Cruising: Gone But Not Forgotten

All it took was a simple sign.

One that said no U-turns allowed on Castro Valley Boulevard between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Those signs were strung along the boulevard 25 years ago and put an end to the popular youth activity known as cruising.

For years on Friday and Saturday nights, hundreds of cars and their young drivers would congregate, with asphalt under their wheels and a vague promise on their minds.

This was the era before cellphones, websites and instant messages had turned the airwaves into an always-available meeting place.

Teens and young adults would meet on the busy boulevard, showing off, admiring in return, and hoping, always hoping that this night would distinguish itself in a way that remained to be seen.

Sure, there were fights, vandalism, drinking and urinating in public. But its participants remember cruising mostly as fun, their generation's version of a chat room.

"It was a great place to see cars and meet girls," said Alameda County Sheriff Sgt. J. D. Nelson. "When you're 17 or 18, that's a great combo."

Nelson has seen cruising from both sides.

He attended Skyline High School in Oakland and as a teen did his share of cruising.

Now he's one of the authorities in charge of enforcing laws against it.

Cruising began in the 1950s. For a couple of decades, the big spot in the region was East 14th Street in San Leandro. Some of the spillover from that came to Castro Valley Boulevard.

Then, in the early 1980s, San Leandro began a crackdown. Police officers started writing tickets for everything from broken taillights to illegal parking.

"The police hit it hard. You can write a lot of tickets because the Vehicle Code is thick," recalled Nelson.

The San Leandro cruisers migrated to Castro Valley Boulevard. There, it was easy for young men and women to drive to one end of town, then make a U-turn and drive back the other way.

"Up and back. We'd do that all night long," said Nelson.

The young adults hung out at places like JD's restaurant, the Kragen Auto Supply parking lot, Jack in the Box and Del's Cafe.

Around 1986, the problems associated with cruising grew.

"The business owners got tired of it," remembered Nelson. "People who didn't live here would come in. They weren't from here, so they didn't care about the town as much. They weren't as respectful."

So, Castro Valley leaders installed the no U-turn signs and police came out in force on Friday and Saturday nights to uphold the new rule. Tickets were handed out every time a vehicle did a "180" on the boulevard.

"That was the death sentence for Castro Valley cruising. It became inconvenient, so people stopped coming," said Nelson.

The years that cruising flourished provide fond memories for those who participated.

Ken Carbone now owns Dolphin Graphics on Redwood Road.

He graduated from Moreau Catholic High School in 1980. He spent many a Friday and Saturday night on Castro Valley Boulevard.

He and his friends would work all week on their cars and then show them off on cruising nights. They ate hamburgers together on the hoods of their vehicles while they chatted with people they knew from school and tried to hook up with girls.

"It was what we did every weekend. As soon as it got dark outside, people went out. It was a lot of fun," said Carbone. "It was the only opportunity for everybody to get together. We didn't have the Internet then."

Among Carbone's many cars was a 1955 Chevy. The goal for him and his buddies was to get their automobiles into big car shows in Sacramento and other places.

Rob Castro had a black 1967 Camaro, among other cars he worked on.

Castro, a 1983 graduate of San Leandro High School, cruised both East 14th Street and Castro Valley Boulevard on Friday and Saturday evenings.

He and his friends would drive along the boulevard and stop at the Kragen's lot to congregate.

"We'd cruise back and forth. We'd see a lot of people we knew. It was a lot of fun," said Castro.

Mark Sommerholder remembers those days well, too. He graduated from San Ramon Valley High School in 1980, but he spent a lot of weekend evenings on the Castro Valley strip.

He remembers taking his 1972 Chevelle SS to Castro Valley Boulevard. He and his friends would cruise, talk and eat.

"There were a lot of cars, people getting together. It was a place to hang out," said Sommerholder.

They all remember the U-turn signs going up and the quick end to cruising.

However, the former cruisers also acknowledge that times have changed. With modern technology, young adults no longer to meet along a popular avenue. They can do that online.

They also say teens aren't into older cars and certainly aren't interested in working on them. They tend to just show off new cars that they or their parents bought.

"They all have new cars," said Sommerholder. "They think they know something about cars, but they don't."

"The kids today don't know about cars," agreed Carbone. "They don't even know how to change the oil."

Carbone and others are still trying to instill some interest in automobiles in the younger crowd.

Every year, they organize a classic car show. This year, the event is on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the BART parking lot on Redwood Road. It's part of Castro Valley Days. Proceeds from the show go to high school auto technology students.

The former cruisers know the activity's day has come and gone, but as a memory, it's vivid and makes them feel wistful.

"I think it was something that had its day, but it would be a good thing for kids today," said Castro.

"It would be nice if we still had it," said Sommerholder. "It'd be nice for the kids today to do it."