Trinidad High Class of 1955
I was born and raised in Trinidad, being fortunate
enough to come into this world at the Mt. San Rafael
Hospital. When I was born in 1937, it was not common
to be born in a hospital, but you were most likely
to be born at home.
Living on the South side of town, I attended East
Street School from the first grade through the fifth
grade, and then went to Rice School for the sixth grade.
Because the Rice School Building was being replaced
during the seventh grade, all students were sent to
Centennial Jr. High School. (Centennial Jr. High was
located on Broom Street, across from the Methodist
Church. It burned to the ground sometime in the ‘70’s
I believe, and now is a soccer field.) Students from
the South side of town were sent back to a brand new
Rice School Building for the 8th grade. My High School
years were spent at Trinidad High. I graduated with
the class of 1955. At that time the High School was
located in what is now the Trinidad Jr. High Building.
Many friends and memories remain from those years,
but that is another story.
Trinidad is a very historical town, and I have often
wondered what it would have been like to live in Trinidad
during the early days of dirt streets, Bat Masterson,
hangings, and gun fights. I now realize that after
66 years, some of my memories of Trinidad might be
of interest to the newer residents of my fine hometown.
Growing up in Trinidad was great, and I have many,
many memories of the town. I have listed some of the
things I remember about Trinidad.
For those of you that grew up in Trinidad in the 40’s
and 50’s, this will be reminder to you, and to
those of you that have grown up or moved to Trinidad
in more recent years I hope my comments will give a
short history of what Trinidad was like during my “growing
up years.” Many of the businesses and buildings
no longer exist, but if you have any questions or would
like details about an item, please contact me at “ gsisson@riolink.com ”.
Please put “Trinidad Memories” in the subject
line, so my spam filter will not reject your message.
Christmas in the basement of Jamieson’s Department
Store. Nothing but toys trains and Santa Clause.
“KRESS’s”, the only
true five & dime store in Trinidad.
Great assortment of candy and live turtles...
Montgomery Wards.. “Monkey Wards”, a great place to wander around
in while the folks shopped. Toys in the basement. Payments on charge accounts
made on second floor with a large floor fan always blowing on you. I loved
the smell in the tire shop located behind the main store building.
The Balboa Beer Garden.. ( West Main) Never was inside,
but a lot of activity and music spilling outside at night.
The Rialto, ISIS, Fox, Strand, and Up Town movie theaters.
Ten Wonder Bread wrappers would get you in for a Saturday show consisting
of a double feature,
cartoons, a newsreel, and an episode of Superman.
The Drive Inn Theater. (On East Main, beyond the
power plant) I won’t
mention my experiences out there....
A fire that destroyed a grocery store on East Main
Street across from Kress. I think it was a Safeway
store. We stood across the street and
listened
to the cans exploding. Hadad’s Department Store would later build in that
location.
Moses Dept. Store on North Commercial St. A dark
interior with an old smell. All financial transactions
were conducted over a network
of
baskets traveling
throughout the store on little wires between the main floor and
an office located in the back of the store. Money would
be put into
one of the
baskets, and the
clerk would pull a cord and the basket would then travel to the
office. Soon another basket would return with your
change and a receipt.
Riverside Drug Store. The best soda fountain in Trinidad.
Malts for a quarter, and they would give you the extra
malt in the mixing
cup.
The
store was
managed by Herb Coil, the father of Jimmy Coil, another graduate
of the THS class
of ‘55.
My favorite “Soda Jerk” at Riverside was Lucille Pfalmer. She was
an older sister of Charlie Pfalmer, who is also a ‘55 THS graduate.
Saturday night summer band concerts at Kit Carson
Park. Great Picnic place on a hot summer night. It
was during one of these
concerts
that my family
received notice of the death of one of my uncles, killed in
the war. (WW 2)
Labor Day Celebrations with a downtown
parade and Rodeo out at Round Up Park.
Trinidad Creamery.. One Gallon of ice cream for $1.50.
If you wanted to make your own, you could buy the ice
for a
penny
a pound.
Trinidad Grocery.. (across from the Trinidad Creamery)
This where my folks did their weekly grocery shopping.
For $5.00
we would
get five
large sacks
of groceries, and just sign the ticket.
How about the Arizona Apartments.. (intersection
of Commercial and Arizona. I believe a carwash now
occupies the location)
A large apartment
building.
One of the occupants was Mrs. Nelle Kerr, a schoolteacher
at Rice Jr. High. She was the Grandmother of JD Howard,
another ‘55 THS Graduate.
Corley Radio Shop... The first shop to have a real
live Black and White TV in the window for the public
to see.
I also
bought my
first crystal
radio
set parts from Herb.
How many of you remember putting your names on a
piece of paper and having it sealed in a jar and inserted
in
the “Statue of Liberty” at the
Courthouse?
Jamieson’s Dept. Store.. If you wanted something real nice, this was
the place to buy. They had a network of little boxes that would travel around
the store on a system of moving wires and pulleys. Like Moses’ store,
all financial transactions would be conducted using these boxes, sending payments
and receiving change from the main office located somewhere in the store. Owned
and operated by the family of Gail Jamieson, a THS ‘55 graduate.
Triangle Chevrolet Co. The only place in Trinidad
to buy a new Chevrolet.
Toller Motor Company. Need a new Ford?
Hadad Motor Company. The only place in Trinidad for
your new Willis.
Kapelke Jewelers, (Main street, next to Columbian
Hotel) big clock on Pole outside.
Joltons.. Store next to Kapelke’s with round curved show windows. Terrible
to clean. I tried to do it once. Never could get all the streaks out. They
never hired me to clean them again.
The Chronicle News.. Delivered many a newspaper for
them. Loved to stand on the sidewalk and watch the
Linotype
Operators setting
the
print, and
then the
big press printing the papers. The press was operated
for many years by Bill Neira, the older brother of Mary
Louise
Neira
another ‘55 graduate who
is now deceased.
The Morning Light.. Also delivered many a route for
them. Didn’t do that
for long. Had to get up too early.
The Buzzard Bus. Trinidad’s only local bus transportation for many years.
Ten Cents, and you could ride all day, or at least until the driver decided
you had been on the bus for more than one round trip.
How about all the corner “mom and dad” grocery stores (Long before
the 7-11’s & Quick Stops, etc.) Oak Street, DiPaolo’s, Danesio’s,
Ruscetti’s, Cardinale’s, Milinazo’s, Baca St., and I am sure
4 or 5 more...
Central Park... Great Ball Games.
Lee’s Barbeque.. If they had charged for each car that made the circle
through their parking lot, they would have made more than they did on their
hamburgers.
Charlie’s Barbeque.. Bought my first Chili Fries there. Owned by Charlie
Festi, father of Charles Festi, another ‘55 THS graduate.
Remember the fire siren that blew every day at 12:00
Noon, and notified everyone of curfew time at night.
10:00PM
in the winter,
and 11:00PM
during the summer.
Any one remember the Red Light that was located on
top of the First National Bank building. It would light
at
various
times
during
the night. It was
a signal to the policeman on the beat that headquarters
had a message for him,
and he
would call in to get the message.
How about the heated public swimming pool that resulted
from the installation of the Electric Power Plant located
East
of Trinidad.
I also remember the Grand Hotel, a triangular shaped
building located at the intersection of West Main and
Country Club
Drive.
Marta’s Bakery on Country Club Drive. The only place to get real hard
crusted Vienna bread. A real treat!
Does the name Arthur Pfalmer mean anything to you?
Arthur was Trinidad's “Merchant
Patrolman”. He was hired by business owners throughout the town to check
their businesses during the night. He walked the streets shaking doors every
night for over 32 years, with never a day off! He was the father of Charles
Pfalmer, one of the ‘55 THS graduates.
I have many more memories of my days in Trinidad,
and am sure that all the graduates of 1955 have their
own
memories.
I hope
I have
sparked a few of
them.
ONE MORE Memory.... Lets all remember those of our
classmates that have passed away. There are some that
we know of,
and many that
we are not
aware of.
Included in this list should be Roy Espinoza, THS class
of ‘54. Roy died during
the Trinidad flood of ‘55. Roy and his vehicle were washed away during
the flood. His vehicle was found, but Roy’s body was never recovered.
The Trinidad High Graduation Class of 1955 has had
2 reunions. One in 1975, and another in 2001. Of the
126 original classmates, 19 have been found to have
passed away, 82 have been located and the where-abouts
of the remaining 25 have is not known. At the 2001
class reunion, 62 classmates and their spouse’s
were in attendance. A 50-year reunion is planned in
2005. For more information about Trinidad and the class
of 1955, visit our Class web site.
http://trinidadhighclassof55.com
George Sisson
Class of 1955
gsisson@riolink.com Please
put “Trinidad Memories” in
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your message.