John Ord is one of Seal Beach’s most familiar names. Over the years he continually claimed that he was not only Seal Beach’s first resident, but that for a long time he was the new town’s ONLY resident — all of which was interesting news to the 200 permanent residents who lived a few blocks … Read more
originally published in Los Angeles Times, May 30, 1933 The sport of horse racing did not technically begin in the Los Alamitos area when Frank Vessels started his Sunday “bet-less” races in 1947. There are well-documented races in the area during the ownerships of Abel Stearns and Don Juan Temple of Rancho Los Alamitos and … Read more
In their never-ending quest to synergize new ways of making money, the LA Times used to run many more special sections and pages. One was “Little Farm Homes”. This is from the Dec. 13, 1931 issue. It was written by Mrs. H.E. Thompson, and because she describes Los Alamitos — although not in any real … Read more
In their never-ending quest to synergize new ways of making money, the LA Times used to run many more special sections and pages. One was “Little Farm Homes”. This is from the Dec. 13, 1931 issue. It was written by Mrs. H.E. Thompson, and because she describes Los Alamitos — although not in any real … Read more
I’m not sure just how accurate the headline is but I thought this little tidbit from the June 25, 1935 LA Times to be of interest. Eleven applicants for mon-commercial grades of flying licenses, including two women, were approved in this area during the week ending June 15. It was announced by J.S. Marriott, supoervising … Read more
originally submitted to the OC Register, and published on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 She tells stories from Los Alamitos’ past Esther Mejia, 94, lives in the house where she grew up. Submitted by Brett Murphy For The Orange County Register Her name is Esther Mejia. She is the one who taught me how to … Read more
Most histories of the Los Alamitos area frequently mention a strong heritage of Belgian immigrant farmers. While their numbers and impact to the area are usually overstated, some certainly had an impact. One of those was long-time Seal Beach doctor, Homer Eugene deSadeleer, whose obituary is reprinted below. According to Frans De Man, Denderhoutem in … Read more
June 19, 1964 – Press-Telegram, p. B-11 Alamitos School Unity Bid OKd By County Unit By JIM MELTON The proposed Los Alamitos Unified School District received county level approval without difficulty Thursday night, but it may face rougher going at the state level. Orange County Committee on School District Organization approved the plan at a … Read more
This is for the map junkies out there. Here is a rather parochial (i.e. Alamitos-centric) selection from a c.1953 map of Ranchos in Orange County. (It was labeled as a 1955 map, but I’m assuming it is about 1953 since Disneyland is not shown on the map.) (Click to it and go to a large … Read more
1966 Jet Bomber crash between Yellowtail and Rowena probably the worst One of the hazards of residing so close to a major (at least, at one-time) military airport is that sometimes the planes that are going up have on very rare occasions gone down — that has happened at least three times in Rossmoor.l There … Read more