During the winter of 1998, when mountains were sliding and roads were washing away, an unexpected treasure arrived at the UCLA Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve.

     The treasure, an e-mail, began:  "I have some original deeds and documents pertaining to the Stunt Ranch, earliest dated 1891, if you are interested. I remember Ethel well. She was always most pleased when we would bring her a dead rattlesnake and would say, 'I'll just pop this in the freezer to eat later.' Which she did."

     The intriguing message came from Ed Hall, who spent his boyhood as a neighbor of Ethel Stunt. It became the acorn of what is now a fully grown oak: an oral history program for the reserve.

     Ethel was the last survivor of the Stunt family, settlers who emigrated from England in 1885 to homestead on this land, located in the heart of the Cold Creek watershed.

     Common knowledge is that shortly after the Stunts emigrated, President Grover Cleveland signed their homestead. Brothers Harry and Walter built a cabin, believed to be the first building in the Cold Creek area. This 1885 cabin, a 1919 cabin and a 1950s modern home built by their sister Ethel were destroyed in the devastating 1993 Malibu fire.

     "Uncle Harry" worked and lived in town and came to Stunt Ranch on weekends. After retiring in 1937, he lived there full time. He kept a pot of beans on the stove for anyone who happened by and often showed local Boy Scouts how to use a magnifying glass to burn their names into shingles which he mounted upon the rafters of his porch.

     Ethel moved to the ranch in 1937 after spending many years as the head secretary in the Royal Embassy in China. After Harry's death in 1953, she lived alone at Stunt Ranch until just prior to her death at 90 in 1971.

     "Ethel was always very nice to us and would bring us in her house for some cookies and tea with canned milk," recalled Mike Miller, who as a boy rode his horse to visit Ethel. "I remember her as being a very sharp and refined woman, but a real tough pistol also."

     In 1982, a charming booklet with anecdotes by the Stunts' friends and neighbors was put together by the late Juliana Gensley. The reserve hopes to track down more leads to piece together the colorful history of the Stunts, the ranch, the homestead period and the Cold Creek watershed.

     For now, it's serendipity that brings "gold nuggets" to the surface. Like one recent phone call that came out of the blue. "I'm here with my aunt visiting from out of town," the stranger said. "She and my dad grew up in the area and spent a lot of time at Stunt Ranch. Can we tour the reserve? We have great stories and photos we'd like to share with you!"

Carol Felixson is director of education and community outreach for the UCLA Stunt Ranch Reserve, Santa Monica Mountains.

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