Huntington Beach & Westminster in the 1960's

An anonymous OCThen reader remembers growing up as a kid in the 1960s in Huntington Beach, Westminster, and remembers a more conservative, and rural way of life...

In the early 60's my parents purchased a home on the border of Huntington Beach and the City of Westminster. Fireworks were legal and we used to go down to the beach and watch them all, then liberals started banning fireworks and ruined the fun for everyone.

Those were thr good ol days of Freedom Fireworks, Red Devil Fireworks, "The Block Party" from Red Devil Fireworks, "The Smokey Joe" and various different other fireworks.

The Orange Groves were vast and expansive. Disneyland was in it's infancy. These were good times going to Disneyland, shopping at Ed Tunks Country Store in Garden Grove.

I remember going past Los Alamitos and seeing the Nike Ajax anti missles out of their silos and ready to defend the general area from Russian missles

I also remember going to the Movieland Wax Museum in Anaheim as a small child. Going to Angels games in the old stadium.... The Big "A" way before the stadiums renovations.

I also remember going to drve in movies at the "Highway 39 Drive In" on Beach Boulevard with my girlfriends.

The Westminster Mall was being built and I distinctly remember the opening of the Mall and riding my bicycle from my home to the Mall in it's very early days.

I also recollect as a kid fishing from the Seal Beach Pier, fishing from the jetty near the power plant. We used to smoke the gaunge and sit and fish from the bridges near the power plant during the night on the weekends.

These were all good times that I fondly remember. I joined the Navy in the later part of 1979 and early 1980. I left Southern California and went to Northern California, back to San Diego, the East Coast and finally retired from the Navy in Hawaii in 1998.

I never returned to Orange County area after I retired from the military. Instead I decided to get out from underneath the day to day life of the big city and move to middle America where the hunting and fishing is spectacular.

I wish all who were born raised and support Orange County the best that life has to offer and you all have sustained the area and all should be congratulated. I wish everyone in Orange County, Huntington Beach and The City of Westminster all the best.

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9:35pm Disneyland Fireworks?

Dale writes to me asking why Disneyland fireworks are going off at 9:35pm, instead of 9:30pm. Living out here in Riverside County now, I don't get to see the fireworks anymore, so I don't really know what's going on at D-Land...

Steve

My son-in-law asked me why the nightly fire works go off at 9.35. Why not 9.30 or another time please let me know so I can get back to him as it is very embarrassing not to be able to answer someone that loves to know the facts.

Can anyone chime in? Click on "Post a Comment".

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Watching Disneyland Fireworks in the Old Days

Mike Baldwin shares his memories of watching Disneyland Fireworks...

I grew up living in Santa Ana from 1952 till my family moved to Costa Mesa in 1963. My fondest memory is during the summers when before bed time, Mom and Dad would walk with my sisters and I up to the Santa Ana river bank to watch the fireworks at Disneyland each evening. During thoses days there were no obstructions to sight across the county to see the nightly display from Disneyland. It was a great way to end each day as the walk back home was a great time to share the the show of that night with each other and to think of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell before going to bed.

By Mike Baldwin

I lived in Santa Ana from 1978 to 1988, before moving to El Toro. But we lived on Richland Ave, out by Bristol St, and couldn't see the fireworks, but you could always hear them, and you always knew what time it was once you started hearing the "boom boom" in the distance.

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Skyway and Fireworks at Disneyland

Sitting here reading about another blogger's trip to Disneyland made me recall some good times my wife and I used to have at Disneyland.

For a few years in a row we had annual passes to the Happiest Place on Earth, and we'd go there on weekend nights after dinner to enjoy the peaceful rides like the Train, the People Mover, and the Skyway.

On Summer nights, at 9:00pm sharp every night (or was it 9:30?), Disneyland presented their fireworks shows (they still do). We'd try to time things perfectly by getting into line for the Skyway and trying to get aboard just as the fireworks show started. On those times when we timed it perfectly, we were treated to a spetactular show high up in the sky.

Of course the Skyway is long gone. So is the People Mover. While I considered these to be among my favorite rides, I realize not everyone cared for them. But watching a fireworks show high up in the sky is something most folks just can't do anywhere else.

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