History

8 Alhambra discoveries revealed

Sarah Grear — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:44:10 +0000

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Release Date:

May 24, 2012

We asked readers and contributors about unique and under-the-radar places and events that make Alhambra special. Their responses found a lot beneath the surface in the town that Phil Spector once called "a sleepy hick town." Some responses were downright poetic: If you close your eyes and listen to the traffic of the 10 Freeway you can hear the ocean or the serenity of early morning Tai Chi as the sun rises over Almansor Park. Most though, not surprisingly, had to do with food.

Alhambra's Central Park - with Tai Chi

One respondent said the pond at Almansor Park is a natural reserve in the middle of the city, free of charge. Another described the serenity of early morning Tai Chi as the sun rose over Almansor Park...

Bowling, beer - and dumplings?

All this and more at the old school Alhambra Bowling Center. What more could you want? Just if you're going to take leek and fish dumplings from Mama's Kitchen you'll have to go incognito...

The original Korean taco?

One respondent alleges Burrito Kingdom may just have created the "original Korean taco," an honor currently claimed by a certain, hugely popular food truck phenomenon.

Sing your heart out at Applebee's

On Thursday nights at Applebee's, be prepared to stand back as karaoke singers duke it out in intensely competitive sing-offs. Newbies are also welcome, according to another respondent.

Top tiles - and a donut

A contributor writes that the New Metro Tile Company will appeal to anyone with a discerning eye for interior design, as it offers up "one of the widest selections and best prices on nice, unique tile that you will find anywhere in LA." And on your way out, grab a free donut.

Alhambra's own time trove

The Alhambra Historical Society museum is the best place to get the scoop on Alhambra lore and how things have changed. And have they ever. The respondent should know: Her home was once a landing strip.

cityofalhambra.org

Super-duper Store

Make sure to also check out the small selection of videos for rent when making a run at Super Store, a family-run 99 cents liquor store.

At the 10 Freeway or the beach?

If you close your eyes and listen to the traffic of the 10 Freeway you can hear the ocean. Or so we hear.

We plan on investigating some of these tips in the coming weeks at See|Hear|Do. And we know there are more. Tell us what's missing on this list and we'll add it to the map.

A blast to the past: Italian grocers to In-N-Out

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:17:51 +0000

Release Date:

May 24, 2012

Picture Alhambra: Portraits of the City of Alhambra and the people who live here.

Ron Dalessandro's family ran a produce business in the 1930s on Atlantic Blvd near Huntington Ave, a time when the local immigrants mostly came from Italy. Dalessandro's grandfather Philip and great uncle Joe Banando came from Bari, Italy to seek their fortune in California. The grocery became the family business, and Dalessandro went on to work at the next market, Philip's Ranch Market in South San Gabriel which his parents ran until 1986. For the past 19 years, Dalessandro has been a City of Alhambra employee.

Do you have a photo of Alhambra to share? Send your images to editor@alhambrasource.org

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Lights! Camera! ALHAMBRA!

Firing Line — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:39:42 +0000

Release Date:

May 24, 2012

7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 31, 2012

Join Alhambra Preservation Group as two professional film location managers share their trade secrets: what they look for in selecting homes; how to make your home attractive to film scouts; the range of compensation available to homeowners; and how Alhambra can be more film-friendly in its policies and practices. Come and learn how to make your home the star of the show!
Alhambra Civic Center Library, Reese Hall
101 South 1st Street, Alhambra, CA 91801

Free and open to the public! Call APG to RSVP (626) 755-3467.

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Mothers of Midwick Tract

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:56:44 +0000

Release Date:

May 16, 2012

FIRST PERSON: Writer Lorna Lund Collins recalls growing up in 1950s Midwick Tract with a single mother, and all of the other mothers who adopted her.

This was the first Mother's Day without my mother who passed away six months ago so I thought a lot about her.

Mom had a really rough time after my dad died. She was left with a 7-year-old (me) and a 4-year-old (my brother) — and no means of support. She made a lot of really tough decisions: to remain in our home in Alhambra, to take a job in the school cafeteria so that she could be home with us when we had vacations, to make it on her own. This was a really gutsy position in 1954 when few women worked at all, and even fewer mothers did.

But we received wonderful mothering from others when Mom couldn’t be there. Our "village" was our close Midwick Tract neighborhood. We always knew that if we needed anything, the neighborhood parents were present for us.

My major surrogate mother was Wilma Sehnert, who lived two doors down on Hathaway Avenue. She was funny and caring and irreverent. All the neighborhood kids knew they’d find love in her home. She only had one son, Dan, so she treated me as the daughter she had always wanted.

The night of my senior prom, a friend offered to do my hair for me, but she wasn’t used to dealing with a mane as thick as mine. The result was terrible; I arrived home sobbing. Mom sent me to Wilma who combed it all out (we teased our hair at the time), wet it down, and styled it into a chic French roll. Then she cut wispy bangs, and added one of her own tortoiseshell headbands studded with rhinestones across the front. Finally, she did my makeup. I went from utter despair to elation. She’d made me feel like a princess.

She was not only a surrogate mother for me, but she played that role for many of the other kids in the neighborhood. When she died, I was asked to speak at her memorial service. It was both the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

Another of those "other mothers" in the neighborhood was Laura Lee Graham, mother of my friend Diane, who lived accross the street. We were never able to take vacations as kids, but one year the Grahams asked me to go to Yosemite on their family camping trip. The first night, I was bitten by a scorpion in my sleep and developed blood poisoning. Rather than grousing about my spoiling their vacation, Laura Lee rushed me to the emergency hospital, obtained the necessary medicines, and monitored my recovery. I insisted we stay there, even though I was unable to go in the water. The parents gave up their tent so that we girls could sleep inside. They took the air mattresses on the ground. I still remember the campfires and seeing the fire fall. Despite being ill, it was a memorable trip—one of the very few in all my growing up years.

Another significant ‘mother’ in my life was Letha Collins, my precious mother-in-love, who lived on Hitchcock Drive. She was the Avon lady and started calling at our house when I was five. She seemed very glamorous, and her bright smile was like a magnet to everyone she met. She loved me as a little kid, and that love continued until the day she died six years ago. It was mutual.

Larry and I have always joked that if there were arranged marriages, we’d still have married each other. Letha loved me, and Mom loved Larry.

Shortly before our wedding, I asked her what I should call her. In our neighborhood, all the adults were addressed by their first names, but she was now changing roles in my life. Her own mother-in-law was ‘Mother Collins’ but that sounded too formal. She asked what I’d like to use. I answered, “Well, I call my own mother ‘Mom’ so how about ‘Mother’ and Murl can be ‘Dad’?” She started to cry and so did I.

She was Mother from then on. She sometimes confused friends because she always introduced me as her daughter. And I never received a birthday card that didn’t say, “To our Dear Daughter.” As far as she was concerned, I was her daughter, not her daughter-in-law.

I have been truly blessed to have been mothered by all of these wonderful women and others as well. Who played a mothering role for you? For some people it’s grandmothers or fathers, teachers or friends. On Mothers’ Day, I gave thanks for them all.

Lorna Lund Collins grew up in Alhambra and met her husband in her neighborhood in Midwick Tract. Now the couple lives and writes in Dana Point, California. They are the authors of eight published books with Lorna’s next to be published at the end of this month.

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Saving Alhambra's youth with hard knocks

nathan.s — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:37:30 +0000

Release Date:

May 14, 2012

It began as a parental obligation for Rudy Tellez, whose daughter was at Alhambra High School at a time of vicious gang violence.

“We had a lot of problems back in the 80s with Brick City and the Asian gang...Wah Ching,” said Tellez, 63. When he witnessed a young person get shot, Tellez decided to take action: “I said no more, no more violence, we got to take care of this.”

Tellez, a former amateur boxer, took to what he knew best to curb aggression: he arranged a boxing tournament between two rival gangs. Nothing fancy, just a few boys and some boxing gloves to work out their frustrations. Today, the gangs are mostly gone, but the kids keep coming to his gym, Alhambra Youth Boxing Club. They come to work out, but also to see friends in a safe space. On any given day about 35 members, ages 7 to 25 and older, fill the gym with the sound of punches and chatter.

“We need more people like him, because he provides a real place for kids to grow and learn,” said Councilwoman Barbara Messina, who was on the city council when Tellez first approached the city about opening a boxing gym. “His heart is in the right place.”

Providing a vehicle to curb anger and support youth that goes beyond sport has been the intention since Tellez founded the gym in 1991. The retired dentist from East Los Angeles and his wife Antonia even provided a toastmasters program at their gym where teens practiced their speaking skills as well as an outreach or counseling sessions.

“That was one of our most proud accomplishments. Something that we did that helped so many kids, it really was new for the area,” said Tellez.

On a recent afternoon, the gym swelled with bodies after school. They came from Alhambra but also nearby El Sereno, Lincoln Heights, and other parts of East Los Angeles. Inside the club beat a pulse, one that all the trainers and athletes seem to understand. The young fighters, some under the age of 10, some girls, pummeled each other, but always exchanged thanks at the end.

“You get a lot of discipline here, something that a lot of these kids need in today’s society,” said Tellez, who has the abrasive swagger of a coach, but can also seem like an uncle who understands life can challenge a teenager. “If it’s boxing or with their mind, we let them work it out,”

Tellez suggests a monthly donation for membership, but he does not force anyone out for not paying. Instead, he relies on donations from parents, help from volunteers and students who clean up after themselves. In more than two decades, the gym moved three times, until finally settling in its current location on Main Street sandwiched between an auto shop and a Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation. The gym shows the ware that comes with finances stretched thin: the rings’ ropes are frayed, posters on the walls have faded into yellows, some of the speed bag frames are made from chipped wood.

But despite the gym's worn facade, the youth appear excited, some thrilled even, to be part of the group.

“Now that I’ve discovered it, I have to box like at least once a day,” said Tiffany Lemus, 19, from Alhambra. She knocks a speed bag and in the same breath talks with her friends, other girls who train at the gym. “It’s a great workout and it’s a relief – it keeps your mind off a lot of things.”

Tellez, who spends less time in the ring, still keeps a watchful eye over the scene. “We’re here for everyone, just so long as they have a good time and make it count.” And, as for the gang violence that drove him initially, he’s noticed the difference as well: “You don’t hear about it any more here in Alhambra.”

Location

Alhambra Youth Boxing Club

2314 West Main Street

Alhambra, CA 91801

United States

34° 5' 36.4992" N, 118° 8' 54.69" W

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From “soda jerks” to Cinco de Mayo sweet corn scoops at Fosselman’s — Alhambra’s ice cream history

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:48:18 +0000

Release Date:

May 8, 2012

As summer approaches — and in memory of ice cream icon Bill Fosselman who died a few weeks ago — we explore Alhambra’s sweet past.

By Joyce Amaro, Alhambra Preservation Group | From the Archives: This story was originally published 10.5.2010.

Alhambra once had as many family-owned ice cream parlors on some blocks as there are car dealerships on parts of Main Street today.These soda fountains — complete with a counter and round stools where families enjoyed delectable hand-made chocolate shakes, malts, phosphates and banana splits — are all but gone in Alhambra. Just one of the old-school variety remains: Fosselman’s, which has adapted its rich ice cream history to the city’s contemporary diversity.

Part of the great westward migration, Alhambra's ice cream parlor owners made their way to Southern California at the turn of the 20^th century to seek their fortune in the Golden State.

John Fosselman, whose grandfather came from Iowa and went on to open Fosselman’s Ice Cream Company, explained that the ethnic legacy of the migrants probably contributed to their tendency toward the dairy trade.

“One of the reasons as to why there was so much ice cream and dairy in that area is the fact that there was a very big German immigrant community,” he said. “I think it was just that the people brought the trade with them.”

In 1912, a few years before Fosselman’s grandfather opened his business, Alhambra's Main Street already boasted four ice cream parlors, all located within two blocks of each other and owned by migrants from the Midwest. The Alhambra Drug Company, owned and operated by Missouri-natives Millard and Iola Lucas, was located at First and Main Street. It featured “Ice Cream and Ices Made to Order by the Gallon.” Just east of Garfield Avenue and Main Street was the Dew Drop Inn, an ice cream parlor operated by Raymond and Jessie Canniff, a 20-something couple from Ohio. With a name like Dew Drop Inn, one can only imagine the cool treats served up by this fun-loving ice cream shop! Midwestern migrant families also owned the other two ice cream parlors, the F.B. Elwood Drug Co. and Samson’s Ice Cream and Confections Shop.

One man who originally made his way west with John Fosselman’s grandfather was Leo Anderson. The two parted ways, though, in Southern California, eventually running competing ice cream parlors. Leo’s was located where the new Volkswagen Dealership recently opened, and across the street from the current Fosselman’s. Norman Rockwell, a winter resident of Alhambra in the 1930s and 40s, frequented this soda fountain and Leo's Ice Cream Parlor, and its “soda jerks,” or servers of ice cream sodas, may have been the inspiration for many of his Saturday Evening Post covers that featured ice cream parlor-themed paintings.

One of those soda jerks was Tom Shea, 76, who worked at Leo’s as a high school student in the 1940s. “People that wanted good ice cream came to Alhambra,” he said. Shea, who now works at the Chamber of Commerce, remembers fondly the huge counter top at Leo’s crowded with eager customers and days where they would go out and pick fresh flats of strawberries to make toppings.

Today, Shea can be found many hot afternoons (and not so hot ones) across the street at Fosselman’s, licking favorites such as chocolate raspberry mouse, fresh peach or something seasonal like blueberry or strawberry in a sugar cone.
This family owned and operated business has been a fixture for the last 91 years, with a retail store on Main Street since 1941.

On a recent hot afternoon, John Fosselman was working behind a busy counter when Shea walked in for his weekly ice cream fix.

Fosselman welcomed him with a friendly groan and a special batch of fresh licorice ice cream.

While the ice cream making tradition has remained constant at Fosselman’s, the flavors have changed to fit a shifting Alhambra. “We have dulce de leche, which has more of a Latin flavor; we also do sweet corn during Cinco de Mayo,” Fosselman said. Asian flavors include lychee, ginger, matcha, yuzu and taro — one of the best sellers. “We learn how to do all this from our customers who walk into the store or chefs we deal with,” Fosselman said. “So I guess you can say it keeps us on our toes to say the least.”

Posts from the Past is brought to you by Alhambra Preservation Group – a non-profit organization working to identify, protect and celebrate Alhambra’s historical, architectural and cultural resources through education, advocacy and awareness-building programs. Visit us at www.AlhambraPreservation.org.

Location

1824 West Main Street

Alhambra, CA

United States

34° 5' 28.8276" N, 118° 8' 38.1084" W

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Removed, but not unscathed: Alhambra and the LA Riots

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:50:44 +0000

Release Date:

April 30, 2012

The riots that rocked Los Angeles two decades ago were nearly ignored in Alhambra's local media. The now-defunct Alhambra Post Advocate's first mention was nine days after the riots erupted and focused on the impacts on public coffers. Barely any other mentions followed.

But was Alhambra really so immune to the impact of the civil unrest within miles of city borders? In retrospect, it seems no.

We asked San Gabriel Valley residents about their experiences with the crisis and found a range of profound impacts. One police officer told us of harrowing experiences patrolling the streets. Another Alhambra resident, a mother, told us about trying to protect her children from a world with ugly violence. Indeed, each Alhambran we talked to had a different story to tell from the riots and how it impacted his or her life in the years to come.

From the front lines
When the riots broke out, surrounding police units were called in to supplement patrols and enforce curfew. Among the officers sent to patrol the Los Angeles streets was Alhambra High class of 1972 graduate Tom Montague, then of the Azusa Police Department.

“L.A. during the riots was very eerie. It reminded me of when I was a kid right after the Rose Parade before they cleaned up the streets. Everywhere, there was trash and debris. And it was on fire in the streets, including the trees and many of the buildings. Smoke was everywhere and when the winds shifted it went dark. I could hear gunfire but didn't know where."

"I remember seeing police cars loaded with officers on the 10 Freeway either going to or coming back from L.A. after working 24 hours.”

"When I was back [in Azusa] on patrol with my partner, Ray Zamora, we were assigned to walk foot patrol at the shopping centers… Several people that were in the center thanked us and shook our hands… Some even hugged us.”

It’s all America to them
Alhambra newcomer Sunny Kim met her former husband when he was in the navy in her native Korea. She followed him in 1976 to Rochester, New York. Sixteen years later she watched images flash across her television screen of Los Angeles Korean stores being looted.

“I didn't really understand why the riots were happening. But I did start to have this fear that blacks didn't like Koreans because that's the impression I got from the news. I felt bad seeing Korean people's businesses destroyed when they worked so hard to build them. I was angry hearing about how white police were not helping or stopping the riots and felt that if it were white people's businesses it wouldn't have gone that far.”

Kim was then working in a suit factory making high-end suits (including the one Richard Gere wore in Pretty Woman.) “I had a really nice, good friend who was black. A funny thing is we really didn’t talk much about that subject. She didn’t say it, but I could see that she felt really bad.”

These racial and geographic nuances were lost on her family, who worried for her safety. “I talked to my family and they didn’t know where LA was; they only knew it’s in America. So the first thing my sister said was to come back home. She didn't understand I was on the other side of the country. 'No, I’m far from LA,' I told her. 'It’s nice here.'”

Three years ago, Kim moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter. On her first ventures into Koreatown she was nervous, but her anxiety was quickly alleviated. “I feel proud that Korean people made it through that and rebuilt a stronger Koreatown. I feel thankful that Koreatown is there and thriving today.

Shielding children from life's ugliness
Kerrie Gutierrez, a mother of five and grandmother of three, was at her home in East Los Angeles when she saw coverage of the riots break out on her television. The next days were spent protecting her children from the unavoidable.

"When I think of the L.A. riots, I think of the gut wrenching feeling I felt as I watched the trucker, Reginald Denny, get pulled from his truck and beaten senseless by strangers, simply because he was there at that dreadful intersection…I had so many questions, and as repulsed as I was by what I was watching, the scene kept getting worse.”

"My kids were playing in the front yard because it was a warm evening. I wanted to bring them in because suddenly the world seemed like a big and scary place. But if I brought them in, they'd see what was unfolding. I wanted to protect their innocence, shield them from some of life's ugliness, so I let them stay outside."

"At the time, we were living in East L.A., not here in Alhambra. Our house was set high on a hill, with downtown skyscrapers visible to the west. On clear days, we could even see the glint of the Pacific and the hills by San Pedro. But on that day we'd see billows of smoke as the area of rioting grew and the fires started. At night, we could smell the smoke. I thought we'd be safe since that whole scene seemed so far removed from where we were, up on the hilltop. But the fires, rioting, and looting kept spreading. I kept the kids inside."

"When I drove down the hill to go to the market and saw that it was closed and there were National Guard troops in full gear there in the parking lot, I felt so very sad."

"My kids eventually learned of what was happening. It was hard to explain because there was so much to discuss, but I brought it down to their level and tried anyway. I hoped I wouldn't feel that awful feeling again, but I did, the morning I turned on the TV and saw the Twin Towers in flames."

It’s happening over there

Debora Blais, who has taught math at Alhambra High for 32 years, recalls that an open house for parents was scheduled on the first evening of the riots. Even though Alhambra was calm, the riots could not be ignored.

“We had big discussion about holding the open house. We worried if the riots were a contagious thing: if it happened there, could it happen anywhere else? A lot of the staff were concerned with the black population in Pasadena. Finally, administration decided, ‘Let’s have the open house.’"

“The next day, the principal typed out a memo outlining what we should discuss…All the government teachers, the social studies teachers, they had to stop and discuss it. History teachers were loving it. [The riots] were a part of a discussion on the effects of slavery, on the haves and have-nots — it was a great starting point. For us math teachers — not so much.”

Violence in downtown provided both a unique learning opportunity and a challenge for Alhambra students. "San Gabriel Valley kids — Alhambra kids — are very sheltered," Blais said. "They don’t see it as happening in their city; ‘it’s happening over there.’ If it’s 10 miles away, it might as well be Georgia to them.”

This was not Blais’ first riot: “There was the ’65 Watts riots and I was living in South Central at the time…And even then, we still went to school the next day.”

Soldiers on the steps of City Hall
Joe Soong was working in City Hall in downtown Los Angeles when the civil unrest began, monitoring office radios and the television for the latest information on the rioting.

“With my co-workers, I looked out the windows and saw a plume of smoke rising from the south and west. The plumes grew and we were getting increasingly anxious as the day. Finally, we were told to go home. As I was entering the Alhambra city limits, I wondered whether the Alhambra police would be able to protect us if the rioters and looters tried to enter the city from adjacent Los Angeles: If the LAPD couldn't stop them, APD probably couldn't stop them. We'd be on our own. Fortunately, it never came to that."

"When I returned to work, I was shocked to see soldiers carrying assault rifles patrolling the streets where I worked every day. Glass doors and windows were shattered and much of the debris hadn't been cleaned up yet. I saw a burned out shell of a car that I had seen on fire on TV; Army Humvees with machine guns mounted on their roofs. Those scenes reminded me of a trip to the former East Germany, a totalitarian Communist state which had an intimidating quasi-military security force in the streets. I never thought I'd see a similar military presence in our own streets, for whatever reason."

"I'd like to think that race relations have improved in the 20 years that have passed. But from the 1943 Zoot Suit riots to the 1965 Watts Riots to the LA Riots in 1992, percolating animosities, whether ethnic, social, or economic, seem to bubble up to the top every generation or so. If history is a guide, we may be due for another one in the next few years."

Interviews were edited and condensed.

Do you have memories of the riots? Did they change you? Do you feel they changed Alhambra? How do you feel race relations have changed? Please share below.

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Celebrating 100 in Alhambra

Joe S. — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:12:06 +0000

Release Date:

March 28, 2012

The Titanic set sail on its first and final voyage in the same month that very long-time Alhambra resident Edna Basmajian entered the world. The same year, 1912, that she was born in Kansas City, Missouri, two former Territories, New Mexico and Arizona, became the newest members of the United States.

One hundred years later, Edna sat comfortably in her living room chair and recalled her eight decades as an Alhambran. With her son John, a 1959 Alhambra High School graduate, helping her fill in some of the details, she leaned forward and spoke softly but clearly of her life and her thoughts.

Edna took the long way to Alhambra. In 1920, when her brother died from spinal meningitis, her parents sent her to live with her grandmother in Oklahoma City. But difficult times forced the two to move to Hollywood, California, where they had relatives nearby. Edna adapted, graduating from Hollywood High School in 1929. At around the same time, she met her future husband Johnny Basmajian, who would later become a graphic artist and Disney assistant animator, at a local dance studio and they were married in Las Vegas in 1930.

A year later, the newly married couple joined Edna’s parents in Alhambra, where her father managed the soda fountain at the old Owl Drug Store, located at Garfield and Main. Their marriage would last 58 years, until Johnny passed away in 1989.

Edna and Johnny lived at several different addresses in the city, including Marguerita Ave, Sheffield Ave. (on the Alhambra/Los Angeles border) and Primrose Ave. Edna specifically remembered that their address was 126 North Primrose, where they lived for eight years.

She enjoyed living in Alhambra “because it was quiet, peaceful, and small.” By 1939, they decided they wanted a home of their own and the couple began to build it themselves on North Ethel Ave, where there were no homes on either side of their property and no homes at all across the street for the entire length of the block. One year and $5,000 later, they moved into their new house, where they raised their two children, John and Lucia, and where Edna still lives today.

One of her memories of those times were the Victory Gardens she planted in the many open fields and vacant lots around her home as part of the government’s efforts to supplement the nation’s war-time food supply. During World War II, Americans planted more than 20 million of the Gardens. “Everybody had a Victory Garden, we planted a little corn, beans, and cucumbers,” said Edna.

She recalls spending time in nearby Alhambra Park and frequently using the swimming pool, which charged each swimmer 10 cents. (Her daughter eventually married the pool manager.) The pool also played a part in Alhambra’s annual summer time Hi Neighbor parade, which ran for three decades, beginning in the 1940’s. The daytime parade would be followed by the Aquacade in the evening. As a finale to the parade, the Aquacade included events such as synchronized swimming, swimming races, and clown divers, all of which took place at the Alhambra Park pool.

Another memory was spending time at the various Alhambra retail establishments department stores, including Woolworth’s, Butler Brothers, and Leo’s Ice Cream.

Edna never expected to reach 100 years old, but was always aware of her health and currently takes 18 vitamins a day. She first heard about vitamins in her high school home economics class and was immediately convinced of their benefits.

She is also part of a larger trend of Americans, especially women, living longer. Nationwide, the number of centenarians has grown to 53,364, a 5.8 percent increase over 10 years ago. In 2010, 815 local residents were 90 or older, according to the Census (which does not include 100 and older in released data specific to Alhambra). And Alhambra’s 65 and older population at 14.3 percent is slightly higher than the nation as a whole.

Age hasn’t stopped Edna from enjoying life. She savors a glass of red wine most nights with her dinner, which is usually soup, split pea is a favorite, and crackers or sometimes Fritos. And every Saturday for the last five years, her son John takes her for lunch to Saladang, a popular Pasadena Thai restaurant. Her favorite is the calamari, and she likes the restaurant’s menu. “I like the food. They’re very good, you ought to try it,” Edna recommended.

As a special treat in the evenings after her Saturday Saladang lunch, she has one Oreo cookie and milk with her dinner.

She also keeps up with current events. Her eyes are not as good as they used to be and she is not able to watch television. However, she listens to the CNN television broadcast every day and then news radio at night. “You can ask her about current events and she could probably talk to you about it,” said Eva Dominguez, her caregiver for the last six years.

Now, as she nears her birthday on April 3, it’s an exciting time. Her oldest grand-daughter will host a family dinner party in honor of Edna, the matriarch of a family that includes five living generations, including two great, great grandchildren. The Alhambra City Council will recognize her at their April 9 meeting. She even received a congratulatory card from the White House, signed by the President and First Lady.

When asked what she would tell someone who was looking for advice on life, she responded that there is no formula. “I think you just have to go with life itself. I don’t think you can tell them (anything). Even if you want to, you can’t make yourself live any longer. It’s already figured out for you,” Edna said. “Life’s pattern is made and you follow it. I really think so.”

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Persian New Year as a new immigrant to Alhambra, and 30 years later an adult US citizen

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:55:47 +0000

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Release Date:

March 21, 2012

Tuesday is Persian New Year. We're reposting about an Iranian immigrant to Alhambra's memories of celebrating the holiday upon arriving in the city as a child.*

"My mother, all curves and decorum in her uptight Chanel suit, and my father, all stutter, glasses and advanced degrees, walked into an Alhambra, Calif., apartment: two bedrooms, one bathroom, furnished, $450 a month," Porochista Khakpour writes in the New York Times. "It’s not nice — it’s not Paris of the last several months, no Tehran of the ’70s — but they took it."

The year was 1981 and Khakpour's family had just settled in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter the family celebrated their first Persian New Year, or Nowruz, in the apartment, with family coming from around Southern California. In an Op-Ed essay, Khakpour reflects on how that holiday, which was Sunday, celebrates the balance between change and continuity.

"Nowruz — more about the call of the new, I see now, than the pull of the old — has come to seem like the perfect holiday for Iran’s still-pulsing-even-if-we’re-not-watching Green Revolution. After all, it was just weeks after Islamic New Year in December that the Tunisian revolution began what Egypt, Libya and several other Middle Eastern countries have carried on," she writes.

Thirty years after a revolution had brought her parents to Alhambra, she writes, "I was ready to be a card-carrying member of this world of hot dogs and strawberries; but by the time I got that card — citizenship, 20 years later — I found that I had joined my parents in the clumsy yet hopeful adulthood of immigrants. And in this moment of upheaval and transformation, in yet another season of renewal and rebirth, I finally understand that existing in the temporary and embracing impermanence might not be a dishonest way to accept life."

Originally posted 03/20/2012

Falling diversity in Alhambra - as other Southland cities become more multiracial

daniela.gerson — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:51:00 +0000

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March 7, 2012

Southland cities are becoming increasingly diverse, according to a report released last week from USC.

“Right now, we’re at a sweet spot for racial balance in Southern California,” USC professor Dowell Myers, an author of the report, said in a press release. “Decline in the white population and growth among Latinos or Asians only increases racial balance up to a point. Some cities have already started to lose their balance.”

Amongst the cities trending in the direction of one minority dominating are Alhambra, San Gabriel, and Monterey Park.

Twenty years ago, Alhambra qualified, according to the study, as a city with three significant ethnic groups, when its white population was 24%, Latinos 36% and Asian 38%. Today, Alhambra is classified as a city with only two significant ethnic groups: In 2010, whites were 11%, Latinos 34% and Asians 54%. The shifts have been even stronger in San Gabriel and Monterey Park, where the Asian population is about two thirds of the population and Latino about one quarter.

The report makes the argument that a racially balanced or multiracial city is beneficial to residents: "Our democratic society benefits from greater contact among all groups of residents. Further, it is assumed that spatial intermixing of the population leads to more equal sharing of public resources."

Cities highlited in yellow are what the report defines as two-way cities, where there is a significant (20%+) population of two groups. Those highlighted in green are three-way cities, with two groups with 20%+ and one with 15%+. The cities not highlighted have one dominant ethnic group.