Four Dollars and a Dream - The Story of Peter Christensn - Part 5 - California

  Part 5 of Pete's Story - read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.

Pete and Ella’s lives changed again in 1946 when the decision was made to sell the farm. Pete’s farm auction not only included his land, but also a nice selection of farm equipment. His livestock was also on the auction block, and included 33 head of cattle, four head of horses, one Black Angus bull and 200 hens. In addition, everything in the house was being sold, furniture and personal items.

There’s not a lot of indication of why the decision was made – perhaps he was tired of the ups and downs of farming, or perhaps he was tired of the often brutally cold weather of South Dakota. Or maybe he just wanted to retire, as he was 62 years old. Later on, Pete mentioned in a letter to his daughter, “I’m sorry to hear you are having a bad winter in S. Dakota. You know I believe life is too short to put up with it” which might be a good indication of his motives. Regardless, they had no clear plans of what they were going to do next, except to get in the car and start driving.

Their first destination was Iowa to visit his cousins who still lived in the same area where Pete lived after immigration. After a short visit there, it was onward to Harlingen, Texas at the end of November, where their daughter Edna lived. Pete fell in love with the area, but Ella did not, as she mentioned in a letter, “I’m afraid I’m stuck here.” She wondered how long it would be before her husband bought property and how much he’d “sink into it.” She wrote, “He is sure not going to sink anything that belongs to me in it till I’ve been here long enough to see how I like it. I still want my trip to California, but won’t be a bit surprised if I don’t (get it).” They had looked at houses the week before and found a really nice one, furnished, with a good shady fenced in yard and Pete fell in love with it. Ella said, “I don’t believe I’ll be able to get him out of Texas.” The only thing that appealed to Pete more than living in this beautiful home in Texas was the price. They wanted $7,000 for it, but he wanted to get it for $6,000. Ella told him if he was successful, she’d live there. Thanks to Pete’s frugal nature and the unwillingness of the seller to budge, Ella was off the hook.

One thing about Texas that Ella was impressed with was how they did laundry. She said, “There are places where they use machines and get hot water and wash. It’s kind of handy when you can get a washing machine.”

Next on their traveling itinerary was California, to be followed by Medford, Oregon. The trip to California was not a surprise, as Ella really wanted to visit there and Pete’s sisters Katrina and Laura were there. But Medford, Oregon is a mystery and it doesn’t appear they ever made it there.

Within a month, they had found a house in Gardena, California and purchased it but were unable to get their utilities turned on right away so they stayed a few days at Katrina’s. Pete told of their adventure with their car –

“I suppose Mother told you about our bad luck with the car, but I know she really didn’t know how it happened so I’ll tell you, ha ha. We went out to Silver Lake, that is where my sister Katrine is living. We stayed there all night as we didn’t have our gas and electricity turned on. So in the morning we went out to our car, it was parked on a hillside, almost a mountain. The brake alone would stop it from going downhill so I left it in low gear. You know it was foggy in the evening so the windshield was clouded over. I got a rag and started to clean it off. Mother climbed in the car. And first thing I knew the car started downhill, very slowly at first. She tried to get out but was afraid to let go of the car. There she was half out and half in, and I had to pull hard on her to make her let go. It’s a wonder she did not get hurt. You know when she got in the car she pushed the lever with her legs and got it out of gear. Next time I’m going to leave it in reverse. The car went across the street and dropped about 10 ft then over another garage and a drop almost straight down of about 20 ft and landed up against a house. It made a big dent in the wall of the house. I’m glad it was not a brick wall. The car never even turned over. A Ford can really take it. Estimated damage to car $180.00 The man who owns the house claims damage to house and lot $3000. A darn good thing I had insurance, don’t you think? It cost $25 to get the car hoisted up to the street again with a crane and 2 trucks. I was able to run the car after it was pulled up. It had one crumpled fender, two damaged running boards, 3 broken windows, broken grill and bent bumper. I’m sure it could never do that again, and be able to run.“

Meanwhile, Pete and Ella were busy getting their new house set up to their liking. The first order of business for Pete was putting in a garden, and he was happy his radishes were already coming up. Ella went to Los Angeles and bought a new rug for the front room, spending $140 which in today’s money is $2,270! Ella had her own money, so Pete obviously knew better than to argue about it, but he did say, “I can see where I’ll have to stay in the kitchen or walk on newspaper, ha ha!”

Their house was just built the year before, as were the others in the neighborhood. There were no trees or bushes, and only a few flowers planted. It was 6 miles to several beaches, 14 miles to Los Angeles and 14 miles to Long Beach. Gardena experienced a big spurt in building, and a big supermarket was about 1 mile from them where two years prior there was nothing at all. They lived 1 ½ blocks away from a smaller grocery store.

A farmer from South Dakota finding himself on a Los Angeles freeway must have been an interesting situation. In Pete’s words: “You should try to drive a car in San Diego or Los Angeles. They pass you on both sides and if you have to make a right or left turn, and aren’t in the right place it’s just too bad. They are smashing cars every day. I don’t want a new care for awhile.” His sisters Laura and Katrina and their families were helping them get settled and making them feel at home. They also got a little dog named Pee Wee, who slept in a box in the kitchen.

Pete planting his garden

Over the course of the next couple of years Pete transformed the plain yard into something lush and absolutely beautiful. Besides a vegetable garden, he installed a Koi pond, kept 27 hens, planted many plants, shrubs and flowers including a stunning rose garden, over 300 strawberry plants, grape vines, and an orchard of lemon, orange, peach, apple and apricot trees, plus two almond trees on his two large lots. Ella made wine from the apricots. You can take the man off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the man.

Life in California seemed to be agreeing with Pete and Ella. They went to the beach regularly, worked in the yard, and socialized with their family and neighbors. But Pete, who had worked since he was about 10-12 years old, decided he needed to have a job. Pete mentioned he has to drive 11 miles to work every day to South Gate – where he held what he called a “good job.” The company he worked for made hoists and cranes.

Pete worked primarily in the supply room and the assembly department. He said, “I have to keep track of supplies and tools. I have to be bonded for $2000 as I have a key to the place. I start work at 5:45 a.m. and go home at 2:15 p.m. I get $60 for 40 hours and sometimes I work overtime and get time and a half. One week I made $72, not bad for an old man ha ha.” The exact name of the company he worked for isn’t known for sure, but it may have been Spanmaster, which produced cranes. South Gate had an industry boom, with 35 different manufacturing plants by 1940, so it could have been another company as well although Spanmaster was known for making cranes.

Ella sitting on the steps of their lovely home in Gardena

Pete and Ella got a TV early in 1952 and both enjoyed it, but it did contribute to the bickering between them. In Pete’s words, “Your Ma is working the television right now as I’m writing. She sure likes it, and so do I. But we can’t always agree on what to look at. I like comedy and she likes something emotional. I tell her I don’t care to listen to other people’s imaginary troubles. I want something funny and I like sports. Boxing and rasling [wrestling].”

To be continued...