By Emma Fox, Contributing Writer
Edna Allen worked for 29 years at the Ball Glass factory in El Monte and when she got off her shift there, she’d go directly to her second job at a daycare. It was there that she was able to do what she truly loves: be a mentor, caregiver, and support system for children during the most vulnerable time of their lives.
Allen came from a family of nine and has been raising kids since she, herself, was a kid. She moved from Ohio to Altadena as a teen. “I have been up there for 49 years. It was a family environment. My street was pretty well mixed and everybody looked out for everybody,” says Edna.
The town raised her to take pride in her community. She said they’d pick up litter after one another and communicate whenever anything happened within the neighborhood. This was a place where she could leave her door unlocked at all times because there was that much mutual trust between neighbors.
Edna’s granddaughter, Talia, says of her grandma, “When she got married, her husband moved into her house. She loved her home, she worked hard for that house, and she was proud of that house, there was no way she was moving out of it.” Talia grew up in the house and says even when her grandma remarried, her step-grandpa moved into the house.
The couple lived there for 30 years until he passed away. Talia added, “Along with his ashes, everything from her marriage burned. Every. Single. Thing. She moved into that house in 1976. She’s never lived anywhere else. She’s lived in that house since her early 20s.”
As if only grasping it as she speaks it out loud, Talia says “There were things in the basement from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, they’re all gone. It breaks my heart. I realize now how ungrateful I was to be in such a beautiful city.”
According to Talia, “When you think about the Black and Brown people in this community, a lot of our parents and grandparents were all business owners.” Edna co-owned Bill’s Chicken, a local institution that Talia says anyone from Altadena will know. She also started O & O Barbeque with Talia’s step-grandfather.
Edna Allen didn’t stop at two successful businesses. She opened up a third to fulfill her life’s passion. It was a 24-hour daycare that ran right out of her home for 24 years. With kids typically in her home from sun up to sun down, Talia says, “I think this is the most sleep she’s ever gotten in her entire life.”
“That daycare raised two generations of children,” says Talia. Her voice trails off, “It just makes you so emotional because she was everyone’s grandmother.” After a brief pause, she confesses that she spent her whole life upset that she had to share her and each time she expressed it, she was never scolded but instead taken aside for quality time with her grandma.
“I didn’t know my last time being in my city was going to be the last time. I don’t know when I’ll be able to go back and where am I gonna go?” Talia asks, taking in a sharp breath as though wincing from the pain of knowing it.
Edna wasn’t home when the Eaton Fire broke out and didn’t have the chance to save anything inside her house. Nonetheless, she didn’t want to ask for help. “She realizes how much she lost but at the same time, her expectations of people giving were so low because she is the one that gives. She’s not the one that takes. I have seen her borrow money to lend money,’” says Talia.
Edna, like many other Altadenans, is now faced with the decision of whether or not to rebuild.
“All the kids are missing me, the parents are calling, wondering where I’m gonna go. I would like to be with the kids again. My grandaughter’s telling me to retire. I am just giving it to the Lord to guide me and tell me what to do,” Edna says. “I raised all my kids there, my grandkids, and my great-grandkids. All those memories… it’s crazy that it’s all gone,” Edna says.
PHOTOS: Courtesy of the Allen Family
Talia says the GoFundMe money is a blessing because she doesn’t want her 70-year-old granny, “Filling out job applications, worried about rent, and worried about bills. I want her to be comfortable, to be able to relax,” she says.
Edna says she’s just grateful to be alive and that she has a place to sleep. After all, she says, “I don’t know where we’re going from here, but if I can find a place to rent and get some furniture, I’ll be happy. I love kids so I’m always gonna be around kids until the day I die.”
Help Edna get back on her feet so that she can continue to help raise future generations of compassionate and respectful kids. Find her GoFundMe at this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-mrs-allens-new-beginning-postfire?attribution_id=sl:4b41106b-3525-4c2a-a002-6434dfa589c2&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link
