The Summer of Fifty Years Past

Lou's Drive-In -- Does that really say 19 cents?

As we count down to our 50th reunion and enjoy this beautiful Puget Sound summer, I've been trying to remember how I spent our last school vacation in 1963. I didn't keep a journal and I can't recall but I likely hung out at home talking with friends for hours on our one phone (black, with a dial and a long extension cord for privacy) and with my transistor radio on at all times so I wouldn't miss any of the latest tunes on KJR.  I wasn't too old to listen for the sound of the ice cream truck as it rolled through the neighborhood, albeit mostly to talk with the cute guy who drove the truck rather than for the ice cream. I was into suntanning then with a popular mixture at the time of Johnson Baby Oil and Iodine--no wonder I fried rather than tanned! And that was the year my parents bought a camper-trailer and took us to the ocean for our "last" family vacation before graduation when the family dynamic would change. Other than that, I draw a blank--so my summer must have been pretty routine.

There may have been trips to Green River Gorge, Saltwater Park, or Angle Lake.  Surely there were movies at Lewis & Clark Theater or the Duwamish Drive-In. And I seem to remember a place that had outdoor trampolines, and another new local business, at the time, with archery lanes.  And bowling at Lewis & Clark Lanes.  And burgers at Lou's or A&W or that new burger chain--McDonald's--on Highway 99.  There must have been a few dinners out with family at Wah Kue's, The Flower Drum or Roy's Chuckwagon, or, a breakfast out at Mr. B's or a pancake house in Burien called something generic like The Pancake House? Wish I could recall.

I'm sure, like everyone else, I shopped for school clothes and supplies getting ready for our senior year.  We sometimes took the bus into downtown Seattle (whoever heard of a mall?) and shopped at McDougall's, Penney's, and a new store I loved-- Jay Jacobs.  It was a grown-up treat to eat a club house sandwich in the Tea Room at The Bon Marche.  I may have bought Pee Chees, notebook paper, and pens at Newberry's.  We would stop at Sears on the way home where the smell of popcorn drew us to the main floor candy counter without fail.  One thing never changed, senior or not:  I'm sure we modeled our new school clothes for the family when we got home. (Was that weird or did other families do that too?)

One memory denied was the Friday night dances at the Spanish Castle, off limits to me.  I heard "everyone" (or so it seemed) talk about the fun and the great bands at "The Castle".   I also heard about the "rumbles" in the parking lot and I guess my parents heard about them too! 

 I'm sure other classmates' summers were a lot more fun than mine but maybe I've stirred some summer memories to bring Glacier days to the fore.  While I'm short on the details I guess my memory serves better than I thought, coming up with the names of some of the places in the "hood" that we all knew.

I do remember being excited about starting our senior year, the last chapter of public school and moving on into life.  I know we all shared in that excitement, as cool as some of the class were or tried to be.

Looking back through the time warp and knowing what we now know, it would be our last summer of innocence before the events that awaited our nation as the school year began to unfold. For us, it was the beginning of the end of school and our days at Glacier as we finished the summer of '63.

The Spanish Castle, some time in the 1960s
http://pnwbands.com/spanishcastle.html

FIFTY YEARS PAST BLAST:  HEADLINES -- JULY/AUGUST 1963
Like a time capsule from fifty years ago, here’s a blast from our past.  We were enjoying our last summer as high school "kids" and ready to begin our senior year.  The news of the day may not have caught our attention much at the time.  Here's a glimpse of what was going on way back when...

News Headlines

• U. S. "Zone Improvement Plan" or ZIP codes initiated

• A limited nuclear test ban treaty prohibiting testing in the atmosphere, in space and underwater is initialed in Moscow by the UK, USA and USSR.  (later signed by JFK October 7)

• James Meredith becomes the first African-American graduate of the University of Mississippi.  

• In South Vietnam, President Ngo Dinh Diem responds to the protests of the nation's Buddhist monks by jailing their leaders.

• The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech before a crowd of over 200,000 gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963
Lincoln Memorial - Washington, D.C.

Movies you might have seen:

• The Great Escape
• Beach Party
• Gidget Goes to Rome
• Promises! Promises!
• Flipper

Books on NY Times Best Seller List:

• Elizabeth Appleton by John O'Hara
• City of Night by John Rechy

TV Shows you might have watched, turning it on, adjusting the volume and changing the channel with no remote:

• Combat
• The Avengers
• The Mike Douglas Show
• ABC's Wide World of Sports
• The Saint

Music you would have heard: (click on the title for the link; click the link  to listen)

• "Easier Said Than Done", The Essex

• "Surf City", Jan & Dean

• "So Much in Love", The Tymes

• "Fingertips Pt. 2", Little Stevie Wonder

Around Glacier:

"The Avalanche" was not published in summer so we're relying on memory again!  By August the football team was likely turning out for practice and the teachers, administrators, and custodians were getting the classrooms and campus ready for classes.  We mighty seniors were winding down our summer and ready to let another year begin!  Classes would begin September 4, 1963.  Our last year at Glacier -- seniors at last!

That's the blast from 50 years past for this time.  Hope you're enjoying Summer 2013! Subscribe to this blog at the top right and be informed of each posting.  Go Grizzlies!