Carbon Canyon Historical Artifact #3

Here is another great item connected to La Vida Mineral Springs Resort. This ca. 1940s/1950s bottle represents a long history of flavored mineral water beverages offered by the proprietors of La Vida from 1928, although the end of production is something to still discover. Although the front label is badly faded, the back is still very clear and lists the many flavors offered. At the bottom of the blog are details from this bottle. The 1928 date comes from an online historical timeline of Orange County and the beverage is mentioned in a recent Arcadia Publishing photo book on the county and, I think, Esther Cramer's 1992 history of Brea.

In a detail view at the bottom of the blog, you'll note the location of the La Vida Bottling Company was in Placentia, although obviously the water was brought in from the springs in the canyon.



Given the 80-year history of La Vida, there will, hopefully, be some other great artifacts to share in future posts. This item is 2008.3.1.1 from the Carbon Canyon Collection.

Canyon Crest Appeal: Could Come Faster than Originally Thought

Here's a new item appearing on a bulletin board at the top of the horseshoe curve on Carbon Canyon Road, as you head east in Chino Hills towards Brea.

An appeal submitted following the Brea Planning Commission's 3-2 vote approving the 165-home Canyon Crest development may be heard by the City Council as early as mid-August, only about 3 weeks from now.

Anyone who lives in or uses the canyon regularly for commuting or a nice weekend drive ought to consider lending their voices in opposition to this project if they are at all concerned about:

• 1,650 or so additional car rides on an already well-beyond capacity road;


• or the destruction of 1,800 trees in an oak and walnut woodland community mainly destroyed by decades of nearly uninterrupted development region-wide;


• or one year's worth of grading that would send tons of particulate matter in the air, heading east with ocean-borne breezes or west with Santa Anas and other interior-originating winds

These being the three unavoidable, significant adverse impacts cited (and, consequently, overrriden by the Planning Commission) in the Draft Recirculated Environmental Impact Report. Despite claims to the contrary, water looms large over this and all other development plans in the region. Folks in Chino Hills will learn soon, if they haven't already, that the city is implementing a next stage of water conservation, including the banning of watering between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and other measures (admittedly, these will not be enforced by code officers unless there are complaints, which are likely to be very few and far between.)

Why this matters is because Canyon Crest, like Vellano on the Chino Hills side, and like developments with very large homes and large lots, is going to involve water use about triple that of the average home in Brea. Global climate change, drought, fire, water scarcity--all of these go hand-in-hand, even if there are some who refuse to or are unable to connect the dots.

Developments like Canyon Crest are going to almost certainly be archaic, outmoded, and completely unsustainable if current climatic trends continue.

Not that the Brea City Council will take such "big picture" issues into consideration (who does in government, anyway?) That shouldn't stop those who are concerned about these issues from expressing them, along with the specific questions of traffic, natural habitat destruction, and pollution generation. Having a "high quality" (whatever that means) housing stock, a new fire truck, some money for affordable housing and other cited benefits just aren't enough and the City Council should hear that.

Let's not wait for someone else to speak for us: take a few hours of your time and attend that council meeting at which this item appears on the agenda. Sign up to speak. Make your points succinctly, clearly, calmly, and without attacking anyone. There's no guarantee this project will be approved, but the only hope for defeating it will be galvanized citizen action (the kind of action that actually makes democracy truly work, rather than through the executive and legislative branches, as in city staff and council.) After all, this is the time to find out if the Brea City Council and staff works for its citizens or for developers--let's not forget, above all, that there was absolutely no legal grounds or basis for staff to recommend and for the planning commission to approve the "statement of overriding considerations." It was not an imperative, it was a choice. It seems that it is now imperative for citizens to respond and demonstrate the consequences of that choice.

Time for bed.

A Little Rattler in the Canyon (no, not a snake! a quake!)

All right, all right, so it was a minor quake, a mere 5.4 that was only a fraction as powerful as the Northridge quake of 1994. I guess that, because it had been almost 15 years, many had forgotten what these things were like. I also suspect that the advent of 24-hour media, with all that time to fill, makes these events look far worse, especially to nervous family and friends out of state who only deal with tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and other natural calamities where they live.

Yet, here Chino Hills was having its fifteen minutes of fame for being the epicenter of a little rattler that broke a few windows, spilled some canned goods, knocked grandma's porcelain ballerina figurine down off the curio cabinet, and shook more than a few nerves. I imagine we all thought the big faults were Andreas, or Whittier-Fullerton, or some other that would be far from us.

The fact is: damage from earthquakes can be most severe at places somewhat far removed from the epicenter and dependent on the movement of the quake, the geologic conditions (soil and other factors), and the quality of the construction in any given area.

I'm not trying to minimize the reaction some people had: 5.4 is a fair-sized, if moderate, tremor.

But, folks, the "Big One" that the seismologists warn us about, the one that has a 90% chance of probability in the not-too-distant future (10 years? 30 years?) is going to be 8.0 or greater, meaning close to 30x more powerful in amplitude and 100x greater relative to the release of energy than this relatively harmless event we experienced today.

Would this "Big One" occur on a fault running through Chino Hills? Evidently not, since the Andreas Fault is most likely the one from which a "great earthquake" of over 8.0 magnitude would come. But, anywhere within a wide-ranging area would be significantly affected, so we can assume canyon folk would be as impacted as millions throughout our massive, sprawling region.


And, just when was the last "Big One" in the Los Angeles area? 1857. So, I guess we're due.

Stock up that earthquake kit, have plans for escape and a gathering place established, and, whatever you do, don't start bolting for the nearest exit thinking that outside is the best place to be during a quake.

I still can't fathom people doing that, knowing that exterior building surfaces, entire walls, power lines, trees, and other objects are more likely to kill people in this region than anything inside. The horrific scenes from China earlier this year of totally collapsed buildings, with pancaked floors crushing thousands, is as much a reflection of shoddy construction and a lack of strong earthquake mitigation codes as anything else and is unlikely to be repeated here in the same way. Unfortunately, those scenes might convince some people here to hightail it for outside despite the obvious differences between Sichuan and Los Angeles.

This isn't to say that a comparable quake of 8.0 here won't cause building collapses. But, the only instance where leaving a building is recommended is when you are in an unreinforced adobe building. I happen to work at a place that has one of those (and there was an archaeologist inside studying the building when it happened--guess where he went?) but for the 99.984% (approximately) of us who aren't in one when the quake hits, stay inside, take cover under sturdy furniture or against a wall (and away from glass and other potentially damaging objects) and ride the sucker out. And, be prepared for powerful aftershocks that could cause great damage in weakened structures.

Canyon folk: I suppose that in a "great quake" event, we could see landslides and cracking closing down Carbon Canyon Road, some hillside homes slipping, and other major damage. Being three miles or so from just about anything, with power lines above ground, and what have you, it would appear to be an imperative to have plenty of emergency rations around the house. I didn't get something like this together until a few years ago and am not sure if I'm entirely prepared if my house is unsafe to reenter. But, I do have a 48-hour kit outside in a sealed plastic container (the kit even has a toilet seat that fits over the container--just in case!) and there are 48-hour backpack kits in the two cars. So, maybe that will be sufficient, though many experts suggest more.

At any rate, our little rattler next to Carbon Canyon ought to be a reminder about what we potentially face in our region and preparedness is probably about as shaky (oops, sorry) as our savings-to-debt ratio.

With all of the emphasis on fire safety (definitely needed), we shouldn't forget about this other potential canyon calamity. Today sure brought that home for me.

Carbon Canyon Google Interactive Map

I've set up a Google interactive map for Carbon Canyon that has placemarks (various icons for housing tracts, recreational places, historic sites, and others) that you can access and read information about concerning places of historical interest, notoriety, or distinctiveness within the canyon. If you have corrections and suggestions, please let me know.

Here's the link and enjoy: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=108410844123352552312.00045245ba05b66a7ae66&ll=33.96301,-117.763996&spn=0.029401,0.052872&z=14

Carbon Canyon Historical Artifact #2

Here is another interesting postcard of La Vida Mineral Springs, this one a colorized photograph probably dating to the 1940s. Through a stand of trees appears to be the cafe with the sign partially readable at the upper left. Behind the row of period automobiles is what looks to be part of the hotel with some of the hills as a backdrop.

On the reverse is a cool printed description: "La Vida Mineral Springs, Home of World Famous Natural Mineral Water. Baths, Massage, Colonics, Hotel Rooms, Housekeeping Cottages, Excellent Cafe with Home Cooked Food. In Beautiful Carbon Canyon just Seven Miles East of Brea, Calif. For Health and Relaxation out of the Smog and Fog, Visit this Secluded Restful Resort. Just Thirty-three Miles from Los Angeles. For Information Write Rt. 1, Box 176A, Placentia, Calif. or Call Placentia 5150."

Although the mineral water was somewhat well known locally and maybe a little known outside, the "world famous" sounds a bit far-fetched. Also, I wonder how many patrons took advantage of the "colonics" option! It is also interesting to contemplate the fact that La Vida and Carbon Canyon were removed from "smog and fog." At any rate, a neat item.

The unused card was published by Advertising Pencil Co. of Kansas City, Missouri. As with my previous post, this item comes from the Carbon Canyon Collection, item 2008.2.1.1, and is scanned at 150dpi without a watermark, though I don't know if that means anything as far as possible "use" by others is concerned!

Useless Documentation?

I'm going to periodically do this because I want to have some documentation of incidents that demonstrate dangerous driving on Carbon Canyon Road, even if some of our elected officials and professional staff don't seem to be convinced that there is a problem.

Today, as I was heading westbound on the road at Canon Lane, two motorcyclists on hogs casually passed four cars on the eastbound side by taking advantage of left turn lanes on the widened portion of the road to squeeze between the aforesaid cars and my own.

To review: passing ANYWHERE on Carbon Canyon Road is illegal, which is why there are double yellow lines EVERYWHERE, except where left turns are permitted.

As long as people think they can choose which laws apply to them, the potential for serious problems exist. Is it going to take innocent fatalities and injuries by people like these motorcyclists before government officials do something? Sure seems like it from my experience in trying to contact city and state representatives. Then again, I'm just one person. But, why be reactive instead of proactive when it comes to the most fundamental of government's responsibilities: protecting the health and safety of constituents?

Anyway, send a comment if you have similar tales of woe!

Neighborhoods of Carbon Canyon, Part Two

Olinda Village is a close-knit community of about 120 houses on the north side of Carbon Canyon Road (State Highway 142) on the Brea side of the canyon. First subdivided in 1964, the community is laid out along six streets with homes ranging from modest one-story ranch-style structures to massive McMansions engineered into steep hillsides at the top of the development. While the merits of the latter can be debated ad infinitum, Olinda Village retains the feel of a well-kept, unpretentious neighborhood.

Within a couple of years, the community will lose one of its most valuable assets: Olinda School, a small, high-performing elementary school tucked into a corner of the subdivision. Citing the cost of maintaining a campus that has a low attendance compared to other schools and arguing that a new, long-planned school to be built on old oil field property at Lambert Road and Valencia Avenue should accomodate Olinda children for efficiency as well as cost, the Brea-Olinda Unified School District is shuttering Olinda School.

Another community feature looks like it has lived long past its intended use: this is the small shopping center built adjacent to Carbon Canyon Road. Aside from Carbon Canyon Realty and the Sol de México restaurant, most of the center is either deserted or barely hanging on, with some medical testing office and a storefront church the only other apparent tenants.

I've already given this pitch once but, folks, try Sol de México restaurant. It is very good, authentic, home-cooked, fresh and family-owned. In this world overrun with chain restaurants (some, of course, are just fine), there's a real need to help the little guy compete, especially when the food is as good as it is as Sol de México.

Anyway, Olinda Village is a highly-desirable place to live. Homes rarely come on the market and when they do, they don't tend to last long (well, that might have changed a little lately). There are residents who have been there for decades and my understanding is that there is a very neighborly feeling there.

Across Carbon Canyon Road is another neighborhood, a mobile home park called Hollydale. I don't know what the relationship is between the folks from Olinda and those from Hollydale, but, to me, they're in the same neighborhood and have to deal with many of the same issues. First and foremost, naturally, is traffic and related matters concerning Carbon Canyon Road. Turning onto the road in this area is especially difficult and dangerous because of the steep approach on both sides and drivers' tendency to drive pretty fast through this section. I've got to say: mobile home communities get a bad rap, although the ones where the residents own the land are usually much better, but Hollydale's location is pretty hard to beat, especially those lots that face the confluence (ooh, big word) of Soquel and Carbon canyons. The terrain at Hollydale slopes downward from the road, so the further you are from it, the quieter it is. Unfortunately, there is space rent there.

Another plus to Olinda: there is access to the recent addition to Chino Hills State Park to the north of the community. I've only hiked there once, but there is some beautiful scenery back there. Of course, if the "Canyon Crest" developments gets built, there will be some impact, but that section of the park is a much less utilized area than the rest of it across the canyon.

The Los Angeles Times did run a "Neighborly Advice" column for Olinda back in 2005, a year before one was done on Sleepy Hollow. As with the latter, I'm not sure there's another part of Brea that would be considered for the column (but who knows?)

Here's a link to that article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-re-guide14aug14,1,6558371.story.