A living piece (and person) of history

Many people recognize Dave Gardner as an outwardly modest,

approachable guy with seven kids and six grandchildren. What many

overlook, though, is the fact that Gardner has become one of the last

living links to Costa Mesa’s modest beginnings. He’s lived in the

city for nearly 70 years and has seen a small farming town develop

into the residential and commercial hub it is today.

“The way I always describe my lifestyle is that I started out a

country boy, and I became a city boy,” Gardner said. “And I didn’t

even have to move.”

Since 1938, Gardner and Costa Mesa have grown up together. He’s no

longer working the family farm or in the print shop like he once did

to help his family survive, though he did operate three successful

Orange County print shops over a 40-year run.

Now he plays the largest hand in keeping that small-town history

alive, as he serves as president of the Costa Mesa Historical

Society.

It takes a stroll through his home, though, to realize the extent

of his historical interests. Though he’s never captained a boat in

his life, he’s obtained an enormous collection of model ships,

artifacts and books, chronicling the Age of Exploration.

A nugget of coal wouldn’t be worth a hill of beans unless it came

from the Titanic. That makes it a relic. He’s got one of those, too.

And don’t even get Gardner started on his fascination with the

“Mutiny on the Bounty,” which he’s quick to point out was a real

event in 1789 and not just a Marlon Brando movie.

“Captain Bligh and 14 of his seamen went 3,600 miles and only lost

one crew member,” he said. “That’s among one of the epic feats of

seamanship. There have been hundreds of mutinies throughout history,

but for some reason this one just grew and grew.”

It grew on Gardner as well. He owns more than 100 books and

publications on the subject and has entered 20 of them into a

collectibles display at the Orange County Fair.

Gardner sat down with the Pilot’s Jeff Benson to talk about the

Historical Society and to reflect on Costa Mesa’s history.

Seventy years seems like an awful long time to live in one place.

How would you describe your life growing up in Costa Mesa?

I was born in Santa Ana on March 9, 1929. I arrived here in Costa

Mesa in 1938 at the age of nine and I’ve been here ever since. My dad

was a printer, so I became a printer, too. I was self-employed in the

business for 40 years.

When I first moved here, I lived on the 2000 block of Newport

Boulevard, right below Bay Street. We had a chicken ranch with some

goats and a fruit stand. That’s a bad time to be an only child --

when you have a few hundred chickens running around. But I learned

hard work and ethics at a young age, and that was perhaps one of the

best things to ever happen to me.

We had a big garden, and my folks sold chickens and eggs mainly.

And fruit. I was raised on goat’s milk, straight out of the goat. I

couldn’t drink cow’s milk then, so I did what I could. I can drink it

now, but I had to wean myself away.

I would say the whole town was maybe 4,000 [people] when I got

here. The town was from Broadway to 18th Street, and there was a

Safeway on the corner. One of the most famous movie stars I ran into

at the store was Bing Crosby. Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart and Ray

Milland also lived here.

When did the Historical Society begin, and how far back does it

trace the city’s history?

The Historical Society started in 1966, but people there know

history all the way back to when the Indians were here -- when

[Captain Gaspar de] Portola came by [in 1769]. They built Capistrano,

and this is the northernmost boundary of the Capistrano area. It’s

where the Mexican cowboys stayed -- I think they were called

caballeros. The adobe is the northernmost boundary. Really, all there

were then were hundreds or thousands of cattle around here.

Can you tell me about when Costa Mesa boomed?

If it hadn’t been for the Second World War, Southern California

itself never would’ve boomed. The reason it boomed was because the

fellas were all back east and were transferred here. The people on

the East Coast were all shoveling snow and we’re here sitting around

in our shorts. So people fulfilled their military obligations and

moved their wife and kids out here. It would’ve grown gradually.

The Orange County Fair begins next week at the Costa Mesa

Fairgrounds. Do you have any memories of the fair while you were

growing up?

The only human-interest story I have is that I was on the

sheriff’s reserves back in 1952. I did the night shift and worked

from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m. There were only two of us there, the

lieutenant and myself. At that time, the pens for the livestock were

real rickety and the animals were always breaking out. We spent a

bunch of our time rounding up goats and pigs and putting them back in

their pens.

Now the only involvement we have is the Historical Society’s booth

at the fair. I’ve only been a member for six years. Last year, since

it was the fair’s 50th anniversary, the society did the whole fair.

This year, we’re back to just working the first half of the fair

because we can’t muster enough people to do the whole thing. We’re in

the Orange County building, and we usually build a 15-by-20-foot

display on the history of Costa Mesa.

What else does the Historical Society have coming up?

We’re planning a series of appearances to tie in with the

Historical Preservation Committee. We’re starting a speakers’ bureau

for the city of Costa Mesa. It’s volunteers, mostly, and I’m just a

guinea pig. We’ll speak to churches and schools -- even a Friday

afternoon tea club -- anyone who wants a speaker. We’re also seeking

people who want to be speakers. The [Costa Mesa] Senior Center will

be the kickoff for the Historical Preservation Committee’s Speakers’

Bureau. Both the Historical Society and the Preservation Committee

work together.

So, essentially these speeches will be held as lessons on the

area’s history?

Yes. I think we have a unique history and a unique location. All

cities have their own histories, but Costa Mesa has been an enjoyable

place to live.

I’ll go way back from the 1600s to yesterday. I’ll have people

there more learned than me, but I just enjoy public speaking.

What are some public events that the Historical Society holds each

year?

In May, we have an open house at a building downtown. In

September, we hold an open house at the [Diego Sepulveda] Adobe

Estancia. And throughout the year at our building, we have several

programs open to the public.