Mayor Pro Tem Espinoza’s
roots go deep in La Habra
Rose, the youngest of eight siblings, was raised in a migrant labor camp known as the “Red Camp”, built by the La Habra Citrus Association for migrant workers.
Her father was a citrus picker and her mother was a house cleaner who at times would work at Hunts packing house during seasonal periods. Oftentimes Rose and her sisters would go with their mother to help clean houses.
The Red Camp was a close knit community, one would say a city-within-a-city and because of segregation, the Camp provided the essentials within Rose’s neighborhood, including seamstresses, carpenters, a hardware store, gasoline station, grocery stores and even a hotdog stand.
Neighbors cared for the elders and children. It is where Rose learned that neighbors take care of neighbors.
As Mayor Pro Tem, Rose continues that caring she learned from her youth for all of La Habra.
Since 1991 and as Founder of Rosie’s Garage, Rose has dedicated her life helping low income children achieve academic excellence, because when our most vulnerable succeed, we all succeed.
