Interview With Grandpa Sorensen

Social Science Project with Papa

My grandfather, David E.Sorensen, was in his mid twenties and mid thirties during 1950-70. He was in the US Army serving in the Korean War in the late 1950s and after we was dismissed from his labour, he went to college in the early 1960’s. In the 60’s he and his wife, Verla, and their children lived in Salt Lake City Utah. Then in 1969 he and my grandmother and their children moved to the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. While they were living in Utah, Salt Lake City and surrounding cities grew very rapidly. The reason Utah populated so quickly was World War II and Korean War veterans were coming to the University of Utah and other educational institutions on the resources of the GI Bill. When he moved to California, there was also a large influx in Hispanic and Asian immigrants. Like wise, many people also came from all over the United States, such as the Mid West and South West, for the new jobs and spectacular weather. 

The society David and his family lived in was very open in both states. Television was just developing and he knew many people who did not own tvs in their homes. Many people were very leary of the new twchnology and use of watching television. He knew that because children would come over to his home to watch tv daily. His children went to public schools. They lived in a very safe community. They used public or private transportation very rarely because he and his family could walk to almost any destination in their community, partly because it was so safe and schools and churches, and shopping were within walking distance. 

David and his family thought the State government, under the direction of governor Ronald Reagan, was very successful. The city governments were also very practical and beneficial to the public. The government was very responsive and helpful to needs of the people. However, in south Los Angeles, the police men were accused of racism towards other ethnicities, which caused racial riots. These riots did not directly affect David and his family, but there was much discussion about the problems of how the big city governments and the police forces were handling racial issues. My grandfather felt the riots would have been avoided if the police and city officials would have been more responsive to the needs of the people in the communities of south Los Angeles.