Okay, mythbusting is a strong term for this article, but it apparently did get your attention. The intent of this article is to solely to resolve conflicting information — and there is a lot of conflicting information about St. Isidore — by citing specific, sourced information to present our version of that nebulous creation we … Read more
The beginning of the end of the Los Alamitos Sugar Factory began with the release of a report by Orange County officials detailing all the potential hazards of the abandoned facility. With all the negatives laid out, and the place being labeled a “death trap,” the absentee landlord (he apparently lived in Pasadena) had no … Read more
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
Los Alamitos sugar factory General Manager E.C. Hamilton, who assumed control of the factory in 1914, continued to update and modernize the Los Alamitos factory and the town seem to get into the act as well. The war in Europe no doubt had some affect on the price of beets and its availability. Government quotas … 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
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
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