Orange County Memories

I used to live at Confetti, Backstreet-Fort Lauder...

2012-05-18T13:36:39.995-07:00

I used to live at Confetti, Backstreet-Fort Lauderdale and Club 1235-Miami. I was young and I had a blast. Some nights turned into days, but I would not trade it. It was a different time and place. Now, all grown up with kids, husband, and job. It's fond going back to memory lane sometimes.

I would like to know that its true that the old do...

2012-05-18T01:07:57.577-07:00

I would like to know that its true that the old doctors hospital is haunted to because I live near by it in the lates 1990s a friend would tell me that its was closing I seen ghost and I work at a hospital that was closed and haunted too so learn alot

I lived in El Toro in the late 60's early 70&#...

2012-05-16T22:29:48.633-07:00

I lived in El Toro in the late 60's early 70's. L lived on Chosen Drive, a Cul De Sac of sorts. Behind our house was an open ravine and a place I use to go to daily despite the warnings from my dad. It was called the Pollywog Pond. I too used to catch horny toads and build forts while waiting for the tadpoles to turn into frogs on my back porch. There were no fences, just open country as far as a kid could see. I also remember climbing an old Oak tree that was probably a couple hundred feet from my back porch. I went to school at El Toro Marine School and I can still remember my fourth grade teacher and my favorite teacher, Mr. Stone and I also remember Mrs. Trutner because she was absolutely beautiful. I use to ride my bike along Trabuco Road looking at fields of corn and although I could go through a gate closer to my house I would always ride my Schwinn bike complete with Sissy bar and banana seat, the furthest distance, to the front gate, just to smell the orange blossoms from the hundreds of orange groves that use to surround the base. I learned to ride a horse at the local stable just off Trabuco Road. I played Little League baseball in the baseball diamonds located between our housing tract and El Toro Marine School. I use to walk everyday to school, down Trabuco Road with my sister. I would ride my bike to the Enlisted pool in the summers and swim practically all day long until my toes were pruned and my body reeked of chlorine. I was a Cub Scout, a Weblo, and a Boy Scout, racing our Pinewood Derby cars in the Pinewood Derby at the Orange County Speedway off Moulton Parkway and camping in the Laguna Hillside in early Summer for the Boy Scout Jamboree near where Lion Country Safari used to be. Those were the best memories of my life, it's sad to see such a beautiful and pristine place disappear, never to be seen again. I truly feel for those kids that will never get to experience the joy I experienced as a child growing up in El Toro.

I Miss Rick and Chuck both! What a Pair!

2012-05-16T11:34:55.394-07:00

I Miss Rick and Chuck both! What a Pair!

I was there, I think it was 1971. Mark and I talke...

2012-05-16T11:32:58.585-07:00

I was there, I think it was 1971. Mark and I talked a lot I was 21 just a kid running lights and sound and opening shows!Mark wanted to record one of my songs."Don't think I'll be coming home tonight", Learned so much, worked so hard,never regretted any of it!
Paul Hamilton
Big White House Publishing

Can't wait for the web site!! Any way to get s...

2012-05-15T19:04:49.152-07:00

Can't wait for the web site!! Any way to get some of the wonderful recipes of that delicious food? Can't find anything around that compares and I'd make it myself if I knew how.

I agree - the salad with the vinegar dressing was ...

2012-05-15T19:02:38.962-07:00

I agree - the salad with the vinegar dressing was the best! I wish I could find a recipe to duplicate that flavor. Brings back great memories!

I was there, and it's one of my all time favor...

2012-05-14T21:28:01.265-07:00

I was there, and it's one of my all time favorite concerts. I was on the field, and I remember looking up at the stands and seeing them bend. It was kinda scary, but way cool too. Oh and I agree with whoever said Dennis was a babe, lol. I remember also that it was a beautiful sunny day. I had a great time. I only wish I still had my tank top I bought that day. My friend still has hers! Debbie from Lakewood

Guliver's

2012-05-14T18:45:09.711-07:00

Guliver's

I used to go to Hungry Joe's in the early 70&#...

2012-05-14T13:50:51.189-07:00

I used to go to Hungry Joe's in the early 70's -- my boyfriend at the time loved jazz and lived right near the HB pier. Since I was pretty young and didn't know much about jazz, it sort of had to grow on me. They did have food and yes, the place was not fancy at all. Hungry Joe's burned down sometime in the 70's. It was located maybe a mile or so north of the HB pier, I think it was somewhere near where Goldenwest hits PCH. There was nothing around and long before that whole stretch of beach was built up. It was a great place, lots of fun and the I loved the atmoshphere!

Lets see if my old friend don bren will reopen sad...

2012-05-10T13:46:58.666-07:00

Lets see if my old friend don bren will reopen saddleback park

I don't think they were one in the same Chey C...

2012-05-10T09:36:33.152-07:00

I don't think they were one in the same Chey Cary and Ambrosia.

I went once with my family in the early 80's. ...

2012-05-10T00:08:43.150-07:00

I went once with my family in the early 80's. We had a blast and my Dad bought a device called "The Playbuoy" made of waxed rope with 2 handles on each side and you would stretch the rope to zip the little buoy back and forth to your opponent. Good Times, my dad still has the game and breaks it out every once in a while.

I heard the park closed because some kid stuck his head out the window and it got chomped by a lion? Probly just an urban legend. LOL

It was absolutely Linberg! Good job everyone. I ...

2012-05-09T14:30:23.136-07:00

It was absolutely Linberg! Good job everyone. I never would have remembered.

The Club was a wonderful place to meet and make fr...

2012-05-09T08:04:16.842-07:00

The Club was a wonderful place to meet and make friends. We were one of 5 families that gathered together closely for a day of volleyball, swimming in the pool and the ocean, ping pong, hangin' out and the occasional dinner in the restaurant. I remember the "dip" in the ocean we had to swim accross so we could play in the surf; our dads sitting in their chairs on the sidewalk, feet up on the ledge playing liar's poker to see who would pay for the next round delivered by the roaming bar maids; the luau with the silly-diving exibitions by the lifeguards; the time the guards left the boxes of fireworks under the pinwheel posts and they all got lit off to make for a spectacular 4th of July fireworks demonstration; the day scuba divers who came in and let us try out breathing under water in the pool; the locker rooms and available towels; and just the wonderful vibe that lived there. One family came down from San Bernadino and their sons got me interested in surfing. Before we were old enough to drive, we would walk from the Club up the beach, with our heavy, 1960s longboards, all the way to Doheny, surf for a couple of hours and walk all the way back in time for lunch and volleyball. Okay, I need to stop. Sorry, but as a still-avid surfer who still surfs Doheny today at age 64, I am always transport in time as I sit on my board waiting for the next set, and look down the beach at where the Club used to be, and I can still see it. It was a special place and a special time, and it is always on my mind, always.

My father worked for the airport from 1952 to 1965...

2012-05-09T07:42:02.217-07:00

My father worked for the airport from 1952 to 1965. He pumped gas to all of the airplanes. On Sunday he would pump 100 octane for the drag racers. I would go over with him some times to watch. I never got the drags out of my system.

Kerry. from Mission Viejo,5/8/12: Living in GG fro...

2012-05-08T16:26:44.457-07:00

Kerry. from Mission Viejo,5/8/12:
Living in GG from 1968-70, I remember the Greenbrier Inn fondly. In 1968 I took my fiancee' to dinner and spent the nite in the hotel.I took a dip in the pool, unheated...burrrr! What was neat about the place, was it was built in 1940 on 15 acres. By 1968 the numerous trees planted thru out the premises were very tall and mature. like an oasis in the middle of an old crumbling town before renovation. The roooms were not special, but if anyone has been to Hearst Castle, they would immediatelyy recognize the restaurant as the same ilk.
The good doctor was very cultured in the furnishings, with antiques and works of art in the lobby and restaurant. Dinners were gourmet, but not pricey, ambiance was very romantic. When the good doctor died the property was taken for taxes and leveled. Not one tree,nor building was spared (over 100 trees!). For photographs of the inn go to Barnes and Knoble and consult "the images of America" series, GARDEN GROVE page 90. In 1968 gas was 19cents/gallon! a product of gas wars at the time!

Hi HB-ers, I have a blog about the area of Huntin...

2012-05-08T12:44:22.911-07:00

Hi HB-ers,

I have a blog about the area of Huntington Beach that was known as Wintersburg, http://historicwintersburg.blogspot.com/. It is particularly focused on OC's early Japanese community, but there is a lot of other early history there.

Does anyone remember "A small farm with one or more greenhouses in the late 1960s on the west side of Edwards between Warner and Slater. Houses had been built to the south and west of it, beyond which was Lark View Elementary School." ?

I had someone contact me through the blog and they are trying to find the family that owned that farm......something about repaying a youthful act of mischief. : )

Thanks for any clues!

So who are you swimmer? Shirley Sumner, (John Ad...

2012-05-08T09:50:13.575-07:00

So who are you swimmer? Shirley Sumner, (John Adams, Carr and VHS)

If you started at the top of the Brookhurst bridge...

2012-05-07T20:23:38.537-07:00

If you started at the top of the Brookhurst bridge you could ride the path cut into the dirt almost straight down the hill, pick up some real speed and practically crash Murray Manor on your bike. A sharp left and you could squeeze through the chain link fence to get to the track and basketball courts at Brookhurst Jr. High.

Young, Cole and Paugh were fortunate enough to sha...

2012-05-07T16:37:39.125-07:00

Young, Cole and Paugh were fortunate enough to share the stage with Skiles and Henderson for a KOCE telethon at the Cannery Restaurant in Newport Beach. Very classy gentlemen and two of the funniest people I've ever met, both on and off the stage. I feel honored to have spent an afternoon with them.

Roy

I remember the Disneyland helicopter, it used to f...

2012-05-07T15:55:32.732-07:00

I remember the Disneyland helicopter, it used to fly over our house every day, we lived off Euclid and Crone. I never flew in it, however my uncle used to take us over to watch it land and take off a lot. We used to love to fell the wind off the helicopter blades when it landed or took off. Even though the building structure was torn down long ago, up until they built the new Disneyland parking structure a few years ago, you could still see the landing circle where it landed and took off.

I grew up in Anaheim in the 60's and 70's ...

2012-05-07T15:37:45.142-07:00

I grew up in Anaheim in the 60's and 70's and graduated from Ball Jr. High in June 1965 and graduated from Loara in June 1968. I moved to Anaheim in Nov 1963 just before JKF was assassinated. I don't remember Mama Cozza's being on Walnut and Cerritos. I alway's remember it being on the Corner of Ball and Brookhust. In fact it's still there today. The only pizza parlor I remember close to Walnut and Cerritos was Marri's(SP) which was in a shopping center on Katella and I believe Walnut or West, across the street from the old Wonder Bowl Bowling Alley. I believe Marri's is still there today.

Boy, does this bring back so many fond memories gr...

2012-05-07T12:46:04.424-07:00

Boy, does this bring back so many fond memories growing up in Anaheim in the 60's. The milk shakes at Armstrongs were to die for, not to mention their hamburgers and fries.

I graduated from Loara High School in 1968. It was such a great time to grow up and live in Anaheim. I lived right behind the Crone/Loara park and I remember playing at the park all day long in the summer with all my friends and all of us having to go home when the Disneyland fireworks would go off at around 9 pm. To this day I can still remember while lying in bed at night an hearing the faint sound of the Disneyland's Riverboat whistle in the distance.

I think its hard to explain to people who hadn't grown up in Anaheim in the 50's and 60's on just how special that time was. I've gone back many times over the years to Anaheim and to my old neighborhood where I grew up, it has changed so much over the years and not for the better.

I am researching Walter Hill, son of the famous ra...

2012-05-07T10:46:22.714-07:00

I am researching Walter Hill, son of the famous railroad magnate/robber baron James J. Hill from Minnesota, who owned a ranch and hotel in Midway City, California in 1930's. That's about all I know. Would you have any suggestion on where I might find out more information? Thank you...