comicsofme: 2011

O.C. in the Rose Parade, 91 years ago

The City of Orange's float shown above was one of three units from Orange County in the 1921 Tournament of Roses Parade. The float's title was "Heart of Orange County," but the ribbons radiating out to small banners reading "Pasadena," "Los Angeles," "Newport/Balboa," "Riverside," and "Long Beach," hinted that Orange was also the heart of all Southern California. The float was decorated with lilies, ferns, carnations, and what appear to be red poinsettia petals outlining the heart.

The other two parade units from O.C. that year were the 26-piece Anaheim Elks Lodge marching band, and a float from the City of Anaheim. Anaheim's float also had a cardiovascular theme. In their case, the float was surmounted by a giant orange which was decorated with a white heart, indicating that Anaheim was the heart of the "orange district." According to the Los Angeles Times, "Four shepherd girls with crooks were on the float -- Helen and Marcella Webber, Lanette Rile and Helen Jordan."

What could be a better symbol of your citrus industry than a bevy of shepherd girls?

This second image is the cover of the 1921 Tournament of Roses issue of the Pasadena Evening Post. Inside, it describes the scene: "Early in the morning the crowds commenced to arrive and take positions along the line of march. Every road leading to Pasadena was thronged with automobiles and the great three-car trains of the Pacific Electric discharged their passengers every two minutes."

People didn't camp out to watch the parade back then, but even in 1921, an estimated quarter of a million people attended.

Although already famous, the Rose Parade's vetting process for entries still wasn't very refined by 1921. For instance, the Times reported, "One of the most conspicuous entries in the long procession was the three-wheeled cart of a misshapen dwarf attired in a high plug hat. Though helpless since birth, the happy dwarf was drawn through the streets by his faithful spotted pointer."

I don't think we'll be seeing that again Monday morning.

Thanks for another year of reading my blog, and for all your comments, emails, and contributions of photos and information. See you next year!

Citrus history on display in Fullerton

The Fullerton Museum Center is hosting an exhibit now through March 25, entitled, Citrus: California's Golden Dream. Their promo material reads, "...This is the story of the second California Gold Rush, the quest for oranges, grapefruits, and lemons, the fruits that dominated the state's economy from the 1880s through the 1950s. Citrus: California's Golden Dream features a fascinating array of fruit labels, historical books, maps, postcards, farm machinery, packing crates, and memorabilia."

Better still, Gordon McClelland will present a program at the Museum entitled, "Citrus Crate Labels: An Artistic Overview," on Feb 9, at 7pm. Gordon, as you may know, is a leading crate label collector and expert and has written several excellent books on the subject.

The Fullerton Museum Center, shown above, is at 301 N. Pomona Ave. See their website for hours and more details.

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Capistrano, Teri Delcamp, and Roads to Romance

The photo above was taken by Walter Knott or a member of his immediate family on a visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano sometime around the 1940s. It comes out of the Knott's Berry Farm Collection at the Orange County Archives. (Some other images in this particular series show the Knotts posed in the Mission's gardens.) Note the great hat worn by the docent and the box brownie camera held by the tourist in the foreground.

Here's what I get for not paying attention: I just now learned that Teri Delcamp, the longtime historical officer for the city of San Juan Capistrano, has left and taken a similar post for the City of Riverside. The Register article about Teri leaving appeared in November. Frank Mickadeit's more recent article hits the nail on the head about the gap left by Teri and the need to replace her with another full-time historical professional. And if there were any doubts, Ilse Byrnes agrees with Frank -- And you can't ask for a better advocate for the community's well-being and history than Ilse.

I was always very impressed with the quality of Teri's historical research and her knowledge of San Juan's history. I wish every city in Orange County had a Teri Delcamp watching over them. She will certainly be missed. I wish her well in Riverside.

Also in San Juan Capistrano news, the folks who were running the Frank Forster Mansion (1910) as a special events venue have gone bankrupt and closed the place.

After two posts (here and here) featuring old "Roads to Romance" maps of Southern California, I've heard from more than a few of you who either own or fondly remember these maps. In fact, Claudia Horn, Coordinator of Special Collections & Archives at Chapman University had a couple extra copies of the 1960s version of the map, and sent one to me and one to the Orange County Archives. I'll post a version of it here sometime in the not-too-distant future. Many thanks, Claudia!

Frequent reader Ken Stack sent along a photo of his copy of the map, which I've posted below.

Hope you all had a great Christmas!

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A Very Merry Christmas Indeed

Ah, Christmas is finally here.

Happily this year our family will celebrate Christmas at my son's home in Brentwood.
It's wonderful to see the traditional family dinner now passed down to the next generation.
In addition, the highlight of this holiday is my son's engagement to the lovely lawyer Laura.
Today I will meet her family which arrived this week from New York.
So, this is a very special holiday for me.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Today's image is a postcard showing a nativity scene at Mission San Juan Capistrano. The photo was probably taken in the 1960s.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful holiday!

Christmas Comes Early For Korea and The World At Large

As you can imagine I have been busting it out this week.
There has been so much to do at the office and at home to get ready for the holiday this weekend.

But, I just can't let the busiest week of the year pass without posting the best news of the year or perhaps of the last few decades.
Kim Jong Il will finally face his final judgement.

I don't think that I've ever mentioned it here before that I love Korea.
Why you ask? I don't know it's complicated.
But like my being a Francophile, an Anglophile, a Switzerlandphile and an Australiaphile,
I am a Koreaphile too.
And, if you watched as much Korean drama (K-dram) as I have
you'd be a Koreaphile too.

But back on topic.
Kim Jong Il was evil. Yes, there I've said it.
He was so bad that he made Middle Eastern tyrants and African despots look like nice guys.
Like Stalin with his failed agricultural policies in the 1930s which caused the starvation of millions,
Kim Jong Il's policies caused the starvation his own people.
You can read about it in this article from The Atlantic
How Kim Jong Il Starved North Korea

Oh, and if that isn't bad enough,
Under Kim Jong Il, dissenters and others were forced into prison/concentration camps.
In fact entire families, with small children, were sentenced to hard labor and starvation.
There is ample evidence about the conditions in these camps on the internet including in this article from the Huffington Post
North Korea: Behind The Veil

"In this country, one can die from uttering one wrong word; people starve to death; one cannot go anywhere without a public pass. In this country, there are modern-day Auschwitz concentration camps; no religion exists; the regime supports production of illegal drugs, counterfeit bills and cigarettes. In this country, the whole population is classified into twelve hierarchical groups; millions starve to death while the dictator spends close to a billion dollars for his father's memorial; there is neither radio nor internet. In this country, one has to serve at least ten years in the military; there is the biggest income gap in the world; and the monthly wage is less than a dollar for most people. This country is North Korea."

I don't know what is going to happen in North Korea now, but I pray that Kim Jong Il's death will bring a new openness and an amelioration in the harsh conditions that the people of that country have been living under at the whim of their tyrannical totalitarian leaders.

Yes indeed, Christmas has come early for some 24 million people.

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iPhone and its usage

Steven Paul Jobs, who marked the history by launching the first iPhone, was CEO of Apple,on Jube 29,2007, and the era of iPhone begins there when CEO directed the Apple engineers to work over touchscreens, ans the hallmark of Apple is that they sought work with AT&T inc as it is an American multinational telecommunications corporation. its headquartered in Dallas, Texas, United States. it is record the the second most provider of mobile and fixed telephony, also works in broadband in US. Before the iPhone was released, many people call the “Dark Time.” because note phones have no flexible gad gates as iPhone, either they have bad software design or the limitations inherent to it. iPhone having a multi touch system. Everyone seems to be doing flat screens now. There were a couple of touch-screen devices on the market before but they were too creepy.

if we come upon the functions of iphone it works smartly with video camera, there's also a camera phone, a portable media player, and an Internet client with email and web browsing capabilities, can send texts and receive visual voice mail, and has both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one(some itme its bit difiicult for the new users). there are many fine applications provided by Apple with extremly marvelous functionality, like games, you can check references, have access to GPS navigation, social networking, security and advertising for television shows, films, and celebrities.

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Disneyland: Steps In Time, Adventureland

Today's "before, after and today" images show the entrance to Disneyland's Adventureland, looking out toward the center of the park. The image above was created before the park was complete, in about 1954. The photo below shows the same spot in 1963 -- largely unchanged from its appearance when Disneyland opened, in 1955. It seems the Polynesian roof lines didn't look quite as impressive in reality as they did on paper. The exotic masks and shields (supplied by the still-amazing Oceanic Arts of Whittier), also ended up a lot smaller than planned.

Originally planned as "True-Life Adventureland," this section of the park was to be based on Disney Studios' popular nature documentaries, shot in exotic locales. Adventureland included fantasy elements mixed with features from Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, the Middle East, and the South Seas. When the park opened, those places seemed exotic, mysterious, and otherworldly to most guests. Today, many of Disneyland's guests are actually from those places. Still, this mid-Century expression of the "exotic other" is a big part of Adventureland's charm.

The photo below was taken earlier this year from approximately the same angle as the 1963 image. The thatched roof has been improved significantly, the faux elephant tusks have been made to look like wood instead of ivory, (to make things more PC), and the nearby foliage has filled in to look a bit more green and jungle-like.

At its 1955 dedication, Walt Disney read, "Here is adventure. Here is romance. Here is mystery. Tropical rivers - silently flowing into the unknown. The unbelievable splendor of exotic flowers...the eerie sound of the jungle...with eyes that are always watching. This is Adventureland."

Compared to Disneyland's other realms, Adventureland has always been rather small. In the beginning, its only real attraction was the Jungle Cruise. It is also the only land not to have what Walt called a "weenie": That is, a highly visible and curiosity-inspiring object at the back of each land that drew people into the land from the entrance. Main Street's weenie was Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Tomorrowland had the Moonliner Rocket. Frontierland had the smokestacks of the Mark Twain Riverboat. And so forth. But guests approaching the Adventureland entrance couldn't see more than a short distance forward, which I suppose heightened the mystery of what might be hidden around that first bend.

Today, Adventureland features several additional attractions, including the Indiana Jones Adventure, the Tarzan Treehouse (formerly the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse), and the Enchanted Tiki Room. Of course, its best attraction is the opportunity to relax on the Tiki Room's lanai, sipping a Dole Whip float and watching the 1963 tikis do their thing.

The Sennett Bathing Beauties at Dana Point

Here are Hollywood's once-famous Sennett Bathing Beauties at Dana Point, helping promote real estate sales at the behest of developer Sidney Woodruff.

Woodruff had also developed Hollywoodland, which ultimately provided the town of Hollywood with its iconic hillside sign. He also convinced many film industry bigwigs to invest in the new town he was going to develop on a stretch of scenic coastline called Dana Point. One of those backers was Mack Sennett.

Sennett was best known as a director of silent slapstick movies, but also worked as a screenwriter, actor, producer, cinematographer and composer. In 1912, he founded Keystone Studios, which launched the movie careers of such talents as Charlie Chaplin, Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields. And, as you may have guessed from the name, the studio also made the Keystone Kops comedies.

In 1915, Sennett introduced the popular Sennett Bathing Beauties, who appeared in humorous short films (including some shot in Orange County), wearing what were then considered revealing swimsuits.

The year after this photo was taken, the Sennett Bathing Beauties were disbanded. And a year after that the stock market collapsed, destroying Woodruff's plans for Dana Point. Ultimately, the town wouldn't "take off" until well after World War II. By then both Woodruff and his Hollywood pals were well out of the picture.

(This post's for you, Brent!)

Christmas Decor Ideas

Decorating your house for this Christmas adds added attraction for your Christmas preparations to celebrate the occasion. Outdoor Christmas décor includes decorating a Christmas tree with colorful lighting which needs a lot of creativity. Yard decoration, besides pre-lit topiary and nativity sets, is important while you opt for decorating your house.

Here are few Christmas decor ideas:

Choose a different theme for each and every room. Take the views of your children into consideration if you are decorating kids’ room. The decoration of the hall needs to be grand as all the guests are invited and assembled in that room. Choose the colors of bells and balloons selectively according to the theme. Go for a mild decoration for interiors and bed rooms.

Highlight your collections by placing them proper in your home. Rely on simple decoration methods, which produce maximum results. Start decoration in such a way that even if changes are needed, they could be done instantly. Avoid major renovations as they cost too much and destroy the whole atmosphere besides being time consuming.

Prepare according to the theme of the party. Involve the participation of your children more. Think of creative ideas that are simple in implementing such as decorating children’s room with lot of toys and colorful accessories. Opt for nightlight if you can afford.

Keep a small tree at a corner of the kitchen space, adorned with small kitchen items found in a toy store. Make sure that are not in direct contact with children. Ensure safety while deciding on decorating for kitchen items. Place items according to their usage and requirements. Have your wardrobe with latest Christmas collections so that they are handy at the time of the occasion.

Lastly, never try too hard on the color combinations. Try to present a natural look so that it appears pleasant on an overall.