03 Cross Roads Letters -- 1
Owner-operators Leonard and Louise Klempnauer stand in the front door of the Cross Roads BBQ Drive-In in 1953. My dad died in 1974 at age 64. My mom died in 1997 a few days shy of her 83rd birthday.
Letters to City Hall and the Editor
(All letters are from former SCHS students unless otherwise noted.)Alice (Cherry) Dogherra, Visalia, Calif., Class of '60
This place is an old haunt of many people in the '50s and '60s. I remember going there and to the Five-Spot Drive-in with friends. It was a local hangout, and my mom always could find me there. I moved from Santa Cruz last year (2000), but whenever I drove down to the wharf or Boardwalk with my children and then grandchildren, I would point out the old Cross Roads and tell them stories of carhops, great food, etc. Of course they wanted to know what a carhop was. There isn't too much left to remind us of our school days, with the '89 earthquake and the tearing down of the older buildings. Please keep the old Cross Roads for our grandchildren. My husband's family is the Rountrees. They go back five generations -- sheriffs from the old days. The Detention Center off Buena Vista is on their old dairy land and there are photos of them there. This saves the past for the future. So do this to the old Cross Roads Drive-In.
[Alice Beth (Cherry) Dogherra died April 17, 2003, in Visalia, Calif. She was 60.]
Leroy DeCamara, Vancouver, Wash., Class of '58
I visit Santa Cruz two to three times each year. Sadly, as I visit modern Santa Cruz, I notice that not much remains of the neat places that I remember from my youth. It strikes me that it would be really great to preserve the Cross Roads Drive-In and restore the building as a tribute to the Fifties' era. It could become Santa Cruz's own American Graffiti museum! I urge you to reconsider and not destroy one of the few remaining symbols of 1940s' and 1950s' Americana. Our past is not being preserved enough in this country. Think of something from the past you might have visited recently and consider that it wouldn't have been there for you to enjoy had not someone done something to save it.
Carol (Costella) Schwartz, Scotts Valley, Calif., Class of '59
It has been suggested that the former Cross Roads Drive-In be restored and included in the plans for the new park at the former depot property. As a native Santa Cruzan and as a teenager in the '50s, I think this is a wonderful idea! The "Cross Roads era" was a wonderful time and to preserve this symbol of the truly "good old days" would be an outstanding accomplishment of the City Council. I can remember so clearly (down to the exact foods ordered) going there after attending my husband's Senior Ball -- our first date -- and we're still together after 40+ years of marriage! Please consider incorporating this fine idea with the other plans for Depot Park. (Husband Don Schwartz was in the SCHS Class of 1957)
John Lute, San Jose, Calif., Class of '57
I moved to Santa Cruz in 1947 just after WWII, and I'm an alumnus of the Santa Cruz High Class of 1957. I moved from Santa Cruz in 1960 to San Jose but still call it my hometown. Like me, a lot of people who moved left their hearts in Santa Cruz. I understand the Cross Roads Drive-in, two blocks up from the wharf and main beach, is targeted to be torn down. I spent almost every Thursday night after the Naval Reserve meeting there. A group of us would gather there to talk and check out the girls and cars that came in. It seems a shame that anyone would want to tear down history to erect a historical museum. It would seem to me there should be some way to include it along with that new construction. I hope this reaches someone with a heart that can intercede and change the minds of the City Council and the Planning Commission before they make another unwise decision.
Susan (Sellers) Jackson, San Simon, Ariz., Class of '59
Do I remember the Cross Roads Drive-In? My lord, I lived across the street at the Pacific Courts. My parents owned the Courts from 1946 to 1961. There were the beach, the Five-Spot and the Cross Roads. I got many calls from girlfriends asking if their current boyfriend was at the drive-in. And the music, oh the music! I think saving the drive-in would be a big draw for the city. There are so few left, if any, nowadays. All the youngsters today would be very interested in seeing what it was all about back in the '50s. If the Cross Roads is saved, I will come to Santa Cruz just to see it one more time.
Andy Enrico, Boise, Idaho, Class of '56
I can remember when a buddy of mine and myself were allowed to sleep overnight in our car in front of the Cross Roads during the 4th of July weekend back in the late '50s. We had an apartment we were supposed to move into that weekend, but unfortunately the previous tenants did not vacate on time. We had already given up our old apartment and now found ourselves homeless. The owner of the Cross Roads heard about our problem from one of the carhops and came out and told us that we could sleep in front of his place over the weekend. So we waited until it closed each night (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and slept in the car. Each morning the owner would send us out a cup of coffee to "get us going" -- for FREE, I might add. It made a lasting impression on both of us. And I've always kept that in mind as I grew up -- take the time to help someone else who needs you. (Wife Linda Karo was in the SCHS Class of 1962)
Judith (Sink) Bowman, Rail Road Flat, Calif., Class of '58
This letter is to ask you to please save the Cross Roads. It would be such a shame to lose the last of our places that brings wonderful memories. The 1950s were a great time to be a teen-ager. My boyfriend (he became my husband six days after graduation) and I went to Spivey's Five-Spot more than to the Cross Roads, and it was sad to see it go. Our grandchildren think we are talking about the drive-in theater when we said the drive-in may be torn down. Our children and grandchildren are missing so much by not having a place to hang out like we did at these drive-ins.
Ron Miller, Blaine, Wash., Class of '56
Even though I didn't actually own my own car until the early 1960s, I was an eager passenger in many that spent evenings cruising the route that included Pacific Avenue and Ocean Street and the two drive-in landmarks that were halfway mileposts: the Cross Roads and Spivey's 5-Spot. Sometimes we forgot all about time as we rotated our way through downtown Santa Cruz, checking out the other cars and, in our case, the young women who might be in them ... By the way, I was born and raised in Santa Cruz and lived through the entire cruisin'-the-drag era, although it was pretty much over by the time I finally turned my own car down those nostalgia-filled streets. I now live in Blaine, Wash. -- smack up against the Canadian border -- but my heart remains in Santa Cruz. (Wife Darla Roda was in the SCHS Class of 1955)
Nancy (Christy) Rader, Branson, Mo., Class of '56
If you are being bombarded by letters from the alumni of Santa Cruz High School, especially those in the '50s, it is because it is an era of great memories and times -- the never-to-be-repeated '50s. The night times in Santa Cruz were filled with cruizin', going from the Five-Spot to the Cross Roads and back again, just to see who was hangin' out. The good, clean fun that I remember cannot be forgotten. There were never gangs or drugs and seldom ever alcohol. The teenagers of that time had the best of times and don't want the memories to all be gone. The changes in Santa Cruz in the last 50 years have altered many memories, but when a landmark such as the Cross Roads goes, it is gone forever. Please reconsider and preserve this memory of our youth and innocence. Make it a landmark of our "good old days" and make Santa Cruz a city that cares.
Charles McFadden, Oakland, Calif., Class of '55
Please add my voice to all those urging preservation of the old Cross Roads Drive-In building. I am sure that this icon of the '50s has happy memories for hundreds of Santa Cruzans and preserving it would not interfere with the city's plans to create a natural history museum at the site of the proposed new park. (Wife Barbara McCombs was in the SCHS Class of 1954)
Loye (Bentley) Cochran, Fallon, Nev., Class of '55
The Cross Roads was a very big part of our (student) lives as was the Five-Spot. I still come to Santa Cruz with friends from time to time. We talk about the old days and "check out" everything. The '50s were such wonderful times. The younger generations should have the opportunity to see how the local kids entertained themselves. We cruised Pacific Avenue all weekend and after games. The beach and Boardwalk were final destinations all summer, and we hung out at the drive-in to be seen. Given the terrible world situation lately, to keep some memories of our country, city, county that were innocent and peaceful are good to look back on.
Robert Moody, Sebastopol, Calif., Class of '55
I am concerned about the possible demolition of the old Cross Roads Drive-in building where we spent so many hours after ballgames and cruising Pacific Avenue and the beach. It occurs to me that when I've visited my folks through the years, this is one recognizable landmark (especially following the earthquake) of my hometown that I've always pointed out to family and friends.
JoAnne (Lysowski) Berger, Arroyo Grande, Calif., Class of '59
Please, please, please don't tear down part of our lifestyle that took place in the '50s. I picture Santa Cruz, and this is what is in my mind: the beach, my friends and the drive-ins. I remember Maureen Caldwell, Jeanne Gray and I walking to the beach almost every day, turning at the ice plant, and walking the tracks to the beach. We would, a lot of times, stop at the Cross Roads and sit and rest before we went on our way. Please don't destroy our past. It's a lot of what we have left in our lives, telling our grandkids what our life was like back then. The only drive-ins remaining that I know of are the A&W Root Beer places, and they don't compare to the fabulous ones we had in Santa Cruz. I took many a tourist to the Cross Roads with a lot of our friends, just to talk and get to know each other and search for other friends that might have stopped by. Back in those days, really nothing bad ever happened to you in Santa Cruz. Please keep our heritage.
Jack "Stormy" Plattner, Las Vegas, Nev., Class of '55
I have just learned that a particular place that many of us remember fondly, the Cross Roads Drive-in, is being considered for elimination to make room for a museum. I remember it well, and its location at the foot of the hill made it a logical and fun place to be. I am disappointed that this icon of some of the best times in many of our lives is to be leveled. It would seem that it would be logical to take advantage of the location to incorporate it into a broader picture to bring back the Santa Cruz we knew. It could present an historical display of a very appropriate time in our past that would serve as information to the uninitiated, and a great reminder to those of us lucky enough to have lived in Santa Cruz in those years. I urge you to consider every alternative. Certainly I urge you to keep the structure as part of the legitimate history of our town. I know that there is always a wide selection of agendas in attempting to reach a decision such as this. I can only close by saying that in many instances, a little creative thinking can usually achieve an end result that is reasonable and acceptable to Santa Cruzans -- past, present, and future ... I ask it for myself in a selfish way, but I also ask it for my grandchildren who will stand in awe of the past that we enjoyed.
Minnie (Roberson) Welch, Oxnard, Calif., Class of '58
I would like to see the Cross Roads preserved as a place to take our grandchildren to. I believe all graduates of the late '50s would say aye to the vote. We have great memories of the Cross Roads, Boardwalk and the Five-Spot. So much has been taken from the kids of today because Santa Cruz officials have not preserved the neat spots we had as well as not preserving the safety we had then. We truly had the best time to be teenagers. Santa Cruz was a wonderful place to live.
Letters continue on page 4
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