A LOOK BACK -- JERRY PERSON

I can remember watching television, and suddenly I heard a crash of

breaking glass from a neighbor’s baseball. To have that pane of glass

repaired, I went down to our local glass shop and had a new one cut.

But if this had happened in the 1960s, you had two choices of glass

shops in town. One was Johnson’s Glass on 5th Street and the other was De

Guelle and Sons at Alabama and Adams avenues.

This week, we are going to look at the man who started De Guelle’s

Glass -- James J. De Guelle.

Jim was born Feb. 27, 1921 in the small town of Olathe, Colo. The De

Guelle family moved to Huntington Beach when Jim was still a young boy.

Along with his sister Jacqueline, Jim went to Central Elementary School

and they both attended Huntington High.

Jim participated in the school’s water sports and was student body

president of his class. He also played water polo and could be found

riding our local surf.

For three years, Jim was a local lifeguard before he went to Fullerton

College. His father owned and operated the first cafe at the end of the

Huntington Beach Pier.

During World War II, Jim was in the Merchant Marine for three years.

It was during this time he met Teresa, who would later become his bride

on June 17, 1946. From that union came four children -- James, John, Tom

and Mary.

Jim went to work in the glass business, first for Perkins Glass Co.

for four years and then for nine years at the W.P. Fuller glass company

before he decided to open his own glass shop here in Huntington Beach.

In 1962, De Guelle & Sons opened its doors for business with Jim’s

father and sons working side-by-side. He coached Little League and served

as a team manager. He was active in our Boy Scouts for several years and

was a member of our Chamber of Commerce.

In 1980, Jim’s son Tom took over the family business and ran the

operation until he sold it to Barbara and Michael Haynes in 1997.

Those old enough to remember going to the old Surf Theater in the

1960s might recall how the theater showed short commercials of a minute

or less on the screen. One of those was for De Guelle Glass. Although the

De Guelles are no longer active in the glass business, the company that

Jim started nearly 40 years ago is still going strong.* JERRY PERSON is a

local historian and longtime Huntington Beach resident. If you have ideas

for future columns, write him at P.O. Box 7182, Huntington Beach, CA

92615.