We moved to Hollywood in 1940.  The house my parents bought at 5826 La Mirada Avenue that cost $5200.00 and it had 2 small rentals.  I was 10 years old a real wimp.  I attended Santa Monica Blvd. Street School for 2 years.  Marbles, kick-ball and tetherball were the games of choice on the playground.  We played, in the street, a game called kick the can and over the line.  We never locked our door to the house, because everyone in the neighborhood had the same front door key.  We were never burglarized.  Roller-skating, bicycling, walking and hitchhiking, and riding the streetcar were the main source of transportation for a pre-teenager.  Money for entertainment was earned by selling magazines, delivering newspapers, [Post, Colliers, Liberty, Herald Express, Hollywood Citizen’s News and the Examiner].

 

On December 7, 1941 our lives and serene neighborhood changed dramatically.  I had several Japanese friends that lived on Gordon and Tamarind Avenue, just north of Fountain Avenue.  They had to leave because of relocation to concentration camps.  I was too young to understand the reasons for this action and I felt bad, because they were not around to play with me anymore.  Rationing of food and clothing soon took effect.  Victory gardens sprung up in the backyard of most houses, and air raid drills and blackouts were an ongoing thing.  I remember the drills we had at school.  I always liked them, because it meant that we did not have to study, however, there were times that I was scared.  Men and women of the various services were everywhere.  The Palladium, Earl Carols and the Trocadero were the places to go for the service people.  The Stage-Door Canteen on Cahuenga Avenue was also very popular.  Air raid Wardens in white helmets would make sure that your house was completely dark during the air raid warnings.

 

I entered Le Conte Jr. High in 1943.  We only lived about a block from the school and most of my spare time was spent on the playground.  I was very familiar with most of the students, because I had been playing with many of the students prior to entering Le Conte.  The next 3 years were very important in my development.  The physical education department had a system by which you could earn a decathlon letter by performing certain skills in track, football, gymnastics, baseball and basketball.  It was this program that helped develop my skills in athletics and I was able to earn my 5-star decathlon letter.  The educational system also had a merit pen system for scholarship.  The motivation that these awards had on my life, provided the skills that molded my life for the future.

 

I remember the B-Squares, Troubadours, Reginald Denny’s Hobby Shop, Hollywood Roller Bowl, Polar Palace, Sunset Bowling Alley [52 lanes], Pontiacs [on Melrose, famous for hot dogs].  Hamburger haven, Ranch Market, Union Ice Company [I worked there one summer, and the stories about the iceman and the milkman are true], Helms Bakery trucks, Adhor milk, Matsons for Levi’s, Coast and Curries, Good Humor Ice Cream, Sontag Drug Store, Gilmore Stadium, Hollywood Stars, Midget auto racing, Hollywood Y.M.C.A., Little Green Valley, Hitching Post Theatre [check your guns before entering]; surfing and girl watching at Santa Monica Beach, Zuma Beach and Venice, and the Loma and Cinema Theatres.  CBS, NBC, KFWB, Paramount, RKO, Columbia Studios, Observatory and the Hollywood sign.

 

At Le Conte, we had after school competition between homerooms.  This helped build team spirit at an early age.  My best friends, Jerry Northbrook and Dave Neal, were in S-1 [Metal shop] homeroom with me, and we have maintained a very close relationship all these years.  We also had Y.M.C.A. clubs such as the 8-Balls, Lucky-Sevens, Polecats, Jug’s and many others.  These clubs helped us build character, team spirit and lasting friendships.  World War II ended in 1945 and gas rationing also ended.  This was a blessing, because I would enter Hollywood High School in 1946.  I mention this, because there was a shortage of cars and gas, and I was eager to own a car as all teenagers are today.  My first car was a yellow 1933 Plymouth coupe.  It was my pride and joy, and I believe gas cost about 23 cents a gallon.

 

The word marijuana was not in our vocabulary.  At Hollywood High, smoking was done at an area called “Nicotine Gulch.”  There was very little cigarette smoking, because most of my friends were interested in sports and they were athletic.  We weren’t perfect by a long shot.  We used to sneak into the theatre, and then open the EXIT doors so that our friends could sneak in, and this drove the ushers crazy trying to find out where we were sitting.  Sneaking on the bus and streetcars were also a favorite prank.  We used to make smoke bombs and condom balloons and throw them into the quad.  This was also another one of the favorite tricks that we enjoyed in high school.  I also remember stealing coins from the wishing well at the Grumman’s Egyptian Theatre, and then I would buy a ticket to enter the theatre.

 

I lettered in basketball for 3 years at Hollywood High, and of the favorite things the guys would do to show your special girlfriend how much you thought of her, was to let her wear your letterman’s sweater.  This was a BIG deal.  We had championship teams in 1949 in basketball, football, tennis, swimming, track and gymnastics.  I believe we also won city championships in swimming and tennis.  We also had an excellent academic program at Hollywood High and many of my classmates went on to Harvard, Stanford, Cal-Tech, UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley.  I graduated from Hollywood High in the summer of 1949.  I also was elected to the Ephesians society.  I am very proud of this honor.  The graduation ceremony took place at the Hollywood Bowl, and I truly believe that I lived in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

 

Sincerely,

Wilk Perry,  S’49

Retyped by Jennifer Duncan, S’ 1972

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Comment by Charline (Crowder) Lamb on December 23, 2011 at 8:11am

Wonderful Memories.   We were Blessed to live and share in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

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