John and Antonia Bispo and their son, Joseph, lived next to
the Sassone house. Mrs. Bispo was a very protective mother,
so Joe was usually the first one to be called in from our
evening street games.
Louis and Maria Marieiro and their son, Armando, were
one of the three Portuguese families on the block. Mr.
Bispo and Mr. Marieiro were always trying to outdo each
other when it came to who had the best, most-productive
vegetable garden. Armando had a movie projector and a few
silent black & white films, so he provided some occasional
entertainment for us in his basement; the price of admission
was a safety pin or a penny, if we happened to have one at
the time. We left feeling like we had been to a movie in a
real theater.
The Manning family, with son, Melvin, and daughter,
Leslie, lived in the next house. They had a garage behind
their house with a second-story loft, where we held shows
and carnivals with games and prizes. We would all dress up in
costumes to make the events more colorful.
The Biffords, William and Florence, were the last family
with children on that side of the street. Mr. Bifford worked as
an accountant for Union Oil Company.
Their children, William (Billy) and Ruth, seemed to have
everything a child could wish for. They did not have a car,
so Mr. Bifford converted their garage into a completely
furnished playhouse, the envy of every girl on the block.
Ruth had a collection of dolls and a fancy buggy in which
to show them off. She had everything we needed to go
into our make-believe world. We would dress up in handme
down ladies’ clothes, high-heeled shoes, gloves, hats and
purses, and pretend we were very rich ladies going out of
town. I remember our purses had play money and makeup,
and we even had those little candy cigarettes, which we felt
were a necessity, as very rich ladies surely smoked.
Across the street was the home of William and Josie
Armand
Marieiro’s 12th
birthday. Armand
is holding the
cake. Photo
courtesy of
Robert Marieiro.
Hansen, who had three sons: Melvin, Jack, and William (Bee).
They were a bit older and spent most of their time building
cars. We all looked forward to the completion of their latest
car project so we could watch them race it down the stretch
of Tennent Avenue to the bay. More often than not there was
a crash, which meant going back to the drawing board.
We lived next door to the Hansens. The Freitas girls were
Arlette, Celeste, Stella (me), and Beatrice, who lived with our
widowed mother, Anna. We all attended the old school on
the hill, and usually hurried home for lunch so that we could
catch the next episode of “Stella Dallas” on the radio.
We took a bag lunch during the rainy season and sat on
the basement concrete floor to eat our lunch and play Jacks
or other board games. We all looked forward to playing with
our neighbors in the evening after dinner.
The Flores family lived next door to us on the other side.
They had a daughter, Katherine, and a son, Louis. Katherine
and Celeste became best friends. Mrs. Flores taught them the
lyrics and dance steps to “La Cucaracha” and outfitted them
in authentic Mexican his-and-hers costumes. They performed
at several events in the area and once in Oakland, for which
they were highly praised.
On another corner of San Pablo and Tennent lived a single
mother with a daughter, Betty Hayes. Arlette and Betty were
the same age, so they enjoyed playing together. They lived
in an upstairs apartment that was probably connected to the
Wilkes Garage property on San Pablo Avenue.
We all have fond memories of living on Quinan Street.
Fortunately for my mother, she married a very nice man
who became a wonderful step-father who raised me and my
sisters as his own. He was always proud of his four girls.
We moved across town to a home on a corner of Peach
and Willow streets, where we all lived until we married. It
would be nice if every child could have special memories of
growing up in a happy, loving place like Quinan Street.
NOVEMBER 2018 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM 21