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Posted by Gustavo Arellano in Gunkist Memories

May 30, 2008 11:09 AM

Permalink | Comments (16)

Orange County has a notorious tradition of historians who subscribe to the Cult of the Orange Crate, the idea that our region's yesteryears are as immaculate as the images depicted on the labels of the long-gone citrus industry. This paper has long challenged such orthodoxy by publishing stories dealing with the dustbin of OC's past: Francisco Torres, Modesta Avila, the 1936 Citrus War, San Juan's swallows. Because of this, we get accused of being revisionist commies--go figure.

The biggest believer of the Cult out there right now is Chris Jepsen, who works at the Orange County Archives and maintains a personal blog titled O.C. History Roundup, "information and photos for people interested in the history of Orange County, California." The bulk of his postings are historical pictures, calendar of events for historical societies, and links to current articles or specials by media outlets regarding Orange County history--except those of your favorite rag.

Over the past two months, the Weekly has published pieces on Joel Dvorman, the reticence of local historians to write about a Orange County pioneer's Klan membership, and an obituary to one of the county's last orange groves, not to mention all the postings on our Gunkist Memories label regarding everything from endangered murals to other events. Not once did Jepsen link to our articles--but he didn't have a problem linking to an Orange County Register story about a tiny orchard in SanTana. Such an oversight either means Jepsen doesn't read the Weekly, which makes him a bad historian, or purposefully ignores us after my flame war with him, which makes him a vain and petty one.

I say neither--I say Chris has been overtaken by the Cult of the Orange Crate. On Wednesday, he posted about the Anaheim Historical Society's annual dinner, with the keynote speech being "Life in Anaheim in 1958." I left a comment, but Chris deleted it and another one. "We had two crabby, mostly off-topic posts here from completely opposing points of view," he offered as justification. I'm deleting *both* (equal time) because they really didn't suit the tone of discussion here. I appreciate your participation and enthusiasm, but let's try to keep it friendly, folks."

What was my offending remark? Something along the lines of this: "Anaheim in 1958, huh...does that mean if I try to get in, I'll get beat up or everyone will move away from me based on my Mexican heritage?" Sarcasm based on historical truth, Chris. I doubt the Anaheim Historical Society's lecture will mention this, but that time wasn't exactly nice for minorities. In Anaheim, in the neighborhoods near the Linbrook Bowl where the Society will have its dinner, white parents were raising holy hell about the Magnolia School District's plan to integrate Mexican kids with gabachitos. To the north, La Habra realtors weren't allowing big league pitcher Jesse Flores to buy a house in the white part of town. The same thing happened to Olympic gold medalist Sammy Lee just three years earlier in Garden Grove. And I'll spare everyone the horrors my family dealt with in Anaheim during the late 1960s--for that, you'll have to buy my coming book on Orange County history.

"Didn't suit the tone of discussion"?! When a historical society is advertising an event that will bowdlerize the past and someone offers a lighthearted-but-honest critique, to say it's not relevant is to be an accomplice in historical revisionism of the worst kind. The Cult of the Orange Crate sure is alluring, Chris, but it's a goddamn lie.

Comments (16)

patrick says:
May 30, 2008 12:55

Your so full of yourself gustav. No one cares about what you went through in the 60's, thats why no one will buy your sorry ass book.

Gustavo Arellano says:
May 30, 2008 13:58

Some points, Pat:

*We're in Mexico, not Sweden. My name is Gustavo, not Gustav.
*I am full of it--if by, "it" you mean a great lunch at Dosa Place in Tustin.
*I didn't go through anything during the 1960s--I wasn't born yet.
*People do care about what my family went through in the 1960s--my family, for one. Same thing with prospective buyers--my friends will buy some copies of my book out of sympathy. Last I checked, they were sentient.
*Care to debate on the point of my post?
*Still Still spinning for pedophile apologists?

Cesar says:
May 31, 2008 09:07

'Tavo,
Screw ese buey Patrick. Please put me down for a copy of your book. It's always great to get the real, non-glossed history of any enviornment, especially the one you live in. Poor OC stepfords, if only they got informed. Oh, wait, they do get that from reading the Reggie... Anyway, looking forward to your libro..Take care.

easy-writer says:
May 31, 2008 10:49

Since the blog he maintains is his personal one, it could be argued within his right to create whatever blog he wants. But here's where we get into a fuzzy area. He's a historian and he's chosen to leave out evidence of racial discord in OC for fear of causing an uncomfortable situation. But excuse me... isn't this in part why historians exist? To keep a record of the past so that we are able to improve up on it for the future? Hasn't it always been the role of historians to keep us honest and make us...uncomfortable, in fact to help us rectify what has happened? Would the Japanese Americans ever have gotten an apology if historians had been willing to wipe the internment camps of WWII off the slate?

My bigger concern is whether or not evidence of the racial strife of the decades has been left out or worse --expunged by those who keep the OC archives.

I didn't grow up here, but I will assume that this area was not immune from the racial clashes of the past. As someone who chased the robed and hooded KKK off my high school campus in the late 1970's in the Central Valley, I can believe there were KKK members here as well.

It's best if this is all written into the history --whether or not you're a "friendly" historical society or the archive or a blog. If I were in charge of a historical society, I'd make sure it were included. Not as a means of blaming the current generation for the ills of prior ones, but to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Kat says:
May 31, 2008 15:20

Anaheim, the 60s through the 70s......
I went to Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Fremont Jr. High, and Anaheim High....
All my friends were white. In order for me to go to their house to hang out, we told their parents that I was Hawaiian (because there's no way no sneaky, dirty, lazy mexican is ever going to step foot in their house), and their parents loved me...for years (I was practically family)...but if they were to find out I was mexican, they would have thrown me out of the house in a heartbeat....

...and by the way, I and my familia are some of Mr. Arellano's biggest fans!....
Keep up the great work, Sir!.....

J.W. Green says:
May 31, 2008 16:49

Gustavo, if that was a flame war, I'm a Mexican. Except for "Just don't let ax-grinding cloud your stories", it was a civil exchange. You can be so dramatic at times.

Anyway, I agree, considering his mention of the tiny orange grovette in Santa Ana, Chris missed the boat by not including a little blurb and a link for your story on Ignacio Lujano. In fact, it's inexcusable, historically speaking.

In addition to being a beautifully written story, it records not only the sad end of an era, but the end of an industry that has defined, good and bad, this County for generations, and one that lives on in its name.

Hopefully, I'll not live to hear little kids say "Mommy, why do they call it Orange County?"

I probably will, though.

Gustavo Arellano says:
May 31, 2008 20:10

J.W.: Yeah, it was civil, but it's the only reason I can possibly think why Chris won't link to our historical stories. Thanks for the kind words.

Easy: It is his blog, and he can do what he wants. But if Chris wants to be taken seriously as a historian, it's silly of him to not include some stuff, no? More importantly, he works at the OC Archives and and applied for the lead spot (he didn't get it). If he's a bowdlerizer on his personal blog, would he also do that professionally?

Cesar and Kat: Gracias as always for the love!

easy-writer says:
June 2, 2008 12:44

Well, whether or not he's bowdlerized the Archives in favour of a taste-free history, needs to be look into. I've been once, and was amazed at the stuff they've got given their miniscule staff.

Inadvertently, he seems not to understand that it's difficult if not impossible to do something on your off time and not be seen as a representative for the OC Archives, despite not mentioning it on his blog. I mean, after all, those historical groups he mentions must know who he is! While he has no say in how or what the smaller groups include, he and the archives are accountable for including "the good, the bad and the ugly."
It'd be right if someone from that venerated archive would push aside the nostalgic content and be a leader for inclusion of all the events. It's a pity he's chosen to wrap himself in a blog that's more sweet violets than roses with thorns.

Links to your articles would be good, as well as inclusion in the archives itself. To dismiss them as "crabby" was a benchmark of a blogger, not a reasoned historian.

temujin says:
June 2, 2008 13:30

Gustavo,

Do you think the reason you do not get linked could possibly be that G rated sites do not want to be associated with your R (near X) rated and disgusting articles?

Gustavo Arellano says:
June 2, 2008 13:46

Hey, Genghis: how are my history articles R-rated?

temujin says:
June 2, 2008 14:27

Gustavo,

Temujin is not Ghengis, just temujin.

This, I believe, is the problem. You post good, well written and important articles, but they are possibly adjacent to a sleeze article.

A "G" rated site will not link to a site which has articles (anywhere within the site) which are not suitable for a G rated readership.

Do you think this could be the reason you are not linked as you would like?

Sincerely,

temujin

Gustavo Arellano says:
June 2, 2008 14:34

It's a joke, Genghis, to call you that--after all, that was The Conqueror's real name.

Your logic is taffy-stretchy. The Bible is X-rated in some parts; should we not quote from that? The articles are purely historical and don't place you next to other "seedy" links--it's up to the readers to click (which stories are they, anyway?). And the only readers who ever bother looking at our ads (which the "respectable" Register and Times also run, btw), are dirty, dirty people: are you one of those? I sure never notice them unless someone mentions them. I doubt Chris is that petty or puritanical for his non-listing reasons, and anyone who is deserves the unpleasant surprise that'll greet them when they bother to visit the real world.

temujin says:
June 2, 2008 15:28

Gustavo,

Temujin says you spin. Do you really want to an eight year old researching an OC history paper to be "surprised" by a Navel Gazing article such as "Let Them Eat Pussy" ??

You spin Gustavo.

Regards,

temujin

Gustavo Arellano says:
June 2, 2008 15:51

What am I spinning? Can you define spinning for me? I don't deny the articles we write--it is up to the readers to decide what to read. I have no control over that--all I can do is write stories you yourself say are valuable. If people want to ignore them just because they might read an offensive headline, they should skip learning about the Holocaust. Your scenario is foolish--if the eight-year-old clicks the link, how is it my fault? If I had an eight-year-old child, I wouldn't allow them near the Internet without my supervision--period. Besides, in the historical scheme of things, Chris' Cult of the Orange Crate spin is much more offensive than anything we'll publish.

Dr. William A. Nericcio says:
June 3, 2008 08:03

The various and sundry erased, retarded, de-ranged, edited, and expunged histories of Mexicans in the California Southlands are just the thing that real and amateur historians should be studying. Looking on the surface and into the the subterranean spaces of any site in the U.S., circa 1958, is bound to turn up heroes and skeletons.

What a year! ...."Khrushchev becomes premier of Soviet Union as Bulganin resigns (Mar. 27). Gen. Charles de Gaulle becomes French premier (June 1)... Eisenhower orders U.S. Marines into Lebanon at request of its President (July 15)....." and on and on....

Chris Jepsen should invite Gustavo Arellano to do a reading/discussion at the Orange County Archives when the new book comes out. Let the fun begin!

James says:
June 5, 2008 22:45

I'm sure I'll be reading/buying your book. BTW, I met Sue Luevano tonight, who says you'll be doing readings or something at El Centro for your book. I hope I can make it... and I second Nericcio above: "Chris Jepsen should invite Gustavo Arellano to do a reading/discussion at the Orange County Archives when the new book comes out. Let the fun begin!"

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