Author: Tracy Smith Falk

Historian Chris Jepsen will share the story of Al Capone’s attempt to buy the Rancho Santa Margarita — including much of South O.C. and all of today’s Camp Pendleton — at the Thursday, September 14, 2023 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30p.m., Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange. (Note that unlike most OCHS season kick-off meetings, this one will be held in Orange.)

Tales of Chicago gangster “Scarface” Capone’s desire to buy the Rancho Santa Margarita have circulated since 1931 but were dismissed by historians for lack of evidence. But for twelve years, Jepsen gathered evidence from newspapers, real estate brokers’ correspondence, Mission San Juan Capistrano’s archives, family members of those involved, and much more. Taken together, it painted a clear picture of Capone’s effort to buy this huge, unguarded swath of California coast, which would have been perfect for landing shiploads of booze from Canada and Mexico. During his program, Jepsen will tell this tale along with related stories of California rancheros, local bootlegging, and Capone’s face-off with the padres of Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Chris Jepsen has been involved in local history work since the 1980s and has been president of OCHS the past twelve years. As an independent historian and “local history evangelist” he has organized tours and seminars, lectured frequently, developed museum exhibits, documented endangered historic sites, organized non-profit groups, and served on the Huntington Beach Historic Resources Board. He writes articles for historical journals, his own O.C. History Roundup blog, county publications, and was Orange Coast Magazine’s “O.C. Answer Man” for six years. For the past twenty years, his day job has been serving as the Assistant Archivist at the Orange County Archives. Chris is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, but says his greatest education came from five years of daily mentorship as assistant to California historian Phil Brigandi.

See you on September 14th at 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange! 

A panel of experts will discuss the story of Orange County-born Vans and their famous shoes at the April 13, 2023 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30 pm, Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange.

The history of globally renowned sneaker and action sports brand Vans, which was originally founded as the Van Doren Rubber Co. in 1966 in Anaheim, will be presented by Vans’ archivist and brand historian Catherine Acosta. Acosta founded Vans’ official archive at their headquarters in Costa Mesa in 2019. Her presentation will be followed by an intimate talk with Steve Van Doren, Vans’ VP of Promotions and Events and the son of Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren; and Bob Provost, one of Vans’ Global Ambassadors, who has been at Vans for over 40 years.

From 1966 until the mid-1990s, Vans owned and operated its own factories in O.C. and has operated stores here since its founding. Creating a unique cultural identity for itself in the mid-1970s when the company embraced and supported the development of skateboarding with its first skate shoe designs, Vans has become a part of Southern California culture.

Orange County Jewish Historical Society archivist Dalia Taft will present “1940-1980: The Jewish Community Comes Together,” at the March 9th, 2023 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society (OCHS), 7:30 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange. This program is a follow-up to her December 2020 presentation before the Society, which spanned history from 1857 to 1940.

This second program follows the Orange County Jewish community from just before WWII through 1980, when the tiny population more than doubled in size and started to build up community organizations, synagogues, youth groups, and more. Ms. Taft will show how many of Orange County’s Jewish residents were, and continue to be, actively involved in local commerce, culture and politics while still maintaining their Jewish identities. The lecture includes a montage of old photos, period newspaper announcements and vintage advertisements.

Prior to attending this event, OCHS suggests also viewing the half-hour documentary, California Orange Jews: The Story of Jews in Orange County, by Josh Friedman and Dalia Taft of the Orange County Jewish Historical Society. It is available on Youtube. (See tinyurl.com/3rtyvkh6)

As archivist for the Orange County Jewish Historical Society, Taft is responsible for increasing the awareness of the role Jews have played in the development of Orange County from 1857, when the first Jew settled in Anaheim, to now. She maintains the Society’s archives and is constantly researching and digitizing the growing collection. She lectures regularly and writes a monthly column in JLife, Orange County’s monthly Jewish magazine, highlighting images from the society’s archives. She is also the author of the book Jewish Pioneers of Orange County, which she will be available to sign and sell at the end of her program at OCHS.

Author and former Irvine Co. executive Mike Stockstill will share the history of the Irvine Ranch at the February 9, 2023 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange.

Michael Stockstill’s presentation is based on the book he co-authored, Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and the Big Plan (2022). He’ll tell the story of Irvine Ranch’s transformation from an agricultural empire into the most successful New Town in the U.S. Along the way, the colorful and tragic history of the Irvine family, especially Joan Irvine Smith, will be featured, along with key insights based on the writings and oral history of Ray Watson and a look at the man who created the first master plans for Irvine and UC Irvine, William Pereira.

Michael Stockstill is a native Californian who moved to Orange County in 1972 where he worked for newspapers and magazines before joining the Irvine Co. in 1978. He graduated from Humboldt State University in 1971 with a degree in journalism. After leaving the Irvine Company in 1991 he worked in a variety of public affairs positions before retiring in 2010. He lives with his wife Colleen Clark in Irvine.