November 1, 1983
By Matt Prichard Ever have one of those days when you want to dig a hole in the ground and crawl in? About a year and a half ago, a bunch of guys from Bowie High decided to do just that. Ten
Bowie students, age 14 to 16, carved into sand and clay on an empty lot
in the block of St. Vrain and Hills streets and eight and Ninth avenues
on the South Side. They stuck posts in the hole and nailed
plywood walls to hem. Two-by-fours became ceiling beams and a sheet of
plastic and dirt covered the compartment. A metal hatch attached to a square wooden frame became the door. They were in business. The
boys said they have enlarged the underground room three times, using
mostly scrap material found in lots and along highways. Now it’s some
8-by-10 feet in area and more than 6 feet in height. “In the
winter it’s pretty warm,” said Samuel Pardo, 16.” “And it’s good shade
when the sun’s hot outside,” added 14-year-old Fernie Felix. Does it leak when it rains? “Not yet,” said Albert Garcia, 14. Other members of the hideout gang are Fred Frias, Mario Araujo and Jimmie Parra, all 15. The
group recently painted the inside white. Posters of rock musicians Ozzy
Osbourne and Blackfoot decorate one corner. There’s carpet and ancient
couches and car seats that are comfortable, but which have seen better
days. A neighbor, Guadalupe Orozco, 19, said the boys don’t bother him. “We sometimes bring the TV and watch games on Sundays,” Garcia said. “And we bring the Atari,” said Javier Solis, 15. Monday,
however, an El Paso Electric Co. crew doing maintenance work on
electric lines in the area spotted the extension cord that the boys had
strung from a neighbor’s house across the alley. They had nailed it up to the company’s post, across an adobe wall and down through the earth to the hideout. “My supervisor told me to cut it before we left,” said company first-class lineman Yassu Grier. Being
without electricity didn’t bother the boys too much late Monday. They
surveyed the damage then disappeared into the hole and settled down to
a game of dominoes.
Photo caption: Bowie High underground clubhouse
members relax after a game of dominoes in their home away from home.
They are Juan Zuniga (top), Stefan Montenegro (center left), Ernesto
Felix (center right) and Angel Lucero (front). (Times photo by Al
Gutierrez)
Times staff writer
The
metal door is covered with a tumbleweed, and if it hadn’t been for
their adding one more luxury, the secret hideout might never have been
discovered.
I REMEMBER THIS CLUBHOUSE, I LIVED WITH MY GRAMMA IN THE HOUSE RIGHT NEXT DOOR. I WAS 7 YEARS OLD AND I USED TO THROW ROCKS AT THE OPENING AND THEY USED TO LOOK OUT TO SEE WHAT THE NOISE WAS. THEY NEVER KNEW IT WAS ME.LOL
Posted by: PATRICK | October 23, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Good way to stay out of trouble, and once a bear always a bear
Posted by: melissa | October 23, 2008 at 09:27 PM