Readers Remember

On a clear morning in January 1957, I was crossing Robertson Boulevard in West Los Angeles. I happened to glance up toward the north and saw a flash in the sky, then falling objects and smoke.

I later learned that a Douglas DC-7 and a Scorpion interceptor jet had collided over Burbank. As the DC-7 plummeted toward the ground, it began to break up, with metal debris hurled toward Pacoima Junior High School, where a boys gym class was dispersing.

The four crewmen aboard the Douglas aircraft were killed, as was the pilot of the interceptor jet. Two boys were killed at the playground, another dying within days. The flying metal injured 74 children.

PHIL GAROFALO

Glendale

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It was about 9 a.m. that crisp and clear January morning of 1957 when I first saw the Golden Gate Bridge. I (age 7), my brother (age 6), our parents and grandmother were immigrants. We had spent the three-week passage from Hong Kong in steerage, sleeping sardine-like in double-decked bunks in a common room.

The ship took all day to get to her dock. There was no food service for steerage the entire day, so we were starving when we disembarked into a wind-chilled darkness. Finally, a woman with a cart of food came by; I thought she was the most beautiful blond I’d ever seen. We bought some sandwiches from her, and I had my first meal on American soil. It was fine, but to this day I still don’t like mayonnaise.

GORDON TING

Agoura Hills

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In 200 words or less, send us your memories of the 20th century. Write to Century, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or e-mail [email protected]. Letters may be edited for space.