Melvin D. Lovell:  

Life I was born in Riverside in 1941 in a Doctors office next to the De Anza Theater. My parents moved into a house on Shamrock Ave. on December 7th, 1941. That is where I grew up. The area was mostly farms and walnut groves until the early fifties when housing subdivisions were built. In 1945 my brother came down with Encephilitus on top of measles. The fever could not be broken because Penicillin was still and experimental drug and could not be given to Children, the fever reached 108 degrees causing major brain damage. He had to be taught to walk again and never recovered. Part of my growing up was helping to take care of him till he became to big. Then he spent most of the rest of his life in State Hospitals until his death in 1999. I attended Fremont Grammar School,and Central Jr. High School before going on to Poly in 1956. I was basically a book worm and played chess. Working part time as a carpenter's apprentice and painter's apprentice in High School. After graduation I attended R.C.C. and worked at White Sulfur Springs Pool as a life gaurd, then Pacific Telephone as a installer repiareman before moving to Hawaii and attending the University of Hawaii working for Standard Oil full time nights and going to classes during the day (surfing and snorkling in my spare time). On Nov. 22, 1963 I received a draft notice (the day JFK was assasinated) although I was in the Sea Bee Reserves. In August of 1965 I attended a Peter, Paul & Mary Concert at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu. In September 1965 I went to Vietnam (called out of Sea Bee Reserves). I installed telephones, intercoms, switch boards and climbed poles to run cables for power and telephone as well as submarine cable under the Da Nang River. In December 1966. I received another draft notice after I had been in Vietnam over a year and I remained there until June 1967. I returned home landing in San Bernardino took a months leave and them drove to Rhode Island. Stopping in Nebraska to see relatives and at Niagara Falls before reporting in to Davisville Rhode Island. I separated from of the service at Davisville, Rhode Island and returned to Riverside for a few months and worked for a short time at Food Machinery in electronics. Before returning to Hawaii and went to back the University of Hawaii and to work for Standard Oil of California and continued to surf and snorkle. When I had enough time I would drive to the North Shore in the winter and surf the big waves a Sunset, Makaha and other spots. I was married in 1968 to Karen Macklin which lasted seven years divorced in 1976. In 1974 we went to an Elvis Presley concet at the Orange Show grounds. In 1970 that time I left Standard Oil due to lay offs and went to work for Bourne Pacific Magnetics in Engineering. Then went to work for The County of Riverside as a road inspector in June 1972 and stayed there until July 2004. I married Lisa in 1977 and we have stayed together. In 1980 we went to a Peter, Paul & Mary Concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. In 1990 we traveled to the Turks and Caiacos Islands for a vacation (just to relax). In 1992 we traveled to the Yucatan Penisula and visited several Mayan sites as well as staying in Merida and Cancun. In 1994 we went to Sweden to visit our oldest daughter and also stopped in England, Wales and Ireland on the return trip. The next year we went to Peru and visited Cuzco, Machupichu, the valley of the Incas, and Lima. In 1996 we went to Tahiti and stayed on Moorea, Huahine, and Bora Bora. In 1997 we made another trip to England and Scotland visiting historic sites and meeting some friends from East Anglia in Scotland. Taking a boat to the island of Staffa. In October 1998 went to a Kingston Trio Concert at the Municipal Auditorium. M...Expand for more