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I grew up in Foster City in the early '70's. I was in the first graduating class at Bowditch Middle School, June 1970. I hung out with a group of friends, ( we did not consider ourselves a gang!) called; "The Bros." We called Marlin Park our home. We would go to the rec which was held at Bowditch's Gym on Saturday Nights. We drank booze, and smoked pot on the playground. Some of my friends would sneak out at night, ( but not me), break car antennas, do some minor damage, but never any grafitti. We would hang out in under construction houses, but never damage them. I remember when the article: Mousepacks; Kids on a crime spree came out in the San Francisco Examiner in 1973, but I never read it. I love the movie; " Over The Edge," because it reminds me of my teenage years. Even though it is over the top, it is a pretty accurate picture of what it was like to grow up in FC in that era. I know my post is 5 years after the fact, but if anyone would like to contact memod edit - please contact poster via DM
Last edited by Sam I Am; 09-25-2012 at 02:49 AM..
Reason: not a good idea to post email on a public forum
Hi
Is anyone still responding to this thread? I lived just over the "slough" in San Mateo and went to Parkside Elementary, Bayshore Jr. High and Aragon HS from '72 to '76. Although I didn't go to this school in Foster City, I hung out with some of the people there as we all use to hang at Martinelli's Restaurant (now the chain "Fish Market" on South Norfolk). I was best friends with the owner's son, Skip Martinelli (anyone know what happened to him)? Also, we hung out at the Parkside Aquatic Park (Foster City was on the other side) and at Coyote Point.
I have to say that we don't remember anything bad about the Foster City kids other than they had homes we were all jealous of and they rarely invited us over. So when we went over there it was usually to crash a party or ride bikes on the open trails (they still had open trails then!).
All I can say is we feared the Mexican and Black gangs from Aragon HS (and I'm Mexican-American) more than from anyone from FC. I was so happy when I was able to move to Mission Viejo and go to MVHS for 10th grade and get out of the Aragon insanity... it was like a prison there and drug use was off the charts. I only survived getting beaten because my older cousin was well known at Aragon and when I shared his name the gangs left me alone (although he was a massive drug addict and prick and never would have protected me and it become necessary). Anyway, I'd love to know who was in the "mouse pack" because we never ever heard of it and we knew a lot of the kids from the year the article was written (did anyone ever find a copy)? Would love to hear back from someone and also see a copy of the article:
"Mousepacks; Kids on a crime spree, San Francisco Examiner in 1973"
LAGirl247
Hi
Is anyone still responding to this thread? I lived just over the "slough" in San Mateo and went to Parkside Elementary, Bayshore Jr. High and Aragon HS from '72 to '76. Although I didn't go to this school in Foster City, I hung out with some of the people there as we all use to hang at Martinelli's Restaurant (now the chain "Fish Market" on South Norfolk). I was best friends with the owner's son, Skip Martinelli (anyone know what happened to him)? Also, we hung out at the Parkside Aquatic Park (Foster City was on the other side) and at Coyote Point.
I have to say that we don't remember anything bad about the Foster City kids other than they had homes we were all jealous of and they rarely invited us over. So when we went over there it was usually to crash a party or ride bikes on the open trails (they still had open trails then!).
All I can say is we feared the Mexican and Black gangs from Aragon HS (and I'm Mexican-American) more than from anyone from FC. I was so happy when I was able to move to Mission Viejo and go to MVHS for 10th grade and get out of the Aragon insanity... it was like a prison there and drug use was off the charts. I only survived getting beaten because my older cousin was well known at Aragon and when I shared his name the gangs left me alone (although he was a massive drug addict and prick and never would have protected me and it become necessary). Anyway, I'd love to know who was in the "mouse pack" because we never ever heard of it and we knew a lot of the kids from the year the article was written (did anyone ever find a copy)? Would love to hear back from someone and also see a copy of the article:
"Mousepacks; Kids on a crime spree, San Francisco Examiner in 1973"
LAGirl247
Well, my brothers and I went to Bayside with you and yes, we knew Skip, in fact I remember when he took his dad's boat out (parked behind the restaurant) and it magically caught fire then burned to the water line. We went to Hillsdale instead of Aragon thankfully. I'd bet we know many of the same people...
I lived in Foster City from '76 to '81. I attended the elementary school in Foster City when it was just mobile trailers. My teacher there was Barbara Edwards. We then progressed to Bowditch where we had such teachers as Mr. (Marty) Harrrington (English), Mrs Folke (Spanish), Mr. Gregory (Woodshop), Mrs. Rue (Science), Mrs. Swartz (Geography), Mrs. Windish (Art) and others. I regularly frequented the so called "Rec" center. During the years I was hanging out there which was between '77 and '79, there was an African-American male rec leader. I didn't know of a female rec leader there at that time, as indicated in either the article or the movie. I have only heard about this "Mousepacks" article and the '79 movie today.
Well, after reading about the nature of the '71 article and the '79 movie, it all makes perfect sense to me now. I've been telling friends for years that Foster City was the worst cities I had lived in as a kid. It was the kids which made it the worst for me as a kid, but now as an adult I understand that the kids were simply only one part of a much bigger picture. There were various contributing factors as to why we had such issues in Foster City. First, there were these kids from wealthy, well-to-do, and well-off families who could do whatever they wished because their parents had influence on the local leadership. Second, many, if not all, of this specific group of kids were the younger of the family siblings, where they had older brothers/sisters who would get them involved in more advanced adolescent behaviors. Third, Foster City was a small area which had various diversity close together. For example, we had the wealthy, well-to-do and well-off families, we had average to poor families, (poor simply because the Commodores was one of the cheapest places to live at the time in a reasonably safe area) and then we had a group of adults within the Foster City community who were substance users. All of this mixed into a very small community created the issue(s) which we know of today. I lived in the Commodores and many of my friends were single parent families where they're parent dated substance users. As a kid in Foster City, we had exposure to all of these type of lifestyles and behaviors.
The first thing I noticed odd about the kids when I first moved to Foster City was the fact that they would only address one another by last names only. The next thing noticed was how there was a very strong pressure to do what the other kids want you to do such as drugs, bullying, stealing, all the typical going against the "grain" routine, so to speak. If a kid didn't go along with this type of behavior, they were bullied to no end. And the interesting thing is the biggest bullies were the group of kids who were wealthy, well-to-do, and/or well-off, who had older siblings, and with parents who had influence on local leadership. I had lived in various cities within the bay area leading up to the years I lived in Foster City and in no other place had I encountered the bullying and peer pressures that I had been subjected to like I did while living in Foster City.
Bowditch was interesting. We may have been responsible for inventing "pencil fighting" This became so big and popular that the school eventually passed a rule forbidding it. Lift tickets on jackets for weeks, if not months after returning from ski trips during the winter months, big plastic handled combs in the back pocket, the sleeveless feather down jackets, drawing handwritten mazes on paper, and passing cheat sheets around in pens were all some of the norm at Bowditch. And when the movie Star Wars came out, anybody and everybody who was somebody would draw character(s) and/or space craft from the movie during class.
I'll definitely check out the movie now that I've come across this information about Foster City.
I lived in Foster City from '76 to '81. I attended the elementary school in Foster City when it was just mobile trailers. My teacher there was Barbara Edwards. We then progressed to Bowditch where we had such teachers as Mr. (Marty) Harrrington (English), Mrs Folke (Spanish), Mr. Gregory (Woodshop), Mrs. Rue (Science), Mrs. Swartz (Geography), Mrs. Windish (Art) and others. I regularly frequented the so called "Rec" center. During the years I was hanging out there which was between '77 and '79, there was an African-American male rec leader. I didn't know of a female rec leader there at that time, as indicated in either the article or the movie. I have only heard about this "Mousepacks" article and the '79 movie today.
Well, after reading about the nature of the '71 article and the '79 movie, it all makes perfect sense to me now. I've been telling friends for years that Foster City was the worst cities I had lived in as a kid. It was the kids which made it the worst for me as a kid, but now as an adult I understand that the kids were simply only one part of a much bigger picture. There were various contributing factors as to why we had such issues in Foster City. First, there were these kids from wealthy, well-to-do, and well-off families who could do whatever they wished because their parents had influence on the local leadership. Second, many, if not all, of this specific group of kids were the younger of the family siblings, where they had older brothers/sisters who would get them involved in more advanced adolescent behaviors. Third, Foster City was a small area which had various diversity close together. For example, we had the wealthy, well-to-do and well-off families, we had average to poor families, (poor simply because the Commodores was one of the cheapest places to live at the time in a reasonably safe area) and then we had a group of adults within the Foster City community who were substance users. All of this mixed into a very small community created the issue(s) which we know of today. I lived in the Commodores and many of my friends were single parent families where they're parent dated substance users. As a kid in Foster City, we had exposure to all of these type of lifestyles and behaviors.
The first thing I noticed odd about the kids when I first moved to Foster City was the fact that they would only address one another by last names only. The next thing noticed was how there was a very strong pressure to do what the other kids want you to do such as drugs, bullying, stealing, all the typical going against the "grain" routine, so to speak. If a kid didn't go along with this type of behavior, they were bullied to no end. And the interesting thing is the biggest bullies were the group of kids who were wealthy, well-to-do, and/or well-off, who had older siblings, and with parents who had influence on local leadership. I had lived in various cities within the bay area leading up to the years I lived in Foster City and in no other place had I encountered the bullying and peer pressures that I had been subjected to like I did while living in Foster City.
Bowditch was interesting. We may have been responsible for inventing "pencil fighting" This became so big and popular that the school eventually passed a rule forbidding it. Lift tickets on jackets for weeks, if not months after returning from ski trips during the winter months, big plastic handled combs in the back pocket, the sleeveless feather down jackets, drawing handwritten mazes on paper, and passing cheat sheets around in pens were all some of the norm at Bowditch. And when the movie Star Wars came out, anybody and everybody who was somebody would draw character(s) and/or space craft from the movie during class.
I'll definitely check out the movie now that I've come across this information about Foster City.
Actually much of this especially the bolded text was common in other places besides FC. At least that was the case on the Peninsula, in places that were generally of a uniform middle to upper middle class composition. Ah, pencil fights. Then when they started to come out with the more bendy ones that were reprocessed wood mixed with rubber, talk about cheating, LOL! Dang, and the lift tickets left on jackets. I was still doing that when I met my wife (she made me stop!).
Everything you mention about F.C. schools happened across the lagoon in San Mateo as well. Bayside JHS was just as bad as Bowditch except with (mostly) less affluent kids from places like Los Prados.
I remember the Commodores Apts very,very well! Not only did I have friends that lived there, there was also an older guy (late 40's) who lived there that had a constant party going on in his place. Drugs,booze,ciggs were readily available and teens from about 12-16 years old (not his) were always coming and going. He had christmas lights all over the ceiling, black light posters on the walls, loud music and he had a hand held laser that we'd all play with doing light shows. That kind of thing was really high tech at the time.
Ahh the stupidity of youth!
Everything you mention about F.C. schools happened across the lagoon in San Mateo as well. Bayside JHS was just as bad as Bowditch except with (mostly) less affluent kids from places like Los Prados.
I remember the Commodores Apts very,very well! Not only did I have friends that lived there, there was also an older guy (late 40's) who lived there that had a constant party going on in his place. Drugs,booze,ciggs were readily available and teens from about 12-16 years old (not his) were always coming and going. He had christmas lights all over the ceiling, black light posters on the walls, loud music and he had a hand held laser that we'd all play with doing light shows. That kind of thing was really high tech at the time.
Ahh the stupidity of youth!
I remember that guy with the Christmas lights, his apartment was closest to the Commodores Rec Center and tennis court/pool area. He also had a few constrictors that he'd play with while sitting in his chair as we all sat there tripping out over the lights, snakes and whatnot. I spent a few evenings in his apartment cause some of my friends really liked hanging out in his apartment, which I found odd, but then again, I didn't really know about the drugs and alcohol thing and I'm sure the friends I had did. One such "friend" who I hung out with in that apartment was named Mark Miller. His dad was a donut cooker and would be gone from like 6pm until 6am every night of the week. So needless to say, Mark was totally out of control.
Actually much of this especially the bolded text was common in other places besides FC. At least that was the case on the Peninsula, in places that were generally of a uniform middle to upper middle class composition. Ah, pencil fights. Then when they started to come out with the more bendy ones that were reprocessed wood mixed with rubber, talk about cheating, LOL! Dang, and the lift tickets left on jackets. I was still doing that when I met my wife (she made me stop!).
Yes you are most definitely right about that. However, I had lived in San Francisco, Daly City, Pacifica, and San Mateo before Foster City and I had never experienced the degree of what I mentioned in any of those previous places. It was really bad. No man's land was Bounty Drive in Foster City if you were just an average good kid who didn't want to participate in shady juvenile activities back in the '70s. That was part of the bully turf land. I never wanted to be caught dead in that area. But sometimes would because we had to pass that street in order to go over the bridge to Thrifty's for a .10 scoop of ice cream.
And yeah, the best pencils for pencil fighting was the Choice brand cause of the flexible properties of the outer material. A few kids got creative and would pull the lead out and replace it with a metal spoke of the same length and diameter. For this reason, we'd spend a moment inspecting the pencils before the fight commenced .
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
LOL. Very interesting, particularly the "Lynch Mob" I take it Kevin Lynch was a little brother of Kelly Lynch. Kevin Lynch was one of the kids who all of us feared since he was in our age group. I only had one friendly dialog with him in 5th grade. He spoke very fondly of Montana. Makes perfect sense now. Kevin, Skipper, Smitty, just to name a few. I ran into a chick named Lisa Paoli in around 1995 who told me a lot had happened to most of these FC characters.
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San Mateo Kid in 1973, my memories
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. WM
