A Look Back

“I was walking along 81st Street near Central Avenue in Los Angeles

when I heard the news that Pearl Harbor was bombed,” said Huntington

Beach resident Don Autrey.

This week we’ll conclude looking at how Huntington Beach reacted on

Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941 and how it affected the lives of its citizens in the

days that followed the bombing.

The day after the bombing Mayor Marcus M. McCallen issued a

declaration of a state of emergency to its citizens, in which everyone

who owned a spare firearm was asked to bring it to the police station so

it could be loaned to another resident.

In the opening days of the war, 60 of our citizens enlisted in the

California State Guard Company “E” 2nd Battalion, Sixth Infantry,

Huntington Beach unit.

No one could say that the people of Huntington Beach weren’t

patriotic. These brave citizens enlisted at the Chamber of Commerce

office here, which remained open day and night.

Some of those who enlisted were Robert Ross, Marvin Renfro, Walter

Stacy, Bert Hardy, Bert Harding, Raymond Vidal and Cecil Boles.

Fire Chief Jack Sargent called a special meeting to appoint sector

wardens, who would take charge if the city were bombed by incendiary

bombs or hit by sabotage.

He divided the city into eight sectors with a chairman in each sector.

Cecil Wheat, the son of Harry and Elsie Bakre who owned the Golden

Bear Cafe, enlisted in the Navy.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation ordered our police to arrest our

Chili Pepper King, Masami Sasaki, and six other Japanese men. All were

taken to the Santa Ana jail.

Sasaki had operated the largest chili drying plant in the world right

here in Huntington Beach. It was where Albertson’s Market is today on

Beach Boulevard and Utica Avenue.

Sasaki had been a leader in the Japanese American community in

California and at one time entertained Japanese Prince Konoye and his

wife.

Huntington Beach resident Norm Morrison was setting pins in a bowling

alley above the Mecca Theatre in Los Angeles when he heard the news.

Warren Bristol of Bristol Service Station, went to Chicago to pick up

a new Studebaker and drive it home for a friend in Long Beach.

The Rev. Luther A. Arthur gave shooting lessons to many of our men and

women in case of an invasion.

The City Council ordered the Pav-a-lon auditorium next to the pier,

Memorial Hall and all other municipal buildings with nighttime events be

canceled.

Former Huntington Beach Mayor Don MacAllister, who was 9 at the time

and living with his family in the Westlake Park area of Los Angeles,

vividly recalls the blackouts the West Coast went through during those

days of the war.

Central Elementary School teacher Esther Funk had to postpone her talk

to the school’s Parent Teacher Assn.

Pacific Electric Agent Willis Osborn announced that a round trip

ticket to Los Angeles and back on the red car would be $1.10.

Jack Robertson’s men’s store window had a display of knitted garments

made by our local Red Cross ladies and men to be sent to the people of

England.

The Huntington Beach High School Band placed fifth in a

bandcompetition held in Long Beach and won a prize of $20.

Chamber of Commerce President Ralph Hawes offered the assistance of

all of its members to the city.

The city bought a 180-gallon air compressor for use in its air raid

warning siren.

In the days following, the city settled down for the Christmas

holiday.

It had landscaper and designer Dick Beeson erect the city’s Christmas

shrine in Lake Park.

Local Residents would portray Mary and Joseph and the three wise men

would be riding life-size camels.

Ocean Avenue, now Pacific Coast Highway, was a beehive of military

activity, what with armored vehicles speeding back and forth day and

night.

The community Christmas tree party was held inside the Pav-a-lon for

the children to keep their minds off the war.

But it didn’t take long for the news to reach Huntington Beach that

one of its former residents was killed at Pearl Harbor and with the news

brought the war a little closer to home.

Huntington’s George Tyler enlisted in the Navy in February 1941,

received his training at the San Diego Navy Base and was assigned aboard

the USS West Virginia.

The ship was at Pearl Harbor when the bombs dropped.

Tyler was only 18-years-old.

In the weeks that followed, residents scanned the heavens for enemy

aircraft and it would be a long time before Huntington Beach returned to

normal, if anyone could call Huntington Beach normal.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.