Sweet Memories....
by LadyDeerskin And Her Service Dog
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
When March and April roll around, it reminds me of the strawberry fields in Tustin, on the Irvine Ranch...to me, strawberries always meant Valentines Day, and the asparagus meant that Easter was coming. It is still so weird to me, even after twenty years of living in northeast Kansas, to not have things greening up in February and March. Out here, the fields and trees are just as bleak and depressing as ever, but by now, OC hills and fields are covered in blankets of bright green, trees are budding up, and the air was at its best in the spring, alive with the scents of fresh new growth. As you would drive through the Irvine lands, the strawberry fields would be a beautiful pthalo green, with splashes of deep red where boxes of picked strawberries sat in the rows, and through the windows would come the scent of the orange blossoms from the groves on the other side of the fields. Even better would be the taste/scent of the wind after a spring rain, with the tang of the eucalyptus trees added to the perfume....
When I grew up in southern California, most folk had trees in their yards left over from the orchards that were there. And avocados were so ubiquitus that people had trouble getting rid of them...it was common to see a tv tray table out on a curb with a sign taped to it, '25 cents a bag', loaded and surrounded with paper shopping bags full of 'cados. And kid got in trouble for using them for bombs on each other....not for wasting food, but because you could hurt someone with them or wreck their clothes! ( too hard, it could be like a throwing a rock, too mushy was a double whammy of mushy 'cado all over you plus the hard seed inside. Moms did not dig having to get oily 'cado off kids clothes.)
But it could always be worse...one time I was at the mission San Juan Capistrano, early one morning before the front gate was open, and two friends and I were picking pomegranates for the pastor. So we had Miguel up on top of a pillar that had a tree leaning on it, Ursala there to catch them as he dropped them to her, and me to pack into bags. We were doing just fine, til
'Hey, what do you kids think you are doing!?!'
SPLAT! There went two huge poms, all over the adobe tiles, as we all started, and found one of the Sisters staring at us in her best Disapproving Rabbit style. She didn't know we had permission, and it seems that Miguel had a history of raiding the trees anyway, so she didn't buy our telling her that Msgr. Russell had asked us for this. Or that we hadn't made the mess of splattered poms just because it was a spectacular sight (much like punkin splashing, but more vivid, with the gelatinous red and seeds). So it kind of put a damper on our fun...we cleaned up the mess of course, and rolled up the bags to take to the rectory, then went to Mass.
...but that splashed pom *did* look so cool, didn't it!
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Picnic Garden - Korean BBQ - Closed
by Steve
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The wife and I drove out to Fountain Valley this afternoon to have lunch at a Korean BBQ that we used to frequent years ago when we lived in OC.
It was called Picnic Garden, and it was located on the corner of Euclid and Edinger, in an asian shopping center.
I liked going there because of the spicy pork. And it was "all you can eat". I'd load up my plate of the stuff, and grill it on the table. They also had no shortage of Kim Chi.
I remember after walking out of there, you'd smell like BBQ smoke.
After doing a search on the Internet a few moments ago,
I found a site that has some customer reviews, and it appears that the quality of their food went downhill, and they lost customer base.
There are some Korean BBQ joints in SW Riverside County, but they're very pricy, and none let's you eat all the spicy pork you can handle.
Labels: Fountain-Valley, Picnic-Garden-Korean-BBQ
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Bullwinkles Family Fun N' Food
by Steve
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Rachael remembers going to the Bullwinkles Family Fun N'Food in Fountain Valley while growing up in OC...
One of my memories of growing up in Orange County is the Bullwinkles Center which I *think* was in fountain valley?
My mom would take my little sister and I there during the 1980's. It was a place like chuck-e-cheese although I don't remember if they had games there or not.
The thing I remember most was the little water show. It was probably very bad, but as a kid I was awestruck! Nothing like Fantasmic at Disneyland is now of course!!
Any memories you have of this place are appreciated, as mine are vague.
Bullwinkles was (or is) located on the corner of Magnolia and Warner. I never went in there; I just never had any desire. I haven't been in that area for so long, I don't know if Bullwinkles is still there.
Anyone want to chime in?
Labels: Bullwinkles, Fountain-Valley
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Ruby's Crystal Cove Shake Shack
by Steve
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Jamie Hahlbohm of Orange Coast Magazine is doing some fact checking on Ruby's Crystal Cove Shake Shack trying to find out about date shakes...
Hi Steve,
I'm fact checking an article about the now Ruby's Crystal Cove Shake Shack. Can you confirm that the then Shake Shack opened in the 1940s and introduced date shakes in the 1960s??
Thank you so much for your help! Please get back to me by 4:30 today.
I couldn't confirm it, but I said I would put it to the readers here and see if anyone can chime in, even though it'll be too late for Jamie's needs.
Labels: Crystal-Cove
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Riding the Rails on a 1946 Dodge
by Steve
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
An anonymous person submits the following story of riding the railroad tracks on a 1946 Dodge through Orange and Tustin, then having the engine go out, and hearing a train coming down the tracks...
Once again! I find myself strolling through the pages of OCthen, what a really neat site! This came to mind and thought you would get a chuckle out of it, I do not advise anyone to try this adventure as it is dangerous and could cause some serious problems!
Anyway, lets look back to a late summer evening, warm air, clear sky and a six pack of guys cruising around in this old forty six Dodge four door sedan. Time frame, 1961!
We had made a left turn onto Esplenade Ave and were heading to Dodge Ave. When we got to Dodge we made a right turn and proceeded over the railroad tracks. The driver stopped and asked, "whats the chance of us riding the rails this evening?" As I recall there wasn't a moments notice and the car was backed onto the railroad heading towards Tustin which was about six miles away! A small amount of air was dumped from the front tires to insure the front wheels would stay on the rails. We all piled back in and we started for Tustin!
As we approached 17th street the driver laid on the horn, cross traffic was very light that time of night, however we could see the really surprised look on those drivers faces as we went across their path! Needless to say, the laughter was just too much, the radio was turned up and we were "rail fans"! The track ran pretty much next to Newport Avenue and we were cruising about twenty to twenty five MPH.
The orange packing house was right in Tustin so when we were almost into the switching we stopped and backed off onto a surfaced loading area, turned the car around and headed back! What fun! This should have been enough but "NOT"! As we proceeded into the night heading to the city of Orange we were in the middle of some lemon groves and it was very dark to say the least! As luck would have it, the motor quit!
So, here we are in the middle of some huge lemon grove, on the railroad in a beat up old Dodge car, basicly, stuck! "What, me worry? The hood was up or to the side and we were teaming up on the most basic of machines, trying to find out what the problem could be. It was late, perhaps even closer to early morning, maybe 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. Finally the problem is resolved, a small wire going to the coil is found to be broken.
One Zippo lighter running short on fuel is providing the light, another set of hands is franticly trying to twist the broken wire into service, "did you hear that"? "Hear what"? "listen" I didnt hear anything to speak of, yet the banter kept on, finally the repair is made and the engine is tried. "Gads, the battery is just about dead"! Again, "listen you guys"! Yep! sure enough, some where up ahead, a clanging sound, a bell sound! "Oh no, just great, its gotta be a train"! "Its coming this way for sure"!
So! we begain pushing the Dodge backwards, the driver yells he is going to pop the clutch. First try doesnt get er done! We push some more, finally the engine roars to life! We are exhausted to say the least! Doors are slammed shut and we are in reverse heading back the way we came! After so many miles in reverse we came to a crossing of sorts and went to work trying to get the car off of the tracks. Anyhow, I got dropped off at my house shortly thereafter, it was about 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning. My folks were still asleep, I clammered into my bed, another adventure for sure!
Labels: Orange, Railroads, Tustin
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Memories of an 80's Garden Grove Girl
by Steve
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Trixie talks about her memories of life in the 1980s as a high school teenager in Garden Grove...
I have so many memories I need a wall to mention them.
I went to Los Alamitos High and Rancho Alamitos High School. I lived in Garden GRove at Beach Creek on Beach Blvd. My friend T. Giebel lived down the street. We used to say in school that we went to "Raunch Rancho in Garbage Grove"! LOL
I remember dancing at Disneyland after hours for teens, the parachute ride at Knott's Berry FArm, FArrells Ice Cream and them bring a huge cake or something out on a stretcher, movieland Wax Musem, MEdival Times, The Mc Donalds on AKtells and DAle for lunch, The cove at Corona Del Mar, Shopping at Westminister Mall, Riding a scooter for my first date to Flakey Jakes on Beach and GG blvd, hanging at Edwards theater every SAturday or Golfland, working at Coco's and El Paso CAntina, Driving the PCH coast with my windows open, hanging out on Sundays with my friends from Mid Cities Baptist, bonfires with the kids from Rancho, ROP with some of my friends at the Adult School, going roller skating at the skate park (that is now torn down) on GG Blvd, trick or treating in Briarwood, and riding in a limo with my friends and thier dad who had a limo service in my senior year of HS!
I have so many memories I can't mention them all. Look for more post and I will tell you all I can!
Labels: Garden-Grove
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Notable Comments
by Steve
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Here are some noteworthy comments posted this week on our previous articles...
Feb 17 -
Cloud 9 and Studio K - Gary comments that he's the one who came up with the idea for Studio K, and also was the guy who ran Cloud 9. He also says he came up with the idea for tearing down Studio K.
Feb 16 -
Stehley's Egg Ranch - Anonymous remembers the exact location of the place.
Feb 16 -
Intoxicating Smell of Orange Blossoms - Argo#67 remembers going to the United Methodist church in Orange, and recalls it being a white wooden structure, before they built the "submarine church", and recalls "Wheeler's Market" next to it.
Feb 14 -
Beaches and Tastee Freez - Jim thinks the Van's Store mentioned in the article was in Stanton, on the NW corner of Beach and Chapman.
Feb 13 -
My Favorite Orange County Restaurants - Anonymous wants to know what used to reside on the location where Acapulco Restaurant now sits, on Bristol Street, in Costa Mesa
Labels: OCThen
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Movieworld - Cars of the Stars
by Steve
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Movieworld - Cars of the Stars was a museum in Buena Park that showcased custom cars and hot rods painted up by famous artists like Von Dutch and others. It doesn't exist anymore.
OCThen reader Sean writes asking if anyone had more information about it, and offers up some of his memories...
I was looking for some info on Movieworld - Cars of the Stars in Buena Park on your site, but noticed it was not on the list of Attractions. I went there when it first opened and all of the exhibits (movie props and celebrity/movie cars) were just laid out on the floor in a large warehouse in rows. It was not the fanciest why to display them (it looked like a flea market), but it was still really cool, especially if you were a movie buff.
I remember hand painted signs describing some of the props and what movie they came from.
Years later, I went again and it had been transformed more into a museum with false walls which led visitors on a specific path (like Movieland Wax Museum), more dramatic lighting, and a snack bar in the middle of the museum. I also remember TV commercials which featured Billy Barty promoting the museum and sliding down a tube slide which was also in the middle snack bar area.
I have not seen much about this museum on the Internet although it seemed to be a decent attraction in Buena Park at the time. Is there any other information on it and what happened to the collection? I think I saw some of the cars at the Peterson Museum in L.A. but the movie props were the most interesting part of it for me and I often wonder what happened to them. Some of them included movie miniatures like ships, trains, and submarines. The most memorable prop was the miniature of King Kong shackled on display (near the end of the 1933 movie) which Willis O'Brien used in the stop motion animation.
When the Von Dutch clothing and hats were popular a few years ago, I did see something mentioned in an article about Von Dutch living in the parking lot of this museum in a bus. Other than that, I have not seen or heard anything else and I am wondering if anyone else has any memory about this place.
Keep up the great work. I just found your site and have a lot of exploring to do still on it!
Cheers,
Sean
P.s. I wonder if you remember the religious wax museum that was connected to Movieland Wax Museum too? It had a replica of Michelango's Statue of David in front of the entrance.
Click on "Post a Comment" and let us know if know you anything.
Labels: Buena-Park, Movieworld-Cars-of-the-Stars
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You Know You Were A Teenager In Orange County In The 80's if...
by Suzanne
Friday, February 08, 2008
You broke up with your 11th grade boyfriend once you saw him in his Farrell's uniform.
You smoked cloves at Old World on Saturday nights listening to OMD.
You were forbidden from saying "whatever" to your Mom.
You could relate to the plight of Julie in the movie "Valley Girl."
You and your friend ditched school the day the Golden Bear was torn down--and cried.
You couldn't decide: was The Poor Man a poser?
You were banned from using the family washing machine to acid wash your jeans-- following a tragic incident with your brother's OP shorts.
You went to see "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" and said it was great, purely because David Bowie was in it.
You thought Olivia Newton John's hairstyle (with braided headband) in the video "Physical" was not only awsome, but worth replicating.
Your dad wore a rust colored Members Only Jacket --and you didn't care.
You thought the cartoon Ziggy was hilarious.
The summer MTV launched, you and your friends never left the house.
You held the erroneous belief that combat boots went with everything.
You refused to take your little sister to the Orange Street Fair unless she changed out of her "Cats" sweatshirt.
You pondered the eternal question: Should I let my boyfriend wear his bolotie to prom?
You spend more time on making your hair big--teasing it, blowdrying it while hanging upside down and spraying it-- then on homework.
You were embarassed for Bruce Springsteen when he did his "little dance" in the video "Dancing in the Dark" but, understandably, not for Molly Ringwald when she did the same dance in "The Breakfast Club."
You saw bands like 10,000 Maniacs, Jane's Addiction and The Hags at Safari Sam's in Hungtington Beach.
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Mystery Candy Store in Santa Ana
by Steve
Friday, February 01, 2008
A brand new OCThen reader asks if anyone can identify a candy store in Santa Ana during the 1950s...
Perhaps someone can help me recall a specific candy store in Santa Ana. Era – early 50's. It was on North Main just below Buffum's. It wasn't McFarlan's (sp?) which was on Main closer to 4th. And it wasn't See's which was on main just below 4th.
The store actually made "hand-dipped" chocolates in-house.
Post a comment if you know anything.
Labels: Santa-Ana
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Saddleback Inn - Santa Ana
by Steve
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Whatever happened to Saddleback Inn in Santa Ana?
When my folks moved to Santa Ana in 1978, my mom got a job there cleaning the rooms, and in that time Saddleback Inn was a nice hotel. The bridge that crossed over 1st st., connecting the hotel to that little building on the other side was always a cool way to present the City of Santa Ana to drivers coming in from the east.
I know it has been out of business for years, but I'm not sure if it's no longer in use. Is it still being used for meetings, or storage? Does it still make money? One has to wonder since the building just sits there, and has not been turned into something else.
Meanwhile, the Motel 6 sitting caddy-corner across the street looks to be doing really well.
I couldn't find a photo of Saddleback Inn online, but I did find this ashtray on eBay!
Labels: Santa-Ana
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OCThen Forum - New Site Feature
by Steve
Monday, January 28, 2008
I added a web forum to OCThen today.
You can access it here...
http://octhen.com/phpBB2/index.phpYou'll also find it linked in the dark-orange horizontal navigation bar above, "Forums".
This is the first time I've managed a web forum, so, it's a learning process for me.
If the forum finds success in getting a lot of users and posts, I may cross post stuff from the forum to the blog. I'll be glad to add new sub-forums for other topics, for example theme parks, cities, schools, etc.
To post a message there you have to have a user account, which is different than the Blogger account that you may have used to post comments on this blog. Note that the blog allows anonymous comments, but the forum does not.
The advantage the forum brings to you as a visitor of OCThen is that you can start new topics, whereas on the blog, only myself and the few bloggers that have signed up, can start new topics.
So, click on over to the new forum, create a user account, and get to posting!
Labels: OCThen
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Buffalo Bill of Santa Ana
by Steve
Thursday, January 24, 2008
CoxPilot submits another memory of a guy who looked like Buffalo Bill, that lived in the some apartments behind the Pep Boys in Santa Ana, near the old City Hall building...
I grew up in Santa Ana, and when I was about 10 or 12 (around 1950), my friend and I would ride our bikes to the old West Coast Theater to see the free show on Saturday mornings. We decided to return to the South side of S.A. via the alley behind the old City Hall and Pep Boys. There we encountered a man that lived in some small one room appartments behind Pep Boys. He looked just like Buffalo Bill (hat and all), and invited us to see his gun collection. (Yes! I know. Not something that you would want a child to do today.) The gun collection was VERY extensive, and covered every wall of his sitting room. We didn't stay long, and I never found out his name. Does anyone know of him, or who he might have been?
I certainly don't remember anything of this guy, but this memory does remind me of the time I grew up in San Diego, when between the ages of 5-7 years, my friend Mark and I would get to know all the strange characters that lived in the area.
Like he says, it's probably not something a parent would allow their kids to do these days, but back then, you could visit with all the freaks and they'd have fun showing a couple of kids what their "shtick" was all about.
Labels: Santa-Ana
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Hello from an exile from OC!
by LadyDeerskin And Her Service Dog
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I have been invited by Steve to contribute to this wonderful collection of memories of Orange County, and he asks that I give a bit of an intro to his readers:
It is both wonderful and bittersweet to see others' memories of my beloved Orange County. I was born and raised in what was then unincorporated section of OC, in 1960, literally in the county, since our back fence was the city line of Orange, and our cross street was that of Tustin! (Prospect and Fairhaven). As a kid, there were still orange groves across the street, down on 17th Street, major streets still lined with eucalyptus windbreaks from the groves. Back then, Knotts didn't have more than the chicken restaurant and ghost town-no fence or rides- 'Its A Small World' was the big attraction at Disneyland, and you would get a bag of fries at McDs for 15 cents at the Tustin Avenue store, near the Marie Callendars pie shop.
My life was both typical, and unusual for an OC kid, growing up in the wonderful ethnic melting pot of southern California, sharing in the multitude of customs and traditions from around the world, hearing my parents talking about people they knew or used to see around OC that I later realised were famous, and being friends with some of the great characters of the area, such as Joe Holtz. My family went to the Mission San Juan Capistrano for many years, where we had been given a master key to the mission by the pastor, Msgr.Vincent Lloyd-Russell. So I grew up on the mission grounds, with it as my private playground in the early morning hours long before it opened for the tourists....misty mornings, scented by the guava and olive trees wet with fog off the ocean. My parents, who had moved to California back in the 1940 and lived in the LA area first, introduced me to so many of the southland's fascinating places and history, from going to the original Bob's Big Boy, running our dogs behind my dad's VW Squareback along the dirt lanes in Irvine's orange groves, visiting the Bower's Museum so much that we were on a first name basis with the staff, and on and on.
I lived in OC from 1960 till 1987, when I came out to NE Kansas to college, married, and still here because of my husband's teaching position at a small Catholic school here. This is a quiet, small town, where you can feel safe about allowing children to go to the minimart, but boring in contrast to the ethnic diversity I loved in OC.
I always thought that I would live in OC, but it seems God had other ideas, and I've been 'exiled' out here in northeast Kansas since 1987....where He sends asthmatic Californians to purgatory! ^_^ My family is tired of my telling about OC, and it would be nice to be able to share what I remember, with those who love this place as much as I still do. I may live here in Kansas, but home will always be Orange County, California. It is my hope that I can add to this treasury of memories of Orange County at its best.
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Shakey's Pizza and Pipe Organ
by Steve
Thursday, January 17, 2008
An anonymous OCThen reader asks if anyone remembers the Shakey's Pizza Parlor near Disneyland that had a pipe organ and a "nickelodeon guy"...
I'd sure like to find out anything pertaining to shakey" pizza parlor, particullarly the one near disneyland.. they had an amazing pipe organ and a nickelodeon guy, who I think was referred to as "mr nicelodeon" who played it all from the same console..
If you know anything, don't be shy to post a comment...
Labels: Shakey's-Pizza
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