Personal memories from Debbie and Keith

Uncovered nice personal memories from Debbie and Keith, a couple of Hawthorne locals. This first one comes from Debbie, who recalled:

“Wow, Cockatoo Inn conjures up some interesting memories. My Dad loved the ponies and most of the time on his way home from Hollywood Park he would stop by the Cockatoo Inn. Occasionally I got to go with him, my mom’s idea of course, but I loved being with my dad, so it was an adventure. It reminds me now of the Hawthorne version of the Rat Pack. All these guys smoking, tossing back hi-balls, laughing and having a great time discussing their wins and losses. Who knows, maybe they were discussing next weeks racing strategy (wink, wink)!!”

A day at Hollywood Park, then relaxing at the Cockatoo, sounds like our kind of day! The second memory comes from Keith of Las Vegas, who remembered:

I remember the Lococos. Stevie was on my little league team the Phillies and we were good friends. Mr. Lococo was a figure. I remember idolizing Tony and Frank. Tony was a big dude that hit a home run that went a mile. It hit the handball court that was way past the center field fence. Of course they were many of my customers when I was the Daily Breeze paperboy.”

Love the addition to the Lococo legend! Appreciate these personal memories from Debbie and Keith. South Bay natives, do you have a related childhood memory? Send it to us!

Admin note: This memory came from the late John Baker’s Cougartown site. John was an alumnus of Hawthorne High and did a masterful job of capturing and preserving memories of Hawthorne back in the day. As a reminder, CockatooInn.com does not edit (for meaning) nor endorse the content of these posts.

Do you have a photograph or memory of the visiting the Cockatoo Inn that you’d like to share? Send it to friends@cockatooinn.com!