Did I have a "Hideout"?

No. We lived in the city - next door to the Huntington Park High School in Huntington Park, California. The only trees we had in the yard were fig and plumb trees. Well there were some small citrus trees in the front yard, but nothing that would fit a tree house. We had a cellar, but it was small and dark. Mom kept her canning stuff down there, and fruit when we would go
up to Aunt Ila and Uncel Berts' place in Santa Cruz, California. What I did have in the summer was a "blanket and sheet house". Well it was what we little girls thought of as a house. I took my table and chairs over and we had some apple and orange boxes we used as other furniture.
We took the blankets and sheets our Mothers would let us have and made a tent like structure that we played in all summer long. One wall was the side of the Malcoms' garage. The other three sides of course were our design by draping the material over what ever we could find to support them. I have to admit we were quite inventive with how we had the things put up.
No respectable "Play House" would have been complete without a well stocked box of ladies dresses, hats and shoes. Nothing like a pair of high heels that were 6 sizes too big for you to clomp around in. Of course the dresses had to be pinned up so we didn't fall down in them, but we were OH so grand. We had our dolls with their buggies and of course we had such wonderful dinners. No we didn't have "mud pies". We were great with graham crackers and water however. Soda crackers didn't taste all that good when they were soggy. My Grand Mother had given me a lovely China Tea Set that was "Made in Japan" as most things were back then.
We would have a beautifully set table with that set. It was shiney with the outside of the tea pot, creamer and sugar shell, a lovely amber color. It was decorated with pretty flowers. Most of the pieces got broken over the years, but I had the Tea Pot for a long time. Oh and I had a set of silver ware. I think it was made out of pot metal, but it was grand. About the size of pickle forks. Small, but it went well with my tea set. Some days we would play School and Office. Each of these imaginary times would help us lay great ground work for our future lives. Back in those days we didn't have Television. In the early evening - after dinner all the kids on the block would come around and we would play "hide and seek" and other games that the older kids and us little ones could play together. There was a great deal of fun to be had. The boys made rubber band guns from wood and clothes pins. If there was a pair of roller skates around that weren't being used for skating, the boys would get an apple box and 2/4 and make a scooter. That was great fun. They would hound Mom for her empy Turn can to make a neat head light - which didn't give light, but sure looked good. Then again if we could get Mom to let us have the empty cans that milk came in we would stomp on the side and then tap the ends around our shoes and make can stilts. That was both fun and made a great noise when we went running
up and down the sidewalk.

On the night the good Radio Shows were on we all gathered around the Radio and listened to such programs as: Lux Radio Theater, Fibber McGee and Molly, Lucky Strike Hit Parade along with Bob Hope and Fred Allen shows. It may not sound like much fun, but we loved every minute of it. The "Hit Parade" let us hear all the latest songs that were around and told us where they were on the list of most listened to. Lux Radio Theatre was a treat because it had
stories that were acted out by famous Movie Stars speaking the parts. We could set there and imagine all the scenes and the costumes, etc. What a great time we had. You know, Bob Hope was funny just to listen to, and he had so many great characters that were on his programs. Jack Benny, Edgar Bergan and Charlie McCarthy and a host of others kept us entertained
in a way that will not likely be repeated again. Some nights Dad would come home from work and tell us kids if we would help Mom with the dishes after dinner he would take us to the "Dime Struggle" for a movie. I guess I should explain that - In Huntington Park there were five Theatres. The first from our house was the cheapest. The price was 10 cents for every seat. We could attend the Movies for 50 cents for all of us. There was always two features at least one and maybe two Cartoons and of course the Newsreel. That was great fun. The next show up showed newer pictures but it was 15 cents a seat. The newest Movies were shown at the
California and Warner Brothers that was farther up in town. Then if you missed one of newest movies at either of those Theatres, there was the Lyric up at the very other end of town. At the California and Warners it was 25 cents if you were over 15 10 cents if you weren't; at the Lyric all seats were less, but we seldom went that far, so I don't remember what the prices were there. When we would go to the "Dime Struggle" it was also customary for Dad to treat us to a Chili Dog at the shop next to the show. Boy were they good. I think they were 15 cents. Lots of cheese and lots of onions please! OH! and we walked to the show. Yes, we had a car, but we rarely used it. I would say the walk to town was near or a little over a mile, but we never
minded it. Such fun to do things as a family.
Written by Eileen Charmaine Smith Rosenberg January 1, 2009