Duck and Run - The Hillcrest Park Drive-by Shootings

"This is actually a pretty sophisticated black and white photo. It was taken in the dark from the back of our 1965 Galaxy 500 top-down convertible. It was a flash camera fired through a hemispherical infrared filter onto infrared-sensitive black and white film. The couple saw only a red glow when the flash fired. I hung out with a lot of tech-savvy nerds at the time, and we even were able to fill a car slowly with ground fog made by firing pressurized baby oil through a heated orifice over dry ice. The fog was very impressively thick, and the unaware couple necking in the car were unaware of the fog filling their car was nearly full. After throwing a duck into the unsuspecting fog-filled car, we were rewarded with a high-speed chase all over Fullerton, until we escaped! Well, I was 15 years old, and this was all something to keep our busy minds occupied." Photo courtesy of J.S.

"This is what a 62 Chevy Impala was really good for. I think this couple was really engaged! Ratted hair was "in" and bucket seats were ignored." Photo courtesy of J.S.

"The ring indicated marriage, yet not likely to each other. It was a sign of the times." Photo courtesy of J.S.

"Dating this photo should not be too difficult given the b-pillar and haircuts." Photo courtesy of J.S.

"Early members of "Der Kleiner Panzers." These two drove in the best VW hot rods of the early air cooled cruzers era. Dressing in Madres short-sleeved shirts, sharply creased slacks, and wingtips was cool."Photo courtesy of J.S.

"Oops! Missed the action, yet captured instead the chemistry book homework, and classic metalflake upholstered headrests. So...not all lost. The bench seat offers a more reposed position."Photo courtesy of J.S.

"Hey! This is after all part of the LA Basin. Even the Mexican cruzers got in on the photo shoot! Way too happy to be photographed!" Photo courtesy of J.S.

"Just classic!" Photo courtesy of J.S.

"My reflection in a Toastmaster toaster will attach me to the blame for these previous photos in 1965. Not that anybody would ever recognize me now! A long time ago!" Photo courtesy of J.S.

If you used to frequent Hillcrest Park in the mid-1960s, you might consider skipping this article, or at least keep it to yourself. You have hereby been warned.

Jim was a freshman at Fullerton High School in California in 1965. Back then, the "Big Kids" all had their driver's licenses. According to Jim, many were sons and daughters of successful automobile dealerships in town. Privileged kids that could drive their brand new family muscle cars to all the HOT places, "Carl's Jr, on Harbor Blvd., Fullerton- all high school dances, football games, and cruzing Whittier Blvd. I guess I did NOT wear levis that year—instead, black slacks, white socks, and white Polo T-shirt, and cordovan WingTip "battleship" hard leather shoes (with taps on toes and heels- to make noticeable noise when walking)."

Jim and his buddies hung out with older guys that could drive and cruze Hillcrest Park, where all the older guys and gals went to neck and make out, parked on the nearly one-lane winding roads around the hilly park. "We were pretty stupid- but had a plan," Jim told Kustomrama 55 years later, "Our "get-away" vehicle was a Red Convertible Galaxy 500 with a four-speed. We would stop at the lake at the bottom of the park, grab a duck from the pond, and carefully drive past a parked hotrod where occupants were well engaged in heavy panting, suspected petting, and car rocking action. As we squeezed by their parked car, if the window was open, as it often was due to steamy action, we would throw in the duck. Then, pull up a few feet, and rev our engine. This was a choose-off- and many times resulted in a high-speed chase around the city. Later, we got more sophisticated and shot photos- to be used later for leverage at school." Teenage pranks. Just for fun, Jim assures us. "Well, I was 15 years old, and this was all something to keep our busy minds occupied." Luckily, he kept on to these rare photos all these years, and he has finally decided to share a few with us. These photos are era-correct and quite interesting. A unique peek back in time.