Helen G Prout obituary

[alan w jones]

Hi Lisa , yes Ivor was born in 1906 in Wales , Joshua was born in 1869 in Devon , England and went over to San Francisco in 1907 . It was perhaps a bit of artistic licence to call Ivor a pioneer but probably feelings were strong on the occasion of his death , he was also an aviator . I found they were living at 2530 Fillmore St in 1945 and 2536 Fillmore St in 1959 . It does not look far from Turk St and California St on the map . I too looked at Magellan Ave in Forest Hills , maybe it was one of the homes they built .
I watched a favourite film of mine last night  Bullitt with Steve Mcqueen and wondered which streets the car chase went on in , I also like the Streets of San Francisco too , I bet you do too . I bet you visited Alcatraz too { as a tourist , } . I think I have the last remaining member of that side of the family living in El Monte , California is bigger than I thought . I noticed some of the house prices in San Francisco , very expensive , probably on par with London and Paris , if not more ? It has a lot of character though .
Glad it has bought back memories for you .
Kind regards
Alan

[Lisa in California]

Hi Alan:

We lived in several neighbourhoods in San Francisco (always looking for a change of scenery).  My family rented as we could not afford to buy property.  One of the houses in which we lived was a Victorian.  Our landord was contacted by someone with the TV show, The Streets of San Francisco.  They asked if they could use the exterior of the house for filming; the landlord said yes.  The brief scene showed two people arguing near the front door and eventually tumbling down the stairs.  We were honoured to think that they wanted to include our house in the show until we found out that it was chosen because the stairs were wooden, old and had a lot of "bounce".  It was safer for the stuntmen to tumble down our stairs rather than using other houses in the neighbourhood. 

Bullitt:  I believe one of the chases was on Divisadero Street (Pacific Heights), going down the hill toward the Marina District.

I've gone to Alcatraz three times since moving to California.  The last time, we stayed overnight with our Scout troop (we "won" a lottery to stay on the island - paying a fee of course, and performing a service project).  It was one of the best overnighters I have ever experienced.  The park ranger stayed with our group and showed us around the buildings and island.  We were the only group on the island after it closed for the evening.

Unfortunately, the house prices are unbelievably high in San Francisco.   

[alan w jones]

Thanks Lisa , lovely tales , I have printed your messages off and am putting them in their folder , it all adds to set the scene and very much appreciated .
Kind regards
Alan