After Long Wait, Yorba Linda Gets a Moment in Sun : Dedication: Thousands share in Nixon’s return to the spotlight, a day dominated by loyalists but punctuated by the protests of a handful of others.

It was a moment some had waited more than a decade to see: Richard M. Nixon standing once again behind the royal blue Presidential Seal, beaming widely as thousands of friends and admirers cheered.

“He’s meant a lot to some of us who are older,” said Margaret Chambers, 72, of Fullerton. “I used to work for him in Garden Grove going door to door.”

Lupe Westrup, an English teacher at a private school in Brea, also watched with history on her mind as the former President, arms at his sides, took the podium and gratefully acknowledged a long ovation. In the presidential election of 1960, Westrup said, she was one of the only people in her neighborhood who backed Nixon against John F. Kennedy.

“They stoned my house, they punctured my tires, and they egged my house,” she said. “Today, 30 years later, made it worthwhile.”

Though Nixon loyalists dominated Thursday’s crowd, they still did not own it. Others braved long lines and the sweltering heat just for the chance to see the rare gathering of four Presidents on a single stage, and some took advantage of the occasion to air their political grievances.

Some traveled for thousands of miles, others camped overnight, and all who made it inside had to shuffle through the event’s security check early Thursday morning. Still, few seemed to leave disappointed.

“You’ll never see four Presidents all together like this,” said Pat Yates, of Tustin. “It’s history in the making.”

Thursday’s estimated crowd of 50,000 was overwhelmingly supportive of Nixon and his fellow Republicans, but pockets of protesters were sprinkled throughout.

The demonstrators--whose causes included AIDS, abortion rights, the environment and Central America--clashed with Nixon backers in a few places, exchanging harsh words but stopping short of blows. When Tustin businessman Ron Kobayashi began shouting anti-Nixon slogans through a bullhorn, he was met with a chorus of boos.

“Be tough on crime, jail Nixon,” shouted Kobayashi, who had taken the day off from work to protest what he considers the overly generous treatment given Nixon in recent reports.

One man waiting in line shouted back, “Go home.”

“Get him off our corner,” added another.

Kobayashi, surveying the sea of Nixon supporters around just a handful of fellow protesters, grumbled, “Only in Orange County.”

Although tempers occasionally flared and temperatures hit 90 degrees, Yorba Linda absorbed the huge crowd--more visitors than had ever descended on the city in a single day, local leaders figured--and handled it without serious incident.

During the speeches, visitors scambled up bleachers and flagpoles for a better look. Children waded barefoot into the library fountain and the reflecting pool behind the library to take the edge off the heat.

Brea police, who handle Yorba Linda’s law enforcement duties, said the line of people trying to get into the event at one point stretched two miles. Almost 40,000 visitors passed through the metal detectors, and police estimated another 10,000 people came to town, took a look at the crowd and headed home.

That created long lines of traffic, as well as boom-town business for area merchants, some of whom had decorated their establishments for the occasion. Residents near the line outside the library sold muffins, rolls and orange juice, while area stores rented out parking spaces for as much as $20 each.

By early afternoon the streets were returning to normal and nearly all of the visitors had worked their way out of the city. Many stopped on their way out to scoop up T-shirts, hats, buttons and other Nixon memorabilia from vendors.

Times staff writers Sonni Efron, Ted Johnson, Eric Lichtblau, Maria Newman and David Reyes contributed to this report.