Creating advocates for history through the stories of greater Los Angeles.
by Paul R. Spitzzeri Though they tend to be hidden away in the midst of our ever-expanding metropolitan area, pre-American era adobe houses can still be found here and there in greater Los Angeles. Some are privately owned, while others are historic sites like those at Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos in Long... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri In spring 1921, Walter P. Temple and his wife Laura Gonzalez held a dedication ceremony for a mausoleum, strangely named the "Walter P. Temple Memorial Mausoleum" in the newly renovated El Campo Santo Cemetery at the Homestead. The burying ground, established by Temple's grandparents William and Nicolasa Workman in the 1850s... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri When Walter P. Temple and his wife Laura Gonzalez bought the 75-acre Workman Homestead in November 1917, they were limited in what they could do with work on the ranch until a lease held by Japanese tenant farmer K. Yatsuda (we don't know his first name) expired at the end of... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri It was warmer today than yesterday, but still a pleasant day for the second day of our Ticket to the Twenties festival. Sundays are just about always busier for our weekend events than Saturdays and today proved to be no exception. In fact, while we probably near 2,000 visitors yesterday, today... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri This second part of a post examining journal entries written at the "Workman Homestead Rancho" by Thomas W. Temple II during late July and early August 1924 while he enjoyed his summer vacation includes a second entry penned on 25 July. The first entry, presumably written in the morning, was followed... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri During almost all of the period in which the Temple family occupied the Homestead as their permanent full-time residence after the death of Laura Gonzalez Temple in late 1922, the four surviving of the five children were away most of the year attending various boarding schools. There was a definite trade-off... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri According to History.com, the Mother's Day holiday, which is today, came about because of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, an unmarried, childless West Virginia resident whose mother, Anne, organized Mother's Day work clubs and then, in 1868, a Mother's Friendship Day to help bring together Union and Confederate soldiers to heal... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri For last year's "Flirting With History" program, which incorporates readings in the Workman House and La Casa Nueva for Homestead visitors of Temple family letters from the 1840s through the 1920s dealing with romantic and familial love, one of the more interesting missives was an April 1887 letter from Walter P.... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri The death of Laura Gonzalez Temple on this day in 1922 due to cancer and an intestinal blockage was a staggering blow to her husband and four surviving children, ages 12 to 18, as it would be for any family. For the previous five years, the Temples enjoyed the fruits of... Continue Reading →
