Fruitland Avenue in the 1940s

Mrs. Manuel Morgado is standing in front of their property on Fruitland Avenue, the mailing address in the 1940s was Rt. 1 Box 426, Winton, Calif. My dad purchased this property in the mid 194os and the Giesbrecht family lived there for many years. The white house on the left was Tony George's house and across the road was Fred Vallado's. Their two wives were sisters and Manuel Morgado was their brother.
This old road holds many memories for my sisters and I. We rode bikes up and down this road, roller skated and walked to and from school. At the end of Fruitland was Winton Way. Sometimes we would catch a ride to school on Winton way with Mrs. Crookham. Sometimes it was so cold that the hair on our legs stood straight out with white frost on them. (Girls only wore dresses to school back then and ankle socks, no tights or stockings.)
Joe Caton lived at the other end of Fruitland Avenue, at the curve. He had a very old Model T truck (flat bed) and we liked to watch him drive by. Once we even got to ride in it. It shook as he drove along the road. I thought it was pretty exciting to catch a ride with him.
My dad sold this property about the time the Atwater High School was being built on the left hand side of Fruitland, near Winton Way. My parents, with Johnny and Elsie moved to Bell Drive in Atwater.
Tony George's house was moved to Merced and became the office for the Merced Union High School District at the corner of Olive and G Streets. Fred Vallado built a new house for his family closer to the road. Everything changed quickly after that. The area is now within Atwater City Limits.