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Beebe, Earl (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Beebe's single interview was conducted in his office at the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce. Members of the Signal Hill Historical Society introduced Beebe was introduced to the interviewer. 10/2/1981
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- 2020-12-17
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- SUBJECT BIO - Earl Beebe worked for the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce for more than twenty years. Both large, international and small, independent oil and supply companies belong to the Chamber. It focuses on solving problems common to all of its members. Beebe also grew up on Signal Hill and remembers the early days of the oil boom. In this single, interview, Beebe discusses his father's glass manufacturing plant on Signal Hill and products he made. As the oil boom developed in the 1920s and Beebe grew older, he found work around oil wells. Then he dropped out of high school to join the army and served in the Philippines. When he left the service, he traveled around and worked at different jobs, but he always wanted to come back home to Signal Hill where he went to work for the Chamber of Commerce. Beebe's interview was part of a project to study the impact of the discovery of oil on the development of Long Beach. TOPICS - oil industry; Long Beach Memorial Hospital; farming; Signal Hill, California; Burnett school; Japanese farmers; airplanes; and Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce;oil industry; US Army; Depression; Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce; 1933 Long Beach earthquake; boxing; Kid Mexico; and the Pike;
- *** File: peebeebe1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-0:11)... Brief introduction (0:11-4:24)... Beebe was born in Eden, Indiana. His father had a farm, operated a saw mill and headed a paving company. His family came to California around 1912, and by 1920, his father owned a glass factory in Signal Hill in 1920. It made glass beads for women's clothing as well as humidifiers for automobiles, mirrors for dentists and glass boiler tubes. Later he started the Beebe Glass Company that was located where Memorial Hospital was at the time of the interview. (4:24-6:49)... Beebe does not know why his family moved to Signal Hill, but they moved out to California in 1912 by train. They lived all around Long Beach and in 1917 moved to Signal Hill. His father operated a saw mill in the Tahachapi mountains and near Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains to support his family. Beebe grew up with people of all colors and remembers that, as a child, he did not take notice these differences. (6:49-7:46)... While he was growing up, Beebe and his friends picked apricots for 5 or 10 cents a box in the Hemet Valley, near Perris. They also picked guavas and other fruit on Signal Hill. (7:46-7:59)... Beebe was the oldest of his three sisters and two brothers. He was the only child that did not get married. (8:03-10:10)... Japanese farmers on Signal Hill were famous for growing Tip Top cantaloupes and watermelons. Not many people lived in Signal Hill before the oil boom. Beebe attended Burnett school through the eighth grade and then to Long Beach Poly High School. Along with picking fruit, he helped his father at the glass company. (10:10-11:59)... In Signal Hill, there was a train that came down California Avenue and where the tracks went around Signal Hill, there was a bridge. This was a location where cowboy movies were shot. Buck Jones and other movie stars would ride their horses. Balboa Studios was headquartered nearby in Long Beach. There was a post office and store near Burnett school but between that and the Los Angeles River there was "nothing but willows." (11:59-13:39)... There were Japanese farmers on Signal Hill but the area was not densely populated. There were not many decent roads. Wagons brought supplies to Japanese farmers. There was 1 mounted police officer in the area and no problems among people of different backgrounds. (13:39-14:14)... Wild cactus plant grew on Signal Hill when he was growing up. He and his friends used to eat the fruit from these plants. (14:14-15:59)... Beebe got involved in farming with Earl Daugherty. In 1925 Beebe joined the Army, and wanted to get into the Air Corps. Daugherty, who had been a flight instructor in WWI, wrote a letter of of support for him. The Army sent Beebe to he Philippines where he spent 2 years on Corregidor but never got his pilot's license. (15:59-17:07)... In the old days, many pilots believed only bi-planes, not monoplanes, could fly. They essentially flew "by the seat of their pants." Beebe helped around the local airport, preparing airplanes for "joy rides" by paying customers. (17:07-19:42)... Derricks began to be built on Signal Hill after oil was discovered. Everything changed when oil was discovered. Some people got rich, including some of his school friends from Los Cerritos, but no oil was discovered under Beebe's family's property. He worked for several oil companies doing jobs such as driving trucks and maintaining boilers. Nothing was a regulated then as it was at the time of the interview. (19:42-22:09)... Near where Memorial Hospital was located at the time of the interview, there was a body of water called "the frog pond." It was fed by a spring and full of tules. The water was still and no one drank it unless they fell in. There were chicken farms nearby as well as the Coseboom school. (22:09-25:02)... The Japanese farmers on Signal Hill couldn't own the land they farmed. There were some homes on top of Signal Hill when the oil stuck. Joe Denni owned one of them and oil was discovered under Denni's property. The carriage house from this house was moved and turned into a cafe. (25:02-27:45)... There was a bus line that came down Atlantic Avenue to the Pacific Electric trolley tracks. The Pacific Electric trolley ran on American Avenue (known as Long Beach Boulevard at the time of the interview) to Willowville where one set of tracks branched off toward Newport Beach and another went on to downtown Long Beach. Most people either walked or rode public transportation because they could not afford to buy cars. Beebe's first car was a Dodge. Mountain View Dairy was north of San Antonio Drive, but around where he lived, there were mostly open fields. Beebe shopped for clothes and other things in downtown Long Beach and there was not much crime. (27:45-31:13)... Before the first successful oil well was drilled on Signal Hill, there was an unsuccessful one that ended up dry. Beebe watched as Shell Oil Company drilled the discovery well. Shell used cable tools to finish drilling the well. Later Beebe worked on a rotary drilling crew for the Plymouth Oil Company. His first job was installing crown blocks on derricks. After the discovery well became successful, "lease hounds" representing many large and small oil companies showed up on Signal Hill almost overnight. Wells seemed to be drilled everywhere and crews worked 24 hours a day. (31:13-34:52)... In 1925 Beebe joined the Army without graduating from Poly high school. He served for two years. Before going into the Army, he worked for his father's glass company. When he first got out of the Army, his next door neighbor, who was a tool pusher for Plymouth Oil Company, helped him got a job there installing crown blocks on rotary derricks. (34:52-36:21)... Beebe quit working on Signal Hill and went up to the Sequoias to help build highways. He wanted to work were he could meet different people, and this led him to have many different jobs. He has been a member of the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce for about 23 years. (36:23-39:42)... Beebe is too young to remember the incorporation of Signal Hill. The city boundaries did not go to the curb line of the streets so they would not have to pay for half of the upkeep of the streets. The city limits of Signal Hill zigzag. The city limits didn't include Long Beach Municipal and Sunnyside cemeteries. Some of the city limits go through parking lots and restaurants. There are problems now with the city. It can't expand. It can only build up and this leads to more problems. (39:42-43:00)... He worked on the highways in the Sequoias and then someone that he met helped him get a job at Santa Anita racetrack as a Pinkerton Detective for one season. His job was to make sure neither movie stars who attended races nor horses were bothered. He also checked up on track employees to make sure they didn't bet on races. During the Depression he did whatever he could to make a living, including working in the shipyards. He worked at Mare Island and learned to be a shipfitter. He also worked at sawmills in the mountains. But he always came back to Signal Hill were his family was. (43:00-45:15)... He was heavily involved in sports. Once he worked at the Pan American games but felt the need to come home to Long Beach. End of tape *** File: peebeebe2.mp3 (0:00-1:52)... Beebe remembers returning home from the Philippines when he was in the Army and feeling happy to be back in America. (1:52-6:58)... During the Depression the oil boom died down a bit. He was working for the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce when local oil companies began secondary recovery programs. Many of the independent oil companies had to cooperate with the larger companies, such as ARCO, Shell and Texaco, because only the big companies had the capital implement secondary recovery. They hoped it would produce as much oil as primary recovery. Some oil wells were taken out of production so they could be used to pump water underground. Others were taken out of production because they were not needed to produce oil any more. This opened up room for building. Beebe believed Signal Hill needed a bank and worked with different groups to try to get one. Home Bank eventually opened a branch in Signal Hill. Representatives from Shell always served on the Board of the Chamber of Commerce. (6:58-17:21)... Beebe has worked with the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce for 23 to 24 years. It was already incorporated when he joined and their office was in City Hall. They usually draw 150 to 175 people to meetings. One of the first letters the Chamber received was from an Alaska Senator responding to the Chamber questions about oil related issues. The Chamber is small compared to the one in Long Beach. They employ one secretary who is usually a student. Beebe believed doing practical work is an important part or anyone's education. Beebe also works with a work furlough program for prisoners. (17:21-23:39)... The Chamber advocated an end to the inventory tax. Many of the large businesses built warehouses and kept their inventory in Nevada, because that state has no inventory tax. Beebe argued that the transportation added on to the price of the commodity. At the time of the Santa Barbara oil spill, the Chamber publicized a report that sea life was not effected by the spill; they wanted to get the "truth" out to the media. They also worked to make sure there was enough parking for shoppers in Signal Hill and, at the time of the interview, were working to eliminate the inheritance tax. The Chamber works to keep the doors open for all businesses. Ninety-five per cent of people who own businesses in Signal Hill do not live there. (23:39-26:22)... Beebe's father closed his glass factory in 1922 or 1923 when he moved north to start a saw mill. His father was more scientific than business minded and he had 6 kids to support. At one time, his family lived west of the Los Angeles River in a place called a "Shanty Town." Despite the name, homes there had running water and baths, but it was home to many working people. There were canneries nearby as well as gardens operated by the Works Progress Administration. (26:22-29:94)... At the time of the 1933 earthquake, Beebe was living on west of the Los Angeles River. He was on the football field at the naval station where boxing championships were being held when the quake struck. He later walked downtown to see the destruction there. His home was not damaged but the old Seaside school was demolished, along with a lot of other brick schools. (29:04-31:33)... The Pike in Long Beach was a place where a family with little money could go. Kids could swim in the ocean and see shows for 15 cents. Huge hamburgers cost 10 cents and root beer 5 cents. Beebe often walked from Signal Hill to the Pike but if he had 5 cents he rode the Pacific Electric trolley. For 25 cents he could ride to the Pike and see a show; or he could walk both ways and get a hamburger. (31:33-34:20)... Beebe has traveled with boxers, both Black and White, and hates prejudice. But sometime when boxers earn a lot of money, they forget their old friends, both Black and White. (34:20-35:00)... Beebe works with people in prison and believes that for some going to prison was the best thing that could have happened to them. It gives them a chance to turn their lives around. Beebe tried to help people who are in jail except drug pushers and child molesters. (35:00-37:58)... Beebe was friends with Kid Mexico, Todd Faulkner, when Faulkner was boxing. Faulkner opened a bowling alley in Signal Hill and made a lot of money. Signal Hill was a wild place; things were open 24 hours a day, partially because the oil business operated around the clock. (37:58-43:42)... Signal Hill is a small town and its city officials aren't like those in larger cities. In small towns, everyone knows everyone else. Most citizens know their city council representatives but money also plays a big part in city elections. City managers in Signal Hill only last about 5 years and then have to move on. Kid Mexico was involved in city politics. But residents of new condominiums in town will probably bring political change to town. (43:42-45:05)... One of the accomplishments the Chamber was getting city to contract for fire protection from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He was the chairman of the Chamber committee that asked the city manager to survey fire insurance rates. The survey show that rates would be lower if they disbanded the local fire department and contracted with Los Angeles County. End of tape
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