Who was Johnny Alonzo?

[2bkidfree]

So, I'm working on re-skining the lock area of my door when I see this little sign under the panel. Always nice to get confirmation of when the AS was made and where. It looks like "Johnny Alonzo".

If anyone has an L-77 Lock set available let me know. This was the vertical lock used on AS from '58-'60. Here's a picture of what a previous owner did to the door.

Gilbert

[Stefrobrts]

Finding that signature is awesome!

[markdoane]

Those are pretty hard to find. If you can find one with an unbroken handle, it's probably worth a more than a couple hundred dollars.

We tried to get enough orders together a few years ago to have some new handles cast, but i don't think it ever got done.

On the other hand, they are a really nice lockset. Very secure.

Do you think Johnny Alonzo might be in the Norwalk phonebook? By co-incidence, the day he signed the door is the same day my '59 Tradewind was delivered.

[azflycaster]

I wonder if PeeWee knows that name. At Dead Horse he talked about working on the line for a few years. I think stuffing insulation was his favorite thing to do.

[vswingfield]

Great name, though. To paraphrase Hawkeye Pierce, “Johnny Alonzo and his all girl band.”

[Mrs_RedSHED]

Ok. So I was curious, and googled Johnny Alonzo. Seriously doubtful this is the guy, but the age may be about right, and he did move to California in the mid-50s. Maybe he worked on the side at the Airstream factory out there? Nah. But then.........

John A. Alonzo - Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki

[Ganglin]

2B - take a look at this post - maybe you can get one from Vintage

Tin Can Classifieds - Bargman L-77 Handle for '59 Streamline 24' - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds

[2bkidfree]

Thanks, I'll email them and see what the word is.

[jwenderoth]

hi,

found your thread and image in regard to Johnny Alonzo -- i'm in the process of rebuilding a '58 door and found that one of the panels was signed on the interior. image attached ...

best,
John

[Ganaraska]

You guys should start a club, The Friends of Johnny Alonzo for owners of Airstreams bearing his signature.

That would be one exclusive group - 2 members so far

[62overlander]

I can tell you who Johnny Alonzo is. Johnny had a very nice restaurant here in Baltimore. It was in the Roland Park section of town. He featured beer from around the world when Moosehead was considered an exotic. I think over 500 imports. Their claim to fame was the giant 1/2 pound and one pound burgers. People always loved to go down 'Lonzos and have a burger and a beer. Johnny died and the kids sold it to a young restauranteur named Steve. He cut the bar in half and serves Texican on one side and Alonzos menu on the other. Things just are not the same and the burger is now too much meat on a roll. The beer menu is down to about 30 and, yep, moosehead is an exotic again.

All that is true.

in times past men took pride in their work. All the vintage trailers I have worked on show signatures of the men that built them with pride.

[rideair]

Johnny Alonzo's dream has come true. He signed those trailers in hopes that someday while being repaired someone would find his name and ask the question:

"Who was Johnny Alonzo?"

And with that question, I know the answer. The answer is the following:

Johnny Alonzo was a man that worked at Airstream and made doors from 5/29/1958 until 4/1/1959.

[Sugarfoot]

Originally Posted by Ganaraska

You guys should start a club, The Friends of Johnny Alonzo for owners of Airstreams bearing his signature.

That would be one exclusive group - 2 members so far

Make that 3 members. Found on Elvis, the '56 SOTR, the lower door panel.

Originally Posted by rideair

Johnny Alonzo's dream has come true. He signed those trailers in hopes that someday while being repaired someone would find his name and ask the question:

"Who was Johnny Alonzo?"

And with that question, I know the answer. The answer is the following:

Johnny Alonzo was a man that worked at Airstream and made doors from 5/29/1958 until 4/1/1959.

That would be from 7/31/1956 until 4/1/1959.

And I'm not sure he actually "made" the doors. Pee Wee distinctly remembers a guy named Mario manned the door jigs for most of Airstream's California years. So was Johnny part of the final assembly crew? And why did he pick doors for his signature? With at least 4 years at the California factory, there have got to be more "Johnny Alonzo's" out there.

[n2batr]

Now 4 members in the club. My double door 58 cruiser had the same signature in "both" doors. Johnny Alonzo Norwalk Ca. He must have been involved in the door build of many Calif units during those years. I saved the best one of mine and had it put between 2 sheets of plexiglass. I'll hang it inside a closet door for posterity. Ed