In England, Runnymede was a meadow where Anglo-Saxon kings would meet. In the San Fernando Valley, Runnymede was a farm where chickens could roost. Bill Robertson says, "Runnymede Street was named after Runnymede Farms. Again, one of the poultry breeding colonies in Reseda and the Tarzana area."

And not just any breeding colony. Runnymede was owned by Charles Weeks, the man who spurned "free range" chicken farming. Weeks grew up on a farm in Indiana. Later, he owned restaurants in Chicago and New York.

One day, he dropped by a poultry show, and as one press story reported, "The cackles of the high grade fowls awakened memories of earlier days, and he decided to embark in poultry raising."

Weeks moved to California in 1904 to raise chickens on a mass scale. His book "Egg Farming in California" showed farmers with small plots of land how to raise lots of chickens that produce lots of eggs.

(Airdate: 2/22/2009)