GOOD OLD DAYS:

Joni Mitchell’s famous lyrics asked, “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?”

It isn’t really gone, but with the Balboa Island Ferry closed for repairs to its 50-year-old wooden pedestrian and auto ramps this week, people were without a form of transportation that’s been around since 1920.

Real estate developer Joseph A. Beek won the city contract to operate the Balboa to Balboa Island ferry in 1919, and by 1920 the first car was pushed across the bay for 10 cents. Evan Jones, a local carpenter turned shipbuilder, built the three boats that are still in operation today.

Seymour Beek, who took over as president of the company in 1968, said things are pretty much the same as they were when his dad was in charge.

“We still have the same three boats, ‘The Admiral,’ ‘The Captain’ and ‘The Commodore,’ that were built in the ’50s. The boats are the same size, and the actual ferry service really hasn’t changed much,” Beek said.

Carolyn Carr, a 20-year Balboa Island resident, said people line up on Agate Street all summer to board the ferry.

“The ferry is a ride, not just a mode of transportation. Sometimes they wait in line 40 minutes just to ride the ferry ’cause it’s a fun thing,” Carr said.

Beek would agree, citing survey data saying about half the people riding the ferry say they are doing it for the experience.

“You get a great view of the bay, you can look at a lot of different boats ... the layout of the harbor,” Beek said.

For years, the ferry has taken local kids from the Island to the peninsula, but for many that experience turns into a great part-time summer job.

Casey Jones started as a deckhand in the ’80s. His grandfather, Evan Jones, was the shipbuilder, and he said the day he turned 16, he was welcomed aboard.

At 19, Casey got his captain’s license, worked on and off for the ferry company over the years, and in 2005 accepted the position of operations manager.

Casey said growing up in the area, knowing the contributions his grandfather made, and continuing the relationship between the Beeks and the Joneses is something he feels internally as well as externally.

“There’s a legacy here, a line of generations and history with a lot of significant and meaningful memories for me,” Casey said.

Some of those memories included what Casey referred to as his “Flashback ’80s Guide,” a look at what it was like grow up as a teenager on Balboa Island.

“Call your date from a land line. Don’t be late, because you can’t cheat [and call] with a cellphone. Unfold your shirt collar in an upward direction, splash on your Polo cologne, and during the commute get pumped on your favorite mix of ’80s music.

“Invite her to the Crab Cooker for a high-quality meal, walk along the beach near the Balboa Pier, then ride across the channel on the ferry, and end up at the Big Newport Theater,” Casey said.

Here’s the clincher:

“Today, the only thing that will have changed about my guide is that dinner, romance, sightseeing, a boat ride and entertainment for two will no longer be under $20.”

Sometimes, you definitely know what you had once it’s gone.

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.