San Gabriel Valley

Searching for My Mom, and the History of La Puente’s ‘Little Watts’

Greenberry, Where She Taught for Decades, Helped Forge Today’s Multi-Racial San Gabriel Valley

I lost my mom to COVID in February 2021. She died alone, after spending 10 excruciating days in the hospital. A year after her death, a white envelope with no return address arrived in my Pomona College mailbox. Inside was a photo of my mom from the early 1970s.

In the photo, she is standing between two corridors of Sparks Middle School’s brick campus in La Puente, where she taught until she retired in 2008. She smiles gently, with her arms by her side. Her hair is long and straight, and …

by Gilda L. Ochoa |

Read More
A Healthy Haunting in the San Gabriel Valley | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

A Healthy Haunting in the San Gabriel Valley

Our Resident Ghost Was a Long-Lived Legend Who Gifted Us an Amazing Garden and a Sense of the Good Life

by Joe Mathews |

Ten Octobers ago, my family moved into our San Gabriel Valley home, and people started knocking on the door. Some knockers were neighbors. Some were trick-or-treaters.

And some were looking for …

Where I Go: L.A.’s Arboretum, Where the Peafowl Hunt You in Packs | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Where I Go: L.A.’s Arboretum, Where the Peafowl Hunt You in Packs

Butt-Dancing Birds Have Become My Pandemic Icons

by Yxta Maya Murray |

When the pandemic fell upon the earth, my husband Andrew and I went to the L.A. Arboretum. Few other Southern California locations remained open after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued our …

What San Gabriel’s Padres Taught William Mulholland

The Missionaries Figured Out How to Create an Oasis in an Arid Land and Brought that Knowledge to the City of L.A.

by John Dietler |

On a hot August day in 1816, waves of heat shimmered off of the dusty plazas and red tile roofs of the San Gabriel Mission community. The surrounding valley and …

My Uncle Dale’s California Dream

In the High Desert, He Lived Like a Cowboy, Hauled Sand and Milk, and Kept Our Family Together

by Joe Mathews |

I had to go to a family funeral up in Apple Valley, I explained to friends and colleagues, as I canceled a day’s worth of appointments recently. They offered …

Walking Alone After Dark

For a Mile and a Half Each Night, I Make To-Do Lists, Listen to Bruce Springsteen, and Occasionally Find Answers to Life’s Big Questions

by Sarah Cooper |

After we moved two years ago to Montrose, a Glendale neighborhood tucked against the Verdugo Hills, some friends—all moms like me—found out I walked every night. They wanted to set …


By continuing to use our website, you agree to our privacy and cookie policy.

✕

Get More Zócalo

No paywall. No ads. No partisan hacks. Ideas journalism with a head and a heart.

You may opt out or contact us anytime.

×