New Herds In Chino, things are changing. Chino Preserve was the name given to a water clean-up project aimed at fixing what the dairies did to the water. Lewis Corporation, which planned and promoted Victoria Gardens Mall in Rancho Cucamonga, had a new plan. They want to take 10,000 acres of Chino diaryland and create a truly master planned community, called "The Preserve at Chino". So, they began buying up the dairies for demolition. Residents of the new Preserve homes now have to contend with flooded out roads, manure saturated mud on their cars, and flies, flies, flies. But the model homes advertise the lifestyle to aspire towards. Each home features the remnants of a fake nuclear family. There are two to three kids in each home. The girls love pink and ballet. The boys love football, motorcross and basketball. Mom loves teddy bears and crafts. Bulletin boards hung throughout the houses display signs that say “Success,” “Seek and Strive,” and note who is picking up the kids for their seemingly grueling weeks of daily extra curricular activities. Everyone has their own bathroom in these homes. Each home might have up to five bathrooms. It seems that private latrines are a big part of the American Dream. The houses all over the Inland Empire are massive: 3-5,000 square feet. The backyards have enough room for an air-conditioning unit and maybe a picnic table. You can almost touch two houses at once, standing between them. The Preserve has a Park House, a kind of corporate community center for resident activities. It is full of exercise equipment and Christmas decorations, as well as the town model. The people in the images, the imaginary residents, display a level of ecstatic happiness that I have only seen in Newport Cigarette ads from the late ‘80s. The Preserve is far from any town center or freeway. So, Lewis Corporation will build and donate to the city of Chino a fire department and a separate grade school for the new community. Lewis will also operate a community association, paid for by residents. Lewis Corporation is taking a strong interest in the Preserve’s community values and activities. The employees told us that The Lewis Corporation plans to maintain a strong presence on both the community association and the school board of the Preserve. The Preserve will also have its own town square, much like Victoria Gardens. Lewis Corporation will choose the merchants for the town center. This will be another town center that is private property. Images of the town may be retsticted. The preserve is already inhabited and very popular. However, on a typical weekend, all is quiet.