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Blog Entry 21 of 27 How Green Was My Valley

“How Green Was My Valley” is a nostalgic look at the San Fernando Valley during the 1940’s and the 1950’s through the eyes of a young boy. From orange groves, farms, horses and street cars we explore the explosion of change in the Valley. Along this journey we visit many places that no longer exist in addition to those that have survived. It is my hope that these stories and recollections will help to jog your memories with reminders of the past. The tour is now leaving—enjoy!

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Bicycle Adventures, Part One

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Contributed by: Robert Greene on 9/12/2007

Most of my friends had bicycles so there was usually an extra one to borrow to practice riding. Our street had high curves so if I placed the bike next to the curb and swung my left leg over I could push myself away from the curb with my right foot and, with a little luck, I was underway.

But no matter how hard I tried, I could never master just swinging my leg over the bike and taking off.

It was one of those hot, heavy days in August. And, while Los Angeles still competes with Houston for the worst air in the country, it was much worse back in the 1950's. There were very few controls on pollution from factories. Cars just spit out all the bad stuff. And, some people won't believe this, but all of Los Angeles would burn their trash in incinerators in their back yards.

I remember hauling out trash daily and jamming it into this contraption that was made up of four concrete slabs with metal bands wrapped around them. It had an iron door on one side with a handle that looked like a spring and a metal screen spark arrestor at the top crowned with a tiny metal roof.

It could be a bit of a challenge to set the stuff on fire but, actually, kind of fun.

We had taken some 4x8 foot sheets of asbestos and sawed them in smaller pieces to nail onto the fence by the incinerator to protect the wood from catching fire.

One of the reasons I think we have such a large population today is because we did just about everything we could back then to kill ourselves off.

(No car seat belts, no helmets for motorcycle riders and bike riders, no special car seats for kids, people smoking all the time....and the lists go on and on.)

So, like I said, it was a very uncomfortable day. I had just finished playing caroms (kind of like pool on a small board with four pockets and checker-like things to hit with a wooden dowel) at the summer playground at school and about to walk home.

Every time I breathed in there was a large lump of pain in my chest. Just breathing normally hurt. I had to blink my eyes often to try to ease the stinging sensation.

The route home was all too familiar. There's Roger Longhaufer's house. And there's where David High lives. And that's Joe Door's house. And, on the other corner is where Pauly lived and where his gang hung out.

Dumb August. What a time to have a birthday. School was never open on my birthday. No school party. Friends were usually on vacation. If I had my way, August would be removed from the calendar.

As I dragged myself up the driveway, my Mom and Dad were standing in front of the garage with silly grins on their face. My Dad then proceeded to open our garage. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness inside.

As the void faded up into sight, my jaw began to drop. Was it real? Was it mine?

A brand new 24 inch Schwinn bicycle!
I couldn't believe it. My first bike. My very own bike. A brand new bike!

Before I could blurt out any kind of thank-yous, I grabbed the handlebar and moved the bike out to the top of our sloping driveway. Without even thinking, I put my left foot on the pedal, swung my leg over the seat and I was off, heading north on Noble Avenue with no plans to immediately return.

Only after I circled the block and headed back to my house did I realize what I had done. I stopped the bike and got off. Then I pushed forward and again swung my leg over the seat. So easy! No big deal!

And, hence, an entire new stage in my life immediately opened up. I had wheels. I could travel. I could explore. My world had grown larger.

The adventures were about to begin!

(To be continued)

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