Our
Family - Jeff La Favre
Our
home was on a hill overlooking the San Gabriel Valley. I can remember
the wonderful orange groves in the valley and avocado groves in the
hills. Walking home from grade school, I passed through a grove, and
I remember enjoying an occasional orange off a tree. By the time I
entered high school, suburban development had swept away the rural
character of the landscape. Today the area is a sea of houses known
as Hacienda Heights.
The
first house on Turnbull Canyon Road was a modest home; a living room,
kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. An additional bedroom was added at
some point, which was necessary for a family of six. I remember that
the dining table was in the bedroom I shared with Alex.
My
great grandmother, Stella, lived next door. I was very close to her
and spent much of my time at her house. She was always handing out
candy to the children and Mom thought it was excessive. They came
to an agreement that candy would only be supplied on Friday. So this
became an important day, and I remember that even some of the neighbor
children came to her house on "Candy Day." She was a kind
lady and loved children.
Stella
had a small table which, I believe, originally belonged to my mother's
father. It was really designed to store shoe shining materials and
to serve as a seat while shining shoes. The upholstered top was hinged,
with a shallow storage space underneath. Stella used it to store her
jewelry and we called it the secret compartment. She must have thought
this was a very clever place to store her valuables because the compartment
was not evident from the exterior. However, I don't think her jewelry
was valuable. I have the table today and it occupies a place of honor
in our foyer.
During
the sixth grade we studied the geography of South America. Each student
was assigned a country and was told to prepare a report. I left the
work to the last minute and then realized I could not possibly complete
it on time. Stella saved me by helping with the report and it was
handed in on time.
My
great grandmother died in the summer of 1961, while I was away at
summer camp. Mom broke the news to me on the way home, just as we
started up our steep driveway. Then we both cried. She died 37 years
ago but it is still clear in my mind, and as I write this, I feel
a great sadness and loss. When the car stopped at our house, I jumped
out and ran to Stella's house. I fell to the ground near the back
door and wept. Her death was a profound loss for me.
Stella
gave an acre of land to my parents so that they could build a new
house. This land was just uphill from her house and our first house.
The new home was completed in 1960 and had three bedrooms. The view
of the valley was one of its charming attributes. The city lights
at night were, and still are, a beautiful site. My parents still live
there today.
I
thought the new house was a marvel of modern convenience. The kitchen
had a built-in oven and cook top. We even had a laundry room with
a washer and drier! This was an improvement my mother must have appreciated,
as I remember the washing machine with ringer on the back porch at
the first house. Clothes were dried on a clothes line there.
Mom
and Dad provided a wonderful home for us and we enjoyed living in
the house on the hill. We found many things to do to occupy our leisure
time. Around the corner on Turnbull Canyon there was a natural spring
with lush growth surrounding it. The property was owned by my mother's
parents at an earlier time but was sold to a doctor I believe. There
was a small concrete dam across the stream which had formed a pond.
I think my mother swam there as a child. But when we played there
it was just filled with mud and we called it the "Swamp."
There
was a small canyon in front of the house that was overgrown with wild
blackberries, which we called "stickers", a reference to
the thorns. The growth was thick and we made "caves" in
it by cutting tunnels with clippers and a hoe. We had great fun in
the "sticker caves" even though it was necessary to proceed
with caution to avoid scratching your skin on the thorns.
Climbing
trees was also a favorite activity. Our property was once part of
an avocado grove owned by my mother's parents and grandparents. A
root disease, Phytophthora cinamomi, had destroyed most of
the trees at an earlier time. However, a few were left and we climbed
them. There was a loquat tree at the first house. One day Alex spent
the good part of an hour in the tree eating green loquats, which resulted
in an upset stomach.
When
we were older I remember rolling down the banks in front of the house
in a trash can. I remember seeing stars once as the can dropped over
the ledge of the lower bank. It is a wonder that someone did not get
hurt but we thought it was fun.
There
came a point in time when my parents decided that Val needed her own
bedroom. At the time Vic and Val shared a bedroom, Alex and I shared
one, and Mom and Dad had the master bedroom. Alex, Vic and I moved
to the master bedroom and Mom and Dad moved to the smaller bedroom.
Although it was crowded with three in one bedroom, I don't think we
resented it. The change was probably harder for Val and I think she
was a little lonely in a bedroom by herself. I wired a temporary extension
speaker in her bedroom and connected it to my radio in the master
bedroom. It was a way to share the music with her and perhaps it eased
the feeling of isolation while it was installed. For me, the fun of
the endeavor was in accomplishing the connection.
I
can remember our first brand new car, a 1957 Ford station wagon. I
seem to have the memory of this car in the showroom, rotating around
on a turntable. While the car was sharp, it turned out to be a terrible
lemon. I think it threw a rod when Dad and I were returning from a
Dodgers baseball game on Father's Day in the late 50's. Then I remember
another time when the car stalled going up a road in the San Bernadino
Mountains. It just did not have the power to make it up the steep
grade. Dad backed the car down and gave it another try, racing to
get a good start on the hill. But alas, the Ford just could not make
that hill. Dad had to take an alternate route to get to our campsite.
He did not buy another new car until the 70's. I think the experience
with the Ford turned him against the idea of purchasing new cars.
Dad
had a custom Triumph motorcycle when we were young. It had many chromed
parts and a light blue tear-drop gas tank. It was a beautiful machine
and quite powerful. Sometimes he would give us rides on the motorcycle,
which we all thought was great fun, even though it was frightening
going into the curves! He used to do some hill climbing in the dirt
with this motorcycle. I think he broke his leg one time doing this.
Later, when I was in high school, we had two motorcycles for off-road
riding. We had a blast with these in the desert.
Some
of my fondest memories are of our vacations. Dad was a school teacher,
which allowed long summer vacations (although he did work summer jobs
some years). In the earlier years we went tent camping all over California.
I remember that we had a great time swimming in rivers and streams.
At Richardson's Grove State Park there was a high cliff next to the
river and we had quite a time climbing it and jumping off. As I recall,
Alex was the boldest in this activity, jumping from 15 or 20 feet
above the water. I limited myself to about 10 feet.
After
a while I think Mom got tired of the tent camping. I don't blame her
because it was considerable work and it was difficult to keep things
clean on a long trip. Then in 1965 (I think) we borrowed Papa and
Bana's (Floyd and Agnes) travel trailer and traveled all over the
western U.S. and Canada. Highlights of the trip were visits to Hover
Dam; Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff,
Jasper and Mt. Rainier National Parks; Great Salt Lake; Three Forks
Montana (headwaters of the Missouri River); Vancouver Island. We also
traveled to Great Falls and Harlem in Montana, which was most memorable
for me. In Great Falls and Harlem, Dad took us to see the schools
he attended, the churches where Papa was pastor, and their homes.
After
that vacation my parents were hooked on trailering and bought a trailer.
They still have a trailer today. I think they have been through every
state or just about, also much of Mexico and Canada. My only regret
is that I missed many of the trailer vacations because I was in college
then. However, I did mange to vacation with the family in Mexico and
one trip to British Columbia during my college years. In later years
we (my family) had the chance to share some nice vacations with Mom
and Dad. Shortly after we were married, Adrienne and I vacationed
with Mom and Dad in New England. One year we drove out from Chesterland,
Ohio to meet them in Yellowstone National Park. We also had some nice
vacations together while we were living in California (1987 to 1991).
Before
my parents were married, I think Mom had finished one year at the
University of California, Santa Barbara. When I was in high school
she went back to college to finish her degree. I don't really know
how she managed to do this, taking care of the four children and working
toward a degree. About the time I started college, Mom had finished
and started teaching.
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