Anaheim Historical Society, Diann Marsh & Knott's

Remember my post last March about the Anaheim Orange & Lemon Association? Me neither. But the newly (and I do mean NEWLY) restored 1919 packing house I highlighted in that post is the location for the Anaheim Historical Society's annual dinner, June 14, at 5:30pm. Better still, the speaker is historian and preservationist Diann Marsh, who co-founded the Anaheim Historical Society and accomplished so many other good things in the name of Orange County history. The $30 ticket also includes a tour of the packing house and dinner at the new "Good Food Hall." To attend, send your check to Anaheim Historical Society, PO Box 927, Anaheim, CA 92815. For more information email kandeebeas@yahoo.com.

I wish I could attend, but I will be attending to about a thousand details in advance of the Orange County Historical Society's annual dinner at Knott's Berry Farm the following evening. But there's no reason you can't attend both!

Speaking of Knott's, keen theme park observer Dana Hundley tipped me off that the music in Ghost Town is about halfway fixed. Let me explain,...

Recently, Knott's has made some distinct improvements/restorations to Ghost Town -- except they also replaced the traditional Western music usually piped into its "dusty" streets with modern rock and pop hits! Naturally, it put a major damper on the area's theme and ambiance. Guests were confused by it. Knott's fans and Knott's employees hated it.

So as of this week the modern music has been replaced (cue the cheering and applause),... with old-timey fiddle-music covers of modern rock and pop songs! (Cue sudden silence, followed by puzzled grumbling and raised eyebrows.)

But sometimes half a victory is better than none at all. And as I've pointed out before, the positive infrustracture changes at Knott's are a lot more important than the music. Music can be changed with the flip of a switch. Basic infrastructure is a serious investment, which is certainly appreciated by those of us who care about the things that make Knott's special. They get a big thumbs up for details like returning the old water pump to Main St., bringing back the concrete dance hall girls (Marilyn and Cecelia, still sitting on their bench), repainting and repairing buildings as needed, fixing effects on the Calico Mine Ride, removing visual clutter, and "repaving" the streets with natural-looking decomposed granite -- which looks a lot more authentic than pavement. Way to go, Knott's Berry Farm! Each new step lately seems to be in the right direction!