The History of a House - Part 1

Song - Our House by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

 

My son Jon & his girlfriend Jacque have just bought a house in Salinas where they both work.  Their first project is to renovate the bathroom.  When the carpenter began the demo, they discovered this note on the drywall.

 

 Stating: Alice Michael Moser lived here 30 years, Before her a Japanese family lived here were later interned. Mark & Ellen Morris? lived here between 1-88 & 4-89, Stephan? Lorse? bo't the house in Apr 1989.

Being a genealogist this really perked my interest.  I began with the interned Japanese family - Family #13145.

Kikuo Richard Endo and his wife Lily Misue Minami were both born in California.  Kikuo was born in 1908 in Castroville and Lily in Oakland.  The 1920 Census states that they are living with another family in Salinas and that the fathers are partners owning a shop. In 1930 Kikuo is living with his father Tokutaro, a brother and sister in a nearby labor camp and his father Tokutaro is a labor foreman at a farm.

In the mid-1930’s Agricultural workers began to unionize (mostly Filipino’s) and some of the Labor Camps were destroyed in retaliation.

Kiduo graduated from UC Berkeley as a pharmacist and in 1933 he married Lily. His brother Frank also attended UC Berkeley. 

                              

 1934 - 1940 -  Kikuo and Lily have three boys - Nori, Tokio & Kimio.

1939 Kikuo owns two pharmacies – 107 Lake and 104 E. Market both in Salinas.

1940 Census – The family is living on Archer St. in Salinas.  The Home Value is listed as $6,000 and is the most expensive house on Archer.

5 Jul 1942 – Family #13145 was interned in Poston, Arizona at a Japanese Internment Camp.  The children were between 2-10 years. 

 

Nori

Tokio

 

Kimio
 

23 Jun 1943 – The family was released from camp and they moved to Minneapolis, MN then to Riverdale, MD.  Possibly they had family to stay with and I do not know what happened to their home or businesses. 

In 1987 Kikuo died in Hyattsville, Maryland and Lily died in 2003 in Yorba Linda, California. (Possibly living with one of her children)

My next post will be about Alice Michael Moser!  Just wait until you hear her story.

"I'm thinking about writing the story 

of our house somewhere to surprise an owner in the future!"

- JCB

Good Creepy Crawleys

Song - There Ain't No Bugs On Me by Jerry Garcia & David Grisman

 

 Have you ever seen a brown Praying Mantis?  I had not until several days ago when this one walked by me near the pool.  At first I thought it was a leaf until he turned sideways.  Apparently the green ones are more prominent in California but the Mantis turn brown or green for the same purpose....camouflage on trees and plants. I asked Mr. B if he would kindly move him from the patio to the garden so he would not get stepped on.  Mr. P-man is now living very happily in the shade garden!

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, 

try going to bed with a mosquito."

--Dalai Lama

In Need Of A Drink

 Song - Dem Deer by Bryan Bowers

 

So I have several bird baths around our yard and the other evening Mr. B came home from work and told me how attractive my bird baths are becoming.  While I was still enjoying a moment of bird pride, he showed me his cell phone.....

Yup...this is the deer we call "Buck Pennell" as there used to be a guy on our tiny street by that name.

And there goes Buck.....very well hydrated!

Time to fill up the bird baths again.

"Advice from a Deer

Be a good listener

Leap over obstacles

Know when to lay low

Tread lightly on the earth

Take time to browse

Look both ways before crossing the road

Don't pass the buck!"

--Unknown

 

 

Eggs Anyone?

 Song - Hozier Medley cover by Sierra & Chase Eagleson

 

(sorry I couldn't find a good egg song ;-)

Mr. B has been gone for the last few days and Sunday morning I woke up and had a brilliant thought. How about breakfast in bed?  OK. And how about some Eggs Benedict from Main Street Kitchen? Now who will deliver? DoorDash? And within half an hour I had a hot breakfast on my front porch.....

They even included a little bag with condiments, napkins & a fork & knife.

Amazing brunch of toasted Acme bread, Fra' Mani ham (loads), two organic poached (to perfection) eggs and topped with a light hollandaise. I sat outside under the pergola, played some tunes and enjoyed the birds & blue sky while loving every bite. 

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."

-- John Gunther

RBG

 

i have no words..........

Get Up

Song - Get Up Stand Up by Playing for Change - Song Around the World

Dance at Bougival is an 1883 work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Get up and dance!

"Happiness is the friend

who'll dance with you

to the song

that's not meant for dancing"

--thatonerule:#2887

Look Up, Look Down

 Song - In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins cover by Sierra Eagleson

Several weeks ago it was Mr. B & my 41st Anniversary.  We decided to celebrate so he took me to a Tsunami Zone.......well no but yes.  We actually headed to Nick's Cove near Tomales for our first dining out experience in five months!

It was a cool day on the coast but so refreshing to sit outside at the waters edge and enjoy a delightful lunch together. Then we headed over to Bodega Bay to take a long walk on the beach.

And when I looked up......

I spotted lot's of Forster's Terns......

 

 

And Pelican's flying low over the water.

And several colorful kites drifting in the breeze.

When I looked down I saw.....

.....Wimbrel's looking for crabs with their long curved beaks.....

....an elaborate sand castle with a moat dug all around it and feather & pebble decorations.....

...and a blooming red bulb seaweed........

....bits of shells......

...interesting feathers.....

and this sweet little flowering plant that I have never seen before.

And when I looked up again....

...I spotted this sea monster looking at me!

Happy Anniversary Mr. B - And here is to many more.....

"Because of our routines 

we forget that life is 

an ongoing adventure."    

--Maya Angelou

She's Got Legs

 Song - Hot Legs by Rod Stewart

Several weeks ago we were having a BBQ with family.  Part way through dinner someone noticed this little Praying Mantis on my table top plant trellis.  She was just a baby and less than one inch long.

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

--Confucius

Missing You

 Song - Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman

 

I have been waiting for the day to share with you about what has been going on in my life lately.....beside Covid.....beside California wildfires.....and smoke.....beside 100+ degree weather.

 

My last post was July 1st. 

 

The very next day we got the unexpected news that my mom Betty was very ill and in just three short weeks she passed away. 

 

A few days ago her home and the house that my family have lived in since 1956 sold. For the last few weeks my brother and I have gone through our family belongings.  Nothing of real monetary value, mostly fond memories.......the best.  

 

It brought us closer working through the grief, remembering fun times, giving items to family members and getting rid of the rest, laughing and crying. Her faithful little dog Buddy was re-homed to a loving family in Sacramento and they are all so happy to be together.  

 

The birds that mom fed have missed her as well as they keep coming to the feeders and the windows wondering where she is.  

I struggled with posting about this as it felt to dear to me and I was still too tender.  

 

I trusted myself to wait until the right time came.  I even thought about just starting up again with a happy post about a flower and act like nothing had happened.  But in the last few days it came to me.....YOU know exactly how this place feels.  You have been here at some point in your life so you know. And that is why I needed to share with you so that you know you are not alone.

 

 

"The reality is that you will grieve forever.  

You will not 'get over' the loss of a loved one; 

you will learn to live with it. 

You will heal and you will rebuild yourself 

around the loss you have suffered.  

You will be whole again 

but you will never be the same.  

Nor should you be the same 

nor should you want to."

                                            --Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Wailing

Song - Amazing Grace by Carlos Reyes

In 2011 I heard this man Carlos Reyes for the very first time at Doobie Brothers concert

H e    b l e w    m y    m i n d

And if you listen to the song above "Amazing Grace" you will understand why 

He can wail on that violin...

And a fun fact is that he lives in my home town of Walnut Creek!

"One of the most popular performers to grace the Sierra Nevada Big room stage, Carlos Reyes, returns Tuesday.

Paraguay-born harp and violin artist, Reyes will be backed by his hot band, Electric Symphony, as he plays sweet Latin American ballads to lowdown blues and jazz.

“Chico’s been just wonderful to me,” Reyes said in a recent interview. “It’s great that Sierra Nevada keeps putting on such nice concerts. I’m very happy they do such a great job of bringing such a variety of people.”

Known as a recording artist, producer, engineer, harpist and violinist, Reyes has been breaking musical education at the age of 3 on the violin. He was declared a child prodigy at an early age when his father, a musical and national hero in Paraguay, urged him to learn the complicated 36-strings native Paraguayan harp."

--Enterprise-Record

Illegal Entry

Song - Take It Easy by The Eagles

This morning a little Chickadee flew into our bedroom through our open door.

He just stayed for a moment to say "Good Morning" and then flew back out.

Ten minutes later I went outside to look at my garden and spotted a squirrel....

I called to Mr. B to see if I was seeing this properly....

Yep......Speedy was trapped inside the "squirrel-proof" bird feeder

Speedy was panicking trying each square to see if he could get out.

TRAPPED

I ran and got my camera and Mr. B was going for the wire cutters

As I approached him, he panicked and squeezed through one of the openings and ran up the tree

RELIEF

***no birds or squirrels were harmed during this adventure - the bird in the above photo was happily resting in our Japanese Maple last spring and the squirrel in the above photo was done by me in Photoshop as I wasn't quick enough to capture a photo of the actual crime.

"The creatures that inhabit this earth-be they

human beings or animals-are here to contribute,

each in its own particular way,

to the beauty and prosperity of the world."

--Dalai Lama

Just Chillin'

Song - Classical Chillout - Pachelbel, Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Janacek, Bach, Handel

My son's dog Chewy just chillin' on our bed in the morning light.....sweet.

"Live in the sunshine

Swim the sea

Drink the wild air."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson