1953 Boy Scout Jamboree, Nixon, Anaheim, etc.

Today's photo shows Vice President Richard Nixon speaking at the 1953 National Boy Scout Jamboree, which was held on the Irvine Ranch in what is now Newport Beach. Nixon has a beard because he spent the night sleeping in a tent at the Jamboree and didn't get a chance to shave. Click on the photo to enlarge it and peer into the background. (The photo again comes from the O.C. Archives' new Flickr account - which should have more additions as the week wears on.)
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Ralph Whitford will discuss "Scouts in Orange County" at the Orange Community Historical Society meeting, Thursday, Sept 25, 7pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. Ralph (who ran the Sea Scout base in Newport for 12 years) will discuss the 1953 Jamboree and show a short film from that event.
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The Anaheim Historical Society will hold their annual ice cream social at the Anaheim Tennis Center (the Wagner House, built in 1921), 975 S. State College Blvd., Sept 28, at 2pm. This is a free event. For more information, contact Cynthia Ward at 714-292-0042.
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Mission San Juan Capistrano is planning a gala concert and dinner event under the stars in honor of Father John O'Sullivan. It will mark the start of a new long-term preservation plan for the Mission. For more information, call 949-644-4777.

Disneyland, O.C. Archives, O.C. history class, etc

Today's photos are among the first 39 images uploaded to the Orange County Archives' new Flickr site. Eventually, there will be at least 100 samples from our photo collection posted there. (I'm still resizing and color-adjusting some of the other entries.)

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The first photo above (top) shows Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle in the late 1950s. The photo was taken by the late Santa Ana attorney Carl Cowles. Note the sign board in front of the castle, which promoted such upcoming attractions as the Matterhorn, the Submarine Voyage and the Monorail. The second photo shows the Disneyland parking lot around 1960.
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Diane Ryan is once again offering her class in Orange County history through Coastline Community College. She writes, "Come learn about the early occupants of our area, Spanish and Mexican influences, notable pioneers and the development of some our cities. Trace Orange County from its ranching and farming roots into the sprawling, urban society of today. Included will be a couple fieldtrips to local historical sites. ...Where: Huntington Beach Adult School, 16666 Tunstall Ln., Huntington Beach, Room C5. When: 8 weeks, Wednesdays 1:30-3:30, from Sept. 24 to Nov. 12. Cost: FREE. To register: call 714-847-2873 ex. 219." For more information, email Diane.

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Phil Brigandi’s new book, Images of America: Orange, is now available. I bought my copy at A&P Antiques, just above the Plaza on N. Glassell. I'm sure I'll post more about this book later.

Fountain Valley, Anaheim, Jackie Dooley, etc.

Today's photo is an undated aerial view of the old Lucero ranch at Newhope and Warner in Fountain Valley. I'd guess it's from the late 1940s, but that's only a guess. I believe the house still stands. The photo came to me from Dann Gibb.
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The Anaheim Historical Society will host the 2008 Anaheim Historic Home Tour on Oct. 11 & 12, 10am-4pm. This is always a popular event with some great houses. They are also looking for volunteers - Anyone who works a half-day's shift gets a FREE ticket to the event. To volunteer, contact Annie Kupfrian.
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The Santa Ana Canyon Historical Council will hold its 17th annual Pioneer Family Picnic, 11am-4pm, Oct. 11, at Yorba Regional Park. Please RSVP to 714-499-7975 or 714-579-7945.
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Jackie Dooley, the Head of UCI's Special Collections and Archives, will leave her post as of Nov 1. She'll be working for Research Libraries Group Programs,which is part of Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Programs and Research. She'll be making recommendations to OCLC about products and services for the archival community. And yes, she'll still be based in Orange County.
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Daveland had a great post yesterday about Progress City, which was part of the late Carousel of Progress attraction at Disneyland.

The Hanging Tree, Part III

In response to my earlier post, "The Hanging Tree, Part II," Mike Bornia sent the photos above and writes,...

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"I am a Docent for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, the managing organization for the area where Hangman's Tree is located. I first became aware of this tree and plaque from a guest on one of my hikes this past Saturday. A subsequent online search for information brought me to this great local history blog. This morning Dave, our public programs director, and I went to the Hangman's Tree location. Please note that this is private property and legal access must be through the Irvine Ranch Conservancy.

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"From the access road we hiked down to the plaque. From that location the actual tree is to the left. The stand of sycamores are in a gully, about 20-30 feet below ground level from where I was standing. The area is also overgrown with black mustard and milk thistle which stand about eight feet tall, further obscuring the trees.

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"We hiked down to the bottom of the gully and turned left to view the Hangman's Tree which had some superficial scorch marks from the fire last October. There is also an active bee hive in the tree. I took several pictures of the tree and of the actual branch which I will send to Chris Jepsen. The tree is remarkably in good condition considering its age.

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"We have decided to add this location to our public programs and will also visit the nearby 1965 crash site of a military transport which took off from El Toro in heavy fog and failed to clear Loma Ridge. Seventy-two Marines and 12 crew perished. The location still has aircraft remnants. The hike to these two locations will be available in a few months. Please check our website for information on our hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian outings."
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Thanks, Mike! You've done some great sleuthing and you'll be providing a really great service to those of us who want to see these historically significant sites. Hope I can join you on one of your upcoming hiking tours.

Laguna Beach, Linbrook Bowl, Anaheim, Huell, etc

Today's photo shows the Aliso Auto Camp, south of Laguna Beach, in the 1930s.
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Yesterland recently added a feature on the old Buffalo Ranch in Newport Beach.
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The Linbrook Bowl, (at Brookhurst St at Lincoln in Anaheim) - one of O.C.'s last Googie buildings and a fine bowling establishment - celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday.
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On a related note, there will be a Huell-watching party at Linbrook Bowl, Sep 14, at 7pm. Come see the premiere (actually the second showing) of the new Anaheim episode of Huell Howser's California's Gold on a big screen TV. Cheap food and drinks will be available for cash only (no plastic).
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Speaking of Huell,... He was back in O.C. this week for an interview with Gustavo Arrelano. (How's that for an interesting duo?) The interview should appear in the next issue of the OC Weekly.

Rudolph Boysen, newspaper microfilm, blogs, etc.

Late Breaking News: Stephen Faessel and Jane Newell will give an encore of their presentation on Rudolph Boysen tonight at 7pm at the Yorba Linda Community Center, 4501 Casa Loma Ave. Rudy Boysen (seen in the photo above) was the botonist responsible for the development of the Boysenberry. The berry was named and propagated by Walter Knott. In later years, Boysen was in charge of maintaining Anaheim's parks. I hear this program by Jane and Steve is really great!
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Getting at historic newspapers on microfilm may temporarily be difficult at the Santa Ana Public Library. Historian Charles Beal writes, "...The basement area is closed down so you can’t access the microfilm machines. An employee told me the target date of construction completion is November."
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Sharon Clairemont, who's in charge of Content Research at the O.C. Register, now has a blog that may be of interest to some of you. It's called "ASK." Sharon writes, "...the idea is to answer any and all questions that come my way. I don't pretend to be an expert on many topics, only a practiced researcher. Anyway, I thought your blog readers might want to know about this new venture and opportunity to 'Ask Us Anything.'"

Fountain Valley, Sam Armor, etc.

It's "back to school" time! (Pause for collective groan of anguish.) Today's photos show the old Fountain Valley School, which stood at the northwest corner of Talbert Ave and Bushard. The interior shot shows the home economics class in Jan. 1951.

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Carolyn Schoff just pointed out to me that High Seas Trading Co. sells a Hawaiian-style shirt featuring the California Missions. They're also talking about doing a Orange County history shirt at some point in the future. I'll let you know if that happens.

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The always-amazing Internet Archive has now posted Samuel Armor's History of Orange County, California (the 1921 edition). Text versions and full photographic reproductions can be viewed online for free!

Sad Eye Joe, missions, Fr. O'Sullivan, etc.

Remember my Aug. 8th post about woodcarver Andy Anderson? Well, the original head he carved for Knott's Berry Farm's famous "Sad Eye Joe" is in the lower right of today's first photo. Carver Agustin Rodiles has spent the past week carving a duplicate "backup" head for ol' Joe, and the results are impressive. The original Joe was carved in 1940 or 1941.

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As you may have surmised, I'm back from my vacation. I picked up one very cool piece of O.C. history on my trek through Central California, but it really deserves its own post.

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The only other bloggable item I discovered was the black and white photo inset above. A larger version was displayed at the Santa Ines Mission (at the edge of Solvang.) The caption reads,

"Photo of Miss Mamie Goulet [later Mrs. Mamie Goulet Abbott], taken July 30, 1919 by Fr. O'Sullivan of Mission San Juan Capistrano. Miss Goulet came to Old Mission Santa Ines in 1904 from Minnesota responding to a plea for help from her uncle, Fr. Buckler, who had been given the task of Mission restoration. Upon arrival in October 1904, she described the state of the Mission as appalling. But for the next twenty years she worked alongside her uncle to repair and restore the Old Mission..."

Mamie Goulet Abbott later wrote a book, Santa Ines Hermosa: The Journal of the Padre's Niece. I'm not sure if the photo above was taken at Capistrano or Santa Ines, as the columns don't exactly match the photos I have from either.

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It's taking my brain longer than the rest of me to come back from vacation. So it may take me a little while to ramp this blog back up to something resembling full speed. Thanks for your patience.