2013 MARGARET ATKINS Award Winners: BARBARA AND EDGAR GONZALEZ

Edgar and Barbara Gonzalez in front of their historic home at 330 S. Ohio with their Siberian husky, Maya. 

Each year, the Margaret Atkins Award, named to honor one of Anaheim’s most dedicated preservationists, celebrates attitude and perseverance in historic preservation, and credits Anaheim’s true heroes who volunteer their time and passion against all obstacles to preserve our city’s significant architecture and public art. 

This year’s award goes to Barbara and Edgar Gonzalez. They have lived in their striking 1923 Mediterranean Revival house on 330 S. Ohio since 1985, and together, they've made a tremendous difference in the quality of the Anaheim Colony Historic District.

In addition to making significant restorations to their own home, earning them an Anaheim Beautiful award, they've purchased numerous rental properties and meticulously restored them to their original architecture and historical integrity. They bought a tiny, run-down property on 308 S. Clementine and stripped the exterior siding down to bare wood, restoring the home to period-appropriate colors. The couple even tackled the restoration of an eight-room rental unit at 115 W. Stueckle, and set about restoring it to its 1923 vintage by furnishing all eight units with subway and hexagonal tile detail, vintage pedestal sinks and stoves, and refinishing the original cabinetry and wood floors. Upon completion, both properties became a part of the historic preservation/property tax reduction program called the Mills Act.

A local realtor selling hundreds of houses since 1986, Barbara has served on the ACSD Board, and remains active in the Historic Preservation Committee, the Anaheim Historical Society, the Central District Neighborhood Council, and Anaheim Beautiful.

Barbara also partners with fellow Realtor and this years’ Andy Anaheim Award winner, Meghan Shigo, to put together an annual calendar featuring pictures of Mills Act houses, distributing nearly 3,000 free of charge to residents of the historic districts and City Hall.

Last, but not least, on their frequent walks through the neighborhood with Maya, their Siberian Husky, Barbara and Edgar can be seen picking up litter just to keep the city clean.

Recently, we chatted with the Gonzalez's about restoration, community, and historic preservation.

What is it about old houses that you love so much?

Gonzalez’s: We love the architectural details, quality materials and meticulous attention to the craftsmanship of old homes, many of which are 60-100 years old and still functional. These homes depict the cultural values, trends and styles, and still utilize the materials available in the era. They provide historic continuity to the past, preserving those values for future generations.

Why is the sense of community so important to you?

Gonzalez’s: No man is an island. There is strength and momentum in numbers, permitting us to accomplish far more than in isolation. Each human being has a talent, skill or knowledge that can be shared to the benefit of society, in general, and to our neighborhoods. It makes a person feel valued when he or she can share a skill or provide a service that accomplishes a common goal. Life is more enjoyable when share among friends and neighbors and provides for safer and more close-knit communities.

What do you see as some important issues in historic preservation for Anaheim?

Gonzalez’s: Getting the message out that historic and architectural preservation is the “greenest” of movements. Older architectural features are lost when the houses they created are torn down or materials discarded. The integrity of the neighborhood is diminished when its character is lost. People who don’t care or don’t know better and use flimsy replacement materials thinking they are increasing the value and comfort of their homes, but they are depriving the house of its historic integrity. We have reached out to Mills Act participants and owners of historically contributing structures to preserve their homes, thus increasing their home’s economic and social value.

We like to feel we have served as personal resources in helping our community to understand the value of our historic homes to the betterment of us all.

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Barbara and Edgar Gonzalez will receive the Margaret Atkins Award at the AHS Annual Banquet on June 6.  Congratulations to you both!

Temperance and Temptation: Prohibition in Anaheim

1927 Anaheim Police Department Mug Shot

The historic Ebell Club of Anaheim was recently the site of another “spirited” AHS event, Temperance and Temptation: Prohibition in Anaheim. The lecture, given by AHS board members, Allison and Damien Montanile, shared a slew of research chronicling the Prohibition Era in Anaheim between 1870 and 1933. 

Highlights included never-before-shared photographs of Orange County, articles from Anaheim newspapers and a brief history of the Anaheim Brewery.

A successful still raid in Orange County, 1930s

Prohibition Era cocktails, wine, and beer from the Anaheim Brewery livened up the party as attendees learned about the hidden history of our favorite city.

Thanks to the Ebell Club, The Anaheim Brewery and our many wonderful volunteers for making this event a great success!

2013 ANDY ANAHEIM Award Winner: MEGHAN SHIGO

The Shigo Family:  Meghan, Tim and kids!

The Andy Anaheim Award honors very special people in our community who go out of their way to bring people together, being a positive inspiration and a leader, and creatively making Anaheim an even more wonderful place to live.

This year's winner is Anaheim resident and AHS Member Meghan Shigo. A successful realtor specializing in historic and custom homes, Meghan is quite often the first person to welcome a new resident moving into the neighborhood. For over fifteen years, she has organized neighborhood potlucks which have brought neighbors together, inspired pride in the homeowners who host them, and helped build community in immeasurable ways.

Meghan and her husband Tim have restored historic properties throughout the city, and each year they organize a giant Fourth of July block party with their neighbors. Meghan also chairs Anaheim's Central District Neighborhood Council meetings. As the city changes and evolves, encountering challenges along the way, Meghan is an informal but enthusiastic leader, always rallying the neighbors to fight the good fight. 

Recently we chatted with Meghan about life in Anaheim, our neighborhoods, and other sources of inspiration.

Meghan, why did you choose to live in Anaheim?

Meghan: My husband, Tim, and I bought our first house on Clementine Street in 1997. We did not know much about Anaheim and the area was not designated historic quite yet. Our house was affordable and we loved the street. After getting to know many of the neighbors and attending community meetings we fell in love with our neighborhood and especially our neighbors. We have made many friends here and we just so happen to love old homes.

What makes you happy?

Meghan: My children are my inspiration for learning new things and they keep me focused on what is most important to our family which is love and quality time. Being in nature, being outside, being with people is always inspirational. What makes me happy is a long list, however if I had to choose the one thing that makes me the most happy in general it would be to help others. I recently had lunch with a friend who was going through a really tough time, I thought it would be good for her to talk about what was on her mind. When the lunch was over I felt like a million bucks. I think spending that time together was mutually beneficial!

What are some of the things that bug you?

Meghan: Throughout my profession as a Realtor and with boards and committees that I serve on I work with a lot of people from all different walks of life. Often times you may find yourself not in agreement with the people that you are working with and it is important not to hold a grudge and move on.

Do you think more about the past or the future?

Meghan: Undoubtedly the future. The past should be reviewed and notes taken so you can improve, but today and tomorrow is where you can implement change!

What would you like your neighbors to know?

Meghan: My neighbors are the reason that there are so many amazing things happening Downtown. You would be hard-pressed to find a more amazing community! When you see a new neighbor move into the neighborhood be sure to say hello and invite them to at least one meeting.

Anything else you'd like to say?

Meghan: Thank you to the Anaheim Historical Society for this prestigious award and for all that you do to promote history and in general making history FUN!

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Meghan Shigo will receive the Andy Anaheim Award at the AHS Annual Banquet on June 6.

Related stories:

Who is Andy Anaheim?

Introducing the Andy Anaheim Award

Coming Event! Prohibition in Anaheim

ANNOUNCING OUR NEXT EVENT...

"Temperance and Temptation: Prohibition in Anaheim" 

Sunday April 21, 2013, 5PM 

at the Ebell Club 

 226 N. Helena Street in the Anaheim Colony

$10 General Admission, $5 AHS Members Admission 

Beer, Wine and Spirits will be available for purchase.

Show and Tell!

Disneyland's original 1955 City Hall doors...a leather bucket used by the Anaheim Fire Department in the 1870s...a one-hundred-year-old ostrich egg from the Atherton Ostrich Farms...

See these things and more at

Anaheim Historical Society's SHOW & TELL
March 28 at 6PM
at the MUZEO/Anaheim Heritage Center
241 S Anaheim Blvd Anaheim, CA 92805

Got something weird and wonderful from Anaheim's past that you would like to show? Bring it!

Special guest speaker and archivist Stephanie George, from the Cal State Fullerton Center of Oral & Public History, will share audio treasures from interviews with some of Anaheim's earliest citizens, including Charles Pearson and Kate Rea.

After the presentations (1 hour), enjoy light refreshments and tour the Anaheim History Room and Research Center where docents will be on hand to highlight and elaborate on the collection.

Be part of the Fun! Bring an object to share. Bring friends!

Free Parking in the Center Street parking structure.

How The Hortons Got Their House

226 N. Claudina, Anaheim

By Phyllis Mueller

Five couples became the “Second Wave” of leaders in Anaheim's historic preservation movement of the 1980s. Sally and Bob Horton were one of those couples. They bought their half-burned historic house in 1987, on the same street of North Claudina that Dinah and Larry Torgerson and Andy Deneau lived. (Of course, the first wave was Diann Marsh and Andy Deneau, the two founders of AHS.)  Sally says she was always an “old house lover,” having grown up in downtown Huntington Beach in the 1960s with street after street of small Craftsman bungalows, living in a home her grandfather built piece by piece.

But originally, that wasn’t Bob Horton’s sentiment.

While working in the garment industry in downtown Los Angeles, Sally met Bob Horton, who worked with Larry Torgerson in the same business. Bob and Sally married and moved to Anaheim in 1981, where they rented a house near the Anaheim Cemetery.

Sally remembers the night Bob took her to the Torgerson’s house. She fell in love with their house and became enamored with their stories of saving it. The Hortons went on house tours sponsored by AHS and learned that old downtown was being flattened by redevelopment.

By this time, Bob, an optimist and dreamer, had completely bought into the “old house lover” mentality. They bought a historic but tiny house “pretty much move-in ready” at 308 North Lemon, across from Pearson Park.  Eventually, however, with a growing family, they needed more space. Deneau, having run out of money for continued repairs on his mother’s large but vacant and fire-damaged 1911 house at 226 North Claudina, had put out the word to friends and neighbors that the house was for sale. It was in a state of almost complete disrepair, but Bob convinced Sally that they could finish it up. In 1987, with the support of friends and some members of the family, the Hortons “jumped off the cliff” and decided to purchase the house.

Buying and moving into that house wasn’t easy...for two reasons. First, the Hortons barely met the bank’s lending requirements, and the house might not pass the home inspection.

Nonetheless, they persevered; the bank inspector “closed one eye,” and this wreck of a house became theirs for $130,000. Secondly, the house did not technically meet the city’s building code; that is, it was uninhabitable. After all, it was half destroyed by fire, and repairs to the plumbing, floors, kitchen, and electrical were not finished. To obtain the occupancy permit, Sally and Bob managed to get carpet laid and one of the bathroom faucets and a funky little toilet running. It took finesse and power of persuasion by Sally, but the city inspector also “closed one eye” and issued the Certificate of Occupancy. Two closed eyes.

The Hortons proceeded to have work parties with neighbors, friends, and members of their church to set about improving their home. It took years. Oddly enough, Sally doesn’t remember either she or Bob saying, “What have we done?” To them, it was adventure, even though Sally recalled Bob’s mother coming over early on, standing in the living room and saying, “You are stupid” and then marching out. To the Hortons, though, buying that house was one of the best decisions they'd ever made.

The Hortons were part of the Second Wave of leaders. They didn’t start out getting involved, but they

created a synergy and had in common a love for old houses and a desire to save them from demolition and replacement with high density multi-family housing. The Hortons were AHS members and became co-founding members of the Anaheim Neighborhood Association, which was opposed to the relocation of the “Backs” house directly across the street from the Horton’s home... a loss to their neighborhood.

Sally became a professional historic preservation developer with the Redevelopment Agency for the

relocation and restoration of twenty historic houses in the Vineyard and Atchison Street projects in what would become the Anaheim Colony Historic District.

Postscript: While Sally was working on completion of the Atchison project in 1995, Bob, at the age of 39, became ill and died. Sally used life insurance and a city rehabilitation loan to complete restoration of her house. In 2003, she sold her restored house and moved to Temecula with her three children. Still, she has fond memories of those days in Anaheim, where she was so instrumental in advocating for historic preservation.

(Thanks to Michelle Lieberman and Voytek Dolinski for their help with this article.)

Coming up! Art in Public Places

Join us for 

Anaheim’s Historic Art in Public Places 

a special presentation by artist Kevin Kidney 

January 16, 2012 at 6:30 pm 

Ebell Club of Anaheim 

226 North Helena Street 

Anaheim, CA 92805 

in the Anaheim Colony