Golden anniversary

[ashetlandpony]

Today, fifty years ago, our family moved into our new home at 3255 Rancho El Encino Drive in Covina, California. I was 5 years old then, and I remember that moving day vividly. Dad wanted us to be in the new house by Christmas, and construction was completed just in time. December 19, 1959 (also a Saturday), started with me saying good-bye to my first best friends - David and Di Gruener - and meeting my new best friend - Richard Rudolph. So, today is Rich and my golden anniversary, too!

Architect: Edward Shannon; Builder: Fred Allen and Associates.

Click image to enlarge

The vacant lot, August 15, 1959.

Slowly but surely...

There's a ghost in the living room! Actually, I did then and still do think the house was just a little bit haunted, but that's another story.

During my visit to L.A. this past July, I tried to find my first pair of glasses, which I lost while playing in the ivy in 1964. I didn't find them, but about 5 feet in back of where I'm standing in this picture, I found this shard of an old Pepsi bottle which probably came from one of the workers who built the house 50 years before.

It's difficult for me to grasp the fact that the house is now a half-century old. I still dream often about our Covina home. In it, my parents and grandmother are all still very much alive. These dreams are so vivid sometimes, it's like I'm actually there. Sometimes I think part of me never really left...