VENTURA LIFE MAGAZINE-
ARTICLE 2008
MOTHERING VENTURA: ROSA LEE MEASURES
By Amy Jones, Photography by Dina Pielaet
One of Rosa Lee Measures’ favorite
quotes comes from George Bernard Shaw’s statement, “I
want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work
the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no
‘brief candle’ for me. It is a sort of splendid
torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to
make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to
future generations.”
One of the most active candle-holders for
the community – Rosa Lee Measures, for decades, has been
at the epicenter of most of the major developments in Ventura
as a volunteer and prominent figure in the public and private
sectors. She is a best case American example of a passionate
entrepreneur for whom the mission is one of saving the world -
not one of just making optimum profits. She has inspired many
to believe in the power of business to make a difference, and
she knows how to bring social responsibility to mainstream
businesses through personal example and a compelling outreach
style. “You can’t say no to Rosa Lee,” has
been echoed by many business owners who find themselves
stepping up for this or that cause or project that Rosa Lee
tapped them on the shoulder to help enable. She is so full of
energy and life you can’t help but be infected by her
enthusiasm.
We sat down for this dinner interview with
Rosa Lee in the home of local business women Ann Deal and Becky
Harmon along with Rosa Lee’s husband Albert Harris,
former Ventura Mayor, Greg Carson, and Dr. Roz Warner, who was
the first woman president of Saticoy Country Club after the
all-male club opened to women.
You might expect such an accomplished woman
to be intimidating if not a bit high-brow, but part of Rosa
Lee’s success is her grace and charm coupled with an
insatiable curiosity and pragmatism that absolutely withers
resistance. When we told her that she was considered by many to
be a mother-figure for the community, Rosa Lee said,
“Well Ventura takes a lot of care. I try to work quietly
behind the scenes and cheer in the background. I’m not
looking for fame or fortune; my desire is just to be a good
citizen and a good Samaritan. That’s why we love Rotary
so much.
‘Women were only allowed into Rotary
since about 1987. There’s such a huge job to do around
the globe. I’ve always said that world peace will only
come without government; it will come within the realm of
groups like Rotary. We have the oldest, largest service
group in the world with over 1.2 million members…We can
go into countries even when governments do not talk to each
other, and there’s a common language that we speak which
is about service above self not about grandeur or building
empires. We drill wells in places where we will never taste the
water.
‘I was president in 2003/04 and I
went to Australia when Afghanistan was just being accepted into
Rotary, and it was a woman in full garb who was the leader of
their group. She was awesome.”
What Makes a Good Leader?
Thoughtfully adjusting her spectacles, Rosa
Lee said, “There are very solid differences just as a
point of practice that women, when they step into leadership
roles, have to accept. Women are nurturers; we have no problem
doing the job. It’s just a matter of remembering that
women often have to be gentle in their toughness…
‘When I look at leadership qualities,
I look for someone who is willing to take on the task and has
the capacity to do so. Capacity means someone who is diplomatic
- one who cares more about others, one who is doing it for the
purpose of the cause. This is not about aggrandizing their
profession. This is about serving and taking the responsibility
to get the job done. Integrity is very important, as well as
being cognizant that there are many personalities within the
group and overlooking the idiosyncrasies of things that might
not be forthright and beneficial to all concerned. We all have
inequities…They say, ‘First take the plank out of
your eye before you try to remove the splinter from someone
else’s.’ The key is to select people who get along
well, who are cordial and congenial, who are compassionate and
want to serve for the right reasons. It’s the same when I
select the person who will be the electorate.”
From Selling Figs, Eggs and Avon to Secret
Dates with Kid Valentine
Rosa Lee reflected on her life, “My
grandmother lived with us…I was her baby and she was my
mentor. Both of my parents worked and left home early in the
morning, and my grandmother did everything. She was my
most favorite person ever in the whole wide world. She taught
me how to garden, and she tried to get me to learn piano, but I
was such a brat about sitting at the piano. I wanted to be
outdoors playing ball…
‘We had a big fig tree, and I
harvested the figs and sold them in the neighborhood. I also
had an egg route. I was serious, and it was fun; I loved
meeting people and having my own little business and delivering
products…It was the hardest experience of my life to lose
my grandmother when I was twelve. I had to learn about death as
she died in our home. My mother administered her morphine shots
during her last days of cancer. That was a real hard period for
me. I remember walking to school day after day, and all I was
thinking about was my grandmother. I had to learn to move
beyond that…” ‘Rosa Lee said,
“When I was first married [the first time], we lived in
this little dinky apartment. I got married very young and had
my first child at the early age of 20. Back then you
didn’t live together; you got married, and you were a
virgin. I was raised in a Christian family and you watched your
P’s and Q’s and that sort of thing...
‘When I had little children, I was
always dabbling into some kind of entrepreneurial business. I
started selling Avon to supplement our income, because I wanted
to provide piano and tap for my kids, and I ended up making it
a huge business. The truck would drive up with all these boxes
and I would take up the dining room table to organize it all by
category. My aunt lived near me, so during the day, the
children could stay with her while I sold Avon. Well, my region
grew; I was one of the top 6 sales people in the nation, and
the New York chief came out and wanted to know how I was doing
it?! And, I said, ‘Well I talk to people.’
With Avon [home delivery] women had something they could look
forward to because there are so many women that are alone or
shut-ins, especially when they get older, and it was important
to come into a woman’s home and listen to
them…Anyway, the Senior V.P. of Avon offered me a
regional position. Well, I had a husband who was very
protective over our family, and he said, ‘I really
don’t want you to take that.’ So I honored that and
said, ‘You’re probably right.’…Being
there for my son and daughter was the top of the list, and my
children never stayed with an outside sitter…
‘When we moved into Los Angeles,
I sold Art Linkletter dance lessons door-to-door, and the
culture I presented at each door I knocked on was that dancing
built self confidence, that all little children should have
lessons. Through doing this our own children got to take dance
lessons. So, I always found ways for our children to be able to
do things, because we were always on a very limited
income…
‘When I came to Ventura, Albert was
the President of Ventura Savings, and he endorsed hiring
me… It’s interesting when you look back at the
whole circle of events. Years later, me and Albert found
ourselves together. He left the bank in 1975, and we were
married in 1983…
‘So I was at the bank when my [first]
husband left me, and I was going to be the branch manager. I
felt this dilemma, because I felt that I needed to tell Albert
that my husband had filed for divorce. I didn’t want him
to read about it. I was humiliated about the whole thing and
could hardly face it. I didn’t tell my parents or anyone
for awhile. So I’m finally telling Albert, the bank
president, and I didn’t know his wife had left him a year
before. ….How Albert and I actually got together was that
months after I told him about my divorce, it was Halloween, and
our company was being merged with another company. We knew it
was our last hurrah. I dressed as the Pink Panther with big
eyelashes and pink ears and the whole costume. Albert was Kid
Valentine in shorts with red hearts on them; here’s this
upstanding member of the community in red tights, and we went
to the Halloween party together. For awhile, we had secret
dates in Santa Barbara to avoid running into anyone from
Ventura…. Now we will be married 25 years this August.
The Women’s Movement opened the doors
for women to do “men’s work” but men are not
as excited about “women’s work”…
Rosa Lee said, “I’m inclined to
think that men, by virtue of their mentors, have been groomed
to do less rather than more of the menial tasks; they like to
be more of the spectator and reap the benefits of a family as
opposed to doing the day-to-day. There are males that kind of
have their head in the sand; they don’t understand what
needs to be done. Rather than fault them for their deficiency,
I would rather say it’s ignorance on
their part. If he’s home first or home all day, for
him to think to say, ‘You’ve just arrived home from
work; I’ll have dinner ready.’ That’s the
unique guy that really gets it. Most men probably didn’t
see that growing up, and we are all creatures of our experience
and relationships that we grew up with. But to say that across
the board men are ineffective or irresponsible or not
compassionate enough to understand there’s a need for
them to step up to the plate would be in error on our part.
I’m not offended by a man opening a door or seating
me at a table, and in fact I love that.
I feel for
men because they don’t know what to do with
us!”
What daily habits have contributed to your
success?
Rosa Lee shared, “I start the day
with prayer and talk to God about the needs of many friends and
families who are suffering from various infirmities and
maladies. That sets the awakening moment. Then I hop to my
feet. Sophie (the new puppy) gets the morning kiss and potty
break; I prepare breakfast for Albert, and then I head off at
about 6am for the Pierpont Racquet Club to workout. I eat
a lot, so I have to work it off. I’m 70, born June 25,
1937, and I can’t believe it. I don’t feel that
old…
‘We have been members of the
Missionary Church here in Ventura for 30 years…I hold
onto the scripture that God will not give us more than we can
bear…For some time, my father was opposed to the church;
he would say, ‘If God loves us so much, then why he is
letting little children starve?’ He had a good question,
but we don’t have those answers on this Earth… For
some people that is not an adequate answer. I never get in deep
about those conversations unless people ask me. I’m not
dogmatic to put my faith on anybody. So I try to walk the walk,
and if people want to know more they will come alongside and
ask.”
Negotiating the “Man’s
World” of Banking and Politics
“I was primed and groomed for
[politics] by virtue of the banking career, said Rosa Lee. I
don’t and didn’t look at it as aman’s world;
I’ve never felt the obstacles of being a woman in the
banking industry. I came thinking that I could work minimal
hours and still be with my family…Those minimal hours
never came…because the market dropped in ‘65 and
‘66, and the bank had to cut staff; I was one of the four
remaining, so I learned everything there was. I got my
apprenticeship right on the spot. I went down to Los Angeles on
Monday evenings to Woodberry College to get my credential in
the business. My education is really along the way, since I got
married so young. I went to every community college you can
imagine to address every responsible position that I
took…
‘I was introduced as the first woman
vice president of a bank in the county in about 1970; I was
made a corporate officer right away, and then I kept acquiring
responsibilities. It was just about someone taking the
responsibility, and I did the job. As a result, I was selected
as the regional manager over all the managers within the
coastal region and was responsible for a 5-hundred million
dollar operation.”
Former Mayor Greg Carson was present at the
interview with Rosa Lee, and he asked what it took for her to
run for Ventura City Council. She remembers, “I had
people who wanted to support me to run for city council, but I
kept saying that I didn’t have the time for it. I
even started a decline file to prove to my family that I was
declining opportunities to do whatever. It’s always been
difficult for me since I was a teenager to be able to say no.
In high school, I was president of many clubs, I was a
majorette, and I took a job at a jewelry store. My family
finally came to me and said I was doing too much, that I had to
quit so I could be home for dinner…‘When I was
first approached to run for city council, I was Chair of the
Board for United Way. I was also nominated for Chamber of
Commerce President. I couldn’t do both. Then the bank
wanted me to move to Los Angeles or San Diego, which was out of
the question for me, so when I did not take the job that opened
up my space to take a position on the council. I wasn’t
going down there with a need to ‘square’ anything
away. I just wanted to lend experience. Many city council
members have not run a business, and so that experience did
become valuable... Then I became Deputy Mayor, and let me tell
you, I made more out of Deputy Mayor than anybody ever
did.”
Ventura’s Downtown Renaissance
Rosa Lee served on the Ventura City Council
from 1993 to 1998 and reflected that, “The downtown
renaissance and the implementation of the Downtown Specific
Plan was clearly the major decision our council made. I
campaigned on economic revitalization for downtown. We were
close to blight then…
‘The Peirano’s Market
renovation [now Jonathan’s at Peirano’s] was a
major undertaking, to get that restaurant opened while
preserving all of the history there. Another part of that plan
was the Century 10 Theatre, to create a draw to help
businesses. We also established an improvement fund to help
businesses improve the facade of their buildings...
‘When the restaurant burned on the
pier, they wanted to replace what was there – a little
fish shack…We worked to have it extended and retrofitted
to support a bigger restaurant… Albert and I went up and
down the coast to look at restaurants to see if they would have
any interest in coming to Ventura…Albert likes to eat,
and I like to eat, and we went on a tasting tour! This was
between ‘93 and ’95. Ironically we found the
restaurant in our own back yard, and Eric Ericsson’s has
been successful. We ride our bikes and go in for a bite.
It’s a great stopping point, and you feel like
you’re on a little retreat.”
Rosa Lee has been instrumental in the
formation and flourishing of Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre. A
founding board member, Rosa Lee has been very active in
building the board and fund raising to keep the Rubicon Theater
Company going since it started ten years ago in the Laurel
Theatre space city council candidate, Doug Halter created in an
old church building. The Rubicon is the area’s first
and only professional theatre company, and it has received
numerous awards and acclaim. Rosa Lee announced,
“We’ve named our 2008/09 season – Beyond
Borders.”
She said, “The most controversial
part of the downtown plan was to open California Street and
remove the Ficus Trees. The roots were buckling the sidewalks.
I pursued preserving the trees, but it was going to be too
expensive. A 90-year-old friend of mine, Edna Wort Woods, was a
Soroptimist and they had planted the trees years before and
didn’t want them removed. She threatened to chain herself
to a tree to protect them. So it was an emotional
decision…
‘On the city council, we were also
dealing with the homeless issue, and I connected with Henry
Cisneros, who was a member of President Clinton’s
cabinet, part of the Housing Authority granting more funds.
Henry was about to identify Ventura for 200 more housing
units…There was also a homeless shelter work experience
program in San Diego, and so I went there to talk to the Alpha
Project’s founder, because he had decided to live with
homeless people for awhile to experience their day-to-day life.
He found that they can earn $200 a day just by standing with
their hand out, and they would drink it. He knew there was a
better way. He came to Ventura, and I was able to pull together
non-profit directors who service homeless people and he spoke
to the group. In San Diego he helped facilitate a coalition of
entities who supported the homeless cause, and that’s
what I tried to do… I think that the non-profit directors
felt threatened that if we implemented the Alpha Project plan
that they would lose their jobs and funding. I also
didn’t have the right support from council; they
didn’t see it as a viable solution …Then we had a
flood; the river rose and people were in jeopardy… I
walked the river bottom with a police officer to try to
convince some of the people living there to move out of
harm’s way. One guy living in a box was indignant. He
didn’t understand why he couldn’t get trash and
mail service!…We had to make a decision, and all of a
sudden my colleagues thought it looked like a good
plan…We worked on ‘the avenue’ where Catholic
Services is today and set up a resident shelter where the
college is now in Camarillo...and we helped over 200 people
with their animals (some of which were horses!), health care
and/or finding jobs.”Rosa Lee said, “It’s a
continuous problem…there are those who choose to be
homeless and there are the mentally ill and those who come on
hard times. What people need to understand is that you have to
offer [homeless people] an alternative solution if you ask them
not to loiter or set up camps in the river bottom. You
can’t just move them out.”
A Chicken in Every Pot
Rosa Lee reflected, “I’ve been
seen as a kind of an enigma in the business world.”
People don’t always understand why she gets
involved with so many boards and projects. She is such a
ubiquitous figure that there are many who thought she’s
the mayor. During one of our conversations, former Mayor Carl
Morehouse, a current councilman, called Rosa Lee for her review
of the proposed Sand Management Plan for the Pierpont Beach
area being discussed at city hall. She’s really an
unofficial official, and not too many things get done in
Ventura without her knowledge and indeed endorsement.
Explaining her mode of compassionate
conservatism, Rosa Lee said, “My father had a business
across the border in Mexico, and we did a lot of shopping for
needy families; I saw children less fortunate… Ministers
would stay at our home if they were traveling, and my
grandmother and mother cooked and washed and were the
consummate hospitality people, so I learned early that service
above self is what you do in life. People look onto that
profile and tap your shoulder frequently…Some wonder what
drives my inclination to serve, but it’s really about
what can be done and the sense of satisfaction that I can
help...
‘My parents were Democrats. They
loved the Roosevelts and their idea of ‘a chicken in
every pot.’ But, they worked very hard and brought up
from nothing, and didn’t want a hand out…My father
paid cash for our first home. He instilled those values in his
family.”
Rosa Lee’s older sister, Dorie
Alvarez is also a well known and loved member of the community.
She worked at Ventura City Hall for 25-years as a volunteer
coordinator and was honored by Rotary as the Volunteer of the
Year. Dorie has been a Pink Lady at Community Memorial Hospital
and served as President of the Soroptimists. Rosa Lee said,
“We are a close knit family, and we’re so fortunate
to live near one another to share the joy of celebrating many
special occasions together.”
Rosa Lee and her husband, Albert Harris,
are 40 year residents of Ventura. They have 5 children and 8
grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter. While Rosa Lee
continues to sit on many boards of directors, she and Albert
are trying to spend more time with family. Rosa Lee’s top
priority now? – “I hope that I have been the kind
of grandmother that my grandmother was for me. I drop
everything for my grandchildren.”
Case in Point: One of the greatest rights
of passage in Ventura comes through the longstanding summer
Junior Lifeguards program that each year concludes with the
kid’s ceremonial plunge into the chilly Pacific for a
swim around
the pier. When it came time for Rosa
Lee’s 9-year-old grandson, Michael to go the distance,
she asked him, “Do you want Nani to go with you?”
Rosa Lee, grandmother, former Deputy Mayor, banking regional
Vice President was all ready to suit up to personally supervise
the swim…That’s just her way.
Editor’s Note: Rosa Lee was very gracious and detailed
throughout our interview to credit many individuals on the
projects she has worked on over the years, many of which have
not been detailed in this story in consideration of space. The
absence of the names of the many fine men and women who
participate on these creative and critical additions to the
community should therefore not be misconstrued in terms
of Rosa Lee’s intent or the writer’s intent.
Many warm thanks are extended to you who make the
difference in things that matter. [END]
