9902 Sulphur Mountain Road
Ojai, CA 93023-9375
Phone: 805-640-0000
Email: info@mehermount.org
Wednesday-Sunday: Noon to 5:00 p.m.
Monday & Tuesday: Closed
Buzz & Ginger Glasky
Sam Ervin, Preident
Ron Holsey, Vice President
Ursula Reinhart, Treasurer
Jim Whitson, Director
Richard Mannis, Director
Margaret Magnus, Secretary
Anecdotes, activities and stories about Meher Mount - past, present and future.
Filtering by Tag: Agnes Baron
Agnes Baron’s only trip to India was in September 1982 to talk to Meher Baba’s mandali (close disciples) about the future of Meher Mount.
“What I didn’t realize at the time,” Bill Le Page said, “there was no resolution in her mind regarding the future ownership of Meher Mount.”
Read MoreAll through Agnes Baron’s time at Meher Mount, various groups wanted to use Meher Mount for their own purposes.
Read MoreWhen Agnes Baron, co-founder, lifetime caretaker, and one-time owner of Meher Mount, first met Avatar Meher Baba in 1952, He said,
“’First of all, I want Agni to know that only Agni, God and Baba know what she has gone through in these six years to hold Meher Mount for me.’”
Agnes looked at Him in surprise and said, “’It was no trouble, Baba, no trouble at all.’” She had completely forgotten all her problems in His presence.
Read MoreMeher Baba’s nickname for Agnes Baron was Agni – a name meaning fire in Sanskrit and a fire-god in Hinduism. With its capacity to destroy and cleanse, fire is a thread running through Agnes’ life.
“Fire proves a disaster for Upper Ojai homes” read the headline in the Ojai Valley News.
On October 14, 1985, the Ferndale Fire, whipped by Santa Ana winds, came up the southwest ridge of Sulphur Mountain. By 9 p.m. on that Monday night Meher Mount, an Avatar Meher Baba Center and the home of co-founder and lifetime caretaker Agnes Baron, was ablaze.
Read More“Hell, fire and damnation” is how co-founder and lifetime caretaker Agnes Baron (1907-1994) described her life keeping Meher Mount for Avatar Meher Baba.
Agnes, a fearless and fiery woman, dedicated 48 years of her life to making sure that Meher Mount would be here for Meher Baba, today and in the future.
Sam L. Ervin, board president and long-time friend of Agnes Baron, shares some specific incidents in Agnes’ life where she fought to keep Meher Mount. Sam spoke at the 2022 Anniversary Sahavas commemorating Meher Baba’s visit on August 2, 1956.
Take a moment now to watch this video that portrays Agnes Baron’s fierce determination, her unvarnished view of events, and her dedication.
Sam L. Ervin at Meher Mount, 2022 Anniversary Sahavas
By Margaret Magnus
One of Sam’s first visits to Meher Mount was on May 19, 1968, to pull weeds on a special day of silence called for by Meher Baba. He continued to visit to pull more weeds, re-roof Baba’s House, cleanup after two fires, chop wood, carry water, clean the pool, and serve Meher Mount. His teen years of hard physical labor on a cattle ranch in Porterville have come in handy.
Then, inspired and encouraged by Agnes to go into social services, he got a Master’s in Social Work in administration and planning in 1975. Sam went on to be the founder and CEO of the non-profit SCAN Health Plan.
There he pioneered an innovative senior program, which required securing six acts of Congress. A key achievement was keeping more than 20,000 frail seniors living safely at home instead of nursing homes. By the time he retired in 2002, the company had grown from 1 employee to 640 employees and served 55,000 seniors in four counties.
After his retirement, Sam returned to Meher Mount to once again pull weeds. By then there was a non-profit board, and he has served as president for the past 20 years, relying on his planning, managing, and CEO skills working in non-profit organizations.
Sam’s focus is continuing Agnes’ promise to hold Meher Mount for Meher Baba, even if it’s through “hell, fire and damnation.”
In 1978, Agnes Baron (Meher Mount's co-founder, lifetime caretaker, and one-time owner) sent the following letter to Sam Ervin (long-time volunteer and board president) who will be a guest speaker at this year's Anniversary Sahavas:
“Could you come this long weekend… If only for a day. You might not want to stay longer – no water! Pump is off again – as of 3 weeks. Everything dying – dismal. I haul from the Spring – and some dirty stuff in bottom of pool. Trial with Sears on pump not until 14 Sept.
"Can’t decide whether to go to expense of pulling and buying new pump or to drill a new well in the walnut orchard – and have sweet water – maybe with a windmill.” (1978, Agnes Baron)
Read MoreIt was a foggy day when Avatar Meher Baba arrived at Meher Mount on August 2, 1956. “It wasn’t clear. You couldn’t see out across the vistas,” remembered Leatrice Shaw Johnston who was at Meher Mount that day.
“The steep hill of Meher Mount was shrouded in mist as our bus climbed tortuously upward, and when we stepped out we saw, instead of the celebrated view of the Ojai Valley, only a rolling sea of fog, recalled Filis Frederick.
Later, with everyone gathered around Him in the ‘Baba Room’ of the guesthouse, Meher Baba gestured toward the outdoors and said…
Read MoreOne afternoon, Jean Adriel approached Agnes Baron, who was renting a cottage at the New Life Center at the time, and said, “We are going out for a drive this afternoon, looking for a place, would you like to come?”
In 1944, Jean Adriel and Alexander Markey had established the 500-acre New Life Center in La Crescenta, CA, which was dedicated to Avatar Meher Baba.
Then sometime in 1946, Jean received word from Meher Baba that He wished for them to relocate to a place farther from the Los Angeles area, somewhere one or two hours outside a big city.
Read MoreIn 1956, when Avatar Meher Baba visited Meher Mount, caretaker Agnes Baron took Him on a tour of the property.
As they crested the hill overlooking a corner of the property, now known as Avatar’s Point, a large oak came into view. Agnes turned to Meher Baba and said, “Baba, I’ve always thought of this as Your Tree.”
Read MoreAgnes Baron, Meher Mount co-founder and lifetime caretaker, describes Avatar Meher Baba's 1956 visit.
She takes filmmakers Irwin and Edwin Luck on a tour of the property, including Baba's Tree and the 'Baba Room' where Meher Baba gave darshan (His blessing) on August 2, 1956.
The 14:56-minute film was made in 1970 and has been restored. However, the sound is still difficult in some places. It’s easiest to watch the video and get the flavor of Agnes Baron’s personality while reading read along from the transcript.
Read MoreAgnes Baron, who later became a co-founder and lifetime caretaker of Meher Mount, was staying at the New Life Center in La Crescenta, CA, in 1946.
When she arrived at this Center dedicated to Avatar Meher Baba, Agnes knew nothing about Him.
One day during her stay, one of the founders of the New Life Center, Jean Adriel, said to Agnes, “We are going out for a drive this afternoon looking for a place, would you like to come?”
“Well, it was a hot day so I thought I would go with them. I just went for the ride,” Agnes remembered.
“It seems they were planning to sell the New Life Center and buy another place. I didn’t know what the details were, and I didn’t particularly care. I just went for the ride.
“Every time they’d see a lovely place they’d say, ‘Oh there’s Baba’s place.’”
Read MoreJust days before the December 4, 2017 Thomas Fire struck Meher Mount, well-known Meher Baba artist Charles Mills approached Meher Mount about doing a painting that would represent Meher Baba’s 1956 visit to Meher Mount.
“I didn’t know if a painting was needed,” Mills said later, “I just made myself available.”
In discussions with Board President Sam Ervin, they talked about a painting that would represent the energy of Meher Baba’s visit as captured in the 55-minute film Meher Baba, The Awakener made in 1994 by Tim Thelan. The footage of Meher Baba at Meher Mount starts at 43:22 minutes.
Read MoreThere are several photos of Avatar Meher Baba's 1956 visit to Meher Mount, including one in which Meher Baba is walking the property while the then Caretaker Agnes Baron points out various sights and facts. Eruch Jessawala holds an umbrella to protect Meher Baba from the sun.
Artist Karl Gallagher of Melbourne, Australia, painted that moment of Meher Baba's visit to Meher Mount.