History Lessons (alternately, ch-ch-ch-ch-changes)

Today's post will discuss some of the things we ran across in 1967-68 that were a little different than the way things were 50 years later. We'll also review a few historical moments. Let's start with the culture at the time. 1967 was the Summer of Love, with the Monterey Pop Festival taking place in June on the west coast, the song "San Francisco (Be sure to wear flowers in your hair)" climbing the charts, and the hippie subculture gaining a foothold in many large cities, most notably San Francisco. That cultural phenomenon was clearly present in Los Angeles as evidenced by the various mentions of hippies in Mom's letters, especially the earlier ones. My small-town Texas parents definitely went through a bit of culture shock being exposed to all that, which gave us some entertaining reading on more than one occasion. Closely related to that cultural movement, and no doubt somewhat of a driver of it, was the escalation of the Viet Nam war in 1967. Protests against the war were also escalating, including marches that often turned violent. A Peace March scheduled to pass within a few blocks of our apartment on August 6, 1967 made my parents nervous enough to leave the area that day and make our first of many visits to Knott's Berry Farm. The military draft was also in effect at the time, and we got to see the impact of that on a young family in a letter one of Mom's friends wrote to her. Another bit of civil unrest during this time was the race riots that were occurring all over the country. (Look up "long, hot summer of 1967.") We moved to L. A. only three years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law, and two years after the famous riots in the L. A. neighborhood of Watts. So when Dad found out Mom and I had unintentionally driven through Watts one day, he was understandably upset. Technology has obviously advanced a bit in the past 50 years. Some things that were relatively new at the time, with a certain "wow" factor, are either taken for granted today or have almost disappeared entirely. For instance, Dad spent a lot of money to purchase a Polaroid camera while we were there. Polaroid instant pictures were a good alternative to waiting days to have film developed and they gave people nearly instant gratification. But today, given how easy it is for anyone to take a digital picture and see it (and share it) instantly, for free, Polaroid film doesn't have much of a chance although it does have a certain nostalgic charm to it. Polaroid instant cameras are still available, although with slightly different technology. Another thing that wasn't commonplace in 1967 that we take for granted now is color TV. We had a black and white television set in our apartment, and one of the letters mentioned my parents' friends, the Dirrs, inviting us over to watch a TV special on their color television one night. Mom mentioned that she hoped we could buy a color TV when we got back to Texas, and I'm pretty sure we did before the end of the year. As previously noted, 1972 was the first year in which more color television sets were sold in the US than black-and-white sets. Also in the area of technology, something important was happening in the late 1960s that I don't think was mentioned in any of the letters although there were a few front page newspaper articles about it while we were in L. A. That was the race to the moon. The Apollo program was in its early stages, having yet to launch a manned spaceflight, yet we found our apartment in L. A. exactly two years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. The changes in technology in the past 50 years have certainly changed the way we communicate. In 1967, long before the internet was even a gleam in Al Gore's eye, there was no such thing as email. This was also long before mobile phones of any type were available, so there were no cell phones either, which meant no texting. No cell phones. No internet. No email. No texting. So how did people communicate? Well, people communicated the old fashioned way, via letters and phone calls using telephones connected to landlines. To make matters worse, the telephone companies charged extra for long distance calls outside of your local area, so most people, especially those who were pinching pennies, just didn't make a lot of long distance phone calls and tended to rely more on letters. We know letters were the primary method of communication between Mom and my grandmother. Letters at the time could go via ground, or you could pay a few cents more for airmail if you wanted faster delivery. All but one of Mom's letters was sent via airmail, and even with that we could see on a few occasions where the lag between sending and receiving caused some communication issues that wouldn't occur today. We have grown so accustomed to nearly instant communication these days that it's hard to imagine having to wait several days, perhaps more than a week, to have someone reply to a question. We did learn about one method of almost instant communication that was occasionally used back then, and that was the telegram. When my grandmother made her flight plans to visit us she sent a telegram because sending an airmail letter would have taken too long. Strangely enough, we also learned that Western Union continued their telegram service until 2006. Speaking of letters, we also learned the use of zip codes was somewhat new in 1967. Although Mom grew up in the house my grandmother was still living in, she didn't even know my grandmother's zip code when she started writing letters. It took her several months to get to the point where she always remembered to include the zip code when addressing the envelope, but she ended up doing it consistently. Not only was it nearly impossible to communicate as quickly as we do now, it was also difficult to get stuff as quickly. We moved to L. A. six years before the first overnight delivery service, Federal Express, began operations. People in 1967 probably didn't see much of a need for overnight deliveries, and they definitely would have been amazed that in the future you could even get same day delivery of some items. During our stay in L. A. we also ran across a few things that seem totally out of place today and have since been changed for the better, often with the prodding of the legal system. The first notable event was the search for an apartment in Los Angeles when my parents found it difficult to find an apartment building that would allow children. This was before the Fair Housing Act of 1968, so that was a perfectly legal practice at the time. The next incident that comes to mind was my encounter with a pay toilet when I was unable to pay. Fortunately pay toilets were banned in most places in the US in the 1970s and are rarely seen today. We learned that car seats were not very common in the late 1960s and certainly were not required by law. On a related note, I don't think any of the letters mentioned seat belts, but seat belts were not even required equipment for all seating positions in passenger cars until 1968, and wearing seat belts wasn't mandated by law until the mid 1980s. For most people it's weird to even think about not wearing a seatbelt today. Another more recent change in the area of child safety was the design of playground equipment. I haven't done any research on that, but the playground equipment I played on in Griffith Park would be viewed as quite archaic and hazardous today. Another item related to health and safety that was mentioned many times during the first half of our stay was the smog. Say what you will about California's environmental regulations, but they seem to have greatly improved the smog situation over the past 50 years. It was really sad reading Mom's description of how the smog affected us. Even if people who were living there got used to it, you know it had to have a negative effect on people's respiratory systems and who knows what else. If you want really bad smog today you can go to some big cities in China. We also learned that the medical guidelines regarding the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy have changed in the past 50 years, since Mom did not abstain early on in her pregnancy. In the world of sports there was a lot going on, although in most cases Mom just mentioned it as an aside, leaving me to do the research to figure out what game she was talking about. (You're welcome.) The most important thing from a historical perspective was the rise of OJ Simpson to national prominence as a junior running back for the USC Trojans. I really wish I could ask my dad what his thoughts were while watching college football's "Game of the Century" between USC and UCLA, especially OJ Simpson's touchdown run that is considered one of college football's best plays ever. The same goes for college basketball's "Game of the Century" between UCLA and The University of Houston two months later, which Mom and Dad both watched intently with friends while I played on the floor with coloring books and dominoes. Finally, since we were so close to Hollywood, it's only natural that the world of entertainment was featured in one way or another in many of the letters and diary entries. Mom and I saw a scene from the 1968 movie "The Party" being filmed, we saw a Shasta root beer commercial being filmed, and we attended tapings of Let's Make a Deal (with Monty Hall) and Art Linkletter's House Party. Our friends the Dirrs appeared on The Newlywed Game with Bob Eubanks, and Mom and I got to see Dean Martin's dressing room, including the toilet, as part of an NBC studio tour. And some television history was mentioned in one of the letters, too. That was the final episode of "The Fugitive" television series, the most watched TV show of all time until the world found out who shot J. R. Ewing 12 years later. In tomorrow's post I'll try to fill in a few gaps and tie up some loose ends.

September 19, 1967: The wreck

Letter postmarked September 19, 1967:

This envelope did have a zip code, so the CCZCC now stands at 1.

"Dear Mother and Mike,

"I guess you both are back in the swing of things - school and workwise that is. Mike, did you get your schedule worked out to your satisfaction? Did Mike get a job with the credit union?"

"Saturday we got sort of a chain letter from Wayne, Linda and Bernie. Wayne finally got his pickup and I would imagine he's just like a kid with a new toy. From Linda's accounts of Wayne's spending on the farm and the new house, I can tell that he and Dave have reacted the same way towards a baby. Dave told me Saturday that we were going to get a Polaroid camera this week. Reason? I took two rolls of colored film - Disneyland and other places - and we got four pictures developed."

[Regarding what sounds like an increase in spending, in Dad's binder of pay stubs and expense reports there is a letter indicating he got a raise September 1. So that might explain his willingness to splurge on a new camera.]

[If only four pictures were developed up to this point, I'm guessing some of the ones I've posted from the photo album were taken after the Polaroid camera was purchased. I've noticed there are two different sizes of prints, so it might be easy to tell for sure which are the early ones. The two of me and my grandmother were obviously taken before this Polaroid camera was purchased.]

"We haven't done much since you left. Friday, David Wayne and I went to the La Brea Tar Pits. The pits were interesting, but the museum was strictly an art museum and not for us. After I have been so careful about _not_ taking David Wayne to picture shows that aren't fit, I expose him to art - nude paintings, nude statues, etc.! It only took a few minutes for me to find out I was in the wrong place with a five-year-old. A lady at the museum told me the bones of dinosaurs were at another museum 7-1/2 miles away. Figures. Surely one wouldn't think to keep the bones where they were found. Since I had told David Wayne we would see dinosaurs there was little I could do but drive there. I carefully followed the map the lady had given me and we did get there. But not before going ten blocks through a "Watts" area. That lady's great-grandfather must have been a general in the Northern army!"

[Now we know why Mom remarked in her diary entry that she didn't find the art museum interesting. I wonder if five-year-old me found it a little too interesting?]

[Now we also know a bit more about how Mom ended up driving through Watts that day. She hadn't planned on going to the Natural History Museum when we left the apartment so she had to follow a map she had just picked up at the art museum.]

"I was fairly shook up when we arrived, but the museum was great. There are four floors and we only saw a part of the first floor - we can spend a week there. Going home I took another route - on the freeway. At home, I literally fell on the bed for two hours and thanked God for my deliverance."

"Saturday Dave watched a game on television. That night we ate Mexican food on Olvera Street. Dave ate his food, all that I left, and all that David Wayne left - then he came home and got sick. He won't be wanting Mexican food for a looong time. Do you remember me commenting on the food at that restaurant being so reasonable? Well! They triple the price at night. It cost $9 for the three of us to eat! No wonder Dave had to eat all the food."

[Like I said before, Dad liked his Mexican food. That $9 in 1967 would be worth over $65 today, so I'm sure he didn't want to waste any of that food.]

"Sunday we just stayed home and relaxed. I was thankful for the change in pace and so were the boys."

"Monday really turned out to be _one_ day. Dave came home at his usual 5 o'clock. I had just walked back to the bedroom with him when he ran to the window and looked out. Then - just a second or two [later] - the floor of the apartment shook and lamps did a dance on their tables. I ran to the window and there it was - a woman had run into our apartment house! The car bounced off the wall and back onto the street and she was getting out (car still moving). Her car hit another car parked in front of the kindergarten. She got out of the car - dropping her wig on the street - and started walking down the street. Her head was cut and her nose was bleeding. We were out front by then and heard a man ask if he could help her. She replied, "Leave me alone," and she kept walking. Everyone around thought she was calling the police, but she just kept walking to the next block!"

[I wonder if Mom initially thought it was an earthquake?]

"The manager called the police when we saw that she had no intention of doing so. Here's what happened:"

[After seeing that drawing I think Dad must have heard the initial impact at location 1, which is why he ran to the window and looked out. I bet he was glad the car turned and hit the building instead of going a little further and hitting our car.]

"All of this in 5 o'clock traffic! The police came and then a wrecker to move it out of the street. Poor stupid police! They didn't know what to do - the driver of the illegally parked car was nowhere to be found, the owner of the car in front of the kindergarten wouldn't be home for another hour, and the woman that hit everything had just disappeared. Dave and I gave a description of what we saw. I told the police what she was wearing, how tall, etc. I doubt that they will pay much attention to what I said because when they asked for my name, address, and age I just froze and I told them I was 27. Dave said 26 and the policeman just looked at me and shook his head. They were confused enough and here was a woman giving her age as _older_ instead of _younger_! It turned out with the car being hauled off, the police getting woman's name from letters in car, (but not the woman) and us having supper at 7:30."

[Wow, quite the drama-filled evening on Normandie Avenue. I guess crazy people have been around for a long time.]

"This turned into a real catalog. We are all just fine, except now I'm not only afraid to drive but walk for fear of being run over on the sidewalk. Snappy is doing fine. I don't know which David gets more pleasure from the turtle."

"Take care of yourselves and write as often as you can."

"Love,
Linda"

September 15, 1967: Watts happening

Diary entry for September 15, 1967:

Wrote letter in AM and straightened house. David Wayne and I drove to La Brea Tar Pits. Went to Observation building and bought pictures and saw bones of sloth. The Art Museum was not interesting. Then we drove to another museum - Natural History. We enjoyed it. Drove through Watts on way to museum. I didn't like that. Came home by way of freeway. Very tired that night.

This was a legendary day Mom loved to talk about. I am so glad she mentioned it in a diary entry. First, let's look at a map to get our bearings.

Our apartment is at the top of the map, and the La Brea Tar Pits are less than four miles due west of there. The Art Museum is next door to the tar pits. The Natural History Museum is about a seven mile drive south and east of the La Brea Tar Pits, on the south side of I-10. Watts is a neighborhood about ten miles south of the Natural History Museum, near the intersection of I-110 and I-105. As you can see, Watts is definitely not on the way to the museum, which means Mom took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up driving through Watts, but found her way to the museum.

So what's the big deal with Watts and why didn't Mom like driving through it? For you youngsters out there, Watts was the scene of about a week of riots and civil unrest (looting and arson) in August of 1965, triggered by allegations of police brutality. Almost 1000 buildings were damaged, burned, looted, or destroyed. The National Guard was called in for support, and 34 people were killed during the riots. It was the worst unrest in Los Angeles history until the Rodney King riots of 1992. (For you youngsters out there, the Rodney King riots happened when . . . )

For disturbing reasons I won't get into here (they're easily googled), Watts was one of the racially segregated areas of Los Angeles with a very poor population at the time. I don't know if "ghetto" would be an accurate word to describe Watts in the late 1960s, but I'm sure many non-residents described it that way. Not just a ghetto, a dangerous ghetto given the 1965 riots. Gang violence significantly increased there in the 1970s, so chances are it wasn't a great place in 1967.

So my mother, sitting behind the wheel of our big white Pontiac Bonneville in her bouffant hairdo, drove little five-year-old me through possibly the most dangerous neighborhood in Los Angeles fifty years ago today. (Yes, this should remind you of the scene from National Lampoon's Vacation where Clark Griswold takes the family through a bad area of St. Louis in the Wagon Queen Family Truckster.)

Mom said when Dad got home and she told him about our day and how she inadvertently drove through Watts, he just about exploded and read her the riot act. (See what I did there?)

I doubt we'll be visiting Watts again during our stay in Los Angeles. And I didn't even get a bank. :-(