Welcome to 2010

Here's the cover of January 1952 issue of the The Knotty Post (the Knott's Berry Farm employee magazine) to ring in the new year. I hope you all have a happy and healthy 2010!

Huntington Beach centennial and book

To round out Huntington Beach's centennial year, I'm posting a few photos from 1908, the year before it incorporated as a city. No, I don't know who these people are, but aren't these some great images?

Yes, those are sugar beets in the wagon shown above. Note the dog riding atop the beets.

Joe Santiago (the guy who owns the historic Charles Warner house, and who now has the Manning House hovering over his garage,) writes to tell us that signed copies of his book, Ebb & Flow: 100 Years of Huntington Beach, are available "at California Greetings on Main and Orange Streets downtown for only $12, or unsigned at DeGuelle Glass on Adams and Alabama for only $10."

Frohliche Weihnachten

Merry Christmas to all my readers!
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Today's photo shows the Gunther family children and some of their friends in Orange on Christmas Day, 1907. A new bicycle, a new wagon, and a new doll! Gee!
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Update: I originally took this image from the material posted to Calisphere by the Orange Public Library (OPL). A day or two later, curiosity led me to OPL's own website, to see if there was additional information. Not only was there additional information, there was conflicting information.
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Rather than the Gunther family, they identify the group as the, "Loescher family children and others with wagon, standing beneath palm tree on Christmas Day, 1907, at corner of Palmyra Avenue and Center Street."
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The OPL site also provides names: "...Left to right, standing in back: 1. Ewald Grum; 2. Henry Rickles; 2nd row: 3. Walter Loescher wearing cap; 4. unidentified bareheaded boy; 5. Hiker Batterman, with black hat; 6. Adolf Dittmer Jr, with black hat & suspenders; 7. Eleanore Loescher, girl with doll; Seated in "Star Coaster Wagon" are: 8. Ruth Loescher; 9. Arthur Dittmer; 10. Elmer Gunther."
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Perhaps the Loeschers, the Gunthers and the Dittmers were related?

Knott's Preserved and Tustin's Broadmoor Homes

Just when I thought I was done with Knott's, something else really cool turns up. Knott's Berry Farm historian Christopher Merritt writes,

"I finally got my website - KnottsPreserved.com - up and running. It's ostensibly to promote the book, which is coming out this March - but even more, to show many of the images that were cut from the book due to size limitations. Trying to fit 90 years of history into a 144-page book will do that! ...I will be adding more [to the site] as time allows...

"I also have a blog,... The first entry tells you the background on how this project came to be... This is the page to bookmark and check on every so often to learn what is going on with the book.

"Be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom of [each] page. At the bottom, I am trying to include excerpts from many of the interviews I have done over the years, and some of the recordings in my collection."

To go along with Chris' news, I posted a photo of Knott's old Church of Reflections at the top of today's post. The image below is a close-up from the same photo, showing the Christmas decor (circa the 1960s) in more detail.
To add a little color to today's post, I'm also tacking on this 1966 image, (below), of the Chicken Dinner Restaurant/shopping area of Knott's. Notice the guys on ladders in the background, putting up Christmas decorations.

On very interesting but unrelated note, Kathy Hall recently wrote to let us know about her "website dedicated to the history and architecture of the Broadmoor Homes tract in central Tustin. ...A grass roots effort has formed among some of the residents to encourage the restoration and preservation of these classic midcentury modern houses. Our community was featured in Atomic Ranch Magazine last spring."

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These homes were built in the late sixties and reflect that era in California Modernism. Thanks for sharing this with us, Kathy!

Christmas in Huntington Beach, 1950

This nativity scene was part of the civic Christmas decor in Huntington Beach in 1950. You can see a bit of the Pavilion (a.k.a. the Pav-a-lon) behind the palm fronds. Duke's restaurant now stands at this location.
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This scene was part of the "Forty Miles of Christmas Smiles" decorating contest, which was sponsored each year by the Orange County Coast Association. If I were judging, I think I'd have to mark my hometown down a couple points for that Joseph figure. He looks suspiciously like a female department store manikin. (It also reminds me of that scene in Life of Brian with all the women with fake beards taking part in a stoning.)

Knott's Berry Farm sold to investment group

I'm already WAY beyond my quota for Knott-related posts this year. But how can I ignore the news that Knott's Berry Farm, (along with the rest of the Cedar Fair company,) has been purchased? What will the new owners, Apollo Global Management, do to this historic site? Only time will tell. I hope Apollo realizes what a treasure they have in not only the Farm itself, but in many of the people who work there.
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The image above shows the cover of the Knotty Post employee magazine from December 1953. The photo below shows a Christmas garland being hung on the entrance to Ghost Town in about 1962.
The next photo shows a Christmas billboard for Knott's. It was probably painted by Don Treece, Jerry Nicholson, and the other guys in the sign shop.

It's always a little scary when any historic property gets a new owner -- Especially one we don't know well. And as in similar situations, I await their first move with cautious optimism.

Bankruptcy, anteaters, apes, Oral Roberts, Disney, FedMart, etc.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors reach out from 1993 to wish you Happy Holidays. Little did they know that by the following December there would be a lot fewer smiles on the 5th floor of the Hall of Administration. Thanks to Robert Citron and some bad investments, the County was on its way to bankruptcy. Looking at this photo, you wish you could go back in time and warn them.

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The Anteater Antics blog has had some fun posts about UCI lately, including cartoonist Johnny Hart's anteater design, Ansel Adams' visit, and the filming of The Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.

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Two celebrities who, (previously unbeknownst to me,) lived in Orange County, also died here this week. First, televangelist Oral Roberts (who I think we all figured lived in the Deep South) and then Roy E. Disney each died in Newport Beach. I saw Roy Disney in person exactly once. I was visiting the old Animation Building at Disney Studios for the first time when an elevator opened near me and the SPITTING IMAGE of Walt Disney walked out. I had no idea who Roy E. Disney was at that point in my life, but the look-alike factor gave me quite a shock. For a moment I wondered if the urban legends about Walt and cryogenics were true.

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Speaking of those who have "passed on" recently, the Pleasant Family Shopping blog has a nice post about Sol Price, the man who brought us FedMart and Price Club. Remember when those chains had stores all over Orange County?

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The Disneyland Nomenclature blog has a great post on the aborted Discovery Bay project at Disneyland in the late 1970s. They even (for a limited time) have a downloadable audio clip related to what could have been a whole new "land" within the park.

Walt's Disneyland, December 1966

Today's photos both show Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. in December 1966. The place is almost empty in the image above, which was taken by someone working for Knott's Berry Farm. By contrast, look how many people are in the Disney promotional photo below. Personally, I'd rather go to Disneyland on the day shown above.Walt Disney died that same month, exactly 43 years ago today. Heaven knows what else he and his companies might have accomplished had Lucky Strikes not taken him so soon.
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In any case, only three days after his death, "Disneyland Around the Seasons" was broadcast on national television, feature Walt as its host. A clip of that program, showing a jetpack flight in Tomorrowland, is available on YouTube. The entire program is available on a great DVD set entitled, Disneyland: Secrets, Stories & Magic.