1964

The fender bender is the reason the photo was made but what makes it interesting to day is how the background has changed.
Judging from the location of the Fremont, Cerro San Luis and old courthouse buildings this is the corner of Higuera and Santa Rosa Streets. This block has changed with the addition of the county government center and courthouse addition as well as a bank. Much of the upper downtown in the mid 20th century was based on the car economy. Car dealerships, radiator shops and gas stations made up a high percentage of the businesses here. Sandy Leguina & Sons had the Armstrong tire dealership and tune up shop; Chevron was just up Santa Rosa. The VW bug to the left is a classic with the small rear window and it looks like another old classic is parked under the trim shop sign.
Start the New Year off right and drive safe.

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Mrs. Alfred Schmitz and daughter Sally Ann reaped prizes galore when the infant, born 12:23 a.m. Jan. 1 at the Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital, became the first baby of the new year in San Luis Obispo County.
January 1, 1965
Sally Ann Schmitz of Paso Robles was born a celebrity being the first 1965 arrival in the county; she arrived as the third daughter at seven pounds, six ounces.

The first baby story is a classic slow news day story but kind of a drag for the last baby of the year. They never get special attention. There were more phone calls to make in 1965 to find the first baby, north county hospitals have consolidated to the facility at Twin Cities in Templeton.

If you are out there Sally Ann, Happy Birthday!

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From the left: Louis C. Drapeau, former district court of appeals judge, Thomas P. White, associate justice of the state supreme court and retired county superior court judge Ray B. Lyon.

January 5, 1963

The occasion was a Rotary Club retirement tribute to judge Ray B. Lyon. Lost to time are the names of the other two men in the photo, perhaps a court historian can help with a comment.
Fellow superior court judges Timothy O’Reilly and Richard Harris were among the many who attended as well.
Lyon was lauded for his shouldering a heavy caseload and the few appeals and fewer reversals of his decisions.

“I did not know retirement could bring such regards in the outpouring of friendship,” Judge Lyon, obviously moved, said at the conclusion of the tributes.
“When the heart speaks, no words can express my feelings.”

The only place in town with a large restaurant for a gathering was the Madonna Inn.
The older generation still wore hats but John F. Kennedy would usher in a new hatless style in this era.

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ALL WRAPPED UP… John Somogyi gift wrapped himself for San Luis Obispo Christmas parade.

December 14, 1964

Photographers go to a lot of parades. I mean we photograph a LOT of parades.
The late-lamented Mardi Gras, a great parade.
Epic.
It had creativity, color, energy and the understanding that if you have a parade at night, street lamps are not enough, put up some lights, a lot of lights.
The San Luis Obispo Christmas parade?
Yawn.
I’m sorry if this makes you mad, but someone has to speak up. San Luis Obispo, I am worried about you, I only bring this up because I care. Look, the other parades have been talking and you need to know. It is time for an intervention.
A chain of fuming diesel trucks dragging flatbed trailers, a few hay bales and an distorted boom box churning out the same three Christmas tunes at ear bleeding volume is not a parade.
I’m not against vehicles in parades. The Shriners are great at Pinedorado; the antique farm equipment is my favorite part of Pioneer Day. It doesn’t have to be the Rose Float but put a little thought into the lighting.
We know this town has a deeper wellspring of creativity, we’ve seen it, why it only flows before Lent and not Christmas is a mystery.
Now let’s turn the clock back.
No wonder we have an obesity problem today, back in the 1960’s kids used their legs and walked in the parade, and it was in the daylight. It looks like the same route down Monterey Street. This is when the city was the hot shopping center for the county. Montgomery Wards and J.C. Penny’s were there to supply shoppers, as well as Sears, Woolworth’s and Riley’s all within a few blocks.
Which reminds me, I’ve gotta finish my Christmas shopping, happy holidays to everyone.

Photos by Jim Vestal

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December 7, 1964
It is a posture every student is familiar with, in a posture worthy of a Rodin sculpture Lawrence Leckland ponders his history 304 final exam. According to the caption there were about 5,000 students taking finals at Cal Poly that year.

In other news the murder trial of William Jefferson Ford dominated the front page. Motel owners were upset at a proposed bed tax but the county needed to find funding and my guess is that it became a part of the landscape in 1965. The San Luis Obispo Junior College was still searching for a site, it wouldn’t be called Cuesta for another year.

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December 19, 1964
I can’t add anything to it…here is the original text.

It was a ticklish moment for 2 ½ year-old Timmy Eskridge.
A big fat fellow with a long white beard wanted a kiss.
Timmy looked at his mother, Mrs. Phil Eskridge, Edna Road, San Luis Obispo. She smiled encouragement.
Mamma’s approval was enough for Timmy.
He hopped on Santa’s knee. With an audience of parents and children on the big motorized sleigh provided by San Luis Obispo merchants, Timmy got a bit shy. He looked at Santa. He moved in for the kiss. He smiled. He giggled. He drew back.
Another smile and a final decision: Timmy made the decisive move to kiss his Christmas time idol.
He got as far as the big white beard.
It was a ticklish moment for Timmy Eskridge.

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December 13, 1964

Working for a paper in a place that still has a sense of community allows the staff to cover local stories that big papers ignore. Some people complain any time the front page has something that is not death or destruction related but there is plenty of heavy news on this page. I count 14 headlines crowded in, ranging from the trivial to major. The lead story is as serious as it gets, covering the re-trial of William J. Ford, charged with the murder of deputy sheriff Harvey Stahl.

The page has a cramped look; my guess is the typesetters had several short two-paragraph stories they could insert as briefs if a larger story ran short. Today page designers can see the type flowed onto the page and can watch it re-flow as they make adjustments. No early 1960’s page would be complete without the obligatory photo with the dotted line. It was the next best thing to instant replay. On a page laden with politics and mayhem the story about the high school formal seems to me to be a welcome breath of real life. The original caption follows, Martha Stewart, take notes.

Wendi Montgomery started her day Friday in sweat shirt, capris and tennis shoes as she helped decorate the Veterans’ Memorial Hall for the annual San Luis Obispo High School Christmas Formal. Then it was back to the dance floor that night, but what a change. Now it was formal, gloves and kicked-off shoes. Her escort is David Lawless. (Telegram-Tribune photo)

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December 5, 1964
Not all change is good. One of the first posts in this blog was the from the 1963 Paso Robles Christmas parade. Santa rode a wheeled sleigh pulled by a horse on 12th street. Yeah, its not reindeer but the visual symbols are close enough so that if you squint you can imagine everything is right. A year later Santa arrived in a helicopter, which deposited him near the intersection of 13th and Spring Streets. That is visually all wrong. Not even an elf piloting the chopper, and no I won’t settle for a nice Christmas sweater. Other than St. Nick it looked like a parade any other time of the year.
The Pontiac GTO ad would not get past a focus group today. A skinned, eyeless tiger on the hood of the sedan promises wild times ahead in a Wide-Track Pontiac. That ringing you hear, its PETA is calling on line 2.

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February 3, 1966
Girls at San Luis Junior High wanted to wear granny dresses to school but the school officials thought that would be unfair to the boys, so Crazy Dress Up Day was born.
Today a kid would be suspended for bringing a gun, toy or otherwise, to school. Back then if someone was going to “Bust a cap” they were talking about cap guns. Having a cap gun was essential for cowboy wannabees in the 1960’s. Fire them and you smelled like danger. It didn’t matter that the barrel never snapped together right, or that the roll of caps always jammed after the third shot.

Janis Howard embodied the forces of good dressed as Matt Dillon.
Debbie Santana was a little girl, James Zevely was a doctor and Rosalind Dewlaney was a bum. Homelessness was more amusing in the 1960’s. Photos were by Jim Vestal.

It looks like seven high schools had a student correspondant contributing stories for the page. On the next page the County Office of Education was unveiling plans for a new facility at Dairy Creek, then a part of Camp San Luis.

The Brown’s Music Store top 20 list is an ad at the bottom of the page. The Beatles, Beach Boys, Motown, Mamas and the Papas and Broadway were all represented; some more than once. You can still hear many of the tunes on classic rock radio. Yeah, Zorba’s my ringtone.

1.    These Boots are made for Walkin’
2.    My Love
3.    California Dreamin’
4.    Day Tripper/We Can Work it Out
5.    Cryin’ Time
6.    I Fought The Law
7.    My World is Empty Without You
8.    What New My Love
9.    Uptight
10.    Lightning Strikes
11.    Michelle
12.    In My Room
13.    Georgianne
14.    Night Time
15.    Theme From Zorba the Greek
16.    No Matter What Shape
17.    Brown Paper Sack
18.    Five O’clock World
19.    You Baby
20.    Batman Theme

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February 8, 1966
Every Saturday for two years 15-25 workers, 75 percent volunteers, built new San Luis Obispo Church of Nazarene facility on Johnson Ave. Rev. George O. Cargill set to deliver the first sermon February 13, 1966. The crew included several professional builders as well as 82-year-old Thorwald Hatlin. The church had outgrown the former location at 652 Santa Rosa. The estimated value of the new facility was $300,000 and it took over two years to build. The building featured laminated arch construction, wall-to-wall red carpeting, fixtures of marbleized stone and air conditioning. The last sermon delivered in the old facility was titled “Hitherto Hath the Lord Helped Us.”

A posting on the Tribune’s website says the church will celebrate its 80th Anniversary Sunday April 19, 2009.

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