Downtown Report: Early February 2024

By Mike Ritto on January 31, 2024

Big Loss

Dave Waech was a fixture downtown, in particular at Villa del Sol. If you spent time there during the day, you were sure to see him roaming the courtyard, giving his all to Brownstone Café and other businesses, in particular bringing in sought-after baseball memorabilia in his function as a procurer of hard-to-find autographs and other items for Past Times Collectibles.

With Dave, there was always time for great conversation and laughs, oh, the never-ending laughs. He seemed to have a baseball and rock music encyclopedia in his head, quick with answers to just about any question you hit him with. Sadly, Dave recently passed, leaving a hole that cannot be filled. A dedicated Dodger fan, he was really looking forward to the upcoming season, and the day pitchers and catchers reported for Spring Training would be more exciting for him than Christmas.

Some of the ‘gang’ who always gathered to gab with Dave every afternoon have moved on, but word travels fast, and tributes have poured in from Arizona, Montana, and beyond. Sports fans, music fans, Titan fans, those in need, his friends at the gym, the staff at Del Taco, and many more will all miss you, man.

Love the Glove

Years ago, an Enos Slaughter model baseball glove was purchased at a neighborhood yard sale. Fortunate timing, soon after that, Enos was signing autographs at a local card show. His eyes lit up when he saw the glove; he put it in his hand and pounded the pocket as if he were ready to take the field. Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter was famous for scoring from first base on a single to win the 7th game of the 1946 World Series. He has passed on, but the autographed glove is still around, as you can see.

Dena Bravo-David discovered a baseball glove while going through literally tons of items in a house her brother Rich Bravo purchased to restore. It was a hoarder home on the outskirts of downtown, an older home in need of a lot of work. Every room was stacked to the ceiling with junk, but there were also quite a few nice items, including a glove with the name David Hickman on it. Dena posted a photo on Facebook, hoping to return it to him, and sure enough, his Mom noticed, and he got his glove back. What are the chances?

New In Town

Green House Café at 124 N Euclid has resurfaced as Sister Jipbob, a Korean restaurant. No details are currently available, so we will do a follow-up in the next issue.

Grand Opening of Allison’s Goods

Allison’s Goods, located at 815 N Harbor, was honored by the California Small Business Development Center in a rib- bon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, January 20, 2024. A very supportive crowd showed up and filled the sidewalk, giving this small business owner a lift up.

Commendations also came in from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, Senator Tom Umberg, O.C. Clerk-Recorders office, and Representative Lou Correa. Fullerton City Councilmember Ahmad Zahra had presented a commendation on behalf of the City of Fullerton days earlier as he was out of town and unable to attend.

Downtown Clocks

Many downtowns have a large historic clock, known as a Street Clock or Post Clock, free-standing, two or four-sided, on top of a post. They seemed to be a ‘thing’ years ago, symbolizing a sense of community. With the recent January 24th dedication of the newest downtown clock next to the Fullerton Museum Center, we decided to take a look around for more. See Rotary 100-year celebration Clock Dedication.

We have a street clock on Harbor that motorists in a rush may have driven by many times, not noticing the time. Hopefully, you have not only noticed but also read about this historic fixture in September of 2022 right here in the Observer. That clock has gone in and out of operation over the years but still stands tall, and other evidence of the Clock Man store also remains.

Here are the clocks we found, starting with the most obvious, followed by a few that are best seen while walking or biking. Are there others downtown that we missed? Let us know. There must be a few more.