The radio dial was turned to KFWB 980 AM and the hit “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Hayley & His Comets; teens flocked to Fullerton’s Fox Theater to catch the late James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause; and the TV was tuned to the first Bugs Bunny episode, “Roman Legion-Hare.”
It was November 1955 and the students and alumni of Brea Olinda High School awaited one of the community’s favorite autumn traditions: Homecoming.
The annual event – a staple of the community since the campus opened on Birch Street in 1927 – was partly a time for current students (enrollment: 313) and staff to “cut loose,” but mostly for Wildcat alumni to “come home” to be celebrated, and to create unforgettable memories.
In the week leading up to the showcase events – the crowning of the Homecoming Queen, the football game, a PTA-hosted dinner, and an alumni dance – student council members decorated the Kappa Alpha Phi house on Fir Street in green and gold streamers; the fraternity orchestra practiced for its live performance; and members of Dick Ducker’s varsity football team spent afternoons running drills to prepare for their Friday afternoon game against Capristrano Valley High School (whom the Wildcats had defeated 19 times in the previous 20 years).
On the day of the dance, preparations were also happening at Flo-Ann’s Dress Shop, at barbers and salons, and in student’s and alumni homes.
Boys carefully selected their suits in the popular style of the era: slim ties, single-breasted blazers, and pressed slacks paired with polished Oxford shoes.
Barbers at West’s Barber Shop on Pomona Street heard requests for the pompadour — the pomade-sculpted hairdos popularized by Marlon Brando, James Dean, and soon, Elvis Presley, who would catch fire two months later with his single “Heartbreak Hotel.”
For BOHS’s girls, the style was knee-length dresses with polka dots and gingham patterns in pastels. Accessories included cotton gloves, their mother’s pearls, and saddle shoes or flats. Hair was carefully styled, curled into waves or pinned into updos. Hair was set the night before using rollers and setting lotion or hairspray, ensuring hair stayed in place while dancing the Jitterbug.
Couples traveled to the Friday festivities in style. The 1950s were the “golden age” of cars and the streets surrounding BOHS were lined with Chevrolet Bel Airs, Ford Thunderbirds, and Cadillac Series 62s with V8 engines and white-walled tires.
For students fortunate to own their own vehicles, or for those lucky enough to borrow their parents’, the drive — along Birch Street, across Imperial Highway — to the high school for the Friday afternoon crowning of the queen and the ensuing game was a highlight of the week. Cool autumn air blew through open windows as radios played hits by Pérez Prado and Pat Boone. The drive might include a pitstop at the Floral Dining Room for a vanilla milkshake and burger, or the Hub Cafe on South Pomona Street for “real home cooking.”
Five “charming coeds” — yell leader and Student Council member Binnie Strain (‘56); Girls’ Athletic Association president and “pom pon girl” Bonnie Putnam (’56); California Scholarship Federation President and Gusher yearbook editor Linda Ogden (‘56); ASB secretary Doris Osborne (‘56); and Girls’ League President Dianne Taylor (’56) — were elected by the student body to serve on the Homecoming Court. The winner was determined by secret ballot by the varsity football team, and the 1955-1956 Homecoming Queen was crowned at 2 p.m. prior to the football game.
Dressed in a “pastel pink” formal, Strain was crowned Homecoming Queen. The beaming senior, along with the princesses, was paraded around the football field in a 1955 Oldsmobile 98 Starfire convertible driven by Student Body President Bill Bath (’56). After the slow drive around the BOHS track, the five girls were escorted to a stage where they were met by varsity football captains, Jim Webb (’56) and Loy Watkins (’56).
At 2:30 p.m., students, faculty, and alumni in the packed grandstands waved pom pons as the Wildcats varsity football team, led by All-Orange League tackle Earl Redher (’56) and guard Watkins, kicked off against winless Capo Valley. The Wildcats would cruise to a 40-0 win behind senior quarterback Rod Ledbetter’s “deft ball handling and signal calling,” and secure a spot in CIF playoffs.
Abuzz with the football team’s shutout victory, the week of celebration culminated inside the Fir Street fraternity house on the chilly November night. The live band fueled the dance floor where alums danced the night away to covers of “Only You” by The Platters and “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” by the Four Aces. Between songs were quiet conversations and reminisces, Coca-Cola and deviled eggs.
As the night came to an end, alumni and students made their way back to their cars, shoes scuffed from dancing, hair mussed, voices hoarse. Some lingered on Fir Street waiting for the stream of cars to disperse, others drove into the night, music loud on their radios.
Nov. 18, 1955 was a night the students and alums of Brea Olinda High School would remember for the rest of their lives.
