My 50 Years in Palms

My 50 Years in Palms
by David I. Worsfold

This is the fourth in a series of articles on Palms written by Mr. Worsfold, a recognized civic leader who celebrated his 50th year in Palms on October 8, 1964.

In late 1916, my friends, the Gills, moved. The house, barn and all were jacked up and moved from Washington Street and Jasmine Avenue over the P.E. Railway to First Street. The eleven acres South of Washington was to be a movie studio. In a political move in 1917, dad lost his job as a guard at Juvenile Hall, he soon got a new job at the New York Motion Picture Corp. Building the first structures at the new studio, now the giant MGM. Dad switched from the New Keystone Biograph to Inceville, Paralta Studio, then the Triangle Studio and finally back to New York Motion Picture Corp.

I vaguely remember a celebration for the incorporation of Culver City. So what? The promoters called it Culver City four years before it was a city. When I became interested in History many years later, I looked up the records and found that the election date was September 15, 1917, and that the incorporation was illegal - or at least highly irregular - but it stood because no one contested the issue in the courts.

The World War didn't have much affect on me, as none the family were in the service, but we kids dug our own trenches, and played war. I remember the War Bond Issues, and when we had to wear gauze masks because of the influenza. Finally schools were closed for a time.

In the meantime dad worked at Hart's Studio, Universal Film Co., and in late 1916 he worked for the Milwaukee Building Co. Contractors on the new Ince Studios (now Desilu).

In 1918, my sister, Iva, started at Venice Union High School. This set the pattern followed by Richard and I, because the nearest high school in Los Angeles was Polytechnic, some eight miles away.

Los Angeles High was downtown and not at the present location. While a student at Venice, Iva posed for statue for art professor, Harry Winebrenner. Myrna [Loy] Williams and Doug Armstrong also posed for the group statue. A later demolishing of Venice High left only the group statue. It was also doomed, but loyal Venitians campaigned to save the statue. No, not because of my sister, but because the famous movie star, Myrna Loy, posed in the group. Incidentally, Myrna was a Palms resident.

Thinking to make a permanent mark in history, several kids scratched their initials in the new cement steps at the United Brethren Church, but the cement worker saw the initials and covered them, but not until he had copied and given them to the principal.

John McCarthy drove a buggy all around the valley to deliver groceries for the Palms Mercantile Co. Irish "Mac" generally took one or more boys to ride with him. Once we stopped at Dr. Iles just as a scream was heard. Mac grabbed the buggy whip, running to the house, and shortly emerged with a long snake which he said was a copper head. When he delivered at Partenico's (where Helms Bakery is now) or at De Bartolo's (where Culver High is now) he sampled the grape juice while the kids sampled the fresh grapes right off the vine. I knew two of the McCarthy boys, Tom and George. Tom later owned five drug stores, then served as councilman and was mayor of Santa Monica.

We hiked in the Santa Monica Mountains several times, and once when I was alone I hiked via Brown's Canyon (now Beverly Glen) clear over the ridge to what is now Mulholland Drive, and onward to Ventura Boulevard; it was twelve more miles and there was no road for half the distance. Many times I heard rattlesnakes but didn't see them. I don't think I reality wanted to see them.

Part 5