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This undated photo shows one Albert Cook standing next to the three headstones.
July 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: What’s the deal with those graves in Canyon Park? Have you been to Monrovia’s beautiful Canyon Park recently? Did you happen to come
upon the graves of Polly, Estella and Albert Rankins? Who were the Rankins and why are three children buried in the park?
A: Actually, the children are no longer eternally sleeping in Canyon Park. It’s a sad, tale, though. Let’s read how the late Monrovia City Historian Steve Baker laid it out:
“Hibbard and Polly Rankins came to California from Lafayette County, Wisconsin, and discovered Monrovia Canyon in 1874. Monrovia would not come into being for another twelve years, so the canyon was probably known to the Rankins as Sawpit Canyon. Pasadena had just been established as the Indiana Colony. The closest settlement was on the Duarte, where several hundred people had taken up residence beginning in 1872. The Rankins made their home at Emerson Flat [in what would become Canyon Park], taking advantage of the space that had already been cleared. They planted fruit trees, a garden, and several ornamental shrubs. For protection against the elements, they constructed two cabins under the sheltering oaks. Accounts vary as to the size of the Rankins family. One account says that there were eight children in the family; another states that there were five. While the size of the family is uncertain, one thing is clear--they were sturdy pioneers and they had to work hard to earn a living. Their principal source of income was from the sale of wood, which they gathered in the foothills and then laboriously hauled into Los Angeles by wagon to sell as fuel. The trip into Los Angeles and return took the better part of two days. The Rankins supplemented that income by establishing
an apiary that generated many hundreds of pounds of sumac honey.
It is said that Hibbard and Polly Rankins were spiritualists, part of a movement that was prominent in their time. Their oldest daughter was a would-be medium, and the Rankins hosted frequent gatherings of like-minded people in their rustic mountain setting.
Tragedy struck the family in the spring of 1877. Nineteen-year-old Albert Rankins was apprenticed to a blacksmith in San Gabriel. He returned home one Sunday to visit his family, and shortly afterward became violently ill. His illness was diagnosed as typhoid fever, and he died despite the efforts of a young doctor who had taken up residence nearby, hoping the mountain air would help cure his tuberculosis. Albert's sisters, sixteen-year-old Polly and thirteen-year-old Estella, contracted the disease from Albert and also died. The sorrowing parents buried their three children in an area of
rising ground at the west end of Emerson Flat. Soon afterward the solitary setting and the ever-present reminder of their loss was more than Hibbard and Polly Rankins could bear; they left the canyon and returned to Wisconsin. The following year Ernest Rankins, the oldest son in the family, arranged for a triple gravestone to mark the resting place of his three siblings. He, too, then left the canyon. A fire in the canyon several years later destroyed the cabins, and the flood of 1882 further obliterated the site of the Rankins' home. Only the graves remained.” (Monrovia Canyon Park, Steve Baker, December 1, 2000; as of June 13, 2026.)
So are the three children still buried in Canyon Park? No.
Live Oak Cemetery began holding burials in December, 1877.. At some point after the cemetery was opened, Ernest Rankins (who had escaped typhoid but was killed in 1914 when hit by a street car in Los Angeles) had his two sisters and brother exhumed and buried in Live Oak Cemetery. In 1917, the remains of the children were moved to Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena.
Their gravestone remains in canyon park, located above the amphitheater.
A lot more information, including a story by 1913 Monrovia High school graduate Stella Nelson, is available here as of June 13, 2026.
June 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: Have you been to (or at least driven by) Living Spaces at the corner of Huntington Drive and Mayflower Avenue? You may remember that before it became Living Spaces, the site was an Expo Design Center. And before that, it was a Home Depot store. But let’s go back a bit further--back to the 1930s. What was located there?
A: Monrovia’s “Strawberry King,” Yutaro Uyeda lived and worked on or very near the site currently occupied by Living Spaces. The family lived at 331 W. Huntington Drive. The Uyeda family farmed many acres of strawberries, sometimes using empty properties including city land just north of Huntington Drive between Mayflower and Magnolia. Their fruit stand was also located there.
Ultimately the family was interned after Pearl Harbor. They were fortunate, however, to be friends with Monrovian Orman Good. Mr. Good looked after the Uyeda’s property, had power of attorney, and rented out their home. He sent the Uyeda’s the money from the lease. Mr. Good even picked the family up at the Monrovia train station when they returned from internment. The Strawberry King passed away in 1949.
See the 1930s photo of Uyeda's strawberry stand at 331 W. Huntington Drive in the 1930s here. Additional reading is also available online at Monrovia’s Asian American History by Susie Ling on Monrovia’s Strawberry King, published in Monrovia Weekly 2/28/2017. You can learn a lot about the lives of the Japanese in the City of Monrovia via the Monrovia Legacy Project.
April-May 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." (President Franklin Roosevelt address to Congress on December 8, 1941.) So what does this have to do with Monrovia?
The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was devastating to the United States Pacific Fleet. More than 2,400 Americans were killed and around 1,200 wounded. 19 naval ships were sunk or damaged. 300 warplanes were destroyed or damaged.
The United States was desperate to strike back. Just 4 months after Pearl Harbor, on April 18, 1942, the United States sent 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to attack Japan. The bombers launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet, which was unprecedented because the bombers were designed to be land-based.
A: Water Heaters! Specifically, the Day and Night Water Heater Company, which was headquartered in Monrovia. The B-25 Mitchell bombers did not have the range to fly from the Hornet to Japan and then land in China. Auxiliary fuel tanks were needed and according to some historical accounts, Day and Night was chosen to build those tanks. Without the auxiliary fuel tanks the planes would never have reached Japan.
The Doolittle Raid caused little damage to Japan but was considered a success. It showed the Empire of Japan it was not invulnerable to attack. It also provided a major psychological and morale boost to Americans who were reeling after a string of Japanese military successes in the Pacific.
What happened to Day and Night? The company was founded around 1910 and was known for its solar water heaters. Carrier purchased the company in the 1950s and although it was defunct for a time, the brand is still active as a seller of heating and air conditioning systems.
March 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: Monrovia was founded in 1886 and incorporated one year later. The original townsite was 120 acres. The streets were dirt. Around 1900, the first motorcar putted through Monrovia. The roads were often muddy and rutted. Where was the first paved road in Monrovia?
A: C.F. Moore, who lived on East Lime, asked the Town's trustees to pave some of the streets. The fiscally conservative trustees said no. And that was the end of that, right? Of course not! Mr. Moore and some of this neighbors engaged in self-help and paved one block of Lime Avenue. It is said that Monrovians who had cars drove to Lime between Myrtle and Ivy to enjoy the one block of smooth pavement. Here's the link to the story on the very last page.
February 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: Ever been to a Monrovia Day Parade? If you've lived in Monrovia for even a short time, chances are you have, it often feels like half the town is in the parade and the other half is watching! The City describes Monrovia Day as "our annual community birthday party where all Monrovians gather together to celebrate." Today, Monrovia Day has become 'Monrovia Days,' with festivities stretching across three days--plus the parade. When is the actual Monrovia Day?
A: May 17 is Monrovia Day. In 1884, Monrovia's founder, William Newton Monroe, purchased 250 acres of land from E.J. "Lucky" Baldwin. Monroe and his partners laid out a 120-acre townsite centered on what are now Colorado and Myrtle. Lots first went on sale on Monday, May 17, 1886, marking the birth of the city. As the late Mary Wilcox wrote, "Mr. Monroe was such a real estate speculator. He placed the first lots on the market May 17, 1886. This day has been celebrated since that time as Monrovia Day." Read the story here.
Q: Have you been to (or at least driven by) Living Spaces at the corner of Huntington Drive and Mayflower Avenue? You may remember that before it became Living Spaces, the site was an Expo Design Center. And before that, it was a Home Depot store. But let’s go back a bit further--back to the 1930s. What was located there?
A: Monrovia’s “Strawberry King,” Yutaro Uyeda lived and worked on or very near the site currently occupied by Living Spaces. The family lived at 331 W. Huntington Drive. The Uyeda family farmed many acres of strawberries, sometimes using empty properties including city land just north of Huntington Drive between Mayflower and Magnolia. Their fruit stand was also located there.
Ultimately the family was interned after Pearl Harbor. They were fortunate, however, to be friends with Monrovian Orman Good. Mr. Good looked after the Uyeda’s property, had power of attorney, and rented out their home. He sent the Uyeda’s the money from the lease. Mr. Good even picked the family up at the Monrovia train station when they returned from internment. The Strawberry King passed away in 1949.
See the 1930s photo of Uyeda's strawberry stand at 331 W. Huntington Drive in the 1930s here. Additional reading is also available online at Monrovia’s Asian American History by Susie Ling on Monrovia’s Strawberry King, published in Monrovia Weekly 2/28/2017. You can learn a lot about the lives of the Japanese in the City of Monrovia via the Monrovia Legacy Project.
April-May 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." (President Franklin Roosevelt address to Congress on December 8, 1941.) So what does this have to do with Monrovia?
The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was devastating to the United States Pacific Fleet. More than 2,400 Americans were killed and around 1,200 wounded. 19 naval ships were sunk or damaged. 300 warplanes were destroyed or damaged.
The United States was desperate to strike back. Just 4 months after Pearl Harbor, on April 18, 1942, the United States sent 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to attack Japan. The bombers launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet, which was unprecedented because the bombers were designed to be land-based.
A: Water Heaters! Specifically, the Day and Night Water Heater Company, which was headquartered in Monrovia. The B-25 Mitchell bombers did not have the range to fly from the Hornet to Japan and then land in China. Auxiliary fuel tanks were needed and according to some historical accounts, Day and Night was chosen to build those tanks. Without the auxiliary fuel tanks the planes would never have reached Japan.
The Doolittle Raid caused little damage to Japan but was considered a success. It showed the Empire of Japan it was not invulnerable to attack. It also provided a major psychological and morale boost to Americans who were reeling after a string of Japanese military successes in the Pacific.
What happened to Day and Night? The company was founded around 1910 and was known for its solar water heaters. Carrier purchased the company in the 1950s and although it was defunct for a time, the brand is still active as a seller of heating and air conditioning systems.
March 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: Monrovia was founded in 1886 and incorporated one year later. The original townsite was 120 acres. The streets were dirt. Around 1900, the first motorcar putted through Monrovia. The roads were often muddy and rutted. Where was the first paved road in Monrovia?
A: C.F. Moore, who lived on East Lime, asked the Town's trustees to pave some of the streets. The fiscally conservative trustees said no. And that was the end of that, right? Of course not! Mr. Moore and some of this neighbors engaged in self-help and paved one block of Lime Avenue. It is said that Monrovians who had cars drove to Lime between Myrtle and Ivy to enjoy the one block of smooth pavement. Here's the link to the story on the very last page.
February 2026 Newsletter Trivia Q&A
Q: Ever been to a Monrovia Day Parade? If you've lived in Monrovia for even a short time, chances are you have, it often feels like half the town is in the parade and the other half is watching! The City describes Monrovia Day as "our annual community birthday party where all Monrovians gather together to celebrate." Today, Monrovia Day has become 'Monrovia Days,' with festivities stretching across three days--plus the parade. When is the actual Monrovia Day?
A: May 17 is Monrovia Day. In 1884, Monrovia's founder, William Newton Monroe, purchased 250 acres of land from E.J. "Lucky" Baldwin. Monroe and his partners laid out a 120-acre townsite centered on what are now Colorado and Myrtle. Lots first went on sale on Monday, May 17, 1886, marking the birth of the city. As the late Mary Wilcox wrote, "Mr. Monroe was such a real estate speculator. He placed the first lots on the market May 17, 1886. This day has been celebrated since that time as Monrovia Day." Read the story here.