The “Wich Stand” in West LA is the hot ticket to hook up with cool guys with hot cars

October 23, 1964, Friday

Felt sick. Got book report done!! Wore my hair in braids for Hillbilly Day. After school went to Pearl’s and went to sleep. Her parents came home while we were watching TV. I fixed Pearl’s hair in a French Roll. My hair was so ugly, but Pearl looked classy. At 11:00 we went to Tiny Nailor’s and everyone was there. I wanted to leave, because I looked so bad, but instead talked to some boys, then drove to the Witch Stand where we met some boys who led us to a party. We didn’t know anyone, but, there were a few boys who went to Westchester and knew Dave and Jack…Just went home.

In the early 60’s, this was the other place to be on a Friday or Saturday night. “The Stand” was the place were the boys met up with the girls, an a hot rodder’s paradise. If you had a cool car with loud pipes and wanted to show it off, then you went to The Wich Stand.

Young people came from the South Bay, the Valley, Pasadena, Whittier, literally all over Southern California to cruise The Wich Stand. Professional drag racers towed their factory sponsored cars up to the Stand to race the, Don’s Primer ’33 Chevy with a blown Pontiac, or Larry’s Red, ’63 409.

You lined up in the parking lane coming up the hill on Slauson, heading for Overhill. The “drive in” parking in the Stand was a little different from the A&W or your typical “Delores’s or Mels Diner” type drive in. You pulled up into a driveway and stopped and waited for a parking spot to open up. In the Wich Stand, you pulled in the back parking spot and when someone in front of you left, then you pulled forward. The guys and gals would jockey for the right position to enable them to pull up next to the opposite sex and start some casual conversationguy or gal they wanted to talk to. The spots were three deep and they also had parking by the building

http://www.wichstand.com/

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About saffronsrule

Sharrie Williams is the author of The Maybelline Story and a direct descendant of the Maybelline Cosmetic Family. Great niece of Maybelline founder Tom Lyle Williams. Buy a signed copy today.

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