Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music
Any old way you choose it
It's got a back beat, you can't lose it,
Any old time you use it...> Beatles
Name: Regina Jensen () on Friday, December 3, 2004 at 18:30:11
Email: latendressejensen@juno.com
City and State: Califonria
Maiden: LaTendresse
Message: Keith Jones, I resemble that remark!
John, you have made it impossible for me to insert my Class. I guess it best as we are not suppose to tell our age.
Happy Holidays to you all.
Now see Keith, there are people who have Cougar kids that check the website too. My Mom checks the website and she was definitely around in 1933.
Hi Mom J, Glad to know you're still checking the website. You too have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Name: doris () on Friday, December 3, 2004 at 15:23:06
Email: of course
City and State: beautifuldowntowntwinfallsidaho
Maiden: donaldson
Class: 1957
Message: It's so comforting when someone turns a year older and they are older than I am! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our own Denny Unfried ... old, OLD Denny Unfried! LOL! Yes I know where that store was. On El Segundo somewhere close to Washington Avenue. I think this is the store I asked about a couple of years ago John. HOW NICE TO SEE IT AGAIN!
Thanks Doris and Happy Birthday Denny!!!! You didn't think because you hadn't added it to the Birthday List that someone wouldn't remember, did you Den'?? Name: Dan Johnson () on Friday, December 3, 2004 at 13:16:52
Email: wch1ispinkATaolDOTcom
City and State: Sure Man, Oaks
Class: 1977
Message: Speaking of "stolen" lunch money, I went to Intermediate. At the time, I lived at 12712 Ramona right next to the Church on the corner of El Segundo (where Ramona "jogged" to the west) with the funny sayings on the Marquee. I used to walk down El Segundo Blvd with the .35 cents my Mom gave me for lunch money. Instead of eating lunch, I used to stop in the Coin shop across from Orange Julius that was just west of Hawthorne Blvd (I think there is a flower shop there now) and spend every cent on coins. I particularly liked foreign coins and the owner had a cigar box full of them and he let me fish through and take whatever I wanted for pennies. Unlike my baseball cards (which my Mom threw out -- I will never forgive her), I still have every coin I bought at the store with my lunch money. Anyone else frequent this establishment?
I liked coins when I was a kid too, but never went to that establishment. The one I went to was in Lennox somewhere on the West side of the BL. Long time ago.....
Name: Keith D. Jones () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 22:28:37
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, Hawaii
Class: 1976
Message: Is there anyone on here that was around in 1933? That was along time ago. Anyway, my daughter Jaime (oldest) worked on the new TV show North Shore last week. I will try to find out what episode she is in so I can tell everyone. And remember my youngest Cassie all the problems. Well her mom says she is doing great and has turned hersilf around. She is on the high school wrestling team now too. Aloha
Name: Tysa Goodrich () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 21:29:01
Email: wildcoyotes@earthlink.net
City and State: Malibu, CA
Message: Here's something I wrote to John Baker in an email this week -- your high school memories feedback forum is the best I've seen... loaded with such a rich sense of history. I wish my high school had one like that!
I'm a writer working on a story, and I have a specific question pertaining to the Ballona Avenue School. When the Long Beach earthquake hit on March 10, 1933, I know some of the Ballona School children ended up at the Fifth Avenue School because of damage to Ballona. My question is: When did these children start back in school at Fifth Avenue School?... Was it later in March of 1933?
And another question: Did the Ballona School students return to Ballona the following school year (1933/34), in September?
Douglas Robertson's "Portrait of a Memory" book shows class photos from Ballona Elementary dated 1933, so I'm assuming the school's earthquake damage was repaired enough to resume classes by then. Can someonoe verify that for me? I would really appreciate any help on this. THANKS... and love this site!
Name: Andrea Rossi () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 20:54:46
Email: ValleyofMyDolls@aol.com
City and State: hawthorne
Maiden: Rossi
Class: 1982
Message: Hi, My older sister Anna went to Cimarron school for awhile. I was supposed to go to but my only Italian speaking mom didn't understand that they had told her I missed the cutoff date for kindergarden.....so I went one day and then stayed home the rest of the year! Cougar sighting! Maria Iglesias of class of 80/or 81. Her son goes to the school where I teach!
Love those Cougar sightings....
Name: Enza Nicocia () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 16:49:25
Email: enico72@aol.com
City and State: Wiseburn District, Haytown
Maiden:
Class: 1972
Message: JB~Was the OK Grocery on El Segundo Blvd and Cedar? I remember stopping in at a small market before going to school at Washington/HIS. And, John, it's hard to cut up credit cards when your registered with PayPal! :))
Yes the OK grocery was on that corner. Thanks Enza and the "burnem" credit card thing wasn't meant for you. It was just a wisecrack. Sorry if I offended you.
Name: Mary Wells () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 16:23:51
Email: landmwells@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Newton, KS
Maiden: Fee
Class: 1961
Message: I believe the boll family store was on El Segundo Blvd across the street from Washington .
YES.....Thank you Mary. The Boll family market was on Cedar Av. and El Segundo Bl. I should know, as I spent lotsa' lunch money in there after school buying junk food.
Name: Jill McFarlane () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 15:08:39
Email: jmcfarlane99@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Mission Viejo, CA
Class: 1977
Message: Tammy, I think the golf course murders are another urban legend. That story has been going around for ages. I don't know if it really happened, but I could be wrong. I know what golf course you are talking about. By the way, I looked at a recent map of the old neighborhood, and it looks like the street is now divided by the 105.
Name: Tammy () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 14:00:00
Email: tam_tam_9250@yahoo.com
City and State: Aliso Viejo, CA
Message: Lee - Alan Goldhammer lived across the street from me, about 4-5 houses over. Boy it is a small world! I had a girlfriend named Valerie Bertelsen who lived on Cimmaron Ave, I believe her house is gone due to the freeway. As for Henry Clay School, my brother went there until he couldn't take it any longer, then he dropped out. Speaking of Henry Clay, know the golf course across the street? I heard many years ago, two golfers were murdered there. Does anyone know about this? Apparently the suspect was someone who lived in our Holly Park neighborhood, he was a true neighborhood bully. His name was Gary. He was caught, tried & convicted and eventually died in prison.
Name: Jill McFarlane () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 13:28:32
Email: jmcfarlane99@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Tarron Street Gang
Class: 1977
Message: Wow, it is a small world. My parents bought that house on Tarron either just before the Watts riots, or after. We stayed until 1971. Our house was closer to 115th street which was way down the street from Holly Park. But I remember that park well. Don't know any of the people that Lee spoke of. There were these neighbors directly across from us, they had teenagers, one was a boy who had a souped up Mustang, and he would race it down Tarron, he almost hit me as I darted in front of him on my purple Schwinn. I had heard lots of Urban myths about Henry Clay, but Lee's brother was not one of them. I agree with Lee on that not too many people had heard of this neighborhood, so when you bump into other "unincorporators" it's kind of neat. And of course I had cooties, Lee! I wish I could find a class picture of Mrs. Gardners class, I bet my Mom might have one, if she does I will get it over to JB.
Name: Mike () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 13:27:10
Email: Shay
City and State: Cerritos, CA
Maiden: Lil' Sir
Class: 1961
Message: Hey John; Great Picture of the OK Grocery Store. It seems to me like they might have added a second story at sometime or another that attached to the Boll family home which was right behind it.
Like most of the other teenaged boys in that area, I lusted for Karen....But her heart belonged to Jimmy Essner. (Must have been the Corvette). Happy Holidays to All.
M.S.
Yeah Karen has always been a great looking Cougar, but Jim's Corvette was something else. Does anyone remember where the Boll family's store was located?
Name: Lee Boswell () on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 11:12:10
Email: skypi007@aol
City and State: Rancho Cucamonga
Maiden: Holly Park
Class: 1975
Message: This gets more amazing every day ! Jill I lived on Tarron from 61 to 67 the third house from the southeast end near the baseball field and park!.I noticed a few years ago that it survived the 105 freeway now it's right up against the south side freeway wall and tarron on that side is a little six house cul-de-sac. It's a sham we didn't know each other then, you didn't have koodies did you ?, I didn't hang out with girls that had koodies in those days. Did you know Jay Cook on the corner, or the Anderson boys or David Shrage and his two younger sisters(I'm guessing at the spelling of his last name here)?. And Tammy your memory is impressive ,and I did know Alan Goldhammer! We were in the same class maybe every year. David Rutlege and a girl with the last name of Kent also went to Hawhorne High for awhile but other than that, I never met anybody from there in all these years!. In fact it used to be frustrating to describe it to people and they would have no idea where it was!.Tammy the things and places you remembered where great, I have another to add ( the hidden corner) was a great place for a kids to hangout in , it was a magic shop with rubber masks ,woopie cushions , exploding cigars, all that kind of stuff, I forget if it was on Crenshaw or Western, there was also a good bicycle shop next to it before we moved and then Phil's on Hawthorne blvd. became my favorite bike shop. I wasn't aware of any famous people over there but I did know a kid named Johnny Hawthorne( yes Johnny Hawthorne!) who was a very good dirt bike rider back then, and I heard in the late 70"s was driving funny cars for a living. My older brother went to Henry Clay maybe your brother knew him he had an accident on the basketball court in 65 that put him in a coma for 13 days, everybody remembers that, he came out of it fine, then he went to Leuzinger because we moved to 139th. Thank God we moved to 118th by the time I was going to High school ! .Lee
It's STILL a small Cougar world out there.....
Name: Marilyn Ross () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 21:23:04
Email: mlr922@hotmail.com
City and State: Garden Grove, CA
Maiden: Wisham
Class: 1956
Message: My boyfriend of nearly 2 years finally got his drivers license in his Jr. year. We went out on our first date alone to a drive-in. I was leaning on the passenger door and he was laying across the seat with his head resting on my shoulder when his brother appeared and opened the passenger door. We both almost fell out. I think I saw a similar scene on Happy Days. He also forgot about the speaker that night and drove off with it still attached. Of course it broke the window and sprayed me with broken glass and it was his parents car. Did anyone ever use the term "monie hole" such as close the monie hole and do you know what it means?. How about "glubie" as in your glubies hanging. And it's nothing dirty.
HEY, my glubies don't hang.... they may sag a little, but.
Name: Paco () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 18:53:35
Email: doo4usc@cox.net
City and State: Lake Forest
Class: 1961
Message: Ho-Ho-Ho, Tis the season, take a picture of your holiday decorations and send'em to ole Pac and I'll post 'em in Paco's Pics..Fight-On..Fore!!
Sounds great to me. I'll send you a Christmas pic. Anyone else have any Christmas pictures they want posted? They don't have to be recent, do they?
Name: Marilyn Ross () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 18:17:14
Email: mlr922@hotmail.com
City and State: Garden Grove, Ca
Maiden: Wisham
Class: 1956
Message: I have heard the story of the ghost in the lighthouse but I don't remember it from high school. The story is on the net. It was the Point Vicente lighthouse in PV. The Lady of the Light" was supposedly the ghost of a woman whose lover was lost in a shipwreck of the point. It was actually a light from the lighthouse. The ghost ended in 1955 when a thicker coat of paint stopped the light from showing through. I remember the parking in PV but we were on the other side of the hill. There were some beautiful sights from that hill. We also went to Woodys for the sundaes. Alas they don't have the sundae bar anymore. I am amazed at the amount of places everyone remembers. My memory isn't that good.
I took my date home from PV one night and I went around to open her door and a hook was hanging from her door handle.
Name: Tammy () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 17:35:21
Email: tam_tam_9250@yahoo.com
City and State: Aliso Viejo, CA
Message: I don't remember the car rallies, what were they? Did you ever ride the go-karts across the street from the big blue slide on Western? I rode on one of those go-karts once, and ran a woman off the road into a row of tires...lol
Remember the roller skating rink off Rosecrans, around the corner from the big slide? I loved that place. We used to eat dinner at Helen Yu's restaurant down the street on Rosecrans. There was a Koi pond at the entrance and you walked over a bridge to get to the front door. Boy that food was good, but not as good as Mishima's on Western Ave. in Gardena!
Who remembers the indoor swap meet off of Crenshaw and El Segundo Blvds. in the early 70's like '71? West of Crenshaw, north side of El Segundo? It was an indoor swapmeet and had some Spanish-sounding name. My brother purchased a dark brown suede jacket with those long tassles dangling off the sleeves. He paid about $200 for it at the time.
Name: Jill McFarlane () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 16:49:43
Email: jmcfarlane99@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Mission Viejo, CA
Class: 1977
Message: I am amazed how many people actually use to live in the "unincorporated" area of Hawthorne, and even more amazed on how many Cougars went to or knew someone that went to Cimarron Ave school. Tammy, thanks for bringing up all these old haunts. I do remember that big slide on Rosecrans now that other people have mentioned it. I remember going there and then onto Shakeys for some pizza and singing with the piano player. Do any of you remember when Car Rallys were all the rage? My parents went on several, their favorite type of rally were gimmick car rallys. You had to really use your brain on those. It's been a blast reading feedback these last few days. JB, thanks for letting us carry on with these memories.
Hawthorne memories; that's what this is all about.
Name: Tammy () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 15:42:05
Email: tam_tam_9250@yahoo.com
City and State: Aliso Viejo, CA
Message: To Dennis - No, I don't remember an A&W on Imperial & Crenshaw. Would that have been west of Crenshaw on the north side of Imperial? There is a 76 gas station on the corner now, next is an alley and what was I thought was Lawry's, a Liquor store, and then some old houses, which are long gone.
I do remember seeing an A&W rootbeer carhop on Crenshaw and 135th? Remember on Crenshaw, a bit north of 135th the "smiling" bear sign in neon? It was a transmission place. I think the bear is still there!
Britt - I am a Seahawk, class of '80. Your last name is familiar - Stonebraker. Did you have a relative that works or worked for the City of Hawthorne?
Dennis - Remember Biggie's, on Hawthorne Blvd? Personally I don't but my elderly neighbor telle me back in the late 60's he worked as a cook there, as well as Joe's in Redondo Beach. In fact, he met his current wife at Biggies.
The A&W was on the corner of Freeman and Imperial and was gone by the mid to late 60s.
Name: Dan Johnson () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 12:35:30
Email: wch1ispinkATaolDOTcom
City and State: El Segundo
Class: 1977
Message: I always used to get in trouble on my birthday. Maybe it's because I thought I was entitled to do what I wanted to do on my "special day" Anyway, one birthday (probably 13), my Mom arranged for me and a couple of friends (as I recall, Robert Bates, Omar Azze, Greg Franklin and Rick Hale) to bowl at our favorite alley (Carolina Lanes, now a strip club on Century just west of Aviation but then a bowling alley and topless lounge) and then have a special birthday meal at Woody's Smorgasburger (still there near Stick n Stien) -- the first place that I can remember having the "make your own sundae" bar. Anyway, I got into an argument with one of my friends over the proper scoring. My Mom was upset and refused to even cheer when I got a turkey! Then we went to Woody's and I remember eating a Hot Dog with ketchup -- it made me sick and to this day I will not eat a hot dog with ketchup. Some things stay with you a lifetime!
Woodys Smorgasburger has been there since at least the early 50s. My dad took me there when I was about 9. I never knew you could use crushed peanuts as a condiment on Hamburgers until Woodys.
Name: Art La Mere () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 11:00:11
Email: artlamere@msn.com
City and State: Bettendorf Ia.
Class: 1973
Message: We lived in Military housing in San Pedro for about 4 or 5 years and it was right by the Jack-o-lantern. The boys would know when it was getting close to Halloween because we would drive by and they would see them touching up the old tank I might have some photos of it. If I can find them. John I will e-mail them to you. take care
Art
Tanks Art.....
Name: Wade Greasby () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 08:48:33
Email: grizbear73@juno.com
City and State: Surf City, Ca
Maiden: OurHouse
Class: 1973
Message: To all, the House on the hill was a special place to all. It was built in the late 50's, early 60's by the Frazier Family. Then the Laven's owned it up until my father bought it in '72. My mom moved out in 1999. The number of Cougars that passed through it or passed out in it spanned 30 years. It may well have been the Alumni House if it were on a college campus. The stories and memories will never end. The parties and get togethers were priceless. The House had a huge back yard and was very quiet on the street side. We could hit golf balls from the roof and watch them land on El Segundo or Hawthorne Blvds. The pool was used year round by family and friends. My dad would sit in the garage and hold a meet and greet to whomever drove over the hill. With the drive through driveway and a refrig in the garage, friends would stop by for a cool one, talk, save Hawthorne and enjoy. It was a little bit country and city combined. Thanks for the comments and memories of the House.
Enza, the Turkey was gooooooooooooood and the cake too!!
Name: Baxter Dodd () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 03:41:05
Email: baxterldo@aol.com
City and State: Riverside, CA
Class: 1957
Message: I am sure this subject has been covered before, but with all the post-Halloween talk about San Pedro?s jack-o-lantern painted oil tanks and ancient Red Cars, it brings to mind another local landmark, ?the ghost in the lighthouse.? Located near San Pedro/lower PV, it was always a good reason to cruise Hawthorne Blvd through PV at night with a special someone-for-the-moment, and park in a dark spot with a clear view of the lighthouse. Then watch for the sad lady carrying her lantern around and around the widow?s walk. She did not reveal herself to everyone but I was fortunate enough to see her on more than one occasion. I have a feeling that many of you saw her too.
Baxter
Man, that's the first time I've heard that story. You mean I had ANOTHER excuse to take a girl to PV?? Name: Keith D. Jones () on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 at 00:45:38
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, Hawaii
Class: 1976
Message: I remember the big slide in the May Co. parking lot. You had to rent the gunny sacks and slide down. My cousin Carla had a horse at the stables on Rosecrans and Aviation. I remember evevryone going out to the field in El Segundo to ride their dirt bikes. I think it was called Okey Pokey or something like that. Out where the Bolingers lived. Aloha
Name: Sherril () on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 21:39:32
Email: rmoyers@cableaz.com
City and State: Mesa, AZ
Maiden: Driggers
Class: 1976
Message: If anyone is going to the Motorcycle Show at the Long Beach Convention center this Saturday the 4th, I will be at the nuVision Financial Federal Credit Union booth. I will be there till 12:30, stop by and say hi.
Name: Dennis Campbell () on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 21:22:01
Email: Denniscampbell2000@pacbell.com
City and State: Moved to Hana
Class: 1961
Message: Hey Tammy,
I got to say I remember all of the places you have mentioned and a couple of others around the Imperial & Crenshaw area like the carwash? Tammy do you remember the A&W on Imperial west Crenshaw on the north side of Imperial? I had a good buddy that was the head cook there; Gary Persinger class of 61??
Hey Paco and I will join you and Jill for lunch anytime, just name the place & time, and we'll be there. Paco will buy...see ya!
