Judging the ‘50s -- robert gardner

* EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a special column by Robert Gardner as part of

our Countdown to 2000 series.

What was particularly newsworthy about the 1950s?

For one, it marked the invasion of a whole new breed of businessmen in

Newport Beach.

Oh, the establishment was still here -- Paul Palmer, Lancy Sherman, Ralph

Maskey, Gordon Findlay and Harry Welch to name a few.

But the ‘50s brought us a fresh crop with a new perspective. They were

mostly veterans, just released from the service and eager to find a new

life on the sunny shores of Newport Beach.

I can remember quite a few of the names -- George Holstein, Moose

Lagerlof, Ralph Holden, Ralph Hoyle, Chuck Masters, Van Hayes, Les

Blakeslie, Joe Collins, Bob Ingram, Bill Fisher, Vincent Jorgensen and

Charley Hester.

No matter what their earlier experiences, most of them became builders.

Lots at that time only cost $1,000, so you borrowed money from “Pappy”

Palmer and you were a builder. Mistakes were made. A few houses were

built on the wrong lot, but with a $1,000 dingbat you could tear down a

mistake and rebuild it with no particular trouble.

Then a funny thing happened. The $1,000 lots became $5,000 lots, then

$50,000 lots, and there were no more dingbats being built. You don’t

build a dingbat on a $50,000 lot. Suddenly, those dingbat builders became

class A builders.

I give them credit. That new breed saw the future. We locals didn’t. I

guess it was too many years of looking at miles and miles of lots priced

at $150 and going unsold.

The city once offered Joe Rossi every vacant lot in Corona del Mar --

which consisted of most of the lots in Corona del Mar -- for $10,000. Of

course, Joe knew a bad deal when he saw one and turned it down.

So the ‘50s brought in a new breed of businessmen. It was fun watching

them take chances and make money while most of us locals just sat there

and twiddled our thumbs.

* ROBERT GARDNER is a Corona del Mar resident and former judge. His

regular column is published Tuesdays.