When We Were Young With our Corvettes
Partial recap:
Upcoming: "Surfing at Huntining Beach", the "Rueben E Lee" and the "Rose Parade"..readership down...any interest in continuing?? Be Honest.
Corvettes and Getting a New Vette – Chapter #1
I finished college in June 1961, after a two plus year pause in the Army…101st Airborne, at Fort Campbell, OCS and Ranger Training at Fort Benning and out with an early to go back to school. I was a part timer at Sears, Roebuck and had a friend who worked at Allstate in the store. He had lived in Long Beach, California and he talked about it constantly. I decided I wanted to go there.
Corvettes and Street Parking - Chapter #2If you were young, single and living in a Southern California beach town in 1961, you most likely rented a two story apartment which you shared with your “roomie”. And “roomies” in those days were straight and of the same sex. Splitting the cost was about the only way to afford it. Some provided a few places to park behind the building, but mostly you hunted for space on the street. No permits necessary, but you might be 3 blocks away, and squeezed tight So you know where this sparkling new Vette sat..
Corvettes and Wet Plugs - Chapter #3
As I said, street parking in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach was the reality, with all of the risks. You got bumped and you bumped back. One morning on the way to work I found my car with the trunk lid open and the spare tire missing. Nothing else was touched. Not a scratch on the car. A policeman met me after I called and said this happens all the time with these cars. He closed the lid and with the heel of his hand struck the valance just below and to the side of the lock. The lid popped open!!
Corvettes and California Cops - CHAPTER #4
In Southern California in 1961, if you were a young, single lad with a new Corvette, it’d be a toss-up who watched you more, the beach girls or the CHP. And the girls didn’t use terns like ”502” and “HBD”. But for the four years there, the Vette was rarely busted.
.
Corvettes and Seat Belts? - Chapter #5
As far as I was concerned when I drove my new ’62 Vette “off the lot” in Orange, California in late '61, it had no seat belts. You could not visually see them. They were not there to sit on. There was nothing said about them by the salesman. There was nothing in the glove box about them. The 86 page Owners Guide makes not a single reference to seat belts. I have an old Polaroid shot of the interior and you can find no evidence of them being there.
.
Corvettes and The Beach Boys - Chapter #6
My roomie, who as I mentioned was a USC graduate and a native Californian, knew all the local stuff. And he’s the one who said we were going to the 1961 New Year’s Eve concert held at the Long Beach Civic Auditorium as a memorial to Ritchie Valens. But the real show, said he, was a new singing group called The Beach Boys, making one of their first appearances. He drove his 1961 VW (sun roof for our boards) and I drove my new ’62 Vette. If there are any videos around of this concert, you will not believe the girl turnout. The Beach Boys sang for the first time;
“ Surfin” with lyrics about “ baggies” (in the Car Story I tell you where you can still get the BEST) and “huaraches sandals” (these are still available but no longer with soles made out of tire treads). It was crazy, and we were outnumbered two to one.
Corvettes and Valet Parking – Chapter #7
In the early ‘60s, Dino’s Lodge on Sunset Boulevard, the site of the TV series “77 Sunset Strip” was the place to see Hollywood celebrities, especially the “Rat Pack” (and all the girls who followed them). The legendary night clubs of the ’40s and ‘50s along this stretch had already closed as top entertainers moved to Vegas and new clubs like “Whiskey-a-Go Go” and “The Playboy Club” were yet to open. Dino’s was unique, had a decent menu, no cover; but you came for the bar, which was crowded and with some restricted access to the stars. But, all had to use “common” rest rooms, which you wanted to be near.
Corvettes and the Laguna Beach “Greeter”– Chapter #8
Back when eucalyptus trees and orange groves abounded in So. California, the air was filled with a combination of their fragrance, like no other place I’ve ever been….you would soon take it for granted but never really forget. So on a warm, sunny morning with this smell in the air we’re off in the Vette for lunch in Laguna Beach, as had become a ritual.
Corvettes and Mynah Birds – Chapter #9
In 1963 (stories not in chronological order) I was hanging on to my bachelorhood by a thread. My roomie had moved-in with the one he would eventually marry so I had been carrying the Belmont Shore place near the beach alone. Another friend, Gary Lindboe, a Marine Lieutenant stationed at Pendleton asked me to stay with him and split the costs.
.
Corvettes and the Balboa Island Auto Ferry – Chapter 10
In 1961, many companies, not just those in So. California, seemed oblivious to all the “hein’ and shein’” going on with their employees. The rules, they thought, prevented it. Guys ate on one side of the company cafeteria; girls on the other. Men did not sit with women at the same tables outside on the patio (not even husband and wife) or walk in the parking lot together over the lunch hour… but there were plenty of other chances from 9-5 to stare, smile, bump and “connect”. So it was the office, more than bars that produced “qualified leads”, particularly as more young guys headed off to Vietnam and more girls became available as a consequence.
.
Corvettes and Pacific Ocean Park – Chapter 11
Old Route 66 officially ends west where Santa Monica Blvd. intersects Ocean Ave. on top of the bluffs overlooking the Pacific in Santa Monica, California. From there an easy drive down the incline to the PCH, where you turn left on 101, drive south past the famous Santa Monica Pier, going about two miles further to Pacific Ocean Park…or Pee-O-Pee as it was called then. It was a fun place to take your date….90 cents got you in the park and on most rides.
Corvettes and Charlie McCarthy – Chapter #12
Do any of you watch Boston Legal? Candice Bergin, I mean.....Shirley Schmidt…before that, Murphy Brown? She was born in 1946, the daughter of Edgar Bergin and…I guess…Charlie McCarthy….and Mrs. Bergin, of course.
In 1965, I had the Vette in Seattle working in our Regional Office there and staying at The Edgewater down on the docks. You could open a window in your room, stick your fishing pole out and fish in Elliot bay! No foolin’. Ask around.
Corvettes and Muscle Beach – Chapter 13
One of the first things I did after getting my new Vette in late 1961 was to join Vic Tanny’s. This was the rage in Southern California then, starting in Santa Monica and spreading fast through the LA area. The gyms were modern, clean, well lighted and carpeted with mirrored walls. All new equipment….York, Hollywood Healthways and Paramount weights for barbells and dumbbells (machines and multi-position weight stations were yet to appear) I had worked with weights since high school but not seriously and Vic Tanny’s was appealing in part because now girls were encouraged to join (but with different hours)
Upcoming: "Surfing at Huntining Beach", the "Rueben E Lee" and the "Rose Parade"..readership down...any interest in continuing?? Be Honest.
Corvettes and Getting a New Vette – Chapter #1
I finished college in June 1961, after a two plus year pause in the Army…101st Airborne, at Fort Campbell, OCS and Ranger Training at Fort Benning and out with an early to go back to school. I was a part timer at Sears, Roebuck and had a friend who worked at Allstate in the store. He had lived in Long Beach, California and he talked about it constantly. I decided I wanted to go there.
Corvettes and Street Parking - Chapter #2If you were young, single and living in a Southern California beach town in 1961, you most likely rented a two story apartment which you shared with your “roomie”. And “roomies” in those days were straight and of the same sex. Splitting the cost was about the only way to afford it. Some provided a few places to park behind the building, but mostly you hunted for space on the street. No permits necessary, but you might be 3 blocks away, and squeezed tight So you know where this sparkling new Vette sat..
Corvettes and Wet Plugs - Chapter #3
As I said, street parking in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach was the reality, with all of the risks. You got bumped and you bumped back. One morning on the way to work I found my car with the trunk lid open and the spare tire missing. Nothing else was touched. Not a scratch on the car. A policeman met me after I called and said this happens all the time with these cars. He closed the lid and with the heel of his hand struck the valance just below and to the side of the lock. The lid popped open!!
Corvettes and California Cops - CHAPTER #4
In Southern California in 1961, if you were a young, single lad with a new Corvette, it’d be a toss-up who watched you more, the beach girls or the CHP. And the girls didn’t use terns like ”502” and “HBD”. But for the four years there, the Vette was rarely busted.
.
Corvettes and Seat Belts? - Chapter #5
As far as I was concerned when I drove my new ’62 Vette “off the lot” in Orange, California in late '61, it had no seat belts. You could not visually see them. They were not there to sit on. There was nothing said about them by the salesman. There was nothing in the glove box about them. The 86 page Owners Guide makes not a single reference to seat belts. I have an old Polaroid shot of the interior and you can find no evidence of them being there.
.
Corvettes and The Beach Boys - Chapter #6
My roomie, who as I mentioned was a USC graduate and a native Californian, knew all the local stuff. And he’s the one who said we were going to the 1961 New Year’s Eve concert held at the Long Beach Civic Auditorium as a memorial to Ritchie Valens. But the real show, said he, was a new singing group called The Beach Boys, making one of their first appearances. He drove his 1961 VW (sun roof for our boards) and I drove my new ’62 Vette. If there are any videos around of this concert, you will not believe the girl turnout. The Beach Boys sang for the first time;
“ Surfin” with lyrics about “ baggies” (in the Car Story I tell you where you can still get the BEST) and “huaraches sandals” (these are still available but no longer with soles made out of tire treads). It was crazy, and we were outnumbered two to one.
Corvettes and Valet Parking – Chapter #7
In the early ‘60s, Dino’s Lodge on Sunset Boulevard, the site of the TV series “77 Sunset Strip” was the place to see Hollywood celebrities, especially the “Rat Pack” (and all the girls who followed them). The legendary night clubs of the ’40s and ‘50s along this stretch had already closed as top entertainers moved to Vegas and new clubs like “Whiskey-a-Go Go” and “The Playboy Club” were yet to open. Dino’s was unique, had a decent menu, no cover; but you came for the bar, which was crowded and with some restricted access to the stars. But, all had to use “common” rest rooms, which you wanted to be near.
Corvettes and the Laguna Beach “Greeter”– Chapter #8
Back when eucalyptus trees and orange groves abounded in So. California, the air was filled with a combination of their fragrance, like no other place I’ve ever been….you would soon take it for granted but never really forget. So on a warm, sunny morning with this smell in the air we’re off in the Vette for lunch in Laguna Beach, as had become a ritual.
Corvettes and Mynah Birds – Chapter #9
In 1963 (stories not in chronological order) I was hanging on to my bachelorhood by a thread. My roomie had moved-in with the one he would eventually marry so I had been carrying the Belmont Shore place near the beach alone. Another friend, Gary Lindboe, a Marine Lieutenant stationed at Pendleton asked me to stay with him and split the costs.
.
Corvettes and the Balboa Island Auto Ferry – Chapter 10
In 1961, many companies, not just those in So. California, seemed oblivious to all the “hein’ and shein’” going on with their employees. The rules, they thought, prevented it. Guys ate on one side of the company cafeteria; girls on the other. Men did not sit with women at the same tables outside on the patio (not even husband and wife) or walk in the parking lot together over the lunch hour… but there were plenty of other chances from 9-5 to stare, smile, bump and “connect”. So it was the office, more than bars that produced “qualified leads”, particularly as more young guys headed off to Vietnam and more girls became available as a consequence.
.
Corvettes and Pacific Ocean Park – Chapter 11
Old Route 66 officially ends west where Santa Monica Blvd. intersects Ocean Ave. on top of the bluffs overlooking the Pacific in Santa Monica, California. From there an easy drive down the incline to the PCH, where you turn left on 101, drive south past the famous Santa Monica Pier, going about two miles further to Pacific Ocean Park…or Pee-O-Pee as it was called then. It was a fun place to take your date….90 cents got you in the park and on most rides.
Corvettes and Charlie McCarthy – Chapter #12
Do any of you watch Boston Legal? Candice Bergin, I mean.....Shirley Schmidt…before that, Murphy Brown? She was born in 1946, the daughter of Edgar Bergin and…I guess…Charlie McCarthy….and Mrs. Bergin, of course.
In 1965, I had the Vette in Seattle working in our Regional Office there and staying at The Edgewater down on the docks. You could open a window in your room, stick your fishing pole out and fish in Elliot bay! No foolin’. Ask around.
Corvettes and Muscle Beach – Chapter 13
One of the first things I did after getting my new Vette in late 1961 was to join Vic Tanny’s. This was the rage in Southern California then, starting in Santa Monica and spreading fast through the LA area. The gyms were modern, clean, well lighted and carpeted with mirrored walls. All new equipment….York, Hollywood Healthways and Paramount weights for barbells and dumbbells (machines and multi-position weight stations were yet to appear) I had worked with weights since high school but not seriously and Vic Tanny’s was appealing in part because now girls were encouraged to join (but with different hours)
Did you ever go to Riverside or any of the road courses, visit the shops on Thunder Alley?
I didn't grow up on the west coast, but I thoroughlly enjoy reading your post's, It's as if I were there.
Double crap!!
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