HS Reunion

long,long ago

Verdugo Hills,'79...Sometimes called Verdrugo

 

long,long ago

Verdugo Hills,'79...Sometimes called Verdrugo

 

I graduated in 1970 from Walpole HS in Massachusetts. I had a 63 Buick Special Convertable. We were not allowed to drive to school. Neck ties were the rule even if wearing a sweater. They'd check. The assistant principal was the neck tie Nazi.

My kids did their freshman year at Irvine HS in Irvine Ca. The student parking lot consited of Mercedes, Porches, 57 Chevy's (restored of course), Audis and Beemers. And at least two limo's that dropped off kids and picked them up in the afternoon.

The teachers had Chevettes, Pintos, Corrolas etc. You know the type.

Quite a sad commentary on what we value in this country.

 

rank and file

In the immediate area,Verdugo is the "low class" school;compared to Crescenta Valley and La Crescenta-Flintridge High Schools.A lot of Hondas/Acuras and Toyotas/Lexus's are the popular cars with kids and teachers around here.My in-laws VW's are fairly cool to them.My 86 Colony Park could be a ship from outer space,judging by the looks it gets,when I drop my son off at school...He himself,likes the Colony Park,a lot.We used to have an 88 Acura Legend,and other than the quicker acceleration,it was just another car.Not really that special.It was a smaller car with a V6,and got about the same mpg's as our HUGE stationwagon.:confused:

 

Same thing in my Quebec HS. Run by a pretty cool bunch of Friars, close to home. It went to Grade 13, plus a one year pre-University Grade. No student cars, no co-ed dances or events. All guys, hockey jocks. And since all the local schools split the girls from the boys, school dances were out! The funny thing was that the Churches (Catholic) ran the teen dances in the basements of the churches, and did serve liquor to kids over 18. Still, no cars allowed on church parking, and a winter parking ban on streets closed the deal.

We had one math teacher who went and bought a brand new 1963 Galaxie convertible. (He was the only one that wasn't a Friar.) What a beauty! White with a black top and red interior. Young, single guy. His girlfriends would drop him off and cruise to the malls!

 

My dad had the 66 caprice wagon when he was in hs, he was made fun of for it, until they found out it was fast, then a few people stopped picking on him. Finally, he sold it to my uncle and bought a 68 Impala SS427, that added some popularity.

 

stereotypes

The reputation stationwagons have here in Southern California is;that they're huge and slow and can stop on a dime...Truths are;they are often given some of the more powerfull engines in the line-ups.I once street raced a late 60's Camaro with a 307,in my 68 Colony Park that had a 390 in it.Both would've been rated at 325 bhp.No,I didn't win,but I did manage to keep up enough to freak the other guy out.He kept looking over his shoulder,with a worried look on his face.No confident glances at the rearview mirror for him...People are always getting into the empty space I need in front of my 86 Colony Park to stop it in time.They don't seem to realize my car doesn't come with Porsche Carrera brakes...And,yes,compared to most of todays cars,even my Fairlane sized 86 Colony Park is HUGE.But it's not really THAT big.Compared to mid-70's wagons,it's slim and trim.

 

im tho only kid in my town to have an "actual" good old fashioned station wagon! i get picked on for it. but after firing it up and it sounded better than some of the teachers mustangs (my exhaust was hanging off from the manifold at the time) the kids backed up and slowly inched away. now im allowed to park with some the teachers and kids leave me alone. some of the teachers even tell me stories of when they had wagons them selves!

still like the quote "make tupperwhare sounds when shutting the door." amazing!

 

lol my dads first car was a meyers manx....in Pa none the less

 

Ha, dune-buggy style? Real nice. My station wagon sits between my friends Mazda Protege, and my other friends Olds Alero, the only 'big' car that is even close, which stil ain't all that close, is my other buddy's Grand Prix. Mine just sticks out like a sore thumb. We've got slanted parking stalls, and when you look at the lot from the school (side angle) all you can see is the rear end of that wagon sticking out about 2 feet past everyone elses cars.

 

those back ends

At my work,the parking lot is rather small.Can't imagine what it must've been like,back in the Seventies,when my Colony Park would've been "midsize".My spot is in a corner,where a ramp comes down from the loading dock.To keep the path clear,me and the person on the other side of the path,must park over to one side of our spots.My Colony Park and her Dodge Nitro can fit in the two spots and there's plenty of room for equipment to fit thru.Somebody in a smaller car parks in her spot(in the middle of thespot and and two feet from the loading dock),and all of a sudden,there's not enough room:banghead3:...And,while SUV's sometimes block the view,the woodie back end sticking out makes the Colony Park easier to find in shopping center parking lots.