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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