OPPOSITE PAGE : COURTESY OF SURFING HERITAGE AND CULTURE CENTER / DICK METZ COLLECTION / SHACC . ORG ; THIS PAGE : STEVE RYAN / SHACC
Back in the early days , Laguna Beach didn ’ t have a single traffic light or even a stop sign — except for one that was rolled onto Coast Highway on weekends so that people could cross the road at Ocean Avenue . Main Beach was lined with buildings , from restaurants to a dance hall and even private homes , so those driving by didn ’ t have the stunning Window to the Sea that exists now . And the unpaved highway didn ’ t even connect to Newport Beach .
On the homefront , ice was delivered each morning to keep your food cold in an “ ice box ” since electric refrigerators were not readily available or affordable . And water was trucked up to the few people who lived on Top of the World . Yet , some things were more formal : The local lumber delivery driver wore a coat and tie . And , with fewer residents , it seemed like everybody knew everybody else in town .
“ See , in those days , it was just different . … The culture was different . It wasn ’ t like it is today ,” says Dick Metz , 93 , who was born in 1929 — just two years after the city was incorporated and on the brink of the Great Depression . “… You can show pictures , but there ’ s a story behind it . I think it ’ s important to keep the history [ alive ].
“… I guess the reason I ’ m so interested is I could be gone tomorrow and my mind remembers all this . And I don ’ t think there ’ s anybody that I know of [ who was in Laguna during that time ]. … I ’ m the only one left in my high school class and the classes below me .”
The lifelong Laguna resident — a surfer whose world travels would later help inspire “ The Endless Summer ” film and who went on to establish the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente — had a front-row seat to much of the town ’ s goings-on back then . His dad , Carl Metz , owned the Laguna Diner in an old railroad car and then The Broiler , both situated at Main Beach . There were plenty of shenanigans by local characters . And famous actors from Bing Crosby to Bob Hope , Victor Mature and Bette Davis would stop to eat there on the way to the Del Mar racetrack on weekends .
“ The movie stars weren ’ t like they are
Lifelong Lagunan Dick Metz , founder of the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente , is an advocate of keeping history alive by sharing memories of local life and the evolution of surfing .
now . They weren ’ t so aloof ,” Metz recalls . “ You know , they were regular people that had a little bit better jobs than everybody else . They ’ d come in and just kind of join in the camaraderie of the local people .”
Metz specifically recalls one pint-sized actress , curly-haired Shirley Temple , who was about the same age as him and often visited with her parents in the summer . “ This is when I was 5 or 6 . Shirley ’ s mom and dad would bring her down and they would always eat at The Broiler . And they got to know my mom and dad , so they would sit in the booth and socialize . … They ’ d say , ‘ You and Shirley , go out on the beach and play .’ ”
Metz also got to be a child star of sorts and helped usher in a beloved local tradition . “ I was in the first living pictures
DickMETZ
[ now called Pageant of the Masters ]. … It was only a week long and it was all done with Laguna volunteers ,” says Metz , who portrayed a kid in a Norman Rockwell painting back when the show took place in a vacant lot where Las Brisas restaurant is now .
DEPRESSION-ERA DAYS Metz ’ s parents , Carl and Edna May , were from Pomona and then lived in Big Bear before moving to Laguna where Carl had the opportunity to buy the diner in town . Edna May worked as a grammar school teacher when the lower grades were taught in the same building as the high school on Park Avenue . Then she helped as a cashier at the restaurant after classes let out in the afternoon . “ See , in those days , you worked
LAGUNA BEACH MAGAZINE 37