I met my husband Ray at the El Cajon Blvd Oscars. He graduated from Hoover in 1964. We will celebrate our 42nd anniversary next Sunday on May 13th.

I remember cherry Cokes with vanilla cream at Oscar's. Wow!

Friends of mine, in the late ‘50s, liked to rent bicycles-built-for-two from Zumwalt’s on El Cajon Blvd in the evening. We would take them home for the night, then head out early the next morning. I would leave my house on Linda Paseo and head for my friend’s house near Hoover. Inevitably, as I was riding alone, guys from State would yell out “You lost someone”!!!
When the entire gang was finally together we would ride down Adams Avenue to Park Boulevard, boys on the front, girls on the back getting a “free ride”. Our destination was the Presidio, where we enjoyed riding the bikes over the park’s grassy knolls.
After a picnic lunch and sightseeing, we headed home, “cruising” Oscar’s after dark. The bikes were returned the next day.
Other kids would occasionally roller skate through Oscars, but we were the coolest when we cruised Oscars in my boyfriend's 1950 Maroon "Merc", lowered, of course, to the legal limit (the height of a pack of Camel cigarette's). Guys knew exactly which routes to take to avoid hazardous "dips".) 1949 and 1950 lowered Merc's were the coolest cars to go around...and around...and around Oscars...until the cops were called and we were told, "that's enough for the evening, buy French fries or go home". Then we would go down Texas Street watching and listening for the cars that would "backfire" the most! The best cars were the throatiest, backfiringest, rumbliest, lowest, cherriest ones!
Of course the beautiful, blonde and blue eyed, Karen Poulson was the coolest!! She cruised Oscar’s with her Hoover boyfriend Ron Cole in a light blue ’58 Lotus Elite race car! We are still best friends!
The best food served at Oscars was their hot deep-dish cherry pies with vanilla ice cream melting on top!!!!

I was in heaven at Oscar’s if my date could afford to share the lettuce wedge with Thousand Island dressing. Even though most of us could not afford to eat there; the fellowship was free and abundant. Loved it!

Ah, Oscars -- with the Elephant mural. That is where the rich kids went to have their fancy burgers (sort of like Bobs Big Boy in LA at that time) while the rest of us went to Don's Drive-in. I miss Don’s deep fried tacos with all the ingredients inserted ahead of time, and everything dripping in grease. Food is a real atavistic icon.

In 1958 and 1959, my best friend, Linda Griffin and I used to cruise Oscars in my metallic bronze '51 Chevy. We'd pass through a couple of times checking to see who was there and then we'd park. She would always order a deep-dish berry pie and I'd order a root beer float in those large glass mugs.
Oscars was the ONLY place to cruise in those days!!!

I worked at both the Oscars on Euclid and El Cajon, and Menlo and El Cajon in the late ‘50s but I did not keep anything from either facility. The Euclid facility, in its later days was known, as “the Circus”.

I recall that either the District Attorney or the Police Chief, in response to questions from the public about police officers and their cars frequently parked at Oscars, said: "They are conducting a special investigation to find out if the cheese is on the top of the bottom patty or on the bottom of the top patty".