A Look Back

Jerry Person

Since our earliest days as a town, the position of town constable was

an important and sometimes thankless job.

The post began in 1904 with the appointment of five constables who

rode their bicycles on our dusty streets keeping the peace.

This week we are going to look at the men who ran for that important

position in the June 6, 1950 primary election.

Our first hopeful for the office of constable of Huntington Beach

Township was Clyde Loman Benge.

Benge was born on March 10, 1919 and he married Elizabeth Rohrig, a

native of Talbert, now Fountain Valley, who was born on a hot August day

in 1923.

Benge and his bride lived in Huntington Beach most of their lives with

their five children.

During World War II, Benge was an instructor of arms and ammunition

handling at the U.S. Navel Ordnance School and he was stationed in Boston

as a shore patrol officer.

In 1947 he worked as a salesman for the Swift Co. before going to work

in 1952 for the Atlantic Richfield Oil Co.

The Benge’s also ran the Villa Heights market in town at 505

Yorktown Road. in the ‘50s.

They lived at 620 9th St., but for a long time prior lived at 2502

Delaware Ave. in a house her brother Frank Rohrig moved from the

Wintersburg area.

The city recently demolished the house to widen Yorktown Road.

Our next hopeful was Charles A. Derigo.

Derigo was born right here in Huntington Beach in 1917 and was a

graduate of Huntington Beach High School.

He married Joyce Martin on Dec. 2, 1941 and he, his wife and son Vance

lived at 623 Main St., then later at 222 3rd St.

For several years in the late 1940s he operated a concession at the

Pav-a-lon by the pier.

Our third hopeful for the office was Frank W. “Red” Green and he was

born on Feb. 23, 1913 in Chattanooga, TN.

Green traveled the eastern part of the United States as a

representative for the Chicago National Press, and during his years in

Huntington Beach worked with Andy Claude in his new agency at 222 Main

St.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church here and during World War

II served in Army Intelligence.

Robert Hosmer was our fourth hopeful and he was born in Kearney,

Nebraska.

When Hosmer was five years old his family moved to Colorado. Hosmer

received his formal education in Colorado before coming to Huntington

Beach in 1915.

He had a fruit and vegetable stand in Bray’s Food Center, 218 Main St.

and later operated Hosmer Bros. Texaco Service at 520 Pacific Coast

Highway.

Our next candidate ran our local malt shop on Main Street.

Allyn F. “Pop” Perkins was born in Burlington, Wis., and like Hosmer,

moved to Colorado to spend his early years.

He attended the University of Minnesota before coming to California.

Perkins came to Huntington Beach in 1938 and opened Perkins’ Malt Shop

in 1943.

He later went into the real estate business with Sam Clapp and Ila

Dabney.

Our sixth hopeful was Virgil S. Wilson who was born in Somerset, KY.,

but grew up in Nebraska.

He worked for the American Smelting Co. in Omaha and in 1922 became a

deputy state inspector for insurance in Los Angeles.

He operated the V. S. Wilson East Side Patrol & Detective Agency in

East Los Angeles.

He and his wife Mary lived at 501 6th St.

Our last candidate was Kenneth Wyman who lived in Westminster.

When the ballots were counted Derigo received 1117 votes, Benge 531,

Wilson 496, Perkins 464, Green 377, Wyman 339 and Hosmer 320.

Derigo and Benge faced each other on the Nov. 8 ballot and when those

final returns were official, Charles Derigo won the office of constable

with 2399 votes to Benge’s 1839 votes.

But he almost lost out to a write-in candidate, W.H. “Bill” Jones who

received 1061 votes.

And by the way, on that same ballot was a proposition to allow

gambling.

Huntington Beach voters turned down that measure three to one.

I guess I won’t be running a gambling casino on Main Street for

awhile.

* 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.