Thursday, August 21, 2008

Presidents in O.C., the Disneyland Hotel, etc.

Does anyone know who posted the large series of "U.S. Presidents in O.C." photos along the east side of the Orange County Building at this year's O.C. Fair? I'm presenting a few of the images here as a sample. The first (top) image shows Ronald Reagan kicking off his 1980 presidential campaign at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley (and yes, that's Pat Boone next to him). The second image shows Lyndon B. Johnson at (or just before) what was probably the 1964 groundbreaking for UCI. The last photo shows what I believe is Richard Nixon's return home to Orange County at MCAS El Toro after resigning from office. As I said, these are just a few excerpts from a much larger collection, and I'd love to know who's doing the collecting. I believe there were images of all the presidents from LBJ through Clinton.
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Want to attend a free tour of the Disneyland Hotel as a historic site, hosted by author Don Ballard? Click on over to the Anaheim Life blog for details.
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Donations of historical documents, photographs and whole collections to the Orange County Archives (my day job) have really been pouring in this year. I probably can't say anything officially on behalf of the Archives. But as an individual local historian, I want to thank the people and organizations who decided to put these valuable materials someplace where they'll be cared for and shared with the public. I try hard to be a sharer (as opposed to a hoarder), and I'm genuinely heartened when others do the same. Many, many thanks.

2 comments:

Captain said...

I was at the Western White House in San Clemente to greet President and Mrs. Nixon on the day they officially took up residence in the old Cotton mansion on Cotton's Point.

I think it was sometime in the late Winter or Spring of 1969, because it was overcast and somewhat rainy and I was in the 8th grade in Capistrano. They bussed a bunch of us kids over to meet his helicopter when it touched down.

I took a bunch of pictures that day, including one excellent close up shot of Dick and Pat in the open limo as they left the field. Wish I could find the negatives.

Anonymous said...

The photographer of the photos you have posted is Pat O'Donnell, a longtime Fountain Valley resident. He currently has a display of his presidential images, cameras and press passes at the Fountain Valley Library.