Nineteen Thirty

1930-31

This faded yellow snapshot unsettles my memory of my departed oldest brother. He and his long tall pal Smokey Fiscus were working in the grapes at Arvin, 1930-31. They would work until the harvest was over and save whatever money they could. Before the fog settled over the valley they would go to Los Angeles and rent a cheap clean place from a widow with canaries. It was warm there and the air pure and since employment was scarce they had plenty of time to explore the area. Vernon would laugh and say, "When things got a little dull we could always go to Angelus Temple and see Sister Aimee Semple McPherson. It was the best show in town and free."

Notes

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McDaniel, Wilma. (2001) Borrowed Coats. Hanging Loose Press, Brooklyn, New York.
Courtesy University of California, Merced Library. Copyright owned by the Regents of the University of California.