THE HANDS CHAPTER 1 LOWELL HAND HAND FAMILY MANUSCRIPTS

REMINISCING
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CHAPTER 1

GRANDPARENTS AHLSTROM and JOHNSON

I was born October 18, 1913 in my grandfather's old farm house on Florence Ave. in the County of Los Angeles, known in those days as Florence, California. My Swedish grandfather, John Federick Ahlstrom, and grandmother, Hannah, had raised nine children at that location, on a plot of 15 or 20 acres.

There was the usual barn for the horses and cows and their feed and there was a surrey with three seats and a "fringe round the top." Their children were: Arthur, Grace, Ruben, Bertha (my mother), Lillian, Mae, Corinne, Charles and Eleanor. A pump house sat behind their two story house, with elevated wood stave tank and windmill. Water was even piped into a "pantry" or store room at the back of the house. It had racks for cooling pans of mil, to let the cream come to the top to be skimmed for making butter. Potatoes, flour and home canned goodies were also stored there and a five gallon can of honey which grandma always bought from her brother Charles, at Chatsworth, once a year.

It was a long trip from Florence to Chatsworth in those days, with a horse drawn wagon. They went via present day Hollywood, over Cahuenga Pass, then west, following the general direction of the Los Angeles River to Calabasas where they stayed over night with grandma's brother Eastman. The total distance was about 30 miles but don't forget they all had to get out and help push the wagon over Cahuenga Pass about noon. It was a long day over sandy roads. The next day an additional 10 miles took them north to Chatsworth, crossing in the general trace of present day Topanga Canyon Rd. Then they went up the Santa Susana Pass. A private road led to 160 acres of relatively flat land which my great grandparents had homesteaded. Neils Christian Johnson and Ann Johnson came to California from Salt Lake City and settled in this remote valley to hide from the Mormon Church rather than accept polygamy. They were among the very earliest Caucasian settlers in the San Fernando Valley and the Indians were still at the San Fernando Mission at that time.

They had more rain in those days so three good springs provided water for the house, garden and orchard, and rain watered their hay and grain fields. The house of rough boards at least had window glass and door knobs, by my day anyway. In the front yard there was a large masonry reservoir about forty feet across and 3 or 4 feet deep. And they had shade trees which helped in the one hundred degree (plus) summers before air conditioning. There was also a long grape arbor and fruit trees and plenty of deer with no hunting season. So they raised a large family, Hanna (my grandmother), Nellie (Proctor), Christy (Bliss), Will, Charlie, Walter (who died quite young), Emma (Graves), Norman, Eastman and Lenora ("Nonie" MacDonald).

I remember great grandmother Johnson who lived until I was six. Great grandfather saw me only once, when I was a year old. He had the wanderlust but at Chatsworth An put her foot down and said she would never move again. He was gone frequently to haul logs from Soledad Canyon to the San Fernando Valley, driving an ox team. We think he contributed some time to digging a narrow slot through the mountain at Newhall Pass. It is adjacent to the tremendous cut there today where highway #5 cuts through from the San Fernando Valley to the Santa Clarita Valley. It has always been a busy pass because it is an easy way to get through the San Gabriel Mountains. In bygone days I frequently drove my dad's 1928 Reo truck through a tunnel at Newhall Pass, on Highway #14. By 1939 the two lane tunnel became a bottleneck for increased traffic, so a very large cut was made right up through the top of the mountain. It's a good thing great grandpa didn't have to dig that with his pick and shovel.

The property at Chatsworth remained in tact until about 1930 when 140 acres were sold to Mr. Brandeis. The remaining 20 acres went in 2 acre parcels to eight heirs and one 4 acre plot to Charles Johnson, the administrator for the property. Ultimately Aunt Nonie's 2 acres was left to my mother and resulted in many family picnics there in the 1950's. A fire swept through the area in about 1965 destroying all the pine trees and since none of the "Hand boys" were interested to buy and care for the "tow acres," the property was sold out of the family about 1970. Harold Johnson (son of Charles) continued to live in the area for some time, having bought some of the other 2 acre parcels to increase his fathers original 4 acres.

Lack of water became a problem in later years but since the Brandeis property has been developed into high priced estates, municipal water has been brought in, and the whole character of the area is changed. No longer do the rattle snakes climb into the wire fences only to find the can't move farther forward nor backup. And no one now catches them with a forked stick and slip knot in a short string attached to the end of a three foot stick, as we used to do. Of course they never escaped from either situation.

Grandmother Ahlstrom never got Chatsworth out of her system. She and uncle Art built a cabin on her 2 acres and both lived there their last years. In her early life, being the oldest of the Johnson children, she frequently rode from Chatsworth to the San Fernando Mission carrying butter and eggs to sell. Cash was important but 12 miles each way on a horse was a long ride for a girl all alone. No doubt grandmother's attachment to the rugged life was an added reason for their yearly visit to see grandma Johnson and spend some of the summer at the ranch. "Going home" was the thing to do and my mother did the same thing at every opportunity.

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