AmericasSuburb.com
Title
The Valley Observed: San Fernando Valley history and sense of place
Description
Kevin Roderick approached the San Fernando Valley and its past from two angles. As a journalist he was intrigued by the stories he heard about one of the nation's most misperceived locales. He also brought to the subject his curiosity as a native son who wanted to learn more about the place where he grew up.
Kevin spent his boyhood in Northridge. His family lived in a ranch-style house on a half-acre that not long before had belonged to a commercial walnut orchard. A pair of towering trees offered shade during the blazing summers, served as second base for a thousand pickup baseball games and kept the kitchen (and the squirrels) stocked with walnuts. Every yard on the street had at least one relic of the old grove, and many grew lemons and oranges too. Kevin and his buddies pursued the contented Valley life of baby boomer kids. They caught tadpoles in the local creek, swiped pomegranates from the neighbors' trees and invaded construction sites to scavenge scrap wood for tree houses. Passage of the seasons was marked by the annual Northridge Stampede equestrian parade, opening day of Little League and the highlight of any year, the San Fernando Valley Fair at Devonshire Downs.
In Los Angeles, the Valley was "over the hill," a place one visited. If you lived there, though, it—not L.A.—was your home town. Kevin's favorite haunts were those of many teenagers at the time: the canyons and hills encircling the Valley, the Northridge Skateland roller rink, and cruising to see and be seen on Van Nuys Boulevard. Even then, stories of the Valley's past as a ranching domain and a haven for movie stars captured his interest. It suggested a deeper, richer body of lore than typically associated with "the suburbs," as the Valley was dismissed.
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