Back in the 1950s Lee Passmore was our neighbor, of sorts. He lived on a large double-sized lot on 49th St on the corner of an alley outlet, near Monroe. We lived on 51st St ,closer to El Cajon Blvd. His lot was hedged in by tall Eugenia bushes. The words "dun movin'" were burnt onto a picket holding his old wooden gate together. It looked like he'd lived there for years and years. My mom interacted with him a few times, and twice I was in his house. To me he seemed like a hermit with an eerie hobby: collecting tarantulas. Everywhere in his house I remember seeing tarantulas: under glass, in jars, and pinned to the walls. Eek! There may have been snakes in jars also. Even though I was quite the Tom Boy, to this 9 year-old girl, it was a place from which nightmares came. I loved growing up in San Diego -- Bev Pope Wagner ’64

Turns out Bev's memories of Lee are correct. Click HERE to see the fabulous web site Lee's great-grandson has created. It shows photographs, postcards -- and tarantulas.