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Utter, Don (audio interview #1 of 5)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of five interviews that were conducted at Utter's home in Belmont Shore. The interviewer met him while serving on a LWV's committee to prepare a pamphlet about local history. Utter subsequently became a student of the interviewer as part of the Senior Citizen fee waiver program. 11/5/1980
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- 2020-10-14
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- *** File: cbdutter1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:57)... Brief Introduction Utter was born in Texas in 1919 and his family moved to New Mexico for a couple of years and then on to Long Beach. In New Mexico, his family lived in a gold and silver mining camp and the nearest hospital was in El Paso, Texas. His paternal grandfather owned a mine in the Steeple Rock mining district. His maternal grandparents lived in northern New Mexico and he barely knew them. His paternal grandparents moved to Long Beach followed by his father and mother. (3:57-5:02)... Utter had 2 brothers, the older one born in Berkeley, while his father was in college, and the younger one in Long Beach. His father never graduated from UC Berkeley because he went back to New Mexico to run the mine. His mother taught elementary school in Belen, New Mexico. (5:02-9:05)... His paternal grandfather was originally from Connecticut. He was a businessman who invested in mines and met his wife in New Mexico. She was originally from New York. Most New Mexico mines were shut down during WWI but one of his grandfather's mines operated. It also produced copper, lead and zinc. Metal prices dropped after WWI, and inflation and the rising cost of operations made the mines unprofitable. That's when his grandparents moved to Long Beach. His grandfather had made successful investments in real estate. His father and uncle took over the mines. During the Depression, labor was cheap, the price of gold went up, extraction methods improved and the mines began paying off. (9:05-11:26)... His grandmother wanted to come to Long Beach for the climate. When they arrived, they joined the First Congregational Church and she joined the Daughters of the American Revolution. Utter was two and a half when his family moved to Long Beach. His grandparents lived in a big two-story house and he grew up in a house on Obispo. He does not remember childhood in New Mexico. (11:26-16:08)... When he was growing up in Long Beach there was plenty of open space in the city. There was beautiful surf before the completion of the breakwater and it was great for body surfing. There were especially big waves, called "bone crushers" near Belmont Pier. (16:08-20:04)... Sand on local beaches used to come down the Los Angeles River, but to control river flooding, dams and levies were built and the river channel was lined with was concrete. Dams were built in the San Gabriel Mountains to catch runoff water. Sand on the beaches eroded until there was no sand at Cherry Avenue. Houses were washed away. The sand on local beaches today comes from dredging in Long Beach Harbor, Alamitos Bay, and the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers. (20:04-25:48)... Utter was educated in Long Beach. Before the Depression, the local schools were progressive. He attended Horace Mann elementary school. After primary grades, the school were departmentalized. It was a better system than the one used in the schools at the time of the interview. Utter was a science teacher in Long Beach until he retired. Long Beach had good facilities at junior and senior high schools. In 1933, the earthquake destroyed many of the buildings. Jefferson Junior High lost many classrooms in the quake. Many vocational shops and classes were eliminated during reconstruction. The Smith Hughes Act encouraged vocational education and utilized skilled craftsmen as teachers; the federal government provided funds. (25:48-29:36)... His mother was not interested in social activities. She came from a co-op family in England. She was 15 when she came to US. Her father was a storekeeper for a co-op in Yorkshire. His mother was politically active. She was a registered Democrat while his father was a Republican. His mother was involved in the PTA and a woman's discussion group, the Friday Morning Club. She taught Sunday school and worked for the social welfare department, Los Angeles County Registrar Voters, and Los Angeles County Census Office. She was not a real political activist but she was a close friend of Clyde Doyle and John G. Clark. She worked as a clerk at the social welfare department and never returned to teaching school once they got to California. His father was apolitical. (29:36-33:43)... His father worked many jobs including at oil refineries, on survey crews, and as an engraver. He worked in the experimental division of North American Aviation. There were not a lot of mining jobs available during his father's adulthood. The mining jobs that existed were far away, had low pay and poor working conditions. His father did mostly mechanical work. He was also he executor of his own father's estate. His grandfather owned mines in California but they were not active. His big mines were in New Mexico. (33:43-37:30)... His family always believed education was important. There were good libraries in Long Beach. His mother was always involved with school. He and his brothers always did well in school. They had a basketball court in the backyard and went fishing. His dad encouraged them to work on old cars and learn mechanical skills. During the Depression his father worked for the WPA. And during the Depression, kids could get jobs then when older men couldn't. He, for example, sold vegetables and swept the floor at a barber shop while his brother had a paper route. They always worked little jobs, but their jobs were an important supplement to the family's income. (37:30-42:51)... Long Beach was a smaller town when he was growing up than it was at the time of the interview. Traffic was modest and large areas north and east of downtown had sparse residential development. He could hunt birds and rabbits with his cousins. There was a swamp out in the low lands near Bixby ranch. They hunted ducks when he was in high school. Ranchers would let kids hunt with shotguns. Children had a lot more freedom when he was young. They were allowed to trespass on private property and steal fruit. Rules, of course, were stricter for girls. Kids could watch workers at industrial plants. His father took him and his brothers to different plants, foundries, etc. to observe. (42:51-45:03)... As a boy, he frequently visited the Pike. It was a favorite hangout for sailors of the Pacific Fleet. In his early years, it was a respectable place. There were band concerts, rides, and curio shops. One of the biggest roller coasters in the country was located there. *** File: cbdutter2.mp3 (0:00-3:07)... There were Navy families in Long Beach, but not too many enlisted men were married. He often saw enlisted men downtown or around the pike. Many Navy families lived on the east side of town. The Navy was important to the economy of the city. Enlisted men were generally welcomed. Some would drink publicly which was not socially accepted. Long Beach was dry before national prohibition was adopted. His neighbors made home brew and wine. The kids in the neighborhood would steal it. Rum runners operated in the area. Catalina water taxis smuggled liquor from ships off shore (3:07-6:40)... Alamitos Bay was a popular boating area. Skimmers were popular and there was a lot of sailing. Boats stayed away from the surf because it was dangerous. Lifeguards made rescues using boats. They had rescue boats off shore that operated by the pier. There were many life guards around because of the dangerous surf. Boating was done primarily off shore. Catalina was very popular. There were several local yacht clubs and others at Newport and in Los Angeles Harbor. A local ship building company built large yachts. (6:40-10:45)... He remembers the Pacific Southwest Exposition being very large. His family went to several fairs in San Diego and San Francisco. He got arrested on the way home from the San Diego Fair; he was mistaken for a run away. Hitchhiking was not a crime when he was a boy. When he was younger, it was common because many people didn't have cars or could not afford gas. At one time the bus service to Lakewood was so terrible that students at Long Beach Junior College boycotted the bus. They decided to hitchhike instead and it became a stylish thing. The bus service improved as a result of the protests. He does not remember many details of the Exposition. It was like a grown-up carnival. There were no serious exhibitions. It was similar to the Pike. (10:45-13:17)... He didn't travel a lot when he was in high school. His family made trips to San Diego, Big Bear and the Santa Ana Mountains. They took many trips to Los Angeles. His father enjoyed museums. They went to the San Diego Natural History Museum. The family did not take long trips together. They always encountered car problems when traveling to Lake Arrowhead. Mountain roads were mostly paved. (13:17-17:41)... The Long Beach 1933 earthquake caused a lot of damage to the schools. Most buildings were so heavily damaged they could not be used. The buildings at Jefferson Junior High were demolished. Wilson High School was closed for about 2 years while repairs and modifications were made. Education was disrupted. After the quake, safer buildings were constructed many of reinforced concrete. Buildings before were made of hollow tile and brick. Kids went to school in tents. His sophomore year in high school, he went to class in a tent city. Buildings were slowly being rebuilt and strengthened. The experience of going to school in tents was miserable; it was a wet winter. The quality of learning was poor for a couple of years. (17:41-22:30)... His last two years at Wilson were happy. It was considered a good school; graduates were able to get into prestigious colleges. It differed from Poly High in its lack of economic and racial diversity. He was interested in science and was on the chemistry team where he received a letter, like a varsity letter. Science programs at Wilson were considered good. He thinks the level of sophistication in science education has increased since Sputnik was launched. Before Sputnik many schools had stopped teaching physics because it was so difficult. (22:30-24:43)... He was not involved in many high school activities. He worked all through high school, after school and on weekends. It was the time of the Depression. He was interested in community politics and worked in election campaigns. He helped elect Byron Scott to Congress, and Clyde Doyle. He worked for the Wagner Drug Company; one of the partners was councilman, and also mayor, Clarence Wagner. He met many of the local politicians there and at the barber shop. Had more political experience then the average kid. During the Franklin Roosevelt years, politics was more respectable and people believed in the political process. (24:43-26:51)... Byron Scott only served one term in Congress. He was popular with young people. Previously, his district had elected conservatives. He stayed in Washington after his term was over. Scott's sister was involved in Democratic activities. (26:51-30:09)... He went to Sunday school at the East Side Christian Church. It was a neighborhood social center. At 12 to 14 years of age he did no dating although he met girls through church activities. Long Beach was a big church town and he remained involved with church until he was 18. The East Side Christian Church was a liberal church following the Social Gospel with shades of socialism. It appealed to the radical styles of the time and idealistic, liberal minded kids. It was associated with the he Disciples of Christ and he made lots of friends at church. (30:09-35:16)... He met his wife at Jefferson Junior High. They were classmates, 13 or 14 years old. They started dating after high school and both went to Long Beach City College. It was an excellent school. California had a really good junior college system. LBCC had a high transfer rate, especially to Berkeley. Scholarships were not as plentiful then as they were at the time of the interview. People lived modestly. Many had to work while going to college. He started in as an engineering major. He went to LBCC for 3 years. Then he went to USC as a cinematography major but only stayed one semester. He wanted to be a technician in the motion picture industry, but found out he would have to buy his way in. Motion picture unions were controlled by mafia. Working conditions and wages were excellent but the industry was tightly controlled by gangsters, racketeers. (35:16-40:06)... He decided to leave school and get a job. WWII had already started in Europe and Asia. He worked for California Ship Building in the engineering office. While he was in college, he only worked in the summer. There was some money in the family; they sold one of the mines in New Mexico. Eventually he went back to school after the WWII on the GI Bill and got his bachelors degree. He commuted to USC. He didn't think he was smart enough to go into pure science. After the war he got a degree in geology; he had several majors over the years. Then he got his masters in education. He did clerical work at California Ship Building and worked there for about 6 to 8 months. Soon after Pearl Harbor was attacked, he was called to the US Army. (40:06-44:58)... He went into the army as a conscientious objector; he was a medic. He worked in a hospital; he was a non-combatant. Every place he worked was marked with a red cross, indicating that they were not to be targets. He was involved in a peace movement when he was attending church. He didn't believe that war was not a satisfactory way of solving anything. He could have gone to a forestry camp and avoided being drafted but decided not to. He was married at the time and could not afford to go to the camp. He was a fervent anti-Nazi. He was assigned to medical and x-ray training. He was part of the first field hospital to go overseas where he spent about 3 years. His wife worked as a library clerk at the Long Beach Public Library while he was overseas. He went to the Middle East. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Don Utter was a community activist and a teacher in local schools. He grew up in Long Beach and began his political education during the Depression when he supported Upton Sinclair's campaign for governor. He went to school in Long Beach until he was drafted at the beginning of World War II. As a conscientious objector, he served in a medical unit. He returned to finish his education and become a junior high school teacher and continued his interest in local political issues. In this series of five interviews, he talks about his decision, when he was diagnosed with cancer, to retire early and concentrate on trying to protect the environment and help elect progressive politicians. This interview was conducted as part of a project of study the impact of oil on Long Beach. TOPICS - family background; Depression; schools; churches; beach; the Pike; 1933 Long Beach earthquake; and the Pike;US Navy; WWII; US Army; marriage; beaches; Pacific Southwest Exposition; education; 1933 Long Beach earthquake; Byron Scott; Clyde Doyle; and East Side Christian Church;
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