Jerry Person -- A look back

I, like most Americans, sat transfixed before the television set as

the events of Sept. 11 unfolded. I watched the heroic people who risked

their lives trying to help fellow Americans not only at the World Trade

Center but at the Pentagon.

Television reporters likened this event to the bombing of Pearl Harbor

on Dec. 7, 1941.

This week we’re going to look at Huntington Beach and how it responded

to the emergency.

But first we should see what Huntington Beach was like just a week

prior to Dec. 7.

Residents were looking forward to watching the Christmas parade on

Main Street and the Downtown merchants were busy decorating their store

windows for the holidays.

Calvin Nagel had just been elected president of the Business Mens’

Assn. in a dinner held at the California Cafe.

Golden Bear cashier Evelyn Lindstrom was asleep in a car heading home

to Huntington Beach from a wedding in Yuma, when the car was stopped and

an immigration officer woke her and asked her what nationality she was.

Lindstrom told them she was Swedish and they asked for her papers.

She was finally able to convince them she was an American and had

simply meant that she was of Swedish decent.

On Saturday, Dec. 6, the Surf Theatre was showing the comedy “Niagara

Falls,” a cartoon, “Sun Down” staring Gene Tierney, a “March of Time”

newsreel and “Chapter 6 of Jungle Girl.” All it cost was 35 cents for

adults in the evenings and 25 cents for matinees.

The Standard Market on Main Street was selling a pound of Ben Hur

coffee for 27 cents and a loaf of bread cost only a dime.

The Main Street Garage was offering a 1939 Hudson “Six” car for $550.

At the Main Street Drug store you could have a chicken dinner on Saturday

for 50 cents.

On Sunday Dec. 7 many residents were attending church services and

heard the news as they came out.

Huntington Beach resident Eileen Stricklin and her girlfriend Hildrith

Clark had gotten home late from a double date and were asleep when

Clark’s father woke the two teenage girls with the news that Pearl Harbor

was attacked.

The girls discussed the bombing for a few minutes then spent the rest

of the morning talking about their dates the previous evening.

Huntington Beach quickly mobilized and Mayor Marcus McCallen issued a

declaration of a state of emergency within our oil-rich city. He asked

all residents who had extra firearms that they were not using to please

bring them to the police station to be loaned to other citizens.

Residents learned that when the fire station siren sounded four blasts

that all lights were to be turned out at once.

Officers of the Japanese-American Citizens League pledged their

loyalty to the United States.

On that Sunday the Surf Theatre was now showing the Bela Lugosi film

“Spooks Run Wild” and the Humphrey Bogart film classic “The Maltese

Falcon.”

The Huntington Beach Pier was closed and members of the Coast Line

Battalion of the Sixth Regiment and the California State Guard were

mobilized into action to guard our city.

Police Chief Don Blossom ordered that sawed-off shotguns be placed in

all police cars.

The Huntington Beach City Council gave full emergency powers to Police

Commissioner Leland Chamness.

Chamness then called all city lifeguards into service.

Private guards at our major oil refineries were deputized and armed

with shotguns, rifles and handguns.

A special call was issued by Harlen Reid for 100 volunteers for Air

Patrol observers.

But not all was so sullen in Huntington Beach, E.J. Russell and Tom

Wyllie won trophies in the Orange County Golf Championships held at

Meadowlark Country Club.

Phelps Jewelry had a window display of world-famous diamonds--

synthetic, of course -- at its store at 111 Main.

On Dec. 2, PFC. Charles Derigo married Joyce

Martin and on Sunday Dec. 7 while out hunting quail nearHuntington

Beach, shot himself in the foot and was taken to a military hospital near

Santa Barbara. Some honeymoon!

Huntington Beach residents Ila Franklin and Paul Wilson were married.

Hope he didn’t shoot himself in the foot.

Next week we’ll continue our look at how Huntington Beach reacted to

the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

* 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.