Hogues to Rebuild on Earlham

The front lawn of the Hogue’s lawn was a mixture of succulents and cacti.

For people walking the Via de los Olas Bluffs in Pacific Palisades, one of the more interesting yards and homes was the Hogue’s two-bedroom house on Earlham. It was the yard that drew your attention, first. Cacti, large succulents, native plants arranged around gravel/stone walkways, made it a perfect example of water resistant, but attractive landscaping.

This editor had stopped by because she wondered if Frauke, an expert in metallurgy, would consent to be interviewed for a story.

The couple invited this editor into their kitchen that overlooked Potrero Canyon – and in the distance the Pacific Ocean. This single-story house, which was set back from the street and nearer the canyon, was simple but complemented the view and didn’t try to overwhelm the lot with construction. Surrounded by plants, it seemed isolated from the neighbors’ homes. It was one of those places that “breathed” peace and calm.

As this editor was leaving Frauke invited her to take a “slip” off any of the plants to try to grow.

This editor was happy to see the Hogues highlighted in a Wall Street Journal November 14 article (“They Planned for Retirement, Then Nature Threw a Curveball”). Their home was one of the nearly 6,000 homes that burned in the January 7 Palisades Fire.

With her husband Harlan, an architect, the couple had purchased the house in 1974 for $64,000. Now, the estimated cost to rebuild is $900,000 and about $500,000 will be covered by insurance.

They hope to receive a loan from the Small Business Administration and most likely Harlan, 85, and Frauke, 82, will have to dip into money that they had saved for travel or to leave their sons.

Harlan told the WSJ that he has begun designing a two-bedroom, single story home with a simple floor plan to replace their home. He told the paper “I always wanted to design my own house, but we didn’t want a giant mansion, so it didn’t make sense financially,” he said. “But now here I am designing my home and having fun with it.”

Frauke, who is still working as a material scientist and educator, told the Journal that her pain about the loss of their home is manifested in anger at the City of Los Angeles. The couple feel that the response to the fire was mishandled. Frauke said she has accepted the loss and told the WSJ “I can’t change it, why cry over spilled milk?” She added “We’ll be fine.”

To read about Frauke’s career click here.. Within her field, her “metal” artwork has graced covers of metallurgy magazines, while her scientific findings have been presented in papers and at conferences. She developed an interest in meteorites, which have far different patterns than human-made metals because of their uniquely slow cooling process—approximately one degree per million years.

She told the WSJ “I’m not done learning,” said Frauke. The couple have a second home in Yucca Valley. “There’s always something new, something different…. You always have to learn. That’s very important in life.”

Frauke Hogue