Color photos: Here in Van Nuys (High School, Haynes St.)
B&W: Don Waters

Don Waters lives near St. Louis, Mo. He spent part of his childhood in Van Nuys, in the late 1940s and early 50s. His grandparents came from Colorado and settled here in the 1930s. He sent me this photo and the following story:

“The attached photo shows my grandparents with my dad and aunt at the house that used to be on the portion of Archwood St. that dead-ended just west of Van Nuys Blvd. They moved there from Colorado in 1936. I remember it still being there in the 60’s but by then it was a barber shop. By the end of the 60’s my dad was shocked when he drove by and found that 6 or 8 houses had been taken out to make way for parking lots for the stores lining the Blvd.

My aunt was in the same high school english class with Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe) and Jane Russell. She says Marilyn used to get up on a raised area in the cafeteria and do impromptu dances in front of everyone during lunch (a talent for drama even then). She lived in a foster home farther to the west on Archwood. My dad knew her husband Jim Dougherty, who became a fireman. My dad told me that Frank Morgan (Wizard of Oz) used to drop off the kids in front of the high school in a 1930s Rolls Royce town car–so there used to be quite a lot going on in that neighborhood. My great grandfather (who lived on Haynes) used to put on a vested suit every morning and walk over to the Blvd. to talk to each of the shopkeepers. Actually, it doesn’t seem to have changed much since the 70’s–the area was mostly Latino then too.”

–Don Waters