The Sunday Los Angeles Times (8-1) has a charming article on whether or not three cities’ names reflect reality today. The cities are Orange, Riverside, and Thousand Oaks, and only T.O. got a yes answer to the question. The article, with information from local historian Miriam Sprankling, said that in the 1920′s, developer Homer Hansen chose the name from a contest he held. The winner was Bobby Harrington, who was 16 years old.
Sprankling was quoted as saying, “There are still thousands of oaks in the city, just like there were when it was founded.” Then the article talked about the T.O. Oak Protection Ordinance, and I think they got that wrong. It said that residents are prohibited from removing or pruning an oak tree without a permit. I will check with the city tomorrow, but I think that only applies to native oaks now. Does anybody know? To read the L.A. Times story by Alison Bell, go to: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-then-20100801,0,4188240.story
Posted by Janna Orkney
Clint M. // Aug 2, 2010 at 12:28 PM
The name was chosen by a 14 year old in the days of incorporation 1964.