Walnut Tutors Come To You

Located between the rugged San Jose Hills in the north and the rolling Puente Hills in the south, Walnut, California is about 30 minutes east from downtown Los Angeles. Originally part of the Mexican land grant Rancho Nogales owned by Spanish vaquero Ricardo Vejar, Walnut is named after the numerous black walnut trees (nogales in Spanish) in the San Jose Hills above the city. Vejar first acquired Rancho Nogales in 1834. He also teamed with Ignacio Palomares in the ownership of Rancho San Jose to the north. For over twenty years the two men prospered, raising horses, cattle and sheep as well as growing various crops such as grapes and citrus. The bond between the two men grew stronger when Palomares’ eldest son Tomas married Madalena Vejar and his daughter Teresa married Ramon Vejar. Indeed, providence seemed to shine on Vejar and Palomares as the late 1850’s brought successive years of above average rainfall and the ranchers expanded their herds. Unfortunately, abundant rain was abruptly followed by severe drought. The “Great Drought” of 1862-1865 was catastrophic throughout the state but particularly for the early ranchos which depended on ample rainfall for their cattle. Vejar and Palomares were hit particularly hard and eventually their herds were wiped out. Palomares died in 1864 while Vejar lost his land to creditors and died in poverty in Pomona in 1882. An obscure monument, designed by famed California artist Millard Sheets, commemorates Palomares, Vejar and Luis Arenas in Ganesha Park in downtown Pomona. Today, prosperity has returned to Walnut with an average median household income exceeding $100,000 a year. In 2011, Walnut was ranked number 57 on Money magazine’s “Best Places to Live” in the United States.

A Walnut tutor will keep you ahead of the academic curve so you can take time away from the books and enjoy the exciting things to do in Walnut and the greater Los Angeles area. In the fall the streets of the city come alive as the annual Walnut Family Festival and Parade takes place on the first Saturday in October. The parade features marching bands, youth groups and dignitaries with a special “Dog Parade and Costume Contest.” The rest of the festival takes place at Suzanne Park with live entertainment, food vendors and a kid’s zone.

Walnut residents and visitors alike benefit from being so close to several attractions in nearby cities. It’s just a short drive east on Interstate 10 to the Los Angeles County Fair. Ever since 1922 Pomona has been the home of the fair at the 543-acre fairgrounds known as Fairplex. Held for three weeks in the fall, the fair is one of the largest in the nation with average yearly attendance topping one million visitors. The fair features livestock competitions, concerts, a traditional carnival and the California Heritage Square historical exhibit.

It’s an even shorter drive to Raging Waters, California’s largest waterpark, in nearby San Dimas. Raging Waters has several exhilarating slides including the Aqua Rocket, Dark Hole and Dragon’s Den. The park also features wave pools, and winding rivers. The Amazon Adventure river ride is a quarter mile long and can accommodate up to 600 raft riders. The Splash Island Adventure is a family oriented mixture of slides, water cannons and swinging bridges. The 50-acre park is visited by thousands of fun seekers each summer.