Growing up in the Midwick Tract

Today’s blog is from my husband and partner-in-crime, Larry K. Collins.

Working on the publication of my brother-in law, Ron Lund’s, book, Dominic Drive, brought back memories of growing up in the Midwick Tract in Alhambra, California. I previously blogged about mowing lawns there as a kid. (Lorna’s blog dated: October 9, 2020)

First, a little history:

In 1912, an area of rolling hills between Alhambra and Monterey Park, originally used as a sheep pasture, was purchased by a group of wealthy businessmen to become the Midwick Country Club. The exclusive club featured a regulation-size polo field, two smaller polo fields, a professional eighteen-hole golf course, a massive clubhouse, tennis courts, and a swimming pool. It soon became the meeting place for the rich and famous, including Will Rogers, Hal Roach, David Niven, Spencer Tracy, and Walt Disney. King George V stopped by to play polo, and Sam Snead and Bing Crosby could often be found on the fairways. Membership was expensive and exclusive, restricted to whites only.

The great depression and wars caused the membership to decline. When the club defaulted on a loan in 1941, an Italian immigrant, named Dominic Jebbia, quickly picked up the property at auction.

Jebbia, known as the “Banana King,” had amassed a fortune importing bananas and other fruit. It was rumored he bought Midwick because his membership application was turned down, however he always denied the rumor.

For several years, he spent his weekends selling hot dogs from a stand at the ninth hole. Most golfers didn’t know the cigar-chewing vendor in milkman pants, wrinkled white shirt, and knit vest was the owner.

On May 3, 1944 (one month after I was born) the clubhouse was destroyed by fire. Soon, Dominic decided to subdivide the property.

Midwick 1932

Midwick Tract 1953

My family moved into a brand-new tract home in 1949. Our house on Hitchcock Drive (named for a famous polo player) was at the edge of the second construction phase. Across the street, were the remains of the abandoned golf course. It became my playground until the third phase was built several years later. I lived there until I married Lorna and we moved into our own apartment in 1965.

As a teenager, I surfed with Philip “Flip” Jebbia, Dominic’s grandson. Occasionally, I was invited to the Jebbia home for their spectacular Sunday brunch. It featured omelets cooked to order, and a rich buffet of fruits, breads, and assorted sweets. In the center of the dining room, hung over the table, was always a full cluster containing several hands of bananas. Guests were encouraged to help themselves. The Jebbias provided brunch every Sunday following church for twenty-to-forty people.

Ron Lund’s book, Dominic Drive, is a fictional account of life in the late fifties and early sixties and takes much of its inspiration and events from his own life growing up in the Midwick tract. The title is a tribute to Dominic Jebbia.

 

*Thanks to an article by Cecilia Rasmussen in the 1993 LA Times, Metro Section, for some historic details from before I was born.

Dominic Drive is the coming-of-age story of Charlie Williams, a young man who has a difficult childhood but who remains optimistic and hopeful, told through the eyes of another young man who becomes as close as a brother to him. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it captures life in a post-WWII community.

It is now available on Amazon.

 

About the Authors

RONALD TRAVIS LUND—known as “Rockin’ Ron” to his friends—was born in Alhambra, California on May 29, 1949. He lived there until December of 1981, when he moved to Covina, California. He died there in his sleep on August 31, 2020. This is his first and only book.

LORNA and LARRY K. COLLINS are multi-published authors in several genres.