Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-02

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losing your best friend to give up a
home like this.
"Yes, there was money in 1t, good
money but what Is money to a home?
The children are all grown now and
about ready to take notice of the
affairs of present day society, and this
Is not exactly the place for young peo-
pie now, with the factories and foun-
dries about, and / have two young
woman daughters now, SO / guess /
must go elsewhere and move onto
lot.
"Think of moving to lot after be-
ing here! Why, l feel sometimes as
though it would fairly suffocate me to
move to crowded little lot where the
nearest neighbor is but fifty feet away,
and where you have to almost whisper
to keep from making known your af-
fairs to your nelghbors.
"Oh, yes, we could probably fix up
new home in good style. We could
have a nice lawn, few stiff-looking
shrubs, a granatoid sidewalk with all
the modern Improvements of we'll
kept house, electric lights and gas. But
look here!"
View of Beauty
The woman stepped to the door and
opened the screen, and for a second
time that wonderful mass of bewilder-
ing shrubbery In all the glory of a sum-
mer's day flashed upon the view.
The huge arms of the cactus waved
welcome to the sun and the silk-like
branches of the peppers whispered
mysterious nothings to one another,
while the borders of old-fashioned
Io1M hAtr
gentle breeze as though overhearing
and commenting upon the conversation
of their great-limbed relatives.
"Yes, we are to give 1t up now"
said Mrs. Leahy 'but the old house
has a history worth knowing.
MY husband, Thomas Leahy, was
born in Cork, Ireland. He came to this
country in 1852 and Immediately settled
in Los Angeles. The town was so small
then that it could hardly be called
town, and Mr.. Leahy started In the shoe
business. The chief trade then was In
boots-fancy boots for the gentleman
tough hide boots for the prospectors
and COW, punchers of the hills and
plains.
''I met Mr.. Leahy in San Francisco
in 1870 and three years later we were
married there and came to this OLD
homestead to live. But it's history had
begun before that.
Secures Land Grant
'In 1856 Jose Rubio, man Of some
means from Sonora state, came to Los
Angeles and secured the grant OF
thirty-eight acres of land from the
alcalde. He was a careful farmer and
he Immediately began to map out the
ground for a great vineyard. AT that
time the country through here was all
vineyards He took over the old adobe
house built on the ranch by the indian
inhabitants of years before, and with
that for a ranch house he began his
fight for wealth.
MY husband saw and bought the
land in 1862. Right in the heart Of the
great civil war when the eastern ana
southern states were tearing out their
hearts in the giant struggle, it was all
peaceful here, just as though the war
was in some far away country.
'+Mr. Leahy bought the thirty-eight
acres then and began to work the
ranch. His brother was in charge and
orange trees, Vineyards and the shrub
berry, some of it still left, were planted.
1.-The deed from Rubio to Mr.. Leahy
bore a civil war stamp. That was the
first deed ever held in connection with
cluding seven acres later bought from
the Williams tract, there has never
been any change in title. In 1899 my
husband sold off about thirty-eight
acres and that deed bears stamp Of
the Cuban war. "a
Builds New House
''When | came here in 1873, my hus-
band had built on this ranch house
used as a kitchen for awhile, and later
the boys took it for a machine shop.
At that time the city limits Of Los
and that was considered rather distant.
Angeles was at Third and Main streets
mayor Toberman was the big man
of the city in those days and former
Governor Downey was one of the most
progressive citizens.
"Well. the story is simple. We lived
here all our lives. When the great
blight which ruined this section as a
wine producing center struck the
grapes and killed off the plants by the
millions we raked them away and put
in new ones and did the best we could.
''The children were all born In that
room. We have never known any
other home and never had any other,
and oh, how hard it is to part with 1t.
"You see that strip of sand, from
the porch to the gateway! lmdBlnS
seeing that strip ploughed up and
turned over. Why every one of my
children have stubbed their bare feet
in that warm sand. have kicked new
shoes and old ones in its flashing
softness; every one have darted down
it's cleaning length to tell me of their
little triumphs. and have come slowly
and sorrowfully along it to tell me OF
their childish troubles and ask for COM
fort. Why. that pathway is as sacred
to me as though it were paved with
the rarest of jewels.
Children Love the Place
"And the children love the place as
1 have loved 1t. They have played in
the great wine cellar beneath the
house; they have fixed up the old barn
and have had dances and entertain
ments in 1t; they have cared for no.
thing and thought of nothing but the
old home and they feel 1t as deeply as
I that the time has come when we
must move.
Just as an example of the advance
of real estate. l might say that re-
ceived just three times as much for
this plot OF six and one-half acres sold
today as did for the thirty-eight acres
sold I'm 1899 and II WAS inst as good