La Habra/Whittier area memories, recollections, anecdotes (Anaheim, Orange: neighborhoods, movie theaters)

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by mrsltd

My dad owned that dairy (Reliance Dairy #10) for four years, from 1978-82. I worked for him the last year he owned it.

And of course, who could forget the Market Baskets?

And Casa de Tacos that used to be next to the dairy?

And the kids that would come in to the dairy with their buckets of sand and crawdads from the nearby creek?

Nice.

[saibot]

That stretch of Whittier Blvd is not much changed from the 1980s.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by I Hate Buildings

Did your dad father the diary to developers? Have you seen the land as is today?

It was a drive-in dairy; no cows involved, sorry. Milk, ice cream, and various/sundry items were the order of the day.

It's still a drive-in dairy, and saibot is right; not much changed from the '80s. For me, that is a positive, but for someone not familiar with the area I could see their thinking it somewhat rinky-dink if they're the type favoring new, modern and sleek looking areas.

I just wish the owners of Bristol Manor apartments would upgrade those things. The Register had a write-up several years ago highlighting the blight there.

[mrsltd]

Somehow, though, the hills overlooking the area make up for anything else that may be lacking.

[namowal]

Originally Posted by saibot

There was another bank, I think it was American Savings, right across from Whittwood, that always put up a big Christmas tree decoration on the roof. We could see it at night almost a mile away.

You've just solved a 30-year-old mystery!

In the early to mid 1980s I lived in Anaheim Hills. The house was on a hillside with a wonderful view. Every year I'd see a tiny "tree" made of lights, far in the distance, from Thanksgiving to Jan 1st. I figured it was a large rooftop decoration that I was seeing from afar (it looked so small from my house that most people didn't notice it) Seeing it each year was a signal that the holidays were here.

Yet I always wondered, where was it? I could never figure it out. Binoculars gave no clues. With my telescope, I could see there was a star on top, but no details as to what building (or street or city) it might be.

We moved away a few years later.

Each Christmas, for the next three decades, I'd remember that tree. It drove me nuts that I didn't know where it was. (I realize this sounds nuts but, again, I focus on odd things

Then yesterday I was fooling around with Google Earth and determined that slice of my view* was near
La Habra. A search for "La Habra 1980s" lead me here. Mystery (probably) solved! Thanks.



*I could go on about how I figured that out, but that was more than anyone wanted to know.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by namowal

You've just solved a 30-year-old mystery!

In the early to mid 1980s I lived in Anaheim Hills. The house was on a hillside with a wonderful view. Every year I'd see a tiny "tree" made of lights, far in the distance, from Thanksgiving to Jan 1st. I figured it was a large rooftop decoration that I was seeing from afar (it looked so small from my house that most people didn't notice it) Seeing it each year was a signal that the holidays were here.

Yet I always wondered, where was it? I could never figure it out. Binoculars gave no clues. With my telescope, I could see there was a star on top, but no details as to what building (or street or city) it might be.

We moved away a few years later.

Each Christmas, for the next three decades, I'd remember that tree. It drove me nuts that I didn't know where it was. (I realize this sounds nuts but, again, I focus on odd things

Then yesterday I was fooling around with Google Earth and determined that slice of my view* was near
La Habra. A search for "La Habra 1980s" lead me here. Mystery (probably) solved! Thanks.



*I could go on about how I figured that out, but that was more than anyone wanted to know.

That's wonderful! I loved seeing that tree during the holidays as a child. It seemed so magical, shining high up above everything else.

Glad I could help solve the mystery.

[namowal]

Originally Posted by saibot

That's wonderful! I loved seeing that tree during the holidays as a child. It seemed so magical, shining high up above everything else.

Glad I could help solve the mystery.

Apparently it's still there. The building isn't an American Savings anymore, but they've carried on the tradition.
https://www.presstelegram.com/2012/1...y-in-whittier/
https://twitter.com/PIHHealth/status...247872/photo/1

[saibot]

Originally Posted by namowal

Apparently it's still there. The building isn't an American Savings anymore, but they've carried on the tradition.
https://www.presstelegram.com/2012/1...y-in-whittier/
https://twitter.com/PIHHealth/status...247872/photo/1

Ah, thanks! My memory is that the tree was all gold lights, but otherwise, it looks about the same.

[namowal]

Originally Posted by saibot

Ah, thanks! My memory is that the tree was all gold lights, but otherwise, it looks about the same.

Yes, I remember it as gold too. I guess it got a "makeover" since the last time we saw it.

[Hopeful for Life]

Originally Posted by namowal

Yes, I remember it as gold too. I guess it got a "makeover" since the last time we saw it.

My experiences of Whittier-LaHabra were from the early 90s. I sold Medicare Advantage (HMO) policies to old timers for a now defunct company called FHP. It always seemed to be a very insulated area, sort of like a “land that time forgot”. My manager (a Whittier native) would tell us that Whittier residents did not like blacks, for example. In fact, I believe it used to be a “sundown town”. Some of the old timers used to like POLLY’s PIES, CHRIS & PITTS, There used to be a winding stretch of 39 that ran northward from Whittier Bl (Arco gas station on the corner) that still looked rural with livestock and pastures. I would feel what maybe Whittier used to be when I drove this road.
Does anyone remember what occupied the land where Whittwwood Mall, the “Quad” and Presbyterian hospital now stand? Is the drive-in still there?