It's Saturday Night -
time for more Genealogy Fun!
Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible music here) is to:
1) Think about who your neighbors were when you were a child. Where did you live? Who lived next door or across the street?
2) Tell us a story about one or more of your neighbors. If you want to keep them anonymous, just use first names. Do some research if you need to recall names and years.
3) Share your story in your own blog post (but leave a comment on this post so we can find it), in a comment to this blogp ost, or on Facebook or Google+.
Here's mine:
I lived at 2119 30th Street in San Diego from 1947 to 1968 (ages 4 to 25). This was a second floor apartment - downstairs was 2115 30th Street. My grandparents also owned four other apartments on the block - cottages at 2123 and 2127 30th Street, and a two story apartment house at 2114 and 2116 Fern Street.
1) My grandparents, Lyle and Emily (Auble) Carringer, and my grandmother's mother, Georgia Auble, lived in the 2115 30th Street apartment for the 1948 to 1961 time period, and then moved to the Point Loma House in 1951.
I recall two of the subsequent occupants of 2115 30th Street after my grandparents:
* A widow, Lillian, and her son Rocky lived there for about five years in the 1952-1958 range, until she married again. My brother and I played with Rocky, and had some fun with him, although I don't recall many details. What I do remember is trying to cuss Rocky out once, saying "you, you, you, you baxter!" in the presence of his mother. Obviously, I was experimenting with the word, and was punished for that. I also remember getting sick on a rare-cooked hamburger provided by Lillian. They moved out when Lillian got married.
* A young married couple, Ben and Sharon, moved in during the late 1960s, and stayed into the 1970s, having three children. All of them fondly remember my parents. My parents enjoyed them and their kids - it was a great place to raise kids. Ben and Sharon are still close friends of ours.
2) I recall only one occupant of the 2123 30th Street cottage (this was one bedroom, one bath, ideal for a single person):
* Frances Chapman lived there in the 1950s and into the 1970s. I don't recall when she left. My mother interacted with her a bit, but I didn't. She worked downtown, I think, but I don't know what she did. I don't know how old she was at the time. An Ancestry search reveals her name was Muriel Frances (Wilkinson) Chapman (1907-1994). Entries in San Diego City Directories show her in 2123 30th Street in 1947 (a stenographer), 1950 (a stenographer), 1961, 1962, 1964 (stenographer), 1967, 1978 (retired), 1979 (retired). Her spouse may have been Ralph W. Chapman.
3) I recall only one occupant of the 2123 30th Street cottage:
* Ruby LaTourrette lived there in the 1960s. She was elderly, but a sweet little old lady. An Ancestry search reveals her name as Ruby Elizabeth LaTourrette (1884-1978). A 1928 New York passenger list shows her husband's name as Willett (born in 1876 in Iowa), their marriage date in 1918 in Michigan (Ruby was Ruby Mitchell, born in Scotland), and they were going to Denver, Colorado. The earliest San Diego City directory entry for Ruby and Willett is 1962 in 2127 30th, and the latest is 1978. Willett J. LaTourrette died in 1968 in San Diego.
4) I recall only two occupants of 2116 Fern Street, the upstairs apartment:
* During the 1960s, Mayme Lonzway and her son lived there. My mother talked to her often, across the back porches, I think. An Ancestry search of San Diego City Directories revealed Mayme (1902-1978) and her husband Reeves Lonzway (????-1948) were from Baker, Oregon. Mayme lived in this apartment in 1961 and 1964. She moved to nearby houses in the neighborhood by 1968.
* During the early 1970s, my brother Stanley and his wife Sheryl lived there.
5) I recall only one occupant of 2114 Fern Street, the downstairs apartment:
* A young couple, Frank and Gayle, lived there in the 1970s. Gayle was the daughter of my mother's friend Alma, who lived at 2121 Dale Street, one street to the west. Gayle and Sharon (from 2115 30th) are good friends. I found only one San Diego City Directory entry for them in 2114 Fern.
This was a difficult apartment to rent and have a longtime renter. It was really small, with a living room, kitchen/dining area, bathroom and one bedroom, and the back door opened onto the brick patio where the Seaver boys played all of their games (ping pong, basketball, whiffle ball, etc.) during the 1960s. It was noisy when we were around!
6) Well, that was a fun trip down memory lane, with the help of City Directories! I'm sure that my brothers have more memories of the neighbors on this block.
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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver
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