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Biographies of Residents (If you have one of someone, please send it along and we'll post it)
Jerry Skuse by Maggie Abbott
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"I remember when..." - memories of residents from the good ol' days.
This is the place for memories of DHS from back in the day. Please email us your memories and we'll post them here.
(note: you'll have to manually enter the email address)
Hi, folks:
My name's Dave. A couple days ago I came
across your website and nearly fainted. As a kid who spent two years
('56 & '57) living in DHS ... I hadn't come across any old photos of
that place since the last time I "whisked" through the town (for about
ten minutes) back in '72. And frankly, I didn't recall much from
that last quickie stop.
However ...
When I clicked through your site and looked at
the old photographs, especially that postcard shot of the old Five &
Dime ... I was kinda' overcome by the experience. The picture of that
corner store brought back a 52 year flood of, not the best of
times, but more like a time machine trip that gave this old dude the
opportunity to look back on a young boy's life ... a very long time ago.
I don't know if it's still there, but I spent
my 6th grade year at the only school in the city in *'56.
(*The same year Elvis hit. But that's
another story.) It was an elementary school; just across the
street from the only movie theater in town. Matter of fact, if memory
serves, DHS pretty much had only one of ... EVERYTHING
52 seasons ago. I understand the current "Hot Springs" now has a middle
and a high school. I'm wondering if they just meshed that
old elementary into those two?
Anyway, I was so taken with your collection
of old photos and such that I dug through a long stored box of family
pictures my late mom saved for me ... and came across a few
snapshots that were taken in the pool area of a motel my folks managed
in '57. It was about three-quarters of the way up Hacienda and was
called (at that time) The Loraine Manor. I'm sure, if
it's even still standing, that the old name on that pink and black
building is either changed ... or been demolished altogether. I also
found an 8x10 black and white photo of my 6th grade class with all the
student's pictures laid out around a wide angle shot of the old dirt
playground.
I'm 62 years old; recently retired and living
here in the Sacramento area. And frankly, I'd like to leave behind a
little something besides my old Mickey Mantle baseball glove ...
and the acoustic guitar I used to bring to the DHS school yard after
that Elvis kid started making noise with the new ... rock and roll
music. Man, between me, Bobby Moss, Ricky Scheuman and Jimmy
McCance ... we kept the 5th grade girls screamin' during many
a noon hour. That is until Mr. Kenya (teacher and principal) came
by with his yard whistle and ... dropped the curtain on another lunch
bench concert.
But I digress ...
Incidentally, I don't know how long you've
been living there, but during that last trip though in '72 ... by
pure chance I had the wonderful opportunity to visit and chat for a few
minutes with an old 6th grade classmate of mine who was working at the
local bank. For the life of me I can't recall her last name, but I
believe her first name was ... Louise. And I seem to remember her
mentioning that she'd married one of our '56 classbuds; a guy named
Steve Foster. I think she also told me that, at the
time ... another of our 6th graders was working (or owned) a gas
station in the city. His name was Ted Hansen. I'll
never forget him because, when the music teacher (Mr. Dalgren)
came in from Palm Springs to give lessons and direct our
little school band, (I played trumpet) ... Ted always won 1st chair. I
was 2nd. Young Ted was good!
Again, I digress...
Anyway, take care. And thanks for keeping up
that hot, sandy history. Glad someone is.
Dave
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The old "five and dime" on the corner of Palm and Pierson, circa 1950's |
