Great,great grandparents (wife’s mom’s side) lived in Nashville, TN 1922-28 Hello, In 1922, our great, great grandma’s parents lived in Nashville, Tennessee in this house with a huge front porch. They stayed there until moving to the OKC in 1928. We recently found this photograph in another stack of photos from my wife’s, late dad’s belongings. It was cleaning out day and she and her sister went to town. This was the second time around, as the first was just to box up most of the stuff until they were ready for this last hurrah. Early family history is interesting when surprised in an old box full of stuff, with envelopes packed with old photos. Jnaki This house was right after her mom’s dad got a job at Tennessee A&I in Nashville circa, 1922. Great, great grandma was born in Nashville, TN. This photograph was a different view of the one posted over a year ago. (Tennessee A & I is now called Tennessee State University)
I just added a new one to the old family photo album. The page with our first cars. I'm the hoodlum in the leather jacket. Also with my 1957 pedal car. Then my daughter with hers. And my two grandsons. The newest is Christian in the little Roadster with the zoomies. Sent from my SM-G920P using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Norman, OK, 1928 Hello, Recently, another "go through" of a box of photos out of a different family member's garage brought up these new photos. It was time to clean up those old boxes and get them sorted out. Just about everyone's family history still lives in cardboard boxes these days. Luckily, some of the photos are still around and are now saved in digital files. Our granddaughter’s great grandma grew up on Ponca Avenue in Norman, Oklahoma 1928-30. Her great, great, grandpa taught at the Oklahoma University. When great grandma was still around, she used to mention the old classic, "I had to walk to school in the snow...etc." This could be the remodeled version, today. The next time we are driving East to visit relatives, we will make it a stop on our itinerary. It is family history, afterall. Jnaki What a great place to live. If this is the house, it was only a couple of miles to the university.
Hello, A recent discovery in another photo album stashed away in several boxes, uncovered in a different family member's garage clean-out day. Some old treasures and lots of throw away clean out stuff is necessary once a year... Of course, that was between the laughs and the finger pointing at the way we all were back in the 50's. The three kids enjoying Salton Sea, as much as they could... "...Let's stick together for our adventures... before the big bang comes around, again..." The old grinch is at it again... "...It must be someone new driving around looking for a camping spot near us..." Jnaki Family memories now "digitized" for eternity... Or until the latest hard drive melt down or a cloud disappearance mystery. Now, we are looking for a 1/64 scale model die cast of that outboard powered boat to go along with the 59 Chevy wagon recreated several months ago. Anyone know of such a 1/64 scale model version of that old outboard powered runabout?
37 Ford Coupe? and a 52 Chevy 2 door GGP (Great Grand Pa's cars from the early 50s) Hello, In discussing old cars that were once in the family history, here are two from my wife’s family in the early 50s. So Cal daily drivers, one big enough for the whole 5 people family, 2 adults and 3 small kids: the 1952 Chevy sedan. The other (37 Ford? no one knows from the remaining family or the GGP) was a daily driver for just the dad to go to work and back. The GGP was a Ford and Chevy guy, so, no other brands for him. A long time ago, my wife’s dad, (great grandfather) told me that he drove a cool Chevy sedan. COLOR? No answer…Other than that, he could not remember a single thing about it. The Ford? (If it was a Ford) It was a fleeting memory. He did remember (As did the 3 kids) that they lived in hot, Pacoima, CA, on one of the first trips back to So Cal from OKC. Then at age 95, he remembered driving the 52 Chevy with the whole family to the South Bay Beaches.(Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach) But, did not remember living there in Manhattan Beach during 1953-55. (sold the 52 and got a 55 2 door post) He finally remembered driving the 55 Chevy back to OKC to stay for a few years. Then recalled the long drive back with the whole family in tow, to So Cal during 1957. The whole family became permanent So Cal residents until his passing this last year. Manhattan Beach,CA OKC 1956 During his 97th birthday party, I created a slide show to show on the big TV screen. When the photo of the Pacoima house, with his wife driving in the 47 Buick convertible popped up, he blurted out her name. But did not know where in Pacoima they all lived. The slide of the 37 Ford? and 52 Chevy popped up several slides later and his daughter asked if he remembered these cars. He looked at all of us like we lived on the moon. Jnaki So, all of you guys/girls out there, go see your dear old dad and grandfathers. Ask about the family history before it is too late. Yes, computers are handy, but those old memories and photos that are stashed away, need to be brought out and explained. That way, your family history will be documented for all members to have and cherish. We have quite a few documented photos and short write ups from the very early days. But, it is hard to actually get all of the facts before they disappear into the wild blue yonder. Sadly, at age 98, the grandfather is gone, as is the grandmother. We have recovered as much family history as possible, in specific date order, in several photo books. We digitized them for saving on an external hard drive for each family members’ archives.
1946 Hello, Back in the 40s, this small store was purchased in Hennessey, Oklahoma. It had a small apartment in the back. It was a shoe store along North Main Street in Hennessey, OK. and the main living quarters for a while. 2017 The great grandparents lived here for about a year, until they bought an acre of land in West Hennessey where a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house was built. One of the sisters was born in this small town. 1946 Winter, Hennessey, Oklahoma Open land, hot summers, freezing winters, what is not to like? Just slippery sidewalks on the way to the local shopping areas. Around this time, according to what timeline we found for the cars in the family photo albums, the Ford/Chevy coupe on the left is probably the one in Hennessey, OK. The photo was taken in 1950-51 in Pacoima, when the family moved back to So Cal. By then, a second car was necessary, the 50 Chevy sedan for the whole family cruising. The coupe in Hennessey was unknown, but the Great Grandpa was a Ford or Chevy guy. Then, in 1955, they moved back to OKC until 1956-57, when the family moved permanently back to So Cal. A bouncing rubber ball of sorts, but, according to the jobs available in those locales. My wife said that she went to three 6th grade classes in this family’s back and forth moves across the Southwest. (Pacoima, OKC, Manhattan Beach) Jnaki Family photos are good when you find them. But, it is a puzzle if they are not dated or any info is printed on the back or album pages. Car years help tell the tales of the myriad of family moves or drives.
Always dashing, Uncle Billy Car Saleman in Milwaukee. I believe he’s standing next to a ‘47 Ford. This I don’t know too much about, but you can figure it involves sales in Northeast side of Milwaukee. Fortunately, he’s still with us and in good health! He never smoked. Also, WWII veteran and once worked at the Nash factory installing vent glass into frames.
Wayward Kid 1951 Terminal Island, Fish Harbor. Photo taken from the overhead walkway on Wharf St. In front of the fishing fleet. Hello, I remember always driving around Terminal Island, visiting the Starkist Tuna Factory, the fire station, the greasy hamburger café near the ferry, etc with my dad. The highlight was the ferry ride back and forth to San Pedro across the Main Channel. The frequent trips had to do with visits to the places where our relatives lived and worked back in the 40s and 50s. The side roads within the factory areas leading to the fishing fleet were busy during the day, but it was pleasant to visit on the weekends. Terminal Island was the birthplace of the tuna canning industry with popular names like Chicken of the Sea, Star-Kist Tuna (Single largest tuna canning plant in the world), and Pan Pacific Fisheries. Who could forget the “Charlie Tuna” ads on TV? “The familiar Star-Kist Company traces its origins to 1918 on Terminal Island. It was founded as the French Sardine Company by Yugoslavian immigrant, Martin J. Bogdanovich.” History: In 1952, it became Star Kist Tuna and eventually closed 32 years later, in 1984. Even though my dad had this huge camera, he still had time to take photographs of us everywhere he took us when we were little kids. That was being a real fanatic photographer as it was a full time process to get the big 4x5 camera ready to shoot. It was not a point and shoot camera, that was for sure. The process of opening the camera, adjusting the bellows and lens, load the film, take out the special light blocking tab, center the subject, focus and pull the shutter lever down and push the fine wire button to take the photo. Then it was walking around with this huge camera ready for the next shot or reversing the process to fold it back up into the hard shell suitcase. Graflex The camera was so heavy that I could not hold it up to shoot or do anything. My enjoyment came when it was sitting stationary, so I could play with the bellows, the flashbulbs, the wire shutter cord, and opening/closing the whole mechanism. It was a complicated mechanical process, just to take a photograph. It wasn’t until I could actually hold the heavy box camera in my hands that I came to appreciate what my dad did for taking simple family photographs all of those early years. He skipped the 35mm generation. My mom took over and bought a small purse size, point and shoot 35mm camera for family photos. The big Graflex sat in its hard shell photo suitcase gathering dust. Jnaki Terminal Island offered many photographic moments, but it was not until we had cars, that allowed us to appreciate a little history and solitude near the water. It was/is still a cool place to drive when it is quiet. When the fishing boats were all cleaned up and empty, that whole row of the island was eerie. This place was and still is called, “Fish Harbor.” My wife and I (dating times) used to drive down here just for the solitude, despite the federal prison just down the end of the road. How appropriate… “the end of the road.” Recently, this Island is a ghost town, but still has a lot of history. The Ferry Terminal is long gone and so are the big tuna canning factories. Most of the area is still part of the commercial harbor industries.
Thanks JNAKI.....that was a pretty good read.....neat on your dad - for most likely - your push that way.
My dad’s friend’s ranch in Indio, CA. 1953 Hello, My first real encounter with a tractor was in 1953. My dad’s friend had a large ranch in the Indio, CA area and we drove out there from Long Beach several times. At that ranch, I was able to get behind the wheel of a tractor with giant wheels at the back. My dad’s friend even started it up and let me rev the motor. It was like sitting on a live horse hanging on, with the steering wheel as the only thing to grab. That area of So Cal was dry, dusty and hot. It certainly was a definite contrast to our ocean influenced area in Long Beach. Being dry, hot and dusty, was not my mom’s cup of tea. We only made two trips out there during this time. She kept telling my dad about how hot it was. 1953, our big Buick 4 door did not have air conditioning, so that may have been one of the reasons my mom did not like going out to that desert climate area. Jnaki This is the only photo we could find for this road trip to Indio, CA. Yes, we brought back a lot of packages of “dates” that were famous from this region. My brother and I had our fill of “dates”, sitting in the backseat of that big 4 door Buick sedan for the 3 hour drive back to Long Beach. “The town was initially a railroad stop and water station for Southern Pacific trains traveling between L.A. and Yuma, Arizona. However, Artesian springs found at the turn of the century in Thermal and Coachella resulted in a growing agricultural community. One of the new crops that had literally taken root was the date palm.” “By 1915 the word was getting out that the Coachella Valley was ideal for one of the world’s most ancient and beloved foods. Today, the valley is responsible for more than 95 percent of the date production in the United States.” Note: We did not know this at the time, but the Joshua Tree National Park was just a short distance away. We knew about the Mojave Desert from elementary school, but not the eastern portion of the Coachella Valley area. Recently, the parts of the park were shut down, but visitors still continued to visit. The facilities were overrun due to the park workers not working. (since the government was not paying their salaries.) So, what was a pristine area, is now closed due to the problems in the government spending. According to the reports, it does not smell very nice.
People start fires and people cut down trees.....pretty sure they would have done it with or with out government help. Let's keep on topic please.........
1957 Westside Long Beach Hello, It was late 1957 after my dad just bought his new Buick Roadmaster two door sedan. It was his first 2 door sedan since his used, 1941 Buick Fastback sedan. My mom was test driving it around the block and I was next in line. (no license, yet) As finicky as my mom was at the time, she let me take it around the block for a cruise in the big, blue, Buick Roadmaster. "It is only a block, mom..." My dad said it was OK, even though I did not have a driver's license. He was definitely wise as he knew I was already driving my brother’s car around the block. So, as he was taking the movies/photo, I was able to drive it around several blocks by myself. He was so proud of his new Buick Roadmaster, so a little kid driving around the block was not a big thing. Upon arriving home, my brother heard that I drove my dad’s Buick. He was a little envious that I was able to do something first. So, he took us all over the Westside in the big Buick as it was his turn to drive the our dad's new car. Jnaki During this time in 1957, we were just starting to go to Lions Dragstrip. So, my interest in hot rods and drag racing in “real life” was just beginning. Note: Junior High School clothing style: blue nylon jacket, white T-shirt, Dickies, (creased to no end, front and back), and beige, desert boots, as well as a slick backed, (Pomade infused) hair cut. The Dickies were interchanged with Levis on alternate days. The Buick was my dad's version of a cool hot rod with only two doors. Ever since 1949, he went through two, big, 4 door Buicks because of the two kid family excursions. From this point on, he had nothing but two door Buick sedans for his new cars. Definitely, a die hard, Buick fanatic. Even though the Buicks were big, wide cars, there was never a scratch driving into and out of that narrow driveway in Long Beach.
1948 Long Beach Pike Amusement Park Hello, We lived in the trailer park from 1946-49. While we were here in that trailer park, we were within 2 miles of the famous Pike Amusement Park and surrounding harbor/ocean. My mom and dad always took us there for a full day, quite often. It was a place to get away from that tiny trailer. My dad valued his vacation days and knew we all (family) liked the amusement park and the attractions there. 1941 Buick Fastback in the outdoor parking area at the trailer park. My mom did not have to cook, as we ate our favorite hot dogs and had real Cokes. She was not the most adventurous as far as rides, but tagged along as it was a family outing. My dad and brother usually rode those twirling cups and saucers. My favorite was the merry-go-round with the ring toss. I liked it when my dad would allow me to steer the bumper cars when he rode with me. One of us would have to sit on the sidelines until we were older. Then, we got to drive those bumper cars by ourselves. It was a full day of activity and we did as much as we could. It was our early Disneyland Adventure. One thing my dad allowed me to do was to shoot the .22 rifles at those steel ducks, moving and still. I am not sure why he allowed me to do that, other than the fact that he gave us both BB rifles for Christmas one year and I was a great shot with the BB rifle. Jnaki It is still a wonder that there are any photos of us as little kids in Long Beach. My dad had to lug around that giant 4x5 Graflex Camera just about everywhere if he wanted photos. There were no Brownie cameras for him, in those days. When I was old enough to mess around with that Graflex Camera, it was amazing to see how big it was and how many steps it took to get a shot of action or a pose. Then the amount of time to get ready for the next shot was very hectic. So, thanks, Dad, for documenting our days as little kids and until we were teenagers with a scowl, if anyone was aiming a camera at us. Growing up in Long Beach back then had its pluses. We eventually experienced most of them up to the teenage years. The rest are memories from our family photo albums. Where is the owner of the 1958 Impala in the high school newspaper photo article? The student editor wanted me to be standing near the open driver’s door looking back at the staff photographer. My teenage scowl would not allow those types of photos. I told the photographer to just shoot the Impala, not me. (I was a tall senior, he was a smaller, thin, sophomore…so he did as I asked.) After all, it was the “Heap of the Week…”
1958 last family road trip to Mammoth Mountain Lakes, CA, in the 57 Buick Roadmaster. Hello, With the summer vacation time here, old memories flash back to the Last Family Summer Road trip.” We appreciated all of the places our dad took us to broaden our horizons. We grew up in the back seat of many Buicks on short and long road trips, starting with a 1941 Fastback. But, we were going into our teen years and something was on the family structure that we could not place. My brother was 16 and already owned his 1951 Olds sedan. He had purchased the Olds Sedan at age 15 with his hard earned money from various jobs. We all laughed at him for wanting a car at age 15, but he was determined to get a cool looking car by the time he got his driver’s license at age 16. Well, he saved and got his car at age 15. During the year of ownership, he went through many phases of mild customizing. The original paint was a pale yellow color that made the 51 Olds look really cool. But, over the years of owning the Olds, he painted the car a Lime Green, just before he sold it to a close friend. No, he was not going to save it for me. I was only 13 at the time. Jnaki Somehow, my mom and dad wanted to take one last family vacation with the two teenage brothers. I think my dad knew the growing brothers were not comfortable sitting in the enclosed back seat of the big Buick sedan for many hundreds of miles. Also, parents know when it is time to let the boys be boys and do their own teenage things. Hot rods, the drags, teenage school stuff, cruising, own road trips in their own cars, all part of growing up in So Cal and elsewhere. Mammoth Mountain Lakes My mom liked the road trips because she did not have to clean up after the two boys or cook, unless we caught tons of trout. (which we did) It was someone else waiting hand and foot on her whims. The meals were served at the restaurants and that was fine with her. No house work, just a total relaxed environment. Even the two brothers were not disturbing the family makeup. So, this was it. It was a two week, California desert run up to Yosemite, Mono Lake, and spending several days to a week, fishing at Crowley Lake and the Mammoth Lakes. After many years of (long to very long) road trips in my dad’s big Buick sedans all over the Pacific Coast and Mexico, it was time. Bye, thanks for the memories… THE LAST FAMILY ROADTRIP 1958
Damn, again Jnaki you have the best pictures and stories. Definitely try to document your families history. I have very few pictures from my grandparents and even less stories.
Photo taken off of Catalina Island East end... This was around 1953 as I was 9 years old. My dad was 5’7”, so I was about 4’ tall. My brother was slightly taller, but never went anywhere without his Flash Gordon shirt, in those days. He was a little taller than me and stayed that way until 10th grade when I grew to 5’7” and never looked back. By the time I was in 12th grade, I was 5’11” tall. (college 6’1”) He remained at 5’7” the rest of his life. Hello, I remember going on the fishing trips in my dad’s 1953 Buick sedan. My dad was always an avid fisherman. When he was little, he was fishing off of the Terminal Island jetties and the San Pedro rocky shoreline and piers. He was athletic, liked and played baseball, but loved fishing, the most. We all remember those times going to a rock jetty or shoreline for some surf fishing. My dad had access to all of those places when he grew up on Terminal Island and San Pedro. His fishing took a nose dive during his college days, throughout the LB Earthquake in 1933 and until he finished in Los Angeles. But, when we came along, he took us to the beach for family, surf fishing expeditions. My mom stayed under the umbrella and gave us food/drinks. We splashed in the water while our dad cast the line/sinker and gave us the pole to hold. By the time we were old enough to cast, both my brother and I were amazed at how far our dad could cast his line. But, as we got older and our fishing equipment got better, we started to outcast our dad. But, somehow, he always caught the largest fish in his “secret spot” along any jetty or shoreline. Sometimes it was a few steps away, but other times, it was a half a block away. He always caught fish. In the photo above, he took us at 2 a.m. on a boat out of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach, for a cruise and deep sea fishing to Catalina Island. It was the roughest ocean surges I have ever been in and obviously, I got sick. But sleeping it off and eating a peanut butter sandwich helped. By the time we got to the West End, fishing was going on, but after an hour of going up and down ten times a minute, the captain motored along the backside of Catalina to a secret spot. By the time we got to the secret spot, it was too rough with the constant bashing of the waves on the boat. I thought the side of the boat went under several times. So, the captain took us to the East End and a little calmer water around the point. The swell was coming from the Northwest and that end of the island was fairly protected. It was still full of swell surges, but a lot calmer than anywhere else around the island. Jnaki In the photo, the big Yellowfin was caught by me, but was misplaced during the photo shoot. I also caught one of two Pacific Bluefin Tunas on the boat and that made me very proud. I got over my seasickness and had the time of my life. I was chasing the big tuna all around the boat. The big fishermen were doing their thing, raising their poles and making a tunnel for me to run by the rail. They all laughed at me being on the dragging end of the pole and line. But they were proud of some little kid trying his hardest to catch that big tuna fish. I did and it was a happy time. The tuna was already under ice below, when the photo was taken, as it was our meal for dinner. My mom had told my dad to have the tuna under ice, immediately, to preserve the fresh fish taste. When we got home, my mom made the best, fresh tuna sushi, EVER. I ate a ton and fell fast asleep after dinner, from our tiring, early morning and late afternoon expedition to Catalina Island.
My brother Scott's early racing efforts. In the top photo leaving for I.R.P. It was his weekend to drive the Dillman Bros 427 Galaxie. Bottom pic is Scott and his then girlfriend putting the driveshaft back in his 55 after flat towing to the track. I was about 8 or 9 back then and my three older brothers all raced. I grew up under a car or at the track.
Salton Sea SE California Hello, Last week, it was clean up time in the family archives, stored in the top shelf of the office. Every once in a while, my wife gets this kick, of a clean up or in this case, clean out the neat and organized, extra photo box/albums. It was not that the photo albums were disturbing anyone or taking up valuable space. But, it was a girl/women/mom thing of just having to clean up stuff in the house. Well it was a good thing, this time. This photo was just discovered hidden behind another photo in an old family album. In 1959, station wagons for larger families were the thing to have. Family camping trips all over the So Cal deserts, coastal beaches, mountains and lakes were the attractions. They were all within an hour+ drive from just about anywhere in So Cal. Being teenagers conflicted with going camping with parents. But, the family pursuits continued on like most families, until they just stopped for one reason or another. Jnaki My wife’s family had family camping trips to the Salton Sea in Southeastern California. It is hot, dry and usually silent. The salt water was good for floating around, but the taste was similar to being at the ocean coastlines. It was one desolate So Cal attraction. If the strong wind piped up, everyone hunkered down inside of the small tent or inside of the big Chevy 4 door station wagon. This was called desolate, desert family camping…until another family wanted to be in the same locale, despite miles and miles of empty shoreline all around the lake. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/family-photo-album.1027947/page-10#post-11814205 Our own family camping trips were a little different. Since our own dad had a bad back, could not sleep on the ground and in tents, the closest we got to actual family camping was inside of a tent at the Yosemite National Park and Forest. My mom liked the “tent” camping, but the sound of bears rummaging around was not the most secure feeling… My brother and I had our own upscale tent and that was very cool…being away from our parents. The meals were by a “campfire”, but the fire was inside of the big hotel in Yosemite. Despite our “flimsy” upbringing in tent camping, for our own families, my brother and I had learned outdoor camping in the Cub and Boy Scouts. So, our learned information and actual camping in the latest tents, were the sealed and popped ones, up for week long camping, all over the West Coast sites. Our sons had a ball in those real tents, at real campsites. Mammoth Lakes, Refugio Beach, Half Moon Bay, Yosemite Valley The orange canvas tent to a sealed nylon, pop up tent... The same orange canvas tent from the early 50s.
This is what is left of a shop my dad ran in Umbarger, Texas in the 50s. When business was slow we worked on our own stuff. I helped Dad paint our '41 Ford pickup here and while sanding the back of the cab discovered lots of small dents. They were, according to Dad, the result of his younger brothers getting caught capturing a neighbors watermelons. I'd say #6 shot. My grandmother removed a few from one of my uncle's butt. The last one in the truck.
1953 Friends, Tommy and Ronnie, part of the Westside Long Beach troop. Hello, In talking about family camping, our family was not high on outdoor camping in tents. But, my brother and I learned all of the techniques for camping in tents from an early age of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. This was one of those early times in 1953 Newport Beach. It was the first time event on the West Coast of the USA. The event was called the 1953 BOY SCOUT NATIONAL JAMBOREE and the 1st West Coast Jamboree. It was held between the Upper Newport Bay, Jamboree Road on the West and MacArthur Blvd on the Eastern side. The center was at the high on a hill, just inland from the Pacific Coast Highway. The current Fashion Island Shopping Complex and myriad of giant office buildings, various homes, a car dealer, gas stations and a high school, now make up the old “high on a hill” campgrounds that was the event in 1953. A similar 4 door Buick sedan Our family’s 1953 big, 4 door Buick had to park in a designated parking area and my parents had to walk into the compound to visit us in our country-side camping area. We had just moved into our last Long Beach house and my dad loved driving his big Buick 4 door sedan. So, a 60 mile coastal, round trip to the little makeshift city on a big hill was a road trip for them. The early Orange County-Los Angeles area view from the top of the hill was amazing. 360 degrees in all directions, with the gleaming, Pacific Ocean to the West. It was dirt and scrub trees as far as we could see. The massive housing came many years later when the building boom hit the Westcoast. Jnaki Today, the area is unrecognizable with the growth in 66 years. It was a planned compound, leveled on the top of the high hill. It was a functioning mini city. In the years that have passed, we have all driven on the Orange County road called Jamboree Road. This road starts at the big Irvine Lake complex and runs all through South Central OC (near the Tustin Air Base Historic Hangars) to the Pacific Coast Highway ending in Newport Beach. The official end is at Pacific Coast Highway, but the road continues to become Marine Avenue that runs through the little community of Balboa and eventually, dead ends into the Balboa Bay. That Jamboree Road commemorates (for us) the big time event in 1953 that took place on the top of the highest hill called Fashion Island or Newport Center, these days. The flat top location high on a hill has been graded to have safe earthquake standards for the shopping center and the numerous multi-story high rise office buildings. https://www.ochistoryland.com/jamboree
My Uncle Charles, part time hoodlum, part time Motorcycle Cop. HRP The kid in the background is yours truly. HRP
Baseball brothers 1948-1953 Hello, We had lived in a 20 ft. long post war trailer complex, since 1946 and my dad had his eye set on an old Craftsman House in the farthest reaches of the Westside of Long Beach. The house was backed up to a huge grass field and bordered the Terminal Island Freeway. (By 1955, the end of the Lions Dragstrip was located three blocks from this house.) It was a typical house for a small family, huge front yard, surrounded off with a white picket fence, huge palm trees and a large backyard with a furnace for acting as a disposal unit. Burning everything was OK back then. This one house had an extra element with the large three individual stall garage attached to a bachelor pad.(bed/bathroom/living 1.5 room unit) My dad had parked his 1941 Buick Fastback Sedan outside for 3 years in the trailer court and was looking forward to putting it inside of one of the three stalls in the back of the new property. That idea was short lived with several tries getting into each of the stalls. They each had opening barn doors and the back driveway/alley was very narrow. So, he failed each time he tried and gave up. He decided to park out in front of the picket fence. Jnaki This picket fence had it plus and minus factors. It was matched to the neighbor’s white picket fence, so that if one was walking down the sidewalk, it was a continuous row of fence slats. That is good for the neighborhood “homey” look, but bad for riding a bike on the sidewalk, being out of control. Those sharp ends sticking up (but low level )for several houses is like those pointy metal ends of a high security fence made to keep bad guys out. The plus factors were security for the famly dog and an enclosed play area to keep playground balls, baseballs and footballs from rolling into the street. We learned the finer aspects of baseball here in this fenced in yard. Fielding, practice throwing at boxes and pitching practice. If we wanted to do a full on baseball game of “over the line” or other aspects of hitting and catching, there was a huge park across the street. So the street side parking areas of our dad’s Buick sedans was close by and handy. By 1949, it was time for our dad to get another 4 door Buick because of the two growing boys and the lack of access to the back seat area in the 41 Fastback Sedan. My mom liked the big 4 door Buick Roadmaster just because we could get ourselves in and out of the back seating area. If my dad had problems trying to get the 41 Buick Fastback into the small single car garages in the back, this larger 49 Buick made it totally impossible to get in and out of those single stalls. So, out on the street, in front of the white picket fence it was, until we moved in 1953 to a house with a two car garage and a nice concrete driveway. In 1979, the whole neighborhood got torn down and leveled. A new elementary/ middle school compound resides on the last blocks of Webster Avenue, where our old Craftsman house used to stand. The elementary school even has our old address: 2335 Webster Ave. The Terminal Island Freeway still flows behind the school yards. And, the nearness to the sand pit end of Lions Dragstrip has been gone since 1972.
Hello, Our two Westside Long Beach houses never had chimneys. It was those gas floor and wall heaters for whole house heating. During the Christmas season, that caused me some trying times. I was always figuring out how the big guy in the red suit was going to deliver our (my) presents on Christmas Eve. We moved to the old Craftsman house with the white picket fence in the summer of 1948. So, as a 4 year old inquisitive kid, I wanted to know how Santa Claus was going to get into our house, without a chimney. I thought of every way possible and finally came down to opening the front door on Christmas Eve. That first Christmas Eve, around 2 am, my mom felt a cold aura in the house. So, she got up and looked in at the two brothers and almost fell over. My brother was snuggled under his covers and I was missing from my bed. She immediately panicked and got my dad up from his sound sleep. (as told to me when I was a teenager by my mom, laughing the whole time) They both ran throughout the house looking for me. It got colder as they ran into the living room where the Christmas Tree was turned on and sparkling. But below and near the front door was a little kid sleeping with the dog. The front door was wide open and the little body (me) was acting as the doorstop. An open door was the invitation for Santa Claus to come right in and deliver the presents. How ingenious. Jnaki My dad carried me back to my bed and woke me up early that Christmas morning, with the front door closed. I thought the presents were delivered on time and Santa had closed the door on his way out. When I asked my mom, she chuckled and said maybe so… This annual story got told at almost every family get together with relatives and friends over the years. My son loved the story and later, our granddaughter thought it was the funniest story about her good old grandpa.
Nothing as exciting as some of the others but here goes. Dad was never a car guy - he saw cars as tools but way back then in faraway Israel these tools were made in the US or Canada. For a while he and grandad had a Shell gas station (that's them in the first pic with the employees) and I remember hanging around as a very young kid, so maybe that has to do with my car disease. Dad was also not loyal to any particular brand - as long as it was a conventional car made by one of the big three it was good enough (and none of those locally-assembled Studebakers or some "weird" car like a Rambler or -perish the thought! - a Corvair for him), so we had a 53 Chev, a 57 Canadian Plodge and a 64 Ford Fairlane. The 61 Galaxie was owned by a good family friend who also had a Fiat 850 which could probably fit in the trunk of that car.
The Jalopy Journal
