Anaheim Man Feels at Home in the Past

Ron Waltz is living in the past.

Actually, in a home of the past.

“I’m a modern man who happens to like the feel of an old house,” said the 38-year-old Anaheim resident as he walked a visitor through his Victorian home. The restored structure has become something of an attraction to locals and tourists.

Waltz could afford to live in a costly new home with all the modern conveniences.

“But when you walk into one of these old homes it seems to have a warm feeling that you don’t get from something new,” said Waltz, who restored the home with the help of his wife, Sarah. They have been married 18 years and have four children.

He paid $1,200 for the house in 1987, but spent $320,000 to move it to another site and restore it to its original appearance inside and out.

Such modern conveniences as a dishwasher and garbage disposal are present, but are in cabinets, hidden from view.

Waltz grew up in Anaheim when orange groves dotted much of the city and some of its pioneers still lived in elegant old homes.

“When you walk into one of those homes, there’s a warm feeling that’s hard to explain,” he said. “I’ve done some research into the history of the homes and the people who lived in them. I want to know what life was like in those times.”

The former Katella High School and Fullerton College student said he remembers his grandfather telling him stories of the old days.

“I was always intrigued with the past, especially when my dad would tell me about his own heritage,” he said.

Waltz works for a heating and air conditioning contractor and spends his weekends restoring Victorian and pioneer homes in Anaheim.

“One of these days I hope to open my own business restoring old homes,” said Waltz, who says that eight people want him to restore their homes.

Looking to the future, he has already formed Waltz and Waltz Development and Restoration Co.

“One family said: ‘Here’s $300,000. We want it the way it was originally,’ ” he said. “If I could do one house every 18 months I would be satisfied.”

Waltz likes to say he brings older homes “back to life.” He has fully restored two older homes aside from his own.

It was the demolition of the original Lutheran Church in Anaheim that prompted Waltz to start restoring some of the city’s original buildings and homes.

“It was a beautiful structure and I bid on it to convert it into a house for my wife and myself,” he said. “The deal fell through and I was very unhappy that a building like that would be destroyed.”

He bid on another structure, but during the process vandals collapsed the roof of the building and stole all the old bricks.

“All the old homes are the way Anaheim used to be, and we should save them and leave something for our kids as a reminder of what Anaheim was like in those times,” Waltz said.

And he added: “I think in our day-to-day life we have to stop and remember the past. We don’t stop to smell the roses anymore.”

Mark Roeder, who teaches paleontology and archeology programs at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, has set up quite a day for himself July 20 at Golden West College in Huntington Beach.

From 9 to 11 a.m. he will explore prehistoric time through slides, stories and games in a program for children of ages 4 through 7; from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. he will talk about sharks to children 8 through 12, and from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. he will talk about dinosaurs and fossils to children 8 through 12.

It all takes place in the administration building.