Where the streets have familial names

JERRY PERSON

There are still a few residents of Huntington Beach that may not know

several of our streets were named for early families who lived and

worked here.

This week, we will look back at three individuals whose last names

should be familiar to us -- Gothard, Nichols and Heil.

It was on Feb. 24, 1852, that George Gothard was born in Jo

Daviess County, Ill. George attended and received his formal

education in the public schools of that state, and in 1874, when

George was 22 years old, he moved to California to live in Anaheim

and grow grapes.

In 1879, George and his first wife, Elizabeth, moved to the

Wintersburg area, near present-day Gothard Street and Slater Avenue,

and began raising celery. This area was ideal for growing celery, and

they later discovered that they could mine the peat bogs in the area

and sell it to make extra money.

When Elizabeth died, George married Ellen, and the two helped

raise a family of nine children; Bert, Elmer, Joe, George, Agnes,

Mary, Ethel, Betty and Edwin. Huntington Beach resident Arline Howard

told me that the Gothards were a large and important family.

George Gothard also worked for 12 years with the county to develop

roads throughout this area. In the 1930s, he passed away and Ellen

continued to reside on the family farm with her son Edwin until they

sold the property.

Our next subject will be Harry Nichols, and Nichols Street is

where Rainbow Disposal is located today, and which is also located in

the Wintersburg area.

Harry, or “Nick” as he liked to be called, was born on Sept. 27,

1875 in Topeka, Kan., and it was there that he would receive his

basic education and finally graduate from the University of Kansas.

While in Topeka, Nick met Anne Ozelle McAfee, and the two were

married in that city in 1902. Nick entered the wholesale grocery

business as a salesman to earn a living and would afterward become a

life insurance salesman.

In 1913, Nick and Anne moved to California to live in Long Beach

and since at that time Long Beach was experiencing an oil boom of its

own, Nick engaged in the oil brokerage business there for the next 20

years.

In 1933, they moved to Huntington Beach, where he continued in

various oil ventures. Although Nick and Anne had no children, they

had many friends, and on Feb. 16, 1951, one little corner of the

world got a little darker, without the sunshine of his smile.

Our last subject for this week was a true native of Orange County,

born near the present-day streets of Magnolia and Edinger in 1896.

Vernon Heil came from a large family of eight children. He had two

brothers, M.P. and Armond; and five sisters, Flora, Valentine, Ethel,

Viva and Florence.

As Vernon grew older, he would eventually get married, and in time

he and his wife, Ruth, would raise two sons -- Robert and William.

The Heil family grew lima beans on their 200-area ranch located at

16002 Beach Blvd.

It is hard to imagine that where the Bella Terra Shopping Mall

sits today was back then nothing but acres and acres of bean fields.

Vernon became one of the first water conservationists in our

community, and would one day serve as the president of the Orange

County Water District. He also became a director of the Santa Ana

River Water Assn. and president of the Orange County Farm Bureau.

Vernon became a member of the Huntington Beach Rotary Club, which

has over the years produced so many fine individuals. He became an

elder in the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana.

For all his 55 years, Vernon lived within a half-mile of where he

was born and I guess that should tell us how great a community we

live in. Sadly, we lost Vernon at an early age on Jan. 27, 1951,

depriving our community of a man who loved and cared for his spot of

paradise as we know as Huntington Beach.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.