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Turner, Ewing (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Ewing Turner asked to meet the interviewer in her office in the Oral History Resource Center at California State University, Long Beach and that is where he was interviewed. TOPICS - family background; education; housing; baseball; Curley's; marriage; and children;Curley's; sports; oil industry; gambling; Fiesta de Oro Negro; and auto wrecking; 12/8/1989
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- 2022-10-05
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- SUBJECT BIO - Ewing Turner followed in father as owner and operator of Curley's restaurant. Its bar became a gathering place for blue collar oil workers while its dining room attracted white collar workers from surrounding offices and the Long Beach airport. In addition, Turner was an investor in other local businesses including the failed Signal Savings. In this single interview, Turner discusses growing up in Signal Hill. He attended local schools, played sports and held various jobs until he graduated from high school and signed a contract to play professional baseball. When he retired from baseball, he returned home to work for his father at Curley's which he later purchased. He expanded its space and menu while continuing to serve some of the dishes his mother and aunt had originally prepared. After he sold the restaurant, he invested in auto wrecking yards and then in Signal Savings. He remained on its board until it was forced to close because of bad loans it leaders had purchased. At the time of the interview, Turner was planning to move to Canyon Lake near Hemet. The interview was conducted as part of a project to document the history of Signal Hill. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Ewing Turner asked to meet the interviewer in her office in the Oral History Resource Center at California State University, Long Beach and that is where he was interviewed. TOPICS - family background; education; housing; baseball; Curley's; marriage; and children;Curley's; sports; oil industry; gambling; Fiesta de Oro Negro; and auto wrecking;
- *** File: sheturner1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-4:33)... Introduction Turner was born in Missouri and his family came to California in 1937 when his father lost his job with the state highway department. Their first night in California, the family slept on a featherbed in an open field. They stayed in a Torrance hotel room for a while and his dad found work in construction, but couldn't get into a union. So he took his family to Washington where they had relatives. Eventually the family returned to California and settled in Signal Hill because of the job opportunities in the oil business. Turner's father found a job at Hancock Oil Company where he worked for about 4 years. He then went to work for Signal Oil and Gas as a pumper and gauger. He worked there until 1947 when he bought Curley's Cafe. (4:33-5:13)... Turner attended Signal Hill elementary school, Hamilton Junior High and Poly High. He won baseball scholarships to both USC and University of Arizona but he decided to play professional baseball. So when he graduated in 1947, he went to a baseball camp in Santa Barbara. (5:13-11:51)... Turner's family lived on 3 lots with only 2 houses. He was an only child and he played on these lots. He participated in sports both in school and at the YMCA and in Boy Scouts. He also rode horses. Some people on Signal Hill still kept horses when he was growing up and he also rode at a stable near Wardlow and Golden. In fact, he was riding the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and he still remembers. His friend Bobby Mitchell's family owned the Foothill Club and Mitchell's dad would hire them to clean up after weekend concerts; they didn't get paid, but they got to keep all of the money they found where patrons and dropped it; often they split between $10 and $20. His mother died in 1968 and father in the early 1980s. (11:51-16:22)... Turner's first job was delivering the local morning newspaper while he was in Junior High. He didn't want to deliver the evening paper because kids who did that, had to collect subscriptions. The paper that he delivered in the morning collected its won subscriptions. When he was playing baseball, he worked in the oil fields during the winters. When he turned 21, he started working with his parents at Curley's. (16:22-21:43)... When Turner graduated from high school, he went to a baseball camp in Santa Barbara. He enjoyed these years in his life. He was the youngest player on the team and other players looked out from him. He signed with the Dodgers in 1947. He was promoted to the double A Southern Association where he played Mobile before he was drafted in 1951 and served in the Korean War. When he got out of the service in 1954, he returned to playing baseball in Pueblo, Colorado. But he soon decided to quit baseball and return to Signal Hill to be bartender since he had one daughter and another child on the way. He played catcher and still has many friends who played professional baseball. (21:43-24:12)... Turner met his wife in 1949 in Pueblo, Colorado and got married when he was in Mobile on September 20, 1950. At the time of the interview, they have 4 kids; 3 are married and they have a grandchild. His wife was going to finish her education while he was in Korea, but she only finish a semester before she went to stay with her parents in Pueblo. (24:12-26:27)... Turner, his wife and children moved to Signal Hill in 1954. In 1956 they bought a home in east Long Beach using the G. I. Bill. His wife worked at Petrolane when it was a small company. She also worked real estate, but quit when she had a heart attack. Turner also stopped working in his late fifties. (26:27-30:01)... When Turner returned to Signal Hill, he worked with his dad at Curley's Cafe. The place was small and he talked his dad into expanding. In the old days, oil workers who ate there were rowdy and few women ate there. When Turner first went to work there, the big, loud oil workers picked on him but later came to respect him because he became a peace maker. For example, he kept an Almanac which he used to settle arguments. He only hit 3 guys in 34 years. His dad wasn't so peaceful; he was an ornery devil, but their patrons respected him because he used to be an oil worker. End of tape *** File: sheturner2.mp3 (0:00-6:57)... Turner also had other reference books behind the bar to help settle arguments. Curley's served food and alcohol, and also had pinball machines. They took nickels and some people played them like crazy. His dad applied for license to operate Keno games like Kid Mexico did at his place in Signal Hill, but his dad never got a license. Curley's also cashed pay checks without charge to attract customers. They built up the business until the place was full all day long. In 1969 they expanded and built a dinning room separate from the bar. The dinning room attracted a wealthier, white collar crowd from the Douglas Aircraft plant, the airport and other surrounding businesses. They didn't take credit cards, but set up charge accounts for frequent diners. The restaurant was a melting pot and he always tried to treat all of his customers, both blue and white collar, with respect. (6:57-8:58)... In the old days, there was nothing but oil wells on the north side of Signal Hill. And when the San Diego (405) freeway was built, some businesses were taken out. The property at Cherry and Willow where Curley's is located was owned by one family whose house was there until Home Bank was built there next to Curley's. (8:58-14:03)... Turner's dad wanted to add Keno to his businesses as another source of income. At the time, he had 2 pinball machines that were owned by the Thompson Brothers who were also in the juke box business. Later the pinball machines were removed because the Signal Hill Chief of Police rules they were a public nuisance, but they never caused any problems for Turner. Curley's also had a pool table and shuffle board which was popular then. They charged a dime a person to play and the games paid for themselves in no time. There were shuffleboard tournaments in several bars. (14:03-18:11)... Turner's mother's name is on the oil derrick you saw when you walked into Signal Hill City Hall at the time of the interview. She was the only woman on the Fiesta de Oro Committee. She's listed as L. Turner, not as Lillian. The first 3 or 4 of these Fiestas were a big deal. They had activities for adults and kids. His parents attended City Council meetings to keep track of what was going on in town. Most of their time off work was spend socializing with friends. (18:11-18:50)... Turner's mother and his aunt were cooks at Curley's. At the time of the interview, their recipes for chili and stew were still being used. Int he winter, food was the backbone of their business. They eventually expanded the menu to include items specifically for lunch. (18:50-28:33)... Turner was also an investor in Admor Auto Wrecking in Stanton. It was a good investment, but another wrecking yard he invested in was not; his partner took off and he ended up working there everyday; by this time, he'd already sold Curley's. He also invested in Signal Savings where he served on the board of directors. When Signal Savings was begun, it was the only one in town, with the exception of Home Bank. Unfortunately the directors bought a bunch of bad loans which put them in a hole and they were eventually became insolvent and closed. (28:33-30:05)... Turner prosecuted people for bad checks while he owned Curley's but he never received restitution for anyone. Although judgments were issued, he never got any money so he finally quit going to court. He had a whiskey case full of bad checks by the time he sold Curley's. End of tape
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