Don Owen—a Life of Service to Ramona

Don Owen has seen the metamorphosis of Ramona over more than 80 years.

He remembers going to watch movies for 10 cents at a vacant lot behind what is now on Main Street. He used to play in the intersection of D and Main streets in the evenings, he told Patch recently.

Over the years, he has been on the board at and volunteered there, attended every meeting of for 58 years, volunteered for , delivered bread to the senior center and churches and has helped install flags along Main Street.

"I've won a lot of awards from the chamber and local legislators," Owen said, explaining the plaques on the walls of his home, where he is surrounded by memorabilia.

For his efforts, Ramona Chamber of Commerce has named him Citizen of the Year.

According to Ralph Mittman, who heads the chamber awards committee, because of their "individual community involvement, volunteerism and leadership."

"I didn't know I was even up for an award," Owen told Patch.

"Don was very instrumental with the flags on Main Street," Sharon Uran told Patch. She and her husband, Jeff, worked with Owen installing about 40 of them, which have been displayed on legal holidays.

"He stored them in his milk room on his property," she said. "If any of them ever needed repairs he was johnny on the spot and taking care of business. He was very patriotic and took great pride in making sure the flags were properly kept, repaired/cleaned and ready when it was time to load them in the truck, place them on Main, take them down and put them away."

Uran said Owen was also involved, with Greg Chick and others, in making sure there were holes along Main to place the flags in.

The Uran family considers Owen a "dear friend," she said. Uran's mother, , was Owen's special friend for several years before she passed away Jan. 9.

"Don is a true gentleman," a friend, Karen Stangl said. "He and Ellie enjoyed many hours of happiness, either playing dominoes, just sitting and talking, driving around Ramona, while Don would tell Ellie who lived where and when or what used to be in that location."

In addition to the other volunteer work, Uran said, "The teen center on Montecito Road always turned to Rotary for help in keeping the area weed free. Don would put on his hat, grab his weed whacker and be the first one there to start work."

Owen said he was on the board of Ramona Senior Center for a few years and also volunteered to scrape food off dishes after meals there.

"I know he did this for at least 20 years," Uran said. "How many people would volunteer to do that? He also stored clothes, etc. for a bargain center type distribution center at the senior center. He'd gather them up, take them to his milk room for storage and then take them to the center for the sale. He also facilitated Rotary fundraising yard sales at his property. I know there are a million other things he has done."

Ray Cardona, executive director of Ramona Senior Center, said of Owen's honor, "No one could be more deserving."

Owen has been retired from the dairy business for 40 years. He said his volunteerism comes from needing something to do.

"I never had another career in retirement," he said. "I sat around watching TV for a while, then I decided to get out and do something."

He has lived in Ramona since 1926. He and his two brothers, Robert and Clarence, moved with their parents from Washington state to join a relative here. Owen followed his dad into the dairy business, Robert became a school bus driver and Clarence was a rancher.

Owen's dad, Bill, kept cattle in Pamo Valley and used cowboys to herd them up to the family dairy at 16th Street for milking. The vacant dairy buildings and associated red barn are still there today.

Students and staff at Ramona schools in the 1940s through '60s may remember Owen delivering milk. He also supplied restaurants and stores from Ramona to Julian.

"I never had more than a high school education," Owen said. "Never worked for anyone else. Never got a paycheck."

He bought the family business from his dad and had six men working for him, milking and helping with the processing and pasteurization. He is proud of a newspaper article showing he won three gold medals for his milk one year at the Los Angeles County Fair.

Owen graduated from Ramona High School in 1938. He said he's now "pushing 92" years old. His birthday is in March.

One of his childhood memories involves a day in the late 1920s, when his father sat the family down and explained that his bank had closed for good and that he couldn't get his money out. 

"He told us, 'We have a cow, bread and milk. We won't starve.'"

As the family went through The Great Depression, Owen's mother, Minnie, sewed their clothes and they "got by."

Through the years, his father farmed grain "all over the area," including on Barona Indian Reservation, as well as the current K-Mart location on Main Street and out on Highland Valley Road. He and his dad also used the family's hay baler to get work out in Santa Ysabel and Warner Springs. They also hauled sand out of a local streambed and delivered it to anyone making concrete.

Owen ran the milk business for 25 years after buying it from his father but he doesn't have any old milk bottles among his memorabilia.

"I was so glad to get out of the business that I didn't keep any of them," he said. "But I think my daughter has some." His daughter, Delores, lives in Ramona and his son, William, lives in Scottsdale, Az.

Owen said he met his late wife, Wanda, when he used to go to shows at Ramona Town Hall. She was a cashier. They were married about 48 years.

He said he got out of the milk business when regulations increased regarding runoff and the disposal of waste in the early 1970s. Owen decided to quit the  business rather than invest tens of thousands of dollars in alterations.

Before retirement, he began growing a vegetable garden and he has kept at it, producing huge pumpkins each autumn. His biggest was at least 320 pounds, and there are photos of them on his walls. Owen has grown squash, tomatoes, corn—"whatever grows well here"— and given most of it away to friends.

For the past couple of years, his constant canine friend has been Charlie. 

"He follows me everywhere. Never takes his eyes off me," he said.