Western Cable Services | Western Cable Enterprises | Action Flash Barricade

Photos my father took.  

These are some of the “fancy” trucks that my dad and his younger brother owned for their company, Western Cable Services.  They certainly weren’t at the point yet of buying new large equipment.  They usually picked up used vehicles and equipment at military or utility company auctions.  Not in the best shape, yet generally still useable and fixable.  

I remember the three trucks below and drove them all at some point.   

My dad and uncle chose tan as the company vehicle color, obviously with some exceptions.   If I recall correctly, the yellow one was purchased at a Southern California Edison auction.  They took it in to get a cheap tan paint job and were told there’s no way that tan paint could cover that yellow, so they had it repainted a similar yellow to cover scratches and such.

 The middle lineman’s/installer’s truck came from Pacific Telephone.  At the time, their trucks were originally painted dark green (what looks like a thin yellow cover is actually a canopy structure at a neighboring property behind the truck).  The utility bed on the back was interesting.   You can see a slight dome shape over the front of the bed.  The bed had an open design, but the metal roof had sections that slid open and closed.  Inside the bed along the sides were various sized metal storage cabinets and drawers.  There was a pipe rack added to it when it came to Western Cable.  You can see that brace coming up off the right front bumper.  The rack was used for two things.  First, it held conduit pieces that were used on telephone poles when the cable TV line ended at a pole and transitioned to underground.  The cable was put in the conduit and attached to the pole to protect it.  The rack also held boring pipe for when they had to bore under a street.   They removed the manual crank up extension ladder that had been mounted on the truck.  The little bump on top of the cab contained a sealed roof mirror that could be adjusted inside the cab.  When the crank up extension ladder was originally on the truck, this allowed the operator to raise and extend the ladder to generally line it up with a pole or somewhere mid-span, and then the operator could back up the truck, watching the mirror, to hit his target.   The mirror on this truck was essentially useless for our company’s needs.  They did have a couple trucks that left the ladder in place for use.  I just haven’t found any photos of them.   

The final truck of the three was a flatbed truck for general use.  One photo shows a fourth truck, a trusty old pickup truck.  I don’t remember that one.   Wouldn’t be a kick to own any of these now, restore them, and take them to car shows?  

I don’t know where in Southern California the photos below were taken, the location don’t look familiar to me, but I would have been in school when these were taken.   

I do remember the trucks and the old red air compressor.  

Although they ended up eventually buying at least a couple Ditch Witch trenchers (originally used, then new), I don’t know if the one pictured was owned by them or rented. 

I don’t remember when the Ford pickups were acquired, but it was probably sometime in late 1968 or early 1969.

 

My uncle and dad purchased or leased two identical new tan Ford pickup trucks (Maybe that’s why they picked tan for the other trucks?  I don’t know.)  They were standard models.  No air conditioning, AM radios, crank windows, 6 cylinder engines, no power anything, with a three-speed manual transmission stick on the column. 

These two Ford pickups are 5^th generation, which covered 1967-1972, and my dad bought a new 1969 Chevrolet El Camino (tan of course) after he needed to give his pickup truck to a foreman on large contract.  You were just a little thing, yet when we lived in Madera, dad loaned it to me and I drove it for a while, so the El Camino had to be at least eleven years or so old at that time.  Another car I wish I still had! 

After my dad and uncle went their separate ways, dad wanted a similar name as Western Cable Services and took my suggestion of Western Cable Enterprises.  He also changed the logo for his new company from a triangle to a series of three green overlapping boxes that contained the company name.  Nothing fancy, but it worked.   I think I saw one of his old business cards a couple weeks ago amongst all this stuff I’m going through but can’t find it at the moment (I have stacks of stuff around me I’m working through).  I'll edit this post should I find it, or a photo that includes it.   

During construction projects, they rented barricades to put along the road in the construction site.  They were pretty darn basic at the time.  These days you see orange barrels or the thin plastic delineators with a heavy base blocking off lanes.  Western Cable even occasionally used some of the original road flares, which were basically metal round balls with a flat bottom, filled with non-explosive fuel (diesel fuel maybe) with a very thick wick on the top.  You could light them at the end of the day, and they would burn a flame all night long, acting like warning lights along the construction zone.  They were stinky and smokey, to the point the heavy black smoke sometimes negated their safety factor.   

As the products improved, they got safer.  In the picture here, you can see in the background one of the more standard barricades of the time.  

The original version was made of wood, designed like a sawhorse, and was extremely heavy.  The next generation were like this one and used angle metal for the frame/legs rather than heavy full 3”x4” wooden frames.  About the time my dad and uncle decided to go their separate ways, my dad came up with a way to hopefully save money and make a little extra too.  I mentioned renting the barricades was normal, but it was costly, and my dad didn’t like some of the renters.  So, he decided to start his own barricade company too.  This allowed him to purchase barricades from the manufacturer at a discounted price and occasionally rent them out if his construction business was slow.

I don’t remember the name of the former barricade company in Ventura that my dad didn’t like, but the name started with a letter near the beginning of the alphabet.  Calling dad’s barricade company something like “Western Barricade” didn’t cut it for him.  Why?  Because of the telephone book.  Companies were listed by category in the yellow pages, then alphabetically.  He didn’t want to be listed after the competitor, especially being a new company.  He was searching for names, and I (as a brilliant Junior High school student, hahaha!) came up with the name, Action Flash Barricade.  The name put it at the beginning of the yellow pages category listing, and my dad used it.   The barricade above was one of the original ones he purchased.  The removable blinking light on top took two lantern batteries.  Barricades without lights were fine only for day use.  Ones with flashers needed to be used at night, and were rented at a higher cost.  There was a small hole on the side of the weather resistant battery case where you could stick a long skinny poker (like the long end of an Allen wrench, only with a loop to use on keyrings) through the hole to push a switch to turn the blinking light on when used at night, and off when the sun was out.  Although, most workers never bothered to turn them on and off, so the batteries wore out faster than they should.  Stealing the blinking lights themselves became a thing then, so a security bolt was created to hold it onto the barricade.  I had a couple of new ones in my bedroom that flashed constantly 24 hours.  So cool….hahaha!  Also, on the one above, the name and phone number for Action Flash Barricade were painted below the word “CAUTION.”  This allowed law enforcement or public works to contact us at any time in case one got damaged, stolen, or needed to be replaced or serviced.  On the lower panel, it was a routine thing to stencil the name of the company renting the barricade.  Here, it says dad’s company name, Western Cable. 

Later, my dad started purchasing a different type of barricade.  The new ones were pretty fancy for the time.  The one shown here is the only photo I have found of one.  

It was made of all metal and was much lighter than the wood ones.  Plus, they were slimmer so more could be stacked onto a truck or trailer.  The top panel was a piece of sheet metal with the blinker light built into it, so there wasn’t a removable blinker to steal.  The metal legs spread like the original ones to allow for stability.  The small box on top held a single lantern battery for the blinking lamp.   A countersunk Allen screw secured the battery in the box.  Plus, it had a sensor to turn the blinker light on and off automatically for night and day. 

While working for my dad, one of my unpaid tasks included maintaining these barricades.  This included repainting the yellow bottom panel and stenciling the names of renters on it if they were rented out to someone else.  If my dad lost a cable tv construction contract to a competitor, he’d usually offer them a cut rate for renting barricades from us so he could reap a little income off the contract, plus it gave him an excuse to go to their job site and watch the competitor work.  If the barricades were in a reasonable driving distance of our home in Ventura, it was usually me going out to a job site after school or weekends as needed.  I’d sometimes go out and drive through after dark to ensure the lights were working, the barricades weren’t pulled out of place, and replace batteries or whole barricades as needed.  We also rented construction signs and traffic cones.  In fact, just a year or so ago, I donated the last dozen or so old traffic cones to our church in Clovis.

  

Violet Alpha Sillers Rodgers, 130th Birthday

My maternal grandmother, Violet Alpha Sillers (I called her Nana) was born 130 years ago today, February 23, 1895, in River John, Nova Scotia, Canada.  She passed away on January 8, 1987, in Alhambra, CA.  She was a very pleasant, loving, and wonderful grandmother, you couldn't ask for a better one.  Her brother, Ernest Sillers (Uncle Ern to me), was also born in River John.  

She married Hiram Stephan Rogers (born April 11, 1887), who was also from River John.  I called him Papa.  I don't know how, when, or why they ended up in Pasadena.  They lived at 1254 N. Hill Ave.  Before my mother was born and raised in the home, they had a baby son.  It either died at childbirth or shortly thereafter.  The family never discussed the son further.  I don't know if or where the infant is buried, or it's name.  I don't recall anyone directly ever telling me this, but something tells me it was named Stephan (like my grandfather's middle name), but it may have just been known as "Infant Rogers."  

My grandfather owned a grocery store in the Nelson Building at southwest corner of Washington and Hill, Pasadena.  I think he may have retired about the time I started realizing the world existed as a tiny child in the late 1950s.  I vaguely remember going into the store once or twice.  I don't think my grandmother liked the new owners.  

I have fond memories of the house.  I remember a basement that I was only occasionally allowed to enter.  It was like a magical cave to me.  In the rear enclosed side porch, there was a wringer washer that was always fun to watch my grandmother use.  I remember a stool in the kitchen where I could sit and watch my grandmother cook and sometimes "help."  I remember the front living room, where my grandfather would play with me, and the dining room table where I seem to eaten a lot of peeled, chunked, and boiled potatoes with a bit of butter and salt on them, and pot roast.  Naps were in my mother's childhood bedroom.  Her furniture set was saved in the family until just a couple years ago, when my granddaughter Cassy needed part of it.  Sadly, we broke up the set, gave her what she wanted, and donated the rest to charity.  

The backyard had an incinerator that they rarely used.  I remember what seemed to me as a large tree in the back yard that I played with toy cars and trucks making roads in, around, and under the tree roots.  The backyard had lots and lots of flowers.  On one occasion, I snuck into the detached garage and found a pair of roller skates from my mother's childhood.  I strapped them on thinking it would be easy to skate down the driveway.  I made it a very short distance before one of the leather straps snapped, and I went down hard.  Life lesson.    

When I needed to be distracted, Papa would take me for a walk.  The same route each time.  We'd leave the house, walk up the street to Washington, and turn right.  We'd continue along Washington to the first street, Wesley, and turn right again.  We'd walk downhill to Asbury, and turn right to Hill then back home.  

About ten years ago, I was in Southern California for work, and on a whim, I pulled off the freeway to the house.  I found myself parking along the curb in front of the house, and decided to take a walk.  I followed the same route around the block.  It was eerie how much of the surroundings came back to me.  As I walked, I remember a gas station at Washington/Hill.  It's not the same, but it's a gas station still, just different.  I remember the same type of fencing in front of a couple of homes on Wesley especially a specific chain link fence, and the smell of germaniums at one particular home.  It was a strange and wonderful experience.  

We lived at our home in Anaheim during this time.  Occasionally when Nana would babysit me, she would take me to nearby Washington Park to play and run around.  If I was good, which of course I always was, while playing at the park she would give me my favorite sandwich, white bread with the crusts cut off, with a large amount of soft butter and brown sugar for the inside.  Nothing healthier, no?

We later moved to Tucson, and eventually moved to nearby La Canada.  It was during this time that my Papa died, May 3, 1962.  I don't remember much about it, but I knew I was being kept away from the adults dealing with it.  My mother got the call about him while we were at home.  She immediately grabbed me and drove to their home.  She was distraught as she drove, and went through some Stop signs and red lights.  I'd never seen my mother cry before.  I still hold an impression of that drive in my mind.  

These are scans of Polaroid photos from her 80th birthday celebration (1975), at her rest home at 1428 S Marengo Ave, Alhambra, CA 91803.  The business has changed names since then.  I think it was an Episcopal home then, and looking at Google Maps, appears to have been extensively remodeled.    

Standing at the table, my mother, Dorothy Stone (left) and my Aunt Aldine.

Seated, to the left, an unknown woman.  To the right, my Uncle Ern, Violet's brother.

At the table, my mother, Dorothy Stone. Standing, an unknown woman and to the right with her back towards the camera, my grandmother, Violet.

From the right, my mother, standing.  Seated is Violet, then Ernest.  The others are unknown to me, and were possibly other residents of the facility.  

These next photos are from a time that "Nana" visited us at our new home at 1237 Laurel Lane, Lafayette, California.  I don't know the date, but it was likely 1966-1968.  The first two are inside our kitchen, and the last one is in the front yard in front of the steps my dad built (I helped) that led from our front yard up the hill to the top of the driveway.  

This one was taken at the same time as when "Nana" was opening her gift. My mom has a gift too, so I don't know it was Christmas or something else.  It seems odd that it would be Christmas, but opening our gifts like this because it wasn't our style.  

Eaton Fire, Altadena, California

I don’t really have any known links to people impacted directly as victims of the Palisades Fire or the Eaton Fire in Altadena, except for this string of connection.  In Octavia Butler’s 1993 book “Parable of the Sower,” the story includes how Los Angeles was ravaged by fire in 2025.   Butler, who died in 2006 at 58, is marked by a footstone etched with a quote from “Parable of the Sower,” among her most famous novels: “All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you.”  She is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena—the same cemetery as my maternal grandparents, Violet and Hiram Rogers. 

https://apnews.com/article/octavia-butler-los-angeles-wildfires-cemetery-eaf2ee7921561355d632d0e381099ed6

 

1959, My First Camping Trip, Big Pine, California

This is the closest I ever made it to climbing Mt. Whitney.  It would be interesting if the "east side" experts here recognize any of the views or locations.  

This was my first camping trip with my parents and I remember my parents saying we were camping at Glacier Lodge.  I believe this site is the Big Pine Creek Campground adjacent to Glacier Lodge, just outside Big Pine, California.  I don't know what the ownership or relationship of the campground to the lodge was in 1959.  I researched it some, and it was interesting to learn the glamorous history of Glacier Lodge, and fate of the lodge and its replacement.     

All-in-all, it was a great trip with some hiccups.  

It rained during this trip, and my WW II Army veteran dad was using a dark green Army surplus canvas tent.  When it started raining hard in the middle of the night, he made me get out and help dig a drainage trench around the tent.  Inside the tent, he told me not to touch the roof of the tent, and then I did, causing a leak inside.   Hence, I learned why not to touch it.  My father was not pleased.  

I don't think this was my mother's style of camping.  She doesn't have her normal happy smile on.  As a family, I don't think we ever tent camped like this again.  We only tent cabins and RVs after this trip.      

I was four years old at the time, and the VW in the photo was our new (white) 1959 Bug.  I remember the car well.  Not long afterward, we moved to Tucson, Arizona.  My parents would drive across the desert at night to visit family in So. Cal. in it while I curled up in the cubby behind the back seat to sleep.  The bright red Coca Cola metal ice chest stayed in family use until the late 1970s.  It was a workhorse of a cooler.        

Some history of Glacier Lodge: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_Lodge 

David and Dorothy Stone

Our neighbor's campsite.

1959 Volkswagen Bug (white)

1972 Buena High School, Ventura, Calif. Senior Photo

 

I graduated from high school in June 1972, so I presume this photo was taken in the fall of 1971.  

Jeff Holland Photography on East Main Street in Ventura was the place to get the the photos taken.  I went with my mother for the sitting, and later to review the proofs.  As with any set of proofs, some you like and some deserve going into "round file" forever.

This photo was not picked to be my senior photo.  It was supposed to be trashed.  My mother thought it was fine, but I didn't like the way my bottom lip was pushed out as compared to all the other photos.  Yet, this was the final product and the the one that ended up in the yearbook too.  

Fifty plus years later, does it still bother me?  Not as much as before.  But I still remember being very disappointed about it at the time.  

January 4, 2025 Photo Dump

Scanning some photographs today.  Most of these are from Polaroids or matt finished photos, hence the clarity isn't the best.  

Here's what I know about each one.

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Mom, Dorothy Stone, probably mid-late 1970s while in Palm Springs with my father, Raymond Stone.

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Ray and Dottie Stone, at our home at 10876 Galvin, Ventura, CA celebrating something.  Likely my father's birthday on June 6 in the mid to late 1970s.

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Probably the fall of 1975 or winter of early 1976.  Me, crashed out on my bed at our Ventura home with new puppy Sandy.  Jeannette and I had take a quick trip, maybe even a day trip, from Ventura to Morro Bay.  While walking on a mostly empty beach, this puppy came up to us. We asked around a lot for anyone who might know the puppy, and couldn't find anyone who recognized it or any friends who had puppies.  We couldn't find anywhere to leave the puppy, so I took it home to Ventura after leaving information with others on how to find me so I could return it.  On the way home, we named it Sandy (since it was found on the beach).  It was a cocker spaniel mix, heavy on the cocker spaniel.  We never heard from anyone about the dog.  

My mother bonded with it very strongly.  So much so, that 2-3 years later when Jeannette and I bought our first home, my mom didn't want to give it up--and we let her keep it.  

Sandy in the backyard of the Galvin Street home.  

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Looks like my 21st birthday celebration at our home in Ventura.  My mom, me, and girlfriend (future wife) Jeannette Jarvis.  

Is that leftover steak on the table?  

Oh, the shame!  Hahaha!!

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This is Aldine and Ernest "Ern" Sillers.  He came from Nova Scotia, Canada, and if I recall correctly, she was from Boston or close by.  She certainly had the New England accent throughout her life.  They never had children.  He was actually my mother's uncle, Violet's brother.  

"Uncle Ern" was a Father in the Episcopal church, rising to the level of Bishop.  Uncle Ern was fun and funny guy.  A quick, respectful, and quiet wit.  He planted churches that still survive.  The one I remember best is St Marks Episcopal Church, 10354 Downey Ave, Downey, CA 90241, http://stmarksdowney.org . 

We usually went to there home for Thanksgiving (just behind the church at 8355 Bigby Ave, Downey, CA 90241).  After the meal and while Aunt Aldine and my mother would clean up, Uncle Ern would take me for a walk around and through the church telling me interesting and funny stories.  

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The photo below was marked on the back, Thanksgiving 1977.  The two most recognizable people in it for me is my Uncle Ernest "Ern" Sillers, and seated to his left with her hand on her chin is his sister and my maternal grandmother Violet Rodgers (mom's mother).  

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Anna Creelman in front of her home in Camarillo, California.  Her husband was Aubrey Creelman.  They originally owned a number of acres of land in Camarillo for growing avocados.  I don't know how my mother knew them.  I think they were close friends with my grandmother or grandfather.  

We visited them a time or two a year.  By then, they had sold off most of their orchards, and only had an acre or two left.  Dad would get as many avocados as he wanted.  Aubrey was a typical farmer/rancher, smart, witty, and cleverly handy with tools.  I still have and use some of tools that he marked with green paint.  

This one is marked July 4, 1977.  I don't recognize the location.  In it is my mother, Dorothy Stone, Fred Petrasek, and Virginia Petrasek.  My mother and Virginia went to U.C. Santa Barbara together, and were truly like sisters from different parents.   We visited them often at thier home in Sherman Oaks.  Laura was my age.  Allan is a year or two younger.  They are the ones who let me go on most of their summer 1969 vacation in a Winnebago.  We went to the east coast, saw the launch of Apollo 11, and then I eventually flew home from Providence, Rhode Island.  

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Graduation from Buena High School, Ventura, California, June 1972.

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Unknown formal dance or prom in Ventura, California.  "Proud mom" photos.   The scanned photos don't show it well, but my tuxedo was very dark Navy blue in color.  I don't recall who I went with or which dance this was though.  

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One my mother did mark was this photo from May 1974.  The young lady is Karen Grahek.  We dated for a while, and I loved hanging out with her and her family, who were some good pranksters.  I think in another post, I showed an embroidered shirt of my blue 1973 VW Sport Bug that she did for me.  Like people do, we went our separate ways in life, and both became our own.  

Oddly enough, it wasn't until the destructive Thomas Fire Ventura in December 2017 that I learned that her and her husband's home was just a couple houses away from my parent's former home.  Sadly, both homes were lost.  My parent's had passed away by then, but Karen and her husband lost everything.  

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1975 Chevrolet LUV (Light Utility Vehicle) pickup truck.  I bought it new, and very stripped, from the Chevrolet dealer in Ojai, California.  Jeannette was with me.  I ended up modifying it a lot, as you can see.  White spoke rims, and slight lift in the rear, and an awesome BMB Camper Shell (Fillmore, CA).  

I was part of a truck club called Lil Truckers Ltd.  The jacket I'm wearing was the club jacket.  

The wrinkle on the side of the truck in front of the rear wheel well happened in the parking lot of Save-On Drugs, at Victoria/Telegraph Roads in Ventura.  Jeannette had borrowed my truck, and as she backed out of a stall to leave, someone else backed out of their spot and tagged the truck.  I played hell getting the truck fixed by the guy who did it.  It took a while, but finally got it squared away.  

My father's small aluminum fishing boat is in the background.

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Some Polaroid photos my parents (Ray and Dorothy Stone) took of each other on the patio of their home at 10876 Galvin, Ventura, CA.  I'm guessing about 1980.  Sandy, the dog, had aged a few years.  

The patio cover they had installed was large and really nice.  The folding chairs in the background of one of the photos were aluminum framed with redwood slats.  I don't think I've ever sat in a more comfortable folding patio chair.  

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Probably about 1981-1983, my father relaxing at their home at 941 Scenic Way Drive, Ventura (the one that burned down in the Thomas Fire after they sold it and had passed away).  This was in the "den" that was on the south side of the house.  From that vantage, you could look out the back sliding glass door and enjoy a great view of the Santa Clara River Valley with the Pacific Ocean in the distance.  A nice way to fall asleep.