Esther Cramer, place names, Irvine Museum, etc.

Happy Birthday to one of Orange County's most respected historians, Esther R. Cramer. She has served on the County Historical Commission since its inception, has gathered innumerable oral histories, and has written such books as The Alpha Beta Story; Brea: The City of Oil, Oranges & Opportunity; and La Habra: The Pass Through the Hills -- Each of which is the standard book on its respective subject. She has also contributed to and edited many other volumes of local history, including the current edition of A Hundred Years of Yesterdays, which is available at the Old O.C. Courthouse Museum.

Today's photo shows Alpha Beta supermarket on Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa in 1964.

O.C. Archivist Phil Brigandi will address The Anaheim Historical Society on Tues., Jan. 30 at 7pm, in the Social Hall of St. Catherine's Military Academy, 215 N. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. Phil will speak about his excellent new book, Orange County Place Names A To Z. For more information, contact Cynthia Ward at (714) 292-0042.

There's a nice article in today's Register about Carl Karcher on his 90th birthday.

"Peaceful Awakening: Spring In California," the new show at the Irvine Museum opens on Jan. 20th. Follow the link for details.

The Lake Forest Antique Mall is closing it's doors. It's not surprising that a town that doesn't respect history enough to keep the name "El Toro" (in use since at least 1838), isn't likely to care much about antiques.