Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe is an unincorporated town in Tulare County. I grew up about 4 miles away, and then we moved to about 2 miles away. (Well, I probably didn’t grow up there but I lived there until I moved away at 18 and maybe I grew up then.)

The only places I was really familiar with were the school, which went from kindergarten through eighth grade, and the library.

The secondary places I knew were the drug store (a go-to place to buy birthday presents), the dime store (they had fabric!), and the hardware store, which smelled sort of like greasy metal and also was a possible source of presents because you could buy kitchen wares there. There were two hair places: a fancy one with a following from Visalia (Mr. Green owned it and his wife was a teacher’s aid whose face turned purple when she was mad), and one called Ferguson’s.

There was also a grocery store called SaveMor, a fast food place called The Triangle, and a Foster’s Freeze. We didn’t go to those places, and we didn’t frequent the post office much either. Our address was actually Visalia, which made no sense, because it was about 12 miles away.

The fanciest place was the Presbyterian Church, where the cool kids went. My older sister got married there because our church in Visalia was too small. I heard Barry McGuire there in concert when I was in college. Barry McGuire in Ivanhoe— !!

There were two big packing houses for oranges: Klink, and Ivanhoe Citrus Association. I think that is right—my family packed at Klink, which was one of the early names of the town of Ivanhoe.

It had multiple active churches, a scout shack where Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, and the Lions Club met. These were active groups. There was also a locker plant (for meat); right in front of it was where someone ran into the family wagon while I was driving past one time. The driver got out and ran away, and when the sheriff arrived, they lied about who was driving. (Mr. O’Dell and I both told the sheriff, but nobody cared.)

Now Ivanhoe looks like this (all photographed through the windshield because it was cold and I wanted to get to the mural, and the town is actually a little scary these days.

Klink, now California Citrus
Looking north on “Main Street”, which only has a county road number rather than a name.
The post office is on the left.
The big brick building has a faded mural on the side. It used to be the hardware store and still says “HARDWARE” above the second story. I wonder what is up there. I think the building across the street is where Mr. Green’s fancy hair place.
Family Healthcare is in town on “main street”. I don’t remember ever having a doctor or dentist in town, so this is an improvement.
On the left is the Boys and Girls Club which used to be a church. On the right is the former drugstore. I can still remember what it smelled like. It was the nicest store in town.
Azalea Street got closed to expand the playground. In the distance is the tank that Cuko asked me about painting.
Straight ahead is the former Presbyterian Church. I don’t know what it is anymore. I think it is a church, possibly shared by one or two congregations. Turn right and the library is ahead on your left.

I didn’t take any photos of the dogs patrolling with purpose, although I counted 8. No cat photos either, as they skulk around yowling. The roosters were crowing all day long, but none of them were visible.

Thus we conclude our tour of Ivanhoe. It could cause a sentimental person to shed a tear. Ivanhoe, known for citrus, specifically excellent oranges. Hard to think of anything to say, except all the people I’ve met have been very welcoming and pleasant.