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 from 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 moved 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 and things. 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 Street. This picture is from the corner of Wanda and Katella. You can see the railroad tracks on the left side of the picture. They ran right down the street in front of our house. Wanda was only two lanes wide and Katella was only two 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 its 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 incorporated, it divided Wanda Road in the middle and everything west of the center of Wanda Road was Orange, so if 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 four 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 the land where the groves were. We had eucalyptus 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!
We now live on Wanda road between Katella and Collins and just south of Lincoln Street. This picture is from the corner of Wanda and Katella. You can see the railroad tracks on the left side of the picture. They ran right down the street in front of our house. Wanda was only two lanes wide and Katella was only two 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 its 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 incorporated, it divided Wanda Road in the middle and everything west of the center of Wanda Road was Orange, so if 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 four 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 the land where the groves were. We had eucalyptus 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!
5 comments:
Thank you for this picture. Great memories of Bruno's and the Sunkist Orange packing plant as a young boy in 1964.
Yes, I remember those days.I was only 9 years old.The old wooden floors.I'm now 62 years old.
I lived on Van Owen one street north of Katella, one house west of Wanda. We went to Bruno's everytime we could to buy candy and otter pops. We all cried when it burned down and was bulldozed. But that was a great place to grow up in.
In 1961 my new bride and I lived over on Serrano in my grandfathers old house, where Serrano Elementary School is now. When I only needed bread or milk I would pick it up at Bruno's, any produce would be old and wilted, Bruno was pretty old and not totally on top of things. We only stayed for about a year and moved into Orange, Villa Park was just too remote.
I’m trying to remember what year it burned down. I also grew up on Wanda. We moved into it in 1962. My brother still owns the house.
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