Creating advocates for history through the stories of greater Los Angeles.
by Paul R. Spitzzeri As we are in our seventh week of stay-at-home orders in California to reduce the spread and "flatten the curve" of COVID-19 cases, we are all looking forward to what the near-future holds in terms of loosening restrictions and gradually being able to resume some of the "normal" functions of everyday... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri While there are plenty of interesting narratives in the Homestead's history concerning the Workman and Temple families' migrations to Los Angeles in the Mexican era, their prominent involvement in regional politics and the economy, and other broad "big picture" elements, it is also notable to tell the personal stories that are... Continue Reading →
by Paul R. Spitzzeri As has been noted on this blog elsewhere, Francis Workman Temple, the second child of Antonia Margarita Workman and F.P.F. Temple, supervised his grandfather William Workman's vineyards in the last several years of the Homestead owner's life during the first half or so of the 1870s. After the stunning collapse of... Continue Reading →
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 →
