Our Altadena Story starts...
…in 1947, when my father, Raymond B. Manning started building the house that the Manning family would eventually call home. For $5,000 worth of borrowed funds, he purchased a parcel of land in the Punahou tract on a little street called Athens while working at the Pasadena Post Office to support his wife, Amelia “Sis” Manning, and young son. By 1961, 7 more had come along to share the 1,100 ft² space. Growing up on Athens, Farnsworth Park felt like our backyard. All 8 of us kids went to St. Elizabeth School and then on to high schools in Pasadena. We shopped at the Albertsons on Altadena Drive, went to Webster's nearly every day on our walks home from school, and to the Thrifty Drug Store for ice cream on hot days. We went to Millard Canyon and hiked the Sam Merrill Trail to Mt. Echo on what seemed like a weekly basis. We had great neighbors, great fun, and I found myself developing a passion for Altadena and its history as I grew. After my father passed in 1977 when I was 15, I dedicated myself to fixing up the property that he built for us at 416 Athens St in the town he loved so well. In the devastating Eaton fire of January 2025, the house was leveled along with most of the neighborhood.
The story of Manning Old Town press
In February of 1981, my oldest brother Michael wanted to open a print shop. While initially setting his sights on La Verne, California, at the suggestion of a friend to "stay in your own backyard", he settled on Pasadena instead. On April 1st 1981, Manning Old Town Press opened at 58 S. Raymond Ave. in what they now call Old Town Pasadena. All four of us brothers and one sister worked at our new family business to help get it off the ground while Mike's wife, Julie, handled the bookkeeping part-time. Fortunately, we were able to stay in business and start growing. In the late 80’s, we decided it was time to relocate. Thinking back on Mike's friend, I took his advice to heart and didn't look any further than my own backyard. My mother lived in Altadena, I lived in Altadena, and Mike did too. So we took a chance and relocated to 2235 Lake Ave. at Calaveras. We loved being in our hometown as native Altadenans, but after a change in ownership and the construction of the Pizza Hut in the corner of our parking lot, it was clear we had to move once more. We ended up at 2528 Lake Avenue and in January of 1994, Manning Press of Altadena had a location where for the next 27 years, we remained. We embarked on all kinds of Altadena projects in the ensuing years, Christmas Tree Lane and Old-Fashioned Days Parade to name a couple. We were always interested in civic projects to forward our town in the San Gabriel Valley and in Southern California. In 2008, we started our own clothing brand called Irish Pride and an Irish band named "Those Manning Boys", playing at several Concerts in the Park at Farnsworth Park over the years until 2015. Mike, who was also a local historian of sorts, even self-published (at our shop) a book on the Mt. Lowe Railway and the man that is Thaddeus Lowe. We've been a part of Altadena in just about every way since 1947. Because of the devastating fires and because of all our friends and family and business relations, along with my good friend, Bob, we've now launched a fundraising line of clothing known as Altadena Rise. This idea is the brain child of Bob Klomburg, designed to raise the spirit of the townsfolk and to raise funds for Altadena relief, through local nonprofits.
