SoCal Snow Day

doris_snowmanr_blog
El Sereno, circa 1949

These past few weeks I’ve spent most of my free time sorting, scanning and editing old family photos. I’ve been trying to get copies to various family members, while at the same time researching the stories behind the pictures.
The photo above was taken in El Sereno and is of my great aunt Doris (who recently passed away) and her daughter Suzie. Suzie says this picture made it into the newspaper and I can see why. Snow in El Sereno?
I hope kids in Baldwin Park were able to get pictures of themselves playing in the ice/snow that unexpectedly covered their neighborhood today.

10 thoughts on “SoCal Snow Day

  1. JW says:

    Terrific photo!

    If the date is correct, the photo was most likely taken ca. January 10-13th of 1949, when a whole bunch of snow fell all over Los Angeles. Wow!

  2. Chimatli says:

    Rheim and Jon,
    Thanks for the comments!
    Yes, this snow day was a big deal for my grandmother and her sisters. My grandmother would often talk about “the day it snowed in Echo Park.” I was skeptical but this picture proves it.

  3. wendy says:

    hi chimatli,
    this is kind of random but i came to your blog through a comment you left on the laeastside blog about growing up in south san gabriel and some of the asian-latina/o social mixing that went on while you were growing up. i’m a grad student in american studies & ethnicity at usc writing my dissertation on exactly this subject (asians and latina/os in the west sgv), and would love to talk to you about your experiences growing up in the area. i can tell you more about the project as a whole if you’re open to it… thanks so much in advance for considering this. it sounds like you’d have a lot to say!
    best,
    wendy

  4. CWM says:

    Even without the snow, the picture is very cute. Your great aunt has a beautiful smile. I bet she was (is?) a very fun lady. It kinda looks like she’s wearing pants. Wouldn’t that be super radical for the time period? (or maybe not… i dunno)

  5. Chimatli says:

    Yeah, I really like her smile in the photo too! I also wondered about the pants thing, it’s the only photo I have of her or any of her sisters (my grandmother and my great aunt Anita) wearing trousers. You don’t see them outta skirts until the 1970s.

  6. Mary McGuire says:

    I know it’s years since this photo was posted, but I just have to take a chance you’ll receive this comment. Could your great aunt possibly be Dora (Doris) Garcia and my grade school friend, Suzie Garcia??? We (Suzie & I) went to All Saints School in El Sereno from 1950-1958. I would very much like to hear from Suzie.

  7. Chimatli says:

    Hello Mary!
    Yes, Suzie is my mother’s cousin and is the Suzie you remember from grade school! I will pass on the message (and your email) to my mom to give to Suzie. She still lives in Southern California. Thanks for stopping by and commenting! 🙂

  8. Anthony Garcia says:

    Hello Chimatli,
    I happened to come by the above photo. Doris was married to Manual Garcia who was the older brother of my dad, Gregory Garcia (Teddy). We lost touch with them and my cousin Suzie.
    I lived with them for a few months as I was not able to attend school due to an illness.
    Could you please pass along this message to Suzie. She would know my older sisters Eloise and Kathy.
    Thank you,
    Anthony Garcia

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