About two years ago I told you that I was going back to film photography and will post mostly in black and white. However, as the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men. The last two years my time was absorbed by family (mostly not my own) medical problems and two deaths. I had to shelve projects and weather the storm. The hardest part was the loss of both my father and mother.
My father, Allan Joseph Campo, passed away on October 14, 2022, after a bout with Alzheimer’s and dementia. He passed away in Ashville, NC and his ashes were buried at All Souls Church in Ashville. He was born in Los Angeles to Lucy and Alexander Campo on April 6, 1934, and was an only child. He graduated from Loyola University, now Loyola Marymount, and after a stint teaching English at Pope Pious X and Daniel Murphy High School, he eventually had a career with the US Postal Service.
My mother, Isabelle Sandoval Campo, nee Martin, passed away on September 16, 2023. She died at home in Canoga Park, California, in her sleep. She was born on May 1, 1930, in Oakland, CA. She was orphaned at the age of six and put in the care of the Cook Family of Hayward, Ca., then a farming community. She stayed with the Cook family until her uncle, Tony Reina, gained custody and took her to Bakersfield, Ca. She eventually settled in Los Angeles, raised five children, and became a grandmother to five. She was a lover of all things Disney. She, in her lifetime, visited both Disneyland and Disney World along with collecting memorabilia.
I miss them both very much. I miss my mother and her calm composure and wit. My dad I miss because I can no longer hear his sage advice, wisdom or tap his vast knowledge. The sad thing about my dad is that Alzheimer’s and dementia robbed him of all of that. He will also be missed by his friends at the All Souls Book Group which has been renamed the Allan Campo Book Club. I am sure he is sitting with his friend, the poet William Everson, discussing the latest books.
As for my mother, paradise on earth for her was going to Disneyland. She loved to take in the ambiance of the park and people watch. Yes, she liked some of the rides but the ambiance was her enjoyment. I see her sitting at the end of Main Street in Disneyland by the Walt and Mickey statue, taking in the ambiance and people watching. That is her slice of heaven. May they both have eternal rest.
As I said, I have projects that I shelved due to all the above. Well, the time has come to start working again. The first project will be about the Old West. It will not be an “In Search of” project. It will ask the question “What Happened to the Old West”. We see movies and television shows about this era, but no one ever asked what happened to these places. Living in Nevada, remnants of the Old West are everywhere. However, not so much in California. We understand San Francisco because it was almost wiped out by an earthquake and fire. But there are other places that either did not survive the transition into the modern era or morphed in a way that makes them unrecognizable. I plan to start out with San Francisco and Sacramento. Here are two Old West towns that are 87.6 miles apart and slowly sending out tentacles towards each other. Soon, the area from San Jose to Sacramento will look like Los Angeles to San Diego, wall to wall city. We will have a look at them. I will get to as many towns as I can. So, say a prayer for my mother and father and I will start with new stories and photos.