Growing up in Peralta Hills in the 60’s
Those of us with the good fortune of growing up in Peralta Hills in the 1960’s were truly blessed. It was a magical place and a simple time. For this article I reached out to my long time neighbors and cherished friends: Dana Howland, Jonell Schlund, Jan Arakelian, and Lane Curtis, as well as my brother, Robert Krueger. We all grew up together here in Peralta Hills and we are all living here again. This community is special and for all of us it is truly home.
In the sixties Peralta Hills was very different than it is today. The neighborhood was filled with orange groves and homes were tucked in between the trees and the eucalyptus wind breaks. South of our neighborhood were beautiful rolling hills where cattle freely roamed and grazed on the wild grasses. North of us were more pristine hills and the grand mountains, along with Yorba Linda, which was made up of mostly avocado and walnut groves. To the east there were more orchards with a few homes, a chicken farm, a horse ranch, and the Mohler Drive neighborhood. The small towns of Orange and Anaheim were to the west. Not yet part of Anaheim, but part of the county of Orange, Santa Ana Canyon Road and Imperial Highway were our main connectors. Our phones were “party lines,” and our water was provided by the Peralta Hills Water Company. Each homeowner owned water stock and the water came from wells across the river. Our moms made us dress up to go shopping, which we did on Main Street in downtown Santa Ana, Main Street in downtown Orange, and Lincoln Avenue in downtown Anaheim. The closest market for food was Alpha Beta at Tustin Avenue and Meats Avenue. Many families here got their milk products delivered by either Adohr Farms or Excelsior Dairy. There was no “fast” food. Our moms made delicious, “homemade” meals.
In the spring time Peralta Hills was filled with the heavenly scent of the orange blossoms. Then in the summer there were all kinds of fruits and vegetables to enjoy. All of us remember going out into our orchards and gorging on the most delicious plums, apricots, peaches, and apples. Jonell and Jan picked wild blackberries in the baranca by their house. Dana enjoyed the wild blackberries that could be found near her house too. At my house it was raspberries that we picked. Our moms or grandmothers made wonderful jams and jellies, and yummy kuchens and pies during that season. Oh what a treat they were! There were home grown vegetables too. My favorite tomatoes of all time came from Dana’s house and from what she told me her dad brined the best home grown olives. Summer was grand. There were many lazy days, but we all remember being little entrepreneurs too and selling oranges, lemons, and avocadoes from stands we made. Later when Dana and Robert became teens they each have memories of contracts they secured to sell oranges to Orange Julius. Living a life in an orchard was ideal and it had many benefits. One was being spoiled with fresh squeezed orange juice each day.
Being a simpler time, when we weren’t in school, we were outside most of the time. We often hiked up in the hills, freely exploring, with our only worry being the possibility of rattlesnakes. We rode our horses or bikes throughout the neighborhood as traffic was light. Due to that I fondly remember how I loved riding in a cart pulled by my white pony, Pearl, down Santa Ana Canyon Road with my dear mama by my side. We all remember how much we enjoyed using our imaginations to just play silly games then too, and we truly enjoyed playing with and taking care of our many pets. Some children in Peralta Hills were in 4 H Clubs. This meant there were lambs, goats, pigs, cows, chickens, and rabbits to enjoy. Sometimes you would see these animals being walked through the neighborhood, or perhaps chased if something had escaped. Besides the standard pets you find most places today there were donkeys, gibbons, a chimpanzee, peacocks and a baby elephant living here. What happened to that elephant when it grew up is a mystery. The chimpanzee and gibbons lived at the Century House. Dana remembers a special day when the chimpanzee walked up and took her by the hand. And when I was in junior high, I remember two friends telling me about how the gibbons had chased them around on Halloween night when they were out trick or treating. Halloween brings memories of the fun parties the parents in the neighborhood threw us because there was no way we could go around trick or treating when we were small. Each year the party was at a different house. One thing we remember well is the older kids taking us on marvelous scavenger hunts they had concocted. There was also bobbing for apples, a mystery bag game, yummy food, and much, much more.
Us “canyon kids” were all friends. We usually met on school bus #5 when we started school. I was lucky to have met Dana Howland and Jonell and Jan Schlund much earlier than that. Dana’s parents and my parents knew each other from working together at Union Oil Company in Brea. Consequently, when my parents moved into Peralta Hills in 1959 it was just natural that we became “sisters of the heart”. I met Jonell and Jan just by chance when our moms met while they were picking up their mail. As our mothers chatted and got to know one another Jonell and I played. Jan was just a baby so she remained in her stroller. Somewhat later when I was starting kindergarten it was Jonell who compassionately took me under her care. I was crying because my mom had never left me before. Jonell reassured me it would be alright and said she’d be my friend. The rest is history. And when we got on that big yellow bus #5 the next day, our friendship, and our relationships with the rest of the “canyon kids” began. We had a long ride together, so we all got to know each other well. From Peralta Hills we rode east all the way to the county line. If you are wondering why, it’s because one kid lived out there, and since Santa Ana Canyon Road was a divided highway that meant children weren’t allowed to cross it. So the bus would pick up that kid and make a U-turn at the county line. Then we began our trek west to whatever school we were attending at the time. Jonell and I went to eight different schools through the years. We started at California and moved mid-year to Taft, which was brand new. After that it was decided the “canyon kids” should attend the school that was closest to them, so it was off to Olive. Then Riverdale was built and we “canyon kids” were moved there. The very next year we were sent to Crescent. Then it was on to junior high at Vista del Rio and high school at both Villa Park and Canyon. What a journey, but it was always with our same friends, riding that same bus, until we were made to walk to junior high.
In our childhood years we all remember the multitude of wide animals that lived here. There were little foxes, cottontails, jack rabbits, skunks, coyotes, bobcats, weasels, raccoons, squirrels, opossums, and deer. And there was an abundance of different types of owls and hawks, falcons, roadrunners, California quail, crows, woodpeckers, blue jays, orioles, and finches to name a few. The tarantulas and snakes creeped me out, but I loved the horny toads, lizards, and mice that scurried about.
At night, nary a light twinkled across the valley. The darkness around you at first seemed all encompassing, but oh how bright and beautiful were the twinkling stars, planets, and constellations that filled our sky. In that time came peacefulness and when we were put to bed we were lulled to sleep by chirping crickets, the hoots and screeches of the owls, and the occasional rumbling of a train.
What amazing parents we had and what a charmed and beautiful life we have lived!