Boy Scouts' 100th and a red alert in Orange

Noted local historian Phil Brigandi will discuss the history of Scouting in Orange County at the Orange County Historical Society's meeting this Thursday, Jan. 14, 7:30pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange. He will also be available after the talk to sell and sign his excellent new book, On My Honor, A Century of Scouting in Orange County. Scouts (past and present) and the general public are welcome at no charge.
.
The photo above shows Boy Scouts from Yorba Linda Troop 99 in about 1918. The photo below shows several Scouts from Orange County's first troop, Anaheim Troop 1, on an outing to Hewes Park in El Modena in about 1911. The Scout standing next to his bike in the center is future Anaheim mayor Charlie Pearson.

Phil is the Scouting historian in O.C., and probably the only person who could have written this book. The book's release was timed to coincide with the centennial of both the Boy Scouts of America and of Scouting here in Orange County.

.

The photo below was taken at the Scout's Camp Irvine in 1953, the same year the Irvine Ranch hosted the National Boy Scout Jamboree.

Help save Downtown Orange from the bureaucrats! The Old Towne Preservation Association (OTPA) strongly encourages you to attend the Orange City Council meeting tomorrow, Tues., Jan. 12, to oppose the City's draft General Plan update. The new plan would significantly increase density in the area, which would likely lead to the area losing its national and state historic district status. This in turn could end preservation incentives like the Mills Act. OTPA says the plan would open the door to destroying the "historic atmosphere, streetscape, and characteristics which existed in the late-19th and early 20th centuries." The meeting will be held at 7pm, in the Council Chambers, 300 E. Chapman Ave.

.
In far less dramatic Orange news, The 1920s gas station at 305 Main has been sold. The realtor handling the transaction says the building will not be bulldozed but could possibly be moved in the future. Read more about it in the Register.

.

Sunday's Daily Pilot featured an article about Fairview -- the town that once stood near the modern intersection of Adams Ave. and Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa.