PHOTO: Brochure for 1932 farm property in SF;Model home in Reseda, CA 1951. Courtesy of San Fernando Valley History Digital Library
Letter from “Hap” Rogers (HAPYROGER@webtv.net) of Yerington, NV:
Hello again Andrew:
Sure I don’t mind if you print my letter to you. Like I said
being almost 80 years old now I do have a lot of memories of San
Fernando Valley from 1935 until we left there in 1963. Our two boys at
that time were 9 and 12, our eldest just getting out of Shirley Ave
School and was to start in Sequola Jr High in September, and it did not
have a very good reputation at that time. To me the Valley had grown
large by then and I had always liked it the way it was when I was young.
All the towns were separated with farms, walnut orchards, orange groves,
and near us in the 30’s and 40’s was the Runnymede Chicken Ranch over on
Lindley Ave just north of Saticoy St.
The house my folks bought back in 1935 at 7732 Jellico
Avenue was $2100.00, on a commercial acre, and monthly payments were $18.00
per month. But at that time my dad was only working for Pacific Electric
17 days a month at $5.00 per day. The last I heard those lots were still
zoned as R/A so you could still have farm animals on them, I’m sure that
has been changed by now. And I have also heard they are in the
$1,000,000 range now. That tract of 40 houses were on 40 acres, and
there were 100 more of them built in El Monte and they were the originators
of what is now the FHA.
The house we left in Reseda on Welby Way to move up here in
1963, we bought new for $9545.00 in 1951, and sold it for $19,995.00. Two
years ago last November, my wife was down there visiting family, went by
to see the house, stopped and talked to the man there and he told her he
had just sold it for $350,000.00. Prices have gone crazy down there, but
here also, due to so many Californians selling out there and moving up
here.
We have a motel here in Yerington which is now in escrow. My
wife says 42 plus years in here is good enough. Don’t know what I’ll do
then, but we do have a nice house here that we bought last July,
anticipating the motel being sold. A long way from what I was doing in
the Valley. I was chief engineer for a rubbish truck manufacturing
company there in Sun Valley, and prior to that was an engineer for a
equipment manufacturing company on Tujunga Ave in North Hollywood.
Oh well, maybe I’ll try to write my life history when we get
out of here. And yes, I did see about Kevin’s [Roderick’s] book and I did forward him
the letter I wrote to you earlier this morning. Hope you don’t mind.
Keep in touch and if I can help on anything let me know, and
incidently, I’m known as “Hap”, not Mr Rogers.
My Best To You,
Hap, in Yerington, NV
Here in Van Nuys 
My family the Davis family lived at 7732 jellico from 1972 until they both passed in 2002
It was great growing up there.
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Florida california – I grew up at 6442 Zelzah Avenue, just a few doors north of Victory Blvd. My parents were the first owners of our house which was built probably in 1950. I remember thhe valley and Reseda as being a very nice easy going and safe place. Most all of the families in the area were from out of state, with many of the dads being vets from ww2 who took advantage of programs which made it easy to buy a home in the area. Our house started out as a single story 2 bedroom but in the mid sixties a 2 story addition was added on. We had a huge tangerine tree in the backyard as well as a lime tree. My mom grew beautiful roses there. There were lots of kids on the street and we used to either play in our yards, or at the school property adjacent to Newcastle Ave school. There was a district office bldg there with a lot of great concrete for skateboarding. We also used to walk to the Reseda theater on Sherman Way for Sat movies, loading up on cheap candy from Thrifty Drugs or Sav-On. Often we would be taken to Reseda Park to feed the ducks there.
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Thank you, Hap, for your memories. I’ve recently moved to Reseda (Zelzah Ave) from out of state perhaps not too far from your Welby home? Anyway, I am constantly conscious of the “past” within the home I am currently renting (built in 1950) as well as the rest of the Valley. I wonder about the lives of the people who lived here before and what was important to them. The hidden remnants of the Cold War (e.g., Nike missle batteries hidden by barbed wire and overgrown grass) are particularly fascinating. Do you remember much about the rocket testing up at the Santa Susana Field Lab? That’s been in the news quite a bit as residents of the many mobile homes up on Woolsey Canyon and upscale homes in Bell Canyon may have been exposed to radioactive particles in the air and water. Maybe the guy who built my home worked there? Its fun to speculate. Thanks again.
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Slightly Slack-
You mean actually grow food near where it is consumed? Wouldn’t that destroy the market for Brazilian oranges and Chilean avocados here in Southern California?
Andrew
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So much for that “urban farmstead” idea. Community gardens are a better idea, I think.
Which reminds me: if/when real estate collapses like it ought to within the next couple of years, the city really ought to start ED’ing some corner lots in residential areas and building neighborhood parks and/or community gardens. It’d be foolish to do with land so expensive right now, but you just know that the days of $350,000 2BRs in Watts can’t last too long.
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