SBHRF Interview by Leigh Sentenac with Sherry Liss Baum (July 15, 2025)
LEIGH: The purpose of our interview is to capture the historical information related to your life in Seal Beach. Do I have permission to record our conversation and share the content for purposes of the Seal Beach Historical Resources Foundation?
SHERRY: Yes, subject to my edits.
LEIGH: Where were you born?
SHERRY: Dearborn Michigan
LEIGH: When did you leave?
SHERRY: I left at age 16 to go to Chicago, with my mother.
LEIGH: How did you arrive in Seal Beach?
SHERRY: I had two sons, and the youngest was nine months old and he was sick, very colicky. We tried to exchange formula at the local Walgreens in Chicago and the pharmacist said no. My Mom was clever; she suggested we wait and ask the night manager. The night manager exchanged the formula and called me the following morning to see how the baby was, then asked me out to coffee! His name was Morton Baum. We were married in 1961 and were married for 60 years, before Mort passed away. Mort arrived in Chicago in 1959, after growing up in Brighton Beach, New York and obtaining his Pharmacy degree from Long Island University.
LEIGH: How did you come to settle in Seal Beach?
SHERRY: To avoid being drafted, Mort enlisted in the Navy at the onset of the Vietnam War and because he was a pharmacist, he started out as a Lieutenant. The Navy assigned him duty in Long Beach. We found a place in Seal Beach in 1962.
LEIGH: Where was your first house in Seal Beach?
SHERRY: We rented a house on 13th St. in 1962, then moved to Seal Way in 1964, then we finally bought a home on Catalina, on the hill, because I just couldn’t keep up with the boys, chasing them all over the beach. It made me nervous and I thought it was unsafe. We needed a yard for them to play in.
LEIGH: When did Mort return from the Navy?
SHERRY: Mort was in the South Pacific until 1964. Then he went to work at Brocks Drug Store as a pharmacist (now the Bistro on Electric Ave. and Main St.)
LEIGH: What was family life like?
SHERRY: Kids went to Zoeter School (located at the Blackboard Bistro shopping center at PCH and 12th St.), and Huntington Beach High School. Kids all enjoyed the Bay Theater and the parents did too! Kids would stock up on candy and snacks at Vinzant’s five and dime, before going to the theater.
LEIGH: How did you get involved civic activities?
SHERRY: We didn’t have much money for entertainment, so Mort and I started attending the City Council meetings for something to do. We were astonished that no one was attending the meetings. We became aware that the City was planning to build condos on the Pacific Electric right of way and high rise apartments along the river channel. We were very concerned and began to inform the community what was happening. The City plans were to grow Seal Beach to 75,000 by ’75. At that time, Mr. Lee Risner, the City Manager, had a nickname, “High Risner”.
LEIGH: How did you become involved in politics?
SHERRY: In 1968, we were very concerned about the ongoing war in Vietnam, having 4 boys coming of age. We were afraid if it didn’t end, our boys would be drafted. We began to advocate for Robert Kennedy. We were so concerned, we actually spent our vacation savings to open a Robert Kennedy campaign headquarters in the building that is now “Send It Packing” by Pavilions. It wasn’t official, just our effort to get support for Kennedy, who promised to end the war. I guess word got out that we were running an unofficial campaign office, and RFK staffers showed up with supplies and one day Ted Kennedy stopped in. On one occasion, Robert F. Kennedy arrived in Long Beach to speak. I have a vivid memory of Mort standing with Robert Kennedy in the back of a pickup truck while he spoke to the crowds.
LEIGH: What an entree into politics. Where did that lead you?
SHERRY: Mort ran for City Council and became Mayor, in an effort to curb the plans to develop the river channel and the Pacific Electric right of way through town. Two additional council members were voted in, and that gave us a 3-2 vote against the over development. As a result, the City Manager (Risner) was let go, and the council approved a 3 story limit on building height, they voted to make the train right of way open space (now Electric Park), and they zoned the ocean (3 miles out) as open space to avoid future drilling operations. During this controversial time, City Council meetings had to be moved to the school to allow more space.
LEIGH: I want to thank you and your husband Mort for your willingness to get involved! Those who live here in Seal Beach and enjoy the “small town” atmosphere are reaping the benefits of your efforts.
LEIGH: What else did Mort do on the City Council?
SHERRY: While Mort was Mayor, they developed an environmental quality board to preserve Gum Grove Park and to build a new park through the greenbelt. Afterward, Mayor Gordon Shanks was very involved along with Paul Boisvert, and Dennis Buell, to ensure the Electric Park was constructed and no further oil drilling took place within the jurisdiction of Seal Beach.
LEIGH: How did the Red Car come about?
SHERRY: Joan Stegman, Jean Butler and I were interested in Seal Beach History, so we got together and formed the Seal Beach Historical and Cultural Society. A key part of our history was the Pacific Electric line that got you from Los Angeles to Seal Beach in 30 minutes. Hard to imagine. The gasoline companies needed the streets for more cars and were very influential in shutting down Pacific Electric rail car system. Did I tell you how I black mailed the developer to get us the Red Car? S&S Development Company was being very hard-lined and pushing to develop College Park properties. They had a bad reputation, partially thanks to us. I told them that if they wanted to build a good reputation in Seal Beach, they needed to do something to give back to Seal Beach. I suggested that they find us a Red Car for a museum, and they did!
LEIGH: How long did Mort sit on the City Council?
SHERRY: There was a recall led by the “Good Government Group”, mostly Republicans, funded primarily by the developers. I hate to bring in politics, but there were a lot of reasons they gave for the recall. First, the City Council was taking a hard line on environmental protection (saving the green belt and zoning the ocean as open space to prevent more drilling). The developers supported the recall. The former City Manager had approved the Gold Fingers A Go Go (not quite a strip joint) on PCH, and at the same time tried to shut down the Marina Palace because of their notorious reputation. William Robertson, owner of the Marina Palace, supported Mort’s election as Mayor and this endorsement probably didn’t help Mort.
Our relationship with William Robertson goes back to 1968, when I had sought out a place for a Kennedy fundraiser and stopped in at the large Quonset Hut (Marina Palace) on PCH. I introduced myself to the owner Mr. William Robertson, who I did not know then, and asked if we might have a fundraiser in the building. He nearly fell over and then asked me if I knew who he was? He said it may not be a good idea to use the Marina Palace, but he offered to get the word out on our fundraising efforts. We knew nothing of his past, but we became good friends over time. He was a very interesting man.
There was also a whisper campaign, claiming Mort had ties to the Mafia, and the Communist Party. They based that on the fact that we attended a meeting in L.A. to hear McCarthy speak, before we decided to lend our support to RFK in 1968. They claimed Mort’s father, Gottfried, had ties to Hitler. Mort was Jewish. His mother and father fled Vienna and came to the U.S. on the Queen Mary. Mort’s father Gottfried had a very close friend that was a member of the Hitler Youth, and that friend remembered Mort, and warned him when the Nazis were about to raid Jewish families in Vienna. That is how Mort’s family was able to escape Vienna when Mort was just 9 months old. This was shown as further evidence Mort might have ties to the Communist Party. Mort was Jewish and a democrat, and this brought up other hurtful remarks and feelings among some people. It wasn’t a good time for our family. Check the newspapers, it’s all there.
In the end, three members of the SB City Council were recalled, including Mort. He eventually ran again, but was unsuccessful. He went on to chair the local Democratic Party for some years after that; I also remained in politics, serving on the board of the local community college for 16 years.
LEIGH: What is one part of Seal Beach History that you would like to see preserved?
SHERRY: I would like to see the Red Car Museum re-opened.
LEIGH: As a former member of the Seal Beach Historical and Cultural Society, what advice can you give to the current members the Seal Beach Historic Resources Foundation?
SHERRY: Well, it seems we need to raise a lot of money to restart the museum. And, we intentionally added “Cultural” to our name because we believed it was important to bring more cultural events to Seal Beach. I would like to see that happen too. May I also provide a motto that served me well, “Don’t agonize…organize.”
LEIGH: Brilliant advice. Thank you for sharing your story and again I thank you and Mort for all that you did to make Seal Beach a very special place to live.
Editor’s note: The Mort Baum memorial bench and plaque depicted below is located in the Electric Ave. Park, next to the Mary Wilson Library at 6th St.
