Thursday, December 05, 2013

Caves at Irvine Park

irvine park
Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives
An anonymous OCThen reader seems to recall exploring some caves at Irvine Park in the 1950s and 60s...

"I grew up in Santa Ana in the 1950's - 60's. I remember so many of these great memories posted. It really brings me back! I'm wondering if anyone remembers the Caves at Irvine Park? My parents took my sister and I most weekends and we would crawl around and explore these fantastic caves. Also at the park were holes in the ground where tarantula's lived. Sometimes people would pour oil (believe it or not) down the holes in order for them to come up. Then would trap them in cages, and I guess sell them."

I've never heard of them.

There is the "Robber's Cave" at Aliso Woods Canyon, but that's much further south.

Can anyone else add to this?

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Westminster, CA: When Hoover Street Used To Be Named Eucalyptus Street

OCThen reader Janet Filbeck writes to us about Hoover Street in Westminster, indicating that it had originally been named "Eucalyptus Street", but was changed after a petition brought on by her grandfather. I had a series of e-mail conversations with Janet, and wanted to share this bit of Orange County history with you...
"I lived on a farm (Westminster on Hoover St. once called Eucalyptus St.) until I was 6 with my grandfather and family, then we moved to Santa Ana, Ca. My grandfather took around a paper from the court to have all the neighbors sign so they could change the name of Eucalyptus to Hoover since people then couldn't spell Eucalyptus, and grandpa was tired of spelling it for people. So they changed the name. "
Janet's grandfather was Halsey J. Crouch, who owned a farm along what was then Eucalyptus St, and now Hoover St, along the train tracks, between Main and Hazard, where the Green Valley Growers is currently situated. Crouch came from Quakertown, CT and used to enter his crops at the Orange County Fair.

I asked Janet how they came up with the name "Hoover Street"...
"I talked with my aunt about the road being changed to Hoover st. She said it was around the time I was born or late 40's. She said that grandpa went to the only court house then in Santa Ana and wanted to get the street changed because no one knew how to spelled the name. Grandpa's farm was near the main st she said. He grew melon and tomatoes with his many trees. Then he grew grapes. Grandpa also rented land across the street on Hoover st to grow green beans. I would be to small to remember the change of the street but my aunt remembers it. 
I thought grandpa change the street name before when my mom was young (and that would be in the 1920's but my aunt said it was before she got married in the 1940's."

Of course, located right behind Crouch's farm was the old Hoover School, the famed "Mexican School" that became the subject of a landmark discrimination case in 1947 concerning Mexican kids being denied enrollment at the other school in Westminster, "17th Street School". Hoover School was dedicated in 1929, and most likely named after Herbert Hoover, who had been President at the time. It seems likely that "Hoover Street" was named to align with Hoover School, but Janet seems to disagree...
"My Aunt said that Hoover School was there when they moved to that farm around 1933 right after the earthquake that torn down 17th school. She said it was built of bricks and they rebuilt it with wood. She said that the Hoover school had nothing to do with the Eucalyptus Street. She said that Eucalyptus trees ran all along the street to 17th Street to Garden Grove Blvd.

Grandpa moved on this farm after my great grandfather went blind and couldn't pay the taxes on the land. So my g-grandfather told my grandfather he could have the land if he paid the back taxes. So grandpa bought the land and bought a house for $100.00 and had the house moved to the land. But because of the rail road tracks he had to get a easement to move the house across the tracks and so he could get to his land. So he wrote the railroad and they granted his easement. Grandpa was the only farmer to have an easement from the Railroad on that street. 
Then in 1944-1946 grandpa (whole time my aunt grew up the street was called Eucalyptus St) went to the Santa Ana Court house to get a paper for all the neighbors to sign to change the name since no one knew how to spell the street name. After he got all the neighbors to sign it, he went back to the Court house and talked with a clerk and the clerk asked grandpa what he wanted to call the street if not Eucalyptus? Grandpa said something simple and they both came up with Hoover because of the president and it was simple to spell."
Crouch's Farm in Westminster, along what was then called, "Eucalyptus Street", and now called Hoover Street.  You can see the train running down the tracks. The street is on the other side of the train.  The people in photo are Margaret Crouch, Halsey's wife and Janet's grandmother, and Thelma Crouch, their daughter, who Janet refers to in her e-mail as her Aunt.
As it also turns out, the Mendez Family, who was the family behind the 1947 discrimination lawsuit, lived adjacent to Crouch's farm...
"My Aunt said that Hoover School was on the next street down and behind my grandfathers and the farm she grown up in. She called it in Mexican town. She said that the kids had there school and we had ours but they all played together and got along until the Mendez family put an article in the paper about the whites. The Mendez family (not sure that is how you spell it) lived right behind the farm. 
She said that many of the Mexican families loved my grandmother, the Lopez, Pena and Mendez family were some of her favorite families."
Curious to know if anyone here remembers Hoover Street in Westminster back when it was called Eucalyptus Street, and can add any more information about its name change?

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Orange Fights in the Orange Groves

A Typical Orange Grove in Southern California
OCThen reader Philip Slocum shares his memories of when the Santa Ana Winds blew.  He and his childhood buddies would wander into the orange groves and throw fallen oranges at each other...
There was a tin weather strip across the bottom of the door to the patio. When the hot winds would start to blow, late at night, the strip would vibrate and make a noise that sounded like all the lost souls in the world were in the back yard. I wasn’t afraid. To me that sound meant that oranges were falling in the groves.  
Spring training would start the next day. No, not baseball. I’m talking Orange Fighting here.  
The Santa Ana’s were the precursor to all things good in my life. They signified the beginning of the Christmas season. For as soon as the City would put up the Christmas lights along the streets of Santa Ana. The Santa Ana winds would blow them down. We would ride our bicycles, like avenging demon’s, south along Flower Street. Blown by the roaring winds. Only to struggle interminably against those same winds on the way back. The temperature would soar and the sun would shine and the winds would blow and the surf was Off-Shore. This was at Christmas mind you.  
I firmly believe that half the people in Southern California are there because of watching the Rose Bowl with girls in Bikinis in the crowd while they were stuck in their back East houses, besieged by snow. (they all moved the next day.)   
And the fragrant groves called to us. The groves were a place where parents didn’t stand a chance in hell of finding you. A place where you could spot a Navel Orange tree at 100 yards. (Why do they taste so much better right off the tree?) The groves were the place we ran to.  
We were a ragtag bunch of would be surfers, ball players, astronauts, firemen and race car drivers. There wasn’t a President, School teacher, Lawyer or Accountant in the bunch. Birds fled at the sight of us. For projectiles flew from our hands with thoughtless accuracy. If it moved or stood still for that matter, it was a target. We wore hand down camies from our Marine Corps fathers. Shoes? Our bare feet were tougher than leather. As uncaring as Kevlar. And the Oranges streaked from our hands. On hot afternoons, in the early twilight or in the light of the full moon, we ran down the green passages and played our games of war. I remember my mother being shocked by the perfectly circular bruises on my body. (an unripe orange can hurt, ouch). Oh, how I miss those carefree days.

The Orange Growers hated us. We probably deserved their hate. After all, we were playing with their crops and livelihood. They carried cameras into the groves and placed photos of blurred faces on the bulletin board at the local grocery store. We would steal the photos off the board before our parents could see them. And these same growers would give us jobs tending the Smudge Pots later in the season when the temperatures dropped below the freezing point. Cash was hard to come by in those days. Yet our needs were simple. Indeed, life seemed somehow simpler then. Have I changed? Or has everything changed.

Sometimes I stop at an Orange Grove somewhere off the beaten track and just walk those green hallways. I smell that glorious smell and think of the friends I had then. Glen died of a Brain tumor. Ken passed with Cancer. Doug has become a famous surf board builder. Larry is a Corporate type in California. Steve builds freeway walls. And me, I run a very exciting book store in Vietnam. There are no Orange groves in Santa Ana any more. I wish that there were. I wish that the kids of today could have a little of the freedom that we had running through the groves in the hot Santa Ana winds. 
Philip R Slocum,
Known to the gang as Randy.
P.S. My apologies to the Orange Growers of Southern California

Monday, December 02, 2013

Bernie's Restaurant in Buena Park, CA

An Anonymous OCThen reader recalls eating at Bernie's Restaurant in Buena Park from the 1950s all the way until it closed up at its final location in La Habra...
How about Bernie's Restaurant on Beach Blvd. in Buena Park? 
In the mid 1950's when I attended Lindbergh Elementary School (at Stanton and 4th Street) we would, at lunch time, ride our bikes down 4th Street to Bernie's for lunch. Have a hamburger and a coke. Throughout the years, Bernie's was always there for breakfast and lunch. At one time it was even open for dinner.

In the 1970's I recall that Cliff would have a great New Year's Eve Party in the restaurant. At one of those parties Cliff went up to Mike Clewley and said, "I want no trouble here tonight, Mike, OK."

I often ate breakfast on Staurdays with my dad. As the years went by, we often ate breakfast on Sat. or Sun. I recall one man who would always wear a top hat and sat at the counter.

Connie and/or Paula would often work there too. These are Cliff and Jean's daughters. Calvin is Cliff and Jean's son and later on he ran the place. Kimmie even worked at Bernie's, Kimmie is the owner of the chain of Kimmie's Coffee Shops (restaurants) (in Fullerton, Orange, Brea, Placentia and also Reno, NV). The decor in Kimmie's Coffee Shops reflects that of Bernie's country style. It was Cliff's mother Bernie who originally started the restaurant. Artie worked there (Arthur Lucas) who was a Buena park resident. Pete, another Buena Park resident, also worked there.

Throughout the years Bernie's was always a place to go. But, alas, with the closure of some closeby businesses and certain demographic changes, the number of customers dwindled. Bernie's in Buena Park was eventually closed after being there for well over 50 plus years. Calvin moved the business to Harbor Blvd. in La Habra, but after a short while even that Bernie's was closed.
There is a short article about Bernie's Restaurant (the final location in La Habra) here:
http://thenewdiner.blogspot.com/2005/09/bernies.html

There is also an detailed article about Kimmie (mentioned) above, which mentions Bernie's here:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vinson-287421-kimmie-heart.html

OC Weekly published a brief review back in 2001, found here:
http://www.ocweekly.com/2001-09-27/features/buena-park/

Anyone with memories, information, or photos to share about Bernie's, post a comment below or contact me.

Sunday, December 01, 2013

20th Century Limited, Costa Mesa, CA

20th Century Limited was a restaurant located in Costa Mesa, inside South Coast Plaza. It opened to the public on December 1, 1975.

It was named after the famous 20th Century Limited railroad line of art deco inspired construction. The railroad connected Chicago to New York and ran from 1902 to 1967.

The restaurant was decorated with all the same accoutrements of an art deco styled passenger train. The interior was made to look like Grand Central Station in New York. Towards the front of the establishment were traditional booths, while in the back were replica Pullman cars that you could dine in.

Restaurant patrons would walk down brick platforms strewn with prop luggage, giant black engines spewing steam, and dined aboard gently rocking train cars with rear-projected scenery outside the window and the click-clack sound effects of the train tracks.

A couple of OCThen reader had posted comments throughout the site in reference to 20th Century Limited...

Anonymous (June 14, 2006) - Does anyone remember a restaurant that was located inside South Coast Plaza from the 80's called 20th Century Limited? It was a restaurant inside an actual railroad car. I remember this only vaguely from childhood.

Anonymous (July 26, 2006) - I remember 20th Century Limited. I had lunch there with a friend and her mom when I was about 8 or so. The sugar bowls had multicolored sugar in them and I thought the whole train concept was so sophisticated!

Marianne Dow (July 15, 2008) - Remember the 20th Century Limited restaurant in South Coast Plaza - it was a real train car. Good times.

Anonymous (Sep 17, 2010) - Remember the 20th Century restaurant? The one inside the train?

Anonymous (Sep 21, 2012) - when I got married we went to the 20th century restaurant with the rail car motiff quite a bit...there are a lot of great memories for me at that mall...

Anonymous (Apr 22, 2012) - Other favorites over the years were the 20th Century Limited Dining Car Restaurant.

If anyone has a photo of 20th Century Limited, e-mail me here, and I'll add it to this page.

Post your memories of 20th Century Limited below...

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Buy A Coke for Bear on Harbor Blvd

bear drinking coke harbor blvd
Photo of the actual bear taken in the 1950s or 60s. The man in the photo
had the last name, "McCoy", his wife donated the photo to
Janet Filbeck who in turn sent us this digitized copy.
A number of OCThen readers recall visiting a bear in a cage on Harbor Blvd (or Westminster), perhaps at a dairy in Garden Grove.  You could buy a Coke or a soda for a nickel and give it to the bear to drink.  It was a little bit of cheap amusement after a trip out to the farm fields of Garden Grove, back in the day.

It makes me wonder if Coca-Cola used this piece of history for its series of "Polar Bears drinking Coke" commercials.

In that time, it was common for businesses in the farming areas of Orange County to use caged wild animals as a way to lure families in.

Here are the comments I found regarding the Bear in the Cage...

Anonymous (July 11, 2009) - Anyone remember the bear in a cage on Harbor Blvd between Santa Ana and Costa Mesa? And the buffalo ranch. Great memories. Thanks!

Anonymous (Nov 17, 2010) - Does anyone remember bear that drank soda? It was in Orange County, I think it was on Harbor Blvd. It was in a fenced in area, and you could purchase cokes or other soda pop from a machine, and the bear would drink it for your amusement. It must have been in the early 1960's.

Doug Reeder (June 4, 2012) - Another highlight was stopping along old Harbor Blvd. on the way to the beach area to see the bear in the cage. For a nickle the bear man would give a small bottle of Coke to the bear and he would drink it holding it between his front paws.

Anonymous (Jan 6, 2013) - And the guy with the bear was Frank ( Manny ) Mc Cubbins.

Philetus (Jan 15, 2013) - The dairy on Westminster before Harbor with the zoo had a bear (or gorilla, I can't remember which) in a cage out front with a coke machine you could buy a coke and give it to the bear

Glendora Hammond (Dec 1, 2013) - That poor bear was on Harbor. He loved Orange pop and was so abused. His cage was tiny and he paced back and forth. I felt so sorry for him.

Janet Filbeck (Dec 1, 2013) - I remember the bear in front of a store on a chain. They would bring the bear from his cage in the morning and take him back later in the day. I don't remember it being in a cage during the day. We would buy it coke and it was fun as a kid watching it drink it. It was a fun memory as a kid. This is a picture of the bear being taken to the front of the store. Given to me by a friend of mine and her husband is in the back. His last name is Mc Coy. This picture was taken in the late 50's or early 60's she said.

Carole Tibbets (Dec 1, 2013) - The bear was on Harbor Blvd., next to the driving range, between Edinger and Warner. Later, Frank had a small zoo and after, he got rid of the zoo animals, he started a boarding stables, before, he moved to Oregon. I boarded my horse there for about 8 years.

Anyone with memories of this please post a comment...

Friday, November 29, 2013

Macy Elementary School, La Habra, CA

OCThen reader, "Monterey Jack" shares memories of attending Macy Elementary School in La Habra during the 1960's...
Macy Elementary School, La Habra. In the 60's, I was a student there in the lower elementary grades.

Folks out there remember some of the fine teachers ? Miss Voss ? Mrs. Morrison ? Mrs. Lewis ? Mrs. Schneringer ?

I recall Miss Voss reading chapters of Anne of Green Gables to the class. It seems Miss Voss also had the class put on a production of Amahl & The Night Visitors. Mrs. Morrison would frequently rave about the virtues of yogurt, and she taught kids to be open-minded about there being more than one possible answer or interpretation to things. Mrs. Morrison was a shining example of a teacher valuing each diverse kind of student and making them feel valued and cherished - she will always be remembered as a favorite teacher.

Mrs. Lewis was tuned in to some pretty "out there" stuff -- I remember her explaining the concepts of micro-particles and infinity to my kindergarten class ! She must have had great faith in the ability of 5-year-olds to grasp something about these. I will never forget her explanations, the details of which have influenced me all my life and to this very day. I have a very strong interest in speculative particle physics (quantum physics), even though I am a creative artist, and not a scientist.

Mrs. Scheringer taught at Macy School, but wasn't my teacher, however she was a neighbor and her kids were some of my best friends as a child -- most were older than me by a couple grades or by several grades. Because of her daughter Judy's piano playing, she inspired my lifelong interest in music. I also looked up to Judy as a role model ; she was older and quite mature at the time for her age, which I remember as around 12 when I was about 5. Mrs. Schneringer's son Rick was one of my best childhood pals and we often discussed science topics and the French language. I remember the Scheringer family fondly, as very upbeat and positive. Mrs. S. & her kids had such a positive impact on my growing up, they were all very creative, intelligent, kind, caring, & encouraging people. The neighborhood (near Macy School) speoke very highly of the Schneringers as a model family, who reached out to others and did kind things for them.

So there above is a bit of educational & social history of northwest La Habra, Orange County, California. I use the nickname "Monterey Jackson" and those wishing to share Macy School (& the neighborhood) memories may e-mail joyacademy8@yahoo.com and put "Monterey Jackson" in ths subject line.

Hope I brought a smile to the faces of folks who connected with this (above) account of La Habra, OC life "back then." Say cheese ! -- From "Monterey Jack"

Memories of Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove

An anonymous OCThen reader submits their memories of growing up in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove....
I grew up in OC. I was born in 1958 in Whittier CA and moved to Costa Mesa from 1960 - 1968 (on Elden Street near 22nd Street) and then to Huntington Beach (Bushard & Adams) and then (Brookhurst and Victoria)and then to Garden Grove on (Morningside Dr in the Buena-Clinton area)and then on Blue Spruce near harbor Blvd) I attended Lindbergh Elementary School in Costa Mesa, Gisler Intermediate in HB and Doig Junior High and Santiago High in GG.

COSTA MESA - there was a little hamburger stand on Newport Blvd near 22nd St named Russ's or something like that, it was like In & Out food before In & Out. I remember going to McDonald's near the Blue Chip Stamp Store. Ramsey's Drug Store on Newport Blvd. A Circle K or something like that where we would buy ICEE'S at during the summer, near Charlie's Chili. Pat's Liquor Store with the apartment above it on Newport and 22nd St. There was also a Der Weinerschnitzel on Harbor across from Theodore Robbins Ford where my parents bought a brand new 65 Mustang that I got to drive in High School. There was a Costa Mesa Park with a big airplane at the park that they had the fair in. There was a parade, was it called the Fish Fry? Going to Disneyland & Knott's. I remember the A-E ticket books at Disneyland. We walked to Lindbergh on Orange St and there was a house that had a statue of a bull on the corner in their yard.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - going surfing at lifegaurd station 13 at the end of Brookhurst before and after school and all summer long. Going roller skating at a rink on Newport Blvd near Superior? Two Guys store on Brookhurst and Adams across the street from Save on. There was also a Thrifty's that we would buy double scoops for 5 cents a scoop. We would ride bikes all over. Hang out at Gisler and had so many friends. 
GARDEN GROVE - I hated the move from HB to GG but grew to love it there. We lived in an apartment that is now a gang area but it was safe back then. There was a huge slide and trampoline place on 17th St. I worked at a Jack in the Box across from Honor Plaza. We would walk to school and spend our lunch money at a Winchell's Donut Shop on the way to Doig Jr High. At Santiago we hung out at Del Taco and Bob's Big Boy after the football games in the 70's. Denny's we would go to and stay there until early in the mornings. Learned how to sneak into Disneyland by pitching in and having someone get there hand stamped and then we would transfer that stamp to 5 to 10 friends and go hang out and dance at that Terrace Theater with live bands that went up and down during the summer. There was a Sambo's Restaurant on Harbor Blvd that we had our pre-game football meals at.

So many memories and so much fun. Can we go back and do it again? Anybody live in any of these areas and does any of this ring a bell? 
Thanks for the fun!

Thursday, November 28, 2013

What Used to Exist in Newport Beach

OCThen reader Bob King is putting together pamphlet about things that no longer exist in Newport Beach... 
Hey all.....graduated from Seal Beach Grammar School on PCH and 12th in 1948. Still go to Seal on occasion to visit with a couple of friends and to eat at Walt's. I have a ton of memories about Seal, Sunset, Surfside, Belmont Shore, Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport, but I trying to remember the location of the Victoria Station Restaurant in Newport Beach and simply can't remember.  
 Can someone out there help this old dude? Need it as I am endeavoring to put together a pamphlet along the lines of "Things That Aren't Here Anymore".

Bob King
majskyking@gmail.com
Newport Beach
949-422-6526
The old Bison Ranch comes to mind.  It was an old restaurant and zoo where families could spend their afternoon and then snack on some bison burgers.  It was located along Jamboree Road where Bison Road intersects.

There was Merle's Drive Inn, located on MacArthur and PCH.  In the 1960's it was renamed "The Zoo" and then in the 1970s it closed down.

Also, Sid's Blue Beet, a favorite night spot located by the pier.  It changed hands was renamed "Blue Beet Cafe".

What you do remember about Newport Beach that doesn't exist anymore?

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Dakind Bar in Costa Mesa

Orange County Memories Reader Baz Rebell asks:

Anyone recall the name of the tiny but fun little beer bar on Harbor near Adams in the late seventies? The owner married his hot little blond bartender who could imitate Marilyn Monroe to a tee. The barmaids were all sexy-spectacular but alas a liquor license killed the business. It was later sold and renamed 'dakind' but never regained its earlier luster.

Do you remember the bar in Costa Mesa that Baz is asking about?



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Monday, November 18, 2013

Pioneer Chicken on Tustin Avenue

OCThen reader "Power" submitted this memory about Pioneer Chicken:
Remember Pioneer Chicken folks? Oh man I can still taste that chicken. Why did they go they were doing fine at least the one I used to go to in Orange on Tustin Avenue? They to me were as good as Kentucky Fried Chicken and different taste. And then a favorite Family restaurant also one Spoons also on Tustin Ave. Once upon a time. Sad.
According to Wikipedia:
"Pioneer Chicken, (or Pioneer Take Out, as it is officially named), is an American fried chicken restaurant which was founded in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles in 1961 by H.R. Kaufman. When Kaufman sold the chain in 1987, there were 270 stores operated by 220 franchisees. 
During the 1970s, several locations operated in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. There are three locations remaining in Los Angeles. It was named after Pioneer Market, a now-defunct small chain of supermarkets in Los Angeles. The original location in Echo Park was located next to the 1980s era Pioneer Market (the original 1932 market having been torn down in the 1980s) and is (now a Walgreens Pharmacy) on Echo Park Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. Due to considerable redevelopment activity in the neighborhood caused by gentrification, it was shut down in March 2009. During the 1980s, Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn and former football player O.J. Simpson used to advertise for the restaurant."
Did your family eat at Pioneer Chicken? Do you remember the O.J. Simpson ads?

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