Courreges Ranch

My name is Roch Courreges, and I am the Great, Great Grandson of the Roch Courreges that settled here in Fountain Valley in 1878. I was born in Huntington Beach in 1969 and grew up less than 1/4 mile away from the Ranch. I spent just about every day that I wasn't in school (or grounded) up at the farm helping my Grandpa. I was lucky enough to play in the fields before the houses were built off Newland, before the streets were widened and Talbert and Newland got a stop light, or the condos were put up. Fields were full of crops, the produce stand was open 5 days a week, and the baseball fields across the street were packed on weekends. I was one of 8 grandkids and we all spent quite a bit of time at the Ranch some helping Grandma in the house or out in the stand and others helping Grandpa in the fields riding sh***un on the tractor. The Courreges Ranch was much more than a farm; it was a meeting place. The house was never locked and you never had to knock, you just walked on in. Hazel always had something for you to eat and Joe always had a little "snake bite medicine" close at hand. The produce stand was like a social club with a mix of customers and friends stopping by to chitchat. Holidays were always a big event. Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas were known for a large turnout of friends and family. With the passing of Joe in 1987 and Hazel in 2011, we lost a window into the past. With the last of the Greatest Generation gone, I am going to do my best to keep the history of our great family alive.