Disneyland: Steps In Time - Tomorrowland

Disney artist Herb Ryman's concept illustration of Tomorrowland, circa 1954.

These "before, after and today" images all show essentially the same view of Disneyland's Tomorrowland, looking toward Harbor Blvd and away from the park's central hub. All the park's lands have undergone significant changes in the past 58 years or so, but few offer as many opportunities for "urban archaeology" tours as Tomorrowland.

When Disneyland opened, Tomorrowland wasn't really ready for prime time yet. Disney knew this, and tried to fill space with some uninspiring sponsor-driven exhibits, not unlike today's Innoventions. They filled more empty space with a snazzy 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit, promoting the Disney film and making good use of movie props. But overall, Tomorrowland was half-baked. Disney gradually improved the area in the coming years. The "turn over rate" for attractions was greater than in other lands. 

Tomorrowland in 1955, shortly after Disneyland's opening. Image courtesy Daveland.

Of course, Tomorrowland had to be updated periodically, to keep it from becoming Yesterdayland. This process has been more or less continuous, but there have been a few particularly notable sea changes.

In 1959, Tomorrowland was beefed up considerably with the opening of the Submarine Voyage and the Monorail -- both in the shadow of the new Matterhorn mountain.

But the land-wide makeover of Tomorrowland came in 1967 with a whole new environment that emphasized motion. PeopleMover tracks wound through the entire area and crossed paths with the Monorail. The Carousel of Progress building revolved just a short distance from a spiffed-up Autopia and the still-newish submarines. The Tomorrowland Terrace stage emerged almost magically out of the ground for regular musical performances. And the Rocket Jets spun high above everything.

The same view in 1974, taken from Yesterland's article on the PeopleMover.

The next major change came in 1998 with a strange re-do that suffered from some big problems. First of all, much of the "New Tomorrowland" was actually made up of tongue-in-cheek (although beautifully executed) references to past visions of the future. A view of the future from the late 1990s should not have highlighted motifs from Jules Verne and the late-1950s Space Age zeitgeist.

The land's redesign was also beset with funding problems which killed any truly impressive projects that might have been undertaken.

Meanwhile, the old Rocket Jets was recombobulated as Astro-Orbiter and placed at the entrance to Tomorrowland, blocking traffic flow and putting the look and feel of the park's central hub all out of balance.

The same angle, circa 2012 -- essentially as it appears today

Disney executives also decided at the last minute that an environmental theme should be included in the New Tomorrowland. This was put across by painting everything ugly dirt colors and by putting edible foods in the planters.It was bizarre and out of place.

The PeopleMover cars were pulled off their tracks and replaced with new Rocket Rods vehicles. This was supposed to make for a faster more thrilling ride. Unfortunately, the engineering of the tracks didn't allow for faster vehicles. So Rocket Rods was a slow ride with fake "speed" sounds (ZOOM! WHOOSH! VROOOM!) played over speakers in an attempt to fool riders. This was the big signature attraction for the New Tomorrowland. It broke down constantly until it was finally shuttered for good in 2000.

Some of the worst ideas from 1998 have already disappeared, and some new and updated attractions have debuted in Tomorrowland since then. But we're still waiting for the next major overhaul. Unfortunately, thinking about the future isn't something Americans seem to be very good at these days. As a culture, we have to dream up a better future before Disney can build a compact replica of it in Anaheim.

Meanwhile, for more Tomorrowland history than you can shake a stick at, check out Werner Weiss' Yesterland website. It's both fun and endlessly nostalgia-inducing.

History of Public Health in Orange County

The 1914 County Hospital, which until recently stood at the center of UCI Medical Center.

Maybe you can help me with an article I'd like to put together for the Orange County Historical Society's monthly County Courier publication.I found an old article in the Orange County Health Department’s Public Health Report, Vol. 14, #9, Sept. 1964, outlining the history of public health in our fair county. It seemed a fine topic for an article, and I set about to edit, expand and improve on it for future republication. Here's some of the content excerpted from that article....

PUBLIC HEALTH IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

At the time of its formation, in 1889, Orange County had a population of about 13,000, and there were thirteen physicians in the area. Daily rounds were made either on horseback or in a light spring wagon or top buggy. Roads, by today’s standards, were hardly more than trails. They were dusty in the summer and muddy in the winter. Mud clung to horses’ hooves and loaded buggy wheels so badly that the doctor was fortunate to make two miles an hour. There were no bridges over the Santa Ana River or Santiago Creek, and there was water in these streams the year around. During the rainy season, swollen conditions made fording impossible.

Typhoid fever was everywhere, recurrent outbreaks of diphtheria and smallpox were common, tetanus (lockjaw) was frequent, and snakebite was often a cause of disability. Orange County also had one of the highest death rates from tuberculosis in the state. These conditions conspired to make the lot of the pioneer doctor a difficult one. However, events which occurred elsewhere in California at an earlier date completely altered the disease picture in this area.

The epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever, smallpox, plague, and typhus, which swept the gold rush communities of California in the 1850s, led to the establishment of the State Health Department in 1870. Under the far-sighted leadership of Dr. Thomas H. Logan, California became the third state in the union to establish such an agency.

Shortly thereafter, and as part of the same development, the feelings grew that local government should take primary responsibility in matters of the public’s health. By 1889, when Orange County was founded, it was required that every county and incorporated city have a health department. Guidance was usually provided by a local physician who also served as health officer.

Dr. James P. Boyd, who came to Orange County in 1888, was the county’s first health officer. He took office in 1889 and served until 1911. Dr. Boyd was succeeded by Dr. John Wehrly who served as County Physician and Health Officer until 1915. He was followed by Dr. Arthur H. Domann of Orange, who became the last part-time county health officer.

Dr. Domann -- a man of unusual vision -- advised the Board of Supervisors that the county had reached such a size (over 60,000) that its needs could best be met by selecting a well-trained public health physician to direct the health department’s activities.

After conferring with the State Health Officer, a representative of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Board of Supervisors, and other prominent citizens, Dr. Domann succeeded in obtaining a county appropriation of $10,000 for the first year. To this was added $2,500 each from the state and the Rockefeller Foundation, making a total of $15,000 for operating funds for the first year.

With the help of the Rockefeller Foundation a qualified health administrator, Dr. W. Leland Mitchell, was obtained. He assumed his duties on December 1, 1922. The first health department staff consisted of Dr. Mitchell and a public health nurse, Miss Isabel Durgan, who served as “assistant health officer, county nurse, and dairy inspector.”

This marked the beginning of full time public health services in Orange County. Health Department business was conducted from a small basement office – shared with the coroner and welfare director – located in the County Courthouse in Santa Ana.

Soon, another public health nurse was recruited; a sanitary inspector, Mr. W.W. Chandler, was hired; and a stenographer was employed. They were joined a short time later by a dairy inspector, Mr. John Bichan; and a bacteriologist, Miss Dorthy Beck, who was sent by the State Health Department to serve until another one could be found.

In September, 1923, the City of Seal Beach became the first incorporated city to contract with the County of Orange for health department services. The agreement called for the city to pay the county the lavish sum of $10 per month for these services.

In January, February, and March of 1924, the City of Santa Ana suffered a disastrous typhoid fever epidemic. Actually, there were three epidemics in succession – two traced to water and one to contaminated milk. In all, there were 632 cases of the disease.

At that time, Santa Ana’s “health department” consisted of a part-time physician who recognized that the epidemic could be controlled more efficiently by the county health unit. He advised the city council to make arrangements with the County Board of Supervisors to provide public health services for the city. This agreement was signed in March 1924.

The Santa Ana typhoid fever epidemic provided the opportunity for the health department to demonstrate the values to be derived from a full-time health agency with strong leadership, adequate resources, and skilled auxiliary staff. The State Health Department was contacted and, together with the County Health Department, engineers, physicians, bacteriologists, and other technical personnel were quickly rushed to the stricken city. The source of the epidemic soon became known, primarily through the efforts of the health department laboratory.

The cities of Orange, La Habra, and Huntington Beach, benefiting from the experience of Santa Ana, soon followed suit. In 1932 Newport Beach wrote a contract with the county and, since then, each new incorporated city has contracted for county health department services. Through this arrangement, the cities of Orange County and the county government have been able to provide facilities and professional staff of a quality and quantity that would not be possible, individually, except at a prohibitive cost.

The major responsibility for public health in a democratic society such as ours, falls, naturally, on the medical professionals, the medical institutions, and the people who are formally represented by the voluntary health agencies. In this triangular relationship between, the professions, the institutions, and the people, one part is as important and essential as another. Among the medical institutions (which include hospitals, medical schools, research institutions, and the health department), the health department is a relatively small but important institution. Because of its responsibility to help community leaders in identifying health problems and needs of the community and its obligation to provide support to the medical professions and other medical institutions of the community, the health department most often is cast in the roll of consultant and helper in community health.

In the discharge of its duties the Orange County Health Department had numerous and varied responsibilities. In addition to those mentioned above, these included:

1. The accumulation and analysis of vital statistics, such as births and deaths, and the incidence of communicable disease – “the bookkeeping of humanity.”
2. Investigation into community health problems and needs. These may include anything from a suspected nuisance to the need for additional hospital beds.
3. Enforcement of laws and regulations relating to health.
4. Education and communication between institutions, within the health profession and to the public.
5. Direct services in the field of immunization – sufficient to supplement the efforts of the medical profession and medical institutions so that community immunization levels are adequate to control communicable diseases.
6. Research activities designed to add new and useful knowledge about man and his environment and to develop better methods for solving old problems.

And that's about where the article ends. It definitely needs some pepping up, vetting, and great deal of fleshing out. And of course, a lot has happened since 1964, including the dawn of Medicaid and Medicare in 1965 and a host of organizational and philosophical changes. 

I'm hoping someone out there will be able to point me to some existing resources on the more recent history of public health in Orange County. I could plow through half a century of annual reports, monthly publications, and news clippings, but if someone's already done some good solid work on this subject, I'd rather just ask to quote them instead of reinventing the wheel. As for the current incarnation of the County health agency, I gleaned the following information from the Interwebs:

In the early 1980s, the Orange County Health Department became the Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA). By 2010, it was serving a population of well over 3 million. Today’s HCA provides public health, behavioral health, and medical services. It also provides administrative and financial services related to health care, and provides health services to those in county correctional facilities. The agency has 180 different funding sources and over is responsible for fulfilling at least 200 State and Federal mandates.

One could end such an article, of course, with something pithy about the new era of Obamacare and the related challenges and changes. Anyway, let me know if you have any good leads. Meanwhile, maybe the information posted above will do someone else some good...

Christmas at Newport Beach, 1910

Holiday greetings from Newport Beach, in 1910.

Christmas is a good time to get friends or family together and do something fun. In 1910, the folks above apparently decided that "something fun" meant taking the Pacific Electric Railway to the end of the line (Newport Beach/Balboa) and spending the day on the strand.

This image was found in Tom Pulley's postcard collection and comes courtesy the Orange County Archives. I was just going to post it because of the Christmas/O.C. connection. But then I noticed how colorful these people are. (Click on any photo to embiggen.) It called for a couple close-ups.

The Rockettes do not feel threatened by this group.

Note the "Three Musketeers" pose, but with feet instead of swords. That, combined with wearing of dapper suits on the beach, is sort of a hoot.

But the real gem is the dandied-up, cigar-chompin' palooka shown below. Just look at this character! Did he escape from a movie? Was he related to the Bowery Boys or a Dick Tracy villain? Who is this guy? There's a shiny nickel in it for the first person to identify him!

"Make wit da Christmas cheer, youse mugs, or I'll moiderize ya!"

Without much more to say about this photo, I went looking for an extreme example of how different the world of December 1910 was from that of December 2013. I initially thought this was a pretty good example, from the Dec. 18, 1910 New York Times, regarding a new health catastrophe caused by modern technology:

"The aeroplane and automobile have caused a new disease,... When men pass rapidly through the air, the pressure on the face from fast driving prevents the expulsion of poisoned air from the lungs. The carbonic acid gas is forced back into the body. Only a little of it can get away, because of the air pressing on the face. The gas is rebreathed and poisons the system. [This may be remedied with] a mouthpiece... strapped to the face with tubes extending from it on either side to the back of the head."

Today, of course, we're much more evolved. The media no longer trumps up phony health scares or preys on our fear of new technology to generate sensational headlines. And naturally, with all the real threats in the world, we'd never waste our time worrying about the hazards of a ubiquitous natural substance like carbonic acid gas.

Join us for "Show & Tell"

So,... What are you bringing to Show & Tell this Thursday? Because you are invited, after all!

As you may have noticed in today's O.C. Register, the Orange County Historical Society will hold its annual Show & Tell Night this Thursday, Dec. 12, 7:30pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. Rummage through your garage, files, scrapbooks, or trunks for a choice artifact or bit of memorabilia or ephemera that helps tell us something about Orange County of yore.

Maybe you have a local orange crate that connects to a story about a parent who worked in a packing house. Perhaps you have your name badge from when you worked at Disneyland on opening day. What about great-grandpa’s branding iron, or a piece of flatware with the name of a favorite old local restaurant on it? Or maybe you just have an outstanding photo or map of early Orange County that hasn’t seen the light of day in many years. Surprise us! (The photo above shows me with the cogstone I brought last year.)

The event is open to the public. There will be a sign-up sheet when you arrive at the meeting. People will be called up in order of their position on the list. If we run out of time, we’ll save the list for another meeting, so you’ll still get your chance to share your “piece of history” and a bit of the story behind it. (We're a pretty friendly and informal bunch, so don't be intimidated!)

Afterward, refreshments will be served and there will be an opportunity for socializing and seeing some of the night's interesting Show & Tell items up close. For more information about the event see the OCHS website. Hope to see you there!

Judy Moore brought an item from First National Bank of Santa Ana to 2011's Show & Tell.

Strawberries in Orange County

Famed berry grower Walter Knott inspects strawberries with one of his employees.

Strawberries have been grown in Orange County since at least 1880, but for many decades they were grown by few farmers and usually in small quantities. Not that our soil and climate weren’t perfect for strawberries. Those that did grow here thrived. In 1882, George R. Hinde, founder of the Placentia's vegetarian cult, Societas Fraterna, (nicknamed "the grass eaters") exhibited a strawberry that measured 11 ¾ inches in circumference! But commercial production of berries of any kind was negligible in Orange County until the 1910s and 1920s. Land that wasn’t planted in citrus generally went to popular crops like beans, alfalfa, celery, and sugar beets.

Although strawberries were a fairly profitable crop when weather and disease cooperated, they were also very labor-intensive. This is part of why it took a while for them to catch on. They remained a small crop here in 1910s to 1930s – with 200 to 500 acres at most. They grew particularly well in the sandier soils of the western part of the county.

A plastic owl guards a local strawberry field in the 1950s.

Starting in the late teens or twenties, Japanese-American farmers in our area found they could grow small patches of strawberries in unused parcels and turn a significant profit. In some cases, it proved to be a good crop to rotate with some other primary crop: One year tomatoes, one year strawberries.

But it wasn’t until after WWII that strawberries really took off in a big way in O.C. Beginning around 1968, they were clearly our most profitable crop. That year, we had 1,775 acres, which was probably our biggest year for strawberries.

Anglos, Japanese and Latinos work together in an O.C. strawberry field during the Great Depression.

As more and more of Orange County has been paved, strawberries have continued to be a crop that survived in the margins. It was common to find a small field tucked in between housing tracts or shopping centers. Even a small field could be profitable, and growers often had success selling the berries to local residents from roadside stands. But now even these last small pockets of strawberries are dwindling. In 2012, for instance, we lost the last strawberry field in Garden Grove: The home of the Strawberry Festival.

Even more holiday historical happenings!

The Pilgrim, decked out for Christmas at Dana Point.

The Heritage Museum of Orange County will host Family Day, Dec. 8, 11am-3pm. See the Victorian Kellog House Museum "decorated in period holiday finery," tell Santa your Christmas wishes, and check out an exhibit about Sibyl Kellogg Mauerhan. ($5 per family up to 4 people. $2 each additional person.) The museum is located at 3101 W. Harvard St., in Santa Ana.

Looking for gift ideas? Historian Phil Brigandi will sign copies of his new book, “Orange County Chronicles,” on Sun., Dec. 15, 1-3pm at the Costco in San Juan Capistrano. His book traces 200 years of county history, from the earliest Spanish explorers to the explosive growth of the 1960s. For details, call (949) 240-3558.

Mission San Juan Capistrano will host "Christmas at the Mission" in conjunction with the city's annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and community-wide holiday celebration, on Dec. 7, 5:30-8pm. The Mission will feature a ringing of the historic bells, Dickensian carolers, chamber singers, orchestra musicians, ballet folklorico, mariachis and other local musicians. Ther will also be a “Santa’s Workshop” with cookie and ornament decorating for kids, and food vendors serving tamales, pizza, hot cocoa, sweets and more.

The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton will host their annual Winter Holiday Festival, Dec. 22, Noon-4pm. The event includes "historic home and gallery tours, performances, and an arts and crafts fair. The family-friendly event also provides free art workshops for kids, a children’s play area, and a special appearance by Santa Claus."

The Fullerton Arboretum is hosting "Moonlight & Mistletoe: Victorian Christmas Traditions," Dec. 7 & 8, at 6pm. (Please arrive by 5:45.) "Begin the Christmas holiday season as twilight falls on a December evening in the tranquil setting of the Fullerton Arboretum. Watch as costumed Victorians reveal the stories behind the many traditions that have become a part of the season’s celebrations. Enjoy a full evening’s entertainment as you partake of hors d’oeuvres and wine. Join in songs and laughter; listen to Christmas tales and short stories; meet Father Christmas and “the missus” and dance the Grand March. Seating is limited. $25 per person. Reservations Required. No tickets will be available at the door!”

The Nixon Library is doing their elaborate annual exhibit of model trains and international Christmas trees.

Orange's Old Towne Preservation Association is holding a Holiday Home Decoration Contest. Residents of historic Old Towne "are invited to deck the halls and decorate your house in this annual tradition. Awards are given to Best Block, Most Old Fashioned, Best Use of Lights, Most Original and Most Beautiful. Judges will be cruising Old Towne to view the festive homes" beginning at 6pm, Dec. 15.

The Placentia Founders Society will host a docent-led tour of the historic Bradford House on Dec. 8, 2-4pm. A $3 donation per person is requested for non-members on these days. Group tours are $5 per person.

And if all the usual holidays aren't enough for you, celebrate "Ole Hanson Day" with the San Clemente Historical Society on Dec. 8 "with a chicken dinner, 'The Speech' by Ole Hanson, and 'The Ole Hanson Story' which is a motion picture of San Clemente under construction in the 1920’s. We are encouraging 1920’s clothing. A prize will be given for the most authentic outfit." $12 for members and $15 for non-members. Call Mary Ann Comes at 498-0116 for reservations. The event honors the founder/developer of the city and will be held at the San Clemente Community Center, 100 N. Calle Seville.

The holidays in O.C.'s historical community

Odds are, your local historical society, museum or historical park is hosting some kind of holiday party or event of some kind in the next few weeks. Go check out their website or newsletter and get those Christmas sweaters out of mothballs. Some examples:

A free Holiday Open House & Boutique will be held at the historic Howe-Waffle House (decked out in all its Victorian holiday finery), at 120 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, this Saturday, Dec. 7, 11am to 4pm.There will be refreshments, socializing, carols on a rare 1870s Weber piano, and sales of various items of interest to history buffs and historians alike. At 1pm, actors will perform a scene from That Christmas Feeling, "a funny and touching play about regaining the true spirit of the Holidays."

The Dana Point Historical Society will hold a Holiday Open House on Dec. 8, 2-5pm, in Suite 104 at City Hall. If you'd like to participate in their pot luck, please bring an appetizer, dessert or bottle of wine.

The Orange County Historical  Society will hold their annual holiday social in conjunction with their annual Show & Tell Night, Dec. 12, 7:30pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange. Bring an artifact or item from Orange County's past that helps tell a story about our history. This event is free to the public and refreshments will be served. See the OCHS website for more information.

Heritage Hill Historical Park in El Toro will hold a Victorian Christmas event Dec. 7, 11am-3pm. See the park's buildings decorated for the holidays and enjoy holiday entertainment, children's crafts, historical exhibits, and visits with Santa. The park will also hold holiday candlelight walks Dec. 14 and 15, 5:30pm-8:30pm. "Experience an enchanted evening with luminaria-lit paths, historical buildings aglow with holiday lights and period decorations. There will be performers in each building along with strolling carolers and visits with Santa." (Admission for any of these Heritage Hill events is $3 for children, $4 for adults.)

Do you have another local historical holiday event to share? Send me an email and I'll try to post it here.

Anaheim Halloween Parade: Then & Now

2013: Witches and a scary tree replicate the S.Q.R. Store float from 1957.

1957: The original!

The 89th Annual Anaheim Halloween Parade, held last Saturday, was a real corker! Not only did it have all the home-town charm you'd expect (e.g. high school marching bands, Shriners in mini-jalopies, etc.), but also a bunch of impressive new features supplied by a new crop of volunteers, including my friends Jody Daily and Kevin Kidney. (Certainly, many more people were involved in these parade, but I don't know their names. My apologies.) From an enormous rolling haunted house to a towering vampire, they came up with all kinds of new ideas. But being history geeks like me, they also went back and looked at the coolest entries from Anaheim Halloween Parades long ago and brought a handful of them back to life.

2013: A "Flying Sasser" is part of the Anaheim Historical Society's parade unit.

1950s: The original "Flying Sasser" invades Anaheim at the dawn of the Space Age.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that even more 2013 parade highlights were direct references to favorites from decades past. I should have taken better notes at last year's Orange County Historical Society presentation on the history of the Halloween Parade.

Vintage, Disney-designed Anaheim mascot "Andy Anaheim" leads the parade.

I've never been to this parade before, so I can't honestly compare this year to earlier incarnations. But I did enjoy the heck out of it! I particularly liked how it evoked an old-fashioned Halloween: Grinning jack-o-lanterns and sheet-draped ghosts instead of blood and gore. And the combination of history, community and creativity was very, very Anaheim. My thanks to EVERYONE involved.

I've posted a BUNCH of photos from the parade (and even some video) on my Flickr account.

The Anaheim Historical Society marches down Broadway.