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Name: Pat Underwood () on Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 21:34:53
Email: onefamilyhistorian@hotmail.com
City and State: Hawthorne, California
Maiden: Lawndale High
Class: 1963
Message: In 1967 I was the proud owner of a 1952 Chevy pickup truck. It had a six cylinder, three-speed stick and ran like a champ. I wasn?t satisfied, I had to up grade to a faster vehicle. I had a wrecked 1958 Chevy Corvette with a 1964 Chevy 327 and a Muncie 4 speed. I took the whole drive train from the Vette and put it in the truck. I had to shorten the wheelbase to keep the drive shaft from the 58 and put in 488 positraction to the rear wheels. Later I put on an Edlebrock 360 degree high-rise dual quad manifold with twin AFB?s. I had to switch my fuel pump to duel electrics to cure my fuel problem as those twin AFB?s ate up the fuel. I had it painted a Monterey Green at Earl Scheib, for $29.95, with out a grill and no bumpers. All you could hear was engine and quads cruising the boulevard, especially for me, as I had to remove the center floor cover to fit the floor shift. I hardly ever lost a race on the Blvd as 488 positraction from light to light is defiantly the ticket, but at Lyons Drag Strip 488 posi wasn?t advisable, at about 65 miles an hour you tended to float the old engine. I truly believe I was the only guy ejected from the A&W for pulling the front wheels off the ground and I was only bouncing the front-end. Toys were sure nice, weren?t they?
Thanks Pat, fun story....

Name: Dan Dye () on Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 21:03:27

City and State: Torrance, Ca.
Class: 1962
Message: I never borrowed the family car without permission, because we didn't have a car in the family. However one of my best friends from Westchester High would drive over in his father's VW bug. We did the A&W Hawthorne Bl. cruising thing looking for young ladies. My good friend Chuck was 5'6" and 140 lbs. As some of you know I was 6'3" 235 lbs. It didn't take much for me to talk Chuck into letting me drive. (I think that is called a 211(PC) Strong armed robbery) I did have a CDL (license) One night we were driving around my girlfriend Connie Brower's neighborhood playing car tag or follow the leader. I was in the lead. I don't remember the street names, somewhere east of Isis at a street that intersects with a small school. Trying to be funny and lose the other car, I turned the right turn signal on and turned left north bound west of the school. What I didn't see was the car traveling south bound. I turned the fastest left turn a VW can make, to avoid being t-boned, (struck broadside) Thank God I wasn't hit, because me and the VW would have come in second. However I completed the turn but struck the curb on the east side of the street, damaging the right rear wheel. (No, the south bound car didn't come out of no-where, I just didn't see it coming.) We changed the wheel and I gave Chuck the keys back and never asked to drive his car again. When Chuck drove away the car made a bad sound, turns out I cracked the rear axle. Chuck was a great friend and so was his father. I never saw either one of them get mad, not even after the above. We remained friends.
There goes my image. Dan Dye
Hey Dan, Good story and yes, your image is shot.

Name: Donna M. Voss () on Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 17:32:01
Email: henning.jensen
City and State: Scottsdale, AZ
Maiden: Voss
Class: 1957
Message: Looking for a few of my old classmates. Please contact me at my E.mail address. Would love to talk about the good old days.
Sincerely, Donna
I'm sure there are a few of your friends on the Alumni List and while you're there, add yourself to the list, as the email address you left here, isn't valid. Thanks Donna for letting all know you're here.

Name: Ernie Nixon () on Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 13:26:50

Email: ENixon@Bak.RR.Com
City and State: Bakersfield Cal.
Class: 1963
Message: A Coug. siting. I had a short visit with Dick Dixon last Sunday at the California Motor Speedway. I believe He was there working with the Eddie Cheever Team in some capacity. Family car story, the parents were out of town, so my two sisters and I took the 60 Olds down to San Diego for a day. Hope my Mom doesn't see this. Thanks again, John for your efforts here.
Hey Ernie, you mean you haven't told her yet? Afraid she'll ground you or what??

Thanks for the story and the sighting.

Name: Raymond Smith () on Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 04:46:25

Email: Kawabunganorth@juno.com
City and State: Portland, OR
Class: 1981
Message: This great vintage Hawthorne Men's 26" bicycle was produced in the the late 40's early 50's by Montgomery Wards / Hawthorne. Ok...I came across this ebay item and was surprised to see it. Any infro/comment on this? Love to learn it history here.
Don't have a clue....Never heard of a Hawthorne Bicycle.

Name: Rick Trullinger () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 23:44:35

Email: tapplefish@aol.com
City and State: Independence, Ca
Class: 1973
Message: I used to hot wire my sister Donna's(HHS Class of '72)'65 mustang and smoke one tire (no posi) all the way down Wiseburn Ave. I bet she wondered why only one rear tire was always bald.
Thanks Rick and all you non-positraction guys had the same problem.

Thanks for the story....

Name: Bob Clobucker () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 20:20:02

Email: RClobucker@aol.com
City and State: Reno Nv.
Class: 1973
Message: Dont know where to start with the relocated car stories... too many of em! Had my bros 69 Boss 302 Stang one nite for 'LOCAL TRANSPORTATION ONLY'' Me and a buddy went burning around down by the beach of course. Went down around Playa Del Rey where the houses were gone and the streets clear for road racin. In the process of some 110 mph fun we were pulled over by LAPD. Cool cops at least. Were interested if the car was a 4-speed-- of course it was! Didn't look further for all the "party supplies on board". The one cop says We don't like to hassle drunk drivers and hot rodders too much....Then a 56 Nomad shows up with a bunch of the cops off duty friends in it. These guys were 3 times more loaded than us were openly sporting beers and a half gallon of Cuervo. The officers declined the offer of a drink and said Get outa here -ya all makin us look bad! The Nomad peels off and the cop says How bout a ticket for 35 in a 25 and lets call it a night?. It was an offer that I couldnt refuse!! Sure beat jail. BC
Hey Robert, I know the drill as we ran into the same good cops in the early 60s, way before MADD. Thanks for the story.....

Name: Larry Bach () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 15:16:32

Email: startnofyr@socal.rr.com
City and State: Torrance, CA
Class: 1972
Message: Cougar sighting. While in Coronado, CA last Monday, I met Deanna Peterson (married name I believe), HHS Class of 1962, where she has a business. Never met this Cougar before but Deanna now has the cougartown web site. Small world.
Deanna Peterson is her maiden name. Small World indeed. Deanna was my girlfriend in the 5th grade at Hawthorne Christian School. Welcome Deanna, and sign in please. Thank you Larry....

Name: Keith D. Jones () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 14:23:21

Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, HI
Class: 1976
Message: I saw a "hood" story. Me and Kurt Morlock were driving one of my 66 Mustangs after I had just cut a hole in the hood for a scoop. The hood had clips in it to keep it on. Well right in front of the firestation on El Segundo bl. going about 40mph, the hood all of a sudden lifted up and cam completely off the car. It must have flown at least 30 to 40 feet in the air and landed right in front of the station with a very loud boom. I think every fireman came out to see what happened cause it did sound like a big crash. Luckily no one was behind us.
ANother story Mustang story but with my friends Kurt's one. We were over in Holy Glen by DIck McCarroll's house. All of a sudden the car made these noises and stopped. It would not go anymore. We could figure it out. Well I can't remember exactly what we did but in short the car would only go backwards. So Kurt was afraid to drive it I did. We drove all the ay back to his house in reverse. He lived over by the Jack in Box on El Segundo. It was so funny when people would look at us and we'd tell them what happened as we drove in reverse

Name: Ron Reinholdson () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 12:00:18

Email: r_reinholdson@juno.com
City and State: Claremont, CA
Class: 1965
Message: Never did get caught. A fellow football player would stay over on Friday nights after the football game. I would park the Studebaker in front of the house instead of in the garage-don't remember how I explained that to my parents. Skip (oops) and I would sneak out of the house, push the Studie down the street, bump start it and stay out all night. Upon returning at about 5 AM, I would kill the engine before rounding the corner on Shoup Ave and coast back to where we started. We would sneak back in the house and sleep in until about 11 AM. "Football games take a lot out of you, Mom." I may be way wrong about this, but I don't think anybody ever knew.
Thanks Ron, Yet another tactic. Seems like we all pushed the car away from the house.

Name: BOB FAULKNER () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 11:09:18
Email: UPSBUBBA@HOTMAIL.COM
City and State: CATHEDRAL CITY,CA.
Class: 1963
Message: HELLO EVERYONE, IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED THEIR IS A 1963 EL MOLINO JUST LISTED ON E-BAY. ALSO, WHEN IS THE LAST TIME OUR BELOVED SCHOOL WON A LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP IN ANY SPORT? I TRY TO FOLLOW THE FOOTBALL SCORES, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THEY JUST KEEP LOSING!!. GO USC, AND EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Name: Chris Prewitt () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 00:37:29

Email: cjprewitt at juno dot com
City and State: Fullerton, CA
Class: 1967
Message: This one is not about a borrowed car but Adrian Reynolds and I were heading west on 120th next to the Hawthorne Airport. We watched an airplane turn onto the runway for take off. I teased Adrian about not being able to keep up with the plane with his ?54 Pontiac. Well he punched it and we nearly kept up with it ?till the hood latch came loose. The wind caught the hood and lifted it straight up for a short time maybe a milli-second. Soon we were driving down 120th with a hood with a 90 degree bend in it and a 3 inch deep crease in the roof. There was a space of about 6 inches we could look through between the hood and the body of the car. Adrian drove the car that was from the airport to 129th across from HHS. When Adrian?s dad saw the car. He tried to be mad be even he couldn?t help but laugh.
Great car story, Chris, and I know that's scary as it's happened to me too. Have your sister, Patt, email me please, as she won't answer my email.

Name: Chuck Armstrong () on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 00:31:10
Email: Chuck@ArmstrongConsultingGroup.cocm
City and State: Orcutt, CA
Class: 1967
Message: One Sunday afternoon, when I was about twelve years old, I wondered over to the auto repair shop at the RR tracks and Prairie. They parked the cars to be repaired in the rear of the building, and for some reason they had left the keys in a ?59 Chevy Impala. I thought a short trip up and down the alley wasn?t going to kill anyone. By the time I got to the end of the alley and 126th Street I decided to turn back and make a speedy retreat. As I approached the shop, I had to negotiate a sharp right turn to park the car back in its original spot. I veered left to prepare for the hard right, but in my haste I neglected to look left before the turn. I ran right through a wooden fence and into a backyard, and by the time I came to a stop I was ten feet from a man on his hands and knees working on his garden. I was determined not to be deterred from my responsibility to return the car to its rightful place, so I did what any twelve year old would do, I made a bad situation worse. I threw the car in reverse and backed out of the yard taking another fifteen feet of fence with me. I jammed the car into drive and stomped on the gas and side swiped a telephone pole with the left side of the car, and then drove the right side of the car against the building. I jumped out of the car and ran down the embankment that led to the RR tracks where I was face to face with my older brother, who was walking back to his house from the market. With my brother, the gardener and a half dozen other pursuers on my tail, I ran down Prairie like a gazelle with a lioness on his butt. Sometime later I found myself on a two story building on Prairie and El Segundo, I have no memory of ever climbing the telephone pole next to the building, but that?s what I must have done. After the posse, joined by a few of Hawthorne?s finest, gave up the manhunt, I climbed down the telephone pole and went. I found my family sitting in the front room; no one looked at me except my dad, who was staring at me as if it was the first time he had every laid eyes on me. I looked at him, and still hoping against hope that I hadn?t been nailed, I asked, ?Did someone die. Why is everyone so sad?? No one had died at that point, but there was a distinct possibility that a mercy killing was likely. Yes, my big brother ratted me off to the folks, but I forgave him.
So THAT'S what happened to my 59 Impala.

Good story, Chuck, and I dearly hope you made amends.

Name: Paco () on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 19:59:40

Email: doo4usc@cox.net
City and State: LF
Maiden: OS6-2378
Class: 1961
Message: How about borrowing a car from a fellow Coug? Ok, 1959 a few of us used to go to the studio's and sneak in, the easiest was Desilu,we had it down pat, we knew where the different sets were along with celeb golf driving range.A few of the guys came back early and waited in the car which belonged Jim Nicola or Nicola Raviola,there was Skinny Kenny Blomsterberg, Dennis Mammal Campbell,Dennis Butterfly Morris,Gary Big Will Wilson and myself Hairtoe.While Raviola and Gary Big Wil Wilson were still taking a tour, we decided to hot wire Raviloa's car..There was a little problem we had all shared a 16 oz. can of Brew 102 and nobody wanted to drive, except the the only guy who couldn't drive a stick-shift or for that matter an automatic.Well, here we go over curbs,bouncing off parked cars, through yards all the passengers were screaming, including me. When we got back there was Raviola and Big Will,Raviloa wanted to fight all or some of us but really wasn't to handy with the dukes, he did say he had Big Will on side and drove off,leaving us in Culver City (?) or Studio City, where-ever.We hitched back to Hawthorne and went to Raviloa's house. Raviloa's mother had little cement Elf's and Gnome's all over the yard that Raviola had stolen from the studio's.So we asked her if Raviola was still at the studio's stealing more lawn ornaments..
Good one...NEXT

Name: Jill McFarlane () on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 18:07:30
Email: jmcfarlane99@sbcglobal.net
City and State: Mission Viejo
Class: 1977
Message: I have been laughing out loud over some of these "borrowed" car stories. It's a miracle we all came out alive! Love the stories.
I know there have to be more stories out there....

Name: Al Rocca () on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 13:38:17

City and State: Mesa, Az
Class: 1970
Message: My (borrowed) car story goes like this: I had an old Ramber American with wide oval tires on the back and was great for doing doughnuts in the dirt and sand...anyway Jim Henderson borrowed his father's Volkswagen bettle and we proceeded to bring our cars to a dirt and sand area at Rosecrans and Aviation (by the railroad tracks). We were out there doing doughnuts when Henderson decides to drive up the enbankment of the railroad tracks, flooring the VW and launches on top of the enbankment. I waited down at the bottom for his return....he didn't. What I didn't see was when he launched he was suddenly stopped by a piece of wooden telephone pole laying on the ground. he finally made it back down the hill and we went home. He called me later to tell me he was sooo grounded. Apparently when he got home he left the car in the driveway, not realizing the condition of the car. His father asked him where he had been and, like all honest high schoolers, he said oh just driving around. That's when his father brought him out to the car and opened the hood. To Henderson's shock he saw about a half a beach of sand and oil mixture and chunks of telephone pole. That was very hard to explain away!!! That was one of many Henderson car problems.
Thanks Al, Just another HHSer caught lying like a dog to keep from being grounded.

Name: Jim Peppers () on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 11:48:20

Email: JimPeppers@yahoo.com
City and State: Athens, Greece
Class: 1961
Message: Hi cougars, The Insomniac brought back memories (you know the feeling), but I can't remember if I ever went there or not. Did I ever go there with any of you? Thanks, Jim
Sounds like I'm getting old, doesn't it.
Hey Jim, I think you had to be a Beatnik to get in at the Insomniac.

Name: Keith D. Jones () on Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 22:36:37
Email: cmi50@yahoo.com
City and State: Kona, Hi
Class: 1976
Message: Here is another one. I think it was arounf 1984 or so. Myself, Craig Kukuk, Kurt Morlock, Tom Hayes, Carl Cline were up at Lake Arrowhead. We were at the big shopping center there in the lake. I decided to take the security cart for a ride.
Well I come back and their is the guard standing there. He said stay right there. So I did. Craig and everyone else is telling me to run. I respect authority and did as he said. Well a few minutes later I am in the back of a cop car for joyriding. I am taken to the Lake Arrowhead sheriff station. They do not have cells so I have to go to San Bernardino County jail. While I am in the sheriff's office one of the officers recognizes me from being on a show could Sports Spectacular. He saw me competing and win the American Cup. So now they are kind of excited and are treating me really nice. So on the way to the squad car one of the officers tells me they aren't going to handcuff me. They said another guy (biker) is going to be in the back with me. They said he has been really rude and causing trouble all the while in the station. They told me if he smarts off and gets rude that I have permission to hit him. This guy gets in and he is all of 180 lbs at most and he was so afraid of me he didn't say one word the whole trip.
Well now I am getting booked in San Bernadino. They guys there treated me really nice too and stuck me in a holding cell by myself and gave me lunch too. Bolagna sandwiches but 4 of them. Anyway I am scared regardless cause I don't like jail. So I call me good friend and dad and attorney Jim SLoey. Yes our very own Jim Sloey. He settled me down and my friends paid the $80 bail and I was out in 3 hours.
Just another car (almost) story. Last one I think. Except for the times we would take a brand new car for a test drive off the lot and 8 hours later come back after taking it to Snow Summit to go skiing. That was fun too.
Unbelieveable, thanks Keith...

Name: Jim Raines () on Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 21:43:51

Email: fourwindspublishig@juno.com
City and State: Salt Lake City UT
Class: 1962
Message: It was in 1960 when A bunch of us guys quietly pushed the '58 Ford out in 118th st., drove it around the corner on Felton and took the hubcaps off and put them in the trunk. The rims were painted black and looked cooler with the hubcaps off. We drove down to the Insomniac (somebody explain what and where that is/was). When we came back to the car we decided to put the hubcaps back on then instead of waiting 'till we were back home. As we were replacing the caps the "heat" came up and stopped us, thinking we were stealing them. We talked hard to convince him that we were keeping them in the trunk so that they wouldn't be stolen. I was sweating it because I was not sixteen and didn't have my licence yet. He bid us farewell and we were on our way.
Another time, I took my Grandfathers '53 Ford to Arizona for a week. I told him we were going up to the desert to shoot, instead we headed East. After having a great time in AZ we were on our way back when Richard Brown, who lived over by Alan Hauge, asked me if he could drive. I had driven all the way and didn't need any help. However, all of a sudden I felt very tired and decided to let him drive. Eight days later I woke up in the hospital in Baker CA. It's a long story but the car rolled three or four times and was totaled and in the process I have lost my sense of smell. (My wife assures me that I still can). Last time I "borrowed" a car. As soon as I could get back on my feet, I went down to the Naval Reserve station and joined up for active duty. My cruising days were over for the next two years.
Good stuff Jim, and The Insomniac coffee house was on Pier Av. in Hermosa. Keep the car borrowing stories coming, Cougs.

Name: Don Burns () on Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:42:04
Email: burnslock@yahoo.com
City and State: Downey, CA
Class: 1957
Message: Hey Cougs, I lived on 132nd St. on the hill up from Market Town & Thrifty's, had to hold the brakes on the 41 Chevy coupe & muscle the steering wheel to straighten the wheels so we could roll the car down the the hill to pop the clutch, was cruising up by Westchester Skating Rink, the only way to lay rubber was to go around the corner in water, when I hit dry asphalt it grabbed & broke the drivers side axle. was grounded for the rest of my life. Later Don
Now it can be told. Thanks for sharing, Don.

Name: Dawn Moffett () on Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:05:56
Email: dmoffett@clunet.edu
City and State: Simi Valley, Ca.
Maiden: Koch
Class: 1978
Message: I never "borrowed the car" without permission but I was taught to drive by a friend named "Tim" in his mother's car, I think a Maverick. I'm not sure she was aware that he was giving driving lessons to about 4 of us west of LAX where the houses had been bought and torn down by the state. The streets and street lights were still there so it was a pretty safe place to practice. Does that count even if it wasn't my families car?
Hey Dawn, thanks and well, it's a driving story....

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