Historical Snippets

Gordon McClelland, an Orange County author visited Placentia when he was doing research on his books relating to the Citrus Industry. He owns a remarkable collection of citrus labels deriving such interest as a student when he worked part time in the local packinghouses. One day, a lady came up to him at the Tlaquepaque Restaurant, revealing that it was she who posed, costumed as a Pirate Girl on one of the Bradford Brothers' Tesoro labels. We now know that she lives in town, but who is she? In the Placentia History Room we have a modest collection of labels, donated by Dave Trecker, and we would like to hear her story and perhaps have a photograph of her to display with the label. The Tesoro Label is probably dated from the forties. If you are reading this and know that person, please ask her to get in touch with somebody in the Library!

Do you know the name of one of the oldest philanthropic organizations in Placentia? The Placentia Round Table Women's Club celebrated its 100th birthday in the year 2002. At a gathering of interested women in the home of Mrs. Laura Parkins, they agreed to meet monthly for the "purpose of cultivating literary pursuits." Around Mrs. Parkins' large round table, each member at a specific meeting reported on an assigned topic. After a year's time, the group formally associated with the General Federation of Women's Club, the largest service organization of women volunteers in the world. Membership soon outgrew the Parkins "round table" and the need for a clubhouse was evident. At Bradford and Chapman, in 1912, the ladies settled into their new building; Mr. A. S. Bradford, who donated the land, and the other husbands, had helped make it possible. Because the community at large needed a venue for events such as concerts, receptions, and fundraisers, a rental policy was established and the proceeds made it possible for the ladies to pay off the mortgage. The very first rental was to a lady who taught the art of china painting for which the "students" paid $1.00 per week.

The founders established the pattern of supporting community needs with volunteer service and with financial support. The Christmas Clearing Bureau was an early project of the Round Table and continues to receive its support until the present time. Over the years, support has been provided to Placentia Library, Boys and Girls Club, Meals on Wheels, H.I.S. House - to name just a few beneficiaries of the women's efforts. Two major fundraisers provide monies to support its philanthropy. Many Placentians look forward each year to the Festival of the Trees at the end of November.

You probably have seen the house at the corner of Placentia Avenue and Palm Drive. It's the Nenno House and is one of the City's historic landmarks. Who were these early residents? John Nenno and his wife, Antoinette, were three years married when they arrived in Placentia from Pasadena in 1892. Employed by the Berkenstocks as a fumigator, he bought a parcel of about nine acres and built their first modest home, consisting of three rooms. The back porch contained a handpump, which pumped water from a cistern for use in the house. During the winter the cistern collected the rainwater and in the summer the cistern was filled from the nearby irrigation ditch of the Anaheim Union Water Company. Drinking water was hauled by Mr. Nenno from the school well about a mile and a half from his house in wooden barrels covered with a sheet.

The three Nenno girls, Orpha, Bernice and Faustina saw their father go off to his dangerous but highly lucrative job. The orange trees had to be tented and sprayed with lethal chemicals to maintain a good crop. One night he nearly lost his life when he accidentally inhaled too much of the poison gas.

While the Nennos and the three little girls lived in this first little house, the floodwaters were so deep one winter around the house that the parents debated about taking the girls up into an orange tree for safety. Orpha, their first born died at age six after a long illness, just about four years after their arrival in Placentia. Mrs. Nenno recounts in a later Courier newspaper article "it was typical of the spirit of friendliness in the neighborhood that the school was closed on the day of the funeral, and all came to pay her respects, though she was too young to have ever gone to school".

That was no mean feat when you consider that the roads at that time were dry and dusty in the summer and muddy and treacherous in the winter. Placentia Avenue was the first paved road in the town. Thomas Strain, one of the Nenno's good friends, was the first in the area to have an automobile. Antoinette Nenno wrote: "Living on the main road as we did, I could see the cars pass, the women struggling with their hats in the wind or wearing silk scarves that puffed out on each side and I said I wouldn't have one of those things".

Daughters Beatrice and Faustina were delighted with the playhouse their father built using tule from the Tuffree Reservoir for the sides and palm fronds for the roof. About this time, they were aware that their mother was excited about the founding of a club, the Round Table, and Beatrice and Faustina decided to interest their friends in organizing a club to meet in their playhouse.

Certainly, Antoinette was honored and thrilled to be invited to the home of Mrs. Parkins in 1901 along with Mrs. Bradford, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. McFadden, Mrs. Pendleton, and Mrs. Chapman, to mention a few. From this first meeting evolved the Placentia Round Table. Antoinette served many years on its board.

At the time the Round Table was being organized, there was a spurt in home building among the early families, roughly around 1903-1904. The Bradfords, the Pierottis, the Keys, and the Berkenstocks, as well as the Nennos all built homes larger and more attractive than their original dwellings. Housewarmings were the happening of the day. In addition, the Nenno's were proud to provide their huge new barn as a venue for gatherings - parties, Christmas programs as well as Round Table events. Daughter Faustina often sang as part of the entertainment, trained by her mother who for awhile gave singing lessons. To Antoinette Nenno wrote: "In those early days when there were few people in the community, when all were struggling along together, and when entertainment depended entirely upon our own resources, the ties of friendship were close. Everyone knew the joys and sorrows of everyone else and sympathized and rejoiced accordingly.... Though many changes have come down through the years, there still remains in Placentia a friendliness among all its inhabitants that makes it indeed a pleasant place in which to live." Next time you drive north on Placentia Avenue, note the house on the Northeast corner at Palm Avenue and think of the Nenno's.

What better was to mark the Heritage Parade route than with flags flying along the entire route? That was the thought of the Heritage Festival Committee in 1983, when they first came up with the idea. The committee felt that many businesses and individuals in Placentia would want to "adopt" a flag at a specific location to be their flag, not only during the festival, but also during all of the major patriotic holidays. At that time, Ed Houston was working at one of the military bases in the area, and could purchase good quality flags at the PX for just $10.00 each. Marv Reid initially designed mounting brackets for the flags, and the City Staff later found ready-made brackets that would clamp on the light poles. The flags initially were mounted along Bradford, Madison and Kraemer Boulevard to mark the parade route, but this has been expanded to the major streets in Placentia. Anyone can "Adopt" a Flag for $100.00. For that amount they get a small brass plaque at City Hall, a certificate describing the precise location of the pole on which the flag is mounted, and recognition during a council meeting when the certificate is presented. Flags can be adopted in an individual's name, for a family, for a business, or in memoriam of someone who is deceased.