O.C. Q&A: Potpourri Edition, Part II

Santa Ana River in Santa Ana Canyon, pre-WWII.

Q:  Is the Santa Ana River man-made?

A:  Although it looks like a concrete flood control channel today, the Santa Ana River is ancient. In the past, its course changed wildly -- creating Newport Bay, carving the bluffs below downtown Huntington Beach, and sometimes cutting across Anaheim and meeting the sea as far north as Alamitos Bay. But as Orange County became more populous, an ongoing battle to tame the river began. From reinforced berms, to Prado Dam, to concrete channels, we've come a long way toward protecting ourselves from nature's wrath. 

Q:  I'm going to Tustin Tiller Days. What's a tiller? 

A:  In this case, a tiller isn't what you steer a boat with. Instead, it's a reference to the farmers (those who till, or turn over soil for planting) who once made up much of Tustin's population. Tustin High School opened in the early 1920s and nicknamed themselves the "Tustin Tillers." In 1957, the name was adopted by a new annual community festival which continues today. The Tustin Tiller Days event is generally held in early October and includes a carnival, a parade, a pancake breakfast, contests, local vendors, live music, and more. Don't expect to see many farmers,... or boats.

Q:   Someone told me some musicians founded Anaheim as "a temple to Bacchus." True?

A:   Sort of, but not exactly. With the dream of creating a wine business in Southern California, a group of several professional musicians—Germans living in San Francisco—started the Los Angeles Vineyard Society, which ultimately led to the founding of the vineyard colony of Anaheim in 1857. But the town’s German pioneers and planners also included lawyers, surveyors, merchants, and many others. Like the Anaheimers of today, they threw great parties but were also no strangers to hard work. When actress Helena Modjeska and her aristocratic artist friends arrived in Anaheim a couple decades later to start their own agricultural colony, their nearly immediate crash-and-burn stood in stark contrast to the success of the Germans.

Q:  What's the most historically important thing to happen in Orange County?

A:  Opinions vary. Orange County's been around 125 years (this month), and many important things have happened here. You could easily argue for our involvement in the space program, or in biotech innovations like the artificial heart. We introduced America to the Valencia orange, Sunkist, Richard Nixon and European Modern architecture. And don't forget the 800-pound mouse in the room: Disneyland's impact on the amusement park and tourism industries, urban planning, family entertainment, and popular and corporate culture is vast and deep.