Many of us looked up to Mr. Shepherd.  He was an honorable man!  He would always keep me company in the garage while I was waiting on his son.  He would often talk about his camping trips, or time spent with his children, sometimes wishing I was one of them. He would also have a corny joke to share while I waited. I will always remember the gleam in his eyes and the twitch of his mustache as he spoke of his family. He was and will always be an HONORABLE MAN to me...RIH

Dad loved to share about the time he spent at Thomas Jefferson High School and how he enjoyed his time on the football team. One of his most interesting stories was about his homeroom teacher Coach Brice Union Taylor, the first all-American from USC who played football and ran track. He was the very first all-American football player ever at USC, class of 1925. However, USC was not enamored by Brice's race, so this accolade was not mentioned in their encyclopedia until the 1950's.

It seemed like if you were African American in Los Angeles in the 50’s more than likely you went to Jeff, as daddy would call it. Brice was a guard, he was harassed, yet fiercely loyal to USC, and he was missing a hand, he was born that way. Brice was so phenomenal that him having only one hand was usually the last thing you ever read about him. 

This coach and homeroom teacher made quite an impression on my father. Not enough for dad to root for USC, however, he was always a UCLA fan and Uncle Hardy was a USC fan.  I, of course, because of my Ambler ES 6th grade teacher Ms. Lane, am a USC fan.  I wish I could have met Brice Union Taylor. Read about him: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/taylor-brice-union-1902-1974/

Leslie found this lovely piece of history among dad's belongings this weekend. Larry pulled together a hug box of photo albums --some of which we will be dispersing to friends and family this week -- and she found this document in one of dad's gazillion photo albums. 

It is from The Dominguez - Carson Citizens Committee for Incorporation. They awarded dad a certificate of appreciation.  I remember Gil Smith coming to the house and dad being at the ground breaking ceremony for Cal State Univ. Dominguez Hills.  I also remember being in the 4th grade and Mrs. Hemingway explaining why we should look at the history of the territory because the adults were fighting over what to call the new city, Carson (after the businessman, George Carson, who married Victoria Dominguez and brought the railroad to the land) or Dominguez (after the family of Spanish descent who owned most of the land for 150 years which is now known as South Bay - Carson, Compton, Gardena, Long Beach, San Pedro, Rancho Palos Verdes, Torrance, and upon which oil was discovered).  Yet, no one ever mentioned the native Americans who lived here first, before the Spanish land grants moved them towards San Gabriel Mission.

Here's a bit of trivia. You know that small street Susana in Carson near the Smart & Final? That was named after Victoria Dominguez de Carson's sister, Susana Delfina Dominguez Del Amo.

Naming the city was a controversial argument which was put to the voters. I remember hearing that some residents did not want a Mexican sounding name for the city, history has cleaned up or buried that narrative, but that is what I remember I man was I angry.  That moment in history was probably the catalyst for me becoming a social justice advocate.  I remember being so angry when I heard that the real fight was about "how would that sound?" I'm sure I told my mother and father, and I'm sure I was passionate in my explanation.

Today, when you read the history it says the city was named after John Manuel Carson, but that is not what I remember.  All I ever heard about was George Carson and how that sounded better than Juan Jose Dominguez. I did a research paper on the City of Carson as a college English major student a CSU Dominguez Hills in the 80's, it was my first piece of investigative reporting. And, it was hard because all I had was microfiche, and volumes at the CSUDH library, no world wide web at my finger tips.

Dad was on the committee to help get the City of Carson incorporated. How ironic that Dad has a great-grandson named Carson who turns 1-year old on January 9, 2020.

Here's an account of the history by The City of Carson: http://ci.carson.ca.us/AboutCarson/RanchoDominguez.aspx

Read what LA County Library has to say about the history of The City of Carson, not to be confused with Carson City, Nevada. https://lacountylibrary.org/carson-local-history/