Category: Events – Monthly

Linda Shay, Executive Director and Curator of the Brea Museum, will discuss the history of the City of Brea’s Art In Public Places program at the October 12, 2023 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30p.m., Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in the City of Orange. The public is welcome.

Nestled in the foothills of North Orange County is one of the county’s oldest cities: Brea. Beginning in 1975, Brea has cultivated one of the most extensive public art collections in Southern California. Today there are over 191 monumental statues covering every corner of the 12 ½ mile city. Historian Linda Shay will discuss the story of this unique program.

Linda has lived in Brea since 1996 where she raised three sons who have blessed her with four grandchildren. She holds a BA and MA in History and a PhD in Education. Besides her work at the Museum, Linda is also an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, where she teaches several courses covering the history of the 20th century. In her spare time, she loves to garden and hang out with her grandkids.

Join us for this exciting program on public art!  We look forward to seeing you on October 12, 2023 at 7:30p.m., at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in the City of Orange.

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.

Robert David Breton will speak on the history of Mission Viejo at the January 12, 2023 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. The public is welcome!

Former Mission Viejo Mayor and Mission Viejo Heritage Committee member Robert Breton will share the history of the master-planned community he calls home. He will focus on the early rancho days, the formation of the Mission Viejo Company, its purchase of the land from the O’Neill family, the master planning process, and the city’s incorporation and growth.

Robert and his family moved to Mission Viejo in 1976. He has served as a member of Mission Viejo’s City Council, Planning Commission, Municipal Advisory Council, Community Services District, Community Services Commission, Friends of the Library, and many other local task forces and boards. As mayor of Mission Viejo, Breton formed the City’s Heritage Committee and assisted Doris Walker in writing its first history book, Mission Viejo: The Ageless Land. He is currently at work on a new history of Mission Viejo, to be published soon.

Santa Ana’s historic National Guard unit, Company L, and their service at the Mexican border and during WWI will be the subject of Richard Hartman’s presentation at the Dec. 8, 2022 meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in the City of Orange. The public is welcome.

Company L of California’s 7th Infantry was called to active duty in June of 1916, along with the entire National Guard in the United States, to assist the Regular Army, guarding the US southern border.  It was a time of many changes to the National Guard, when it developed into the force we know today.  Nelson Holderman began 1916 as a Sergeant in Company L and by the end of the year he commanded the Company as a Captain.  He would go on to receive the Medal of Honor in World War 1, while a part of the action known as “The Lost Battalion.”  Several other young men from the Santa Ana company would lose their lives in that same action.  We also have an eye-witness account of the aftermath of the battle from a man from Santa Ana as a member of the first Company to relieve those surrounded men.

Our guest speaker, Richard Hartman, served in the California Air Guard as a Chief Master Sergeant and the Maintenance Superintendent of the 222nd Combat Communications Squadron in Costa Mesa.  Richard spent seven years on active duty in the Air Force in Montana and Wyoming as a Systems Analyst on Minuteman 2 and Minuteman 3 missile systems.  In his civilian life, he was a control systems engineer, building flight simulator systems and motion rides.  After retiring from his civilian job, he entered the Master’s History program at Cal State Fullerton.  Richard also volunteers at the Orange Family History Library, helping patrons navigate their research.

Please join us on December 8th!

Recent Orange County history books will be discussed by their authors at the Orange County Historical Society’s Authors Night on Thursday, November 10, 2022, 7:30p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in the City of Orange. After their presentations, you’ll have time to meet the authors, ask questions, buy books, and have those books signed. The public is welcome. Featured books include:

SAVING UPPER NEWPORT BAY

The gist of this book’s story is right in the title: Saving Upper Newport Bay: How Frank and Frances Robinson Fought to Preserve One of California’s Last Estuaries. Author Cassandra Radcliff began volunteering at Upper Newport Bay in 2014 after visiting the park for birdwatching. She is now a Volunteer Naturalist, recipient of a OneOC Spirit of Volunteerism Award (2019), and Vice President of the Newport Bay Conservancy Board of Directors. She currently lives in south Orange County and works for Walter Foster Publishing, a book publisher founded in Laguna Beach in 1922.

A PEOPLE’S GUIDE TO ORANGE COUNTY

This alternative tour guide “documents sites of oppression, resistance, struggle, and transformation in Orange County, California.” The book’s wide array of topics reflect local diversity, segregation, privatization, the struggle for public space, migration, youth cultures, labor, and much more. Two of the contributing authors will join us for the evening. Dr. Elaine Lewinnek is professor of American Studies and chair of the Environmental Studies program at CSU Fullerton. Dr. Thuy Vo Dang is Curator for the UC Irvine Libraries Southeast Asian Archive and Research Librarian for Asian American studies and is co-author of the book, Vietnamese in Orange County.

GOOGIE MODERN: ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS OF ARMET DAVIS NEWLOVE

OCHS’ longtime friend, author and architectural historian Alan Hess presents this highly visual volume of plans and concept drawings from the private archives of the Armet Davis Newlove firm. This architectural firm created what became known as “Googie Modern,” capturing the optimistic and forward-thinking mood in post-war America and setting the bar for what would become Mid-Century Modern style. Hess has written more than nineteen books on Modern architecture and urbanism in the mid-twentieth century. This included, beginning in the 1980s, the first serious works on Southern California’s own Googie architecture.

SUITE ALICE OF RIVERSIDE, TAHOE AND LAGUNA

Alice Miller Richardson – the sister of Mission Inn founder Frank Miller — started as a hotel manager in 1874. She proved a natural and over time ran multiple world-class hotels (then “a man’s job”), setting new industry standards along the way. Friends frequenting her waterfront Laguna Beach home included prominent artists, cooks, actors, presidents, architects and poets. Few knew she was one of California’s most successful businesswomen. Author Barbara Ann Burns has long been in charge of training docents at the Mission Inn. Initially, she thought Alice had simply worked in her brother’s famous Inn. Over time, she learned that Alice was really the one in charge.

LAGUNA DIARY

Author Richard Leslie Brock’s new historical novel is a well-researched and well-remembered depiction of mid-century Laguna Beach. Laguna Diary is about secrets revealed by a long-lost diary written by a boy’s father who abandons his family. Many of the secrets are about local lore unique to Laguna and they guide the boy into adulthood. Others provide clues to the father’s disappearance. Locals will recognize long-gone local institutions, buskers, cults, West Street Beach, Aliso Creek Pier, the death of Killer Dana, and much more. There’s even a connection to Richard Egan of San Juan Capistrano. Brock is a historian, folklorist, novelist and attorney.

THE KINDNESS OF COLOR

Author Janice Munemitsu gave a presentation to OCHS earlier this year about her book, The Kindness of Color: The Story of Two Families and Mendez, et al. v. Westminster, the 1947 Desegregation of California Public Schools. She returns this evening to sell and sign her book and answer your questions. The book tells the true story of two immigrant families (Mendez and Munemitsu) who came to the U.S. for better lives, only to face their own separate battles against racism during the 1940s. The friendship of these two families would help lead to the desegregation for all the school children of California in 1947.