TEACHER FROM INDIA INFLUENCES VALLEY IN 1930s

BUILDING A GREAT MUSEUM FOR THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

Eastern religious thinking was introduced into the San Fernando Valley in the 1930s by teachers such as the world famous Indian guru Paramahansa Yogananda. The followers of the great mystic established the Self Realization Fellowship that still maintain centers in Los Angeles and the San Diego area. 

On April 19th, The Museum of the San Fernando Valley will celebrate the heritage of India with music, lectures and dance in Northridge, California.

 Paramahansa Yogananda

1893 - 1952

Self Realization Lake Shrine - vintage postcard - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Gerald Fecht 2014.  (click on images to enlarge them.)

The Santa Inez spring, along side of Sunset Boulevard. once was among the sources that supplied water to the movie lots of Inceville. Early Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan films were made at the site. Years passed and the followers of Paramahansa Yogananda created the present day Lake Shrine at this location. Today, under the lotus arch, stands a Chinese monument wherein there are some of the ashes of Mohandas Ghandi.  Visits to the Shrine at 17190 Sunset Boulevard are free and among the most memorable sites in Los Angeles.

CARRYING NEW BRUNSWICK HISTORY TO THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

BUILDING A GREAT MUSEUM FOR THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

Like nearly all of us who live in the San Fernando Valley,  Cyndee Wilson, patient coordinator for Progressive Physical Therapy in Woodland Hills, cherishes a family history that comes from far away. Valley residents often have photographs, news articles and artifacts that have migrated their way into our region along with their owners.

San Fernando Valley history does not exist in a geographic vacuum. Our people's stories are almost always interwoven with other locations and circumstances. Ranging from sentimental memorabilia like the wooden rocking chair from Iowa to the only remaining photograph of a grandparent lost in Europe'stragic holocaust, memories from the past can shape our emotions and thinking. 

These clippings owned by Cyndee Wilson provides graphic evidence of a time before UCLA's great athlete Jackie Robinson broke a 50 year color barrier that existed in American major league baseball.

One can only wonder what Earl Randolph Nelson would have achieved had he been able to compete in professional baseball.

"My Grandfather. Earl Randolph Nelson. Middle row, second on the left side closest to the manager. South End Royals of St. John, New Brunswick. Negro baseball league 1930."   Cyndee Wilson

Ray McIntyre Canadian middleweight Champion 'claimant' with his win over the noted Len Wadsworth.  McIntyre also took Ernie Roderick the distance for the British walter-weight title.

In 1993 Raymond McIntyre was inducted into the Canadian boxing Hall of Fame.  He was the middle weight champion of Canada in 1939. His hand was badly wounded during his service in World War II, preventing his return to professional sports. 

VAN NUYS DIPLOMAS WERE 1930s MILESTONES FOR ROBERT MARCH

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY              2013

The decade in which Robert March earned these educational milestones was difficult in the San Fernando Valley. The Great Depression dominated the economics of America from 1929 until the onset of World War Two. Let's peek at Robert's progress from 1930 until his graduation from Van Nuys High School in 1939. 

Progress report from Van Nuys Elementary School  January 1930 - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Tammy Bain, Littleton, Colorado 2013  (click on image to enlarge it.)

Progress report from Van Nuys Elementary School  January 1932 - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Tammy Bain, Littleton, Colorado 2013  (click on image to enlarge it.)

Graduation diploma of Robert March, June 1936 - Van Nuys Junior High School - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Tammy Bain, Littleton, Colorado 2013  (click on image to enlarge it.) Note: The junior high school and high school diplomas were signed by the same woman, Donna H. Hubbard.

Graduation diploma of Robert March, June 1939 - Van Nuys High School - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Tammy Bain, Littleton, Colorado 2013  (click on image to enlarge it.)

ROADSIDE BBQ STUDIO CITY 1921

CHERISHING OUR VALLEY              2013

Mrs. Dorcas Margaret Hallock and her 3 year olf little boy Clifford in front of the family's bar-b-que stand in 1921. Maggie Hallock served ice cream, Nehi soda pop, and three kinds of bar-b-que sandwiches; lamb, pork or beef. She also served George Washington instant coffee.

Side of the Hallock Bar-B-Que stand on a dirt Ventura Boulevard in Studio City - 1921.  (click on these images to enlarge them) Note the car parked to the right on what was then Ventura Highway. The stand, which was built out of the residential home Mr. Fred Swan (Margaret Hallock's brother) , was located about a block of modern Colfax Avenue. The fellow bedecked in a suit was "Uncle Fred" who had an auto repair show downtown on Jefferson Boulevard. 

Around 1929 or 1930, Fred Swan built a home on Picturesque Drive in Studio City. The house still stands in 2013. Life was a rural adventure in the San Fernando Valley for boys like this. (Clifford Hallock) is the taller of the two boys about 8 years old.

Look at the above photo enlarge, and a swan's head emerges by the smaller boy's hand. Swan's nest may have been a land development's name.

As these little guys grew older, they played by the Los Angeles River, generally a sandy bottomed stream. But the river was large enough that the boys had to hike to a bridge at Laurel Canyon on

their way to North Hollywood Junior High School. The river was the home to watercress and crawfish, once harvested by Native Tongva in the area. By Laurel Canyon bridge, there was a great swimming hole where on hot days school boys would "skinny dip."

SAN FERNANDO FIRE DEPARTMENT 1930

DISCOVERING OUR VALLEY  2011

The City of San Fernando is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year. The following image was taken of the City;s Fire Department in 1930.  (click on image to enlarge)

IMAGES OF AQUEDUCT WORKERS c. 1930

Thousands of skilled and unskilled workers made their livings on the Colorado River Aqueduct. The infusion of workers' money into the California economy had a major impact throughout the State.

Jackhammer worker - Water for 13 Cities - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gary Fredburg 2008 (click on image to enlarge)
Jackhammer workers made "good money" in this Depression Era aqueduct project, but experienced lifelong health problems.

Mucking Machine Operator - Water for 13 Cities - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gary Fredburg 2008 (click on image to enlarge)


Steelworker c 1930 - Water for 13 Cities - Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gary Fredburg 2008 (click on image to enlarge)
As far back as the early 1930s, construction managers understood the importance of steel reinforcement in cement structures.