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Events are selected for their local historical interest. The public is welcome!! |
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OCHS MONTHLY MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS |
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Future Meeting.... Orange County Tiki
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Next Meeting.... The History of Tustin Blimb Hangars Tustin Conservancy President Linda Jennings will tell us about the efforts to save the enormous blimp hangars that were once part of MCAS Tustin. Her program will include the short film, "The Tustin Hangars: Titans of History." Jennings lived in Old Town Tustin for 14 years before moving to Lemon Heights. She now lives in the historic Hewes House, built by David Hewes in 1881. She served on the city's Historic Resource Committee until it was disbanded. She also served as Chair of the City of Tustin Planning Commission and on several local nonprofit boards. She was Tustin Woman of the Year in 2004 and received the Athena Award as outstanding volunteer in 2002. In 2004, she helped found the Tustin Preservation Conservancy after the city council voted to tear down a historic building "in the Old Town commercial area, despite the CEQA report stating that it should be saved." Currently the Tustin Preservation Conservancy is launching a Save the Hangar campaign, gaining support from local historical groups and veterans groups. One of the two hangars is under the authority of Tustin and Orange County controls the other one. Tustin has already voted NOT to save its hangar. Orange County is working on a plan, and Supervisor Bill Campbell has stated he hopes to preserve theirs. "The Tustin Hangars: Titans of History," was prepared by the city as part of the mitigation prior to demolition of the hangars. It is an excellent documentary of the building of the hangars, there amazing size and structure and their use from 1941 until the Marine Base was decommissioned in 1999.
Previous Meetings....
The History of Railroads in Orange County The April Orange County Historical Society General Meeting will be held Thursday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal Street in Orange. The scheduled program will be concerning the history of Railroads in Orange County as presented by author Rob Richardson. From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe to the Southern Pacific to the short local rail lines, Mr. Richardson will discuss the impact of trains on Orange County's history. The gist of the information comes from his new book, Railroads and Depots of Orange County, printed by Arcadia Publishing. In his presentation, he will describe how railroads became a part of Orange County over 130 years ago. The expansion of the railroads from the 1800s and the turn of the 20th century made it a critical tool in the county's growth, including its introduction to World War II soldiers and sailors that passed through the area on trains. Mr. Richardson, a long-time member of the Orange County Railway Historical Society and the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society, will have interesting facts on Orange County railroading and if you are ready for the ride, you can join us for the General Meeting program on Thursday, April 8th. That night we will hear about Richardson's new book on the county's railroad history. For those interested in books on history, his publication will be on sale at the event. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church with the program following brief OCHS news items. We hope that you will be able to hop on board.
Thursday, March 11, 2010 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Cleveland National Forest Speaker: James Newland The next General Meeting of the Orange County Historical Society will be held Thursday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal Street in Orange behind the Orange Mall. A program is scheduled on the Cleveland National Forest by James D. Newland, a supervising historian and manager with California State Parks and a former forest historian. Mr. Newland will speak about the value and history of the local forest about which he has written a recent book. His book and talk are timely, as the Cleveland National Forest (CNF) is now over 100 years old. On July 1, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt created the U.S. Forest Service area and named it for pro-forest Pres. Grover Cleveland. The CNF includes over 460,000 acres in the Orange, San Diego, and Riverside Counties backcountry. During the last century, the dedicated men and women of the CNF have worked to protect the forest from disease and deadly wildfires, such as the destructive 2003 Cedar Fire and the 2007 and 2009 firestorms. Yearly the CNF is a tourist and outdoor recreation destination for millions of visitors and Southern California residents. It is one of the largest and oldest land-management agencies in the three-county region. Mr. Newland will have these and more interesting details on the forest and its history within Orange County. If this makes you want to go take a hike, then please come to our General Meeting and program on Thursday, March 11th. That night we will hear about Mr. Newland’s new book on the history of the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County in the last 100 years. For those who collect history books, it will be on sale at the event. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal Street. His presentation will follow the OCHS meeting and we hope that you will be able to attend.
Thursday, February 11, 2010 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Special Location for this meeting only: Old Courthouse in Downtown Santa Ana We honor Abraham Lincoln's birthday in February. So to celebrate the 16th President's arrival, the Orange County Historical Society's General Meeting will be held with the Old Courthouse Museum Society on February 11th. The OCMS special gatherings are to honor the President's achievements and his impact on Orange County. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. and will be at the Old Courthouse located at 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd. between Main and Broadway in Santa Ana. Our combined event at the Old Courthouse Museum will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and includes re-enactor William Peck performing as Lincoln. Mr. Peck will portray Lincoln the lawyer in the Old Courthouse's historic courtroom. He plans to bring out some of the lesser known aspects of Lincoln's life. Other OCMS activities include a 6 p.m. lecture February 3, by Don McCue, Curator at the Lincoln Shrine in Redlands. He will speak on Lincoln and California: about how the President dealt with the West. There will be a unique kid's day at the Old Courthouse on February 6, with a Self-Made in America exhibit, where youngsters can play with century-old crafts and toys and see a Civil War camp. Then at noon, the Orange County Historical Commission will have a showing of Abe Lincoln in Illinois, a 1940 film on young Abe. Plus, the Dr. Willella Howe-Waffle House will be open. All of these listed events are free. If this makes you feel Lincolnesque, then please come to our General Meeting and program held jointly with the OCMS on Thursday, February 11th at 6 p.m. That night we will have an interesting time in court with none-other than Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Mark your calendars for the meeting at the Old Courthouse, 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd., in Santa Ana. We hope that you will be to attend this special event! Thursday, January 14, 2010 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
OC Scouting History
At the January 14th General Meeting Phil Brigandi, a member of the Orange Community Historical Committee, will speak about his latest book about the enchanting history of the Boy Scouts in Orange County. His book and talk is timely, as it is the 100th birthday of the founding of the Boy Scouts in the U.S. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal Street, behind the Orange Mall. Mr. Brigandi is a third generation scout starting in Cub Scouts, achieving Eagle Scout, and still working at their summer camps so he is very knowledgeable on the subject matter. The book is On My Honor, A Century of Scouting in Orange County. It is one that Mr. Brigandi timed for release with 2010 being the Centennial of both the Boy Scouts of America and Scouting here in Orange County. The first OC troop was founded in Anaheim in 1910. A future Anaheim Mayor, Charlie Pearson, was one of the original Scouts. The Orange County Scout Council was formed in 1920 and for many years has been one of the largest Scout Councils in the United States. Orange County is also famous for hosting the 1953 National Boy Scout Jamboree, held on the Irvine Ranch near where Fashion Island is today. Also from our County, William H. Spurgeon III developed the Specialty Exploring program here in the 1950s, which was adopted as a national program later. It was designed to offer vocational training for young men and women and the Police Explorers are the best known part of the program today. Mr. Brigandi will have these and more interesting details on scouting and its history in Orange County. If this makes you want to sign up for summer camp, then please come to our General Meeting and program on Tuesday, January 14 th at 7:30 p.m. That night we will hear about Mr. Brigandi’s interesting history of the Orange County Boy Scouts in the last 100 years. The book will also be on sale at the meeting. We hope that you will give us your Scout’s Honor that you will be there!
Thursday, May 14, 2009 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Our May OC Historical Society General Meeting speaker is Alan Hess, a prominent California architecture critic for the San Jose Mercury News. He has written extensively on emerging suburban metropolises of the West, which he will share with us on May 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Meeting Hall at the Trinity Episcopal Church at 2400 N. Canal St. in Orange. Mr. Hess is a practicing architect and historian and has written a new book, "Near History: the Eichler Tracts of Orange County." As what we would consider modern Architecture is now officially historic, Mr. Hess finds proof right here in Orange County in the tract homes built by developer Joe Eichler in the 1950s. The Eichler homes brought the best of modern residential design within reach of the average home-buyer. Today they are being rediscovered for their straight-forward design and are being preserved and restored. Hess has been active in the preserving and qualifying the nation’s oldest McDonald’s drive-in in Downey and the Bullock's Department Store in Pasadena for the National Register of Historic Places. He is now researching Irvine’s architecture, one of the largest U.S. master-planned communities of the 1960s-70s. For the rest of the story, you’ll have to join us on May 14th at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church. Please come out to see and hear Alan Hess discuss how a pioneer builder-designer enhanced Orange County as the place to buy a home and live. See you there!
Have you ever driven by Camp Pendleton and wondered about its vast land holdings? You can learn about the history of the land by attending the next OCHS General Meeting. Faye Jonason of Fallbrook will be speaking on the history of the Camp Pendleton property at 7:30 p.m. on November 13, at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal Street, in Orange. Ms. Jonason is the Director of the Camp Pendleton Command Museum located on the base.
Camp Pendleton’s history began long before the base was built. In 1769, Gaspar de Portola’s expedition camped on what is now Marine land. Padres, including Father Junipero Serra, performed a baptism on July 22, a holy day for St. Margaret, so the area was named Santa Margarita. By 1800, Mission San Luis Rey, south of Camp Pendleton, was in charge of the Santa Margarita area. Later the Las Flores Estancia was built as a rest stop between the San Luis Rey and San Juan Capistrano Missions. After Mexico passed the Secularization of the Missions Act, most Missions fell into disrepair. Yet Las Flores and San Juan Capistrano continued under a decree that allowed missions to change to pueblos. In April, 1838, the Las Flores area was the site of the battle between Juan Bautista Alvarado and Carlos Antonio Carrillo over Alta California’s governance. The "battle" was a single cannon shot and Alvarado remained governor. Pio and Andres Pico became the first private owners of the Santa Margarita area land in 1841. More land was added and the name was changed to Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. In 1863, Don Juan Forster, an Englishman who became a Mexican citizen and married Pio Pico’s sister, paid off Pico’s debts and received the deed to the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. In 1864, Forster began expanding the Santa Margarita Ranch House to 18 rooms and turned the land into a cattle ranch. When Forster died his heirs sold the ranch to James Flood who selected his friend Richard O’Neill to manage the ranch. O’Neill was given half ownership for his loyal partnership. O’Neill’s son, Jerome, made the ranch profitable and improved the house to its present size. The main Santa Margarita House was the Commanding General’s home until 2007. During World War II 125,000 acres of the ranch would become the largest Marine base and be named for Major General Joseph Pendleton. The Camp was dedicated on Sept. 25, 1942, by President Roosevelt. The land has not changed much and de Portola would probably still recognize it. If you are you ready to storm the beaches of the Marine base, then join us on Thursday, November 13th. That night you will hear more from Ms. Jonason of the Camp Pendleton Command Museum on the history of this amazing land. Las Flores Tour Available The San Juan Capistrano Historical Society is holding its annual trip to Camp Pendleton to visit its historic sites on December 9th. The bus trip begins at the San Juan Capistrano Mission Museum on Los Rios Street at 8:30 a.m. The cost of the excursion is $35. Make out your check to the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. The all-day trip includes the tour bus, coffee and pastries at the start, an expert guide - Colonel Jim Williams, plus a box lunch with drinks, including beer and wine, and a wonderful tour about the history of the colorful area. The bus will return to San Juan Capistrano around 4:30 p.m. OCHS members are invited to go along, but should register as early as possible, NO LATER than November 10th in case a second bus needs to be ordered. For more information contact the SJC Historical Society at 1-949-493-8444. Thursday, October 9, 2008 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Old Santa Ana Cemetery: History and the Civil War/Confederate Connection Speaker: Lou Carlson Thursday, September 11, 2008 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Orange County Historical Society Annual Meeting Special Location SHERMAN LIBRARY & GARDENS 2647 E. Pacific Coast Highway (just south of MacArthur), Corona del Mar Flying in Orange County: Pioneer Female Pilot Flew from 30s to 21st Century Speaker: Iris Cummings (now Critchell) SEE MAP to SHERMAN GARDENS Iris Cummings (now Critchell) was a woman who took to flying airplanes like a fisherman takes to water. She will be the guest speaker at our first Fall meeting, which is traditionally conducted at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona del Mar (right past MacArthur on PCH). The event will be held Thursday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m. We will begin the evening with an opportunity to view of the gardens and our usual dessert potluck at 6:30. Bring a dessert for 6, ready to serve. Women pilots are not that unusual now, but she started flying in 1939 while still hitting the books as a sophomore at USC! After training and getting her pilot's license, she began flying Piper Cubs and Waco bi‑planes at the old Mines Field (now the site of LAX). When World War II broke out, she was soon teaching pilots to fly and in 1942 she went to Houston for some Army Air Corps training and was assigned to the WAFS (Woman's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron) in Long Beach as part of the civilian ferry system for the Army Air Corps Air Transport Command. Iris had the pleasure of flying almost every conceivable aircraft built during WWH. In addition to trainers, she flew the P‑47 Thunderbolt, P‑40 War Hawk, P‑39 Air Cobra, P‑51 Mustang, C‑47 Transport, B‑25 Mitchell, A‑20 Havoc, P‑38 Lightning, and the mesmerizing P‑61 Black Widow. As a co‑pilot, she also trained in the B‑ 17 bomber and the Lockheed Hudson. Her two favorites are the P‑38 and the P‑61, of which only one still exists. After the War, she went back to teaching aeronautics and providing training to students at USC's College of Aeronautics in Santa Maria. To keep her hand on the thrill of soaring into the blue sky and white clouds, Iris competed in the Transcontinental Powder Puff Derby 15 times beginning in 1950 ‑ winning twice and placing in the top ten seven times. The 1952 and 1953 air matches were held in Orange County at Eddie Martin Field in Santa Ana. She is a member of the "99," a pioneer woman's flying organization formed in 1929 and called that by Amelia Earhart because there were 99 original members. After the War, and at the urging of her friend Isabel Bates, Ms. Critchell and her husband (Howard) established the Bates Foundation Aeronautics Program at Harvey Mudd College. Their goal was to provide air training to assist junior and senior high school, as well as college students, by including aviation as part of a well rounded education. At Harvey Mudd College she taught from 1962 to 1990, now has Emeritus status, and still lectures and assists when needed. Two astronauts have gone through the program. In 2000, Iris was inducted into the National Association of Flight Instructors Hall of Fame. She was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award by the FAA in 2006. She was inducted into the International Pioneer Woman Pilots' Hall of Fame last year and honored as an Eagle at the U.S. Air Force Air University Gathering of Eagles this year. And, in keeping with the spirit of the recent Olympic Gaines in Beijing, China, she had an interesting childhood too. Iris was the U.S. swimming champion in the 200‑meter Breaststroke from 1936 to 1939 and participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. If these teasers make you want to fly into the wild blue yonder, then please mark your calendars for September 11 so you may join us. On that Thursday we will learn more about Iris Critchell and her amazing flying experience in and around Orange County.
All Regular Monthly Meetings Held At: TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH2400 N. Canal Street, Orange 7:30 PM SEE MAP to TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH |
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See you the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Orange at 2400 N. Canal Street! |
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