The things I remember about Palo Alto while growing up:

Things I remember from growing up in Palo Alto (College Terrace):

When the entire length of California Avenue was fields, playing and running around and ogling the construction sites as TAB et al. went up

The Kite Flying Hill (Frenchman’s Hill) before the Stanford condos went up

Patterson’s (5 and Dime), Monette’s Pet Store and the tiny bike store on California Avenue, where we used to ride our bikes and check out what was new.

JJ&F before it expanded into the space next door, but still with John, Joe and Frank at the helm.

The experimental Carousel program at Escondido, mixed grade with a heavy emphasis on emotional intelligence.

Eating jawbreakers at the pool on hot summer days, bought at the snack bar at Rinconada.

Anyone else?

When Cubberly High School was still Cubberly High School and we were the Cubberly Cougers. When JLS was Wilbur Junior High.

When Officer Frank Mashinski was still the PA Police Department’s Safety Patrol liason, and we all wore red sweaters and yellow hats. We carried stop signs that were bigger than we were, and we all marched in the May Day Parade.

Mitchell Park was a huge empty field, and East Meadow was Diss Road.
Oregon Expessway was two-laned Oregon Avenue, and none of the cross streets were blocked.

The Century Liquor store strip was a roller rink.

Rafe Serebreny
Hoover Wilbur Cubberly

Previous owner 2730 South Court
West Long Branch, NJ

Wow … this is such a wonderful thread ! I hope lot more people post their memories … we are very very new residents as compared to all of you ( 2002 … )

The now closed ARCO site near the Winterlodge — what was this place prior to ARCO ? Was it always a gas station ?

Bowling at the Indian Bowl on Emerson Bowl
across from where Whole Foods is now. The
Indian head is still on the sidewalk.

Looking at dirty magazines at Fran’s market on the corner
of Lytton and Cowper. A large picture of Fran still hangs on the
upper wall to your left as you walk in. He was a nice man
and never busted me.

On one of your trips down memory lane, can you tell me what was in the location that currently houses Hobee’s on El Camino just south of E. Charleston (across from the old Rickey’s). It looks like there used to be a bar in there, and I’m really curious about it.

I lived on Duncan Place from 1961-1965, when my family moved to Boston. I went to Ohlones (yes, with an ‘S’) Elementary School, where Hoover is currently situated.

I also remember riding bikes down the dry creek beds. “Don’t you dare tell the kids!” my husband admonished when we moved here eight years ago.

I remember being on the Safety Patrol that Rafe refers to. I was all of 4 1/2 feet tall, and I’d go out there with my red sweater and sign and stop traffic on Charleston so children could cross the street going to and from school. And I actually lived to tell about it.

I remember several of our neighbors building bomb shelters. I can still point out those homes now and wonder if the shelters are still there and what they are being used for. I remember drills in school where we were told to get under our desks and cover our necks with our hands in case of an air raid. What were they thinking?

I remember taking violin classes and Spanish from first grade on. I think it’s a travesty that formal music and language instruction is delayed until late elementary and middle school now. I still play the violin and remember a little Spanish. I attribute that to my early exposure right here in Palo Alto.

A more recent memory.

The snow that was trucked to downtown palo alto for a one night of play.

“Slot car racing”

Where was this at? Please elaborate.

Hi Carlos,

The slot car racing the Bob Gardiner referred to was, I think, a 2or 3-story building where the closed-up Arco station now is. I had to tap my memory when I was about 6 years old. The tables where they raced the toy cars were to high for me to see – but I could hear the action.

Hey Bob – long time no see. Looks like we haven’t been “priced-out” of our city. I still keep in touch with some of our elementary school teachers Take care,

Andy

collecting tadpoles in the creek.
Riding my banana seat bike all around the neighborhood.
yes, afterschool rec center.
walking down the street at 9 pm at night, with no cars out and the lights out in all the houses (people used to go to bed early around here!)
101 commute hour with 5 cars on the road (that was considered a lot).
Sneaking out of the house to go to the Varsity Theater to watch Eraserhead.
Woolworth’s, Edie’s Ice Cream, Bergman’s. Downtown closing down at 6 pm.
Less than 16 kids in my 5th grade class.
Girl Scouts, the Girl Scout house at Rinconoda, the Railroad Club…and of course Monettes!

Elizabeth Van Auken elementary school

Varsity Theater

Palo Alto Yacht club

Palo Alto Yacht Harbor

Palo Alto Drive-In

Sitting on a huge pile of hay bales watching movies at the PA Drive-In
The 600′ radio tower on the east side of the freeway

Crawling under Bayshore while under costruction through drainage pipes to catch gopher snakes around the radio tower

Skateboards made out of metal wheeled skates

Woodburners and X-Acto knives

Wilbur Junior High (Go Warriors!!)

The Jordan Germs

When soccor was a game instead of a sport

Biking all over town and not having your parents worrying about you

Eddie’s Cafe in Midtown

The original Midtown Pharmacy where you could buy cinnamon oil to soak tooth picks in

The variety store at Midtown where penny candy was HUGE

Toy World where my bother got busted for shoplifting but ran out the backdoor when the manager went to call the cops

Riding the train to San Francisco during the summer to visit my Dad’s office in the Woolworth building

Woolworth’s

Western Auto

Going to Peninsula Creamery and having my friend’s mom make us gimungous shakes

El Carmelo, De Anza, Wilbur, and Cubberley (then Paly).

Going to Piers Dairy at lunch recess to get a snow cone.

Wax lips upstairs at Bergman’s.

Climbing the fence at the Wilbur swimming pool for midnight swimming. Also swimming at Felt Lake or the quarry behind Foothills Park.

Rick’s Rather Rich after baseball practice with the State Farm Boys.

Riding motorcycles and bicycles in the fields along 101 where Connectics is now located.

Riding my stingray with my brother and Joe M. to Stanford for the first time – an all day event.

Midtown Bike Shop, Midtown Pharmacy, Midtown Market – Midtown!

Playing tennis ball baseball and pretending to be the Giants – running down the entire lineup (remember Tito Fuentes, Al Gallagher, Dick Dietz, Gaylord Perry?).

Playing two hand touch football in the street until the street lights came on.

My first job as a paperboy with the Palo Alto Time – I porched it!

Lew’s Shell on Middlefield.

My first teaching job at the first elementary school I ever attended.

What a long, strange trip it’s been!

Thanks all for bringing back a lot of memories….

The Wright Nursery School in Barron Park

Hoover Elementary & Principal Clark

Wilbur Junior High

Swim lessons during the summer at Terman

Air raid siren checks

Lunch at the coffee shop at Bergmann’s, followed up a trip to the toy section on the 2nd floor

My first savings account at Northern California Savings on Middlefield

Midtown Market / Co-Op / Lucky’s / All-American

Fruit trees in the yard and all around the neighborhood – cherries, plums, apricots

Seeing snow for the first time that morning in ’76

Mayfield Mall (I know, it’s in MV, not PA) – but I can’t forget the great pet store and Grandma’s Cookies

…The world has changed a lot – and Palo Alto has certainly changed with it. It’s still a great place to live & grow up – at least that’s why we’re back here!

Hi,

John and I have come up with some other things we remember. We have really enjoyed everyone’s memories. Most of which we remember too.

At the the variety store in Midtown, you could go upstairs and read comic books, all the ones your own parents wouldn’t let you read.

Ming’s, when it was on El Camino, where we all learned to use chopsticks.

Irma Schauble’s.

Mr. Center, Mr. Thorpe, Mrs. Dingman (does anyone learn latin any more?)

The Comedia Theater

The Tangent on University

The great Halloween party at Garland. The 6th graders got to do the haunted room. And The cake walk.

The great Halloween party at Jordan, where you coul dunk the teachers.

And, I left the l out of the Jordan Dolphins.

Thanks to all of you. Ann and John anncooleymcclintock@yahoo.com

Hi Carlos,

Thank you for your note. If I am referring to what slot car racing is, as I recall, there was a 2 or 3-story building right where the abandon Arco Station is on Middlefield Road (not to get confused with Carpenter’s Hall). I believe the building was taken down around 1961 when. From what I recall, they had about 3 big tables with car tracks on them for those small, model cars. As mentioned, I wasn’t tall enough to see what was going on unless I stood on a chair.

Andy

Does any one else remember the donkeys in a pasture where Palo Alto Square is now?
How about the House of Pies?
i remember taking Fremont to Los Altos, because Foothill Expressway was still train tracks.
I remember swimming (and drinking beer) at Felt lake many times.
Apricot orchards between Gunn and Alta Mesa.
Blowing smoke down into the grass over Pig Pen’s grave.
Riding a horse down into the Gunn Quad after school
Sneaking in and switching the announcements for “Hippy Day” at Gunn
The disco at the Old Mill
Riding at Cooks, (ok I think that is LAH, but it is just over the border.
Crawling into the tower on Old Page Mill, (actually really boring inside)
Maxi Mart, where Fry’s is now.
California Avenue Pharmacy, with the pretty bottles of colored liquid behind the counter.
When there was a Woolworths at Stanford Mall.

Free Donuts and coffee at Bergmann’s after Thanksgiving

Receiving tootsie rolls from the cashiers at Midtown Market

Buying fresh meat at the meat counter at Midtown Market.

Shopping at Maximart which is now Fry’s Electronics

Attending Jordan when they had the dolphin as their mascot and their school colors were red and blue

Being able to catch a city bus a couple blocks from my house to go to downtown Palo Alto, Stanford Shopping Center or to Mayfield Mall

Riding a yellow school bus to Paly when it rained

Playing in the apricot orchards next to Gunn High School (the western end of Georgia Avenue).

Woolworths in the San Antonio Shopping Center

Mayfield Mall

Frying eggs on the street during the summer time

Snow day when I was in 5th grade at Loma Vista (now Juana Briones)

A&W

Playing in apricot fields at the eastern end of Georgia Avenue (now Pena Court and condominiums)

Riding my bicycle to Terman Jr. High to swim in the pool all day during the summers.

Last class to attend Terman Jr. High – I had to go to Wilbur for 8th grade.

Riding our bikes to the ‘drive-up’ window at Berkeley Farms for snow-cones.

Planting trees at the baylands and feeding the ducks at the dump with my Dad.

The unique smell and soporific sounds at Eichler, where after swimming I would fall asleep in one of my parents’ arms wrapped up in an orange beach towel.

The ‘gang’ playing ‘chase’ after dinner at El Carmelo during the summers.

Snowball fight on the grass at Palo Verde in ’76.

SinGing with Mrs. Fukikawa at Wilbur. (always pronounce the ‘g’)

Jasmine everywhere. Thankfully some things never change.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh……… I misss those days!

Riding my horse to Gunn after school.

Sometimes, even riding as far as the Driftwood Market, at the corner of Matadero and El Camino, and getting slurpees or burritos at Taco Tio next door.

Tying my horse up to the hitching post my Dad built in front of our Barron Park home.

Maximart and Norney’s and the monkeys at the shoe store at Stanford shopping center.

Riding bikes to San Antonio Shopping Center, and having lunch at The Menu Tree and watching the papier mache birds come out every hour.

The duck pond, and the Palo Alto dump, where treasures old and not-so-old could be snatched up from the piles of trash before being buried.

The night Kenny Marjoram left his Ford Pinto in the middle of the El Camino and Embarcadero intersection before leaving to play for the Bears… I towed it away for PAPD.

Polly & Jake Antiques on the corner of El Camino and Page Mill–Polly would hand wrap the fragile items purchased as gifts while you waited.

The Poor Farm. Webb Ranch–the fruit stand and the ranch–when it was just a little stand and we picked our pumpkins there along the road side in the pumpkin patch.

Cook’s Quarter Horse Ranch and Rancho Ramos. Riding my horse from Ramos’s place to Duvenick in the early morning hours for a horse show, and then back again in the evenings.

Michi the donkey in the little pasture behind the Veteran’s Hospital. Mrs. Bol owned him, and I kept my horse with Michi for several years. Mrs. Bol’s grand daughter came out to California in the summers and we rode together along the old railroad right of way.

Swimming in the Bol’s pool after our rides. Even then I knew the pool was a style of older times. The old farm house and all its antiques, and its smell of apples.

The fields where Palo Alto Square is now. The Stanford Theater. The Varsity. The Bijou.

Quality Mart! Does anybody remember them? I thought I could get the coolest second hand stuff EVER at Quality Mart.

Hi Andrea,

No, I’m not the Andy F from ’88, I’m Andy F (the ol’ geezer) from ’74 Gunn (Wilbur and Cubb alum, too).

Andy

The year we moved to Palo Alto, they were tearing down the old Harker Academy in our neighborhood. On Saturdays there were un-supervised kids running around the abandon open buildings tearing it apart and have a grand time before the bulldozers moved in and built Eichler-like homes.

Riding mini-bikes and motorcycles out behind Carlson VW on a beaten-down dirt track complete with jumps that would rival today’s supercross.

Watching small sailboats in a regatta out by the Sea Scout base and yacht harbor.

Playing the first linked video space game (like Asteroids but with 4 players) game out Stanford Tressidor Union.

The alligator scare in Lake Lagunita.

One more thing…okay 2

Selling parking in my driveway for the Superbowl at Stanford Stadium

Watching the opening ceremonies and 1st soccer game of the 1984 Olympics at Stanford Stadium

I’m the other Andy F. Paly class of 1988.

Duveneck/St Francis neighborhood? That would be the Green Gables/St Francis hood! No, not Green Garbage, for all of you Crescent Park kids. An old school rivalry that the GG kids got the last laugh in when they closed Crescent Park to make way for more multi-million dollar homes.

Some of the things I remember about old PA….

The neighborhood “candy lady”. A kind lady that lived on the corner of Rhodes and Hamilton that would always give us candy if we knocked on the door and asked politely. Thanks for the cavities!

The enormous dirt jump at Eleanor Pardee Park that we would jump our bmx bikes off of for hours, then go to the 7-Eleven over the Newell bridge to get Slurpees.

Decorating our bikes and riding in the May Day Parade every year.

Taking the bus to Mayfield Mall and the Old Mill with our friends when we were 11-12. Oh, the good ol’ days.

I know it’s been said, but Patterson’s RULED! Pixie sticks, cap guns and cheap novelty toys. Bergmann’s too!

Edie’s Ice Cream and Candy Store at Town & Country, even though my beloved DB silver streak bmx bike was stolen there! It was a sad day….

AYSO soccer every season with our Dad’s coaching and Moms cheering.

Riding our bmx bikes to Stanford campus during the hot Summer days and swimming in the fountains to cool off. The one in front of the main bookstore is the best.

Times Tribune and SF Chronicle paper routes.
Mud football at Green Gables every chance we got!
42nd Street long island teas!

Sitting up on the Swenson’s balcony eating ice cream and watching the people walking below on University Ave.

Sneaking into Castilleja dances and dancing with the girls because the bussed-in Bellarmine boys were shy and just sat and watched.

Rinconada snack bar..salt & pepper burgers, slushies and red ropes.
The Rinconada high dive and diving platforms!

Henry’s Bar on University Ave
Pudley’s
The Original (small) Miyake
The Stanford Pub!!!!!!!!!!

I thought of a few more…
was it Mountain Mikes pizza corner of ECR/Stanford?
that big tine wherehouse at the end of Cal Ave along the train tracks
When Mollie Stones was CO OP
Cal Ave Pharmacy
T & C Pharmacy (did that place make a killing off us or what!?)
Johns Market @ T&C ….the lunch hangout
JJF & sandwiches that you just had to have on a field trip
The days before the nifty road blocks in Evergreen Park
That auto body place across from Paly on the corner by the train trax
Skating at Winter Lodge…hot chocolate and almonds from the vending machine while sitting next to the fire
Two best places to go when cutting class..Stickney’s and Cookbook
Hobees coffee cake
Pizza A Go Go
Yes, Swansons balcony..cool
Feeling safe going downtown, it was more small town then
Going to see Rocky Horror at the Varsity
Seeing movies at the theatre on Cal Ave.
Bud’s Ice Cream parlors
Yes, a million cops at any Paly party
Yes, Sr. take over night on the wall
Mr. Center…never had him but it sounds like he had quite a rep.
Stanford Shopping center when it was small and a low key place to hang
Riding the school bus or riding your bikes..all alone..concept
Snack food at Jordan/Paly..that french bread dripping in warm grease, french fries, Its Its, those Carnation Ice cream cup things..oh yeah we ate real healthy!
Cambridge Hardware store
Old Country Deli. on Cambridge Ave
The Keystone and the EDGE
42nd St, yeah that was a fun place!
Printers Inc
no starbucks..wow
KFC
that market where Blockbuster is now
Old Barrel liquor store where PA Commons is now
The gas station that is now the soccer field on ECR/Page Mill Rd
Wow..so many things that come flooding back..
PA was so mellow and simple then..not so pretentious
The lumber yard where PAMF now is and where the PAMF clinic once was
Mrs Zimmerman from Jordan…
The old, fun playground at Escondido school.
Yeah, that weird guy on the bike who would go around praying or whatever!
I think there was maybe one homeless guy that we saw around back then
Foster Freeze on ECR
The place on the corner of Park Blvd and ECR that use to be a gym
oh…so many memories..wish my daughter could of seen it then!
now she gets taken and picked up from school every day. she is never out of sight. schools weren’t fenced in and worried about attacks or weirdos. they weren’t overcrowded..you just went to your neighborhood school…it aint like that now..its a fight to get in.
I think I liked it better the other way!
We see things in a whole other light from what it is now

I recall great teachers at Paly, such as Norton Thornton and Coach Wes Fisher.

I recall wonderful people like Mary and Melissa Hubbell in the hallways!

I recall a craft shop in Midtown where the Baskin Robbins store is (or was as of 1980 – when I was last there).

I recall getting free dog bones at Midtown market and walking my dog at Hoover Park.

I recall the “cones” from the Liquidambar trees on Webster Street and the sycamore leaves on Cowper.

I recall buying cokes from the Midtown Shell station for fifteen cents.

And I recall the fact that even though the 60’s were a turbulent time that Palo Alto was a wonderful place to live!

The movie theatre on Hamilton Ave that showed the old movie (black and white) double features and served bagels with cream cheese and had the bean bags was the Festival Theatre. Great place.
Yes, the pizza place at the corner of Stanford Ave. was Mountain Mikes.
The pizza place on El Camino down by Barron Park was Shakeys.
Anchovies on the Pizzas at Roundtable.

Speaking of old movie theaters, here’s a brief article that lists them all.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news_features/centennial/1970SB.php

The one on Hamilton and Cowper with the bean bags chairs was The Festival. I remember in sixth grade a friend and I talked them into letting us use their bathroom during the middle of a show, and you had to walk right down in front and cross in front of the screen (almost tripping over the folks in the bean bag chairs) to get to the can.

the Little Pedal Cars at Mitchell park

Channing Market

Fireworks at the PA Baylands ( and boats of course)

Portable rec shacks set up for summer ( with wooden carrom games)

Rinconada snack bar , high dive, Monday night family swim, with kids
trying to make the little pool a giant swirl.

Jordan, Gunn, Cub, Wilbur, Terman pools open in summer…

Victorian at Elenor Park

Little leagers missing their place at bat, watching the beginning of
movies at the PA drive in…

The smell of the incinerator at St. Alberts on Channing

Tuesday afternoon movies at the Stanford Theatre, with kids from all
over town playing together waitng to be picked up from the nearby park….

Halloween at the Fire circle…

and more.

O.K. so now we’re in professorville, but I grew up on Cowper court down by Fairmeadow School, and went to Hoover through the eight grade back when they still had one. How about Shakies pizza? They showed movies on the wall and it was really noisy but fun, and the pizza guys wore chef’s hats and you could watch them make the pizza.

I’m younger than some of you but I remember a great vacant lot on cowper street near matadero creek, I caught butterflies there, there were tons of bugs of all kinds, and I think they were toads not frogs at least in that part of matadero and barron creek.

I loved the recreation program in the summer at ohlone(s) and the Besse Bolton nursery school was over there, they had a donkey and all these rabbits that used to get out into mitchell park. We used to catch them and put them back and block the holes they had escaped from, then ‘pay’ ourselves with rides on the donkey…I think his name might have been Mickey. I got some real good scrapes from those rabbits, too. Also swimming at Wilbur pool and actually I would give good money to get the snack bar at Rinconada back. My daughter loved it when she was little. I have a twelve year old at Jordan and now we have a one year old, I am going to miss that snack bar bigtime.

Rick’s ice cream was there, I’ve been going for over thirty years now(!) How about Travino’s Super Subs? It was right next door. I saw Mr. Travino a couple of years ago, he’s still around. I miss Bergman’s, especially the toy and candy county upstairs, and the lunch counter, and how about Mayfield Mall? They had Cost Plus in the basement, I can still smell it, and a pet store with a talking Myna bird (“is it stripes or solids?” it would always say) and a Woolworths with a counter, the best grilled cheese and chocolate shakes with the worst soggy limp dill pickle in the world. Plus, remember how every store had a snack counter? J.C. Pennys at Mayfield and Sears had one too, you could smell the popcorn as soon as you walked in (ok thats not palo alto but we could get there on our own by bus). Also the pharmacy at Midtown was called the ‘five and dime’ and had a hot nuts case where the nuts went around and smelled amazing.

How about the Old Mill? They had that amazing water wheel and six theatres (I think I saw Star Wars at least twenty times there) and Cecils ice cream store and all those weird exits from the second floor. You’d see an exit sign and follow it through weird mechanical support areas and tunnels and behind stores before going down stairs to the bottom, it was like Get Smart or something. Each one was completely different, we spent what seems like hours in them, they were sooo cool.

Anybody else remember any of that? Also at Recreation at Ohlone they had a watermelon eating contest where you had to eat LOTS, not fast, they doled it out in quarters and you took as long as you liked. My sister ate half of q watermelon, I ate one and a half. I won the contest, and the prize was…A watermelon! You are not going to believe this, but we sat down and ate it, right then.

I have really enjoyed reading people’s memories and writing all of this. Last Halloween we were discussing making tombstones for our favorite dead places and made a list, (Bijou Theater, Old Uncle Gaylord’s Kosher Ice Cream Parlour with the velvet theatre seats, Piers Dairy, Peninsula Scientific, Zak’s Electronics…) But then we started a list of places that are still here, and it actually wasn’t as pathetic as we had feared…

Katie

I was born and raised in Palo Alto (Barron Park) so I’ve got a few memories. Here’s just a few:

Barron Park was part of the county, not PA until the early 70’s.

Walking through the streets of Barron Park with BB gun in hand towards the foothills. Target practice in our garage.

Before they built Gunn, it was a cow pasture and a great place to play.

Playing little league at Middlefield park and out at the fields at Veterens hospital. There were 2 stars painted on the left field fense at the Middlefield park and if a ball was hit over the fense between the stars, they’d get their picture in the PA times.

When the interpretive center at foothills park was still a barn and jumping from the loft onto a pile of hay. The place used to be a cattle or sheep ranch. My Dad worked for the city and was friends with the head of the parks and our families had a picnic there before it opened. The roads were still dirt.

When the Stanford barn was still a barn with a mean looking bull in it.

Frost ampetheater before there was a fense. The first fense was 3 feet high. It didn’t last long.

When Stanford was still like a farm. Lots of horses.

Sunday night flicks at Stanford Memorial auditorium in the early 70s for 25 cents. We would always sneak in for the fun of it.

The Boat house at lake lagunita. swimming in lake lagunita.

The yaght harbor. (just an absolute shame it’s gone).

Working at Shakeys while I was a senior at Gunn.

Before it was Hobbies on El Camino across from Rickeys, it was the Tar and Feathers Saloon. That bar was owned and operated by a couple ex 49ers. Visiting teams used to stay at Rickeys and practice at Stanford. One week, the Cleveland Browns were in town and Stanford needed their field so the Browns used the field and locker room at Gunn for a week.

The A & W next to Shakeys with the roller skating car hops.

Mings restuarant across El Camino from Shakeys,

The Cameo Club. I was a paper boy for the PA times and I would drop a paper in the back door every day. Once a month I would get to go in the back door to collect. I would walk between the crouded the tables with my paper bags on to get to the cashiers window. He would alway tip me 50 cents. It was my favorite place to collect every month.

The Old Barrel liquor store with a walk-in freezer shaped like a huge barrel and a wine celler in the basement.

The Swiss Chalet where Goodwill is now.

The All American Market on the corner of Los Robles and El Camino.

When someone escaped from Veterens hospital, they would blow a loud whistle. My second grade teacher at baarron park elementary told us it was a steam shovel in the hills.

The Barron Park volunteer fire department next to the flower shop (which is still there) across from the Beacon gas staion which was across from the Old Barrel. If there was a fire in Barron Park, a siren would go off to notify the volunteers to get to the staion ASAP.

I grew up here and most of what I remember has already been mentioned. This is a great thread though, although it makes me a bit sad to remember the small town feel that PA used to have.

I remember my (much older) sister used to shop at a small, fancy lingerie boutique in the Stanford Shopping Center (this probably would have been in the 80s). I’m pretty sure it was what later became THE Victoria’s Secret — does anyone know for sure?

A couple of other fond memories — cheese popcorn at Klings in T&C, hay rides at T&C, also Stickneys at T&C, aquafollies at Lake Lagunita.

Moved to palo alto in 1970,during high school.Fond memories of finding “treasures” while digging through the dump out at the baylands.P.A’s own park up in the foothills,you needed a PA address on your license to get in.Watching the hippies riot on university ave. downtown,frost theater, lake laug,AnW onECR,Yacht harbor,drinking beer at the baylands and watching planes land and take off.Joy riding and partying with buds from cubberly and paly high.Easy going police,never came down too hard us.Early 1970’s ROCKED in Palo Alto!!

Flash Light tag late into the night on Webster,Byron,Tasso,Seale,Santa Rita…..with the Vermeils,Hellmans,Kalkbrenners,Neihammers,Tabors,Ariaglias.

Remember in the late 70’s when you could always see Andy Freeman with Doug Landis….hanging out with the neighborhood bad boys Stuart Halloway and Joey Perry???? All the girls(Carolyn Beckford, Jen kalkbrenner, Jackie Dudley, Annie Penskey, Maryann Cotter, etc) of the neighborhood hung out, riding bikes by all the boys!!!??? Green Gables….those were the days!

Enjoying all your memories folks, makes me nostalgic for where I grew up.

Anyway, I must ask – what and where was Lake Lagunitas that everyone seems to be mentioning and what happened to it?

Lake Lagunita is located just north of the intersection of Page Mill Road and Foothill Expressway. Here is a link: http://www.stanford.edu/home/welcome/campus/lagunita.html

Brentwood Market where Piazza’s is now

Rick at Rick’s Ice Cream

Four gas stations at the corner of Middlefield Road and San Antonio Road

Banana Records on El Camino

Old Mill

Stacey’s Bookstore

Bergman’s

Mitchell Park library with a card catalog and a lot less furniture, shelves, carts, etc.

A camping/outdoor gear store next to Palo Alto Sport and Toy

Someone asked where Lake Lagunita is… it’s just south of the Stanford driving range on Junipero Serra along the Stanford foothills.

Another memory I have is Casa Real. An AWESOME little mexican food restaurant that my Dad used to take us to when Mom was out, so he wouldn’t have to cook. The rustic, clay tiled roof, adobe building was where the PA Medical Center is now, on El Camino right next to what used to be Hubbard & Johnsons. PA’s very own mini Home Depot before there was a Home Depot.

Damn…PA was a great place to grow up.

Hi folks,

Andy Freedman here (not to get confused with Andy Freeman – (the PA Weekly wrote a small piece on this thread and left out the “d”).

The Longs (or Wallgreens) at Midtown, as most of you know, used to be the Co-Op Market. Did you know that before that, it used to be the Purity Store – They had another Purity Store on California Avenue were the Mollie stone now is. It was kind of a Quanset hut-type building.

Remember when the summertime “recreation department” at all the elementary schools (played Karems) used to get together one time a year at the Lucile Stern Center for a day of play, night of roasting marshmellows and then sleeping in sleeping bags overnight in the courtyard?

Me, my brother Dean and one of the Stuckey kids were talking when we were suppose to be sleeping. One of the counselors had us stand up, outstretching our arms against the side of the building as a punishment.

In 1962, I was Jack in the play Jack and the Beanstalk at the once a year evening Penny Carnival at the original Herber Hoover Elmentary school. I was a start – ahh the good ol’ days!

Also, we burried a time capsul near where the flag pole was. I bet when they tore down the school and built the condos, they never thought to look around for it.

Anyone remember the gas explosion at El Carmelo elementary school in, I think, 1966?

Andy Freedman (with a d) androcls@aol.com

Aymie you mentioned Mrs. Zimmerman at JLS! I had her at Jordan in 1982 and my son also had her at Jordan in 2004. She has the same hair, same eye shadow, and the same Mustang (car). I swear she is the female version of Dick Clark. Now that i’m a teacher, I can really appreciate her commitment to education!

Lake Lag – borders Junipero Serra Blvd near Stanford Driving Range.

The lake is now drained every year – but back in the day it was used for swimming, boating. Remember: The Boathouse. I remember as a kid going to the Big Game bonfire constructed on the dry lakebed in November.

Mitchell Park – car rides

Rapp’s Shoes

Woolworth’s soda fountain at Stanford Shopping Ctr

The Baylands – driving along The Bayshore to SF

And to add a few other local places since we all grew up with….

Linda’s Drive-In Los Altos

Monte Vista Drive-In on Grant Rd MV – saw movies in the summer wearing our PJ’s and yes did try the old trick of putting kids in the trunk to pay less per person

Babe’s Muffler – ECR Los Altos – the signage was priceless

Snowfall in 1962 & 1976 – going sledding near Foothills Park on that day 1976 Senior Year.

Riding my 3 speed bike on Hwy 280 from La Barranca to Magdelena LAH before 280 opened. Oh, and not getting caught!

what a great trip down memory lane…moved to p. a. in 1950, as my father and joe eichler started the craze. remember kirks on el camino. slushes at charleston center. little league games at middlefield. hunting for treasures with my step brother, chris keene. spending the night at the benzers. spying on my stepsister, dusty street. p.a. rec. dept. softball games at el camino ballpark. summer of 65 with barbie feller…..what a great place to grow up.

Sonny Boy Andy,

I sure gotta think you might had done a good job with Emmy-Lou. She was a great poke. She still talks ’bout those days. She’s blind as a bat, but I still like ta spend a little time with her (we just talk, and spit tebacci, at this point). We talk ’bout the old days, and jest hold hands.

Them opium dens were the real deal. Us crazy ass white guys, came into town every Saturday night. Them chinamen was right where we headed, before hittin’ the saloons.

A lot of them Stanford boys could hardly wait to get outta that jail that Mrs. Stanford created. They could sniff freedom, when it wuz close to ’em. Some of ’em were good on a pony, but they wanted another kinda ride, if ya follow me , Sonny. Them boys could explode! That is why Mrs. Stanford went on the attack, cuz she couldn’t stand a little fun. She put up a big high fence, but it wuz just a little more fun for them horny boys. They figured out ’bout eatin’ clubs over where the working guys were. Go to class in the mornin’, go for a poke in the evenin’. Problem was those boys had rich fathers who would, on occashin, join their sons in the fun. THAT was the end of Mayfield, once Mrs. Stanford figgerred it out.

She rigged the election. Her guys even bought drinks for us guys, to make shur we didn’t vote. Don’t forgetta ’bout the free opium. It was the end of an honest day of drinkin’ and whorin’ and snortin’. Not to menchun horsin’ and that grand pleasure of spittin’. She even got ridda the hooch. She hated the chinamen, but they held on by pretendin’ to serve grub.

The great grankids of them Stanford boys and their old men are slowly takin’ back the place. But I ain’t seen a real horse or a real whore since about ’20. Cain’t we at lest have a couple of by-god spittons?

Andy boy, you wanted the past, so I just gave it to you, for real.

I remember working at Edie’s Icecream (sp?) at Town & Country when I was all of 12 years old, and getting paid $2.25/hr which was below minimum wage. Still, it was worth it for all the free ice cream and candy.

Also remember sitting on the bench at Winter Lodge, eating green apple sour balls and scraping together snowballs to throw at the girls.

Going into the midtown creeks after Little League games to fetch frogs so my mom’s garden could produce more corn, tomatoes, etc without bugs doing damage.

Riding our bikes up to Foothill Club and University Club during the summer. It seemed like a Tour de France mountain stage at the time, but in reality it’s just a small hill.

Going to Foothill Park and finding snakes, banana slugs, deer antlers and salamanders.

Going to the Laster house at Webster & Lowell for high school parties. When the Jim & Betsy were away you could count on a party.

Cruising around on the roof at Jordan, and finding all sorts of things you wouldn’t expect on a jr high roof…

Thank you Mayfield Jack for that piece of history – damn interesting! I wonder if it was the death of her son that made Mrs. Stanford a little partyless.

Hi Barton Sisters. I actually have a few pictures of places that have since gone by the recking ball (e.g., Rudolpho’s and Dinah’s Shack).

I wonder if the Weekly could create an area here where folks could post the pictures for everyone to see?

Hey Bill Johnson, what do you think, could this be done?

It would be pretty cool. I know that the PA Historic Assc has a website of pictures, too.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

What a fun thread! Above all, it’s always fun to meet some fellow “Old Palo Altans,” to be reminded that there are still a few natives or semi-natives here to keep the spirit alive.

And on that note, non-natives often ask me to describe the spirit of the Palo Alto I grew up in — which as we all know is very different to today’s PA. Seems like it changed while I was away at college in the late 80s, and I’ve never been able to put my finger on what changed, other than that the real estate started going through the roof and the average household income added a zero or two. Anyone care to take a stab at that answer? Was it more liberal? More artsy? More of a small-town feel?

Here’s what I’ve been trying to remember along the lines of places that have gone away. Around 1980, when I was at the tail end of my high school years, there was an old, house-lie building in downtown Palo Alto, corner of Lytton and… maybe Florence? Tasso? Kind of a white adobe building, and on Friday nights, my friends Hershel Yadovitz and David Walker — along with a few others — would get a band together and play there. It was just a big open space, a great spot for a party (though ours were very tame, now that I think about it). What *was* that place? Not Chimera Books, though that was a great spot, too…

Joanna
(Former Gunn girl/Barron Park resident)

Thank you Bill Johnson. I really enjoy this Town Square Forum. This has certainly jogged my memory – I can’t believe all the other folks out there who, like me and my friends, snuck out at night to go swimming at Chuck Thompson’s. An interesting aside – I was a little suprised at the opposition by neighbors of an additional tennis court in that area some years ago. Mainly, it was a noise issue (in fact, the opponents stated that the sound test by Palo Alto was invalid – the “squeak of the tennis shoes” were not recorded) – But my point, back in the 60s, at the height of the baby boon era, on any given early Saturday or Sunday morning, there were no fewer than 50 kids taking swim lessons – now talk about noise . . .

Hi Steve – the grocery store you referred to was called Market Basket. My older brother and his friends used that store to show mw how to “shop” when I was 4 years old. They told me to grab a bunch of candy and meet them outside. Fortunately, when I was stopped by the employees at the door, they relized that I didn’t really have a concept of shoplifting.

Andy

A few more memories that have jogged free, in no particular order:

Riding my bike with the crazy handle bars and banana seat down the 101 pedestrian overpass (next to the Oregon exit) without using the brakes, and completely wiping out at the bottom. Ouch.

Going to Marriott’s Great America and riding the Turn of the Century (which got turned into The Demon) and Willard’s Whizzer.

The old Printer’s Ink on California when it had the coffee bar inside.

The old Victorian house on the corner of Cowper and Forest: as a kid I remember it was just a burned out hulk and it stayed that way for quite a while. You could look up at one of the upper windows and see straight through to the sky because the roof had caved in.

Almost all the houses on my street used to be single story, and the sidewalk made a big curve around the trunk of an oak tree. The oak tree is now gone and all the houses are two stories.

Making quesadillas on my Coleman stove for the neighbors after the 89′ earthquake. How strange it was that night when the whole town was blacked out.

Lake Don Paly.

The odd industrial area where the PA Clinic is now. I remember a funky records store/recording studio/hangout called the “House of Faith”, which I think was run by Eugene Robinson (of the band Whipping Boy).

The China First restaurant where the Westin Hotel is now.

The odd Tiki-something-or-other hotel that was behind Mountain Mike’s Pizza (where the Stanford Terrace Hotel is now).

Those stupid reversible shirts they made you buy for PE at Jordan (red on one side, blue on the other). I guess the idea was you could quickly change for “red team vs. blue team” sports, but since the girls had to go to the locker room to change anyway, I couldn’t see the point. I don’t remember ever using it.

The Keystone Palo Alto. Seeing Metallica there in ’85, and talking briefly with Cliff Burton in the parking lot.

I’m late to this thread, darn it. But I remember some controversial stuff, too. Remember the Zodiac killer threatening to follow the school buses in Palo Alto? The cops had to accompany the buses, at least to Garland Elementary. We had to stay in at recess.

I remember bomb threats at Jordan. We never really believed there were bombs; it was just a chance to get out of class and chat on the lawn.

There were war protestors downtown in the 1960s. I seem to recall them in Lytton Square and at the corner of Emerson and University.

If the Mrs. Zimmerman that people are remembering is the same Shirley Zimmerman who taught at Garland in the 1960s then she really IS Dick Clark.

This has been a GREAT read. This brought back so many memories of places long gone. I grew up in Midtown and Meadow park in the 60’s & 70’s. Remember during the spring many backyards were literally alive with tiny, tiny toads that would move in from the creeks?

Monette’s Pet Shop
Maximart (to buy those Breyer collectable horses)
Everything in Mayfield Mall (didn’t we all get our ears pierced at Earring House?)
Cubberley Cougars
The small skating rink in Don Jesus Park
Feng Yuan
The open field near Colorado Ave.
Playing 2 and 4 square in the circle streets (Moffett, Metro and Van Auken)
Actually having REAL neighbors and kids to play with

Growing up during those years couldn’t have been better. We were truly lucky people!!

Does anyone remember what the name of the store was that had live monkeys in the window at Stanford Shopping Center back in the 1960’s????

Things that haven’t been mentioned, or not mentioned enough:

Not only Stickney’s at Town and Country shopping, but also Stickney’s Golden Chicken Restaurant

Hobby House on Forest Avenue and its lady proprietress

The years when Palo Alto police wore blazers instead of traditional uniforms

The city-run (green and white, with the Palo Alto seal) bus system

The pedal cars at Mitchell Park, complete with a model Chevron gas station

The fact that Maximart was not only a pioneering discount store, but actually a collection of separately run businesses under one roof

Saturday kids’ matinees at the dark, spooky, unrenovated Stanford theatre (which we all walked to from our homes, quarters in hand); watching films with parents at the Fine Arts, and, if bored, learning from the illuminated clock on the wall how much more of the movie we had to endure.

Lutz Ford where the Palo Alto Weekly is today

Emil Molinari, who peddled vegetables door-to-door

The old Walter Hays Elementary School

Mark Christine of Jordan, the kindest, most-humane coach ever, who moonlighted as a clown

The Palo Alto Times and The Palo Altan

Town and Country Music Center, and buying all the Beatle albums on the first day they came out

The circus coming to Town and Country

KDFC (classical) radio on both AM and FM, identified on the air as being both in San Francisco and “pollow Alto” …

Palo Alto cops and teachers being able to live here

Lytton Savings (the first tenant of the Ross/Magnolia building); I can’t remember why I liked to go there with my mom but there must have been candy at least

Rapp’s had a model train, too

Norney’s original toy store at Stanford Shopping.

Other sources of toys, in addition to Bergmann’s, Pattersons, Hobby House, Maximart and the two Toy World stores: toy department at California Avenue Co-op; toys at J.C. Penney downtown (but only at Christmas time), smaller variety store on California Avenue (was it where Draper’s Music Center more recently was?). The Toy Box at Town and Country and, nearby, the never-to-be-forgotten Heavener’s Variety. Midtown Pharmacy and the Market Basket also stocked some toys.

Lee Brothers grocery store at Town and Country, and, specifically, buying Outer Limits trading cards from a machine there

That’s bizarre – when I wrote my post it had plenty of line breaks…..

I lived in Palo Alto from age 15 in 1976 ’till 1992, Wilbur, Cubberley, Paly, Foothill College. Some places I worked…
Edey’s Ice cream
Ingraham’s Deli on University Ave.
Keystone Palo Alto
Shakeys Pizza on El Camino
The Men’s Wearhouse in San Antonio Shopping Center
I was the editorial cartoonist for the Cubberley newspaper
and for Foothill College and an International law magazine
and the Grapevine local newspaper.
Still with The Men’s Wearhouse after 23 years now in Portland, OR.
I could write a book about my memories from those years, and my wife could also, we dated while at Cubberley and got married in 2000.
She was a cheerleader and I was on the soccor team, tennis team, swim team, baseball team and wrestling team. I was the first student to transfer to Paly before Cubberley was closed and worked as a janitor
at Town & Country shopping center across the street before and after classes, graduated early and attended Foothill Coledge when I was 17.
I went to every school dance (with live rock bands!)and almost all the major rock concerts of the time, especcially DAY ON THE GREEN!!!
Still have the ticket stubs, one of them is Van Halen at Oakland Colluseum for $10.00!! Brad Maddix from Cubberly went on to be a sound manager for major rock tours including RUSH all over the world!
I was the lead singer for the band SNOWBLIND when I was 17, and now have a home recording studio, still rockin’ after all these years.
Palo Alto is a shell of what it used to be, I was so sad the last time I walked down University Ave. The Varsity Theater used to be the center of my universe. I was friends with Michael Hedges, (guitarist extrordanair!)he used to perform at the varsity for free! I put together a rock band and helped them to the point they opend for Y&T
at the keystone. Thanks for this opportuniy to share. And thanks to all my friends of that time, many of which we have kept in touch with over the years; Wendy Cuccia (now Rodgers) who gave us this link,
Bill Oaks now in Las Vegas, Rich Chaney now in Colorado, Alice Hanko
(now Rush) in Sacramento, Todd Pate now in Los Angeles, on and on.:)

I came back to see who else had posted and because I remembered a couple of things.

Bonfires at Stanford! Those were great.

And also Wiedeman’s Mens store downtown. Patrick James at T&C is the only thing close to Wiedemans, and not by much.

PS – Why are Portola Valley and Atherton listed on the pulldown menu, but not Woodside?

Palo Alto. What a great place to grow up in. I could relate to so many of the comments.

I ran across this thread while searching information about Ramos Ranch. For many horse crazed teenagers, it was a great place to grow up. Lots of freedom. Open space. Good friends.

We are trying to have a reunion with those of us who spent time there in the 70’s. We have tracked down a number of people, but since most have different last names, or have moved, I could use some help. If you used to ride at Ramos Ranch, or knew somebody who did, please have them email me at alannalight@cox.net.

Thanks!!! Time to make more Palo Alto memories!

I am having flashbacks — the good kind!
—- HI RAFE! Long time no see!! —–
I grew up in PA but relocated to Wisconsin in 1995 to be with my husband.
My parents’ Eichler on Dake Ave. near Cubberley cost $28,000 in 1962. From Mackay to Alma it was all fields with mustard flowers in the spring. Dad still lives there. I’m flying out for a visit in two weeks.
Ah yes, the crossing guard sweater and the little yellow cadet beanie. Officer Mashinsky. The daytime traffic at Middlefield and Montrose seemed treacherous at the time. And that was when people actually drove the speed limit of 25.
As a teenager I would ride my bike downtown along Waverley or Cowper, to buy incense at East-West Trading Company. I could whip through the Circles (Roosevelt and Carlson) with my eyes closed and not get lost…
Yes. The shoe store monkeys were real. I thought they were kind of nasty.
My sister’s boyfriend worked at what is now Rick’s Rather Rich Ice cream at Charleston Center, and he would give us free cones.
As rebellious teens, we used to hang out at Mitchell Park at night. We owned that park. We were always the only ones there. Not too long ago, I took a walk there after dark, and the police shined a spotlight on me…
So many memories, lying fallow! … the wooden floors at Woolworth’s on University… the ear-piercingly high-pitched tone that assaulted my ears whenever I entered the Maximart store… the Liberace-style pink sweetness of Blum’s… Emerald Isle ice cream at Edy’s… the Venus statues around the fountain in front of the Cabaña Hotel… Gemelo’s Winery (technically in Mountain View off El Camino across from where the Sakura Gardens Japanese restauraunt was)…
Town & Country Village with the hay rides and the Nipon Fish store… the Cheese House and their gigantic sandwiches… long-beloved Stickney’s pie… Trudy, the waitress there…
The diner counter inside Bergman’s, which many many years later turned into Bajis’, with fantastic omelets… Bajis is still in business on Old Middlefield, isn’t it?
The opening of Mayfield Mall, where I lived almost daily at the age of 14… J. Magnin’s op art themes… the big cloth banners hanging from the ceiling… the leotard store… the big skylights…
The first train in the morning along Alma, its horn always waking me before dawn.
Two words: Searsville Lake!
Frost Amphitheatre, with Santana and Jefferson Airplane and the Dead… I, too, attended the Human Be-In at Emarcadero park across from Stanford Shopping Center… I would catch the train to SF at California Ave. and go up to the Haight some Saturdays…
The Baylands’ catwalks… the pool at Rinconada… Polly & Jake’s ivy-covered hut… delicious A & W hamburgers and root beer in the car on a window tray…
My locker at Wilbur… Kirk’s burgers… the hole in the chain link fence behind the Unitarian Church, providing a very useful shortcut to Mitchell Park…
The bike bridge near Greenmeadow, linking Creekside to Duncan Place… … someone put a dead shark under it once, the smell was horrific for weeks. To this day, the stench of rotting fish reminds me of going to school. In a good way….
I can’t go on, my eyes are misty. So glad I found this blog!

Did I mention Big Al’s Pizza, with the Model T out front, where they played B&W old movies on the wall?

And when they installed the first Pong machine at the Stanford Coffee House? Coffee Mit Schlag!

The bullet-proof windows at the counter at the Whiskey Gulch KFC…

The Menu Tree with the pretend parrots upstairs…

5 cent cylinder-shaped ice cream cones at — what the heck was it called, that dime store at San Antonio Shopping Center near where BevMo is now…

Seems like most of my memories involve ice cream, hamburgers, pizza… maybe the brain links old childhood memories to food items?

I had to laugh when I read Don Ganschow’s post about driving fast down Alma to stay ahead of the malathion choppers. (We didn’t have a garage, so our cars lost all their shine.)

Was Thom McCann’s the shoe store with the monkeys?
That’s the only name that pops into my head.

10 cent bus rides in ’76 (I even thought it was cheap back then)
20 cent all-day passes in which we would ride to several malls to get our money’s worth. Riding to Mayfield Mall with friends at age 11 to buy birthday gifts.

Mopeds

Century Liquor Store (Loma Verde & Middlefield) selling a huge variety of candy as you walk in the front door (like gas station stores today).

Skateboarding all over town and returning home as the sun was setting.

Rec afterschool at the school.

In 1978 at Wilbur, flying with my zoology class on Southwest Airlines to the San Diego Zoo for a day at the round-trip price of thirty-seven dollars (it was even a low cost at that time).

The gift shop called The Company at Stanford Shopping Center.

Bicycle parking cage at Wilbur where there is now a parking lot.

Being a traffic guard at my elementary school.

Ortega, DeAnza, Crescent Park elementary schools.

Green Gables is now Duveneck.

Arby’s Roast Beef located on San Antonio Road where there is now a nail shop, dry cleaners, etc.

Changing the name of Palo Verde to Sequoiah so that the Ortega students would feel more welcome to Palo Verde (we kids didn’t understand what the big deal was and why they insisted on changing the name).

Tower Records (San Antonio and El Camino) was the place to shop for music. The employees were rude but they sure knew about music (hum any song and they would know the name)

Leed’s Shoes at Mayfield Mall

KOME, KSJO, KFRC radio stations. “I like to KOME when I drive” license plate frames

Dittos, Luv-its pants for girls

Dr. Scholl’s sandals

How could you not like Senor Hill? He went on to continue to coach the PALY badminton team until ’02. Always a badminton player’s favorite!

Hi folks,

Someone brought up Thrifty (and the 5-cent ice-cream cones).

Remember TV’s having tubes. Thrifty had a machine that, well, if you didn’t know what tube in your TV was out, you’d take ’em all and test them on the machine. The one that was dead could be replaced with what they had in stock (usually $2.00)

And someone mentioned Linda’s – Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Parisian Burgers!

Me and another Cub Alum put on an any year Cubberley reunion at Mitchell Park about 4 years ago. About 300 people showed up representing the early 50s through the late 70s. We just asked folks to bring a side dish. It was FREE, too. And you didn’t have to go to Rickey’s in a suit, telling your former classmates that you left the Mercedes at the shop (some told the truth – after being laid off, your job-hunt is turning into a living nightmare, Ma, Daddy . . . uh, could I . . .). And a group of us even went for a walk on the other side of the bridge at Mitchell, while someone else said, “Hey, I know what you guys are doing.” It was almost like the good old days.

If anyone is interested, maybe we could have another reunion at Mitchell Park regardless of school or year.

Just something to think about.

Andy

Things I remember about Growing up in Menlo Park
-Onetta Harris was called Kelley Park, we had after school programs such as cheeleading, cooking class, dance class, Dance Parties (without violence), talent shows, and Swimming.

-The Boys and Girls club on Market Place before they reconstructed it into 90% of office space and the employees take up the residence parking – You would have basketball, cooking class, the arts and crafts room, the computer room, playing pool, cheating the ms. pac man game, siting in the large front room watching TV, or just hanging out in Oscar or Winkies Office watch the older guys playing basket ball until 9 pm – those were the good old days…..oh yeah and there was no such thing as “East Menlo Park”

To Scott Preston who made this comment on Nov 2:

The Hot French Bread with Butter at Lunch and Brunch at Jordan.
Posted by Scott Preston, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Nov 2, 2006 at 4:03 am

That was my mom who made that French bread. She was the PAUSD baker for 33 years. She passed away on July 20, of 2005 (and retired in 93). Her name was Elli Motooka. The (sometimes noted as the only) very nice “blond kitchen lady” who many times wore a chef’s hat and a uniform. She was often mistaken for the school nurse! I thought what you said was a nice tribute to her! Thanks.

I remember when we did have Wells Fargo in whiskey gulch. Glenndale Savings on the corner of Bell and University accross from shell gas station. Niarobi shopping center accross from the McDonalds had littlemans Market, Cleaners, Shoe repair liquor store, I believe there was a hardware store too. There was also Mickeys blue room night club. Heads Market was where the chevron gas station is now in menlo park on willow road he was the only store there. The rest of that corner was dirt and the church was on the corner of carlton. The Carnivals @ Ravenswood Middle School????

THE REDWOOD CITY DRIVE IN…………WE SAW ET (THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL), SWUNG IN THE SWING, AND ATE PIZZA

Someone asked about what lived at Challenger School on Middlefield before they came to town. For a while it went unused but before that it was Spangler School which was for kids with physical special needs.

Janine Turner !!!!

I stumbled across this site purely by accident and am amazed by the memories it brings back. I lived in the Greenmeadow area between 1964 and 1970. Cubberley class of 1970. I returned to work in Palo Alto between 1980-84 at Hamilton & Cowper and then from 1984-89 on Cambridge Ave. My random memories include Uncle John’s Pancake House(now the Fish Market)next to a horse pasture (now Palo Alto Square); All the new car dealers downtown that are long gone (Dan Day Pontiac; Paddleford Olds; Lutz Ford; Autohaus Brugger; H & E Motors); Delmar Israel Typewriter Repair and Tennis Racket restringing(!)on University; Celia’s Mexican Restaurant on University; the Gatehouse Restaurant on Lytton; when Cubberley had a swimming pool and Parks and Rec operated the pools during the summer; being a Stanford Football Junior Rooter; working at the Phillips 66 gas station (now Midas Muffler)on El Camino and Arastadero, sailing a Sunfish on Lake Boronda in Foothill Park; camping in the campground at Foothill Park; the bike shack at Wilbur (a large covered structure where everyone parked their bikes before it was demolished and the science wing was constructed); minimum wage was $1.65 and a gallon of gas was 32 cents!!

Whoo man what a flash back, almost reached for my bong. this is a fabulaous site.

Ok elenor park, Rincanada park, Crescent park, Go Panthers. 6 P.M. bells at Saint Alberts. time for dinner.

Frans market on Lytton. Channing market for wax lips. Jordan, then Paly, Class of 80. Could that be true.? Add Janes swim school.

Riding bikes everywere. E.P.A. for beer. Fransico creek.

Cheese house, frost concerts. sneeking in to Stanford games.

And of course the creamery for breakfast.

Pop Warner football. Coach peterson I will never forget you. you taught me so much and were so kind to me. ” RIP ”

So much more but i feel the need to look for my bong…

Day camp at Foothill Park with a sleep over on the last day.
Living at Eichler Swim and Tennis Club all summer long
Swimming on the swim team at the Eichler Swim and Tennis Club
Earning my “E” at the Eichler Swim and Tennis Club when I was 6 yrs old.
Roller skating to the liquor store to buy donuts.
YES, I remember those monkeys at that Stanford Shopping Center shoe store!

Riding bikes down Louis Rd to get fudge bars at Piers Dairy.
Mayfield Mall–so many memories there!
Waiting for the bus on the corner of Greer Rd. and Louis Rd. with my grandma for a shopping day at Stanford Shopping Center
Mitchell Park and the cars, and the garages for the cars
Palo Alto Children’s Library
Being in a play at the Palo Alto Children’s Theatre
Taking creative dance
Picnics and parties at Foothill Park (capture the flag)
Hide n Go Seek in our cul-de-sac late into the summer evenings
SIGH

I remember stopping occasionally after school at the A&W, for a chilled glass mug of Root Beer, foam flowing over the top. Did a twirly thing in an ice show at the Winter Club once, and landed on my keester in front of too many of our friends and neighbors. A promising career in the Ice Follies was forever sidelined. Watched in awe, as the ditch-deep, silty water, logs, etc. flowed under the bridges in ’55. Summer often included new 50-cent flip-flops from the Variety Store on Colorado Ave., camping at Portola State Park, and TANNING at Rinconada. Bought lots of gum at Freeman Market, and, finally, a hats-off to those chocolate shakes at the Peninsula Creamery Fountain.

Diane Huber

P.S. Currently, we live way too far from the Cheese House. Friends and relatives will wait, as it is the first stop on any trip to the area.

First, hey there Rafe, if you read this. Email me!
1956-7: We lived first on Louis Road, which ended at Piers Dairy. I used to take the bus downtown P.A. with my babysitting money & get $2.99 pastel “shell” shoes at GallenKamps, look at “full-fashioned” sweater sets & matching socks at Elwoods, check out the old Lerner’s & Mode O’Day’s, then go check out the Fire Sale on the Circle for bargains. Lay awake at night listening to Red Blanchard on the radio. J. Magnins, the old Woolworth’s & Penney’s (and that building across from Rickey’s was, I think a restaurant & bar called Rodolfo’s, where you could get a steak dinner for $2.95).
Jeez, I didn’t know there were so many of us!
pm95006@yahoo.com

I’m homesick from all these comments!

I’ll add only one thing–

Cubing at the Stanford Golf Course. I’ve tried to explain it to many people over the years– they just can’t seem to get their heads around buying a giant block of ice and “sledding” in the summertime. Their loss.

–Mr. Carey and Mrs. Meaders class at Walter Hays was great 6th grade experience.

Trevinos Sandwiches!!

I am happy that people are still finding this blog, and are adding to it. (Even though it’s harder to find now).

At Paly in the mid 60s girls were not allowed to wear pants to school. And, our skirts could only be so short. Of course, we all rolled our skirts up at the waist. If the dean of women thought our skirts looked too short, she would make us kneel down, and she would measure how far our skirts were from the floor. Then we would have to roll our skirts down. At least until she was gone, then we rolled them back up again.

It was unfair to the taller girls. I was not one of them.

WOW! What a small world. I bumped into a new client who just told me he was one of the owners of Banana Records in Palo Alto where I grew up. So I googled Banana Records and came across here. I got chills reading these posts….

I remember the bump in the road just off of Middlefield, next to Addison. If you blew the stop sign in the car you could easily launch all 4 wheels off the ground.

I remember taking the bus to Mayfield Mall to play in the only arcade around.

I remember hanging out at Stanford Mall and eating 25 cent hamburgers at McDonald’s before going into the Toy Store next door.

Bergmann’s!!! I hated the close my Mom bought me for school there.

My first R Rated movie (when I was 14) I got into without an I.D. was Mad Max at the movie theater on University? Can’t think of it’s name.

The night club on California Street.

Earthquakes in school. I can still pick out the 4th grade room at Green Gables I was sitting in…. Stuart Holloway fell off his chair since he was leaning back when it hit.

I refuse to call it Duveneck.

Mrs. Uchida!!! I didn’t have her but I could hear her yelling at the 4th grade students next door.

Stepping on the tinfoil containers that held the lunch and throwing them like ninja stars.

Man…back to work, wife and kids…. WHAT HAPPENED?

Fun thread.

A few of my memories, some of which have been mentioned already:

Playing little league at Middlefield and both fields at Hoover.

Babe Ruth baseball at Baylands and at Paly.

Mexican restaurant on El Camino near Stanford (owned by Sergio Raddavero’s dad…can’t remember the name of the place).

Swim lessons at Wilbur.

Pounding tennis balls against the wall at Mitchell Park.

Thinking I had died and gone to heaven when Togo’s opened.

Salt and pepper pants at O.L.R.

Banana Records

Liaison restaurant (near Shakey’s…fancy!)

Getting some free basketball coaching from Hans D. at Cubberley in the summer.

Some just-outside-of-Palo Alto memories: drive-ins at Moffett, pizza at Old Mill (Fargo’s?), my first job at Asgard Liquors in San Antonio Shopping Center.

P.S. I never knew I grew up in “St. Claire Gardens” until I saw this website today…learn something new every day!

Our Memories:

Bowling alley and video arcade at Tressider Union on campus.

Water weenie fights: Escondido vs. Nixon

Drive-Up A&W Restaurant on El Camino Real (Root beer floats)

Spaghetti All Ready (?) on El Camino and Page Mill

Add Jane or Aunt James Swim School in Menlo Park (Can’t recall name)

Fireworks viewing at the Dish

Co-op Market where Mollie Stones is now

Short lived “Generic Store” by Cal Ave train station

Maxi-Mart where Fry’s is now

Mayfield Mall

Haircuts at I Magnin

Back to school shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue

Original Traffic barriers (calming) in College Terrace

I loved my old neighborhood growing up. I went to De Anza elementry which I don’t think is even there anymore! Piers Dariy and the popcicles. Can anyone tell me more about all the changes that have taken place?

The slot car tracks I remeber were on San Antonio Rd. Just as you came down from the overpass at Alma before Tri City Rentals on the north side. This was in the mid sixties.

I remember when driving down El Camino at PAge Mill and there wer cows running around in the fields.

I remember Rick’s Rather Rich and the Old guy who had the shop before him. We used to stop there for an ice cream after spending the afternoon swimming in Cubberley pool during the summer.

Cubberley Class 0f ’71

Maxi-Mart
Bubblegum ice-cream at what is now Rick’s
Mayfair Market-now Piazza’s
The drugstore next to Mayfair Market where we bought candy
Placing pennies on the railroad tracks-don’t tell your children
Playing in the mustard fields on the corner of Charleston and Middlefield
The milkman who came to our house and deliverd milk in bottles (I’m really not that old)
Mayfield Mall-Cost Plus & J.C. Penny’s
Snow in 1962 & 1976
Anti-war demonstrations in the 70’s
Foothill Park
Cubberley High School
Wilbur Jr. High School
Ohlones Elementary School-grades K-6
The black mamba snake scare
Riding stingray bicycles, playing with frisbees, and hula hoops with rubber bands in the middle so that we could “lauch” things
Playing Kick the Can at night with Carlson Circle kids
Phillipine Mahogany walls in our Eichler
Being trampeled at Frost Ampitheatre when the gates were opened
Cruising downtown San Jose
Live bands at Cubberley-Papa Do- Run Run
The donut truck that would come to our street and sell fresh donuts and pastries

I learned to drive in the parking lot by the old Emporium store (now Bloomingdales at Stanford Shopping Center) when the stores there used to be CLOSED on Sundays……………..whoops, now THAT dates me!!!!!!!
Talk about dating someone, I used to neck in the parking lot of a church (but can’t say which one as it is still there and don’t want to give anyone ideas…!)
Remember going to a place called Bonanders on El Camino to eat in our cars, just like the A&W further down the street, where you could get carhop service…..That is where the Olive Garden eatery is now by California Ave.
Speaking of Calif. Ave, I used to love to walk there and go to BISHOPS Creamery for their Root Beer Floats and also the great Sundays they used to make..they had the stools to sit at the counter or the tables. Your choice. That is where the Subway Sandwich shop is now…
And I loved to go to the movies there also next door, which now is a rug shop…….with attached eatery.
Then there was Calif. Ave Pharmacy across the street, which now is an art store…
There was a Bank of America on the corner of El Camino and Calif…it had the old time etched frosted glass windows that the tellers seperated when they opened for a line…then the bank became a steakhouse eatery, then a few more businesses after that..
There was also Montgomerys a few doors down, which was a dress shop..and of course, Harriman’s Dept. clothing store where the Country Sun is today………And Gabes Shoe Shop..The huge grocery store on the corner run by the Arjos…which is the store across the street from the Keeble’s Camera shop…There actually was a gas station there also at that corner~ across the street from Keebles.
Kinko’s was a huge appliance store..
WOW. My thinker is working overtime..I will pass this thread on for now……!

Gee, there sure has been many changes in the Calif. Ave area..even the name…does anyone remember it was called MAYFIELD? There even was a HUGE elementry school a few blocks south of Calif. Ave called Mayfield….it had the tinest toilets in the kindergarten area reserved for just the kinders…

This is great. A few additional memories:

The Winery restaurant on the corner of California and El Camino where Radio Shak is now.

The paper mache bells mounted on the telephone poles around Midtown for Christmas decorations. Once the lines were buried the decorations disappeared too.

Curling endless yards of gift wrap ribbon while working at Bergmann’s in the late ’70’s – what a great place for high school students to work.

The balloons they gave out at Children’s Bootery – mounted on little cardboard stands shaped like feet.

The Hasty House in the 60’s where Mountain Mikes later was and Starbucks is now (corner of Stanford and ElCamino). The only place my dad would take us for hamburgers. I can still taste them.

The Antique restaurant in the old portable bank building where the soccer fields are now at Page Mill and El Camino. They used the bank vault for their food freezer.

Wasn’t there a Midtown Bike Shop? We bought our first “backpacks” there – really just canvas book bags. Also bought bike lights which strapped on our legs for when Daylights Savings started early during the energy shortage in the early 70’s and we had to ride to Wilbur in the pitch black.

The blue canvas binders we bought at Bergmann’s. Also the UGLY dark blue/white pinstripe gym suits we wore at Wilbur and Cubberley.

Not only the hot chocolate at Winter Club, but the powdered chicken soup from the machines at Chuck Thompsons. Tasted pretty good after a swim!

I’ll probably think of more later…

I had Miss Nanfelt, too. In fact, it was me who gave her the nick-name, Miss Nannygoat. I know that PAUSD is one of the best in the nation, but I have to admit, we had some, kind of, sadistical teachers and Miss Nannygoat was one of them.

Eddy’s Coffee Shop

Blowing straw wrappers off the second floor of the Menu Tree

Stopping the elevator between floors at Bergmann’s Dept Store

During a half-day at Wilbur, going to Hoover Park and then pulling the fire alarm at Hoover School (sorry, the grass was soaked from the rains and everyone single filed out to the field). Mr. Barns, acting principal that day, was so furious, he got in his car and drove around the path to the skating rink where we were sitting and asked us about it.

The snow in 1962 – it lasted until about 2:00pm.

Playing in the fields along Middlefield Road

The Beatles driving down Middlefield Road heading to the Cabana, where they stayed.

Andy

Hi Candi,

No, I don’t recall Todd. On Cowper, I knew the Jalone’s (Robin, a guy not a girl), and the Shield’s, who lived on the corner of Cowper and El Darado.

I too had a bank account at Crocker. (The only time I didn’t make overdrafts.)

I just recalled how Mr. Barns and Mr. Cushing would walk down the blacktop after the bell rang. It was quite a contras – Mr. Cushion walk straight, erect, ex Marine-like, and Mr. Barns kind of limped along beside him.

You know, Rick Schloss and I put on an any year / all students from Cubberly reunion at Mitchell Park about 4 years ago. About 300 people showed up.

I’m thinking about the same thing for all schools at all high schools, again, at Mitchell Park. I’m just in the kicking the idea around stage right now. Being a P.A. resident, I can secure the permit.

Did you have Miss Wyrough? I still keep in touch with Mrs. Turner and used to keep in touch with Miss Wyrough.

Andy

Hi Pagan,

But of course I remember you – and Sean. I remember all the adventures, the Frost Ampletheater cocerts, the rec center with pool tables at Mitchell Park, Chuck Thompson’s, and unauthorized late-night swimming or ice skating at the Winter Club.

As you can see, I wasn’t priced out of P.A. – but, I have to live like a vagabond, which is okay.

The last time I saw your mother was at the now-closed All American Market. I asked, “Are you Mrs. – – -?” She was flattered that I recognized her after all those years.

How are you doing? Do you still live around here? You can also reach me at androcls@aol.com.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Andy

Hi John,

What a surprise. It’s good to hear from you!

Dang, I hope Miss Nannygoat – oops Miss Nanfelt isn’t reading this. I’m still a little scared of her after all these years. But I’m sure she’s mellowed.

Miss Wyrough and I became pen pals for a while. I think she’s now living in FL. Remember, she conducted the choir and if you had her as a teacher, you will be in the choir. She was a little picky about English usage – going as far as changing the lyrics to a tune in The Sound of Music (instead of “In a most delightful way,” she had us sing it “In the most delightful way.”). She would tell me that it’s okay for Julie Andrews to open her mouth, because when she did, she not only sang well, but made a lot of money. Me on the other hand, well, she told me to keep mine closed, for the most part – ha ha.

I saw your brother John, and as a drummer myself (hobby) it was fantastic to hear him play to Santana music. Does his band still play locally?

How are you doing? Are you still in Palo Alto? Have you seen or heard from Paul?

Andy

Early ‘50s, my parents bought their first new home on Emerson Street for $12,000.

Charles de Gaulle toured Palo Alto in an open motorcade – early ‘60s, passing El Carmelo School.

El Carmelo – cake walks, Mrs. Humasti (kindergarten) Mrs. Fink…Mr. Knoblock – everyone’s favorite 6th grade teacher…

Babysitting for the Hankos

“Snow Ball” game at the Winter Club

Stanford Football Junior Rooters

The Minasian family, whose uncle was William Saroyan, who came to classes and talked about his book “The Human Comedy”

Searsville lake – Campfire camp

Foothill day camp

Loma Vista

Terman Tigers – Miss Ballou and diagramming sentences.

Sock hops

The Menu Tree – the best tostadas

Mr. Juhl, our neighbor, who was so concerned about his son being so involved with puppets (Jerry Juhl who became head writer for the Muppets).

Concerts at Frost Ampitheater –Joan Baez, The Chambers Brothers singing Time Has Come Today…

The Beatles stayed at the Cabana after their concert at Candlestick Park (I still have the ticket – $7.50, “non-refundable”.

Gunn summer concerts with Santana, Country Joe and the Fish, It’s a Beautiful Day…light shows

Be-ins/Love-ins hosted by the Hells Angels in the park across from Stanford Shopping Center

The last movie shown at the Varsity – The Endless Summer

Mr. Center….. that’s it.

Channing House… how many worked there? That was a good 2 years of fun when I went to Paly.

Summer jobs working the dorm cafeterias at Stanford.

I remember Mr Center. every year he did a BIG thing for the families in Gilroy. we brought in food and clothes and piled into his convertible and drove to Gilroy we even took christmas trees… That was before the new seat belt laws.. those were good times.~I still to this day do something for a fmaily in need at christmas time this year I even did a family a family at Easter.. We learned great values in his class. something many kids these days no nothing about.~ I have passed this on to my own two boys. Both are very giving in that way~ I truly belive children learn what they live.~ Candi

Moved to Palo alto in 1964….It was a dear little city…neighborly.
the gas station by Winter Lodge was a Gulf station.
Midtown was a busy place…Midtown Market was a great market..everyone bought meat there. There was a dress shop called The Jellybean and a great toy store. You could find anything at Bergmann’s. Most grade school children walked to school and there were great activities in the summer…Palo Alto Recreation Dept..wonderful fun for children.
Palo Alto was very, very different then.

Reading this has been a blast. I am sure that I know/knew several of you. Peter, thanks for the update on you…and the others. I graduated from Paly in 1980, being part of the last junior class at Cubberley. Let’s see…memories…it doesn’t matter how old you are, some of them are the same. Jerry the show guy at Rapps. He always knew what size Mom was, and was so good about getting shoes for us kids. Rick’s Rather Rich and Rick himself…all the places change. My folks still live there, and each time I visit, it apears that something else is gone. Ahh, the Palo Alto school district. The Ortega teachers, espeically Mr. Pitts. Wilbur Jr. High…someone mentioned Cal Shultz. I wondered if he was still with us. He was a great guy. Cubberley…Ms. Hurst. Tracy K…what ever happened to her? There are a couple of mentions of Brad here. I saw Brad a few years back when he was touring with Def Leppard. I had run into Pam at our 20th, and she told me he was on the road with them. They came to the State Fair hear in Sacramento that year. A few e-mails later, and I was able to hang out with him prior to the show…what a blast. I keep track of a few people from those days. I’m glad that I’m not in Palo Alto now. We all have so many memories of growing up there, that nothing could match it. In the 60’s thru 80’s, it was a magical town and a magical time. Sadly, it will never be that way again. That’s why this is SOOO cool, to be able to go back in time with you all..

Punk shows at the New Varsity (Agent Orange, T.S.O.L.,…) and the back alley with several generations of graffiti lining the walls. Skating in the 7-Eleven parking lot. Hanging around the end-zone at Stanford Stadium waiting for families of three so we could get in with their “family ticket” one by one. DK’s, Agent Orange, Husker Du, The Faction at Keystone Palo Alto.

One other thing about tadpoles from the creeks: We brought a bunch home and dumped them in the fountain my dad had built in the atrium of our Eichler. Somehow one of them survived, and for years we had bullfrog living by the pond.

I remember….
– going up to the second floor in Bergman’s to look at glass animals
– Pete and Lil’s coffee lane with the low calorie hamburger, cottage cheese and peach plate! …and the hot buttered danish.
– catching frogs in the creek behind Hoover Elementary (across the street from Safeway.
– my favorite teacher at Hoover, Mr. Knoblock, the very tanned librarian…Mr. Clark the principal
– Mayfield Mall
– Old Mill Six
– buying a cheeseburger at the Riconada snack bar in the summer
– Christmas tree lane
– malathion spraying for fruit flies
– snow in ’76
– banana records and banana seat on my bike
– no bike helmets
– bike registration at the palo alto fire dept
– the big slide at Riconada
– the junior museum, the smell of the zoo, taking Japanese brush painting and enameling lessons in the summer
– chocolate covered frozen bananas at Kling’s candies
-Edy’s chocolate ice cream
– getting sandwiches with extra spread at the cheese house in town and country
– fourth of july block parites
– lots of rain and flooding one year in the seventies
– the candy lady who gave out free candy at her house
– menu tree at san antonio shopping center
– keplers in its original location, getting a free book from Ira sandperl
– the Palo Alto Times
– Downtown Palo Alto, quaint, and with shops one really could shop in
– Seeing the Rocky Horror picture show at the Varsity
– riding my bike to midtown to spend my allowance on candy…getting tangy taffee, jolly ranchers and such at Bergman’s
-slurpees at seven eleven
– coop
– midtown pharmacy
– tp-ing people’s houses

Hi BL,

You mentioned Miss. (Bernadette) Wyrough as (the original) Herbert Hoover’s librarian.

Back in the 60s, she was not only the 4th grade teacher, she was also the choir director. And if you had her as a teacher, choir wasn’t an option – you were in it and you would sing (whether you could carry a tune or not).

We became pen pals back in the 80s. Unfortunately, I’ve lost track of her. There are only 2 Bernadette Wyroughs in the US. One was born around 1890 something and I thought that maybe it was her mother.

Miss. Wyrough moved from Los Altos to Florida in the 90s but I can’t find a listed telephone number.

By the way, she always had that tan.

Andy Freedman

Ok… add this… town and country village, the sandwich shop was it Sandy’s? Cost plus~ friends cutting class at Paly to get ice creams…(not me of course 🙂 .. A&W on el camino, channing house as a waitress. The Elks club (my dad’s getaway).. ceramics at Candi’s moms shop, that was fun! Having my third son born at Stanford hospital. summer nights skate boarding and holding on the back of my best friend lisa’s stingray while she rode the bike like a mad woman!
Hide n seek with the brown family kids and others. Paly high, Jordan, and the never ending battles between Sequoia High and Paly. (the BIG game). wow its nice to see I am not the only sentimental one !

Wow, what a gush of memories this all brings back…Linda’s Parisian Burgers with the great chewy bun (on the El Camino), and the rumor that they were once closed down for having horsemeat in the burgers (we never believed it), yep, the 5 cent Thrify’s ice creams, trying to decide which place to eat at inside Menu Tree, Co-op Market in the San Antonio Center (where I worked for a little over 10 years)….I think it’s Payless now. Yes, 31 years in the Bay Area and you can collect a lot of memories… great roast beef sandwiches at the deli kitty corner to the San Antonio Center….what was that place called….

I remember the A&W on middlefield 1962

Slot car track on middlefield in front of the ice skating rink and chuck thompsins.

The burger stand in midtown on middlefield road, where minors could play the pinball machines.

Sneeking over the fence with sleeping bags at The Palo Alto Drive In to watch the movie for free.

When you could go up on 280 and drive your car when it was first being built in 1965 ???

Stanleys Chinese Kitchen in Baron Park.

Riding plywood down the creeks in winter.

Going to Freemans Market (Middlefield & Loma Verde)

Playing Army as kids in the Bamboo Field by the YMCA on Ross Rd. and climbing that water tower in the same field.

Riding our bikes to Piers Dairy on Louis Rd. for a free 50/50 bar.

Riding our Bikes to the Coca Cola distributer, I think that was on el Camino in Baron Park area, can’t remember, too old.

Struted my stuff at the “Y” dances.

Trying to stay out of trouble when hanging with Phil Scoma!!!!!

I remember all those great things. My dad used to take me to feed the ducks.We would go to Eddie’s Coffee Shop and I would go down to Midtown Pharmacy say hi to Mr. Gould the owner and get a comic book. Usually Little Lulu or Betty and Veronica. I loved the Midtown burgers Mrs. Christiansen used to make.My family lived on Bryson for 43 years and my dad’s office was right across the street from Indian Bowl. He would take me there and that is where I learned the fine art of keeping the ball in my own lane,sometimessssssss. We used to go out to the Palo Alto Muni Golf Course and hit a bucket of balls. My mom and I used to shop at I. Magnin’s and that’s where I learned what a charge card was tsk tsk.Bill Larson who started Round Table Pizza was telling my dad about it at the Midtown Cleaners and saying he really thought it might be successful!My dad took me by the old garage where HP started and told me about his friends Bill and Dave who had started this co. Then telling me now they had progressed and grown to a new office right where the Oregon Expressway overpass is.I treasure those memories. A time when we were young and innocent. Never fearing anything and always feeling safe and secure riding are bikes and playing on a warm summer evening. Thanks for the memories! I almost want to print this Town Square out and save it.

The Guy in the sheep skin vest that was mentioned on california ave was “Crazy Jim” from the Baron Park area.

Let’s see….

1. The Varsity theater and the Rocky Horror pictuer show. We used to hang out in the alley behind and smoke lots of cigarettes and make graffiti. Border’s Books took it over.
2. Liddocoats and all the cheap but tasty international delicacies. None of the little restaurants were really sanitary, but none of us cared either. Now Z Gallery (does anybody really shop there? What a waste of good space)
3. Cosmic Comix
4. Eddies Ice Cream with all the candy, fancy sundaes, and floats. Some one remind me why the owners hated kids so much?
5. King Chuan. The owner’s daughter was my friend and they taught me how to use chopsticks. Still crave their beef with broccoli and the potstickers.
6. Grateful dead shows at the amphitheater.
7. Kirks for hamburgers. The best evah!
8. The ribbon candy store that made beautiful hand crafted colorful candy that looked like glass and tasted like heaven at Town and Country.
9. Forth of July block parties with sqaure dancing and fireworks.
10. Mayday parades with crate papered bicycles
11. Stickneys with their funky pleather booths. Used to love the spareribs that were slathered with sauce and roasted for hours (maybe days, who knew?). If I was really good, my mom would uy me a cupcake that was piled high with buttercream icing. Their oatmeal lace cookies were extraordinary.
12. The 24 hour diner on University (forget the name) that was so bad that sometimes you’d catch cockroaches crawling across the tables. But it was open all the time and the french fries were pretty good.
13. Cowtipping.
14. The Good Earth. God that restaurant was horrible. But the tea was good.
15. Christmas tree lane. It’s lost it’s magic, but it used to be winter fantasy land with all those houses lit up.
16. The circus that would come once a year and set up with huge tents in the parking lot of Town and Country. That was at least thirty years ago. I rode a camel with my Grandma. I remember there was the Pickle Family circus too, but that came later and it was on Stanford campus.

I completely agree with the person who said they missed Bagel Works! I also miss Suzanne’s Muffins and Cafe Verona.

Does anyone remember the old Hilendahl (sp?) place with the pointed cupola over the front door? It was at 3296 Cowper and faced the end of St. Claire. And if you looked waaaaay down St. Claire, you could see Middlefield. We rented that house 1959 through 1963 (I’m HooverWilburCubberly), and I’m wondering if anyone remembers the house in the early 50s or even the 40s? It used to be a ranch, and must have been the only place in the area for a long time.

I always remember the kids from the Catholic School across the street walking through the driveway and out the back, because you could walk all the way through to Kipling that way, until they built a house back there in 1961. One day, my auntie Dorothy was sunbathing and had nothing on but her “bottoms.” The school kids never came back. HA!

Left Palo Alto for S.F. in 1968, never to return. But I remember all that stuff people have been talking about, and I feel so lucky to have spent a good chunk of my childhood there.

Cubberley’s 40th reunion is in August 2008. See some of you there!
C

Caroline,

I remember that house on Cowper. I attended the Catholic School across the Street (OLR) during the 70s. I used to know the name of the family that lived there then, but I’m blanking on it. (Maxwell?)

I found this site while looking for information on old grocery stores in downtown. My sister and I grew up in Menlo Park in the 1950’s but spent a lot of time in Palo Alto. My dad worked at a gas station across from the old Elbow Room bar. I and my grandmother walked from Creek Drive in Menlo over to downtown PA, had lunch in Woolworths counter or that grocery store (thinking it was Liddicoats) close by. She went to the India Arts import shop all the time to buy incense and weird things (pre-60’s). The Bigou theater had a reputation for racy films…I know now they were just art films but to our family they were slightly risque. I can remember a night coming out of the University theater in the early 60’s and seeing real live beatniks going into the coffee house (Small Circle of Friends?)..the one with the arched doorway. I was thrilled. Keplers was also thrilling..the beatniks hung out in the back and smoked and played guitar. I think I saw Joan Baez there once..at least I like to think so.
In the middle sixies, I worked at East Farthing Trading Company owned by Steve and Betty ??? forgot last name. My sister designed and made clothing…beautiful Renaissance inspired stuff and read Tarot cards up in the tower room at 420 Cowper street. Wish I knew all those posters for concerts would sell for so much on Ebay. Guys from Family Dog used to come there.
Anyway…I loved reading all these posts and remembering a town I grew up in. My years…1951 to 1969.

Jerry Garcia worked at Melody Lane music store in Palo Alto. I believe the guitar store you are speaking of was owned by Bill Courtial (sp)? A firnd of mine was married to Bill. I sang at a coffee house called THE UNDERGROUND on El Camino in Menlo Park anf Jerry Garcia used to come in and play the peddle steel on Sunday nights. There he met Johnny Dawson and Neww Riders of The Purple Sage was formed. I think that was in about 1968 or 1969.I loved those days in Palo Alto and Menlo Park,going to Kepler’s and the Stanford Ampitheater to hear Joan Baez sing. I grew up in Palo Alto but went to school in Atherton.

There weren’t any iPhones.

What a joy to remember so many of these places!

Living next to Matadero Creek, I remember every spring when stepping into your yard caused a sea of frogs to hop everywhere. Greer Road was a sad landscape of 1/16-inch froggy bodies.

I still miss Eddie’s Coffee Shop, Co-op, the Rexall Pharmacy, Gardner’s Bike Shop, the bakery, even Scherba’s.

By the way, the Midtown Residents Association is compiling a History of Midtown (see http://www.midtownresidents.org/history/toc.htm) and would love to include your memories. Does anyone mind if we do so? As most of you are posting either anonymously or with first name only, we wouldn’t attribute quotes to you (unless, of course, you want to be “famous”).

And, yes, Bill J and Jay T, I know this content belongs to the Weekly, so I’ll be looking to get your okay.

This is so cool. My family moved to PA in 1966 and all 6 of us kids went to Crescent Park, then moved to Waverly street and went to Addison, Jordan, Paly (and Stanford).

Anyone remember the old Lytton School? We never went there as they tore it down around 1966. Then they tore down Addison school to rebuild it and bussed us to Mayfield for 2 years? I thought that’s what bussing was about ha ha. Then they rebuilt Walter Hays too. The old buildings looked real cool, but had clay tile walls which were really unsafe. We used to climb all over the roofs and broke all kinds of tiles. I can only imagine that’s off limits now.

I remember going to a Be-In at El Camino Park and the Grateful Dead played. I guess they were still the Warlocks then, but I was like 7 and don’t remember that well. My Dad took film of it and it’s still around somewhere. I remember wondering why the people were so into the chalk drawings on the pavement. It took me years to realize they had been tripping.

I remember the horses where Palo Alto Square is now. And the Stanford Indian. I “lost” my lunch one day at Mayfield and Mrs. Kineshea (1st grade teacher) took me across the street for a burger and shake.

How about the sit-in’s at Lytton Plaza? That whole building used to be a Chinese restaurant before it was a burger king. Wasn’t it a bank before that?

We “rioted” to save the big palm tree in the field across the street from Addison when they were tearing down the cool old houses to make room for the public housing. We were imitating the grown-ups who rioted to save everything. Heck! Those were such simple times that I’ll bet Joan Baez was even there.

Paddleford Olds? It’s Whole Foods now.

The Little Big game was a big deal. We switched to SCVAL when I was at Jordan and I remember thinking that it was stupid. I’d never heard of any of the schools in the league and was bummed that we stopped competing with Sequoia and MA.

Children’s theater? May Fetes at the corner of Melville and Middlefield after the May day parade. Our 8th grade drama class from Jordan put on Our Town and David C. and I crossed the courtyard during final dress rehearsal and drank Champagne from some wedding reception before we got busted. I got sick and didn’t drink again for years.

Jordan was pretty cool. Patty Brown had a sort of drop in hang out for us troubled kids. I guess the school thought I was troubled because my parents got divorced. Remember when that seemed like such a big deal?

Summer School at Terman and Gunn. They had a class in Field Biology that went to Yosemite or something, but stopped it by the time I was old enough. I guess too many kids got drunk, stoned or pregnant.

Then Paly. People don’t believe me now when I tell them about all the freedoms we had. Smoking areas? Unsecured locker areas? An Open Campus?? Interchange was cool, but I can’t remember if I went for one year or two. hmmm…

Riding bikes up to then down (ouch) from Foothills Park. There was no such thing as Los Altos Hills then. And “Old” Page Mill would have been meaningless as it was just Page Mill.

There used to be a Purity market on, what? Ramona? Across from the old Police station. And the Keystone on California Ave. was also a Purity before being a nightclub.

Liddicoats? Used to be a market with a real meat counter before it was a food court. Likewise there used to be a cool market on Waverly where the Chinese restaurant is now.

How about the old main library kitty corner from where city hall is now. It was an old Birge Clark building like the post office and was torn down long ago. And the MJB Ranch room? Before Ramona’s or any of that. Or the Market of the Flea? sigh.

I’d love to hear from folks who remember old Palo Alto and Addison. Hosetta? Katina? Sky?

Igaveupperrier@yahoo.com

There are many gems here in Palo Alto.

Midtown. It nearly died a death, but it has risen back into a vibrant area.

The outside eating area at Loma Verde and Middlefield – very mediterranean and the deli and coffee shop there are good too.

The Little League Ball Park. It always looks neat and tidy. It is a great safe place for kids. The snack bar is great. And, no advertising!!!

Foothills Park. Now I know it is disputed as to why it is for residents only, but with or without others, it is still a wonderful asset.

Mayfield Soccer Park. It is new, but it is the envy of many other communities here, so much so that they want to use it as much as us.

The Palo Alto Bowl, this is probably the last summer, but the free summer passes for kids in recent years has been a great idea. We are going to miss the PA Bowl.

Bryant Bike Blvd. It is a great way to get Paly kids to school.

The Duck Pond.

The fountains at Mitchell Park, (although I loved the old wading pool.

Junior Museum and Zoo.

Childrens Library.

I am sure there are more, but that is all I can come up with at present.

I loved growing up in Palo Alto. I moved back to WA 10 years ago after living in Palo Alto for 43 years. My Dad chose Palo Alto because it was a small college town.And when he had to move his business it was his first choice. I remember being able to ride my bike anywhere and I also was a Stanford Jr. rooter. It just got too busy for me with all the traffic and the tearing down of all the old homes. I come back often as I have many friends there. I guess it takes a blog like this to remind me how lucky I was to have such great parents and grow up in such a idealic setting.

Great thread!

I’ve spent most of the past 30 years within walking distance of downtown Palo Alto, so remember when downtown had three grocery stores (the Starlight, Food Mart, and Luttickens) as well as the venerable Channing market. Downtown also had twice as many theaters, among them the Festival (I invariably fell asleep on those beanbags), the porno Paris, and a theater whose name I’ve forgotten-a twin to the Aquarius, but on the other side of University.

Restaurants that have come and gone: Cafe Maroc (where you ate without utensils), Jan’s Manhattan West, Machismo Mouse, a fantastic crepe restaurant where the portions were huge and you sat outdoors (can’t think of the name), the Good Earth, and many others. I still miss Bagelworks–nothing else compares.

University used to have a yarn store and a store that sold pianos.

Stanford Shopping Center was far less upscale back in the day, though the I Magnin sales people would look right through poor students as though we didn’t exist. I remember J Magnins as well (and their big going-out-of-business sale in the mid-80s). In addition to the Woolworth’s that everyone seems to remember, there was a real thrift store just across from Macy’s–no clothes, just amazing junk. For old clothes, I’d go to Quality Mart on California Ave. I bought an incredible wedding gown there for $4 (my sister wore it to a costume party and then she threw it out! I still haven’t forgiven her.)

The sliver of land that’s now mostly occupied by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation was a treasure trove of funky shops owned by artists and antique buffs.

Great to read all the memories!

pier’s dairy-my older sisters taking me down to get a popsicle or ice cream

learning to swim and dive at rinconada pool and jordan jr high pool

the varsity, which then became the NEW varsity

chimera books and records

going to the ming’s parking lot to watch 4th of july fireworks over the dump

going to los altos to pick apricots out of the orchards

going to the movie theatre on emerson st in downtown to watch movies (the building later became gordon biersch)

pattersons, bergmans, the co-ops, the childrens bootery, baskin and robbins, swensens, midtown pharmacy…

7th grade ice skating party at the winter CLUB

i could go on and on…

from a former palo altan, now in norwich, vt

Roxy’s clothing store

Klings candies at T&C

Happi House – chx salad at SSC

I agree, we need to keep this blog alive. It’s great! I grew up in P.A. in the 60’s and 70’s. It was a great place to live:

Running up and down the steps at Frost when no one was there.
(We didn’t need video games to be happy back then).

Releasing helium ballons with a postcard attached, that we hoped
would be mail back to us, at the penny carnival.

Ordering a Shirly Temple at Rick’s Swiss Chalet – I felt so grownup!

Playing all evening outside without our parents every evening- our moms would call our names when it was time to come in, and we would hear them, whereever we were.

Playing “statues” on the front lawn. One person would spin everyone
around, and they would land in a pose, and the person doing the spinning would have to guess what we were posed as – for example,
a ballerina. Anyone remember that?

No Bam ceramics was Ethel Chedkel (not sure I spelled that right) my mom had a ceramic shop in the Alma Plaza called Dixie’s ceramics..(Alma Plaza is nearly dead now) to bad). There was a great shoe repair there also and Lucky’s. My mom started at BAM and then opened her own place and remained friend with Ethel and Art for years. Art played the organ and he played at my wedding.~ Candi

Someone mentioned Harvey’s Gum out off Embarcadero near the baylands. We used to break into their dumpster and take home boxes of gum that was defective or had packaging errors.

The model railroad club in the basement of the cultural center (now the Arts Center) on weekend nights building our layouts.

Finding a derelict boat out in the baylands in a slough, patching it with duct tape and then using it as our private boat to explore the wetlands hiding it each night in the weeds.

Taking flying lessons at the airport when I was 15 in a plane the instructor started by HAND! (I’m not that old BTW).

The spook alley behind the children’s theater at Lucy Stern.

A pre-Grateful Dead Jerry Garcia teaching guitar at Dana Morgan Music on Romona St. He was pointed out to me as “the best guitar player around”. Little did I know!

Free concerts by The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane during the ’67 “Summer of Love” at El Camino Park across from Stanford Shopping Center.

Live music at the Poppycock….located at University Ave & High St It’s now the downtown Stanford Bookstore.

Jumping the fence at Stanford football games. One time we were able to sneak into the press box and spent the game eating the free hot dogs, peanuts, ice cream, etc. provided for the press.

Having lunch at Foster Freeze on El Camino while at Paly.

The great Paly football teams of the mid-sixties.

The Beatles staying at the Cabana Hotel (it’s now the Crowne Plaza Palo Alto) after their ’65 Candlestick Park concert. At least two or three thousand kids waited for them to arrive after the concert. There was a near riot when a decoy limo was sent though the front entrance, while the Beatles sneaked in back via a disguised van.

Glass milk bottles on our porch waiting for the milk man. My mother would put small labels into the top of the bottle idicating what items…milk, eggs, butter, etc…the milk man should leave.

The Paly vs Sequoia “Little Big Game” on Thanksgiving Day at Stanford Stadium.

Our Green Gables (now Duveneck) 6th grade
flag-football team going undefeated until we ran up again the feared Palo Alto Military Academy. They seemed twice our size. Rumor had it that all the boys were there because they had flunked at least several grades and were 13 or 14 years old.

Santana, The Chambers Brothers, and Creedence Clearwater Revival playing Frost Amphitheater in ’67. Santana and The Chambers Bros were the headliners that day…Creedence was an unknown band from El Cerrito without a record. However, they stole the show. Little did we realize that in a few years they would be the number one selling band in the world.

Was anyone a student at Cubberley when that social studies teacher decided to create a large-scale social experiment by dividing the students by whether they were blue-eyed or brown-eyed. Then he gave the brown-eyed students privledges, and treated the blue-eyed students like they were inferior. Or something like that. Just to see how they would react.

If so, would you like to tell us about it?

A few more:

Father Duryea at St. Ann’s Chapel on Melville.

Paris Theater…where they showed “art” films.

Ice cream sodas at Woolworth’s counter

Paly teacher Nort Thornton always talking about his son, Norn Thornton Jr, the Stanford Men’s swim coach.

As I was leaving school seeing my mother’s wrecked car at Viking Autobody Shop on Churchill.

Music teacher Mr. Skeffington at Jordan with his “wooden” leg…the result of a German hand gernade in WW II.

Mechanical drawing with Mr. Downs at Jordan.

Crashing my motorcycle in the Paly parking lot while hot dogging.

Someone stealing the life-sized Col. Sanders statue from in front of the KFC on El Camino.

The original St. Micheal’s Alley on Univ Ave(where Plutos is today). A young Joan Baez use to sing there.

Roller skates with metal wheels. The type you clamped onto your shoes.

JC Penney and Montgomery Wards downtown.

Werry Electric…if you needed to have your toaster or any other small appliance fixed you took it to Werry’s.

Setting off a pack of firecrackers inside the Varsity Theater.

Paly Spanish teacher Senor Murphy. He’d have the cute girls sit on his lap (don’t think he could get away with that today).

The day President Kennedy was shot. Someone came into my sophomore history class and said the President had been shot and killed. I remember the teacher, Mr. Johnson, sobbing and the class not know what to do or how to react…mostly just stunned.

The Safeway on Bryant St, across from the old police station. It’s now a parking garage.

does anyone know Jay Freeman, brother to Andy and Bryce, son of Julie and Paul? trying to get ahold of him, long time resident of Palo Alto, graduate of Paly around 1990? Thanks

does anyone know Jay Freeman, brother to Andy and Bryce, son of Julie and Paul? trying to get ahold of him, long time resident of Palo Alto, graduate of Paly around 1990? Thanks

This is soooo fun. Bob Hoskins taught math at Jordan. Miss Phoph (sp?) taught gym, and was the swim coach at Jordan. And Mr. Thorp who taught Biology. He was the nicest guy.

I grew up in Palo Alto. My parents bought a house on Guinda St. in 1950 for $18,000. My sister and I sold it in 2000 for $2 million dollars (yeah, that’s right, 2 million). Now there’s a monster home on the lot. At one point in the mid-to-late 1950s, there were over 20 kids on that one block alone under the age of 15. At one time, every house on the block had a big camphor tree out front. Many of them died from “oak root fungus”. There were several oak trees on the street. Now I think there’s only one in the “triangle” where Guinda meets Embarcadero. There used to be 2 or 3 oaks in that spot.

Went to Walter Hays in the late 1950s with teachers Topham, Bromley, Crozier, and Rust. I was a member of the “traffic patrol”. Kids who dressed in uniforms and marched out to the corner of Embarcadero and Middlefield to walk other kids across the street after school. Sounds kinda goofy now. I remember marching like a soldier out to the intersection wearing a red sweater and yellow cap (I think).

Loved spending time on the playgrounds at Walter Hays and Rinconada Park. There was no fence separating the school and park, and lots more open space at Walter Hays than there is now. Walter Hays had a baseball diamond where we had “kickball” games all the time. Also, all the kids spent recess time and lunch time playing “Four square” and Teatherball on the playground.

I spent lots of time in Midtown. I used to ride my bike there, crossing Oregon Ave., a two-lane road before they turned it into a four lane expressway. All the houses on one side of Oregon Ave. were taken by the city, and torn down to make room for the expressway. I remember the two drug stores, Duca and Hanley Market, and that great A&W root beer place – for 5 cents, you got a big root beer in a frosted glass mug – what a deal! We used to buy comic books, root beer, and candy bars, and sit around reading, drinking soda, and eating candy on Saturday afternoons.

I remember when they were building the First Congregational Church at Embarcadero and Louis Road, and the main library building on Newell. We used run through the trenches and climb the mounds of dirt in the evenings when no one was around.

Kids were really into model building when I was in elementary school. There was a great store downtown, somewhere near the old downtown library called the “Hobby Shop”, I think. Everyone went there to buy model ships, airplanes, etc.

We did bad things on Halloween night when I was at Jordan in the early 1960s. Where were all the adults when I was out-and-about with my pockets full of eggs, tomatoes, and shaving cream? I belatedly apologize for any houses I may have “egged” on Halloween night back around 1960-1961.

Somone asked about the Stanford Shopping Center. It was an open-air center, much like today, but no fancy awnings. There was a grocery store where you took a plastic ticket with a number and they loaded your bags into your trunk at a drive-up loading zone. The sidewalk which ran through the center was made of large gray and brownish-red colored swirls of sparkly cement and there were huge round planters of flowers in the middle that you could sit on the edges of. If you stamped your feet just right there was a weird echo off the department stores. One store, Saks?, had a huge Powder Room with fish tanks in the wall and a big round high-backed leather seat. No restaurants upstairs, but there were beauty parlors that stank of permanents and hair spray. Yellow and gray linoleum squares with black flecks made up the floors in one of the department stores. Monkeys at the shoe store see-through window, and yes, they had a baby . . . did they dress the monkeys sometimes? They had a big branch to swing from and fresh wood shavings. You could go to a fancy lunch at Blum’s, all pink and white stripes. There was I. and J. Magnin’s, Emporium, Lerner’s, Norney’s, Macy’s (which came later and may have replaced Woolworth’s), Sandy’s Kitchen, a pet store and a couple of shoe stores. Later there was a Casual Corner and The Gap (for jeans). Parking was always a nightmare at Christmas, no parking garages just large lots. Prices were reasonable, not outlandish.

Wonderful Memories! I am a relative newcomer to Palo Alto, but am working on a site devoted to its history at http://www.paloaltohistory.com I would like to invite anyone interested in many of the places, events and people above to come and check out the site. Thanks!
Matt

Correction of Nora Charles’ post: It was Jordan shop teacher Harley Hillburn that would sling tennis balls at disruptive boys, NOT Mr Downs. Mr Hillburn taught woodshop, Mr. Downs…mechanical drawing, and Mr. Costello…metal shop.

John K.:

First, the correct spelling of Harley’s last name was Hilborn, not Hillburn. Second, Mr. Downs did indeed fling tennis balls, chalkboard erasers or whatever else was within reach. On this point my memories are vivid. It may have been different when you were there, but when I was there Mr. Downs taught metal shop and mechanical drawing. Mr. Costarella taught electrical shop. There were also rumors that Mr. Costarella used to be a prison warden.

I also remember listening to dreadful recordings of Shakespearian plays in Mrs. Stuber’s 8th grade English class. The actors were strictly fourth-rate and it turned me off to Shakespeare for good.

Moved to Palo Alto in 1957, living between California and Oregon Ave just off of Greer Rd on Blair Ct.

Memories, my god, too many to list.

Dirt clod fights with the Salisbary’s

The almond orchard next to Garland Elementary, sometimes the ole guy there would let us pick a few.

Playing baseball and football out on the streets with every kid on Blair Ct.

Realizing on the day my 3rd grade teacher, who I had a monumental grade school crush on, got married 1/2 way through the school year and that I’d never tie the knot with her.

MR CAREY, my 5th grade teacher at Garland Elementary who was probably the biggest influence in my life. (He taught English in China I believe around the 1930’s in Shanghai. Told us of his experiences with stories and slides, then told me I could “never” visit China because it was a closed country. 36 years later I am now teaching English in China, not because of Mr Carey, but because he taught me to believe in myself and of course losing my job at the Chronicle.) If anyone has a photo of MR CAREY, please forward it to me via email tkn4u432@yahoo.com

Mapping out a tour of Palo Alto on a map, then completing it on my Bianca(SP?) 10 speed when I was about 12.

Ricanada(sp) pool and the high dive on Embarcadaro Rd.

Ushering the midnight shows at the Varsity Theater. What an adventure that was! Harold and Maud, King of Hearts and many others. I now use Harold and Maud in my English class in China.

Lytton Plaza and almost getting busted during a anti war roundup about 1970 where about 200 people were arrested.

Venceramos, Molly and Bill who were two radicals that had a minor, yet eye opening influence on my life. Besides, I had a crush on Molly, just don’t tell Bill :>)

The Plowshare book store on University Ave. that let me sleep in the back room for a week when I was almost homeless.

Working for the Palo Alto Free Press that was really a slip shod small menagerie of disenfranchised radicals who discovered capitalism and tried to make it work and failed miserably.

Getting plastered for the first time at Roble Hall at Stanford University during my Paly Years and then swearing off alcohol because of my 3 day hangover.

The Standford Coffee shop.

Zap House at Stanford where they turned an old gardeners shed into a bar and served huge cups of beer for a quarter and introduced me to Tommy, by the Who.

Santana playing at our High School graduation in 1969, just prior to coming out with their first album. The Rusty Nails lost in voting by the slimmest of margins by the graduating class, I voting for them — Santana who???

Meeting my first hippy when he came to my door to pick his brother up, scared me to death, never seen an animal like that. It was “Pigpen” McKernan of the Greatful Dead.

Like I said, too many to list.

That picture of Mr Carey for Garland Elementary School, circa 1960, I could really use it if you have it. Don’t care what size, just want to hang it on my wall. tkn4u432@yahoo.com

Peace

Jim

.

Ah, Mr. Hoskins the shop teacher. I’d all but forgotten him.

Does anyone remember Miss Frances Mettler, the elementary math teacher? I think she might have been a teacher at Walter Hays once. There was definitely something different about Miss Mettler. Her deportment wasn’t exactly what you’d call “feminine”, if you get my drift.

I have a feeling Harley Hilborn was a different guy outside the classroom. He was all piss and vinegar when addressing the class, but one-on-one he was actually quite helpful to me once. I still have the book rack I built in his wood shop class. In his metal shop, Mr. Downs had a metal bending machine with a frame made of metal tubing. He advised his students in no uncertain terms not to stick their fingers in the metal tubing or it would “peel your finger like a banana”. I was always leery of Jordan teachers who were missing fingers.

Jim: Was your buddy Kevin McKernan? I had classes with him.

Some memories:

Dana Morgan’s music shop
Stickney’s Flamingo (and Helen, the offbeat waitress)
Friar’s (prime rib, nightclub)
L’Omelette (later L’Ommie’s)
The Winery
Oom Pah Pah (California Ave.)
Tarr and Feathers
Bourbon Street, Fargo’s, La Posada, Jumping Frog (later Giggles) in the Old Mill
Bob’s Big Boy in Mountain View
Iron Works (restaurant/bar)
Big Al’s Gashouse
Jim’s Coffee Shop (University Ave.)
Celia’s on University
House of Pies
Rudolpho’s
Formico’s (Edgewood Plaza) – world’s best lasagna
Uncle John’s Pancake House
Lytton Plaza riots
Homer’s Warehouse (BAD nightclub)
Lyon’s and Denny’s
Peninsula Scientific

We grew up on Coastland Drive in the 50s and 60s. Attended Van Auken Elementary, Jordan, and Paly.

Eddie’s coffee shop also had Cherry Cokes.

The Variety store was run by 2 brothers – Bob and Ernie – which is how we knew it “Bobbinernies”.

One summer (probably in the early 60s) they opened a trampoline park behind Eddie’s coffee shop. You paid by the half-hour.

I remember “Happy” Harley Hillborn, Dave Downs and Joe Costarella in shop. Yes they fired tennis balls at you.

There was a typing teacher who was the king of Jordan named Hugh Center. He had a big convertible and was the center of all the “Spirit” activities.

There was a candy store downtown that sold the best caramel popcorn. It had a big “K” out front and you could smell it a block away.

There was a fire station near Mitchell Park that sold candy out the back door.

There was a burger stand on El Camino near Rickey’s that served “Parisian Burgers” on sour dough rolls and “tater tots” for fries.

Maximart, one of the first department stores ( I think Fry’s is there now).

Fishing for smelt at the yacht harbor (and the duck pond).

The Junior Gold Club at the golf course. You paid $8 for the whole summer and cold play all day. Jimmy Saita’s coffee shop at the course.

When we won the city Little League baseball championship, we got dinner at Ming’s (the original one) courtesy of the owner, Mr. Dofoo. It seemed like the swankiest place in the world.

The battle over Oregon Avenue becoming Oregon Expressway.

Stanford football games and the junior rooters. Later they had family plans that would cover 2 adults and 3 kids, so we would hang around the gate and look for 2 adults with 2 kids and ask if we could go in with them…everyone said yes.

Swimming at Rinconada pool followed by a lime slushie.

Someone mentioned the panel truck from the bakery that drove around the neighborhoods…that was the Colonial Bread truck. Warm donuts off of big wooden trays in the back.

Someone else mentioned donkeys where Palo Alto Square is. There was a cow there for a while and an old barn too.

I remember playing hide and seek in the neighborhood until it was too dark to see.

Roller skating on the sidewalks — I always had a skate key around my neck.

The display of red and white pistachios at the Midtown Pharmacy.

Big white butcher paper signs advertising the specials at Midtown Market.

Chili dogs at the A & W.

Buying a gift at Toy World and having it wrapped in red and white striped paper with a red curly ribbon.

Hollywood & Vine at Paly.

Beating Sequoia High School 69-0 in the big game.

The May Day Festival – I was a princess!

Hey Andy….
I have so many fond memories of the 50’s in East Palo Alto…Our house on Beech Street was country back then. I now live outside Dallas, Texas but came back to visit 2 years ago and the house is still there. How sad I was not able to recognize much of the area. I could see that parts are now being revitalzied and am happy for that. Please check my book of life on Beech Street….It is posted under books on this site. It is called Beech Street…The Summer of 59’…I think you would enjoy the memories of S&H Green Stamps, Sky King, Hula Hoop contests, the Rec center, climbing trees, making forts, Cooley Avenue Market, the Chinese market on Clarke and University, Brentwood Elementary, St. Franscis of Assis, and so much more….Let me know what you think…you can also visit my website at http://www.paulacornell.com
Happy Memories,
Paula 🙂

A good “story” on Polly and Jakes (antique store at Page Mill and El Camino) including the legands surrounding the place is at http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/monthly/1997_Nov_26.ZEBRA.html.

The story is 10 years old, so a lot has happened at that corner since then, but it might be of interest to those who grew up with it.

Oh my gosh, Todd, I had Mrs. Richardson and Mrs. Wilson too. Loved them both. I still remember how much work Mrs. Wilson put into the classroom- building a teepee, a Japanese house, and Mexican adobe, all on her off time. I also remember the principal, Mr. Clam – quite a character. When Hoover closed and we were bussed to Fairmeadow he went up to Fremont Hills and we would visit him there.

Someone asked about the mean English teacher at Palo Alto HS. It was probably Mr. Bergstrom. He wouldn’t give kids a kleenex as he said that you had to harvest in the spring to reap in the winter. He also wore old bowling shoes. I remember someone putting an egg over his clasz door and so he walked through it in the morning at got doused with the egg!
Good times!

Jamie’s comment about an autograph reminds me – I got Bill Cosby’s autograph along about 1966 at the big discount store in Menlo (was it White Front? Gemco? – on the West side of El Camino – had an underground garage???). He was publicizing the TV show he was working on – “I Spy”, and was signing autographs.

Also, I didn’t know Mr. Farmer ever taught Geometry – when I was there, he was best known for physics. Some people really liked his class, but it was pretty unconventional, and some people didn’t like it. He was also known for trying to convince everyone to invest in the stock market.

Now that it has been a year since this topic was started, let us all give Andrew L. Freedman, the person who started this topic, a round of applause. I have enjoyed reading it so much, and I’m sure many others have also.

I hope that the posts can be preserved in a permanent archive.

Andy, I hope you post again sometime.

(I’m the person who posted on July 8th ).

I loved Midtown burgers!! I remember Mrs. Christiansen and Eddie himself. I blogged about this aways back here. I loved the comic book section at the Midtown Pharmacy too:0)

Okay, I have one for everyone to think about.
I remember going to the back of Toy World to buy inner tubes at Palo Alto Bicyle shop! Yes, PA bike used to be in the back of Toy World.
There was a time the Palo Alto police would hand out warnings for riding your bike on the sidewalks (downtown).
Remember the sad day when the old Addison two story building met the wrecking ball!
Remember growing up on Byron between Melvill, and Kellogg with no other kids on the block!
Remember the huge hole in the ground the city hall parking lot is.
Have more to write, but not enough time.

Hi Candi,

Andy here. Yes, Good ol’ Hoover Park is undergoing renovations. We may be in for a little future shock, as I believe they’ll be taking out the barrels in the sandbox area.

If you do a search within this paper, you’ll find the article.

Remember the (4?) houses that were taken out to make way for the tennis courts and other reconfigurations?

I think we must have known each other as kids. Was it your house that had the wrought iron-type gate (the house next to the creek)?

Also, do you know whether the wild parrots are still living at St Mark’s church? I recall how the parrots became annoyed when the former St Mark’s parking lot was sold off and was converted to a small neighborhood. I wonder if the parrots found new homes in the new homes.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

The shoe store at Stanford Shopping Center with the monkeys in the window was Sommers & Kauffman (sp?), if memory serves me correctly. My first pair of Mary Janes came from there.

Blums with Grandma was a treat.

The sales personnel at I. Magnin used to size you up as you walked in to see if you were worthy of their clientele. Saks was classier, in my opinion, and the staff treated you better.

Christmas decorations didn’t go up until AFTER Thanksgiving, and there was a definite shopping ‘season’. One could actually find a parking place, shopping was a joy, and the stores closed for Christmas day. The day after Christmas was the day to hit Norney’s for cards, wrapping paper and supplies for the next year.

Too crowded to even try to shop during ANY time of the year there now. People just walk or stand around, taking up space, not even shopping. Sad.

To the poor guy victimized by Ventura’s “School Without Failure”-I was a volunteer there at the time, and agree wholeheartedly. It was horrible!

Palo Alto School District has had many doomed school experiments. For my generation, it was “SMSG” (some Stanford Math Department garbage) and “School Within A School” at Gunn. For the latter, the students were encouraged to “write their own curriculum” for Social Studies and English. It was another program “without failure”.

It’s amazing any of us know how to read, write or do basic arithmetic. (who does math in “base 8”???) Is Patrick Suppes still alive, and can we sue him for messing with our heads?!? I still have his damn yellow book around here somewhere.

Our neighbors also had a bomb shelter. It’s a great wine cellar now.

Most of my memories were fun.

Palo Alto was once a wonderful place.

Hi All,

So glad to see this thread is still going strong. What memories! I lived on Emerson St, and went to El Carmelo, Wilbur, then Cubberly, and graduated at ILS on Ross Road.

I was just thinking about Tony’s Bike shop on El camino. I remember he would fix my bike and barely accept any money! Anyone remember the “lawn mover shop” tucked of the street on Page Mill a few doors down from Polly and Jakes? remember Woz and Jobs? Wozniak made great progress while working in the back of Jeff Kamrats dads (call computer) on old middlefield rd. Anyone remember the the kegg parties in a big field in Mt. View where Jim Finnlay would Jame on guitar all night?

I remember sneaking into frost the night before the dead shows. We would climb the trees and wait until the show started and drop down!(LOL)

I found Tracy K. she was married to a big Hollywood Star and was a bit of a super model herself, go figure! Anyone know where Bard maddix is?

Yes, Winter Club, Bergmans, Eddies, Bannana Records, Monets pet shop, Rapp’s shoes (my 1st job) and I got booted for smoking pot with Roxy’s
preppie daughter!

I could go on for hours!

A lot of recollections of the Midtown area, which is very cool.
How about some from the old Palo Alto area!?!
A lot of us who were fortunate to grow in PA had some good times walking to Channing Market after school let out at Addison. The big thing to get at the time was the 3 foot long red licorice ropes for a dime (circa 1969)!
Many of summer days hanging out at P. Anderson’s huge house, and munching on ham and cheese sandwiches from SOS market.
Charles Schultz (Charlie Brown) hanging with us kids at Addison in the spring of 1970.
49er’s Gene Washington stopping by Addison (circa fall 1970)to toss a few footballs!
Pack 48 Cub Scout meetings at the Lutheran Church on Homer and Webster. Collecting, and dragging Xmas trees to the corner.
Hanging out at Dana Morgan’s music store, while mom was getting some Levi’s over at Dick Felts clothing store on Bryant St.
The haunted house at the community center.
I can go on, but I am out of time.

yes i remember the Poppycock and old Victorian house that used to sell candles.frans market and the all the other little markets.bayshore with traffic lights.playing pinballs at the a&w on middlefield.varity store. slotcars at d&s hobbie.snow in 62 big… deal.schools every 8 blocks just about.and all the things in others post.but remembering these things is about growing up and a city growing up.good and bad memories.now that we are grown the city has grown into a mass of two storie homes all house no land.chain busness every where.everyone in a rush to nowhere.alarms on cars and homes.iam wondering what the memories will be in 40 years for the kids living there now.palo alto use to be a good place to growup in not anymore.

For Chris (Paly’76)
I do remember Miss McKenzie as she was my Kindergarten teacher for school year ’59/60 at Hoover. I just flashed on the principal back then, John Papagni. Don’t remember any other teachers except that scary ‘Three-Fingers’ Pike.
Did anyone else ever do the mile-long trek through the concrete tunnel that started up on the west side of El Camino near the old Jacobs Cattery and ended all the way up close to Gunn HS? Pretty spooky!

I have been notified Patrick Suppes is still alive, and even has an email address at Stanford.

I’d ask for advice about “Sets and Numbers”, provided there was any practical use for it.

I don’t mean to diss Mr. Suppes professional work, it was just extremely unfair to subject elementary school aged children to his volumes of (essentially) useless knowledge.

Theory is wonderful. Leave it to the math ‘wizards’ at Stanford.

Give kids something they can actually USE in life.

‘Nuff said!

rpc

Can you believe this thread has been going on for over a year now?

Question for Andy Freedman if you’re still following this thread. In an early post you said that at one time there were four grocery stores in Midtown within one block. In order for this to be true, Super Market Basket (which later became Scherba’s, right?) had to be open at the same time Safeway was open. The question is, did Super Market Basket close before Safeway opened, or did the two ever exist concurrently?

1960 – 1961 sounds a little early for Safeway. That was my one year (kindergarten) at Hoover and to be perfectly candid I’m blocking on the A&W being there, but at the time it was definitely something other than the Safeway. This is a project for future research! What year and which period did you have Mrs. Olsen? I was in her morning class in 1960 – 1961 (graduated Paly in 1973). Prior to the fall of 1960 she was Miss Mckenzie. Think now, were you in kindergarten in ’60 – ’61 and was it morning or afternoon? Were you in my class?

BTW, Duca and Hanley Meats was the meat department/butcher shop at the grocery store called Midtown Market.

I remember one morning when my friend and I decided to take the “scenic” route home from Hoover. Instead of cutting across the park to Cowper and home, we decided to take Middlefield to Loma Verde (past Freeman’s market — there’s one we forgot to mention) and home. The next day, hoo boy, did we get a talkin’-to from an angry Mrs. Olsen! I didn’t see the harm in what we did, and to this day I don’t know how she found out, but she told us in no uncertain terms never to do it again.

In 1961 we moved near the railroad tracks and California Avenue. The Purity store became some kind of organic food store when Purity closed. When the organic food store closed the space became a succession of nightclubs and ultimately the Keystone. Co-op has always been closer to the train tracks and the Fountain of Suds, where Mollie Stone’s is now. There was a pharmacy fronting California Avenue and the grocery store was in the rear, like now. I bought my share of SweeTarts at the Co-op pharmacy, and Flicks, the giant choclolate chips that came in a cardboard toilet paper roll covered with colored paper/foil (they still make Flicks).

Though I don’t remember the Middlefield A&W, I do remember the one on the island on El Camino. I had the best hamburger of my life there — an A&W bacon burger.

Andy, i too was in kindergarten at Hoover in 60 or 61, but i had Mrs. Ratner, and i was an afternoon kid, so naps were the agenda for the day.I then skipped 1st and went directly (do not pass go) to Mrs. Nanfelts class, and i believe when looking back on the lovely blk/wht photo, that i was in your class. I was friends with J. Herrera, R.Jalone all the cleveland boys, and the Piffero’s. Then of course since we were babys from nap world to 2nd grade, had to do that whole class over a second time. I lived the house next to the creek with the wrought iron gates.

Anyone know why they changed the name from Van Auken to Ohlone?

My brother and I graduated Van Auken 1972

I grew up in Los Altos in the 40s and 50s so I can’t relate to everything noted here but I do have great memories of our area of the peninsula.

1. The big Rickeys Studio Inn sign at the corner of Charleston and San Antonio where the KFC is (actually was, it was torn down in early October 2007).

2. The Shockley Semiconductor Company on San Antonia across from Sears. I actually delivered the old PA Times to his home near the LA GCC.

3. Peninsula Laboratories in the same block. I used to bike over there to swap a paper for throwaway test tubes for…

4….for my Gilbert Deluxe Chemistry Set – remember when everyone knew how to make bombs with sulfur, potassium nitrate and charcoal?

5. The Old Plantation across El Camino on San Antonio Rd.

6. The sign behind The Old Plantation for the Pink Horse Ranch (a real dude ranch up Moody Rd near where Foothill is today).

7. Adobe Creek Lodge, where for a dime you could ride your bike in and go swimming.

8. When San Antonio was just two lanes and a stop sign at the SPRR crossing.

9. Slot car racing in some large room in what was then the Carlotto Center, next to Bruce Bauer Lumber

10. The Star and Bar gas station on San Antonio between the tracks and Calif Av near the current Safeway.

11. The ancient Elks Lodge, a white men’s hangout (oops, it’s still there with older white guys still hanging out there)

12. Picking cots as a summer job

13. The old steam commuter trains that went from the main line at California Av up along what is now Foothill Expressway toward Prospect Av in San Jose/Saratoga.

14. JW Backus, Kanney’s, the Russo Nursery & Motel all near the intersection of Hansen and ECR.

====
My best memory has to be when a bunch of us piled in four cars and took over a section of the PA Drive-in and waited for the “make-out patrol” to start making their rounds. these were kids dressed in white lab coats and armed with 4-battery flashlights that they’d shine into cars where there was suspected make out activity. We didn’t do anything more than strip them of their batteries and pass along a few threats. I don’t recall seeing these guys patrolling after that!

Tod Wicks
resident of south PA for over 30 years.

I’m relatively new to this forum, so forgive me if this book has been discussed in other threads…a good read for those of you nostalgic for Palo Alto of the old days (particularly if you grew up there in the 1960s) is “Blue Sky Dream” by David Beers. It came about about ten years ago. His recollections of Palo Alto are not all fond ones, but it’s still a good dose of nostalgia.

Hey Roger,

Funny thing…I just asked my mom about the name changes of the schools at the Van Auken site the other day. I actually started Kindergarten at Van Auken, then attended Los Ninos for 1st grade, and Ohlone for 2nd – 6th…and never left the site! She said that due to the drop of enrollment at that time, they were reorganizing/combining the elementary schools. They combined two (she couldn’t remember which ones) at the Van Auken site, and changed the name to Los Ninos. But then, Ohlone moved from over on Charleston to Amarillo, and they moved or did away with Los Ninos. I was only six at the time, so I don’t remember much about the whys, just that I had to call my school a new name every year for the first three years.

My folks moved into an Eichler around 1971 (I think), and I went to Parents’ Nursery School (PNS), Garland, Green Gables, Jordan, and Paly. My notes here are not partcularly chronological…

PNS had a fundraising bazaar — half craft sale, half garage sale — where I bought an old Springbok puzzle when I started earning an allowance. I think my folks also got our much-loved felt Advent calendar (a tree with pin-on ornaments in a series of pockets) there. My father contributed wooden trains, and candle-holders in the shapes of animals, and little hardwood angels with gilt edges and wire halos. Or else he saw those there and started making them himself… I don’t remember now… he did a lot of woodworking, building musical instruments and Spingerle boards and lovely toys…

PNS also had a chicken coop which inspired me to keep chickens in my backyard in East Oakland (where I still live now). I remember having a summer job where I took care of the chickens and watered the grass and the garden. And then later — long after my watch — the poor chickens were slaughtered by raccoons. That was tragic.

I had a big crush on a Japanese-American girl at PNS and even more so on her mother — I almost remember her name after all this time, I think it started with an H — who came to make us sushi rice. Then at home I became addicted to our version of it which involved cooked rice, vinegar, sugar (my passion), and frozen peas.

Every year we went to the Obon festival at the Buddhist temple on Greer Road. I wanted to dance in the Cherry Blossom Dance for the festival, so my mother found me a fan and a bright blue polyester kimono from Japantown in SF, and every week she dropped me off at the temple to practice (I was probably five at the time). I loved all the coin toss games, though I was terrible at them, and lived for the teriyaki chicken, but I wasn’t ready for sashimi until I moved to San Francisco as a young adult.

The kids on my street played all sorts of games on one anothers’ lawns, like Jaws and Freeze Tag and Out To See The Ghost Tonight. We also created our own small town by drawing different shops and traffic directions onto the squares of the sidewalk and then rollerskating around. Fat sticks of chalk were a big item.

The mosquitoes at dusk in the rainy season were terrible! We watched the larvae grow in standing water and compared them to sea monkeys (which were very much on our minds). And we were fascinated by the worms that covered the wet sidewalk.

We also held block parties for 4th of July and Easter. I became the organizer at some officious age. We decided to get more ecumenical and changed the Easter Egg Hunt (where we hid eggs all over the neighborhood) to the Spring Roll (where people rolled eggs in a contest).

My best friend’s neighbors were nudists and we would try to spy on them through a hole in the fence, and also tried to hit them strategically with loquats from the garden.

I turned out to be gay, and I remember even as a child being fascinated by mens’ bodies in the changing room at Rinconada pool. Since I was really nearsighted that whole experience was simulaneously sexy, mysterious, and stressful. I remember that you checked your clothes into these mesh plastic bags on hangers that travelled on some kind of cable. Did we have to wear bathing caps? Was there a sign that said a nude shower was required for proper hygiene? Of course we kids were all serious customers of the snack bar where Fire Stix and long rolls of SweetTarts were the hot item.

The Children’s Theater was a haven for weird kids like me, though it had its own brutal pecking order. I loved the Secret Garden, especially after I read “The Secret Garden”. I would check out huge stacks of books from the Children’s Library. My mom made me start making lists after I ended up owing lots of $ in overdue fees. They would have a summer reading program where you had to read something like 5 or 10 books, and you got a sticker or a jewel for each book. I remember checking out 15 books at a time, and bringing them back in a week, and checking out 15 more, week after week. They stopped giving me the jewels pretty quickly. But they had a lot of good books!

My dad was a chemist and brought home articifial flavoring oils and we tried to make homemade Fire Stix. Not a success. We liked the lemonade that we made with artificial lemon oil, citric acid, sugar, and water — which was crazy because we had a prolific Meyer lemon tree in the yard! We also gathered carob pods from a tree on Greer and tried to make brownies with them. Also not so good.

Our nextdoor neighbor had a waterbed which was of course the most amazing thing. She and her sister babysat us sometimes. They were big on sand candles, macrame, and stained glass. They would give us homemade brownies with chocolate milk that tasted so much better when we drank it through their treasured Crazy Straw.

One winter it snowed and we tried to scrape together enough to make a snowman, though the gender was somewhat dubious. That reminds me of a Halloween when I dressed in a mixture of stereotypically men’s and women’s clothing (hiking boots, a tutu, a Mounties hat, not sure what else) and went from house to house with my father. Each neighbor asked, “And what are you?” and I proudly replied, “I’m a boygirl!” Other years I moved on to characters like Daniel Stripey Tiger, a Tyannosaurus Rex, and a skeleton with glow-in-the-dark bones.

Everyone in my family took guitar lessons from Carol McComb at Gryphon who was a cultural icon for my family. And my parents got together with a bunch of friends for guitar-and-yoga potlucks while all us kids ran around the yard.

We would drive to the orchards in the south peninsula and pick up the windfall apricots for free, then take them home and dry them on our roof. We made apricot leather by drying apricot puree on pieces of plastic wrap. It was so difficult to peel off — but it had a great crystallized sugary texture.

National Velvet was a major book and movie in our neighborhood. My sister and I got so excited when one summer we signed up for horseback riding lessons up in the Stanford hills. But the majority of the time we spent picking up trash in the hot August sun, finally we got to brush the horses, and then one day, finally, we rode them for about 10 minutes inside some circular corral, and it was amazing.

At Garland Elementary we had a fundraising carnival. I baked a yellow cake for the cakewalk — which was sort of like musical chairs — and then I won someone else’s: bigger, with chocolate frosting — and became a cakewalk convert right there. They also had a machine for making cotton candy which seemed to me like the one thing you needed for true happiness in life. There was also a dunking tank and Go Fish and maybe we had a parade?

One year at Garland they held mini-courses where parents came in and taught something special, like how to bake cookies, or tasty foods from Scandinavia, or cooking with a solar oven (I remember everything that involved food).

Oh! We took a field trip to Duveneck Ranch where a counselor sang the classic song “Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation” over and over and over… which we turned into a song about masturbation and ejaculation (I forget the third word we used).

And the classes at the Junior Museum: Japanese brush-painting, and ceramics, and copper enamel! We went to some day camp at Foothill park where we made beads from unbaked clay and painted them with acrylic paint that I can still smell.

I LOVED the Art Thing Wing Ding at the Cultural Center too. I was very proud of a presentation I did for it on phonetic alphabets. Yes. That was me back then. And someone came up and started telling me why Esperanto was a utopian dream. And we made jigsaw puzzles from styrofoam cut with a hot wire…

A bunch of us went backpacking with the Lindbergs — a husband and wife, both school teachers (I think) — who made yearly trips into the Desolation Wilderness. I remember that a hypnotist came and gave a demonstration in Shirley Zimmerman’s 8th grade English class, and that I immediately picked up the principles of hypnotism from his presentation, and started hypnotizing the kids I was babysitting, and the people in my tent in the Desolation Wilderness, and myself at the dentist’s office. That was pretty exciting. I remember Mrs. Zimmerman saying to me, “I think it’s so easy for you because you already know how to move though many states of awareness.”

I don’t know if she did this every year and it was a piece of theater, or if it only happened once… it’s really hard to know: she would introduce us to new words, such as “lurid” (a clear favorite for her), or “extrovert”, or “irony”. When she taught us “irony”, she had a hugely emotional moment when she revealed that irony was “when your husband the promising cardiac doctor suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack!” She was FURIOUSLY ANGRY. And then the moment was over and we moved on to the next word…

She and I played ragtime together for some fundraising event for Jordan middle school — some kind of casino night for the parents. She was a brilliant pianist and loved to play ragtime like it was a racing event. She got there first. I almost tore pages out of my well-worn Dover book of Classic Rags trying to keep up with her. Actually, I just played from that book for a big party given for homeless families in San Francisco, and came across several pages with a chunk torn out of the top. I’m sure the damage dates back to Mrs. Zimmerman.

Speaking of amazing pianists, then there is Kathy Fujikawa whom I first encountered at Green Gables when she was teaching “Chorale” with Ms. Vogel (who was a rather butch lesbian fond of the song “Spurs That Jingle Jangle Jingle”, in retrospect she reminds me a little of Meg Christian). We sang so many awful songs — I don’t know how Mrs Fujikawa survived it… Then she moved on to Jordan, and I studied with her there too, and finally she established her great legacy at Paly with the chorus, Madrigals, Spectrum, music theory classes, Honor Choirs, musicals, and so much more. What an amazing woman… there is so much I could say about her that I won’t even try — I’ll just say that she had a profound influence on my life.

I can’t stop! Now I’m thinking of Miss Macnamara the Latin teacher who with her sidekick Mrs. Evans had one goal in life: to teach middle-school students how to outline. She took us to some all-state Latin Festival somewhere in Southern California where I had to give a presentation on a passage from Ovid that I didn’t really understand. Then there was an “orgy” (titter titter) where half the attendees where slaves and the others lay about in togas being fed grapes and asking the slaves to pass notes.

And there was Mrs. Mitchell (?)… I’m forgetting her name… she was in charge of collecting the attendance sheets at Jordan. She adopted particularly troubled students and had them help collect the sheets from all the classes. I had some kind of breakdown in 8th grade where the shop teacher and I went head-to-head. Hooray! I got to skip shop class and instead spent one period with her reading old plays and other school textbooks that she also kept organized. She was such a lovely, kind, and thoughful person. That time with her was so accepting and quiet and low-pressure… I will always be grateful for the care she gave to me.

I remember the intense social anxiety at Jordan and Paly. So painful! Especially since I was a gay nerd… though I found a group of wonderful friends. I remember as part of my coming-out process I joined the No on 64 campaign (against LaRouche’s proposal to quarantine HIV+ people), and did a report on it for social studies in 10th grade. And three of us got the administration to let us make AIDS-education presentations where we talked about sex and condoms. On Tuesday nights, I started riding my bike to the Firehouse at Stanford, where they had the Gay & Lesbian Alliance, pretend to be a Stanford student, and go to their public events. I was so scared that I could hardly talk to anyone there, but I kept going.

I took ballet and tap classes as the only boy in a dance studio run by a friend of the family named Ronna Kelly. Ronna was great. I’m sure she knew I was gay long before I did. She introduced me to all sorts of classical music, got me interested in studying the piano, and lent me hilarious recordings by Anna Russell. She had polio as a child and had recovered her mobility by studying dance. Unfortunately her studio had a cement floor, so we all probably damaged our knees and hips for life. Probably it’s just as well that I never learned to dance on toe, though it was my dream to do this and join the Ballets Trockadero whom I’d heard about but not actually seen.

When I hit adolescence Ronna made it clear that it was time for me to study dance somewhere else. I went down the street to Zohar and lasted maybe six months before I quit. Probably I was too scared to be in a dance studio where there were other guys and we were all changing our clothes. There was one guy, probably in his early 20’s, who started walking part of the way home with me and getting to know me until he found out that I was 15. I was a very early bloomer, but totally scared of my changing desires and very short on social skills.

I remember studying piano with Ardis Wodehouse, who also taught at Stanford and specialized in transcribing piano rolls of Gershwin and other early century greats. Then I studied with a wonderful character who played rehearsal piano for the Children’s Theater… was her name Jane Smith? Her daughter was a cabaret singer named Julie Valentine, whom I liked because she sang songs by people like Kate Bush. And finally I worked with a Trotskyite and ex-carpenter concert pianist named Sara Doniach who lived in a beautiful old Victorian house downtown. At some point she let me house-sit for her — I think it was when she went off to work for the revolution in Nicaragua — and I invited all these friends from out of state to come and stay with me, and we took over her house with the exception of the part occupied by her Stanford-film-student tenant. I don’t know what I was thinking, but Sara didn’t give me a hard time for it at all. My main job was to water and deadhead her beloved flower garden, which I did frantically in one afternoon just before she returned.

I remember that I left Palo Alto pretty angry though it’s hard to say exactly why now. My time at Paly was really hard, and I made up for that in my mind by thinking of myself as a specially gifted person: I was one of the best & brightest at special high school in a special town… When I started encountering a larger world where maybe I wasn’t so special after all, maybe I wanted to blame Palo Alto for its part in encouraging this attitude.

It’s taken me a while to appreciate the place again, though my folks still live there in the same Eichler (with very few structural improvements). I love it when I turn the corner from Greer onto Elsinore and feel like I’m suddenly underwater with the branches of the elm trees moving like seaweed in the ocean. It’s got to be one of the loveliest streets in town. My folks’ street is nice too and has many of the original Eichlers, still inhabited by some of the people I grew up with. I’d say that most of them are unpretentious folks, and I hope that there still are lots more like them in the rest of the town.

My goodness… I saw a note in this blog written by the first girl I ever fell for, and learning that she had a crush on another guy who was one of my friends. This was in 1956-57, Miss McKenzie’s first grade class at Ohlones Elementary School. She and I were the class student council representatives. I remember student council meetings in the office of the principal, Mr. Tankersley. I remember Greenmeadow, where my family moved to as orignal residents. I know also that my parents paid $23,500 for a four bedroom, two bath Eichler there. I remember Adobe Creek overflowing during a huge rain in about 1956. A small plain cheese pizza for 50 cents at the delicatessen in Charleston Center. Lover’s Lane messages chalked on the fences in the bridge passageway from Creekside Drive to Ely Place on the way to Ohlones. I remember the first 4th of July parade at Greenmeadow Park, as well as the Greenmeadow swimming pool. There was a hamburger and milkshake place, Hal’s’ that was on the corner of Middlefield and San Antonio, where the Toyota dealer is. Both these roads were two lane streets. What a place to grow up!

Thanks for those memories – lived on Greer Road from 1957 – 1963 then into Los Altos Hills.

What was the name of the shoe store at Stanford that had a cage of monkeys? Maybe it was Rapps before they got the mynah.

Does anybody else remember studying Muqiyayo in 5th or 6th grade social studies?

And does anybody know what became of Miss Sprague who taught first and second at Palo Verde in the mid-fifties but seems to have moved to another school later?

In no particular chronological order…

Ice cream sandwiches and popsicles from Pier’s Dairy on Louis Rd in the 70’s. I can still smell the inside of their little storefront…smelled like cardboard and milk.

New jeans (stiffer than cardboard) from Bergmann’s, followed by lunch at the the cafe.

Perusing the 2nd floor toy section at Bergmann’s for HOURS at a time, with not a penny to my name. And always wondering who the hell those old ladies getting their hair done in the back were.

Getting a free stuffed “Crocker Spaniel” dog when opening my first savings account at Crocker Bank.

My Mercury News paper route and the poor guy on Moreno Ave. whose fence post would fall over if I hit it with the paper. I “accidentally” hit it every day.

“Working” at the Palo Alto Square Theater in high school, which consisted of eating popcorn, smoking on the roof, playing broom baseball in the lobby, and hurling full cups of soda at each other (“Coke Wars”) while cleaning the theaters in between showings.

Getting benched by Ms. Winn at Los Ninos Elementary School, before it got booted to make room for progressive, new agey school, Ohlone.

Chatting up the janitor, Joe Odom, also at Los Ninos, and never understanding a single word he said.

Vaughn, who worked at Century Liquors for years, who used to give me free Tootsie Rolls whenever I came in with my Dad (always buying a sixer of those old torpedo shaped Buds).

Working at Rainbow Records and watching the LP section grow smaller and smaller, until all we had were CDs and tapes.

Getting dropped off at the Old Mill to see movies, lurk in the t-shirt shop, and buy fist-sized jawbreakers at the candy store.

Getting verbally abused by Lee, owner of Lee’s Comics over in the Alma Plaza. Am convinced to this day that the Comic Book Guy in the Simpsons is based on him.

Crossing the bridge on University and trying to get bums in East Palo Alto to buy us beer and getting ripped off by 95% of them.

Paying 50 cents to use the pool at Jordan during the summer.

Lusting after the blonde Cheryl Tiegs lookalike lifeguard at Riconada Pool…hanging from the wall right in front of her stand for HOURS at a time.

Hoping to get invited to parties at the Eichler Swim & Tennis club. My parents always claimed we weren’t members because of the “waiting list”. Um, not. It was actually called the “cheap list”.

Never ever hitting one out of the Little League field on Middlefield.

Seeing the midnight Rocky Horror Picture show at the Varsity Theater and being completely weirded out by the entire experience.

Being a hasher at Wilbur Hall at Stanford one summer and smelling like a cafeteria for 3 straight months.

Noticing that every Dad in Palo Alto had a beard until the mid-80’s, years after they’d gone out of fashion.

The Marion Ave. 4th of July block party and lusting after Kathleen Hanley and her dolphin shorts.

Amassing probably 20 bike citations for riding my bike at night without a light. (Sorry, Dad, but that generator light you installed was just plain cruel. See “cheap list” above.) And even as a kid thinking, “Wow, Palo Alto must be the only city in America dorky and boring enough to give tickets to bicyclists without lights.”

Mr. Christine, the shop teacher at JLS, horrifying all of us on the last day of school with his Vegas lounge style whistling performance.

Being freaked out by the teenagers standing on the sidewalk, smoking, in front of MidPen, the scary continuation school.

Bravely calling Mr. Bergstrom “Mr. Hand” during class one day, only to have him laugh and agree that yes, he loved Mr. Hand from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and would I mind if he called me Spicoli?

Always wondering why the Midtown Pharmacy had this big glass container of candied nuts, and who the hell actually bought them.

The early 80’s, when video games were so huge, that every store in town had to get one, including the Arco station on Middlefield which had a cashier room so small, I’m still not sure how they got that machine in there…and who actually played it.

And, of course, always thinking that Bill Giordano was a creep even when I was in 7th grade, and then having to find out 20+ years later that he was indeed the statutory rapist we all knew he was.

Heidleberg beerbar on El Camino
Louis Meier’s Flying A gas station at El Camino and Arastradero
Andre’s L’Omelette (“L’Ommie’s)
Cabana Hotel statues
Dinah’s Shack,where Goodwill now is
East Bayshore frontage road NOT being a through road betwween San Antonio and Embarcadero
San Antonio Rd crossing the Espee tracks at grade (no overpass)
Being in the PA Airport tower after it closed for the night and watching a movie of Bob Hoover putting an Aero Commander through an eight-point roll.
Being next tothe tracks at the California Avenue RR station about 10 pm when the Lark came through at speed on its way from San Francisco to LA.
The Dumbarton Bridge approaches being flooded by winter storms.
Town and Gown Bookstore in downtown.
Zack’s Electronic store selling Heathkits.
Dinners at St. Michael’s Alley on University Avenie.
Picking up catalog items Montgomery Wards’ store by Litton Plaza.
S. Christian of Copenhagen at Town and Country.
Peninsula Scientific at California and El Camino, later over by the RR tracks near the other end of California.
Norge Cleaning Village laundromat and cleaners on California Avenue.
Living on El Dorado Avenue and using the Maximart sign as a nighttime landmark to know where to turn off Alma — and missing my turn one night when the sign was turned off.
Bob Coombes Mobil Station at the SW corner of Page Mill and El Camino.
Horses in the field at the SE corner of Page Mill and El Camino, where Palo Alto Square now is.
Polly and Jake’s at the NE corner of PageMill and El Camino.
The RR track to Los Altos and beyond crossing El Camino at grade between McDonald’s and Fish Market.
Staying in the Cal Hotel while my car was being repaired.
Western Audio Imports
The underground crossing in front of Mayfield School on El Camino.
Shockley Transistor at Foothill and Page Mill.
Lee DeForest’s house in downtown.

Wow, this is amazing. I’m so glad I found this!

I was in Palo Alto from the time I was 5 (1966) until 1972. What do I remember…?

Peninsula Creamery and watching them make my milkshake.

Swimming at Rinconada and letting my Nestle’s crunch melt in the sun.

The drive-thru Feed & Fuel store… and the wonderful smell of hay and bunny food.

Swenson’s Ice Cream and eating cones on the balcony!

Tuesday movies at Stanford (?) theater on University in the summer time.

Riding bikes to Stanford shopping center.

Exploring the university campus (and eating at the cafeteria).

The carmel corn store next door to See’s Candy.

How about this…My-O-My disco!

The old Victorian house that sold candles and such was East Farthing Trading Company at 616 Cowper. It was the first head shop on the Peninsula (paraphernalia, etc.) It became a commune after the owner killed himself, and the fire chief, Dewey Jacques (?!?) had it condemned and torn down (I have pictures) to get rid of the “hippies”. It is now the exit from the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot.

The old Victorian house that sold candles and such was East Farthing Trading Company at 616 Cowper. It was the first head shop on the Peninsula (paraphernalia, etc.) It became a commune after the owner killed himself, and the fire chief, Dewey Jacques (?!?) had it condemned and torn down (I have pictures) to get rid of the “hippies”. It is now the exit from the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot.

Who knew that each time I hit “submit”, it would blink and post?!? I thought it just had some sort of tic! Actually, I lived on Amarillo, the first Eichler finished there in 1951, near the old drive-in. I went to Elizabeth Van Auken for kindergarten, and there were fields everywhere. We could see to San Antonio. Later I lived downtown, at East Farthing on Cowper, at 334 High St., 725 Homer, 3050 Southcourt 2125 Byron, and 985 Oregon Ave.

Remember when Joe Greer used to drive his hay wagon around Town & Country Village to take kids for rides while their parents shopped?

Getting into the Stanford Theater on Saturdays with Coca Cola (or was it Seven-Up?) bottle caps and a quarter.

Where was Homer’s? Did you see any of the local bands (Blue Mountain, others?)

Ed,

Homer’s Warehouse was at 79 Homer Ave, which is where the PA Clinic is now. Remember all those warehouses on the west side of the tracks, just south of the Holiday Inn (now the Sheraton), which just happened to be the site of the old City yard? These are the bands from the two posters I have left from Homer’s: Nick Gravenitis and Luther Tucker, Sons of Champlin and Charos Chorus, Quickfield, Stoneground, Rowan Bros. and Bob Banks and the Gas Tanks.

If I saw Blue Mountain, for some reason, I can’t remember!

Tidy Town Laundry on High St. – a meeting place for the neighborhood.

I want to thank everyone for not blasting my over-use of the submit button.

Jessica,

The shoe store at Stanford with the monkeys was Sommer & Kaufman (sp?). I think Rapp’s was always on University. Where is Roxy Rapp when you need him?

Wow- “”Some of the really good athletes in little league and Babe Ruth who just seemed larger than life to this very average player (Paul Kraft, Jorge Macareno, Tony(?) Mouton, John Erlich, Clarence Hamel, the Brewer brothers, just to name a few).””

You brought back some memories here… Paul Kraft and I go WAY back!!
I remember when Jorge Macareno cam from Cuba not knowing a word of English to my class at El Carmello!! What ever happened to mark Rodriguez?

Jim,

Any idea what Paul K. is up to these days? If you’re still in touch with him, tell him his good-field, no-hit first baseman from Rogge’s Auto Wrecking (circa 1976) said hi.

It wasn’t a lot of fun to step into the batter’s box when Jorge M. was on the mound (only 45 feet away in Little League), but I remember him as a good guy from our time at Our Lady of the Rosary.

Ken

First off- I put my neighborhood as Old PA ‘cuz I lived all over PA through the years: born in the Old Stanford Hospital while our family lived on Palo Alto Ave. by “the creek”; then lived for awhile on Arastadero (sp?) Rd.; moved to Wash. State for a couple years- then back to PA and a brand NEW Eichler on Scripps Ave. in Greenmeadow for a few years; then back to Wash. State; again- moved BACK to PA and lived on Seneca St. right off Forest…in ’69 I moved back to Wash. State and have been here ever since. I think of Palo Alto so often- I remember growing up there as the classic child-hood…so safe and free and happy. I also lucked-out in that I was at “the right place at the right time”, so got to experience the Bay Area music scene from its inception, as well as the very beginning of the HaightAshbury when it was just blooming. I will write more later…I hope to connect with a few old timers who may remember me~ altho, I may not remember them right off the bat!!! And I have a long list of Palo Alto places and things to post as well…but can’t sit any longer…sunshine beckons and when that happens in February (in Wash. State), one goes OUTSIDE!

Here we go:
University Ave. with St. Micheal’s Alley (and Vern Gates!) the University Theater, Varsity Theater, and Paris theater…and the Tangent/Poppycock- which came first? The old Woolworth’s with the lunch counter. And Liddicoats- the first place I ever tasted marzipan. Remember the place that sold Indian sari’s and jewelry?

The eucalyptus groves at Stanford- across from Paly- where we used to go when we cut school. The old Egyptian Museum at Stanford. Stanford!

Embarcadero Park- all the Be-ins and concerts…making fun of Timothy Leary behind his back (we were on acid, I’m sure) while he spoke at one of them…the Dead played that day, too.

Searsville Lk., Page Mill rd. (old), La Honda, the Linear Accelerator.

Kepler’s, Christmas Tree Lane, Elanor Park, Rincanada Park- the pool with the high-dive and eating popsicle after popsicle at the snack hut. The Children’s Museum and the Children’s Library (I loved the Secret Garden!).

The See’s Candy Store on University Ave…hot caramel corn! Running up and down the grass steps at Frost Amp.- and all the incredible music through so many eras…I saw Duke Ellington and the likes with my folks- and went and saw the Dead, etc when I was older.

Driving on 280 when it wasn’t open yet- but you could move the barriers.

East PA and Whiskey Gultch…and waaaay back in the 50’s when my aunt and uncle lived on O’Conner St.- I think our family might have lived there for awhile, as well…fields forever, it seemed.

Bloody Bayshore. My dad letting up stand up in his convertable while on Bayshore and him telling us about the kid who was doing that and a piece of straw went all the way through his head..Thanks, Dad! Going to the dump with my Dad. Feeding the ducks.

So much more…later.

I was born and raised in Palo Alto, a very different city back then, but full of treasured memories such as
The cows and horses in the field that now occupy the Main Library. My brothers and friends used to play army in that field.
Walking through “The Magic Forest” on our way to Walter Hays. The neighborhood kids gave it that name which stuck and now there’s a plaque with that name in that grove of redwoods.
Never wearing shoes in the summer and many stubbed toes.
The May Day parade downtown with our bikes decked out in crepe paper and playing cards in our spokes held on with clothes pins.
Dancing around the May Pole in 6th grade.
Swimming at Rinconada for 15 cents and getting a snow cone from “The Stand” when done.
The firehouse selling taffy.
Playing hide and go seek on hot summer nights. Playing catch and other games in the street on Parkinson when there wasn’t any traffic.
Making Chinese jump ropes from gum wrappers
Playing Hoppy Taw at school. (Does anyone remember Hoppy Taw?)
Building our own skateboards from old skates and a board.
The haunted house at Channing Park. Ringing the doorbell and running.
The church bells from Channing street ringing at 5:00 which told us it was time to go home.
The Junior Museum and Girl Scout House at Rinconada.
Weekend lunches up in the very old oak trees at Rinconada.
Learning to drive at the old Stanford shopping center when it was closed on weekends.
Roller skating to Town & Country for nickel candy.
Walking (new concept) to elementary, junior high and high school.
Palo Alto was a great place to grow up; a carefree and safe childhood with abundant good memories.

Buying yard long licorice at The Barn,next to Stanford Shopping Center.

The “Magic Alley.” Mr. Reese loved to do lapidary. He would throw throw polished rocks over his fence for the neighbor kids to find. Sometimes when he heard us he would throw a handful of rocks over that would shower down on us. Dennis, Doug and I would spend hours collecting rocks in 3-6th grade.

Sloppy Joe’s and Apple Crisps tasting great at Jordon.

My folks, and the neighbors fought, and won, City Hall when the city wanted to put a new jail next to Rinconada Park.

Stanford Students fighting to get SRI out of being part of Stanford.

Mr. Makim, a neighbor, raised pheasants and flowers. (He was grandfathered in regarding the pheasants.)

When I was a teenager our friends did a progressive dinner as a way to get out on Halloween.

The first Earth Day celebration. I was allowed to leave Paly for Gunn or Cubberly for the 2 or 3 days they celebrated it.

Being involved with the first Ecology Class in Palo Alto. It was so controversial we had to meet on Wednesday nights instead of a daytime class. (1968 or 69) Excellent class.

One semester our history teacher told us something like… “History is happening here, be part of it, there will be no class held this semester, I will b on the lawn if you want to talk.” We simply did not have class for a semester. It was 1969 0r 70, there were Love ins, riots, and peace marches to participate in.

6a.m. dates to pick flowers from Mrs. Gambles gorgeous gardens. (We made an effort to pick them judiciously so the garden still looked beautiful.) We would take the flowers and make bouquets and deliver them to friend’s homes before they left for school. I understand the gardens are now open to the public.

Starting a Community Garden on Louis Rd. in 1970 with 3 friends. I left for college then but the Parks department began a community garden the next year at a new location.

Paly’s tower had just been reroofed a week before a storm. It was struck by lightening, ruining the new roof and they closed school for the day.

Jordon’s cafeteria or gym burning, can’t remember which.

My parents complaining about dresses being to short so I bought the first Granny Dress when they hit the Stanford mall and my parents complained it was to long.

The underpass near Paly that had 3 lanes. The middle lane sometimes was for traffic one way, sometimes for the other way. One had to look to see the green light to know if you could use the middle lane.

Getting mail delivered twice a day during Christmas rush. Our wonderful mailman, Mr. Hopkins. (He also painted many peoples houses)

My one and only bike ride all the way to Foothill Park only to be turned away at the entrance because members of the SLA were supposedly there with weapons.

I volunteered one day at the Junior Museum in order to get out of science class. I was hired the next day to teach after school science programs, then worked as a Bayland Interpreter, then 2 summers as a camp counselor at Foothill. Great memories of making bread with children in the Indian oven, songs, doing natural dying of cloth. One day the temperature reached 114 and there were 14 bloody noses. On one hike of Los Trancos Trail we interrupted a mountain lion stalking a buck. It vocalized its disapproval of our appearance. It was the fastest easiest hike with kids after that. They hiked fast and stuck together.

Thanks for all the memories of places and events. It was great growing up in PA and I still like to bike through the whole area though I do not live in the bay area anymore…to much traffic.

Hi Andy,
Q-34 here……
How about the cave on old page mill rd below Lois Hogle’s place, above the quarry, only access was to lower oneself down a rope from above.
Grateful Dead playing for free at El Camino Park.
Alpine road paved all the way up to Skyline+Page Mill rds.
Midnight movies at the Varsity.
Rock Bands at stanford theatre.
Monkey’s (orangotangs?) behind a glass display at Stanford shopping center.
Buckthorn wy hangout x the tracks(w menlo crowd)
Lytton house(555)
Thanx for the thread Andy

Hi, Jim! More memories: Trying to stay AWAY from whatever fun trouble my brother Mark was getting into! Turning Scott on for the first time. Riding bikes everywhere and at any time of day/night and not feeling scared. Walking everywhere, anytime of day/night and not feeling scared. Playing outside til late. Walking to school…taking a different route each day- I loved all the old houses! Climbing the old oaks at Rincanada…and the ones around Frost Amp. The smell of the acacia when it was in bloom along the creeks. The little corner markets/smoke shops that seemed to be everywhere…they’d let you sit on the floor and read comics for hours. I have to ask: Everyone seems to refer to Safeway stores on this thread— does ANYONE remember Lucky’s??? All I ever remember going to was Lucky’s…they had fresh hot sourdough french-bread brought in every morning- my Mom would buy 2 because we would immediately eat one loaf right up! When we lived in Greenmeadow (very early 50’s), somehow a big white owl got into the Lucky’s there- I remember looking for it (and seeing it) whenever we went there…don’t know how long it was there til they finally captured it, but they had to cover all the produce at night ‘cuz the owl would poop all over it!

Hi Sully (Q34), Q-28 here.

It’s good to hear from you bro! Hey, we’re both still here – haven’t been priced out of our hometown.

I remember the concerts, too. Like, $4.50 tickets to see Santana, Tower of Power and Cold Blood (all three in one concert) at Frost Ampletheatre.

I just started a thread about Wilbur Junior High and hope others will share their memories. You were a Jordon Dolphin if I recall (before our membership in the “James Gang”). Ha ha, hee hee. The good ol’ days. Good to hear from you Jim!

Andy

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip down Palo Alto’s Memory Lane. Thanks to all who have contributed recollections and a special thanks to Andy Freedman for starting this forum.

Palo Alto in the post-World-War-II era was a wonderful place to grow up. The schools and the parks and recreation department provided good support to parents who wisely chose to rear their children here.

I recently learned that the Greek origin of the word nostalgia is “homesickness” – a longing to return to an irrecoverable time or condition. So true.

My family moved to Palo Alto in 1950 and stayed until 1957. We lived in a new, three-bedroom ranch just off Oregon Avenue on Greer Road. I went to Walter Hays, Van Auken, Garland and Jordan.

The other side of Greer was a vacant field where they baled hay in the fall. We used the bales like bricks to build “hay-bale forts.” A couple years later, it was filled with Eichlers (El Sinore, Blair Court, El Cajon).

About 1953, I got a San Francisco Call Bulletin route from Richard Roach. Then a year or two later I got a Palo Alto Times route from Tom Hurley. My first imprinted T-shirt said “Palo Alto Times Star Carrier-Dealer.” Wow! Thanks to the earlier poster who wrote “I porched it!” I hadn’t thought of that in decades. That triggered a flood of memories.

Here are two 49er-related memories:

The Mid-Town Sport Shop was started by Leo Nomellini, the great 49er tackle. I think it was originally called Leo Nomellini’s Sports Center.

One day (it must have been in June), my Dad said,
“Why don’t you go out and pass the football?”
We said, “But Dad, it’s baseball season.”
“Y.A. Tittle is coming over.” Wow!
In the off-season, he sold insurance and wanted to sign up my Dad. He threw us a pass down Greer that seemed to go all the way to California Avenue. Wonderful!

As previously noted by others, we rode our bikes everywhere. I recall going to the Stanford campus and riding in the Amphitheatre. I would accelerate down the side aisle, hit the ramp up to the stage and launch my bike into the air. One Saturday, I crashed it and bent the front wheel. I had to walk the bike all the way home and then borrow my brother’s to do my Times route.

A couple times we pedaled up to La Honda and then came flying down the road through the hairpins. I don’t have nerves like that anymore.

I remember Mr. Hilborn and Mr. Center from Jordan. I was in the band and orchestra and wish to thank Barbara Welch, the music teacher. She taught me a lot. So did Gary Wideman who sat next to me in the trumpet section. (My parents bought me that trumpet at Swain’s House of Music).

I used to get on my bike and ride to the A&W on Middlefield for lunch – “two dogs and a nickel beer” for 45 cents. What a deal!

I remember seeing “Bwana Devil” at the Varsity (1953?) – one of the first 3-D movies. We had to wear red and green glasses. I involuntarily ducked when the spear came at the audience.

There was a grocery store at the end of Oregon near Bayshore called the Pay ‘n Take It. This was in the days when there were deposits on pop bottles and they rather foolishly stored the empties outside in back of the store. I remember a few times when I had no money, I’d take bottles from in back of the store and redeem them for two cents each to buy penny candy. No telling how many times they redeemed the same empty bottles.

My Dad used to buy his gasoline at the Stars and Bars station in town (Ramona Street?) because they charged less than the major brands and they gave coupons with each purchase. When I was about 12, I bought a pack of Pall Malls for a quarter from their vending machine which was outside the station.

There was an indoor roller-skating rink on Middlefield Road where we used to go; maybe at Loma Verde or San Antonio?

Used to love to go to the Palo Alto Sport Shop. I bought a lot of Hardy Boys mysteries there. Also, in the back, where they repaired bicycles, they had an old vending machine that dispensed bottles of Coke for only a nickel.

I don’t know if it’s the same person, but a Dana Morgan used to live down Oregon toward Bayshore from us. He had a couple horses which we used to ride. His Dad’s company made rides for Disneyland and later roller coasters. Cool!

The worst time was the flood just before Christmas in 1955. We were lucky we did not have water except in the garage and the crawl space. It came within a couple inches of crossing the threshold of the front door.

If Steve Tripp or John Jewett is out there reading this, thanks for the great times, and send me an e-mail. All the best and I’d love to hear from you.

Posted by Bill Wicker billwicker@comcast.net

Along with many good memories growing up in Palo Alto, having been born there in 1950 and graduating from Cubberley High in 1968, I particulary remember several teachers who made a difference in my life — and probably never knew how important they were: Jane MacKenzie Olsen and Flora Viezzoli at Ohlones Elementary; Vivian Moyer and Carol(?) Stickrod (Nash) who taught math, and Jeanne Mills who taught Social Studies at Terman Junior High. Also at Terman, the toughest, no-nonsense teacher ever, Barbara Ballou, who was sometimes difficult to like, but was certainly respected. At Cubberley High, Larry Hull and Carole Burger in science, and Joanne Barnes in French. Those teachers were outstanding, and made a lasting impression in my life. I think we were fortunate to grow up with Palo Alto schools — along with so much else in the community.

Talk about remembering. How about the little bakery shop on
Middlefield Rd. near Duca and Handley. They had the best
pastries around. There was a small laundry mat in that area
as well. If memory serves me here, there used to be a diner
type restaurant on the corner of Loma Verde and Middlefield
Rd. called Breuers. As you stepped in the front door you were
greeted by a glass window display of cinnamon rolls. They
were large and tasted out of this world.
Those were the days……

McAuley and Richards grocery store on Waverly

The House of Pies

SOS groceries — still there — near whole foods

Mayfield High School

Live rock bands at Lytton Corners on Friday nights

Mings (the old Mings)

Palo Alto Yacht Harbor

Spagetti dinners at the Palo Alto Yacht Club

The drop-in place at the Presbyterian Church on Cowper (what was it called??)

Gas for 25 cents a gallon and putting a buck in the Caddy

$3.00 to get into the Fillmore

This thread is creepy in a good way, let’s see:

K-2 at De Anza and everything that went with it – Seale Park (sp?), Piers Dairy (try telling your kids you pulled through a drive-thru to order milk, ice cream, etc.), an actual milk man delivering milk and picking up the empty bottles, and the awesome creek that was full of frogs, tadpoles and all kinds of critters…remember when the little frogs would be hopping out of Matadero Creek at Greer and Lewis by the thousands…right across the road…I would tell my folks to be careful but it was no use…and there were more coming after that.

3-6 at Hoover which is now Condos. Winterland was the happenin’ place, all the girls had Dorothy Hamil (I think) bob cuts and I still can’t hear Boston without flashing back…oh, and the vending machine for hot chocolate and the big tootsie rolls that came in pairs. Mr. Knoblock was an awesome teacher at Hoover. So was Mr. Burns who probably rode his bike around S Palo Alto until his last days, a.m. radio rubber banded to the bars and playing the ball game. I saw him doing this for many, many years.

Stickball

Kickball

After school and summer rec programs (damn you prop 13)

BBGun fights at the PA drive in (remember the tumbleweed) and baylands

Bergmans rocked, kudos to those who reminded me of campign out to read the “bad” comic books…remember when they had to start asking for written permission to sell spray paint for models?

One last one for you as it seems as though we’ve come full-circle – do you remember the oil embargo in the mid-70’s? I remember the lines for the Shell station in front of Winterland going South down Middlefield past Century Liquors (was it called that then?) on the corner of Loma Verde/Middlefield and into the next block. There were people buying donuts from the shop next door, and drinks, and walking up and down the line of cars selling them. I don’t remember exactly how long we had to wait but at the time it seemed like hours.

Good times. Now I feel old!

Lori the school was Herbert Hoover .. the park is still there and is also hoover park they just remodeled it this past month, MY parents still live across the street from it. I have the slide from Hoover school in my back yard and at one time had it in my back yard when I lived in Palo Alto but like many others high prices forced us to move across the bay. and my current back yard is not big enough for that slide it’s huge. Candi (Davison) Alexandre Paly graduate 1974

Anyone know what happened to Mr. Harry Grod, who taught music at Palo Verde and perhaps Wilbur?

Some things I remember from growing up in Palo Alto in the 70s and 80s (in no particular order):

Mrs. Sidaris, my first grade teacher who was so sweet.
Woolworth with the ice cream counter.
Litticoat’s with the first ever Mrs. Fields.
The New Varsity movie theater (now Borders)
Native American Pow Wow Festivals at Stanford.
Spirit week.
Walking and riding my bike to elementary school.
Having huge crush on Fred Schweer like most girls did (that kid must have had a big head).
Getting bullied by a girl named Kit but being only nominally impacted by it.
Walking around Stanford and the vendors when the Grateful Dead were playing at Frost Amphitheater.
Hating Jordan.
The drama/trauma surrounding the death of Dan Popovich
Rushing to Miyake (the little old location) for sushi during our Paly lunch break.
Co-Op market
The Keystone and later “The Edge”
Oh Mighty Isis (band)
Swensen’s
Tetherball
Big Wheels
The high school swarms at “T&C” during lunch time
Thinking I was hired at Hobee’s and then reporting in and they didn’t recall that they had hired me.
Working at the Plantation Cafe.
The wrath of Ms. Uchida and later Ms. Turner
Mr Thompson pointing his finger and calling me a Libertarian which compelled me to look it up and consider/define/defend/ my political views (which was his point)
“Folded ice-cream” trend.
The Old Mill
Pizza A Go-Go
Stickneys and the Cookbook
“Mother Karen” jacket trend
“Dittos” (girl’s pants) trend
deep V-neck stretched out sweaters from The Limited trend
Guess jeans with zippers at the ankles trend
leggings and big shirts trend.
braces and bad hair in jr. high
that is all for now 🙂 I know many more will come to me.

Also,
Goofy activities at and around Frenchmans Tower on Old Page Mill (OPM) rd
Seemed a lot bigger back then, was by it the other day, still has the crawl hole access around the back.
As far as Lytton Plaza antics, what I remember was seeing the plain clothed undercover officers, the term”stick out like a sore thumb” causes me to chuckle.
Also, folks watching the goings on while perched on the 2nd floof window ledges in the “abandoned” bldng directly across the street from Lytton Plaza.

Jim,

I drove by there the other day and wondered what was the original purpose of that unusual brick chimney-like tower? Do you recall or even why is it called: “Frenchmans Tower on Old Page Mill Road”?

Andrew: Now that’s what I call doggone informative, thanks!

Now from El Valle de Anton in the rainforest of Panama, Panama
Born Hoover Pavilion 1947
Lytton, Jordan, Paly 65
640 Ramona, over the laundry

When the new city hall high rise was being built i would position my stereo speakers out the window facing the project on the weekends in retaliation for the noise foisted on me during the week. I also pledged, perhaps uselessly, to watch the building come down and so when the portico that surrounded the square was removed I did feel a little smug. The block had been earlier occupied by a city parking lot, Cardinal dry cleaners, Mary Lyons dress shop, Frank Talents Chevron station and an old wooded complex that house a butcher shop and pool hall. On the weekends stories would be read by the librarian in the topiary garden of the main library. The adjacent two block area was the laundry district with the Stanford, University French and Canton Chinese laundries. In addition the Cardinal, City of Paris and I believe Excelsior French dry cleaner
where also located there. Bettencourt’s market and the Worthington’s
Adanac Bulk laundry, that’s Canada spelt backwards, where also in the same area.

More to come

Been a few months since I last checked this site — delighted to see it’s still going! A few more memories:

* Henry Gunn’s granddaughter was a student at Gunn. In the mid-1970s, she went to the senior prom with another girl. That was really daring, racy, OUT there (pun intended) at the time. Not sure whether she was gay or just making a point.

* One of my teachers (maybe the principal?) at Hoover or Fairmeadow was Mr. Bracken — brother to the famous “I Hate to Cook” cookbook writer Peg Bracken, if I recall right.

* Phil something, the drug counselor at Cubberley in the early 1970s.

* Wilbur Jr. High around 1970, when a new principal was hired — Bill something. At first he seemed cool — long hair, 6′ 6″ tall and drove an MG. But then part way through the year, he “suspended” student government. As it happened, my cousin was the education reporter for the Palo Alto Times — somehow (!) they heard about the situation and wrote about it :-). He was gone by the next year.

* Bill Goggins, the journalism teacher at Wilbur.

— BruceL (born in the old hospital (now Hoover Pavilion) in ’57, lived in Palo Alto 64-75, Cubberley ’75, now on the East Coast but come back several times a year to visit my parents who still live in town)

Love it all!

Gonna give a couple of local unique characters’ names: Mike Angelo (before we knew Tourette’s Syndrome by name), Hap Miller, Tom Piffero, Mark Ziolkowski, Phil Scoma…

And some local bands: 3 Gems & a Jewell, The Intrakits, The Debonaires, Canterbury, The Moonlighters, London Taxi Cab, The Images, Arthur…

A Few Teachers: Grouped by the Good, the Bad & the Ugly (won’t say which came first): Mr. Ernst, Larry Bross, Shroyer, Clem Wiser, Jojo Costerella, Joe Ochoa, Mr. Takemoto (Mr. T before the other Mr. T), Shreeve, McCann.

Local Haunts: Midtown Variety, Toy World (at Midtown, too, where Baskin Robbins is now), Straw Hat Pizza, Red Barn Burger (Mt. View, where Country Goumet is now). Town & Country Records.

before the slot car track on middlefield road the building was a slingerland drum school.I played drums in the local bands canterbury and madness.Bought first drums from Dana Morgan . First drum teacher was Bill Krutzman. Still playing on the southern Oregon coast.

Its sad to hear of all the fun things adults used to do when, and this is just my opinion any suggestions would be phenomenal, now there are very few organized events or places for older kids to go. Highschool kids resort to drinking and smoking for entertainment and thats sad. Palo Alto Bowl is the one place that kids can really hang out and do something, unlike causing chaos at starbucks or at the parks. And that place is already condemed.

mayfield mall christmas display

old barrell

old mill movie theater

the candy store at Alma Plaza

the market where blockbuster is now

wilbur middle school

shakeys pizza (now chicago pizza)

ahhh, the good ole days 🙂

The cool twister slide at mitchell park

It Is Better To Have Pick Up Their Dirty Laundry
And Met Them
Then To Not Have Not Met Them At All!

While in Paly I delivered laundry M-F to many residents of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton and Stanford. During that year and a half period I met, had small or large talk and shook the hands of:

John Brodie
Leo Nomalinni (Spelling)
Gordy Saltau (Spelling)
Wille Mays
Shirley Temple

DONALINA CAMERON: a pioneer advocate of Chinese Women’s rights and the abuses they suffered from the Tongs of San Francisco from 1895
to the 1950 working through the prostitution outreach center of the Presbyterian Mission Home for Women. This home eventually became Cameron house and still exist in the City today. See lived in college terrace and was a little munchkin of a women about 4’11”
and weather it be hot or cold she would always tip be a dollar saying
“Oh it’s so cold/hot buy your self something cold/warm to drink.
She invite be in and I was astounded by the photos artifacts of her life see had hanging about the room. Here she was this little women surrounded by groups of hatchet carrying tong soldiers many who sported ques and red ribbons on their hatchets AMAZING!!! She was called either the white angel or devil of Chinatown depending on which “Tong” you belonged to. Another Only in Palo Alto encounter was ALEXANDER KERINSKY a real heavy! The Prime Ministry of Russia in 1917 and remained there until the Bolsheviks booted him out. He was a fellow at The Hoover Research Center, Stanford and also lived in College Terrace.

How bout those plastic fire helmets handed out bu fireman whoever after his class presentation in elementary school or sliding down the brass pole at the downtown fire station on field trips? The site of El Palo Alto, the trestle, the creek, the great train station and putting coins on the tracks for the steam powered engine to flatten hoping you didn’t derail the train, Don’t Use A Dime! The Daylight, Starlight and the Lark or taking the train into the City during the summer.

There were many Palo Alto families that had vested interest in California going back for generation. Perhaps my favorite were the Loo’s who lived in a large home with tennis court very close to one of the second generation Hoffacker’s of Palo Alto Sport Shop fame next to Palo Alto Corsets on Waverly. Anyway David Loo’s Great Grand Father, Kum Shu Loo, opened the Chinese Phone Exchange in San Francisco in 1909, of which his son took over, Kern Loo, and ran until 1948. David’s father was then employed by Pacific Telephone and Telegraph talk about a little corporate gratitude! Anyway their house was just full of Chinese stuff and it was quite and experience when his mom hosted our cub scout pack meetings. Hell with the crafts just let me wander and look! Going to Rickey’s, Dinah’s or the Swiss Chalet for a meal all of whom were owned by John Rickey.
David Swank, who’s father was a Christan Science Practitioner and wouldn’t allow David to wear band aids and the like, live on Forest and when we where digging a underground fort in his back yard we found remnants of the old trolley line that used to service Palo Alto and Stanford including a spike, rail and a conductor badge wow!

Soon a bit more

I lived on Tennyson ’53-’68.
Walter Hays: Miskell, Topham, Crozier, Mettler, Berry, May Day, Meschinski (right-right-right-left-right), air raid drills, SMSG.
Jordan: Boortz, Dingman, Center (cheerleaders in his convertible on game day), Becker. Mr. Takamoto, tears in his eyes, telling gym class that JFK was dead. Sneaking into the ventilation ducts through trap door in math class floor. Upside down milkshake races. Marching band with Dr. Gray. Getting nailed across the shop by one of Harley Hilborn’s tennis balls. Bermuda days.
Paly: Miss Schmidt’s latin class and spitballing the busts of Cicero and Caesar. Ochoa’s Binaca habit. Phillips — good grief. Norton Thornton and his 20-year-old lecture notes.
Town: Circus at Bayshore & Embarcadero, before the Lucky. Ancient Italian produce man who sold from ancient display truck on streets around town. Hearing the Barron Park volunteer fire dept siren. The “5 o’clock whistle” (no idea where it came from). The Daylight train. No stop signs. Shooting the Calif. Ave. underpass before barriers were added, and later setting off cherry bombs in same on Hallowe’en. Water fun: Searsville Lake, Felt Lake, Lagunita, San Francisquito Ck. Patterson’s 5 & 10; Bonander’s; Trampolina; KYA KFRC KEWB; water tower by Calif. Ave. train station; 50-cent Stanford season tix from YMCA (Jr. Rooters) got you into Sec AA, from which we’d spend the whole time trying to sneak into better seats; hayride at T&C; Stanford Farm; Pen Dairy guy delivering milk into our fridge 3 days a week; old man Werry; the original Kepler’s; buses with a Pepsi cap on the front; sneaking a peek at Mac’s.
Rinconada all summer long; being in Hallowe’en crowd herded by the cops near Eleanor Park (’68). Pool and bowling at Tressider. Digging for indian artifacts where Mayfield Mall was later built. Oak trees in the middle of many streets. Trying out 280 before it was open. Stanford dorm keggers. Skateboards made from a board, nails, and old key skates. Flexies. Hoppy-taw. Having to go to the library to get information. Hanging out at the library weeknights, because parents would always say ok.
Ah, the good old days.

Being the Rec leader at Ventura
You Can Beat The A Bomb, Duck and Cover conerad civil defense films
Film strips on hygiene, popularity, crossing the street
The every popular Journey to Banana Land & Wheat the Wealth of America
The reading programs where you ordered books for $
5 cent milk, chalk boards and erasers
Freshly made, wet and smelly mimeograph copies
The frescoes at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic
Thursday night the stores were open till 9pm
Ford, Stoner, Heinbeck and Busnell of Lytton
Playing records on the private booths at T&C Music or the Emporium before you bought them.

The riot after the sole brother car show held in the library parking lot. 1962, first man in space, a black DJ from KDIA named Rosko used a tag line on his show “The Jig is Up” alluding to a black man in space. When he uttered the phrase at the show it set the crowd off.
The sole brother were a car club form the peninsula whose loco featured a black and a white man in a t roadster hot rod on the back of their club jackets, If you were white the driver would also be if black then so displayed.

Used auto dealers Al Plough and Ike Nelson on El Camino in Midtown would paint every available rubber surface with tire black to detail their $100 vehicles. Dashboard, door panels, trunks. floor boards and so on. The Superfund odor of the junkyards in East Palo Alto.

Being chased by a bunch of Stanford “Big Guys” when we fashioned signs out of the provided bumper stickers at a Nixon for President rally, held at the ball park, to say ‘NIX ON NIXON”

The trampoline center or University Avenue where several kids broke
their arms! Not so may lawyers then. Lytton Park was also known as plastic park a reference to it’s appearance.
Virgin Pins
Donna Wertz’s petty coats and skirts in Paly English class when see try to inspire me to write by whispering in my ear. Doctor Mason, Rodman’s Biology class, Jack Kendall’s Graphic Arts
The Flood Mansion in Sharon Heights
Micheal Pollard tea parties, smokes-cokes and gas at his fathers beacon station the corner of Forest & Emerson
Hollywood and Vine Paly, “Who did that?”
Open House Market on El Camino the ONLY open store on the holidays
Madras shirts and powder blue Levis
Bus to the city and gawking around Lyle Tuttle’s Tattoo shop

Kathy Lawrence who went to Paly and later returned to teach English
Frankie Lane and Johnnie Mathis at the Fairmont Venetian, Room SF
Spring Formal at The Tonga Room, talk about smaltz and drink umbrellas

We played in the creek almost every day and I allways had poison oak. Played little leage for the South Palo Alto Lions, my Dad Jack Paul was the coach and then became the president of the League for years.
Went to Addison, Jordan, Paly and Mayfield High School. Played Pop warner and every sport. Loved going to Stanfrd games for allmost free in the Cheap seats, saw great games with Plunkett and co. and Elway. Partied with them when I got older. Great Stanford kegggers. Great concerts at Stanford , saw most of them and the be in’s at EL Camino ball park, loved the music and the Dead.Lived at Cowper and Oregon and our numbber was Davenpert 2-0351. Miss the old days and clean safe living.

I’ve made my deposits here with a certain level of ambivalence remembering the adage; A young man thinks of the future while and old man thinks of the past. But as I enter the childhood of my old age I also recall a popular bumper sticker that claimed the boy with the most toys win the game. Partially true but it should read MEMORIES since these are the only things you actually own outright. Your body, your gold or your offspring, your property all revert to their origins in the end while your memories leave with you. So thanks for adding to my personal wealth it’s been great!

Critical mass when Jordan started or ended the school day
KMPX< KSAN Dusty Streets who now on Sirus, Terry McGovern
Scoop Nisker, if you don’t like the news then go make some of your own
Sand Hill Road and Zotts/Alpine Beer Garden
Foundations: girdles, long line bras, garter belts
Melloney’s in Woodside
Don Simmerly and the red squad
Falling asleep in Latin class in the HOT Campanile at Paly
Luke Snag for President
Little Golden Books
Dell Classic Comics the prepubescent cliff notes
Bobby Freeman at the Redwood City Legion Hall & his Candy Apple 58 Chevy
John Lee Hooker playing around town cause he lived in Los Altos
The VIDEO jukebox at In Your Ear $1 a pop
Stickney’s Flamingo for eggs, hash browns, coffee and toast after Paly parties 99 cents, Town and Country for strawberry pies and The Golden Chicken for?
Stacy and Brenda’s Krutzmans apartment where 5 year old Stacy would participate in the herbal circle. Boy did she have lots of imaginary friends!
Lime Klim Creek vernal equinox held the same weekend of the Monterey Pop festival when all the Stars came to play for the real people naked and stoned!
Joan Baez’s place on Moody Road

The night, working as chef at Adobe Creek Lodge, I fed the 25 reunion for the Paly class of 47 the year I was born thinking wow is that how I’ll look?

Nough Said!
And again thank you all!

Glenn Gary Gamboa
boacon@sti.net
http://www.threesisters.biz

Worked for Swensen ice cream in 69 and worked for Neil Fountain a mean old man. $1.35 PER HOUR in 69 and we made trades with all the hippiies for what ever they had lol and made trades with the roundtable pizza and the movie houses for free trades. We never payed for anything downtown and all the people did trades. Good ol days of Palo Alto.

Linda,
I’m kinda hazy on those details right now, but do remember Todd King, Eric Redstrom. I think Steve Shaffer might have spent some time with them too. One of my buddies would know better (that would be Steve Sevilla, who I still see now and then). I played in a couple of bands way back when, and followed all the local bands.

Who remembers the 1959 Babe Ruth All Star team? As a 12 year old fan, this was the greatest baseball team I had ever seen! They went to the world series and ended up third in the country! this was the styarting line up: Buddy Mitchell (catcher), Bill Pletsch (first base), Kerry Otterby (second base), Ray Gayle (shortstop), Kent Webber (third base), Jon Cretarolo (left field), Otis Hamilton (center field), right field might have been a guy named Riley McWilliams(I’m not sure though. The pitchers that almost took them to the title were Bruce bellandi and Wayne Miller. My dad took extra vacation time so the whole family could follow the the team up to Bend, Oregon for the western regional and then to Stockton of all places for the world series. Too cool!

Where is everybody?

Hey Jim – I heard that Roxy Rapp hired a lot of local youth. I was a dishwasher at Lyon’s Resturant and the Holiday Inn during my junior and senior years in high school.

Vets I and Vets II – My brother was pitcher and 1st base for Dick Felts in Little League. I was awful. The few times they let me play while on Wiseman’s (sp?), I’d field the ball by letting it drop to the ground rather than take the chance on getting beaned with it.

Not only do I recall the Little League games at the VA, but after my Marine Corps service, I worked for the VA in the File room. Back then (1976), there were no computers and only about 2 copy machines per building. Carbon copies were the thing. Also, in addition to no computers (no emails), very few employees had there own phone. You’d have to ask permission if you wanted to make a “personal telephone call.” There was no phone mail either. After a 10 year stint, I left the VA and worked for other Palo Alto companies.

Coming back 6 years ago, I was surprised that the VA Palo Alto was rated the top hospital in the nation with regard to electronic records, charting, and other computerized functions.

Back in the ‘70s, the most employees lived and worked around Palo Alto or Mountain View. Everyone knew everyone at work and many would get together after work, like on Fridays to the local watering holes (Chez Luis, Jumping Frog, or was it Leaping Lizard, I can’t remember now). You could live in a 1-bedroom apartment on California Avenue or maybe Latham Street for $300 a month (and as others have mentioned, stop by Linda’s for a Parisian Burger).

There were those long, no, very, very long gas lines you’d have to wait in for a couple hours to get gas. They had even and odd days to correspond with the last digit on you license plate. One time at the Phillips Gas station on the corner of Arastradero and El Camino (where the Midis is now), someone at the station put a sign on the back of my car saying “Last Car.” I let around 10 folks get in front of me – the gas station was about 5 blocks away – that’s how long the line was.

Andy

For those who grew up in Palo Alto but no longer live there, you can view almost every part of town by using the Google Streetview map tab. It’s a blast using. Can rotate the view in any diretions… Try it!

Just remembered – the Bread truck? He’d drive down our street and we’d run in the house asking our parents for a dime. He’d stop the truck, go around the back and open it up to reveal a huge assortment of donuts (“Mmmmmmm, donuts”). A dime could get you 2 donuts.

Also, there was the Milkman. If my older brother got up really early, he’d flag the empty milk bottles to be picked up with a request for Chocolate Milk.

And I do remember the Little League games on Middlefield Road. The winning team got a free (drum roll . . .) soda.

And I was one of the ones who ended up in the dreaded Little League “Clinic.”

Andy

Yes, Linda. Colonial Bread is the one I remember.

By the way, does anyone know why the site of the old Ming’s restaurant on El Camino is still vacant after all these years?

i was so proud of my neighborhood for its sports prowess. Leo Nomellini, Pete Wisman, Pete kmetovic, Jack Christianson. All nfl’ers Leo was voted to the all time nfl team. Christianson was the head coach at Stanford. I was in awe as a kid! I remember riding my bike by Leo’s house and seeing this Hall of Fame guy mowing his lawn just like any other mortal. WE didn’t really think that much of it at the time, but it was pretty special,

…………Waiting in line at the Bayshore Drive-In for (2-3)hours to see “A Hard Days Night”, and going back and doing it again when “HELP” came out.
Playing Little League for Hagemann Construction, Coca-Cola, and Kawata Bros. Gas Station.

Leo Nomellini and Gordie Soltau both helped coach the Palo Alto Knights Pop Warner team 1967-70……………..And John Brodie lived in Palo Alto as well.

Does anyone remember what year was the last year that the fireworks were put on by the city at the dump / baylands? I remember watching them probably through 1974 or 1975, but I can’t recall the final year.

I do remember that it seemed that the baylands would catch fire nearly every year when one of the shells would land in the dry grasses.

I also recall that the dump would catch fire fairly regularly before the days of methane collection systems.

We used to ride our bmx bikes in the baylands right behind Gus Mozart, and then go into the dealership and buy “chicken soup” and wafer cookies from the vending machines.

I also remember lots and lots of glass greenhouses of flowers in East Palo Alto. A friend lived there, and his father was a flower grower.

Rudolfo’s! We used to go there on Sunday nights in the ’60s with my aunt, uncle and cousins. The pizza was great and they served spumoni for dessert. Maybe 10 years later we went there and if you ordered ravioli you’d get a plate of heated-up Chef Boyardee ravioli — it had gone that far downhill. Yes, they still had black lights illuminating the artwork on the walls.

Maximart! We used to joke that everything in the toy department was priced at 77 cents (which it was). They had color TVs on display — a novelty at the time — and a pretty good photo department.

Blue Chip Stamps! The redemption center was on Park Blvd. by the fire house. It later became Peninsula Scientific. ISTR that the DMV had an office around there as well. It was just around the corner from Co-Op pharmacy and down the street from the lumber yard. Co-Op pharmacy must have made a fortune from us kids on its candy department. Not far from Co-Op pharmacy was Dr. Ulander’s dentist office for all the damage that candy did.

Hi folks,

A few years ago, with the help of Rich Schloss (Cub. ’71?), we put on an “Any Year Cubberley Class Reunion” at Mitchell Park. It was well attended, about 300 people showed up.

I’m kicking around the idea of an Any Palo Alto School Class Reunion at Mitchell Park – if there is a strong interest.

The last time, we just asked folks to bring a side dish and we used the BBQ’a for hamburgers, salmon and hotdogs. It was free, you didn’t have to dress up, and you could leave the Mercedes at home.

We got free advertising from this newspaper and also Classmates. Com (before they began charging for memberships).

Just a thought for now – any ideas about this?

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

PS: Phil, that bar in the alley – I thought that it was renamed Langishire sometime in the 80s. BTW, my former girlfriend was the bartendress at Palo Alto’s last whole-in-the-wall bar on Alma called Jackie’s. It was eventually torn down, “disinfected” and offices with a fake brick facade put up it its place (the fake bricks began falling off shortly after it opened).

Hi Ken,

I forgot all about 42nd Street. How could anyone forget such a place? The brass railings (I wonder if anyone ever slipped from the 2nd floor), loud music, pretty waitresses. Remember Fanny & Alexander’s – used to be called, of all names, The Bunbuster (because of their hamburgers). And Pudley’s on University – what a name! Where did that come from?

Andy

42nd street owned by the Stankovich brothers whose father was off the
boat and had a tailor shop on University called “Stankovich and Sons”
of course the sons never participated. The Alley was owned by a
Ron Rossi at one time, he later opened the Hofbrau on University avenue, and when I went there a lot of people from the Artifactory
and of course many downtown denizens would show up for 25 cent beers at happy hour. During the day many a downtown business man would go there for a burger and a beer.

Reunion info Paly classes of 72-74
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:30 p.m.
Johnson home ( 1336 Cowper St .)

Date sent: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:10:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ted Herr <palyclassof1973@yahoo.com>
Send reply to: palyclassof1973@yahoo.com
Subject: Paly Class of ’73 Reunion Coming up….It’s not too Late to Plan on Attending
To: bsbillbs@yahoo.com

> Hi Vikings
>
>
> We are still receiving — and welcoming — late-planners for the
> reunion. (So far we have about 80 people, and hope to reach 100
> people.) If you are still thinking about coming, it’s not too late.
> (you can even show up on Saturday night and we’ll let you in!)  But
> of course it helps to have a final count for the caterer, so if you
> are planning to attend, please send your check in ASAP!
>
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> Paly Reunion Committee
>
>
> Victoria Umphreys Curtis
> Russ Johnson
> Cathy Sorensen Burma
> Ross Mehan
> Jill Soltau
> Eric Nelson
> Bill Strubbe
>
>
>
> PS — If you’ve already sent in a check, please excuse this
> reminder; it’s simply easier to send it everyone.
>
>  
> VIKINGS REUNITE THIS AUGUST!
> Come join us for a nostalgic Summer Evening at a beautiful home and
> garden in Palo Alto
>  
> Saturday, August 23rd at 5:30 p.m.
> Fiesta Dinner, Live Band, Powerpoint Show, and more  
> Johnson home ( 1336 Cowper St .)
>  
> $75 Classmate/$50 Guest
> (`72 & ´74 Classmates welcome)
>
>  
> PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
> 181 Del Medio Ave. #116
> Mt. View, CA  94040-1004
>  
> Additional events:
>
>  
> Friday, 8/22, 5:00, Sheraton Hotel, 625 El Camino Real (No
> Host)      
>
>  
> Sunday, 8/24, 1:00 Picnic at Rinconada Park , near the      
> Girl Scout Lodge (BYO Food-to-share)
>
>  
> Need more info email palyclassof1973@yahoo.comor call Bill Strubbe 
> 707-874-9046
>

I can’t believe that nobody has mentioned Antonio’s Nut House!
It’s kind of new by my standards but a very fun place! Another place that comes to mind is St. James Infirmary in Mt. View. everyone went there at least once!

Someone here mentioned my dad’s business, The Wright Nursery School. We lost Dad April 30, 2008. How he loved running that school and still I run into people who fondly remember “Daddy Jim”. He raised us on Hale St in Crescent Park and he was raised on Hoover Street in College Terrace.

I remember summer nights after dinner playing on the lawn thing in the middle of Forest Ave between Hale and Lincoln until way past dark and all the parents being okay with that. I remember sneaking across Middlefield on our bikes to buy candy and gum at Fran’s on Lytton St. I remember my little brother, Perry, and his friends Chip Wasson, Ken Lowney, and Pete Langtree constantly getting in trouble for playing in the creek. The evidence was usually poison oak rashes and/or yet another “lost” bike. Crescent Park Elementary that is now a bunch of big houses. The bamboo forest in the circle just east of Hale on Forest that is now a house built by a non-relative named Gus Wright. Being able to be out in the warm night air and not get in trouble for it. Being a kid without constant supervision. Getting to be a kid and doing so outside without bike helmets, sunscreen, water bottles, and surveillence. Getting to be a kid!

Hi Linda! The London Taxicab ! Wow, Fun times, long hair ,good music….I remember you Linda ,long blonde hair ,british Mod-style dress and make-up. Todd was crazy about you! Band inspiration material ! The Band…Todd King,lead guitar.Brian Linsley,bass guitar.Roger Allen,drums. ,and myself,Eric Redstrom,vocalist and harmonica. All Paly High Alums, me Class of “68,the rest, Class of “69, We played a lot of school dances,both high school and jr, high, and private parties around the area. We also signed on with a Stanford student/booking agent entrepenour named David Frost, who booked us as the “Psychedelic-Music” band , for tendencies towards extended instrumental jams. He booked us week-ends for almost 2 years straight,at a whopping amount of $100.00 a night!Good $$$ for a bunch of Rock n Roll/Hippie high schoolers who might have,and did on occasion, played for less or free ,to an appreciative dancing audience .The Stanford gigs could be quite an educational experience depending on where and for whom we were playing. Searsvile Lake, our 1st. booking, was a classic “Toga” party. Two inches of beer on wet cement floor, BIG football /wannabe-rock stars grabbing the mike ,realizing, along with everybody else in the room,that bare feet and electricity are not a pleasant mix ! More to follow later, if your interested ? o.k. Eric

One of the best, non-famous, local bands (1967-71) was The Debonaires which evoloved into The Gold Mind. Jim Bowman and Jim Crosley and co.

In 1971 Santana played the Palo Alto HS. Grad Night, 1973 was Elvin Bishop!

Great music was everywhere back then! Frost Amphitheater of course had the best shows, saw Sly and the Family Stone at a night concert, Loggins & Messina, Santana with Buddy Miles on drums, Jefferson Airplane, Tower of Power, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Sons of Champlain, Cold Blood, Hot Tuna, Beautiful Day and in the summer of 1974 got to see Derek and the Domino’s there, a once in a lifetime concert for sure!! It was $6 to get in to most of the concerts and after the concert started you could get in for whatever you had on you.

I think Linda’s correct on this one, Bob. Santana played 69 Grad night, then just a few short months later played Woodstock. I’m guessing that after Woodstock, Santana didn’t play any High School dances.

Leo’s dad built that house on Kipling, by the way. Leo’s band (which used to, but no longer includes fellow Palo Altan and fellow Paly ’70, Steve Sevilla) is called Caravanserai. Andy, if you are interested in putting this together, I can get you in touch with Leo.

The Fifth Dimension, War Protests, Age of Aquarius… that was a lifetime ago, wasn’t it?

Andy, when are you thinking about doing this? As I posted before, the class of ’69 has a reunion in the works for next summer.

Andy, I tried to email you, but it wouldn’t go through

Wow, this is an amazing blog. I have been reminiscing for hours reading this.

To Jessica, a member of the Palo Verde School community – I do remember studying Muqiyayo in fifth or sixth grade. Did you go to Fairmeadow School? It seemed like we were studying Muqiyayo because our teacher, Mr. Lugie, or whatever his name was, came from there. I remember how mean the boys were to him. I felt sorry for him, but I didn’t like him very much.

To BruceL, of the South of Midtown neighborhood – Phil Bliss was our “drug councelor” at Cub. I always wonder what happened to him. My friend had a crush on him.

Does anyone remember the “Pet Parades” we used to have in Palo Alto? Do they still have them? The kids would haul everything from hamsters to horses and walk downtown in a long parade showing off their pets. It was hilarious! But we really looked forward to it. We also had the soapbox derbies. One year in the late 60’s/ early 70’s the police department raced using a soapbox that looked like a pig. They called themselves super pig. It was a brave thing to do at the time, and very funny. The city also put on a huge city picnic for city workers and their families. They had so much food and beer and games. They had pony rides, burlap sack races, swimming, and hundreds of people everywhere. And the cool thing is, most of us knew each other.

And Monette’s Pet Shop. Was the the shop close to Crocker Bank? They were always giving away free pets. Every other Friday, or something. My brother and I would go there just to see what they were giving away. It was usually a goldfish, or something small. But one time we each picked out a free kitten, assuring the clerk that it was okay with our parents. I can’t believe that a store would let a couple little kids walk away with kittens. I am sure it would not happen today.

Also, M’s Fish (or Fishery) On Middlefield Road in Mountain View. Tropical fish.

I have been away for many years, but I have to say Palo Alto was the best place I ever lived. I just didn’t know it at the time.

Well that’s it for now. I spent much more time on the computer then I intended to tonight. But I will definitely check back. This has been way too fun.

– Fairmeadow / Wilbur / Cubberley 1974

my wife tells me there was a reunion at OLR that was held in the “crying room”. pretty cool heh?
How was it? Her friends Judy and Cathy went but we haven’t heard how it went.

Phil,

I stopped by the OLR reunion for a bit. There was a very good turnout, I thought, considering the difficulties in reaching people to invite them to the event. (Kudos to Annette Anderson for organizing the get-together.) Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to contact many people from my era at OLR (the 70s) to let them know about the reunion, but hopefully we’ll try again someday.

Ken

LONG GONE

i was born in 1948 and grew up on Cowper Street near Colorado. These are some of the earliest memories I have of things that would soon disappear from the scene — most of these were gone by 1955:

Nelson’s Grocery — Bud and Ethyl Nelson ran a tiny store in a wooden building on the NE corner of Cowper and Marion. When Purity came in at Midtown, that wiped them out. Ethyl later ran the lunch counter at Bergmann’s department store.

The old water tank, in large vacant lot on Cowper just south of Marion. There was also a strangely shaped small “old lady in a shoe house” where a woman lived. This must have been gone by 1954 or so, when a modern house was built and the Takaki family moved in.

The old YMCA –I think it was on Cowper, downtown, in a very old building.
Bungalow Market — where Starbucks is now, in Midtown. It was forced out of business by proliferation of larger markets in Midtown — Purity, Rainbow, Duca and Hanley.
My mother moved to Cowper Street in 1943 and can remember looking out the back door and being able to see the bakery (where Subway is now>) That was before Bryson was built out.

End of Cowper — I remember my brother taking me in the wagon to the end of Cowper, then at St. Claire. Could this have been as late as 1953?

If you go by where Indian Bowl used to be located, the Indian Head Logo is still on the sidewalk (at least it was a short while ago). It’s in the 700 block of Emerson, I think. I think you could bowl for 10¢ a line in the 60s, when I went there.

I remember a birthday party at the Winter Club and also next door at Chuck Thompsons Swim School which also had a really cool summer sports program in the gym they had.

The original Round Table Pizza on University Ave. as alway a good time as well!! The founder, Mr. Larsen, was always at a back table doing the books.

Wow … so many memories … my father is in hospice … he would love to hear these stories of Old PA. Breakfast at the PA Creamery, dinner at Mings, lots and lots of trips to the dump. Picnics at Foothill Park. Walks at the Baylands.

I found this website looking for news on Paly Class of 74, and wondering if I could reconnect with Stuart Center, Hugh center’s son.

Serendipity to find this thread now …

Trey,
The Market on University Ave. was Liddicoats Market I believe? Duca and Hanley Market on Middlefield Rd. at the MidTown shopping center was also a classic as well. As was Bergmanns Dept. Store next door, we would buy 45 singles upstairs near the toy dept. for 50 cents. What year were you at Menlo School?

It was nice reading all of these Palo Alto memories. Andy mentioned 42nd St, and wondered if anyone had ever slipped from the 2nd floor…I never slipped but I do recall having a “Long Island Iced tea” glass land on my head from the balcony! I also remember being introduced to my wife there. She was the prettiest girl in the room.

Bob..the oil spill/collision was late January 1971…add three years.. if I was lucky to not have been booted for cause…

Menlo was a great place and in my humble opinion should have never been changed to co-ed ..but was done for $$ reasons..there are proven examples and a multitude of reasons to seperate M/F high school students…

What’s done is done.. and since 1981 i discontinued my yearly contribution to the Menlo Fund…

I just received an up date from Mason Williams…

any one remember him…and Tommy..and Dickey…and Pat?!

how about the great Arbys on EC in Menlo Park?

and when no other store in town was open they would be!
in the era before 7-11!

I remember L’ Omelette on El Camino and Old Barrel Market on El Camino Way where they would roast turkeys for Thanksgiving. You could have them smoked or not. Free University and the live theater on the University Circle were all great.

I worked at that KFC! Bob, are you thinking of World’s Indoor Records? Do you remember The Record Store on El Camino, across from Uncle John’s Pancake House? It is the big wooden cube.

I think Bob may be thinking of Chimaera Books (and records) as being the place on Lytton Ave. For those who are not old-timers, Uncle John’s pancakes is now The Fish Market. And Kinney’s shoes is now Foot Locker.

Ok, I guess I just can’t resist.

Many of the above memeories;
Maximart best models anywhere
Halloween wax candy at Driftwood market
Walking through the drainage tunnel under Gunn High school field.
Climbing into the empty tank thats’s now a train in Briones Park.
The pepper tree in the vacant lot on Maybell and Donald.
The poor house on the same corner that cars kept driving into.
Playin kick the can in the street on summer nights.
The smell of apricots everywhere!
The sandbox at COOP on California Ave.
The Bufano bears at Mitchell Park.
Fire Stix at Rinconada snack bar.
Old Walter Hays school.(And damn near cuttin my arm off going through
one of the glass classroom doors.)
Christmas caroling on the back of a stakebed truck.
Creek rides!
Bike riding up to Foothills park.
Riding back down!!!
The ‘Vertical Team’ at Jordan. Alternative education! Whoohoo!
Evenings in Rinconada park sitting on the grass.
Stealing donuts and cookies from the square dances at the
community center.
Getting pulled over for running stop signs on my bike!
Working at Mrs Feilds Cookies, WITH Mrs. Feilds, dude, she’s totally hot!
The insane double bill matinees at the Varsity. I mean, Mary Poppins with Vanishing Point??
The Paris Theater.
The Magic/Joke shop up on San Antonio.
ALEC
Old Keplers bathroom-wallpapered with comupter printout softcore.
Banana Records.
Patterson’s dime bins.
Edie’s ice cream.
The downtown post office walls…in the middle of the night…if you
know what I mean….
The Stanford mausoleum….in the middle of the night….etc….
The early 60’s splendor that was Stanford Shopping Center.
Ketchup packets on the traintracks.
The Winter Club junior high school pickup scene.
Stickney’s, especially the paper placemats that you could color
and make into a mobil.
El Zarape.the
Mt View Surplus. Helmets with the red Vietnam dirt still on em!
Midnight movies at Stanford…whoah….
Donkey baseball.
Plum wars.

Gettin yelled at for playing flaming gas soaked tennis ball catch
in the street.

I did a lot of business at Open House Market, which I guess was in competition with JJ&F. The Locks’ son Lim was in my gym class at Jordan. I saw him at the 30th Paly reunion (he now goes by “Hap”) and his dad had closed the store and wasn’t doing too well healthwise at the time.

Phil Schulz had an improv troupe at The Tangent on The Circle in the late ’60s called “The Illegitimate Theater”. Jordan art and English teacher Ray Barrett was in the troupe. It was a big deal when they went to New York to appear on national television on The David Frost Show. They also did a couple of local shows on KQED. I’m surprised anyone remembers this.

Duca & Hanley was not the name of the market in Midtown. The official name was Midtown Market. Duca & Hanley was the name of the meat department.

I’m flabbergasted anyone remembers “Cy Pennel”.

Riding bikes to Maximart to get models and 8mm film.

Summer matinees at the Stanford Theater, and leaving our bikes unlocked in a pile on the sidewalk in front.

The pedal cars in Mitchell Park (the track and “garages” still remain).

The secret bike path around the community gardens behind the main library (path is very overgrown now).

Formico’s pizza.

Getting a 10-speed bike and being able to ride it up to Foothills park (couldn’t do it with less than 10 gears).

Riding minibikes in the Baylands at the end of Faber Place, which had hundreds of small dirt hills.

Going to the Dump, before it was a “landfill”.

The Eucalyptus groves on the north side of Lagunita, which were razed to make more dorms.

Patterson’s Department store; watching the filming of “Escape To Witch Mountain” in front of Patterson’s.

The original Walter Hays building, with its covered, wood-floored outdoor halls. We’d take off our shoes, get a running start, slide on them for miles.

Tearing down & replacing the old Walter Hays main building… we’d watch the bulldozers every day at lunch.

Air Raid sirens and Duck & Cover drills.

Watching the ever-deepening hole when they built the current City Hall.

Skateboarding in Jordan’s pool the year they drained it for repairs, maybe 1976.

I had classes with Wes Raffel, Jim Hamilton, Carl Florant and Chris Dale. I saw Wes at the reunion in August, and someone told me Chris is a plastic surgeon in Orange County.

It seems they showed every James Bond movie ever made at the Stanford Theater during the summer and yes, we left our unlocked bikes in a heap outside.

A ride to the dump was an event if you went in a pickup truck and got to ride in the back. But watch out for the seagulls!

Imagine the fun having first-period P.E. at Jordan and having to play football with frost on the grass at 8 am. Not dew but FROST, as in FROZEN WATER!

Yes, I remember that social experiment too. As you mentioned, it made national news. I enjoyed Mr. Frankum’s class in 1973 in the portables. I’m sitting here thinking, my god, I haven’t strayed too far. I work for the VA Hospital. When I went to Gunn (had I not moved, I would have been a Cubberley grad), I hung out at the Hill and used to hop the fense and buy ciggarettes at the VA Hosptial for 24 cents a pack (no tax). After I served in the Marines, I began working for the VA and the first time I went to buy a pack of smokes, the woman said, “I’m sorry, but you boys can’t come here from Gunn and buy ciggaretts.” I said, but lady, I’m 22 and I work here now.

Does anyone remember Mr. Priosty (sp?), who taught music and led the bands at Gunn? There were two other drummers (Mike Ruiz and John Handy) who were far better than me, but the drummers always got on Mr. Priosty’s nerves and he’d throw us out a lot – until he needed us back again.

I recall that we were giving a concert at Terman Junior High. Mr. Priosty picked up the piton and was about to start when he noticed that the drum set was drummerless. He looked around and asked, “Where’s Handy?” Someone said that they saw him at the vending machines. Mr. Priosty looked at me and I gave him that look like, I can’t do that number. But finally after a few minutes John returns and takes his seat at the drums set. By then, the audience was getting a little inpatient. Mr. Priosty picks up the piton and is about to start and then asks, “Mr. Handy. Are you ready now?” John shoots back, “Whenever you is,” while he twirls the drumsticks. He still plays in the area and is still a great drummer.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

Midtown must have been developed in the late 40’s early 50’s.

A&W would have been an early feature. There was a saw sharpening shop next door as well. Safeway replaced them around ’65-’66. 7-11 replaced the Variety Store a year or two later. Anyone remember the gas station kitty corner from Cy Pennel’s Chevron? Seems to me it was Texaco… Probably there before the Chevron. I’m guessing Midtown Market was an early feature judging by the building. Imagine a neighborhood hardware store like the one across the street instead of Home Depot… The Variety Store was cool too. All of those toys for 10 cents and lots of penny candy, nickel packs of gum. I remember watching flames shoot out of the roof of Bergman’s from across the street in the Variety Store one evening. The diner caught fire. That would have been around ’64-65.

Blast from the past indeed!!

Cubberley class of 1970.

I grew up in the Greendell neighborhood but have lived in Willow Glen (San Jose) for the past 27 years. I still come into Palo Alto twice a year (Middlefield & Colorado) for dental exams. I haven’t changed dental offices since 1966 and only changed dentists when mine retired a couple of years ago! Midtown has however changed quite a bit since then. I noticed that the Baskin Robbins at Midtown is still there. Back in the day it was run by the Napolitano family, I wonder if it still is? I went to elementary school with Dave Napolitano a lifetime ago back when both of our families lived in Daly City.

Reading a number of posts from others, (including my sister above) reminds me of the people and places that were part of my world growing up here. Someone posted a recollection of Mrs. Keneshea, an elementary school teacher (Addison?) who bought them lunch one day. She was our next door neighbor and I remember her always having something to say….loudly!! I remember mowing lawns, washing cars and babysitting in the neighborhood for spending money.

I remember when Space Systems Loral was Philco/Ford and the 3 engineer neighbors in our 7 house culdesac each drove new Fords every year; I remember there were kids in nearly every house and playing kickball with the dads on summer evenings before dinner was a regular ritual as were the hide and seek games from after dinner till after dark.

The post by Bob Warford brought back memories of Cubberley. He was in the class ahead of me and though I did not know him at the time, I remember him and the other “Executors” who drove cool cars back then. I remember Mr. Smartt, the terrific auto shop teacher at Cubberley and the miserable project I got conned into helping with, a 1960 MGA coupe needing an engine overhaul; I remember the “sleep-in” protest in the Pavillion connected with the Ron Jones denial of tenure issue; I remember the senior prank where a toilet was hoisted to the top of the Totem in the Amphitheater; I remember playing soccer in the mud the first or second year Cubberley had a soccer team courtesy of Coaches Skillicorn and Dougherty; I remember the universal gym fundraiser where Coach Peters let his hair and beard grow….quite long!

I remember the 10th and 20th reunions, I wonder if the class of 1970 will get it together enough to pull off a 40th reunion???

I started working in Palo Alto in October of 1983. It was once a good place.

Now, it went straight down the BS storm drains. This City now does more damage then good. Period.

Hi Bob,

But of course I remember coasting down from Foothills Park with no helmet down Page Mill Road – there were no bike helmets (that I knew of) “back then.” I did the same thing on Old La Honda Road. What’s that place? Hobitan? Most folks end up having a soft crash landing there.

I did play for Y’s men’s in little league, but I was an awful player. I mean awful! I’d field a fly ball by letting it hit the ground first, before it would hit my face.

My older brother, Dean, however, was pretty good. He played as pitcher and first base for Dick Felt’s.

And I do remember the Vet’s I and Vet’s II fields. Back in the 60s, the City of Palo Alto did everything they could to get Little League fields – just like soccer fields today.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

My Little League/Babe Ruth teams were Ming’s, Roggee’s Auto Wreckers and Peninsula Creamery. Once got hit by a pitch in a very uncomfortable spot (wasn’t wearing a cup), thrown by Bill Pidto. If I ever run into that guy….

Was anyone stupid enough to float down the Palo Alto creek when it rained really hard?

We would tie large inner-tubes together and throw on a life vest and ride it all the way to the baylands. Very dangerous and crazy in hindsight!

Also, the precursor to paint-ball was BB Gun wars up at Foothill Park. All we wore was goggles! Really Dumb!

I remember all my friend’s dads working for Lockheed or Philco/Ford and the excitement of the space program.

Shopping at Dick Felts for my cub scout uniforms (and later Boy Scouts)

Back-to-school clothes at Bergmann’s (and milkshakes at Coffee Lane)

Riding my gold schwinn stingray all over the place (maximart, midtown Baskin Robbins)

Playing in the street till after sunset.. at least until the Zodiac thing happened

Snow in 1962 when I was little (my dad and I made a snowman)

The Palo Alto Miltary Academy and Harker

My first day of school at Ross Road Elementary, PM Kindergarten and Mrs. Black was my teacher, and we had the same birthday

Firing off Estes model rockets during the summer

Catching tadpoles and frogs in Barron creek and Adobe creek

Rich Maid doughnuts on Middlefield and Loma Verde after church on Sunday

Going out on Halloween with my buddies all by ourselves

The bike shop in Midtown where I got my 5 speed

Summer movies at the Stanford Theater, and riding the old PA bus to get there on my own. Loading up on candy at Woolworths

The Taylor’s delivering the Paly Times to our house

Getting dry ice from Piers Dairy during the summer

Really a fun place to grow up, nice to be back after 25 years

charley musselwhite at poppycock
“hiking” up “creek” to tunnel at el camino by all american market and thru it after getting thru bars could see no light from middle
knowledge computer at pizza place on university
lytton plaza on friday nights free music
frost for concerts for no-more-than $2 “donations” great bands
PARD
childrens museum
giant checkers at mitchell park still there?
what was name of toy store near colorado and middlefield?
gret old time bakery middlefield and colorado
is the house with the open land still there at louis and loma verde?
the magic forest at rinconada

Not as dumb as riding a raging creek during a storm, but I remember a guy getting stuck in the railroad trestle by El Palo Alto. His pic was in the P.A. Times. All you saw was his head sticking out. The fire department arrived and got him out by dousing him with vegetable oil. Must’ve been around 1968. I went to Jordan and Paly with the guy. I remember him. I remember the incident. I remember his name but I’m not telling.

Andy – FYI the old victorian house was “The East Farthing Trading Company”.

Hey Eric,
I came to Palo Alto in Mid 60’s..a reunion of Nave friends from Hawaii. They sent me up to get ice cream behind Michael Angelo. I about had a heart attack. lol. Of course no-one knew of Tourette Syndrome then. They wanted to show me a “real” Calif party. I was from Ohio. They owned a beautiful 34 Ford Coupe and we spent a week hitting all the hangouts telling everyone of a party at the Del Charro apartments. We expected maybe 20 to 30 people. They showed up in the hundreds, A fight broke out when a guy saw me kissing his girlfriend/police were called/ we were kicked out. We ended up living in an old chicken shack behind a huge family of Porta Ricans. I had a crush an a girl named Jane Ball. I ended up living in a small house owned by Barb Bentley(who I fell in love with) that used to house some of the “Merry Pranksters.”

We called the downtown PA park “Plastic Park.” There was an old speed freak named Oliver who used to hang out there. I remember the Tangent/Poppycock/St. Michaels. There was a tree that ran near a creek in a park on the edge of Palo Alto. I lived under it for months.It looked like a regular thick branched tree, but if you knew where to get in, it opened up to an area where you could almost stand…and not matter how hard it rained ,it stayed dry. I loved Palo Alto. I also lived on Waverly, and East Palo Alto. My memeory is vague but there was a place, I though in the La Honda mountains where if you knew where to turn in, it took you to the very top where you could see from San Fransisco to San Jose. I lived in a commune with a girl named Tenny, Mare, Baa, Meka. I knew a Ronway. Also a Judy Rose and a Jerry Cannon(?) I also took the worst butt whuppin of my life at the Palo Alto Bowl. They were turbulent times, but great times. I remember seeing Janice Joplin just walking down the street with some total strangers for out of state. My email is Rainmakr44@aol.com. I write now. Unfortunately, I know more people who died in the cultural war going on in America than friends who died in VietNam. I eventually became addicted to heroin, and spent many months in and out of clinics, but I survived. I now have a Terminal cancer, but reading this has brought back so many memories of when my plan was new. I knew a Rod Harrison, Bill Blankenship, a Craig Mathers. Before I fade out I would like to thank all of them for being a part of my path. I ended up happily married with 2 sons. Palo Alto will always be a big part of my life. I found my first real love there in Baa, but life got in the way and we took separate paths. Here’s to all the people who survived those times.

Cooks Quarter Horse Ranch – Berry Hill(s?) Farm next door – I lived for my weekends at Cook’s – anyone else remember those days of horse shows? I never owned a horse but I worked there so I could ride. I remember riding up to 280 while they were building it, and it was still dirt. And riding over “Open Country” to Duveneck’s. Riding to Risotti’s – now that was very exciting!
Mid-Town; I can rememeber staring at the roasted nuts at the Pharmacy…Baskin & Robbins – cones were I think 15 cents when it opened – it was a toy store before that. I got busted there by my mom for crossing Oregon Expressway with my friend (we were so little then!) We lived on Oregon Avenue and watched the houses across the street moved out for the building of the Expressway.
Bergmann’s – I loved that place – got my first pair of jeans there. My friend and I would pick out eachother’s presents there.
Pier’s Dairy – my dad worked there for awhile.
Foothill Park – my brother helped build the trails.
Riding my bike to Paly every day – bikes were stolen by the hundreds and you had to be very careful…
So much – Monette’s Pet shop, Town & Country (the hang-out place at lunchtime when at Paly), working at Woolworth’s at Mayfield Mall..

Living on Blair Court off of Greer Rd. near Oregon Ave. (Before it was an Expressway). (16) houses with (55) kids on one small Cul-de-sac, such a great place to grow up!!

I remember the Shipleys, Salsburys, Banks, Hu’s, Raffels, Pangs, Salters, Mumfords, Barrals, and Larsens.

wow… Wilbur Jr. High, Cubberley High… go Cougars…
I remember Piers Dairy, Bergemans, Crocker Bank (my first savings account) Variety Store, De Anza Elementry and Traffic Patrol..
Swimming at Riconada Park, The Varsity Theater down town Palo Alto,

home movies of Crescent Park students circa 1970 on you tube plus Paly graduation of 1978

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSjGgMx3y1U&feature=related

I remember Bishops Creamery on California Avenue, the Fine Arts Theatre, St. Michaels Alley, Mayfield Elementary School, Stanford Elementary School and many more.

Hi Delfina,

I did not know that Leo or Andrew had a sister. Andrew and I were the same age and had some of the same classes at Herbert Hoover (Middlefield Road). We used to listen to Leo when his band practiced in the garage on Kippling. He plays a lot of Santana music and there band is very, very good. I’d like to get their schedule.

You mentioned how you could see all the way to Page Mill in the 50s. I interviewed Birge Clark for an employee newsletter many years ago in regards to earthquakes. He said that after the 1906 earthquake, he could see from his Middlefield Road home the Memorial Church at Stanford and all the dust in the air. Also, he could see the flames and smoke from the fires in SF.

A poster here remembered the cashews at Midtown Pharmacy. They were in a round glass case on a dish that rotated around under a light, to keep them warm. I forgot all about that. Funny how one can remember the little things like that.

Did you have Miss Wyrough ever? We didn’t get along too well as student/teacher, but we became penpals during the 80s. She’d use a red colored pen in her correspondence. As chior director, she changed the words in the song from Mary Poppins that had the phrase, “In a most delightful way” to “In THE most delightful way.”

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

Hi Del it’s your brother. Andy my name is John not Andrew

Hey Andy Yes I went by Andy at hoover but went back to my real first name by the time I got to Jordon, The last I heard about Paul is that he may be living in Sac with an Aunt and is kind of a lost cause, On a sad note Rob J. wife passed away the Sat before Xmas, it’s been a tuff six mouths.

By the way Andy, and any other folks thinking about seeing Leo Herrera’s band, they are playing on Wednesday the 1st, not Thursday the 2nd in Menlo Park.

It’s memories like these that have haunted me enough to return to the area.

We’re a rare breed. Time for a reunion, I believe!

Marisol

Page Mill Road. Was that the road that went into the La Honda Mts? There was a place of the road(hidden) and if you drove off it, it took you to the very top to a small clearing where you could see San Francisco, Menlo Park, all the way down the strip towards San Jose. We owned an old milk truck and all of us would pile in and look at the beautiful lights at night.

Influential musicians(artists) from Palo Alto in the late 60’s early 70’s – Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) Greg Raleigh (Santana & Journey) Cory Lerios (Pablo Cruise) to name a few…

Swain’s House of Music

Dana Morgan

In Your Ear

The Coachman, Hydraulic Banana, Butterscotch Elephant Farm

Chad Osborne – Cubberley 68

YMCA “Y” Dances

Slot cars on Middlefield Road and San Antonio (both)

A&W Root Beer

Freeman’s Market (Now Century Liquors)

The Indian Bowl and Haley’s Comet, go figure?

Michaelangelo, nick jag, gotta …..

Hitchhiking down Middlefield road, all the time..

Tina Ebby, Linda Zamville, Sandy Boston, “5 0”, Adrien Baleau (sic)…;->

Our Lady of the Weed Patch?

10 dollar lids

I remember the floods of 1952, when I was in 2nd grade at Hoover. We lived on Ramona near Oregon Ave. but the water from the creek along Alma brough driftwood and garbage all the up to our front door.

That was also the year a buddy and I snuck out of the house early one morning and rode our bikes to visit the new house my folks were building in Woodland Acres off Grant Road in Los Altos.

Any one remember Parkey Sharkey? Sort of the Emperor Norton of Palo Alto. I think he drove a cab.

Fun thread. Thanks Reed!

Yes~ I remember El Camino being lined with orchards for miles. No side-walks, but still busy, hot, and loud (relatively speaking)…and not many stop-signs. Once, while out with my Dad, he got really steamed-up while we were stuck at a stop-sign trying to cross El Camino and he ranted about the need for stop-LIGHTS. This must have been in the very early 50’s…we were living on Arastradero Rd. then (or was it Atascadero Rd? There were both those roads and I can’t remember which one we lived on…I was only 3-4).

Born in 1952 and grew up on Santa Catalina Street. Two houses down from Ron “Pigpen” Mckernan and family. My Dad (Joe Means) was a police officer in PA from 1946 – 1966. Does anyone remember Dick’s Hamburger’s on El Camino? Right next to a piano store. They used to give us a Tootsie Roll after dinner, we kids thought it was wonderful!
Went to Garland and then had to transfer to St Albert the Great School on Channing in the 4th grade, my step-mother was Catholic. Also have a memory of monkeys in a cage at a shoe store at the Stanford Shopping Center. Anyone remember that?

Loved swimming at Rinconada Pool
Eating at Ming’s when it was on El Camino
Eating at the Red Barn out near Stanford
Bread truck that came to our street, with a drawer full of donuts!
Berkeley Farms milk truck that also brought fresh peach ice cream!Summer movies at the Stanford theatre, loaded up on candy next door at the Rexall Drug Store
Going to the dump with my Dad, found the coolest dollhouse

Went to the PA Art festival this weekend, so sad to see the old Polly and Jake building was gone! Loved seeing all the colored glass in the windows, one red, one blue. Memories…..

Hey Andy,
We may have crossed paths!! lol. A Law Office??? Oh gawd. That’s Ironic. The path you took on Old La Honda Rd sounds like the road we used to travel. I confess that I took many a wrong path, but I was at that age where I wanted to experience it all…and Palo Alto had it all. I jumped frieght trains to get there from Ohio. I’ve written about many of my good and bad times. You definately could get anything you want at Alices restaraunt. hee hee. In 64 I was more Bohemian than Hippie. You’re so right about hitch hiking. It was so easy, and also seemed harmless back then. When I came out in 64, I could only make it as far as Montega. That’s where my friends came and got me in their 34 Ford. I was stunned. I’d never seen a car look so cool. My friends then were all car daddys. They would take a flat bed truck into the desert..then rebuild them..absolutely no rust. The Porta Rican family were so cool to let us live and store the cars behind their house. I only knew car daddys until the day I met Baa, Tenny and Mare…They introduced me to a whole different happening in Palo Alto. Didn’t we Shake Sugaree?? hee hee. Thanks for your comment about my health,Andy. That was cool. I don’t want to fade out until I see Palo Alto once more. I know it’s changed, but it would be like walking through the first home you ever owned. Dusty old memories stored, just waiting to be remembered. I come most everyday, hoping to find an old friend still around. Take care. Life is Good.

During the mid 60’s is when LSD exploded onto the American Stage. I had heard of a guy named Owsley was somehow connected. I was living on Waverly at the time. I did a little research, and found out the rumors I’d heard were true. Stanley Owsley was a Berkley Chemist, and in March of 1965 made what was the first batch of LSD. He became very well known for the quality of his product. I only knew a little about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters(basically a group of fun loving, and daring people)and I had heard there was some connection to Palo Alto. Owsley was known as “Bear.” He became famous for supplying the Pranksters, the Grateful Dead, and many other top bands with his new found drug. Thomas Wolfe wrote about Owsley, Ken Kesey, and the Merry Pranksters in his popular book “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.”
After some research on Google ( Owsley Stanley Summary) I found out that it was in Palo Alto in November of 1965 that the “First” Acid Test” was held. Acid was not illegal until October of 1966. Owsley would always gave his product a name..”Orange Sunshine” “White Lightning”..”Flying Saucers.”
These Acid Tests were to become huge affairs, where well know artists would play at them. I know the Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead, Hendrix, Country Joe and the Fish were a some. I don’t remember the first one that was held in Palo Alto, or who played there, but it’s a historical fact.lol. I was afraid of Acid, and remember the first time I took it was sometime in 1965 on Waverly. It was a little round pill called “Flying Saucer.” You were supposed to break into quarters, and I think the guy gave me what looked like more than a quarter. I sat in living room leaning against the wall…waiting. Pretty soon it seemed the room got enormous, like a warehouse. It really freaked me out. I felt like I was so tiny. lol. Then the room got extremely small…like I was in a phone booth. I HATED it. I remember everyone laughing, and I leaped up and bolted to get outside. Not a good idea. I saw fumes(Oxygen?)coming from the flowers. I remember walking over to a tree…touching it..and feeling it pulsating, like it was breathing!! I remember telling God if he let me come down I’d never do it again. lol. I survived. These Acid Tests(partys) became huge, as Timothy Leery used the drug scientifically. In fact, Owsley and Leery did not like each other, because Owsley believed everyone should experience it, and Leery,at that time, believed it should be taken under supervision. Owsley is mentioned in many songs, some by Jimi Hendix. The “Dancing Bear” logo of the Grateful Dead was in honor of Owsley. It may not be what many Palo Alto’s residents want to brag about, but it’s part of it’s history, and a major part of the orginal psychedelic movement in the Country. The Pranksters that became so famous were fun loving people. They were just tired of the establishment, tired of the war. LSD changed music, art, clothing, cultural thinking. It was the single biggest factor of the social change in the 60’s…and it all began in Palo Alto.

Hi Ray and everyone,

You brought up a very important and interesting timeline in Palo Alto. As you and many here know, Palo Alto wasn’t always a “rich” city. My parents struggled to pay the bills like many others.

In the 60s and early 70s, there was a lot of “communal living,” so much so that to counter it, the city passed an ordinance that no more than 4 (?) or 5 (?) “unrelated” people can live in the same house. There was the Palo Alto Tenant’s Union and another group called Venceremous (sp?) that helped out renters (the latter group was caught up in some controversy that maybe someone else could write about).

Whereas now, events like the Palo Alto Chili Cook-off is kind of a “family” event, back in earlier times, it would have been a young people’s event (with a lot of partying).

My ex girlfriend, Norice, after working at The Bagel Works (Larry and Stew? owners from New York brought Palo Alto its first New York style bagels) worked for Palo Alto’s last hole-in-the-wall dive – Jackie’s on Alma and Lytton (before it was bulldozed and replaced with a fake red brick building – the fake bricks began falling off shortly after it opened). What was left of the Pranksters would frequent Jackie’s (Pauncho and Buffalo and that big dog, or I could be confused and maybe Buffalo was the dog). Before Jackie’s sold (she had many offers over the years), she turned it in to a respectable place called Jackie’s Ribs, and then sold it.

Like John Steinbeck, Ken Kesey was enrolled in Stanford writing program. He became the subject of the VA, Dept of the Army and SRI (back then it was Stanford Research Institute) and their joint project dealing with LSD and its potential uses for the Dept of Defense. He later on became a Ward Clerk at the VA working for Ward 324 (at the Menlo Park Division). He had dropped out of Stanford. His book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest mirrored much of how the psych wards at the VA operated. Some years later, I too worked on that ward and there were still a few Nurse Ratchets left. I’d give a cigarette to a patient while they were in morning report and the head nurse would say, “Now Andy, we don’t do that. Only a nurse can give out cigarettes.” I was pretty much treated like an elevated patient.

Thank you Ray for that post! It really captured a piece of Palo Alto.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

I can’t believe that no one has mentioned the old Palo Alto icon, The Alley. Had burgers, frys, beer, and great foosball tourneys.

I remember once, at Christmas time, it was like oldhome week in there.
Saw lots of old high school buddies. The hi-lite for me was when Greg Rolle (member of William Pen and His Pals, Santana, Journey, and 1965 class at Cubberley) showed up at the alley all decked out in a full length pure white fur coat, obviously going for the rock star look.

The Alley was located right off University Ave. near Lytton Plaza, but it would be easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it.

The first Acid Test was at the Big Beat or was it just “the Beat”? I can’t remember ‘cuz I was there! So was Neal Cassidy, among other soon to be infamous folks (the Dead, but they might have been the Warlocks at that point, and all the Pranksters). He and his girl-friend were having an argument at one point…very entertaining for the rest of us! Neal later became like a big bro to me…always made sure I got home in time for dinner (I was only 14-15 then) and treated me sweetly. I sure wish I had known then that all those folks were going to become so freakin’ famous…I would have kept a journal- my memory of the era is a little sketchy. Gee~ I wonder why???
Andy- sorry to have to burst your bubble, but EVERYONE planted seeds in front of the cop shop…both my brothers and their friends did, as well as all my friends…it was a fun thing to do late at night! 😉

Since you’re talking about Palo Alto in the 60s, and I was there and did that… (my boyfriend was Merry Prankster Cool Breeze and he painted Further and was on the bus and blah blah)…for him it’s over and although he will reminisce with me, he won’t talk to the media or anyone else about it anymore. I want to say the good parts of the 60s (subtract the drugs and add music, learning, fun and love) are going on locally right now! I just got out of 8 days in the Santa Cruz mountains at Alasdair Fraser’s incredible Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, which offers lots more than Scottish fiddling….and reminds me so much of the good part of the 60s. There were people from around the whole world, including Palo Alto… all-night music, dancing, ceilidhs, and communing under the redwoods. VOM’s actually difficult to describe (that’s what the documentary is attempting to do)… the camp is all inclusive and the documentary is being filmed at his 4 camps and concerts (Isle of Skye, Sierras, Spain and Boulder Creek) and focuses on his life, philosophy and the joy he spreads. Anyone who was at last night’s show at the Santa Cruz Civic Center got a wee taste of it and the remarkable talent he draws to camp. I’m off to the Dance Palace in Pt. Reyes tonight with one of the instructors, Bay Area great and former Windham Hill recording artist, Darol Anger, and his Monster Quartet (my kids included)… We all leave the camp very sleep deprived, but full of inspiration and love, and hope to spread some of the great things happening there with the rest of the world. BTW, Breeze has a photo of Owlsley and him on his art table. They were both very dapper dressers.

Dear Andy, Can you tell me the year of Friday Night Music? It sure sounds like a place I would’ve loved to frequent if I were here because I’ve always loved music and musicians. Tonight I’m heading out to see the new documentary film on the New Lost City Ramblers “Always Been a Rambler”… my daughter’s Princeton music professor said he saw me dancing in the film??? Besides, it will give me a chance to see a bunch of my friends in the film. It kicks off the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention which runs over the next 5 days. I work the stringband contest Saturday as the instrument check… stop by and say hi if you are there. It ends with a dance at the Ashkenaz, which I always love to attend. Then I’m off for the Sebastopol Celtic Festival where my daughter, Alasdair, Darol and the Swedish super group Vasen are headlining around September 25.
My Menlo Oaks home now serves as a B&B for young bands from Canada, Quebec, and all over the US. O, and it was Pig Pen’s birthday yesterday. I called Breeze. Pig Pen died at age 27 and Breeze was with him right before the end, since they’d been school pals as far back as Encinal School with Tenny (that’s 4th grade!).

Here is the myspace Woodstock 2009 page:

http://www.myspace.com/woodstock40th

Andy! Friday Night Music! I lived with—- who’s mom’s BF was the original hippy, John Kennedy! The big metal DUCK at Paly etc.

Wow! Funny you should mention that! And the weed!

It is wonderful to see all these names of places and things I too used to do and go!
Born and Raised in PA on Cowper/Oregon went to Walter Hays/Jordan & Paly…
Was a Sea Scout at the PA Yacht Harbor, loved to go to the Baylands and ride dirt bikes,Slide in the creeks and catch tadpoles!
Swam at Rinconada all the time and had a membership to the “Winter Club” for 10 years!
Bought my first bike from Western Auto,Mom used to take me to Edie’s for that special milkshake…ahhh the beautiful somewhat innocent memories,WOW and to look at the world now! Peace my PA friends…

Woodstock 200 in SFO… ok it looks like i’ll have to be there… I already have flashbacks to the 60s when I attend Hardly STrictly in Golden Gate Park… the big free music festival Warren Hellman puts on each year with 5 stages going full-tilt over 3 days every October. And as for tonight, my friend Fionn O Lochlainn’s playing at the Palms Playhouse in Winters with Paddy Keenan. I guess I’m burnin up in a nice sort of way… with music!

Andy,

Long before 1980..

I got my first mini bike at the gas station store at JC Penny and rode it all around town.

I rode a Honda CT 70 to school by 3rd grade and parked it in the bushes.

Chic magnet that lil Red Honda was! ;-} LOL

On the subject of the 60’s-70s in PA.

Anyone remember “the land-struggle mountain” started by Joan Biez, the commune up on Skyline?

Hi James,
This was copied from Google:

Palo Alto Weekly
Psychedelic Palo Alto
Locals recall their long, strange trip through the ’60s

by Blair Tindall

Take a walk down the University Avenue of 1963. What you know as Bella Luna Restaurant was once Bennington’s Cafeteria. Walgreens was J.C. Penney, downtown’s big department store. Copeland’s Sports was Rapp’s Shoes, while Boudin Bakery was The Corset Shop.

Home Chef burned this past December, but in 1963, local guitarist Jerry Garcia bought picks and strings there at Swain’s Music Store. The hair salon up by Tasso Street housed Lockheed Space and Missile Company, just down from where Terry June’s Finishing School and Modeling Agency used to be. Over on Hamilton, Osteria Restaurant was the old U.S. Army Recruiting Service.

As the ’60s dawned, the community enjoyed its comfortable economy, nourished by military and aerospace technology research at companies like Lockheed, Stanford Research Institute, and Watkins-Johnson. A three-bedroom house in Crescent Park went for $26,950, while a two-bedroom College Terrace apartment rented for $150. Junior typist jobs–advertised specifically for women applicants–paid $230 a week, and a two-door BMW coupe cost $2,553.

Palo Alto was also entering a decade of social change, influenced by the Vietnam War, feminism, LSD, and rock ‘n’ roll. With riots, communes, living-off-the-land, psychedelia, and love-ins, the university town drew a hip counterculture despite its mainstream population. But the revolutionary thinking of activism, free love, and sharing eventually subsided to make way for the city’s current status as the monied epicenter of the high-tech explosion, forcing out many who could no longer afford it here.

Back in the mid-1950s, Palo Alto was a town in transition. The Stanford Shopping Center, built in 1955, sucked much of downtown’s business district away, leaving a ghost town. Empty storefronts abounded on University Avenue, where traffic lights flashed yellow all day. With few cars, there was no need for lights at all on Lytton and Hamilton avenues.

“You could shoot a cannon down University Avenue and not hit a thing,” said Vernon Gates, who opened the first incarnation of his caf‚, St. Michael’s Alley, in 1959.

But beneath this desolation rumbled tremors of a revolution that shook the nation, and was especially felt in Northern California.

As the 1950s ended, McCarthyism crumbled and boomers grew, while divorce and homicide statistics fell. Prosperity reigned in the suburbs, but young people found they could not identify with the materialism and political complacency of the era.

Elvis Presley gyrated for the first time on the Milton Berle show in 1956, while Pete Seeger was cited for contempt after refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Herb Caen coined the tern, “beatnik,” in 1957. American schoolchildren crouched under desks during air raid drills, while the USSR launched Sputnik, complete with canine cargo. Suddenly, nothing seemed out of the question.

In 1960, the civil rights movement entered the national consciousness with the Greensboro, N.C. lunch counter sit-ins, while women found a different freedom with Envoid, the first oral contraceptive. Psychedelics, a different family of drugs, were just catching the attention of Harvard’s Timothy Leary.

The atom bomb brought about new global awareness, and in 1962 America nervously watched the first U.S. Army support companies arrive in Saigon. Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” elevated environmental concerns, while Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique” launched the feminist movement in 1963. The Beatles came to America. A rigid era was being dismantled with great optimism and idealism.

By 1965, more than 40,200 young men were being called to the draft every month, and some fled to Canada. Through television, all eyes were on the 1968 Tet Offensive, in which the Viet Cong attacked 100 South Vietnamese cities as student protests across the U.S.escalated. A coveted item in 1969 Palo Alto was a marijuana bong fashioned from a spent tear gas canister, and the town teetered on the wild abandon of Berkeley.

But just as Berkeley reached the apex of its liberal orbit, high-tech derailed the counterculture here. Former Palo Altan scholar and activist Stewart Burns sees a connection the old and new in Palo Alto, as radicals shared a vision of personal computer ownership as a democratizing force in society.

“All we could see when looking at Silicon Valley was defense research,” he said. “We had no idea that what was really happening when we pursued the revolution against war, another revolution was taking place in those very buildings, the emergence of the personal computer.”

Many counterculture participants remain, looking remembering the era as halcyon days. They are hard to find behind the noisy hubbub of Silicon Valley, but they are here, writing, practicing psychology, creating art, and spearheading activist groups. These are people who held fast to their idealism and zest for a new way of life. These are the people who can tell their tale of the ’60s to a new generation.

Because Palo Alto lacked hot spots in 1959, the crowds at St. Michael’s Alley were large when it opened April Fool’s Day. So large, in fact, that Gates locked the doors by noon. Before long, he became an impresario, presiding over a host of beat poets, intellects and local musicians like Joan Baez, The Jefferson Airplane, and the Warlocks, a band soon to call itself “The Grateful Dead.”

Robert Hunter washed dishes in the back, and Jerry Garcia picked his banjo out front. Certain customers loitered with a 25-cent purchase. “Jerry used to come in, nurse one cup of coffee all day, and pick up all the chicks,” said Gates.

Performances and gatherings at St. Michael’s Alley were the first stirrings of a counterculture that would roil Palo Alto in the 1960s and early 1970s. Gates quickly came under suspicion of attracting homosexuals and drug dealers, two groups largely considered scandalous at the time.

“About this time, Timothy Leary was sending LSD all over the country,” said Gates. “He was getting it from the Swiss pharmaceutical firm, Sandoz, and had hit lists all over the country targeting university centers. He sent out couriers with the stuff, and a lot of them came here. The police tried to close me down, saying I was a hangout for drug dealers.” Leary’s plan to inundate campuses with then-legal LSD put Stanford high on the list.

Gates, however, said he always abided by the letter of the law.

The time was ripe in Palo Alto for experimentation. Psychologist and author Jim Spencer, whose work is featured in “The Best American Short Stories, 1999,” was here, too.

“Drugs were there, and people were looking for a new way, of expanded consciousness and imagination,” he said. “It got people to move off in a creative direction they hadn’t thought of before.”

The Central Intelligence Agency tested LSD for use as a nonlethal weapon, a truth serum, or a brainwashing agent. They paid guinea pigs $75 a trip at the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital. In 1959, it was an attractive proposition for psychology graduate student Vic Lovell, who paid $60 rent for his house adjacent to campus on Menlo Park’s Perry Avenue, called Perry Lane by its Bohemian residents because of its rustic, narrow appearance. Though adjacent to campus, the area was more rural then, and Lovell’s dinner often included crayfish and frogs’ legs caught in a nearby creek.

The drug test could be an epiphany or a bore. Lovell never knew what drug, or placebo, he would receive. “Every hour they would come in and collect urine and blood samples,” he said. And under those circumstances, a trip could be frustrating.

“I was all turned on, with no place to go,” said Lovell, now 65 and a retired Ph.D psychologist.

Lovell took his tales back to a Bohemian enclave of graduate students, intellectuals, artists and academics clustered on the one-block-long Perry Lane. One day, he signed up Ken Kesey.

Kesey, a writer and athlete from Oregon, was a new Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Newly married to Faye Kesey, he welcomed the quick cash. Kesey also worked the VA night shift. When it was late, it was quiet. While the breathing of psychiatric patients echoed down the halls, Kesey finished his best-seller, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

He dedicated it to Lovell, “who told me dragons did not exist, then led me to their lair.”

At the same time, drugs found their way back to Kesey’s famous venison stew on Perry Lane. Suddenly, a universe of kaleidoscopic constellations entertained mind-blown graduate students, resting in the fork of an ancient oak tree. Writer Ed McClanahan, who lived on the lane for a time, described the scene.

“The commonplace would become marvelous, you could take the pulse of a rock, listen to the heartbeat of a tree,” he said breathlessly. “The ecstatic, ubiquitous ‘far out!’ rang oft upon the air.

“It wasn’t something we did just to get wasted,” he said. “It was a learning thing — we’d decide to take acid and prepare for it, set up games and things to do.”

McClanahan’s voice grew soft. “I’ve never been sorry for a minute about doing that,” he said. “I felt like I came out of it with a greater appreciation for art, colors seemed better and different, and music sounded better and cleaner, something more ethereal than before.”

Lovell said it was a unique time and place.

“It was like we had a magic lamp. The experience is not repeatable,” he said.

Kesey was a born leader, something of an American guru. When he bought a house in nearby La Honda, his entourage followed him. The group developed a canon of weird behavior, Day-Glo clothing, and sexual escapades that fertilized much of the psychedelic style. For a time, the Hell’s Angels became regulars at Kesey’s parties, finding fraternity in the outrage.

Calling themselves “The Merry Pranksters,” Kesey’s group “tootled the multitudes” on their coast-to-coast bus trip, in costume, in character, handing out acid from a wildly decorated 1939 Harvester school bus labeled “Furthur” on the front and “Weird Load” on the back. Kesey said they used psychedelics to learn the conditioned responses of people and then, in a language all his own, “to prank them.” Journalist Tom Wolfe chronicled the group’s adventures in his “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.”

But before the Pranksters got on their now-famous bus, they treated the Peninsula to public acid tests. Spencer, a Perry Lane resident, was at the first one, in a warehouse down by the mudflats off Bayshore Road. He said it was the Grateful Dead’s first big public performance.

“Thousands came. There were punch bowls with a lot of acid in them. Some didn’t know. Not far into the evening, people started screaming, someone was freaking out. There were so many doing it, people enhanced each other’s experience by the critical mass.”

Adefiant energy was unleashed in Palo Alto.

In 1965, the Midpeninsula Free University opened in Menlo Park, offering a curriculum of interpretive psychedelic dancing, Ping-Pong for the proletariat, enigmatically described “nude-in costume parties,” yoga, bee-raising, bread-making bake-ins, trust-touch-and-tenderness and meditation. Roy Kepler, of Kepler’s Books, taught courses on non-violence, and Dorothy Bender, currently a Stanford data manager, taught an early computer course–in 1969.

Tuition was free. The organization maintained a bail fund, a legal-defense guild, and a bad-trip intervention center–“24-hour assistance by experienced people if you run into a bummer.”

“My favorite class was ‘Naked Tantric Yoga Sex on Acid,'” said Spencer.

About this time, local antiwar activism started to gel.

“The war expressed the hollowness of the American materialist lifestyle,” said Spencer. Students were horrified by films of Vietnamese devastation. When contrasted with the profit from weapons research in their own backyard, they felt personally responsible.

“Students were aware, driven by desperation to make the older generation in denial see us,” said Lowell. “We could behave outrageously and just be ignored.”

On April 3, 1969, Stanford students organized what later became known as The April 3rd Movement, culminating six days later in one of the largest building occupations ever at an American university, at Stanford’s Applied Electronics Lab.

It reached a boil one month later behind troops of National Guardsmen at the Stanford Research Institute’s Hanover Street facility. More than 90 were arrested, and Ed McClanahan was there with his friend, activist Lenny Siegel.

“When the cops came down on us, I was running along next to Lenny, and he was wearing a glove on one hand,” said McClanahan. “I couldn’t figure it out until he reached down, scooped up a tear gas canister, made a 360 and fired it right through the shiny plate glass window of the facility. It was an amazing moment.”

Joan Baez and her mentor, Ira Sandperl, moved their Center for the Study of Non-Violence from Carmel Valley to Palo Alto. Around 1969, Baez started a commune called “Struggle Mountain” on 9.5 acres of rented property in the hills behind Stanford. Nearby, a group of draft resistors, pacifists, and other communal groups formed a 750-acre anarchical community dubbed “The Land.” Hidden dwellings made from reclaimed lumber and other simple materials popped up.

Rain Burns lived both places for a time.

“If Palo Alto officials ever saw aerial photos of homes built in the backlands, they’d never believe it,” said Burns.

Downtown had its share of communes as well.

Practitioners and enthusiasts of a therapeutic discipline called psychodrama had their own commune at 1001 Forest Avenue, living downstairs from an enclave of Venceremos, a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist group. There was a medical commune, and even a law commune, located at 347 Alma St., now a Shell Station.

Lovell, who lived in the psychodrama commune, said people were outraged that a half dozen of Palo Alto’s finest mansions were being rented for communal living, when small families could not afford them. At the time, a city ordinance prohibited more than four unrelated people from living together.

“The building inspector would show up with armed police in raids at night,” said Lovell. “But we were warned and moved everyone out–to this day, I don’t know how we knew–we must have had a mole.”

The law commune supported six attorneys, six legal workers, four children and four spouses. In 1972, each was paid $165 per month plus car insurance, rent and utilities. One attorney, James Wolpman, told the Palo Alto Times in 1972 that he gave up a corporate salary of $16,000 to bring his family of four here. The attorneys took any kind of case, but wouldn’t represent landlords, rich businessmen, employers or corporations.

In 1970, Palo Alto’s City Council was forced to deal with with riots, drugs, protests and what the mainstream population considered deviant behavior.

By comparison, today’s City Council agenda is sedate.

“It was like the circus just left town one day,” says Lovell. Those who remain are an introspective group, many of whom became psychologists, writers, artists, and activists, providing an enduring consonance beneath the buzz of the computer industry. Most share a sense of irretrievable loss.

“I feel like an Indian now, that my cult is gone, totally gone,” said Spencer.

“Living in this extremely affluent valley is a wonderful test of inner light,” Spencer added quietly.

Many struggle financially in the burgeoning dot-com economy.

Gates closed the original St. Michael’s Alley at 436 University Ave. in 1966 and then reopened at 806 Emerson St. in 1973. He sold it to Rob Levitsky, a younger Deadhead who kept it open with live music and then sold it to a friend. The rents spiraled, causing management to abandon live entertainment to make space for the extra tables needed to turn a profit.

After retirement, Gates pursued his love of all things creative, compiling a collection of his poetry. He’s also seeking a publisher for his 1,152-page memoirs, “Confessions of a Bohemian Ontologist.” Dressed impeccably in white shirt and trousers, he seemed wise as a shaman, his own watercolor paintings on the wall behind him at today’s St. Michael’s Alley, where the young staff treated him with affection.

But Gates glanced at an amorous young couple nearby. “These kids have so much money, they’ll order a glass of wine, pay for it with a twenty and walk away, not even ask for the change!”

He struggles to cover his $1,425 rent on Social Security. This Gates says he cannot imagine what a young person without a Microsoft-sized income would do here to survive.

“No one recognizes me–people just don’t care. I feel like I’m being left behind by a flood of greedy people.”

McClanahan packed it in 26 years ago. He bought a house at 951 Bryant St.–in fact, a house that sheltered Ken Kesey from the law for a time–in 1973 for $45,000. His ex-wife sold it four years later for $125,000, and he estimates it would sell for well over $1 million today. McClanahan fled to his native Kentucky, where he lives on an inheritance and occasional teaching jobs.

Vic Lovell wants to migrate far north within five years.

What of the people at The Land and Struggle Mountain? The tipis on The Land were razed in 1976 to make way for the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve.

Burns said she felt entitled to live on that land while residing there, but has since changed her mind.

“One of the predominant reasons I liked living up there for 15 years was the hills and forests,” said Burns. “But now I’m glad the park has all that land.”

Burns came down the mountain in the early 1980s for a high-tech job, later moving to a start-up.

“I knew I was on the edge of the wave,” she said. “I thought Palo Alto was the center of the universe then, and I still do.”

Her former husband, Stewart Burns–who authored “Social Movements of the 1960s”–moved to Mendocino, founding the Center for Social Healing and teaching at the College of the Redwoods.

The residents of Struggle Mountain eventually bought their property and now live quietly as a cooperative. Among them is 72-year-old Purusha Obluda, who hosts a weekly radio show called “Purusha’s Views” on KKUP at 91.5FM Wednesdays from 9-10 a.m. He also stays active with groups like Food Not Bombs and the War Resistors’ League.

Winter Dellenbach came down from Struggle Mountain years ago, continuing her work as an attorney with the Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing. She’s well-versed in the cost of living in Palo Alto.

“In the next census, we’ll see a mass migration off the Peninsula, the likes of which has never been seen,” she predicted. Palo Alto’s average home price is $1.2 million today, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Dellenbach heard of a house in North Palo Alto that went for $1 million more than advertised.

But some of the old guard coexists with the new.

Chloe Scott took a sentimental walk down Perry Lane recently, pointing out where Kesey’s house and two others were razed to build sterile 1960s-style homes. The developer paid $57,000 for all three properties in 1963. Scott lived in two houses on Perry Lane, starting in 1956. One rented for $80, the other for $50.

Moving from New York City’s Upper East Side, Scott was thrilled.

“Two little rooms! A little living room, a little kitchen, on this lovely street, and it was just perfect!” Her eyes lit up like a 10-year-old’s, and she nearly broke into an enthusiastic jig.

The night before the houses were torn down, the neighbors and their entourage partied the final party, destroying an upright piano with an ax–a piano that would have met its fate in the jaws of the bulldozer anyway.

Scott stood in the middle of the lane, describing the scene.

“It twanged and banged and thwanged, it was horrible,” she said. “But the death of an old piano was somehow fitting.” Lovell added that trashing pianos was a fad of the times–perhaps the only unoriginal action on Perry Lane. Three of the postwar, saltbox-style cabins with 1930s-style rock chimneys still stand. The oak tree in whose arms zonked students nestled in 1960 is still there, its branches twisting toward the sky. The few cars that come here must go around it on either side.

Scott, who moved from Perry Lane in 1961, says she still feels a sense of community here, and recognizes the old days couldn’t last forever. She’s come to terms with the area’s new wealth.

“We had a good run for our money,” she said. “But now it’s time to get on with it.” She continues performing with Dymaxion Dance Company, which she founded in the 1960s.

Harry Ely, 80, also said he is unaffected by Silicon Valley wealth and attitudes, living in the same house on Lois Lane bought for $43,000 in the 1940s.

He’d come to Berkeley on the GI Bill, later moving to Stanford with his wife and four children. He taught high school for a while, then worked in several local libraries. One of his children took guitar lessons from Jerry Garcia.

“When the ’60s came around, I was pretty interested in LSD,” said Ely. “And I finally found some. There was a lot of bad press on the subject, but when I took it, I was absolutely delighted,” he added.

Ely’s wife, LaVerne LeRoy, brought in a tray with three cups of steaming tea and a ceramic bowl of dried pears. The sunlight grew reddish. Rainbows danced through the crystals in the window, playing across LeRoy’s face.

“Everyone was this big wonderful soup of change and it was just part of the scene,” she said. “There were the be-ins-people sharing food, sunshine, dancing together, babies were everywhere, it was just this atmosphere of free joy. There was a great change in consciousness.”

“Actually, consciousness was a later development,” said Ely wryly.

Although the seat-of-your-pants living is gone forever in Palo Alto, some involved in the counterculture keep the spirit alive in subtle ways.

“I have a good life now in Palo Alto,” Ely said. “I play the hammer dulcimer at the Farmers’ Market, people I see there may be big-time rich people, but they give me a dollar here and there. I see them buying organic fruits and vegetables, their children are interested in the hammer dulcimer. I spent my life here, we don’t really notice the change.”

“I don’t really miss the crazy acid culture, because my wife is here, and she’s very surprising, interesting and tender, so I’m very happy.” Harry and LaVerne married in the early 1990s, after living together for 22 years.

Ely picked up two dulcimer mallets, shaped like tiny wooden reapers. Beside him, bamboo flutes, ocarinas, Jews harps and various small percussion instruments spilled out of an old wooden box that once held a bottle of Bollinger’s champagne. Bony hands and scythes flew over the instrument. A couple of strings were slightly out of tune, but his improvisation spiraled faster and faster, phrases rising, falling singing, taking on a life of their own.

Ely personifies the the last of Palo Alto counterculture. It takes a sharp ear to hear his music, but it is an important and moving tune woven through Silicon Valley’s high-tech revolution.

Thanks to all of you for remembering all of the things that made growing up in Palo Alto so great! I remember most everything, but I couldn’t have done it without your help.

I grew up on Sutter ct. in the midtown area from the late 50’s to ’68. Being a cul-de-sac, Sutter ct. was a community unto itself, with lots of kids and very safe. There was a six ft. backyard fence that started at Dave’s house and ran all the way around the neighborhood. I would run its entire length, as fast as I could, with Dave K, Mike B, Paul K, and Bill K..

I spent every penny that came my way at the variety store.

remember when we found dead sharks in Matadero creek?

remember, during the flood, when Chris sailed his El Toro down the steet?

I attended Palo Verde,Wilbur, and Cubberley (67)

played little league on the Palo Alto Optimists (and we all were)

There was a radio contest in 1966 where you were supposed to send in pieces of paper with your principal’s name on it, promoting him or her as the best. Some of us, in our zeal to have Dr. Scott Thompson win, stole thousands of IBM cards from Stanford to write his name on. You were there Lynn J. I think he won.

I could go on, but I have learned that the less I say, the better.

Besides, you all said it so good!

The ‘center strips’ of trees and grass on Forest St.- big enough to play tag and catch on, small enough to feel like you were on a secret island. I think all the gorgeous old trees are part of what made Palo Alto so wonderful…it was -afterall- named after a big beautiful redwood!

Here are some Wilbur teachers

Mrs. McGilvrey – I couldn’t draw a straight line but she didn’t make me feel like an artistic failure

Miss Kleinsorge – pretty, liked her, had a crush on her

Mr. (Senor) Bora – He used to come to all the elementary schools to give Spanish lessons. Then we break out into that song – I can still hum it, but I can’t remember a word of it

Mr. McPherson – I don’t believe a word of those rumors that he drank in the paint room (hee hee)

Mrs. Hampton – My brother and his friends told me she used to be a Playboy bunny. I didn’t have her but wished I did

Mr. Olinger – He called me after class and told me I was being obscene Huh?!? Then he pointed down to my crotch area where there was a little tear in my jeans (hey, I wore underwear). I know, it begs the question of “What are you looked ‘down there’ for?

Mr. Wolff – Good guy – Before I started playing drums, he never told me I was awful

Mr. Chapman – Just a kind of stoic, professional who never smiled or laughed, except for pretty girls

Miss Heilman – What can I say? I was the teacher’s pet and I had a crush on her. EXAMPLE: Annndeeeeee [then tilt her head with a smile] when I was talking with a classmate while she lectured BUT
2) MARK!!!! Get-out-of-my-class!!! (Sorry Mark, but I didn’t use your last name)

I’ll finish this up another time.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

Sometime in the late 60’s, somewhere between Palo Alto and Santa Cruz I fell in love. She has long since forced me from her memory…I cling to the memory like the last leaf to fall free from the branch..

Wilbur teachers:

Mr. McPherson once told me that when you finished with pumice that the wood should feel “as smooth as a baby’s bottom”.

Mr. Olinger made you make a contribution to the “Olinger Fund for Destitute Teachers” if you lost one of those blank maps that you filled stuff in on (like city names and rivers and stuff). I think it was called a “DWW 5”.

Mr. Schneider (math) had us do a “casino day” when we were studying probability.

Mrs. McGillvray used to call us “fatheads” as a term of endearment, and we were told never to tell our parents what happened on Friday Afternoons. (nothing really bad, she just got pretty silly).

Mr. Allen (French) did some ballet moves on a desk or table once…

Mr. Ludolph did a day or two on the Chartres Cathedral – enough to where when I saw a train going there, when I was in Paris, I jumped on just to go see it.

I got to be a science aide for Mr. McRae (science and electronics)… and I used to do chemistry demos for his 7th or 8th grade science class (like Potassium Chlorate + starch heated with a glass rod). I used to try to do them with a little “style” like a magic show, but I don’t think I was that good at it. It was fun though.

Counselor Wally Porter (K6URO) gave a bunch of us our first Amateur Radio exams.

Yeah, Chris. Costarella WAS a prison warden. The prison was Jordan.

Hey Jim,
I think you opened a door. I remember some kind of bizarre vehicle painted with clouds. Unbelievable! lol. My biggest curiousity is a tree, near University Ave, and I think near some kind of park. But, it was my home for some time. It was very big and thick, but it had a very small opening. Once you fought your way through you had a large clear area where you could actually stand. I remember being homeless, but even in the hardest of rains it stayed dry. I’m sure it’s long gone, but it seems one memory leads to another. I also remember the sweet smell of fruit, and seeing these large round ugly green(fruit?) laying on the ground.(Comquats?) I don’t think they were really fruit. Anyway, I’m glad you survived those times.lol. One of my high school friends works for Trent Jones Golf,in Palo Alto.. she’d love for me to visit, so who knows about Oct. Take care, Ray..

I moved from Palo Alto with my parents to Southern California in 1962.
I was 15 at the time. I lived in Palo Alto from 1953 to 1962 and remember the following:

Playing at the new Little League field on Middlefield.
The construction of Mitchell Park.
Big storms and lots of flooding in 1955.
Attending the new Catholic School – Our Lady of the Rosary.
Riding my bike with friends up Page Mill Road.
Playing Babe Ruth League baseball. Opening day was always at Stanford Sunken Diamond.
The Giants relocating from New York in 1958.
Only having six televison stations. However, channels 7 and 11 were the same. Channel 7 was the ABC station from San Francisco and Channel 11 was the ABC station from San Jose. Channel 9 was an educational channel that nobody watched so there were actually only
4 stations.

Thursday, Feb 5th, 1976 according to a newspaper report that I found by googling “1976 snowfall in Palo Alto”

Wow, reading this is like recapping my life.
-Born in the old Stanford Hospital
-Attended Van Auken, Jordan and Paly – Graduated in 69
-Living in, and have lived my entire life in Palo Alto – still here.
-Remember, the Sullivans, Baneks, Ozdinskis, Bells, Sheppards and so many other families!
-Remember working at Ray’s Richfield on Stanford and El Camino, and Pearson’s Shell on Embarcadero
-Remember Oro Mitchell teaching auto shop at Paly.
-Remember Mobil Oil at El Camino and Page Mill, Cy Pennels Chevron in Midtown, Kawata Brothers 76 Union on San Antonio, and more…..
-Remember the pinball machines at the Midtown A&W and the car hops at the El Camino A&W
-Remember the bonfires at Lake Lauganita
-Remember the little Big Game at Stanford between Paly and Sequoia
-Remember Penneys with a beasment on University Ave
-Remember the carnivals in the Bullocks parking lot in Stanford
-Remember Big Al’s Gashouse delivering hot food to the service stations on El Camino.
-Remember S Burger
-Remember when Stanford was the “Indians” and proud of it
-Remember D&H Hobby slot racing on San Antonio
-Rememebr Cougan’s Bluff burger resturant on El Camino in Mt. View
-Rememeber the great burgers at the Stanford View in Palo Alto
-Remember getting 5 cent cokes at Paddleford Olds downtown.
-Remember the horse pasture on El Camino and Page Mill.
-Remember the rairoad tracks crossing El Camino.
-Remember Music Box Records (the big square box on El Camino)
-Remember most of that everyone has written and so much moremore.

Jeff H

I remember PA cops pulling my friends and me over one night for DWBB: ‘driving while black or brown’. Said the ‘center wear line’ of one of our rear tires was ‘off center’, and that was the reason for pulling us over.

Nice. But really, that attitude hasn’t changed in PA. Just like old times!

Regarding Mrs. Forbush causing a young man to faint out of his chair – I was he. Turned out I had her again in 9th grade and she treated me very well, and eventually we exchanged Christmas cards until she passed away in 2003. (Could Lee B. be Lee Bickett?) I remember fondly Bell’s Bookstore downtown, with the tall ladders on rails going to the ceiling, the cats, Mr. Bell (who somehow was quite kindly to me and let me roam the store), and the wonderful smell of books.

The train tracks that used to cross El Camino were part of the Los Altos line which went behind Alta Mesa cemetery and joined what is now Foothill Expressway. Commute trains used to go on those tracks every weekday until 1964.

– The annual Childrens Pet Parade, or May Day Parade. Some years we’d make floats out of wagons or coasters and put cages in them for our cats, or just walk our dogs, or load our bikes up with crepe paper streamers, wear costumes, and end up at the penny carnival at Lytton school. I got lost once year when I was about six and spent a tearful couple of hours at the old police staion downtown until my dad found me…

– Miss Downs, the circuit music teacher who came to my elementary school (Ventura) one day every week. She gave me my first lessons on the string bass. I’m still playing it, over 50 years later…

– Playing in the piles of hay bales in the old Stanford barn, before it became The Stanford Barn.

– Sliding on cardboard over the dried grass down Kite Hill, above Stanford Av.

– In the second grade at Ventura, sitting on the bench outside class with my teacher Miss McPherson, watching the thick column of smoke rise in the distance to the south, while she explained to me that my family’s house had burned down. It was an Eichler, $26,000 when my folks bought it in 1950, and was gone in less than 30 minutes.

– Playing sponge tag in an El Toro at the old Palo Alto Yach Harbor.

– Eating hush puppies with maple syrup in the kitchen at Don Johnson’s house. His was the only black family in our neighborhood, and they grew corn and vegetables over their big lot at the corner of Charleston and Francisco Way (before Francisco was renamed Park Av). Mrs Johnson was the best cook in the neighborhood.

– Swimming almost every day in summer at the public pool at Wilbur Jr High, and sometimes having enough money to ride over to A&W in Midtown and getting a quart of ice cold root beer.

– Riding bikes with my best friend across town on Saturday afternoon to the Peninsula Creamery lunch counter and blowing my entire week’s allowance of 50 cents on a coffee milkshake.

What a great place to grow up. I was Homers Warehouse and the rock promoter at the Stanford theater during the 70’s. A book will be coming out next year that will take many by surprise.Not my real name,please respect this for now. The Old Palo Alto Times plays a role featuring Dan Roach,the rock critic for the PA Times in 71.
Palo Alto has a rich history in the rock world,much unknown and rumor.I’m settling the record straight(toxic left out)with a fun,very humorous look at the whole thing. Confidentiality appreciated.
AJ

And AJ… do you still think it’s possible to climb up into the hayloft at Stanford Barn? Are you referring to the horse barn on campus.. or the eating place? I love climbing into barn haylofts and hanging out. My sis and I did that once and she fell through the rotted boards. I had the most fun in a French hayloft.

The old Stanford Barn before it was a restraunt.You could get lost in that place for days.As for the rest,wait for the book. Many,many surprises.
AJ

And thanks Eric for clarifying the name of that wonderful market… I still miss Purity Market. Some good things never last or repeat.

I am starting to get excited about this book! Where will it sell?

Are you mentioning REAL names, AJ?

Homers and Andrew J. Bernstein who always wanted to be an impresario.
Sure would be nice if some other members from his milieu contributed to this love fest. Lots of unbelievable history in our little town…

Gondolin,

Hmmm. Pic and Pan. The name sounds familiar, but can’t really picture it.

But, Menu Tree, yes lots of times visiting that spot. For some reason I really liked the Pizza there. It was kind of different, but I remember them pouring a bit of olive oil over the cheese. UMMM..

Always wondered why the Ming’s site on El Camino is still vacant, but is the only place for miles that allows billboard to be used on El Camino.

Hey Eric,

The Menu Tree was great I thought ’cause it was so big, especially the upstairs part. And they had that large spiral staircase up to the huge dining room upstairs, that was quaint ’cause it was so private.

That’s funny, really. The pizza was what I got most of the time too. It was so extremely good and had an authentic Italian taste, I have never found then or since. But yes, I remember it was pretty oily, yet I always delved into it being so yummy.

Did you go to the Time Zone arcade next to the Menu Tree? I saw someone had mentioned that place.

My favorites were Missile Command and Galaga. I even was able to turn Galaga over one time, and I think it took at least 90 minutes on a single quarter. I’m terrible at video games now.

I’ve live in a condo a few blocks from the San Antonio shopping center for 7 years now. I’m right on the border of Palo Alto.

I was glad that Sears stayed there. It had been all planned out to have a Home Depot there. Sears had a big clearance sale, and the store was almost empty, then they canceled the plans and decided to stay. Lots of good memories at that Sears, so that was good.

Thanks for responding.

Sears always had that popcorn fragrance, didn’t it? As did the old Woolworth stores.

Gondolin, Great picture of the Old Mill. That brings back lots of memories. I do remember Fargo’s. My brother used to work in the candy store right near there. I can’t recall the name of the candy store, do you? The Old Mill had a great ambiance, especially when it was new. They never attracted a lot of great retailers for some reason, so I think that’s why it closed down. There was even a movie theatre there.

I didn’t spend much time at the Time Zone, but do remember it. Didn’t Menu Tree have some sort of animated birds or something like that? Did they chirp on the hour, like a clock. Or am I confusing my memory with something else?

The other Old Mill spot I remember is the Mexican restaurant, La Posada. Pretty good food (IIRC) and somewhat lenient on its policy of checking IDs of anyone ordering a margarita…or so I heard.

Hi Andy,

The last time we talked some time ago, you were concerned about the Willow trees at Hoover Park. And I know from other comments elsewhere of yours that you’re very ecologically conscious.

So I would like to console myself with you about all the pine trees they cut down a few months ago along San Antonio Rd. between the overpass and Middlefield Rd. They were huge and dozens of them. They’re all gone now, and I’ve been kinda upset about that. I use to just love walking under them, staying nice and cool and amused, in the summer. I can understand the danger of overhanging branches to the cars, but that was such a dramatic change and loss.

Your brother never talked about that. That’s really funny. I guess we really needed a little bit extra entertainment than most for awhile.

Your brother and I got caught, at Emporium in Stanford Shopping Center, pulling wicks out of candles. They let us go with a warning, which really scared us, and then were entirely respectful ever since.

I saw you had talked about Mr. Pike at Hoover Elementary. I had him in 5th grade and had forgotten he was missing a finger. Now I remember kinda how he would show it to the class and thrill us. He was a very nice man and my favorite teacher.

Hi QuickHitGondolin,

Good memory. Not to sound too “sappy,” but yes, there was one particular Willow Tree at Hoover Park that actually tuaght me about life and spirit of trees. For years, I’d sit on a bench on the bike path across from the tree and commune with it. I even wrote a short story about that Willow Tree. One day, I came to the park and they had cut down the tree. First the arborist said that Willow trees at another park uprooted too easily. Then the story changed and he said that the tree was diseased. It wasn’t. I actually have a picture of me and that Willow Tree.

Hey, thanks for posting the Mayfield Mall picture. I always remember how we’d bike down there and the first store we’d visit was Cost Plus Imports.

Just one more memory: In Palo Alto, every Friday at noon (or maybe 11:00am), they would conduct a test of the city wide warning siren. I’m sure someone like Gary Fazzino (Palo Alto’s “Unofficial Historian”) would be able to give more detail about that system.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

Hey Andy, You were quite a firecracker! I think I would’ve liked hanging out with you and your friends. What fun!

I just got a letter from my long-time friend and doc, Don Creevy, who’s retiring this March. He founded The Birth Center in Menlo Park and was considered the whack-O doc at Stanford for awhile, until they all started following his lead.

He had an office on Lytton for quite a few years. Anybody remember him or have stories?

The Keystone on California Avenue used to be the Purity market, then in the late ’60s it became a hippie-dippie natural foods store, considered a novelty at the time. Across from Purity was Littleman’s market which later became Mackall’s Appliance and is now Kinko’s. The Co-op was always where Mollie Stone’s is now. The part fronting California Avenue was the pharmacy which was separate from the grocery store toward the rear of the property. The entrance to Co-op market was in roughly the same place as the entrance to Mollie Stone’s.

Before moving to the Kinko’s location, Mackall’s appliance was in the space that used to be the Printer’s Inc. bookstore and is now a stationery store or something.

Littleman’s market was a favorite of me, my brother and our neighbor Mike Zupan when they would put out a barrel full of Ghirardelli milk chocolate blocks. They took a big slab of milk chocolate about 3/4″ thick and broke it into jagged pieces which were wrapped in cellophane and priced by the pound with a label showing the weight and the price like a package of ground beef. Needless to say we were all over it and those blocks of milk chocolate used to last us for days. A door or two down was a place you could have your Swiss watch repaired, roughly where Cho’s Potsticker Palace is now.

Midtown Market was the grocery store. Duca & Hanley was the name of the meat department within.

Hi Gamboa,

I didn’t really know the other areas of the Old Mill too good so I had forgotten there was another regular night club. Bourbon Street sounds familiar now. Just wanted to clarify this.

The other club there I was talking about was Fargo’s Pizza, and I call it a club ’cause it had a GREAT stage and accoustics with a balcony. I’ve found three other recollections that confirm the name, and here’s one of them from Miles Tone on Apr 29, 2008. “The mall where the Crossings is now was The Old Mill…There was also a pizza place called Fargo’s that had live music on weekends.”

http://www.mv-voice.com/square/index.php?i=3&d=&t=372

Hi Delfina and all,

NOW I remember – when you said parachute on ceiling, it brought back memories of me, your younger brother and other friends when we’d listen to your brother and his band practice in the garage.

Since I grew up on Wellsbury Way, I was right across the street from Carpenter’s Hall and also next to the Shell Gas Station and next to that a 2 or 3-story building that had slot cars (which was eventually torn down and the Arco Station built there).

Believe it or not “the narcs” as they were called, had a room they used at the Stevenson House and with binoculars, they use to watch us Wilbur Warriors at Mitchell Park during lunchtime in 1969.

I know there are others here in this group that remembered (and some were part of “the big bust”) on The Hill at Mitchell Park. Dang, it’s hard to believe that us 7th, 8th and 9th graders posed such a threat to Palo Alto then (especially since the pot was nothing like it was today).

It’s a little sad that the School District plays musical chairs with the names of all of our former schools. It would be equally sad if the city ends up renaming Lytton Plaza, as we used to go there to listen to music on Friday nights. There’s a good Palo Alto Weekly story about how the riot got started at Lytton Plaza. From my, albeit young, observation, the Police were dead-set on stopping the music at exactly 10:00pm – the time limit set by the city ordinance. As the last song was getting underway, one of the cops actually pulled the plug. First you heard a lot of, “Hey man. That’s not cool, man!” Then the cops began moving in riot-type fashion towards the people who were just listening. That’s when it got out of hand. People running, scared. Folks tripping over each other, people getting hurt by the cops. It would be interesting if the cops had made a “movie camera” (as it was called) of the event. Obviously, in hindsight, it was an event that could have easily been avoided.

Anyway, also, I remember playing in San Francisquito Creek, too, as a kid. It was the first time I smelled Eucalyptus (at the corner of Newell Road and Woodland Avenue).

Okay, take care Delfina and let me know the next time you’re in town.

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

PS: I have pieces of the old Herbert Hoover Elementary School. Both the cement and wood. I had come home from a Christmas party one night to see my old school in a giant heap of ruins and went to the old part of the school and retrieve those items.

Hi John (and all),

I don’t recall that. I do recall that the old wooden structure of Hoover had very short stairways on both the north and south entrances leading into the hallway of the building.

Was the old wooden structure the original school? And was the conventional L-Shaped elementary school built around it?

Andy Freedman

Hi Chris and all,

Matt Bowling / Palo Alto Weekly History Project (see below link) tells of the many projects Birge Clark was involved in. Many Palo Alto buildings he designed are named in that article. In another part of the aricle it states that he had designed schools, but it didn’t state that they were Palo Alto schools. I have a feeling that he was not involved with any of the PAUSD schools (but I’m not sure).

I’m sure your correct about the old building being the original school.

It would be nice if the Palo Alto Historical Association posted more or different pictures on their Website. Nothing has been added to it for a very long time. If you haven’t browsed through the pictures yet, you’re in for a real treat. I think there are 2082 pictures that can be serched in a number of ways. Excellent Website!

Andy Freedman

Here’s the link to the Birge Clark story:

http://www.paloaltohistory.com/birgeclark.html

Andy –

We still haven’t determined whether you and I went to kindergarten together — Mrs. Olson’s class of 1960 – 1961, morning class. In 1961 we moved and I started first grade at Walter Hays where there was clearly an old building and a new building which had been added onto it, as well as a multipurpose room.

As I think about it, Birge Clark’s architecture was generally snazzier than those PAUSD classrooms with the transom windows that had to be opened using a pole with a hook on the end. When we would go on break they used to polish the wood floors and when we got back from break the classrooms all reeked of floor wax. And I mean reeked!

Lived in Palo Alto from 1947-1970. Born in the old Hoover Pavilion. Garland..remember Mr. Hillburn. Jordan..getting up on the roof and then running from the cops…Mr. Center and his old convertible full of kids..Remember the trampoline center behind the old Purity in Mid Town? Riding our bikes to the Stanford Ampetheater and bringing home buckets of tadpoles..getting my bike stolen outside the Stanford Theater..$.05 cokes at Bergmans…$12(?) for a monthly card at Palo Alto Muni..Skiing down the 14th fairway in 1962 at Stanford Golf course when in snowed..WE hung a dummy from the lamppost on West Greenwich Place..being in the old Police Station downtown and seeing our street circled on the map…lots of other things later…

Hi Chris (and all),

Yes, we did attend the same kindergarden class (Mrs. Olson, morning class).

Do you recall the share time? My next door neighbor, Jim K. would say, “I had a dream that Andy got stung by a bee and cried.”

Then when it was my turn, I’d say, “I had a dream that Jim fell into the creek and cried.” How brutal! (hee hee).

Andy

So many memories…..I’m trying to think of something that hasn’t been mentioned yet.
John Herrera, did you live on Moreno? If so, your dog bit me on the ankle. Not recently, like 40 something years ago.
Has anyone mentioned Hi Neighbor night at Van Auken. The white elephant table, cake walk and I think there was a lady there that did those paper cut out profile thingys, I think I still have mine. And the pocket lady! I loved her….
I wish I could grow up all over again.
Gig

Andy –

Next time I’m in P.A. I’ll see if I can find our class photo. I don’t remember “share time” but I do remember napping on blankets on the floor and bringing our family dog. I still have the ceramic hand print we made and painted. You and I have both reminisced about what a fine teacher Jane Olson was, with such great patience!

Gig the only Gigi I knew was Gigi Harris, and I lived on Kipling St.

Hi John,

That is cool! Can you post the Kindergarden picture? You have to log in (otherwise you can’t post) and go to Historic Photo, scroll down to brouse and then upload a JPEG version. You’ll have to scan that picture first and then save as a JPEG.

Another interesting document is the report card. I can’t find any of mine, but I saw one that someone (Joe P) brought to a Herbert Hoover Elementary School class reunion some years ago. Very interesting comments that teachers made back then.

Was Mrs. Miller Miss Chamberlin?

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com

Hey Bob,
You’re right – I think it was Mr. Papagni (if he followed Mr Webb). I only had to go there once and I was scared because I heard he had a paddle. Fortunately it was just a talk.

But . . . your infraction wasn’t that bad. Here’s a little confession – an embarrassing one, too, but that’s what makes this thread fun to read.

One day, I decided I wanted to be on traffic patrol duty (maybe because you got to wear those snazzy sweaters and you had a little power). There was one guy (Russel S) calling cadence to the 3 of us during our walk to the intersection of Middlefield and Colorado (where back then, there were 2 gas stations). I cough up and “lugied” (spit) on a parked car window. The guy calling cadence quickly stopped us and told me that I am on report. Rather than face the wrath of (was it) Sgt Mashinski, during an all-patrol formation, I resigned (by not showing up).

Andy Freedman
androcls@aol.com