Residents must band together to save Bottle Vilage

I am writing today because of my concern regarding the deterioration of Grandma Prisbey's Bottle Village. This beautiful display of folk art showing a woman's life work is showing more and more signs of weathering that can be stopped.

Grandma Prisbey started the Bottle Village in 1956, originally to house her pencil collection. She made this village using cement and various items found at the local dump.

Some of the highlights include a wishing well completely made of medicine bottles, the leaning tower, a small hut made of beer bottles and a sculpture in the shape of a heart made of automobile headlights.

My mother's family has lived here since 1964. One of the favorite family outings was to go to the Simi Airport (yes, there was an airport in Simi!), have a picnic and then stop by to see Grandma Prisbey's Bottle Village.

My mother walked me through the village when I was a little girl. I remember seeing Band-Aid boxes and scissors in the concrete sidewalk and marveling at what it took for this woman to build the sculptures. I know that time marches onbut it's important to preserve local history.

The purpose of this letter is to remind the citizens of Simi that the Bottle Village needs your help.

As an official historical interest site, we need to remind our council members that action must be taken- perhaps a structure to protect the village. I encourage everyone to contact their city government and bring this to the attention of our elected officials before it's too late. Melissa Miller Simi Valley