Thursday, October 16, 2003 5:18 PM
BY PATT MORRISON
The year was 1962.
At Food King, eggs were 29 cents a dozen. Western Airlines — remember Western
Airlines? — was advertising eight-day vacations in Mexico for $199.
Just as Tom McClintock said, three- bedroom houses in Thousand Oaks were going for $23,500. The Pacific Drive-Ins were showing “Sweet Bird of Youth,” and Lockheed had job openings offering “Top Pay for Top Men.”
The Broadway — remember the Broadway? — had two-piece swimsuits for $8.99, and Ulrich Pontiac in Culver City was selling new Tempest sports coupes for $2,186 with 4.5% financing.
And the Los Angeles Press Club’s annual membership dues were $50.
Since then we’ve had eight presidents — one of them assassinated. We’ve walked on the moon, wiped out smallpox, overthrown governments and created them, invented diet Coke and the Internet
and designer coffee and ATMs.
And in all those 41 years — nearly half
a century — the Press Club never raised its membership dues.
Welcome to the 21st century. A lot of those 1962 institutions are gone, but the Press Club is still here, and still a bargain. In a move discussed at the annual meeting — and supported by the members who attended — the club is raising its membership dues.
In a motion passed unanimously by the board of directors, fees will be $75 for new members, and $60 for members who renew by January 1. Associates who renew by January 1 will pay $75, and those who renew thereafter will pay $85.
The student rate will be $30.
A year from now, the Press Club will review membership renewals to find out what impact, if any, the new fees make.
We now return you to the new ABC hit comedy “McHale’s Navy,” already in progress.
