Six decades later

NEWPORT BEACH — Roy Ward can still remember the day at Newport Harbor High School when he heard that Nazi Germany had surrendered.

He and his classmates were busy rehearsing a play when a teacher stepped in to deliver the news, and Ward, busy with studies, didn’t think much of it at the time.

“They just said, ‘The war’s over in Europe,’” he said at the class of 1947’s 60th reunion Saturday at the Newport Sea Base. “People said, ‘Yay,’ and then we went on practicing. I think we were very blasé about that war.”

Six decades later, Ward and his classmates have come to realize how momentous that day was — and how much life and high school have changed since. There were plenty of reflections to go around at the 60th reunion, where more than two dozen Newport Harbor alumni gathered at the sea base to have lunch and catch up with old friends.

So what was high school like in Newport Beach 60 years ago? The Daily Pilot asked a number of members of the class of 1947 to share their recollections:

 DRESS CODE

“There was a dress code for the girls. They had to wear dark blue or black skirts with a white dickey blouse or a sweater. The boys wore whatever they wanted to, usually a T-shirt and Levis.”

Joe Jackson

78, Costa Mesa

 CAFETERIA FOOD

“I think lunch was 35 cents. It was a lot of starch — potatoes, a lot of macaroni and cheese. Everything was rationed, so people had to go out and fight for the good produce.”

Roy Ward

78, Newport Beach

 THE HOME FRONT

“We were more concerned about the Pacific war. It seemed more close to us. When a Japanese submarine washed up on the shore at Newport Beach, it caught everybody’s attention.”

Walter Spicer

77, Napa

“Back in the ’40s, it seems there was more overall patriotism. Everyone seemed headed in the same direction. Maybe there was more that we didn’t see on the surface.”

Bob Robins

78, Newport Beach

 ENTERTAINMENT

“The Lido was brand new back then. There was a theater in Santa Ana, but no one had the gas to go up there.”

Sally Towle Boyd

78, Santa Ana

“Sports were our main entertainment, I think, and house parties. We had a lot of dances. Some of the local yacht clubs would lend us places to have our dances.”

VIrginia Crane Easton

78, Newport Beach

 SMALL-TOWN FEEL

“You grew up in the area looking forward to going to Newport Harbor High School. It was the only high school in that area.”

Robins

  THE SHOCK OF THE NEW

“‘Gone with the Wind’ came out in 1939. My mother almost didn’t let me see it because it had ‘damn’ in it.”

Boyd

1947 IN REVIEW

U.S. President: Harry Truman

Oscar winner for Best Picture: “Gentleman’s Agreement”

Top Billboard hit songs: “Heartaches” by Ted Weems, “Near You” by Francis Craig

Major plays opening: “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller

World Series champion: New York Yankees

Major news stories: United States adopts Truman Doctrine to halt the spread of Communism and Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe; Jackie Robinson becomes first black player in Major League Baseball; mysterious Roswell case prompts UFO speculation; India wins independence from British Empire

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].