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McDaniels, John (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - John McDaniels was interviewed in his home in Signal Hill. TOPICS - family background; childhood; oil industry; Depression; military; sports; the Pike; 1933 Long Beach earthquake; Richfield compressor plant explosion; WPA; and CCC;military; Kid Mexico; boxing; sports; US Army; petroleum refineries; and the Pike; 6/25/1991
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- 2022-10-20
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- *** File: shjmcdaniels1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:35)... McDaniels was born in Montrose, Colorado where his father worked as a blacksmith. The family left when he was three years old because it was cold there and to try to escape the flu epidemic. When they first arrived in Long Beach they lived at Venetian Square which was called Seaside Cottages in those days. Their family moved to a number of places until finally settling in Signal Hill, near where he was living at the time of the interview, in the 1920s. His father worked as a welder in oil fields all around California. (2:35-4:58)... In 1932 McDaniels's parents began a relief station in Signal Hill to help poor people. He played in the oil fields and on the rigs. Some days he walked down the trolley tracks with his brothers and sister to play at Colorado Lagoon; they stayed all day and walked back at night. They also often rode on the Pacific Electric trolleys that stopped near their home. There was a store near his home where his mother shopped and his family rarely went to church. (4:58-9:46)... McDaniels attended a nearby grammar school and then went to Jefferson Jr. High. He didn't like school and often ditched, so his mother sent him to a military academy. He had to live at the academy 7 days a week and had to wear a uniform. He liked wearing the uniform because he could wear it out on dates and other people looked at him and thought his family had money. The school was extremely disciplined. It had small classes and exceptional teachers, who were retired from the military. He learned manners there and to eat in the European manner, with is left hand. Friends later teased him for eating in that way. (9:46-11:47)... One of his instructors at the military academy was a captain in the National Guard . McDaniels met him again later, in 1945 when he was on his way to China, and he was a full colonel. Outside of the classroom, the students at the academy learned close order drill, manual of arms, discipline just like in the US Army. Everyday there was an hour of physical training including push ups, running and swimming laps. The academy even had horses, but McDaniels didn't care for riding them. (11:47-14:36)... The school's barracks had a crawl space underneath where there was room for student to try to hide and smoke cigarettes. When McDaniels tried this, he often got caught. There were 3 barracks where the students slept. Each building was named after a military hero and a matron lived in each one in a private room. There was a Filipino staff in the kitchen and the teachers lived off campus. Major and Mrs. Watkins owned the school and lived in a house facing Cherry with 2 cannons on the lawn. Their son, Booth, ran the school on a day to day basis. (14:36-17:31)... The swimming pool had a lot of sulfur in the water because there weren't filters like they have today; swimmers couldn't see an inch in front of their faces. For amusement they could spend the whole day on the beach or at the Pike for very little cash. A hamburger at the Pike cost 10 cents and one could spend the whole day there for about a dollar. He also went to the theaters and his favorite was the West Coast because the seats were nice. All of the theaters in Long Beach presented vaudeville as well as movies. He also went to other nearby theaters including the Ritz and the Belmont. (17:31-22:07)... McDaniels's father died in 1938 after his parents divorced in the late 1920s. He was living at 14th and Obispo with his mother and stepfather when the 1933 earthquake struck. There wasn't much damage to the house because it was built with a wooden frame but things were thrown onto the floor. There was a brick building across the street that collapsed and killed 14 men. Many people were afraid that there might be a tidal wave, so they took their cars and fled to Signal Hill. Many people spent the night on the hill waiting for the tidal wave, but it never came. After the earthquake, the school that had been damaged were torn down and kids attended classes in tents. (22:07-23:50)... Soon after the earthquake the family moved. Later he wondered if they moved whenever the rent came due. His stepfather, Verne Nichols, was a short man sort of built like Mike Tyson, who used to be a boxer. Later he worked at the Army Air Force base at Long Beach Airport running the refueling system. His mother never worked outside their home. (23:50-25:46)... His stepfather was the one who started the relief station. He heard about the WPA and opened the shelter in. They collected clothes and supplies and distributed them to the needy. Later they moved to another location whey they also baked bread. McDaniels delivered to CCC camps all over southern California although he was barely old enough to have a drivers license. He started about midnight and one time, would drive to the San Fernando Valley and the next day, to the dessert or to camps near Big Bear and Arrowhead. Gertrude Bebee, who later became mayor of Signal Hill, must have worked there because she was there everyday. (25:46-26:44)... Soon after the earthquake, a Richfield compressor plant blew up. When this happened, McDaniels was living on Signal Hill. He had learned never to go to a fire scene, but many people did go and they ended up blocking the fire trucks from the site. (26:44-28:18)... His mother and stepfather continued to run the shelter throughout the Depression. McDaniels graduated from 9th grade in 1934 and attended 10th grade and half of 11th grade at the military academy before he quit school to enlist in the US Army. His training at the academy prepared him for the military. He took his basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he earned $21 a month, and within a month and a half he advanced to the rank of sergeant so his pay increased to $36 a month. He finished his GED while in Japan. (28:18-30:04)... Back at home, the economy began to improve and his stepfather closed the bakery and went to work at the airport. His mother was a practical nurse; she wasn't an RN. She worked at St. Mary's Hospital and in private practice for almost 30 years. Many of her relatives followed her to California from Colorado and many of them lived nearby in Signal Hill. End of tape *** File: shjmcdaniels2.mp3 (0:00-1:44)... McDaniels' maternal grandmother had 9 children, 2 of whom died. All of the other 7 came to California. John was born on May 9, 1918. While he was serving in the military, didn't get home very often. When he left the service in 1960, he came back to live on Signal Hill, but he doesn't like to go to downtown Long Beach anymore. He'd rather shop in Lakewood than downtown Long Beach. (1:44-5:41)... Kid Mexico was operating on Signal Hill when came back from the service in 1960. Kid Mexico started out in a big old building on Anaheim St. where sponsored amateur fights; the winner got $3 dollars and the loser, $1. He was "one heck of a promoter." He had a bowling alley on on Orange and got movie stars to make appearances there. His house was nearby and he also had a restaurant and apartments. There were other restaurants and bars in the same neighborhood (5:41-7:30)... Many people criticized Kid Mexico. But there was colorful and there was always action around him. Drinking went on until 2 am and then, near Kid Mexico's there was a place that stayed open after that and sold "set ups." Patrons brought their own liquor and the place sold mixers and chasers. The "set ups" cost more than drinks in most bars. McDaniels has little interest in politics and feels that things on Signal Hill are going smoothly; since the town is small, he can call any of the politicians or police in town if he has a concern. (7:30-8:21)... McDaniels lives in an ethnically mixed neighborhood and like it that way. A man who lives behind him who runs a karate school for kids in his garage. Some police officers talked to the man and helped him find another place to teach kids and for the kids to train. (8:21-9:43)... In 1938 his sister and her husband moved into a house near where he is living at the time of the interview. His parents lived in the house where he was living at the time of the interview. His house was built in 1914 but it has survived earthquakes, etc. It has a cellar and used to have a cesspool. (9:43-11:11)... The steam train and Pacific Electric railway were a convenient way to get around when he was younger. He believes it is a mistake to build in the old rights of way because there might be a way to reconstruct part of the system or to replace rights of way with streets. (11:11-13:20)... McDaniels fought in both WW II and Korea. He was an engineer, in an armored division. Later he joined the military police and stayed with them until he retired. At the end of WWII he returned to the US, but after 3 months, he reenlisted and was sent to Germany where he served as a military policeman in Frankfurt. Then he volunteered to serve in Korea. He finally got tired of military life in Korea. It was cold, the food wasn't good and he kept getting shot at. (13:20-14:39)... After he left the military McDaniels worked in Washington D.C. for about a year. He then returned to Signal Hill and drove a taxi in Long Beach for a while. After that, he worked as a junkman. He had a large truck and picked up junk while he could sell and he made a pretty good living doing that. He remained active in the military active reserve and receives a pension from the government. (14:39-16:02)... A cousin, who has been paralyzed since birth, lived with McDaniels at the time of the interview and McDaniels takes care of him. He promised his mother he'd do it. (16:02-18:15)... Across the street from where he lived at the time of the interview there used to be a country club; it was built in 1915. The court that is also across the street was built in 1922 and when it was built, it was about the only building in the area. The house he lives in has beveled glass in its doors and other interesting features. (18:15-20:35)... There was an oil refinery on Burnett near his house. A man lived nearby who had chickens and rabbits and also collected glass jars for no apparent reason. After the man died McDaniels hauled all of the jars to a glass factory and sold them. Another man who lived nearby collected colored bottles and claimed to be a preacher. (20:35-22:55)... Several of McDaniels' family members live nearby. His brother, at the time of the interview, lived next door. A former Signal Hill mayor lives nearby as well. One of McDaniels' brothers is a truck driver and another installs and repairs air conditioning systems. Yet another brother joined the US Navy but left because he was allergic to so many things. (22:55-24:04)... McDaniels' daughter lives in Washington. He met his first wife while she was working at the Long Beach Skating Palace; they married in 1937 and his daughter was born in 1938 at a private Long Beach maternity home. (24:04-25:00)... McDaniels was friends with a Reckless Ross, who rode his motorcycle inside a cylinder at the Pike. Ross only had one eye and claimed that he lost one of his eyes because he tried to shave while he was drunk and hiccuped. (25:00-26:10)... McDaniels worked on almost every ride on the Pike and not of them paid very much. He worked there during the summers while he was in school. He tried to get a job at the Majestic Ballroom but the manager told him he couldn't dance well enough. (26:10-27:35)... While McDaniels attended the military academy he didn't get to spend time with the friends he'd made before starting to school there. So during the the summers, he spent time with those friends. In the end, however, McDaniels really thinks the military academy was the best thing for him. While he was going to school there, he was always being busy and this prevented him from being stuck up, which was an impression that other people had of the boys who went to the academy. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - John McDaniels grew up in Signal Hill and has lived there since retiring from the Army. As a boy, he attended the Southern California Military Academy in Signal Hill where he lived in the barracks. His mother sent him there after he played hooky from junior high school. In this single interview, McDaniels remembers growing up in Long Beach before his family moved to Signal Hill. His father worked as a welder in the oil fields and, during the Depression, his step father ran a "relief station" in Signal Hill where, among other things they baked bread for CCC camps throughout southern California. When he attended the military academy, he received military as well as academic training and found the military training valuable when he joined the Army. He quickly advanced to become a sergeant and served through World War II and the Korean War. When he retired and returned to live in Signal Hill, he held various jobs including "junk collector." The interview was conducted as part of a project to document the history of Signal Hill. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - John McDaniels was interviewed in his home in Signal Hill. TOPICS - family background; childhood; oil industry; Depression; military; sports; the Pike; 1933 Long Beach earthquake; Richfield compressor plant explosion; WPA; and CCC;military; Kid Mexico; boxing; sports; US Army; petroleum refineries; and the Pike;
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