Sunday, April 12, 2009

Memories of Orange in the 1950s

Anonymous share memories of life in the 1950s of Orange...

My memory is of growing up in Orange in the 1950's. Cambridge Elementary school with the big beautiful tile mosaic of a girraffe. Loved that! WE shopped only downtown Orange or downtown Santa Ana. Once a year we would drive to LA where my Dad would order suits, and my mom would get some dresses. Does anyone remember the children's shop in Orange Circle? I remember a big loft upstairs. It was a real adventure going there!

I too, watched the Orange Mall being built. Seemed it was out in the middle of nowhere, with only the orange trees all around it.

9 comments:

  1. Don't remember a Cjildern's Shop in the Orange Circle.
    Icame from MEDIUM Famliy of living.
    In the 50's I spent my Summers with my granparents in Orange.
    736 N. Glassel Street Orange.
    They haad five acars of Orange Trees there.
    And 50 aceres of trees in Atwood.
    Near Yorba Linda.
    At 17years old I went to work at The Hose factory down by the railroad tracks.
    They made Garden Hosefor Sears.
    ember walking down to the Orange Theater on weekends Movie those days was 15cents.
    My Granparents House at 736 N. Glassell st. Is still there as a History site of Orange.
    The Orange Mall wasn't there in The 50's.
    In the 50's a Feild box on Oranges was 3.00.
    Today one Orange can cost .75cent.
    My Mother was born in Orange and went to Orange High School, which is now Chapman Collage.
    George H.Hushman
    http://us-drifters.net/Anaheim_California.html
    http://us-drifters.net/The_Hushmans.html

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  2. Does anyone remember Beno's Donuts on Tustin in Orange? I worked there in 1963 - they had the best donuts and Pete Beno was so nice.

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  3. I remember Beno's quite well. They supplied Holy Family Church with donuts on Sundays. You're right, their donuts were the best.

    Vince

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  4. I also remember the Children'a Shop in Orange and by the way, it's the Plaza, not the circle. When I was little, I remember going there and my Dad would buy me 5 dresses for school. I also used to go the Orange Theatr on weekends. 11 cents, my friend said it was 09 cents before. The manager was Mr. Pantages. And then we also went to the Plaza theater. THey showed Western usually. It was at the other side of the Plaza. Marlene

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  5. I got the names of the streets wrong in my last message. JPMac's was at Adams and Brookhurst in Huntington Beach. Marlene

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  6. The children's shop that eveyone is referring to was called the Youngster Shoppe. My mom used to by clothes there for me and my sisters.

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  7. What memories. My dad worked at that hose factory for a while in the fifties. I had a girl friend who worked at Benos, I have not thought of that name in over 40 years. I spent a lot of time at Tasty Snacks at Lemon and Chapman. The Army Navy store south of the Plaza, sold tennis balls 3 for a dollar, made in Czechoslovakia. My sister was engaged to Bruce Johnson, whose parents owned Johnson's toy store on the south east corner of the plaza. Spent a lot of Saturday's at the Orange theater matinees. Loved Fike's hamburgers, across the street from the theater. Bought my gym clothes at Pennys south of Fikes. Bought my music notebooks at the stationary store south of Pennys. Delivered flowers for the Orange Florist on south Glassell in the 60s, and on and on and on. Orange was a truly magical place in the 50s

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  8. My Great Aunt was Grace Patterson, who owned and ran the Youngster Shoppe - not a typical success story for a female in that day and age! (I was doing a Google search and found this site) We grew up mostly in Colorado, but we were like the kids she never had, and she would spoil us rotten - especially with the fancy clothes at Christmas. (a gesture somewhat lost on us young boys, but Mom & Dad loved it, I'm sure!) My mom could probably tell you anything you wanted to know about the place and Aunt Grace, but I remember it and remember the loft!

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  9. Like Horsegoggles, I grew up near the plaza in the 50s. I also remember Fike's burgers on N Glassell where you could play the jukebox for 5 cents at the counter or 10 cents at a table. Nick and Fergie's TV was next door and Wally's market was at the SE corner of Glassell/Maple.
    At the NE corner of Glassell and the plaza was a Cornet's 5 & 10, a stationery store and Coley's (Coltrane's) barber shop; kid's were 50 cents or 75 on Saturday. On the west side of Glassell were two markets side-by-side, Daniel's and Thompson's.

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