13222 Foxley Drive, Whittier, CA, then and later, and now

The family moved from Santa Ana to Whittier in 1954, before the school year in the fall. I believe it was solely because dad worked for Fuller Paint, at their store in Whittier. The commute was probably too distant.

I remember the night we arrived. It was dark. The folks put me to bed, leaving the bedroom door ajar and the hall light on so that I could find my way to the bathroom in the new house. In the morning, I remember bolting outside and seeing incredible activity. None of the fences were up yet as this was a new neighborhood with new houses. Kids were out playing everywhere. I quickly joined them.

I expect it was summer, but I cannot be certain. I would start kindergarten that fall at Laural Elementary School, only a few blocks away. Foxley Drive was a cul de sac. That cut down on the through traffic considerably so we kids could ride our bikes or play in the street with less chance of being run over, unlike South Broadway where we used to live.

Most of the families on the block were young with two or more kids each, most in our age range--we were the post-WWII baby boomers. The Tiptons lived across the street, Tom and Sylvia Tipton and Cynthia and Tommy. Don and Louise Hofeldt, originally from Nebraska, lived next door with their three children, Carol, Pam, and Donnie.

The top B&W photo above was taken in the 50's, with Georgann and me on the front lawn. It looks like mom used her black plastic Kodak camera to take the picture (if you did not turn the lens all the way, you got those black outlines around the rim of the picture). The photo in the middle was taken in the late 80's, when Ann, our half-sister Lorri, and I stopped by Whittier on the way back from the L.A. County Fair--the house was empty but appeared to be in the process of upgrading the interior. The photo on the bottom is contemporary from google. Note the absence of sidewalks throughout the years.

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204 La Jolla Lane, Newport Beach, CA

The top picture was taken in the late 80's, perhaps the early 90's (I have no photos from the late 50's). Several landscaping additions have been made, clearly, today. And the walls bordering the many levels up to the house are now covered in plaster. The house itself shows exterior remodeling, especially all of the visible windows. When they first moved in, there was a field between their house and the house at the end of the alley. Across the alley in back there were also fields. We would almost never park on La Jolla and walk up the steps to the house. We'd park in the alley behind and enter from the back of the house. When they lived here, Grandpa drove a Studebaker Hawk (he drove Studebakers for a few years, judging from other photos that mom took).

One time when we were staying with the grandparents, grandpa hoisted us over the fence to play with the grandkids who were visiting the large house at the end of the alley. The owner, who must have been their grandfather, came out, saw us playing with his grandkids and hoisted us back over the fence. I got the distinct impression that he did not like our grandfather, and perhaps he was even a bigot, preferring not to have any contact with a family named Sanchez. Ann tells me of several instances over the years when she experienced prejudice, being fair-haired and fair-skinned, living in Orange County with an Hispanic last name. I have one distinct incident which I shall relate later.

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Grandma and Grandpa's water front propery in Newport Beach, now

The address is 1436 West Bay Avenue. Three houses down from the small beach that is featured in many B&W photos in mom's collection. I thought that their house had been torn down until I located the beach itself. Then I simply counted down the block and there it was. A number of changes have been made over the years, but they appear more cosmetic rather than substantive. Sometime in the mid-50's, the grandparents sold this house and moved up the hill. But I cannot say for certain when that was. And I have not been able to locate any old photos of the house above the harbor, so I have no dates with which to determine when they moved there from here.

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1915 South Broadway, Santa, Ana, CA, now

After acquiring the street address from the back of the one portrait of me, I was able to find the house on So. Broadway as it looks more recently. It's nice to know that there's no longer a car parked on the front lawn as there was back in the 90's when I videotaped that visit. Besides the chain-link fence around the front lawn, the house itself has been missing for many years now the faux shutters that used to decorate all of the windows.

I remember another story. Since South Main was only two and a half blocks away, I hiked over there one day. An elderly gentleman offered me a stick of gum on the sidewalk. I naturally took it. But when I told mom about the generosity of this total stranger, she told me that I should never accept candy or gum from a stranger. Ann always remembered that she should never speak to strangers. So, when we were at the LA County Fair Grounds and she became separated from the family, she would not tell the staff at the lost and found department what her name was. They bribed her with ice cream, which she gladly took, but never offered up her name. Eventually, the parents figured out where they might find her and claimed their wayward offspring, but Ann never revealed information of any kind about herself. She might have made a good spy.

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Greg & Georgann, Foxley Drive, Whittier, CA, circa 1956

These were two of the very few color photographs from the 1950's that still look colorful. Obviously, they were taken at a professional studio, unlike the others from the 40's that faded so badly. Mom wrote on the back of Georgann's photo, Foxley, Whittier. So these were likely taken in 1956.

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Greg portrait 3

Perhaps yet another year older. Second grade possibly. The hair is still fine and not too long, yet. But very soon, it was to become an embarrassing feature.

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Greg portrait 2

Another likely school portrait. Given the slight age difference from the previous photo, possibly first grade at Laural Elementary School, the same with Kindergarten. We would attend Laural Elementary in Whittier until prior to the spring of fifth grade when dad moved us to Orange, CA, before he remarried.

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Greg portrait 1

Probably taken in 1956 after we had moved to Whittier. This and the next two were possibly school pictures. I could have been in kindergarten, given the outfit with suspenders.

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Greg, 1915 S. Broadway, S.A. circa 1955

The back of this photograph was a real find. Someone, not our mom, wrote on the back, "Sanchez 1915 S. Broadway S.A.". The same stamp is also on the back from the studio. But this is the only place where I have confirmation of our Santa Ana address.

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Greg portrait, Santa Ana, CA, circa 1955

The back of this one identifies where we lived when it was taken: "Deposit on Proofs to Apply on Orders and Not Refundable. This Proof is Property of Oliver & Lovins Studio, 1766 S. Main St. Santa Ana KI 3-1731". I am not sure why someone didn't fix the collar where it's turned under. It's the same in the companion photograph with the hat removed.

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Georgann & Greg circa 1957

Indicated by the rough-cut edges all the way around, and the truncated drawings in the upper right and lower left (that one of some kind of wizard, waving a magic wand), this portrait was cut down to size at some point. I suspect it was taken at either Knott's Berry Farm or Disneyland, possibly the latter. We did go to Disneyland not too long after it opened in 1955. Whether the parents waited until 1956 or took us in 1955, I do not remember. However, I do know that we went there sometime not long after we moved to Whittier. And I also recall the crowds of people, especially around the Sleeping Beauty castle.

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Georgann & Greg studio portraits circa 1955

These were a pair of undated, likely studio or department store, portraits. On the back of the top one is the following: "1-Cal, 15 Wallets 1.2 + 1.4". Obviously, the date I have included at the top is approximate. There is one more, taken at a later time of the two of us. Then there are several more, two of which are probably not school photos and another three which might be. They are of the time I prefer to call my "adorable phase". I was one, cute kid for awhile there. Then, between the ears and, even more, the hair, I morphed into an extremely geeky kid by the time I was nearing 10 years of age. Again, none of these photos appears to be dated, though I suspect they were taken either just before we moved from Santa Ana or just after we had moved to Whittier, CA. I have tried to arrange the posts in the proper order, according to age.

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Greg & Georgann & Santa, later 1950's

The last of the Santa pictures I found in the two photo albums. Definitely 1958 or 1959. This might very well be at Knotts Berry Farm because of all the activity that appears to be going on in the background. Santa does not appear to be sitting in a department store. That's an awesome cowboy hat which I do not remember having, though there is another photo with me wearing the same hat, so I must have owned one.

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Greg & Georgann & Santa, Whittier, CA, mid-50's

We were living in Whittier at the time that this was taken. We were not too far from the Whittier Quad, a modern shopping center a few blocks away on Painter Avenue. We seem to be sharing an inside joke with Santa. "Yeah, we know how this works." Probably this was 1956 or 1957. I remember that light jacket very much and loved wearing it, though it appears to be getting a tad small on me in this shot. On a disappointing note, it was not long after this Christmas, perhaps the following year, when dad and mom's marriage was beginning to unravel.".

Ann tells the story of the Christmas, probably 1958 but certainly by 1959, that dad asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she told him a Betsy Wetsy doll (a doll that, once you gave it water from a bottle, peed its diaper for her to change--getting girls into their stereotypical feminine and motherly roles right away). Dad immediately proceeded to buy it for her at the store even as she begged, "I want Santa to bring it." He ignored her pleas. We would be the first kids on the block to have our parents separate and then divorce, so it was traumatic for us as well as for dad. However, we all had many good memories before it started to turn bad.

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Greg & Georgann & Santa, 1955

This appears to be a pretty old Santa, who looks more like a wizard than Mr. Claus. Georgann looks to be unhappy, "This THING is all I get? I demand to see the manager!" I can't tell if that woman barely visible behind Georgann is mom or an elf. I seem entirely distracted. Mom did annotate on the back that this was 1955. If that is correct, we were either still living in Santa Ana or we just moved to Whittier.

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Greg and Santa Claus a couple of years later

I am at least three years older in this picture with Santa. We may have been living in Santa Ana when this was taken. I also appear to be more pleased that I have gotten Santa's ear. "Please send as many as possible...."

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Greg and Santa, early 50's

There are a few pictures of one or both of us with Santa Claus over the years. This appears to be the earliest, perhaps even from Tampa, 1950, or more likely, 1951, because I look a bit over two years old and since Georgann is not present and may have been too young to be introduced to Santa Claus. I look rather perplexed, even wary, of the jolly old man in the red and white suit.

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Greg & Georgann, Santa Ana, CA

These two were probably taken not many months after the three below, in 1955. In the early 50's in Santa Ana, on Main Street, not far from where we lived, was a Beany's hamburger stand. Beany (or Beanie) was based on a puppet (and several years later an animated) series, Beanie and Cecil. At the stand, you bought your burgers and fries and malts and drove to the back. It was a dirt parking area. They featured Beanie and Cecil puppet shows while you sat in your car with your kids. We kids thought it was great, if a bit awkward to fit a few cars into a small space. I also can't imagine, being in our car, that we could easily hear what the puppets were saying. Frankly, I don't believe the franchise was successful since we didn't see other Beany's hamburger stands anywhere else, and perhaps the owner was infringing on the copyright. I did find a reference to "Beany's on Main just above Edinger. Homage of Beany of Beany and Cecil fame." This was in an article about "Old Hamburger Stands of Orange County". In another article by Glen Creason, I found this: "Of course there are many more whose passing I mourn from my head to the tip of my taste buds. There were those whose exterior beckoned like Googees or the Travellers Cafe or the Frying Pan but their menus failed to excite more than groans. Across the landscape of the city the ghosts of many memorable restaurants haunt my memory: Beanie and Cecil Hamburger stands...." So my memory isn't faulty.

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Greg & Georgann, Santa Ana, CA, 1955

All three photos were taken at the same time, in front of the house on South Broadway in Santa Ana, CA. The bottom one was annotated on the back, 1955. I have not yet found any photos taken in 1954, the year mom went back to White Cloud, Kansas, for her father's funeral service. This photo was the first which indicated we still lived in Santa Ana and had not yet moved to Whittier, as we soon would.

It was a couple of years before this, I would hope; but we have a negligent mother story to tell involving our mom. She was giving us a bath one day when the phone rang. She left us to answer the call and became so involved with the conversation on the phone that the two of us became bored, waiting for her to return. We soon slipped out of the tub, sneaked out the front door, hiked around the corner, and began playing in the yard with our friends who lived in a large, old home there. Unfortunately, given that we were very young and unconcerned about such worldly issues, we were totally naked as we played in the dirt. We neglected to get dressed before we took off. When mom finally got off the phone and went back to the bathroom to resume our bath, she got another call, this one from our friends' mom, calling to inform her as to where we were, in case she wondered, and to point out our lack of clothing for all the world to see. In the current era, mom might have been reported to the police and subsequently arrested. Back then she simply retrieved us, bathed us again, and got us dressed, probably mortified at the incident.

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Greg & Georgann, Easter 1953, Santa Ana, CA

This was that Easter weekend when everyone visited our house. Mom said that she didn't get Doug an Easter basket because she thought, his being three years old than I, he would not want one. However, he was hurt that he didn't get one.

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Two more photos from 1952

The top photo is identified as Mom, me and Georgann at Newport Beach in 1952. This is probably at the small beach that was only a couple of doors down from Grandma and Grandpa's house on the water. The second photograph is of dad, Georgann and me, "Xmas '52," a few months after the first photograph. Obviously, as with all families, photographs abound during the holidays. Dad may have only recently returned from the service and Japan. He was shipped over to Japan, probably the year before. I think that, once there, he was going to be shipped to Korea itself, but he decided to get out. He'd already been a P.O.W. in a German camp in WWII. I think he did not want to run the risk of being shot down and captured once again, so he resigned his commission. He would remain in, or later join, the Air Force Reserves, retiring as a Lt. Colonel; but his days of active service came to an end, apparently, in 1952, before the second photo was taken.

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Cousins and Second Cousins, Santa Ana, CA, 1953

Fortunately, on the back of this photograph, I now know that the Easter visit of everyone to the Santa Ana, CA, house was in the spring of 1953. Cousin Doug Green is standing behind the two chairs. Then, from left to right, Georgann, Greg, second cousin Betty Jo Nuzum and, in front on the second chair, her sister, Nancy Nuzum.

At first my sister and I thought that one of the two girls was a neighbor who lived on the next block of South Broadway. She died of diabetes in the early 50's while we were still living there. We went to her funeral in a church not far away from where we lived. She was under a pink mesh, see-through covering in a casket, as if asleep. That image has stuck with me all these years later, as it has with my sister. Perhaps we were too young to attend a funeral, especially of a young friend our own age.

But even this photograph brings with it sad memories. We would not see our cousin Doug again until 1964, when mom took us by bus to San Francisco where Doug picked us up at the downtown station and drove us across the Bay Bridge to where they lived in San Leandro. We would see Betty Jo and Nancy again in 1957, when mom took us by train to Kansas, to visit the relatives that summer after school was out, and then in the summer of 1966, when we road with mom and our Uncle Robert back to Kansas that year.

Doug would be diagnosed with cancer several months after attending mom's funeral in White Cloud in 2002. He would die in early 2003 and be buried in the Los Banos Veteran's Cemetery in the Central Valley of California. While we were in White Cloud a few months later for Doris and Hap's funeral in White Cloud in May of 2003, we would visit the cemetery at Highland, Kansas, where Betty Jo was buried. She died in her late 40's or early 50's, also of cancer. I was saddened to see that she never has been given a proper headstone. It was just one of those temporary metal markers that, even after all these years later, was not replaced with something more permanent.

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Grandma & Grandpa Breeze, Georgann, Cousin Doug, and Greg, Santa Ana, CA, 1953

This is a rare photograph in mom's collection for a few reasons. Most significantly, there aren't that many photographs of Grandpa Breeze, let alone of Grandpa and Grandma Breeze together. Second, this is the only one that I am aware of that has our two grandparents and the two of us. Third, this is one of the very few photos we have of our cousin Doug in this era, and only one of two of him in the two albums with the two of us. This is also the only one that features the grandparents and the three cousins.

My Aunt Jean recalls that she and Doug came down from San Leandro, CA, by train. Her parents picked them up at the train depot in downtown Los Angeles. They all drove to the Santa Ana house for Easter weekend, probably in 1953, judging by our ages in the photograph. Only a few pictures were taken that weekend.

Grandpa Breeze and Grandma lived in Santa Monica, CA, in the early 50's. They would soon return to White Cloud, Kansas, where Grandma would take over running the restaurant from Doris and Hap (their third daughter and son-in-law). Grandpa Breeze would manage the gas station down by the highway that runs along the Missouri River. He had been having health issues, and Aunt Jean would tell him that he needed to see a doctor. At first they believed he had an ulcer. But he would take ill down at the gas station, be found by a neighbor collapsed on the ground, and be taken up to the restaurant. He was then whisked to the hospital where they realized that he had had a heart attack. He would soon die. This was the summer of 1954.

So, this photograph likely represents the only time we ever met him before he died, perhaps just fourteen or fifteen months later. Mom left us in California with dad when she joined all of the other Breeze children (mom, the oldest; Aunt Jean; Aunt Doris; and Uncle Robert, the youngest) and relatives for the funeral in White Cloud. He was buried in the White Cloud cemetary where his wife would join him many years later, in 1989, thirty-five years after his death, and where mom would join them both in 2002. Less than a year later, Aunt Doris and Uncle Hap would die within a couple of days of one another and be buried there together, too.

The White Cloud cemetary is featured in the final book in the Rainbow Arc of Fire series, Olive Branch, named for the cemetary and for events in the book itself. The cover photograph of a carved dove of peace is from the marble sign at the entrance to the cemetary. The cemetary is filled with Hooks and Nuzums and Breezes and all of the other families who lived and married and had offspring and then died in and around White Cloud over the hundred and a half years of the town's existence.

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Grandma Sanchez, Georgann and Greg aboard the sailboat

Grandma Sanchez was the reason that they initially sold the house on the water and moved up the hill, overlooking Newport harbor. It was she who also was responsible for their eventually selling that house and moving, first to Placentia, CA, and then back out to Yucaipa, CA, for good, sometime in the 1960's. It was her "art-ritis" that was the reason. She never liked the damp and humidity and cold off the water. We always felt it was sad to see them leave Newport Beach. But the two of them bought Airstream trailers over the years and toured the country, most specifically travelling to Mexico when my Uncle Leon eventually built trailer parks there for North American tourists like themselves, in search of warmer weather and sandy beaches.

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Grandpa Sanchez and his sailboat, Newport Beach, CA, circa 1951

Grandpa Sanchez in the foreground, standing on his dock, with his sailboat in the background. (I am not certain who is sailing the boat with Georgann and me aboard--perhaps that's Grandma Sanchez.) He obviously loved sailing and loved that sailboat. He told me that he made his money a couple of ways: Buying and fixing up and flipping houses, and owning a grocery store. He said he helped increase his profit margin with the store by not carrying insurance, not something he could have gotten away with in today's litigeous society. He and Grandma were able to retire early and probably did not work, except for Grandpa flipping houses from time to time, from the mid-40's on.

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Grandpa Sanchez and Georgann, Newport Beach, 1951

There are dozens of photographs of my sister and me at Grandpa and Grandma Sanchez's house on the water at Newport Beach, CA. Fortunately, the top one was dated 1951 by my mom. In the background is the house itself. Back in the mid-1980's, while Reagan was in the White House, my mom and I took a harbor tour of Newport with several other tourists. The house is still there. If my memory serves me correctly, I recall that the grandparents, before they moved up the hill, building a house overlooking Newport harbor, sold this house for approximately $50,000.00, back in the early 1950's. During the harbor tour, our guide informed us that the minimum price then for a house on the water was $1,000,000.00.

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Greg & Georgann, Santa Ana, CA, June 1952, and Sept. 1953

Both of these faded color photographs state: "This is a Kodacolor Print Made By Eastman Kodak Company." Then the "T.M. Regis. U.S. Pat. Off." follows.

The top photo is also stamped, "Week of June 30, 1952," clearly confirming that we were living at the Santa Ana house in 1952; the bottom states, "Week of September 14, 1953," my sister's third birthday. The surplus life raft, filled with water, made a satisfactory wading pool in the Southern California summers. In the bottom photograph, we are both dressed pretty fancy while standing in the front yard of the South Broadway house.

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Mom and Dad, March 22, 1948

I overlooked most of the color photographs because, as you can clearly see, they did not retain their color very well. Eastman Kodak ought to be ashamed that their product did not stand the test of time. However, what they did do was stamp the backs of their color photos, most importantly with the date; in this case, March 22, 1948, well over a year before I was born. My parents were on vacation. The back of the photograph has my mom's distinctive handwriting, "Pennsylvania Hotel overlooking the Atlantic".

Both my aunt and my sister confirm what I suspected: my mom never should have had children, especially not two, because of her physical condition with a weakened heart. Obviously, my sister and I would not be here had she not ignored her doctor's advice. After my sister was born, mom did ensure that she would have no more children, regardless if that would have violated my dad's, and my grandparent's, Catholic faith. She may not even have told any of them. But it was her life and her choice. She had presented both sets of grandparents and my father with a boy and a girl. That was sufficient. She needed to concern herself with her own existence from that point forward.

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Greg & Georgann, South Broadway House, Santa Ana, CA, 1952

I was not able to locate the house on South Broadway in Santa Ana, CA, on google. However, I did find the house back in the 1990's, which is the color image taken from a video I made. The top two pictures are of my sister and me in front of the house. I have not been able to discover the street address on any of the pictures, or even from the video from the 1990's. This house is where we lived from 1952 until 1955, some of the earlier months my father spent overseas. I suspect that we moved to Whittier before 1956 because I would have been five years old, and I only attended kindergarten at Laural Elementary School in Whittier, CA. Mom must have had her old, black, plastic, Kodak camera at this time because the number of photographs increases significantly from Santa Ana forward.

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Greg & Georgann in Yucaipa, CA, 1952

As I mentioned before, Grandma and Grandpa Sanchez owned a house in Yucaipa, CA, either while, or in between the times, they lived in Newport Beach, CA. According to mom, their property had apricots and other produce. Grandpa would give her a substantial quantity and she said she would stop on the long drive back to Santa Ana, CA, by the side of the road and sell a portion of what she had been given. Dad was overseas still, and perhaps this was her way of supplementing the family income while he was gone.

One of my earliest memories was of being dropped off at the day care center on George AFB before dad was sent to Japan. But a memory after that was of arriving at this two-story house in rural California after dark. We climbed the stairs and went inside. I was put to sleep on the floor in the living room. There was a full moon outside, which shown through the blinds on the front door to the upstairs. That was the extent of what I recall of this house.

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Mom, Greg & Georgann, 1952

At some point in 1951 or 1952, we moved from Victorville to Santa Ana, CA. I believe with the help of Grandma and Grandpa Sanchez, dad and mom bought a house on a residential street. But not long after that, because of the Korean War, dad would be sent to Japan. My Aunt Jean recalls that, before he shipped out, we all briefly stayed with her, her husband, and my cousin Doug in their small apartment in San Leandro, CA, in the northern part of the state.

Previously, when each of us was born, the telegrams went to the grandparents in Newport Beach, CA. However, at some point along the way, they moved to Yucaipa, CA, beyond Riverside and close to the desert. One photograph, a single memory of mine, and stories mom told us confirm this move. But not that long afterwards, they moved back to Newport Beach (or perhaps they maintained their Newport Beach home and sold the two-story house in Yucaipa).

Though not marked, I believe this photograph, one of the few remaining professional photographs, not counting school pictures, that remain in the two albums, was taken while we lived in Santa Ana, possibly in 1952, given that my sister looks a bit older here than in the two pictures on the sled.

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Greg & Georgann on a Sled, Victorville, CA, 1951

Above are two photos of Georgann and me on a sled in Victorville, CA. Mom annotated the back of both photos that it was 1951, likely in winter of 1951. Dad was stationed at George Air Force Base, which had only recently been named for General George. I remember that we kept that sled for a few years even though we would soon be living in Southern California and not be near snow.

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Five Generations

Mom was always proud of these two pictures. The top vintage photograph was taken in White Cloud, Kansas, in 1921, the year she was born. The seated woman holding my mother as an infant is her Great Grandmother Mary E. Shuck Hook (1853-1933), born eight years before the Civil War began (her husband, Henry Hook, 1847-1935, was born even earlier). The woman standing behind her to the left in the photograph is mom's Grandmother Anna Jane Hook Nuzum (1884-1966). The woman to the right is her mother, Gladys Ruth Nuzum Breeze (1903-1989). Mom was born on July 4th, 1921, and died in June 2002.

The bottom photograph, also in White Cloud, must have been taken in 1951. From left to right are Anna Jane Hook Nuzum, our Great Grandmother from the photo above; mom; Georgann; and our Grandmother Gladys Ruth Nuzum Breeze. I can only speculate that we stopped in White Cloud on the journey to dad's new assignment in Victorville. So, the five generations go back before the Civil War. (Henry Hook's father, John Hook, was born in 1822; his mother, Anna, was born in 1828.)

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Greg & Georgann, Tampa, FLA, 1951

Mom marked this photo in the album as being taken in Tampa, FLA. That may very well be. But not long after this, my dad was stationed in Valdosta, GA, and we all went with him. But only for six months. Soon, he would get another transfer to Victorville, CA, at George AFB, much closer to home.

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Grandma Breeze, Greg and Georgann, 1950, Tampa, FLA

The top was a rare color photograph in the photo album. "This is a Kodacolor Print, Made By Eastman Kodak Company, Week of Nov. 6, 1950." is stamped on the back. To give equal time, my Grandma Breeze must have journeyed to Tampa to see her third grandson (my cousin Doug and my cousin Jim were born three years before I) and her only grand daughter. The bottom photograph also appears to be on the porch of 5818 Bayshore Boulevard. As I mentioned, this would be the pattern from now on: lots of pictures of my sister and me.

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George, Anita, Gregory & Georgann, Christmas Card 1950

My sister Ann (or Georgann, a name she never liked and stopped using in the 1960's) was born on September 14, 1950, also in Tampa, FLA. She weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces, according to the telegram sent to Grandma and Grandpa Sanchez in Newport Beach, CA. There doesn't seem to be the same slew of baby pictures that accompanied my birth. But from this point forward, dozens of photographs of the two of us together, posed everywhere, fill the two photo albums. A few pictures of me, including this one, simply don't look like me. I always had those big, brown eyes. Here, I appear to be squinting as I smile for the camera. But it does not look like me. Perhaps I was uncooperative and they used a stand-in? (Just kidding.)

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Grandma Sanchez and Me, Oct. '49

Grandma Sanchez was never a particularly attractive woman. In almost every picture of her, even when she smiles, she rarely looks genuinely happy. Her family name was Goetz. These German immigrants settled in Montana, from what I have been told. My sister met her sister a few years after Grandma Sanchez died, and I was told that she looked very much like Marie. Frankly, like the cousins and aunt in Mexico, I have never met any of my Grandma Sanchez's relatives. In fact, I don't even know how my Grandpa and Grandma Sanchez met. He was an immigrant as a young man from Spain in 1919. Perhaps they met in California because my dad was born in Martinez, CA, in August, 1920.

According to my mom, Marie Sanchez always seemed to have one physical complaint or malady after another, usually arthritis, which she pronounced "art-ritis". Mom used to worry that, becoming Grandma Sanchez's age, must be terrible, what with all the infirmities that one was obviously heir to at that advanced age (Marie was in her 40's).

Mom wrote on the back of this photo, from the Stanford Studios in Tampa, FLA, that I was four weeks old. Apparently, after receiving the telegram, Grandma and Grandpa returned to Florida, to see their first grandchild first hand.

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5818 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa, FLA, Now and Then

From the photo albums, I managed to find two images (one became damaged when I tried to remove it from the photo album) of 5818 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa, FLA, circa 1949 and 1950. The B&W photo on the bottom is my mom on the front porch, holding me as a newborn baby. The B&W photo in the middle appears to be my mom, dad, me, my infant sister and several others on the front porch. From Google, I discovered the color image of 5818 Bayshore Boulevard as it looks today. It is amazing that the house looks much the same, with the same two planters on either side of the front steps. That was over 62 years ago and the house is still there.

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Baby Picture, Tampa, FLA

The photo is not dated, but it must have been just a few months after I was born. "Photographed by W. Bunton Talbott, 130 Maxwell Place, Tampa, Fla, Phone H - 1984" is stamped on the back of the photo. In another photo album titled "Our Baby", it says in the front that the following photos were taken when I was six months old. This one seems to match all of those, so that would put the date as approximately March of 1950.

My sister used to complain that there were two baby books and dozens of photos of me and no baby books of her. She has a valid complaint. Mom's response was that I was the first born. By the time she was born, the novelty had apparently worn off, I suspect.

From all of these professional photographs that were in the albums I put together for mom, she had visited a number of professional studios over the years. When I was born, the effort seemed to accelerate. From my birth certificate, 5818 Bayshore Boulevard, in Tampa, was where we lived. (No zip code in those days.) One of the few pictures taken when we lived there only gives a partial glimpse of the backyard and not much of the house itself. No telling if the house still exists.

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First Professional Photograph Oct '49

The back of the photograph is annotated "Oct '49 Gregory Earl Sanchez, Four weeks old". It is also stamped with the name of the studio: Stanford Studios, 107 E. Lafayette St. Tampa, Fla, PHONE MM-5767.

I am not certain if mom was even supposed to have children. She had suffered from Rheumatic Fever when she was younger, which weakened her heart. In the mid 1970's, she would have open heart surgery to replace two heart valves with pig valves. She would have a similar surgery in the early 1990's, to replace those pig valves with artificial valves. But I do not know if having two children was worse for her or not. She lead a very active life otherwise, taking up and enjoying the game of golf for decades until her final years prevented her from getting out on a course. At the age of 77, she even hit a hole-in-one.

Obviously, my sister and I would not be here were it not for her and my dad meeting, marrying, and deciding to have children. Years later, mom also told me that she was not certain how her marriage to our father was going to turn out, so she practiced birth control without telling him until she was certain that having children by him was the right thing to do. Apparently, she must have determined that it was all right and went ahead.

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Baby's Christening Day

On a later page is the information about my Christening Day, October 30, 1949. I was named for my dad's initials (the Earl middle name came from my mom's favorite teacher in White Cloud, Earl Rose). The God Parents were Lt. M.J. Patton (Proxy was Sgt. Merrill Grantham); Mrs. Lucette Tschirhart (Proxy - Miss Elizabeth - Betty - Chaires). It was held at the MacDill A.F. Base Catholic Church and conducted by Father Hurley.

In the album are pictures of me at one month, two months, six months, and seven months. Mom also kept track of how much I weighed until one year old: I was 25 3/4 lbs. By then, my sister had been born and mom had two infants to raise.

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Pages from Photo Baby Album

On September 23, 1949, one Gregory Earl Sanchez came into the world at Tampa Municipal Hospital at 8:25 A.M. Mother, Anita Sanchez; Father George E[dward] Sanchez. The doctor was O.A. Ellingson. The nurse as Mrs. Morton. (If I am reading mom's writing correctly.) My grandparents were Ray and Gladys Breeze and George A. and Marie Sanchez.

Also, according to mom's entries, I held my head up at two weeks. I smiled at one month. At five months, I sat alone. I crawled at seven months. On June 6th, at 8 months and two weeks, I stood alone. I took my first step on July 23rd. My first word was "Da Da."

As for gifts, the photo album itself was presented by Ruth, Bill & Danny Daly. Soakers-sweater hood & booties from Doris & Frank Sutcliff. Gray rompers from Mrs. M.J. Durocher. Pillow & blue blanket - Scarlett, Bobbie Ruby & Herbert Stone. Dress - Mr. & Mrs. Jacobson. Rattler & Rompers - Sgt. & Mrs. Grantham. Rompers - Maj & Mrs. Leslie Payne & Leslie Jr. Initial safety pins - Capt. & Mrs. Jim Williams. Divided dish- Melba & Frenchie (Capt & Mrs. French Michael, Kelly & Cynthia). Yellow rompers and socks to match - Lt & Mrs. Ray Gardner. Yellow satin quilt - Lt. Mike Patton. White knit suit - Lt & Mrs. Jack Murphy. Dish with name inscribed - Lt & Mrs. G.K. Lutes. Bib & pillow case - Mr. & Mrs. Jose Sanchez. Blue shoes - Capt. & Mrs. Ned Brown. Red Horse - A.J. Bennetts.

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Telegram Announcing My Birth

It took me over 48 hours to find this. I knew I had it stashed somewhere, I just didn't know where I had put it for safekeeping. The envelope that it was sent in is completely nibbled around the entire periphery, which looks like the work of mice. This telegram was sent to "Mrs. Geo. A. Sanchez, 43 Balboa Coves, Newport Beach, Calif." The telegram says I was born at 8:30 AM. My Photo Baby Album says 8:25 AM. My Certificate of Birth from Florida does not list a time of birth, so I will just have to suspect that my dad rounded up to the nearest half hour for Grandma Sanchez.

In those days, people rarely phoned long distance, mostly because of the cost (and most people had party lines, where more than one household shared the same phone line: watch the movie MR. HOBBS TAKES A VACATION from the early 60's). Obviously, there was no Internet, no emails. Telegrams were often the quickest way to inform someone of an event. It was also a succinct way to communicate since the sender was charge by the number of letters in the telegram.

Telegrams are now, of course, pretty much a thing of the past, though Google indicates with several entries that you can still send one. In the 1960's, 70's, and 80's, there were songs about telegrams: "Hey, Western Union Man", among others.

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Mom & Paul Henreid 1943; Mom 1946

I found two more vintage photographs among my own things. The first is of mom and the actor Paul Henreid (NOW, VOYAGER and CASABLANCA, 1942, among many others). The photo is dated 1943; and though he looks like he's dressed as a pirate, researching his filmography, he doesn't appear to have been in a pirate film in 1943.

The second, a professional portrait, is stamped on back with the following: "Jan 1946, Photo by Jack Barsby, 4358 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Studio City, Phone SU. 2-2600." A quick google of Jack Barsby reveals a web page that is titled "Vintage Ladies; vintage nudes, pinups & other beauties." The primary photograph of a nude woman is by Jack Barsby. Another google entry lists a photo of a Ballerina entitled "Ballet", which was a 1944 Brooklyn Museum exhibit. On the back of that photo is the same stamp of the photographer and studio listed on the back of mom's photograph two years later. I can only speculate that mom had the picture taken to advance a potential movie career, but I cannot be certain.

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Christmas 1947

The first photograph is annotated "Mom Sanchez + Anita Downtown SA 'Xmas '47"--you can see Christmas decorations behind the two as they walk down the street. Initially, I could not determine when the second photograph was taken until I compared mom's hair style. It appears to be the same in the two photographs. I believe it's safe to conclude that both photographs were taken before Christmas 1947, as mom and dad decorate their tree (or at least pretend to be decorating the tree for whomever is taking the picture because the tree already looks fully decorated).

Throughout the two photo albums, one of which mom later annotated, the other not, are lots of Christmas photographs. These are two of the few which do not prominently feature either my sister or me or both of us together. If mom and dad were married in late 1946 or January 1947, in Florida, and Grandma and Grandpa Sanchez were present, when dad was later stationed in San Antonio, they must have come back to spend Christmas with their oldest son.

I must now, briefly, mention my Uncle Leon, my grandparents youngest son (they had had a daughter, but she died as an infant--they never spoke of her that I can recall so that I do not know her name nor what she died of). In the early years of the war, Leon was at college in Tucson, Arizona. I understand that he was not doing well and was in jeopardy of flunking out and being drafted. I believe he was fearful of being drafted as an enlisted man and not an officer, so he simply left the country. He crossed the border into Mexico and remained there, becoming a citizen after a number of years of residence. He married a Mexican citizen, my Aunt Lourdes, whom I have never met. They had five children and were successful. I also have never met any of my cousins, though my sister has met them all, including our cousin Jose, who would, several years back, commit suicide.

This explains Leon's absence from any and all photographs in mom's albums--he could not return to the United States for many years because he had dodged the draft. I believe I have only met Uncle Leon twice. Once when he was visiting my dad and stepmother in Garden Grove, CA. And once when dad was in the emergency room and would die a few days later in April 2002. When I asked Ann a couple of years ago how Leon was doing, she was not even certain that he was still alive and said she would call one of our cousins to see what has happened to him. He had later divorced Aunt Lourdes, perhaps in the 70's, and eventually remarried; I did meet his new wife at the time that dad was in the hospital. Leon also had conflicts with Jose, which may have contributed to Jose's suicide. I also heard that Jose might have been, or was, gay; and that that also contributed to his committing suicide. Two brothers whose oldest sons were both gay has a kind of symmetry, whether welcome or not.

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