As I drive along Highway 1 heading north, with Fort Ord to my right and the old Soldiers Club (now called Stilwell Hall) to my left, I see an old friend that won't be there very long unless money is provided for restoration.

When my mother and father first arrived here at the old Monterey Train Station in 1952, my dad was a career soldier on his way for a tour of duty in Korea. My mother and I and my three brothers lived at Pacific Heights for dependents.

I was out that way the other day and went to the old homestead. The buildings were run down and should be torn down. My older brother and I used to rollerskate at the Soldiers Club two or three times a week, and we would go to the Soldiers Club every Saturday and Sunday to see such stars as Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney, Raymond Burr and so many others. This was the last year of the Korean War, but for about two years after the war the shows continued and a lot of stars came up from Hollywood. During that time, we also had many stars stationed at Fort Ord--David Janssen, Martin Milner, Richard Long and many more used to put on shows at the Soldiers Club, and at the old Central Service Club, which later burned down.

Later, the club was used as a junior non-commissioned officers club, and during our seventh week of basic training we got to go over and have a few beers. Many young soldiers have hoisted their glasses in a toast at the old Soldiers Club. Later on, dances for the young and old soldiers were held there. And after that, it was used for meetings and for armed forces demonstrations.

So you see, every time I pass by the club I can't help but get very teary eyed about what is going to happen to an old friend. Somedays I can hear Bing and Rosey singing as I drive along the highway, and I try to pay attention.

BENNY LEE JACKSON

SEASIDE

Halt the Misuse

Just a minute! Parking meters in Carmel ("Playing the Slots", June 24)? Try halting the misuse of parking spaces by shop owners and/or their employees.

For years, from my place of employment, I've repeatedly observed six workers move their cars from one spot to another. Question: Don't the shoppers pay our salaries?

GERI DONKIN

SAND CITY

Crackpot Fantasies

Barbara Baldock, in her June 3 Public Forum ("Population Explosion"), along with repeating the myth of "overpopulation," also covered most of the other environmentalists' crackpot fantasies. No more than 1 to 3 percent of the Earth's ice-free land is occupied by humans. Eight to 22 times the Earth's present population could exist at the current standard of living.

Baldock also mentions "global warming" and blames that on overpopulation. I remember about 20 years ago when some scientists were claiming the Earth was headed for a second Ice Age. A group of nearly 50 scientists, responding to the conclusions of the United Nation's "Earth Summit," confirmed there is no consensus about the causes of the slight warming noted during the past century. These scientists also note that sunspots, rather than "greenhouse gases," are responsible for global increases and decreases in temperature since about 1880. One major discrepancy in the "global warming" theory is that the temperature changes don't coincide with the increases in man-made carbon dioxide. A 1990 U.N. panel claims the earth's temperature could increase by a whole 2 degrees by the year 2025. Many scientists agreed that the theoretical models used to reach those conclusions are unreliable.

Anyone who really believes in "global warming" should spend a summer in Monterey.

BRIAN BURLESON

SEASIDE

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