William and Mary Newland were drawn to the opportunities Southern California offered in the late 1800’s. So, they packed up their 10 children and left Illinois. Fewer than 20,000 people lived in all of Orange County when they arrived.
Life on a Southern California ranch in those days was anything but easy. Families had to provide everything they needed. While William worked to turn 500 acres of swampy bogs into a viable farm, Mary was managing a multitude of other tasks. She oversaw the household, the children, their meals, doctoring, schooling, and religious instruction.
One part of family life they both helped with was celebrating holidays at home and in the community. Research tells us that many early white settlers in Orange County would likely have celebrated their holidays by combining Old World family traditions with local customs.
Holidays celebrations were quite different in those days. They weren’t commercialized or centered around gifts. Accounts from this period describe far fewer presents, often practical or handmade item. Small tokens, such as fruit, candy, chickens or rabbits were common.
Christmas dinner, whether a shared potluck with the community, or a special family meal was the highlight of the day. The menu would have depended on what items the ranch was able to produce. Local game, along with preserved foods, like pickles, jams and root vegetables, typically made up the main course. As now, baked goods such as pies and cookies were saved for last and mostly enjoyed with coffee, or coffee milk for the children.
Christmas trees were not known to have been widespread adornments in those days but Newland family records reference Christmas trees and even note tree placement in the front formal parlor of the house, near the front door.
Christmas was, as now, a religious holiday so much of the day would have been spent at church – probably the charming Community United Methodist Church at Warner and Gothard Street. One account even refers to William Newland as the ‘Bishop of Huntington Beach’ as he was instrumental in overseeing its construction.
By all accounts, the Newlands were respected members of the newly developing Pacific City (as Huntington Beach was known then). They likely considered Christmas a special time rooted in family, generosity, and hope – values that still resonate today.