Velzy Plaque – Gary McAulay research and testimony
Gary McAulay is a long term resident of Manhattan Beach and a member of the Manhattan Beach Historical Society (MBHS). Mr. McAulay served as the President of MBHS until 2022.
Below is the research and testimony assembled by Mr. McAulay pertaining to the history of Mr.
Velzy, his shop, and the property at 117 Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
… James Sinicope paid for his shoe repair license at 117 MBB on Dec 7 1949. Presumably a one- year license, and going right into 1950, meaning that for Velzy to occupy the space, Sinicrope has to leave. Unless Sinicrope appears again in the July 1 1949-June 30 1950 license register (fiscal year?) registering a move, Velzy could not have been in the shop during that time. It is improbable, I think, but technically not impossible that Sinicrope moved out on July 1, 1950 and Velzy moved right in, but the window for Velzy to set up shop at 117 is then real narrow (two months) because he gets a draft notice in August. It would not make sense for Velzy to rent the building at that point, if Sinicrope was in fact out, and we have no evidence that he was.
All of which leads me to conclude that the proposed language for the plaque Dale “Hawk” Velzy developed his world famous surfboard brand at this site in 1950 cannot be supported, at least the date 1950 cannot. It would be better changed to the date for which there is at least a dated photograph in support, and when it's documented that Sinicrope has in fact moved out: 1952.
Or the date should be left off entirely until research discovers some additional information.
Dale Velzy was a legendary surfer and innovative board shaper, a colorful character who made major contributions to surfing. He deserves recognition for the influence he had on the sport.
However, there are problems with the 1950 claim.
Despite the Velzy plaque having advanced to the Consent Calendar, I would be remiss if I did not urge you to reconsider this plaque that so brazenly, without substantiation, makes the grandiose claim that Dale Velzy “Opened the World’s first known surf shop on this site in 1950.”
An old City business license register was found. Velzy does not appear in it. But, it shows that on Dec 7, 1949, one James Sinicrope paid for his business license at 117 MB Blvd, where he owned a shoe repair store called Jimmie’s Shoeatorium. In other words, the shoe repair store that Velzy claimed to replace later was occupying the address in 1950. Velzy, age 22, was residing with his mother on Loma Drive in Hermosa Beach (US Census April 6 1950). He shaped boards in his mother’s garage (Holmes, Dale Velzy is Hawk). Less than five months later, in late August of 1950, Velzy received a draft notice. He was inducted into the Army and served briefly, having fallen off a truck, injuring his back. He was recovering in the hospital when his unit was deployed overseas. (Holmes). Velzy received a medical discharge sometime in 1951.
But, scratch 1950.
The only known photo of Velzy’s “shop,” the photo to be used on the plaque, was taken in 1952. It shows no store identifying signage. The 1952 City directory shows 117 MBB as “vacant.” Possibly Velzy had not moved in when the directory was compiled. Or maybe he simply did not have a business license, and so was not listed in the business directory.
Based on a boast by Velzy, the plaque relies on conflating “work shop” with “surf shop” with “retail shop.” Actually, there were other commercial surfboard manufacturers. There were other shapers “taking orders” out of their workshops. So, what makes Velzy’s workshop a “surf shop,” different from others? His unverified claim that he got a City license and “California's first State Board of Equalization resale (sales tax) number in the category of surfboards.” This, despite having no surfboards on display, no counter, cash register, phone, or signage; “I didn’t want people to notice that much,” he said, hoping to avoid a city inspector. When an inspector did show up, Velzy told him that he only made boards “for the guys down at the club,”
Nobody has come forward with any proof that, in Manhattan Beach, Velzy operated anything more than a workshop to make boards for friends and surfers that came to him. This was not a “surf shop” as is commonly understood. Nobody has shown proof that Velzy ever licensed, advertised, or operated his MB workshop as a legitimate retail surf shop, or that he had a state resale number, as he claimed.
To assert the “World’s First Known Surf Shop” requires 1) a license, or photos or advertising of an actual store, and 2) a verifiable date, not a range of dates. Without some documenting proof, Velzy’s claim is empty bragging, a legend of conflicting stories relying on emotion and popular appeal. It is an unsubstantiated myth. Whether such a debate is just harmless fun, a friendly rivalry, or not, this should not be cast in bronze and placed on the public right-of-way with the City’s endorsement. It is not history.
The 1950 date is contradicted by City records. It is an easy enough fix, but I would suggest a return to more defensible language:
“Iconic Velzy surfboard created by surfing and shaping legend Dale “Hawk” Velzy, developed and sold at this location in 1952.”
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Hello Eilen
Per your request, here is what I can tell you about Dale Velzy to assist with the Dale Velzy plaque being considered for City Council. Historical research does take time, and it is regrettable that this project is now under such a tight deadline. There are potential sources that have not yet been checked or included due to time constraints, but there are sufficient available resources to support the following. I will cite sources where able for reference. Some links require subscription and are not included.
The current proposed wording for the plaque is:
DALE “HAWK” VELZY
Opened the
World’s First Known
Surfboard Shop
On this site in 1950
Photo credit: Don Guild
Unfortunately, the primary source for this plaque seems to be Dale Velzy himself. He was interviewed several times, and his stories are not consistent. To be fair to Velzy, and to his supporters, it is well- known that memories are tricky things. They are often unreliable, even as freshly-related witness testimony. Memories are frequently influenced among other things by friends, the audience, story goals (e.g. prestige, or politics), and the deterioration of time. Additionally, it is my understanding that Velzy was well-known for embroidering stories, at the least. When I visited the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum a few years back, investigating this very story, the response was: “Velzy said a lot of things.”
There are three issues with the currently-approved wording:
- World’s First Known
- Surfboard Shop
- 1950
Examined in different order:
1) 1950
Velzy claimed that he occupied a former shoe repair store, and the date often given is 1950. A City register of business licenses (held by the MB Historical Society) shows that on December 7, 1949, one James Sinacrope obtained or renewed a business license at 117 MB Blvd, the address of the property in question as Dale Velzy’s shop. The license was for Jimmie’s Shoeatorium, for shoe repair, and cost $13.80.
The 1950 Federal Census, enumerated April 19, 1950, shows James Sinacrope as the owner of a shoe repair shop.
The 1950 Federal Census, enumerated April 6, 1950, shows Dale Velzy, an LA County lifeguard, age 22, living at 1325 Loma Dr., with his mother Vera Velzy. His mother gave him a draft notice dated Aug 25, 1950 that had arrived in the mail.1 After twice being denied an exemption in September, he reported for induction into the U.S. Army. Velzy hurt his back when he fell off a truck, missing his unit’s deployment to Korea, and was given a medical discharge in “spring of 1951.”2 It would be great to see Velzy's DD214 (his military separation document) to document his service start and end dates, but it is not publicly available, and if the family does not already have it, it would take many months to obtain.
I have seen no substantiation for the claimed 1950 shop date, and evidence points to it being incorrect.
The photograph by Don Guild being offered for the plaque is dated 1952. This is plausible, as a 1952 business directory shows Mr. Sinacrope’s shoe repair shop had moved to 222 MB Blvd.3
However, the 1952 City Directory shows 117 MB Blvd as “Vacant.”4 There is no listing for Dale Velzy, no listing for a surf shop, or a for surfboard shop, either independently, or under “Sporting Goods.”
2) World’s First Known
If not 1950, then when did Velzy occupy the address? Supposed dates vary from source to source, and the sources either are based on interviews with Velzy, or are secondary sources based on the works of others. I’ve found no source that documents or that reliably substantiates 1949,5,6,7 1950, or even 1951. The earliest known documentation is Don Guild’s 1952 photographs (one of a signless 117 MB Blvd, and one portrait of Velzy with the building in the background). Some sources do not give a specific date, instead saying something like “in the 1950s”.8
Velzy, talking about his work with Styrofoam, said that he “was working out of my mother’s garage” in 1949.9
Again, memories are fallible. With no documentable date, and records that contradict 1950 (and 1949), how can one determine the “World’s First”?
3) Surfboard Shop
I’m not going to go into the various commercial surfboard companies and the numerous shapers that preceded Velzy’s “shop.” They are widely known.
Still, there is hair-splitting to defend Velzy”s “first.” One surfing blog, from the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, for example, says, “It was the world’s first commercial custom-built surfboard shop.” [Emphasis added.] But even so, they go on to say that, “…according to Velzy himself, it was there that he was issued California’s first State Board of Equalization resale (sales tax) number in the category of surfboards.”
http://archive.surfingheritage.org/2012/07/velzys-shop.html
That is the crux. The entire “first surfboard shop” claim is based on unsubstantiated, unverified stories told by Dale Velzy, that he obtained a City license, and a sales tax number from the state. Aside from a photo of a building with no signage, and many memories of Velzy shaping and selling boards, there is no record of a retail surfboard shop at the location.
According to Matt Warshaw, in The History of Surfing, Velzy’s “shop” had “…no shiny new boards lined up on racks. No display cases… no telephone, or cash register; not even a storefront sign. ‘I didn’t want people to notice that much,’ Velzy later said.” Warshaw continues that Velzy, “thought it best not to give city inspectors any reason to take interest in his small, dirty, health code-violating setup.”10 And yet, according to Velzy, in Holmes’ Dale Velzy is Hawk, an inspector did come in, and asked what he was making. Velzy told him "surfboards," and the inspector asked if Velzy was selling them. “No, not really, I just make them for the guys down at the club,” Velzy replied. The inspector told him that to sell them he needed to get a business license and a state resale number. “So I did,” Velzy claimed, adding that at the State Board of Equalization, they had never heard of surfboards, “and that’s how I got the first state resale number for making surfboards.”11 (Apparently he forgot the Swastika Surf Board Company.)
Velzy’s claim, if true, that he obtained a city business license and a state resale number, would make Velzy’s shop different from the other shapers working in whatever space they could find and selling their boards. It's a swell story, but it does not hold up. As pointed out above, records indicate that the shoe repair store occupied the space in 1950. There is no record of Velzy obtaining a city license, although there is a record for the shoe repair store. Nobody has produced a license or a tax permit for Velzy in Manhattan Beach.
Hairsplitting the definition of a surfboard shop is nonsense. The commonly understood meaning of a “surfboard shop” would be a retail business, just as Velzy claimed he opened, but it has not been substantiated. Current evidence indicates that it never happened. He had a workshop and sold to friends and referrals, apparently without a license. The dates of operation are questionable and unproven. Records of a license and a tax permit would settle the date.
There are a lot of things that could be written commemorating Velzy’s legendary contributions to surfing, and recognizing that he had a workshop and shaped boards at 117 MBB.
If a license or sales tax permit could be produced to prove he opened a retail shop, that would be great! But it’s an empty boast without some documentation or record.
No business license, and no documentable date, means no “World’s First Surfboard Shop.” That would simply not be history.
Respectfully
Gary D. McAulay
Addendum: One may read in various places that Dale Velzy was “born and raised in Hermosa Beach.”12 Actually, he was born in Oakland, Alameda County, California.13
Footnotes
1. Holmes, Paul, Dale Velzy is Hawk, p. 75
2. Ibid., pp.75-76
3. Polk’s City Directory 1952 p. 417
4. Ibid., p. 687
5. Warshaw, Matt, The Encyclopedia of Surfing, p. 668
6. Holmes, Paul, Dale Velzy is Hawk, p. 59
7. Warshaw, Matt, The History of Surfing, p. 112
8. Warren, Andrew, and Gibson, Chris, Surfing Places, Surfboard Makers, p. 72
9. Ibid., p.85. quoting “display text at the Surfing Heritage Foundation, San Clemente.”
10. Warshaw, History, p.112
11. Holmes, Hawk, p. 59
12. Warshaw, Encyclopedia, p. 667
13. Velzy’s draft registration card 25 Sep 1945
Note that some records are from Ancenstry.com and linking to them does not seem to work. I assume that is because it is a subscription site.
Please feel free to contact me for any clarification you may need.
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