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Mentone's Gazebo Gazette: Volume 2
| Posted on December 30, 2014 at 7:40 PM |
Mentone’s Gazebo Gazette Volume 2 November 2013  Above is the original map for the township of Mentone
developed by the California Central Railroad (full size maps are available at
Mill Creek Cattle Co. - see Mary Beth). The lots were 25’x50’. The railroad
took great pains to advertise the proposed town site in the Eastern newspapers
to attract potential buyers. Quite an advertising plan was developed, including
aerial photos of the area. Full-grown orange trees were up-planted from
surrounding areas and re-planted eventually became a major orange- producing
area, but it took a few years. The ads stated, “Mentone’s climate and
vegetation are the same as the coast lands, but with no fog, and a warm and
sunny atmosphere.” When the aerial photos were taken, those “Mentone potatoes”
(rocks and boulders) were prominent in the photos, so the caption below the
photos exclaimed, “You can see the sheep grazing on the open fields!” The sheep of course, were the boulders and rocks that we are
all familiar with, but from the photos they did indeed appear as grazing sheep!
Advertising hasn’t changed all that much, has it? It provided a steady income
for the two fellas with the mule teams. The lots were very small, but prices
around the $75 to $100 range, and the railroad officials knew that most folks
would buy more than one. Most were sold in half to full acre portions. Mr. Bob Sewell (a longtime Mentone resident) said that the
first house built in Mentone is located on the South side of Jasper Avenue and
is still standing to this day.  Originally California Central Railway laid out the initial
plan for the development of Mentone in 1888. Eventually Southern Pacific took
them over in in the late 1800’s. Two railroads serviced Mentone, including the
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe which connected So. California to San Francisco
and to Salt Lake, Utah. The railroads played an important part in the
development of Mentone’s citrus industry for as many as 1000 railroad cars of oranges
left Mentone annually. The total acreage of Mentone oranges was in the vicinity
of 4000 acres, 75% of which were of the Navel variety. There were four packing
houses in Mentone to handle the large volume. The only one remaining is the old
Elephant Orchard packing house (built in 1939), on the corner of Opal Ave. and
Mentone Blvd. which now houses Hovey Tile Art. It was built on the site of the
old Santa Fe Railroad station, pictured on the front of the Gazette. In those early days, Mentone prospered and experienced
growth due to Eastern advertising by the railroads. There were four grocery
stores with full meat markets; 1 general store; a feed mill (where the Valero
gas station is today); a drug store with a lunch counter; 3 barber shops and a
beauty parlor; 2 real estate offices; 2 auto repair garages; 5 service stations;
medicinal baths; two pool halls; and what started as one community church
(where the uncompleted Tom’s Burgers is today), now hosts nine different
denominational places of worship. Even back in those days there was a county
branch library, a Chamber of Commerce, along with a Jr. Chamber of Commerce; a
Woman’s Club; an upholstery shop; a dairy (with fresh eggs and milk). W.E.
McMillan’s Mercantile Co. and Department Store later became the Mentone
Hardware Store (which we miss terribly!). There was a dentist’s office, a town
doctor, and a chiropractor. Wirth’s Mentone Inn specialized in chicken dinners
and raised their own poultry. The poultry industry flourished in the area. The
Old Homestead Hotel featured a fresh mountain trout dinner for only $1.00. The city dump site was at the north end of Opal Avenue.
Across from where the Mentone Senior Center is today was a mule barn ran by two
men whom one could hire to clear your property so that you could build on it.  The Greenspot Market opened around 1910. Originally it is
believed to have been a blacksmith shop, as a grocery store did exist directly
across the street from the present location. Gary believes it changed to a
grocery store around 1910. Gary and Debby Jacinto acquired the store in 1992 and are
the longest owners, from a long line of previous owners. Originally, according to some of the old timers in the area,
it was called “Rocky Comfort Store” (as the 30 or so acres surrounding the
store, from Garnet to Zanja to Mt. View, were called “Rocky Comfort”). The
Rocky Comfort Water Company still exists to this day and serves families in the
area. Next to the pillar on the left of Gary and Debby were a
couple of gas pumps (as it was one of six gas stations in the Mentone area).
The pumps were removed in the early 1960’s. The store is absolutely unique in that
they not only sell groceries, but just about anything else You might
need…..Snow chains, T-shirts, a full liquor, beer, and wine department, but
also snow toys, live bait, fishing tackle, gifts to satisfy anyone’s
imagination, including cast- iron cooking ware, knifes, kerosene lanterns, and
of course their world-famous Beef Jerky. In the early days, the store featured
a full meat market as well. Originally Highway 38 was only paved to Barton Flats, and to
travel to Big Bear City would have been an exciting adventure over the 40+ miles
or so of remaining dirt road. The store was a favorite stopping place for refreshments and
rest in the 1920’s. Also in the 1920’s, Rocky Comfort Water Company sold water
rights to Redlands. As it was then (as now) water controlled everything. (Next issue of the Mentone Gazebo Gazette we will examine
some of the water history of the area). In the early days Mentone was a part of Crafton’s original
plan of development The Crafton train station was located where the Portuguese-
American club house on Crafton Avenue is today. If you want a trip back to the old days, pay a visit to
Greenspot Market. You won’t be disappointed, and make sure you buy some of that
mouth- watering, soul- uplifting beef jerky! They are open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from 7am to
9pm (if you plan to visit on a holiday, call first for the hours they’ll be
open).  |
Categories: history
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