@HJmaniac Hello, When we were little kids, our dad took us to Los Angeles for many family road trips to see the sights and visit some unusual attractions we normally did not see in Long Beach. One of them was the unusual large lake right in the middle of downtown Los Angeles running alongside of Wilshire Boulevard. It was fun to see a big lake in the middle of a city back in those late 40s and early 50s. MacArthur Lake in downtown Los Angeles. But, for us, the major attraction were the powered boats we could rent and drive in the whole lake. It was a free steering, open course of our choosing. We could go to any part of the lake. Our dad was the main driver, but he always allowed us to take over the steering for our afternoon cruising around experience. Yes, my brother and I got equal time behind the wheel, even though he was two years older than me. Jnaki The boats were beautifully prepared and well looked after for the customers. In all of the days we spent on those boats, we never had a problem and everything was great for the day’s boating adventures. Our mom was always on “edge.” Due to the short sides of the boats, we could lean over and touch the water. Now, as we were moving along, the possibility of falling over was multiplied. We would always hear… “move to the center of the seat, sit down, quit leaning over to touch the water and grab the wheel with both hands…” Her big fear was drowning in the lake after the big fall overboard. Just like it was proposed in the original photo of other boating places. Note: We never fell overboard and as we got older, both of us could go out on the Lake to drive the boats by ourselves. Of course, we took turns steering the boat. But, the throttle was a lever we pushed and pulled. YRMV
Jack Benny, Eddie Anderson, and Phil Harris pose in old Maxwell automobile, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 1950
The Jalopy Journal
