Mrs. Dixon’s Mailbox and Other Saranap Scenes Unraveled

A snowy day in Saranap in 1937, and Dudley Thickens took this picture and eventually stored the negative away in an envelope with its description and a date. Three-quarters of a century later, the significance of the image was realized as part of a family history that passed through pre-WWII Saranap. But first, some background.

L143-01-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 1 of 34)

Some events in history are easy to reconstruct, others remain mysteries. Photographs are most helpful. Take Il Pavone, for instance, at the four corners in Saranap.

L143-05-Stuart Swiedler, (Image 2 of 34)

Il Pavone was Sam’s Market in 1957. Earlier, quotes from a Dudley Thickens interview found at http://www.lafayettehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Dudley-Thickens.pdf provide a good description of its beginnings.

L143-10-John Plytnick Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 83540sn, (Image 3 of 34)

Said Thickens, “opposite from the station which was a long station in those days ... was the general store. I recall the first proprietor there was Mr. Grist. I don't know who might have come before him or who came after him, but I do know that for a long time there was a Barthol family”. No documentation could be found for Grist or Barthol. Southeast view, June 15, 1933.

L143-15-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 57361sn , (Image 4 of 34)

It was Boswell’s store in the late 1930s, the Coca-Cola sign the only evidence of an active business. This photo of Dudley Thickens from Feb. 22, 1937, southeast view, was probably taken by Bud Volz, the evidence to be presented later. Barton O. Campbell and his family lived in the house in the background, left. Mr. Campbell was a plumber when his family arrived in Saranap shortly before 1920. He worked as a truck driver as his children reached adulthood in the 1930s. Mrs. Campbell appears to have remained in the home for at least a short time after Barton’s passing in 1948.

L143-20-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 5 of 34)

Rich Bentley has been investigating his family’s beginnings in early 20th century Saranap. Armed with some images and his mother’s recollections, he has also been sifting through county recorder documents, deeds, census data, newspaper articles and whatever information he can find, and the wealth of information he has found is provided along with Thickens’ images and recollections in the running commentary to follow.

L143-25-Stuart Swiedler Photo, (Image 6 of 34)

Wrote Bentley, ”this June 28, 1933 oblique aerial image depicts two houses my grandfather Nis Skow built about 1930 on lots acquired by family in 1929. Both houses still stand. My mother and uncle grew up in the two-story home at the corner of what is now Panoramic and Sequoia, then Locust and Oak, and the Duncans, my grandfather's in-laws, lived out their days in the one-story house just to the north.” Nis Skow, a carpenter, built both houses single-handedly. The Duncans were retired after farming wheat in Missouri, Washington state, and Alberta, Canada.

L143-30-Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 57123sn, (Image 7 of 34)

The discussion might have stopped at this point, but Rich spotted his grandfather’s initials on what Dudley Thickens had listed in this image as “Mrs. Dixon’s Mailbox with Snow, Jan, 12, 1937”. An explanation was needed as to whose mailboxes these were. Note the roof line, fireplace and chimney of the Campbell house seen in L143-20 are barely discernible in the darkness among the trees in the upper left corner.

L143-35-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 8 of 34)

A row of mailboxes was a newer development of 1930s Saranap. Said Thickens, “During the early days when our Post Office box was number 52 in Saranap RFD, the postmaster ... didn't go all around Saranap like they did later on when they would come to within a block or two of your house to a cluster of mailboxes on the road. But they had a couple of wagon wheels mounted on a post, right down in front of the General Store in front of the station ... So you'd go down there and you could either twirl it or walk around to where your box was ... I know I liked to twirl it in those days.”

L143-40-C O Clarke Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 5664, (Image 9 of 34)

George Q. and Mabel C. Dixon made their first of several acquisitions of property in Saranap beginning in 1919. This image from Mar. 15, 1935 shows the Federalist-style Dixon home that still sits today at 120 Panoramic Way. Mr. Dixon, a co-owner of the Oakland-based Peerless Potato Chip Company, passed away in 1929, and Mrs. Dixon continued to live in the home until some time after 1940.

L143-45-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 10 of 34)

Back to the snowy day of Jan 12, 1937, this south view up Panoramic Way shows part of the Campbell family’s orchard in the left foreground. The Duncan cottage on the left side of the road obscures most of the Skows’ two-story home. Beyond those and slightly up the hill, the roofline of the Dixon house can be seen. To the right of the road is a house previously owned by real estate speculator Frank Lyman, who bought and sold dozens of properties in Saranap in the 1920s. The mailboxes by the Campbell’s fence are out of the frame to the left, the tree profile on the hill to the south matching the upper right corner of L142-35.

L143-50-Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 55384sn, (Image 11 of 34)

To begin compiling Rich Bentley’s findings, this 1940 aerial will be used to mark the homes in proximity to, and presumed to be next to, Mrs. Dixon’s mailbox. The homes all fall within the southwest portion of Saranap marked by the orange box, east of Tice Valley Blvd. centering on Locust, today’s Panoramic Way. An annotated detail is shown next.

L143-55-USDA AAA Western Division, Courtesy Contra Costa County Historical Society, 13560, Detail , (Image 12 of 34)

Here, an annotated version of the insert from L143-55 marking all the homes in proximity to Mrs. Dixon’s mailbox in red, in addition to the Boswell residence-store and the SN shelter in green. Mr. Lyman died in 1931, and it is not yet known who lived at 91 Panoramic in 1940. Four of the five homes associated with the mailboxes still stand, the Campbell home replaced by an office building.

L143-60-USDA AAA Western Division, Courtesy Contra Costa County Historical Society, 13560, Detail, (Image 13 of 34)

Next in order was to map out Dudley Thickens’ home and immediate neighbors. His mother Emma purchased two lots from Stephen Dewing in 1917. Rich Bentley could not find the address, number 40 Park Ave., until it appeared in her obituary in the Dec. 2, 1957 Oakland Tribune as homes in the area didn’t have formal addresses until after WWII. This May 28, 1939 image shows that the home was surrounded by trees, an important clue if the address had not been found. Read on ...

L143-65-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 14 of 34)

This image, “Saranap, Picture at Home, Dec. 27, 1934” captures a road, a home, a hill, and the winter sun in the southern sky. Based on the Thickens’ address, this road today is Park Ave., and the home shown in the background is also known as discussed next.

L143-70-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 15 of 34)

A negative in the same packet was labelled “Miss Kerlinger's house or AP Pedersen's house”, again on that snowy Jan. 12, 1937 day. Several earlier photos of the Kerlinger Ranch on the CCC Historical Society website concur that this is the Kerlinger home, the same one in the background of L143-75. The water tank on the hill is no longer present. California native California May “Callie” Kerlinger and her mother settled in Saranap about 1915. The 1920 census listed her as a “Farmerette” raising chickens. By 1940, her mother had passed and she was apparently retired and sharing her home with her widowed brother.

L143-75-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 16 of 34)

Following along the tree line on the hill to the east, next to Miss Kerlinger’s home was Anton P. Pedersen’s home, south view Jan. 12, 1937. Mr. Pedersen, a native of Denmark, served as a blacksmith-farrier in the Spanish-American war before settling in Saranap about 1924. He remained a bachelor during his many years in Saranap, but married at age 70 after moving away in the late 1930s. South view, Jan. 12, 1937.

L143-80-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 17 of 34)

Back to the Thickens’ home, this negative was marked, “Saranap, Dudley Thickens, Home, Burning Branches, Mar. 7, 1937”. The image is facing to the north as the SN catenary wire poles are visible, marking Newell Ave. Note the water tank to the left or west.

L143-85-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 18 of 34)

One year later, on Dec. 4, 1938, Thickens took several images of what he indicated was the Garrison home. Although the family had moved away at least a decade earlier, they retained ownership until 1934. The water tower is not the one in L143-85. Several lines of evidence show the Garrisons moved to Oakland in the mid- to early 1920s where daughter Sylvia started a long career at Oakland Technical High School as a music teacher and department head.

L143-90-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family , (Image 19 of 34)

The area to the right or east of the Garrison’s water tank has a small orchard, not the houses seen in L143-85. The road behind the trees is Newell Ave. based on the one visible SN catenary pole and the raised SN right-of-way to the north of the road. North view, Dec. 4, 1938.

L143-95-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 20 of 34)

One last north view, Dec. 4, 1938, and the pole to the left of the water tank has a catenary wire holder. Note the presence of the creek, a tributary of Las Trampas Creek. The trees along this waterway will prove useful markers in the upcoming images.

L143-100-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 21 of 34)

East and west views from July 1935 down the SN right-of-way east of the Bridge Rd. grade crossing, black arrows, show two water tanks, yellow arrows, considerably south of Newell Ave. The prominent two-story building of undetermined function can be seen in a 1921 image no.1803 from the Saranap section of the CCC Historical Society, http://www.cocohistory.org/frm-photos.html.

L143-105-Dudley Thickens Photos, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 63823sn, r, 63824s, (Image 22 of 34)

Water tanks have proven beneficial for Rich Bentley’s endeavor. L143-20 suggested that Bud Volz took the image of Thickens based on this image at Boswell’s store, southeastern view, Feb. 22, 1937. In addition to capturing Bud and his friend Berry, this image also shows the water tank associated with the Volz home just to the right of Bud’s hat.

L143-110-Dudley Thickens Photo, Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family , (Image 23 of 34)

Back to Saranap in the snow, Jan 12, 1937, this view shows a water tower in the background as well as the large trees associated with the creek near Thickens’ home. Rich Bentley surmised that Thickens took this photo facing west from Park Ave., which would place the water tank on the Volz property.

L143-115-Dudley Thickens Photos, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 55375sn, (Image 24 of 34)

This northwest view from 1930, not taken by Thickens, provides good visual markers of the Volz home. Bud Volz, later became a Walnut Creek police officer and was the son of Cal Berkeley’s football coach, Charles Volz. As a complete aside, along the left edge you can follow a string of SN hopper cars to the right, or east, followed by the large building, Boswell’s store, then further east, the SN Saranap shelter.

L143-120-Couresy Contra Costa County Historical Society, 1804 , (Image 25 of 34)

The yellow arrow in this detail from the northeast aerial by Thickens from June 28, 1933 shows the approximate line of sight of the photo taken in L143-115. See the next image for a summary of Thicken’s neighbors.

L143-125-Dudley Thickens Photos, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives,57123sn, (Image 26 of 34)

Adding to the information in 143-65, those families whose mailboxes were clustered with Mrs. Dixon’s are in red, Thickens’ close neighbors are indicated in yellow. It becomes very clear from this and the previous image how the Thickens, Kerlinger and Pedersen homes were shielded from the west by the trees along the creek.

L143-130-USDA AAA Western Division, Courtesy Contra Costa Historical Society, 13560, Detail, (Image 27 of 34)

Rich Bentley went through decades of records to produce this lot map that uses the Contra Costa County Assessor’s current Saranap street grid. The general pattern in Saranap in the early 20th century was acquisition of initial lots by these families from Stephen Dewing and his family starting in the 1910s, with additional lots coming through Frank Lyman starting in the 1920s.

L143-135-Courtesy Rich Bentley and Contra Costa County Planning , (Image 28 of 34)

Thickens also referred to important landmarks to the north of the SN railway right-of-way, now Olympic Boulevard. The area of interest is outlined by the orange box. Images taken by Thickens with quotations from the Dudley Thickens interview found at http://www.lafayettehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Dudley-Thickens.pdf will be used to create an annotated version of the area within the orange box.

L143-140-USDA AAA Western Division, Courtesy Contra Costa Historical Society, 13560, Detail , (Image 29 of 34)

Thickens noted, “I went to the Saranap School for about 5 years, first through fifth grades of elementary school. It was about a six block walk from home along the main street that paralleled the railroad, across the tracks and over to the school which was adjacent to where the present firehouse is now, and the clubhouse of the Saranap Improvement Association”. The building seen in the background to the left of the school was seen in 143-105, east view, and marks Newell Rd. near the SN Bridge Rd. crossing. Southeast view, June 21, 1933.

L143-145-Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 120647cv, (Image 30 of 34)

Thickens continued, “The Improvement Association donated the property to the Fire District when they folded up. I guess the Fire District got the school property, too.” Fire Station no. 3 operated at 2273 Whyte Park Ave. at Boulevard Way until the new station was opened at 1520 Rossmoor Parkway in 1995. By the way, George Q. Dixon was one of the first presidents of the Association, and Dudley’s mother Emma served as secretary.

L143-150-Dudley Thickens Collection, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 31 of 34)

More from Thickens, “I transferred about two-thirds of the way through fifth grade up to Walnut Creek because they rearranged the grades.” That school is shown here in June 21, 1933. All the information fits, as the Saranap Improvement Association recorded their purchase in the Dewing Park Extension on Mar. 22, 1923, when Thickens would have been 10 years old.

L143-155-Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 120649cv, (Image 32 of 34)

And one last Thickens quote, “Why we used to have to go over to the James Dewing dairy in the evening for milk, across the flat and over the bridge, up on the bluff via Bridge Road. At the end of Bridge Road was the bridge. He had a farm in there, which is where we used to get our milk.” Thickens labelled this image, “Saranap, Creek at Bridge on Road at Whyte's Place, Looking East, Mar. 14, 1937.”

L143-161-Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy the Thickens Family, (Image 33 of 34)

With the information at hand, an annotated version of the northern section of Saranap is presented. The red line marks Dudley Thickens’ path to Saranap school, the orange line to the Dewing’s farm for milk. The Dewing home still exits at Dewing Ln. and Warren Rd., marked by the big palm tree. After switching to elementary school in Walnut Creek, Dudley Thickens took the train to school, like everyone else in Saranap. Much appreciation to Rich Bentley for sharing a part of his continuing research efforts and making this all come alive.

L143-165-USDA AAA Western Division, Courtesy Contra Costa County Historical Society, 13560, Detail, (Image 34 of 34)