SunFlower GaleríaFamily Homes |
1630 Loma Crest Street, Glendale, CA Built in 1949, this is now a multi-family (2-4 unit) property, 2,706 sqft, on 0.28 acres, estimated value to be worth $1,477,460 as of 1/26/2025
Mom Betty and Father Bill brought Kathy home from the hospital to live in the beautiful home they were renting (July 1951). A few days after bringing Kathy home they decided they all needed a little vacation. They packed their suitcases and took a jet plane over to Catalina Island. This was definitely the life for Kathy! The whole family quickly came down to Glendale to welcome little Kathy. Aunt Nancy got stuck with babysitting the little darling while the others went out for a nice dinner. But Auntie loved me anyway! They lived in this house for a few years while Bill attended College. After Bill's graduation they moved to Stockton, California to be with all the family. We often drove by this house when we vacationed in Southern California to take a look for old times' sake. 2638 De Ovan Avenue, Stockton, CA (looking for pictures) Built in 1955 (approx), 3 bedrooms, one bathroom, 2-car garage, large fenced backyard with a couple of plum trees This was the first home owned by Betty and Bill Kirsten. Unfortunately, we were forced to vacate in 1965 because the property was needed to build part of Interstate 5 (I-5). I do have a video that was taken at this house at Easter time in the 50s. Nana Kirsten and Nana Hansley as well as Bill are in this video. It's a cute video and I will try to find it and post it, also look for images some very special memories... Bill did not want to buy this house and was very resistant. Possibly he didn't want a mortgage payment. He was known for being a tad on the cheapside. Betty on the other hand insisted that we move out of the rented eastside Stockton house we were living in and buy this wonderful new home in west Stockton. She enlisted the family and all of their friends for help to persuade Bill to buy the house. Betty was a pretty well-known Legal Secretary and had many friends. Luckily, Betty WON and we moved into this house right before I started Kindergarden at John Tyler Elementary School. Mike, Jerry and Sue also attended John Tyler. This school was about 4 blocks from our house. We walked or rode our bikes to and from school every day. A couple of the years our Mom Betty had fancy little evening holiday parties for us kids. We each had our own party where she invited our current teacher and we each had to showoff - like by reading a poem or something like that. It was very special! A small Bakery truck drove through our neighborhood every so often. It was filled with fabulous pastries. The donuts were to die for! We had a much loved Black Labrador Retriever named Zeke and he was huge. He knocked into me one time when we were standing in the driveway and left me really short of breath - it was scary! Betty wallpapered Mike and Jerry's bedroom with western themed wallpaper that had images of cowboys and horses. Not sure which one or it was probably both but they carefully tore out some of the pictures of the horses and pasted them all into the images of the corrals. Mom was not too pleased! The wallpaper Sue and I had in our bedroom had images of pretty butterflies. We did not touch. 42 Marilyn Avenue, Stockton, CA Built in 1964, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 1,395 sqft
In 1965, Betty & Bill bought this brand new home for us all to live in. The State of California had forced us to vacate our home on De Ovan Avenue. A problem was that this house on Marilyn Avenue was out of the school district where I was attending 9th grade at Webster Junior High School at the time. I would be graduating the 9th grade in 4 months and then onto Amos Alonzo Stagg High School. Happily, I was given permission to continue attending Webster until graduation. The backyard was large and divided into two long sections. The front section had raised flowerbeds with mostly brightly colored Zinnias in the summer. There was a nice grassy area and a large patio. The back section was not developed and this is where Jerry had his rabbit hutch. He may have had some chickens also. We loved the rabbit hutch! One absolutely great benefit of living here was the excellent community swimming pool! Great way for us to meet the other neighborhood kids and have fun in the sun. We also had a ping pong table in our garage. Dad loved to play and challenged everyone! 2136 N. Yosemite Avenue, Stockton, CA Built in 1941, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,163 sqft living space, 5,619 sqft lot Doesn't Nana Hansley look stylish! In 1941 Nana and Jack Kirsten had this house built. They lived here with Bill my Father. I think that they had also owned a house that was in back of their house at one time. Perhaps a house for Nana Hansley to live in. On August 28, 1949 my parents Betty and Bill were married in the First Presbyterian Church at 31 East Vine Street in Stockton. Their wedding was a very fancy affair but their large wedding reception was even fancier! It was held in Nana and Jack's beautiful backyard. After the reception, the happy Bride and Groom drove to Santa Cruz in their new car. They spent their wedding night and a few days after at Nana and Bob Hansley's house on Palisades Avenue. Nana and Jack's backyard was beautiful it had beds of pretty flowers along the edges of the nice grassy area in the center. There was also an Apricot tree, an Orange tree and a Plum tree. I always looked forward to the month of August when the juicy apricots were ripe and ready to eat. The Patio in the backyard was easily spacious enough to host all of our large family parties in the spring and summer. Nana Kirsten hosted many awesome 4th of July parties on her patio. We could easily watch the nightime fireworks being shot off from American Legion Park less than a block away. A large Oak tree grew in the front yard. There were big Camellia bushes with pink, red and white flowers growing along the left side of the house, The long driveway on the right led into the garaage. Sometimes this garaage was turned into a place where neighbors could vote in the State and Federal elections. This was also where Jack's world was located with all of his tools and stuff. 2868 S. Palisades Asvenue, Santa Cruz, CA Built in 1930s or 1940s, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, on the Cliffs overlooking Monterey Bay The Pleasure Point home was beautiful. The backyard had lush grassy areas, a gold fish pond and a red cement patio with a brick oven barbeque. Colorful pink Camellias, red Begonias and hanging baskets of pink and purple Fuchsias were everywhere. A dirt path on the left side of the home led to the front yard where the ground was covered with pretty ice plants. The picket fence had a gate that opened out to the cliffs just beyond. A little path led to the stone stairs that went down to the small beach below. The home had two spacious bedrooms and a large playroom at the back of the house. The playroom was filled with pinball machines, a pool table and numerous other fun games. This is where I, my brothers and sister hung out when we visited. Although most of the time we were at the beach or the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. 3543 N. Grange, Stockton, CA Built in 1949, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 975 sqft living space, on a 0.3 acre lot This was the first home that Grandmother and Grandfather Fulton owned. My Cousin Jeannie lived here with our grandparents until she was a teenager. There was always lots to eat and Grandfather Fulton cooked absolutely the best hamburgers. It was less than 2 miles from our house on DeOvan. We kids spent a lot of time here. The backyard was large and had quite a few almond trees we could climb up into. Diana, the neighbor girl down the street actually had a big doll house in her backyard that we played in! It had windows and doors. Sometimes we would play on the railroad tracks next to this property but I remember that this was frowned upon. 1735 N. San Joaquin Street, Stockton, CA Built in 1932, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,305 sqft living space, 5,749 sqft lot This was DeDe and Chet Jenkins' fabulous home. There was a beautiful lemon tree on the left side of the driveway. We had fresh lemons every December. There was a tall Magnolia tree in the middle of the backyard. Big beautiful Magnolias bloomed every summer. The neighbors were very nice. The Hermanns lived in the house on the left. Ruthie lived in the house on the right and I believe that Hortense lived in the next house down. Chet owned the pharmacy in the Medico-Dental Building in downtown Stockton. Kathy's Grandfather Fulton owned the News Stand in the building. DeDe spent her time with charities, friends and family. She was a very classy lady and Chet was a sweetheart. They became Kathy's in-laws when she married Dave in 1969. Although Dave's parents were in the area, DeDe and Chet raised Dave from when he was a little boy. In 1969, Kathy and Dave moved to the Golden Tiki Apartments at 1020 Bianchi Road in Stockton. It was a small studio apartment. They lived here for a year until right after Bo Dupree was born. And then they moved to a one-bedroom duplex located at 1117 N. Argonaut Street in Stockton. It was a nice little house and not too far from DeDe's house. DeDe quite frequently drove her baby blue Ford Thunderbird over to Kathy's house to give them a ride to her house. They spent a lot of happy times at DeDe's house.
In 1972, Sugaree Magnolia was born. They continued to live here in this house on Argonaut for a few more months. One afternoon as Kathy was holding Sugaree and looking into the beautiful tiny face something very curious happened. Although no words were spoken Sugaree in a rather mystical way told her Mom that she was not only her daughter but she was her Special Angel! Over the years this has always been true!
Dave wanted to do his own thing and took off. Kathy, Bo and Sugaree went to live in the family cabin at Lake Tahoe. After a few months it started snowing and they moved to Reno to be closer to Kathy's family in Reno. During all this time and in the future, Kathy and the kids remained extremely close to DeDe. 403 Sotoyone Avenue, Tahoe Vista, CA Built in 1947, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 396 sqft living space. 5,871 sqft lot
Cabin burried in 1960s snow storm! Grandmother Fulton bought this awesome cabin in 1967. So many great family memories! This cabin is still in the family - owned by the Fulton side of the family. br />br /> |