Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Ocean View School, Joe Musil, and many events

Above is a photo of the Ocean View Grammar School, built in 1886 at what is now the southwest corner of Beach Blvd., and Warner Ave. in Huntington Beach. The photo below shows Mrs. Master's 6th and 7th grade students at the school in about 1927. (I'm not sure if they had a new building by then.)
Doug McIntosh, who supplied the 1927 photo writes,

"Attached is a photo I received from my great aunt Nellie (McIntosh) Hoisington. She and her brothers & sisters attended grammar school at Oceanview School in HB. My aunt is no. 2, and my great uncle Fred McIntosh is no.7. Nellie was born in 1915 at Laws, Calif. Fred was born in 1916 at Bishop, Calif. Fred was killed in a plane that was shot down over Germany in WWII on Sept. 23, 1944. My great aunt Nellie lives in a senior facility in Westminster, Calif. Her mind is very sharp. She is quite a joy to talk to. "You may recognize some of the last names of the picture students....Coker, Gothard, etc."
Doug also included the list of students' names written on the photo. I will try to decipher them below the image.
Here's as much as I can figure out from the list: 1. Augustina, 2. Nellie Mc[Intosh], 3. Agnes Debuck, 4. Alice Breading, 5. Juanita Gothard, 6. Roberta Irwin, 7. F[red] McIntosh, 8. Kenny Vandruff, 9. James Wilmarth, 10. Harley Asari, 11. Boyd Coker, 12. John Pryor, 13. David Gardner, 14. Keith, 15. Coy Rogers, 16. Gerald MacMillan, 17. ______, 18. Wesey Cowling, 19. Thelma Bailey, 20. Mildred Bailey, 21. Va. Kirkpatric, 22. Lydia Jackson, 23. Ruth Stinson, 24. Eva Preston, 25. Sumi Aciani, 26. Irene Robinson, 27. Mildred Moore, 28 Maureen Moore, 29. Elizabeth Wilmarth, 30. Elizabeth Shuthe, 31. Toshiko Furuto, 32. ________, 33. Lily Kikuchi, 34. Grace Isom.
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To clarify a post someone made on another website, the Orange County Historical Society will NOT hold a meeting this month or in August. We always take those two months off. Per tradition, the Society will have their "season opener" meeting at Sherman Gardens & Library on the second Thursday in September.
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The Orange Community Historical Society and the Crystal Cove Alliance will both offer historical walking tours on July 10. The Red Car Museum in Seal Beach will also be open that day. See their respective websites for details.
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Also, the Santa Ana Historic Preservation Society will hold their annual awards meeting on July 10th, 2-5pm at the Howe-Waffle House. Long-time SAHPS board member Guy Ball will receive their Annual Preservation Award. In addition, several other community members and organizations will receive awards for their superior efforts to preserve historic aspects of Santa Ana. Also, Michelle Light, of UCI's Special Collections, will speak about Edward Cochems (1874-1949), a noted Santa Ana photographer, who was also the father of SAHPS founder, Adeline Cochems Walker. Oh, and did I mention the event is also an ice cream social? Tickets are $10. See SAHPS website for details re signing up.
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Christopher Crouch of OC Cinema.com wrote to us about the passing of Santa Ana's Joseph Musil Jr.: "Renown architectural designer, art deco expert, and all around champion of classic theatre showmanship, Joseph Musil Jr., passed away on June 29, at the age of 74. Among Mr. Musil’s many career highlights were some of the most awe inspiring cinema designs of the modern era. If you have ever visited Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre, you've experienced the special magic Mr. Musil brought to his work. In celebration of Mr. Musil’s life and work, the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation will host a final open house at the American Museum of Theatre Design & Studio of Theatres, on July 10th. Located in Santa Ana’s historic Santora Building, the museum served as both Mr. Musil’s work studio and home to his extensive collection of cinema memorabilia. With his passing, this will be the final opportunity to see a priceless collection of cinema artifacts, original design models, and Mr. Musil’s ten curtain Strand Theatre. For further information, please visit http://www.lahtf.org/2010-salon-of-theatres.html." The event will take place at
207 N. Broadway, Suite P, Santa Ana, 1-4pm.
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The historic Bradford House, 136 Palm Circle, Placentia, will be open for tours 2-4pm on July 11th. The modified Queen Anne Victorian-style home was built in 1902 by rancher Albert Sumner Bradford.

5 comments:

Connie Moreno said...

When I saw that first photo, I nearly fell out of my chair. I used to live about six blocks away from that building and I passed it daily. I would ALWAYS wonder about its history. Now, thanks to you, I know something about it! What a GREAT photo and story!

Next, I learned something entirely new - I had no idea who Mr. Musil was and was very pleased to learn he was associated with the El Capitan, one of my favorite places.

Awesome post!

Tris Mast said...

In the list of student names, the undecipherable letter for #9 and #29 is a "W", for Wilmarth.

Chris Jepsen said...

Thanks, Tris!

doug mcintosh said...

Thanks Chris for posting this photo.
Until about ten years ago, my grandparents and great aunt attended the annual Ocean View Grammar School reunion.
They enjoyed seeing many of their childhood school mates. Not sure how many people from that generation are still alive.
Orange County was a very different world then.

Chris Jepsen said...

Thanks for sending me the photos, Doug! Someday I want to see the shots with my own eyes and maybe get some high resoultion scans for the Archives. I wish every family kept their photos and records together the way yours obviously has.