Old School Cool surfboard honors Hermosa Beach legend

"He hopes so, considering the boards sell first-come, first- served beginning next month for $5,000 a pop. "

Sad that Junior is trying to make a buck of his dads 'legacy' and to do so he must also rewrite history a bit.

Sad as it is Dewey died alone , a drunk and a drug addict. He had nothing , absolutely nothing, to show for his surfing legacy, not a cent, no home, and no family as he was estranged from them for soooo many years. Even the Hermosa Saloon had tired of him and eighty sixed him from his stool at the bar.

No wonder he he didnt have time for them, in view of this money grab.

You know what - I know where the last car Dewey owned is today, it is a piece of crap volkswagen. Perhaps Ill go get it and try to make a few bucks too !!!!!

Sad Sad Sad. Very sad when a family that wouldnt have anything to do with him when he needed them now try to make money off his name. Which really was "Dirt", no "Dewey".

My red Performer is still the board I ride best, and the blonde racing strip down the center and tomahawk fin give it away at a distance. It's common to have someone come up and tell their story of surfing on a performer,

John Clark
El Segundo

Wow Sad, why couldnt you step in and help Dewey? Sounds like you might have a vested interest to try and make a buck on deweys demise. Go get the car and put it on e-bay.

Back in the mid-1960s I only surfed a short while. I never met Weber, but his name and Corky Carroll and Greg Noll were names that everybody knew around here during that time. A friend of mine got me into skin diving and that became my main interest. My dad finally sawed up my balsa/glass board into pieces for the trash to get rid of the junk in his garage. I practically freaked out when I learned about it.

For music, none were better than Dick Dale and the surf guitar. I got to talk with Dale several years ago for a couple of hours. Still one of the best moments in my life.

Those thinking about long-term recovery, know the enviroment will be a big winner in the conversion to biofuels & biopower -- saw a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth

Sad Sad Sad who ever the heck you are part of the Hermosa surfing scene through out the 60s part of the 8th street gang in Hermosa where the likes of Donald Takayama some of the best Hawaiians of the day which in turn would draw Dewey Weber and others on occasion saw him surf indeed hell on wheels he was and for you to take the low road on this is tacky at best and cold for no apparent reason.

My fist board was a Greg Noll, then went on to Bing, then to Rick, then Phil Becker. Now Iam stuck with a Stavros that I have had for the last 20 years. Never had a Weber, I always looked at them but they did not appeal to me. $ 5000. is alot for a Weber, I think I would use the money to vacation.

Sad is right. Dewey's family wanted nothing to do with him in the last part of his life. His son wouldn't even take responsibility for Dewey's body when he died in a shack behind his store on PCH.
Very sad indeed.

Sad wrote:

"He hopes so, considering the boards sell first-come, first- served beginning next month for $5,000 a pop. "
Sad that Junior is trying to make a buck of his dads 'legacy' and to do so he must also rewrite history a bit.
Sad as it is Dewey died alone , a drunk and a drug addict. He had nothing , absolutely nothing, to show for his surfing legacy, not a cent, no home, and no family as he was estranged from them for soooo many years. Even the Hermosa Saloon had tired of him and eighty sixed him from his stool at the bar.
No wonder he he didnt have time for them, in view of this money grab.
You know what - I know where the last car Dewey owned is today, it is a piece of crap volkswagen. Perhaps Ill go get it and try to make a few bucks too !!!!!
Sad Sad Sad. Very sad when a family that wouldnt have anything to do with him when he needed them now try to make money off his name. Which really was "Dirt", no "Dewey".

Are you for real. Do you know anything at all about alcoholism? Dewey's family tried numerous times to help him, but you have to want help. His kids were just children at the time. His kids talked to their dad often when they left Hermosa. You sir are cruel and hurtful and you should know something about a situation before making forming an opinion and making a comment for everyone to read. The family has been caring on tradition and legacy of their father for the past 15 years....and trust me, if you know anything about the surfboard industry, it isn't for the money!

Fire Supporter wrote:

Sad is right. Dewey's family wanted nothing to do with him in the last part of his life. His son wouldn't even take responsibility for Dewey's body when he died in a shack behind his store on PCH.
Very sad indeed.

You sound like you know what you are talking about...which is actually the sad part. I was with the Weber family for the entire week they were in Hermosa to take care of Dewey's body. Dewey lived in the house behind his store and it was far from a shack. I was with the family as they scattered Dewey's ashes off the shore of Torrance beach with over 2000 people on there. This was the same spot that the ashes of Dewey's parents were scattered and where he wanted to be. If the board is too expensive for you, just say you can't afford it and leave it at that.

Friend of Dewey wrote:

<quoted text> You sound like you know what you are talking about...which is actually the sad part. I was with the Weber family for the entire week they were in Hermosa to take care of Dewey's body. Dewey lived in the house behind his store and it was far from a shack. I was with the family as they scattered Dewey's ashes off the shore of Torrance beach with over 2000 people on there. This was the same spot that the ashes of Dewey's parents were scattered and where he wanted to be. If the board is too expensive for you, just say you can't afford it and leave it at that.

Poser - Dewey didnt have a home when he died from alcohlism and drugs. He did live in a shack behind someone house. Quit lying.

Friend of Dewey wrote:

<quoted text> Are you for real. Do you know anything at all about alcoholism? Dewey's family tried numerous times to help him, but you have to want help. His kids were just children at the time. His kids talked to their dad often when they left Hermosa. You sir are cruel and hurtful and you should know something about a situation before making forming an opinion and making a comment for everyone to read. The family has been caring on tradition and legacy of their father for the past 15 years....and trust me, if you know anything about the surfboard industry, it isn't for the money!

I found that POS VW he had. Wanna buy it ? You cab make it the Dewey Weber DUI Special and sell it for a big profit. Which all they are attemtping to do now.

Its lame when people try to rewrite history to make losers look good. He was what he was.

Good to see this coverage of an innovative idea concerning one of surfing's great innovators. As Dewey Weber's biographer, and a Weber family friend, I am familiar with Dewey's popularity as well as his fall. The man's legacy is preserved today through the company he founded, on surfing walks of fame, and now on surfing industry's first "storyboard."

I believe Dewey's name was highly regarded as well as a champion state wrestler for MiCoHi Mustangs back in the day. We had a placard with hand painted wrestling champs going back to the 1950's hanging in the old wrestling gym. Other heralded names: Cobabe, Sidoti, Sain, Morton...

In my memory I see him bottom turning at the Breakwater on a winter morning, big swell. That's the Dewey Weber I like to remember.

McBragg wrote:

In my memory I see him bottom turning at the Breakwater on a winter morning, big swell. That's the Dewey Weber I like to remember.

In my memory I see him puking behind the Hermosa Saloon.

Reality check wrote:

<quoted text>
In my memory I see him puking behind the Hermosa Saloon.

Chuck Yeager used to do the same thing - and was proud of it.

So few of you commenting really knew Dewey Weber, yet those of you spewing out mean-spirited garbage act as though you knew him. It never ceases to amaze me how being "anonymous" allows people to preach from the pulpit. "Sad" seems to have issues with a man dead for 15 years...now that is sad. To set the record straight Dewey was not estranged from his children for "sooo many years". I believe I saw him at his sons wrestling tournaments, his daughter's college graduation and I do remember them visiting him and he them ...so how does the estrangement fit in? Dewey suffered from a disease the last years of life, it's called alcoholism. But he had friends and family who loved and cared for him and who tried many interventions. His disease was not the sum total of his life. The Dewey I knew was sober and full of life, kind and caring. He was an amazing athlete and an incredible businessman who made a lasting contribution to surfing and his community. What have you done lately, "Sad"?
And sadly, many of you never knew that person and feel it's your right to tarnish his entire life. Oh and the VW, sorry but that went to his youngest son. You don't know anything. Shame on you! And another thing, you obviously don't know..he built his business and his name so he would have something to leave his kids. My last word for you "Sad" is to pour yourself another beer, and pass judgement on some other dead person you don't know.

Kia ora from Aotearoa New Zealand.

While "Sad" wants to concentrate on the negative, I'd much rather celebrate Dewey's life, accomplishments and friendship. I would also like to congratulate Caroline and Shea for honoring Dewey's memory and keeping it alive through your efforts.

Dewey lived a life of incredible highs and lows. In my fifty-nine years, I've heard all the stories about "The little man on wheels", some not so great, some wonderful. But the strongest memory I have of the man was when I was ten years old and rode my steel-wheeled skateboard to his shop on Lincoln Blvd in Venice, just a couple of blocks away from my house. The shop had just had its "Grand Opening". Dewey had moved from his old shop on Pacific Avenue in Venice to this one just a week or so earlier. I walked in, skateboard in hand and immedieatley drank in what was at that moment in time, the cutting-edge of West Coast surf culture: The walls were planks of wood that had been burned, scraped and coated with surfboard resin. Grass matting covered the floor. Framed photos of the hottest surfers of the day hung on one of the walls. Hanging under the photos was the largest board in the room. A huge, orange, beautiful beast that tapered to a point toward the back. This was the center-piece of the room. Dewey later called it his "elephant gun", for riding the big waves in Hawaii. Across from them, a wall was lined with newly-polished surfboards, which to me, looked more like sculptures - Fine Art. The smell of resin permeated the air. The room was a museum, a church and Disneyland all rolled into one.
My mission was to purchase some Dewey Weber water-slide decals.(The shop sold the decals that were placed in various ways on the iconic surfboards). I already had the places where I wanted to put them figured out - this of course, was after I had shown 'em off around school. Just inside the door there was a glass case topped with a glassed boat hatch, that housed the decals; huge ones, medium-sized and small ones. There was also an array of wooden "skegs" (that's what they were called at the time - they're now just referred to as fins). As I peered into the case, going over in my head how many decals the coins in my pocket might buy me, a figure walked up behind the case and asked me how I was doing. "Pretty good", I said. Then sheepishly asked, "Are you Dewey Weber?"
"That's me" He said. I pointed to a photo of a surfer striking a perfect pose frozen in time and, already knowing the answer, I asked "Is that you?". "Yeah" he said, in a "no-big-deal" way. "Could I buy some decals?" I asked. "Sure" he said. The big ones were a dollar - out of my price range, the medium were fifteen cents and the small ones a dime. I bought four small ones and two mediums. "Do you surf?" he asked. "No, but I'm gonna learn when I have enough to buy a board - I'm gettin' a paper route next year". I was a small kid for my age, so Dewey, even though a small man himself, towered over me. He walked around the shop explaining the details of what to look for in a surfboard; rocker, rails, tailblock, types of skegs - the full pitch - to a ten year old kid who had just spent his last dime. He was a thoughtful young man and I felt on top of the world that day because he treated me respectfully and kindly, and really took time to communicate with me. I was on cloud-nine on my way home that day.
I ended up learning how to surf two years later. Bought a used water-logged Ole for $25.- I've owned at least 20 boards since then, including a Weber.
A couple of years ago, for "old times sake" I bought one of those fifteen-cent Dewey Weber decals on ebay... paid a hundred dollars for it.