Army Navy Surplus Store Garden Grove

Mark White submits his memories of working at his father's Army Navy Surplus store at 9651 Garden Grove Blvd (between Gilbert and Brookhurst) during the 1950s...

I grew up in Garden Grove and grew up in my Dad’s Army Navy Surplus Store at 9651 Garden Grove Blvd, today it is a Korean Restaurant. I worked there from the middle of elementary school, the 1950’s, first sweeping and straightening up sections. On a Saturday I might sweep the store, using oiled sawdust and then be in charge of straightening all of the electrical section or camping gear or to stock the tools. I loved it.

Outside the door was a red Coca Cola Vending machine Dad had purchased, yes as surplus, and then purchased the 12 oz coke and stocked it himself. He would make his kids, me, buy a coke after being paid for working. With that you should have decent insight into my Dad. Every Saturday until I was on “payroll” he would buy me lunch from Zestos across the street. I can smell Zestos now. In my humble opinion, Zestos and In-n-Out ran neck and neck.

One anniversary for he and Mom, he bought a gorgeous ship's barometer and temperature set. Done in wood and brass it was beautiful on my mothers den wall. He came rushing home months later and took both telling my mother he could pay the mortgage with the money he was going to make on the set. That was Dad.

The store had camping gear, canvas, clothing, work shoes and much much more. Today Kids love Dickies. We sold the real thing, grey and tan work pants. Men from all over would come at regular intervals to buy their “gear”. When a customer my Dad recongnized as a Dickies customer would walk in the door, Dad might rush to the clothes section grab the size 40 waist 32 in seam the man would need and have the pants set for display. “Walk around the store and see what else you need and get these in a box in a moment”.

When we got Levis and army gear was popular in the sixties... I was in heaven. “What size in men’s pants do you think I need”, would ask a lovely Rancho Alamitos Senior Cheerleader. “Oh, well, turn around and let me guess”. My Dad said, “always guess two sizes smaller and hand them the proper size and one size bigger, when the young customer says these are too big for me it makes them feel good”. What a great job... What a great job, sorry lost it for a sec with some awesome memories.

Everyone from babes to boys scouts came in that store. I included a picture, I am thinking the year is 1959. My Grandfathers black Cadillac is on the side, my Dad’s truck is in front of the store. The coke machine is visible just to the right of the door in front of the store. Sorry no pictures of the soon to be hippie kids buying jeans but it sure is a hoard of wonderful memories for this Orange County Kid.

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Carrie Wicket Clothes Store

A couple of OCThen readers share their memories of a 1960s and 70s clothing store located at the Orange Circle called "Carrie Wicket"...

Anonymous said...
Hello! Does anyone remember a girls (young womens) clothing store on the "Orange Circle" in Orange named "Carrie Wicket"? An old friend and I were talking about our days at Santa Ana Valley High School in the late 60's, and what a great store Carrie Wickets was. In the 70's, they opened a mens store across the street called "Sir Wickets".....I remember we could always find cute clothes at Carrie Wicket....now adays, you could spend a whole day at any mall and not find a thing to buy! Love those olden days!

Janie Elsey Campbell
Class of Santa Ana Valley, 1968

Anonymous said...
Yes! I recall Carrie Wicket's! My mom bought me a lemon yellow linen pantsuit that I got lots of compliments on. I was 13 or 14. Wasn't it a little upscale? At least it seemed like it at the time. If I remember correctly the racks were always well stocked and the sales ladies were very helpful. I hadn't thought of that store for decades. Thanks for the memory!!

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Hot Dog Shack in Costa Mesa

Aimee C remembers a cool little hot dog shack in Costa Mesa, and wonders if anyone remembers it also?

Does anyone remember the little hot dog shack on Wilson Street in Costa Mesa? It was there in the early/mid 80's, at the side entrance of the old Harbor Shopping Center. I am not sure what it was called, Sammy's sounds familiar, but I am not sure if that's right. I remember going there a lot when I was a kid. I used to love it because they would give you a plain dog, and you could put on whatever toppings you wanted. They had the best chili cheese dogs ever!! I am pretty sure it closed when they started the huge remodel on the shopping center. I don't know if they moved to a new location or not, but if anyone knows what happened to it, I am curious.

Harbor Shopping Center was such a cool and interesting place. I think it's called something else now. I haven't been by there in a while, last time i drove by I was amazed at what it has become compared to what it was. It's a shame things have to change.

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Remembering the Helms Bakery Trucks

Lee Fredrickson remembers the Helms Bakery Trucks rolling through his neighborhood, and the smells of fresh baked bread...

One of my favorite memories of growing up in Orange County was the Helms Bakery truck coming through the neighborhood during the weekdays.

I was talking with a high school friend today about that, and things I remember was the driver always blew the horn twice while going up and down the streets to draw the customers outside. As kids, we didn't get to see the bakery truck very often because we would usually be in school when the driver made his rounds, but when we were home, and we heard that horn, we would immediately start pestering our mother to get something from the "bakery truck".

It was always a treat to be there when the driver would open the double doors at the back of the truck and to smell all those wonderful treats - some of them still warm from being baked that day. My mom would tell the driver what she wanted to purchase that day, and he would start opening up those long wooden drawers which were used to store the baked goods. One drawer would have doughnuts, the next one would have cakes, another held pies, and it would go on and on while we just watched and enjoyed the show.

The drivers were always very friendly and knew our Mom by name. Mom didn't always have the money that day to pay for the stuff she wanted, so the drivers would extend her credit until the next time they came around. I remember they would have a little notebook with the customer's name on it and a column of numbers showing purchases and payments.

Unfortunately, Helms Bakery went out of business in 1969, but it is a memory I still cherish to this day.

Aside from the ice cream trucks that cruised our neighborhood, the only other food trucks I remember were the ones in Yokohama, Japan when I lived there from 1970-71. They sold just about everything, and if they didn't have it, they'd have it for you on the next stop. My mom would buy stuff from them.

In Santa Ana, I'd often see trucks going up and down the neighborhoods selling produce and clothes, but our family never paid any mind to them.

Today, we have the Schwan's trucks making deliveries in the neighborhood out here in the IE.

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Shopping at El Toro Marine Base

Anonymous remembers shopping at El Toro MCAS...

I loved going to the el toro base I loved doing our shopping there and hearing the jets rumble on their take off. then they built a different commissary and you couldn't hear it so much but you could see them and still hear them just not so loud. I enjoyed eat the hotdogs at the stand after finishing shopping! I don't have any pictures of how it used to look.Someone please post some so when we open the page everyone can see how producitve and awsome this place was. thanks

My dad was in the Navy, and one time he took me into El Toro MCAS and we did some shopping at the Exchange and Commissary. Stuff is always so cheap in there, and always packed with people. Even in my San Diego days, we'd go to the "Base" to do our shopping. I used to get haircuts at the base barber shop.

I don't know if anyone remembers this, but the OCTD bus had a route that started from Santa Ana, and drove into the restricted area of El Toro MCAS en route to Laguna Hills shopping mall.

Today, when I visit my dad up in Washington State, we'll hit up Fort Lewis, go into the commissary, and pick out some steaks for the BBQ. You still get the best deals on the base.

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Gabrielli's Deli & Gilligan's Island Liquor

Janel asks if anyone remembers Gabrielli's Deli or Gilligan's Island Liquor in Placentia...

I grew up in Placentia in the early 1980's. Does anyone remember Gabrielli's Deli and Gilligan's Island liquor store located in the Toy City plaza at the corner of Palm and Valencia? I attended El Dorado High School and worked at the deli during my High School years. A lot of great memories and friend from those days!!

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The Music Market in Costa Mesa

Roxanne writes about her years growing up in Costa Mesa during the 1970s and 1980s...

I was born and raised in OC and spent my formative years in Costa Mesa during the 70's early 80's. Does anyone remember: Licorice Pizza (record store) near Newport Blvd? Also, the Harbor Roller rink, Music Market (on Harbor and Adams), and Kona Lanes. We used to get up to no good at the Ambassador Inn (Harbor & Wilson) by sneaking in and using the swimming pool. We used to cut across the alley that ran parallel to the golf course and hop the fence. It was right near the Pup- n -Taco.

I also remember the Tiki themed apartments on Wilson across the street from Tic Toc convenience store. I loved the koy pond and the wooden bridge.

I sure do remember Licorice Pizza, they were really big during the late 1970s, when they went head-to-head against Tower Records.

And yes, I remember Music Market! That was my favorite place to get records. It was in the shopping center on Harbor & Adams, next to the Ice Chalet rink. They had such a huge selection of music.

In my college years, during the mid-1980s, I was into electronic music and no where else could I find stuff from artists like Walter Carlos (before he became Wendy Carlos), or Terry Riley, Isao Tomita, or Kraftwerk. They also had a room just for used CDs, with CD players so that you could listen to them. I'd gather 20-30 CDs, listen to them, and figure out which ones to buy, and they'd only cost $1.00 to $3.00 each. I used to find all sorts of great but obscure bands.

And who couldn't forget the Hamburger Hamlet located right out in front?

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The Red Barn in Westminster

Anonymous shares some memories about the "Red Barn" in Westminster...

Does anyone remember the "Red Barn" on Garden Grove Blvd in Westminster? When we "Indian Village" kids could scrounge up a few pennies off we'd walk or ride our bikes to the the Red Barn to buy our penny candy. Times were so different then. - Catching pollywogs in the ditch, feeding Dusty and Starlight (horses) on the way to Finley Elementary school in the 60s.

As far as walking to school and stopping to feed the horses, there were never horses on my routes to school when I was a kid. But I managed to find other things to divert my attention while walking to school.

I always had stores and fast-food joints that I walked past. I would stop into a convenience store or corner market and buy a bottle of soda, or pick up a candy bar. While walking back home, I'd often have enough money in my pocket to get a bag of hot french fries from a McDonald's to munch on while I walked.

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Hanging Out At The Orange Mall

Anonymous wants to start a discussion on hanging out at the Orange Mall...

Did anyone used to frequent the Orange Mall as a teenager?

I remember some local freak, I think nick named "Jesus". Also the Carl's Jr., Sweats n Surf, pet shop, and Farrell's across the street.

I never hung out there, since I was growing up in Santa Ana. But my wife spent a lot of time there, and when we were dating, she took me there several times. Of course, it was a far cry from South Coast Plaza, which was closer to where I lived.

But my best memory of Orange Mall is watching the movie "Dirty Dancing" there at the theater with my future wife. It was our first date together. I'd guess that was 1987. As a result, she had to pick "I've Had the Time of My Life" as our wedding song.

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Honer Plaza, Santa Ana

Anonymous writes about memories of Honer Plaza in Santa Ana...

I grew up in Santa Ana near 17th and Bristol, across from what used to be Honor Plaza. There was Newberry's, House of Fabrics, Montgomery Wards, Roberts, Sav-On and the movie theater. There was also The City in Orange with The Little Folks Shop. I always remember going down the little slide they had in the store. Does anyone remember the Belgian Waffle Restaurant in the shopping center across from South Coast Plaza? They had THE BEST waffles and then just disappeared. Talking about food, who can forget Belliles (sp.) in Garden Grove. The plates were gigantic and the food was unforgettable!

Of course I remember Honer Plaza. There was a small barber shop inside the mall that I used to go to all the time. And there was this self-serve postal annex in the parking lot that sold stamps, and included a scale to weigh your packages and mail them off.

My folks used to shop the Montgomery Wards there.

Calisphere has a photograph of the Montgomery Wards under construction at the future site of Honer Plaza...

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt5870129d/

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Milk Shakes at South Coast Plaza

An anonymous reader asks a question about a store in South Coast Plaza...

Does anybody remember the name of the health food store/restaurant/shake bar at South Coast Plaza back in the 70s? It was pink and they made shakes out of ice cream and ice milk. I'm racking my brain trying to remember the name of it. It was near the carousel area in the section that goes towards Nordstrom. Thank you.

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Consumer City

OCThen reader, Donald Wallace, shares his memories of living in Santa Ana, back when Knott's Berry Farm was still free...

I grew up in Santa Ana, When Knott's Berry Farm was free to go to and The Aligator Farm and some large Crystal/ Glass museum was there. Movieland Wax Museum and Cars of the Stars/ Planes of Fame were awesome. Lived close to 17'th Street and Grand Ave. where Gemco and Zodys were on opposit corners. There was a TIC-TOC market by our house thet I used to ride my bike to for candy, All 4 corners had gas stations. ABC was rthe market my Mom shopped at, And evety Friday we went to Consumer city and ordered burgers at BURGER CHEF out at the ens of the parking lot. I remember when they tore down the Orange Groves to build Gemco, Lots of more memories, But this is plenty

He mentions, "Consumer city". I'm just curious if anyone knows what that was, or where it was.

There was a reference to Consumer City in a comment here on OCThen on a different article entitled, "A Kid Growing Up in Santa Ana and Garden Grove"...

Wow, what memories of the Mc Fadden, Newhope, First street areas! Besides Red Ranch and ABC market does anyone remember Consumer City and The Potato Bin on First St? My sister recalls the cars (hot rods)from The Munsters TV show making an appearance at Consumer City!

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Hanging out at South Coast Plaza

Anonymous shares some memories of favorite hang outs at South Coast Plaza, before all the trendy stuff went in...

Ok, back in the early 80's i remember couple of old restaurants in South Coast plaza, our old hang-out before all the upscale boutiques came in. One of them was Rendezvous Cafe. I vaguely remember an ice cream spot that sold dipped ice cream bars. Dont think they were Balboa bars, but wondered if anyone recalls? i think they had various dipping choices...mmmm, i could have one now!
thanks!

I remember in the 1970s, I used to ride my bicycle there to hang out in the video arcade room. It was located inside the Sears, at the lower level, near the mall entrance. I'd come in with several dollars in quarters, and always left empty-handed.

There was a Del Taco really close to the video arcade room, and I always got a couple of burritos there. Across from that Del Taco was a Woolworths.

In the 1990s, my wife and I would go to the Ghirardelli store inside the mall and buy ice creams. I'd get the banana split, and she always got a sundae.

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Cooper's Market, Santa Ana

Anonymous writes about his memories of getting "Kool-Aid Shooters" at Cooper's Market in Santa Ana...

i can remember riding my bike in santa ana in the late 50s/early 60s,going east on washington at the south west corner of bristol there use to be a place called coopers market, this was way before 7-11s or any of that crap, this was a mom and pop market and i remember they sold these i guess you could call them kool aid shooters,they were approx 6 inch long wax tubes with an ounce or so of kool aid in them for a penny a piece and we use buy 25 cents worth or what ever change we had and bite the top off them ,chug um down and spit out the wax while riding our bikes,coopers is long gone but sure do miss the memory of those days

I remember getting those things too, but I don't remember what they were called. The ones I used to get were shaped like soda bottles, but were very small, made of wax, and contained a sweet, fruity liquid.

I don't remember Cooper's Market, but I know the intersection he's talking about. In the 1970s and 1980s, when I lived in Santa Ana, there was a butcher shop there. That was one of the few places that still sold whole, frozen rabbit. My mom would get a frozen rabbit, and we'd take it out camping, and my step-father would roast it over the campfire.

Across Bristol, there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken, and caddy-corner there was an Alfie's Fish & Chips, and on the other side of Washington St, was Santa Ana College.

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Old Irvine Store

An anonymous OCThen reader submits the following question about "Old Irvine Store", asking if anyone has any memories to share...

Does anybody remember the Old Irvine Store? I can remember going there as a kid and buying candy. My brother had a cool t-shirt with their logo on it. I think there was a small post office attached to it and the Old Irvine Hotel was across the street. I actually went to kindergarten at the Old Irvine School before Los Naranjos was built.

Post a comment below if you have anything to share...

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Happy memories, happy for change....

For as long as I can remember I have been visiting the Orange Circle. The Orange Circle and my family go way way back. You see I am a 3rd generation Orange County native. Pretty rare around these parts- since California, and the OC in particular, is more like a hotel than a residence; people move in and move out all year long. Very few families can trace their family history back to the earliest early days of its development- but happily I can. Over the years I have gathered many stories about the 'early years'. My dad once sang in the choir of the church which is now the Abby Restaurant. My parents first shared a soda at Watsons Drug Store in 1964. They then went to movies in what is now a church. And one of my favorite stories was that my father once filled the fountain with laundry soap on a dare from his fellow teenage friends. The police came- and had a good laugh at the sight…the entire fountain was over come in bubbles and suds in the early morning light. He used to say he got in big trouble for that stunt-I think as a deterrent to me and my brother not to try it ourselves- but as we became adults he admitted the police let them off with a warning and some trash pick-up.

As much as I love the history of the Orange Circle (officially called the Orange Plaza) to be maintained, I welcome the current changes as well. There was a period of time in the late 70s and early 80s when the Circle was run-down and forgotten. It was occupied with nearly all antique stores and very small businesses. Mr.C's Records has survived, but Orange Camera recently closed its doors along with several other businesses. In their place have come young, hip and fabulous stores, numerous restaurants (although my all time favorite Felix's Cuban Cafe has made it, and is as popular as ever) and other interesting additions. Some old time favorites such as the Army-Navy Surplus store have changed with the times by adding a large clothing section and other day to day items and less about combat. All these changes have revived the spot and makes going to Orange Circle a lively experience for the whole family. But I walk the streets and think of my grandmother the 1923 Orange High graduate who also walked these roads along with her fellow classmates with the last names of Glassell and Chapman. I think of my father cruising around and around and around the circle in his 58 Chevy until the police made him stop. I think of my teenage self shopping for vintage clothing at the Assistance League. And I think of my children- who enjoy the Orange Circle as much as I do. I hope they will always visit the circle and realize that is the the touchstone of our family history, and the history of Orange County.

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Mystery Candy Store in Santa Ana

A brand new OCThen reader asks if anyone can identify a candy store in Santa Ana during the 1950s...

Perhaps someone can help me recall a specific candy store in Santa Ana. Era – early 50's. It was on North Main just below Buffum's. It wasn't McFarlan's (sp?) which was on Main closer to 4th. And it wasn't See's which was on main just below 4th.

The store actually made "hand-dipped" chocolates in-house.

Post a comment if you know anything.

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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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Fullerton in the 1960s

Cindy writes to us about her memories of growing up in Fullerton in the 1960s, going to the Orangefair Mall, playing in the orange groves, going to the Fox Fullerton theater, the "tiki" garden craze, and listening to "The Happy Organ"...

I was raised in Fullerton until we moved to the Palm Springs area when I was 9. What a bunch of fond memories I have! Do kids today have these kind of memories???

I remember the big Saturday outing every week was going to the outdoor Orangefair Mall on Harbor & Orangethorpe. It was THE big shopping destination in town. We would have lunch sometimes at Grant's (they had the most awesome grilled open-bun hot dogs!), and if it was around Easter we could buy blue, green, or pink dyed chicks in the basement, or a duck or bunny. At Woolworth's there were 25 cent hot fudge sundaes (in the metal sundae dish), and we would spend the rest of the day paying on our layaways for school clothes (no credit cards back then), buying shoes at the shoe store where they actually had an xray machine you could put your foot in and see the bones in your foot, going to the toy store and drool over all the neat toys (you just didn't get everything bought for you the minute you wanted it) and finally, buying the week's groceries at Mayfair Market. There was a Helen Grace Candies where you could buy ice cream and I bought all my school Valentine's every February at the Long's Drugs across the breezeway from Helen Grace.

Across the street was an A&W Drive-In and behind that was a miniature golf course where my dad would teach me the proper way to swing a golf club. We usually went to A&W after for a root beer float. I never got to keep the little glass mug because it cost more and we were always on a budget.

After school the neighborhood kids would play in the orange groves that still surrounded our little tract, although when the apartment buildings started being built, we played there too! I still remember the smell of freshly plastered walls mingling with orange blossoms.

Our favorite game was "wagon train", where we used our Radio Flyer wagons until we upgraded to a big refrigerator box on skate wheels, pushing it into the orange grove and pretending we were in a wagon camp with wild Indians sure to show up at any second.

We were one of the first 2 families to have a swimming pool in our neighborhood, a kidney shaped one with a diving board, no slide. We still had plenty of room in our huge yard for a couple of orange trees and a wooden playhouse my dad built us. In the summer we would make our own ice cream in a circa 1960 aqua ice cream maker, turning the crank until our arms were tired. We had solid redwood patio furniture with a yellow flowered fringed umbrella and bamboo covering the redwood fence for that current "tiki" effect.

My dad would drive me around with him in his big coral & white Chevy station wagon and I would stand up with my hands on the dashboard-no seatbelts back then. I remember listening to Elvis sing "All Shook Up" and a song called "The Happy Organ" on the AM car radio.

Going to the movies at the Fox Fullerton one summer usually meant trying to drink down a big green bottle of Bubble-Up, because you could get in the theatre for 2 bottle caps for the matinee only. I made myself sick on it one day I tried to drink it down so fast!

All I remember doing as a kid is running around the neighborhood with my friends, walking everywhere, and the only time we stayed indoors was to watch Sheriff John, Lloyd Thaxton Hop and cartoons. Kids today don't know what fun really is...

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The Grant Boys

Anyone driving along Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa can't miss The Grant Boys, an old-west themed set of stores, selling Levi's, guns, and camping gear. It's been there since 1949.

A year ago, I received an e-mail from Mike Grant, the son of the guy who opened up the store (which was then called, Grant's War Surplus). He mostly described many of the restaurants his family loved to eat at...

My family moved to Orange County in 1949. My Father and Grandmother opened Grant's War Surplus (now The Grant Boys) in Costa Mesa, a town of 4,000 people. The store is still family owned and operated. During the 50's and 60's we were the place to buy Levis. We were among the top 10 single Levis retailers in the country.

We lived in Santa Ana because my mother did not want to live out in the sticks of Costa Mesa. I went to Santa Ana High School and graduated in 1960.

Some of the places we always ate at were: Pop's Steak House, they had the best salad dressing, melted cheese on baked potato and garlic bread. All that and a steak for $3.95. We ate at Yummy's at 17th and Bristol. Kono Hawaii in the Japanese Tea House where the waitresses always made us laugh when the served dessert, Rime Sherbert.

I went to Lathrop Jr high and we always ate at the Kwik Snak, which everyone called the In and Out. They had the best fries!! We would swim at the pool at Memorial Park and at the YMCA downtown. We swam naked at the Y, men only.

Always cruised Merle's drive in Newport Beach. Went to the Buffalo Ranch, which is now Fashion Island. The Good Humor truck came through our neighborhood but we could never buy one, too expensive 15 cents. My mom shopped at Market Basket on 17 and Flower.

I remember the Snack Shops. Great Hamburgers and onion rings and their Sour Cream salad dressing. For a fancy place we went to Victor Hugo's in Laguna, or the Arches. We ate a lot at the Zorba Room at Buffum's in Santa Ana. Chung King in Anaheim on Lincoln was one of our chinese places along with Koo's on Main.

Tell us your memories of The Grant Boys, or anything else you see in Mike's letter, by clicking on "Post a Comment" below.

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