Macy Elementary School, La Habra, CA

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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"

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Wendy Ward Charm School Memories

Tammy submits her memories of attending Wendy Ward Charm School in Santa Ana...

I grew up in Santa Ana, and one of my fondest memories is of attending the Wendy Ward Charm School which was located in the Montgomery Wards on 17th Street. Every Saturday we trekked upstairs, through the furniture department and spent a couple of hours learning how to paint our nails, walk and sit with good posture and conduct ourselves like ladies. Lots of lights and mirrors, costumes and instructional posters made that space very glamorous to my 10 year old girlie side.

Serena, with the big blond hair and long red-lacquered fingernails was our instructor. The best part was when we got to go downstairs to the girls department and pick out 3 of the prettiest outfits we could find (and matching shoes of course!), which we then modeled during a fashion show on a Saturday afternoon. They had stage risers set up and music playing. I loved it!!

Wendy Ward Charm School was something exclusive to Montgomery Ward's stores, and was offered at many of their locations across the country. The program started in the mid 1960s, and each graduating class would model themselves in a fashion show.

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Newport Elementary School - Memories

Anonymous submits some memories of attending Newport Elementary School...

Newport Elementary; sand in the hightops that weren't allowed in the house; watching epic pipeline comes to newport from the blacktop during recess and lunch; looking for the witch on the corner house south of the school; fifth grade beating the "murderers row" sixth grade softball team; went there kindergarden to sixth grade; we performed "gloria" on our final day in the auditorium; thank you all for the memories!

And another anonymous reader has this to share as well...

Does anyone remember Miss Moyer at Newport Elementary? She dove for my foul pop-up and skinned her knee on the blacktop! It was fourth grade she taught; Quite a looker and a fine athlete.

Anyone out there attend Newport Elementary?

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Villa Park High School - Barefoot

Anonymous shares memories of walking to Villa Park High School barefoot, walking on the ground and feeling the cow poop squish between his/her toes...

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.

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.

I would not have wanted to be the guy who polished the floors at Villa Park High.

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Does a Ghost Haunt the Santa Ana High School Auditorium?

OCThen reader Julia shares her memories of growing up in Orange County...

I remember having so much fun when I lived in Orange County. I was born in Orange, but resided in Santa Ana. I left for Buffalo New York at age 16 but came back and resided in Anaheim from 1997-1998. I went back to Buffalo, New York and been here ever since. I'm 32 going on 33 years old and I can recall some of the great memories I had growing up.

I went to Carr Intermediate, Spurgeon Intermediate and graduated from there and went to Santa Ana High School as well as Valley High School. I ended up relocating and graduated from Kensington High School in Buffalo. I remember when I went to Santa Ana High School, the beautiful choirs, the cheerleading and tall flags squads, the food lol, how we had so much variety in what we wanted for lunch, which isn't like that at all here in the Buffalo school systems.

I also remember this time where there was a rumor spread about a girl who supposedly gotten killed by falling over the balcony in the auditorium during an assembly. They always said certain parts of that school where haunted. I have no idea if that was true or not but if anyone knows the truth about it or even remembers the incident, I'm still quite curious as to what happened.

I didn't stay at that school very long because of my grades, so I went on to Santa Ana Valley High School. Boy did I hate being there because it seemed like every single day I would get bombed by the birds LMAO!!! I had so many funny incidents there it was pitiful as well as sad. There were a few classmates that have passed away.

By the way I also went to Childs World Kindergarten and Lincoln Elementary School. Those were the good old days lol.

I have noticed that many posts are from people in the 1950's and 1960's, which I really find quite interesting. I'm glad I found this site and to be able to read these stories make me very homesick. Who knows, I may even come back to live one day.

I also remember the beaches that I used to go to. Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach which I really remember going to see the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose.

And let me not forget my favorite attraction, "Knotts Berry Farm" yesss!! I liked Knotts better than Disneyland, I always have. I think its because of the Old West environment that really attracted me to it and I'll never forget the attraction "Sam and Sadie". Does anyone remember that? Is it still there?

Sooo many memories and the fast food mexican restaurants were unbelievable! Of course no one can cook right here on the East Coast lol.

The thing that I regret most is losing contact with my friends. I do have MySpace and found a couple of family members that I lost touch with, still waiting to hear back from them but it's so exciting to know that I was able to find them, so I'm guessing that I can find a few of my classmates there too.

OK! Now that I have written a book here on my life lol, I'll stop here for now and read some more of these wonderful Orange County stories!!

Blessed Be to All!!
Julia

I never heard about the girl who fell from the auditorium balcony at Santa Ana High School. But I do remember singing there. I was in the choir of Santa Ana College, and one year we performed a Christmas program there, and indeed that balcony is pretty high.

It would be interesting to hear of ghost stories of Orange County's schools.

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Fitz Intermediate School

OCThen reader, "Squiddy", asks if anyone here attended Stephen R Fitz Intermediate School in Santa Ana during the 1970s...

Anyone go to Fitz Jr. High in Santa Ana (during the 70s)? My dad (Mr. Peterson) taught math and loved all the students and tried to be corny-funny.

Anyone go to Plavan Elementary in FV?

How about Hye's Pizza or Acoubian's restaurant in FV on the west side of Mile Square Park?

Click on "Post a Comment" below if you have memories of any of these schools or restaurants...

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Old Van Clubs of Irvine Park

OCThen reader "TimS" who grew up in Santa Ana submits some memories of hanging out in Irvine Park during the 1970s with the van clubs, and wants to know if anyone else has similar memories...

Hi All.

I have spent most of my 49 years living in OC, and have really enjoyed some of these comments.

I was wondering if anybody remembers anything about the van clubs that used to have weekend night, or caravans, way in the back of Irvine Park back in the early to mid 70's?

I was sort of a wild wander as a kid (bad home life...), and at 12 or 13, I tagged along with someone, who owned a really tricked out Ford Econoline van, to a Van rally that I recall was way in the back of Irvine Park. It seemed to be a long ways out there, but as an adult, now it doesn't seem like Irvine park extends as far as I remember traveling. Do any of you remember this? The guy who let me tag along with him and his girlfriend was a long haired guy with the first name of Randy, and, at that time, worked at the gas station on the corner of Main and St. Gertrude Plc.

And then he goes on to talk about dealing with gangs and tough guys in the schools of Santa Ana...

I also wanted to comment to those who have posted about violence in OC HSs. I went to Saddleback and Mountain View HSs in the mid to latter half of the 70s, and there was some violence from blacks and Mexicans, and sometimes even the sportos. Having long blonde hair, and a smart mouth, I got my ass kicked more than once before I finally learned how to stare guys down and act like a bad ass so people would leave me alone. That didn't always work though because with the mexicans it was always a gang of at least 3 or 4 to 1, so you always ended up on the losing end. I can clearly remember being 14 and walking down Warner Ave from McFadden Jr High, and how I flipped off the 4 low riders who had just said something foul to me about being white and having blonde hair, and how these guys flipped a U turn in the middle of Warner and came after me. I ended up being thrown into a rose bush after they caught me, tore my books in half and pounded on me for a while.

Anyway, I took ROP at Valley HS, and had trouble with the blacks hanging out in the parking lot every time I went on the campus from the greenville entrance, and knew white guys from SA HS who were always fighting with Mexicans, so I always viewed both of those schools as being much worse than Saddleback, or even Mountain view, which was a continuation school. Nobody was ever shot at that time, but some guys got knifed, or seriously pounded on. However, there was one guy at saddleback that I will never forget. He was dark skinned, but I couldn't be sure if he was mexican or samoan. But he used to hang out with an entourage of mexican semi-toughs. This guy clearly knew martial arts at that time, and used to wear some strange flamboyant clothes, like a cape. I later realized he wore the loose baggy pants so he could kick really high. Anyway, I witnessed this kooky guy start, and finish, several fights with big guys that usually got left alone.

A lot of us hung out at Memorial Park, and saw first hand that we had a lot of Mexican gangs rising up including the Delhi boys, F-Troop, Shades of Brown, and others from north Santa Ana. Some of these guys were pretty hard core, in my view, and I think were early Mexican mafia.

What a childhood that was! That's why I joined the navy at 17, and got out of dodge as quickly as I could.

TimS from Woodland Plc, Santa Ana.

Click on "Post a Comment" below if you have anything to share...

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La Palma Jr. High School

An anonymous OCThen reader remembers attending La Palma Jr High School in Buena Park and being among the last students there...

I attended the last class, clearly remembering the first day 7th grade and the last day before the start of summer and not realizing that the school would not be opened for 9th grade (everyone was shipped off to different schools).

He's posted some recent photos of La Palma Jr High School, albeit more of an abandoned building now...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/half-dollar_punch/

If you attended La Palma Jr High School, post a comment and share your memories...

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An Old Orange County Joke

I read all of the Levitz Furniture Stores are closing and it reminded me of an old Orange County joke. When I attended Golden West College, about twenty years ago (yikes!), we students used to say we went to "UBL" (University Behind Levitz) when someone asked where we attended college.
I guess those days are now officially over. The students could say they attend "UBBT" (University Behind Bella Terra) but that doesn't hold the same punch.

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Crescent Junior High School - Buena Park

An anonymous OCThen reader asks about what happened to Crescent Junior High School in Buena Park...

Does anyone remember Crescent Jr. High and where did it go?? I went there in 62-63, then to Kennedy High class of 66. I have lived in Michigan and Northern California and now in the foothills of the Sierras above Fresno..but each time I go into BP..I am always at a loss as to where that funky styled jr. high went.

I did a quick Google search and came up empty. If you know something about it, or attended the school, post a comment here.

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Walt Disney Elementary School - Anaheim, CA

OCThen reader, "hwdlaura" asks if anyone else attended Walt Disney Elementary School in Anaheim...

Any alumni of Walt Disney Elementary in Anaheim out there? My sister and I both went there in the 60s. I went back a few years ago and took some photos of the wonderful Disney artwork in the cafeteria. I remember sitting on the cafeteria floor on parent/teacher conference days watching Disney movies. Herman the janitor, and Earl D Butler, principal. Delphine the crossing guard. My first grade teacher was Fay Schimming and my sixth grade teacher was Brenda Zanzee.

There are actually several "Walt Disney Elementary" schools across the country, including two others in California (Burbank, and San Ramon). You'd think that this one in Anaheim would have been the first, but it wasn't.


A website called, "Started by a Mouse", says that the Anaheim school was the third to be blessed with Walt's namesake (link)...

The third Walt Disney Elementary was naturally in Anaheim, where Walt surprised the school officials and students by declaring it a school holiday, and inviting all of the students to come to Disneyland for the day.

But another website, Mouseplanet, says that the school in Marcine, MO (Walt's boyhood home), was the third (link).

Maybe someone at the school district knows.

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Growing up in Santa Ana, 1960's

An anonymous reader shares his memories of growing up in Orange County during the 1960's, attending Santa Ana Valley High School, and all his favorite hangouts...

Hi Everyone

I just surfed in here and just like in the 60's I surfed most of the coastline with friends instead of going to Valley High and I think I am probably the only one to ever get kicked out of Work Experience and then had two more study halls to study nothing except the fine girls in the study hall too.

I graduated in 66 and have a lot of fond memeories of Knotts Berry Farm, and the Ballroom in Balboa with all the fine surf bands. Plus we had one of the best groups to sing at Valley, and Tony and Andy Gallo sang in the band. Plus I went to school with a great friend Bob Samuels who was killed by one off Valley's alumni and now she is the 5th woman on death row.

Does anyone remember the Bisbee's Orange Julius on Flower and Edinger? What a great place to eat. Plus on Friday and Saturday Nights we would cruise Oscars where the DMV is now and get races set up. Go to either Richey street or down on Talbert west of Bristol.

I remember too that Knotts Berry Farm was no cost to go in and Disneyland was 2.00 dollars and you didn't have to even ride anything and go to the dances there.

Does anyone remember Bob Jolly that played in the Justin Tusk? Well, he has a music store in Irvine and is still in music. Valley was great in those days and before I went to Vietnam and we lost a lot of our school mates. I guess I could go down memory lane the rest of the day and say those were the good old days.

God Bless You all and Have a Very Merry Christmas.

And a merry Christmas back to you, and a Merry Christmas to everyone!

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Glenn L. Martin Elementary School

An anonymous person wants to know if any readers here attended Glenn L. Martin Elementary School in Santa Ana...

Did anyone out there go to Glenn L. Martin Elementary school in the 60's?
It was a simplier time and I remember it being a fun school.
From there Smedely Jr. High...not so fun.
And Mater Dei...cultural shock.
. I remember riding my bike to explore the new shopping center, south coast plaza, just bean fields around then, it just turned 40!
anonymous

I didn't go there, but my brother did during the mid-1980's. We lived only a few blocks up on Wilshire & Garnsey street.

If you remember Glenn L. Martin Elementary School, click on "Post a Comment" below and share your thoughts.

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Torana Art League

David wants to ask OCThen readers if anyone can comment about the Torana Art League, which he describes as an annex to Bower's Museum in Santa Ana...

Back in the '60's I went to art classes at the Torana Art League. I have come to find out that it was an annex to Bower's Museum. It was a large Spanish style house that functioned as a multi-roomed craft studio space. It was almost like an open studio for kids. I learned ceramics, batik, linoleum block printing, enamelling, watercolors, oil painting, and other art/craft mediums.

I live in San Francisco now and have been thinking of trying to open something like that up here. As we all know, art has pretty much been cut out of the general curriculum in public schools. My mom believed in art as an essential part of learning and working with your hands was a good skill. If anyone knows anymore about this let me know.

David sezdu@aol.com

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Santa Ana High School

I didn't attend Santa Ana High School, but many readers of OCThen have. I wanted to create this post as a place where all SAHS alumni can post their memories of attending the oldest high school in Orange County.

I remember while attending Santa Ana Valley, I'd hear some teachers or faculty talk about how our high school always had to play second-fiddle to Santa Ana High. They'd say stuff like, "Santa Ana High always attracts the better teachers", or "Santa Ana High always gets more funding". That kind of talk gave us students at Valley High a sense of hating Santa Ana High.

I'd read the sports section in the Orange County Register, and see more press attention being given to the SAHS' football team, "The Saints", and rarely see Valley's team mentioned. The Saints always got to play at Santa Ana Stadium (Eddie West Field).

At one time, when we lived in Santa Ana, off of Flower and Wilshire streets, I would walk past Santa Ana High School on my way to the Santa Ana Library, where I worked. I always thought it was a cool looking school with that "old school" architecture.

When I attended Santa Ana College, I majored in music. One the activities I participated in was the college choir. Dr Larry K. Ball, who directed the choir, would use the theater at Santa Ana High School for performances, and I sang there once.

That's pretty much the extent of my experience with Santa Ana High School.

If you attended, or worked at, Santa Ana High School, click on "Post a Comment" at the end of this article, and tell us what you remember.

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Santa Ana Valley High School, the Early Years

Today we received letters from two people writing about their memories of attending Santa Ana Valley High School in the early 1960s. Both of these people graduated from Santa Ana Valley in 1962.

The first is from Sharon...

Hi Steve.........a friend of mine sent me you site, and it sure brought back memories. Just for information:

I was born in Santa Ana in 1945. Went to Valley High School the first year it opened. Went to Lathrop on south Main, way before it was a closed campus. It reminded me of the movie 'American Grafeiti'. We could go across the street to the malt shop and to the record shop and listen to 45's for the lunch hour. Then down to Al's drive in for a burger. For me jr. high was almost better then high school. I have kept in contact with several of the gals that I went through school with. And my husband and I actually went to Tenn. and stayed for three weeks in that area with one, Sharon Shaw. Anyone remember her out there. We graduated from Valley in 1962, the second graduating class. Boy have things changed!! As for Disneyland, my father worked there when they were building it, right from the start. He use to see Mr. Disney on the property watching things being built, and sometimes changing the plans to somethingelse. I lived in the south end of town and in those days you could walk downtown to the 'West Coast' theater for a movie for 50 cents. So much to remember and such changes now.

The second is from Lynda...

I've been reading the comments from SAVHS alumni on this site and only found one person who graduated with me in 1962. We were the first class to attend all three years at Valley. The class of '61 only attended their Junior and Senior years. We '62 grads started as Sophomores the first year Valley opened, when it was just us and the Juniors, NO SENIORS! If my memory serves me right, I believe our football team of Sophomores and Juniors were also in the CIF Championships that first year coached by the best, Coach Dick Hill, who passed away last October.

I attended Edison Elementary and Lathrop Jr. High before entering Valley High. Half of my 9th grade classmates leaving Lathrop entered their Sophomore year at Valley High and the other half entered Santa Ana High as Sophomores. The Santa Ana Valley High School Class of 1962 is celebrating our 45th Reunion in August and many friends from the classes of '61 and '63 are also joining us this year. The first three graduating classes were very close, many classmates have kept in touch through the years, including those who went to Santa Ana High. I don't remember any of the negative things I've read here, our memories are great, it was a good time and place to grow up.

Lynda from the Class of 1962!

Any others out there that graduated from Santa Ana Valley High School in the early 1960's?

Also, check out another article we published about Santa Ana Valley, which has already received over a hundred comments...

http://www.octhen.com/2006/01/santa-ana-valley-high-school.htm

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Anaheim in the 1960's and 70's

An anonymous OCThen reader living in Australia sent us some memories of his growing up in Anaheim during the 1960's and 70's...

I was born in "The Valley" in '56 but my parents moved to Anaheim in '57. Our neighborhood was one of the new housing tracts built on a former orange grove bordered by Ball, Western, Orange and Knott.

I was a "charter student" at Twila Reid Elementary; Kindergarten the first year it opened to the 6th grade. The current site of Twila Reid Park was strawberry fields and we were chased by the owner on a Honda 50 when we'd trespass to pick berries.

Our brand spanking new neigborhood had no grass nor trees. I remember playing in numerous vacant fields and also remember Anaheim General Hospital and Cypress College being built. Ball Road had few sidewalks and Cypress had many cows.

On the way back from Huntington, in our gas-guzzling, seatbeltless Plymouth Suburban wagon full of sunscreenless kids, my mother would stop at the drive-thru Reliance Dairy on Beach Blvd to buy half gallon glass containers of milk and bright red fruit punch.

As a young teenager, I took guitar lessons at Kay Kaylie Music in Buena Park Mall from Frank Krajerbrink guitarist from early '70s OC band "Utopia". Anybody remember "Wigouts"? (I still play by the way).

I have lived in Sydney, Australia for 30 years now and have fond memories of my childhood in an emerging modern Orange County. Sydney has many of the good aspects of Southern California that has made it easy for me to settle here.

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Santa Ana Valley High School

Anyone an alumni of Santa Ana Valley High School?

Well, I am. I went from 1981-1984, graduating there.

Valley High had the reputation of being the roughest high school in the city, and probably among the roughest county-wide. There were several gang fights there. I remember one black guy getting pounded to a pulp by a gang of Samoans. Nearby at Centennial Park, there were students and gang members that died in knife fights.

One time a guy got his throat slit while walking though Carr Intermediate School on his way into Valley High.

There was also a prankster club there called the "Crack Club". All they did was pull some unbelievable pranks, like hauling up some lunch benches up on to the roof of the Auditorium.

Watch out for Spirit Week! At this time, the seniors set their sights on the freshman and kicked their asses. I mean some kids got flat out beaten senseless. I imagine some lawsuits were filed between parents. I don't know how I managed to escape it.

At Valley High, they had a annual tradition called "The Kangaroo Court". The whole school went into the auditorium and watched a panel of judges (members of the senior class) pull some of the popular students out of the audience, and convict them of various sins. One guy was pulled up for having a reputation of dating a lot of girls. They blindfolded him, and told him that they would be bringing a mystery girl out, and that he would have to kiss her. Well, they ended up bringing his mother out! He grabbed her by the arms and laid a full-on open-mouth tongue-tickling kiss. Nobody expected such a thing; they thought it would just a peck on the lips. They pulled the blindfold off, and he just about wet his pants.

But due to political correctness, they cancelled The Kangaroo Court in 1982.

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