by Lorraine Burnett
By
Lorraine Burnett
My family moved to Newport Beach when I was two years old, back in 1955. My grandfather, Donald G. Griswold, moved his manufacturing business from Alhambra to Costa Mesa. Cla-Val Company is still going strong on Placentia Avenue.
We bought a home on St. James Street, just behind the football practice field of Newport Harbor HS. I can remember eating dinner and watching the boys practice in the evenings. The Irvine cattle used to come up to our back fence as well.
I can remember when the Newport Freeway used to be a two-lane road with orange groves (oh, the memories of orange blossoms in the spring!!) and bean fields on either side for miles and the Santa Ana Hiliocopter base was the big landmark (I cried when they took it down, so sad). The Santa Ana Freeway was the only freeway besides the Pasadena fwy. I learned to sail at the Balboa Yacht club and swim at Newprot Harbor High School pool, the original one.
I would walk to swimming lessons and ride my bike to sailing lessons in the summer. I, also, remember riding my bike to the Newport pier to watch the fishing dories come in with their catch of the day.
The last time I was down there to show my youngest daughter when we visited back summer of 2001, there weren’t as many as I remembered in my youth. I have many fond memories of NB and would move back there if only it were like it was back in those golden days. I have been out of Cali for nearly 23 yrs now and everytime I return home, it sickens me to see all the damage done to such a beautiful place, by greed and over population. I do have my memories and that is good.
September 16th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
I’m with you. My memories go back to the 50′s and 60′s. I graduated from NHHS in ’61 then attended OCC for two years before transfering to San Jose State.
We lived in Costa Mesa before it was incorporated as a city. The only High School in the area besides Corona del Mar High, was Newport. My grandfather owned on of only 3 cabins on Balboa before there was any bridge or ferries connecting the island to the main land.
We would ride bikes from up on the bluff on Congress street off Placentia to the pier to fish most of the night. Then ride back home in the dark and in complete safety. There was not another building from the back of our house until you got to Santa Anna. It was country by the beach.
I worked at Billy Bushes Bait and Tackle shop at the foot of the Newport Pier while in Hight School. Then at Al Hadley’s Donute shop on the beach at the pier while I went to OCC.
I was sickened to go back and see the old home a couple of years ago. It is now a getto area. I’ve been out of Newport for 47 year. What a change has taken place. I too have fond memories. But now my true love is the Northwest. It is still wild and open and unspoiled!
July 13th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Lorraine, I love your writing. Keep it up!
Love,
Louise