Hark! Hark! The Park

Frank Clifford’s article, “Griffith Park Is 100!” (March 17) brought back many memories. In 1946, my family moved into a Rodger Young Village Quonset hut and lived there for almost three years.

We had all a small town needed: market, drugstore, malt shop, recreation room and laundry facilities (wringer washers, of course--the clothes had to be brought back to dry on the clotheslines beside each hut). A dental office looked out over the equestrian trail in back of the village. I remember having a stubborn tooth removed while horses passed by.

There were few automobiles, although there was a small shuttle bus. The Pacific Electric Co. offered regular bus service from the park entrance to 5th and Main streets downtown. From there, you could walk to any of the great movie houses and have lunch at Clifton’s Cafeteria or in Chinatown.

My sister and I were sent by bus to Le Conte Junior High School on Bronson Avenue in Hollywood. On weekends and during vacations, we hiked the hills to the observatory, the old zoo and our favorite place--the merry-go-round.

We scratched our names on the wood behind the Hollywoodland (now Hollywood) sign, pedaled our bikes along the park’s roads and, when we had the money, rode the rental horses.

It was a wonderful time of our lives.

Thayne Powell Martin

Garden Grove

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In the early days of filmmaking, the Stern Brothers and other “Poverty Row” producers either didn’t want to or couldn’t afford to shoot at expensive distant locations. Their attitude was: “A tree’s a tree; a rock’s a rock. Go shoot it in Griffith Park.”

Bud Brill

Los Angeles

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For more than 25 years the Sierra Club has been leading night hikes in Griffith park. Hundreds of hikers show up every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to exercise, socialize, release work-related tensions and generally enjoy the sylvan “heart” of the park.

Last year, many of our hikers, realizing the importance of protecting and preserving this unique resource, formed the Griffith Park section of the Sierra Club. This group holds trail-maintenance and park-cleanup activities and works with the park administration to promote safe enjoyment of the trails by all.

Ron Brusha

Glendale