WILLMORE MEMORIAL CLUB

September of 1947 was the year all of us from Whittier Elementary School in Long Beach, California moved into Hamilton Junior High as 7th graders. The kids in the two higher grades called us “scrubs,” which we would remain throughout our first year. I’m sure they meant it as a derogatory term, but we scrubs really felt proud that we were away from the little kids and headed toward being counted as a real teenager.

One of the mandatory classes that first year included studying the history of Long Beach. In elementary school we didn’t give much thought to our home town. We had studied about Indians and California Missions in the upper grades, but now, at least for that first semester of our 7th grade we would be learning about how Long Beach became Long Beach.

Our scout troop was still active and for the most part we still considered each other as our “best friends.” Some of the girls, those who had matured a little faster than others, were starting to become interested in “boys.” There were school dances to look forward to, and those more mature girls couldn’t wait to participate in them, even if they were held after school instead of at night. The rest of us were doing just what we had always been doing – which in the case of the three girls above was to form a “club.” What was the club about? We called it the Willmore Memorial Club, so called after William Erwin Willmore, founder of Long Beach and who was buried in a nearby cemetery on the slopes of Signal Hill.

Although I can’t remember for sure, apparently there were no other kids in our circle of friends who were so intensely interested in Long Beach History as we were. Either that, or we decided to be exclusive and keep our “boy-crazy” friends out. I just can’t remember. The picture above is of the founding (and only) members of the WMC. I am on the left, Dorothy Allen in the middle, and Rosalie “Ro” Lorenzen on the right.

What we had learned about Long Beach was that in 1881, real estate developer William Erwin Willmore entered into a lease provided by Jotham Bixby. The lease had an option to buy 4000 acres which was to be developed into a city and agricultural community along the coast. The township of Willmore City was established in 1882 and was promoted throughout the United States. Unfortunately, the response was dismal and two years later, there were only about a dozen homes.

In 1884, the Long Beach Land & Water company bought out Willmore's lease option and the city was renamed Long Beach. Willmore's unique design and layout of the city, however, was not discarded and the extra wide streets and Lincoln Park are still in existence today. The city of Long Beach was incorporated in July of 1887.

For three young studious “scrubs,” knowing this history of our town was enough reason to form a Willmore Memorial Club. Our meetings, which were called every week or so, consisted of a pilgrimage from the school up to the cemetery, a very walkable trip, and then paying homage at Willmore’s gravesite. Once that was done, we photographed tombstones and then headed down the hill for home.

At one time we discussed whether or not we should adopt some kind of a uniform, but that idea went by the wayside. The WMC didn’t last long, as we were discovering lots of other possibilities open to junior high school kids – extracurricular activities such as band and orchestra, and sports events. The Willmore Memorial Club eventually disappeared, but the three of us – Dot, Ro and me – still see each other on occasion and one of us always mentions the WMC. We get a good laugh out of it.

I must tell you a related story. Some years ago shortly after Jerry and I were married we went to some kind of banquet held in Long Beach, and to warm up the group (as I recall there were a lot of awards to be given out and because it was going to be a little boring, we thought, the Master of Ceremonies had a list of questions to read. He wanted people who knew the answer to jump up and shout it out. First one up got something like a pat on the back – it was all in good fun, of course. Some of the questions were easy, some very challenging. Finally he asked, “Who knows the name of the Founder of Long Beach?” Two hundred of us sat in that room and no one knew the answer. No one, that is, but me. Finally I got brave enough to stand up and shout, “William Erwin Willmore.” The fellow acknowledged that my answer was correct and wanted to know how I knew that. I did not tell him about the WMC club; I think I just mumbled something about learning it in school. I don’t do things like that well. But I just couldn’t let that bit of knowledge pass unstated. I didn’t win $100 or anything else except a ribbing from my husband’s co-workers. But I do admit to a little self-satisfaction that I knew a little piece of trivia that 199 other people didn’t know.