Foster City in the 1970's ... (San Francisco, Hayward: crime, to buy, middle school)

[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.

[Sandpointian]

Hello,
I grew up in San Mateo in the 60s-early 80s. I used to fly kites in what is now Foster City, back in the early 70s when it was unincorporated. I played on sports teams against Bowditch from 76-79. Always considered Bowditch more well off than other area schools--still the case today...

I never heard of mouse packs during that time. Foster City was the last place I would have expectd serious crime. In those days, central and east San Mateo could be pretty rough. Foster City?? It was where the rich lived. This may be the James Frey type fantasy of an affluent writer.

You want scary? Try the kid gangs of Berkeley in the early 1980s. These guys were scary.

Best, P nyaare2005@yahoo.com

P.S. Bowditch grads where sent to Hillsdale High School. You may want to try that route...

[dave0366]

hello,


I grew up in foster city and new everyone there, this must be some kind of mistake, I new every bully punk and everything that went on there. Im at dave0366@aol.com if you would like to talk. I find this interesting.

[Schralpsie]

From what I can gather, it DID happen. Obviously dramatized I'm sure, but
the basis is real. There is part of an interview with the writers in this article
about how Kurt Cobain was inspired by this movie. Check it out -

http://www.state51.co.uk/hottips/495/timhunter.html

I've lived in Hayward all my years and never knew this was based on
Foster City. Too weird. I'll bet there isn't a person I know that knows this.

[uhohraggy]

I'm sure I did. But the Sandpotain was right. I went to Hillsdale where most of the Bowditch kids went (81-85). Several friends from Bowditch in the 78-81 era (Lost touch with most though). Lived in Foster City 82-85 as well. I never saw Over the Edge...but will go get a copy now out of curiousity. Foster City was the more affluent (newer money) town then. Older money and more money was in Hillsborough. Boredom, time was typically spent riding bikes out on the mud flats and jumping off those little bridges into the lagoon. Although I did know of people who wanted to see what a moletav cocktail would actually do and lit tennis courts on fire in Los Prados. And of course, there was the creativity of things one could blow up with firecrackers. I'll have to see the movie for specifics I guess.

[ofrc3]

I graduated from Bowditch back in the 90s but I decided to track down the article as well in the SF Central Library this past winter. Unfortunately I didn't get far. One of the librarians told me that even though they have past issues of the Examiner going back decades, they don't have an index of any sort.

However, I did find an article from a special section of the Chronicle from June 6, 1976 titled "Has the Dream Faded?". It's in the "Communities" section and was written by Randy Wilson. The article was on the tenth anniversary of Foster City. The article never mentions any particular incident involvings gangs of wayward youth but it does talk about "youthful unrest" due to the lack of schools. The rest of the article is about how Jack Foster's once grand dreams--which included buildings designed by famous architects Mies van der Rohe and Edward Durrell Stone--faded and were replaced by more everday concerns.

[joe2]

I remember the "Mouse Packs" clearly. I was 13, it was summer of 1973 and it was baseball season. We played in a big field that used to be behind the fire station. We were good kids, we played in the parks, went swmming/sailing in the lagoon, joined a father & son group called "indian guides" and rode our bikes to Safeway to buy baseball cards. I still have my Willie Mays in action cards. There were a couple of bad influence kids arround, and I know they were going arround pulling hood ornaments off cars. They pulled the BWM crome plates off with screw drivers. I remember Dad told me about the Mouse Packs story, and I thought it was about these kids. But it could not have been. Mouse packs must have been older high school kids that were busing to San Mateo High.

There was a fair in central park every July 4th, with family games.

When the summer ended, and we went back to Bowditch we started a Rugby team. It was GREAT! I remember Eric Redwood, Richard Labardor, Steve Maranda, Johnny Stimpson, John Gardiner and ?? Laws.

Good times, but I think the mouse packs must not have been that bad. I knew what was going on at Bowditch in 73' 74' and 75'. There were some bad apples, but we were good kids.

I have got the see the movie now, and see if it makes me remember something else.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by Schralpsie

From what I can gather, it DID happen. Obviously dramatized I'm sure, but
the basis is real. There is part of an interview with the writers in this article
about how Kurt Cobain was inspired by this movie. Check it out -

http://www.state51.co.uk/hottips/495/timhunter.html

I've lived in Hayward all my years and never knew this was based on
Foster City. Too weird. I'll bet there isn't a person I know that knows this.

Count me as one! I grew up in San Mateo during the early '80s (I was born in '76, but we moved here in '83), and haven't heard of this story before. Foster City was always a nice area, and has never been known for crime or anything. We used to hang out there a lot, since my sister & I were ice-skaters, and took some lessons at Fashion Island mall. I knew some kids who went to Bowditch, but I went to Park Elementary in San Mateo & Nueva in Hillsborough. I'll have to research this story, since it sounds interesting!

[beretta96]

...the guy who the movie "Over the Edge" was made about is named Carl Willat (just like the kid in the movie). He's an animator and has a company in Sf called Carl's Fine Films. You can contact him at:
carl@carlsfinefilms.com
I'm sure if he's willing to talk about it he can answer your questions. On his website it actually says that his teenage years were immortalized in the film "Over the Edge". Alot of the main characters of the film were fashioned after actual friends of his.

[wow1029]

hi.if i'm not mistaken this happened in 1974.this story was front page news.in actuality the move did not show the amount of destruction and violence caused in real life by these youths.so the movie was watered down not fake by any means.the police act like it never happened and today's foster city is a different one than what happened then however you can't ignore what did happen there back in the day.