Photoessay #2848 - 1954 Glendora landscape

I'm now in touch with the owner of the home that my parents owned 1954-1956.  Often when you try to contact people through email that don't know you, they're wary.  Sometimes you have to dangle something compelling to give you some credibility.  I wrote him again, this time sending a picture of his house in 1954.  So now we have some correspondence going.

This picture, from my mother's photo album gives an idea of the landscape around the house.  I'm sure my father took this picture; it almost looks like he's a bit elevated.  The horizontal elements in the foreground?  Maybe sprinkler hoses?  My mother looks pregnant, so the picture was taken between April 1954 when they moved in and July 1954 when my brother was born.  My father has already put in a new front lawn and likely some landscaping.  I'm the toddler shown with my mother.

One thing that my mother told me after my father died was that when he threw himself into these weekend projects, he was not to be bothered with children.  He was busy.  So my mother never had any break, she took care of three children 24/7.  As a parent of four children myself, I can understand that frustration.

I love to see the house in regards to the neighborhood.  The San Gabriel mountains in the background.  Some lots are vacant with those knee-high prickly brushy plants that grow on California open spaces.  The houses with the promotional sign.  A glance of the era cars.

My parents truly pursuing that California dream; that truly motivated them.

That street doesn't look that different now.