Readers Remember

When I was a kid we lived right by the Southern Pacific railroad tracks that originated downtown in the freight yards and went all the way to the beach. The area that we lived in was known as the Florence-Firestone area. After World War II, though it was on a downward slide, it also was an area with lots of young families and lots of kids. I hung around and played with boys of all races in our neighborhood.

When the Watts riots broke out it was just another diversion for us kids. We could stand on the railroad tracks and look toward Watts and see the smoke from the fires. The second day we heard that Florence Avenue had been looted and Central Avenue was ablaze. We heard gunshots and could see the glow of the fires at night.

My mom wouldn’t let us out of the house now; my parents talked in hushed tones about getting out.

On Saturday morning I stood in my front yard as a California National Guard truck pulled up right across from our home. Out jumped riflemen and they set up a sandbagged machine gun. They asked my mom permission to use our hose to fill their canteens. The riot had reached our little piece of the world and things changed forever.

Soon after the riots ended, all the white kids and some of the Chicano kids moved away with their families. At the time we were too young to know about the sociopolitical reasons for the riot. All I knew was that my friends were moving away without so much as a goodbye. I still wonder what happened to them.

SERGIO HERNANDEZ

Acton

What do you recall most about the 20th century? In 200 words or less, send us your memories, comments or eyewitness accounts. Write to Century, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or e-mail century@latimes.com. Letters may be edited for space.