As some of you may have already noticed, we’re updating our online gift shop! There are still many more items to be uploaded, so be sure to keep checking back in here.
If you don’t see something on the online shop that you’re sure we sell, please give us a call! It’s likely that it’s still in the queue to be uploaded.
Dear Fellow Members –
It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you of the passing of Art Goddard, one of our long time volunteers, due to cancer on February 13, 2021. He was 78.
Art and his wife Mary Ellen moved to Costa Mesa in 1977 and she started volunteering at the Society shortly after that. “Art began volunteering for computer stuff, when we first got our Apple (the little one with the tiny screen in a tall little box) in the early 1980s” said Mary Ellen and he has been our main “tech guy” ever since, working primarily behind the scenes. As he told “I Heart Costa Mesa” in 2015, “I saw that this place really needed some technical expertise, some computer savvy. So, I began the process of switching us from paper and things that weren’t going to work in the future, to something that would.”
Art obtained a Bachelors degree from Worchester Polytechnic Institute, attended the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and received a Masters from Montana State University-Bozeman in electrical engineering. He then embarked on a 32 year career starting with Collins Radio and later Boeing, retiring from there as an executive in 2001 which gave him more time to devote to the Society and other hobbies.
One of those hobbies was ham radio. He was first licensed for that in 1956 and was a life member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) holding positions in that organization. Art was active on the air from HF through microwaves. A member of the Southern California Contest Club, he took part in contest expeditions, travel was another hobby, to locations ranging from subarctic to tropical around the world.
As part of his volunteering, Art and Mary Ellen collaborated on two books on behalf of the Society published through Arcadia Publishing and still available. They are: Early Costa Mesa (2009) and Costa Mesa: 1940-2003 (2016).
Additionally, Art and Mary Ellen were heavily involved with the Friends of the Library and strong proponents for a new library and at which opening they were recognized in May, 2019.
No Public services are planned at this time but it hoped that a memorial service will be held in 5-6 months when Covid is past us and public assemblies are again possible.
Sympathy cards may be addressed as follows:
Mary Ellen Goddard and Family
c/o Costa Mesa Historical Society
P.O. Box 1764
Costa Mesa, CA 92628
Kind Regards,
Terry Shaw
President, CMHS
November is fast approaching and so are our annual elections. This is where you, our members, have the opportunity to become a candidate or nominate another member for any of the following positions: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Board Director.
Our officers and board members can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, aren’t faster than a speeding bullet, or more powerful than a locomotive.
They are just ordinary people from the community who are interested in preserving our local history. If you’re interested or need more information, please call or stop by.
If you’re not interested in any of the positions above, perhaps you would enjoy participating by being on one of our committees. Why not check us out? We could use you.
By Bob Palazzola
We knew that the need for volunteers was always an ongoing problem. However, I was surprised to find out that it was even a concern for ghosts of our building. Are you listening Tess?
The following article is from our Fairview Register newsletter as it appeared in the May 1989 issue, apparently written by one of our ghostly inhabitants.
“A Message From The Ghosts”
To be honest with you the ghosts are really inhabiting the Historical Society. We have a lot of fun with the many collections of happenings of Costa Mesa. Just wish more of those humans would show up and get things together so we don’t get so mixed up sometimes. We know you humans get so busy making history you forget it needs to be sorted and put together, so even us ghosts can find what we want to read.
We saw in the newsletter last month a volunteer sign-up form was enclosed. Don’t you humans read the newsletter? Looking on the president’s desk, only one person replied that they would help. Now you know that it takes more people to run this society of the city of Costa Mesa. The group has officers and Board members. According to the minutes, some of them even miss sometimes.
The quilts that are on display are sure pretty and nice to roll up in when we play. Only thing is we have a hard time getting them back hung up pretty like they are supposed to be for public to view. We thought about getting in the picture cards and messing them up, but the new shelves and picture storage is going to be so nice, we can find our ghost friends much easier.
I want to tell you that the ghosts of the Costa Mesa Historical Society really appreciate the work you humans are doing, but please hurry so we can find what we want to read. Somebody’s coming… Good-bye.
Every week it gets a little bit easier to uncover a bit of history thanks to the Costa Mesa Historical Society’s digitization project.
As part of the project, the society’s vast newspaper collections will be converted into word-searchable computer files.
Some people imagine the allure of researching comes from rummaging through long-hidden stacks of musty newspapers in the hope of discovering an unexplored solution to an unsolved mystery. While there is a touch of romance to this, it’s a very tedious process.
With digitization, by contrast, long stretches of time and multiple publications can be queried simultaneously. Not sure when the Coral Reef restaurant had its grand opening? Run a search and get an answer in minutes.
The digitization project has two major components: newspapers and clippings. Each aspect aids research in its own way.
Newspaper digitization is exactly what it sounds like. Art Goddard and his son Andrew prepare, scan, and process full-paged historic newspapers. Recent accomplishments include digitizing the society’s holdings of the Newport Ensign, the Newport Balboa Press, and the two newspapers produced at SAAAB during and after WWII. They are currently embarking on their most ambitious project yet: scanning 25 years of the Globe Herald from 1936-1961.
Other societies have taken notice. Art reports the Orange County Public Library, and the Tustin and Dana Point Historical Societies expressed interest in the project during June’s OC History Roundup. The society’s methods have also been published in the Society of California Archivists Newsletter.
Much of the society’s newspaper collection has been scanned in the past. However, advances in technology now allow for better, more useful versions to be produced. For example, the society’s older files are browse-only. Most photographs are inked out and hard to interpret. Plus you need to know the exact paper to look for. Altogether, it’s not much different from the old style of researching, except it’s got a little less romance and 100% less mustiness.
The newly digitized files, by contrast, have much more legible text, rich poly-tone imagery, and, critically, the ability to be word-searched.
The clipping digitization project, by contrast, rather than scanning full newspapers, scans individual articles and compiles them into searchable subject files. The society maintains about 137 separate subjects, many of them further subdivided into sub-categories.
The clipping digitization project owes its success to the tireless efforts of three people: Kathy Bequette, who has clipped articles for 10 years, and the mother and son team of Hope and Karl von Herzen, who has pre-processed and scanned the clippings for the past 8 years.
Clipping files have proven to be an invaluable asset for researching articles in this newsletter, for example in recent articles like Fairview Park, Betty Jean Beecher, and Roy E. June. When a topic has already been curated into a clipping file, it’s the fastest way to get all the major facts. You just need to read.
So, yes, one could say these projects have taken some of the romance out of researching, but they also represent an exciting advance that makes research much faster, more thorough, and, one hopes, more accurate.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the annual Artistic License Fair in Estancia Park. Makers and buyers alike praised this year’s event featuring the work of dozens of Southern California artisans. The event was great for Costa Mesa history, too. Volunteers at the Diego Sepulveda Adobe introduced a steady stream of visitors to local history. Thank you to all who participated for helping to make this event a success!
Happy birthday to Gladys Refakes, the longtime society volunteer who turned 100 this past October! On October 25, representatives from OneOC hand-delivered a bouquet of flowers to Gladys while she was hard at work. Fresh fruit was served over lunch — this healthy lady doesn’t eat cake.
A couple days later, family, friends, and colleagues gathered at Zov’s in Tustin for more festivities. Gladys has volunteered for the society since the early 1980s. In that time the South Dakota native has held a number of titles, including Secretary, office manager, and newsletter editor.
Besides the historical society, Gladys has been active in the Women’s Club, the Senior Club, the Freedom Committee, the Cancer Society, and more. Happy birthday, Gladys!
Wow, hard to believe, but yes, another year just flew by! And what a year it was!
Our accomplishments include:
In 2018, society volunteers surpassed 6,000 hours of service. Thank you to our dedicated members including:
Lastly, thank you to centenarian Gladys Refakes for her 38 years of very active service to the society.
Best wishes and enjoy the holidays. We’ll see you next year!
Dave Gardner
President, Costa Mesa Historical Society
No, it wasn’t a two-step dance and it certainly wasn’t a cakewalk. But this Society Shuffle was performed at the Historical Society’s downtown museum September 22-26. Under the direction of Archivist Mary Ellen Goddard, the Historical Society’s storage area for collection items was cleared out, cleaned, and boxes re-shelved after checking their numerical order. This was a major effort, preparing the Historical Society for reviewing collection holdings and making space for new items. The photos tell the story.
We’re looking for volunteers to assist us in the preservation of our local history. Do you like old photographs? Do you enjoy seeing them come back to life? We need your passion and your skills!
Photo preservation and restoration is a key part of the Costa Mesa Historical Society’s mission. If you would like to learn more about this fun and gratifying volunteer opportunity, fill out the form below, give us a call at 949-631-5918, or drop us a line. Thanks for your help!