When we moved to Orange County in 1961 we lived in Villa Park. We lived in a little craftsman house that
was a Sears and Roebuck catalog house in 1905. It was built by a family called Holditch and they owned
the Orange grove on Wanda Road that can be seen on the left side of the picture. The Fitchens owned the
house across the street form that we lived in and the 8 acres of orange grove
that surrounded our house. They had move into another house on Lincoln that was closer to the
corner of Wanda and Lincoln. When Bob, Dave and Dan were in school
they would go to Bruno's market on the way home and get candy etc. I could run up there
for milk or bread etc. instead of having to go to Alpha Beta on
the corner of Collins and Tustin. (when I was in a hurry!)We now live on Wanda road
between Katella and Collins and just south of Lincoln st. This picture is on the corner of Wanda
and Katella. You can see the railroadtracks on the left side of the picture. They ran right down
the street in front of our house. Wanda was only
2 lanes wide and Katella was only 2 lanes wide with houses on both sides of the street. We really lived in the
country then. Villa Park incorporated and became a city at the time we moved there. It is now celebrating
it's 50 years as a city. Where we live now used to be Villa Park and Bruno's was in
Villa Park but when the city incorprated it divided Wanda Road in the middle and everything west
of the center of wanda road was Orange soif Bruno's was still here it would be Orange not Villa Park.
All has changed so much and now all of the orange groves are gone. The streets are 4 lanes and
there are traffic lights on the corners.The house we live in on Lincoln is gone and it is now
a street with houses on all land where the groves were.
We had eucaleptus (sp) trees dividing all of the groves
and down the streets. You can see the ones behind Bruno's market.
These were the good ole days. We didn't even own a key to the front door!
