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Ward, Henry Charles (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Ward was interviewed in the interviewer's office at CSULB. 1/5/1982
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- 2020-10-26
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- *** File: cbhcward1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-5:41)... Introduction. Ward was born in Tennessee and came to Long Beach with his parents in 1915. His father graduated from Harvard in 1889 with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked as a bookkeeper in his grandfather's sawmill but there was a feud between supporters of selling alcohol and prohibinists. People from each side set the other's property on fire. His family was dry but were afraid their property might be burned. So his uncle came to Los Angeles in 1910. He was a chemist and interested in an orange flavored soft drink; he urged Ward's father to come west and get involved in the tuna canning business. Ward's grandfather came to Los Angeles in 1911. (5:41-14:52)... Ward's grandfather came to Los Angeles to retire. In 1864 his greatgrandmother started a dairy which his father and aunt continued to run until 1923. His grandfather's family came from Connecticut to New York, and when he was orphaned, he was apprenticed to a cabinet maker whose daughter he married. He came to own hotels in country towns where travelers stayed and his children worked in the hotels. Then he moved to Michigan where he bought a berry farm. That's when he got interested in working in the sawmills and bought a half interest in a sawmill where he supervised the steam plant. (14:52-19:49)... Another partner, Adam Wells, bought into the sawmill. He also owned the Cooper-Wells Knitting Factory. Cooper was a Methodist minister who married his grandfather's sister. (19:49-30:26)... His grandfather moved from Michigan, with one of his business partners, to Tennessee where they started a box factory. The factory merged with another one and became the Anderson-Tully Box Factory in 1889. That company, at the time of the interview, was managed by John Tully. With the depletion of the forests, the company employed foresters to take care of the forests. Ward's father owned one-sixeth of the stock of the company when he retired. When his grandfather retired, he lived near Hollywood and his uncle lived in Boyle Heights. End of tape *** File: cbhcward2.mp3 (0:00-3:38)... Ward's father went to work in Compton at a tire factory, but it went out of business. His father had been secretary-treasurer of the company and held the keys to the safe. Then he went into the tuna canning business on Water Street in the harbor area. One of his partners was Bismark Housels in the Long Beach Tuna Canning Company. His father must have got the money to invest in this business from his father. Ward's grandfather was wealthy and generous. The tuna canning business thrived during WWI. (3:38-5:34)... The tuna canning business changed when Frank Van Camp, who canned park and beans in Indianapolis, came to southern California. The American Can Company, on the basis of his reputation, loaned him money to reorganize the tuna business. The business was sold to Purina in the 1960s. (5:34-7:45)... The canning companies fished for albacore tuna in the summer in the waters near San Pedro and San Diego. At times, they would fish farther south in warmer waters. They fished for sardines in the winter, which gave them something to can and helped them make money all year. As time passed, the fish moved south and the company opened canneries in Central America. They also fished near Japan and brought frozen fish back to California to can. (7:45-9:48)... The Van Camp company also canned vegetables including olives. But they had trouble with botulism. The Curtis Canning Company also canned vetegables. The French Sandine Company was also in San Pedro owned by Brageonovich. (9:48-12:32)... After Ward's father graduated from Havard, he worked in Watertown, New York for a short time. Then he moved to Tennessee where his father lived and started the town's electric light system and water works. He also worked as a clerk at his father's company. Though he never worked as an electrical engineer, he remained interested in the field. At times, he got calls by mistake from people who thought they were calling Ward's radio repair shop in Long Beach and he tried to help them with their problems. (12:32-15:39)... Ward remembers moving into a home in Long Beach where his family lived for a year. He remembers watching horse drawn funeral processions on Atlantic Boulevard during the influenza epidemic. (15:39-20:12)... Ward attended 1st grade at Burnett School in 1916. The building was 2 stories and its floors were oiled. When it rained, water collected at Atlantic and Hill and people brought boats to take children to school. Ward remembers the American Avenue School, which was built as a high school, burned. (20:12-24:40)... There was a drugstore across from Burnett School and only a few houses along a dirt path where Atlantic Avenue was at the time of the interview. There was a train that came from Los Angeles and a train station at Burnett near Signal Hill. Ward remembers that the city kept mules and wagons across from where Poly High School was built. (24:40-26:55)... Ward remembers when there was only 1 building at Poly high and on 3 teachers drove cars. By the time he became a student at Poly, everyone had a car. The Poly auditorium was built in 1932 and stood up in the earthquake. (26:55-30:45)... Ward's family moved to a home on Cedar and that's where they lived when he attended the Pine Avenue School because the American Avenue School burned. Then he attended Washington Junior High, which as new at the time. The buildings and houses off Cedar have remained much the same since his family lived there. The area was known, when he lived there, as the Westside. Soon, however, the area east of downtown, around Bluff Park, had become a more desirable place to live. End of tape *** File: cbhcward3.mp3 (0:00-6:47)... Ward remember that about 1916 many homes were moved on the back of lots and apartments were built where the homes once stood. He enjoyed going to a toy store downtown. He could ride the jitney downtown for 5 cents. Later it was replaced by a bus with hard rubber tires. There was a fine theater on 4th and Pine. The Owl Drug Store downtown was very elegant. Ward remembers a conversation with McFadyen, the pharmacist there, who told him that Long Beach people were too frugal to shop at such an elegant place. The College of Commerce was on 1st and Pine. On 4th and Pine, the Davis family had a second hard furniture store; later that became the location of Marti's Department store. (6:47-10:04)... In the 1920s, William and Al Davis, who were Ward's age, went to England and came back wearing a jacket that Ward admired. In 1930s, Ward went to England and came back with one of those jackets which he still had at the time of the interview. William Davis became director of the YMCA in Berkeley and Al Davis stayed in Long Beach and worked at the furniture store. (10:04-14:32)... There was a Buffums store on Broadway with lighted windows. Dr. Forsythe had his optometrist practice originally on Pine and later moved to a place on Broadway. He had one of the 2 electric signs in Long Beach in his window. The Wigwam and the Fairyland theaters were on the Pike along with the roller coaster, a bathhouse and the municipal auditorium. Everybody met in front of the bathhouse; children played and swam in the surf. The bathhouse seemed old even then. (14:32-18:20)... The Majestic dance hall was at one end of the Pike and it was not a place for children. There was also a merry-go-round. There were many hotels along the Pike and in downtown including the Virginia. Many people came to Long Beach during the summer and stayed at the Virginia. A friend of Ward's was friends of a member of the Kraft cheese family and this family member stayed at the Virginia and invited Ward and his friend to go dancing there. (18:20-22:43)... On the Pike, there were stores selling Chinese items and other "oriental" goods. You could get a hamburger for 10 cents and a hot dog for a nickel. Ward's family visited the Methodist church at 10th and California with his neighbors once or twice. and there were no Blacks in attendance. Later his family attended the Presbyterian church beginning in 1916. This church was damaged in the 1933 earthquake and torn down in the 1940s. Ward graduated from Poly in 1928 and only knew 3 "colored people." (22:43-26:03)... Ward liked going to school as a child. He remembers shopping at the Bungalow Grocery store on the corner of PIne and 7th. The store's slogan was "Watch us Grow." In the middle of the store was a barbershop where he got his hair cut as a boy. (26:03-30:01)... The Times Building was downtown on American. It had a big lobby with a Mexican restaurant called the Romona which had interesting furniture. He remembers going to eat there in 1918 with 10 guests his father had invited. The bill was 10 dollars and he thought his father must be a wealthy man to afford such a bill. Lord and Taylor was another fashionable place to eat. He believed one could get just as good a meal elsewhere for 75 cents. He remembers eating at other, more modest, places downtown including cafeterias and delicatessens. When the Romona closed, its chairs ended up at the Wayside Colony. End of tape *** File: cbhcward4.mp3 (0:00-7:07)... At the time of the interview, there was a house designed by the architects Greene and Greene at 316 Cedar and it was known as Jenny Reeves No. 2. There is a hitching ring on 3rd and American and it's the only one left in downtown. Ward attended Washington Junior High and Poly High. He took all of the Spanish classes that were offered as well as a college preparatory course. He then went to USC to study architecture, but didn't like it so he decided to take a pre-med course. While attending USC he stayed with his aunt who was living in the house his grandfather built in Los Angeles. He went to medical school at Stanford and did an internship at San Diego County Hospital. He also did a residency at Pottinger Sanitarium and San Francisco County Hospital specializing in tuberculosis. (7:07-9:54)... Ward took the Los Angeles County civil service exam for the Health Department and passed. He got a job as Tuberculosis Commissioner in 1939 because he spoke Spanish. In October 1941 he went into the Army and took a leave of absence from the Health Department. (9:54-11:33)... When Ward go out of the Army, he went back to the Health Department where he was put in charge of a large area including East Los Angeles and Compton. His ability to speak Spanish was important in those areas. In stayed with the Health Department, when it merged with the Los Angeles City Health Department, until he retired. In the evening he worked for the National Guard giving physical examinations, so he eventually joined the National Guard. He also opened a private practice, (11:33-17:36)... Ward lived in Long Beach until 1941 when he joined the Army. In 1942 he married a woman from Long Beach at Camp Roberts where he was stationed. After the war he and his wife returned to Long Beach and lived in a guest house behind his mother's home before moving into an apartment. Later in the 1940s, they moved to the place he still lived at the time of the interview, in Los Cerritos. His neighborhood hasn't changed much he moved in. Homes began to be built in the area about 1914 and when oil was discovered on Signal Hill, some houses were moved to Los Cerritos to get them away from the oil field. Virginia Country Club moved into the area in the early 1920s. Some who propsered in the oil fields also built fine homes in the area. Ward's home was designed by an architect who oversaw the repair of the Farmers and Merchants Bank building after the 1933 earthquake. (17:36-19:57)... War was attending medical school at Stanford when the earthquake struck in 1933. He didn't find out about it until the next day. By the time he came back to Long Beach in the spring, most of the damage had been cleaned up. But he say homes in which fireplaces had been replaced by bay windows. (19:57-22:52)... Ward opened his private practice on 9th and Locust in a building that was owned by Dr. Wall who was a dentist. He also practiced at Seaside, St. Marys and Community hospitals. His specialty was tuberculosis. When his patients were admitted to hospitals for other illnesses, they had to be isolated. (22:52-29:39)... Tuberculosis was almost always a fatal diagnosis. He tried to tell people about having the disease without making them too depressed. Before an efficient treatment was discovered, there was not much hope for recovery. Sometime patients developed other problems as a result of bed rest. He prescribed pneumothorax treatments and sometimes surgery. At the end of WWII, more effective medications began to be used. He learned the best methods of using these medications. After tuberculosis became treatable, he began seeing patients with emphysema. There was no effective treatment for that, either. Then tuberculosis made a comeback with immigrants from Mexico and later from Vietnam. End of tape *** File: cbhcward5.mp3 (0:00-5:30)... There was a California Milk Sanitarium in Long Beach where only milk was served. People from Los Angeles came to the sanitarium to get over hangovers. Dr. Carey came to Long Beach to treat people with tuberculosis and found there were no facilities for them here. So he persuaded the Milk Sanitarium to provide some space for his patients. Later the Sanitarium building became a convalescent hospital. (5:30-9:34)... Patients couldn't be admitted to hospitals for tuberculosis, although those patients with other illnesses could be admitted. There was a Battle Creek System Sanitarium in Long Beach where Ward was taken by his mother to be treated for a cold. The doctor dipped in cold water, then in hot water. When the Battle Creek Sanitarium was torn down, St. Marys hospital was built in its place. (9:34-11:56)... Long Beach was promoted as a Methodist Campground in its earliest days. The Methodists built a tabernacle here in the 1880s that is similar to one that still existed, at the time of the interview, in Arroyo Grande. In the beginning, no liquor was allowed in Long Beach and the town remained dry for a while. Seal Beach, however, was always wet. (11:56-17:28)... Ward doesn't believe there were saloons in Long Beach in the early days. The city didn't allow alcohol until national prohibition ended in 1933. While Ward was at Stanford, he saw President Hoover. Palo Alto was also dry but students and others went to a speakeasy in a nearby town. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Henry Charles Ward was a physician specializing in treating tuberculosis who worked for the Los Angeles County Health Department. He also maintained a private medical practice in Long Beach and saw patients at local hospitals. Dr. Ward has clear memories of growing up in Long Beach including watching lines of horse drawn funeral processions during the 1918 flu epidemic. His father came to Long Beach to invest in a tuna canning company in the harbor and his grandfather also migrated to southern California to retire. In this single, long interview, Dr. Ward talks about his memories of growing up in Long Beach and practicing medicine here. TOPICS - Topics on this side of tape include: family background; Anderson-Tully Company; childhood and educationTopics on this side of tape include: family background; Long Beach Tuna Company; childhood and educationTopics on this side of tape include: Poly High School; Owl Drugstore; Buffums Department Store: the Pike; Virginia Hotel and educationTopics on this side of tape include: learning Spanish; Jenny Reeves house; medical school; Los Angeles County Health Department and private medical practiceTopics on this side of tape include: California Milk Sanitarium; Battle Creek System; tuberculosis and prohibition
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