From London to the SCV

By Stephanie Struyck Elgin

She grew up during a time when the world was at war. She was only six when Germany invaded Poland without warning, Britain and France were at it with Germany and within days, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa had also joined in. The war lasted a grueling six years, and Rita vividly remembers life during this time in London, England.  
“I was only six years old when the war started,” recalls Rita.  “I remember the first air raid.  I didn’t know what it was, but it was very frightening.  Shortly after bombs started to fall, my family and I would try and escape and make our way underground.  We would sleep on the platforms where the trains would run, wake up and go to school the next morning.”
World War 2 involved every major world power, and more than 60 million people had lost their lives during that time.  Families, towns, cities and countries were devastated from the affects of the war.  “It was terrifying and nerve-wracking,” recalls Rita.  “Imagine the feeling you get during an earthquake…. well it was like experiencing an earthquake a couple times a day.”
The war ended when Rita was 12 years old.  Her family decided to leave England due to the rationing that was still going on during the war, the conditions of the bombed out buildings and so forth.  They immigrated as a family to Canada in the early 50’s and lived there for about a year.  The family then moved to Michigan before finally making their way west to California in the mid 1950’s.
Rita married Joseph and together had two boys, Jeffrey and Gary, and resided in the San Fernando Valley.  “About 20 years ago we decided to move to the Santa Clarita Valley,” states Rita.  “We liked the Friendly Valley retirement community and since we were old enough to move here, we made the move.”  Sadly, Joseph passed away.    
Just nine years later, Rita met and fell in love with John Harrington.  They married in 2003 and relocated to Frazier Park.  Just two years ago, John passed away and Rita made the decision to move back to the Santa Clarita Valley.  “I was very happily married to a terrific guy.  I had a great life with him.”  
Currently, Rita is very active in the community and spends some of her time at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center.  She enjoys singing and hanging out with her friends, and also has a passion for writing. “I love to write,” states Rita.  “I like to write about basic things, things that happen in every day life that I find humor in.” Rita’s work can be found in the SCV Senior Center’s monthly publication, The Mighty Oak. “I find joy in laughing and making others laugh as well!”