Though the days of Sunnyvale’s vast, sprawling orchards and wide open spaces are long gone, they are still fresh in the memory of one author who grew up during some of Sunnyvale’s most pivotal moments in history.
Elsie McCain White is the author of “California Girl: Growing up in the Great Depression,” a memoir about White’s upbringing in Sunnyvale when its population was a mere 3,000 people and the railroad, fruit business and iron distribution ruled.
“I would describe growing up in Sunnyvale during the Depression as a time when neighbors worked together and were always there for you,” she said. “People learned to make do with what they had, and they learned the meaning of true sacrifice.”
Born in 1929, White didn’t know a world pre-Depression. She remembers her father having chickens, goats and a vegetable garden just to get by.
White’s mother worked at a pear shed, picked prunes and eventually worked at Libby Cannery to make money for the family.
The inspiration for writing the book came from an unusual discussion with her grandchildren.
“I decided to write the book because I wanted folks to know how the people survived hard times during the years of the Great Depression,” White said. “I heard my grandchildren discussing what they considered hard times, and it was then I knew I must write about my early years.”
Other chapters of the 57-page memoir include recollection of the 1933 lynching of two men in San Jose, the influx of families from the Dust Bowl and relief efforts to help malnourished children in the Sunnyvale school system.
White attended grade school at Sunnyvale Elementary School on McKinley Avenue. She went to high school at Fremont High.
White details her experience as a teenager growing up in Sunnyvale going to the movies, picnicking in the orchards or playing hide and seek or kick the can. The book includes photos from her life.
“Kids in those days walked everywhere, and I enjoyed the moderate temperature in Sunnyvale, and beautiful view of the mountains in the distance,” she said. “I have wonderful memories of my school friends, and the joyful times we had together.”
Even though the Sunnyvale that White once knew is a distant memory, she still has pride in the city she called home. White now lives in Arizona.
“The town never died down,” she said. “There are many changes that have taken place since the days of the Great Depression, and Sunnyvale has evolved from a sleepy little town amid fruit orchards to become the heart of Silicon Valley.”
White has six children and 22 grandchildren and enjoys poetry, sewing and genealogy research.
“California Girl” will be available on Amazon.com on June 30.
