Nixon Library Debut Has Yorba Linda Abuzz

With Richard M. Nixon’s presidential library set to open in his hometown here in less than two weeks, signs of the big day are popping up all over.

A police riot squad has commandeered a preschool across the street as a base of operations, to the dismay of some parents. The Secret Service has arranged to take over a nearby real estate office so government agents can assume lookout positions both inside and on the roof.

And the owner of a local ice cream shop plans to sell a special variety of cake featuring Nixon’s solemn likeness.

“We will also fly flags and have red, white and blue streamers,” said Deloris McConnell, owner of the Baskin-Robbins shop. “We’re going to try and look like we’re interested.”

Other local merchants plan to go all out for the July 19 dedication of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace, with plans to sell Nixon necklaces, Nixon T-shirts and even Nixon sandwiches.

City officials, meanwhile, are finishing up new parking lots and notifying residents of road closures on opening day. With as many as 20,000 people expected to turn out to see Nixon, President Bush and former Presidents Reagan and Ford, city planners have decided to close off Yorba Linda Boulevard in front of the library and turn it into a giant parking lot.

Unlike such cities as Anaheim and Buena Park, which are flooded with tourists visiting amusement parks, Yorba Linda has little experience in dealing with large crowds. The city of about 50,000 residents is so low-profile that it doesn’t have a single hotel or its own police department. Many of the guests invited for the library opening will be staying at hotels in surrounding communities.

City officials are confident, nevertheless, that they can handle the crowds and the massive news media attention, which will include a live broadcast of the “NBC Nightly News” anchored by Tom Brokaw from Yorba Linda on the library’s opening day.

“We feel real comfortable,” said Roy Stephenson, Yorba Linda city engineer and director of public works. “We’ve been planning a couple of months on this.”

Since the library is near the intersection of two of Yorba Linda’s biggest and busiest streets-- Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway--traffic should not be a disaster, said Assistant City Manager Bruce Channing. The city is also opening three satellite parking lots from which to shuttle library visitors on opening day, Channing said.

“We will have plenty of parking for all the people who want to come,” Channing said.

After consulting with Anaheim and other larger cities, Channing said Yorba Linda designed a crowd control plan that began last week.

A vacant field across the street from the library, for example, was graded to provide parking for security teams and other people working the event. City crews also started posting orange signs on area roadways warning local motorists of the July 19 road closures. Notices were mailed to residents who live near the library, advising them of the restrictions.

Roads in a triangular area bounded by Yorba Linda Boulevard on the south, Imperial Highway on the northeast and Valley View on the west will be closed to all but residents and patrons of businesses within that area between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The Brea Police Department, which contracts with Yorba Linda to provide police coverage for the city, last week arranged to take over Yorba Linda Preschool & Daycare across the street from the library on opening day, school officials said.

Jon Langston, the school administrator, said police want the building for, among other things, its restroom. With so much police commotion, Langston said he decided to cancel classes that day for the school’s 60 children.

“A few parents were not very happy, but we offered to give them a day’s credit,” Langston said.

Brea Police Lt. William Lentini said his officers will use the school as a place to cool off and rest between stints at crowd and traffic control. About 150 Brea officers will be assisting the U.S. Secret Service in providing security for the event.

“We’re prepared to have a large crowd but a good crowd,” Lentini said.

Secret Service officials last week also arranged to use offices of the Prudential near the library as a base of operations, according to officials of the 50-employee realty company. Although the company intends to remain open for business on the big day, armed agents will be prowling the premises, positioned behind tinted glass and atop the roof, said Jerry Best, a real estate agent there.

“It will definitely not be business as usual,” Best said.

Secret Service officials declined to comment on any details of their security preparations.

“Yes, we do make preparations for a presidential visit,” said Joseph Perez, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service office in Los Angeles. “But we don’t make (public) specifics regarding a plan.”

A few other businesses in the vicinity of the library will be closed on opening day because of the difficulty in negotiating the crowded streets and parking lots.

“We’re planning to stay as far away as possible,” said Janet Frazier, a receptionist at Michael Frazier Architects in the three-story Yorba Linda Packing House office complex across the street from the library. “There’ll be too many people that day.”

Diane Scheiffler, leasing officer for the 42-business complex, said many of the businesses are waiting until Tuesday--when they are scheduled to meet with city officials for more information about the Nixon dedication--to decide whether to close or not.

“We’re trying to get the tenants to stay open because once it (the dedication) is over, we think we will get some business,” Scheiffler said.

Although some business will be lost that day, Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce President Harry Elliott said the overall disruption would be negligible.

“It will be a disruption for four hours on one day out of 365,” Elliott said. “It’s not going to hurt anybody. In fact, it will help gas stations, restaurants and shopping centers. In addition to that, people walking to and from their cars will have an opportunity to do a little window shopping.”

Among the beneficiaries of the Nixon dedication will be a nearby Family Fitness Center, where manager Chris Kolb said he has already gotten calls from people in San Francisco and Los Angeles wanting to use the club’s workout facilities after attending the dedication.

So far, no celebrities or political bigwigs have inquired--just regular members of the national fitness center chain who don’t want to miss exercising that day, Kolb said.

Anticipating a rush of business, the Chili’s Grill & Bar on Yorba Linda Boulevard is doubling its staff and opening a half-hour early on the dedication day.

“We’re really excited,” said Chili’s manager Nancy Tooke.

Across the street in the Yorba Linda Station Plaza shopping center, the 30 businesses in the complex are stocking their shelves with Nixon souvenir items, said Joy Miedecke, head of the merchants’ association and owner of the Teddy Bear Station shop.

“In our shop, we have designed a T-shirt of a Teddy Bear that has one hand with Nixon’s famous peace sign and the other with an American flag,” Miedecke said. “We’re also going to have a Nixon Teddy Bear necklace.”

Fernanda’s Italian Cuisine is also modifying its menu to reflect a presidential theme. Fernanda Capraro, the restaurant’s owner, said she plans to serve a Nixon sandwich, although as of Friday she was still not sure what it would be.

“I am trying to find out what kind of sandwich he (Nixon) likes the best,” Capraro said. “We are going to try and make it very presidential.”

However, on streets surrounding the nine-acre library grounds, residents were making no special preparations for the big day.

“We’re going to sit in the back yard and watch it,” said Kathy Bigonger, 29, a housewife whose Park Place home abuts the library property.

“As long as I’ve got my parking space, I’ll be OK,” added Ken Stack, 36, an animator who lives on the same street.

Although one female resident grumbled about the upcoming event being “a real pain in the butt,” most residents interviewed said they looked forward to all the activity.

“I voted for Nixon three times, so I’m going to like it,” said Radka Egan, 67, a retiree who lives on Eureka Avenue. “I think it’s going to be beautiful.”