East Fern Ave.

By John Murphy

Now that COVID-19 has made me a “non-essential employee” at my school I have nothing to do all day.

So every afternoon I head for Redlands and go for a long walk. Thursday’s destination: East Fern Avenue.

I affixed my airbuds just right and pressed play. A sucky song by the Imagine Dragons came on. I winced. Switching channels, I got Jimi Hendrix belting out “All Along the Watchtower.” That was more like it.  

East Fern is the high-rent district. There are no abandoned couches on this street and no indoor furniture on porches — always a tacky look. American flags adorn many of the vintage houses. Yards are clean and well-manicured.

It’s an old-money area and I don’t even see many children’s toys in front yards. But there are lots of copies of folded-up newspapers sitting unread in driveways. Not a good omen.

Neil Young is singing “Heart of Gold” now as I pass cross streets named Buena Vista, Bond, Center and Nanette. A woman in a bright turquoise medical outfit is pushing her trash bin back into place. Unlike me, she didn’t have the day off.

Redlands is a Republican town and one ranch house actually has a “Trump — Keep America Great” sign in front. But there’s also a Nissan pickup parked there and the contradiction makes me laugh.

The source of much of Redlands’ wealth in the 1900s was citrus. Redlands became a fruit-packing center by the late 1930s, with more than 15,000 acres of citrus groves.

Subdivisions have largely replaced oranges now, but one grove that remains is at the Beverly Ranch at 923 East Fern. The plaque outside says the grove was planted in 1887 for a young widow, Elizabeth Eddy. Later, Elizabeth married John Fisk and a cottage was built. The grove and Queen Anne house in 2004 were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

My curiosity sated, I forged ahead … and took a left on Buena Vista to head back to my car parked on East Olive. The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” serenaded me.

It was just another pleasant day in Redlands, Calif.

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