With the news that an initiative legalizing recreational pot will appear on our November ballot, it seemed like a good time to share this image from Orange County's war on drugs. This photo, from the First American Corp collection, shows O.C. Sheriff's Deputies at a marijuana bust in 1935..
I was reminded today that I used to occasionally post lists of links to interesting online video relating to local history. It's been a while, so here are a few more you may not have seen yet:
- Spencer Hughes takes us on a very unauthorized tour of the ruins of MCAS El Toro. Minus one point for camera work, but plus two points for having the right attitude. (And another three for sharing it with us.)
- For a much more official/PR-type (but still interesting) view of MCAS El Toro's afterlife, there's this OC Lifestyle episode. It includes a segment on "The Legacy Project."
- O.C. Roundup reader (and occasional contributor) Glenn Frank has posted a video that includes late 1940s footage of Huntington Beach. There's also some footage of the H.B. 4th of July Parade in the late 1970s -- shot at the intersection of Main and Yorktown. (You may remember Glenn as the guy who led the charge to save the Dreger Clock.)
- A real estate agent posted a video of the Evangeline Hotel (1906) in Huntington Beach. The historic building has already been sold, but the video still gives you a rare chance to see the inside of the place.
- There's also a short travel-log-type video about Crystal Cove posted to YouTube.
- From the California of the Past Digital Stories series comes an oral history and slide show of Irma Franklin, who helped put together the first real library at Leisure World in what is now Laguna Woods. The audio was recorded two years ago at the Historical Society of Laguna Woods.
- And finally, there's a short interview with the late voice actor and singer Thurl Ravenscroft. This Fullerton resident's voice was known to almost every American. He could be heard in TV commercials, in Disney theme park attractions, on LPs, and in animated features like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Locally, he was also known as the narrator for the Pagent of the Masters in Laguna Beach.