Early Venues

Some social functions, such as picnics, were held on the large grounds at the end of Bonsall Drive, where the Freed nursery was located. Hugo Freed retired in 1974 after managing the Orchid Range for 28 years.  He sold the firm in 1978 to Amado Vasquez.   Amado called his new firm, Zuma Canyon Orchids, with his son George in charge of the sales operation and his wife, Maria Vasquez, in charge of the lab.  At some point during that period the range was moved to its present location, still on Bonsall drive but somewhat closer to the ocean. From then on, the Zuma Canyon range was used for society picnics in summer, and many interesting parties were held there.

To the MOS members who have joined in the past six or seven years, the society must seem like a reasonably stable organization, with meetings and events held in familiar places.  But it was not always so.  During the first couple of decades, the MOS held meetings and events in a variety of places. During much of the 1970’s, regular monthly meetings were held at Webster school in Malibu. 

Sometime in the early 1980s, the meeting venue was moved to the Malibu Sea Lion Restaurant.  Does anyone remember the Sea Lion Restaurant, with a tank of live sea lions in the parking lot?  Today the sea lions are long gone and the place is named Duke’s Malibu.  This arrangement lasted until early 1986, when the restaurant closed for remodeling, and the MOS moved to the community room at the Malibu Civic Center.  After only three months at the community room, the meeting venue was moved once more to the Pt. Dume Community Center, with this arrangement lasting about four years, with a return back to the Malibu Civic Center in early 1990’s. 

Administrative changes by the Civic Center management led to logistic difficulties, and in early 1993, an arrangement was reached with the management of the "sea lion" restaurant, by then known as Charlie Brown's Sea Lion Restaurant (however, without the sea lions).  Part of the deal with Charlie Brown's was that some members of the MOS would have dinner there before the meeting.  This might have been the origin of the practice of pre-meeting gatherings for dinner, with this apparently working to everyone's satisfaction until the spring of 1996 when the restaurant was sold and closed for remodeling.  It was at this point the society moved to the Pacific Palisades Women's Club, where we have been meeting since then.