THE FABULOUS SAGA OF PEARBLOSSOM & JUNIPER HILLS

by Mildred Swords


Mr. Shelton Gordon:

   Here is the letter and information it has taken me so long to send you. In the beginning: almost everyone who came to the desert in the beginning came for a reason, mine, poor health. After four bouts with pneumonia, my mother was advised to take me to the desert on. account of the dry climate. The family of Charles, Charlotte (Lottie) and Mildred Milde had lived in Santa Monica, after coming from the East; for quite a few years. I was sixteen when my mother and I came to Littlerock in 1921. The people who live here in the So. Antelope Valley have no idea what it was like then. In Santa Monica, our family lived next door to the H.M. Miller family who had quite a few pieces of property in Littlerock, (grapes, peaches and pears). Mama and I stayed in one of their places called the Company place on 82nd St. in Littlerock. At that time, there were no paved roads any place in the So. Antelope Valley. When we first came up the good road (two lanes) came thru the Newhall tunnel just west of the old Fremont Pass which you can still see when you go "down below". Believe me, that Newhall Tunnel used to be something. Everyone was scared to death to go thru it, especially if a hay truck came along at the same time (in the opposit direction). I wish I could remember how long the tunnel was, any way, it was dark inside and the hay trucks were so big there was just inches between. Some times the traffic would be lined up for miles at the grade of Newhall Tunnel. Then from Saugus we would come thru Mint Canyon. A good joke, at that time was to ask people coming up for the first time if they could smell the mint. Of course, that is what is now called the Old Sierra Hwy. From Saugus to the top of Johnson grade (where the altitude says three thousand feet,(3,000)now was a pretty good road) the road turns dirt and went thru Acton. It was sixteen miles from Acton to Littlerock. Talk about wash boards, at that time, there was a dirt road that went from Littlerock to Llano where the old Socialist Colony used to be. No Pearblossom, or Juniper Hills at that time. There used to be a store two stories high, grocery and post office downstairs and rooms up stairs at the corner of 77th St. E. and what is now Wade's Market. It wasn't a regular post office. The mail man, Don Bonn would leave the mail there on the counter and everyone helped themselves to their own. Iw was about a mile and one half from where we were staying. Later there was a nice store (Brinks) and the post office was across the road on 82nd. St.

   It was during that time Mama and I met nearly all the orchardists. Carrs, Bones, Sr. Scholes, Primmers, Martin (Mr. Martin used to be our tax assesor), and the Millers, were the orchardists. That was also when everyone used to go to the dances in Llano. Papa used to bring some of my classmates from Santa Monica High (Samohi) up Friday Rites and stay till Sunday. All the young men around looked forward to seeing Mr. Milde on Friday nites. They knew they would have partners for the dances. Sometimes we all went to Acton, Elizabeth Lake or Palmdale. Remember, all dirt roads. That reminds me I went to Lancaster High School two weeks. On Sunday nits, our parents took us over to the school and came after us Friday Rite. That was when we became acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Shorty Lindsey and their two daughters, Ruth and Laura Mae. Ruth married a Doctor Savage from Mojave and Laura Mae married Fred McAdam from Palmdale. Any ways, at the high school, we stayed in a dormitory which was across the top of the old building. As I had Asthma, I couldn't stand the dust and sneezed all the time, so had to quit. How I hated to quit. I forgot to tell you that most of the dances were held in the school houses. After a year and a half in Littlerock, we went back to Santa Monica completely well. I went to a beauty college and became a beauty operator. In 1933, Mama and I came back to Pearblossom. Mrs. Guy Chase named this community Pear-blossom. There was a Gas Station, a place called the Desert Hawk, owned by Ed Sanner, and nothing else in the west end of Pearblossom. Mr. Guy Chase was also from Santa Monica, he and Mr. H.M. Miller had the Ford agency in S.M. so one settled in Littlerock, which used to be spelled Little Rock until two much mail went to Arkansas so changed it to one word? same with Pearblossom and Mr. Chase started this subdivision of which we are the proud owners of two acres right in the center of Beautiful Uptown, or is it downtown, Pearblossom'

   In 1933, during the depression, I earned sixteen dollars a week and Papa was working two and a half days a week. He was a Photo Engraver in Los Angeles and came up over weekends. Mama rented her place in Westwood, five miles E. of Santa Monica and decided to start a rest home in Pearblossom, of all things. Remember there wasn't any Pearblossom then. The Desert Hawk had two stories, and was nicely equiped for such a place. Dining room downstairs with a large kitchen and bedrooms upstairs and the gasstation.-Standard by the way and Mr. Roy Mumaw, Sr. was the one who delivered the gas, all hand pumps too.

   Well, I couldn't have my Mama up here alone so I quit my job and started working for her. The place yes so fixed for a little restaurant and there was such a need for people going by to Victor-ville and Big Pines for the snow (of course, by that time there was a two way black top going thru Pearblossom to Victorville and San Bernardino, that we decided to change it from a Rest Home to a workshop.) At that time, the main road to the winter wonderland was thru the old cut off thru Littlerock, Pearblossom and Valyermo and over the hill. In the winter there were hundreds of cars going to the snows. To get back to our little restaurant...When we started out, Mama was to be the cook and me the waitress. Well we put it in reverse, Mama was the waitress and I was the cook. After working in a beauty shop for so long, I couldn't stand the stares of the people, expecially the male gender. The big question always was, Tell me, how come you and your mother are working in a place like this or the other way around, how come you and your daughter have a place like this. Any way, we loved it and have friends today we met at the Desert Hawk. Now for Palmdale...We bought our supplies in Palmdale from Mr. Bradford. That was the only store. Our ice had to be carried from the ice house. We served hamburger 10¢, steak dinners 60¢, ham dinners 75¢, chicken, 75¢ complete dinners too. Our hamburger at the store was twelve to fourteen cents a lb. and the steaks sixteen to eighteen cents a piece and it seems ham was the highest, buns were six to eight cents. We also served wine 10¢ a glass and had two prices for beer, 10 ~ 15~. I could write on and on about the experiences about the happenings in our little eating place. One nits, there were two forest service men at the counter (Mr. Myron Merrete and Harold Ames) and our phone rang (by the way, we had the last phone on the line, hand cranked) to the East of the Valley. A fire was destroying Noah Beery'~s beau'-tiful place at Big Rock, everyone but Mama left, but fast fo'r Noah Beery's. Oh those roads, the fire was terrible no equipment to work with. There was a swimming pool filled with water and I ran the outboard motor to suck the water out while others handled the hose. All that beauty destroyed by carelessness. Back to Palmdale... There was Fehrensen Drug Store on Sierra Hwy, a notion store, a beer parlor, Mr. Bradfords, the Old Post Office, Mrs.~Frahm Postmaster, Mr. Bill McAdams agency all in one block. That was

   Palmdale in 1933. The Bank of America was in the charge of Wally Kahnert who used to come out to the Desert Hawk and play the piano, also, Rollie Galbraith. The lumber yard where Charlie Bunch waited on us and the Palmdale Inn where Mrs. Agnes Bland helped me to get cigarettes, candy, gum etc. because there weren't any salesmen out our way (believe it or not.) If you wanted to do any business in Palmdale during the day, you had to get there before twelve or after one o'clock because everything was closed between twelve and one. Honest' It really was a job to go to L.A. no freeway then. The main thing to belong to was the Grange.

   Now for Juniper Hills. The only recollection I have of how the name Juniper Hills came into being was a Mrs. Louise Bailey had it painted on her old station wagon. Most of that district used to be called Cima Mesa. But I still give credit to Mrs. Bailey.

   My folks bought acreage in Juniper Hills and built a beauti-ful home where we lived for eight years. We never had electricity, water or pave roads and still our place was beautiful. It was called Milde's Shangri La. During the second world war, Papa fell from one of our big pine trees and lived a week. Dr. Snooks from Palmdale, is the most wonderful man and Dr. He stayed so many hours with my dad, one man for another. The intravenous bottle tied to a broom handle. I had a job at Polaris Flight academy driving a tug and gasoline truck. Thirty-three miles each way. Did I get the tires and gas coupons. We were the only family that lived at the top of the hill that lived there year in and year out. Now there are many people living there and have beautiful homes. I bought the first light pole for the beautiful Juniper Hills Com-munity Club House in memory of my father in 1943.

   Now Pearblossom has five or six gas stations, a hardware store, Reichards Dept. Store, four restaurants, I don't know how many realtors, Antique Shop, Bottle Shop three mobile home trailer parks, a beautiful park and a post office two big stores and lots of people I don't know anymore.

   There are so many things to tell about, hope you can get some-thing out of this, guess I should have just started to write a book.

Mildred M. Swords




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