In-N-Out Burger (32 page)

“In 1943, Esther joined the war effort,”:
Snyder family home movie; Esther Snyder, interview by Rich Snyder, circa early 1970s; U.S. Navy Memorial; “In Loving Memory of Esther Snyder,” In-N-Out Burger corporate website, http://www.in-n-out.com/esther/.

“The WAVES were designated by special order”:
Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center online library, “World War II Era Waves,” http://www.history.navy. mil/photos/prs-tpic/females/wave-ww2.htm.

“I thought I might enjoy radio or hospital work.”:
Snyder family home movie; Esther Snyder, interview by Rich Snyder, circa early 1970s.

“boot camp at Hunter College”:
Janet Butler Munch, “Making Waves in the Bronx: The Story of the U.S. Naval Training School (WR) At Hunter College,”
Bronx County Historical Society Journal
, 30, no. 1 (Spring 1993).

“WAVES recruiting posters”:
Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center online library, “Recruiting Posters for Women from World War II—The Waves,” http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/posters/wwiiwomen/wavep1.htm.

“Esther Johnson spent the next three years (until November 1945) in the navy.”:
U.S. Navy Memorial; “In Loving Memory of Esther Snyder,” In-N-Out Burger corporate website, http://www.in-n-out.com/esther/.

“When the war ended and Esther left the navy,”:
U.S. Navy Memorial.

“Esther enrolled at Seattle Pacific University,”:
“In Loving Memory of Esther Snyder,” In-N-Out Burger corporate website, http://www.in-n-out.com/esther/.

“He just came in to deliver sandwich boxes,”:
Snyder family home movie; Esther Snyder, interview by Rich Snyder, circa early 1970s.

CHAPTER
2

“Some seven thousand people lived”:
Baldwin Park Historical Society archives; Historical U.S. Census Populations of Places, Towns, and Cities in California 1850–1990; official population records were not recorded for Baldwin Park until after 1956, when it was officially incorporated into Los Angeles.

“with its lighted baseball field”:
Aileen Pinheiro, comp.,
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 41; “Park Plunge Draws Crowd,”
Baldwin Park Bulletin,
July 17, 1942.

“Running sixty trains daily”:
A period ad for the Pacific Electric reprinted in Aileen Pinheiro, comp.,
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 31.

“With no fewer than twelve hundred performing animals,”:
Ibid.; Cecilia Rasmussen, “Cagey Entertainer's Life Was a 3-Ring Circus,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 29, 2002.

“In 1927, the flamboyant Al Barnes”:
Baldwin Park Historical Society archives.

“where locals had grown wary of boisterous circus employees,”:
Ibid.; Cecilia Rasmussen, “Cagey Entertainer's Life Was a 3-Ring Circus,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 29, 2002.

“During a building binge, circus elephants”:
Aileen Pinheiro, comp.,
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 227.

“the Paramount movie studio used”:
Cecilia Rasmussen, “Cagey Entertainer's Life Was a 3-Ring Circus,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 29, 2002.

“The town's thrilling circus days came to an end in 1938”:
Ibid.

“upset Republican hopes, confound[ed] Mr. Gallup and surprise[d] even members of the Democratic party.”:
“Baldwin Park Votes Heavily for Democrats,”
Baldwin Park Tribune
, November 4, 1948.

“Between 1939 and 1945, federal spending reached”:
Kevin Starr,
California: A History
(New York: Modern Library Chronicles, 2005), 237.

“throughout the war years, some 1.6 million Americans migrated”:
Ibid.

“between 1940 and 1950, the state population swelled”:
Ibid., 238; U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

“Between July 1945 and July 1947, more than a million people”:
Kevin Starr,
California: A History
(New York: Modern Library Chronicles, 2005), 238.

“As New York is the melting pot”:
Carey McWilliams,
Southern California Country: An Island in the Land
(New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1946), 233.

“By the time the Snyders arrived, the number of inhabitants”:
Aileen Pinheiro, comp.,
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 17.

“Since the business done by the post office”:
“All-Time High Mark Set by Post Office Receipts of $65,000 in 1948,”
Baldwin Park Tribune
, December 31, 1948.

“the town now boasted eighteen different churches,”:
Classified Ads,
Baldwin Park Tribune
, October 15, 1948.

“One of the largest, Baldy View,”:
Aileen Pinheiro, comp., “Baldy View Trailer Park,”
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 248.

“into what historian and author Mike Davis called”:
Mike Davis,
Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster
(New York: Metropolitan Books, 1999), 74.

“as a result of the generous GI Bill”:
“GI Bill Turns 62 Today,” Military.com, June 22, 2006, http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,102383,00.html.

“a desirable two-bedroom house with a double lot cost”:
“Baldwin Sales Total $400,000,”
Los Angeles Times
, August 21, 1949; Baldwin Park Historical Society.

“generally referred to simply as ‘GI homes,'”:
“Baldwin Park Tract Opened,”
Los Angeles Times
, October 22, 1950.

“and were offered to veterans for ‘as low as $250 down.'”:
“Three Projects Ready for '49,”
Los Angeles Times
, December 12, 1948.

“a Chicago-transplant, cartoonist, and animator”:
“Disneyland Beginnings…” University of Southern California digital archives, http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/la/disneyland/.

“Early on, he took on a partner,”:
Aileen Pinheiro, comp., “In-N-Out Burgers, Inc.: Esther L. Snyder,”
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 242.

“Already by 1940 there were over 1 million cars”:
Carey McWilliams,
Southern California Country: An Island in the Land
(New York: Duell Sloan & Pearce, 1946), 236.

“It was reported at the time that Angelinos spent more money”:
Ibid.

“And in 1970, Koulax boasted that Tommy's had raked in $1 million;”:
Burt A. Folkart, “Tommy Koulax, Builder of Hamburger Chain, Dies,”
Los Angeles Times
, May 29, 1992.

CHAPTER
3

“the $1.5 billion, 3,000-unit, multinational Carl Karcher Enterprises.”:
Carl Karcher Enterprises press release, 2007.

Karcher's bio and company history come from author interview, February 27, 2007, and Carl Karcher Enterprises, “Never Stop Dreaming A Celebration Under the Stars A Tribute to Carl and Margaret Karcher,” July 17, 1991.

“
I was concerned at first
”: Ibid.

“
I guess we have a hot dog cart
.”: Ibid.

“
I always heard that if you had three or more
”: Ibid.

“Many consider the Pig Stand”:
Michael Karl Witzel,
The American Drive-In Restaurant
(St. Paul: MBI Publishing, 1994), 25, 28; John Love,
McDonald's: Behind the Arches
, rev. ed. (New York: Bantam Books, 1995), 11.

“Houston Drive-In Trade Gets Girl Show with Its Hamburgers”:
“Roadside Service,”
Life
, February 26, 1940.

“On the California border with Tijuana,”:
Michael Karl Witzel,
The American Drive-In Restaurant
(St. Paul: MBI Publishing, 1994), 39.

“Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's,”:
Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers corporate history, http://www.wendys.com.

“Even McDonald's first drive-through window”:
“McDonald's the Rise and Stall,”
Businesswee
k, March 2, 2003.

“In 1951, Jack in the Box introduced its own intercom”:
Jack in the Box corporate history, http://www.jackinthebox.com/drivethru/.

“Back in 1931, the Pig Stand had devised”:
Michael Karl Witzel,
The American Drive-In Restaurant
(St. Paul: MBI Publishing, 1994), 28.

“A clutch of what were called ‘drive-up windows'”:
John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle,
Fast Food Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), 61–62.

“In 1954, the Stillwater, Oklahoma, shop”:
Sonic corporate history, http://www.sonicdrivein.com/history/part1.jsp.

“Soon, a host of electronic ordering devices”:
Jim Heimann,
Car Hops and Curb Service
(San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1996), 118.

“As Esther Snyder once proudly told the
Los Angeles Times,”: Edmund Newton, “Faithful Customers Have No Beef with In-N-Out Burger,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 16, 1990.

“In fact, the drive-through became so pervasive”:
John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle,
Fast Food Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), 61–62.

“Anything he decided to do usually turned out well,”:
Myrna Oliver, “Esther Snyder, 86; Co-Founded the In-N-Out Burger Chain,”
Los Angeles Times
, August 6, 2006.

“On In-N-Out's first day of business,”:
Aileen Pinheiro, comp., “In-N-Out Burgers, Inc.: Esther L. Snyder,”
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 242.

“In recalling those early weeks, Esther Snyder once said.”:
Ibid.

“Our early support came from the kind people of Baldwin Park,”:
Ibid.

“local produce growers who drove at night”:
Ibid.

“The system was based on three simple words:”:
Ibid.

“Mr. Snyder stressed quality from the first day he opened for business,”:
Ibid.

“a pair of brothers—Richard and Maurice (Dick and Mac) McDonald”:
For the history of McDonald's, I relied on John Love,
McDonald's: Behind the Arches
, rev. ed. (New York: Bantam Books, 1995), 14; Ray Kroc with Robert Anderson,
Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's
(Chicago: H. Regnery, 1977); David Halberstam,
The Fifties
(New York: Villard Books, 1993); McDonald's corporate history.

“Sometimes I like to play a hunch,”:
David Halberstam,
The Fifties
(New York: Villard Books, 1993), 156.

“Our whole concept was based on speed,”:
John Love,
McDonald's: Behind the Arches
, rev. ed. (New York: Bantam Books, 1995), 14.

CHAPTER
4

“Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Parts in Temple City”:
Pete Chapouris, So-Cal Speed Shop history, http://www.so-calspeedshop.com/petec.html.

“We'd start at the In-N-Out on Valley,”:
Ibid.

“During their brief marriage”:
Edmund Newton, “Faithful Customers Have No Beef with In-N-Out Burger,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 16, 1990.

“When he took a break, he'd go in the tiny room”:
Comments made by Don Miller during his eulogy at memorial service for Rich Snyder, Phil West, and Jack Sims, held at the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, December 23, 1993 (videotape).

“sitting on the sofa watching TV”:
Edmund Newton, “Faithful Customers Have No Beef with In-N-Out Burger,”
Los Angeles Times
, September 16, 1990.

“California's minimum wage was sixty-five cents an hour,”
: California Department of Industrial Relations Industrial Welfare Commission, department of finance, economic research unit.

“They take your orders and make you food. They're so important,”
: Greg Johnson, “More than Fare,”
Los Angeles Times
, August 15, 1997.

“One of them was Chuck Papez.”:
Greg Hernandez, “Family Owned In-N-Out at a Crossroads,”
Los Angeles Times
, July 2, 2000.

“During In-N-Out's early days, the Snyders doled”:
Ibid.

“Every Christmas, Harry walked into the Baldwin Park branch of the Bank of America”:
Ibid.

CHAPTER
5

“The Pacific Electric train,”:
Cecil Adams, “Did General Motors Destroy the LA Mass Transit System?”
Straight Dope
, January 19, 1986.

“Indeed, on October 14, 1950, at 11:23 p.m., the Pacific Electric,”:
Aileen Pinheiro, comp.,
The Heritage of Baldwin Park
, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing Co., 1981), 45.

“The demise of the fabled Red Line”:
Bradford Snell, “The Street Car Conspiracy How General Motors Deliberately Destroyed Public Transit,”
The New Electric Railway Journal
, (Autumn 1995); Cecil Adams, “Did General Motors Destroy the LA Mass Transit System?”
Straight Dope
, January 19, 1986. For more information, refer to “Taken for a Ride,” PBS (August 6, 1996).