LOOKING BACK

Young Chang

Plain walls, hollow floors and heavy wooden doors with the ridges

clearly marked are some of the dead giveaways that the administration

building of the Orange County Fair is more than just a makeshift

headquarters for the sake of tradition and fun.

Once part of an Army Air Force base during World War II, it is a game

of guessing and folklore as to what the building was used for. Some say

it was an infirmary. Others maintain the structure was a recreational

headquarters.

“But the old plumbing fixtures, some of the cabinetry that’s been

done, really have that old feel,” said Steve Beazley, the deputy general

manager of the fair.

Today, the facility is where the two-week county fair is planned and

realized every year to give kids the thrill of pony rides and adults the

indulgence of licking their fingers after a sinfully satisfying funnel

cake.

This is Beazley’s 26th fair. The general manager’s tie to the annual

Orange County tradition dates back to when his grandmother, Billie Green,

was the assistant manager in 1952. The title was different back then

because the permanent staff only included two people, but Green and

Beazley’s jobs were essentially the same, he said.

“While it used to be a very big building, now there are trailers on

both sides flanking the buildings,” Beazley said, of how the staff has

grown to more than 30 employees today.

Jim Bailey, Centennial Farm and livestock director for the fair, says

the now-maroon structure reminded him of an army-barrack type building

when he first walked in 42 years ago.

The space has grown in the number of staff housed there and through

renovations, he said, but it remains the same in mood and personality.

“It’s an exciting building that brings back memories of the past and

how you can move from the past and move forward in a very positive way,”

he said. “It has charm, it has history, it’s got character. And I think

you need all of those to work in a positive environment.”

* Do you know of a person, place or event that deserves a historical

Look Back? Let us know. Contact Young Chang by fax at (949) 646-4170;

e-mail at young.chang@latimes.com; or mail her at c/o Daily Pilot, 330 W.

Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.