Autobiography of Stanley Alan Hutchings
The Early Years
I was born at The Presidio, Monterey, California, 17 November 1942, to parents Anna Myrtle Hutchings (nee Hamberg) and Howard Thomas Hutchings.
Moved to Berkeley, California, where we lived on Addison Street with Grandmother Anna Hamberg until '47. My other grandparents Tessa E. and Leonard V. Hutchings lived on Browning Street. I don't remember much from this time, but can still remember a few dreams. In one, there was some kind of monkey that was trying to get me, and I was trying to get back up on the bed; but it was so high I couldn't, and the monkey was going to get me. In another, I was at Grandmother Hutchings' (nicknamed Bi, probably because we were always saying "bye bye") house and the furniture started to walk around. I tried to call Bi, but could not find my voice.
Bi had a chicken coop and a rabbit hutch in her yard; she got eggs, and fresh meat. As a toddler, I was often intimidated, and sometimes chased, by the rooster. The rabbit was threatening; I would show people the face the fierce rabbit made. That's probably why I was sympathetic with President Carter years later, when he was threatened by a rabbit - they can be fearsome creatures!
Sister Connie Anne was born 11 September 1945. Mother Anna Myrtle and father Howard Hutchings divorced in late 1945 or '46. Mother remarried Wilton Lee Atkinson, a recent grad (Class '45) of the Naval Academy, on 8 Nov 1947.
It was around 1946 or 1947 that I saw The Wizard of Oz, a movie that had a major emotional impact on me for the next 10 years. I became convinced that the Wicked Witch of the East could come out of my closet. This caused numerous nightmares, and I insisted for many years that the closet door be firmly shut before the lights were turned off.
The Navy transferred Daddy to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1948. We went on a troop transport, my first "cruise". So I escaped kindergarten and enjoyed a year of going to the beach, playing in the sun, and catching insects. At this time my favorite food was liver, calf liver with bacon, and probably served with onions!
The Elementary School Years
Started school at San Diego, California, Crown Point Elementary, near Sunset Cliffs, for 1st and 2nd grades. Best friend Penny Little. My acquaintence with classical music began with my mother playing piano pieces - Beethoven's Moonlight and Pathetique Sonatas, Golliwog's Cakewalk, and listening to the Donna Diana Overture (which I was the theme to Sargeant Preston of the Yukon) and the William Tell Overture (which was the theme to The Lone Ranger). We went out to the ocean when the grunion were running, and it was so mysterious, with the full moon, and the little fish flopping around on the beach. I was afraid of earthquakes, volcanoes, and the witch (who looked just like the wicked witch of the East from The Wizard of Oz) that lived in my closet. To warn me of earthquakes, I had a bell installed in my bedroom, which would jingle if we had an earthquake, so I could stand in the doorway. My sister, Connie, would warn me, "Stanyee, the croset door is opening!", (she had trouble pronouncing "l"); then I knew the witch was coming out of the closet, and I would hastily run out of the room, through the house, and out the front door and half-way down the street before the witch could get me (if she got Connie, well, that was too bad, but it was everyone for themself when the witch was coming).
When we went to Berkeley to visit Grandmother Hamberg (who was nicknamed "Ahboo" by me, probably because when I was a baby she said "ah-boo! ah-boo" to me, as doting grandmothers are wont to do) we drove, and since there were no freeways, it took 10 to 12 hours. It was usually for Christmas, because I can remember being in the house on Addison, with a traditional Swedish dinner (complete with lutefisk), and Santa Claus coming with a bag of presents. I remember commenting how much he sounded like Uncle Mel (Mel Berry). Since there was no TV yet, the entertainment was mother or Ahboo playing piano, or listening to radio programs like Superman.
Brother Leland Dale was born 15 May 1949.
Parents drove across the country with us three kids in a Crosley (a small car about the size of a Volkswagen) to Annapolis, Maryland for the 3rd grade, lived in a Quonset hut for a year while attending West Annapolis Elementary with Maude Bush as teacher. Whose house was it that had the TV where we watched The Howdy Doody Show after the fat lady (a.k.a. Kate Smith) sang "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain", Buster Brown, and The Arthur Godfrey Show? I remember Donna Underwood, and her friend Mavis, who I met up with again when they moved to Norfolk.
We then moved to a house at Three Mile Oak that was at the edge of a woods, I attended Germantown Elementary, where Elizabeth Grimes was my teacher in 4th grade. This is where I was introduced to poison ivy – arms and legs covered with the itching rash, covered with calamine lotion. I remember crab feasts: after catching crabs in the river, we'd cook and eat them. We finally had a TV, watched Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and all in The Honeymooners, Jack Webb in Dragnet and The Ed Sullivan Show. I remember Jeff Birch and Jackie Donovan, Ginger Reed. Sister Patricia Carol was born 25 June 1951.
Moved to 8239 Redwood Circle, Norfolk, Virginia, in a housing development off Chesapeake Blvd. In 1951-2, 5th grade at Crossroads Elementary, Mrs. Herrin teaching. Half way across the world, in Akashi Japan, my future wife, Kiyomi Yamasaki, was born on 22 June 1952. Then Mr. Mayo in the 6th grade and stories of repairing ships in dry-dock. I started playing the clarinet, which I continued for many years after. This is what the family looked like in 1952.
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