Huntington Historical Society Wants to Share Treasure

On a shelf in a small, cluttered upstairs room at a community center called the Barn in Huntington Beach are some buried treasures.

They are a handful of yearbooks from the old Huntington Beach Union High School, put together by students who had yet to see America involved in World War I. They talk about fun times in their hometowns of Wintersburg and Talbert and Smeltzer. If you don’t think of those as Orange County names, they’re all in what is now Huntington Beach.

One student writes of his excitement at flying in an “aerial limousine” (an airplane) and another describes the thrill of students gathering to watch the “moving picture” that had been taken at the school. (“We saw our girls gracefully wind the maypole.”)

The oldest yearbook is 1913; the most recent contribution is a 1915 yearbook brought in by Elizabeth L. Thomas of Orange. She’s a granddaughter of the late Clara Newland of the city’s leading pioneer family. The book had belonged to one of Clara’s sons, Alfred Isenor (listed as active in drama).

These books are filled with rich detail about a different, more rural Orange County than the one we know. There’s a hilarious student essay on chalk fights. (“If you see a teacher coming, busy yourself picking something up off the floor.”) Basketball and tennis were big. No baseball one year, one of the yearbooks said, “because of the loss of our pitcher, whom cupid overcame before the season started.”

Taxes, war and China were important subjects, and many students seemed tortured by Latin classes. The ads were for blacksmith shops, candy stores, real estate sales (50-foot lot near ocean, $500) and one for an “automobiles and harness” shop.

The yearbooks are part of the Huntington Beach Historical Society’s collection of books, photos, oral histories and other documents it would love to share with local residents. The problem is, says its volunteer archivist, Barbara Milkovich, it has no place yet to properly display them for public access. That’s a major goal of the group for the future, and it’s hoping for someone to help.

More Than a Museum: One yearbook mentions great parties at Helen Newland’s house. That was Clara Newland’s younger sister. And the house they were talking about is the wonderful old Queen Anne Victorian home, built in 1898, that sits on high ground right off Beach Boulevard near Adams Avenue. William T. Newland (Clara’s father) was a prosperous rancher and owned the first bank. His widow, Mary, remained there after he died in 1933, until her death in 1952. The Historical Society began restoration in 1974, after the city took the house over. It’s now the Newland House Museum.

Maybe you’re like me; I’d gone by it for years but never stopped to go inside. It’s a visit worth your time if you have any interest at all in the county’s history. The Newlands raised 10 children there. Many of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still around. Elizabeth Thomas, whose father was born in the house, remembers playing there as a youngster. Several from the family have helped with the restoration.

The family’s original grand piano is still in the parlor, the original dining room table and the original plate setting from England are in the house too. The upstairs octagonal turret room had been William Newland’s office, and later became a sewing room. My favorite was the upstairs girls’ bedroom, where windows on three sides offer a splendid view of the ocean and the city.

The house’s 100th anniversary is two years away. You can bet there will be quite a celebration.

Club Rules: New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley’s new book, “Time Present, Time Past,” offers great insights into the internal politics of the Senate. At the center of one example is former Anaheim Mayor and state Sen. John Seymour, who served a brief stint in the U.S. Senate in the early 1990s, appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Seymour opposed Bradley’s effort to reform water distribution laws for Western states but didn’t have the votes to stop it. To avoid a Seymour filibuster, Bradley writes, he let Seymour’s own bill pass in the Senate, then “die in the House by prearranged agreement with the House leadership.” Bradley says this gave Seymour “the fig leaf of being able to claim that the Senate had supported his bill.”

Seymour even boasted that he had “dribbled between Bradley’s legs.” (Bradley was once a New York Knicks basketball star.) Trouble was, Seymour was dribbling toward out of bounds. After his bill died, Bradley’s bill wound up passing both houses and being signed by President Bush.

Adieu, Pat: Don’t count on Orange County reviving Republican Pat Buchanan’s presidential hopes. He has canceled his only county appearance, scheduled for Friday at the Hyatt Regency Irvine.

The Real Swallows Day: Nearly 15,000 visitors went through the turnstiles at Mission San Juan Capistrano on Saturday, when the city held its official Swallows Day ceremony. But another big turnout is expected at the Mission today--St. Joseph’s Day--the traditional Swallows Day. Says spokesman Jim Graves: “We’ll have lots of schoolchildren here, dressed in period costumes or as swallows. It will be most festive.”

Wrap-Up: Barbara Milkovich would like to make some genealogists’ dreams come true. Included in the Huntington Beach Historical Society’s collection are 17 volumes, 1821-1838, of American Methodist missionary work. They are loaded with names, records and anecdotes of the time. Milkovich is simply looking for a respectable--and relevant--group to ask for them.

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling the Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or sending a fax to (714) 966-7711.