REMINISCENCES FROM
AIVLIS STREET ORIGINAL OWNERS
– John and Betty Rank –
By Judy Courdy | August 2005
Embedded Files
John and Betty Rank moved into their home on Aivlis Street in April 1954. When they chose their home from a big plot posted on one of the walls in a model home on Lees Avenue, they had their choice of the entire tract—not one “sold” flag was yet pinned on the chart. They finally settled on their house location, which was just a patch of dirt on an empty field at the time. They had to borrow the $450 that they needed to close the deal from a brother-in-law, but they saved and were able to pay him off before they actually moved in. Their monthly payment increased from $49.50 (that included utilities) for an apartment, up to $56 a month, not including utilities; John and Betty lost some sleep worrying about that huge hike in monthly outgo!
They were the first residents on their street, and remember the eerie feeling in the evenings, with streetlights not yet installed and absolutely no neighbors around. To go shopping at the Iowa Pork Shop on Palo Verde and Stearns, folks had to drive down Studebaker to Willow and up to Palo Verde, as Stearns Street did not yet come as far east as Studebaker Rd.
The Ranks, like many others in the area, ended up in California after Uncle Sam issued him an invitation in 1944 to join the military. He was drafted from his home state of Oklahoma, even though he had two young children at the time. Betty followed and first lived with his sister in Wilmington and worked for 15 cents an hour at Kress department store while John was stationed in San Diego, and then later while he attended radar school in Georgia. And even though John made only $30 a month with the military, Betty was able to save money! Once their third son was born, John was allowed to leave the military, and first worked for the post office delivering mail. Afterwards, he worked for Dow Chemical digging ditches, tried his hand at working for Fuller Brush (he HATED that!), and then back to Dow Chemical where they asked him if he’d be interested in learning drafting. John was thrilled to have a Monday through Friday job and a twelve-day annual vacation! Dow Chemical transferred their business to Shell Chemical in Wilmington, where John worked as a draftsman until he retired in 1980.
The parents of four boys, John and Betty had no fear about letting their sons play in the fields which were to become El Dorado Park. There was a farmhouse in the area near where the El Dorado Clubhouse is today, and the boys had fun building forts with bales of hay left in the fields after harvest. One of the designers of the future El Dorado Park was Chance Hill, one of the Rank’s neighbors on Aivlis Street. Betty remembers Chance spreading out a huge planning design for the park on their living/dining room floors when the park was still just an idea in progress.
John spoke of the constant dust and sand in the neighborhood before lawns and trees were planted, and Betty complained about all the dirt and sand that came inside each evening on the bodies and in the shoes of her boys. After moving in, John’s priority was to plant a lawn, and he worked many hours dragging a log behind his shoulders to level off the dirt. He disposed of the many rocks and clods by joining with a neighbor and piling them all in the neighbor’s truck one night; they deposited them on an empty lot, the future site of Millikan High School.
The Ranks remember just once during their tenure here that they were seriously concerned with flooding, when the water crested to the brink of the San Gabriel flood control. But luckily, no damage was done. Many housewives, home all day without transportation, enjoyed each other’s company for lunch, playing bridge, or visiting with each other when the Helm’s Bakery truck came around each evening.
According to John, the cement-mixing area for our neighborhood construction was located at El Paseo and Volk; spilled cement made it difficult for the folks who eventually bought homes in that location to grow lawns. John’s lawn had been a paint-mixing location, and when he could not grow grass in one area, he dug down to find a piece of plywood and paint buried there. Obviously, the 1950’s were a different time in the practice of waste disposal!
Betty and John LOVED their house on Aivlis Street and could not imagine ever leaving it. But for everything there is a season! After John had some heart problems, he sat one evening in 1996 looking at the house that needed painting, the cracked ceiling that needed repair, and the lawn that needed mowing (John still mowed his own lawn!), and he finally agreed with his wife that he was ready for a move. They heartily recommend their new lifestyle at Leisure World to folks who are finding home ownership just to work intensive. And, the Ranks insist, it is the perfect opportunity to clean out all that clutter you’ve been collecting over the years. They invited their four sons over to pore over all the memorabilia together, and they divided it up among them.
Although John and Betty love their new life, they still have a special place in their hearts for Aivlis Street. Sitting on their table is a small wooden replica of their house, given to them as a parting gift from their neighbors. And they come back every year to renew acquaintances at Aivlis Street’s annual block party!
Google Sites
Report abuse