6 minute read
TEN THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
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WORDS: KRISTI HAWTHORNE PHOTOS COURTESY OF OCEANSIDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The 1940s ushered in new growth and development—a welcome relief from the Depression years of the 1930s. December of 1940 closed the year with one of the best months for local construction. City inspector George W. Schmidt announced that permits totaled $27,545 compared to just $9,640 in December of 1939, and that a large majority of the permits taken out in 1940 were for “new homes and residential units, cottage courts, and the like.”
1. With the economy looking up, car dealerships increased sales. Two notable car dealerships were established in Oceanside in consecutive years. Charles B. Weseloh, Sr., who had started a Chevrolet dealership in Ramona in 1925, opened a new dealership on South Hill Street in Oceanside in 1940. The dealership did so well, that in 1946, a new showroom was built at Hill and Topeka Streets, which was described as “one of the most modern Chevrolet agencies in all of Southern California” and “a distinct asset to the Oceanside business district.” The following year, Homer Heller opened his Ford dealership, and in 1947, Vince Dixon partnered with Heller to form Dixon-Heller Motors. The dealership was located at 229 South Hill Street.
2. In 1940, Oceanside’s population was 4,651—a 30 percent increase from the previous decade. Our modest seaside town would soon change with world events, and the advent of a combat training base at Rancho Santa Margarita Rancho. As World War II intensified, the historic rancho was taken over by the United States Navy to be used as a training base for the Marine Corps.Over 20,000 marines and civilian support flooded the base, and dramatically changed Oceanside forever. Oceanside was hard pressed to meet the need for housing and other essentials the military and civilian personnel demanded. Oceanside’s population more than doubled in five years. Restaurants, schools, and hotels were bursting at the seams.
3. Catering to the military, Thelma Lawrence Garrigan opened a restaurant and nightclub called “Garrigan’s” in 1942 in what was formerly the Borden Department Store at the southeast corner of Tremont and Third Streets (Pier View Way). Local contractor Charles O. Rowe was hired to remodel the main floor into a ballroom for dancing. On one end of the room a large mahogany curved bar was built. The mezzanine floor accommodated diners that featured a “high class steak house.” Garrigan revamped the building, and made it a successful hot spot, but all too soon Thelma's nightclub was taken over for use as the USO.
Main Gate Camp Pendleton circa 1940s.
Garrigan's photo cover, 1943. Weseloh Chevrolet
4. Joseph “Buddy” Todd was one of the first local residents to die in World War II. In August of 1942, his battleship the U.S.S Astoria was sunk in the Solomon Islands Battle. His mother Mary Todd, who worked for the Oceanside Police Department for years, received a purple heart that was awarded to her son. Buddy Todd Park on Mesa Street was dedicated in memory of Todd. Eastside resident John Balderrama was killed in action in Belgium on October 13, 1944. Balderrama Park was named in his honor.
5. As the population continued to climb with the influx of people, the city and Chamber of Commerce urged homeowners to rent rooms to military personnel or their families. It was common for people to knock on doors and ask for a room to rent or a place to sleep. Out of town property owners were contacted by the chamber and asked to rent their summer homes to help with the housing crisis. Many families opened their doors to servicemen, and their families began a long-lasting relationship between Oceanside and Camp Pendleton. Detached garages in the rear of many downtown homes were converted to small houses or apartments to accommodate the growing population. Trailer parks that were once used by tourists and summer visitors now were used as permanent homes due to the housing shortage. The owner of the lot behind the 101 Cafe on Hill Street (Coast Highway) brought in small trailers, and rented them out to servicemen and their wives. John and Pauline Spangler, owners of the 101 Cafe, had to live in the back room of the restaurant because of this shortage.
Buddy Todd
housing project was built within the city limits of Oceanside with entrances from Mission Avenue and Lemon Street.
6. A federal housing unit called Sterling Homes was built in 1944 in response to the housing demand by the influx of military families. This 7. The Southern California Telephone Company had to enlarge four times in four years to keep pace with the mounting demands. The business
Joe Balderrama article, 1967.
Telephone Operators, circa 1940s Sterling Housing
Plane taking off at Hi-Hi Sky Ranch Airport.
office was moved to the DeWitt Hotel (now the Fin Hotel) to accommodate workers.
8. In 1946, Oceanside’s new public library was completed, at a cost of just over $34,000. Located on North Nevada Street, this was the library’s first home apart from other city offices, such as the city clerk, since its inception in 1904. Oceanside’s quaint little Santa Fe train depot built in 1888 was no longer adequate, and on December 7, 1946, it celebrated its new “modern concrete depot,” designed by Santa Fe architect H. L. Gilman. The $100,000 train station was described as having a “stucco exterior, concrete floors, and foundation, a wood frame with asbestos shingles, marble floors, and wainscot in the main waiting room, colorful asbestos tile flooring in the main office, and fluorescent lighting.”
9. In 1946, two airports were approved by the city council. The Hi-Hi Sky Ranch airport was located just south of present day Oceanside Boulevard—east of Crouch Street. Owner/operator Kenneth Nill was a senior test pilot for Boeing Aircraft, and a civilian director of flight training for the Army in Denton, Texas. His wife Coyle Wellman was a flight instructor at the Hi-Hi Sky airport that took its name from a boy’s home located nearby. The second airfield was on city-owned land adjacent to the San Luis Rey River below the Rosicrucian Fellowship. The land was leased to William Lake and James Carr for a ten-year period with an option to renew. This airfield was later designated Oceanside’s municipal airport in April of 1946.
10. Bumper to bumper traffic through downtown Oceanside was common—especially on the weekends. In 1947, plans to re-route Highway 101 began with much controversy, but this new highway would take several more years for the first phase to even open.
