The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

This mini-biography is based on various articles appearing in the Fullerton News-Tribune from 1893-1944.

Dr. George C. Clark was born in Chambersburg, Ohio in 1863. After completing his studies in homeopathic medicine at Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago in 1884, he worked in private practice in Danville, Ill, and Morris County, Kansas. He also served as house surgeon for the Santa Fe Railroad in New Mexico.

In 1891, he moved to Fullerton, and opened a medical practice. He charged $1 for house calls, 50 cents for office visits and $5 for baby deliveries ($7.50 if “difficult”).

His first office was in the Chadbourne Building at the northwest corner of Spadra (now Harbor) and Commonwealth. Between patients, he played the flute, prompting Fullerton Tribune editor Edgar Johnson, his downstairs neighbor, to write in his newspaper: “If any of our readers have an idea that they could write a brilliant and brainy editorial in our sanctum, with Dr. Clark with his flute right over head tooting ‘Down Went McGinty’ to the tune of the ‘Dead March,’ they are welcome to it.”

In 1894, he married Edith Johnson of Norwalk, and built a house at the corner of Harvard Avenue (now Lemon Street) and Amerige Avenue. The house also served as his medical office. Edith raised pigeons and rabbits in pens beside their house.

“The house hummed with visitors, music and activity,” according to the Tribune.

That same year, Clark was elected county coroner.

“His activities in the county took him from Capistrano to Whittier in the days when the horse and buggy was the best available means of transportation,” the Tribune states.

Clark was very active in Fullerton’s civic life. A Republican, he was elected to the school board and to Fullerton’s first City Council (then the Board of Trustees) in 1904. He served as president of the city’s Board of Health.

“George and Edith Clark enjoyed a busy social life,” the Tribune states. He joined Fullerton’s first Chamber of Commerce, served on the Board of Directors of Fullerton’s first hospital, and was a member of numerous fraternal organizations, including the Independent Order of Foresters, the Fraternal Aid Association, and the Masonic Lodge. He played his flute in the Fullerton Orchestra, mainly at ice cream socials.

He was a member of the first telephone exchange in Fullerton, which was installed by William Starbuck in his drug store.

In 1903, he gave up his horses and bought one of the first automobiles in town.

While on City Council, Clark “became embroiled in a political controversy over the proposed incorporation of Fullerton as a municipality. The issue was muddied by a battle between prohibitionists (drys) and their opponents (wets), and it was not until 1904 that the incorporation finally was approved. Dr. Clark was among those elected Fullerton’s first trustees Charles Chapman was named its first mayor. With saloon licensing still an issue, Clark voted first with the wets, then the drys, until in April the following year the sale of liquor was approved in the city.”

The first city council got to work laying out the first sidewalks, purchasing a sprinkling machine to water down the dusty unpaved roads, establishing lighting for city streets, and installing the city’s first bicycle path on Chapman Avenue.

George and Edith had three children: George DeWitt (born 1896), Eudolpha (1899), and Joshua Martin (1901).

Dr. Clark and his family left Fullerton in 1905, but returned six years later and the family settled in a different home on North Spadra. Clark joined the medical firm of Johnston, Beebe, Clark, Davis and, later, Wickett.

In the 1920s, the Clarks again moved away from Fullerton, returned for a while in the 1930s, before retiring to their beach home in Balboa.

Around 1940, Dr. Clark retired after almost 60 years in the medical profession. He succumbed to heart disease on Sept. 3, 1948 at the age of 85.

According to the Tribune, “The doctor’s legacy lives on in the form of Heritage House at the Fullerton Arboretum on the Cal State Fullerton campus…The house was moved to the arboretum, where it was authentically restored and furnished and dedicated in May of 1976.”

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

The Local History Room of the Fullerton Public Library has microfilm from the Fullerton Tribune newspaper stretching back to 1893. I am in the process of reading over the microfilm, year by year, to get a sense of what was happening in the town over the years, and creating a mini archive. Below are some news stories from 1926.

In 1926, the Fullerton Tribune bought the town’s competing newspaper, the Fullerton News, to become the Fullerton News-Tribune.

In national news, Republicans controlled both houses of congress and the presidency, under Calvin Coolidge. Infamous con-man Charles Ponzi was convicted of defrauding investors, wealthy Native Americans in Oklahoma were being murdered for their oil lands, Major League Baseball faced a huge scandal when Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker were accused of fixing and betting on games, and famous evangelist Aimee Temple McPherson disappeared and then re-appeared under mysterious circumstances. 

In international news, fascists under Benito Mussolini had gained control of Italy, Theodoros Pangalos declared himself dictator in Greece, the army of Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin captured Beijing, the Cristero War broke out in Mexico, the United States intervened to end the Nicaraguan Civil War, and Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel.

Growth

Fullerton continued to grow relatively rapidly. In 1926, the city comprised an area of 19 square miles, had a population of 11,250, 20 miles of paved streets, 17 miles of sewage lines, 35 miles of water mains, one fire station, three parks, 10 public schools, three banks, nine churches, one hospital, two theaters, 1676 telephones, and 16 manufacturing and packing plants.

A new fire hall on west Wilshire Avenue was built. It stood on what is now Half Off Books in the Wilshire Promenade building.

The Bastanchury Ranch laid out plans for massive citrus and tomato orchards.

In business news, Alpha Beta market opened downtown at the southwest corner of Wilshire and Spadra (now Harbor).

The Orange County Ice Company opened a new plant at the corner of Truslow and Harvard (now Lemon).

New housing subdivisions were built, most of them with racially restrictive covenants that prevented non-whites from living there.

In regional infrastructure news, a bond was placed before the voters of Orange County to improve Newport Harbor, to make it a major shipping point, but the bond failed.

Plans were in the works to build a dam on the Colorado River that would generate power and divert water to Southern California.

Plans were also in the works for a county-wide flood control plan. This would ultimately result in the concrete channelization of the Santa Ana river.

Politics

In local politics, J.S. Elder and Bert Annin were elected to the City Council.

Harry Crooke was again chosen as Mayor.

Less than a year into his tenure, Elder resigned and Emmanuel Smith was appointed to replace him.

William A. Goodwin was elected town constable.

In La Habra, things got heated during the local election, resulting in a police officer getting shot.

Republican Clement C. Young defeated fellow Republican Friend Richardson for his party’s nomination for governor, and then defeated Democrat Justus S. Wardell in the general election.

Richardson came to Orange County, and gave a speech in which he “flayed political bosses.”

The Great Oil Fire

Perhaps the biggest news story of 1926 was the great Brea Oil Fire.

Lightning struck two 500,000 barrel underground oil reserves of the Union Oil Company a half mile west of Brea, creating a huge blast and igniting a massive oil fire.

“Plate glass windows in Brea stores were shattered by this blast which was felt slightly in Fullerton,” the Tribune reported. “Flames shot 500 feet in the air as the lightning struck eyewitnesses declared and burning fragments of the wooden roofs which covered the reservoirs were blown directly over the town of Brea by a strong westerly wind.”

Four hundred men were rushed to the scene to try to put out the fire and remove oil from the reservoirs. The fire threatened to spread to 10 other large tanks in the field.

Dikes were erected to halt the spread of the oil fire.

“Huge clouds of smoke billowed into the air throughout the day attracting thousands of persons from surrounding districts,” the Tribune wrote. “Brea fire department apparatus has been called out to protect homes near the scene of the flames and Union oil workers are moving out of their houses on the lease surrounding the tank farm as a precautionary measure.”

And then, the next day, a fourth tank caught fire.

Damage was estimated at over $5,000,000.

Fire fighters from Long Beach and Wilmington were rushed to the fire, “and workers from practically every oil field and oil company in Southern California were aiding the fight.”

To make matters worse, a cyclone struck sections of Brea causing more damage.

Finally, after a couple days of burning, the fire was gotten under control.

Prohibition

In 1926, Prohibition was in full effect, and local law enforcement struggled to control bootlegging.

The Fullerton police department held a public “booze pouring” event in which they dumped out hundreds of gallons of illegal booze they had seized.

And then, something embarrassing happened. Some Fullerton police officers were accused by another officer of stealing wine from the department’s stock of seized liquor for personal use.

After a few public hearings before City Council, the accused officers denied any wrongdoing and were not convicted of any crimes. The whole ordeal, however, caused a shake-up in the department, in which some officers were forced to resign.

Adding to the embarrassment, Fullerton City Councilmember Emmanuel Smith and beloved football coach “Shorty” Smith were both arrested and fined on liquor charges. Neither lost their jobs.

Culture and Entertainment

In the previous year, 1925, Chapman’s Alician Court Theater (later to be known as the Fox Theater) opened with great fanfare. In 1926, the theater’s name changed to the Mission Court Theater.

Transportation

Plans were in the works to convert the City’s sewer farm on the west side of town into a municipal airport.

Education

In education news, a few articles appeared extolling the virtues of the Fullerton Union High School “Americanization” program, in which Mexican American children and adults who lived in segregated work camps were taught English and various aspects of American citizenship.

Occasionally students of the Americanization program showcased their progress to the community at large.

At one of these ceremonies, master of ceremonies, Crescencio Duran “distinguished himself by announcing every number in clear, well chosen English,” the Tribune reported. “Members of beginning English classes dramatized the various processes of buying and selling, while pupils in advanced English classes read original essays on Lincoln, Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Roosevelt. They had also two excellent papers on thrift, accompanied by a dramatization of how to open a savings account in English.”

To read more about the social and educational segregation of Mexican Americans at this time, check out my article “The Roots of Inequality: The Citrus Industry Prospered on the Back of a Segregated Immigrant Workforce.”

The 1920s were a time of rapid social and cultural change, and some feared the influence of “evil” things like jazz and certain types of literature and sought to ban them.

Agriculture

Along with oil, citrus was the other big industry in Fullerton and surrounding environs.

Sports

In sports news, there was a popular “indoor” baseball league that played its games on the field next to Ford Grammar School, now Ford Park.

The mascot of Fullerton High School was, and is, the Indian. In more recent years, this has proved controversial, as native American groups over the years have tried to get the district to change the mascot, arguing that it is offensive. Despite the fact that activists have been unsuccessful in changing the name, I too find it offensive, especially considering the fact that in 1926, the Fullerton Indians were regularly called the “redskins.”

Racism

In other racism news, despite facing national controversy in their peak year of 1925, the Ku Klux Klan was still a formidable force in American society. The Ku Klux Klan may be seen as the progenitors of today’s movement of Christian nationalism.

Healthcare

In the category of “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” the subject of mandatory vaccination proved controversial.

History

In local history news, the old Yorba adobe in the Santa Ana canyon was destroyed to make room for a barley field. This was done at the direction of property owner Samuel Kraemer, who was married to Angelina Yorba, a descendant of the Yorba family, one of the oldest families in California, who owned a huge Spanish/Mexican land grant prior to the American conquest of California.

“One by one the visible links with the early days of California are being broken and the chain of picturesque adobe homes with their quaint architecture and delightful atmosphere of the days when the land was in its primitive charm, is fast disintegrating into the dust from which it was made,” the Tribune stated.

Miscellaneous

Here are a few miscellaneous articles from 1926:

Death

In death news, Jennie Des Granges, wife of pioneer Otto Des Granges, passed away.

A native of Tennessee, Jennie came to Fullerton area in 1869. She was the oldest daughter of James Gardiner, another Fullerton pioneer. Their children were Paul Des Granges and Marie Brewer. Her brothers were John R. Gardiner, Lilburn Gardiner, Frank Gardiner, and W.A. Gardiner.

The wife of pioneer Fullerton pastor F.R. Holcomb passed away.

Orange County Superior Judge Judge Z.B. West passed away.

Ray Steele, a local oil workers, died of shock after his leg was torn off in an accident.

Here is a photo of the Fullerton funeral parlor of J.E. Seale at 137 E. Chapman Ave.

Stay tuned for news articles from 1927!

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

Dallison Smith Linebarger was born in Oregon in 1862. When he was a child his family moved to California, and he was raised in  Ventura County.

In 1899 he moved to Fullerton, and bought the livery stable of  Thomas Jennings. With two partners he established the business  under the name of Davis, Drown and Linebarger.

They also owned a stable at Olinda where they provided horse teams for the oil fields, hauling derricks and machinery.

According to biographer Samuel Armor, “Mr. Linebarger was general manager of the concern, which was conducted on an  unusually large scale, using fifty head of horses, a large bus, and  all the necessary equipment for the success of such an establishment.”

He was also a rancher, raising stock and grain in Los Angeles  and Orange counties, also owning an orange grove.

In 1910, he sold out his interest in the livery business to devote his time to his 70-acre citrus ranch, which was between Fullerton  and Brea.

Linebarger served for ten years as an Orange County supervisor, He was a Democrat in a strong Republican district.

“During his term of office the good roads movement was started,  and many of the beautiful boulevards which have made Orange  County famous were begun by the sale of bonds,” Armor writes.

He was married in 1882 to Ellen Stone. They had six children.

Linebarger was a member of the Fullerton Lodge of Odd Fellows.

Below is a photo of the Linebarger house. Located at the southwest corner of Pomona and Wilshire, this large Craftsman-style bungalow was built sometime around 1911. In 1917 he sold the house to Harold Walberg, head of the music departments at Fullerton High School and Fullerton Junior College, and director of the Orange County Symphony Orchestra. The City purchased the property, and the house was demolished in 1981 when the Wilshire public parking structure was built. The lot was developed into a downtown park to complement the plaza.

Source:

History of Orange County, California: with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its earliest growth and development from the early days to the present by Samuel Armor. Los Angeles Historic Record Co, 1921.

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

“Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous whereas it is more likely to have been sporadic both in time and place.”

–Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century (1978)

In researching and writing about local history, I have tended to focus on large social, political, and cultural problems. One might get the impression from my writings that the history of Fullerton was full of conflict and calamity. However, as historian Barbara Tuchman reminds us, there were ordinary, good, decent, even boring things happening right alongside the bad stuff. The “ordinary” does not often make the news or make it into history books, because it is not sensational. But real life is full of ordinary things: people going to work, eating with their families, taking vacations, buying houses, playing basketball. I feel I would be doing an injustice to history if I did not at least discuss some of the more ordinary aspects of the history of this town.

I was reminded of this as I read an interview conducted in 1978 with a man named Murvin Breest, who lived most of his life in Fullerton. Murvin led a simple, quiet life. Reading his recollections and reflections, I was reminded that a simple life is not necessarily an insignificant one.

Murvin Breest was born in Stillwater, Minnesota in 1905. His father was a conductor for the Pacific Electric railroad, and was transferred to Fullerton in 1918, when Murvin was in the seventh grade. Murvin’s father would let him ride on the trains sometimes. “I would sit up on his seat and toot the whistle, and things like that,” he recalls, “I really got a kick out of that.”

Because of his lack of interest in school, Murvin flunked his freshman year of high school. “I liked the outdoors,” he said, “and had heard about the spiders and things you have around here, so I spent my first year playing hooky, and consequently I flunked.” It took him five years to graduate high school.

Like many folks of the “Builder Generation,” Murvin took pride in building and fixing things. “I didn’t go to the Junior College,” he said, “I went to work.” His view of work was very different from people of my generation. When asked what his favorite kind of work was, he replied, “Well, it didn’t matter, just so I could work and get some money. I wasn’t particular. I’d take any kind of menial job.” From this statement, one might get the impression that Murvin did not enjoy his jobs, but he clearly did, based on the enthusiasm and pride with which he described his work, first as a mechanic/electrician for McCoy Mills Ford on Commonwealth in Fullerton, and then as a repairman and bus driver for the Fullerton School District. He spoke of the bus garage as “my garage.” He said, “I helped them design it in a way. I told them what we needed, and how big it should be.” Murvin also helped organize the Orange County Bus Rodeo, which was a training/recreation event for potential bus drivers, held at the Los Alamitos race track. “We won our share of trophys,” he said.

He recalls with fondness his years as a bus driver: “I got the biggest kick out of the little kindergarten kids. They’d see me in the mirror…and, if I’d smile, why, they would smile. I’d toot the horn, and they’d look up at me…Some of them, if you went a foot past the place where they were supposed to get off, why, they’d cry, and think they weren’t going to get off at the right place.” His way of calming down restless or troublesome kids was to tell them jokes from a joke book he kept on hand.

Murvin did not get married until he was 35. He met his wife Edith at church: “Edith came out from New York, and she went to the Christian Church, and I got acquainted with her. The Lord told me she was the one I was going to marry, and I thought, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ Then, one day I came along, and she had her car stuck in the street by the Christian Church and she couldn’t get it started. So, I helped her get it started, and she was so nice about it and everything, and one thing led to another, and pretty soon we started dating.”

Edith turned down Murvin’s first proposal. But one night as they were dancing in Balboa, Edith said, “I’ll take you up on the proposition you made me.” Murvin recalls, “I couldn’t figure out what she was saying, because usually when someone says no to me, I take no for an answer.” He asked her, “You don’t mean when I proposed to you, do you?” She said, “Yes I do.” They were engaged, and got married in 1941.

Even after his retirement, Murvin still worked on a lot of building and fixing projects, much like my grandfather Glenn. He helped a friend build a cabin in Canada. He built an addition to his house on Fern Drive. He built a workshop for himself in his back yard. He took care of his father when he was in declining health, and repaired wheelchairs for the rest home where his father stayed.

Toward the end of the interview, the interviewer said to Murvin, “It sounds like you have had a pretty interesting life with all your different jobs.”

“Yes, well you could get that from just about everyone,” he replied.

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

Arthur Staley was born near Santa Rosa, California in 1870, a son of Theodore and Drusilla (Teague) Staley, the former a native of Missouri, and the latter of Indiana.

“Both parents were pioneers of California,” biographer Samuel Armor wrote in 1921. “Theodore Staley having crossed the plains with ox-teams in 1856, and Drusilla Teague was brought on the long overland journey by her parents in 1865, the wagons being drawn by horses, and some trouble with Indians was encountered by the young pioneers.”

Theodore Staley farmed in Sonoma County until 1881, when he moved to Orange, and then Placentia, growing grapes, oranges, and walnuts. He was active in county politics, serving on the Democratic County Central Committee and as a school trustee.

Theodore and Drusilla Staley had three children: Arthur, Myrtle, and Walter. Theodore died in 1903 in Placentia.

Arthur Staley attended grammar school in Placentia and was one of the first graduates of the newly-formed Fullerton high school. He graduated from Stanford University in 1900.

He worked various jobs in agriculture and banking. He was secretary of the Fullerton Walnut Growers Association, and the Placentia Orange Growers Association.

He worked for the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Fullerton, and also as a director of the Yorba Linda Water Company, and the Placentia National Bank.

His wife was Bessie Pendleton.

In addition to his other business interests, Arthur owned a 25-acre orange grove in Yorba Linda, which he planted in 1910.

He was active in the Fullerton Masonic Lodge.

Here is a 1906 promotional advertisement for Fullerton that appeared in Out West magazine. Arthur Staley is listed as a local banker.

Source:

History of Orange County, California: with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its earliest growth and development from the early days to the present by Samuel Armor. Los Angeles Historic Record Co, 1921.

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

For this series, I compare a historic photo of Fullerton with a contemporary one from approximately the same angle. The first photo below is of a fire at the McMahon’s building on Wilshire Avenue in 1940. The second photo is of the Walk on Wilshire area today.

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

For this series, I compare a historic photo of Fullerton with a contemporary one from approximately the same angle. The first photo below is of the Fullerton Fire Station on Wilshire Avenue in 1937. The second photo is of Half Off Books in the Wilshire Promenade Building, which interestingly mirrors the design of the original building.

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

For this series, I compare a historic photo of Fullerton with a contemporary one from approximately the same angle. Below are two photographs of the southeast corner of Chapman and Lemon–the first is of the Chapman Grammar School in the early 1920s, and the second is what the corner looks like today.

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

John A. Moore was born in Barton County, Missouri in 1884, three years before his brother James, but James was the first to come out to the west coast, at age 17.

In 1906, John joined his brother in Rialto, in San Bernardino County, where they worked for a year on ranches. Next they moved to Imperial Valley, where they bought land and developed an alfalfa ranch, which they later sold.

In 1911, James moved to Fullerton, soon followed by his brother, and they opened the first cement pipe-yard here, The Moore Bros. Company located on West Santa Fe Avenue.

The cement pipes they made were essential for irrigating the large fields of Fullerton and surrounding areas.

In 1918, during World War I, James enlisted and served in the Three Hundred Nineteenth Engineers, though he never was sent overseas. He was honorably discharged in 1919 and he returned to resume the cement business in Fullerton.

In 1919 James sold his interest in the West Santa Fe yard to his  brother, E.W. Moore, and in the spring of 1920, with his brother John he again created a cement pipe business at 221 East Santa Fe Avenue. The firm not only manufactured cement pipes, but also installed them for irrigation.

They also did cement curbing, gutters, and foundations.

“The cement industry, carried on as it is today with the aid of scientific research, has come to mean a great deal in the development of new towns and their outlying neighborhoods,” biographer Samuel Armor wrote in 1921. “Orange County is to be  congratulated on such an establishment as that of the Moore Bros. Company.”

Source:

History of Orange County, California: with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its earliest growth and development from the early days to the present by Samuel Armor. Los Angeles Historic Record Co, 1921.

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

The Local History Room of the Fullerton Public Library has microfilm from the Fullerton Tribune newspaper stretching back to 1893. I am in the process of reading over the microfilm, year by year, to get a sense of what was happening in the town over the years, and creating a mini archive. Below are some news stories from 1925.

In 1925, the United States’ population was 114,340,000. The Teapot Dome scandal was resulting in indictments of powerful political and business figures. In Tennessee, the Scopes Monkey trial was deciding whether schools could ban the teaching of evolution. A massive Navy airship called the Shenandoah was destroyed in flight (kind of like the more famous Hindenburg). The Ku Klux Klan, which was at the peak of its power, organized a massive march down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. that drew at least 50,000 robed participants. Fascists under Benito Mussolini had come to power in Italy, and a massive earthquake centered in Santa Barbara leveled much of the city.

Chapman’s Theater (later called the Fox) Opens

Probably the biggest news of 1925 for Fullerton was the opening of Chapman’s Alician Court Theater, which later became known as the Fox Theater, a classic old school movie palace. The theater was financed by C. Stanley Chapman, son of wealthy powerful orange grower Charles C. Chapman. The theater’s architect was Raymond M. Kennedy of the firm Meyer & Holler, which also designed Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre and the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

The theater opened with great fanfare with local and Hollywood notables in attendance, including Mary Pickford and her family.

“Dainty usherettes in Italian peasant costume…directed the guests to their places. Among those seated in the loge section were many distinguished visitors including Mendell Meyer, architect for the structure members of the Chapman party, and well known residents of Hollywood Mrs. Pickford, Lottie Pickford Rupp and Mary Pickford’s small niece, Mary Pickford Rupp,” the Tribune reported.

Attached to the theater was the fancy tea room known as the Mary Louise.

Here are a few early photos of the Fox that I obtained from the Local History Room:

And here are some ads for movies and vaudeville shows at Chapman’s Theater:

Growth

Fullerton continued to experience relatively rapid growth throughout the 1920s, including a new industrial tract, new subdivisions opening, new sewer lines, and three new packing houses.

Education

In 1925, Fullerton was being considered as a possible location for the southern campus of the University of California–what would eventually become UCLA.

Gaston Bastanchury, owner and manager of the vast Bastanchury ranch in Fullerton, created a bound proposal with lots of photos, extolling the virtues of the proposed site.

Ultimately, the Fullerton proposal was rejected and UCLA was built at its present site in Los Angeles.

Residents of the oil towns of Brea and Olinda voted to leave the Fullerton Union High School District and form their own.

Fullerton High School built a new gym and swimming pool. This gym was torn down a few years ago and a new one built.

In 1925, many Mexican Americans in Fullerton lived in segregated work camps either on or near the orange groves. The Fullerton Union High School district created an “Americanization” program to teach certain classes to the Mexican workers.

Here is some of the text of the article above:

The Americanization department of Fullerton Union high school is staging some very interesting demonstrations of the work accomplished in the particular field of Americanizing the aliens in the northern part of Orange County. Besides a display of the work done in the various classes, open house has been kept on certain days and the general public has been invited to attend the classes and become better acquainted with the new citizens, who are…to attain American ideals and customs.

In a tiny camp called “El Escondito” or the hidden camp…on a part of the Bastanchury ranch, one of the most successful classes is being held. This class holds an unique position as being a 100 percent class. Every woman in camp has attended each session since the school was opened and their enthusiastic cooperation with Mrs. Alma Tucker, their teacher, has produced some amazing results.

An outstanding example of this applied industry is that of Senora Guadaluope Rodarte, who has attended school eight weeks with only a two weeks absence when a new daughter arrived at the Rodarte home. With her new baby immaculately clean and in white pretty dresses, Guadalupe attends the classes each day. During the short time of her instruction she has acquired a vocabulary of about 200 words in the English language.

Dona Felipa Avilos, who has learned all the English she knows during a like period, can also converse in good English to the extent of a visit to a grocery store and the purchase of supplies.

Mrs. Tucker uses the Gonin method of teaching her pupils, but as adapted it to the local conditions, which add to its usefulness in teaching Mexicans. A new idea of using puppets to demonstrate a word or idea has been worked out by Mrs. Tucher which has proved very successful. The close cooperation and economy of the various departments of the Fullerton high school is demonstrated in this instance, for Miss Easton and Miss Bristol with their classes in art have prepared the puppets and the model houses and furniture, which Mrs. Tucker has found so useful. The class in the “Hidden Place” has a motto which is well understood and applied by the Mexican women and their teacher, and is written on the walls of the little dwelling, “Co-operation.”

In this instance the class is held at one of the Mexican homes, which although lacking many of the conveniences and sanitary additions of the American homes, is scrupulously clean with its board floor scrubbed white and pretty cretonne curtains at the windows. Flowers are in evidence both inside and outside the dwellings and in American flag is pinned to the walls of the room where the class meets.

The roll includes Gladalupe Rodarte, Marie Rodar, Isidra Avina, Rosario Gimenez, Felipa Avalos, Luciana Giminez, Maria Avila, Soledad Avalos, Maria Ramos, Aurelia Perez and Trinidad Rosales.

Ku Klux Klan

In 1924, at least four Ku Klux Klan members were elected to the Anaheim City Council. The next year, facing push back from the community, they were all recalled. In the mid-1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was a major political and social force in Orange County.

Fashion

The 1920s were an exciting time for fashion, particularly women’s fashion, and the pages of the Tribune show many of these new fashions, available in stores in the growing downtown.

Miscellaneous

Here are a few random clippings from 1925.

Death

W.M. Irwin died. He had served as postmaster, the first president of the Rotary club, and other civic activities.

Dr. William Freeman, one of Fullerton’s first doctors, passed away.

William Hetebrink, of the pioneer Hetebrink family, was killed in an accident. Many members of the Hetebrink would die in tragic accidents, almost as if the family was cursed.

The nude body of a boy was found hanging on an oil derrick near Olinda. Creepy.

Local police officer Joe Murillo passed away.

Stay tuned for news headlines from 1926!