Foster City in the 1970's ...

[Marlingang5]

I was at a wedding 9/6/08 Heard about the movie, Found this site . I have not seen the movie yet however I remember contributing to the interviews. They focused on our gang of Several names : The Marlin Gang, the Bathroom gang (the only shelter at the park in windy Foster city ) and the convient gang ( We hung out near the convienent mart ) And finnaly The Lynch Mob ( Kelly Lynch leader ) We had 20-30 close freinds nightly, Are Main spots to meet were @ Marlin Park and also the corner of Beach Park and Marlin Ave.I Lived on Marlin Also moved to FC in 63-64 on Pilgrim dr. and spent grades 1-HS in FC. We did a ton of mischievous things. WM

[schooner&trysail]

I watched Over the Edge last night and quickly realized I had seen this numerous times on HBO years ago. The movie peaked my interest after doing a wikipedia serach of my hometown Foster City which mentioned this movie was based on events from there.

I lived in Foster City from the age of 2, from 1968-1986. I attended Bowditch I guess from 1976-1979. I don't recall much of any of the rebellion or vandalism referenced in the movie. I do recall a prominent 'stoner' population, but none any different to any other city.

I have two older sisters who would have attended Bowditch from 1970--1975 so I will have to ask them if they recall much of what is depicted in the movie.

I thought the film was excellent, I expected it to be a lot more cheesy as many films from that era were. Loved seeing Carl's house which gave me instant flashbacks of growing up in suburbia homes.

Kinda hard to believe though, the 'hardest' charactor played by Matt Dillion would ride around with a bike flag with his name on it. Nothing cool about that and would be a good reason to get his ass kicked in those times.

Anyways, in reading some of the prior posts. was the convenience store the one on Beach Park Blvd? Recall there being a Straw hat Pizza a few doors down, but never really noticed many kids hanging out loitering back in those days.

[tmarrra]

Originally Posted by DoubleJ

Hello,

I am looking for input from anyone who may have grown up in Foster City, CA in the 1970's. Specifically anyone who went to middle school, I believe it's called Nathaniel Bowditch Middle School during the mid-to-late 1970's.

I know it's rather cliche and not to beat a dead horse for anyone from the area who's sick of the story or anything, but Jonathan Kaplan's film from 1979 titled "Over The Edge" is based on the events that took place in Foster City. I'm doing some research for a school project and comparing what occurred in Foster City to other cities during that era. I am seeking true, factual accounts from anyone who went to the school any time between 1971 and 1979, or anyone who knows somebody who did go there. I'm open to anyone who would like to share their story.

I do know that the San Francisco Examiner had a reporter named Charles Haas, who wrote a column called "Mouse Packs: Kids on a Crime Spree". I have no access to this article and could not locate it via many search attempts. This article would have been written prior to 1979, because Haas was the co-screenwriter for the film.

Anyway, thanks much to anyone who responds or may be able to help. Again - I am NOT trying to exploit a tragic event in Foster City or make light of revolting kids and vandalism in the town. I'm merely looking for pure facts from anyone who was there and lived it, or knew someone who did.

I moved to Foster City in 1971. I was 6 my brother was 11. We went to the schools in town and used to hang at the rec center. I remember the older kids being rowdy, getting into trouble and doing drugs. I do recall that there was an accidental shooting of a middle school student by a police officer. It happened before I got to Bowditch so it had to be before 1976.

[tmarrra]

I also went to Bowditch 76-79.... we're probably facebook friends. WE used to hang at that convieience store all the time. Got all of my comic books there.

[Marlingang5]

aaaa

[Marlingang5]

Tmarra, i know all foster city stuff from 64-82 waidmcnabb@yahoo.com

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I vaguely recall hearing about this.

[iTsLiKeAnEgG]

It seems like there really wasn't any real issues during that time period. It's probably more a case of wealthy white suburbanites overreacting to youth actions that wouldn’t even get a second look in a city like San Francisco.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by iTsLiKeAnEgG

It seems like there really wasn't any real issues during that time period. It's probably more a case of wealthy white suburbanites overreacting to youth actions that wouldn’t even get a second look in a city like San Francisco.

Elsewhere on the Peninsula, a couple years after the time frame of the movie, the youthful BayAreaHillbilly was hard at work, making bongs, lighting trash cans (and the occasional dry debris choked late summer storm drain) on fire, and other things I won't mention in public ...

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by jimj

I lived across the lagoon from where this happened, I was in my mid teens and went to the high school when all this was going on... I had several friends in FC, and while we were "rambunctious" to say the least this episode didn't make much of a splash with us, in fact I was surprised they made a movie of it since it didn't seem like a big deal.
Hmmm, maybe it was just the young minds perception of what was a big deal?
As for parties, Ohhh boy did we have some house parties! We used to ride our dirt bikes over to FC since most of it was fields and open land and just hang out at friends houses or in the fields....Boy does this take me back in time!!!

Keggerrrrrrrrrrrr! Dooooooooooo bonnnnnngggggs! Dime bag! (of pot, nothing worse).

LOLOL!!!