PopeHat: Who was Mrs. Fred J. Martin (Altadena fire)

[Dennis Donovan]

Domestic Enemy Hat‬ ‪
@kenwhite.bsky.social‬
20m
Who was Mrs. Fred J. Martin — likely named Carol? Who still loved or even remembered her, 90 years after this condolence telegram that blew from a fire-ravaged neighborhood in Altadena into a distant yard?

A neighbor found this in her yard and posted it on Facebook.

/1


‪Domestic Enemy Hat‬ ‪
@kenwhite.bsky.social‬
17m
/2 Winds are strong in the foothills of the San Gabriels at the edge of the Angeles National Forrest. One year they blew our front doors open, tearing the deadbolt through wood. This year they have scattered the precious detritus of lives, of the history of people, across the area of the Eaton fire.

‪Domestic Enemy Hat‬ ‪
@kenwhite.bsky.social‬
10m
/3 Thousands of homes were destroyed in the Eaton fire. Out of the firestorm, into the winds, arose a cloud of charred letters, documents, photos, pages from books, bits of art. These were how we measure people’s lives.

‪Domestic Enemy Hat‬ ‪
@kenwhite.bsky.social‬
7m
/4 It’s obviously tragic because of the lives lost, the homes lost, the communities lost. But it makes me pensive. Maybe it’s because I am still going through my father’s things, looking at old pictures of people I don’t know, people whom nobody alive can identify for me.


Domestic Enemy Hat
‪@kenwhite.bsky.social‬
/5 Anyway, if anyone knows a descendent of Fred J. Martin of Los Angeles, a descendent who lived in the Altadena area, someone has some of their memories they thought were gone.
January 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM

https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky.social/post/3lgiyhxgo322e