Ben Van Norman, nee Bell:  

Life Married, Retired. Three children. Love golf. HDCP 11 Name legally changed to birth surname in 1979, i.e., Van Norman Currently living in Laramie, Wyoming until 2011. Retired Marine Colonel, Vietnam Vet, F4 Phantom Fighter Pilot Memories of the 40's and 50's: Slang: dig it, right-on, dibs, shotgun, boss, all-time favorite: cool Phone Numbers with a word prefix, e.g., Kellog 3-nnnn Andover 2-nnnn New cars from GM, Ford, Chrysler each autumn. Gone are DeSoto, Edsel, Plymouth, Packard, Hudson, Studebaker, et al. Have ration books, tokens from WWII. Grocery Stores - Not supermarkets. A market at Brookdale and High St, the Brookdale Market, where the Mortuary is now. After it closed, we shopped at the F and N Market, now the Island Market down High Street. The Island Market is still open. The donut shop at the corner of High St and Brookdale Park where I played the pinball machine. Listened to Eddy Fisher sing "Oh, Mine Papa" on the jukebox. Neighborhood Friends: Dennis Holland, Ron Ghio, GG Ghio, Dennis Reed, Gary Galloway, Mike O'Brien, Marty Wool, Dennis Baker HS Friends: Daryl Petersen, Dick Moreno, Walt Becher, Ed Belling Castlemont: Bill Patton, Roger Prestegard Oakland: Frank Bermudez, Duncan Kilpatrick, Phil Manhan Playing tackle with helmet and pads at Brookdale Park on Sundays with Dennis Holland. We played all afternoon. Great fun! Playing ball, accidently breaking neighbor windows, yelling "No chips" and running away to no avail, had to pay anyway. Oakland Oaks in the PCL. Bud Foster the radio announcer. I remember Billy Martin, Chuck Dressen and Casey Stengel, among others. Walking to School - walked to school until my first car, a 50 Ford Convertible, at age 17. The Canneries - for pre-school thru 1st Grade, attended Lazear School on Fruitvale Ave. There, the smell was sickening. From 2nd grade through sixth, went to Jefferson. There, the smell was not so strong. Junk Man - Before 1953, we lived on 41st Ave between Foothill and E. 14th. A man with a horse drawn wagon would come by, Yelling "Junk, Pick up Junk". We showed him our junk and he would decide if it was worthwhile to take. Ice Trucks - Our first refrig in 1948. Before that, an ice box; an Ice truck service delivered ice to us twice a week. We would climb in back to get ice chips when the driver was delivering ice to a house. I fell off the back of a moving truck once and still have a scar under my chin. Street Cars - riding Street cars on East 14th to downtown Oakland and SF. Bay Bridge - Autos with two-way traffic on the top deck and street cars and trucks on the bottom deck. Buses - before Ala. County took over the buses, a private organization known as Key System ran them. Milk Man - Until the mid 60's, my parents had milk delivered by a local dairy. The milk was in glass bottles with a cardboard stopper. Cartoons matinee - During grammar school, I remember going to the Fruitvale Theatre each Saturday at noon for cartoons and a movie. Movie Theatres I remember: Fruitvale - 38th and East 14th Laurel - 38th and MacArthur Foothill - 35th and Foothill Fox Oakland - Telegraph Paramount - Broadway Dimond - 35th and MacArthur T&D - Near the Tribune Tower Roxie - Side street downtown, near Paramount Theatre Radio - listened to the radio at night in the 40's. No TV! my favorite shows were Jack Benny, the Green Hornet, The Charlie McCarthy show, The Shadow, Gang Busters, Gunsmoke. My Dad got our first TV to see a Rocky Marciano versus Jersey Joe Walcott fight in the early fifties. Radio really was the "theatre of the mind." School Residences: 1943 to 1953 1708 41st Ave.(below Foothill) 1953 to 1960 4515 Allendale Ave(on the hill off High Street) 1960 to 1970 255 Crestmont Drive(Off Skyline) As children, we rode in cars with no seat belts or air bags. We rode bikes without crash helmets! Playing Hide N Seek - "Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense. We drank water from the garden hose, shared sodas. Comic books - buying and trading was commonplace. We left home early, played all day and came home at dark. Many games we played had kids from several blocks playing together without problems. Remember these: Washtub wringers,Tinkertoys,Erector Sets, Lincoln Logs,19 cent hamburgers 5 cent packs of baseball cards - with a pink slab of bubble gum, 25 cent a gallon gasoline Grammar School: Pre-school, Kindergarden to 2nd grade, attended Lazear Grammar School on Fruitvale Avenue. 2nd Grade to 6th Grade, attended Jefferson Grammar school on Carrington Avenue near 38th Avenue. Best Friends: Jeff Rogers and Bill Dash. 2nd Grade Teacher, Mrs. Bruner. Thanks to Gary Bowen, I have her name. She drew birthday cakes on the board with colored chalk on a classmates birthday. 3rd/4th Grade Teacher. Mrs. Hill. Very Nice, friendly, reddish hair. 5th/6th Grade: My Favorite Teacher, George Stewart, who died in 2000 at age 94. A wonderful man. Also, he ran the Oakland RecDept Family Camp in Quincy, CA. From the 7th grade until graduating from High School, had to take a gym class daily and shower at the school. Jr. High School, attended Alexander Hamilton Jr. HS on 35th Avenue at the corner of Galindo Street. September 1953 to June 1956. Best Friends, Jeff Rogers, Dennis Holland, Daryl Petersen and Steve Wolf Friday Night dances at Hamilton Jr. High School. Imagine, we wore suits and ties! High School, attended Fremont High School at corner of High Street and Foothill Boulevard. September 1956 to June 1959. Barely graduated with honors. GPA = 3.0 Best Friends: Ron Ghio, Harry Davis, Daryl Petersen, Dick Moreno, Dennis Reed, Gary Galloway, Allan Cherry, Dennis Holland, Walt Becher, Ed Belling Cruising the Plaza Drive-In. Our hang-out. Bouncer Joe, the Plazapottamus. Going to Fremont pool in the summer, ge...Expand for more