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The Postwar Expansion Years: 1946-1959

Welcoming Veterans

On October 2, 1946, over 6,000 people lined Spadra (now Harbor) Boulevard to celebrate Fall Festival and the end of World War II. Veterans from the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II were asked to march in the parade. At the close of the Second World War, Fullerton’s 11,328 residents were weary of fighting, shortages, and rationing, but optimistic about the future. The city’s population would soon explode, rising to 58,000 by 1960. (Courtesy of the Fullerton Public Library.)
Initially only 15 veterans enrolled at the Fullerton Junior College campus in 1944/45, but by the following year, 308 had signed up for classes, and hundreds more were to follow. Welcome back events, including the 1946 dance shown here, were designed to bring a sense of normalcy back to the lives of returning servicemen, many of whom had been away for years.
Taken at the same 1946 dance, this photograph shows three FJC students in their naval uniforms. Several months after the war, veterans continued to wear their military uniforms at events and class sessions.
In this staged 1946 shot, residents of FJC’s Veterans Home, the only school-sponsored dormitory for G.I. students in Southern California, greet three new arrivals. Fullerton had a severe housing shortage both before and after the war, and the dormitory filled a real need for unmarried returning servicemen who had nowhere else to live. The Veterans Home was located at the end of Las Palmas Drive between Fullerton and La Habra in the old Bastanchury Family home (then Sunny Hills). When it became known that the single veterans needed household items, the Associated Women Students organized a veterans’ shower in October 1946, and then presented the ex-G.I.s with dishes, silverware, towels, pot holders, pots and pans, and other homemaking items.
This is an exterior shot of the former Veterans Home (419 East Las Palmas) in 1978. Constructed in 1926, the large, two-story dwelling was the last home built on land held by the Bastanchury Family. The Veterans Home housed 25 to 40 single G.I.s, each paying $50 a month. New paint was added to the kitchen, pantry, and back porch and improvements were made to the garage and grounds, which included a tennis court. The Board of Trustees hired a couple to oversee the unmarried veterans, but the men themselves formed a committee to deal with everyday activities. A history of World War II veteran housing in Fullerton will be found in the November 2012 issue of the Fullerton Heritage Newsletter.
In February 1946, the Federal Public Housing Authority announced that FJC was to receive 25 dwelling units for occupancy by veterans and their families. Located just back of the north field, the units were constructed by the Baruch Corporation of Los Angeles. The unofficial mayor of this small village, known as College View, was Student Body Prexy Chuck Bell. A small private road (East Hillcrest Drive) led into the community.
In this 1949 shot, the veteran housing units can be seen behind the school farm. Initially, the veterans’ quarters were to be situated near the front of the campus, but the Board of Trustees were able to purchase, in March 1946, 4.1 acres for $10,126 from city librarian Carrie Sheppard and her mother, Dixie Carolyn. Adjacent to the north boundary of FJC, with a 276-foot frontage along North Harvard (now Lemon) Avenue, the newly acquired property became the perfect site for the former military housing units. In many ways, it was the ideal housing solution for the college. The City of Fullerton also moved barrack-styled wooden housing units to 396 West Truslow Avenue to accommodate veterans who were not attending Fullerton College.
This 1946 photograph shows one of the housing units. Each unit was divided into three terraces on which were located one, two, and five room dwellings. There were eventually 51 veterans’ units on campus accommodating 125 veterans and their families (pets were also allowed). FJC was the first college in California to take advantage of the federal offer of free housing units. The low rent and proximity to the college at a time of critical housing shortages were greatly appreciated by veterans and their families.
Jerry and Jo Stack, a typical couple in the veterans’ housing units, settle down after dinner to look over Jerry’s homework.
In this 1948 photograph, veteran Norman (Jerry) Bouley shows his semester grades to daughter Leona.
Like other college and universities after the World War II, Fullerton Junior College hoped to generate much needed income by attracting veterans to the campus. The campus published this brochure in 1944, which included an application for admission, and distributed it throughout Southern California. Competition for veterans using the G.I. Bill was fierce. The Veterans Administration paid the cost of tuition, books, supplies, and student body fees. Upon application, enlisted men were also allowed up to a maximum of six units for military service. Those without a high school diploma could enroll in the college, then complete required courses at Fullerton Union High School. To attract married veterans, FJC also stressed courses (e.g., home economics, child care) that would appeal to young wives and mothers.
The Veterans Administration also provided a subsidence allowance of $50 a month for veterans without dependents and $75 for those with dependents. That money did not go far for veterans supporting a family and many took part-time jobs on campus. In this 1948 photograph, veteran students are cleaning up the student cafeteria. Veterans also cleaned windows, swept out the Hive, painted buildings, and delivered mail to various buildings. Veterans who needed additional cash could also apply to the FJC Veterans Memorial Loan Fund, established after World War II.
Single veterans were heavy users of the cafeteria, witnessed by this 1949 photograph. The average cost of a plate of food was thirty-one cents, and meals were served from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. In addition to part-time veterans, the cafeteria employed twelve full-time women workers. A nonprofit organization, the cafeteria made only enough to meet expenses of the help and to break even on the cost of the food. In 1959, a new cafeteria moved into remodeled space in the Student Union.
This shot features the first members of the 1945/46 Veterans’ Club, which quickly grew to become the largest and most influential club on campus. That year, the club sponsored two school dances, held stag parties at the Veterans’ Home, and made a trip to a Ken Murray stage variety show (“Blackouts of 1947”) at the El Capitan Theatre on Vine Street in Hollywood. Seated, left to right, in lower front are John Braun, Bob Phillips, Chris Lindley, Bob Miller, Bob Reid, and Randall Howe. Second, from left to right, are Bill Flynn, Chris Bell, Zeke Cummings, Kenny Sullivan, Norm Leander, Jim Kerwin, Wallace Mullins, and John LaRue. Third, left to right, are Bill Bryant, Chuck Hargrove, Russell Hess, Keith Annil, Bob Sturdivant, Frank Ausburn, and Jules Resegue. In back, left to right, are Walt Tamulinas, Jack Dotson, Jack Sills, Lloyd Kenagy, James Smith, and Dean Garner, adviser to the organization.
The unofficial campus hangout for Veterans’ Club members was Kenny’s Malt Shop where they relaxed with their favorite sport, all-day card sessions. Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Kenny’s was located in a converted house at Harvard (now Lemon Avenue) and College Place, which was later purchased by the campus and demolished to make way for the Theatre Arts Building (the 1300 Building).
As a fundraiser for the Veterans’ Club, members were able to convince comedian Bob Hope (1902-2003) to perform at the Fullerton Union High School (later Plummer) Auditorium on January 14, 1948. The Bob Hope Show, sponsored by Pepsodent toothpaste, starred trombonist Jerry Colonna, Vera Vogue, Les Brown, Wendell Niles, and guest star actor Herbert Marshall. All of the money raised went to needy children. That same year, the club also handled parking for football games and sponsored a wheelchair basketball game between the Birmingham General Hospital paraplegic team from Van Nuys, California, and a collection of local all-stars.
The Veterans’ Club sponsored an annual Christmas Party for underprivileged children of north Orange County. At a 1948 student assembly, the vets presented a check to 4½ year old Annette Louise Bloodstone, daughter of a Master Sergeant assigned to the El Toro Marine Base, to complete the sum needed for an operation that would restore her sight. Donations had been received for the little girl to pay for new corneas, and with only a few weeks before the operation, and still short $500, the vets heard of her plight and donated the necessary money
Another memorable student assembly (one was held each week) that same year, the jersey numbers of Gene LaShell (left) and Frank “Keko” Munoz (right), both veterans, were retired for twenty years. LaShell, jersey number 54, who had lost both legs in service, was honored for his great halfback moves in 1941. Munoz, jersey number 14, who was 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed only 150 pounds, had received serious war injuries as a paratrooper, but had come back to earn the title of Southern Junior College Player of the Year for his brilliant football playing in 1947. Munoz, who also excelled at baseball and basketball, later joined the UCLA Bruins football team. Coach Ed Goddard, who coached both greats in their playing days, is on the far right.
As World War II veterans graduated from FJC, membership in the Veterans’ Club dwindled, but there was a sudden upsurge as the Korean War (1950-1953) ended. In this 1956 shot, Korean War veterans registering for classes seek assistance at the Veterans’ Adviser Station. In 1952, the federal government, worried that higher education institutions were overcharging for veterans’ education, stopped direct payment to colleges and universities, and instead provided each veteran with a $110 monthly check for which they had to pay their tuition fees, books, and living expenses. Eventually 1.2 million Korean War veterans used their benefits to enter higher education. By the fall of 1956, there were over 300 Korean War veterans taking classes at FJC.
The Korean War was not forgotten on campus, and in 1952, Christmas in Korea was depicted in a stage production, Christmas 1952. The annual Christmas Play showed the lives of American soldiers through flashbacks, memories of unusual events, emotions under gunfire, and relaxation behind the lines.

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Clothing fads included letter sweaters, blue suede loafers, saddle shoes, and in 1959, long black stockings. In this photo, campus males Dave Shaw (left) and Barry Allen (right) check out Trish Dwelley’s black stockings, usually worn with a black dress.

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