Newport Harbor Nautical Museum preview center

The Preview Center for the new home of the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum will open to the public on Dec. 22nd in the Balboa Fun Zone. The hours will be Fri-Sun, 11 am - 6 pm. The multi-media Preview Center features "highlights from [their] permanent collection, interactive exhibits, and architectural renderings" of the forthcoming museum. Yes, but will the new museum have skee-ball, hot dogs and a "Scary Dark Ride?"

Update, 12/21/2022: While the NHNM Preview Center was pretty impressive, it seems not to have lead to anything. No museum materialized. Then the organization changed its name and mission sometime in the 2010s, becoming a self-proclaimed literacy program called ExplorOcean. Even that notion seems to have fizzled out entirely.  

Book sale ($2-per-bag) in Tustin

What local historian doesn't love a good used book sale? The Friends of the Tustin Library will hold a $2-a-bag book sale from noon to 4pm this Sunday. (Members get to start shopping earlier at 10am.) The Tustin Library is located in the Tustin Civic Center at 345 E. Main St.

And remember, many local libraries, like Huntington Beach and Santa Ana, have perpetual Friends of the Library book sales. Life is good.

St. Joe's & Orange Community Historical Society

The public is invited to attend the Orange Community Historical Society’s Annual Dinner on Thurs., Jan. 25th in at the O.C. Medical Association building in Orange. The program will focus on the history of Orange’s St. Joseph Hospital, and features two speakers: Sister Mary Therese Sweeney, who has written extensively on the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph and is the Director of Mental Health for the St. Joseph Health System, and Julie Holt, V.P. of the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation.

Cocktails start at 6 pm. Dinner (catered by Turnip Rose) starts at 7 pm. Seating is limited. $45 per person. Send payment to OCHS Annual Dinner, PO Box 5484, Orange, CA 92863. Payment (checks payable to OCHS) must be received by Jan. 20. For more info, call Jane Carmichael at (714) 998-1512 or Helen Walker at (714) 538-8909.

The Sisters of St. Joseph came to Orange in 1922 and acquired the Burnham Ranch property on S. Batavia, where the St. Joseph campus still stands. Seven years later, they opened a 109-room hospital in Orange—their first Southern California hospital.

A Yesterland Christmas

The future, tied up with a bow.

I love Disneyland at Christmastime -- at least when the crowds aren't too bad. And while I'm not going to get there in person this year, Werner Weiss of Yesterland is giving us all a little peek back at Disneyland Christmases Past. 

Yesterland has been a favorite site of mine for years. It features all the Disneyland attractions and elements that have disappeared over the decades. Their most recent article is about the old Disneyland Hotel Tram. (Yes, the site really is that detail-oriented.)

Parasol renovation delayed

The ongoing saga of the Parasol Restaurant in Seal Beach continued today in the Register. It seems the landlord and tenant (Mel's Drive-In) are still negotiating the iconic building's exterior appearance after its "renovation." This means the process of restoring/reopening the place is behind schedule. However, if it weren't for the efforts of locals and preservationists, it's unlikely this classic space-age coffee shop would still be standing at all. The original plan was to demolish it during the remodeling of the adjoining shopping center. Chalk one up for the good guys!

Orange County Illustrated, Troubleman Cottage, etc

The O.C. Archives just aquired a bound set of Orange County Illustrated magazine. Although missing two volumes (1962-63 and 1970) this will still be a great resource for anyone who wants to know more about O.C. in the 1960s and '70s. (And if you stumble across the missing volumes at a yard sale somewhere, please send me an email.)

This is the last week to see "The Anaheim Home Companion": A stage play celebrating the history of Anaheim. The play runs through Dec. 17th at the Chance Theater in Anaheim.

Fullerton Union High School's Academy of the Arts will sell wall calendars for 2007 illustrated with photos of FUHS's taken between 1893 and 1950. (Link)

Capistrano planners turned thumbs down on removing an old tree in order to relocate the Troubleman Cottage. The owner plans to appeal to the City Council.

Needs old Fountain Valley photos

Dann Gibb has taken on a difficult but worthwhile task: Compiling a visual history of Fountain Valley for Arcadia Press. He's really done his homework and has already compiled some great images and stories, but he still needs more old photos of the area.

As a reminder, the town of Fountain Valley was formerly known as Talbert, and the current city boundaries also encompass the historic community of Colonia Juarez and part of Newhope.

If you have (or know where he can find) additional photos of historic Fountain Valley, please contact Dann via email.

Researching O.C.'s War Dead

I found this on an obscure corner of the Register's website:

"At least 1,000 men and women from Orange County have died in military service during America's wars but over time, their sacrifice often fades away. The O.C. Register is embarking on an online project to recognize all these veterans with a picture, summation of their service, and, where more information exists, links to those online sites. If you know of a service man or woman from O.C. killed in action during any armed conflict, please look for them here."
Register staff currently working on this project include Colleen Robledo and Jeff Rowe.

Link: O.C.'s Fallen War Heroes (Register)