Well, actually, this is the pre-premiere edition. Number zero. I didn't plan on this one. But then a neighbor, who I'll call "Sven," reviewed a draft of issue #1 and he couldn't get past the title.
"Monterey Village?" he said. "Why are you writing a blog about Northern California?"
I explained that--while not well known--Monterey Village is right here in Southern California. In fact, Monterey Village is right under our feet: It's the original name of this place, our subdivision.
"Never heard of Monterey Village," Sven said suspiciously.
I showed him this articles from the L.A. Times.
September 29, 1935 - LA Times
I explained that most of the sidewalks in our neighborhood were laid in 1929. But the stock market crash in October of that year, put a damper on the housing market. So it wasn't until six years later, in 1935, that J. Leslie Dandy began promoting the area.
I further explained that in 2008, I had talked with Dandy's son, James Fenton Dandy. He told me his father was an enthusiastic entrepreneur who was born in upstate New York in 1889. His dad served in the army during WWI but was never sent abroad.
In the 1920 Census, Dandy lists his occupation as manager of an automobile dealership. His son told me his father owned a Buick Essex dealership. What that meant was "you'd buy one car, drive it around until a farmer bought it from you. Then you'd buy another car and start all over," he told me.
Dandy joined the Florida Real Estate Boom of the 1920's, raising money to build a canal that would supply water to a new development. Unfortunately, that dream came to an end with the Florida Real Estate Crash of 1926-28. So Dandy moved his family west to Southern California and started over. Eventually, he came to promote this area where we live. This area he named Monterey Village.
Sven said that was a fascinating story...but he still didn't like the name.
Well, you can't please everybody. But you can put them to sleep if your blog is too long. So I'm stopping here. Next time: 1935 Home Prices in Monterey Village.
October 27, 1935 - LA Times
October 17, 1937 - LA Times
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