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Was it the perfect place to grow up? I can’t compare Manhattan Beach to many other places and so I have to say yes. It was a distant suburb of Los Angeles. The majority of the residents were middle class, working at the aircraft plants located north of the city. As far as I knew, there was only one family in town that had the wealth to be able to afford a swimming pool.
And why would you need a swimming pool? We had the Pacific Ocean and it was only a mile away. We had the freedom to come and go almost at will. We did have to tell mom where we were going and when we would be back. And we got in trouble if we didn’t remember to do it. You were expected to be home for dinner; naturally. At the age of eight, I walked all over the town and sometimes as far as the next town, Hermosa Beach. There were sand dunes everywhere, not just at the beach itself, so we could play any time and almost anywhere. And we were barefooted almost all of the time. Shoes were something you wore to school and shopping, otherwise they stayed in the closet.
If there was any crime, we were unaware of it. Manhattan had 3 policemen, with one on a motorcycle, which he would take home at night. The fire department was all-volunteer. There was one factory in town; Metlox (Poppy Trail) pottery and once a week the train would make its way down the rusty tracks to the factory. The only traffic signals were located on Sepulveda Boulevard, the main north/south artery and we were told to always cross at the signal!
And why would you need a swimming pool? We had the Pacific Ocean and it was only a mile away. We had the freedom to come and go almost at will. We did have to tell mom where we were going and when we would be back. And we got in trouble if we didn’t remember to do it. You were expected to be home for dinner; naturally. At the age of eight, I walked all over the town and sometimes as far as the next town, Hermosa Beach. There were sand dunes everywhere, not just at the beach itself, so we could play any time and almost anywhere. And we were barefooted almost all of the time. Shoes were something you wore to school and shopping, otherwise they stayed in the closet.
If there was any crime, we were unaware of it. Manhattan had 3 policemen, with one on a motorcycle, which he would take home at night. The fire department was all-volunteer. There was one factory in town; Metlox (Poppy Trail) pottery and once a week the train would make its way down the rusty tracks to the factory. The only traffic signals were located on Sepulveda Boulevard, the main north/south artery and we were told to always cross at the signal!
posted by Steven | 6:27 AM
2 Comments:
Even in the late 50's early 60's there was no crime to speak of, or we did not know about it. We would walk home from the La Mar theater downtown, day or night with no fear. Walking or taking the bus to neighboring cities was very commonplace. Thinking back on it, it did seem idealic. Kids today miss out on so much freedom to explore and enjoy their neighborhood, city or community. There is so much fear involved in child rearing and I am not sure it is warranted by the facts.
You are right. The facts don't support fear. There have been several studies on this, but they don't get much attention. Who wants to read that we're really quite safe?
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