Grabbing a smoldering cup of coffee, I planted myself down to check my email. The dispatch came from fellow blog follower, Bob Lampert. He had passed " A Quarter Past Nine" onto an ol' buddy of his and here's what came back.
"Wow! What a trip to the past. 58-60, I spent a lot of time "Cruising El Cajon Blvd". As I recall, the routine was Oscar's next to Hoover High School then out to Dobb's in La Mesa with occasional side trips to the Oscars' on L.V. Rd., Midway and Rosecrans, and the drive-in at 32nd and El Cajon on the North side of the St. Remember the "Purple Cow" on Mission Gorge Rd?
I had a 29' Model A roadster with a big flathead that I drove at Paradise Mesa on rare occasions and then there was always "Hourglass Field" or the "Straight on Mission Gorge Rd.
Right after I went into the Army I heard from friends that they had "Drag Race Riots" on El Cajon Blvd. The PD even came up with radio codes for drag racing. As I recall "Code 12" was Drag races eminent and "Code 13" was Drag races in progress. That was on one of the radio code cards I got way back when.
The picture below, maybe my old memories are distorted a bit but I don't recall a B of A on the South side of El Cajon Blvd. across from Oscars. Oscars was on the North west corner of a T intersection. There was a side lot that faced the Oscar's building that ran North and South on the West side of the building and the main parking area in the back ran East and West.
The "Other" car lot, remember the "House of Hardtops", Euclid and El Cajon?
You are right, "What a wonderful time to grow up."
--Doug Henderson
Doug's memory is pretty good...the photo was from the El Cajon Oscars, no B of A, and I'll find a photo of "House of Hardtops." Anyway, that's what this blog is all about. It's meant to inspire, have fun, day dream, and open thoughts about the coolness of car culture.
But, lastly, it's also about sharing your opinions, so don't forget to hit the comment button at the bottom of the posts.
Comment button.
Definitely was the BoA. I moved to El Cajon from East San Diego around 1961 as a child and my Mom worked at that BoA. I recall watching the Mother Goose Parade from the upstairs conference room, the windows depicted in the picture below. It was so well insulated you could hardly hear the muffled announcer calling the parade.
ReplyDeleteI walked to El Cajon High School (67-68) before getting my CDL, passing pastures and horses along North Mollison, North of Broadway. Now this section of El Cajon is a sea of apartment buildings and condominiums. There were 3 maybe 4 gas stations at Mollison and Broadway and I recall "Gas War" signs showing gasoline at $.25 a gallon. In the mid 60's I could ride my minibike on Hwy 67 from Broadway north to Riverford as the Broadway overcrossing had not yet be constructed.
A nice thread here that brings back good memories.
-- Mike
SDSD Retired, 2008
2ftracr@adelphia.net
The Oscar's located off the 'T' intersection on ECB was at Menlo and El Cajon. There initially was an Oscar's at Euclid and El Cajon, but when Menlo opened they changed the name to Circus. This picture looks like it might be the Oscar's at 39th and University. The people from my era at Hoover and Crawford frequented the Euclid and El Cajon or Menlo locations. I think Ernie Marugg said he had an incident with his patrol car at Menlo. Had to tell some wayward youth to make his car right.
ALONG FOR THE RIDE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Code 13"
Posted: 30 Nov 2010 10:32 AM PST
Grabbing a smoldering cup of coffee, I planted myself down to check my email. The dispatch came from fellow blog follower, Bob Lampert. He had passed " A Quarter Past Nine" onto an ol' buddy of his and here's what came back.
"Wow! What a trip to the past. 58-60, I spent a lot of time "Cruising El Cajon Blvd". As I recall, the routine was Oscar's next to Hoover High School then out to Dobb's in La Mesa with occasional side trips to the Oscars' on L.V. Rd., Midway and Rosecrans, and the drive-in at 32nd and El Cajon on the North side of the St. Remember the "Purple Cow" on Mission Gorge Rd?
I had a 29' Model A roadster with a big flathead that I drove at Paradise Mesa on rare occasions and then there was always "Hourglass Field" or the "Straight on Mission Gorge Rd.
Right after I went into the Army I heard from friends that they had "Drag Race Riots" on El Cajon Blvd. The PD even came up with radio codes for drag racing. As I recall "Code 12" was Drag races eminent and "Code 13" was Drag races in progress. That was on one of the radio code cards I got way back when.
The picture below, maybe my old memories are distorted a bit but I don't recall a B of A on the South side of El Cajon Blvd. across from Oscars. Oscars was on the North west corner of a T intersection. There was a side lot that faced the Oscar's building that ran North and South on the West side of the building and the main parking area in the back ran East and West.
The "Other" car lot, remember the "House of Hardtops", Euclid and El Cajon?
You are right, "What a wonderful time to grow up."
--Doug Henderson
Doug's memory is pretty good...the photo was from the El Cajon Oscars, no B of A, and I'll find a photo of "House of Hardtops." Anyway, that's what this blog is all about. It's meant to inspire, have fun, day dream, and open thoughts about the coolness of car culture.
One of my fond memories was stopping out on East Main at the In A Tub ice cream place. I also remember the dirt streets in Bostonia, and the grape vineyards all over El Cajon. And during the war, the parachute practice tower over where the airport is now. My parents used to stop the car and watch the parachutists drop down. That fascinated me.
ReplyDeleteRemember the guys who had their cars lowered down so low, everyone had to get out and lift on them to get up from the street into the parking lot of the big Oscars?
Roberto
O.k. Guys lets go back a little farther. The Trocadero Roler Skating Ring at Marlborow and University across the Street from Garaunty Chevrolet. The High Boots Motorcycle club that used to visit all of the Oscars While you were still in Diapers .I rode a 1937 Indian and All the others rode Harleys. I never could out run Motor Officers John White of Gorge Satcher. I had 5 tickets the year when I joined the PD and Chief Jansen said " If you loose your Drivers license you're out of here.
ReplyDeleteGreat stories!
ReplyDelete