It is the unqualified result of all my experience with the sick that, second only to their need of fresh air, is their need of light; that, after a close room, what hurts them most is a dark room and that it is not only light but direct sunlight they want.

~ Florence Nightingale

June 20 may be the first day of summer but the season really gets underway when the night skies glow and booms echo across the valley in celebration of our country’s birthday. The candles are now blown out and the dogs are no longer shaking; on with summer! The weather is cooperating nicely, just as expected, with temperatures on the rise.

Long before the rich and famous built their mansions on the teetering cliffsides of Malibu, real estate developers, cattle barons, gold seekers, railroad companies, farmers and health seekers were drawn to Southern California’s climate. Their reasons may have been varied, but often East Coast and Midwestern residents sought relief from brutal winters. As song writer and vocalist Neil Diamond, conveys, “LA’s fine, the sun shines most the time…” Climatologists agree that an average sky is clear well over 300 days per year.

Here in the Crescenta Valley stands the last of its kind: the Rockhaven sanitarium. To back up a bit …

Drawn by the clean air and relentless sunshine people with mental and physical ailments began streaming into the area, convinced the Mediterranean-like climate would cure them of their ills. Those seekers ranged from “the rich and famous” to recovering Civil War veterans. In response, sanitariums emerged throughout the early 1900s.

By the 1920s, Crescenta Valley was home to at least 25 specialized facilities that treated chronic disorders such as tuberculosis, asthma, alcoholism, mental illness and dementia. Rockhaven opened in 1923, standing alone as a women-only mental health facility. The patients were referred to as “feeble-minded” in an old brochure. Also included was assurance of an atmosphere of dignity and respect. Hundreds of female patients over a span 80 years sought relief within the ivy-covered walls and beautiful gardens of Rockhaven. A vision comes to mind when visiting the sanitarium of a resident outdoors basking in the warmth of the sun and serenity of the Crescenta Valley.

With the sole exception of Rockhaven, none of these sanitariums survived intact. In the past week, California State Senator Anthony Portantino’s request to preserve the Rockhaven Sanitarium property has been approved. Thank you! Also, the Friends of Rockhaven are to be commended for their unwavering devotion to secure Rockhaven’s future.

A simple two-word forecast for the upcoming week: summer weather!