HAWTHORNE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PRESERVATION. COLLECTION. RESEARCH. INTERPRETATION.
Summer changes the whole picture. It alters every human activity to fit its contours: what we wear, what we eat, what we do, where we go. Summer arrives when the solstice wraps the risen sun around the Northern Hemisphere in the longest stretch of daylight – this year, on Wednesday, June 21st – an interval about four and a half hours longer than that blink of light we experienced back in December, a few days before Christmas. It’s not just humans that summer affects. Polar ice sheets crack. Plants reach skyward. Peak-top water falls toward the oceans. Everything born in spring rushes to maturity. The atmosphere caresses, then soothes, then bakes. The tempo of our lives changes and special moments are born. Will there be that one song this year that becomes the Theme Song of This Summer, like “A Summer Place,” “Summertime Blues,” “See You in September,” “The Flying Purple People Eater,” “The Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” “Let’s Twist Again,” “Miserlou,” “Under the Boardwalk,” “California Girls,” “Summer in the City,” “the Green Berets,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Dancing in the Street,” “Summer Breeze,” “Hot Stuff,” “Vacation,” “When Doves Cry,” “standing outside a broken phone boot with money in my hand,” “Someday,” “Despacito,” “Old Town Road” once were?
[I know you’ve got a lot more] We’re about to answer that question.
It’s time to start planning the Family Vacation. Dad put in for his two weeks off. There’s a lot of stuff to do to get ready. First, where will we go this year – camping in the mountains? water-skiing at the Salton Sea? visiting the relatives Back East? fishing at the lake? a rental at the beach? a National Park: Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Lassen – or further afield, Yellowstone? rockhounding in the desert? A long roadtrip with plenty of sightseeing? Everyone gets to nominate a destination (within reason). Everyone gets a vote.
Next, the family car needs a good look. Engine running OK? Oil change before leaving and top off fluids. Dad may take “ol’ Betsy” to our mechanic for a tuneup. Plenty of tread on the tires? A good spare? Brakes sturdy? Lights all operating? Windshield wipers and washer working well? (we might collide with a lot of bugs) A gas can? A flashlight with fresh batteries? Flares? A spare fan belt? A fill-up at the best-priced gas station around.
Then, the equipment for the trip. Dad rounds up maps of the states from the service stations. A travel guide from AAA. The luggage rack with the big suction cup feet for the car roof. Maybe a canvas Desert water bag hung over one of the front bumper guards. A window-mount evaporator car cooler? A little Allstate mono-wheel trailer or a tow trailer for the gear? Mom gathers on-the-road necessities for the family. Pillows and auto robes. A picnic water jug and paper cups. Comic books and games to occupy us kids. Snacks in a picnic basket. Towels. Changes of clothes and jackets. Suntan oil. A vial of Dramamine tablets. A water bowl and leash for the dog.
The school year is nearly over and won’t start again for three glorious months. Somewhere in that season are those two golden weeks, like a gift waiting to be unwrapped. For now, there’s plenty of time to play, to plan, to get ready, to get impatient, to take off and to enjoy.
There’s a time a for joy
A time for tears
A time we’ll treasure through the years
We’ll remember always
Graduation Day
Graduation day in the two Centinela Valley Union High School District schools (Hawthorne High and Leuzinger High), which serves the high school students of The City of Good Neighbors, is an event that students build up to for four years. Whether a student is headed for college or work, graduation day is the much anticipated event leading students in various directions. But, along with a feeling of pride, students are saying goodbye to the school and friends who have been the center of their universe during the past four years.
Leuzinger’s first graduation in 1933 looked quite differently than what current graduates will experience on that special day this year. Until the 1990’s, both Hawthorne and Leuzinger graduated at 7:30 PM and usually one or two Board Members would attend representing the Centinela Valley Union High School District. At Leuzinger, until 1974, graduates walked through arches elaborately decorated with fresh flowers. These creations were created my PTSA members and volunteers. Junior girls, dressed in formal gowns served as “archbearers” who would stand on each side of the arches. The archbearers were chosen by the senior class and it was a coveted honor for the twelve junior girls who gathered the most votes. In 1974 the flowered arches were replaced with potted plants due to a lack of parent and student volunteers willing to spend countless hours decorating the arches.
The original robe colors have remained the same since each school’s first exercises. Proud graduates still walk the stage while beaming family members cheer them on as they receive a diploma from an elected Board Member neither they nor their family members have ever heard of. In 1933, and for many years thereafter, there was no need to implement a ticket system in order to control crowd size. Beginning in the 1950’s, Leuzinger’s Olympian Field was hidden from the public during the ceremony by draping the fences with black tarps. Many students and parents were bemused at the need to keep the paparazzi away from Leuzinger’s graduation! Today, Centinela Valley graduations are held in the afternoon and much earlier in June than for previous generations. Although the sets are less elaborate and the graduating classes are larger, students and their parents beam with pride looking forward to a bright future.
GRAD NIGHT – THEN AND NOW
As the generation who brought us Leave It To Beaver in the 1950’s gave way to the less conforming decade of the 1960’s, parents and school officials felt a need to create an organized and supervised graduation celebration. The decade which introduced the Mod Squad and Charlie Manson created a youth culture more attracted to partying and street racing than poodle skirts and sock hops.
Parents, school officials and community members throughout the United States collaborated to create spectacular, all night celebrations that were alcohol and drug free while still providing graduates with a memorable experience. Grad Nights were organized to provide graduates with a spirit of togetherness in a safe environment. Whether these celebrations took place at an amusement park, bowling alley or hotel ballroom, planners and creators worked collectively to create a “once in a lifetime” event that was affordable and gave all students a party to attend on graduation night. By the middle of the decade, Grad Nights were an established tradition in most schools. Both Hawthorne and Leuzinger High Schools held the first organized Grad Night in June 1964 the same year Disney offered schools use of Disneyland all night with students leaving well after sunrise. Teachers and parents served as the chaperones required by Disneyland and both schools picked up the cost for bus transportation via ASB funds. Grad Night celebrations are still a tradition within the high schools of Hawthorne and Lawndale; albeit, they look quite differently than they did in 1964.
Grad Night Then:
From the first Grad Night until the early 1990’s graduates celebrated at Disneyland the night of graduation. Attendees had to adhere to a strict dress code and could only arrive by bus. Until the early 1970’s, boys were required to wear coats and ties while girls wore dresses. The strict dress code loosened a bit through the years; boys could wear dress pants and collared shirts while girls were allowed to wear pantsuits. Neither jeans, nor sneakers were allowed. Schools were required to provide one chaperone (teacher or parent) for every ten students attending. Each graduate could bring one guest. Buses would leave for the park shortly after commencement exercises ended and return students to school parking lots after the park closed at 6:00 a.m. As the tradition of Grad Night at Disneyland progressed through the years, the crowds grew tremendously, as did the ticket price. The first Grad Night tickets cost $7. The $7 ticket included unlimited access to all attractions and transportation. The early celebrations included performances by popular bands and recording artists; dance pavilions were erected to allow dancing throughout the park. By the 1970’s ticket cost increased to $9 per attendee and continued to increase approximately $2 per year.
Grad Night Now:
Both Hawthorne and Leuzinger High Schools experimented with alternatives to Disneyland beginning in the mid 1990’s. The reason for the changes was that Disneyland was often booked to capacity on nights with multiple graduating schools and the prices continued to rise making the event cost prohibitive for many students. In these transitional years, both schools tried changing the date to one before graduation. Students and chaperones were not keen on staying up all night on work/school days. Both schools also tried different locations such as Magic Mountain and Universal Studios and other event venues but none achieved the popularity of Disneyland. Grad night remains at Disneyland but it is held on a weekend before graduation. Students can enter either, or both, Disney parks at 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. and no longer arrive by bus. Although attending schools are still required to provide chaperones, they can be any adult over 25 years of age. The dress requirements have disappeared and graduates are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. Disneyland now hosts Grad Night for over 70 schools on any given day. Due to the increased crowd size, Grad Night is now a “senior only” event; no guests allowed. The 2013 graduating class paid $199 for a park hopper ticket and $129 for a one park ticket, not including transportation. Popular artists have been replaced by DJ’s and dance pavilions are gone as grads share the parks with other guests. Although the cost of the event has skyrocketed through the years, graduates from local Mira Cost High School pay $235 for a private party at an undisclosed location. Although the event itself, the rules and the price have changed dramatically throughout the years, students are still offered a fun filled and safe celebration to share with their classmates before moving on to various pursuits – one they will remember for years to come.
If you pine to see your fellow classmates and reminisce about your graduation, here is a list of all upcoming reunions:
Hawthorne Class of 1973 July 22, 2023 Hawthorne high School
All class/all school reunion Aug 12, 2023 Hawthorne Historical Society
Leuzinger Class of 1966 Aug 16, 2023 Pt. Vicente Interpretive Center
Leuzinger Class of 1973 Sept 16, 2023 Cheesecake Factory, Redondo
Hawthorne Class of 1983 Oct 7, 2023 Jade on the Beach, Long Beach
Hawthorne Class of 1990’s July 15, 2023 Killer Shrimp, Marina del Rey
Please check your high school website for more details and contact info.
Dads and Grads
This time of the year, retailers are delighted to remind us that we are obliged to purchase tokens of recognition for fathers and graduates. Choosing the right item for the second is often easier than for the first. Anything that the graduate has been hankering for or that will accessorize his admission into the the community of his fellow man (or the acceptable gender-neutral term) is a good solution – but something to both please and express gratitude to dear old reticent Dad, that’s a different story.
In the chronic insanity of human fashion, there was a moment of calm and clarity in the 1950s that provided an answer to this yearly puzzle. It was Bermuda shorts. American men’s sartorial conservatism of the mid-20th century and the hesitation of some men to expose their imperfect lower limbs to public scrutiny may have argued against the choice of this type of garment as a tribute, but the sheer comfort of legs exposed from knee to sock top on a warm summer day soon put those objections to rest.
Bermuda shorts kept a suggestion of formality by being tailored like dress pants with a belt-looped waistband, often a pleated and slash-pocketed front, inside pockets at the rear, hems – sometimes cuffs – an inch above the knee. They were formal enough to be worn with the other elements of dress attire. The boldest of our gender even chanced at wearing them to church. And they were ideal for leisure when paired with other casual garments. Every golf course was populated with (hopefully) tanned legs adorned by Bermudas; the ladies were clever enough to quickly make this comfortable attire their own [they had already flirted with the abbreviated legs of Sonja de Lennart’s capri pants in 1948]
Like most cultural history, the origin of the Bermuda short is a little ambiguous. It was certainly preceded by the military short with knee-high stockings adopted as an element of uniform by British forces deployed in the grueling tropical climates of their far-flung Empire – a matter of health more than fashion. Inspired by these uniforms, Bermudas are reported to have been originated in 1914 when, to give his employees some relief, an Island tea shop owner ordered for them wool flannel shorts to match the remainder of the dress outfits they wore. Other Island businesses, even prim banks, gradually accepted this mode of attire, exposing British and American tourists of the 1920s and -30s to the innovation. Lighter fabrics, like linen, were substituted for heavy flannel and brighter colors were allowed to invade the format. The popularity of Bermuda shorts began to spread from (our) East Coast across the country in the postwar years. Bermudas made from Indian cotton Madras plaid in the 1960s later became a dernier cri of the 1980s Yuppie wardrobe.
They unleashed the freedom of fashion innovators to expose the leg from thigh-baring running shorts of fluttering nylon to the calf-tangling basketball shorts of the 1980s and – 90s. Swimwear inspired by the rise of surf culture – board shorts and jammers – merged with the concept of casual shorts to open a wider range of styles that now allow us to go bare-legged, unabashed, in our warming climate. We humans may be adapting, after all.
Calendar of Events for 2023
July 5th and July 19th – Board Game Night at the Museum
6:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Friday, July 21st – Movie Night at Jim Thorpe Park
7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Saturday, August 12th – The All Hawthorne High Schools Reunion
11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at The Hawthorne Historical Society Museum at
Jim Thorpe Park
Saturday, September 23rd – Hawthorne Historical Society Hall of Fame
Induction Banquet at the Ayres Hotel
6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Reservations and ticket purchase by contacting Dick Huhn 310-779-5157 or via email at
chick68@ssbcglobal.net
