Hello, You speak with some authority. But, in reality, if one were to be standing where those folks are, you would be gagging. The odor from the oil sitting in the water is one of the most awful smells ever! Especially in this region. Signal Hill is a well known place for a drive through express ways to get to and from our high school to Bixby Knolls. On the inland side, it is Bixby Knolls. The other side is our high school and the ocean front shoreline spanning for miles. So, as nice as the view is from the top of Signal Hill is/was on either side, it was always roll up the windows and hold your breath as one drives through the area. From Bixby Knolls it is up, get a great view and at the top, a quick breath, then down, towards our high school and the tremendous panoramic view from San Pedro peninsula all the way down towards San Diego. With the blue ocean bordering the whole view, it was worth is for a quick breath and the quick drive down hill. There were several roads that brought kids from the vast area of Bixby Knolls toward the ocean and our high school. Some of the oil fields were still around and the odor was not nice. The bobbing pumps were all over the whole area from the top of the hill down around the hospital and into the smaller old home areas from earlier times. The city allowed oil well digging between homes in certain areas that bordered the big spread all around the tall hill. Jnaki As we got older, one of our friends got a job working for one of the big oil companies on the “hill.” With his pay check, our friend was able to get a nice view apartment facing the ocean. It was the best view of any place on the hill and yes, it was a great place to have a party. Initially, there were parties almost every weekend. But for a reason we all know, the girls that attended the parties had fun. Gradually, the numbers fell off weekly and there were several reasons. Yes, the big reason was the smell. It permeated the whole skyline and view. Inside the apartment, the A/C was blasting, but the aroma of the oil stench filtered its way into the air and over the party atmosphere, lingered inside of the apartment. Then, when we all got home, our clothes smelled of oil and whatever. Even our haircuts and girls long hair styles picked up the aroma and that did not go over well. When we were parked in the drive-in restaurant parking lot, everyone knew where we had gone just by hanging around our cars. Oil infused aroma attaches to everything and everyone. It was not nice. So, the popularity of the ocean view apartment and the nice party scene died off as fast as it grew. One other thing, since it was close to the oil rigs and drilling companies working areas, there were always some kinds of oil deposits. So, if one parked down the street, oil got on our shoes and sometimes rubbed up against our clothes next to curbs and benches. Note: It was almost a gasoline cleaner to get the oil off and sometimes, the Levis got trashed due to oil spots that just would not come out. Our mom (as most moms of the times) was/were expert clothes cleaning folks. And even they did not like cleaning oil spots, so our mom just threw them away and bought us new Levis. There is/was a difference between hot rod stained Levis and definite oil marks from the oil fields. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
