neighborhood. Having no car, it was so easy
for us. The bus stop to downtown San Diego
was just a block away from our apartment
building. George had just one bus transfer to
take him to the main entrance of the Naval
Training Center where he worked. I quickly
learned which bus transfers would take
me to whereever I needed to go downtown .
There was a pharmacy and a grocery store
within walking distance from our apartment.
There was also a convenience store nearby.
A straight shot on the bus, or walking on a
beautiful day, took us to down town Hillcrest
where there were fast food restaurants and
several nice ones. There was a Hallmark
store, Five and Dime, clothing stores, and
Home Décor stores and Specialty stores.
We spent the first weekend after we were
settled in exploring Balboa Park and all it
had to offer. We immediately found a
beautiful big tree that became our personal
rest, game playing, and picnic spot, for the
entire time we lived there.
I was very excited when we were able to
visit the zoo for the first time. It seemed
like I had been waiting my entire life for
that to happen. It became the first of many
visits we made to the beautiful San Diego Zoo.
Soon, we knew most of the animal's history;
their ages, names and how long they had
lived there. Visiting them was my favorite
activity. It was something we could afford
with the special price of twenty five cents
admission because George was serving in
the Armed Forces.
Twice a month, on Saturday, we rode the
bus downtown to Horton Plaza where we
took George's uniforms to be cleaned and
pressed.
While it was being done, we could go to a
movie at the plaza or go a short distance to
a huge Woolworth's store for a sandwich and
malt, or a banana split for George and a hot
fudge sundae in a tulip dish, for me. We were
excited to learn that George's uniform let us do
all of this at the special rates extended to those
serving in the military,
As soon had we became settled and familiar
with the area, I began to search for a job.
San Diego was saturated with servicemen and
their families. There were many looking for
jobs and few were available. Finally, in
desperation, I signed with the Worldwide
Employment Agency. It was owned and
operated by Marie Burch. Her daughter,
Lisa,was her only employee. She was my
age. She had a fiancee who was in the Army
and stationed in Texas. Marie was impressed
with my qualifications for a secretary or
stenographer's job. She told me later that she
felt drawn to me from my very first interview.
She set me up for several interviews, but
decided to hire me to work as her private
secretary. This would free Lisa to share
some of the work Marie had been doing by
herself. I also served as receptionist for the
office and did typing for Lisa, also. I
loved my job and it was an easy commute
by bus.
After I had been working there for several
months, Marie asked me if I would be
interested in making some extra money.
Two men in their thirties had an office next
door. They did marketing. They didn't
have a secretary. Marie liked them and
they seemed like nice guys. They asked me
if I would be interested in working a few
hours two Saturdays a month when George
had duty. The salary they would pay me
was more hourly than Marie paid me. It
was a great opportunity for me to earn a
little extra money. I told them there were
some months that George only had duty one
weekend. They were alright with that.
I enjoyed my association with Marie. She
took me under her wing like a mother hen
and took an interest in my happiness and
welfare. Lisa and I became good friends.
Often, when George worked late, or had
duty, Marie would take Lisa and I to dinner
or to her home where we would eat and enjoy
a movie on TV, popcorn and games. All of this
filled the lonely hours when George was not
home. It was a comfort to me to have them
in my life.
It was while living in Hillcrest that I went to
my first Italian restaurant, Pernicanos
Italian Grille. They were famous for their pizza,
a treat I knew absolutely nothing about. One of
George's best friends was Italian. He was called
by his last name, Peruzzi. He was a little guy,
talkative, funny, and very flamboyant. He did
everything at warp speed. He couldn't believe I
had never tasted pizza. To him that was a sin
which was incomprehensible and totally
unacceptable. And so, he made plans to take
us to Pernicano's for pizza. He ordered three
kinds of pizza; the house speciality, pepperoni,
and anchovy. He told me that almost every
Italian considered anchovies a special treat.
He explained that eating them was an acquired
taste which was mastered by few non Italians.
However, he said that if he, "an Italian born
and bred" was taking us an Italian Restaurant
for my first pizza, I had to experience anchovies
on pizza even if it was just one bite. And, one
bite is all it was, they were disgusting However,
with my first bite of pepperoni pizza, I was
forever hooked. It was a taste I could not have
imagined. I was in heaven! I ate until I was sick.
To this day, pepperoni pizza is one of my very
favorite foods.
It was several weeks before we had our first
visitor. When they moved us, Jack and Lee fell
in love with Balboa Park. They were anxious to
visit us, play in the park, and take Lloyd and Jackie
to the zoo.
We were happy when they called us and set a time
to visit. We were excited to show them what we
had done to our apartment. We were proud of it.
Our first purchase had been a 10 inch Philco
television. Those were the early days of television
and a 10 inch screen was quite a luxury. Believe
me, being a country girl from Panaca, Nevada, to
own a television lifted me to a completely new
level in my life. Owning one was something I
never imagined would be my lot. I absolutely
loved it. I had first watched it at Jack and Lee's
and made owning one a priority. I could not wait
to show them our beautiful Philco television.
I quickly had a schedule of my of favorite shows.
It filled the lonely hours when George was not
home, and when he was, we enjoyed watching
them together. Some of our favorite shows were
as follows: Your Show of Shows with Sid Cesear
and Imogena Coca, The Abbott and Costello Show
(remember, Who's on First?), Arthur Godfrey's
Talent Scouts, Candid Camera, Beat The Clock,
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show,
The Dinah Shore Show, Death Valley Days,
Dragnet, The Ed Sullivan Show, Four Star
Playhouse, Frontier Theatre, The Gene
Autry Show, The Ina Ray Hutton Show
featuring Ina Ray and Her All Girl
Band,, Smokey Rogers, American Bandstand,
Beany and Cecil, Gumby and Pokey, and
The Guiding Light, my very first Soap Opera.
When Jack and Lee and the kids arrived, we
were so proud to show them our apartment.
They liked what we had done to make it look
so homey and comfortable. We spent the rest
of the day doing the things they wanted to do.
After playing in the park and going to the zoo,
Jack took us to dinner. When he asked where
I wanted to go, I said "Pernicanos for pizza".
It was a wonderful day. We had hosted our
first out of town visiters. They had a good
time and promised to come again soon.
Now I could hardly wait for summer. My
sister, Delores, was going to school at the
University of Nevada in Reno. She was not
going to summer school and we had been
planning for a year for her to spend part of her
summer vacation with us,. I was saving all of
the extra money I was making from my part
time job for her visit. I could hardly wait.
To Be Continued. . . . .
Peruzzi and John
Looking over the car down one block on the left is our apartment.
Lloyd and Jackie Wimsatt loving Balboa park
Lee and Jack Wimsatt with his ever present cigar.
Smile George, you're on Candid Camera
What a goof off!
Walking thru the Prada to the San Diego Zoo
Lloyd and Jackie enjoying the Zoo.
What kind of monkey is this, Ina?
