"Pioneer Bird Man" Roy Chamness

Ad for Orana Bird & Goldfish Co. in the Anaheim Bulletin, 8-30-1926.

Orange County's "Pioneer Bird Man," Leroy Hood "Roy" Chamness (1890-1947), started out as an auto mechanic in Santa Ana around 1908 and worked on some of Glenn Martin's early airplanes, including his first. Roy was also a locally well-known hunter, regularly bringing down large bucks with a single shot and even capturing a bobcat to keep as a "pet." But neither the experimental airplanes he helped build nor the wild birds he shot were the source of Roy's nickname.

Glenn L. Martin's first airplane, built in an abandoned Santa Ana church (Los Angeles Times 8-4-1910)

Roy married Beatrice May "Bessie" Shaw in 1910. Somewhere along the line, they were given a canary as a gift. Bessie then bought a femalem, and soon they had a little flock. The Chamness' growing love of birds would direct the course of their lives. Throughout the early 1920s, Roy was running Chamness Brothers Bird Yard, at 915 E. Pine Street in Santa Ana, raising "fancy and song birds" with his brother, J. L. Chamness. In July of 1921 Roy and Bessie's son, Charles Herbert Chamness, was born.  

By late 1923, Roy, Bessie, and business partner William Paterson had their own Rare Bird Farm on Newport Blvd near 21st Street in Costa Mesa. While the focus was on their thousands of birds -- from finches, to macaws, to pheasants -- the farm also raised bull terriers, rare water plants, and fish. 

Charlie Chamness with macaws, parrot, and puppies in Costa Mesa. (Santa Ana Register 1-19-1924)

After a big article about the farm in the January 19, 1924 edition of the Santa Ana Register, the farm became quite popular. It was said that film comedian Buster Keaton was looking for a way to use the property in one of his films. 

On May 16, 1925 -- Roy and Bessie sold their interest in the farm to Paterson. They moved north and opened the Orana Bird & Goldfish Co. at the north end of Main Street at Chapman Ave. (Highway 101) in the little community of Orana. They were advertising in the Register in time for Christmas 1925.

Orana Bird & Gold Fish Co., circa 1928 (Courtesy Santa Ana Public Library)

Historian Phil Brigandi described the community of Orana in his book, Orange County Place Names A to Z: "In 1913, local rancher L. E. Smith built a garage  at the southwest corner of Chapman Avenue and Main Street, on the route of the new state highway through Orange County. Smith and his mechanic, Otto Buer, coined the name Orana because the spot was midway between Orange and Santa Ana. A 'scruffy business district' (as Jim Sleeper once described it) eventually grew up there. The name was well-known by the 1950s."

In 1927, the store expanded to include many more aviaries and a lily pond. But in August 1929, Chamness dropped "& Goldfish" from the store's name. It would remain the "Orana Bird Store" until at least 1934. 

Roy (left) and brother J. L. Chamness (right) with three-point buck Roy shot in Verdugo Canyon (Santa Ana Register 10-3-1922)

From 1936 onward, the store didn't even appear in local directories. But it seems Roy was operating a version of his store just up the highway from his old location, across from the Melrose Abbey mausoleum in what's now part of Anaheim. 

Chamness continued to be listed as a seller of birds and/or a gunsmith through at least the mid-1940s. Indeed, hunters from all over the country brought their guns to Chamness for repairs. Roy was already in poor health in September 1945, when a drunk driver crashed into the Anaheim store. The store closed, and Roy died on June 5, 1947. Bessie married widower William Isaac "Will" Donica of Costa Mesa in October 1948. Will died in 1965, and Bessie followed in 1973.

The Mint Julep and Disneyland

A Disneyland mint julep. (Photo courtesy Larry Tenney)

Those who grew up with Disneyland are starkly divided on the subject of New Orleans Square’s vibrantly green, non-alcoholic, “mint julep.” Nobody’s on the fence. It’s either a uniquely refreshing minty delight or it tastes like a horrible Listerine/Windex hybrid. Either way, the mint julep – in one form or another – has been part of Disneyland since before opening day. 

Walt and Lillian Disney celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary just four days before Disneyland's grand opening, on July 13, 1955. They took 250 of their family and friends (including many Hollywood stars) on the maiden voyage of the Mark Twain steamboat and then for a big dinner at the Golden Horseshoe in Frontierland. Aboard the Twain, a live Dixieland band provided the music and real mint juleps were served.  

L to R: Diane, Lillian, Sharon and Walt Disney at Walt and Lillian's 30th anniversary party.

So, what’s a real mint julep? Exact details vary, but the drink is essentially as follows:

Fresh mint

1/2 oz simple syrup

2 1/2 oz bourbon 

Put 4 or 5 fresh mint leaves and 1/2 oz simple syrup into a silver julep cup or double old-fashioned glass. Muddle thoroughly. Add 2 1/2 oz bourbon. Fill the glass with crushed ice and stir until the glass is frosty. Garnish with a sprig or two of fresh mint. 

Using good bourbon and crushed ice are key. For a sweeter, mintier julep, muddle 10 mint leaves, use 3/4 oz simple syrup, and 2 oz bourbon.

After the Disneys’ party, famed gossip columnist Hedda Hopper described their “trip on the showboat… which Dinah Shore guided through perilous waters. We all sipped mint juleps served by waiters in red coats. But once the park is opened no alcoholic beverages will be served." 

The Mark Twain, Disneyland, 1963.

Indeed, less than seven months later, a journalist specified that “on the Mark Twain, you can see all the romantic figures of the Old South except the river boat gamblers and you can do everything but sip a mint julep. Disneyland is strictly moral." 

But on June 8, 1956, Walt once again called upon the regional iconography of the genuine and entirely alcoholic mint julep. He was in Atlanta for the premiere of his movie, "The Great Locomotive Chase," which was set in the South during the Civil War. (Essentially a remake of Buster Keaton’s “The General,” sans comedic genius.) Disney told reporters, "I'm really a Southerner at heart. I was born in South Chicago and I live in Southern California." Befitting a Southern gentleman, he served mint juleps to his guests. Walt understood the power of symbolism better than most, and at that time there were few more positive and immediately identifiable symbols of Southern hospitality than the mint julep. 

But when did the non-alcoholic mint julep come to Disneyland? 

Disney history expert and former Imagineer Tom Morris said, “The idea for it goes back to the early 1960s when they were considering the kinds of shops and restaurants that should be included in New Orleans Square.” 

Mint julep fountain dispenser, Disneyland. (Courtesy TV's Spatch)

Among the creative folk behind Disneyland, said Morris, there was “a recurring proposal, going as far back as 1961, for a soda ‘bar’ inspired by the Lafitte’s Bar in New Orleans! Exotic concoctions, sans alcohol! But no specific mention of juleps. The soda/juice bar idea continued to be pushed in various forms by the Foods Division and Lessee Relations. As late as 1965 they were proposing a Welch’s-sponsored juice bar themed to Mardi Gras with a Bacchus fountain dispensing grape and other juice flavors! … That idea went by the wayside, but I think it was always a no-brainer to have some form of mint julep … served on one of the menus.”

By 1962, no-booze mint juleps were sold to guests aboard Disneyland’s Mark Twain riverboat as it plied “The Rivers of America.” Noted one reporter from Missouri, "The juleps are sold by a Negro wearing a bright red coat of authentic southern riverboat fashion of yesteryear.”

Indira Gandhi and her father, India Prime Minister Nehru, on the Mark Twain, probably enjoying Disney-style mint juleps. Nov. 13, 1961.

Notably, the drinks held by guests on the Mark Twain in the April 1962 “Disneyland After Dark” TV special – watching Louis Armstrong perform with a handful of other jazz greats -- are very likely non-alcoholic mint juleps. Some of the small white cups are marked with a Mark Twain logo on the side. (Years later, the drinks would be served in clear cups, showing off their garish green color.)

Drinking a mint julep on the Mark Twain in "Disneyland After Dark," 1962.

The 1966 opening of Disneyland’s beautiful New Orleans Square included the opening of the Mint Julep Bar. “Hidden away” on the back side of the French Market restaurant, across from the train station, the attractively decorated Mint Julep Bar gave each of its millions of customers the feeling that they’d discovered a great secret.

The Mint Julep Bar in 2017. (Photo courtesy Diana)

The Mint Julep Bar sold a number of refreshments, but the Mint Julep itself was, of course, the star. The Bar’s other special treat was a softball (later baseball)-sized “choux fritter” that was more like giant cinnamon-dusted doughnut hole. In later decades, it was served with a side of “apple butter” that was like a buttery apple pie filling. Around 2009, the fritters were replaced with underwhelming beignets as a marketing tie-in with Disney’s similarly underwhelming new animated film, “The Princess and the Frog.”  

Within a few years of the Mint Julep Bar’s 1966 opening, it seems Disney’s mint julep was no longer served aboard the Mark Twain. Some say it was simply too difficult to keep the boat stocked with drinks. In time, however, the mint julep would be added – unofficially or officially – to the menus of several other restaurants in New Orleans Square.

French Market Restaurant, September 1970. (Courtesy Dave DeCaro)

Guests who asked for the recipe for Disneyland’s teetotal mint julep have traditionally either been given a photocopied recipe on the spot or were directed to City Hall on Main Street, U.S.A. where a copy was provided. The recipe provided has come in several slight variations over the decades, all of which are essentially as follows:

1 1/4 oz Lime Juice

1 lb. Granulated sugar

8 1/2 oz Lemonade concentrate

3/4 oz Crème de Menthe syrup (non-alcoholic)

6 cups Water

Combine sugar and water in a 3-quart sauce pan. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in lime juice and lemonade concentrate. Add creme de menthe syrup and mix well. Continue stirring and bring to just below the boiling point (210° F). Do not boil. Remove from heat and chill. Add a ratio of one part syrup to five parts chilled water. Yield: 2 quarts.

All versions of the recipe (except one of dubious origin) specify NOT boiling the mixture, but they differ regarding the temperature you should bring the syrup to: 185°, 200°, or 210° F. Additional versions have also appeared in various Disney cookbooks, magazines, and elsewhere.

(The author’s ham-fisted attempt at following this recipe resulted in glop that was utterly unlike anything ever served in Disneyland. He fears he used the wrong crème de menthe syrup. Your own attempt can only be an improvement.)

Concept art for still-under-development New Orleans Square.

What’s that you say? You also want the aforementioned recipe of “dubious origin?”  Well, here’s that one, too:

3 lbs sugar

1 gallon water

1 pint crème de menthe syrup topping

½ (6 oz) can frozen limeade concentrate

½ (6 oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate

Combine sugar and water in a large kettle and bring to a boil. Add crème de menthe syrup, limeade and lemonade and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and chill. Serve in tall glasses with springs of mint, maraschino cherries and pineapple pieces, if wished. Makes about 24 (1-cup) serving.

The latter recipe appears several places on the web and in newspaper columns and is attributed to Disneyland, but with no further details.

A 1931 illustration of a mint julep drinker.

According to several sources, Disney’s mint julep was a lot mintier and was also carbonated prior to some point in the 1980s. There certainly hasn’t been any fizz in the drink since at least the early 2000s.

Longtime Disneyland regular Roger Colton also says that from about 1980 to around 1999 he was able to purchase jugs of the mint julep syrup at the Mint Julep Bar for use in making the drink at home. But by the early 2000s, Disney got twitchier about their proprietary soft drink. When the name of the company manufacturing the syrup for Disneyland (likely located in Tustin) was leaked onto Usenet’s alt.disney.disneyland, phone calls to the business proved unrewarding: 

“Do you make the mint julep syrup for Disneyland? And if so, can I buy some?”

“We can neither confirm nor deny that we currently or in the past have, or have had, any business interactions with the Walt Disney Company or Disneyland.”

Today, rumors circulate that Disney changed the formula (and taste) of their boozeless mint julep again in 2017; that juleps in non-mint flavors (a contraction in terms) are sometimes available in the park; and that one can now order a real mint julep in New Orleans Square’s Café Orleans. The author can neither confirm nor deny these rumors. He has only one full-time job and therefore can no longer afford the current cost of a day in the park. 

Author with a mint julep at Disneyland back in 2014.

Thanks to Christopher Hanson, Tom Morris, Melissa Rhone and Cindy of the Disneyland Alumni Club, Christopher Merritt, Marcy Carriker Smothers, Peggie Farris, Steve Valkenburg, and Roger Colton for their input. This article was first published in Eat Me: The Zine About Vintage SoCal Food, Winter 2024/2025.

PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Bumbarger, Paul. "Armed Forces," The Daily Sikeston [Missouri] Standard, 5-9-1962, pg 11.
• Hopper, Hedda. "Walt Disneys Fete 250 at Fabulous Disneyland," Chicago Tribune, 7-16-1955, pg 17.
• Jenkins, Frank. "In the Day's News," Medford [Oregon] Mail Tribune, 2-6-1956, pg 4.
• Morrissey, Ralph. "Under the Green Lamp," The Tennessean, 7-9-1956.
• Vagnini, Steven. "Favorite Memories from Walt and Lillian's 30th Anniversary Party," D23.com, 2-11-2016.