This Day in History - December 29, 1917

Miss Ida Sargent of Glen Avon was married on December 29th, 1917. She and Mr. W. Verley were married in the parsonage of the Highgrove United Methodist Church by Rev. J.C. Livingston. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Ida Sargent of Glen Avon.

The bride attended school in South Dakota as a child and knew her groom then. She visited her old home last summer and because reacquainted with Mr. Verley at that time. Since then the two have been corresponding and Mr. Verley recently moved to the Riverside area. He was employed a the Glenwood Garage in Riverside shortly after moving to the area.    

Chain Gang Road Improvements

On December 20, 1899 the Riverside Enterprise reported that the chain gang had been employed the day before graveling the road "near the Wilson place." The chain gang had worked on the road leading west from the bridge and north along the river from the bridge. The Enterprise reported that the work had made "both of those thoroughfares excellent ones." The paper also noted that the ranchers who had to haul their crops to Riverside were very pleased with the work.

Poor Mr. Contreras

According to the Riverside Enterprise on August 23rd, 1902, A. Contreras was a resident of West Riverside who worked on the canal. He returned home on the 22nd to eat supper and discovered someone had broken into his house. What did they take? His best set of clothes! He went the following day to inform the the Sheriff's department of the burglary. Unfortunately, with no clues to go on, the Enterprise said chances of recovery were not good.

Brass Band

In December 1901 it was announced in the local paper that a brass band was being formed in the West Riverside area. New instruments were ordered for the band, all of which were nickel plated. To be known as the "Jurupa Band," it initially had 11 members comment to the weekly practices. G.W. Greene was the director. It was planned that they would be having a concert soon for the community.

E-Book Available

I am happy to report that Wicked Jurupa Valley is available as an e-book. It is (or will be) available for sale via Amazon (on the Kindle), Barnes & Noble (on the Nook) and Apple’s iBookstore (on the iPad). I feel so hip and up to date knowing you can read Wicked Jurupa Valley on all of these devices! Whoo hoo!

Save Jurupa Valley

I feel like saving my city is a bit like saving my history. It is a fact of life that the preservation of history happens when there is a governmental entity that wants to save it. Unlike our neighboring county of San Bernardino,. the forefathers of Riverside County have never seen fit to create a County museum.   Therefore the history of my long time unincorporated area is scattered here and there in various libraries and achives, or, much worse, was thrown out over the years. Excuse me a moment while I weep for that lost history. Sniff!

But now, Jurupa Valley is a city. I feel confident that, with time, more and more historic preservation will occur just because we are a city. However, that very cityhood is in danger of disappearing. The state of California took away 47% of our first year budget, just like that, leaving my city in a desperate financial situation.

A small goup of us has formed a community based nonprofit called Save Jurupa Valley. Our organization's only purpose is to raise money to save our city. Please feel free to look at our brand new website at www.savejurupavalley. If you can donate or pledge, even a small amount, please do. Pennies can add up to millions! Even more, please pass our website address on to as many people as possible. We want the world to know that the newest city in California, Jurupa Valley,  refuses to die!

This Day in History: November 20, 1901

According to the Riverside Daily Press, on this date in 1901 County Supervisor Lilly orderd the low hanging branches of a cypress tree on the West Riverside road (today's Mission Boulevard in the Rubidoux area)  trimmed and low overhanging branches removed. It seems the low tree branches kept snagging the head gear of folks riding on the road

Pedley Packing House News

It was reported in the November 2, 1902 Riverside Daily Press that improvements were being made at the Pedley packing house. Agent Spaulding and his family had taken up residence in the living quarters at the packing house which had previously been used for storage. A shed was added to store boxes and machinery that had previously been stored in the packing house.

Incorporation in 1949

Jurupa Valley has been a city for just a year and a half but the possibility, the thought, the idea, of incorporation has been around for many, many years. I just ran across an article from February 10, 1949, which said the following:

"Now there is talk of incorporation. Sentiment has not crystallized for or against the idea, but the fact is whether or not it comes to pass now or later, it is an indication of growth and a desire for improvements."

A Surprise Wedding

According to the Riverside Daily Press, "In order to escape the wearying excitement of a formal church wedding"  Miss Stella Gobruegge of West Riverside and Mr. George Green of San Jacinto were quietly married at the Jewell Memorial Church in Colton on October 18th, 1911. The ceremony was performed by Rev. David B. Loofborrow, formerly pastor of Grace Methodist Church in Riverside.

Mr. Green had asked Rev. Loofborrow to perform the ceremony a few days before but has not mentioned his bride's name. Loofborrow was pleasantly surprised when the couple arrived and he discovered the bride was an old friend from years before. Miss Gobruegge had asked her groom to engage Rev. Loofborrow to marry they.

The bride had lived in West Riverside since she was a child. Mr. Green had previously taught at West Riverside (later known as Glen Avon) and at Palm schools. he later bought property in San Jacinto which kept him occupied.

The marriage came as a complete surprise to their many friend. The couple had told everyone that they planned to get married at Thanksgiving.

This Day in History:October 15, 1902

The work of cutting and drying peaches is now finished. Those who dried their peaches say that this year's crop was the largest ever had yet. The pears on Mr. Ables' ranch were dried also, the fruit being not so wormy as last year.

This Day in History - October 10th, 1932

It was reported in the Riverside Daily Press that Roman Warren, manager of the Riverside Airport in West Riverside, said that there is an average of four private planes a day that land at the airport.  Passenger airline California Aeriel Lines lands at the airport four times a day on a route that flies between Los Angeles and Calexico. Warren reported that several residents of Riverside and West Riverside were passengers on the airline in the previous week.

First Neon Sign

It was reported in the October 28, 1932 Riverside Daily Press that the first neon sign had been installed in West Riverside (now Rubidoux). Dr. S.H. Walkerdine, veterinary surgeon, installed the sign at his business in the Fort Fremont area of that community.

This Day in History - September 22, 1897

A quiet wedding was held at the home of Mrs. J.R. Johnson in West Riverside on this date. The bride was Mrs. Johnson's cousin, Mrs. M.E. Wertz of Minneapolis. The groom was H.L. Hopkins of the firm of  Hopkins and Austin in Riverside. The happy couple managed to keep the event secret from all but a few people. They were able to keep the local papers in the dark until after the event by taking out the wedding licence until just before the clerk's office closed. Mr. Hopkins was at the time a popular and successful businessman in Riverside.   

This Date in History - September 17, 1942

Mavis Fern Bachhofer was languishing in jail after she was arrested on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon against Eva Crimble of West Riverside. The assault occurred when the two women got into an argument at the cafe owned by Mrs. Crimble.

Bachhofer was arrested a few days after the assault in Los Angeles. She had some time before suffered the loss of her right arm and was supposedly in LA trying to get an artificial arm when officers arrested her.

Another Book Signing Scheduled!!!

I have another Wicked Jurupa Valley book signing scheduled at the Costco in Rancho Cucamonga. It is on 4th Street near the 15 freeway. I will be there Saturday October 13th from 11am until 1pm. I have never done a Costco book signing before so stop on by and see how I hock my wares with a crowd whose main thought is to get in and out of the giant warehouse with 100 rolls of TP! LOL! 

This Date in History - September 11, 1939

Streater's grocery men softball team palyed the team from First Baptist Church of Riverside. The game was held at the Mira Loma ball grounds, located at Jurupa Road and Etiwanda Avenue. The game took place at 7:30 p.m. 

This Date in History - September 7, 1917

The following ad appeared in the West Riverside Daily Press:

For Exchange - 9 acres, 5 acres in alfalfa, large garden with berries, asparagus, grapes, etc., chicken yards and houses for 1000 chickens, balance for garden truck. Pumping plant  with abundance of water: fine soft soil. Six room house wth hot and cold water. West Riverside on Fourth Street between B and C sts., near car line. Want a 6 or 7 room cottage, large lot, good location. Telephone Mission 836 R1.  

Fourth Street is now 24th Street, B Street is now Rubidoux Boulvard, and C street is now Hall Avenue, placing this property in what we now think of as the community of Belltown.

Book Signing!

I just wanted you to know that I will be at the Jurupa Valley Book Festival on Saturday September 15th. It is being held at the Glen Avon Library at 9244 Galena Street in the community of Glen Avon. The hours will  10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and I will be there the whole time. I will have my new book Wicked Jurupa Valley available for sale and I will sign any copy of any book I have ever written if you bring it with you and and stop by my table.  There will be lots of authors there so I hope you will stop by and say hi to me and the others!!!

This Date in History - August 24, 1912

It was announced in today's Riverside Daily Press that the Sunday school which met at the Glen Avon school was to be discontinued for the present by order of the school board. Special precaution was being taken so that the children would be protected from infantile paralysis (polio).  

The City of Rubidoux

In December 1960 a group headed by Frank Vogel, a Rubidoux appraiser and county flood control commissioner, presented notice to the County Board of Supervisors that a signature gathering campaign was starting to place on the ballot the incorporation of Rubidoux. The new city was to have included all of the area found in the West Riverside and Pedley school districts. If the City of Rubidoux had come to be in 1961, it would have been the second largest city in Riverside County at that time. The largest then (and now) was Riverside at just over 84,000 people. Riverside now has over 303,000 people. The city of Jurupa Valley has a population of just over 96,000 and includes not only Pedley and West Riverside but Glen Avon and part of Mira Loma.

Movies made at the Mission Inn

Steve Lech and Nancy Wenzel will be giving an encore presentation of Lights, Camera, Action, the behind-the-scenes story of movies shot at the Mission Inn and nearby Riverside. The two have spent months locating these gems from the past and selecting just the right film clips for your viewing pleasure. Come prepared to be entertained for the evening! It will be more than worth the investment of time.

This presentation will be:

Friday, August 17
6:30 p.m.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (just north of the corner of Jurupa and Magnolia).

It is FREE and you don't need reservations! JUST SHOW UP - THERE'’S PLENTY OF ROOM!

This Day in History - August 14, 1925

From the August 14, 1925 Riverside Daily Press:

Irwin's Vegetable Stand

Mission Blvd, between Opal and Pacific, West Riverside

Vegetables Fresh from the Garden

Watermelons, 2 cents a pound

Tip Top melons, 3 cents a pound

Pickling Cucumbers, selected sizes, 65 cents per 100

Sweet corn, real corn, per dozen at 35 cents and 40 cents

Yes we raise what we sell

This Date in History - August 3, 1919

The Salt Lake Railroad was preparing to run a special train from Riverside to Wineville each morning, to return in the evening, to allow cannery workers to get to and from work at the Sterns Cannery in Wineville.

New Jurupa Valley Council Chambers

The City of Jurupa Valley is leasing the former Sam's Western Wear building which will be used for city council and planning commission meetings. I met Sandra Stokley, a reporter for the Press-Enterprise, at the building today to see the progress that is being made. The reason I wanted to go was to see the part of the building that is the 1927 era Pedley School. So cool!!!! Sandra's story is already online. The link to the story is below:  

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20120730-jurupa-valley-new-council-chamber-evokes-history.ece?ssimg=661841#ssStory661846

This Date in History

I am starting a new feature today. As you might have noticed it will be called "This Date in History." Once a week I will be looking to see what happend in Jurupa Valley history on that date.

Today it will be July 26th, 1916. On this date the County Board of Supervisors let the contract for the constuction of the Pedley Bridge, the very first bridge to be built over the Santa Ana River in the Pedley area.

Wicked Jurupa is Here!

I am very happy to report that Wicked Jurupa Valley:Murder and Misdeeds in Rural Southern California is finally here! A big box of books arrived at my front door and it is also available at HistoryPress.com and Amazon.com. A Kindle version is also available at Amazon.com. Wicked Jurupa Valley will also be available in local stores if you like to shop locally, but I have not heard yet if it is actually in the usual places such as DeAnza True Value Hardware, Walgreen's, and the Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center. I will let you know as soon as I find out.

If you want to check my author's page at Amazon.com you can find it at   https://www.amazon.com/author/kimjj

If you would like, feel free to hit the like button or write a review (once you get to read the book, of course!) on Amazon. I would really appreciate that!  

How the new park got its name

I attended the grand opening of the newest park in Jurupa Valley, Centennial Park, this morning. It is located at the corner of Jurupa Road and Camino Real. The park, which is also a flood control basin,  can accommodate up to eight children's soccer games at one time, which is a great addition to the number of soccer fields we have in Jurupa Valley. The landscape architect who helped plan the park took questions for the audience. It probably won't surprise you to find out that I wanted to know where the name of Centennial Park came from. The story is that since the flood control basin was designed to handle a 100 year flood event, the board of the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District decided, some 20 odd years ago, that the park in the basin should be named "Centennial." I will add that to my list of historic facts I have to confirm one of these days...in my spare time....   

Rubidoux Bridge

A bridge crossing the Santa Ana River between today's Rubidoux and Riverside dates to the 1890s. You might be surprised to learn that the bridge that we use today is over 50 years old and dates to 1958. Rumor has it that the the county is looking into replacing it. Below is a photo of the bridge next to the one it replaced, courtesy of Riverside County Flood Control. Our current bridge is the one on the right.      

All the Latest News

Time to give all of you folks with an interest in history, and Jurupa Valley history in particular, an update on future happenings!

I am told that Wicked Jurupa Valley ships on June 21st. Yeah!

I am in the process of arranging book signings and hope to have some scheduled soon. So far I know for a fact that I will be giving a presentation at the Riverside Historical Society meeting on Sunday, October 7th.  If any one is interested in having a book signing please just comment on this post and I will contact you.

There has been another exciting development on the history front. My friend Steve Lech and I will begin a new weekly history column for the Press-Enterprise starting Sunday July 1st. We are both very excited about this new opportunity, or excuse, to delve into Riverside County history!  Because we both have other history related writing and research that we do, we decided to share this activity. We will be trading off, with each of us responsible for a story every other week. So look for us every Sunday beginning in July!

Dangerous Bridge

I don't know who has jurisdiction over the Rubidoux Bridge today, but in the late 1800s and early 1900s the bridges of that time were paid for 50/50 by the City of Riverside and the County of Riverside.  This 50/50 arrangement extended even to the maintenance of the bridge with the city maintaining their half and no more and the county responsible for the maintenance of their half.   

This practice could cause problems as was reported in January 1904. At that time the Riverside Enterprise reported that the West Riverside bridge (as it was then known) was in a dangerous condition. The wood flooring of the bridge was rotting and that allowed two horses to break through the wood. One horse was severely injured. According to the paper the city had repaired its end of the bridge and that half was in good shape. However the county had not yet fixed its half and it was in "dangerous condition." 

1905 Advertisement

The April 20, 1905 Riverside Daily Press reported that the the people of West Riverside had produced a pamphlet to advertise their area. According to the Daily Press, " These pamphlets are considered a fine advertisement for so small a section and as every word can be proven, send them to your Eastern friends and you can make good any statement."

Wow! I wish I could see one of these!

A Story from the Good Old Days

From the September 17, 1889 Riverside Daily Press:

"Yesterday afternoon a gentleman and two ladies from West Riverside were driving home from the city, and in going down the northwest side of Rubidoux one of the wheels went into a "chuckhole" and upset the carriage, which turned completely over and threw the horse down. In its endeavors to get up the horse bruised the foot of one of the young ladies quite badly, although not seriously. The carriage was somewhat broken, which constitutes the damage. Considering the nature of the accident the young people were very fortunate in escaping with so slight injury. "

Collecting Rubber During WWII

One of the features of the home front during World War II was the collection of scarce resources for recycling to help the war effort. In July 1942 Morton Taylor's service station in Mira Loma held a rubber drive. Mr. Taylor and the Century and St. Helen oil companies donated money so a prize could be offered to the girl and the boy who brought in the most rubber for recycling. Doris Meissner won first prize for the girls by bringing in 872 lbs. of rubber. Billy Haynes topped all the other boys with 1395 lbs. They each won $2.00. Second place finishers Eleanor Anderson and Stanley Anderson each won $1.50. Altogether 20,349 pound of rubber we recycled from the Mira Loma area.

I contacted Loren Meissner, Doris' brother, about this story which I found in the local paper. These are his memories of that long ago rubber drive in Mira Loma:

My sister Doris, and Billy Haynes, were both Eastvale students. I don’t remember the others, but they were most likely from Union Joint which served all the way down the east side of Etiwanda. (The west side, north of Limonite, was a grain field.)

In July 1942 (7 months after Pearl Harbor when the US had declared war), Doris was 15 and I was 14.

Doris and I went all over Riverdale Acres with our little red wagon, asking everybody if they had any scrap rubber, such as old tires or inner tubes, or maybe some kind of pads. It was supposed to be a big help for the War Effort – I think they said it was going to be used to retread tires, cuz all during the war nobody could buy new ones. It was one of the many items that were being totally diverted to the military for “the war effort,” like coffee and sugar. Later I figured out it was mostly propaganda, helping the civilian population feel like we were participating a tiny bit.

When we got close to the time limit, we found out we had collected enough to have a chance for the girls’ prize but no way were we going to compete with Billy. So we figured out our best strategy was to put our collection in Doris’s name and it worked. She might even have given me some of the $2 – I don’t remember that part. Of course kids could get quite a lot for two dollars in “those days.”

=

Mr Knight lived on Mann Ave, and he had several tires being used as planters for rose bushes. He told us (with tears in his eyes) that his wife had planted them that way before she died, but he knew she would have wanted him to contribute the tires to help in the war against “them Nazis, who are worse than animals.” So he carefully removed the tires without disturbing the roses very much, and we thanked him and hauled the tires away in our wagon.

The Legion Ranger

On April 7th, 1943 the Riverside Daily Press reported that American Legion Post 500 of Mira Loma had presented a framed copy of the celebrated picture "Legion Ranger" to the Union, Eastvale, and Glen Avon elementary schools.

The "Legion Ranger" was described as depicting a soldier of the "present war" (World War II) lying in a fox hole with an automatic rifle in his hand while pulling the pin on a hand grenade. The presentations to the schools were made by James L. Bullock and James K. Howey.

I tried searching on the Internet for a photo of this picture but was not successful. If anyone knows where I can find one please let me know!

Flabob Airport

I think one of the most unique names we have in Jurupa Valley (other than the word "Jurupa" itself) is the name of our local airport - Flabob. This is how that name came to be.

The first Riverside Airport was actually established on this side of the river in West Riverside. It was almost wiped out in the 1936 flood and really was barely an airport after that.  However, the little airstrip was still know as the Riverside Airport. In the early 1940s it was purchased by Falvio Madariaga and his partner Bob Bogen. They continued to use the Riverside Airport name. Meanwhile, the city of Riverside purchased the old Arlington Airport on Arlington Avenue and renamed it the Riverside Municipal Airport.

One day someone working around the planes at the airport in West Riverside was injured by a rotating plane propeller. An ambulance was called to come to the Riverside Airport. It sped to the Riverside Airport on Arlington Avenue. That was when the owners of the airport in West Riverside realized that THEIR airport needed a new name. So, by combining Flavio and Bob's first names, Flabob Airport was born!     IT has been pronounced in almost as many ways as "Jurupa" but the common pronunciation today is "flay-bob" with the emphasis on the first syllable.

Moving Picture Machine

According to the Riverside Daily Press in February 1924 the West Riverside school purchased a moving picture machine. They must have been given some sort of payment plan because the school was able to take possession of the machine before it was paid off. In order to finish paying for the device moving picture shows were given at the school. The plan was to have shows for the public every two weeks. On Fed 22^nd the show began at 7 pm. A two reel film showing the undersea gardens at Catalina was shown followed by a four reel picture called “Slumberland." A standard reel at that time had about eleven minutes of film on it so the first film would have been about 22 minutes long and the second about 44 minutes long. The school planned on using the motion picture machine in school work and it was expected to be a splendid addition to the school equipment.

Early Entertainment

The Riverside Enterprise reported that on May 1st, 1895 a man by the name of Mr. McBurney gave a magic lantern show at the Union school house, located in today's Mira Loma. There was only a small crowd in attendance at the school that night due to the inclement weather. However, it was reported that everyone present enjoyed the views very much. The night before Mr. McBurney had given the same show at the West Riverside school house to a large audience.

A magic lantern was what we would think of today as a slide projector. A light was shown through a slide and the "magic lantern," through the use of mirrors, would project an enlarged picture on a screen. The slides used were color and the color was applied by hand. By the end of the 19th century magic lanterns came in all sizes and where used for entertainment in the home, in schools, churches, clubs, etc.... Magic lanterns are considered the precursor to modern movies.

Funny Things Found While Writing Wicked Jurupa Valley Part III

While researching local history for my upcoming book Wicked Jurupa Valley: Murder and Misdeeds in Rural Southern California I discovered some funny (by funny I mean odd) things stuck back in your local history. One of the stories in the book is about a particular time in the history of the bridge that takes us all across the Santa Ana from Rubidoux to Riverside. Now, you may be wondering what a story about a bridge is doing in a book with the subtitle "Murder and Misdeeds." Well, you will be surprised to find out that I found stories of arson, spies, and a rampaging Mother Nature! It was certainly a surprise to me!   I look forward to you getting to read about the Rubidoux bridge and everything else when the book comes out in June!

Funny Things Found While Writing Wicked Jurupa Valley, Part II

So, I was doing research, minding my own business, when I come across a story of manslaughter and mistresses, oh my! One of the things that I found amazing is that this story of questionable goings on occurred at a place called the Jurupa Rancho. I had never heard of it!!!! Yet, in newspaper stories of the time (1948-49) this Jurupa Rancho had a house that was considered quite the place! According to the newspaper, the house on the Jurupa Rancho had "long been regarded as one of the show spots of Riverside County." This house is still located on Pedley Road near the 60 Freeway. I can't wait for all of you to read the story of this murder trial, one that was considered to be the the most sensational since the Wineville Chicken Coop murders.   

Funny Things Found While Writing Wicked Jurupa Valley

The deadline grows closer for me to finish up my new book, "Wicked Jurupa Valley." Doing the research has been a very interesting journey and I have come across some funny things. Funny as in odd, not laugh out loud funny.   

In researching one story I came across information on the "Winter that Almost Wasn't" as it is called. The winter of 1898-99 was a very mild one, particularly in the upper Midwest. Then on January 30th, 1899 a cold front moved in that lasted about two weeks. The cold affected most of the country and was so severe it caused the entire length of the Mississippi River to freeze! Ice flowed into the Gulf of Mexico and a snowfall record was set in Washington D.C. that did not fall until 2010.

What does this have to do with Jurupa Valley, you ask? A family that endured that horrible cold wave while living in Minnesota moved to Jurupa Valley right after that. That cold wave may have affected their thinking when they made that decision to move. The rest of their story will be in "Wicked Jurupa  Valley." I can't wait for all of you to be able to read it!

Sunnyslope

The name of the community of Sunnyslope actually dates to 1888. That year a development was advertised by Cunningham and Co. as the "Sunny Slope of West Riverside." At that time the name was spelled as two words, not one as it is today.

A Place Called Bly

A quarry was begun in Pyrite Canyon in the Glen Avon area about 1900. It was soon taken over and expanded to at least two quarries by the Bly Brothers who owned the Bly Brothers Stone Company in Los Angeles. The stone was taken from the quarry to their yard in LA for finishing. In 1903 or 1904 a spur line was built to the quarries  by the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad. The spur went from the Pedley area to Pyrite Canyon. At the end of the spur line a siding was built for the loading of the rock. That siding became known as "Bly." Sometimes that area shows up on old maps as Bly as well, even thought there never was a real community known as Bly.

Walking in Previous Footsteps

My first deadline for my upcoming book, Wicked Jurupa Valley, is looming! I have to have all photos, maps, and any other images to the publisher by March 15th. With that in mind, last Saturday my husband and I took a drive to Los Angeles so I could take photos of two apartment buildings. These buildings had been owned back in the 1940s by a man named John Owen. They were managed by a woman named Agnes Garnier. Agnes had become John's mistress but it didn't end well. At John's big ranch here in Jurupa Valley a gun went off that ended John's life. That gun was in Agnes's hand when it went off. I think we can say their relationship didn't end well!

Researching and writing the story of John and Agnes for the book makes me think of them in a very personal way. It is almost like they become distant relatives, the kind you catch up with every year when you get their Christmas newsletter. So, seeing places where they actually lived and breathed was quite exciting for me. Both buildings were locked but I managed to finagle my way into the lobby of one of them. I could imagine Agnes walking across the lobby's black and while tiled floors. I could see John standing in front of the elevators, waiting to go up to visit Agnes. It was very cool walking where they walked!  



  

1921 Wedding

As a mother of two daughters, I have to admit that reading the stories of weddings in days gone by makes me long for the simpler, less expensive weddings they had back then. But don't tell my daughters. They will just think I am cheap! Here is another description of a wedding in Jurupa Valley that was solemnized on April 30th, 1921.

Miss Harriet Hannah Correll and Mr. Benjamin H. Walker were married at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.G. Correll of Glen Avon.  It was held in the presence of relatives and a few friends of the happy couple.

An arch of white roses and greenery was erected in one corner of the living room which is where the bridal party stood. At the stroke of eight the wedding march was played and the bridal party entered the living room. Miss Mildred Gallwas was the maid of honor. She wore dainty frock of pale green organdy and carried a bouquet of Cecil Bruner roses and asparagus fern. The best man was Glen Goodwin of Redondo Beach.

The girlish bride wore a wedding gown of white satin with embroidered georgette. her tulle veil was caught in her hair with a cornet of orange blossoms. She carried an arm bouquet of white roses and maiden hair fern.

After the ceremony an informal reception was held and then refreshments were served. Guests included five girlhood friends of the bride. They were Margaret Kelsey, Leone Anderson, Grace Witte, Olive Gogin, and Vera Gallwas.

The bride and groom slipped away for a short honeymoon to Los Angeles and San Diego. For the going away the bride wore a becoming suit of brown with a white hat.

The new Mrs. Walker has lived in Glenavon for many years. She graduated from the Girls High School in Riverside in 1920. She was a member of the school's basketball team in her senior year. The groom  is foreman of he bake shop at Chaffee's store in Riverside. They will be at home after May 8th at a new house at Sixth and Lemon Streets in Riverside.

School House gets a Phone

It was announced in the October 14, 1904 edition of the Riverside Enterprise that the Jurupa school house had recently had a phone installed, "a great convenience for both teachers and scholars."

Small Pox on the Jensen Ranch

A case of small pox was reported at the home of Cornelius Jensen in Jurupa in September 1885.  The victim was a grandchild of Mr. Jensen whose family had just returned from Mexico, where is was believed that the child had contracted the disease. Unfortunately, the child died. The house was properly guarded and cleansed, reported the local newspapers, and no one else caught the disease. It was the only case of small pox reported in San Bernardino County that season. (Jurupa was at that time still part of San Bernardino County as Riverside did not become a county until 1893.)   

Big Hunt

A big rabbit hunt was held near the farm of A.J. Stalder in Union (now Mira Loma) on February 13, 1897. Apparently rabbits were becoming a problem for farmers in that area. One of the local papers said about 500 were killed. The paper went on to say, “One participant in the day’s sport reports that an attempt was made to drive the rabbits over into San Bernardino county, but when the animals reached the line they turned back and took their chances with the shotguns of the party. The only solution of this decision of the rabbits heard was one by Robert Stokes who said the animals would rather die in Riverside county than live in San Bernardino county. 

Getting to Riverside circa 1900

This little tidbit was printed in the Press and Hortaculturalist October 16th, 1900:

The public highway across the river bottom toward Riverside is very displeasing to the eye of those who travel it, on account of the tall weeds and bushes on both sides. They form a very dusty tunnel through which one must pass to get to Riverside. Supervisors, what can you do for us?

Measles

We forget about infectious diseases nowadays what with our vaccinations and all. But back before vaccinations were available, diseases like measles could wreck havoc in a community.

On March 8th, 1887 it was reported in a local paper that a case of the measles "in the light form" had broken out at the Jurupa school, brought there from Los Angeles. Health Officer Sawyer was notified, made an inspection, and gave appropriate orders to prevent its spread. That meant that the school was closed. For some reason it took until March 19th for the paper to report that the Jurupa School was closed due to the "prevalence of the measles among the children."

Finally, after being closed for several weeks, Miss Alfaretta Wood, the teacher, was able to begin school again on April 4th. Nine students were there that day, a smaller number than usual.

A 1900 Wedding

In honor of Valentine's Day two days ago and because I love reading the descriptions of weddings from days gone by, here is an article I found about a West Riverside couple's wedding that occurred May 1, 1900. The report was printed in the Riverside Daily Press.

Two popular young people of West Riverside were united in the Congregational Church at 1 o'clock this afternoon. The groom was Robert Jensen, the bride Miss Josie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs John Ellis.

The bride was attended by Miss Mary Jensen, sister of the groom. and Fred Bonham officiated as best man. The wedding party entered to the well known strains of the wedding march, rendered by Miss Bertha Wilber. The bride was becomingly gowned in her traveling dress, and carried a bouquet of white roses and orange blossoms. The maid of honor wore a gown of tan colored landsdowne and carried a bouquet of Gold of Ophir roses.

The Rev. E.F. Goff pronounced the words which made the two hearts one, after which the bride and groom left on their wedding tour to Los Angeles and coast points.

On the return of Mr. and Mrs Jensen on Friday night, they will be given a wedding supper at the home of the bride's parents, after which they will give a dancing party in their own home.

Vandalism, 1886

From the Riverside Daily Press of September 23, 1886:

"Miss Alfaretta Wood commenced her school in Jurupa district, West Riverside yesterday with a good attendance of pupils. During the vacation the school house has been broken open and a very fine microscope that was left in the library was broken to pieces, and the building was defaced considerably. The trustees have put the interior of the school house in good shape, and propose to raise $600 to improve the exterior, set out trees, etc., and supply new seats and desks of the latest approved pattern.

Catch That Horse!

Reported in the Riverside Daily Press on December 12, 1913:

A team belonging to Mr. Turner, while standing in front of the Wineville Cash grocery, became frightened at a passing overland train and started to run. They overturned and nearly demolished a motorcycle standing in the road and circled out through a vineyard. D.E. Bulson* ran and pluckily jumped into the back of the wagon and stopped the horses before any further damage was done. The driver of the team had the task of gathering up the groceries, which were scattered from the wagon in the road and the vineyard.  

*Mr. Bulson was the owner at that time of the Wineville Cash grocery store.

Driving Hazards - 1914

The land out in Wineville (today's Mira Loma) is very sandy which presented many hazards in the good old days. The sand could grab a car's wheels and stop it dead in its tracks. If one of our famous Santa Ana winds was blowing it would pick up the sand, scour the paint right off your car, and bring visibility to zero.

The road through Wineville, back in 1914, was one of the major roadways drivers would use to get from Los Angeles to Riverside. Back then the road was not paved. Instead a layer of straw was laid down over the sandy soil to give cars a better surface to drive on. The problem with using straw to surface a road was made evident in July 1913. The straw caught fire, trapping as many as a hundred cars on one side or the other of the fire.

Under other circumstances the cars could have just been driven around the fire. However, with Wineville's sandy soil, the drivers were reluctant to do so because it was likely the car would get stuck. A group of three men from Riverside were returning from Mt. Baldy when they were confronted by the fire. They needed to get back to Riverside sooner rather than later so they went ahead and drove their Ford off the road and around the fire. The Riverside Enterprise said that "by considerable shoveling and pulling they got around the fire."

Another intrepid soul took his life in his hands and drove through the fire. Likely the straw was smouldering or had low flames and wasn't a raging wildfire. Still, even with the straw there was a likelihood that a car could get stuck in the sand on the road, and stuck in the middle of the fire. The car could have burned or worse, its gas tank could have exploded. However, the driver in question made it through the road fire and lived to drive another day.        

Mission Boulevard

When I look at old newspaper articles there is often a reference to "the county road" in the Jurupa area. This reference can be seen even as late as the 1920s. The reason it is lower case is because it wasn't the actual name of the road but was the generic term used for a road that was maintained by the County. There weren't many roads maintained by the County way back when so "the county road" was usually a main road, an important road. But which road was it? My local historian friends and I long suspected that it was Mission Boulevard but I didn't have any proof...until recently. In an old issue of one of the Riverside newspapers I saw a reference to the county road that was just west of the West Riverside Bridge. Well, that would have to be today's Mission Boulevard because it is the road that leads west from that bridge. Then I found an article from 1913 that mentioned naming a state highway that went from the Los Angeles area to Riverside the "Mission Road." Voila! Now we can know for certain that the county road is Mission and we also know that Mission Boulevard was named way back in 1913.   I am still trying to find out when it went from being a "road" to being a "boulevard."

Second Winner!

Thank goodness for family! If it wern't for my husband's cousin Michelle I wouldn't have been able to give away the Arcadia book on Colton!!!! Thanks Michelle for commenting on the previous post. Let me know your email so I can contact you!

First Anniversary Give Away #2

I am sorry that I have been so slow to get this next give away up. Just one of those weeks! But here it is!

This week's prize is a copy of the Arcadia Publishing book about a neighboring city of Jurupa Valley - Colton.  I admit that it is coming right off of my bookshelf, but it is in very good condition.


This contest will end on Thursday, January 19th, at 11:59 pm.
As before, just comment on this post and you will be entered into this contest.   The question of the week, to give yourself something to comment on, is what was your first or most memorable experience with a microwave? Yes, many of us remember the days before microwaves!

Someone in our neighborhood needed a baby sitter to watch a couple of children while they were at a family wedding. I had never babysat for these people before. Part of the deal was that they would feed me dinner. I arrived. The homeowner put some leftovers on a paper plate and put them in her microwave. After just a couple of minutes the bell rang, she got them out and put them in front of me. I have never eaten anything that came out of a microwave before and my brain was telling me that there was NO WAY that this food, stone cold from the refrigerator, could possibly be warm. I took a big bite and found out immediately how wrong I was! Boy. that food burned my mouth!

I look forward to hearing from you and to giving away this book! 

First winner!

The first winner in the Jurupa History Blog's anniversary give away is Kay! Thanks to Kay and Michele for commenting on the blog post question about doing laundry in the good old days! It was obviously the world's easiest contest since they each had a 50/50 chance of winning!!!! I will be posting the new give away later today!

First Anniversary Give Away #1!

The first item I will be giving away in celebration of the one year anniversary of the Jurupa History blog will be a copy of "Ghost Towns of the Jurupa Mountains." This is a publication of the Jurupa Mountians Cultural Center (AKA the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center) and can only be purchased at their gift shop. It is a simple publication with three staples holding together the 29 pages. Written by Ruth Kirkby back in 1969, it discusses the history of the Jurupa mountain range from geology through the  mining area.

To put yourself in the running for this item just comment on this post. But if you want a little help, here is an idea: What is your earliest memory of wash day when you were a kid? If it relates to a place in Jurupa Valley, that is even better, but is not required for you to comment and enter this contest. I will take comments until Monday January 8th and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, January 9th and a new give away will be posted then.

My earliest laundry memory dates to when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I guess I wasn't paying much attention before then. We moved to a house in Jurupa Hills when I was 6 and the new house had a place for the washer in a closet in the hallway. We didn't have a dryer so my mother hung all the clothes on the  clothes line which was located on a little patio area off the dining room and den area of our house. That is probably why I remember this particular time, because my Mom was always visible and close by when she was hanging out the laundry. That and the ironing she had to do afterwards was not her favorite job. I remember how she celebrated when we got a dryer several years later. The iron and ironing board was put away and we rarely saw them again.

One Year Anniversary Give-Aways!

The Jurupa History blog is celebrating its one year anniversary this month! In order to spread the excitement and happiness that brings me to the rest of you, I will be having some give aways this month. I will post the give away item (all of which were purchased by me and only me) and request comments. Everyone who comments on that particular post will be placed in a random drawing for the item, which will then be hand delivered or mailed, depending on your location in the world. Stay tuned! All prizes will, of course, be related to local southern California history.