Joe Marino was born in Rockford, Illinois, in 1927.  In 1941, invited by his childhood friend Mr. LaPenta, Joe’s father decided to move to San Pedro. Joe Marino immediately began working in San Pedro as a newspaper boy, where he sold newspapers on the corner of Sixth and Beacon Street. After high school, he enlisted in the Navy. He worked as a Fisherman for a few years after his military service. Joe decided to go to college and major in education. He became a teacher and retired as a Principal from the City School District in 1987. In his retirement, he proudly became the Chairman of the Centennial Program for San Pedro.

Scope & Content Note
Mr. Marino relives the drive they took from his hometown in Rockford, Illinois, to San Pedro, California. He recalls the feeling of seeing orange trees for the first time and seeing an ocean with his brother, Tony, who was two years older. Joe describes his adventures as a newspaper boy, his relationship with his family, specifically his brother and father, and what it was like to work at night on Beacon Street. He recalled the restaurants and bars on Beacon Street and that most of the people who frequented the bars were military men. He also told a short story of how he learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor, people chattering on the streets of San Pedro, asking what happened and where Pearl Harbor was. Joe also reminisced about his job working on the shipyard. Because he had a small stature, he was part of a crew of youths that moved ballasts around the bottom of the newly constructed ships. A ballast is a piece of steel molded into approximately a twenty-inch long and six inches thick. As small boys, they would thread the ballasts through holes and pass them to each other as they moved through the ship. He recalls that it was a dirty and difficult job. When Joe Marino came back from the Navy, one of his treasured memories was surprising his father at his job at the Southern California Fish Cannery. He remembers hugging his dad as people started applauding. He said that the people in the fishing industry were very generous, hardworking people committed to their families. “There was no one that worked harder than the fishermen, as well as the longshoremen in the community.” When Joe went back into the workforce after the Navy, he decided to work as a fisherman. After a year or two of hard work, seasickness, and very little financial gain, he decided to go to college. He attended Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC), where the Dean, Mr. McMaster, suggested Joe major in education and become a teacher. Because he volunteered at the local YMCA working with children, he realized it was a good idea. When he graduated from LAHC, he continued his education at California State University Long Beach, where he obtained his credentials to become a Certified Teacher. Mr. Marino loved being a teacher. He said, “Teaching to me has been the most exciting, most satisfying experience that I have ever had in my lifetime. It was wonderful.” When he left White Point Elementary School, he became an Assistant Principal, and later enjoyed a twenty-five-year career as a Principal of an elementary school. He retired from the City School District in 1987, after thirty-five years. Upon retirement, he remembers Bonnie Christensen approaching him to run the Sentinel Program for San Pedro. She said they knew him through education and felt he was the kind of person who had a devotion to San Pedro; and the Chamber of Commerce wanted him to be a part of the Centennial Program. He was appointed the position of Chairman or President of the Centennial Committee. He recruited two secretaries, and they diligently planned the celebration. He recalls it was a huge success and included the Navy, the Air Force, the Army, and all the Community Groups. He boasts that someone admired his work in the Committee and that the parade was the second-largest parade in the state of California next to the Rose Bowl. As a long time citizen of San Pedro, California, Joe Marino said the essence of the city is not the place itself, but the people who lived there. The city had about forty-two nationalities. The diversity was incredible, and they all worked harmoniously together.