Someone found a lighted house late one night
And he saw through the window a sight
A big man in a chair
And little tiny men everywhere......> Beach Boys
Name: Laurie Kelleher () on Monday, December 13, 2004 at 13:49:18
Email: lauriekelleher@yahoo.com
City and State: New York
Maiden: Bednarski
Class: 1974
Message: Happy Birthday to Tom Ruegger class of 74. He has now joined those of us who have reached the big 48! Happy Birthday to you Tom!
Happy Bday Tom.....sheesh, KIDS!! Name: Laura Anderson () on Monday, December 13, 2004 at 12:30:32
Email: mrsanderson404@hotmail.com
City and State: Hemet, CA
Maiden: Twitchell
Class: 1979
Message: It's 75 outside and my third grade class is working on writing with the Beach Boys "Little St. Nick" playing in the background....If that doesn't say Merry Sunny California Christmas...I don't know what does!!
Thanks Laura, you and your class have a Malibu Christmas...... Name: Charlie Fox () on Monday, December 13, 2004 at 09:01:13
Email: cfox@elcamino.edu
City and State: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Class: 1969
Message: I lived next door to Andi Dew. Our house was on the corner of 126th and Manor Dr. The Dews lived directly to our left. As for Christmas memories, does anyone else remember having an aluminum Christmas tree? Ours came with a color wheel that made the tree change colors as it rotated in front of an overpowered flood light. One night we came home from an outing and found that the color wheel had somehow stalled and melted onto the light bulb.
There's an aluminum tree in Pacos Pics right now. That picture was taken at my Dad's and I still have the tree and the motorized light. Never throw anything away Name: BOB FAULKNER () on Sunday, December 12, 2004 at 15:15:56
Email: UPSBUBBA@HOTMAIL.COM
City and State: GARDEN GROVE, CA.
Class: 1963
Message: JOHN BAKER, I'M SHOCKED YOU DIDN'T GET THE TRIVIA QUESTION. LONG BEACH WILSON, MY BRIDES ALMA MATER AND HHS HAVE THE SAME COLORS, AS IN SCARLET AND GOLD. NOW FOR THE RECENT EL MOLINO THAT WAS UP ON EBAY, IT IS IN MY POSSESSION. IT WAS BOUGHT AT AN ESTATE SALE AND THE BEST I CAN FIGURE OUT IT BELONGED TO RALPH DE SHAZER CLASS OF 63.
That could be sad news as I knew little Ralph. Nice kid.....
Name: Sharon () on Sunday, December 12, 2004 at 12:31:39
Email: sharonlleach@cs.com
City and State: Long Beach
Maiden: Moore
Class: 1966
Message: I've been away for CT for a while. Busy looking for a new job. But, its great coming back and seeing all the wonderful Hawthorne Christmas memories. Talk about an easier time and the only things we had to worry about was whether or not Santa (The Big Guy) would bring the coveted presents we asked for. The joy of waking up Christmas morning and running to see what goodies had been left was such fun. The smell of the turkey and ham roasting filled the house. Soon all the relatives started piling in for the feast. The whole neighborhood would be filled with kids riding new bikes, scooters, and roller skates, (the key kind). Little girls pushing their new baby dolls in their new baby buggies, and boys with their new cowboy hats and guns. There may not have been snow on the ground, but Christmas filled the air. What great memories
By the way, I did get a great new job in Orange County. So, if anyone drives from the South Bay or Long Beach area to Orange County (the OC airport area) let me know as I would really like to find someone to carpool with. I'm a little nervous as I haven't been in the corporate world for a few years, but I'm really happy and excited too.
Again, John, thanks for all the great memories.
Hi Sharon, Glad you're back with us. Have a Merry Christmas, and good luck with your new job.
Name: Richard () on Sunday, December 12, 2004 at 10:53:40
City and State: of LongBeach
Class: 1969
Message: Ah, the memories of Christmases Past!
The Christmas Season of ?67 or ?68, the Hawthorne High Cougar Marching Band and Cougarette Drill Team were invited to march in the Hollywood Christmas Lane Parade.
In the pre-parade staging area, we were lined up by Cesar Romero, Bill Dana, and not too far from the ?Big Guy? (Santa). It was great getting to talk to Batman?s The Joker (Romero), and being kidded by Bill Dana that is was nice of us to be wearing his monogram (the big red 'H' on our uniforms) that night (of his aka: Jose Jimanez). But the real excitement came when there was a shriek from the Drill Team, as Santa had taken on too much ?anti-freeze?, and was turning the snow yellow on his float behind his sleigh!
Name: James Armour () on Sunday, December 12, 2004 at 10:21:24
Email: Orcaarmour@Charter.net
City and State: Shell Beach, CA
Class: 1970
Message: My sister was born at, then, Hawthorne Community Hospital in 1958 although she later attended Torrance High. I just watched Pulp Fiction again the other night. It was nice to see Holly's Restaurant again. My family took me there for my graduation dinner among many other memories. When I was about 7 years old or so, My mother used to make the long drive, at least to me then, to Inglewood to do her Christmas shopping at Sears and Penneys. There was a Santa at Sears but I stopped wanting to see him when I never got the presents I asked him for. Funny, it's been that way for as long as I can remember now. Oh well, still fond memories of going downstairs in Sears to the Blvd. side of the store where the bikes and other cool toys were displayed. My mother always told me she would talk to Santa about the things I wanted. I guess she wasn't a very good negotiator.
Name: Baxter Dodd () on Sunday, December 12, 2004 at 02:35:04
Email: baxterldo@aol.com
City and State: Riverside, CA
Class: 1957
Message: I don?t know, Robin, seeing Bo Bo murdered before your eyes and Duct Tape not invented yet makes for a sad Christmas. That is an interesting photo of the ol? 5-car. The sign on the front says ?Inglewood only.? When I was a kid traveling alone from LA to Hawthorne I remember my mom telling me to be sure and get on the car that was going to the end of the line (in Hawthorne). My guess was they ran more cars on shorter routes to move more people in highly populated and commercial/industrial areas. Also the sign on the side says ?Jobs? and ?? ?GIs.? Probably jobs for returning GIs. That would date it circa ?46. The sign farther back appears to be a sailor in whites ??. That was my favorite model of 5-car with the front and back sections ?open? and the center section closed in. Also noticed the ?smog? behind the rear of the car or is that artistic airbrushing?? Thanks for the memory.
Baxter
Baxter, you should have been a Detective. Name: lisa () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 23:42:56
Email: ldcp2001@aol.com
City and State: ramona, ca
Maiden: graham
Class: 1967
Message: My Mother, Katherine Graham, worked at Hawthorne Community Hospital as a Surgical Nurse for many years. Oh, the great memories. Lisa
Name: Keith D. Jones () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 23:19:37
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, Hawaii
Class: 1976
Message: Here is one, do you remember where you used to go to get your picture taken with Santa Claus. We went to MayCo. I have a picture of me crying so bad cause I was so afraid of him. I have one of me and my brother together on Santas lap. Of course I am talking about pre HHS. Unless some of us went while we were at HHS.
Name: Ron Reinholdson () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 19:25:02
Email: r_reinholdson@juno.com
City and State: Claremont, CA
Class: 1965
Message: I was a patient at Hawthorne Community Hospital in the spring of '62. My appendix had burst--3 days after the Bay League track finals in which I ran. (I thought those pains in the side were just the side aches that all runners got from time to time. Mine were every day.) I almost died, but nobody ever told me that. My care was superb. All my friends would come to see me--Adrienne, do you remember? I didn't know those Candy Stripers were high school girls. I might have done a lot of things differently.
Name: BOB FAULKNER () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 15:53:52
Email: UPSBUBBA@HOTMAIL.COM
City and State: GARDEN GROVE,CA.
Class: 1963
Message: PATTI SMITH,JB,AND FELLOW COUGS; I TOO AM SADDENED BY THE CLOSING OF "RFK HOSPITAL", AS I WAS A PATIENT AS I'M SURE A LOT OF "COUGS" WERE. HOWEVER IT SHOULDN'T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO FIGURE OUT WHY. THE ILLEGIALS WITH NO HEALTH CARE INSURANCE HAVE TAXED THE SYSTEM RIGHT OUT OF BUSINESS, AND IT'S ONLY GETTING WORSE!!. JB, I TOO HAVE NEVER READ THE TRIBUTE PAGE UNTIL LAST NIGHT, AND IT REALLY GETS YOU THINKING. NOT ONLY DID I KNOW A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE, SOME WERE SO YOUNG AND JUST STARTING OUT IN LIFE. WHEN I WAS DONE I JUST SAT THEIR AN HOUR OR SO, AND TRIED TO REMEMBER SOME OF THE INTERACTIONS I HAD WITH MANY OF THEM. AS FOR THE NEXT CRUISE NIGHT, I'VE BEEN INFORMED BY "MY PRINCESS" THAT WE ARE GOING TO LONG BEACH WILSONS "CANTEEN" NIGHT. DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT LBW HAS IN COMMON WITH HHS??. EVERYONE HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
LBW HHS......same amount of letters? Name: Enza Nicocia () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 13:00:31
Email: enico72@aol.com
City and State: SoSoSunny, SoCal
Maiden: "Put Another Candle On My B-day Cake".....
Class: 1972
Message: Here's a birthday wish for my 'old' friend Dean Morris....well, he's not THAT old....but he IS older than I, and that's all that matters, lol! Regarding Christmas's that were memorable: my father, Carlo, got hired at McCulloch Motors just 2 weeks after we arrived in America in '56~ not speaking a word of English! Every year they had a wonderful Christmas party for their employees and families. I don't remember exactly where it was held, (perhaps Cheryl Christiansen Nicocia can chime in and refresh my memory?); although, If I close me eyes, I can still see all the festive decorations; the Santa Claus that every child got to tell their Xmas list to; the majestic Xmas tree, and all the wonderfully wrapped presents for the many hundreds of children there. If that wasn't enough, we all gathered in an auditorium where we sang Xmas carols and watched Walt Disneys black and white cartoons on a big screen to every ones delight! For an immigrant family of 10, it was something we all looked forward to, and also brought us so much joy/hope in our new American home. Thanks mom and dad for taking that COURAGEOUS leap of faith to bring us to a new land....our new home....AMERICA...Aint' life grand! :)))
Happy Bday Dean.......
Name: Robin () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 12:59:02
Email: RHood10542@aol.com
City and State: Monrovia
Class: 1960
Message: Great pic of the 5 car John...Is that the restored unit or an old photo? Christmas....One year last century my brother Tim and I got these inflatable clowns with sand in the bottom named "BoBo and PeeWee" that were stand up punching bags that bounced back. I loved the thing as I could win every fight. So we take them outside to show them off and within 15 min this dufus twit cousin of our next door neighbors demonstrated his military school tackle, and BoBo in a heartbeat was nothing but a piece of wrinkled vinyl with some sand. I would have sued him but my attorney was only three and still lived in Nebraska...I vote for Georgias stubby Barbie story as the saddest so far as that doll(with feet) would be worth a fortune by now...Later Cougs :o)
Hey Robin, That is an original 5 car. Jerry Miles sent that one to us.
Georgia, You could've dressed Barbie in GI Joe garb.....Claymore Barbie......OK, sorry for that one.
Name: Laura Anderson () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 11:12:22
Email: mrsanderson404@hotmail.com
City and State: Hemet, CA
Maiden: Twitchell
Class: 1979
Message: I remember one year...had to be around '71...my dad surprised my brother and I with a Christmas Eve flyover of the city. A Northrop co-worker was a private pilot and he took us up in his very small plane for an evening ride..I will never forget the bright lights and the way my stomach tossed and turned on take off.
Also...it seems The Princess dinner ship that has been out on Lake Elsinore has taken it's last cruise...there was a mention that this formerly sat in Long Beach...could this be our beloved Princess Louise??? I know many of us had banquets and such onboard that fine vessel.
Hi Laura, Could be, but just wondering how they got that big ship TO Lake Elsinore in the first place.
Name: Georgia Fiorante () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 09:10:47
Email: georgiafiorante@firstcapcorp.com
City and State: Buena Park, California
Maiden: Cook
Class: 1968
Message: The Christmas I remember most was when I was in the third grade and I got a Barbie doll for Christmas. It was the first year they came out and I felt so special. Every year my sisters and I would open our presents and then we were off to spend Christmas Day with our cousins. But we had to leave all our Christmas presents at home. When we returned that night our dog had chewed the feet off my Barbie Doll! Of course, my parents couldn't afford to have it replaced so I had to use all the imagination I had to dress Barbie up to the nines while she had to walk around on stubs!!! Merry Christmas to everyone!!! This year more than ever we need the spirit!!
Georgia
And "STUBBI the debutante" by Mattel was born. Thanks Georgia......
Name: Baxter Dodd () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 03:03:02
Email: baxterldo@aol.com
City and State: Riverside, CA
Class: 1957
Message: I have to agree with other posters here who have had their Christmas spirit boosted by reading some of the memories of others. I had forgotten, but in the 1940s when my cousin and I were small boys living on 134th street near Lemoli we would go through the Sears catalog until the ink was rubbed off the pages. But the king of all catalogs for us boys was the Lionel Train catalog. Come to think of it, it still is. Also, I remember my mother taking both of us on the 5 car to downtown LA to see the mechanically animated mannequins of Santa and his workshop scenes in the upscale department store windows. Then, of course, while we were there, we would get to visit the big guy in person to make our requests official. My mom and my aunt worked hard on every little detail, including occasionally making fruit cakes, to make each Christmas memorable for us kids. At the same time they were training us to do the same for our kids. Thanks to all of you who have shared your memories, and to you, John B for creating a place for us to post and read them. It has helped me to find my own memories again. You people have made my day and boosted my Christmas spirit and believe it or not, I still like a good fruit cake when I can find it. Thanks.
Baxter
Thanks Baxter, I loved the Santa scenes in the windows of big dept stores at Christmas time. Great memory there......
Name: Patti Smith () on Saturday, December 11, 2004 at 02:13:33
Email: grnidL80@comcast.net
City and State: Cypress, CA
Maiden: Smith
Class: 1968
Message: Another sad bit of news for all who grew up in the Hawthorne area. Robert F. Kennedy Hospital, formerly Hawthorne Community, has discharged its last patient and closed its doors. Although I never was one, I know a lot of the girls at HHS were Candy Stripers there. And they were in the middle of adding a new wing, which will now sit open to the weather since the walls were not yet erected. There is no longer a hospital in Hawthorne...very sad news.
I was a patient there. Got my tonsils out in 1949. Thanks Patti
Name: KAREN BEARNS () on Friday, December 10, 2004 at 23:20:30
Email: DOGDEDE@AOL.COM
City and State: REDONDO BEACH
Maiden: WEBSTER
Class: 1972
Message: HERES A CHRISTMAS PAST. I WANTED TO GIVE A GIFT TO MY PARENTS CHRISTMAS EVE BY ME COOKING THE TURKEY DINNER. WELL,I DROPPED THE TURKEY FROM THE OVEN. MY DOG TAFFY STARTED EATING THE BIRD. MY MOM CAME IN THE KITCHEN SAW THE TURKEY PROBLEM. SHE WAS SO CALM THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. SHE TOLD MY DAD, WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK FROM THE STORE. HER AND I WENT TO GREEN FARMS ON HAWTHORNE BLVD. SHE AND GREEN FARMS SAVED ME AND TAFFY FROM MY DAD FINDING OUT. BOY, THEY HAD GOOD TURKEYS ALONG WITH THEIR OTHER MEATS. I WISH GREEN FARMS WAS STILL THERE. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!
Hi Karen, Great Hawthorne Christmas story. Thank you and have a Merry Christmas....
Name: Armand Vaquer () on Friday, December 10, 2004 at 23:17:33
Email: AMVaquer@aol.com
City and State: Tarzana, CA
Class: 1972
Message: Christmas spirit? I look at it this way: you have more Christmas spirit when 1.) you are a kid, and 2.) when your kids are small. I would imagine there's a 3.): when you have grandkids (haven't reached that point yet).
Funniest Christmas-related story: George Putnam was riding his horse in the 1971 Santa Claus Lane Parade (now known as the Hollywood Christmas Parade). The horse stops in the middle of the street and decides to take a leak. A river flowed from the middle of the street to the spectators sitting on the curb area. I've never seen so many laughing people scatter.
George Putnam always had a way of getting the people to rise up. Thanks Armand....
Name: Chris Prewitt () on Friday, December 10, 2004 at 23:14:14
Email: cjprewitt@juno.com
City and State: Fullerton,CA
Class: 1967
Message: Sherril Moyers, On page 326 Walline said, "My mother Maurine Hohenthaner worked at the student store from Jan.1968-April 1978 she is retired and living in Paradise, Ca."
Thanks Chris....
Name: Sherril Moyers () on Friday, December 10, 2004 at 22:05:26
Email: rmoyers@cableaz.com
City and State: Mesa, AZ
Maiden: Driggers
Class: 1976
Message: Does anyone remember the lady (Mrs Hoenthaner)that ran the Student Store? Does anyone know of her whereabouts?
Hi Sherril, There are a couple of Hohenthaners on the Alumni list (Walline66 and Vicki69) you might try them. Good Luck....
Name: Chris Prewitt () on Friday, December 10, 2004 at 21:07:13
Email: cjprewitt@juno.com
City and State: Fullerton, CA
Class: 1967
Message: Liz, actually the Christmas times I remember was before we lived in Hawthorne. We lived in Lawndale. Our stockings would be filled with walnuts, apples or oranges and maybe a candy cane. To be able to afford anything more our mother would make fruitcakes. All kidding aside my dad would sell them and we had regular customers. Each year we would travel to LA to pick up candied fruit, raisins flour and a secret ingredient. No, my mother would never use rum or any alcohol. Anyway all of us kids would help in whatever way we could. Kneading the fruitcake ingredients was for our mother and later the ?older? kids. As a young boy I had to pick the stems off of the raisins. Quite a good job for a 5-year-old. We would typically produce up to 200 pounds of fruitcakes. At 50 cents for a 3-pound fruitcake we didn?t make much money. What did we get for all of this work? Maybe we would get a pair of PJs or blue jeans each. For dinner we had chicken. We typically had 15 to 20 running around in the back yard. We would catch a chicken tie it by the feet and remove its head with a butcher knife. On time Patt learned the meaning of running around like a chicken with its head cut off. She was chased around the backyard by a headless chicken.
I've still got 2 lbs of a 3 lb fruitcake left over from 1994. Those things never go bad.....
Name: Keith D. Jones () on Friday, December 10, 2004 at 20:37:40
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, Hawaii
Class: 1976
Message: My dad with some of the other dads on our block used to hide our larger presents at each other house. I used tolook for the presents all the time and my mom would get mad at me. I never really new what to buy my mom each year so it always ended up being Channel No. 5 perfume. I remember that color wheel too for the tree. We ended spending that last several christmas's up at our cabin in Running Springs. Itg was neat having a white Christmas. I remember my dad letting me cut wood with the double bit ax or our mini mac 6 chain saw. Our trees back then were always live and then we;d plant them on the property, Christmas is allot of fun and memories when you are a kid. Me and brother even had fun together playing with our new toys. Bought our dog Bundy toys too.
Just had another memory. Me and Mike Kristich, Richard Hawks and a couple others would go around the neighbor taking christmas light bulbs out of the houses. If you took just one or just unsrewed it it would make the whole line go off. Now that I am older I realize that was a childish act and I should have never have done it. But, man it sure was fun. And of course the Zaccaglin's had the best decorated house in Hawthorne.
Thanks Keith....
Name: Jill McFarlane () on Friday, December 10, 2004 at 19:27:15
Email: jmcfarlane99@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Mission Viejo, CA
Class: 1977
Message: Time to put my 2 cents in to help Liz get into the holiday spirit. My earliest memories of Christmas was my Grandmother would take my sister and I to the Macy's in the Wilshire district where they had the most beautiful Christmas display I had ever seen as an 8 year old. She would then take us to see Santa. I also remember getting a big thrill seeing the decorations on Hawthorne Blvd. The candy canes, the bells and whatever else they used. It was almost my favorite part. On 120th street between Inglewood Ave and La Cienega there were about 10 houses in a row that would join their lights together. It was so cool to me. My folks had a white aluminum tree that we could not put lights on, Mom always put the blue christmas bulbs on and garland. We use to pantimine to the color wheel. I too have been finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit between having to deal with a friends death, the kids, work and everyday life I have not been in the mood. But reading all these posts and remembering my own Christmas pasts have made me feel better. Tonight I will get a tree and mean it! XOXO and Ho,Ho, Ho!
Thanks Jill, Good stuff and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
