During World War II, we were the Civil Defense Headquarters for the San Fernando Valley. Tons of salvage were collected, thousands of pints of blood were donated, air raid systems were set up, and the Chamber helped raise $400,000 for a Lockheed Vega bomber named "The Spirit of North Hollywood." A major defense industry sprang up, and in the process, some of the old trees planted in the 1880s were destroyed. The first section of the Cahuenga Freeway was dedicated. Population passed the 43,000 mark.

By now our community had moved from cattle and sheep to wheat fields and fruit orchards. Bonner Fruit and Cannery Co., located on Chandler near Lankershim, produced and shipped tons of canned fruit throughout the United States. Our town was known as the "home of the peach." We later became a poultry oasis, earning the name "home of the hen." Next came post-war suburbia and major growth. The town would never be the same again. "A peach of a place to have a home" was our new moniker. The area's rapid growth caused a housing shortage, but demand for housing soon led to a construction boom that transformed the Valley from a predominantly agricultural area into a sprawling suburban community.