Southern California Heat--by Bryan F.
I grew up in the San Bernardino Valley that is situated just to the south of where I now live and on the other side of the majestic San Bernardino mountain range. It could get very hot in the valley as well back in the '60s when I was still a kid. I remember seeing the tall sign with the temperature display on the Santa Fe Federal Saving and Loan located on the 42nd block of Sierra Way, only a few blocks from where I lived on 50th Street hit highs of 115* F.
Walking Sierra Way to 40th Street mid-day in the summer could be grueling. We didn't have plastic water bottles to hydrate from Arrowhead Springs that was located on the mountain above where I lived. Arrowhead bottled water is owned by Nestle now and you should avoid it because of their unfair business practices and all plastic water bottles for the sake of our planet, but I digress. 40th Street was a business block where a kid could partake of an ice-cold Shasta soda out of the machine just inside the door of the Market Basket where my Mom got our food for the house. It was only a dime. The dime was usually acquired by collecting discarded soda bottles from here and there that you could turn in at most food and convenience stores for the deposit. They actually washed and refilled the pop bottles back in those days. The pop out of that machine was the coldest you could find. It came in flavors like Black Cherry and Chocolate Cola as well as plain old refreshing Cola.
You could actually get hot weather refreshments before you got to 40th St., the first and closest was on Sierra Way at about 47th St. It was called the Country Store and rightly so as this area was at one time very sparsely populated and considered the outskirts back in the 1940s. The truth is, it kind of was even when I lived there. These old neighborhood stores were located in suburban and rural residential areas so residents could run to the store for milk and bread or beer and cigarettes. Oh, and most would sell cigarettes to little kids with a note from Mom, that it was OK because they were for her.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Bernardino/4721-N-Sierra-Way-92404/home/3174321
This above link shows what's left of the Country Store. At least the building is still there.
The old lady that owned The Country Store hated kids, "Two kids at a time, "she'd yell, "and no stealing candy". So, I didn't usually go in there after I was older and felt comfortable walking to 40th St., ten blocks away. Sometimes we were barefooted and had to run from shady spot to shady spot. Sometimes that was only the shady side of a telephone pole which was non-existent at high noon. So you just built up the calluses because the chocolate bar donuts at Winchell's and those really tall "frosties", soft-serve cones at Tastee Freez were worth the suffering.
The days were hot, especially in August. Some places we lived didn't have a swamp cooler, air conditioners were rare in most homes unless you were very wealthy. My Grandma's house didn't have a cooler until about the mid-sixties. Even after she got one she still opened up the house after sundown to begin the cooldown. When my siblings and I were visiting, which was often we'd join her out on the front lawn. Sometimes we had watermelon and after that, we just sit on the grass and gaze at the stars. She usually had a lawn sprinkler nearby to cool the breeze before it reached us.
Shirley Bassey, Light My Fire
One problem was the mosquitos that were abundant in those hot summer nights. My Grandma had an old-school trick though. Being a farm girl she had kerosene out on the laundry porch that she used for stain removal. You heard that right, it worked. She would take some old rags and make a small torch and soak them in kerosene. I think she then let them age a bit and she'd light it and it would smolder creating smoke that the mosquitos didn't like. (Please don't try this, it's not a recommendation and may be very dangerous). She knew all the tricks. She told me once that when she lived in Missouri and it got unbearably hot she would hang wet sheets in the exterior doorways with the door open so the air blowing in would be cooled.
Terry Jacks, Seasons In The Sun
I've written about how my family would go camping once or twice during the summer. It was one of the things that made the season special. I can remember going to bed and sweating in some of the houses we lived in, but I also remember coming home from the drive-in movies when we lived on 50th St. and my Dad would leave the cooler on while we were gone. My bed was near the door in the bedroom I shared with my two brothers. The sheets would be ice cold when I got back home. It was heaven. The drive-in movie theater was fun but it got hot. We didn't have air in the car and you wouldn't run the motor if you did because those cars back then would overheat if you did. So you just rolled down the windows and waited for the evening to cool a bit.
Lesley Gore, California Nights, guest performance on Batman
When I got older I beat the heat by going to the beach on my own, without my family. I had a '65 Ford Econoline van and I'd take a sleeping bag and head to North County San Diego. San Elijo in Cardiff by the Sea and Carlsbad were two favorites and there were usually other kids from my high school there. I usually didn't have money for food after putting gas in the tank so a plate from a fellow camper was always appreciated. I was a long hair by then and the hippy culture still had some steam left in it. If I caught a ride with someone I'd usually sleep on the ground in my sleeping bag at someone's campsite. There was usually a beer or joint or two passed around the campfire.
These excursions got me out of the heat in the valley so I could lay on the beach and bake. There was no sunscreen back then. We used tanning oil for our skin and Sun-In or lemon juice to bleach our hair blond.
Fraternity of Man, Don't Bogart That Joint
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Down To The Stems And Seeds
Now that I'm older and less able to handle the heat I prefer autumn to summer. The cooler weather and turning of the trees are a comfort.
The Happening, See You In September
I've always loved autumn even when I was a kid. The beginning of school held new possibilities. New clothes, new teachers, and new friends to be made. All the cycles hold their beauty and necessity, but summer and fall are my favorites of the four.
Bob Dylan, Hurricane
Watch for my upcoming blog tribute to Bob Dylan.
I remember barefoot jumps to Tony’s Market for a creamsicle! I hadn’t thought of it in years. Thanks,
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