1940s Gals Working on Aircraft

I recently mentioned that my dad Juan Dumas and Eddy Magdaleno worked
at U.S. Rubber during WWII. Well, along that same vane,
here is a photo of 1940s women working on military aircraft at Douglas
Aircraft in Long Beach. While its not directly related to our Berendo
of the 40s it does give a little flavor of the time. I don't remember
any of our mothers or older sisters or aunts working in the defense
plants, some of you may recall some gals answering the call to duty.
If you click on the title above the photo you'll see many more fine photos of
similar situations. Mike Dumas sent this link for our viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy them.

When our dads worked for U.S. Rubber

Dave took this picture with his Iphone camera. The picture is in a memory box with many other memorabilia that my folks were given by friends and relatives on their 50th wedding anniversary. I think this picture of an article in the "Synthetic Rubber Beacon" was given to my folks by Eddie and Lamora Magdaleno as a reminder of when Eddie and my dad worked together at U.S. Rubber. This was an issue of the company newsletter for U.S. Rubber published around 1944. My dad, John Dumas, Sr., and Eddie Magdaleno went to work for the company at the same time. I think they mostly worked the swing shift or the graveyard shift. I remember my dad brought home a big hunk of synthetic rubber to show us. Eddie is mentioned in the article as having particular attributes that made him suitable for the job he was given. I don't recall what my dad did at U.S. Rubber.

Our Dads had to work for a company that produced materiel for or in some way supported the war effort (WWII). The draft board had gotten to the point where they were drafting men who had 3 children or more into the Army. My dad had 4 children and Eddie had 3 children. Working for U.S. Rubber was a way for our dads to serve the country without being in one of the services. My dad quit U.S. Rubber after about a year and started his own garment factory in downtown L.A. The factory produced uniform clothing for the armed services thereby qualifying his company as supporting the war effort and keeping him out of the draft. After the war the factory produced women's coats.

19 cent hamburger joint

Hamburger Handout featured $.19 Burgers at the corner or Centinela and Sepulveda in Culver City. (Posted by Steve Chenier)

Re: 1950s Old Car Video

Hi Steve,
We didn't get the video you sent. If you could just send us the link
to southberendo@googlegroups.com , I'll see that it gets properly posted. The
old rootsweb server doesn't like much else but plain text.
Johnny

--
Check out our South Berendo Days blog at http://www.berendo.net

Get a load of this wagon

From: Steve Chenier (SLOPOKE907@aol.com)

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?

Oh yes....   My Mom was starting to cook some french fries put a pan of oil on stove..  we had company that day and the oil got over heated caught on fire...  the gentleman who was visiting freaked out and threw water on it there was lots of smoke damage only..[Diane]

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?

Hi Diane,

Now that you say it, I vaguely remember that fire.  Do you recall how it got started or what kind of damage there was?

- Johnny

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

Just my two cents....  I don't know how it worked...  but I remember we had a fire in the kitchen.....  the fire department was there to put it out in a flash... [Diane] 

Re: Berendo Vicinity Fire Station Location Map

It would depend on how well the county and city stations work together. Normally the closest engine in the county would be the first one dispatched. If the second nearest county engine was far away, the city would probably be called to assist if they were closer. If it were a fully involved structure, several other engines would be called to help. [Alex Magdaleno]

Berendo Vicinity Fire Station Location Map

Al, I did a little research and there are currently about  nine fire stations  within 2-3 miles of Berendo and 112th.  Go to "www.berendo.net" and click on the photo to enlarge it.  The big green "X" is Berendo and 112th.  I don't know which would respond after the 108th and Normandy station did.  My guess is those along 108th st.  Maybe one of you retired fireman might know.  There are 3 of you on the list. :-) That would be current strategy of course. How the old 1950s era setup would have worked might be very difficult to find out. - Johnny

Fire Station locations within 2 - 3 miles of Berendo & 112th Street
Big green "X" is our old Berendo neighborhood
Green markers are LA County stations
Red markers are various city fire stations
Blue marker is original Engine14 location
Green bordered area was old Engine 14 service area

Re: Firehouse Locations

I wonder where their next in engines would come from? Usually at least two companies would come, probably more. 
[Alex Magdaleno]

--------------- Prior Message -------------------

Hi Gang,

Continuing the Firehouse search:  I belatedly remembered that our old Berendo map pages had the Sanborn maps.   I checked those maps for our Berendo neighborhood area and found nothing in the way of firehouses.  Except --- a little note on an index page saying that the area was served by L.A. Co. FD station 14.  It wasn't very clear but the newer station near Washington HS at 108th and Normandy is called station 14.  Al, you said there was no station there before the new one was built.  You're probably right.  I got lucky though and found a web page that talks about old station 14.  Turns out that it was on Century east of Normandy.  The web page has a very nice little story about it and describes the stations service area as going from 88th street to El Segundo and from Vermont to Denker (Wash. HS west boundary).  Take a look at our NEW WEB PAGE at Berendo.net.

-Johnny

Re: LAPL Sanborn Maps Online--Eh.

Hi Gang,

Continuing the Firehouse search:  I belatedly remembered that our old Berendo map pages had the Sanborn maps.   I checked those maps for our Berendo neighborhood area and found nothing in the way of firehouses.  Except --- a little note on an index page saying that the area was served by L.A. Co. FD station 14.  It wasn't very clear but the newer station near Washington HS at 108th and Normandy is called station 14.  Al, you said there was no station there before the new one was built.  You're probably right.  I got lucky though and found a web page that talks about old station 14.  Turns out that it was on Century east of Normandy.  The web page has a very nice little story about it and describes the stations service area as going from 88th street to El Segundo and from Vermont to Denker (Wash. HS west boundary).  Take a look at our NEW WEB PAGE at Berendo.net.

-Johnny

----- Prior Message ----
From: Mike Dumas <mdumas42@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tue, September 14, 2010 3:35:22 PM
Subject: LAPL Sanborn Maps Online--Eh.

HI Guys,   Well, I took a look at the Sanborn maps available online. They seem to be limited to a small part of town (the older parts), and then they're hard to navigate. I didn't find anything anywhere near us, except Gardena, but it was all south of Rosecrans. Looks like using these maps still requires a trip to the Central libes. When are they coming out with Google Earth Yesteryear? --mike

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

Continuing the Firehouse search:  I checked the Sanborn maps for our Berendo neighborhood area and found nothing.  Except --- a little note on an index page saying that the area was served by L.A. C. FD station 14.  It wasn't very clear but the newer station near Washington HS at 108th and Normandy is called station 14.  Al, you said there was no station there before the new one was built.  You're probably right.  I got lucky though and found a web page that talks about old station 14.  Turns out that it was on Century east of Normandy.  The web page has a very nice little story about it and describes the stations service area as going from 88th street to El Segundo and from Vermont to Denker (Wash. HS west boundary).  Take a look: http://www.lafire.com/stations/FS064/FS013_1924-1926.htm      - Johnny

Engine Company No. 14 Howard Fire Protection District1348 W. 99^th Street, east of Normandie (facing onto Century Blvd.)
Circa 1926

Wait For Me, Wild Bill!

This firehouse topic is moving fast! Anyway, the Sanborn maps are available online at the LAPL website, under the "Databases" button to the left (S for Sanborn). But you have to have a city libes card. I'm going to go up there from work tomorrow and get one. (I know I'll do this, because it's an unimportant errand, and I've always been very good about those.) Maybe one of you already has a card. I gotta believe those maps show every firehouse! Sudden thought (Really, they're all sudden, when you think about it): Do firehouses have fire insurance? --mike --- On Mon, 9/13/10, Alex Magdaleno <eng42b@verizon.net> wrote: From: Alex Magdaleno <eng42b@verizon.net> Subject: Re: [South Berendo Days] New comment on Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?..... To: southberendo@googlegroups.com Date: Monday, September 13, 2010, 1:25 PM We were county area, so they would have been the first engine there in most cases. Not sure where their closest station was. Alex From: John Dumas Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 10:07 AM To: southberendo@googlegroups.com Subject: [South Berendo Days] New comment on Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?..... John Dumas has left a new comment on your post "Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?....": I looked up the L.A. City Firehouse locations and found one near 78th and Vermont. It seems hard to believe that such a large area can be served by so few fire stations. Johnny

--
Check out our South Berendo Days blog at http://www.berendo.net

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

The Sanborn Insurance maps at LA Central will tell. I'm checking to see if they can be accessed online. --mike --- On Sun, 9/12/10, Alex Magdaleno <eng42b@verizon.net> wrote: From: Alex Magdaleno <eng42b@verizon.net> Subject: Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?. To: southberendo@googlegroups.com Date: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 8:34 PM Hi Johnny No. I don't. We would have to search a map from the Fifties. I wonder if Thomas guide was in business then? Alex From: John Dumas Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 10:13 AM To: southberendo@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?. Hi Al, Good to hear from you.  Do you recall where the closest firehouse to Berendo was? Johnny ----- Original Message ---- From: AlexM <eng42b@gmail.com> To: South Berendo Days <southberendo@googlegroups.com> Sent: Thu, September 9, 2010 10:01:54 AM Subject: Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?. That one was built after we left the area. There was no station there earlier. Alex On Aug 1, 9:36 pm, John Dumas <noreply-comm...@blogger.com> wrote: > I looked up the county fire department fire house locations and found > one on Normandy and 108th street. I don't know how long a firehouse has > been in that location. This one looks like a fairly new one. Maybe it > replaced an older one in the same location. This is right next to > Washington High School. > - johnny

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.....

We were county area, so they would have been the first engine there in most cases. Not sure where their closest station was.

Alex

From: John Dumas

Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 10:07 AM

To: southberendo@googlegroups.com

Subject: [South Berendo Days] New comment on Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.....

I looked up the L.A. City Firehouse locations and found one near 78th and Vermont. It seems hard to believe that such a large area can be served by so few fire stations.
Johnny

New comment on Fires in the Neighborhood?.....

John Dumas has left a new comment on your post " Fires in the Neighborhood?....":

I looked up the L.A. City Firehouse locations and found one near 78th and Vermont. It seems hard to believe that such a large area can be served by so few fire stations.
Johnny

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

Hi Johnny

No. I don't. We would have to search a map from the Fifties. I wonder if Thomas guide was in business then?

Alex

From: John Dumas

Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 10:13 AM

To: southberendo@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

Hi Al,
Good to hear from you.  Do you recall where the closest firehouse to Berendo
was?
Johnny
----- Original Message ----
From: AlexM <eng42b@gmail.com>
To: South Berendo Days <southberendo@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thu, September 9, 2010 10:01:54 AM
Subject: Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

That one was built after we left the area. There was no station there
earlier.
Alex

On Aug 1, 9:36 pm, John Dumas <noreply-comm...@blogger.com> wrote:
> John Dumas has left a new comment on your post "Re: Fires in the
> Neighborhood?":
>
> I looked up the county fire department fire house locations and found
> one on Normandy and 108th street. I don't know how long a firehouse has
> been in that location. This one looks like a fairly new one. Maybe it
> replaced an older one in the same location. This is right next to
> Washington High School.
> - johnny
>
> Posted by John Dumas to South Berendo Days at August 1, 2010 9:36 PM

Re: Fires at H&H Lumber

From: LAMORA MAGDALENO <lgmag@roadrunner.com>

To: john Dumas <john_dumas@yahoo.com>
Cc: lgmag@roadrunner.com
Sent: Sun, September 12, 2010 2:42:27 PM
Subject: Fires

I had forgotten about the fire at the lumber company ---  But I do remember it well,  The whole neighborhood heard the sirens and immediately we saw the flames --  all in the middle of the night.   We had a very good, long-time friend who worked there.  I phoned him and he went to be there, and called the owner, too. 

 

I am glad to know Julia keeps well and, if I know her !, keeps busy, too.  My "busy" anymore is an occasional bout with the computer, and the vacuum and/or dust-cloth. 

And of course some simple cooking, since I do like to eat and still have a cast-iron stomach..  I hope.  Gardening is confined to dead-heading the white roses under my bay windows.  They tend to get an occasional tall "sport" of extraordinary vigor.  Alex will chop a few of those for me next week.  I am afraid to lean over to cut them - and maybe end up IN THE FLOWER BED.

 

 Lamora,  with hello back at Julia. 

Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

Good to hear from you Lamora,
I think you're right about the immediate neighborhood. I do remember a fire at
H&H Lumber. I recall my dad saying that lumber yards were particularly
susceptible to fires starting because of the quantity of sawdust around the
place. A spark from the saws could land in a pile of sawdust and smolder for a
long time before it flashed.
Johnny
ps: My mom says hi.

----- Original Message ----
From: LAMORA MAGDALENO <lgmag@roadrunner.com>
To: southberendo@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sat, September 11, 2010 10:46:09 AM
Subject: Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.
So far as I know - the Chineer house was the ONLY fire in our area. As to
firehouses - I do not recall at all.
Lamora

----- Original Message ----- From: "AlexM" <eng42b@gmail.com>
To: "South Berendo Days" <southberendo@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: New comment on Re: Fires in the Neighborhood?.

That one was built after we left the area. There was no station there
earlier.
Alex
On Aug 1, 9:36 pm, John Dumas <noreply-comm...@blogger.com> wrote:
> John Dumas has left a new comment on your post "Re: Fires in the
> Neighborhood?":
>
> I looked up the county fire department fire house locations and found
> one on Normandy and 108th street. I don't know how long a firehouse has
> been in that location. This one looks like a fairly new one. Maybe it
> replaced an older one in the same location. This is right next to
> Washington High School.
> - johnny