Phone Rat & the Cemetery

Phone Rat was back here in Ohio a few weeks ago for his bi-yearly visit. We covered a lot of ground in 10 days. We visited 6 states and drove about 2,200 miles. One of the great things you see here in the Midwest are old cemeteries with old fashioned headstones. Phone Rat and I drove to Michigan to see the grave of his cousin who passed away last year. We drove north on M19 to a small cemetery called the Memphis Cemetery, which out in the country just before the town of Memphis Michigan.

The cemetery is across from a large open field surrounded by large trees which were just starting to show fall colors. Phone Rat took pictures of many of the old grave markers. I wish I could post them all. To get a feel for the area you can view the cemetery from Google Street View.

Driving through all these Midwest states you get an authentic feel for the country, its people and its land. I witnessed that when we drove back to Ohio in 2006 but it is good to get a refresher course. Even though I am here in Ohio I still have a California, Los Angeles attitude that sometimes forgets there is more to our country. If you have never driven through the Midwest you would not believe the amount of corn you drive by. It seems a crime to use it to fuel cars and not feed people, but that is the conservative in me.

2nd Annual Demolay, Jobs & Rainbow Reunion

Word has come down that the 2010 Demolay reunion will be in Laughlin Nevada in either January or February of 2010. One of our distant past members will be working in Laughlin at that time. I'm not spilling names but he plays bass guitar and used to throw a wicked softball pitch. As details become available I will post them here. if anyone has questions or suggestions please e-mail at this blog account and I will steer you in the proper direction.

If anyone is a member of Facebook you should know we have a group page called, San Fernando Valley Demolay, Jobs & Rainbow. The page is new and it will become a clearing house for information. Just click the add a friend button and I will let you into the group.

The picture above is from Google and is a satellite view of Harrah's in Laughlin. I used it because this is where we used to stay and it is where we honeymooned.

Cohasset Street Elementary School

I realized today I have neglected my other grammar school, Cohasset Street Elementary School, which I attended for the 6th grade and maybe the 5th. You'd think I would remember. I could verify it but that would require a trip into the closet to dig out my report cards. But it's 11:30 pm and I don't feel so inclined.

As usual I am poor on names but recognize faces. Many went on to attend Fulton Jr. High with me. My best friend at the time was Paul Bjork, however he is not in this class picture. His family had a house on the land that is now the U.S. Post Office at the corner of Haskell Ave. and Sherman Way. I recall playing in that large lot which ran west up to Gloria.

I remember Tommy who lived on Dempsey just south of Cohasset Street. Tommy had two fake teeth in the front which for some reason really impressed me. I forget why he had them but I wouldn't be surprised if a fist was involved.

I also recall Debbie who I think lived near me. I have a graduation day picture of her, Paul and me in front of our apartment door. I would post it but I look so damn pudgy, and even after all these years it gives me the creeps.

If anyone remembers names from the picture I would appreciate it. The coolest thing was my teacher in the picture, Mrs. Tremonti lived in our apartment building. She was a very nice lady.

Looking for Mrs. Perlmuter

Last Saturday a few Hazeltine Avenue Elementary alumni from the 1960's had a small reunion. I participated for a few minutes via a speakerphone on a cell phone. It was great to talk to my fellow classmates and my new friend Bob who I had not yet spoken to. The group had a wonderful time and swapped stories, and anytime stories of Hazeltine are shared the topic of the legend that was Mrs. Perlmuter comes us and looms large in our psyche. I was never in one of her classes but I saw her around the school and like many kids ran the other way whenever I saw he in the hall. From what I heard later she was a disciplinarian but not as bad as all of us imagined.

Bob reports that Mrs. Louise Perlmuter had a full life of 95 years and passed away in April of 2005.

With all the memories flowing and recently posted pictures we discovered that no one had a picture of Mrs. Perlmuter. If anyone out there has a class picture with Mrs. Perlmuter or any other photograph we all would love to see it. It is as Bob put it the Holy Grail of Hazeltine in the 1960's. Please let us know if you have a picture and can scan it and share it with all of us. I have left a picture off this post in hope of adding one in the future.

Bulletin Board Service, Chat Rooms of the 90's

I was talking with an old friend and the subject of the BBS came up. After I got my first real online ready computer, a Tandy 1400HD like the one in the picture with a 2400 baud modem, this same friend introduced me to the online world. I checked out a few bulletin boards at first but did not really get heavy into it for a year or so. When I did I checked out a number of local boards and finally settled on a couple.

The first board I became an active member of was the After Hours BBS. As you may recall your time online was based on you paying for the service. Sometimes I paid and could chat all I wanted and other times I did not pay and chatted very little. I only ever met one person from the BBS in real life. I did strike up a few virtual friendships that would meet up again a year or so later on the other board i became an active member of, Beeline BBS. This BBS operated out of North Hollywood and compared to many was very friendly and well run. I attended a few events but for the most part just chatted online at night after work or when I had nothing else to do.

Looking back it was an interesting period. I never was one to hang out at the normal social sites such as bars, clubs and so on. For a brief period I had some fun and never had to get dressed up. I finally signed off around 1998 and have never been back to any online chat rooms. I guess I got it out of my system. I had just met my future wife so I had other things to keep me occupied.

1966 Hollywood High School Ring

While rummaging through some family heirlooms I came across this Hollywood High School class of 1966 ring. As I recall my Mom found it in a parking lot in the Valley many years ago. I came across it again while going through her jewelry after she died. I put it in a fire safe with the rest of the important family jewelry and forgot about it. It resurfaced today while I was looking for something else.

Now that we have this blog I thought I would share the mystery of the Hollywood High School ring and see if it might be reunited with it's original owner. The ring is very small, it only slides up to the knuckle on my pinky finger. The sexist conclusion is it was a girls ring. The inside of the ring is engraved with three initials which shall remain secret for identification purposes. Understandably this is a real long shot but crazier things have happened. If anyone has a clue as to the possible owner please e-mail me at this blog.

Van Nuys Blvd. on Wednesday Nights is Back!

This last June Cruise Night returned to Van Nuys Blvd. on Wednesday Nights. To be specific the second Wednesday of every month. The Van Nuys Cruising Association meets every second Wednesday in the parking lot of Rydell Chevorlet at 6001 Van Nuys Blvd.

Wednesday night cruising was shut down 28 years ago in 1981. Generations have grown up unaware of that special night in the middle of the San Fernando Valley. In those final days of the late 70's and early 80's I used to roll away from the curb of my apartment on Chandler Blvd. just around the curve and merge right into the traffic jam that was cruising night. As I mentioned in a previous post I remember driving down Van Nuys Blvd. when KHJ Boss Radio switched from Rock and Pop to Country music. Looking back on it now it seems as if the decline of Van Nuys Began then. Of course that isn't true but it is the sense I have these many years after.

September 9th at 6:00pm is the next event. Please check out the Van Nuys Cruising Associations website for more information and pictures from past events:

http://www.vannuyscruisingassociation.com/

Don't forget the Friday Night classic car event at Bob's Big Boy restaurant on Riverside Drive in Toluca Lake. Celebrity sightings are not unheard of at Bob's. Anyone who has spent time there has seen Jay Leno there. When I worked on San Fernando Road in Burbank we used to see Jay Leno drive by on his way to the Tonight Show. Every day it was some new, old car.

Tina Delgado is alive, alive!

New Class Photos from Hazeltine in the 1960's

Our friend Bob has posted some new class photos he received from a Hazeltine Alumni. Follow this link:

http://s403.photobucket.com/albums/pp118/BobW_2000/Hazeltine%20Elementary/


The new class photos are:

April 1960 – Mrs. Flanagan

Nov. 1961 – Mrs. Williams

Oct. 1964 – Mrs. Chapnick

Oct. 1965 – Mrs. Fletcher

Oct. 1966 – Mrs. McGauley

Lido Pizza Afternoon in Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks?

Attention Members of Demolay, Jobs Daughters and Rainbow, word has just come down that an afternoon of Pizza and fun is planned for Sunday September 13th at 2:00pm at Lido Pizza. I am sure everyone remembers where it is, but just in case Lido's is at 15232 Victory Blvd. in Van Nuys or Sherman Oaks, wherever the hell it is now, blame Phone Rat for that confusion. It is on the south side of Victory just east of Sepulveda. Renee is planning this so please e-mail her if you know it. For those who see it here please e-mail me at this blog account: vannuysboomers@gmail.com and I will forward you to her.

The Drive-In

Follow this link to a wonderful website with pictures, information and recollections of old theaters including our own valley hangouts:

http://cinematreasures.org/