Signs of the Times
I may have moved away from Covina over 40 years ago, but there are still many reminders of my life growing up there on display around my house. Most prominent are these two wooden signs, both more than 70 years old now.
The address shingle was originally attached to the roof of my father's office. It had been there since before I was born. During a trip back to the Southland in 1995, I found the sign in the rubble of Dad's demolished factory, and today it's the only piece of physical evidence remaining that the place ever existed.
The other sign is from the housing development I grew up in, which first opened for sales in 1953. Back in the day, there was one of these on practically every street corner, but one by one over the years they disappeared, usually the result of vandalism. Around 1980, this was the last of the signs that was still in place. I took possession of it when I drove past one day and saw that it had been cut down from its post and was just sitting on the ground. I said to myself, if I don't grab it right now, it will probably just be taken or trashed by someone else, so I put it in the trunk of my Mustang and took it home. I didn't really know what to do with it, though, so I just put it in our attic and left it there, even after I sold the house in 1991. And in the attic it remained until I retrieved it during my last visit to 3255 Rancho El Encino in 2021. So finally, 44 years later, it's hanging in a place of honor here in a different Shannon home, 700+ miles away.
I actually just put the Ranchos one on my wall a couple of days ago. I think the two signs display nicely together, don't you? ^_^
PS: Thanks to my friend dagz, who made it possible for me to rescue the Ranchos sign in 2021. He kept it at his place until arrangements could be made for its transportation here. I certainly couldn't have taken it back home on the plane with me at the time! ;-)
The address shingle was originally attached to the roof of my father's office. It had been there since before I was born. During a trip back to the Southland in 1995, I found the sign in the rubble of Dad's demolished factory, and today it's the only piece of physical evidence remaining that the place ever existed.
The other sign is from the housing development I grew up in, which first opened for sales in 1953. Back in the day, there was one of these on practically every street corner, but one by one over the years they disappeared, usually the result of vandalism. Around 1980, this was the last of the signs that was still in place. I took possession of it when I drove past one day and saw that it had been cut down from its post and was just sitting on the ground. I said to myself, if I don't grab it right now, it will probably just be taken or trashed by someone else, so I put it in the trunk of my Mustang and took it home. I didn't really know what to do with it, though, so I just put it in our attic and left it there, even after I sold the house in 1991. And in the attic it remained until I retrieved it during my last visit to 3255 Rancho El Encino in 2021. So finally, 44 years later, it's hanging in a place of honor here in a different Shannon home, 700+ miles away.
I actually just put the Ranchos one on my wall a couple of days ago. I think the two signs display nicely together, don't you? ^_^
PS: Thanks to my friend dagz, who made it possible for me to rescue the Ranchos sign in 2021. He kept it at his place until arrangements could be made for its transportation here. I certainly couldn't have taken it back home on the plane with me at the time! ;-)