An Email out of the blue...
Hi Paul,
My name
is Bob and I found your homepage by doing a search on “Hoppylandâ€.
As I read I realized that we had so much in common as we both grew
up in West LA and are about the same age, I am 57. But your age
was really a mystery. I read about your visits to Hoppyland and
your memories of it, I visited Hoppyland also but was very young
and only remember scattered memories of it. Then I saw your first
car a 1962 Chevy and read that you had visited your Grandparents
in Arkansas. This threw me off as my first car was a 1957 Ford sold
to me by my dad. Then I found the “How old am I?†page and realized
we were about the same age.
I grew up at 8327
Loyola Boulevard Westchester the street that leads from Manchester
to Loyola College (then called). My dad worked at North American
Aviation as a stress engineer during the war building B25s and Mustangs.
The first plane I remember him working on was the F86. As
a kid I crawled all over the church at Loyola Univ that was being
build on the bluff that adorns the high steeple you see from Culver
City. I looked at your section called Drive-ins and was hoping it
included the Drive-in Restaurants. As a young kid I remembered my
favorite on Lincoln over by the Skating Rink smack dab in Culver
City. It was called Picadillies. Also I remember the first drive-in
where you could actually take a hamburger home with you. That was
the Hamburger Handout at Sepulveda and
Centenala.
I fished off the
bridge at Ballona Creek many a day. My doctors
office was on Jefferson near Culver. I had even snuck on the back
lot of MGM and played on the sets before they were torn down. I
can even show you where the outdoor Tara set stood, it backed up
against the old Desilu studios that was then the studio that produced
GWTW. Also being a fan of Laurel and Hardy I smile when I see locations
used in their shorts, mostly on Main Street in Culver City. Actually
the first house I lived in was in Culver City.
Things we have
in common:
My mom died
in 1990
Grand parents
from Stuttgart Arkansas (Lived in Memphis when I was a small
child). We used to drive in a 1952 Studebaker, 1955 Pontiac, 1957
Ford and 1959 Ford down Route 66 most of the way to Memphis
in the summer. Visiting Memphis was fun when Elvis was alive.
Stationed
in Del Rio Texas I met the Wolfman. Re-met him in the early
70s when he was tapeing Midnight Special. That was a funny story
…he was eating breakfast across the street from NBC at the Copper
Penny after tapeing, it was about 2am. I walked up to his table
and went into the old Air Force story about meeting him there
in Mexico. He was nice and said he remembered, but I knew he
didn’t.
Helms Bakery.
The one thing I disagree with you was that we KNEW what to order
when the truck came buy. It was those Glassed Donuts. For years
when people used to ask me what were my quests in life, one
was to find that perfect Glassed Donut that I had in my childhood
from a Helms bakery truck. Krispy Kreams come close but who
can replace that perfect memory of a child…nothing will be as
good as a Helms Glassed Donut. My favorite field trip in school
was the Helms Bakery….I am sure your school took you through
there. I only wished I still had one of those cardboard cut
outs of the old trucks they would give out that day, and one
of those Glassed donuts right out the baker’s oven.
Do you remember
the airport at Sepulveda and Slauson? How about the Jalopy Derby
race track at Lincoln and Culver? That
is where Dick Lane used to announce and the Dead-end Kids did one
of their movies. You do know that the current condo complex on Jefferson
called Tara is on the old set built for GWTW, it was Atlanta, the
Tara set was across Balonna Creek. They also have a lake in that
complex (that they were smart to build around and keep)
that is called the Tarzan Lake. It is where Tarzan used to
jump off a rock into the river. The rock is still there, surprising
how Plaster of Paris lasts. I remember as a kid driving over by
that site and seeing all the old cars they used in The Untouchables
that they had wrecked. Basically a junk yard
of 1930s cars. It was really strange.
I feel real bad
when I see what has happened to Venice. When I was about 13 my family
moved to Manhattan Beach. Venice was far away for a boy that age.
The next time I had spent some time there was at POP then later
at The Oar House when first 21. But so many strange types have changed
Venice that I recommend any of my out-of-town
visitors only visit my town Manhattan
Beach and stay away from Venice. I tell them that those are not
Californians but transplants and most looser looking for an acting
gig. Manhattan Beach has not gone untouched either. Money has come
in and changed the town I used to love. I now live in the mountains
above LA and love it….but society is now even finding me here. Next
step…well probably give up on California.
I had better go
now. It was fun reading your web page and thanks for freshening
some of those memories. I had thought I was the only one who had
lived as long as I have.
Sincerely, Bob
Bowen
Dear Dave (or Paul):
I only knew you as Dave in 1959. I am a very minor, minor character
out of your past. But, I have really enjoyed your web pages....and
I am very excited to know that Mr.
Brown is still on this side of eternity. Thanks for finding him!
I went back to Hamilton High in 1987 to find out about Mr. Brown and
they coolly ordered me to leave the office...not very friendly...drugs
have changed the attitude of educators. In their eyes I was some
kind of possible danger to humanity. All visitors are unwelcome.
Anyway...I wanted to reminisce with you about the famous K6CXI Test
Field Day...not held on the real field day. Anyway, do you remember
when Hughes Aircraft invited Mr. Brown and the whole K6CXI Hamilton
High Ham club to come up to Hughes' Baldwin Hills radio test site shack,
overlooking Culver City and West L.A.? You were there running
some portable equipment. And you invited me to come along, even though
I was only a junior high kid, at the time...but very interested in radio.
Well, anyway, Hughes had said to Mr. Brown..."you know.. you guys are
welcome to use the equipment in our building if you like"... Mr. Brown,
being the smart man he was and knowing the Hughes equipment would possibly
be a lot safer out of our reach, kindly waved-off the generous offer.
Anyway, as the day progressed, and we were making all kinds of contacts
somebody from Hughes came up and let us see inside the building. To
our surprise there was a full Collins S-line, I believe, if my memory
serves me correctly. Suddenly everyone kind of wondered if Mr.
Brown had made the right decision. But, I know he was wise and
that equipment stayed in it's pristine condition, out of our reach.
I often visited your shack and my eyes always fell out of my head in
wonder. I was not a ham at that time...but later, because of your
influence I became WB6BZV, WBzeroKXU, WB7NPT and finally KD7NK.
Just last year I purposely let my Advanced ticket lapse. I too
have become too interested in Computers and also...ham radio isn't what
it used to be. I enjoyed the days of Heathkit,
Globe Scouts, Hammerlund, S-Line
and build it yourself. The bands just got too clogged up for my
taste with angry people and poor taste. But I was involved for
38 years as a ham. My first receiver was an NC-300...I couldn't
afford a 303 like my friend Dave Liles
had...but the 300 was good enough.
I do owe you a big "thank you" for being such a hospitable young man
and taking an interest in me. You were an unusual teenager even
in that better era. Because of you I went on into Ham radio and
almost became and electronics engineer, even did a
stint at NASA as an engineering student trainee.
By the way...you won't probably remember me...but I was that annoying
Herald Express (later the Herald Examiner) news boy who would park his
bike outside your shack and sit mesmerized as you worked skip on 20
meter sideband, while my customers wandered through their yards looking
under bushes for a paper that had not arrived but was parked at WA6CJC's
shack.
After you moved away in 1961, I believe, I went on as the newsboy until
1962...and still remember pedaling my bike by your house and sadly missing
all the fun I used to
have stopping and watching you.
I remember when you had a
Gonset Communicator
III, or had borrowed one. You were on 20 with one hand and
chewing the rag on W6MYK, the Mount Lee A.M. 2 meter
repeater, with the other hand...oh, those were the days!!!
Did you ever get on the Venice bus and ride to downtown L.A. to "J.J.
Glass" to look at ARC-5s and all the other World War II surplus radio
treasures?? That was one of my favorite activities back when it
was safe to go almost anywhere in L.A. on a sunny day. I sure
loved walking the isles of J.J. Glass!! Or, if bus fare and time
were a bit tighter...I would sneak over to Henry Radio to wander from
one radio room to the next. If I was lucky somebody would be making
a few contacts using that super 80 foot telephone pole with a tri-bander
perched on top. And, if I was really lucky...and nobody was looking
I might even become a dumpster diver and surf through the treasure trove
of rejected resistors and capacitors in the metal
Henry Radio electronic freebie
can outside in the back next to the 80 foot telephone pole. Yes,
those were the days!! To bad I didn't recognize it at the time!
And, I carried my ARRL General Class
questions and answers everywhere I went. When I was bored I could
always memorize another answer. Let's see, a triode has a grid,
a plate and a cathode, GOT IT!
Then there was the two famous trips to Downtown L.A. to the scary F.C.C.
office for the big test. Oh, I was downcast that first time when
I flubbed the code. But, 30 days later, VICTORY!!!! At 15
years of age I walked out with my General Class license and no money
for a rig...but at least I could call CQ in the shower and drive folks
at home mad!
Clint Stetson (former
KD7NK)
Here is a nice note from a friend a few years younger than I
. He also remembers "the good old days"....
Dear Paul,
Whooboy! I just returned from a trip back to 3357
Laguna Ct. Riverside Ca. I was 9. It was 1963 and I walked out
with Mom to buy some bread from the Helms Truck, grabbed a donut too.
Building forts with Anthony (Tony) Bevins, falling from trees
and getting hit in the eye during a dirt clod fight with the Cook brothers,
Jerry Harding, Louie & Eddie and Butchy, stopping by ol Mr. Jorgensens
field to see what he was growing and being utterly fascinated by the
fact that he looked like stepped right out of the film "Grapes of Wrath"
or bugging Mrs. Clydesdale to pet Smokie, (a grey horse that bit). Her
barn was always filled with old stuff and we always snuck in and out,
ditching church and picking up the flyer to prove that we actually
went inside and prayed, walking to school 3/4 mile when I was
5....did I mention that Craig Hermann and I stopped the So. Pacific
RR Freight train one day by seeing how close we could get to it as it
sped by.....? (We were 5) I was the youngest in my family to get mentioned
in the Riverside Press. We never realized just how many police cars
could show up in one spot and up until THAT DAY, neither one of us had
ever talked to a REAL Train Engineer (except one named "Bill"), but
we did that day, how about being called in from playing because "Star
Trek" or Bonanza was IN COLOR that night. My kids always wonder how
I know the things they are about to do....should I tell em....? (someday)
Reuben Quezada
So. California
Hello Paul and Sue
I was doing a search for info on Louis Pastuer Jr. High, when I stumbled
across your website (seems I do a lot of that lately; stumbling, I mean...but
age is creeping up). Anyway, what a great surprise to discover your
truly amazing site. I too, grew up in the neighborhood and lived about
7 or 8 long blocks from your Comey house, at the corner of 18th and
Point View (right across the street from Pasteur. We moved there in
1953.Went to Crescent Heights, of course Pasture and then Hamilton,
class of '65. Thankfully, my folks STILL live in that same house (going
on 52 years now), so I get to make my annual tour back through the memories
(the blocks have gotten much shorter)
Virtually everything you've created about being "back in the day" is
still alive in my memory banks. From the pictures of the Cowboy outfits
and six shooters ( the Fanner 50 became my personal favorite) to the
Mickey Mouse Club to the stories of just roaming the neighborhood and
they brought back memories of the great adventures and discoveries
we made (like looking for treasures in Bologna creek or waiting up on
the old tracks to pull the next great train robbery ( this was, of course
before the Santa Monica Freeway).Of course, I wasn't "allowed" to cross
Venice at the time. but sometimes the pull was too great. I spent virtually
all of afternoon yesterday just going through the website and all the
tribute areas are super as well (Engineer Bill says "Green light")
I've been accessing Classmates.com a lot lately and have even posted
a message on the message board referring those who grew up in the '50s
and '60s (and anyone else) to go to your site (hope that is not a problem).
Do you remember Howard Goodman, or Richard Bucky or Dennis Angel from
Pasteur or Hamilton days ? They all lived either on Crescent Heights
or Point View St. and I think may have been in the same year class as
you.
Anyway, again just wanted to tell you that I appreciate what you've
created. Since yesterday, I've been looking for the milkman to deliver
our 4 GLASS bottles of milk and am waiting for the Helms truck to make
his rounds (Yum-Yum)
Best regards..Greg (Nairn) Thomas..Pasteur- class of '62....Hamilton--class
of '65
Hello Paul--
I feel kind of stupid because after I emailed that question I
kept on exploring your website and came across the answer to the
question, with your map. I never heard of Comey Av., probably
because my turf stopped at the projects at the end of Crescent
Hgts. Blvd. I currently live in the Sierra Foothills in
Calaveras County, near Angels Camp.
Whenever I return to L.A. I get sick to my stomach when I see
all the graffiti on the buildings that used to be my homeland.
I sure do remember Baloney Creek though; used to hunt lizards
with a kid named Paul Marantz who lived in the "rich" area,
i.e., Beverlywood. Did you ever ride your bike up La
Cienega and hike up to the reservoir in Baldwin Hills?
That was great fun!! Also, are you familiar with the
novels of Bruce Kimmel? The Kritzer series? Great
nostalgia.
My turf pretty much stopped at the street, forgot the
name, that now borders the Kaiser? hospital. The one that
now has a Chevron gas station on the corner of La Cienega.
However, my dad worked as a prop man at MGM from the late '20's
to 1970 so I explored Culver City a little bit. I used to
drive him to work at 5:00 a.m. right after I got my driver's
license so I could have the car to go to Hami.
Used to stop at Mary Eveleyn's Donut Shop in CC often, and of
course, as a kid frequented the Culver and Meralta Theatres.
For a year or so I also worked at Balian's Market on Venice as a
box boy. (This is going to be a rambling narrative, so
please excuse me) Paul and I would take the lizards we caught,
fence swifts and alligator lizards, to Beryl's Pet Shop in CC
and trade or sell them.
And who could forget the Helms Bakery and the Helms trucks
going around the neighborhood with that distinctive whistle and
the wooden trays of goodies that the driver pulled out for us to
view products? Remember the paper (light cardboard) Helms
trucks we got and put together?
Interesting, when I focus on a particular area of my turf,
see a visual image of it as a child, so much comes back. I
faintly remember a shop teacher at Pasteur who also owned a
plastics company on Venice, probably near you. We cut
pieces of sheet plastic, laminated them various colors, and made
things in that shop. Purses, medallions, etc. I
remember using a buffing machine to bring the edges of the
plastic to a high shine.
That pretty much takes care of that area of town for me.
Most of my adventures took place North of there. Of course
I remember Thriftown? Market, but my family shopped more at
Daylite and Big Town? I remember Big Town before they cut
the door into the common wall between it and Ralph's 5 & 10.
On your website you mentioned an alley or road near you with
businesses such as Bic and a sheet metal shop?
I have no recollection of that area at all. What else
was around it that I might remember? I'm going to sign off
now, but the 25 minutes I have been on the computer jarring my
memory represents maybe 2% of my experiences. Next time
I'll travel North on La Cienega an hit such places as Marty's
Bike Shop, Adhor, Piece O' Pizza, etc. If you have time,
write back with some of your memories. I'm sure I'll have
many in common.
MARTY POLLYEA
