of the Civic Association, worked with the Rotary Club of Ojai and was involved with the building and guidance for Ventura Community Memorial Hospital.

Gary Wolfe of Ventura is a trustee for the hospital. "It's just devastating," said Wolfe. "He served on the community memorial hospital foundation for a number of years. His father actually built a wing of the hospital. He was a very civic-minded individual and very successful businessman also. He was one of the few that understands that you need to give back."

Larry Wilde, president of the Rotary Club, said, "Carl was very, very instrumental in participating and being a main part of the Ojai Rotary's educational foundation. Carl was involved in screening all of the applicants from the kids for these scholarships, personally interviewing the kids.

"On a personal note, this is a man who had the utmost of integrity and the utmost of class. He was very gracious with me on a business level, went out of his way to show consistent integrity and professional class. It's going to be a true loss. It's a family that did an awful lot for the community, mostly under the radar."

Huntsinger was well traveled, spending years in Europe overseeing his business interests. He graduated in 1951 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelors of Science in general engineering. His family company, Vetco, located on Ventura Avenue for years, was instrumental in the providing tools for the local oil industry.

"We have lost one of the foundations, one of the pillars of this community, that cannot be replaced," said DeVito. "He was an outstanding husband, an outstanding father, an outstanding community leader and one that I could consider a very good friend. If I said Carl, I need help here, he'd be there. He was a guy you always wanted on your side."

Shelley said Huntsinger was "an important person, not only in terms of Weldon, but his history and his family's history in the oil fields. It seems to me that whenever something was needed, Mr. Huntsinger came through. I'd like to express my condolences to Mrs. Huntsinger."

Another local activist who worked with Huntsinger on several projects is Patricia Weinberger. Weinberger said Huntsinger played an "enormous role" in the community. "He was great guy and we were so lucky to have him in our midst."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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