Don't Know Much About History

(He never reads me so this won't ruin the surprise.)

My son recently moved from Temecula to Laguna Beach in California. One of his big beefs - and one of the things that I really liked - about Temecula is that it was a planned city that rose up out of the dessert all at once. It had a history before the 80s, but it was one of dessert, small ranches and isolated avocado farming. Once the 15 interstate went through, suburbia blossomed.

The good is that since everything - homes, business offices, malls - went up at once, it all has an identical design style and homogeneous look. And of course that overdone corporate park-style  public landscaping that I enjoy so much. (Seriously). The bad is that there was no variety and no room for long-established mom-and-pop businesses. Everything was a franchise of some national chain. As my son put it, there was no soul, no character.

But now, thanks to an upturn in his professional fortune, he had to move closer to where he works now and he chose Laguna Beach. Native son of the Jersey Shore, he "missed the ocean", and I suppose the bikini-clad chicks don't hurt either. Laguna Beach has a history*, and history pleases him so for a housewarming present, I'm making a collage of vintage postcards pressed between glass.

eBay abounds with postcards and quite a lot of them are the kind I'm seeking: "postally used", meaning they have personal messages on them. The first one I bought was sent in 1943. The LB address still exists but neither  GoogleMaps nor MSN maps shows an existing address for the recipient. This is the message:

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It doesn't specifically say so, but I imagine that it must have been from a young war bride, maybe her groom was at Camp Pendleton and was due to ship out - that would account for the "fastest ceremony I ever saw".

This is a card from 1950 that has an appealing image of the Hotel Laguna, but I can't make myself buy it. Look at it.

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In 1950, my mother was newly married to a coal miner, just pregnant and standing in the snow at 5:30 am to take a bus to the dress factory she ultimately worked in for 40 years. I used to think that the whole world had the same history that I did. It's too crushing to realize that other young women sunned themselves in settings like this while my mother was hoping the bus came before the snow soaked through to her thin cotton socks.

*including several modern-era visits from plesiosaurs (maybe).

Comments

[DogsDontPurr]

I lovvvve old postcards. Where ever I live, I tend to get obsessed with them. When I moved to San Fran, I had to get every possible postcard of The Cliff House (don't tell anyone, but I actually dropped $45 on one vintage photo postcard of it...eeek!) Then I moved to Playa del Rey, and my obsession started all over again. You don't even want to guess how many vintage postcards I have of the dwindling lagoon here. It's silly. But it's all about home. I think your project for your son is very cool.

[The Proprietor]

"Mary Lou Jones"? "Peoria, Illinois"??

My God, how All-American. I hope her guy came back from the war and they started a successful Goodyear tire dealership and had 4 kids who were in the 4H.

[Jann]

The old postcards are indeed fascinating and definitely a true touch of Americana.

The photo of Hotel Laguna reminds me of the early years of Las Vegas ... and even the later RatPack years.

Things just seemed so glamorous back then. People dressed up to go to the movies, to fly on a plane, to visit a hotel, etc.

Definitely an era gone by ... and sorely missed by this ol' broad!

Out west (Arizona, Nevada, SoCal) there are so many planned communities wherein everything is very "organized" looking ... and yes, it too appeals to the neat-nik in me. I love order and defined style.

BTW, Tiramisu is a dessert. Sand, cactus and rattlesnakes are a desert. ;-)

[Faith]

What a nice thing to do for your son. I've never gotten into the vintage postcard thing, but I love looking at them from time to time -- something so voyeuristic about it all.

[pops]

Temecula was still pretty much empty when we lived in San Diego. It was one of those ranch communities you had to drive through to get to the big I-10-I-15 interchange near the Ontario Airport.

Interesting to hear that it's developed.

John Elway had a ranch there but I think the ex got it in the settlement.

[Karan]

I love Laguna Beach above all other beaches in Southern California. There used to be a hobo who stood at the northern entrance of the city and wave to everyone arriving...he was such a "fixture" the city ended up hiring him and paying him to wave until he was so old and beatup that he couldn't do it anymore. Then they retired him and gave him a pension. That is how cool Laguna Beach is. Every year the city also sponsors an "art" event where volunteers recreate "living" versions of famous paintings.

You son is lucky to live there!