The House That Built Me

This is the house that my parents bought brand new in 1950 for $9000. It was the only home I knew until I grew up and married.  I drove by it when I was back in San Bernardino two weeks ago revisiting old stomping grounds.  Not much has changed other than different paint, a new light fixture by the front porch, and a new cinder block wall, with a new wooden gate over the driveway, that they moved a little closer to the street than where we had the old chain link fence/gate.  They have painted the brick on the front of the house a darker color.  My mom always kept that brick painted white, no matter the color the rest of the house was painted. That color change is the one thing that stands out to me the most and makes our old house look the least familiar.  I could tell that the patio awning was still attached to the garage, and I assume the swimming pool is still there- after all that was the best part of that house. Amazingly, even the old swamp cooler is still hanging out of the dining room window. Hopefully they have painted over the grafitti that my friends painted all over the inside of the garage.

All my childhood memories are associated with that house.  The 3 bedroom/1 bath house was about 1100 sq feet and built in a circular floor plan.  That circle of rooms was a constant source of amusement for my brothers and myself.  We used to race around the house being followed by any assortment of dogs and siblings.  There was a gas floor furnace in the living room that had a vent through the wall into the hallway.  If I got down on the floor in the hallway, I could look through that vent and watch the TV in the living room for hours after I had been sent to bed by my parents. I remember lying in bed in the front bedroom on a hot summer night with all the windows open and being frightened by hearing footsteps of someone walking through the ivy right outside my bedroom window, until I got old enough to realize it was just a resident frog jumping through the ivy looking for a meal.

Speaking of scary experiences, I remember one night when my parents were gone and I was being tended by my two older brothers and someone had the bright idea to get sleeping bags and sleep in my wooden playhouse outside in the back yard.  Sounded like a fun sibling bonding time, until my brother Rick said he had to go to the bathroom in the house, but in reality put on a wolf mask and came back and growled at me through the little glass window and scared me to death.

I certainly remember all the dogs, cats, birds, ducks and rabbits that we had through the years that are buried in that back yard.  Also "Mommy's Play Pen", which was a sign that my dad had made to hang on the gate to mom's garden. I remember the large Chinese Elm in the back yard where dad would hang the rabbits he got hunting to skin them. Then there was mom's orchid tree in the front yard (still there) that split in two during a wind storm, but Rick was able to save it by wiring it back together.

I remember all the slumber parties, pool parties, summer barbeques, and Christmas baking days with extended family.  I remember a whole lot of card playing on the dining room table.  I remember my brother Mike always annoying one of my cats that would sleep on top of the refrigerator where it was warm.  He couldn't walk by that cat without pulling its tail. Truly, it was the house that built me.

The neighborhood still looks much the same as it did when I lived there.  The block has been nicely maintained by the owners, yards well-kept, etc, but surprisingly no major remodels or rebuilds of surrounding houses, no second stories added on, etc., so it is all very familiar. The junior high school at the end of the block and the elementary school close by are unchanged.  I watched a gym class run around the track at Golden Valley Junior High still wearing shorts & tshirts in the gold & black of the "Knights".

 I guess I shouldn't be surprised that those schools have had no recent upgrades to those 50+ year old schools as San Bernardino is one of the California cities that has gone bankrupt. It appears that unless some bailout magically appears the city will soon unincorporate and go back to county governance. No police department, no fire department, no mayor or city council. The downtown core of "E" street that held all the department stores (Harris', Montgomery Wards, Sears, JC Penney's)before malls were invented are long gone.When I was in high school we used to "cruise" E street up and down in front of the original McDonalds with the golden arches (San Bernardino's only claim to fame).  That original McDonalds is still there, however it is now a McDonalds museum, no longer the first fast food restaraunt known to man. A lot of my time was spent at that place while I was in high school- it was a major hangout after football games and a place to meet friends. I still remember my standard order: a fish sandwich, fries and a strawberry shake.

It is so interesting how a place can be such a part of one's life. No matter how old I get, or how much I travel, San Bernardino and that house will always be home.