Larry Strawther A “Blind Pig” was an old slang term for a dive (or lower-class drinking establishment if you will) that sold alcoholic beverages illegally. The operator such as a saloon or bar would charge customers to see an attraction (such as a “blind pig”) and then serve a “complimentary” alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the various laws … Read more
printed in LA Times, August 11, 1903 and Covina Argus, Saturday, August 15 In these days when the fertile valleys of Southern California are cut up into small holdings and the large ranches are fast disappearing, the casual observer is apt to think that the business of cattle raising in Los Angeles County is a … Read more
By LEONARD SARGEANT News Assistant City Editor LOS ALAMITOS— Miss Kate Rea, 85½, and her “kid” sister, Mrs. Ella Wallop, 80, were the hits of a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday which opened an important link to a highway which had been named after them many years before. Scene was the bridge over the San Gabriel … Read more
One of the most persistent local myths is that the original wall surrounding Rossmoor was built from the bricks of the demolished Los Alamitos Sugar Factory. While a nice story with some pleasant symmetry, this, unfortunately, seems to be untrue. The wall was built by Ross Cortese’s Frematic Development Company in 1956 and 1957 during … Read more
Local oldtimers have cited that the Los Alamitos Sugar Factory would kick off its annual campaign — the opening of the factory to take in the just-harvested sugar beet crop — with a big barbecue picnic and celebration. This would usually occur in mid July to early August, depending on that year’s crop. But the … Read more
The Bixbys are a legendary name in the history of Long Beach and the Rancho Los Alamitos, and deservedly so. The true start of the family fortune goes back to the early 1850s when cousins Benjamin and Thomas Flint and Lewellyn Bixby returned home to Maine from Gold Rush California, where they had some success … Read more
This bio was originally printed in Samuel Armor’s History of Orange County, Part 2, p. 1606. JOB DENNI. — A native of Canton Unterwalden, Switzerland, Job Denni was born on September 30, 1878, at Geswil. He was educated in the public schools of his native country and is the only one now living of a … Read more
Not surprisingly since it is the smallest city in Orange County, Los Alamitos doesn’t have that many streets and roads. But some do have an interesting history so I thought I’d put down some of what I know — or think I know. If you have any more info, feel free to let us know. … Read more
The Beet Sugar Gazette was a monthly publication covering the entire sugar beet industry around the world. With offices in Chicago, it was published on the 5th day of each month. Each issue featured articles on sugar beet cultivation and the sugar manufacturing process, and reports from correspondents in sugar producing areas or re-prints of … Read more
The Beet Sugar Gazette was a monthly publication covering the entire sugar beet industry around the world. With offices in Chicago, it was published on the 5th day of each month. Each month its pages featured articles on sugar beet cultivation and the sugar manufacturing process, and reports from correspondents in sugar producing areas or … Read more