American Legion Post 500 Accepts New Member

The following news article appeared in the Los Angeles Times on November 11, 1945:

Newest member of American Legion Post 500 here today is Tramp, who received his discharge from the Army recently after serving sixteen months overseas in the K-9 Corps.

He belongs to Morton E. Taylor, Troth St. and Jurupa Ave., a veteran of World War I. Comdr. Carl Allen received special permission  from the Legion's department and national headquarters to accept Tramp as a member.

Doesn't that just want to make you say "Ahhh!"  Here is to Tramp, his owner, and all those veterans at our own Mira Loma Post back in 1945 who brought Tramp in as a member.

Those Little History Connections

I heard a great story when I was doing research at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum last week, courtesy of Kevin Hallaran, archivist extraordinaire at the museum. He was part of a small group of people who were interviewing Judge John Gabbert for the oral history portion of the Harada Family Historic District project in the City of Riverside. It seems that Judge Gabbert (who is over 100, by the way) was a young judge, recently married and beginning his family during World War II, when he was approached by a man who wanted to borrow $500. Jukichi Harada, a Japanese man who owned a restaurant in Riverside, was preparing to be sent to an internment camp along with his family. He was trying to sell the kitchen equipment from his restaurant for the bargain basement price of $1000. The man and his partner had $500, but they needed to borrow the other $500. Judge Gabbert just didn't feel he could loan them that much money. The fellow and his partner went on to borrow the money somewhere else. They began a Mexican restaurant over on Jackson Street in Riverside. They later moved it over to a spot on Mission Boulevard, where we all got to enjoy Gay and Larry's for another 50 years or so. To learn more about the Harada family, a facinating story I think, that impacted history in this country on a national level, go to     http://www.riversideca.gov/museum/haradahouse/

Breaking News - Come see me!

The Jurupa Valley Chamber of Commerce is putting on a Harvest Festival at the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center October 22nd, 9 - 3. Firemen will be cooking, pancakes in the morning and hot dogs, hamburgers, and the like for lunch. Who doesn't like firemen cooking????? But, for all of you history buffs out there, I just wanted you to know that the plan is for me and fellow local history writer Steve Lech to be at a booth were we will sell and sign our books and chat with anyone who comes by, and we will each give a 30 minute or so history talk, free for the taking. Steve will be talking about his new book and I will be talking about something to to do with Jurupa history, I just haven't quite decided what yet. More details will be coming. Hope to see you there!

New Book by Steve Lech

I told you a few weeks ago that local history writer and researcher Steve Lech has a new book out which details the history of each park in the Riverside County park system. Four of the parks in his book are in our fair city and I thought I would give you a little taste of what is in Steve's book. The following excerpt concerns the property that now is home to the Louis Robidoux Nature Center:

Charles and Alice Judson had purchased the property in the late 1920s hoping to start a pecan nursery. However, in the early years of the Great Depression, few if any people purchased the trees, so Judson planted them and made a grove of about 40 acres.

Alice Judson particularly enjoyed the tranquility of the area and of their pecan grove. She spent much time there enjoying the views and aquainting herself with the property. Almost every evening at sundown she took a walk through the more easterly grove and enjoyed not only the scenery but also the wildlife living there. When she died in April 1971, her ashes were scattered in that eastern grove, near the house, so that she would be there forever.        

Riverdale Acres to Riverside

I had an interesting email from Loren Meissner this past week about how his family got to Riverside from Riverdale Acres back in the 1930s before Limonite Avenue was built from Van Buren through to Riverview Drive. Here is what he said:

 I seem to remember that Limonite was extended east of Van Buren (at Pedley) and up over the hill toward Mission Blvd by WPA labor, mostly shovels and wheelbarrows – nobody wanted to bring in big earth moving machinery, cuz the whole point was to make jobs.

Before that, to go from Riverdale Acres to Riverside (vicinity of Mt Rubidoux) we would go N on Etiwanda to Jurupa (part way to Bellegrave), then E all the way to Mission Blvd at Sunnyslope. But now we could take Limonite all the way from Etiwanda to Mission Blvd.

So Many Limonites, So Little time....

Did you know that there are four streets with the word Limonite in their names right here in Jurupa Valley? Yes, I think our fair city has single handedly cornered the market on naming streets after this obscure mineral! First of all, what is limonite? Well, according to Mindat.org it is an earthy looking light brown to brown or yellowish brown mineral that is created from the decomposition of many iron minerals, most commonly pyrite. Click on the following link to see a photo of limonite:http://www.mindat.org/min-2402.html

So, once there was a street called Limonite Avenue. It was just a two lane road that wandered and curved and followed the landscape. Then someone decided it should be a four lane road that didn't wander but went as straight as could be accomplished with road graders and dynamite. One small problem was the big gas pipe that went right down the middle of where they wanted to put the road. No problem! They would just create a nice wide median. Two more small problems: two short pieces of Limonite Avenue which already had houses and such on them would be left out when Limonite Avenue was straightened. And so the County, in its infinite wisdom, created Limonite Frontage Road, which is east of Avenue Juan Bautista in the Jurupa Hills area and Old Limonite Avenue in the Mira Loma area between Dodd and Marlatt Streets.

The County had boatloads of infinite wisdom, however, and so they were not done. They decided to put an underpass under the railroad tracks at Limonite and Van Buren. Remember that gas pipe? It was still there! So to avoid digging under and around and through that big gas pipe, they just left it and Limonite where they were and dug to the north of where the right of way was. The existing portion of Limonite, west of Morton Road, became a cul de sac and new Limonite curved slightly and went under the railroad tracks and Van Buren Boulevard. That little bit of old Limonite became Limonite Court.

I did what I admit was a limited search on Google Maps but could find no other streets named Limonite in the United States. But we have four! Whoo Whoo!