Chicago and Beach Boys Concert, Anaheim, 1975

Lisa W remembers the Chicago and Beach Boys concert in 1975 at Angel Stadium...

Does anyone remember the Chicago and Beach Boys concert in 1975 at Angel Stadium? My dad gave my boyfriend and I tickets to it. It was amazing!! The stadium was full, and we were in the upper stands, and everyone up there started jumping up and down, and security told us to stop because they were afraid the stands would fall, they were swaying!!

We waited in line all day because none of the seats were reserved so it was first come first serve.

I grew up in Tustin, does anyone remember the matinees on Saturdays at Tustin Theatre?

The Tiller Day parade?
Bonfires at the beach?
Marywood High School and the guys streaking across the courtyard?

Read More

When Pearl Harbor Was Attacked

An anonymous reader recalls a third grade teacher attending his/her mother's funeral, and goes on recall a story about his/her dad skating at the Skate Ranch in Santa Ana when it was announced that Pearl Harbor was attacked...

I grew up in Tustin and went to Tustin Memorial Elementary. I was five when I began in 1967 and when I was in the third grade my mom died of cancer. A lovely Mrs. Saunders (my teacher) was so kind and gentle and sat near me at my mom's service. I remember that and always wanted to tell her that I did remember and always wanted to thank her.

My father Clem and his mom and dad and animals and four sisters and a brother drove from Oklahoma to California in 1941 -- on a two lane highway. Dad drove all the way because he was the best driver -- he was only 16....oy. They lived in Santa Ana on Edinger near what was a MacDonald's but is now an office building and across from their little farm was a bean field.

I remember dad said that a few months after they arrived they were skating at the old skate ranch and it was announced that Pearl Harbor was attacked. Dad joined the navy in 1943. They all attended Santa Ana High School and he met my mom in 1947 and lost his one love in life in 1970. Unhappily for me but happily for them -- Clem and Mary and together again. Their families go way back in Santa Ana.

Read More

Riding the Rails on a 1946 Dodge

An anonymous person submits the following story of riding the railroad tracks on a 1946 Dodge through Orange and Tustin, then having the engine go out, and hearing a train coming down the tracks...

Once again! I find myself strolling through the pages of OCthen, what a really neat site! This came to mind and thought you would get a chuckle out of it, I do not advise anyone to try this adventure as it is dangerous and could cause some serious problems!

Anyway, lets look back to a late summer evening, warm air, clear sky and a six pack of guys cruising around in this old forty six Dodge four door sedan. Time frame, 1961!

We had made a left turn onto Esplenade Ave and were heading to Dodge Ave. When we got to Dodge we made a right turn and proceeded over the railroad tracks. The driver stopped and asked, "whats the chance of us riding the rails this evening?" As I recall there wasn't a moments notice and the car was backed onto the railroad heading towards Tustin which was about six miles away! A small amount of air was dumped from the front tires to insure the front wheels would stay on the rails. We all piled back in and we started for Tustin!

As we approached 17th street the driver laid on the horn, cross traffic was very light that time of night, however we could see the really surprised look on those drivers faces as we went across their path! Needless to say, the laughter was just too much, the radio was turned up and we were "rail fans"! The track ran pretty much next to Newport Avenue and we were cruising about twenty to twenty five MPH.

The orange packing house was right in Tustin so when we were almost into the switching we stopped and backed off onto a surfaced loading area, turned the car around and headed back! What fun! This should have been enough but "NOT"! As we proceeded into the night heading to the city of Orange we were in the middle of some lemon groves and it was very dark to say the least! As luck would have it, the motor quit!

So, here we are in the middle of some huge lemon grove, on the railroad in a beat up old Dodge car, basicly, stuck! "What, me worry? The hood was up or to the side and we were teaming up on the most basic of machines, trying to find out what the problem could be. It was late, perhaps even closer to early morning, maybe 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. Finally the problem is resolved, a small wire going to the coil is found to be broken.

One Zippo lighter running short on fuel is providing the light, another set of hands is franticly trying to twist the broken wire into service, "did you hear that"? "Hear what"? "listen" I didnt hear anything to speak of, yet the banter kept on, finally the repair is made and the engine is tried. "Gads, the battery is just about dead"! Again, "listen you guys"! Yep! sure enough, some where up ahead, a clanging sound, a bell sound! "Oh no, just great, its gotta be a train"! "Its coming this way for sure"!

So! we begain pushing the Dodge backwards, the driver yells he is going to pop the clutch. First try doesnt get er done! We push some more, finally the engine roars to life! We are exhausted to say the least! Doors are slammed shut and we are in reverse heading back the way we came! After so many miles in reverse we came to a crossing of sorts and went to work trying to get the car off of the tracks. Anyhow, I got dropped off at my house shortly thereafter, it was about 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning. My folks were still asleep, I clammered into my bed, another adventure for sure!

Read More

Tustin & Lemon Heights - 1950s and 1960s

An OCThen reader named Steve sent us an e-mail several months ago about his memories of growing in Tustin during the 1950's and 1960's...

I was clicking onto some various sites looking for photographs of Tustin and surrounding areas and came across your project, very nice! My family moved to Orange County from Los Angeles in 1956. Our house was about seven miles from Tustin (as the crow flies and there were bunches of them!) The house was a custom built ranch style, built by a contractor named "Cain".

There were thousands of orange trees all around us and the tiny neighborhood, which was comprised of about thirty homes. The main street running north and south was Hewes Avenue. Seventeenth (two lane) stopped at Newport and ran all the way across to Santa Ana, going west. The area that was our spot was called Lemon Heights. Our yard was filled with avacodo, lemon and olive trees as was just about all of our neighbor's yards.

My school years were at Tustin Elementary and Tustin Union High School.

What a place and time! Tustin was a very sleepy quiet berg as I recall. The town was a mixture of small buildings, some were very old, there was a bank, drugstore, small market, lumber yard and a cafe (Ruby's Cafe) and a host of other mom-n-pop business ventures, "Reds Mobile service" (glass jar gas pumps).

Needless to say, the summertimes were the greatest, hiking through the groves, going to the beach (Corona Del Mar, Newport, Huntington Beach, etc.)

In 1961 I joined the Navy as was gone from the area, things changed very quickly, the huge ranch holdings were sold off to developers, the trees were ripped out piled up and burned, with in about three years there were about five thousand homes constructed in and around the vacinity north of Tustin, the rest is history! Even to this day the smell of orange blossom or lemon will bring those memories back, what a time and what a place! Could go on and on!

Regards;
Steve

We've published other memories of growing up in Tustin and Lemon Heights...

• Tustin in the 1950's - Linda Emery Smith


• Lemon Heights in the 1950s and 60s - Steve

Read More

Tustin Inn

Mike, and OCThen reader, submits his memory of going to Tustin Inn in the 1970's...

I was a new Marine stationed at El Toro from Feb. to May in 1970. I was only 18 and the only place that would serve us off-base was the Tustin Inn. I was told it was an "Okie" bar. The juke box was all country.

They knew we were under age and would only serve us pitchers of beer which came with a glass of tomato juice to make "Montana Bloody Marys".

None of us had a car so we walked through orange groves to get to the Inn.

For a kid from South Philly, California was a land of wonder and infinite possibilities.

Having spent so much time in Santa Ana and Lake Forest, I don't recall Tustin Inn. But I wonder if it might the same as "Little Red Inn", which we previously mentioned here...
http://www.octhen.com/2007/10/little-red-inn-of-tustin.htm

Click on "Post A Comment" if you have something to share about Tustin Inn.

Read More

Tustin in the 1950's

Lynda Emery Smith writes to us about her memories of growing up in Tustin from the 1950's to the 1970's...

My husband, Kevin Smith, and I grew up in Tustin, about a mile apart. Between us, we have so many memories of Tustin and Orange County in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Peacocks on Peacock Hill, Tustin Teeways, the slot-car track, 25 cent Saturday matinees at Tustin Theater. Market Basket was the only market around, unless you counted Tiny Tim's, next to Lemon Heights Drug Store. (My mom still sees Mrs. Toth, the owner's wife.) Before Jamestown Village and Larwin Square opened, we'd have to go to downtown Santa Ana to do "real" shopping at the department stores. My father worked at First Western Bank there, and my grandfather owned a carpet store next to Walker's Market. At Tustin Tiller Days it seemed as if everyone knew everyone else. Adam's Hardware, Millie's Pink Poodle...the list goes on and on. We can't drive through Tustin, (where my 82 year-old mother still lives and attends the same church,) without a trip down memory lane. He grew up on Eveningside and Arroyo, and I on Windsor Lane. (The one that turned into Zig-Zag Lane, which is now Elizabeth Way.) We didn't meet, however, until I was 17 and he was 18. We married when I turned 18, and here we are - 34 years later!

Lynda 'Emery' Smith
Laguna Niguel

Click on "Post a Comment" below and share your memories of Tustin in the old days.

Read More

Little Red Inn of Tustin

An anonymous OCThen reader asks if anyone remembers the "Little Red Inn" located in Tustin, along with other Tustin eateries...

Hi Steve!
Once again I find my way to OCthen and going over the posted comments!Does anyone out there remember the "Little Red Inn" located in Tustin next to Tustin High School? I remember going in there and having a coke and french fries for a quarter! It sat on the corner of Laguna and (I think it was "B' street) in later years it changed hands, didnt ever go there for dinner. Then there was "Ruby's" cafe on El Camino Real, (next to Mitchells Market,) still had the juke box selections and catalog machine on the table tops! The cost was a nickle per selection! How about the Tastee Freeze across the street from Ruby's, Firday and Saturday nights would find the parking lot packed full of cars and kids! fond memories!OCthen!

Click on "Post a Comment" below if you can add anything about Little Red Inn.

Read More

Lemon Heights in the 1950's and 60's

Lemon Heights is a small unincorporated community located off of Skyline Drive and Foothill Blvd, just north of Tustin. When I grew up in Orange County, Lemon Heights was known to us an upscale community, where the "rich folks" lived, to get away from the noise and commotion of the city. It apparently was a much different place decades earlier.

An OCThen reader named Steve (no, a different Steve), submitted his memories of growing up in Lemon Heights during the 1950's and 60's. Eventually, he moved away from Orange County, and then just recently returned for a reunion, only to find a Lemon Heights that looks much different than what he remembered...

Hi Steve!

Tustin California was a very small place back then, the year 1956! My folks had bought a new home in a small secluded neighborhood right in the middle of an orange grove! The area was Lemon Heights.

I went to Tustin Elementary for seven and eighth grade and then to Tustin Union High School. The area was pretty much "laid back" to say the least! Seventeenth Street was a two lane road running east and west from Newport Blvd all the way to Santa Ana, alot of it covered over with giant fir trees. The area smelled of lemon and orange blossom, eucalyptus and weed oil! The sound of bees filled the air no matter where you might go.

Saturday nights would be filled with dancing at the Wanger Studio on Main street in Santa Ana or get togethers at some classmates house, this was the norm!

After graduation, I joined the Navy and was gone for several years. I could not beleive how fast the area had developed into housing tracts upon my return just three years later, 1961-1964!

I married a gal I went to Tustin High with and we moved into the Viking apartments off of Tustin Ave and Seventeenth street. This was a small village of sorts as there was Walkers Market, Hahns Hardware, Village Cleaners, Lemon Heights Realtors, Market Basket, Fathers Bar(really great sandwiches and ice cold beer) and several other little shops and places of business.

It didnt take long for the growth pattern to take off like a wild fire and destroy the charm of a different time and place! I moved out to Huntington Beach and lived on Grove Circle, this little spot was just off of Warner Road and about a mile from PCH and the state beach. Truck farms were up and down Warner road with vegetable stands offering the best fresh produce around. Needless to say that area became another enity of packed home sights shopping malls and thousands of people all with in a very few short years!

Years went by and I had long sinced moved away from Orange County, I went to a couple of high school reunions and attended a getogether in 1987 with some classmates at the home Mr. and Mrs. Knaack of Cowan Heights. The house was located on a bluff over looking the Redhill and Skyline Ranch neighborhoods. The evening was filled of talk about Tustin, Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, Santa Ana, Orange County history and rememberance.

The next morning I drove to my old neighborhood and very slowly made my way from one street to another the houses were freshly painted for the most part, beautiful lawns and close cropped shrubs, everything looked as if it were from another era! There was not a person on the street or in a yard, almost as if it was deserted, stone quiet! I lingered for a while and finally drove out and headed for home, McCammon Idaho.

One thing for certian, having lived in "that time and place" always brings back the most pleasant of memories, what a time and what a place, Orange County back then!

Best Regards!
Steve

If you have memories of Lemon Heights, click on "Post a Comment" at the end of this article, and share them with us.

Read More

Old Hamburger Stands of Orange County

Dave Smith submits a few memories of living in Santa Ana during the 1950's and 60's.

He mentions Kenny's Hamburger Stand in Tustin. I wasn't around back then, and have never heard of this place, but wanted to know if anyone else did...

I Lived on West 17th Street in the Alladin Apartments during the late 50's and early 60's. Went to Wilson Elementary and Smedley Jr. High School before leaving California.

Santa Ana was a great place to live! Orange groves and Walnut Groves all over. My dad was a plasterer that helped build Disneyland....

Remember going To Tustin on the weekends, which was then, considered to be way out in the country! Kenny's Hamburger stand was there and what a treat it was to have one of those great burgers on the weekends...

There was a corn field on 17th and Flower where my Mom used to buy vegetables. Hard to believe it was there when looking at that area today....

Some great memories of a fun childhood in Santa Ana!

I did a search on the Internet to see if I could find more information about Kenny's, and ended up finding a reference to it here on OCThen! A year ago, I posted an article about people's favorite OC restaurants, and someone mentioned Kenny's in a comment, dated June 25, 2006. It was located on 17th St and Tustin, and it seemed like they always gave you a pound of potato chips.

For that matter, who remembers any of the old burger joints of Orange County that don't exist anymore? I know there was a small chain called "Hamburger Handout" that has since bit the dust. In Garden Grove, the Pink Spot, located on Chapman Ave and Brookhurst. In front of the Garden Grove Theater, there was Zesto's. And then of course, Wimpy's in Huntington Beach.

Post a comment, and let's hear your memories of Orange County hamburger stands that have since went out of business.

Read More

The Barn

Yesterday I mentioned some of my favorite OC restaurants, and it got me thinking about another one. The Barn.

The Barn was located in Tustin, on the corner of Edinger and Red Hill. It actually looked like a giant barn, but with several additions to it. It was basically a steakhouse. The employees there wore cowboy and cowgirl outfits.

I remember our first visit there, it was a Christmas party for my step-father's employer. I was 13 years old then. I remember at first being in awe of the place because it was big and there was so much stuff going on inside. The place had an upstairs area, but my folks wouldn't let me go up there. Later on in life, during other visits I got to up there, and it was a bar with pool tables.

Food-wise, it was pretty good. They gave you big portions. I always ordered the salad bar to go with my steak.

My wife and I used to go there once in a while, and one of the companies I used to work for held employee birthday parties there.

The Barn closed up something like 7 or 8 years ago. I don't know if it moved to a different location, or just went out of business. I think they finally tore the place down.

Read More