Aging Eastsiders Find Strength in Shared Memories

They meet for scrambled eggs and camaraderie--and to share memories of their old Eastside neighborhood, of high school and war experiences.

For these men, now in their late 60s, 70s or 80s, reliving the past helps them to cope with the present.

A decade ago, a group of eight friends realized that they saw each other rarely and decided to do something about it.

“Many of our mutual friends were dying and we needed to find a way to meet, other than at funerals,” said Feliciano “Chano” Gomez, 70. “We formed this group to catch up on the good old times.”

The group soon grew to more than 40, and members come together once a month at a Bakers Square restaurant in Montebello. They call themselves the Belvedere Gardens Veterans, or, as a waitress refers to them, “the veteranos.” All are veterans of World War II or the Korean War.

Most of the regulars share childhood memories from the Belvedere Gardens neighborhood. The majority attended either Belvedere or Stevenson Middle School in East Los Angeles and then went on to either Roosevelt or Garfield High School.

At a recent meeting, as old friends greeted each other, several men in red Roosevelt letter sweaters, circa 1940 to early 1950s, needled buddies who had once attended rival Garfield.

“It was about time we won,” said Pete Martinez, a Roosevelt graduate, gloating about his alma mater’s 41-0 football victory over Garfield last month.

The more of them who sat down at tables, laughing and joking, the louder the back room of the restaurant became.

In one corner, Gomez riffled through his briefcase for a paper while his eggs, potatoes and coffee began to get cold. Surrounding him were old buddies, many with their gray hair slicked down and wearing glasses, some sporting Members Only jackets.

The group has no formal structure or officers, but Gomez is the designated person who runs the meetings and puts out a monthly newsletter.

As waiters and waitresses ran back and forth, taking orders, Belvedere Gardens vet Pete Martinez, 70, talked about what the group has meant to him and others.

The group “is like therapy,” said Martinez, who once was principal at Lincoln High School. “Friendships are important. I would’ve made it through OK, but this group makes it better.”

At every meeting, the men get updates on upcoming events and hear about the conditions of sick friends or the deaths of others.

Arnold Cordova, 81, a founder of the group, says hearing about the losses is the hardest part.

“We’re getting older, and the fun part is to see each other every month,” he said. “But it’s hard when you see one guy one month and the next month he’s gone.”

Cordova still remembers when he ran his gas station at Ford Boulevard and Brooklyn Avenue (now Cesar E. Chavez Avenue) in East Los Angeles, where many of the group hung out.

“I used to give them credit” for gas purchases, he said with a smile. “Others worked for me.”

Old stories are told again and again at the monthly meetings, many of them dealing with war experiences.

“I remember seeing the bullets kick up on the sand,” said John Almendarez, 76, a World War II veteran, as he described his experience at Iwo Jima. “It was like being in the movies, but two minutes later, the lieutenant next to me was dead. That’s when I knew it was real.”

After his discharge in 1946, Almendarez began taking engineering courses at East Los Angeles College, and night classes at UCLA and USC. Eventually, he became a civil engineer for the Department of Water and Power; he stayed there until his retirement.

Besides being a social circle, the organization serves as a support group.

“People can tend to shell themselves up,” said Salvador Traslavina, a Korean War veteran. “For those that aren’t as outgoing and who are lonely, this helps them come out.”

The members collect money from those present to pay for the day’s breakfast. Whatever is left over goes into a college scholarship fund for Roosevelt and Garfield students.

Al Padilla, who joined the group five years ago, says it is consoling to have friends like these when a member is going through difficult times.

He joined after discovering that he had prostate cancer, and found support in the group.

“Some of the members had been through the same experience and it was nice to compare notes,” he said. “The group is like a poor man’s Rotary Club. We’re there to help others and not just to benefit ourselves.”

Padilla said he got the nickname of “the Benedict Arnold of East L.A.” after he left coaching at Roosevelt, his alma mater, to head the football program at Garfield High.

“People would say I was a traitor,” laughed Padilla, who later coached at East Los Angeles College.

Despite the age differences among some members, the men have learned a lot from each other, said Frank Aguerrebere Jr., 75, another World War II veteran.

“We listen to the jokes and we listen to the hardships,” he said.

The chatting includes memories of school dances, drive-in movies, neighborhood games and the malts made at the drugstore at 1st and Soto streets in Boyle Heights.

Some of the men later married the girls they took as dates to high school dances. Only the men attend the group’s monthly meetings, but wives and girlfriends participate at special events, such as the Christmas dinner-dance--held last Saturday this year--and at annual Valentine’s Day parties.

Their school yearbooks are full of black-and-white photos that show the smiling faces of James Dean look-alikes.

The retired engineers, educators and electricians say they may never get to experience a time like that again. But for a couple of hours each month, they share those happy days once again.