Victory Book Club: Over the Top by Arthur Guy Empey, 1917

 

During our Christmas vacation in Maine, we hit up a few antique malls for things that only the East Coast can provide. Though I didn't have a whole lot of luck overall, I did leave the state with a book, Over the Top. Written by Arthur Guy Empey, an American that enlisted with the British army during World War I, Over the Top provides a first hand account of trench warfare as a Yankee fighting side by side with British 'Tommies'. Some reviews call it propaganda, though I think that classification was inspired more by how the book was used to recruit more soldiers than the original intent of the author.

Frustrated by America's inaction after the sinking of the Lusitania, Sergeant Empey goes to England in order to answer the call to war which America had not yet agreed to. His approach to sharing the trials and atrocities of trench warfare is blunt and matter of fact, yet with a certain lighthearted delivery which comes across as the attitude required to keep from losing all hope in horrible circumstances. From the frankness of the British Quartermaster issuing him his equipment to the almost flippant way of referring to all the ways that a Tommy could get killed or injured by 'Fritz', their German counterparts in this struggle, Empey paints a vivid and very real picture of what a trench soldier's life was all about.

Some of the book gets pretty grim and at some points almost unbelievable, yet at no time did I feel that Empey was exaggerating the facts of his war. The struggle he and his fellow soldiers endured was honestly shared with an openess I assume comes from being witness to such atrocities without going insane.

Not only do I have a new perspective of how people are able to deal with violence and fear, but also how they have the will to do what they believe is right regardless of the possible consequences. Though Over the Top is almost 100 years old, it can still teach a lesson about the human spirit.

Anaheim Landing: Our Very Own Water Front Beach

In the late 1800s Anaheim farmers went looking for a harbor to import and export supplies and goods as their little city was growing. They first chose Alamitos Bay, which at the time was a part of Long Beach, but it was soon washed out after a flood. Heading East to find a suitable replacement port, they found a bay right on the beach where they could send out small boats to trade cargo from larger ships. They named it Anaheim Landing.

Anaheim Landing panorama 1800s, Anaheim Landing view from the water and Anaheim Landing bathers 1888. Courtesy Anaheim Public Library.

Only 12 miles from Anaheim, the Landing didn’t just succeed as a shipping port, but also provided a vacation place for Anaheimers who wanted to bathe in the sea and enjoy the salty air. Though the Southern Pacific Railway eventually replaced Anaheim Landing’s use as a shipping port, it stayed alive by focusing on the recreational aspects. The large shipping warehouse was turned into a bathhouse which eventually housed a general store and changing area. A wooden pier was built with a boardwalk around it that included a rollercoaster, dance floor and other attractions. Some amazing photos can be found in “Images of America Seal Beach” by Laura L. Alioto.

Group of swimmers in the 1920s (the man in the middle bottom is wearing an Anaheim Landing shirt), Courtesy of Seal Beach Founders Committee, Swimmers near the bathhouse and boat landing early 1900s, Courtesy of UC Irvine Special Collections, Screen Beauties Bather’s Parade in front of the Anaheim Landing Bowling Alley 1917, Courtesy of Seal Beach Founders Committee.

In 1915 Anaheim Landing was incorporated into Orange County as the city of Seal Beach with little traces of ever having been a shipping port for Anaheim. During World War II the Navy returned the bay to it's shipping roots, loading and storing munitions for the war effort in the Pacific. These days Anaheim Bay is part of the active Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, with the marsh lands protected as a National Wildlife Refuge. The City of Seal Beach is now a small beach town with a selection of restaurants and shops on Main Street and a Ruby’s diner at the end of the wood pier. It now reflects more of a sleepy and relaxing beach town than the swinging boardwalk it once was.

Seal Beach today

 Source: "A Story of Seal Beach" by Jean B. Dorr

A Place I Live: The Islands Golf Center

You can’t even imagine my excitement at finally getting to hit some balls at The Island Golf Center in Anaheim. After passing by the driving range several times I had a feeling it would be fun, but had no idea how much fun until I was actually there. I’m no serious golfer, so if you are, take this all with a grain of salt.

At The Islands driving range, golfers tee off a ridge above the range which isn’t a typical range at all, but part of the Orange County reservoir system off of the Santa Ana River. That’s right; you are hitting balls into a 10 acre lake filled with manmade islands and boats which are obviously perfect targets to hit.

 

Since we were in the middle of our bike ride of the Anaheim Coves we took our large basket of balls, loaner clubs and bikes down to the middle of the golfing platforms and went to work. I was a little rusty since I don’t think I’ve been to a golfing range in about a year. Maybe longer.

I used to accompany my dad to the golfing range growing up and for me the best part about the range was seeing how far I could hit the ball. At traditional golfing ranges your ball gets lost sometimes and you don’t quite see where it lands on the grass. It is totally the opposite when you are hitting into water! Seeing the splash when the ball hits the water is fantastic. Even better is trying to land the ball on one of the floating islands or inside one of the boats.

 

The golf balls are pretty neat. They are called Floaties and are buoyant so that they can be recovered by the Island’s recovery boat. According to the pros Floaties don’t have the distance of traditional golf balls, but who cares when you are having so much fun. Did I mention our visit was on a Saturday afternoon and it wasn’t too crowded? Perfect!

If you need the perfect blend of serious golfing and miniature golfing silliness, The Islands is the place to be.

Aloha!

So Happy at Craft Happy Retreat

I am exhausted and all crafted out! I am writing this Sunday night after spending the day learning new crafting techniques at Craft HappyRetreat. Lisa Cherry, owner of The Makery, is the brain child behind the day retreat and gathered some pretty talented instructors to show how it’s done. I had entered a giveaway for tickets to the retreat and was so excited to find out that I had won. With my sister Stacie in tow, we headed to Community to get crafty!

After coffee and donuts for breakfast – my favorite – and a little mingling we headed over to our first workshop: Art Journal Making. The class was taught by Rachel Hillberg who I had recently met at a crafting event at Look in Anaheim. We had also connected and collaged just last Thursday at the OC Etsy Craft Party. We got the 101 on bookbinding from scratch, with basic materials like paper and wax string. Rachel also talked about how to fill our new journals with art using different mixed media techniques. Busting out stamps, markers, crayons, scissors and colorful paper, we went to town on brightening some pages. Rachel left us with some prompts to continue our art journaling experience, and I left really needing to buy this awesome jar stamp she had for us to use. I hear she teaches a bookbinding class that teaches how to make some awesome leather journals…

 

 

During our first break we headed over to A Little Known Shop’s make and take station where we got to screen print an ampersand onto vintage book pages. During lunch we returned to screen print the cutest little red fox. Note: My Papillon Oliver looks like a fox and I am without question his human. As a joke (because it is funny at least to me) I screen printed my red fox on a page that talks about marriage.

 

Leaving our screen print art to dry, we went to learn about block printmaking with Morgan Culture. Morgan showed what legit printmaking is all about and now I know what a brayer is. After demonstrating how to properly carve and ink on linoleum block, she described the modifications we would need to make for our block printmaking while using potatoes on fabric. I’ve heard of potato printmaking before but had never actually tried it, so I was pretty excited. She had a variety of potato sizes to choose from and I decided to go big. I wanted to print my tote bag with a bow and dog pattern and set about cutting out the negative. It was a bit easier than I had expected, and was also able to try out my design on paper before committing to my tote. While testing my design someone commented that they liked my dog design so it wasn’t that bad! I finished my dog and bow pattern and even borrowed my neighbor’s heart design to add a little flair at the top of my bag. Stacie’s bag turned out bad ass. She printed the planets in our solar system and it looked amazing.

Reaching the halfway point to our day we were getting a bit hungry and could smell deliciousness from our designated eating area. Catered by The Lime Truck, they offered a Crav On French Fry bar with delicious pulled pork and steak toppings. I’ll be honest, I was a little hesitant on loving the French Fry lunch option until I tried it. The pulled pork was delish and the steak was amazing. The chipotle honey sauce was really tasty too. As a side we got a bag of Lundberg Farms sea salt rice chips – yum.

 

We were ready for something sweet and headed over for a cupcake decorating lesson with pastry Chef Nika Yazdani. Nika demonstrating butter cream and fondant techniques that were actually much easier than I thought they’d be to do. Stacie is a big fan of baking and can get very creative when it comes to fondant so it is no surprised that she made a cupcake covered in yellow fondant (table cloth) and covered it with mini fruits, veggies and a turkey leg. She was called a liar after having said earlier in the day that she wasn’t very crafty. Nika was generous enough to send us home with our very own piping tip so we can continue our decorating.

Stacie and I headed to our final workshop, beginner’s letterpress. Lauren Macaluso from Creative Outlet Studios showed us a diagram of what parts make up the letterpress and how to properly ink it. Stacie and I had made gift tags on the letterpress last Thursday, but it was great to hear more in depth about the machine. We each letterpressed 5 thank you cards and got to see how the machine worked first hand. One of the most interesting facts was how the machine had to be tuned correctly to get an even print. I like that each card I pressed is different due to the antique mechanisms of the trade. It makes for a real unique print.

Thank you to the wonderful instructors I met today and big THANK YOU to Lisa for organizing such an awesome craft day!

Victory Book Club: Palisades Park by Alan Brennert, 2013

 The smell of waffles, fries and cotton candy! The taste of the salt from the swimming pool and wind in your hair! Day or night, Palisades Park is lit up and just the place to be every summer.

For the Stopka family, the park is their home from opening day until the last days of summer. Eddie and Adele each love the park for their own reasons, and fall in love while working concession booths across the Midway from one another. Marrying on the park’s carrousel, it is no surprise that their children Antoinette “Toni” and Jack grow up enjoying the park just as much.

The story revolves around Palisades Park during the Depression, World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Historical plights like racism are touched on, as well as mobsters that buy out the police and other officials.

The heart of the story is the Stopkas and their dreams that are lit by the lights of Palisades Park. For Eddie it is having a family of his own while providing for them and Adele yearns for the spotlight just like when she was a childhood actress. Toni spends her time at the Palisades Pool and hopes to witness a dive one day from the top, not just as a spectator. Pen in hand, her younger brother Jack draws the superheroes that once comforted him during WWII radio shows.

The carneys and travelling acts the family meets every summer add to the variety of characters at Palisades Park, and some even become an extended family. These colorful acts sometimes  support the Stopkas, but also add to the trials and difficulties the family goes through to reach their own dreams.

The novel is a great piece of historical fiction. Palisades Park was a real place that East Coasters spent their summers at up until the 1970s, and I don’t doubt that a family like the Stopkas were a part of the park’s history. If you need a little something to gear you up for summer fun in the sun, this one is it.