Name: Sue Walsh ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 7:55 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Jolly
Class: 1961
City & State: Hesperia,Ca

Message: Yes, I too remember mail being delivered twice a day, during the holidays. I also remember there always being lots and lots of Christmas cards in each delivery.

Name: Dan Dye ~~~~~~~~~~ Thu-Dec 9, 2010, 1:35 am - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: tORRANCE, cA.

Message: I remember two deliveries during Chrismas! Dan

Name: Jerry Rigney ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 11:01 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1959
City & State: Palmdale, Ca

Message: Mail delivered twice daily ended in 1950.

Name: Neil Andersen ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 10:08 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Dallas, OR

Message: You are 100% correct. We lived at 119th Street and Felton, 1950-62, and twice a day, Dennis, our mailman, delivered the mail. We had Paul's Bakery, with was a daily trip, before the Helms people butted in.

Name: Maureen Trott ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 9:34 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Trott
Class: 1964
City & State: Hawthorne, CA

Message: Madeline, Alex Poltash was our mailman also, but I don't remember 2 mail deliveries a day except at Christmas time. We lived on the corner of 118th St. and Sundale Ave. Did you know Buck and Emma (can't think of their last name) on 117th St?

Name: Ricki Farrell ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 8:03 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Valencia
Class: 1961
City & State: Tucson, AZ

Message: Madeline is right! During the Christmas season the mail was delivered twice a day. Without electronic mail it's not hard to imagine how many Christmas cards must have gone out. During WWII my mom used to send postcards in response to the ads in the back of magazines. My dad was stationed overseas and she wanted to make sure she was receiving the mail everyday. Then of course at Christmas time it was delivered twice a day. I absolutely love these memories---it's truly put me in the Christmas spirit. I'm looking forward to putting up my little village and getting the tree up this weekend. Thank you Hawthorne Cougars for sharing.

Name: Chris Prewitt ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 7:52 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1967
City & State: Fullerton, CA
No E-mail
Message: To Madeline Ryan and anyone else interested. Here is a little article about postal deliveries:

Name: Patti Smith ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 7:22 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Smith
Class: 1968
City & State: Cypress, CA

Message: Madeline, you tell your husband that you're absolutely NOT loony! You jogged my memory, but YES, we did have mail deliveries twice a day pre-1960! There were also morning and evening editions of newspapers. The Times was delivered in the morning, and the evening edition on news stands. The Herald Examiner was delivered in the late afternoons. Remember when papers were delivered by 12 to 14 year old boys on their bicycles?

Name: Madeline Ryan ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 4:16 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Ryan
Class: 1969
City & State: Redondo Beach CA

Message: John or anyone who lived in Hawthorne back in the 50's and late 60's, my husband thinks I'm nuts but I was telling him back in the day the postman made two deliveries a day, once in the morning and then again in the afternoon, I remember our mailman, his name was Al, we lived off of 117th and Inglewood ave. If we were looking for an important piece of mail we could always rest assured it would be in the 2nd delivery in the afternoon. Does anyone remember that? Remember the classic movie with John Garfield and Lana Turner The Postman Always Rings Twice..my husband said okay " Lucy" thats only in the movies....He calls me Lucy as in "I Love Lucy " because as I say he thinks I'm as zany as she was. Anyone remember the deliveries twice a day?

Name: Sue Walsh ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 2:32 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Jolly
Class: 1961
City & State: Hesperia, Ca

Message: WELL SAID JOHN, EVERY WORD IS THE TRUTH. BTW HOW IS YOUR AUNT HELEN??

Name: Larry Bach ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 1:07 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1972
City & State: Torrance, CA

Message: It was fun at Christmas time having my parents drive their car crammed full of kids (and adults) up and down that street in Bodger Park where almost all the houses including front yards were elaborately decorated with every kind of Christmas display. I also liked to walk over to the "old" fire station across from the Plaza theater to see Santa Claus and afterwards receive one of those foil wrapped marshmallow Santas that tasted a lot better than they do now. One year I didn't know that "Santa" was really our family friend, firefighter Dale Martin. I couldn't understand how Santa Claus already knew my name and exactly what I wanted for Christmas before I even told him. Wow! Santa Claus was for real...

Name: Madeline Pelland ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 11:54 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Ryan
Class: 1969
City & State: Redondo Beach, CA

Message: Thanks to everyone for the great memories of our childhood growing up in Hawthorne. I always knew it was a great place to be but as I grow older I realize just how fortunate I really was!!! Bob your post of how your parents used to put fake snow out reminded me when I lived on 146th st the whole block decorated their lawns with big cutouts, they were all different themes, religious, cartoon characters, ours was the Flintstones and I can specifically remember my uncle rolling out white fiberglass I believe that was what it was called & it was supposed to look like snow and as a kid I thought it did. We would have cars driving by looking at all the decorations and my uncle would have the garage door open with the hi fi blaring Mitch Millers Greatest Christmas Hits & some families on the street would hand out hot chocolate and marshmallows to people walking by. It was the greatest of times then and even in my memories now. There was one guy on the corner of the block who we all called Scrooge because he didn't care for all the hoopla over Christmas and especially the whole block participating. His protest was his house was so dark right in the middle of all of the festivities and that was his right and we all respected that but he always tried to put a damper on everyone else's fun and memories... I have to wonder did George live in that corner house? I'm sure he didn't but he sure reminds me of ole Scrooge....Yes things have changed... this is life.. but Tom is so right, no one can take our memories from us and if we want to go back in time to that simpler time and remember, I'm all for it. We're reminded every day how things have changed and although we can't bring back our idylic time in the 50's & 60's we can still go back in our minds and remember. As I'm out decorating my lawn with my grandchildren I'm passing that tradition on to them so they can have great memories as we have it in our power to still make our world better for not only us but for everyones children and grandchildren..after all that's what its all about. John thank you for giving everyone a place to go and simply just remember. Merry Christmas to you too George!!

Name: Jerry Miles ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 11:16 am - HHS Time
Class: 1966
City & State: Fair Oaks, CA
No E-mail
Message: If anyone has figured out the answer to question number four on Miss Zalowski’s World Geography homework, please meet me in the stair well of building 16 before class tomorrow. Thanks, Jerry.

Name: Jim Peppers ~~~~~~~~~~ Wed-Dec 8, 2010, 8:52 am - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Athens, Greece

Message: What's a carom? Jog my memory, please!

Name: Ricki Farrell ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Dec 7, 2010, 11:05 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Valencia
Class: 1961
City & State: Tucson, AZ

Message: Caroms, did you say "caroms?" I was one of those college kids that worked at Hawthorne Memorial Park, York, Ramona, Eucalyptus and Prairie. I loved it when you little guys would come out as early as 8 am to play caroms. Saturdays and Sundays during the school year were eight hour days for we coaches. We didn't get breaks for lunch. We could always coax one of you guys to run to the corner store to bring us something to eat and earn a quarter. A biggie was also handball with one of those big maroon rubber balls. Plenty of exercise on those courts. I specialized in arts and crafts and loved it. I could always work up a group of interesting little tykes. In the summertime filling the wading pool always brought about a group of 3, 4 and 5 year old regulars. Yep, Cougartown is the best reunion of all. Thank you John!

Name: Enza Nicocia ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Dec 7, 2010, 8:58 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1972
City & State: immigrate girl from Haytown..
No E-mail
Message: Omg, Caroms! I haven't heard that word since the mid 60's when I would walk over to Memorial Park w/an entourage of siblings & a little red ryder that I loved..& check the carom board out from (what were the teenagers called that worked the 'game' room at the parks?) Man, as a child I thought that was the coolest job ever. Ah, parks, we had some great times there. Late 50's/early 60's it was just a swing set & monkey bars/slide. Remember when they put in the wading pool? The new BBQ's with the burgers & dogs that we would buy from the Safeway on Hawthorne Blvd., always tasted better than the ones we made at home. Hawthorne memories...that's what CT is all about. The other stuff just raises your BP..lol :) Buon Natale to everyone. BTW, the Italians were also a small community here in Haytown. Why did so many of us land in such a lovely place to grow up in? I feel so blessed to have these memories & friends...STILL! Atta boy John, we get to go down memory lane, reconnect w/old friends, & forgot about the evening news for just a little while:) Blogs/FB will always be out there too, however, they don't have that common 'thread' of: Hawthorne...

Name: George Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Dec 7, 2010, 8:09 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Palm Desert, Ca

Message: Hey, John; Didn't mean to crinkle your chonies or give you a wedgy. Just answering tom's post with a view of the past/future that has been lost, keep in mind, we're not in Kansas any more Toto. Just penning a point of view of someone who has seen the change from the street level and not pretending it didn't/isn't happening and looking the other way. I guess I'm just not liberal enough, maybe I need to go to sensitivity training, yea, right. Love you to maaaaan!!!. XOXOXOJorge

Name: Tom Shelley ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Dec 7, 2010, 7:32 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Beaumont, CA

Message: Thanks John and George. I specifically did not want my post to be political. My only goal was to acknowledge what happened this day in 1941. And to remember those who sacrificed so much to preserve the freedom which allowed us to have the great childhood that most of us remember. Things have changed, but no one can take away our memories. And that's due to the courage and sacrifice of ALL of those who have served. I consider myself very fortunate to have grown up in Hawthorne at the time in which I did. I too remember The Plaza, Tanger Shell Service, Pound Penny Market, El Segundo Blvd. when it was only 2 lanes, (I think!). George, I know how tempting it is to look back at what we had and compare it to today and be angry. But I think John is right, C-Town is a place to let all that go for a while and get back to a simpler time, and remember the good stuff. AND THERE WAS LOTS OF GOOD STUFF!!

Name: Bob Jensen ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Dec 7, 2010, 6:16 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1971
City & State: Los Angeles
No E-mail
Message: I remember the dads on 124th street, Trotter's, Scofield's Morris’s and my father included, doing stupid stunts such as, dropping cherry bombs into a 30 gallon trash can, putting the lid on and watching the lid and the water blow all over the place. I remember them jacking my father’s right rear wheel up just high enough so when he started the car and put it into gear it would just spin the rear tire making him think that the transmission had gone out. I remember the fathers racing down the mountain from the Boy Scout Camp back to Hawthorne to see who got home first. I remember them having fun! I remember Christmas when my parents who came from Minnesota decided to buy FAKE SNOW to put on the lawn at Christmas. I remember my parents “backwards parties” especially when my father dressed as a poor country girl and my mother (pregnant) dressed as a Chinaman. I remember Hawthorne.

Name: George Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Dec 7, 2010, 4:06 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Palm Desert, Ca

Message: Tom, You are sooo right on, I was born at the end of WWII, and grew up with John "Duke" Wayne and Audie Murphy war movies and the such. I remember going to the parades on Veterans day with my parents and feeling very proud of our country. Even as a small kid especially when the Marine Corps band went by, it still gives me shivers down my spine when I hear the Marine Corps marching band in a parade. Without trying to get political, I also remember things starting to change as I grew to adulthood and Jimmy Carter was President, that was the start of the downward spiral and it continues today, when he opened the doors to the Cubans, Hatians and the El Salvadorians. Of course LOL, I guess it didn't help when as an L.A. County employee working the streets, I had to fight these thieving SOB's on a daily basis. I guess that maybe had a little impact on changing my view of the poor illegals. Heck, they even drove the blacks out of the Lennox Vermont area (what you refer to as Watts). The blacks moved to Moreno Valley and Altadena to get away. Sorry John, I guess Tom's post got me started and thinking of the good old days of Hawthorne LOL. All we had to contend with was a city full of transplanted Okie's. Hey Wade, I say that from a decendent of relocated Texas Grand Parents who also migrated. Hey, Wade was the Oklahoma and Nebraska thing kinda the forerunner to the Crips Vs. the Bloods without the drive by's LOL. Hope I didn't offend anybody. Jorge