To begin, I will need to go back to the very early days of Anaheim and discuss one of Anaheim's pioneer citizens, Timm John Frederick Boege. Timm Boege came to Anaheim from Holstein, Germany in 1861, just 4 years after the founding of our community. Shortly after arrival in town, he purchased from the Sterns Rancho Company a quarter section of land Southwest of town. Always a public spirited man, when the Southern Pacific Railroad was coming into Anaheim in 1874, with much community opposition, Timm Boege donated 40 acres for the right of way and station. He became a City Trustee during the formative years of our community.

Grape growing being the chief industry of the day, Timm began a very successful winery, the building of which still survives today on Manchester Avenue as the old C&R Blueprint Building. Timm also built several other buildings in very early downtown Anaheim.

A few years after his arrival, Timm married Olga Luedke, a daughter of one of Anaheim's pioneer families. Ten children were raised, the eldest son, Charles A. being born on September 14, 1874. Charles went on to become the cashier of the German American Bank, the same bank that his father Timm was a joint founder of years earlier.

Charley, as he was affectionately known, also became a strong civic supporter, drafting the $10,000 grant request from Andrew Carnegie for the new library, and being elected City Treasurer in 1908 serving until 1912. He was reelected in 1916 and continued to serve thereafter, later becoming Anaheim's longest serving official. For his municipal services, he was paid $200 per month.

The community had clamored for a municipal park since the founding of Anaheim. Lack of funds had always prevented a purchase of land until 20 acres were finally purchased in 1920 from Herman Dickel for $70,000 from a $100,000 bond issue. The city was always cash short for park development, so much so that Anaheim developer, George W. Hamler offered to buy the west half of the park property in January 1922 for $100,000.

His plan was to use the land for new homes facing Palm Street. This money could then be used to work on the park, at this time still an orange and walnut grove. Surprising to us today, this proposal met with strong community support, however the Board of Trustees tabled the idea.

Finally in 1923 another $100,000 bond issue was sold for park development. Nearly every year thereafter until 1928, a new structure appeared at the park. Anaheim was known for many years as the "City with the Beautiful Park".

Sycamore Street played a very important part in the early history of our community. Anaheim's pioneer surveyor George Hansen selected a low ridge that ran through this area for the right-of-way for the main water canal used to irrigate the original vineyards. This ridge that ran slightly southwest, and the canals that followed it, became Sycamore Street. Since all vineyard lots were surveyed at right angles to the main water canal, Anaheim's streets became tilted also to the southwest giving our community it's odd orientation to the rest of the county. The Anaheim Union Water Company later replaced the open canal with a buried pipeline at the insistence of the Sycamore Street property owners who were planning residential development.

This 20 acre track of land north of the park, known as Vineyard Lot B5, was originally part of the August Langenberger property. Our Clementine Street was named in honor of Clementine Langenberger, August's second wife. By November 1920 the Langenberger heirs had sold their property to Johan Heinrich (Henry) Siemers. By 1921, Henry Siemers had assembled a group of Anaheim investors consisting of Joseph Clayes (Anaheim High School Principal), Westly Quarton (of the SQR store fame), Horance Comstock (Anaheim High School Janitor) and their wives to purchase this portion of the Langenberger tract for development. On July 15, 1921 these ten acres east of Clementine Street were officially subdivided into the "Park View Tract" (County Tract #170).

Prior to development, the stately old two story Langenberger residence, which was located between today's 500 and 510 North Clementine Street was removed. Thankfully, a decision was made to keep many of the mature trees that adjoined the old Langenberger home and some of these remain today, a legacy to one of Anaheim's pioneer families.

In preparation of new home building, the City let a $13,538 contract to the Magonovich and Gellespie Company on February 15, 1922 for new sewer construction in this area. Taken for granted today, our early City Fathers needed to create a sewer outfall to the ocean before the major residential development of the 1920's could proceed. Municipal water lines were later installed and Anaheim's signature Westinghouse Flame Streetlights soon followed.

The Anaheim Gazette reported that on March 6, 1922 Charles Boege was granted a permit to build an $8,000, 7 room residence on North Clementine. This was one of the first homes built on the tract. At the time of its construction, this was one of Anaheim's costliest homes. The Anaheim Gazette listed Frank Benchley as the architect. Benchley was a building contractor living in Fullerton at the this time.

This Pueblo Revival house that resulted is similar to a few others in Anaheim, one located at 846 North Anaheim Boulevard and the beautiful example at 904 West Broadway. This home is built of hollow tile construction which results in outside walls almost 16" thick.

Charles Boege, his wife Louise, daughter Katherine and son Arthur, lived quite comfortably here for many years. Charley often visited his brother Dr. John H. Boege and nephew Dr. John N. Boege at their dental offices, built by Simon Fluor, just down the street, at the corner of Sycamore and North Anaheim Boulevard.

This part of Sycamore Street is one of the highest points in the old downtown area. When the floodwaters arrived here on March 3, 1938, very little damage was done in this area, the water just lapping at the porch steps. Homes closer to La Palma Avenue were not as lucky.

You might be interested in knowing that a group of North Clementine residents in early 1939 proposed changing this street's name to Park Avenue. Fortunately the Board of Trustees did not respond to this suggestion.

Charley's wife Louise was a long time member of the Anaheim High School faculty and served for a time on the High School Board. Unfortunately, by the mid 1930's Louise had fallen into poor health, later becoming blind. Charley's health began to fail as well in the late 1930's. Poor financial investments also took a toll on the family. These facts were to cause Anaheim's first major municipal scandal.

During the City's regular financial audit by Don Winans in July 1939, irregularities to the City's books became evident. A shortage, later found to be $5,827.95 was traced to Anaheim's long time trusted treasurer. At the Trustee meeting of Wednesday August 2, 1939, after tending his resignation, a physically and emotionally broken Charles was let away in handcuffs by two County deputies to the Orange County Jail.

After pleading guilty later that month, Charley spent over a year in San Quentin. Louise, unable to live alone, moved into her son Arthur's home in Compton where she died in 1940. After Charley was released in 1941, he also lived with hir son Arthur until his passing in 1945. No local obituary was ever published for Charles, the scandal still warm in the community's mind.

In 1940 this Boege family home was then sold to Dr. Charles Irvin, a close Boege family friend and neighbor, who lived at 522 North Clementine Street. Dr. Irvin worked in the same medical office as Charley's brother and nephew down the street. Soon, the doctor, his wife Fern and two sons Charles Jr. and John moved in.

Norbert and Eleanor Faessel, recent transplants from Chicago were moving into the southland in 1938, Norb being a fruit and vegetable buyer for the Kroger Company in the east. After moving to Riverside then Pasadena, the young family located to Anaheim, then the Valencia orange capital, leasing the home at 602 North Lemon in August 1942.

By summer 1943, mom needed a permanent home for her three children. An acquaintance, Freda Trapp showed mom and dad around the area looking for potential home sites. The home at 700 North Clementine, today owned by Carl Karcher, was one of those considered.

Freda suggested they drop by to see Dr. Irvin who was living here then, even though it was known that he was not really interested in selling. Dad being a man of quick decisions asked the Doctor "how much"? The Doctor responded with a figure that no local would ever pay: $11,000. After noting mom's excitement in having a home to raise her family, dad said "we'll take it"! This was cause for speculation in the community about the sanity of this new home buyer. On August 1, 1943 the Faessels moved in and the Irvins then relocated to 623 North Lemon Street.

Norb was very active in our local citrus industry in the 1940's. By 1945, dad was working for Frank Belmont's Granada Packing House as their sales manager. After the Granada burned down, dad was a salesman for the California Citrus Cooperative by 1948, finally becoming a citrus broker for A. Arena and Company's office here in Anaheim and later in Los Angeles where he stayed until retiring.

Us kids were each involved in the citrus industry in our own ways. My brothers John and David were often called upon on cold nights to help "smudge", coming home in the wee hours oily black. Many of you probably remember sitting at your radios at 8:00 PM listening to the frost reports on KFI as our family always did, my sister Joan taking notes for dad.

While dad still worked in Anaheim, he was active in civic affairs, becoming President of the Kiwanas in 1948 and running for the City School Board in 1951.

On July 28, 1950 one more child joined the household. Now with three teenagers and a new baby in the house, a family room became a necessity and construction began on this "rumpus room" in 1951. Local builders John and Cecil Seale were the contractors, Steve Kish providing the plumbing. Mr. Sweet from Fullerton installed the handsome brickwork. Our across the street neighbor Ernest Ganahl, special ordered the clear (no knots) redwood for the interior, that old growth type of lumber almost impossible to cut today. Although not in keeping with the architecture of the main house, lots of high school and family parties were held here.

Victor Loly, Anaheim's jeweler and civic supporter, and his wife Inez, lived just next door. A strong friendship developed between the families, dad Faessel often walked with Vic (in his signature panama hat) through the park and back downtown in the evening so that Vic could "check on his diamonds" and turn off the lights in his store. Often, "Uncle Vic and Aunt Inez" would drop by for a visit with my parents. When mom and dad rebuilt their garden wall in the 1950's, a small opening for a walkway was provided between the two properties allowing for easy travel by both families.

Up until a few years ago, my parents had a large fishpond here in the "Fern Jungle". For many years we would always clean out our pond at about the same time the city park lakes were drained for cleaning. I would take our fish in buckets across the street to the park lakes and pick up a fresh "catch" when we were done cleaning our pond and the park was cleaning theirs.

I have to say that living across from the park made for a great front yard. During the 1950's and 60's there was not much done at the park that I didn't have a look see at. Charles Pearson, Anaheim's long time mayor, known to all as "Charley", was often seen walking his basset hound Beauregard (more often running Charley) through the park that would come to bear his name. Art Festivals, Anaheim's "Hi Neighbor" days, Halloween breakfasts and Greek Theater concerts and plays were always times to visit across the street.

When I wasn't running around with Gene Foucher, Doug Renner, Phil Giraldin, Jimmy Shab or other "Clementine Street regulars", I could usually be found at the park with Dee Fee or George Hatfield, the city "Parkmen". Do any of you remember Catherine Edens, the keeper of the greenhouse at the park?

Anaheim's own "Mr. Water", Gus Lenain, a close family friend, used to drop by on summer mornings in his yellow Ford city station wagon looking for me, to show me what was happening around post Disneyland Anaheim. I had the opportunity to see first hand a lot of the municipal expansion that Anaheim was undergoing in the late 1950's and 60's literally from the ground up.

I never thought about our neighborhood as being historic. To me it was just home. Today, however, many homes in this old part of town are being evaluated for historic recognition.

I think dad's $11,000 was a good investment to raise us kids here.