Memories of Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Garden Grove

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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!

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When Tumbleweeds Drew City Boundaries

Anonymous talks about her memories of growing up in Orange County from the late 1960s to the late 1970s, and lists out a laundry list of items she recalls...

Hi, I've grown up in OC all my life. From the late 60's on...

I remember up until the late 70's you could drive down Beach Blvd. and head north and see where each town began and ended. There would be a few small buildings, then tumbleweeds, then more buildings, then tumbleweeds, and so on...

as a little girl, I had seen the "caller" the old man who would jump in the street and yell at you to go to the Pottery Shack in Laguna Beach (jumped out right in heavy traffic too); Farrell's and A&W on Beach Blvd.(with real glass frosty mugs, tray hung from your window as you ate in the car; Back Alley Pizza at Magnolia and Adams-the inside was all mirrored with a road and real curbs on the floor, great pizza; Japanese Village and Deer Farm in Buena Park; Movieland Wax Museum; The alligator farm; the old drive-in movies on Beach Blvd and on Brookhurst sts; when you could go to the beach and park across pch on the sand,there was nothing there just a street light to cross the street; Lion Country Safari (now wild rivers)Naugles in HB became Arby's on Brookhurst, when they started building "restaurant row" of fast foods there.

You used to see horses being ridden up and down Magnolia in HB (and the tumbleweeds)until the OC bus system went in... Leonards dept store; Toy City; Kmart across the street-when you enter the store, there was a greeter, and a counter where they sold sub sandwiches, butter toffee peanuts, etc. and a cafe at the back of the store where you could have taquitos, burgers etc. and get a dessert ice cream in a plastic football helmet-my brother collected a lot of those... Farrell's pig's trough-my brother got the ribbon...

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Huntington Beach in the 1960s & 1970s

Greg offers up his recollections of living in Huntington Beach during the 1960s & 1970s...

We first moved into OC in 1966 and lived in Fountain Valley for a year, then moved to Huntington Beach in 1967 on Kamuela off of Brookhurst and Garfield. Memories of growing up: I can remember seeing the Fountain Valley Drive-in get built and still lived in OC when it got torn down. I can remember sitting on the roof of the house with friends and we could see the fireworks all the way from Disneyland. Every 4th of July, we'd have a block party on our cul-de-sac and a cop on the street would bring in contraband fireworks. Later in the evening, after we shot off our red devil stuff, the golf course across the Santa Ana river bed (which wasn't concrete yet) would have a fireworks show.

I remember Foster's Freeze in the old Lucky's shopping center and the Carl's Jr. across the street (my dad and I would fight over the fries on the way home.) Riding bikes down Brookhurst to the beach, you felt perfectly safe. A funky pizza place (can't remember the name) in the shopping center on Brookhurst and Adams, right next to the TG&Y ("To Gyp You") My parents and I were eating there the night LBJ announced he wasn't running again. Later, the fish and chips place next to the Sav-On Drugs next door.

I went to Edison High (class of 74) and spent more time on the Pier (on my own "personal bench" than I did in class, which is why I almost didn't graduate. Warm summer days and cool nights. Sitting with my family around a fire ring, roasting corn and hot dogs. What a great place to grow up!!

I now live in the east coast but, God willing, I hope to move back there this fall. You can never go home again, of course, and HB is far different, but it's the one place I still call home.

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When Magnolia Didn't Go Through to PCH

Melanie asks if anyone remembers when Magnolia St didn't go all the way to PCH...

Does anyone remember when Magnolia in Huntington Beach did not go all the way through to PCH? I actually liked that, but I suppose that it wasn't so good for all of the traffic on Brookhurst and Newland!

Not having lived in Huntington Beach, I don't remember that. But in Santa Ana, you used to be able to take Flower St all the way from the south to the north. But during the 1980s, folks living in that posh area just north of 17th St & Flower, lobbied the city to stop the flow of traffic in their neighborhood. So, at first the city prevented you from taking Flower St across 17th St for only certain times of the day. I think now, it's resistricted all times of the day.

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Old Bars in Huntington Beach

Kim T asks about some old bars in Huntington Beach that she used to hang out at...

Does anyone remember "Friar Tucks Bar", "The Keg", and the "Huntington Tavern" in Huntington Beach from the 1970"s and early 80"s? I can't seem to find anything about them in this site. They were dives but fun to hang out in.

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Bohemian Summers of Huntington Beach

OCThen reader MichelleM remembers her summers in Huntington Beach, living an almost bohemian lifestyle all day and night in the uptopian world of an OC beach town...

it is hard to concentrate on one thing....but the summers in h.b. were what i remember. hanging out at the round stone tables on the peir, eating french toast at vics on the beach.....the end cafe, the other end cafe! the gameroom under the pier, those discusting bathrooms we used so often because we all lived on the beach from am to pm during the summer. the nights at the golden bear, and after partys at those old one room apartments overlooking main street. playing pool at the standard market with the juke box playing......ahhhh- memories! there will never be another "old huntington", i feel sorry for todays youth, they will never experience those carefree days we had.
michelle

Boy, what a contrast to the gangs, knife fights, and police sirens of the Santa Ana I grew up in during the 1970s and 80s.

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Huntington Beach Plunge

OCThen reader, Linda J, asks if anyone remembers the Plunge at Huntington Beach...

Did any of you ever swim at the "plunge" on Huntington Beach? My Aunt Johnnie Belshe used to teach kids to swim there...I remember going to her house on every 4th of July and watch the parade pass by followed by a day at the beach and fireworks off the pier at night...

The Huntington Beach Plunge was a swimming pool by the pier that filled with ocean water. It allowed people to swim in the ocean in a controlled environment, without the worry of waves and sharks. Many beach cities had these.

Today, Huntington Beach offers an annual "plunge", but it's not the same thing. It's just a bunch of people walking into the ocean during the cold (or theoretical cold) of winter.

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Growing up in Huntington Beach 1960-1970

OCThen reader "Oly" submits memories of growing up in Huntington Beach during the 1960s and 1970s...

I was born in 1962 and have been in Huntington Beach ever since. I first lived on Baffin Cr. off of Bolsa Chica and McFadden. I remember the many walks to Speedy Mart for Slurpies and candy. I remember the bean fields right accross the street next to Robinwood School. My older brother would walk over and pick them, would boil them up and they were pretty tasty.

We later moved to the Meadowlark tract and we backed the 6th fairway which is now the 15th. I attended Meadowview School then Marina High School. A lot of goodtimes.

Great time in little league at Ocean View National, that used to be next to Meadowlark Airport on Heil. Does anyone remember the little coffee shop that was on Springdale and Edinger that was in the same location as Marios?It was next door to Alpha Beta. When we would go to Alpha Beta with our mom, we would walk over there and by 10 packs of Baseball cards once a week. Many walks to Thrifty Drug for ice cream cones and toys and Thriftimart where I actually worked my first job in High School. And how about Springdale Drug?

A lot of great memories there and i'm glad to have bought a house in the same tract. Could not be a better city to live in in this world. Could go on for a long time, but would take forever.

Oly

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United California Bank, Huntington Beach

OCThen reader, "salesteacher", submits the following memory of working at the United California Bank in Huntington Beach...

I left Buffalo, NY on a Greyhound bus, at age 19, and landed in Huntington Beach almost 3 days later. July 3, 1962. Took me forever to find a job--no car--literally walking between towns. A great guy named Tim at United California Bank at 1018 No. Main Street took a chance on me, and I worked there for four formative years that left such a deep imprint in me, that I almost believe the bank and the people are still there. Last time I visited the building, it was some sort of school. I would love to hear from anyone who was among the fifty or so employees of that bank branch. Such fond memories.

Anyone who worked there, "Post a Comment" and share your memories...

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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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Beaches and Tastee Freez

Noelle Harrison submits some memories of growing up in Huntington Beach in the 1960s and 1970s, going to the beach, and getting ice cream at the Tastee Freez...

We moved to Huntington Beach in 1968, first into a town home complex just off of beach blvd., and later into a housing development off of magnolia and atlanta...surrounded by fields...my earliest memories are walking to the beach (down beach blvd.) with my mom and sister and stopping at tastee freeze for a dipped cone on our way home - if we were lucky we would have already had strips and sauce at jack's (where we later worked in 8th grade). The sauce was sweet and spicy. I'm always amazed how, at 7 and 8, we would play at the beach every day while our mom read and slept. We had such a blast (and nearly drowned many-a-time despite being taught how to drive under the face of any wave...).

Another great memory: Our mom used to drive to the old van's shoe store in-land (I'm not sure where but it was in an old house of sorts) and have custom-made deck shoes made to match our dresses and short outfits! She would just take in the extra fabric and voila we had matching shoes!

I left in 1980 and returned only once, in 1984. I don't want to see how huntington's been ruined, the miles of empty state beaches turned into a hotel parking lot. I live just outside of san francisco now and have never gotten used to the cold!

Note that everyone wants to put an "e" at the end of "Freez" but, the correct spelling is without that last "e".

As far as Van's shoes, I recall there being a store in Orange, on Glassell, pretty close to the Orange Circle, this would be north of the Circle, that used to sell lots of Van's, and I think was one of the first stores in OC to sell them.

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Nightclub in Huntington Beach

An anonymous OCThen reader asks if anyone remembers the name of a nightclub in Huntington Beach, about a mile north of the Golden Bear...

I recall a club in Huntington, not far from the GB, but a mile or so north, where Cal Tjader would play his vibraphone frequently. I was there on Halloween about 1976 or 1977. Bonnie Raitt was playing that night and she was amazing. Does anyone remember the name of the club?

Post a comment here, if you know anything.

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Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

I used to love going to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour as a kid growing up in Huntington Beach. It was all red and white in the Victorian style of Mary Poppins. I believe it was a chain in Orange County.

You could order "The Zoo" which was a big trough of every ice cream and topping they had, accented with sparklers. When you ordered it, all the wait staff would run out with it held high in the air, whistles and horns announcing your intent to eat the whole thing.

If and when you did eat it all, another big production followed and a ribbon that said, "I made a pig of myself at Farrell's." Oh, how I wanted one of those ribbons.

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What was your first job in Orange County?

My first job, at fifteen, was working at Kentucky Fried Chicken on Warner and Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach. Not very glamorous I know, but all of my friends worked there, which was really the only criteria for a first job--well, that and your parents willingness to drive you there.

The man who owned it was a WWII veteran named Bill who sported a neat flattop, high and tight. He drove an old, very old, burgundy Cadillac and looked a little like W.C Fields in polyester pants and a bolo tie. I can just see him now, all in brown, hunched over a large white plastic container, elbow-deep in macaroni salad (with gloves on, of course), mixing it with his ginormous hands.

Bill had a little dog named "Mimi" bequeathed to him by his late wife. He always said when "that dog" died he was going to sell KFC and travel the world. He acted like Mimi was a pest to him, but he hand-made a seat in his Caddie just for her and took her everywhere with him. You know the type of man, right? All rough and grumpy but, deep inside sensitive and thoughtful.

I went back to visit KFC when I was going to Golden West College and Bill was still there. Mimi had died years before, but he stayed on. He was very uncomfortable by my happiness to see him again. He asked if I still liked to take pictures (see...so thoughtful) and gave me a free pint of cole slaw when I left. I still think about him and wonder if he ever got to travel the world.

After KFC, I worked at the One Hour Photo Lab in the Westminster Mall through the rest of High School. Back then it was located right in the middle circle of the mall, above the food court. Working at the mall in High School was a prime job. My brother worked at Chess King at the same time and sometimes we would meet for a "Hot Dog On A Stick."

I was also a Ruby's girl for about three years until I moved away to go to college in San Francisco.

What was your first job in OC?

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Smokey's Stables and Bob's Big Boy

My Cousin, Darla, and I would ride at Smokey's Stables in Huntington Beach whenever we could talk one of our parents into driving us there. Smokey's was on the Bolsa Chica Wetlands from 1980 to 2000.

If I remember correctly, Smokey was an actual person. He was a short older man who wore plaid flannel shirts, suspenders and smoked a pipe. But maybe this was all in my romanticized imagination.

Smokey's is where I fell off a horse named Storm and broke my arm. I was a chronic crier and a tad dramatic as a child, so no one believed me when I wept, "I think it's broken."

My Aunt picked us up from Smokey's and took us to the Bob's Big Boy, which used to be located on Edinger and Gothard (now a CoCo's). My Aunt ordered me my favorite shake-strawberry.

I remember sitting there, watching the yummy strawberry shake melt down the tall silver gobblet, clutching my arm, never touching the treat. It was then, FINALLY, they realized I was really hurt.

Anyone remember Smokey's? Was there really a man named Smokey? Anyone else miss Bob's Big Boy?

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Huntington Beach - The City of Walls

An OCThen reader named Stan Chamness submits a very enjoyable story of a kid who grew up in Huntington Beach in the 1960's. This story reminds me of the years when I was a little boy in San Diego, between 1971-1978, and venturing out with my friend Mark. It was a time when kids could turn their curiosity into an adventure, get into a little trouble, and at bedtime, stay up all night thinking about what you wanted to do tomorrow...

Orange County to me was growing up in Huntington Beach as my father did. I lived in a housing tract like everyone else at Adams and Bushard. It was one of the first to go in and the frontal houses faced the main streets with olive trees lining the frontal border.

Crop fields surrounded our tract and made it a great place to dig holes, build forts and best of all to make tracks and jumps to ride our stingray bicycles around in. The grass would grow higher than we were tall during the winter so we would make our own maze to get lost in playing.

The empty fields soon gave way to more housing as Huntington grew at a record pace but all the new tracts faced inward with their backyards to the main streets and so grew the city of walls.

At around the age of 10 (1966) I mustered up the courage to get on my bike and head to the beach, alone. Bushard didn't even go through as a paved road at the time. You had to ride through farm fields before coming back to the pavement. That would give you a chance to eat a little something, for they grew melons, tomatoes and corn, just to name a few of the crops that I would borrow on my ride.

Once I knew how easy it was to get to the beach, I spent most of my energy as a kid and high school days trying to get back there. At around 13 I peddled my way down to Corona Del Mar with my best friend Kenny and bought my first mask and fins and went diving. I think of that now and most kids of 13 aren't allowed to leave their block let alone ride 15 miles or so away and swim in the ocean alone. Of course I wasn't either, I just did it.

I remember Kenny and I would grab some lawn chairs and ride our bikes at night to the Fountain Valley drive in over on Brookhurst. We would ride through a trailer park located behind the drive in, park our bikes, then toss the chairs over the fence then climb over ourselves. We would also make sure it was an R rated movie showing so we could hopefully get a glimpse of nudity and catch a nipple or two. We became friends with the security guard who didn't seem to mind that we had snuck in.

We would also at the age of 12 and 13 hop on the bus at Adams and Bushard. Ride it up to Harbor the get a transfer. Ride up Harbor to Disneyland then jump over the exit gate and play in Disneyland all day and then go home. All for 50 cents. It was only a quarter each way. I remember my parents asking where I had been and I would just say "oh, over at Kenny's house."

At the age of 15 my old man kept coming up with stuff for me to do, so it became harder for me to get to the beach. I needed a good reason to be there so I tried out for Junior lifeguards. Gotta be there everyday for that. I remember riding down Main St. everyday to get to the pier. There were great shops like Grandma Bean with tapestries, backlight posters, incense and beautiful girls working inside. Man, my hormones would rage! Then down a little further, Robert August would be shaping boards and who knows what else. I would stop at Jacks to get a t-shirt now and then.

The whole town was completely different in the 60's. I guess nothing stays the same.

When I was real young my parents owned a beach concession just north of the Huntington Pier that made burgers and rented surf riders. So at the age of 3 to 5 I spent a lot of time walking around in the sand with a big burlap sac collecting Pepsi bottles for 3 cents each. Today there is an apartment complex built right on the sand where our concession was located.

I went to Edison High School shortly after it opened and I remember checking the flag in the late summer to see if there was an offshore wind. If so, it would mean no school today (at least for me). And when the surf wasn't good it would mean the water visibility was, so we would head down PCH to Laguna to do some diving and spear fishing. Once past Corona there was an area called the horse pastures with this little shack in the middle of nowhere. The sign read Date shakes. And even if you didn't like dates you would most likely like these shakes, I still try to make them myself to this day.

Well I could go on and on but I think I have rambled enough for now! Late.....

Stan Chamness

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El Toro's of Huntington Beach

An anonymous OCThen reader remembers a favorite restaurant of his named "El Toro's" in Huntington Beach, and asks about their chili...

When I was growing up in the 70's, my family and I would eat at our favorite restaurant several times a month. The name of the restaurant was El Toro's and was located in Huntington Beach on Warner Avenue, just west of Bolsa Chica Street. It closed in the early 80's and my family has missed it ever since. One of our favorite menu items was called a Mexita; a crisp corn tortilla with refried beans, chili sauce and cheese melted on top. It was the chili sauce that gave the Mexita its unique flavor, one that I haven't found at any other Mexican restaurant. Does anyone who remembers this restaurant know how they made this chili?

This is a tough request, but if you got any info or memories of this restaurant, click on "Post a Comment" and share it with us.

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Golden Bear Nightclub in Huntington Beach

Growing up in Orange County, my family often packed up the family van on weekends and headed down to Huntington Beach to spend an inexpensive day of family fun at the beautiful beach. My parents used to comment on the Golden Bear Nightclub (opened in 1929) on 306 Ocean Avenue whenever we'd pass it, because it was so famous, and the host to so many of the performers they listened to as teens in nearby Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs. I always dreamed of getting to go there myself once I became an adult... But I never got the chance.

I was appalled when this county landmark closed in 1986 to make way for the downtown redevelopment of Huntington Beach. The Golden Bear was as synonymous to Huntington's rich beach culture as is surfing itself. The beaches of Huntington are still beautiful, but I rarely go now(choosing more quaint and laid back San Clemente or Laguna instead) because I don't like what I see there anymore. It's far too commercial and yuppified now.

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