Roger's Scrapbook
(Some of the photos displayed here may be interactive.)
Alice Marie (Greek) Hill (1912-2002)
Chapter 2. Raising her boys.
Sometime between 1936 and 1937, Alice and Gene moved to 48 Eureka Street in San Bernardino where their second son, Richard Sheridan Hill, was born on 17 Dec 1937.
Alice holding Rich with Gene and Roger. Early 1938.
The Great Depression was in full swing and Gene had lost his job with Signal Oil. During 1938 he worked for the California Democratic Party on the campaign of Culbert Olson who was elected Governor in November, 1938.
Alice and Gene with their boys, Richard and Roger, 1938.
In 1939 Gene worked briefly for the US Census as a clerk and then in June, 1939, got a job as a Fireman on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, working out of San Bernardino. At the time, Gene's father and uncle were both railroadmen. His uncle, George Kohlass, was a Conductor on the AT&SF, also working out of San Bernardino, and his father, Frank B. Hill, was an Engineer on the New York Central Railroad back in Illinois. Gene's employment on the AT&SF was sporadic: with several months of employment being followed by months of enforced leave due to a "Reduction in Force".
Alice with her boys, Richard and Roger, 1939.
Alice, Gene, Roger (L) and Richard (R) Hill. December 16, 1939
On 23 Sep 1940, Alice gave birth to twin sons, James Allen and John Robert Hill.
Jim (L) and John (R) December, 1940.
And then there were six.
Jim (L) and John (R) on a visit to Uncle George and Aunt Ann Kohlhass' house at 1237 Michael Street in San Bernardino.
Alice (holding John) with Gene's mother, Ida Ellen Hill, (holding Jim). Rich (L) and Roger are standing in front. Dec, 1940.
In January of 1941, while on enforced leave from the AT&SF, Gene got a job as a Fireman in the Los Angeles Division of the Southern Pacific Railroad. He worked out of the railroad yards in Colton, CA.
Alice and Gene with their boys in the front yard at 48 Eureka Street, San Bernardino, in Feb, 1941.
L to R: Rich, Jim, John, Roger.
In the spring of 1941 Gene and Alice moved to 2708 Moss Avenue in the Eagle Rock neighborhoood of Los Angeles, California. Working out of the busy railyards of Los Angeles, Gene now had the opportunity of steadier employment and prospects of a rapid promotion to Locomotive Engineer.
Alice with her twins John (L) and Jim, 4 Jul 1941, 2708 Moss Ave, Los Angeles.
This was the first home that Alice ever lived in that was not rented. It even had a white picket fence.
Alice with her boys: Roger, John, Jim, and Richard. 1941. 2708 Moss Ave, Los Angeles.
Alice with Sr Colette at a Greek family gathering in Riverside, early 1942.
Alice and her family at a Greek family gathering at 3351 Kansas Ave in Riverside, early 1942.
L to R: Gene, Ray and Virginia, Bill, Verda, Clarence, Sr Colette, Mayme, Claude, and Rolly. In front: Roger, Richard, Jim, Alice, John, and Jack Greek.
Alice with sons (L to R) Richard, John, Jim and Roger, 1942.
Alice with sons Roger(L) and Richard and, in front, Jim(L) and John, circa 1943.
The picture on the right was taken by our next door neighbor, Mr Taylor, who was always very kind to our family.
By now World War II was, of course, raging in Europe and the Pacific. Gene, having 4 children and an essential occupation as Railroad Engineer, was not subject to the draft. But all of Alice's brother, except for Jack - who was too young- were in the US Navy. The war was very real to our family. There were barrage balloons flying above the palm trees lining W Ave 32 behind our house. Japanese submarines had shelled one of the beaches in So California. Gene was an Air Raid Warden and there were buckets of sand in the basement in case of an incendiary bombing. Everything, it seemed, was rationed and there were special stickers on our car that let Gene buy the gasoline that he needed to get to work. We saved tin, lead and bacon grease for the war effort and I got my picture in the paper for collecting more than a ton of newspapers from around our neighborhood. All of us boys in the neighborhood played war games. To me, aside from my Dad, President Roosevelt was the most important man in the whole world. And Mom, of course, was the most important woman.
Alice at about 30 years of age at home in Los Angeles.
The note on the back of the photo on the left says she made "most of our clothes". She was a very accomplished seamstress and had made most of her own clothes since she was a girl. She continued to make her own clothes and clothes for me and my brothers for many years. (She even made clothes for my own daughters - but that's another story.)
Our home in Los Angeles at 2708 Moss Avenue, Christmas 1943.
That's Johnny coming down the driveway. I'm standing at the end of the driveway with my pant leg rolled up having just come from a bike ride. That's probably Rich standing by the curb. The boy on the bike is most likely Eddie Bagne, a neighborhood pal with whom I shared many wargames and biking adventures. (But that, also, is another story.)
Alice with brother Jack on his 16th birthday, 2708 Moss Ave., Los Angeles, 11 May 1944.
In front (L to R:): Roger, Rich, and below, John, and Jim
Alice and Jack's parents, Mayme and Claude Greek, were both both in very poor health at this time. So Gene and Alice took Jack under their wing and my brothers and I came to live with an uncle who was more like an older brother to us.
Three months after this picture was taken Mayme died in Riverside at the age of 64 and in less than a year later Claude died at the age of 59.
Alice and Gene with Roger (L) and Richard, 25 Jun 1944, Los Angeles.
Jack and Alice in Los Angeles 25 Jun 1944.
(It looks like she's sewing on a button.)
Alice and Gene in Los Angeles, 10 Dec 1944.
Aliced wrote on the back:"Feeling just a wee bit silly."
Alice and sons, Los Angeles, 10 Dec 1944.
Back: John (L) and Jim. Front:Richard (L) and Roger.
Alice and sons with Jack and Sr Colette in Los Angeles circa 1945.
L to R: Sister Colette, Alice, Jack
Front- Richard, Jim, John, Roger.
On 12 Apr 1945, President Roosevelt died and 16 days later Grandpa Claude Greek died in Riverside. And 10 days after that, on 8 May 1945, VE day, the war in Europe ended. I don't remember much about Grandpa Greek's death, but I remember well my parent's tears at FDR's passing and the celebrations in our neighborhood streets on VE Day.
A few months later, it was all over. My uncles had all survived and big changes were in the air.
In 1935 the US Department of Agriculture published a Handbook of Small Farm Management called Five Acres and Independence, written by M. G. Kains. The book, reprinted in 1940 (and again in 1973) without the USDA atmospherics, has inspired many in the back-to-the-land movement ever since. The book captured Gene's imagination. The idea that you could gain financial independence by working a five acre farm was very appealing to his independent and romantic nature. Alice's parents were gone leaving only Uncle Mont, an eccentric character living off the grid in rural Riverside County, and her beloved Aunt Mabel.
Aunt Mabel and Uncle Roy had moved in the late 30's to a beautiful farm along side the Mohawk River not far from Springfield, Oregon. So, soon after the war (and rationing) was over, Gene, Alice, Jack and the boys packed some of their belongings into a little green tow trailer and hit the road for Oregon and a new life on a 20 acre farm on Camp Creek Road outside of Springfield just over the hill from Roy and Mable's Silver Creek Ranch.
Alice with Roger and Richard on the way to Oregon.
Alice and Gene shortly after arrival in Oregon.
The little green trailer.
Our home on Camp Creek Road, Springfield, Oregon, after some sprucing up (Oct 1946).
I believe I have located the house on Camp Creek Road using Google Earth. The original house is long gone but a new house has been built at the same location with the present address of 36245 Camp Creek Road, Springfiled, OR. You can have a look around the old homestead by searching Google Earth with the coordinates: 44 04' 28.81"N 122 55' 38.44"W.
Alice at Aunt Mable and Uncle Roy's house on Mohawk Lane, Springfield, OR, 1946.
Alice with Jack, Aunt Mabel and Uncle Roy at our house on Camp Creek Road, Springfield, OR, 1946.
Jack Greek's 18th Birthday party at Aunt Mable and Uncle Roy's house on Mohawk Lane, Springfield, OR, 11 May 1946. L to R: Roy, Jack, Mable, Grandma (Ida) Hill, Alice, Grace S (?), and unknown. In front: Rich and Jim, Roger and John.
From the photo records, it looks to me like Grandma Hill took care of Jim and John while Gene and Alice made the move to Oregon and got established on Camp Creek Road. She may have then brought the twins to OR by train sometime in the spring of 1946. She was there for Jack's birthday on 11 May.
Alice with Grandma Hill and boys at a picnic in Florence, Oregon, summer 1946.
Alice with Jack and Gene at the farm on Camp Creek Road, Springfield, Oregon, Aug 1946.
Alice and Gene with their boys at the farm, Oregon, Aug, 1946. L to R: Rich, John, Jim, and Roger.
Alice circa 1930 at the family's home at 3762 Franklin Ave in Riverside.
The dream of independence, even with 20 acres, and in spite of heroic efforts and helpful neighbors, turned out to be unrealistic. To hedge the risks, Gene had not given up his job with the Southern Pacific and was on a leave-of-absence while he was away in Oregon. In the summer of 1947, the family returned to Southern California and Gene resumed full time work as an Engineer with the Los Angeles Division of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
During the school year 47/48 the family lived with Gene's sister's family, Jack and Lucille Davies and their children, Dennis, Barbara,and David as well as Grandma Ida Hill, on a one acre farm in San Bernardino near the intersection of Electric Ave and W 41st Street. (At that time, 41st St was at the extreme northern edge of the city of San Bernardino.) The boys attended Holy Rosary elementary school in San Bernardino.
In the spring of 1948, Roger, then in the 8th grade, won a scholarship to Newman High School, a boy's school that had just begun operating in Fontana, CA. So, the family moved into a home at 8657 Newport Avenue in Fontana where Roger and his brothers could walk to school and Gene was only about 10 miles away from the Southern Pacific railyards in Colton, CA.
Our family moved to this home at 8657 Newport Avenue, Fontana, CA, in 1948.
Moving day, 1948. L to R: Rich, Jim, John, Alice holding baby ?, Roger holding his cat.
Alice on her 37th birthday, 2 Apr 1949, Fontana, CA.
Alice and sons, Fontana, 11 Dec 1949. L to R: Roger, Jim, John, and Rich.
Our car at the time was a 1947 Kaiser Special.
Alice with the Greek family, Fontana, Summer of 1950.
L to R: Sister Colette, Ray, Cousin Rosemary Sheridan, Alice, Bill, and Rolly.
Alice and Gene, 10 Dec 1950, Fontana, CA.
Alice and her boys, 10 Dec 1950, Fontana, CA, L to R: Roger, Jim, John, and Rich.
Alice was active in the social life of her church and the schools attended by her sons. In 1950 she was elected President of the Parents Association at Newman High School in Fontana.
Madame President. Alice ( seated L) at an event of the Newman High School Parents Association, Fontana, 1950.
Alice on the campus of Newman High School, Fontana, CA, circa 1952.
L to R: Rich, unknown, Roger, Alice.
Alice and Gene in their living room at Fontana before chaperoning the Newman High School Junior/Senior Prom.
Alice with John and Gene and the new family car, a 1951 Mercury Coupe. Fontana, circa 1952.
In the fall of 1952 Alice and Gene drove Roger to Moraga, California, where he began college as a freshman at St Mary's College of California.
Alice and Roger on his way to college.
Alice and Roger on the campus of St Mary's College of California, Sep 1952.
Alice and family, Fontana, 29 Nov 1952. (Roger came home from college for Thanksgiving.)
Alice and Gene with Grandma Hill, Rich, Jim (L) and John. Fontana, 29 Nov 1952.
Alice and her sons on the campus of Newman High School, Fontana, CA, 1953. L to R: John, Rich, Roger, Jim.
Alice and family, Fontana, Christmas, 1954.
L to R: Rich, John, Roger, Jim, Gene.
Alice and family, Fontana, Christmas, 1954.
L to R: Rich, Roger, John, Gene, and Grandma Hill.
Shortly after arriving at St Mary's, Roger's cousin, Sylvia McPherson, introduced him to her friend, Lark (Bette Cerf) Ross, who was then a student at Lowell High School in San Francisco. Over the next couple of years they fell in love and, much to the surprise and consternation of their families, on 23 Jun 1955 they eloped and were married by a justice-of-the-peace in Zephyr Cove (Lake Tahoe), Nevada. Later that summer, much to the relief of Alice and Gene, Roger and Bette were re-married at St Dominic's Catholic Church in San Francisco. Alice, Gene and Richard attended the wedding and the reception that followed at Bette's parent's home at 76 Divisadero Street in San Francisco.
Alice and Gene with Richard, Roger and Bette Cerf Hill at their wedding reception in the home of Bette's parents, Dr Herbert and Muriel Dryfoos, in San Francisco, 14 Aug 1955.
Alice and Gene with John and Rich. Fontana, Christmas, 1955.
Alice and Gene with their first grandchild, Catherine Marie Hill, born 29 Nov 1956. Oakland, CA, Christmas, 1956.
Alice and Bette with Catherine. Oakland, CA, Christmas, 1956.
Greek and Hill families. Fontana, Christmas, 1957.
L to R: John, Sharon, Alice, Linda, Sr Colette holding Debbi, Pat, Jack, Rolly, Rich, Dot holding Timmy.
The Hill family, Fontana, Christmas, 1957.
L to R: Gene, Jim, Alice holding Catherine, Bette, John, Roger, Rich.
In April 1958, Alice and Gene became grandparents for the second time with the birth of Teresa Jean Hill on 11 Apr 1958. At the time, Roger and Bette and Catherine were living at 396 Madeira Way in Livermore, California.
Alice with Catherine and baby Teresa, Livermore, CA, Jun 1958.
Alice with Catherine and baby Teresa, Livermore, CA, Jun 1958.
Alice with Catherine and baby Teresa, Livermore, CA, Jun 1958.
Alice and Gene celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at their home in Fontana, 15 Aug 1958.
Alice and her brothers at her 25th wedding anniversary, Fontana, 15 Aug 1958. L to R: Bill, Clarence, Alice, Rolly, Ray, and Jack in front.
Alice and family at Roger and Bette's house in Livermore, CA, Christmas, 1958. L to R: Jim, Rich, Alice, Gene, Roger.
Alice and Gene with Uncle Roy at Roy and Mable's house, Moreno, CA, May 1959.
Alice and siblings, Christmas, Fontana, 1959.
L to R: Ray, Jack, Rolly, Alice, Bill, Sister Colette.
Alice and Gene with his parents, Frank and Ida Hill, Newport Avenue, Fontana, 2 Apr 1961.
Alice at 50, 2 Apr 1962.
Greek family reunion at the home of Virginia's parents, the Skotty's, in Riverside, circa 1967.
Alice is seated in front of Mary Hill (John's wife) who is seated next to Gene. The toddler in front of Alice is Robert Hill (John and Mary's son). To Alice's left is Bill, Jack, Rolly, Dot and Clarence. Mr Skotty is in the red jacket at right. Seated in the back are: Emma (Clarence's wife), Mrs Skotty, Sister Colette, Virginia, Ray, Sharon Greek (Ray and Virginia's daughter), Lee and Stephanie Greek (Jack's wife and daughter). The Greek children are Debbi, Doug, Philip, and Timothy. Robbie (in front) is flanked by Stephen and Linda Greek.