Jacks Story
September 26, 1929
Jack born in 1929
Jack was born just outside Okemah, Oklahoma, on the eve of the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the onset of the Great Depression. When he was 7, his family packed up and moved to California, making the journey in a Chevrolet. His younger twin brothers, Mack and Charles, were only 3 years old when they all began their journey westward.
November 6, 1936
Growing up in the Dust Bowl
The Bras family had less than $100 when they set out for California in 1936. They had lived through floods, followed by drought and dust storms. Finally, the bank took their 80-acre farm.
They moved across country, from despair to poverty, from living in a tent in Visalia and picking cotton and grapes until their hands swelled, to finding that better life.
Jack frequently mentioned that his childhood was straight out of "Grapes of Wrath."
1952
Graduated from Berkley
After graduating high school in Fresno, CA, he received his BA in Architecture from Cal Berkeley in 1952. He was drafted during the Korean War and stationed in Germany. Upon his return to civilian life, he settled in the Bay Area, working for an architectural firm in Oakland.
December 5, 1955
Drafted into the army
He was drafted during the Korean War and stationed in Göppingen Germany. Upon his return to civilian life, he settled in the Bay Area, working for an architectural firm in Oakland.
1958
Jack met Florence Brichford
At the First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, he met Florence Brichford and found himself smitten, not only by her beauty and charm, but by the fact that she was imdepentantly employed as a teacher and had ambitions.
March 21, 1959
Jack and Flo get married
Wedding bells followed on March 21, 1959 marking the beginning of 65 years of wedded bliss. Jack and Flo started in Oakland, tried a few other places, ultimately settling in Pleasanton in 1964, which had a population of about 5,000 at the time.
1964
Opened his architecture firm
Jack opened his own architecture office on First Street and had his first client within a week. He went on to influence the design and "look" of Pleasanton in many ways. He designed and remodeled many buildings in commercial districts, including The Cheese Factory, the Pleasanton Hotel, The Adobe Plaza, and large stretches of the Main Street business district. He designed the Amphitheater at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, and a number of custom homes in Pleasanton and other cities. Jack also designed many public buildings, including the Pleasanton Police Department and several fire stations.
1964
Jack & Flo start a family
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