Going back 54 years

 I solved a mystery in my life yesterday. 

 3209 E. Hammond in Fresno

This looks like just an older house, right? 

We only lived here a short time in my childhood.  

Just 1 1/2 years from 1954-1956.  

I was 2 years old when we left so I don't remember this place at all.  

(btw, this picture was taken yesterday)

So why did my Mom talk about it so often?  

Yesterday I found out.

Here is the driveway of this same house in 1954, 
the year I was born.

My Dad this past week ran into Carline Bock who use to live right across from us there.  
So he suggested I go visit her. 
More on that in a sec.

Back in 1956, I'm standing on our front lawn.

I know, my pathetic hair cut, but my Mom must have liked it.

And this is the house Carlene Bock lived in...how it looks today. 

Again, here's the one we lived in, as it is today, showing more of the neighborhood.

Of course after all these years, this neighborhood is not the best.  

Yet, look at this house (below) just a few houses down from the one we use to live in. 

It looks totally different than all the others on the block!

Right on the corner, not even 1/2 block away, is this lovely store.

And right across the street from that is Angels Hair Salon.  

Can you imagine the view looking through the bars on the windows??

And this use to be Safeway.

1955 was definitely a kinder, gentler time, as my Mom use to say. 

My Dad with Richard and me. (before our 6 other siblings were born)

Yesterday Den and I went to visit my long ago neighbor, Carline Bock.  
She now lives with a caretaker in North Fresno.  
We got to spend over an hour with her looking over old pictures and sharing memories.  
HER memories I should say, since I was just a baby.  

Mom talked often about our home on Hammond.  



I found out why when I turned over the first picture on this post.  
Look what she had written on the back, 56 years ago:

There it is.  The very last line,  "Missionaries found us here."

They knocked at our door that hot July day in 1955, and changed our lives forever.  
Not only our lives, but the lives of all my parents' children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. 
And for generations to come.

Now I get it. 

No wonder now, our short stay at 3209 E. Hammond, meant so much to my Mom.

A side note:  Yesterday as soon as Den and I walked in and saw Carline Bock, we knew she looked SO familiar.  Den soon remembered that Carline went to the Alzheimer's support group with us about 6 years ago. We were going for my Mom and Carline was going for her husband.  A few weeks after the group was over we saw Carline again at Carrows and went up to talk to her.  I remember saying to Dennis at the time that I wished I could think of a way to keep in touch with Carline and be friends with her because I said "there is just something about her that I like."  We had no idea at the time that she had been my neighbor back in the 1950s, and a good friend of my Mom's!