Alley Photos Reveal Area Before 1950s Housing Development

The McCleery family moved into 317 South Arlington Avenue in 1944.  The children could not only play in their backyard, but also in a large field behind the home.  In 1950, both Wilda Lee and Chuck McCleery posed with a neighbor girl in the backyard of the home of Harold and Audrey Skomp who dwelled at 315 South Arlington Avenue.  Behind them, you can see open space.  By 1955, a developer constructed dozens of small brick homes along South Webster and Catherwood Avenues.  Those brand new homes can be seen in the color photograph taken in 1955. Wilda Lee, Chuck, and their baby sister, Joyce, posed next to the family car, a 1953 Nash Ambassador Country Club, along the back alley.  Note the new homes and garages behind them.

Friends:  Wilda Lee McCleery posed with a friend in the backyard of 315 South Arlington Avenue in 1950. The Skomps dwelled in the home and owned the sedan behind the girls.  

Chuck McCleery has loved cars his entire life.  Here he is in 1950 posing in front of his neighbor's 1940 Ford Sedan.  Behind him, you can see a field that would eventually vanish for post World War II housing.  

Proud Family:  The McCleery children posed next to the family car in 1955 behind their home at 317 South Arlington Avenue.  Note the new dwellings recently built behind them along South Webster Avenue.  

 The historic images are courtesy of Chuck McCleery.