Westchester Marks 50th Year : Residents Say Small-Town Values Still Present in Their City
In the midst of hog farms and fields of beans and barley back in 1940, four developers began to build houses on a 3,000-acre tract that bordered a small airstrip called Mines Field.
A real estate ad a short while later described the area as “climatically perfect . . . only a few minutes’ drive to the beaches (and) only one-half hour to downtown.” Two-bedroom houses, complete with garage, paved streets and “sewers to every lot” sold for $3,840--with $95 down.
But that was then. Subdivisions bearing such names as Kentwood and Westport Heights have long since grown together to become the sizable community of Westchester, where homes generally cost $300,000 and up. The little airstrip has grown up too--it’s now Los Angeles International Airport.
To mark its 50th anniversary, Westchester has launched a yearlong celebration that began last weekend with a children’s parade. Titled “Growing Up in Westchester,” Saturday’s parade drew more than 500 youthful participants--on decorated bicycles, on roller skates, on foot and in strollers. The 10-minute parade stopped traffic as it ran from Loyola Marymount University down Loyola Boulevard to Westchester Recreation Center.
Some residents cited the parade as evidence that the small-town values of the 1940s are alive and well in Westchester.
“We are a family community--like a little town in the Midwest, except we happen to be attached to Los Angeles,” said resident Karen Jacobs, whose family has lived in Westchester for three generations.
“We’ve managed to keep a sense of community even though we’re the gateway to one of the largest airports in the world,” said Mary Lou Crockett, a member of the 50th anniversary committee.
“You can’t go anywhere in Westchester and not see someone you know,” added Barbara Wetcel, who said she stayed in Westchester so her son could go to Westport Heights Elementary, the school she attended.
Events commemorating the golden anniversary include a Pumpkin Fest, the annual Jet to Jetty 5-K and 10-K race, and a Thanksgiving community worship service in which local churches will gather for one service.
A silent auction and memorabilia exhibit will be held in January, and a country fair is scheduled for May, when another parade of collector cars, bands and drill teams will reverse the route of the children’s parade. A movie marathon of 1940s films and newsreels will be presented in June.
Artifacts and pictures of Westchester’s history will be displayed in a special room at the Loyola Marymount University library. At the end of the celebration next September, a time capsule will be buried at a site yet to be chosen.
