Sunday, November 18, 2007

Ebell Club of Anaheim, Dana Point, Santa Ana, etc

Today's photo shows the ladies of the Ebell Club in Anaheim in 1938. In honor of the 100th anniversary of this club, the Anaheim Historical Society will hold their next meeting at the historic Ebell Clubhouse, 226 N. Helena (at Cypress), across from Pearson Park, Nov. 27, 7pm. The speaker will be Tom Richard, founder of the Old California Lantern Company, who will discuss the history and development of lighting.

On Dec. 11th & 12th the Dana Point Theater Company will present, “The Way It Was,” a look back at early Dana Point. Oral histories gathered by the Dana Point Historical Society will be dramatized and accompanied by a mulitimedia presentation. The program will be held both nights at 7pm in the Samueli Center of the Ocean Insitute at Dana Point Harbor. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for children. 

First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana is celebrating their 100th Anniversary. One of the highlights of working in Downtown Santa Ana is hearing their carillon. It's about the only place I still hear traditional hymns anymore. (These modern "praise chorus" things -- which feature about two notes each -- wouldn't sound too great translated into bells.)

While it's a little recent to count as history, I think Kevin Yee's new book, Mouse Trap, is the sort of thing future Disneyland/local historians will want to have on the shelf. It recounts Kevin's time working at Disneyland in the 1980s and 1990s. Sometimes collections of memories like this can paint a picture in a way more scholarly efforts cannot. A good example is Charolette Belisle's abundantly-titled Orange County and Life Before Disneyland: The Story of the World Famus Belisle's, 1955-1995. It probably won't be mistaken for a doctoral thesis, but I find there's often a lot more to be learned from reading stories "straight from the horse's mouth."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Things I am thankful for: The OC Archives and the awesome people I get to work with there.

So Chris, where do we get a copy of the Belisle's book?

Chris Jepsen said...

You're pretty awesome too, CR. A visit from you improves the whole day.

Where to get a copy of the Belisle's book? I don't honestly know. If I mention a book here, I usually try to link it to a site where you can purchase it, like Amazon or Alibris. Unfortunately, I couldn't find ANYTHING for this little book.

I found my copy at Bookman II in Huntington Beach several years ago and I've never seen another one. If I do, I'll pick it up for you. I think they were initially sold only through the restaurant itself, and probably in small quantities.

You're welcome to borrow my copy.