The Old World German Village in Huntington Beach is known for its world-famous Oktoberfest celebration and authentic award-winning restaurants and pubs. During the other months, special events are held, which includes the famous Dachshund Races. Unfortunately, I was there during a week-day morning when there was very little activity.
Located across the street from the Old World German Village is a outdoor Vans Skate Park, which attracts young people with some amazing talents. Too bad they didn't have something like this when I was a kid. Actually, I tried skateboarding once when I was older; but it is harder than it looks and the concrete is harder than when I was younger.
Historic Winersburg consists of a 4.5-acre site that is considered to be one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. In 2015 The National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., named Wintersburg a National Treasure, stating that Wintersburg is "among the only surviving Japanese-American properties acquired before California passed anti-immigration land laws in 1913 and 1920. Further, as the entire Wintersburg community was incarcerated during World War II, the site is iconic of our nation's civil rights history and a reminder of the struggle for social justice that many immigrant communities continue to face today." (The Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited Japan born residents from owning land in California.)
Lands that were part of the Rancho Las Bolsas holdings were purchased in 1908 by Japanese immigrant pioneers and developed as the C.M. Furuta Gold Fish Farm and Wintersburg Japanese Mission. Over the years various improvements were made to the property, some of which still exist -- 1910 Japanese Presbyterian Mission, 1910 Manse (parsonage), 1934 Great Depression-Era Japaneses Presbyterian Church, 1912 Furuta bungalow, Furuta barn, and 1947 post-World War II Furuta ranch house.
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which ordered the removal of all Japanese people from the West Coast and placed in confinement camps. While in confinement, local non-Japanese clergy watched over Wintersburg and the buildings were used as the Pilgrim House for African Americans.
When the Furuta family returned to the property in 1945, the goldfish ponds were filled with silt and the farm lands were "in disrepair." Rather than return to raising goldfish, the farm was converted to growing water lilies and went on to become the largest provider of cut water lily flowers in the United States.
In 2004 the property was sold to Rainbow Environmental services and then in 2011 Rainbow applied for commercial zoning on the property and proposed to demolish the structures. The City of Huntington Beach approved the rezoning and then the Ocean View School District, on behalf of Oak View Elementary School that is adjacent to the property, filed two lawsuits - one against the City of Huntington and one against Rainbow Environmental Services. In 2014 the National Trust for Historic Preservation became involved and in 2015 Orange County Superior Court ordered the City of Hunting Beach to rescind the rezoning because of the historical significance it represented. The latest information I could locate on Wintersburg was that in 2018 Republic Services, Inc. (formerly Rainbow Environmental Services) announced that they were going to sell the property to Public Storage for a self-storage facility!
"Old Sarge" (also known as Major Von Luckner III) was a World War II German Shepherd that was part of the Marine Corps "Devil Dogs." During his five years of service, "Old Sarge" is credited with saving the lives of nine marines. He was wounded three times and for his service he was awarded a Purple Heart with two clusters and a Silver Star. When "Old Sarge" died, he was buried in the Huntington Beach Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery and given a full military funeral with a 15-gun salute.
BONUS PICTURE
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