Pelch Camp

Scope Note: Originally called Camp P-P, the camp was the hunting retreat of Frank Pelch and Fred Pinkham. Pelch and Pinkham used the site as a base camp for deer hunting trips that they hosted for their friends during the 1930s. The camp had an outdoor stove and oven for cooking, a box for drying deer meat, and a screen covered dining area. There was also a small cabin that Pelch and Pinkham had built from wood gathered from the abandoned Romo Homestead, which was located several miles away.

According to Amanda Pelch, Frank Pelch’s granddaughter, the site was leased by her grandfather from the Forest Service under a 99-year lease, which ended when her grandfather passed away in 1963.

The name Pelch may be more familiar to those who remember Pelch & Sons Sporting Goods Store. The store was located in downtown Santa Barbara at the corner of State and Anapamu Streets, where State & A Restaurant used to be located.

In 1907, Mr. Pelch immigrated to the United States from what is now Czech Republic, and in 1909, moved with his wife to Santa Barbara. In 1911, he opened a barbershop with Basil Blauvelt; the shop also stocked pipe and chewing tobacco for its customers.

An avid hunter and fisherman, Mr. Pelch soon began stocking the shop with fishing gear and sporting goods, as well as a wide array of magazines and periodicals. In 1922, they moved across the street into a larger space at 1201 State Street, where the store was located until 1966. The store benefited from its central location across from Woolworth’s (where Old Navy is now located) and the Post Office (where Santa Barbara Museum of Art is now located).

In 1941, after Mr. Blauvelt retired, Mr. Pelch’s son, Otto, who had worked at the store, became a full partner. The store then became Pelch & Sons Sporting Goods and continued to operate until 1976.

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