Dragon's Gorge, Ocean Park, Oct. 23, 1911

See the dragon in the background? The Dragon's Gorge and other attractions on the Ocean Park pier famously went up in smoke on Sept. 4, 1912, shortly after they were built. This 1911 photo is probably one of a few original photos of the attraction. Will is not in either photo. Eva is blurry in the first photo and second from right in the second photo. I believe she may be standing next to her mother in the second photo, and I've been unable to identify the others.

Official Headlight Certificate, 1927 Studebaker

One thing we can be grateful for... our headlights no longer need their own ceritifcate!

This certificate was for Will's 1927 Studebaker.

June 1911, Pleasure Pier, Venice California

Venice in the good old days. A fascinating history, if you have the time.

El Centro, November 24, 1925

Here is Eva's diary entry for November 23rd & 24th: El Centro is lovely here in winter time but unbearable hot in summer, 118 degrees. Today, Monday, we drove over to Mexico & Mexicali-- a funny old Mexican city. Then back to El Centro going through Calexico which is just over the border in the United States as Mexicali is just over the border-- just a fence and gate separating. Lovely day. Imperial is 146 feet below sea level where we are. November 25: Tuesday. Rain all day, had to stay in all day, we are stopping at Hotel Barbara. Lovely hotel. Very bad nights, nervous.

I believe these photos show Eva and Will standing outside of the Hotel Barbara Worth, a stunning hotel as seen on picture postcards from the era. El Centro was evidently an interesting and bustling metropolis in 1925. I can't imagine going to Banning or El Centro for a pleasant vacation these days.

Banning, California, Nov. 22, 1925

Eva wrote on Nov. 19th, 1925 that "we got a new camera"; undoubtedly this beautiful photograph, labeled "Banning, Nov. 25, 1925," was taken with it. Eva's diary entry for November 25th reads: "We left (Saturday) for a week vacation... had a lovely ride Saturday to Banning where we stayed all night. We left Banning today 10:30 a.m.. Arrived at Thermal 12:30 p.m. then from there 85 miles to El Centro 4:30."

Eva's Diaries

Eva kept diaries, and I have most of them for the years 1920 to her death in 1940. Her entries aren't lengthy or particularly thoughtful. Instead Eva documents with brief descriptions the daily activities in her household.

A December Outing

Eva and Will were photographed at the summit of Mt. Lowe in December 1911. This outing was six months prior to their June 1912 marriage.



Mt. Lowe was once the "World's Greatest Scenic Mountain Railway". It is located north of Pasadena and east of La Crescenta. A brochure for the round trip railway trip advertised "The Views of Pasadena, Poppy Fields, Altadena's lovely homes, Beautiful Rubio Canyon, the Great Incline, the Horseshoe Loop, the Circular Bridge, the Granite Gate, the Vast Canyons, Dense Oak, Inspiring Views from the Car at every foot of the Ascent. Electric Line runs to Alpine, a mile above the sea, where the trail to the Summit (1100 feet above) begins."






Doesn't it look like a beautiful, not-so-cold day in southern California? Temperatures for December tend to be in the 60s and 70s. And the hike to the summit was no small feat in this outfit!

I'll do my best, but...

I am not well-enough-organized to present this story in a fully logical fashion. If I wait until I have everything in order, Ill never get to anything! Hopefully the photographs and story will compensate for any frustration in this regard, so please have patience with my jumping around with the dates and the story.

Late marriage, no children

Eva Louise Higgins was born in 1873 in New Jersey. William Ellsworth Rauch was born in 1877 in Illinois. They were married in Los Angeles on June 3rd, 1912.

Eva Wilson was 39 when she married Will. It was her second marriage. This was Will's first marriage and he was 35. Eva and Will had no children. I do not believe Eva had children from her first marriage, either.

Eva & Will, Oct. 20, 1912

In 1912, Eva and Will lived at 138 E. 36th Place, Los Angeles. Zillow.com shows this address does not exist. The home at 136 E. 36th Place was built in 1904, and the home at 142 E. 36th Place was built in 1905, and I believe the house they lived in was one of these two.

Two lives, long gone, almost forgotten...

Why do people take photographs and write journals? Maybe we do it only for ourselves and our families, to re-live our experiences, to see our pasts again. Or maybe we do it to document our lives, hoping that some future generation will see and hear us.

I don't have a clue why Will and Eva Rauch left so much stuff for me to find. Certainly they never figured that a snoopy great-grand-niece by marriage-- born long after both were cold in their graves-- would stumble on their personal papers. I'm fascinated by their lives in Los Angeles from 1900 to 1940, and hope you will be, too.