Keeping track of great memories

Re “L.A. Then and Now,” May 24

Your article on Fred Harvey Restaurant at Union Station brought back a lot of happy memories.

My mother was a Harvey Girl in the ‘50s and ‘60s. It was a big deal to visit the restaurant and to be served a big piece of cheesecake by my mother.

This restaurant attracted the big movie stars of the ‘50s, when trains were such a major mode of transportation. Everybody who was anybody had to stop at the restaurant for a meal.

I was underwhelmed to hear about Van Johnson and Jimmy Stewart, but then came the day when Hopalong Cassidy -- a.k.a. William Boyd -- arrived. That was a very big wow for this little 8-year-old girl. And I had an autographed picture to prove it.

Mary Burgoyne

Monterey Park