In honor of the Beach Boys and their beginnings
Here's how it all started.... Beach Boys
Name: Jillian () on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 13:47:04
Email: jillian.woodsmall@usa.xerox.com
City and State: Williamson Ny
Maiden: Woodsmall
Class: 2002
Message: LOL, yea 21 is nice. John...You have done an amazing job with this site.
I love seeing the pictures and reading the memories, There definitely were good memories at HHS. Keep up the good work.
Inglewood Forum? Yep It is still there ,No b-ball games any more but all sorts of concerts circus .....ETC
Thanks Jillian, and join in any time. BTW, Neither one of your email addresses work. Please make the changes here. Thanks....
Name: Wayne Dickey () on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 12:44:15
Email: impalawayne@sbcglobal.net
City and State: La Palma, Ca
Class: 1969
Message: Armand! Airport Village is right. Didn't they have a Sizzler there. My family use to go there on Thursday night for T-bone steak dinners, only 99 cents each. How times have changed.
Name: Betty Rodriguez () on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 11:08:06
Email: tthom11@aol.com
City and State: Lake Elsinore, CA
Maiden: Kean
Class: 1969
Message: John- I'm enjoying all this favorite restaurant feedback. I have a few as well - on birthdays, we would be treated to dinner at the restaurant at the LA Airport (the old airport-west of Aviation). It overlooked the runway and was in an old, spanish-style building just off Imperial. We always ordered 'Shirley Temples'.
On many weekends, our dad would take us to breakfast at the Wooden Shoe in Hollywood Riveria before a day of climbing the cliffs and poking around in the tidepools in Palos Verdes.
Now, how 'bout the old Redondo Pier. . .
Betty Rodriguez
My choice for good restaurants that no longer exist are Cattlemens on the Pier, The Red Onion and The Little Onion in Hawthorne, The Plush Horse, and Joe Petrellis (Petrellis is now across the street and run by brother George, but is not the same).
Name: Tom Burroughs () on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 08:48:53
Email: ArizTom@cableone.net
City and State: Prescott AZ
Class: 1958
Message: No wonder these pictures are so great, they were taken in 1958!!TB from AZ Class of? 1958!!
Name: Keith Jones () on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 02:02:32
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, HI
Class: 1976
Message: Dinahs was a popular place on Tuesdays because it was all you could eat chicken night. When I training hard allot of the guys would go there on Tuesdays. I Arnold would go. Myself Kenny Waller Tony Pearson and others got kicked out because Kenny caused all kinds of problems when they ran out of chicken. They told us we'd have to wait an hour for more. We must have eaten 50 lbs of chicken between us.
Name: Dan Johnson () on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 00:04:13
Email: wch1ispink@aol.com
City and State: Sherman Oaks
Class: 1977
Message: Let's try it again: The Brolly Hut was a resturaunt on Crenshaw just north of Imperial across from the strip mall where Lindberg Nutrition is located (and where I got lost when I was a kid). The Brolly Hut building was shaped like an umbrella (because a "brolly" is an umbrella, as I learned from Ross, the KTLA Scottish weatherman) and colored in slices of bright yellow, red and blue -- just like the hats worn by the girls at the "Hot Dog on a Stick" resturaunts located at nearly every shopping mall in the country. Still too obtuse?
No, that time it was pretty clear, except what's a resturaunt? Name: Jean MacErnie () on Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 00:04:02
City and State: Albq NM
Maiden: Caldwell
Class: 1968
Message: Hi John....I am not sure when or if the Inglewood forum was ever torn down....I just remember reading it about a year ago....I thought it was kind of weird....It really was a nice building and not very old. Does anyone out there know? If it is still there what do they use if for? Maybe I read that article wrong........so set me straight! I just got an e mail from my son Eric who lives in Las Vegas NV...He said that a guy that works with him graduated in 1963 from good old HHS. His name is Adrian Wolf...Small world...I plan on telling my son to mention Cougartown to this guy.
Yes the Forum is still there. It's used for Concerts, Ice Capades, Circuses, and anything else entertaining. Thanks to for passing the word, Jean.
Name: Armand Vaquer () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 23:12:49
Email: AMVaquer@aol.com
City and State: Tarzana, CA
Class: 1972
Message: Thanks to Debbie Miles, her mentioning of the Village Kitchen jogged my memory. The place I was thinking of was AIRPORT VILLAGE.
Name: Jean MacErnie () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 22:48:47
City and State: Albq NM
Maiden: Caldwell
Class: 1968
Message: The Plaza Theatre...We will always have those memories....I remember sneaking up the stairs and down the hall to where they had the projector room. No one was ever there when we went. We wouldn't do anything...just snoop around a few minutes and then run back down stairs before we were caught. I never got caught....Saw a lot of scary movies there...And The Wizard of Oz, and a couple of Doris Day flicks....I remember those long lines that circled the theatre too....We used to bowl a lot too...at Del Mar lanes off of Rosecrans. Also at the alleys next to the roller rink on Rosecrans...Rosecrans bowl? Did anyone ever go to a Smorgasburger there? I went to one somewhere between Culver City and Hawthorne....can't recall where it was though. You would get to create your own hamburger. I remember going to one of the first games at the Forum in Inglewood for The Lakers....I heard it was torn down too. What is there now? Til next time...
When did they tear down the Forum?
Name: Debbie Miles () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 22:48:25
Email: pinkelephant10atyahoo.com
City and State: Del Aire
Class: 1977
Message: The chicken place is Dinah's. It's still there. The Village Kitchen, the old Sizzler's (with all the sawdust on the floor), the slot car place and the Centinela Drive-In are all history now.
Name: Chris Prewitt () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 22:32:13
Email: cjprewitt at juno dot com
City and State: Fullerton, CA
Class: 1967
Message: The photo of the Fox is from 1958. From looking at the marquee I see: "In Love and War" from (1958) starring Robert Wagner Dana Wynter 111 Minutes and "Desire Under the Elms" from (1958) staring Sophia Loren Anthony Perkins 115 Minutes
They were all taken in 1958
Name: Keith Jones () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 22:23:39
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, HI
Class: 1976
Message: I remember the barnum bailey circus. me and my best friendKurt Morlock each took out these two very good looking girls. They ended up being clowns with the B & B circus. They took us to the train which was parked over by where castle Golf is now. They introduced us to allot of people and took us the dining car. The best part (well close) was meeting Gunter who was the big draw of the circus. he had white long hair and was the lion tamer. he had his own rail-car. They told us he was getting $250,000 a year. that was back in 1979 or so. We learned too that there are 2 B&B Circus's. there is a Red and a Blue circus. This way they could do more than one appearance. Does anyone remember the circus they had on the roof of the Hotel next to the airport. I can't remember the name, but we went to that one as kids. Also, if you want to come to hawaii this month is best cause it costs only $129 each way from LA on Hawaiian Air
Name: Armand Vaquer () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 21:36:02
Email: AMVaquer@aol.com
City and State: Tarzana, CA
Class: 1972
Message: I got a case of C.R.S. today trying to remember the name of an eating place near Sepulveda and Centinela. It was a row of fast-food establishments, kind of like the ones you find today in shopping malls. I think it had the word "Airport ??????." Back in the 1960s, it stood pretty much all by itself (those were the days when there were fields in the area) and can be seen from the freeway. Anyone remember the name? We stopped there one time after a field trip while attending Dana.
The Hungry Tiger was there. Also a chicken place
Name: Baxter Dodd () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 21:00:52
Email: baxterldo@aol,cim
City and State: Riverside, CA
Class: 1957
Message: In the early 1950s when I saw ?Creature from the Black Lagoon? at the Plaza the 3D effect was great! They passed out polarized glasses (not the red and blue/green ones) to use. Another pretty good 3D movie running at that time was ?Bwana Devil.? An African adventure in color. Saw that one at the Inglewood UA.
I remember a ?haunted house? in Inglewood. First time I saw that place was in the late 50s. It was in bad shape with weak floor boards and missing steps on the stairs. In an upstairs room there was a hole in the floor about 3ft in dia completely thru to the room below (like in the "money pit" movie). Less than two years later while in art school I was given an assignment to draw an old house with all the details. First house I thought of was the one in Inglewood. The outside of the house still looked the same. I sat across the street with my drawing pad and after about 10 minutes I realized that house was no longer empty. Behind the house there were ladies going in and out hanging their sheets and other laundry on clothes lines. Then I noticed men in expensive cars wearing expensive suits stopping by. They must have been city & county inspectors making sure the house repairs where done properly. Yeah, right?Heard a couple months later it was empty again.
Name: Elizabeth Aleccia () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 19:51:59
Email: elizabeth.aleccia@gmail.com
City and State: Redondo Beach, CA
Maiden: Estrada
Class: 1969
Message: I saw "Psycho" at The Plaza. Took me years to take a shower and only with the shower curtain open. What a mess.
Name: Kathy Downer () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 17:46:29
Email: down6@charter.net
City and State: Marietta, Ohio
Maiden: Peterson
Class: 1970
Message: Thanks for the great pictures of the olden days of Hawthorne. I had forgotten the movie theator was called the Plaza, because we always referred to it as the "Rat Palace". Does anyone remember the Barnum and Bailey circus stopping at the train stop in that same area of town and unloading the elephants? I remember seeing them parade the animals and some of the clowns down Hawthorne Blvd. to Inglewood for the circus. John, keep up the great work. My dues are in the mail.
Hi Kathy, Yes, I remember the Circus. I watched them unload over on Aviation and about 120th one year. Great memory there, girl. Thanks for the dues too Kathy, it is appreciated.
Name: Debra McGregor () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 16:39:41
Email: Debratmcg@aol.com
City and State: Lancaster
Maiden: Lee(shouldastayedLee)
Class: 1972
Message: Howdy Cougars! Cougar sighting and a semi-Cougar sighting report. I was being my ever fantastic waitress self during my shift today (and oh so humble am I!) at lunch whereon I approached my table to find out that the lady I was waiting on graduated from HHS same year as me! And her daughter graduated from here too. Over the weekend I was relaxing at a restaurant in Ventura, sitting at the bar drinking a mango martini when I began talking to an older gentlemen discussing how things change. He mentioned that he raised his family in Hawthorne. Yep, I went to school with his son! So howdy to Susan Simms and Mike Darata - the Cougar sightings. What fun! Hope ya all have a marvelous weekend. I shall once again be at the beach for the weekend.
Great sightings, Debra, thanks for sharing....
Name: Jerry Miles () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 16:23:42
City and State: Fair Oaks, CA
Class: 1966
Message: Tressa?s recollection is fairly accurate and one of my fondest memories of the Clifton?s. They used to take souvenir photos there and I still have the brochure that enclosed the photo. It shows Tressa?s fort, which was actually a little chapel for meditation. You had to climb stone stairs to enter the area. It was lots of fun for a kid back then. Great pictures that invoke very fond reminiscences, John. Keep them coming!
Name: Carlton Rilling () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 16:13:23
Email: cycleist@bctonline.com
City and State: Orygon City, Ore
Class: 1959
Message: Fellow Cougars. Once again 1958 Alumni, Mike Gillespie Head Baseball coach at USC is taking his Trojans to the college baseball playoffs. This weekend the Trojans are playing the Oregon State Beavers in Corvalis. I have been in Oregon for 35 yrs and always a Oregon State Fan. But 19 yrs ago when Mike took over Baseball at USC, I had to support USC (baseball only) and be loyal to a fellow Cougar. Mike can b emailed at gillespi@usc.edu Support our fellow Cougar and his Trojans.. Sat and Sun games are on ESPN. Check it out and see Mike at work...
Hey thanks for that info, Carlton, I'll be one Cougar rootin' for Mike and the Trojans, that's for sure. Also thanks very much for your Ctown Dues. You ARE a loyal Coug.
Name: Chuck () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 15:52:28
Email: Chuck@ArmstrongConsultingGroup.com
City and State: Orcutt, CA
Class: 1967
Message: Al, You gave me a flashback mentioning the Haunted House movie. I think I sat through that movie five or six times, and I freaked out every time. Awesome movie - at least when you're a kid. After the Flee House closed down we use to sneak in there and rummage around; it was lots of fun on a Saturday night when we were supposed to be sleeping in someone's backyard. In high school we went to a place we called the Haunted House in Inglewood, which was sort of a South Bay urban legend. Does anyone recall that house?
Name: Adrianne DeAlejandro () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 15:10:17
Email: addy57@msn.com
City and State: Cerritos, CA
Maiden: Longpre
Class: 1963
Message: Plaza Theater...I took my 3D glasses off many a time. "Creature From the Black Lagoon", the original black and white "Blob". There's one terrifying movie that the name escapes me, where there were experiment gone wrong people in a dungeon behind a huge fireplace. I can visualize the people now, and glad I don't have those glasses on in my mind. We sure got our monies worth there.
The Plaza still holds lots of fun memories for Haytowners. Everyone has a story about the Plaza.
Name: Al Rocca () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 14:02:54
Email: alfred.p.rocca@boeing.com
City and State: Mesa, AZ
Class: 1970
Message: The Plaza Theater was the best for horror flicks. The theater alone was enough to creep you out. I remember seeing House on Haunted Hill, The Spine Tingler and 13 Ghosts. 13 Ghosts was awesome because you got to use those cool 3-D glasses and if you lost your glasses you could just use a green and red Charms lollypop wrapper!!
Name: Tressa () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 12:25:37
Email: tressas@criterionmachineworks.com
City and State: Tustin, CA
Maiden: Gerkin
Class: 1961
Message: Me again, John. So - I've missed a lot of pictures as I haven't checked in for a long time. Is there any way to see those already shown - in particular Clifton's? I recall they had some kind of a fort (?) or something kids could climb into and slide down - or am I imagining things???????
Really don't know. Never been inside Clifton's but it sounds right. I'm sure someone knows. I'll add these pics on the website, somewhere, as they are really snapshots in (our) time of how it was growing up in 50s.
Name: Wayne Dickey () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 11:07:30
Email: Impalawayne@sbcgobal.net
City and State: La Palma. Ca.
Class: 1969
Message: Keith!! I taught my grandchildren about shotgun. Fights have been going on since then LOL. Doesn't matter what generation, shotgun still means the same. John B? when you are playing the accordian, you have to sit SHOTGUN, right? Not enough room in the back seat.
Cliftons??????? Downtown LA. Still there, with it's outdoor, wooded look. Water running down streams and beautiful art work. Donna and I went there to eat about a year ago. Brought back some old memories, from when my parents use to bring Tom and I there. That was the time when Malls were just a vision and LA streets were safer.
Hey Wayne, In my car, if you're playing an accordion, you ride in the trunk.
Name: Jim Gibson () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 09:43:40
Email: surfsup1765@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Redding, CA
Class: 1967
Message: Re: Plaza Theater - if the movie was bad, you could entertain yourself by watching the pigeons fly from one side of the screen to the other, balcony to balcony. They would occasionally "dive-bomb" the audience, swooping down just above everyone's heads. If you weren't vigilant, you'd have more than butter in your popcorn! Hey, Bake, glad I got to meet you & your buddies @ landmark. What a day, huh? - Gibby
Hey Jim, the same back at ya'....fun day for all Haytowners.
Name: Tom Burroughs () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 08:39:57
Email: ArizTom@cableone.net
City and State: Prescott AZ
Class: 1958
Message: Thanks for the kind words from our resident Olympian, many of whom were grade school mates, does any one remember Bill Johnson's Ford Clinic, west side just about where Labrea & Market split? They only worked on Fords, & I remember them wearing these spotless white coats & wondering how they kept the place so clean? Again these pics. are priceless!! Keepers for sure! TB from AZ
Hey Tom, A friend and I were just trying to think of the Bill Johnson name about 3 days ago. Thanks for giving that one back to the memory. Yes, these pictures are classics. Thanks again Mike for scanning them for the group.
Name: Dan Johnson () on Friday, June 10, 2005 at 01:54:15
Email: wch1ispinkATaolDOTcom
City and State: Sherman Oaks
Class: 1977
Message: When I was about 5 or 6, my Mom lost me at the strip mall that held Lindberg Nutrition (remember, we lived in Inglewood until 1968). That was scary (and they didn't call them "strip malls" then. We went for a burger at the Brolly Hut afterwards. I didn't know what a "brolly" was until about 3 months ago when KTLA got this scottish weather guy who reported rain showers in the forecast and advised that the brolly be placed up! Of course, in retrospect, the place was shaped like a multi-colored umbrella -- sort of like the hats on the girls at those Hot Dog on a Stick places at the mall. Duh
Huh??
Name: Chris Prewitt () on Thursday, June 9, 2005 at 23:55:53
Email: cjprewitt at juno dot com
City and State: Fullerton, CA
Class: 1967
Message: I know it is not Hawthorne but speaking of pipe organs and silent movies, The Orange County Theatre Organ Society is presenting:
The silent movie "Our Hospitality" starring Buster Keaton will be shown with Mr. Elliot accompanying on the marvelous Wurlitzer Organ at the Plummer Auditorium.
http://www.octos.org/details/curevent.htm
Chris Elliot & Feature Length Silent Film
Sunday Jun. 19, 2005 @ 2:30pm
Presented by the Orange County Theatre Organ Society, tickets are $12, and free under 12 y.o. call 714-870-2813
http://www.kiromark.com/fullerton/entertainment.html I would suggest calling the above number for reservations. To get all of the information I used information from both WEB sites.
Name: Keith Jones () on Thursday, June 9, 2005 at 22:41:19
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, HI
Class: 1976
Message: I was remembering how when all my friends and I would go somewhere how we would always call 'shotgun'. The one who says it first gets to ride in the front. When I think about it, I remember all the fights we would get on debating who said it first. Or we would argue that it only counted when you are outside. It was so funny looking back on some of the dumb things we did back then.
I remember too my brother would always chase me around the house. He would be sleeping in the family room and I would tie his shoestrings together and then wake him up by yelling or pouring water on him. he'd get up so fast and yell at me and start running then fall down. I think about it now and it's so funny. And you have to realize when my bro played at HHS he was tallest and heaviest on the team and one of the biggest in the league at 6'5" 280 lbs.
Name: Janet Burkett () on Thursday, June 9, 2005 at 20:42:16
Email: jmburkett@sti.net
City and State: Ca
Maiden: Humphreys
Class: 1962
Message: I was just told to check out the pictures from Mike Hinsch. WOW....those are just the best, especially, the ones of Inglewood and the shopping district. I LOVED going there during the holidays! Even if you didn't have a lot of money you could window shop all along the blvd.
I remember the Imperial Theatre and going there with my brother Tom to see movies for 50 cents a ticket that seemed to last all day. (I think I'm right about the name,...but not sure where it was.)
Hi Janet, Yes, the Imperial Theatre was on the South side of Imperial Hwy about 3 or 4 doors West of Crenshaw. Very nice theatre in its day.
