Here is yet another Datebook magazine story about how a 14 year old girl, Susan, attended a Beatles press conference and then gave the key to the city to John. She even ate a piece of chicken with Ringo. Although when I read this story, I felt sort of bad for the one guy fan. He wasn't in the photo and wasn't mentioned again.
Susan Herd (age 14) O’Farrell Junior High School San Diego,
CA
I had written to our mayor, Frank Curron to ask if I would
present the Beatles with the Key to the City of San Diego. In about three days I received a reply
asking me to come to the mayor’s office to make further arrangements. When I arrived at his office I found another
girl, Claudia Nesbit, and in a short time two other girls arrived, Marlene
Shelton and Susan Clark. And a boy,
Randy Doller, also came. We were seated in the mayor’s office. He gave each of us a key. They were small and gold.
We decided Marlene was to give the key to Paul, Susan to
George, Claudia to John, and I to Ringo.
Randy was our chairman. He was
there to keep us together.
As the next ten days went by, arrangements were made for s
to meet at the open end of Balboa Stadium, where the Beatles were going to
perform. And on August 28 that where I
was, right on the nose at 4:30 pm. The concert
was to start at 8:00pm.
After a while reporters started coming for the press
conference and someone turned to us said, “Now when we go in girls, let’s not
scream.”
Then it started, and when I saw the Beatles so close I
thought I would scream, but I didn’t.
The one thing I remember most from the conference was
this: There was a woman reporter sitting
in a chair near the table where the Beatles were seated. She had her skirt pulled up quite high. Paul looked down at her legs and said, ‘Madam,
you had better pull your skirt down.”
Soon after the Beatles had left the room, we were standing
all alone just waiting to find out what to do next. Then we were told to go into the Beatles’ dressing
room to leave anything like our purses, cameras and papers outside. They only thing we could take were the keys.
Paul was the first to greet us. He walked up to us and shook hands; then George
who was lying down as we walked in shook our hands; then John and Ringo. After Ringo greeted us, he walked to the
corner and sat down and started eating some chicken.
I went over to the corner to see Ringo and he asked me if I
would like a piece and, of course I said, “Yes.” So he gave me a small piece because he was
very hungry, he said.
Marlene kissed Paul and believe it or not he jumped back and
blushed. Then she asked him for a button
and he asked her what button, and she said that button, and he said what
button, and she said that button, and after 10 minutes of that she gave up.
That night I had my hair done up rather high and as we posed
for our pictures, John put his hand in my hair and said, “Is it alive?”
Each of us was going to give her key to a certain Beatle,
but somehow it just didn’t work out that way.
I gave my key to John, and Claudia to George, and Susan to Ringo. But Marlene gave hers to Paul.
They all said that they were glad we came and happy to get
the keys. John pinned his key to a
police badge given to him by one of his guards. George asked us where we got them and we
told him from the mayor.
It was about 9:00 o’clock when we left. They had to get ready for the show. We were given front row seats and saw only
ten minutes of the group ahead of the Beatles and of course the Beatles and they
were wonderful, fab, and gear and anything else great.
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