Jacksonville childhood

A portent of future directions, happiest in a wagon... Our first house was on Hendricks Ave in Jacksonville and was built by my mother and father -- concrete slab foundation, concrete block walls, and a flat roof -- on a fairly large lot. We lived in the house until about '58 -- the subsequent owners converted it into a business. I have no pictures of the house and a few of family there. This is of me in the yard, sitting on my wagon, near the clothes line, in about 1952 (age 4). Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Picture probably taken by my uncle, Wallace Ybanez. The picture was labelled as taken in the Fall of 1941 when both parents would have been 30 or under and had one child. Best when viewed as part of Jacksonville childhood album.

Pictures from childhood. Taken in the front yard of our first house. This was taken in 1949, clearly at Easter. I had four brothers and am the youngest. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. My father holding me, apparently this was taken on Feb 5, 1948. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. My mother, apparently taken when she was in her 20's, which would have been in the 1930's. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Father and three brothers at Jacksonville beach in 1953. I'm fairly certain the shortest one in the picture is my brother who would have been 10 or 11, not me (I would have been 5.) Best when viewed as part of Jacksonville childhood album.

Pictures from childhood. My mother and I playing Chinese checkers, which we did quite a bit when I was younger. I remember the card table, but the location isn't familiar. Because there's a work table in the background, I know it wasn't in the family house on Hendricks Ave. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. Mother seeing me off to grammar school, this is at the intersection of Inwood and Hendricks (see map). Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. The grammar school where all of my brothers and I went to school. It was immediately across the street from our house. This photo was taken in about 2001 and the school doesn't seem to have changed, though I expect it has. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. The first car I can really remember is this Nash Rambler that we had, I believe it was a 1952. This is taken on the beach probably near what was where Mickler road extended to the beach (see map). In the 50's the beach area had no housing and you could drive on the beach. My family loved fishing (I didn't) and that was what we did on Sunday afternoons. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Always traveling somewhere.... Photo taken just before my 13th birthday. Best when viewed as part of Jacksonville childhood album.

Note who doesn't have either a shotgun or a BB gun.... the start of my life-long dislike of guns. Part of the dislike is, admittedly, due to the fact that I'm right-handed but left eye dominant, which makes aiming very difficult. Oddly, the brother next to me is left-handed but carrying the gun on the right. Date of 'photo taken' is unknown, but I'm guessing it was Fall and that I was about 4. Best when viewed as part of Jacksonville childhood album.

Pictures from childhood. My attempt at fishing, with my mother looking on, at a fairly rundown fish camp run by my grandfather on what was then Girvin road. At the time, the area was swamplands and oak woods, with very few houses of people who wanted to get away from everything. From the satellite photos I can see that all of that history has been wiped out and replaced with modern suburban ranch homes (see map). Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. Not even attempting to fish (see adjacent photos). At some point it became clear that I detested fishing and it was okay for me to stay with mother and read the Sunday paper. This is next to a Kaiser that we owned some time in the mid to late 1950's. We're parked next to a dirt road near a fishing spot on Little Talbot Island (see map) Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. Much of my free time as a child was spent bike riding with either my brothers or friends. At 9 or 10 years old, we would ride fairly long distances (2 to 5 miles away from the house) -- something kids don't seem to do as much these days. One of our favorite places to ride was the duck pond on San Jose Ave (see map). The pond really hasn't changed much since I was a child -- people still feed the ducks, and still walk around the pond on the concrete bulkheads that keep it from being a marsh. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. Taken in 1959. My father had a contract to do the plumbing for part of a subdivision that was being built. I was "helping", but was actually more of a nuisance since I didn't know the difference between a crescent wrench and pliers. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. In 1958 we sold the house on Hendricks and moved to Brookside Circle. This was a real step up (pun intended) for us -- the house was off the ground (our first house wasn't), had a peaked roof and a fireplace, and had enough room for 4 boys. There was a vacant yard across the street from us and then Little Pottsburg Creek -- we spent many hours in makeshift boats on the creek, and frequently swam in it (again, I'm amazed we didn't get sick). I don't have a picture of the house (after 40 years, it has changed quite a bit), but this was me and our dog in the front yard. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.

Pictures from childhood. One of my brothers and I in a rowboat on Little Pottsburg Creek. Scans of older pictures, best viewed from left to right, as part of Jacksonville set.