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From:
Grant Bixby
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Monday, August 3, 2015
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When I was about 6 or 7, my Dad and Mom took us on one of many trips to visit "Uncle Ted's" ranch. While there, I marveled as we watched Ted, Willy, and the kids work the ranch with such expertise. Their comfortability around the animals always impressed me, and their love of the land was inspiring. One day, Willy took me for a drive on the ranch in his truck. He sat me in his lap and let me steer while he worked the pedals. Some cattle were crossing the road and stopped, blocking our path. "Why don't the cows move? They're so stupid," I said. Willy went quiet. He moved me from behind the wheel and sat me gently on the bench seat beside him. Looking me in the eye, Willy said, "Son, that animal was put here on this earth for a reason. She is not stupid. She is fulfilling her purpose and we must respect that. Understand?" I nodded. When Willy spoke, I knew enough then to listen. It was just one of many lessons learned from Willy over my four plus decades on earth. Willy always had my respect and admiration. He exemplified so many timeless values, and I know I'm just one of many Willy affected. Thanks, Willy. I forgive you for those Rocky Mountain Oysters you fed me as a kid. - Grant Bixby
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From:
Martin O'Hea
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Thursday, July 30, 2015
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I had the pleasure of knowing Willy for over 5 years since I joined Bixby Land Company. What an incredible influence he had on the company and it's people, not just in the boardroom but also how he treated all of the employees he would encounter in the hallways. Kind, respectful, humble, funny, some of the many ways to describe Willy. I will always treasure my visit to his ranch (aka - the birth place of "Woody") for one of our corporate retreats to see Willy functioning in his Cowboy habitat. A great leader and a great man, he will be missed by everyone at Bixby Land Company. Ride On Cowboy!!
Marty O'Hea
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From:
Jim Youngson
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Thursday, July 30, 2015
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A couple years ago I helped create a book on Old Spanish Days with a photographer, Art Fisher. Art was kind enough to share one of his photos of Willy.
For copy, I recorded/interviewed Willy, since he was such a presence in the Fiesta parade every year. Here’s a direct quote from him. I think the last sentence says it all.
"The Fiesta Parade crowd is the most responsive of any parade I’ve ever ridden in. You can yell out “Viva la Fiesta!” and they always have an answer back…to me it’s the most fun of of any of them.
"As an outrider one has to be careful and observant of the team because there are times when you have to act and be responsible, but you can still have an awful lot of fun.
“I really do like to interact with the crowd, and I look forward to it. I try to get fairly close to where the kids are and I put my hand down so they can’t shake it but I’ll say 'give me five' and I’ll slap their hand. I don’t ever want to have them hold on to me or me hold onto them if something starts to spook the horses, or I really have to get away from them in a hurry. So I’m pretty careful to just get a slap and I always get a smile on their faces. And I love to get a smile on people’s faces, particularly the kids.”
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From:
William Halford
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Thursday, July 30, 2015
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Willy Chamberlin is truly one of the great men I've had the privilege of knowing. Although a cowboy thru and thru, Willy was a quick study equally comfortable in the boardroom. Real estate was not his profession but he was a most capable leader as the Chairman of Bixby Land Company. Willy was a great listener that could quickly gather the facts and build conscientious decisions. I learned a lot from Willy. He was a class act who led with an even hand and made all of us around him better. He was loved by all that knew him. I can't count the number of times someone approached me and said, "You are related to Willy? He is a great guy! One of my favorite Rancheros!" Willy, you will be greatly missed by me. His grin and unwavering sense of humor made him a joy to be around and work with. We will move on at Bixby Land Company without him, although, it will never be quite the same without that Big Cowboy sitting next to me in the boardroom.
WRH
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From:
Richard Russell
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Wednesday, July 29, 2015
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Interesting, that tho Willy and I were not close friends, we meshed together over the years on matters of importance to agriculture and Santa Barbara County. There was always a kinship, that perhaps came from the fact that Willy's dad Ted and my grandfather Hub Russell Sr. were partners in some cattle deals years ago. And, if you knew either Ted or Hub, they chose their business partners carefully. Willy was of that same stock. Whenever I met with or talked to Willy, I knew he was the genuine article. never a question about where he stood and what he believed. It has been my privilege to consider Willy my friend.
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From:
Thomas Widroe
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Wednesday, July 29, 2015
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A few thoughts about Willy....
One of the more moving comments on my post in the SYV Buzz was from Kiwi-Lee who had this to say: "I'm stunned, he would mow my pastures when I was financially strapped, wearing a mask because he had allergies and never would accept a penny. They don't make 'em like that anymore."
And that's exactly the kind of man he was. Generous, kind, a hard worker, committed to his community. Kind of a throwback with old school values, a sometimes stubborn man who always kept his word. A little bit like any number of characters played by Jimmy Stewart in the movies.
All this is kind of funny considering how Willy's political opposition tried to portray him as some of kind of robber baron, an oil man of voracious JR Ewing type appetites. Of course, the truth was the exact opposite. Willy's family may own one of the largest pieces of land in Santa Barbara County, but that certainly didn't mean Willy was rich or that he even wanted to be. Apart from a growing collection of shiny big belt buckles that he won in competition for horsemanship, Willy didn't have or need much. He lived on the ranch in small if not spartan quarters, drove an old truck, and found a good deal of his satisfaction in public service.
I had the pleasure of working for Willy during his tenure as 3rd District Supervisor. After having been demonized in the election, Willy's nature as a kind, decent, thoughtful man surprised many. His grasp of land use issues was nothing short of remarkable and he took great pride in serving as Supervisor. It was an exciting time. When Willy would come to Supervisor meetings on Tuesdays, he'd make sure and wear his ten gallon hat playing up to the hilt the whole idea of cowboy comes to the big city. The local news media just ate it up and Willy worked his tail off while having the time of his life.
Willy was elected largely because a lot of people at the time rightly felt that the County's bureaucratic machinery had grown increasingly hostile to agriculture and business in general. In response, Willy took a principled stand for good governance. He gave both Jim Youngson and I plenty of latitude as young professionals to work with staff to help resolve constituent issues fairly and expeditiously. When necessary, Willy would intervene. And every once in a while, when he tired of lame excuses, he would wag one of his long fingers letting his audience know that his patience, while deep, was about to run out.
While Willy's term of office was unceremoniously and prematurely cut short, he made a real difference and to those of us who got to work with him, he was an inspiration. He set an extraordinary example of how to hold one's head up high even during the most adverse of circumstances. He truly loved serving the community and I believe Willy was one of the best Supervisors this County has ever seen or will see for that matter.
During the last few years, Willy and I had the chance to reconnect when I moved with my family to the Valley and started working for Congressman Gallegly. We ended up working together in an effort to reopen the Santa Maria Air Tanker base, which had been inexplicably closed by the Forest Service despite being our community's best arsenal against the rapid spread of wild land fire. Willy knew the Forest Service had done something very wrong and decided to fight the good fight to get the tanker base reopened. My former boss, Rep. Gallegly knew Willy was on to something and pressed the matter back in DC after a meeting with Willy and an assortment of fire fighting professionals in his office. The end result was success and now we have an air tanker base in Santa Maria right where it should be to help keep us safe during fire season.
Willy and I had a nice breakfast together here in Buellton not too long ago. He wrote me a generous check to support my campaign for city council. We had a good laugh or two and reminisced a little. I thanked him again for the opportunity he gave me all those years ago to participate in something meaningful and important, but even more than that for his enduring loyalty and friendship.
Sent from my iPhone
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