12/16/15
Hi Mr. Clark,
Roy Alcid here from the Philippines. Your Avocado Memories page was one of my first entertaining discoveries on the internet 15 or so odd years ago. Thanks for sharing the memories.
I remembered you when I saw this link, seems your mom was not alone in giving these out...
I wish you and your family all the best, and Merry Christmas!
Roy
Hahahaha! Yes, the Life Savers' "Sweet Story Book." I got my first one in 1968, when they were a novelty, and got them from Mom many years thereafter... - Wes
12/15/15
Hi Wes – I just came across your page today while looking for some old pictures of Auburn, New Hampshire. I live in Auburn – member of the Auburn Historical Association – came across this picture and wondered if you know where it was taken – What road – it looks like my neighbors house on Dearborn Road. Do you remember the last name of your mother’s sister – Shirley? Do you have any more pictures of Auburn? Liked the old post office – It’s now a pizza house!
Have a great day – love the old pictures! Can I post the picture of the post office on our historical (fb) page?
Merry Christmas!
Susan and David
10/5/15
I wanted to thank you for having the info on the x-500 space playsets. My Dad has them in the attic and he couldn't remember what they were called. Sadly, they're only semi-complete from being played with and moved about, but they're still a fun toy to look at and beats what we have for kids these days. I'm big on the Cold War and Space Race so this set is something that's not going anywhere any time soon; I might even see if i can complete it at some point with the help of ebay, now that i have a name to go with it.
Wes
8/12/15
Wes,
I was in the Home Depot in Weatherford, Texas last week and came upon this display of Tiki themed outdoor decorations. I laughed to myself and immediately thought about you.
Regards,
Chuck
7/29/15
Very similar up bringing. I grew up in Corona, Ca. Not in the city but in the middle of nowhere. The house was surrounded by dairy farms. It was near the Santa Ana river and Prado Dam . I actually loved it. I had plenty of space to run around with my dog and cat. There was a creek, a near by forest and nice views of Corona hills and Mount Baldy (snow peaks in winter).
Being the only boy ( I have two sisters, one was too young and the other could care less about “Boy-stuff” ) I created many make believe scenarios; I was The Lone Ranger with my two gun holster and cowboy hat (while wearing red Keds tennis shoes), I was Spider Man hanging on tree limbs, I was a hunter in Africa with my BB rifle looking for prey in my near by forest…….you get the idea.
After we moved I returned many years later and the house was razed (including the trees I had climbed) and a new modern house took its place. I was crushed. I had dreams of going back to my childhood home and walking through the kitchen, living-room, my bedroom, and my favorite spot: the attic. It was all gone. I cried. I couldn’t believe it. Why,why, why……?
As I looked around incredulously, trying to find some significant or insignificant thing or object of that long-ago childhood and then I saw it; Mount Baldy in all its majestic and glorious splendor. It put a smile on my face. I was eight again.
Victor
I'm glad there was at least one constant! That's kind of how I feel about the railroad trains passing by at the end of Lincoln Street. - Wes
6/15/15
Wes,
I read your page and I used to go to the Hollywood Blvd for movies and comics at Cherokee Books (sold a mint Amazing Spiderman #10 for $20.00 too in ’78 - I still regret that one) and Bond Street Books on Wilcox. Hopefully you might be able to answer a question for me that’s been bugging for years. Back then there was this man who dressed up in buckskin and cowboy hat with boots had the goatee looked like Custer. He used to walk the boulevard and streets surrounding; I remember being up there and he passed me and my grandmother and tipped his hat, a real gentleman. I’ve asked around but since it’s been 45 years not too many people have any clue what I’m talking about.
For years I’ve been trying to find who this man was - any chance you might remember him? I mean you couldn’t miss him because of the way he was dressed and he said hello to everyone and was extremely polite. Why I just thought of this is that I just read the article in the L.A. Times Calendar section about Dennis Feldman’s new picture book on Hollywood Blvd ’69-’72 and was curious if he took a picture or knew who this man was.
If you have any clue or even remember this man let me know, okay?
Thanks,
Bill
Del Aire
What you describe rings a bell. I do think I recall a Custer or Buffalo Bill-looking guy roaming around Hollywood Boulevard when I was a kid, but I know nothing about him. And google doesn't help. Sorry! - Wes
5/6/15
Dear Wes,
I so enjoyed going through your website. It brought back so many great feelings and memories for me. I am amazed at how you can actually recall what year things happened. My memory is much poorer than yours.
Although I am a little younger than you, my experiences growing up in southern California are much the same. I was born in 1966. I am now living in Houston, Texas, and boy, I sure miss Cali. Luckily, my mom still lives in Orange County, and I still get out to visit her a couple times a year.
Anyway, thanks so much for putting these personal experiences of yours out there for us to enjoy. I had the best time reflecting on those times with your help to jog my memory! Your writings reflect that your family and you have an awesome sense of humor, and you guys just didn't take life too seriously! That's the way to be!
Thanks again,
Anne
It's fairly easy for me to recall what years things happened; I'm good that way. My inner clock ticks, ticks, ticks away at a steady pace! Thanks for writing! - Wes
3/24/15
Dear Wes,
Since my last mail I explored a lot more of your wonderful site. It´s like finding treasures.
I was 6 years old when Neil Armstrong and his crew landet on the moon. I remember lying on the floor and watching these strange pictures in b&w on our tv and everybody was silent and could not believe what happened. Form that moment on the moon, space and robots where a big interest. A year later I got the most wonderful toy I ever had - the best space toy in a row of others, it was a Robbie robot from Alden. Until today I have no idea why this marvellous toy was available in Germany too!
I played that night until the batteries were empty. It´s sad, that I could not keep it until today. It would be treasure too. Do you remember the moon landing and how you felt about it?
Best wishes, Uli
P.S. Your site is a marvellous time travel and so inspiring. Thanks!
Thanks for writing again, Uli! I'll have to check out that Goldie Hawn film... looks promising. Like everyone else in the world, I was tuned in on the summer day in 1969 when the astronauts touched down on the surface of the moon. Astronauts were always my heroes, but this became even more of a thing for me after 1969. I got a poster of the Apollo 11 crew and put it up in the wall of my room and started reading books about astronauts and space. I also bought the View Master 3-D disks of the landing...
The influence didn't last too long, however. In 1969 I was deeply into Dark Shadows and vampires, werewolves, etc. and tarot cards. It was Space vs. the Occult, and the occult won. It was far more accessible... - Wes
3/9/15
Dear Wes,
Today I found „The Avocado Memories.”
My name is Uli and I am from Germany, born in 1963. Although I did not see much of your site yet, it touched my heart so deeply. Yes, it is something precious and I am amazed by it. Thank you for sharing your memories.
Right now I am working on a similar project. Different from you, I do not have much photographs of my own childhood. But as I am trying to raise a multimedia project I am contacting people from my neighbourhood to collect and preserve stories and photos of a lost era. I am doing it for me in the main, but also for others, because otherwise, one day all is lost.
I grew up with „Flipper” and similar things on tv and so, me any my friends always dreamed of living like Sandy Ricks. We played all summer to be like Sandy and spent the whole vacation at public pools and a nearby lake.
I was free as a bird when I was a boy and I think, nowadays it´s not possible for children to live like that. I loved it to be a boy and I was outdoors every single day.
In 1989 I realized a dream and travelled to the USA. It was the first time since my childhood I felt free again! It´s a beautiful country and I am thankful I could see some parts of it. Arizona, Utah, Nevada - a trip to Mexico and at least, to make my dream perfect, California.
I want to say thank you for your marvellous site. I can learn a lot of it - I never had any website before and have no experiences in creating content for a website. But it will work.
I have some questions and perhaps you can help.
When you were a boy, which shoes and jeans you usually wore? Can you name brands? Do you know similar sites like your own? I am interested in everything about the 60´s and 70´s and would be happy if can share any interesting link.
Thanks for you wonderful site, regards, Uli
Thank you for your kind words, Uli!
Shoes: I almost always wore what are today called Converse high tops. In other words, canvas sneakers or "trainers" (the British term). Sometimes they were white canvas, sometimes black. I preferred the high top to the lower ones. When I say that they were Converse, what I really mean is that they were Converse-style. The great majority of the time my sneakers came from the grocery store! I think they were, like, $2.99 or something. Japanese Converse knock-offs. I also remember our shopping for Keds, which is another brand of canvas sneakers. They advertised that you could run faster with these. (They lied.)
Jeans: Almost exclusively Levis and/or Levi-styled jeans sold at Sears. My parents were big Sears shoppers. Looking at the video evidence, I see that I was also wearing shorts (very high cut shorts!) and cutoff jeans. We lived in Southern California and it was frequently warm, so it made sense.
Other sites like Avocado Memories: It's funny. AM has been up since 1997 and I have received many e-mails like yours citing it as an inspiration for other captioned photo journal sites, but I am unaware of any quite like it. Check the links page. There are other 60's and 70's pages listed there, but none of them are quite as personal as AM.
Thanks for writing! - Wes
2/2/15
I am looking for a 1957 Econolite Antiques Cars motion lamp shade with a 1912 Ford Model T on one side and a 1914 Stutz Bearcat on the other. I would buy the whole lamp if the lamp shade is not available. Any idea where I can get one?
Thanks, Jackie
Online? E-Bay?
Sorry – I have no idea! I haven't seen them anywhere since I was a small child.
Wes
1/20/15
Dear Mr. Clark:
I have been blown away by your Dad's account of his days in the war. My father was in the 33rd and claims to have been in many of the same places in your Dad's narrative, from Camp Myles Standish to LeHavre, the chateau (he took a picture of it), the taking care of German towns, arriving at the Chiem See, the affair in Austria, remembering it as an effort to get to Trieste before the Russians (you say Tito, much the same thing). He also claims to have been the first of three American soldiers at Buchenwald, but was not recognized for it because there were not that many of his unit to be officially recognized. He was almost killed three times on his birthday, April 27, once by his own tanks. I have never been able to piece together his rambling narrative of his time there and verify it by official Army accounts of the war, but that's not surprising: SNAFU! Even Eisenhower's son wrote that the 1st Infantry liberated Buchenwald, when they only occupied the camp. To make matters worse, Buchenward was officially liberated on April 11, while the 20th Armoured was officially crossing the Rhine on the same date! I think your father's observation that various units were everywhere and no one could have possibly kept track of them is an apt description, given my father's memories.
You have helped me to heal and accept what my father has kept all these years as more than probable. We cannot possibly know what our fathers saw and felt then, but they came back changed men. I need to ask my Dad the exact troop he was in. If you have some time, please respond to this and let me know how I might get in touch with you further.
May God bless you and especially your father.
Stephen
Middleboro, MA
P.S. My father's name is William S. Sullwold. He was a Sergeant/Corporal at one time or another in the war.
Glad you enjoyed my Dad’s account of the war. I remind you that the long written part is not his words, but that of a unit history.
Your Dad and I share a birthday – April 27th!
Wes
1/12/15
Wes,
I was on the songfact website where you had a link to your CB page. I noticed in your bio that you were at Camp Pendleton. I was just up the road from you at MCAS El Toro. I was stationed there from 1978 to 1981. I was at Pendleton for a two week summer camp in 1982. After my active duty, I was in the Marine Corps reserve stationed at South Weymouth NAS and Pendleton was my first summer camp in the reserve and my second year I was an NAS Atlanta for two weeks.
Jim Weagle
I am certain that the Corps kept you gainfully occupied during your summer camp at Camp Pendleton! - Wes