Family Stories: Knott's Berry Farm

Most people are familiar with Knott's Berry Farm jams and preserves, but they may not know that there is a real Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. I grew up visiting the park and eating at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. It's now pretty commercialized with huge roller coasters and Snoopy (!), but back in the day it was quite charming. You can read all about the Knott family's story here. It's truly fascinating. If you go to Knott's Berry Farm today, I highly recommend visiting Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant for the biscuits, boysenberry jam and boysenberry punch...preferably before you hit the roller coasters. While you're at it, pick up some extra boysenberry jam from one of their gift shops. It's oh-so-good.

I found these vintage postcards from the famous Chicken Dinner Restaurant and original theme park in Memphis several years ago, and then when I was going through the family film slides, I found two of our own Knott's Berry Farm memories from that same period. Pretty neat stuff.

Vintage Palos Verdes, California

For the past year, Palos Verdes, California (and the South Bay area in general) has been recurring theme on this blog (the most recent post was this one). PV was my family's home from 1960 to 1973. When my great-grandmother Elsie passed away in 1973, she asked that the house be sold and that her ashes be spread over the Pacific Ocean near PV. Her three children respected those wishes. Both of her daughters remained in California, but neither one lived in Palos Verdes again. As a child, I don't remember visiting PV very much. I think the first trip we made up the peninsula was in 1994, but I remember that it had a huge impact on me. I wanted to visit PV during every vacation, but I think we only visited one or two other times before Joan's death in 2003. After our first California vacation together in 2005, Jonathan and I began spending more time in the South Bay area, and our day trips to PV became highlights. The combination of the natural beauty of the coastline and the pristine mid-century California homes captured our hearts. After scanning so many film slides over the past few months, it became clear to me that we are drawn there for other reasons as well. It is part of our history and our family's story.

La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes, California around 1960.

Palos Verdes, California circa 1960.

Elsie's home in Palos Verdes, circa 1960.

A view of the South Bay - Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beaches -- from Palos Verdes, circa 1960.

Elsie at the beach, circa 1960.

Looking up the hill from Elsie's backyard, circa 1960.

Beautiful mid-century Palos Verdes homes, circa 1960.

A view of Elsie's backyard in Palos Verdes, taken around 1960.

Another view of the South Bay, taken around 1960.

Malaga Cove Plaza, circa 1960.

And just for fun...a recent shot of the same fountain!

Also in Malaga Cove Plaza was the Palos Verdes General Store, circa 1960.

Here's the same building in recent years.

A view of La Venta Inn, looking down over Elsie's house, circa 1960.

Me and Jonathan in that same spot on our first trip to PV together in 2005. Elsie's house is to our right with the skylight.

All of the above images from 1960 are from our family's film archives and were scanned and converted to digital images by Gerald and Joan. If you are interested in having us scan and preserve your family's film slides or images, contact us here. The recent images of California were taken by my mother.

Beach Inspiration on a Winter Day

While the majority of the country is suffering through weather conditions that only a polar bear would appreciate, Southern Californians are enjoying their shorts and flip flops. While this hardly seems fair, at least we can enjoy these photographs and pretend that we can feel the sun's warmth on our legs and sand between our toes.... Oh spring, you can't get here fast enough. Stay warm, my friends!

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Photos taken by my mother during a visit to her childhood home of Palos Verdes, California.

Collections: Vintage Chandeliers

Over the Christmas break, Jonathan hung our vintage chandeliers. Three of them are family heirlooms that previously hung in Joan's house. When my mother decided to list the house in 2010, I begged her to take down the chandeliers. One of them dates to 1960 and originally hung at my great-grandmother's house in Palos Verdes, and my grandparents bought the other two when they built the Cerritos house in 1973. Needless to say, the chandeliers came down, and two of them have been in storage ever since. The other hung in our living room, along with the other vintage chandelier that Jonathan and I found at Stars Antique Market in Hermosa Beach (walking distance from Palos Verdes) in 2008 for $150. It was a very special moment when they came out of the boxes. I feel as though we've been especially close to my grandmother and great-grandmother this year, but having their chandeliers hanging in our home brings them even closer.

Joan's chandelier now hangs in our dining room.

Elsie's chandelier now hangs in our entry way.

Joan's chandelier now hangs in our living room. This chandelier also hung in the living room of our old house. It plugs into the wall. The picture in the background is Elsie at 21, taken in 1921. It previously hung in the foyer of Joan's house, along with the big chandelier that is now in our dining room.

The chandelier that Jonathan and I found in Hermosa Beach, California in 2009 now hangs in our guest bedroom.

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