Little Red

This is my grandson Jack or as I like to call him, "Little Red". It was taken in our backyard about a week or so ago. He is an absolute joy.He is growing so fast.  God continues to Bless our family!

Old Memories on Newlin Avenue

Mary (Left) and Jeri

Mary, me and Jeri

I have been going through old boxes, both in the house and in the garage, and just cleaning house, so to speak. I'm trying to rid myself of all the unused junk in my life, including old irrelevant photos with people I don't know.

Things that once seemed important to me no longer have a a place with me. My first thought is to give my kids what they want from it and either toss or donate the rest. I need to get rid of the clutter. My mother would say that "the mind is like a cluttered closet, it needs to be cleaned every once in a while!" An uncluttered environment is the first step toward an uncluttered mind.  The Bible says it best in Ecclesiastes 3:6, "A time to keep and a time to cast away!"

Along the way I am finding and going through boxes of old photographs. I'll be posting some of them from time to time. Here are two photos from 1979, with my wife Jeri and her late sister Mary Smith. Her and her husband Danny were visiting and spent the night (or two) with us. This is when we lived on Newlin Avenue (one of three homes on Newlin).  Mary passed away in 2014. She is still missed.

Addendum: I found two more photos from this day. One with my brother-in-law Danny Smith and the other with my wife Jeri.

La Comal (the Griddle)

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I scored this comal (griddle) today at King Richard's Antique Mall here in Whittier. I have been searching for one like this for years. This is the closest I have come to finding a comal like my mother's. Seeing it stirred my memory.

I have asked her several times throughout the years about it but she cannot recall whatever became of it. It was just another casualty of the passing years.

After my father passed in 1981 she stopped cooking Mexican food and, in particularly, New Mexican food. The food she made was made with love for my father. Not that she did not love us but that part of her life was gone from her. She changed her entire way of cooking. The one exception was Chile Verde. She knew how much I loved this dish and she always made it with me in mind.. The last time she made Chile Verde was late 2013 or early 2014. She wanted to surprise me, instead, she was struggling and called to ask me to finish cooking for her. That was her last attempt at cooking anything. I miss her cooking.

When I was growing up she made the best flour tortillas in her comal, soft and pillowy. I ate them as she made them, slathered in butter. One of my favorite memories.

I have her recipe in my head but when I see her this weekend I am going to ask her one more time. This time with a note pad in hand. I have never made flour tortillas before but there is a first time for everything.

Breakfast at Mimo's in Uptown Whittier

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Mimo's Cafe in Uptown Whittier

By Randy De La O

I had a hankering for a real breakfast this morning. We were headed to Jack's on Whittier Blvd but when we passed Mimo's on Greeleaf we decided to stop here for breakfast.

I looked over the specials and decided on the Santa Fe Skillet. Jeri ordered the ham and eggs.

I asked the cashier/waitress what was in the Santa Fe Skillet and she gave me a list of ingredients. "Does it have green chile?" If you have roots in New Mexico or the Southwest you'll understand the significance of that question. "It has what I just told you!" she answered. Hmmm, no green chile? I thought to myself.

I had visions of being transported to the "Land of Enchantment!" Well, that did not happen but it was still a good breakfast. Jeri enjoyed her breakfast as well. The food at Mimo's is always good. It's casual and friendly. I have never had a bad meal there.

Here is my one gripe (You know it was coming). This is not with Mimo's personally but with restaurants in general.

You cannot slap together onions, bell peppers and tomatoes and give a name like the Santa Fe Skillet (however good it is). If it doesn't have red or green New Mexico chile (preferably from Hatch) it ain't from Santa Fe or anywhere else in New Mexico. Neither can you open up a can of Ortega's Green Chile and stick it on a cheeseburger and call it a Tex-Mex burger. It just doesn't set right with me. I am a stickler for authenticity.

While I'm at it let me get this in real quick. You cannot put together a meal - hot or cold - inside a large tortilla and call it a wrap as if it's some new invention! It's a freaking burrito!

With all that going through my head this morning Jeri and I still had a nice breakfast!

The Changing Face of Uptown Whittier

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The top photo - and I'm only guessing - appears to have been photographed in the mid to late 60's, possible as late as 1970. The bottom photograph was taken by me this past Friday (3/23/2018) while on a walk through Uptown Whittier. The view - in both photographs - is from Greenleaf Avenue at Penn Street looking south. The photos are roughly 50 years apart.

Some things have remained the same while other things have changed. The Double Tree Hotel by Hilton now occupies the southeast corner of Whittier Blvd & Penn St., while the Uptown Liquor Store is still going strong and the original sign is still standing (they got their money's worth).

The changes in Uptown and in Whittier as a whole have been both subtle and drastic. Whittier,  while still hanging on to it's small town feel and history, is also a trendy and hip village replete with a strong restaurant scene and various shops. It has been a good place to live and raise a family.

The California Sky

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Good Morning Family and Friends! I am enjoying a hot bowl of oatmeal and the California sky this morning.

I love Whittier and I love California. Politics, left or right, be damned, it's a beautiful state filled with beautiful people (and a couple of ugly and mean ones). I don't think I could ever leave it.

From my beloved city of Whittier, to the San Gabriel Mountains, to the Dodger Stadium, to the Golden State Bridge, Yosemite, the Sierras and beyond. God has graced our state! This is my home!

Don't let petty (Yes, petty) political differences cloud your judgement.

God Bless you! Have a great day!

Classic Photos: Heading to the Movies

These photos are from either late 1978 or early 1979. We were headed out to the Whittier Theater on Whittier Blvd I don't remember what we saw that day but you could still see two movies. You got your moneys worth back then.

The first photo is with Jeri, and Meranda in front of the house on Newlin Ave. In the second photo Jeri, with DeeDee, Lori and Meranda, crossing Gretna Ave. The Whittier Theater was across the street.
The house on Newlin was razed in 1987 and replaced with apartments. The Whittier Theater was semi destroyed by the 1987 Whittier earthquake. There was a strong attempt to save it but eventually the city won out and the city finished the job started by the earthquake. There is a Walgreen's on that corner now. The parking lot in the second photo was cleared and homes were built. Nothing stays the same.

The Whittier Theater (above and below) before and after the October 1, 1987 Earthquake.

The Grandkids

Jeri and I almost had all the grandkids together a couple of weeks ago. From left to right; Mariah, Sidney holding Jack, Maddie and Kayla holding Kendra, only Trevor was missing. Next time.

Auntie Savannah and Jack with her nieces and sister Lori. Josh and Jeri in the background.

Remembering Merle Haggard in My Own Way

Whenever I hear a song by Merle Haggard on the radio I always turn the sound up a little and I remember. For me, Haggard's music is almost synonymous with my twenties, the 1970's and the 1980's. My mother was a fan of country music (We still call it Country and Western) and it was through her that I became a fan. Merle Haggard became a quick favorite.

When Jeri and I moved into our first home together on Newlin Avenue in Whittier, in February of 1978, it seems like we were having a party every other weekend. We had a big backyard, so it wasn't a problem. We brought the record player outside, the BBQ grill and plenty of meat to grill, a keg of beer, sometimes two, maybe some Jack Daniels and/or some tequila, and all the albums we owned at the time. Our friends brought their own music too.

Sometimes the parties got a little out of hand and the cops would come and shut us down, at other times they lasted into the wee hours of the early morning. Sometimes the neighbors complained but more often than not they would walk through the gate and join in. We listened to a lot of different music, mostly rock, oldies and Motown but in the very late hours when we were doing our most serious drinking it was Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr. and Merle Haggard. It was Merle Haggard that seemed to reach me the most. His music was so relevant to those things that were going on in my own life, good and bad.

On some days we had a lot of company and on other days it was just a few good friends but the core of our friends that stayed late to close out the night (or morning) were my cousins David and Dolores Robles, and close friends Sergio and Denise Billings, Mike Teran and Ken Robledo. There were others that came and went but this was the core. We would bring out any and all chairs and sit around the grill and talk about life and the future, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying a little and sometimes even arguing. All the while it was Merle Haggard and the boys in the background taking us through the night.

These are the days and nights and friends that come to mind whenever I hear Merle Haggard on the radio. I own many of his CD's but there is still something special about hearing one of your favorite songs or artist on the radio, even if you have all his CD's.

This song “If We Make it Through December” always reminds me of those early, hard, lean times my wife and I had so long ago. The man has been made silent now but his music remains with us.

Classic Photo: Jeri in the Kitchen

We had just recently moved in to the house on Newlin Ave in Whittier on February 15, 1978 when I took this photo of my wife Jeri. Our daughter Meranda was born three month later in May. Some days it seems like yesterday and on other days it was a lifetime ago. Nothing is perfect but God has been good to us. Good memories!

Hiding Places

This photo of my daughter Meranda is from some time in 1979. We were living in the first of three houses on Newlin Avenue at the time. When we talk about it we always refer to it as the "White House". I found the photo in a box last night. Just by coincidence, Meranda, Jeri and I were talking about that stove last night and then I find this picture.

That little girl in the picture had a habit of hiding things. It was a game with her. When the 15th of the month came around I would put the rent money on the counter, or a table or someplace, so I would be ready when the landlord came by to collect the rent. Almost invariably Meranda would take the money - when no one was looking - and hide it. Her favorite hiding place was somewhere in the stove. One of those doors was a storage area for pots and pans, and she would painstakingly hide the money between the pans. Sometimes she would hide the money in one of the kitchen cabinets. She had several hiding places. It drove me nuts! One time I couldn't find the money before the landlord came by. I know he thought I was making it up.

She did the same thing with my keys. As young as she was she knew what she was doing because she was laughing about it the entire time. Eventually we got wise to her but every once in a while we would forget.
She kept us on our toes. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.

Classic Photo: Jeri and Andrew De La O

This photo was taken, circa 1986 at the now, long gone Grinder Restaurant in Whittier, California, while celebrating our daughter Meranda's first communion at St Mary's, also in Whittier.

Lincoln & Hoover Elementary Schools

Lincoln Elementary School, Whittier, California

Lincoln Elementary School, one of two elementary schools my kids attended in Whittier. Lincoln is located on the corner of Broadway and Newlin Ave. We lived a few houses down on Newlin. This is the view we had from the front porch.

Jeri became a troop leader in the boy scouts when all the troops were full and were no longer accepting any more boys, including our son Andrew. She took the initiative, contacted the other parents, and began her own Boy Scout Troop. The meetings were held in one of the classrooms courtesy of Principal Paul Moore (a true friend to the parents and students).

The other school was Hoover Elementary. The two schools split between grades. I have good memories of this neighborhood and those years.

Hoover Elementary School, Whittier, California

Classic Photo: Corner of Philadelphia Street & Greenleaf Avenue Looking North. (Whittier, California)

An old photograph of the main intersection of Uptown Whittier, Philadelphia and Greenleaf. The drugstore on the right stood til the late 1980's or early 1990's when it was converted to a Rocky Cola restaurant. The original Drug Store had a small diner in it that served good basic food. Jeri and I ate there quite bit during the late 70's and throughout the 80's. This was a real deal old school drug store, not a retro. We still miss it. Just one more thing that is disappearing from the American landscape. Also, the shop on the right side of the photograph is now a Starbucks.

Newlin Avenue

This photo of my wife Jeri was taken in the summer of 1978 in the backyard of our home on Newlin Ave, a couple of months after Meranda was born. I can't even began to tell you how many parties we had at that house. The cops showing up two or three times a night to shut us down type of parties. Kegs galore.

The back yard might not look like much but we had free rein with the house and the yard. The landlords could not have cared less what we did as long as we paid the rent on time. I always had the feeling of living somewhere far away, somewhere out in the country.

We were in our early twenties and beginning our lives. It was a special time and it was a special place, both the neighborhood and the people.

The house is gone now. It was torn down in 1987 and a two unit apartment was built in it's place. The house is one of our family's favorite memory. Nothing last forever.

Anita De La O

This photo of my mother was taken a couple of weeks ago by my
daughter  Savannah  before they went out shopping for the day.

At her age, despite slowing down, my mother can still hold her own and she still has her wits and sense of humor. Here's a quick example of “Thinking on your feet” from years ago.

In 1978, Jeri and I had been looking for a home to start our family. We were expecting our first child, Meranda at the time. We found the perfect home in Uptown Whittier's Historical District, which is to say, they were old, very old. This house was on Newlin Ave. It was an old bungalow style home in a neighborhood that had plenty of kids for my two step daughters, Deedee and Lori, to play with. The schools were all nearby and the Uptown business district was just a short walk from the house.

We got down and looked around. The back yard was good sized with a two car garage with an alley entrance and old wooden sliding garage doors, it also had an old Walnut tree for shade, the property was about 10,000 sq,ft. We couldn't get in but we looked through the windows and we liked what we saw. We called the number on the sign out front several times but we got no answer, so to kill some time we called my mother to come by and check out the house. She was just a few minutes away in nearby Pico Rivera.

She came and we were showing her the property. As far as we were concerned, this was already our house. We still couldn't get a hold of the landlords yet. While we were walking around the back yard, two girls about our age drove by, saw the sign, and began looking around. They seemed as excited as we were. Jeri and I both looked at each. It worried us because we had yet to talk to the owners. Jeri said out loud “Oh no, what if they get the house first”. A slight panic was setting in because we really wanted this house.

“Don't worry!” says my mother, “I'll take care of it, C'mon'. She walks straight to the girls and asks, “Can I help you girls?” “Yes” says one of them, “we're interested in the house. How much is the rent? “Oh, I'm sorry “ says my mother “I rented it out to this couple just a few minutes ago”. “Oh, okay, thank you” and they left.

I took the sign down in the front yard and threw it behind the bushes and we kept calling until we got through. We lived in that house for eight years and on that block for twenty years before buying our current home, also in Whittier.

That's how we came to live in Whittier and never left. Now we may or may not have got that house regardless but my mother's quick thinking ensured that we did. We still have a good laugh about that day.

Menudo at the Super Burrito

The sign in the back of the Super Burrito parking lot, in Whittier, proclaiming itself the Home of the world's best menudo. It's my favorite place to eat menudo. 

Menudo con patas at the Super Burrito in Whittier. My serving of menudo in the forefront, Jeri's toward the back. the patas in the center. This is my first bowl of menudo in almost 8 months. It did wonders for me.

Remembering the Whittier Earthquake: October 1, 1987

The parking structure for the old May Company and Hinshaw's Department
stores at Whittier Blvd and Painter Ave. 

Twenty-four years ago today, Southern California was hit by what has come to be known as "The Whittier Earthquake".  The earthquake, a 5.9 on the Richter scale struck at 7:42 am. Three days later, on October 4, Whittier was hit by a 5.2 aftershock.

I was at work that day, at McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach. As luck would have it, I was in the head at the time the earthquake struck. I worked in a large hanger, Building 13, at that time. the restrooms were attached to the side of the buildings with an entrance from the inside of the building but more or less, a separate structure. Probably the safest place to be. Right outside the building was a railroad yard.

My first warning was a loud rumbling noise. It got my attention immediately. It became deafeningly loud. I didn't know what to think yet, there wasn't any shaking yet. My first thought was that a train had jumped the track and was heading straight for the building. it was so loud I figured it was going to come through the wall in a second or two. I honest to God figured that was my last day on Earth. Then the rocking and rolling began and then it hit me, it was an earthquake. The shaking was violent, like nothing I felt before, and I've been through quite a few earthquakes. I heard some screaming from the stalls next to me, doors slamming and lots of confusion. I decided to sit this one out (literally). I stayed put. It seemed to go on forever. My only immediate worry, once I realized it was an earthquake was the over hanging fluorescent lights. Somehow they held on.

I could hear screaming and a lot of other noise coming from inside Building 13. as soon as the quake stopped I went back inside the building and it was total chaos. Parts were thrown everywhere, women were crying, everyone was walking around confused. I went back to my job site on the upper fuselage in Department 509. From there we were being directed outside the building.

All I could think about was my family. At the time I was car pooling with Jack Nicholson (no, not that Jack Nicholson) and it was his week to drive, so I couldn't just leave. A few minutes later I found him and we decided we should go home. The drive home was eerie. There were reports on the radio of fallen overpasses on the 605 freeway (that turned out to be false). We took some side roads home. Everywhere we went, people were standing outside their homes. No one wanted to go back inside the houses. Their was a strange silence in the air.

As we got to Whittier it was more of the same, people everywhere. Some homes were knocked off their foundations. I didn't know what to expect. I was afraid of what I might find at home. There were no cell phones in those days and all the phone lines were down. Jeri was eight months pregnant with Savannah at the time, and Meranda and Andrew would have been getting ready for school. We were living on Newlin Ave at the time of the earthquake. I found out a day or two later that Newlin Ave sits directly over the Whittier fault line.

When I got home I found everyone outside, sitting on the front lawn. The kids came running up to me and Jeri looked relieved to see me. Everyone was okay! I went inside the house and it was a mess. Cupboards and drawers open, broken dishes and glass everywhere. pots and pans scattered throughout the kitchen. There were cracks in the wall but no major structural damage. Our personal damage was minimal but it wasn't that way for everyone. Further down Newlin Avenue, several house were severely damaged and eventually had to be torn down and rebuilt. it was like that throughout Uptown Whittier. Uptown Whittier is an historical town with many old homes, some well over a hundred years old, so it goes without saying that they were not built to stand up to an earthquake.

The long gone Whittier Theater on the corner of Whittier Blvd and Hadley Street.

Greenleaf Ave in Uptown Whittier

The major damage though was in the business district,  the "Village" section of Uptown Whittier. I don't know what the exact extent of the damage was but some estimates have been as high as $360, 000, 000. What ever the damage was financially, the physical damage was devastating, lives were lost, and other  lives were turned upside down. Many of Whittier's historical buildings were lost, including the old Whittier Theater on the corner of Hadley Street and Whittier Blvd. I remember taking a walk to the Village with my cousin, David Robles, it was like a war zone with helicopters over head, police and firemen all around and many of the buildings in ruin. It would take years to recover. My uncle Henry De La O's upholstery shop, on Greenleaf  Ave, was destroyed but was reopened a year or so later on Philadelphia Street.

A few days later we celebrated Jeri's birthday on the 3rd and the following morning, somewhere about 4:00am, we were hit with a 5.1 aftershock. If I remember correctly there were quite a few aftershocks but this was the worse. There was some humor to that morning. I grabbed a pair of Levi's and tried my damnedest to put them on. I was squirming like crazy but they just would not get past my knees. Jeri turned on the light and just started laughing. They were her Levi's I was trying to get into  It seemed like almost immediately, there was a knock on the door. It was our friends, Sergio and Denise Billings and their kids. Their home took a harder hit than ours, they wanted to get out quick. We made breakfast and talked about the earthquakes. It was starting to feel like it was never going to end.

It eventually did end and is now a long ago memory. Twenty-four years ago today.