San Clemente, Yorba Linda and even San Juan Capistrano get mentioned most when discussing places Richard Nixon haunted while in Orange County, but at least Laguna Beach has physical evidence that Dick made at least one swing through that town, too.
Among the 472 photos the Laguna Beach Historical Society has just posted on its new website are two that were snapped in front of Laguna Beach City Hall at 555 Forest Ave., where the then-vice presidential candidate was campaigning on behalf of his ticket headed by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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The website includes other interesting pictures as well, including old beach scenes, a roadside billboard for Victor Hugo's and staffers posing in front of the small building that housed The Post newspaper. Gene Felder, the society's treasurer, says as photos are loaned to the nonprofit, they will be scanned in and posted for “people around the world to enjoy.” Images can also be purchased online for a small fee.
One thing eagle eyes may notice is that some frames include much information about a particular shot while others have barely any details. Felder says the society is hoping viewers will leave comments filling in the missing names, dates and other vital info. Email your questions, answers and photographic contributions here.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.