MY EARLIEST COVINA MEMORIES
I love Covina. I’m so grateful I was led here at an early age and it has become my permanent home. In 1949, my father was transferred from San Bernardino to Covina as Accounting Manager for the area by Southern California Edison. I was a sophomore in high school. The move was introduced to me by a copy of the Covina Argus Citizen laying on my parents’ bed.
We settled in a duplex on Badillo Street across from the Park. On a summer evening, we walked to the Covina First Baptist Church. Prayer meetings were held in those days on Wednesday evenings. A picture is enclosed of the old church. In the front row, a little to the left, is Police Chief Alan Sill who my husband worked for when he joined the force in 1955. Behind him, to his left, is Earl Campbell, Alpha Beta Manager, who hired many of our boys as box boys.
As young people, we enjoyed many parties and dinners in the church’s basement. The old pump organ was rescued from the alley when the church was being torn down by Mary Booth’s father, Leonard Daniels, a renowned citrus grower.
I attended Covina Union High School. (A picture of that majestic building is enclosed). We wore uniforms to avoid any disparity in economic backgrounds since kids came from all over the valley – being the only high school in the area. The worse thing the boys did in those days was to be caught smoking in the City Hall’s basement. Many of us met at The Sugar Bowl after school before going to our after-school jobs.
Smudge pots were lit on the coldest nights to save the orange groves, providing work for the boys, while we endured the dreaded black smudge in our noses. I remember my mother putting a sheet over the upholstery to save it from the smudge.
I was a soda jerk at the Rexall Drug Store next to the theatre, and also later worked for Chauncey Interiors on Badillo, and later rode the bus to Pomona to work at the Bank of America for a short while. After graduation, I worked for General Telephone on College Street as a service rep. I eventually was hired by the City of Covina, also on College Street, where I remained for 34 years.
Our first City Manager was Neil Goedhard. He was a wonderful boss and very much respected. He didn’t wear a watch but was totally aware of all we did, even walking the streets to check on things. I’ve attached a picture of him at the Covina Bowl with the then-Fire Chief, Dick Miller,
and his wife Jackie. Dick became City Manager also and was a beloved boss.
The First Baptist Church is now called Christ First, Covina Union High School is now Covina High School, both Neil Goedhard and Dick Miller have gone on to their reward, and the Covina Bowl has been re-purposed. But the memories remain.
