My Family History in South Phoenix
MY GREAT UNCLE LEONARD AND GREAT AUNT ELSIE'S PAD
IN SOUTH PHOENIX
Family history in South Phoenix goes way back for me….
My family originally came to South Phoenix from Minnesota in 1939. My Great Uncle Leonard and his wife were the first in the family to move from the frigid climate of up north to the Sonoran desert. He eventually convinced my Grandpa and Grandma Melgaard to move here as well.
Leonard was quoted as saying, “Come to God’s country”! My Grandma and Grandpa moved here with their first daughter, my Aunt Donna just a few years later. When my grandparents moved to South Phoenix they settled down for a couple of years and eventually moved to west Phoenix. My grandparents eventually had my mother and two other children.
My Great Uncle Leonard and his family have stayed in the same place since 1939 and I can say they have seen everything in South Phoenix. The following is a reprinted article that was published in 1981 about my Great Uncle Leonard and his place in Phoenix history....
