I wonder if anyone remembers being able to go to Villa Park Elementary school, in Orange, bare-footed? My folks had an orange ranch in the Villa Park area and I enjoyed the feel of the dirty old clay and cow poop between my toes. I have class photos showing some of my childhood buddies and I without shoes. That would have been early 1950's.I would not have wanted to be the guy who polished the floors at Villa Park High.
Also, does anyone remember the floods in the late 60's in Santiago creek that wiped out the bridge running from Santiago Canyon road, now Katella Ave, between the two Sully Miller gravel pits across Santiago creek, north, over to Villa Park? Not the existing road Katella but the road running between the school and nursery now that dead ends where the bridge was.
Anyone out there from the first graduation class from Villa Park High school, 1966?
How about Bruno's market on the corner of Katella and Wanda, near the Villa Park orange packing plant?
Happy memories to everyone.
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11 comments:
I remember those floods of '69. I was living in Brea at the time. That summer/fall before, brush fires were everywhere. Then a torrential rainy season hit us creating massive flooding and mudslides.
All of the dump trucks in Orange County were commandiered to haul fill to fight the erosion. My brother-in-law drove for Strand Excavating at the time and took me along with him one day.
I remember how frightened I was as Burney backed his truckload of gravel/rip-rap along side the fast moving waters of Santiago Creek. The earth had been washed away from the backyards of houses in Orange. I watched in horror as whole swimming pools, complete with diving boards, were unearthed and floating by us in the rushing waters. Marines were using their helos to drop junk cars into the all consuming waters. I thought it was the end of the world.
Of the aftermath, I remember one steel bridge, probably the one you're talking about, being up rooted and twisted from its foundation. There was also a large concrete box of storm drain system nearby. I remember it being big enough to drive a semi through, yet it was sitting there, broken in half, in the middle of the creek bed after the flood. I never did find out where it came from. They didn't replace that bridge for years, but instead paved a road down in the normally dry riverbed. A large tile allowed water to pass under the road. Any deluge would've taken out the road again... What a mess!
My mom was in the first graduating class at Villa Park. She started there her junior year. She said she remembers building benches for the ampitheatre and planting trees.
I moved in with my grandmother my junior year and began attending VPHS. I think its glory days have come and gone. However I did get a kick out of living in the same room of the same house and attending the same school my mom did at the same age.
Hi Steve, I sure do remember those floods. It was 1969 and I was in the 9th grade at Cerro Villa Jr. high. We went fishing and caught trout in the creek that overflowed from irvine lake. Those were bad floods, it killes me to see the houses built very near that creek all the way from Villa Park down to Orange, some day they will flood again and those houses will be toast. I sure remeber Brunos Market went there allthe time, Brunno the owner would sell us kids cigarettes as teens. we would tell him we were picking up for parents and I think he believed us. Back then Katella was just 2 lanes at the Wanda intersection all lined with Eucalyptus trees.
Thanks for sharing your memories steve. I lived in Orange from 1965 until 1976 and graduated from VP in 72'
Regards,
George
ps. do you remember Pepas & Luckys Pizza parlors?
I live in Villa Park and have a friend who grew up in Orange. Her father attended Villa Park Elementary and she has told me that her dad used to go to school barefoot as well...
I went to Villa Park Elementary in the late 1960's. We wore shoes but we walked through orchards and my neighbor/friend's dog went with us. He stayed at the school, just outside her classroom all day, every day. He was allowed! He was a lab/mix and his name was George.
Yep, Remember Brunos!!!!I loved getting Cokes out of the machine...sliding the bottle through the maze of the machine until it came out. Then buying bubble gum, going out the slamming screen door, and sitting on the front steps enjoying it all. I actually have a picture of Brunos hanging in my home. Great memories of a simpler time when Orange Groves were our playground and a Coke and penny gum were a treat!
Villa Park changed so much between 1965 and 1970. When my folks moved into Meredith Acres at Taft and Santiago the orange groves were falling to the encroaching suburbs, but a lot was still there for a kid to explore. Anyone remember the huge mulberry tree on Meats and Santiago? We'd use those leaves to feed our silk worms at Serrano Elementary. At the same corner on the southwest side there was an irrigation channel that was covered by a wood door. We'd tie baloney onto the end of a piece of string and lower it into the water. . . and pull out crawdads! Never ate them, though. . .
I worked in the Pepa's Pizza building on Katella and Tustin in about 1974-1975. At that time it had become Ernesto's Pizza -- the owner and his wife were Germans!
We cooked some pretty good pizza, but sometimes when we ran out of large dough, we just rolled the medium out thinner until it was large diameter. Did that once using a small dough too, but the customer didn't like that at all!
What great recollections. I attended Villa Park Elementary School from 1955 to 1960. Indeed shoes were optional and girls could wear shorts at VP elementary. Not remarkable now but certainly an independent approach at the time. Prior to Bruno's being Bruno's it was "The Villa Park Market" and was owned by Jack Dalton. Jack was a butcher and doubtless you all will remember the meat case in the back. The packing houses were still there, one on Wanda and VP Road and the other on Santiago. The editor for the "Social" section of the Register lived near the corner of Wanda and Villa Park Road her name was Bertha Baron. My Dad, now 90 and still living in Villa Park, went to VP Elementary as well and has some REAL tales to tell.
Thanks for reminding me of what a gift my childhood was.
I remember Bruno's market. I remember "bruno".
I remember the flood that washed out the bridge and Irvine Park. Does anybody remember the Carona,Riverside fire I think it was 1966 or 1967.I lived just below Marywood Highschool area and our neighborhood was evacuated because of the fire. I went to Ernie Pyle elementory and I would have graduated from Villa Park High school in 1969 but moved to Newport Beach in February of 1968.
I went to villa park elementary in 64-65 and then to cerro villa Jr. High. I went to school barefooted and it wasn't because we couldn't afford shoes, it just fit the layed back, country environment. You've never had real orange juice until it has been fresh squeezed from ripe valencia oranges. Those were the good old days. I live in Eureka, northern ca. I went back to our home on Meads Ave. and I was lost. It looks nothing like it did in the 60's.
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