1920s 1930s

Crawford's Airport in Seal Beach, California

1920s-1930s

My grandfather, CW Hitchcock, learned to fly at Crawford's Airport, in Seal Beach, California, 1927.  What he learned on was a "wooden blank suspended between two ropes, which had a 'joy stick and stirrups". Once he got good on that (good? LOL) he was told he could try out the "plane" which was nothing more than a glider with a motorcycle engine on it.

He was told to ride it down to the end of the runway and then return. Do that a few times then take off. Grandpa rode down the runway once, turned back then took off. He flew around the airport a few times, with his teacher screeching at him from below "GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE."

I have photos of that glider, which I will find and post.  He learned how to fly that thing all over Seal Beach (which wasn't more than 12 blocks wide and 8 blocks deep), and he loved to take mother (who was 7 at the time strapped to his lap for safety. Oh, and the seat was on top of the glider, open air cockpit, with just a seat belt holding both of them strapped to the fuselage.  My mother loved it.

Grandpa Hitchcock's log 1930s

There was an Inn by the airport called Glider's Inn, which the pilots used to frequent; as well as the entire town. They had a log book there for people to sign in if they were pilots. My grandfather's name was in all three of their log books including people like Amelia Earhart, Wrong Way Corrigan, (see story here http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1070.htm), Anne and Charles Lindbergh, women pilots, everyone ended up at sometime eating at The Glider's Inn. The Inn is still there but it has since changed hands in the 2000's and is called something different.

Early Long Beach was a mecca for pioneer aviators, and grandpa wanted in on the pack.  At one time, before Long Beach's beaches were ruined with the sea wall, pilots would land on the wide hard-packed sand.  Grandpa told me that Charles Lindbergh did that once, perhaps all of them did.

Here is an excerpt out of Wikipedia of Amerlia Earhart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart:

 "In Long Beach, on December 28, 1920, Earhart and her father visited an airfield where Frank Hawks (who later gained fame as an air racer) gave her a ride that would forever change Earhart's life. "By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground," she said, "I knew I had to fly."^[37] After that 10-minute flight (that cost her father $10), she immediately became determined to learn to fly. Working at a variety of jobs, including photographer, truck driver, and stenographer at the local telephone company, she managed to save $1,000 for flying lessons. Earhart had her first lessons, beginning on January 3, 1921, at Kinner Field* near Long Beach, but to reach the airfield Earhart took a bus to the end of the line, then walked four miles (6 km). Earhart's mother also provided part of the $1,000 "stake" against her "better judgement."^[38] Her teacher was Anita "Neta" Snook, a pioneer female aviator who used a surplus Curtiss JN-4 "Canuck" for training. Earhart arrived with her father and a singular request, "I want to fly. Will you teach me?"

Ms. Earhart was the first woman pilot who flew solo over the Atlantic Ocean.  She was also the first woman to have a pilot's license.  However, I know that Anne Lindbergh flew her plane, but not sure when she got her license.* (note to self to post this).

Here is an excerpt out of Wikipedia about Anne Morrow Lindbergh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Morrow_Lindbergh):

Anne Morrow and Charles Lindbergh were married in a private ceremony on May 27, 1929 at the home of her parents in Englewood, New Jersey.^[11]

That year, Anne flew solo for the first time, and in 1930 became the first American woman to earn a first class glider pilot's license. In the 1930s, Anne and Charles together explored and charted air routes between continents.^[12] The Lindberghs were the first to fly from Africa to South America, and explored polar air routes from North America to Asia and Europe.^[13]

*Grandpa and friends flew out of Kinner Field many times. He actually ran out of gas and had to make an emergency landing on field near where we live (where Bixby Knolls is now developed). Old man Bixby ran out of his farm house and yelled at grandpas to get that ***damn contraption off of his field.

Eula Belle Hunt Hitchcock

Photo of grandmother

aged 16

Grandmom hated flying, but would fly with grandpa if he took her to visit her sister and mother in Houston, Texas, where they were living at the time.  Grandpa's idea of navigation to Texas, was during the day, via following the roads; by the seat of your pants flying.

Eula Belle and CW

aged 16 and 18

born 1904 and 1997

Dorothy, age 5 and Eula Belle

Houston, Texas

Mother, aged 5, and grandmother at the beach in Houston, Texas.

CW, 1942, 1st Lt. Pilot

WWII

Dorothy

Aged 17, WWII

Patty, aged about 2 or 3

Dorothy, aged 25

John Rudd, adopted dad, born 1918
and
Dorothy, mom, born 1920

Diane Jeannette Rudd

Sister, born 1960 

aged 15

 Strider aged 3
Pat aged 29

I didn't get to any of the planes Grandpa CW owned, but will do that tomorrow.

1940s-1950s

I was born in July 1945, in Long Beach, just after World War II.

Both my adopted dad and my grandfather had served. Grandpa was a pilot based in Texas, and Dad was a pilot but he was a photographer aboard military planes going over Germany.

I don't remember a lot about the after affects of war in those days, my dad and grandfather didn't talk  much about it, if at all.

My mom loved to have fun, she and dad who grew up next door to each other in Naples, California, used to take me body surfing in Seal Beach. I loved to watch them have fun.  My uncle had a sailboat and they would often sail together on that. Sometimes they sailed to Catalina but I don't remember ever going with them.

 Aerial view from Point Fermin, San Pedro to Long Beach.

One thing my mother adored was going on the rides at the Long Beach Pike. Especially the Cyclone racer.  Anything wild and crazy, my mother loved, just like her dad. I was more like grandma; leave me on the ground please.  

 Cyclone Racer 1947

 Cyclone Racer 1930s

This last photo of the racer is about 1930s.  You can see how wild it was, and part of it went over the water.  My girlfriends and I when we were abut 12 or 13 used to go to the pike all the time. Long Beach then was near a Naval Station so there were a lot of handsome sailors around we could look at.  Not flirt with at that age, just look.

 Cyclone Racer 1920s

Rabbit Ride

This is the ride I liked: the Rabbit ride.  And they had a Fun House and a Haunted House, and of course a Diving Bell (which took you under water), and Bumper Cars.

The Diving Bell

The Pike 1940s

Red Car

Another thing mom loved to do was go shopping in Long Beach; we were living in Seal Beach at the time (right next door to LB) and they had a train connecting the two cities.  It was called the Red Car, and it cost about 25c.  She and grandma and I would get to Long Beach and shop at Buffums or Sears.  Women wore hats in those days, which I kind of like now, and wished we'd go back to wearing hats.  Lot's of great hats made of felt, with feathers or jewelry.  Quite nice.

There was a great restaurant in Long Beach that made nothing but chicken pot pies, nothing else, and they were the most delicious pies ever.  Nothing fancy in that shop, the waitresses had hair nets, white caps, and white uniforms. The room was hot and steamy.Women wore hats in those days, which I kind of like now, and wished we'd go back to wearing hats.

Marie Calendar's started in Long Beach, and we always had a slice of strawberry or peach pie, depending on the season. Yummy!

Crest Theater 1947

Another thing my family did a lot was go to the movies. Every Friday night on payday. I went too because mom didn't believe in sitters.  I wish I could remember what movies we saw, but one thing I do remember was the glorious glamorous women with their cocktails and their cigarettes in long ebony holders.  I couldn't wait to grow up and do the same.

Dad drove a 1952 Studebaker then. Oh how I wish I had that car now!

Early Life

Early Life

I found this photo of  Long Beach of the 1930s of Belmont Shore and Alamitos Bay.  LB had glorious waves before the breakwater was constructed to keep the waves from wrecking ships going into the Los Angeles harbor.

There is no sand wall by the road either. When I was a kid, before the sand wall was put in, the winds would roar into the city off the sea, and cover the road and houses with tons of sand.  There were times the sand was so deep we couldn't drive on it.  The body of water above the houses is the Alamitos Bay. The Bay used to have sea lions sunning themselves there on a small island in the middle of the Bay, but when the bay was dredged out, to allow the larger boats access, the sea lions disappeared.

Sometimes progress isn't so wonderful.

I grew up here. I was born here. I learned to swim in the Naples Canals (above the Bay) where my aunt and uncle used to live.

My grandparents didn't live too far away from the Canals (1 small block). The tides would get so high they would escape over the canal walls and flood his garden. Grandpa didn't like that so he eventually bought a house on Belmont Heights (where I live now). It boasts being 500' above sea level.

Once when my mother was young, a sea lion ended up in her backyard after a high tide. They had to wait for high tide so the small sea lion could get back to the sea.

In the 1930s the Bay was filled with fish and clams.  Mom and grandpa would get in their boat and troll the Bay for Bay Clams, small clams that she told me were delicious when steamed in a pot cooking on the beach.  The clams have all disappeared due to the dredging, so I never got to try them.

This photo was taken in the 1890s. The Belmont Pier is now cement pilings, the wood pier collapsed and was repaired several times before the cement pier was built.  My grandparents moved to Long Beach in the 1930s.  Before that they lived in Seal Beach (1920-1933).

This photo was taken in 1920.  There aren't that many people going to the beach in 2012 because without the waves, the beach isn't as much fun. The breakwater was good for ships, but not for people.  The waves now rarely get beyond a foot and a half, except during severe winter storms.

This photo is 1905. My grandmother would have been 1 year old. My grandfather a grand old 8.  Grandmother lived in Houston, Texas until she married grandpa. Grandpa came from Bakersfield, California.