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.