15 Fun Facts About San Bernardino

WHERE "E" STREET MEETS MILL STREET - Driving along Interstate 10 at quick glance it appears to be just one of the many cities that make up the urban puzzle piece that is Southern California. Yet, as many longtime residents will tell you, San Bernardino is very much a city of its own that stands out in the Southern California suburban puzzle, aside from being one of the principle cities in the Inland Empire.


A photograph of the Inland Center Mall circa 1969. Photograph used under a Creative Commons license.

If people in Southern California never quite were familiar with San Bernardino, well, they, along with much of the country, are now very much aware of this city called San Bernardino.


Before Sears moved to the Inland Center Mall it was located in downtown San Bernardino as seen in this circa 1955 photograph. Photograph in public domain.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation uses certain criteria to formally declare a crime to be a "terrorist attack." It appears the recent event in San Bernardino is meeting that criteria set by the FBI. Subsequently, what occurred in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, may end up being the deadliest terrorist attack within the United States since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Given where the investigation of this mass shooting in San Bernardino, which killed 14 people and injured 21, has led, and where it is continuing to lead, this tragedy has not just national implications, but international implications.

Plenty of things have been written, from the San Bernardino Sun to The New York Times, about what occurred and what is continuing to transpire. We are not going to talk about that here. Since the world's eyes are on San Bernardino here are 15 fun facts about San Bernardino, San Bernardino County and the communities around San Bernardino.


The Mountain Goats singing about "San Bernardino."

1 - The First McDonald's Was In San Bernardino

That's right! The mother of fast food, giver of Happy Meals, with all the excitement and controversy that comes with it, began in San Bernardino.

2 - The Rolling Stones Played Their First U.S. Concert in San Bernardino


The Rolling Stones at The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. Photograph used under a Creative Commons license.

It was San Bernardino radio station K/MEN, back when radio was a really big deal, which brought The Rolling Stones for their very first U.S. performance at The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. How this radio station in San Bernardino brought them to the U.S. for the first time is a whole story in and of itself, which we will have in the not too distant future. The short story is, in the wake of The British Invasion K/MEN had a connection in London sending them the latest British hit-makers, and basically looking and hoping to find the next Beatles. Well, K/MEN's London connection sent them an album by "this group that is better than The Beatles," as their London connection described The Rolling Stones. Afternoon K/MEN personality Bill Watson played a cut from the album, suddenly the telephone lines were jammed, and "Mr. Kicks," as Bill Watson was known, did something extraordinarily out of the ordinary for top 40 radio and played the entire album.


Ticket from a later Rolling Stones performance at The Swing Auditorium. Photograph in public domain.

The Rolling Stones had made plans to tour the United States, but Mr. Watson knew they needed to get this band now! Mr. Watson, calling across The Atlantic, finally got in touch in The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham. After some deals were cut, and told of the reaction of The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger and company soon took to the U.S. stage for the very first time in San Bernardino thanks to K/MEN.

3 - Lyndon B. Johnson Had A Job As An Elevator Operator In San Bernardino


The Platt Building in San Bernardino where a future president once worked. Date of photograph unknown. Photograph in public domain.

Future Vice-President and President Lyndon B. Johnson once worked as an elevator operator at a San Bernardino building in 1925. During a 1964 reelection campaign stop in San Bernardino LBJ returned to that building, known as the Platt Building, to operate the elevator once more in front of a few cameras. The Platt Building fell in 1993 after meeting a demolition team under the names of "progress," "redevelopment" and "improvement." Many longtime residents were too happy with this new "improvement," which is to say it was a very conversational move demolishing the Platt Building. Before the Platt Building was torn down the elevator where LBJ worked was saved. 

4 - Home Of The Oldest Operating Jewish Cemetery 

The Home of Eternity Cemetery is the oldest operating Jewish cemetery in Southern California. The land was given to the Jewish community from Mormons in the 1850. 

5 - The Sun Almost Became Apart of the L.A. Times

The San Bernardino Sun has been for many decades, and continues to be, the dominate newspaper in the San Bernardino area (though in the last decade and a half it has faced stiff competition from The Press-Enterprise). Back in the 1960s the Los Angeles Times' then parent company Times-Mirror made an attempt to buy The Sun, but federal government antitrust officials were not too keen on the idea and thus no sale. Today The Sun is apart of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, which includes, the L.A. Daily News, and Daily Bulletin, Pasadena Star-News, among other Southern California newspapers.

6 -  The Largest City Between L.A. and New Mexico Was Once, Colton

Certainly not Colton during the Californio era, but rather a photograph of downtown Colton from 1955. Public domain.

Near where current day Colton is there was once a town called Aqua Mansa, which was, for a time, the largest town between Los Angeles and New Mexico. It is a very significant place with its roots going back to Californio days. Its residents included the Wilson family and family member Don Benito Wilson. That Mr. Wilson is better known as Benjamin David Wilson who would go on to be the second elected Mayor of L.A., and whom Mount Wilson is named after. 

7 - What Does L.A.'s MacArthur Park Have To Do With Colton?

The writer of perhaps one of the most perplexing pop songs, "MacArthur Park," made famous twice, first by Richard Harris and later as a disco hit by Donna Summer, lived in the Colton area for a time once upon a time, and his name is Jimmy Webb. Mr. Webb also wrote "Up, Up and Away" as performed by The Fifth Dimension, along with many other songs. Mr. Webb even wrote a song about Colton, "820 Latham Street," perform by The Fifth Dimension (who had many rehearsal sessions in Colton) and The Brooklyn Bridge, which is apparently the Colton address where the girl of his dreams (and muse of many songs) lived. Turns out the girl of Mr. Webb's dream from Colton soon moved to L.A. and worked near MacArthur Park, which is where Mr. Webb and the girl from "820 Latham Street" in Colton spent many afternoons together. MacArthur Park ended up being a very special place for Mr. Webb and his girlfriend from Colton, and so he wrote a (long) song about it.

The Fifth Dimension singing about that girl who lives at "820 Latham Street" in Colton.

8 - Colton's First Marshall 

Virgil Earp, brother of Wyatt Earp, was Colton's first Marshall. The Earp house still stands at 528 West “H” Street in Colton. Please do not disturb the current residents.

This is a photograph of a Pacific Electric train station in Colton taken long after Virgil Earp was Marshall of Colton. Used under a Creative Commons license.

9 - Home Of The Cursed Fair

Poster for the 1917 National Orange Show. Author's collection.

Most people who grew up or lived in San Bernardino or the Inland Empire for a time will tell you about the "Curse of the Orange Show." Southern California was a citrus empire, and the annual National Orange Show in San Bernardino was a prominent event showcasing the best of the citrus industry. In its glory days "The Orange Show," as so many locals lovingly call it, featured not just A-list stars, but the very top of A-list stars. It was a very glamorous affair, but it always seem to rain on their parade, and many residents say there is a reason for that. Legend has it The National Orange Show Grounds are built atop of a Native American burial ground. The legend goes since it was built atop of Native American burial grounds a curse was placed on the event that makes it rains every time The National Orange Show is held. Records show that in fact, yes, many times during The National Orange Show it has rained. Coincidence?

A 1969 ad in the Los Angeles Free Press for The Jimi Hendrix Experience at The Swing Auditorium. Public domain.

(By the way, The Swing Auditorium, where The Rolling Stones played their first U.S. concert as mentioned above, and, also where many bands came through in the 1960s and 1970s, was located on The National Orange Show Grounds. The Swing Auditorium was destroyed by an airplane crash on September 11, 1981.)

10 - San Bernardino Is Bigger Than Switzerland

If you are a regular driver between Southern California and Las Vegas you probably think San Bernardino County is a very large county. You would be right, because that county in the Inland Empire is the largest county within the lower 48 states. San Bernardino County is larger than many states and even many countries. It is bigger than Switzerland. Its record was beat with the admission of Alaska as a state, which has a much larger county.

11 - The Last Two Big California Earthquakes Were In San Bernardino County

The last two magnitude 7-plus earthquakes within California were in San Bernardino County. Those quakes were, the 1992 Landers Earthquake and the 1999 Hector Mine Earthquake.

12 - Home Of The Tallest Mountain Peak In Southern California

Many people really do not like earthquakes, and that is very understandable, but earthquake faults give us in Southern California spectacular hills and mountains. One of those mountains is Mount San Gorgonio. Located in San Bernardino County in the San Bernardino Mountains reaching a peak of 11,503 feet Mount San Gorgonio is the tallest mountain in Southern California. On a very clear day you can see Mount San Gorgonio from downtown Los Angeles and by the beach in Santa Monica.

13 - The 100th In The Nation

In covering the tragic event many reporters from around the country and around the world noted that San Bernardino is not quite a small city, and for good reason. According to the 2010 U.S. Census the 100th largest city in the U.S. is San Bernardino. As well, San Bernardino is the 17th largest city in California.

14 - Where Sammy Davis Jr. Lost His Eye

Sammy Davis Jr. performing on NBC in 1966. Photograph in public domain.

In 1954 on the way home to L.A. from performing in Las Vegas Sammy Davis Jr. was in a car accident on Route 66 at Cajon Boulevard and Kendall Drive. That is where Sammy Davis Jr. lost his eye. It would be at San Bernardino Community Hospital where Sammy Davis Jr. would recover. While at the hospital his friend, Eddie Cantor, met with him and talked about the similarities between Jewish and black culture. It was at that moment, so the story goes, Sammy would begin his conversion to Judaism. Sammy was so grateful for the services he received at San Bernardino Community Hospital he held an all-star fundraiser at The Swing Auditorium for the hospital.

15 - Home Of The Hell's Angels

Started by the Bishop family in Fontana the motorcycle club that would set the standard for "outlaw motorcycle clubs" and go on to much notoriety began in San Bernardino County.


Certainly not a tune by The Hell's Angels, but rather, a tune from Frank Zappa, who had a studio in Ontario.

Six Facts About The 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake

STATE STREET AND CABRILLO BOULEVARD IN SANTA BARBARA - Standing at the foot of Stearns Wharf looking northward turning your head left-to-right on a clear day you get a fantastic view of one of California's most famous places. The jagged rocks sticking out of the dark green mountains of the Los Padres National Forest against the bright blue sky makes for one of the best scenic backdrops in the world. Turning around behind you is the vast blue Pacific Ocean with sailboats making for a beautiful picture, but the picture perfect ocean right off Santa Barbara has a fault, or two. That is to say, there are earthquake faults off the shore of the famed city, and at least one of them were responsible for the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake.


Those asking for a room with a view of the Pacific Ocean at the Hotel Californian perhaps got a little more than what they asked for. This is State Street looking north from Cabrillo Bl. In the almost upper middle-left is the Southern Pacific Depot, which still stands today. Photograph in public domain.

June 29, 2015, will be the 90th anniversary of the Santa Barbara Earthquake, which is one of California's (in)famous earthquakes. Here are six interesting facts about this earthquake.

1- Turns Out The Earthquake Was Much Stronger Than Previous Thought


Given the shock and anxiety following the earthquake there probably was not much of a run for the product being advertised on this damaged Rexall Store on State St. Photograph in public domain.

For many decades following the Santa Barbara Earthquake it was believed this earthquake registered magnitude (M) 6.3 on the Richter Scale, which was developed by Doctor Charles Richter about ten years later at The California Institution of Technology, or, as we all know it and look to it after the earth shakes, Cal-Tech in Pasadena. The 1970s brought new developments in better understanding measuring earthquakes. One of those developments was the Moment Magnitude Scale, which is what we used to measure earthquake strength in most California earthquakes today. The Moment Magnitude Scale put the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake at M6.8.

2 - The 1925 Earthquake Resulted In The Only Dam Failure In The United States During an Earthquake


The earthquake damaged Sheffield Dam. Photograph in public domain.

While the Lower Van Norman Dam had severe damage following the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake and came very close to failure (according to the California Geological Survey, had the earth shook for two more seconds in 1971 the dam would have failed flooding a large portion of the San Fernando Valley) the 1925 earthquake resulted in the only dam (so far) to fail as a result of an earthquake in the U.S. The Sheffield Dam, located at the base of the Santa Ynez Mountains at the north-northeast end of Santa Barbara, failed and flooded a good portion of the then sparsely populated eastside of Santa Barbara. According to the University of California-Santa Barbara, "a wall of water rushed between Voluntario and Alisos Streets, carrying trees, automobiles, and three houses with it, and leaving behind it a muddy, debris-strewn mess. The water filled the lower part of town up to two feet deep, until it gradually drained away into the sea." Santa Barbara was still bit of a farm town, and the water swept a lot of cows out to sea. One of the main reasons The Sheffield Dam failed was due to the fact the dam, which held 30 million gallons of water, was built on sandy soil, and sandy soil amplifies ground shaking during a moderate-to-large earthquake with typically devastating results for anything built upon it (see the aftermath of the San Francisco Marina District following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake).

3 - Learning From 1906 Santa Barbara Avoided San Francisco's Fiery Fate


The badly earthquake damaged Santa Barbara Mission. Photograph in public domain. 

There was a lot of significant structural damage in this 1925 earthquake, but one thing the aftermath of this earthquake lacked was fires. Many people aware of San Francisco's calamity just less than 20 years earlier realized Santa Barbara could face a similar fate. Thankfully, the overnight operators for Southern California Edison and The Southern California Gas Company immediately shut off their respective utilities to Santa Barbara to help prevent such a catastrophic disaster. Both the Santa Barbara Edison and Gas Company buildings were very badly damaged in the earthquake, but despite the damage William Engle of Edison and Henry Ketz of the Gas Company likely saved Santa Barbara from burning, and were recognized by the city for saving the city by quickly shutting the utilities down.

4 - The Way Santa Barbara Looks Today Is Due To The 1925 Earthquake


Damage to the Grand Hotel on State St. Photograph in public domain.

Santa Barbara is often rated as one of California's, and even the world's, most beautiful places with its unique architectural style, and that is because of the 1925 earthquake. How so? Well, much of downtown Santa Barbara was destroyed in the earthquake. The Santa Barbara Community Arts Association, which was formed in the early 1920s, was commissioned to rebuild the city, and the association decided upon the Spanish Colonial Revival style, and that decision would soon make the city famous. This in turn resulted in a strict architecture city code that remains in effect to this day. Prior to the earthquake much of downtown Santa Barbara was designed in Neo-Moorish style.

5 - The Epicenter Was In The Ocean

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred in the Santa Barbara Channel at 6:44 a.m., but the USGS is not too certain just what fault caused the earthquake. What the USGS does believe is this earthquake was the result of slippage on an extension of either the Mesa Fault or the Santa Ynez Fault system. Even though this earthquake had its epicenter in the ocean there was no earthquake generated tsunami (however, some landslides into the ocean caused minor tsunamis).

6 - Rumors Ran Crazy


Isoseismal map showing how far and strong the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake was felt. Photograph in public domain.

Today, in the immediate aftermath of disasters rumors run crazy, especially amplified in the social media age, and, well, even though there was no social media in 1925 not much has changed since then. Following the earthquake there were rumors in Santa Barbara that Los Angeles and San Francisco had been destroyed, and that this had been the earthquake to end all earthquakes. Once telephone and telegraph service was restored, along with military ships coming up the coast to assist in security of the city, the rumors were quelled as it was quickly noted by The Morning Press, "that the earthquake was purely local." Though the earthquake was "purely local" it was felt from Santa Ana, San Bernardino to Monterey County.

6.8 - Before and After

Before the 1925 earthquake in Santa Barbara the last damaging earthquake in California was in April 1918, in the San Jacinto area with a M6.8 earthquake on the fault that shares the town's name, the San Jacinto Fault (which, by the way, happens to be the most active fault in Southern California). The last notable, damaging earthquake in the Santa Barbara area was in 1978, and that is when a M5.1 shook off the coast of Goleta. That earthquake caused a few shattered windows, knocked a lot of items over and derailed a Southern Pacific freight train.

UPDATE: A Book Coming Out Soon

Turns out the above photographs were not quite in Public Domain as Internet research would suggest, but are apart of a detailed 2010 four-part series of the 1925 earthquake by Neal Graffy in EdHat Santa Barbara, which is a highly recommended read. Furthermore, Mr. Graffy is in the process of writing a book about the earthquake, and will feature how Santa Barbara rebuilt after the shock, and the earthquake faults in and around Santa Barbara.

When Local Radio Was A Big Deal

SAN BERNARDINO - Driving east on Baseline in San Bernardino onward to Highland you may notice three mid-size radio towers and an unassuming shack building behind San Gorgonio High School, and probably not think much of it. There is much more to the shack building than meets the eye, because that little building behind the high school actually has quite a bit of pop musically history behind it.

That little building once housed radio station KMEN on 1290 AM, and at its peak in the 1960s that radio station was a powerhouse. Many big names in pop music history, and radio history, came through that little building.


A "K/MEN-DOUS-TEN" Survey Sheet ending January 24, 1964, and of course The Beatles are number one.

Sometimes lost or buried in radio broadcast history with much focus on stations like, 93/KHJ, 1110/KRLA, 77/WABC or 89/WLS, KMEN never quite received its due in broadcast history.

Known as K/MEN 129 with its deejay personalities known as The K/MEN this radio station broadcasting out by a cow pasture was once a force in the radio and music industry.

In an era of YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud and other forms of new media to check out new bands, for a younger generation it may be hard to imagine that radio was nearly the only place you can check out new bands. Even for new bands today, it may be hard to imagine the backing you needed from radio to have some sort of success. Back then, before the Internet, before cable television (if you can even imagine such a time), radio was one of the biggest forms of entertainment for kids, teens and adults. Bands back then did not have all these outlets to have their music heard, and bands knew radio was the place to go if you wanted to be heard.

Adding to bands wanting to be heard, competition from rival Inland Empire top 40 station 59/KFXM added to the sense of urgency on K/MEN's part to be the first in airing the newest bands.

Here are four things K/MEN 129 has in connection to music history.

1 - The Rolling Stones


A 1966 ticket stub of The Rolling Stones' performance at The Swing Auditorium.

It was K/MEN that brought The Rolling Stones for their very first U.S. performance at The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. How this radio station in San Bernardino brought them to the U.S. for the first time is a whole story in and of itself, which we will have in the not too distant future. The short story is, in the wake of The British Invasion K/MEN had a connection in London sending them the latest British hit-makers, and basically looking and hoping to find the next Beatles. Well, K/MEN's London connection sent them an album by "this group that is better than The Beatles," as their London connection described The Rolling Stones. Afternoon K/MEN personality Bill Watson played a cut from the album, suddenly the telephone lines were jammed, and "Mr. Kicks," as Bill Watson was known, did something extraordinarily out of the ordinary for top 40 radio and played the entire album.


Mick Jagger on stage at The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino doing his thing.

The Rolling Stones had made plans to tour the United States, but Mr. Watson knew they needed to get this band now! Mr. Watson, calling across The Atlantic, finally got in touch in The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham. After some deals were cut, and told of the reaction of The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger and company soon took to the U.S. stage for the very first time in San Bernardino thanks to K/MEN.


Those are San Bernardino Sheriff's deputies keeping the screaming girls back from "attacking" The Rolling Stones.

2 - The Beach Boys

Many singers, songwriters and bands came through the small lobby of K/MEN hoping their tune will make it on-the-air. Among these many hopeful bands who came through was a group of brothers from Hawthorne who called themselves, The Beach Boys. Mr. Watson, who, by the way, was the program direction, really liked this band and told them to get their music properly licensed and they will play it. Once the guys from Hawthorne got all the legal stuff taken care of it is believed K/MEN was the first to play The Beach Boys. In later years The Beach Boys replied in kind by singing jingles for K/MEN.

3 - Up, Up and Away with Jimmy Webb

Not too long ago we wrote about Colton, and one of its well known residents was singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb, who was certainly influenced by what K/MEN was playing. One of Mr. Webb's biggest hits he wrote was, "Up, Up and Away," performed by The Fifth Dimension (and sung by other performers over the years). Well, K/MEN once had its own hot-air balloon, and Mr. Webb thought it was a very nice looking thing, and so he wrote a song about it, and that tune became, "Up, Up and Away." In fact, the song was originally meant to be part of a K/MEN promotion. Apparently, the story goes, Mr. Webb wrote the song in just one afternoon sitting in his car at the Robert Hall Clothes store parking lot on La Cadena Drive and Mount Vernon Avenue in Colton (after sitting empty for many years a 99 Cent Only Store now occupies the old Robert Hall clothing store).


They may be a little out of sync in this video, but the tune written by Colton's Jimmy Webb and performed by The Fifth Dimension makes for pure top 40 AM gold.

4 - John Peel

Before he began his legendary music show on BBC Radio 1 the man known as John Peel was across the pond here in the states hosting the morning show on K/MEN in 1965. Back then while in Inland Empire radio he was not known as John Peel, but rather he did something highly odd in radio, he used his real name on-air, John Ravenscroft. John Peel returned to England in 1967 and found a gig for a short time at Radio London aboard one of England's pirate radio ships (many of these England radio pirates were supported by U.S. record labels and had their radio jingles supplied by U.S. jingle makers). Mr. Peel would begin his BBC career later in 1967 and soon became a force in discovering and exposing England to underground, punk, new wave and alternative music. The Peel Sessions soon became, and still are, sought after albums.


The Peel Sessions record with The Smiths. Used under Fair Use.

Songs of Southern California: Mix Tape #3

Now is time for songs of Southern California, mix tape #3.

X - Los Angeles



The Beatles - Blue Jay Way



Jan and Dean - The Little Old Lady From Pasadena



The Trade Winds - New York's A Lonely Town - KRLA Version!



The Penguins - Memories of El Monte



Frank Zappa - San Ber'dino

Songs of Southern California: Mix Tape #2

ANAHEIM - Many musical tunes have been written for and about Southern California, and here are a few of them.

Mel Blanc - Big Bear Lake (Yes, "The man of 1,000 Voices")



Mountain Goats - San Bernardino

Morcheeba - Coming Into Los Angeles

Little Girls - Earthquake Song

D.I. - I Hate Surfing in H.B.

Remember Santa's Village and Santa Claus Lane?

[May/June 2014 UPDATE: In May 15, 2014 the Lake Arrowhead based Mountain News reported that they, "confirmed the pending sale of the 154-acre property to an unidentified Lake Arrowhead resident who has big plans for the property." This has set off much speculation that Santa's Village is coming back. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but however, (please do not throw snowballs at the messenger!) whatever those "big plans for the property" may be it must be pointed out that as of now, based on all the information made available, no firm or clear plans have been made that Santa's Village is coming back for sure.]

[August 2015 UPDATE: According to the San Bernardino Sun, Santa's Village will NOT be opening up in 2015. The current owners of the site have, quite frankly, not made it entirely clear just what the plans will be.]

LAKE ARROWHEAD - There was a time not too long ago in Southern California when Christmas and Santa Claus hung around all year long. Even if you never saw Santa Claus in the middle of spring chances are you knew from a charming commercial where you could find the jolly man in Southern California.

Many people who grew up here in the land of sunshine, freeways and palm trees probably remember a time in Southern California television history when "the independents," KTLA-TV, KHJ-TV/KCAL-TV, KTTV-TV and KCOP-TV, seemingly filled their morning or afternoon programming with cartoons. For those just coming of age it may be hard to believe such channels that now fill our airwaves with pathetic paternity results with inane insults once gave us great vintage cartoons that can no longer be found on television, and not even on the Cartoon Network. It seemed KTLA and KHJ aired cartoons in the morning; most memorable was Tom Hatten hosting Popeye cartoons on KTLA every morning, while KTTV and KCOP had the afternoon for cartoons.

Between all these cartoons was a very memorable commercial that seemed to air during every commercial break, a jolly ad for Santa's Village.

Even up until the the tip of the mid-1990s as morning and afternoon cartoons were waning on local television you can be assured there was an advertisement for, "Santa's Village, in the colorful San Bernardino Mountains on Highway 18, just 30 minutes north of San Bernardino."

It seemed the very same advertisement was aired for many years, and the only change probably ever made in their timeless commercial was the removal of "714" and replacing it with "909" in their listed telephone number.

The park was just a bit older than Disneyland, opening six weeks before the new Anaheim theme park in late May 1955.


A 1960s era pamphlet for Santa's Village. No copyright infringement intended; shown for educational and historical purposes only.

The owners of Santa's Village have quite the story of their own.

J. "Putty" Putnam Henck, a graduate of University of California at Berkley with a degree in engineering, moved to Skyforest, just outside of Lake Arrowhead, in 1923 with his wife, Mary.

Mr. Henck made very good use of his degree when he devised a plan to bring water and electricity to the then very rural San Bernardino Mountain town in the 1920s. Subsequently, Mr. Henck helped open up the first sheriff's and fire station in town.

While Mr. Henck brought water and power to town Mary Henck brought education to the then rural outpost of Lake Arrowhead by opening the first schoolhouse in the mountain community. Today a middle school is named after Ms. Henck in Lake Arrowhead.

In 1954 the Hencks, along with developer H. Glenn Holland who developed other Santa' Villages in Santa Cruz and outside Chicago, began construction on the Christmastime theme park in Skyforest.

For many years the quaint theme park was run by the couple and, according to Mr. Henck in a 2006 interview with the Los Angeles Times, at its height Santa's Village brought in 180,000 visitors a year.

The theme park was designed for children as perhaps the most thrilling ride offered was probably the Sled Ride, but nonetheless it was a charming, vividly colored theme park featuring a petting zoo and giving young visitors the chance to actually see and pet "Santa's reindeer." Best of all, you can go to Santa's Village, visit Santa Claus and have Christmas fun in the middle of July.

Santa's Village represented some of the last theme parks where imagination reined.

The place where Mr. Kris Kringle visited when he was away from the North Pole closed in early 1998.

Mr. Henck cited increased competition from newer rides at Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain. The said increased competition came in the way of faster, "extreme" rides that the Hencks could neither afford, financially and logistically, nor did they want to add such attractions to their park and risk ruining what they originally envisioned.

After Santa's Village closed Mr. Henck remained active in the Lake Arrowhead community showing up at events and local political hearings.

In January of 2010 Mr. Henck past on at the age of 91.

Today remnants of Santa's Village still remains amid a construction company that has taken its place. Still intact are several colorful buildings and the Bumble Bee Monorail line.

If you ask nicely the owner of the construction company may let you walk about the premises and explore a piece of Southern California history "that isn't here anymore."

Of course, how could this story run without showing the commercial! For anybody who grew up in Southern California here is the commercial that seen to run during every afternoon commercial break.



Well, somebody was kind enough to share this found home video footage of Santa's Village.

Santa Claus in Santa Barbara 

Speaking of all things Santa Claus in Southern California, anybody remember Santa Claus Lane in Carpinteria near Santa Barbara? In particular, who remembers the big Santa atop of the building right off U.S. Route 101?

Santa Claus Lane was perhaps a condensed version of Santa's Village and was an Americana roadside attraction offering great date shakes and a miniature train ride through the premises. Of course the highlight of Santa Claus Lane for any child was the toy store.



Postcard of Santa Claus Lane in Capinteria. No copyright infringement intended; shown for educational and historical purposes only.

Created by the McKeon family as a roadside attraction in 1948 Santa Claus Lane started out with a Post Office and a juice shop, which served very popular date shakes, and of course, there was Jolly Santa Claus all 23 feet high to greet motorists along the 101. By 1956 there were two more businesses added, Toyland, which was always popular with children, and Santa's Kitchen. In its early years other attractions were added such as a merry-go-round, and perhaps the most memorable attraction, aside from Toyland, was the miniature train. 

Located just outside of Carpinteria the small area was soon given the named Santa Claus, California, as a play on the many city names in the Golden State that have "Santa" in their name. With a Post Office on site those sending letters to Santa's workshop in the North Pole, or to North Pole, Alaska, could have their letters postmarked with, "Santa Claus, California."

The best date shakes this side of the North Pole, a train ride, and a toy store, what more could a kid want!

Well, all things must change, and the 1970s seemed to mark the start of dark times for roadside attractions, and "Santa Claus, California" would prove no exception. By the 1980s the festive place off the 101 had become rundown with empty storefronts, and by 1984 even the popular miniature train was no longer running. There were a few modest efforts in the 1980s and 1990s, such as remodeling and repainting, to modernize the storefronts and businesses, and this as Toyland and the place to get great date shakes hung on into the late 1990s.

As the 1980s and 1990s wore on the Santa Barbara area further posed itself to be "The Hamptons of the West" and the 23-feet tall Santa Claus was becoming a tacky thorn in the side of city and county planners, along with wealthy developers. It was becoming clear in the 1990s that Santa's days overlooking drivers on the 101 would be coming to an end.

In 2002 Carpinteria city officials along with Santa Barbara County Supervisors, amid some debate to save Santa, decided to do away with the Jolly Old Saint Nick who greeting commuters along the 101 for many decades, deeming it, well, too tacky.

Of course it has been said that even Santa works in strange ways, and perhaps that is true as the big guy in the red suit still greets drivers along the 101, only this time a little bit south from a lot in Oxnard where he has been since 2003.


Here is Santa sitting in a lot in Oxnard. No copyright infringement intended; shown for educational and historical purposes only.




A date shake sounds good now. No copyright infringement intended; shown for educational and historical purposes only.

Today Santa Claus Lane remains as a street name, and it is really the only memory of what once stood there as "Santa Claus, California" is not even so much a shell of its former self, but rather all the stores have been repainted, remodeled and replaced with offerings reflecting the "Santa Barbara taste."

It would seem Santa Claus now stays in The North Pole all year long as Santa's Village and Santa Claus Lane are places in Southern California that are no longer here (as are afternoon cartoons on L.A. broadcast television), but they made for great memories for those who were lucky enough to experience it.

*Editor's Note: This article was originally published on July 24, 2010 on the editor's now defunct news-blog site, Southern California News Wire.

The Best View is from a Parking Lot

ANAHEIM - Southern California is full of unique places, both natural and plastic, but there is one place made of concrete that offers the most spectacular views of Southern California.

Many people climb Mount San Gorgonio or Mount Baldy seeking the best view, but there is a place in Orange County were the views can never be beat, unless it is a dreaded smoggy day.

Just take a climb up to one of downtown Anaheim's three parking structures and you shall see in one single head-turning swoop, Santa Catalina Island, which is not quite 26 miles out to sea as a popular song would suggest, the Santa Monica Mountains, Hollywood Hills (if it is really clear and you focus, or perhaps squeeze your eyes hard enough, you can even see the Hollywood sign), Downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.

Yes, to the surprise of some people, Anaheim does indeed have a downtown. 

Climb atop of the concrete peaks and discover all you can see.

A Commentary: Thoughts of Southern California

LOS ANGELES - As the first turbulent decade of the new century draws to a close next year in 2010 a question for us at home remains, what is Southern California and where is it going?

Depends who you ask.

Some geography fiends consider Southern California to be from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border in San Diego, and everything in between Santa Monica and Blythe.

Depending where you are at in Southern California that could be debatable.

Us in the Los Angeles Basin (or is it Greater L.A.?) view Southern California as the entire city of L.A., the South Bay and Long Beach, San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire and north Orange County, with maybe parts of the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys.

This past decade south Orange County has been viewed by the world through the bad interpretation of drama by horribly stereotypical rich kids, in a place otherwise know by its unofficial United Nations designate, “The O.C.”

Often considered to be the jewel of Southern California, within the past ten years Santa Barbara has broken away and allied itself with the majestic Central Coast.

Agriculturally rich Ventura County seems to find itself torn between wanting to be apart of the peacefully elegant Central Coast and chaotic Southern California.

Meanwhile San Diegans long declared “America’s Finest City” to be located "south of Southern California."

What about lonely Imperial County? Tucked away in the southwest pocket of the Golden State its small farming towns give it a feeling of being somewhere in the mid-west where maybe the excitement for a warm summer Saturday night is going down by the stinkiest river in America, The New River, which flows out of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico into the Salton Sea, and wondering how many beers and dares does it take to jump into the river.

Maybe it is numbers that define Southern California.

There are many who ardently claim they are from 90210, and several who will adamantly deny residing in the 909, and others who bare it all for the harsh truth of the camera lens and moan, “I don’t date, 818!”

Does that make the Southland just one big vapid wasteland?

Maybe, but in the past decade something different has been occurring. Instead of long-winded complaining about nothing perspicaciously about how life here should be, such complaints are finally turning into genuine action promising to change and reshape Southern California in next decade. Residents tired of seeing their piece of Southern California ripped apart and replaced with heartless stone and steel have taken political action in preserving their old neighborhoods, which has brought neighbors and government officials together to fight the homogenization of big-box stores and symmetrical track-houses, save the few remaining orange groves and improve public transit.

After all have you seen the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s transit projects for the next decade? By the end of the next decade Southern California should finally have the beginning of a comprehensive public transit system.

Amazingly in the past decade (destructive fires aside) Southern California has not experienced an ”smog alert.” As younger children prepare for their first day of school parents tell of their school days in the 70s and 80s with stories of how some days we were forced to stayed inside the classroom during recess, because the air was so bad, and people had to be hospitalized.

Maybe us Southern Californians could be defined as a cyclical people. Decades ago we fled our urban cores, shredded our Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway lines and split neighborhoods apart building freeways (or as long time locals around the Santa Monica Freeway refer to it, the Berlin Wall) to the suburbs as we willingly sit in traffic for an hour driving back to the urban core working in the office and back another hour on the freeway home. The suburbs have been growing like an urban fungus in all directions clearing out citrus groves and farmland. Now with a new generation being fed up wasting life sitting on a freeway, urban cores have come back to life while many conversations ask why in the hell did we demolish the best transit system in the country.

Ironically attributing to the renewed preservation of Southern California has been one of our biggest economic forces, “Hollywood,” which has not so subtly been leaking out of the state and into new entertainment industry hubs around the world. The idea of “Hollywood” has brought many former high school drama club president hopefuls on a Greyhound Bus to Cahuenga Boulevard hoping to land the Emmy winning role and be bestowed with wealth and power, while living in an isolated gated community north of Sunset Boulevard.

The closest to such wealth and power is often found becoming the shift manager at some restaurant in Los Feliz as the idea of Hollywood has proven dreams have a knack of just not coming true, resulting in Southern California becoming a transitory place for broken hopefuls, who bring with them no respect or civic pride for the city they call home, for this month.

The next decade shows as the romance and fantasy of Hollywood leaves Southern California to whatever unfortunate place has the honor of being the new “Hollywood,” the empty vacuum will be filled with residents, many born here and others welcomed here from around the world, who see us as more than an dream breaking town, but a place and people ultimately searching, rediscovering and preserving its rich cultural past, or at least creating an idea of past that exists in our own fantasyland, all while cultivating an new image.

Sure, Santa Ana Winds will not blow all our vapid identity out to the Pacific, as human nature desires to create and serve such people, but a renewed hopeful Southern California is on the horizon for the new decade.

Just what the end result will be, along with the happiness and tragedy of the new decade, remains to be seen.

One thing is certain, as the years go on one person has transcended the decades uniting Southern Californians, Cal Worthington still encouraging us to come on down to Long Beach accompanied by one of the most hilarious unintentional misinterpreted catchy commercial jingles.