A Dedication

Occasionally someone asks how my interest in Covina history originated. I had an abiding fascination with "old things" in general as far back as I can remember, but the specific seeds of curiosity about my home town's past were actually planted by teachers at Barranca School: in particular, Mr. Miller in 3rd grade (1962-1963), and Mrs. Shipley in 6th (1965-1966).

I remember a lot of little things about Mr. Miller's class: stories about his father's Model T, how honeybees and ants communicate, playing Bedřich Smetana's "The Moldau" during rest periods (still one of my favorite pieces of classical music). Above all, though, Mr. Miller tried to convey to our young minds the importance of water to civilization. He took us on three water-related field trips that I recall: one to an artesian well in downtown Covina, another to a water storage facility in Charter Oak, and a sewage treatment plant. (I'll never forget the superintendent holding up a glass of clear treated effluent and asking us if anyone would like a drink. "Ewwwwww!," went the whole class. Then he drank it! "EWWWWWW!")

Anyway, Mr. Miller's main message in all this was that Covina wouldn't have even come into existence if it weren't for water being diverted from the mountains and pumped from underground. The search for and securing of water was literally the driving force that made Covina's founding and early development possible.

Then there was Mrs. Shipley in 6th. I don't recall her teaching us about Covina history as a subject specifically, but in her classroom she had this little lending library of reference books that her pupils could check out and take to their desk during study period. That's where I first encountered Donald Pflueger's "Covina." Perhaps needless to say, I found that book to be utterly captivating, particularly the photos of the city and environs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Then around that same time, I saw Covina in the window display of the "House of Books" bookstore next to Koenig Camera in Shoppers Lane. Oh, boy! Other kids of my generation might've asked, "How much is that doggie in the window?," but I was like, "How much is that book about Covina?" Turned out it was $10 ($100 today). Ouch. So I asked my mom if she'd get it for me. "The way you treat your books? Absolutely not!" No, if I wanted it, I'd have to save up my allowance and buy it myself. Trouble was, my allowance at the time was only 50¢ a week. It would take me half a year at least to save up ten bucks.

House of Books ad for "Covina" by Donald Pflueger.
Pomona Progress-Bulletin, April 2, 1964.

But I had to have it, so save I did. And in the meantime, I'd still look at the Covina book in class and sneak peeks at it whenever Mom went to the camera store. Actually, the summer after I finished 6th grade, I went into the House of Books so many times that the lady there eventually banned me from her store! She said she was tired of me coming in and never buying anything. Turned out all her exile really did was make me more determined than ever to make that book mine.

Anyway, after a while, I showed my mom that I'd saved up around $5 of allowance money for the Covina book, and seeing that I truly had my heart set on it, she matched my $5 and bought the book for me for my 12th birthday. Since then, as you might guess, it's become the most-read, most-referenced work of non-fiction of my whole life.

But would it have been, if Mrs. Shipley had not exposed me to it in grade school? Without that, if I later saw it in the window at the House of Books, would that by itself have been enough to pique my curiosity, or generate such an active interest that I'd save up my paltry allowance to buy it? I really doubt it. So I truly do have Mrs. Shipley to thank most of all for starting me on the path to becoming a Covina history sleuth. I can almost guarantee I would not be writing this blog right now had that not happened.

And so, in recognition of their early influences, I dedicate Covina Past to Mr. Reed Karl Miller, and Mrs. Charlotte A. Shipley. I note with some regret that Mr. Miller passed away only recently in November, 2024, at the age of 91. I think he would have been delighted to learn that one of his former students went on to do scholarly research and writing on the subject of Covina history! Unfortunately, it was only by way of his obituary that I finally found out what his full name was and the rest of his life story. I hope that his family finds this dedication someday and learns how their relative's efforts in pedagogy paid off for at least one of his then-less-than-impressive pupils.

My treasured, now-heavily-annotated copy of Pflueger, 1964. Note how I inscribed my name and address so carefully inside the cover in my most perfect 6th grade printing!

I should also include the late Glenn Reed in my dedicatory acknowledgements. I never had and perhaps never will have anyone who was a more enthusiastic booster of my work here than Glenn was, and I miss his knowledge, advice, criticism and fellowship still to this day.

And finally, I must give special thanks to Timothy Hynes: an old high school classmate who has generously undertaken to support my work here. I've never had an actual patron before, so I now have real, tangible help backing me up. So you should expect more frequent posting here now, thanks in large measure to Tim!