Calico Cash Social Hour Coins

OCThen reader Slatts asks if anyone has information about some coins that came from Knott's Berry Farm...

I found 13 wooden Calico Cash Social Hour coins from Knott's Berry Farm. They are the size of silver dollars and just as thick. They must be from the 60's and I'm trying to find out what they were used for. Does anyone know? Thanks, Slatts

Click on "Post a Comment" below if you know anything...

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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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Broadway Billiards, Santa Ana

Anonymous writes in reference to a comment posted on my earlier article on the Saddleback Inn, regarding old pool halls...

I saw a reference in one comment about Broadway Billiards. Originally this "joint" was further north on Broadway nearer to the Broadway theatre. It's complete name was "Adam the Hat's Broadway Billiards". I used to hang out there when I was in high school (between 1964-1966. Adam wouldn't let me play the tables because he felt I was too young. But I spent a small fortune playing pinball! This was truly an old school billiard parlor; very colorful. We also hung out at the drum shop which was nest to the Broadway theatre. West Coast Drum shop still exists today but is located at South Coast Village.

During my college years, my friend Greg and I would ride our motorcycles to Linbrook Family Billiards in Anaheim, on the corner of Brookhurst and Lincoln. Read my earlier article about it, "Linbrook Family Billiards"

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Veterans of Orange County

Anonymous asks if I can start a thread honoring Orange County residents who died in the service of their country...

hi steve,i would sure like to see a spot here to remember our oc vets who payed the ultament price for the freedom we have today,may i start the list with 2 i went to high school with john hunt and dick russel both sahs class of 1965 and lost in vetniam

Of course this is not limited to the Vietnam War, but in any service wartime or other. If you know an OC resident who died while serving the USA, post their name in a comment, and tell us their story.

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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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Robert Kennedy in Orange County

Anonymous remembers when Robert Kennedy was running for President and landed at Orange County Airport, and describes the candidate stepping out of his airplane...

i just noticed the date and it brought back memories of when i was working at the orange county airport 40 years ago and bobby kennedy flew in on a lockheed electra,in those days security was nothing like it is today so we lined up on the tarmac to see him, i was standing directly under the #2 propeller and it was rubbing up side of me so i rotated it out of the way,the guy standing next to me in a suit(had to been a body guard because i could see his.45 auto under the jacket)grabed me and said dont move that it can kill you ,i took a second to explain to him the difference between a piston and a turboprop engine,guess that made him happy, anyway here comes bobby kennedy down the stairs followed by his wife i can tell you he looked nothing like he did on tv or in pictures he looked like he was 30 years older so did his wife i guess running for office really ages a person,they stepped into a waiting limo and headed off to anahiem i beleve,the the next days stop was los angeles where he was shot that night

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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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Knott's Berry Farm versus Tom's Farms

Anonymous writes about Knott's Berry Farm back during a time when it was a dirt lot and free to get in...

Speaking of Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland! I remember the dirt parking lot and chickens! And it was free to get in! No log ride yet. I remember when it was getting built and the excitement of it all. And Disneyland... remember the tickets for the rides. "E" tickets were the best but you only got like 3! Of course "A" tickets were the sucky rides and you got like 6! But you could use the ticket book for next time. That's when Disneyland was affordable! I was just at, is it Downtown Disney? Its been over 20 since I've lived in Orange County. So many people... so little land!

Just south of Corona, along the I-15, is a place called Tom's Farms. Everytime I go there, I think of Knott's Berry Farm, and wonder if it looks anything like Knott's Berry Farm from those very old days.

Tom's Farms is still largely a glorified produce stand, with a shop for wine and cheese, a furniture store, a candy shop, a mexican restaurant, and a burger shop. But it also has a Merry-go-Round, a shooting gallery, a train ride, a large duck pond with live band, and even some carnval rides. And the place keeps adding more stuff all the time.

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