Nine Decades of South Lake Tahoe Memories

Movies were in a Quonset hut where movie goers had to bundle up to fight the cold. Lake Tahoe was full of one way roads and a 2 room school. The switchboard operator knew where all 50 winter residents were at all times. Cattle walking down Highway 50.

The history of the south shore came alive last week at the Camp Richardson Lodge during the Lake Tahoe Historical Society’s “Do You Remember?” series.

Four long time local residents told stories of growing up in South Lake Tahoe in the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s. Jerry Johnson, Jack Martin, Carolyn Meiers and Bob Rockwell were joined by MC Dave Borges as they shared with the gathered crowd about how life was before the casinos, high speed quads and internet. As Borges told the audience, “You’re going to hear things here tonight that you can’t find written in any books.”

Carolyn Meiers moved to the south shore in 1953. She recalled the wonderful years of growing up in South Lake Tahoe. “It was such a treat to live here,” Meiers said as she thanked those in attendance for the opportunity to walk down memory lane.

She said everyone knew to fill up their bathtubs with water the moment power went out because they never knew when it’d go back on. Since power would be out for days at a time, residents counted on the bathtub water reserve for household needs.

When walked back from the Quonset movie theater Meiers said it would be a big deal to count 4 or 5 cars on the roadway before arriving home.
She grew up living in a home behind the Barton Ranch. Meiers recalled “Papa Bill” Barton visiting their home and her mother cooking him up fried brains.

Meiers was the first female student body president at South Tahoe High. After school she traveled and lived in other places but said she has never found any place else where she’d rather live than Lake Tahoe.
Jerry Johnson arrived in South Lake Tahoe in 1946. “I always thought I was too young to talk about history,” he said, but shared 8 decades of memories of growing up in the area. He remembers when Cave Rock was one hole, when cattle would come up from the valley every summer, when roads were one way, and when July and August brought so many cars that it was one long line of traffic to the state line.

Johnson said everyone struggled in the 40s and 50s, even those that rose to riches later on like Harvey Gross. Gross lived in a cabin near where Raley’s at the Y is now located.

His favorite memories included fishing at Spring Track. Johnson recalls getting rides back into town with Max Baer (former Boxing Heavyweight Champion of the World) and actress Shelly Winters who was in town for the filming of “Place in the Sun.” He was so proud of his string of 15 freshly caught fish when Winters picked him up. She made him put them in the trunk though so he was unhappy he couldn't show off his catch to a famous movie star.

The young entrepreneur went into the worm business in high school. He’d go behind where Motel 6 is now located, kick over “cow pies” and grab worms. He’d then take them home and get them fat on Maxwell House coffee before selling them to Grayson’s Sporting Goods for one cent a piece.
His father was the building superintendent for Bill Harrah and was responsible for putting in the new show room. They had to work at night after the shows ended, and covered the dirt floor with carpet in time for the next day’s show. Nobody ever knew the better.

Johnson lettered in two winter sports at South Tahoe High: Basketball and Ski Racing.

Jack Martin moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1937. Hi parents owned Martin’s Lodge & Pumps where Raley’s at the Y is now located. His dad was the constable and would also plow roads.

There weren’t many year round residents when he was growing up, and those that stayed through the winter were usually caretakers for the area’s large resorts and estates.

“Everyone knew everyone,” Martin recalled.

He and his friends would put boats in at the Pope Estate in winter, before fishing season, knowing the game warden couldn’t make it to town when it was snowing.

During one winter storm his dad got a call from the caretakers at Vikingsholm, saying they were out of supplies. He and his dad took a boat of provisions out to the frozen over Emerald Bay to meet the caretaker would had brought out a toboggan to the edge of the ice (which Martin says couldn’t have been more than 2 to 3 inches thick). The supplies were put on the toboggan and the caretaker walked back to Vikingsholm.

He recalled food rationing after World War II and said people just didn’t have much money.

Martin said that Harvey Gross stored his slot machines in the walk in freezers at the Barton Ranch. Gross asked his dad to go in with him on buying land at Stateline. The elder Martin declined, and we all know what happened to the land Gross purchased.

Martin and his family moved off the hill for a bit and he graduated from Douglas High in 1952.

He guided fishing tours on the lake for 40 years as well as working at the Outdoorsman for 35 years, and Nevada Lumber before that. Martin also started a gravel pit out by Blue Lakes.

Another memory he shared was when Cosmonauts from the U.S.S.R. came to visit Lake Tahoe and staying at Harrah’s. Martin was asked to take them all fishing, which he did.

Bob Rockwell was the “youngster” of the group, having moved to the south shore in 1962. His family would vacation at Tahoe in the 50s, then his dad came home one day and said the family was moving to the Sierras. They owned the Echo Motel near the Ski Run Marina.

“There were good times in Lake Tahoe in the 60’s.” said Rockwell. His first paying job was as a kid at the marina, which bordered their motel. Billy Wilson, San Francisco 49er wide receiver in the 50s was the owner of the Ski Run Marina at the time along with 49er Quarterback legend Y.A. Tittle. Rockwell was hired to keep the beaches clean of beer can pop tops.
Rockwell shared of working in the drive in movies and the fun times of growing up in South Lake Tahoe.

All agreed that life was never easy in the old days on the south shore, but that they wouldn’t have given them up for anything.

Dave Borges asked that if anyone knows of people that would be interested in sharing their early South Lake Tahoe experiences to contact the Lake Tahoe Historical Museum at 530-541-5458.