AN INTERESTING LETTER FROM A FONTHILL BOY IN CALIFORNIA

[The Welland Tribune and Telegraph, 1 March 1921]

Garden Grove, Calif.
February 18^th, 1921

Dear Cousin:

I am having the time of my life here in the sunny south. I suppose you would like to know what the country is like. The place called Ontario where I have been stopping lately is a dandy little town up neat the mountains, and has about 6.000 population. The chap that surveyed the place was a Canadian and named it after our Province of Ontario.

The people out here certainly know how to boost if anyone does, and when there is a special picnic on, all the papers urge the people to be there to boost for California. It seems to do a lot of good for there are towns springing up all over and the larger cities are growing all the time. You will be surprised to hear that most of these new residenters come from back east. We are known as Easterners here.

The Yankees here are sure an open-hearted people. They go into everything with all their might. Now at present I am in Orange County, right in the heart of the orange district. They certainly keep things looking spick and span. But oranges are not the only thing grown here. They have thousands of acres of sugar beets and alfalfa. There are also large dairies, hog ranches and beautiful graperies, and in fact they can grow almost anything you can anywhere else.

It has been said that travelling is an education in itself. I believe it is. There are certainly some fine classes of people here. I suppose you know Santa Ana and Los Angeles are situated nearly on the coast, and also at the southern end of the state. We are nearly 500 miles from San Francisco, so it would be some trip to see all of California, but we have the best part of it down south right where I am now. Of course there is snow up north. You can gaze up on the mountains from here and see snow all the time, but down in the valleys the sun shines bright, and everything is green just like in the summer.

Last week I helped cut up some wood. It is called Eucalyptus, or more commonly known as Blue Gun here. This wood is very tough. I also had the pleasure to help dig out a large bamboo cluster.

I have spent some time riding about in a new Ford car. Last Monday we took a 100 mile trip up to Venice and Ocean Park. They are noted pleasure resorts out from Los Angeles by the ocean. The trip through the Orange Groves out here is fine and you have to keep your eyes open all the time.

On Wednesday, we took a trip to Orange County Park in the foothills. It’s a fine park given to the state by a wealthy rancher. There are 160 acres in it and it sure is worth seeing. This park is 20 miles from here, but the roads are so good you can go 50 miles without knowing it. Next week we are going to an Orange Carnival at San Bernardino about 85 miles from here. We can make the round trip easily in one day because there are boulevards all the way.

Last month we were up to Mt. Lorne. I was not prepared for the cold trip for we nearly froze. I thought I was back cast and was glad to get down where it was warm. There was 7 inches of snow up there, for it was a mile high. You take the street car as far as you can, then you change to a small encline railway. Finally you get on a small street car and wind around the mountain for 5 ½ miles. Some places you can look straight down for a few thousand feet. It’s a thriller. When you come to a tavern where you find a warm fire. You still have 2 ½ miles to wind around yet before you get to the top. We took some pictures here in the clouds standing in 7 inches of snow. This was some trip.

We next put in two days at Los Angeles taking in the free sightseeing trips. There are a lot of land companies spectating here and selling new city lots. They operate large auto buses, which hold 50 people. There are enough of these trips to keep on going for two weeks steady. The companies claim this is cheaper and is more effective than advertising in papers.

On one of our trips we were taken down to San Pedro harbour at Los Angeles. They took our party of 50 people out for a 20 mile yacht cruise around the harbor explaining everything. Then we were brought to their land sites and they managed to sell five lots.

The next day we went out with another company’s bus through Pasadena and I saw the homes of 134 millionaires on Orange Grove Avenue. It was a swell trip from there to Eagle Rock. Here they tried their old game, but I didn’t bite. My friend called this “milking the dear blessed public.”

On Tuesday we took a trip over to Santa Catalina Island, 30 miles out in the ocean. We were there 2 days, so I can say that I’ve slept one night off the continent at least. While there we had a trip in a glass bottom boat called a submarine garden. This is fine sight as you can see down for 50 feet in the ocean and watch the fish swimming all around. Then a fellow dived down for 2 minutes and you could see him plain as day.

The next morning we took a yacht trip for 22 miles along the shore of Catalina Island up as far as a place called the Isthmus. We got off here, went over and investigated an old Chinese pirate boat, listened to all the wild cat stories and finally were served with a picnic lunch. Then we left for our original port call “Avilon.” At three p.m. we started back for North America again.

A few days later we went out to an ostrich farm, also to an alligator farm. While here I helped a fellow pull a large alligator out of the pond. They won’t bite in the winter. I spent one day more in Los Angeles and then returned to Santa Ana.

Well I believe that I have given you enough news for this time, so will close.

Yours sincerely,

BILL