GOOD OLD DAYS:Los Angeles High Class of ’47 reunites, remembers

The sprawling, fast-paced metropolis that is Los Angeles today is not the same city Barbara Parks Power and Connie Hurt Peterson remember and grew up in.

The two women, friends since their grammar school days, attended Los Angeles High School and were part of a group of about 75 alumni who gathered for the Class of 1947’s 60th reunion at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club Wednesday.

Power said Los Angeles was “wonderful in the old days,” with drive-up diners where waitresses brought Cokes out on a tray to your car, kids took streetcars and buses to get around town, and Saturdays were movie days.

Dick Bank, who emceed, also remembers a simpler life and a very close-knit community atmosphere in his hometown.

Bank was born in Los Angeles, and said he and his classmates were kids who grew up during the Depression, and while they might not have had a lot in terms of material possessions, “everybody seemed to get along all right,” and people stayed in one place for much longer than they do in neighborhoods these days.

“People didn’t lock their front doors, there was a lot of camaraderie in the neighborhood, and kids played games like tag and hide-and-go-seek in the streets.”

It was a time of radio and movies — there was no television when he was growing up — and Bank doesn’t think he missed out on anything.

“We loved radio — the drama that radio presented — you’d listen to these programs, and so much of it was in your own imagination.”

Growing up in Los Angeles, many of the students came down to Balboa over Easter vacation, now more popularly known as spring break.

Balboa was the hot spot back then — there was no Newport Beach at the time.

Diane Doughty and Dick Whittemore, both Class of ‘47, started dating in the 10th grade and were married in 1951.

They double dated with Dick and Adele Currey, who married in 1952.

Long-term marriages, longtime friends for these alumni.

Los Angeles High School offered a winter and summer graduation in 1947 — based on when a student’s birthday fell — and most graduates went on to college.

Power recalls even girls were expected to continue on to college.

“We were really smart kids, and it was easier then,” she said.

Everyone agreed theirs was one of the calmest classes.

“The worst thing anybody did was smoke — in the park behind the library,” Power said.

“One guy drank a little, but he was the only one, and there was no drugs, at least that I knew of,” said Dick Whittemore.

A fully restored 1947 Chrysler Town and Country convertible, parked outside the entrance to the Yacht Club the day of the reunion was another reminder of how the past can be preserved, appreciated and enjoyed — in the here and now.

Bank said that as the years pass, it’s harder for people — even the ones who live in the area — to attend the reunions due to health restrictions.

“I’m thankful that I’m still here, I’m thankful that I still have my gray matter. I’m able to get around without any difficulty, and that’s a blessing when you get to this stage in life,” he said.”It’s like an automobile — eventually the parts wear out.”