irvinerealtor
Well-known member
A heartfelt thank you to those that have served and sacrificed for the liberty that we all are able to enjoy.
As a bit of a tribute, if you'll indulge me, I would like to share a portion of the book I'm helping my grandmother get written down that pertains to an area relatively local to us. I hope you'll find it an interesting read as it is a much different description of Riverside (in 1943) than most would currently give...
She is the oldest surviving sibling of her 13 brothers and sisters (we have a large Scottish family) and is 94 years strong. She has been my mentor, teacher, role model and inspiration and I love her dearly. It was at one of the dances she described below where she met my grandfather, also a Navy enlisted man. They married 2 months after meeting and remained happily so for 52 years until he died of cancer in 1995.
-IrvineRealtor
Chapter 7 - CORONA NAVAL HOSPITAL
The train we boarded in LA was called the Milk Train. It traveled from L.A. to Riverside.
Once we left the city we traveled through groves of citrus trees and vineyards. As we pulled into Riverside I was struck by its beauty. Orange and Lemon groves covered the hillsides and well kept old homes lined the streets.
A bus picked us up at the Station. We traveled back West through Riverside until we finally reached the Hospital.
Before the war, this had been The Norconian Country Club; a very exclusive club that catered to the wealthy Hollywood crowd. The Government took it over, as they did many properties, for Government use throughout the Country. I was told they paid market value for the properties they took. It was a beautiful property in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps this was one of the reasons it had been chosen.
The bus stopped at the gate. A guard spoke to the driver, glanced into the bus and waved us on. We drove through the gate and up the hill to stop in front of a beautiful Spanish style building. This was the WAVE Quarters. We were ushered in and told we could choose any room not occupied.
The hospital had not been open long. There were only thirteen WAVES on the base when we arrived. Edie Gilbert and I got a room together on the first floor. There were twin beds and dressers in the room. We had to go down the hall for the bathroom but this was luxurious living compared to the Barracks we had been in at San Diego. Several months later, we moved upstairs into a four-bed room with an adjoining bath that opened into the next room with two beds.
Once we deposited our luggage we were ordered back to the lobby for instructions. We were given a map of the Base and told we were free to wander anyplace on the base on our free time. We could check out boats if we wanted to go rowing on the lake. We could even check out fishing tackle if we wanted. There was a bowling Alley at our disposal. There were two swimming pools for our use. There was a store and Ships Service on the first floor of the Hospital. There was a Chapel that was used by all Denominations.
There were three Units on the base. Unit One was the hospital and our quarters. Unit Two was the Tuberculosis Unit. Unit Three was for the Rheumatic Fever Patients.
Every weekend, there was a Ships Dance. We were encouraged to attend the dances. It gave the patients, who weren?t able to go on Liberty, a little Social Life. When we attended, we never sat out a dance. Patients appreciated it. Even those in casts tried to dance. It was a great way for us to get make friends with the other Corpsmen.
The base fire station was next to our barracks. We were told that we would all be given firefighter training. Between Riverside and Los Angeles, there were hundreds of acres of vineyards. When the Santa Ana Winds blew, all liberty would be canceled and we were to be available to fight fires. If a fire got into the vineyards it could sweep all the way to Los Angeles. Those hoses are heavy. We got the training but fortunately, I never had to use it. If it was our Liberty weekend, and there was a suggestion of a Santa Ana, we got off the base as early as possible.
After getting settled, we were mustered out in front of the building and marched up the hill; shown through the Hospital and assigned to Wards or special departments. Edie and I were assigned to different Wards. We met again at the chow Hall for dinner.
We worked 8 hours one day and 16 the next; with Port and Starboard liberty, (liberty after work on our short days with every other weekend off).
Dress Code, because of the heat, had been liberalized. With our Summer Seersucker Uniforms we were allowed to wear white Bobby-Sox on base. If we went off Base we must wear hose. I had some nylons that I had been so careful with. If I got a run in them, I would take them to a lady who could repair the run and you couldn?t see where she had repaired them. On our first liberty, I took my hose out and found they were full of runs, beyond repair. No one had told me ants eat Nylon. The girls who had been there for a while, told us to keep our hose in glass jars. It was good advice too late for my Nylons but I kept my rayon?s in jars.
There was a bus to Corona. Corona was a small town about six miles from the Hospital. There was nothing to do there unless you wanted to hang around bars. We spent our Liberty evenings in Riverside and weekends we traveled to L.A.
Riverside was 12 miles from the Hospital and we were told there was no transportation. This was our liberty town???? The Navy finds a way; you walk (out of the question after an eight hour shift) or hitch a ride. What would Mamma think? She wouldn?t believe it so why tell her.
As a bit of a tribute, if you'll indulge me, I would like to share a portion of the book I'm helping my grandmother get written down that pertains to an area relatively local to us. I hope you'll find it an interesting read as it is a much different description of Riverside (in 1943) than most would currently give...
She is the oldest surviving sibling of her 13 brothers and sisters (we have a large Scottish family) and is 94 years strong. She has been my mentor, teacher, role model and inspiration and I love her dearly. It was at one of the dances she described below where she met my grandfather, also a Navy enlisted man. They married 2 months after meeting and remained happily so for 52 years until he died of cancer in 1995.
-IrvineRealtor
Chapter 7 - CORONA NAVAL HOSPITAL
The train we boarded in LA was called the Milk Train. It traveled from L.A. to Riverside.
Once we left the city we traveled through groves of citrus trees and vineyards. As we pulled into Riverside I was struck by its beauty. Orange and Lemon groves covered the hillsides and well kept old homes lined the streets.
A bus picked us up at the Station. We traveled back West through Riverside until we finally reached the Hospital.
Before the war, this had been The Norconian Country Club; a very exclusive club that catered to the wealthy Hollywood crowd. The Government took it over, as they did many properties, for Government use throughout the Country. I was told they paid market value for the properties they took. It was a beautiful property in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps this was one of the reasons it had been chosen.
The bus stopped at the gate. A guard spoke to the driver, glanced into the bus and waved us on. We drove through the gate and up the hill to stop in front of a beautiful Spanish style building. This was the WAVE Quarters. We were ushered in and told we could choose any room not occupied.
The hospital had not been open long. There were only thirteen WAVES on the base when we arrived. Edie Gilbert and I got a room together on the first floor. There were twin beds and dressers in the room. We had to go down the hall for the bathroom but this was luxurious living compared to the Barracks we had been in at San Diego. Several months later, we moved upstairs into a four-bed room with an adjoining bath that opened into the next room with two beds.
Once we deposited our luggage we were ordered back to the lobby for instructions. We were given a map of the Base and told we were free to wander anyplace on the base on our free time. We could check out boats if we wanted to go rowing on the lake. We could even check out fishing tackle if we wanted. There was a bowling Alley at our disposal. There were two swimming pools for our use. There was a store and Ships Service on the first floor of the Hospital. There was a Chapel that was used by all Denominations.
There were three Units on the base. Unit One was the hospital and our quarters. Unit Two was the Tuberculosis Unit. Unit Three was for the Rheumatic Fever Patients.
Every weekend, there was a Ships Dance. We were encouraged to attend the dances. It gave the patients, who weren?t able to go on Liberty, a little Social Life. When we attended, we never sat out a dance. Patients appreciated it. Even those in casts tried to dance. It was a great way for us to get make friends with the other Corpsmen.
The base fire station was next to our barracks. We were told that we would all be given firefighter training. Between Riverside and Los Angeles, there were hundreds of acres of vineyards. When the Santa Ana Winds blew, all liberty would be canceled and we were to be available to fight fires. If a fire got into the vineyards it could sweep all the way to Los Angeles. Those hoses are heavy. We got the training but fortunately, I never had to use it. If it was our Liberty weekend, and there was a suggestion of a Santa Ana, we got off the base as early as possible.
After getting settled, we were mustered out in front of the building and marched up the hill; shown through the Hospital and assigned to Wards or special departments. Edie and I were assigned to different Wards. We met again at the chow Hall for dinner.
We worked 8 hours one day and 16 the next; with Port and Starboard liberty, (liberty after work on our short days with every other weekend off).
Dress Code, because of the heat, had been liberalized. With our Summer Seersucker Uniforms we were allowed to wear white Bobby-Sox on base. If we went off Base we must wear hose. I had some nylons that I had been so careful with. If I got a run in them, I would take them to a lady who could repair the run and you couldn?t see where she had repaired them. On our first liberty, I took my hose out and found they were full of runs, beyond repair. No one had told me ants eat Nylon. The girls who had been there for a while, told us to keep our hose in glass jars. It was good advice too late for my Nylons but I kept my rayon?s in jars.
There was a bus to Corona. Corona was a small town about six miles from the Hospital. There was nothing to do there unless you wanted to hang around bars. We spent our Liberty evenings in Riverside and weekends we traveled to L.A.
Riverside was 12 miles from the Hospital and we were told there was no transportation. This was our liberty town???? The Navy finds a way; you walk (out of the question after an eight hour shift) or hitch a ride. What would Mamma think? She wouldn?t believe it so why tell her.
