Forties era looks familiar at Hermosa Historical Museum gala
The 17th Street Rosie the Riveters. Photo by Ricardo Reznichek
Guests at the Hermosa Beach Historical Museum’s annual Dancing through the Decades gala were encouraged to come in attire appropriate for a 1940s USO Canteen. Which for many of the guests simply meant digging deep down in their closets. For the rest, it meant digging deep into their parents’ closets. Fortunately, ‘40s era military and civilian dress wasn’t much different from today’s military and civilian dress. Helping set the stage Saturday night at the entrance to the St. Cross Hall, where the party was held, was a World War II Officer’s Field Car, on loan from the El Segundo Automobile and Driving Museum. But it too, with its flared fenders, raised suspension and stripped interior might barely merit a second look among the contemporary SUVs seen every Sunday in the Hermosa Beach church’s parking lot.
Inside, the mood was set by the Mira Costa High School Jazz Band, for whom ‘40s era music appeared to come second nature. They were followed by an equally inspired performance by the Ray Riddle Orchestra.
The museum’s next major event is this coming Friday, November 12, when it hosts the 2017 Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame inductions.
For more about the Hermosa Beach Historical Museum, visit hermosabeachhistoricalsociety.org. ER
