MOM & DAD, THE PRE-BABY YEARS, 1939-1942

Mom and Dad on a rock in a river at Estes Park, Colorado, probably 1939 or 1940. It's amazing to think how these 2 individuals made everybody else in the family more loveable.

DAD'S RETIREMENT PARTY, JULY 15, 1976

Judge William Hogoboom, Chuck Walgenbach, and Judge Lester Olson.  Dad was 62 years old here: he looks terrific!

L to R: Chuck Walgenbach, Bill Conroy, Gerry Conroy, and Sally Walgenbach

Dad was so well liked in the courthouse that local LA Times would write articles on his charm, his wit, and humor.  Here's what one writer said about him:

AROUND TOWN--That sly one, Charles Walgenbach, clerk in Department 8 of Superior Court, asks if you know that Washington and Crenshaw meet at the Civic Center. He means reporters Chester Washington and Jimmy Crenshaw, who cover the court beat . . . . The jukebox in a bar on N. Cahuenga Blvd., John Benham reports, lists a selection titled "When You Were a Tulip." Ah, the old songs were best! ... A woman who was painfully injured in an automobile accident was taken to a hospital. Her young daughter, reporting her condition to a friend, malapropped, "She's still under seduction."

I sent the above LA Times article on Dad to Charlen.  She read the article and replied to me on September 26, 2011 at 9am, 

Oh yeah, Dad was quite a personality! Loved writing! Miss him very much!

I sent the same article to Sally, who replied, 

The comment "When you Were  a Tulip," . . . could it have been, "When you Wore a Tulip"?  Sounds like a Daddy song!  Thanks Mike...love it! 

She also sent this YouTube video of the song.  Honestly, that is a weak version of the song.  This one by Teresa Brewer captures Dad's era.

I placed Dad's commercial art work here as a holding place until I could learn more about them and then place them in their own and proper blog post.  

The newspaper clippings announcing Dad's retirement do not do him justice.  ". . . long-time clerk . . ." and ". . . pleasant helpfulness . . .' do not begin to describe his energy and charm, reasons why so many of Hollywood's stars and Los Angeles' sports legends preferred his efficiency and grace.

Dad's place of work--
 

POSTCARD SERRA RETREAT: FROM DAD TO CHARLEN, SEPTEMBER 17, 1951

The Serra Retreat in Malibu where Dad attended a religious retreat in 1951.  This is a postcard of the Serra Retreat in Malibu that Dad sent to Charlen back in 1951.  We were lucky to have a father who enjoyed writing, putting dates on documents, and commemorating events.  For without this, what evidence would we have that he attended such a retreat (though we do have photos of the event) and that being so close to God was so important to our dad.

This is Dad's postcard to Charlen in 1951.  Charlen was 8.  It reads "Darling Daughter, This is where Daddy spent his time with God.  Love, Daddy."  Note the year and the price of the stamp and the address.

MOM IN DENVER, CO, BEFORE 1940

I have mixed feelings about this picture.  I love it because it is a youthful picture of my mom.  I liked it so much that I had it framed.  I then asked Mom if I could hang it up in her room.  She gave me permission but added in rueful tones that she didn't like the picture because she didn't like the dress.  She didn't say why she didn't like the dress.  Maybe she didn't like the fit or design.  I don't know.  I loved the fact that she was happy here.  I loved seeing pictures of her happy.

The picture is taken at my dad's Aunt Gertrude's house on Clark Street in Denver.  My mom came to work for Aunt Gertrude, my dad's mom's sister, right out of high school which ended at the 8th grade.  I don't know why I am thinking of it now, but since I am thinking of it now let me state that my mom was born in Bisbee, Arizona.

Bisbee, 1916  

Apparently, there was a deportation move by the Bisbee government.  The wages were probably rising and people heard about it and convened there.  When the population grew too high, people had to go.  What an awful thing to be hauled up onto a train and shipped out of town.  

Mom and Dad at Sally and Luis's, 1987

One of my favorite pics of Mom and Dad.  The great Mike Larkin took this shot back in 1987 at Sally and Luis's house on Ramona Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga.  I loved my mom's smile and my dad's verve in making the most out of a moment.  Thanks, Mike Larkin for snapping this photo.  These are two of my favorite photos.  I think of these two as best friends, for their loyalty lasted for 48 years and beyond.  I don't know what song captures their enduring love for each other. This one does, "It Makes No Difference," [see below] absolutely captures my enduring love for both Mom and Dad.  The lyrics to this one, The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You," captures the enduring love of a mother to her son.  The lyrics are here:  Here is a stanza from the song "It Makes No Difference" by The Band:

"Without your love, I have nothing at all,
Like an empty hall, it's a lonely fall.
Since you've been gone it's a losing battle,
Stampeding cattle,
They rattle the walls . . .
And the sun don't shine anymore,
And the rains fall down on my door."