I was 97% sure I read somewhere that the Anaheim Founders Park -- which features the Victorian Wolke-Stoffle House, the Mother Colony House, and a huge fig tree -- celebrated its groundbreaking recently. But now I can't find that article for the life of me. Very annoying. However, I do have two verifiable bits of news from that park:1) A trail through the park is now marked as the "O.K. Trail" in honor of of the delightful Opal Kissinger. Opal ran the History Room at Anaheim Public Library for many years, and has continued to be an active part of the historical community since her retirement. She's had a hand in a lot of good things in recent years, but her portrayals of historical figures like Helena Modjeska have been especially well-received.
2) The vines behind the Wolke-Stoffle (a.k.a. Red Cross) House are growing the same kind of grapes cultivated by the German vintners who founded Anaheim. Don Dobmeier of the Orange County Historical Society and Orange County Historical Commission has been tending them carefully. (He's in the photo at the top of today's post.) Now, with the help of the fledgling Anaheim Brewery, for the first time in a LONG time, there will be genuine Anaheim wine. Read more about it on the Anaheim Brewery's blog.
.Karin Klein of the L.A. Times has a new book out, entitled, 50 Hikes In Orange County. I haven't read it yet, (it only came out this week), but I know she researched the history of our local back country. As someone who enjoys going out and exploring historic sites on foot, I'm looking forward to seeing what she has to say.
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Karin also has an article about the late bear population in Orange County in today's Times.
