The erstwhile Victoria Avenue assumed its current identity in 1925 or 1926. One of its residents was the inspiration: Clela Jaquette (1884-1969). Born Clela Azalia(?) Trout in Ohio, she moved to SoCal with her parents around 1900 and tied the knot with Wilbur Ward Jaquette (1887-1968) in 1905. Wilbur, whom friends knew as “Jake”, was a Texas boy who came to L.A. in 1902 after a couple of years in Phoenix. His union with Clela produced one child, Wilbur Leslie (1908-1962). What followed were many moves around the state and many vocations for Jake, from bellboy to insurance agent, but ultimately he found his calling in car sales and in 1924 he opened a Chevrolet lot around the corner on Whittier Blvd. (It’s unclear whether the Jaquettes moved to this street before or after said opening.) Turbulent times would come, including a stint in San Quentin for Wilbur L. in 1929 (the charge: burglary) and a divorce for Jake and Clela in 1946, after at least six years apart. Jake relocated to Oakland and remarried. Wilbur L. got out of prison, had a wife and three kids, went into car sales himself, lived in Florida for about a decade, and died in West Covina. As for Clela, she never left this neighborhood: she spent the rest of her life just three blocks west of here on Ferris Avenue.
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