Chuck Ledgerwood

January 3, 1906 - December 4, 1999

Born January 3, 1906 to Nathaniel and Effie A. Bennett Ledgerwood, Chuck grew up in South Pasadena, California with his three siblings, Helen '22, Evelyn '31, and Kenneth '35.  He graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1924.

He attended UCLA in 1925.  In 1926 and 1927 he attended UC Davis where he majored in agriculture and worked as a laboratory assistant for onion and tomato experiments.  He was a fraternity manager for Beta Phi in 1926.  In 1927 he started working with the California Packing Corporation in Idaho Falls, Idaho.  While living in Idaho he met his future wife, Violet Swanson.  Violet moved with her mother and sisters to Oregon in 1927 and in 1929 to Monrovia, California.  Chuck worked in Utah in 1928.  He then took a job with Aggler Musser Seed Company in California and he purchased a lot on Redwood Street in Carlsbad, California in 1928.

Violet and Charles were married June 12, 1929 at the South Pasadena Methodist Church and honeymooned in Oceanside.  For the next few years Chuck and Violet lived in Los Angeles, Santa Maria, Watsonville, and Salinas.  They moved to Carlsbad in October 1933 and opened their seed and farm business on Redwood and Highway 101.  The had two daughters; Edlean in 1937 and Claire in 1942.

In 1935 Charles was elected as Secretary of the Carlsbad Sanitary District and later served as Director.  He served the District for 14 years.  In 1956 he was elected to the Carlsbad City council and served as mayor of Carlsbad in 1958 and 1959.  He was also a member of the Union Church cabinet for 26 years.

In 1955 Chuck enrolled in photography classes and made a variety of films which won San Diego County competitions.  Those titles include:  Climb the Highest Mountain, Serene Sequoia, Signs of the Times, The Tuolumne, Endless Road, and Waltz of the Flowers.  He also devoted many hours to filming the football games for five local high schools and two community colleges.

Chuck died December 4, 1999 while living in Carlsbad.

Courtesy of Carlsbad History Room Special Collection, Georgina Cole Library, Carlsbad, California