Growing Up On Globe #1

  Our family moved to California in 1945, when I was about a year old. We spent some time in Hollywood and Venice before moving to 3710 1/2 Globe Ave, Los Angeles where we lived there until 1956. My Aunt Frances owned and lived in the house in front with 6 of her children, Mariano, Max, Alfonso, Gene, Willie, and Delores. Both houses were pueblo style with flat roofs and stucco painted a sort of pale yellow or off white. They were located one house from the corner at the top of Globe hill, one block north of Venice Boulevard, and two blocks west of Sepulveda Blvd. I remember my mom saying that a movie playwright had built the houses. Perhaps it was the pueblo style that attracted my aunt to buy them. They might of reminded her of New Mexico.

It was a middle class neighborhood where a number of folks worked in the film industry. My Dad, my cousin Mariano Garde and Mr Coleman from down the street worked as painters at "the studios". Monty Montana, one of the singing cowboys from the 1940's had a place on Charnock Rd., east of Sepulveda. I saw him and his golden Palomino "Rex" several times. The Bridges' family (the movie stars), Dad Lloyd and sons Jeff and Beau lived nearby.

I don't recall the patch of ground in front of our house ever having grass. Perhaps it did, but a large eucalyptus tree shaded most of the house and yard and there were too many kids running around anyway to give much relief to a lawn.Our house was tiny by today's standards, maybe even by 1950 standards as it had but one bedroom. My older brother Bobby slept in the living room on what looked like an old metal Navy surplus bed. I say Navy surplus because it was painted sort of a dark royal blue. Mom, Dad and us kids slept upstairs. My brother Jim and I shared a bed until I was in the 6th grade. My sister Dee Dee had her own bed.
We didn't have a refrigerator, just an ice-box out on the back porch, but we had a TV. Bobby had won it in a contest. We were one of the first families on the block to have one. It had a round screen no bigger than a dinner plate. I remember watching Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, Buster Brown, Wild Bill Hickock and my favorites, the Lone Ranger, Hoppalong Cassidy, and the Cisco Kid.
Globe hill was made for kids to play on and we did plenty of that. Behind our house was a stand of tall bamboo. Jim and I would climb to the top of the fence and throw ourselves onto it. It would bend and lower us down to the ground. We'd run a round the fence and do it again. If you're wondering how my Aunt Frances put up with such mischiel it helps to know that she was the mother of 8 boys and 2 girls. There was lots to do for kids our age. Most of the hill was vacant of houses and we treated like our private playground. While we lacked trees to build treehouses we used shovels to dig trenches then covered them with boards. This became our meeting place after dinner. It was a great place to build a fire, bake a potato, look at the stars, and tell stories to one another.
When we weren't in our trenches the neighborhood kids gathered at the "Four Corners" the intersection close to our house. Marathon sessions of "Hide n' Seek", "Kick the Can" and other games were played here.
In the immediate neighborhood was what we called "Jungle Creek". It is better known as La Ballona creek and acted as the storm drain for the area. To us it was the heart of Africa ( and probably had as many contagious diseases). Across Sawtelle Ave fromthe creek was a large field where they grew celery and cucumbers. We'd fix some sandwiches and trade with the field workers. They would give us as much as we could carry.
Globe Hill was a Soap Box Racer's dream. It was so steep that you wouldn't dare start from the top without having some one stationed at Venice Blvd to stop you or the traffic. If lumber or wheels were left unattended for any period of time the were turned into a car of some sort by my brother Bob and his friends. They were great at constructing race cars and running them down the hill. My Dad would be right in there with them hammering and sawing. I was too young to have my own car but I had my scooter and almost killed myself more than once by starting out too high on the hill.
All good things must come to an end. The houses on our side of Globe were torn down in 1956 to make way for the 405 Freeway. The next time you're on the 405 exit at Venice Blvd, take a drive to the top of Globe Avenue and imagine yourself in a homemade Soap Box Derby race car. Heck, it is even fun going down the hill in an SUV!

- Henry John Hein Oct, 2005