Does Fullerton Boohoo Oppose Historic Preservation? Or Just Support Political Opportunism?
MY APOLOGIES FOR IDENTIFYING THE WRONG HOUSE IN THIS POST. GABRIEL SAN ROMAN IS CORRECT. THE HOUSE IN QUESTION IS ON HILLCREST DRIVE.
Historic preservation, to my inexpert understanding, is about recognizing the significance of buildings that are associated with historic figures and with significant architecture. Enter the home of one Louis E. Plummer, longtime Superintendent of Fullerton Schools in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. He wrote a useful history of the Fullerton Schools in the early days, I am informed.
Fullerton Heritage nominated Mr. Plummer’s house as a candidate for recognition as a Fullerton City Landmark. It’s (not) at 104 Park View Road – an attractive red tile roofed house from the 1920s. The item came up at last week’s City Council meeting.
Things got challenging.
You see, Mr. Plummer was a member of the Ku Klux Klan back in the 20s, according to someone’s doctoral dissertation 46 years ago. I no have idea if the assertion is even accurate, but it presented real problems for the two self-righteously woke members of the City Council, namely the Good “Drs.” Ahmad Zahra and Shana Charles, who can’t be seen as associating themselves with the Klan, no matter how ridiculously remote.
The same issue confronted the Fullerton Joint Unified High School five years ago and they took Plummer’s name off the FHS auditorium that bore it for 60 years, folding under WoW-style pressure from similar ignoramuses.
Apparently, nuanced conversation isn’t useful when you’re out to score what you think is an easy political layup.
Forget the fact that Plummer was significant leader in Fullerton and contributed to the development of the public education system in Fullerton – the soi-disant “Education Community.” And forget the fact that the house wouldn’t be a damn shrine for White Nationals. And forget the fact that the house is 100 years old and designed by the guy that did a lot of those historical WPA Spanishy buildings at FJC – the old concrete ones – not the new overbearing monstrosities. Forget that the dedicatory plaque will be on private property and will offend nobody. No. KKK.
In the end Jung, Valencia and Dunlap voted to approve the inclusion of the house into the Landmark Register (or whatever they call it). Zahra and Charles voted no. Charles and Zahra both claim intellectual attainment, being “Drs” and all. But if they have any they didn’t dare show it.
Right on cue the Fullerton Observer kraken Skania Kennedy released herself with a headline that blares out:
“Council Majority Approves Controversial Landmark Designation for Ku Klux Klan Collaborator Louis Plummer’s Residence“
Suddenly a public conversation requiring some sophisticated thinking becomes an attack on Sasksa’s favorite villain – Fred Jung and Co. In weaselly fashion Sansika labels Plummer a KKK “collaborator,” but of course there’s no more proof of that than there is of his being a full-fledged member, based on who knows what evidence collected by the dissertation writer without fear of a defamation lawsuit from a dead man.
It’s pretty clear that this effort is nothing more than a way to blackguard three decent people, and maybe someday supply a theme for a political hit piece.
Anyway, I’ll let Fran J, the Observers new reality fact checker take us home by responding to Saksia and her sister, Sharon on the Fullerton Observer blog:
As for decisions like the WoW program or the Plummer home designation, these are nuanced matters being flattened into soundbites. The Plummer home, what you refer to as KKK house is historic building that tells a story—good, bad, and ugly. Pretending that preserving it is an endorsement of racism ignores the value of reckoning with our history rather than erasing it. The city isn’t honoring the man; it’s preserving a piece of our past so we can learn from it. The LA Times also reported about the Louis Plummer house that actually better reflects the complexity of that issue which I encourage residents to read if they really cared.
It’s fine to disagree on policy, but let’s do so with the full picture in mind. Mayor Jung isn’t perfect—no leader is—but he’s showing up, making hard decisions, and putting Fullerton on the map in ways we haven’t seen in years. That deserves a fair evaluation, not a list of half-contextualized talking points.
Well said, Fran.
Gustavo Arrellano, editor of now defunct O.C. Weekly, was and may still be a friend of Sharon Kennedy’s brother and thus uncle of Skankia, Rusty Kennedy. Arellano published in his O.C Weekly many articles about the KKK and its presence in Fullerton. Arrellano would place black and white photos of KKK meetings that occurred in the deep south of U.S. next to articles claiming KKK meetings in Hillcrest Park were routine functions. According to Arrellano, most prominent, Caucasian persons living in Fullerton during 1920’s , 1930’s were practicing members of the KKK. When asked for proof of this such as primary, historical documents showing KKK membership, Arrellano’s tart response would be “I don’t kiss and tell.” Repeatedly, his readers simply asked for proof and he never posted even a place where these documents may be found. Hearsay don’t make it so, but primary documents, speeches, interviews printed in media and recorded interviews with Plummer’s contemporaries should be asserted before publishing hollow, inflammatory headlines whose purpose to infer those who support historical preservation of Plummer’s house is racist.
Yeah, well Gustavo needed a racist white establishment for HIS narrative. I’m not saying he was wrong, but to accuse an individual of something like that, a little documentation is in order.
Gustavo always noted where he sourced those photos in his articles and they were always taken locally. The KKK’s history in Orange County is well-documented. The OC needs to finally come to terms with its ugly racist past.
If you assert this as fact, then you must have seen these documents and know where to find them. Did you view these documents? You do remember when Arrellano published these documents in the media or stated their location? If so, where are they?
No one is arguing that the KKK was active in OC. Some people want to know the source of Louis Plummer’s alleged involvement, and if true, why that disqualified the historic value of a building.
It is ironic that Fullerton Boohoo liberals who pride themselves on alleged nuanced thinking about things see that there isn’t as much gray area as they thought. Meaning they are knee jerk ideologues
I don’t really know much about this guy or his house, but I would expect more proof than someone just saying he was in the Klan before I starting publishing articles about it. Does Plummer have any living relatives?
If I was the Observer, I would be awful careful of who I was calling a member of the KKK. Would be a shame for them to be sued.
Why would Kennedy allow proof get in the way of taking cheap shots at Jung?
Mr. Plummer is dead. You can say anything you want about him. That’s why the boohoos are so brave.
Plus, anyone who would site “Mr Helper” as I like to refer to him, Jose Trinidad Castenada as any kind of an authority on anything is just doing themselves a disservice. But what do you expect from the outhouse.
On a side note, why can’t we rid ourselves of this disaster (Castenada)?
He works for Jung’s campaigns.
He moved to BP and got on the City Council via carpetbagging. But he lost his job (whatever that was) and had to move in with his family and give up the BP gig.
He’s a lot like the other BP carpetbagger Connor Traut. A lot more ambition than ability.
I knew Jung had appointed him to something before he bailed to haunt BP. My first sign that there might be something wrong with Jung.
I believe he qent to BP and took on the “Zarah” role and ended up self-destructing and left their council due to “mental health”. Not meaning to hijack this thread, just wanted to point out who the Observer has for “clout”.
That’s “Zahra”
Castenada is a good friend of Jung. He served with Traut in Buena Park. Probably has some good insight.
Doubtful. Just another in a long line of desperate wannabes.
I guess the Kennedys and their moralistic friends are going to ignore that the Democrat party helped to found and supported the KKK. And during the 20s lots of people belonged to the KKK-just look up the pictures of their march in Washington DC sponsored by Woodrow Wilson, Democrat and father of the progressive movement.
But maybe that’s too nuanced for them.
It was the democrats who fought to preserve slavery, the republican party also known as the abolitionist party, if my memory is correct.
Yeah, that was 165 years ago.
Mexicans weren’t allowed to live on Valencia Dr. until the 40’s. And there probably were less than 3 black families which lived with the Mexicans south of the tracks in the 30’s. There wasn’t much motivation to don the pointed white hat in Plummers day. His participation in the Klan was way less complicit in genocide than the coward Zahra’s failure to put forward a Gaza ceasefire resolution.
The author here could have at least correctly identified the historic home in question, which is on Hillcrest.
It’s the Craftsman bungalow built by William L. Campbell more than a century ago.
The Klan membership list at the Anaheim Heritage Center, which was donated by former Anaheim City Attorney Leo Friis, names Campbell as a Klansman with his occupation and old home address correctly noted.
I will contact the Anaheim Heritage Center and ask to view these documents.
Wrong again, Mr. Ramon.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/104-Park-View-Dr-Fullerton-CA-92835/25115922_zpid/
This is the house.
What in the bejeezus are you talking about?
Why are you talking about some guy named Campbell? The man in question is Louis Plummer. Please explain.
Gabriel San Roman must be confused. I’m sure he’ll correct his mistake. He’s a stand up guy.
Not confused. The Hillcrest house was designated as a landmark.
Plummer lived in the house as its first resident. His name appeared on a membership list that was housed in the Library of Congress until it went missing in 1982. Thankfully, scholars already used the list before then. That’s how we know about Plummer.
In addition to Plummer, the contractor who built the house was longtime Fullerton resident William L. Campbell. The house is designated for its architectural features, we are told.
According to the incomplete but still present KKK membership list housed at the Anaheim Heritage Center, Campbell was a Klansman. The list correctly identified him by his occupation and home address.
So whether going by the builder or the first resident, the Klan has entered the chat!
Now somebody tell Disillusioned Ex-Hippy to look at the staff report attachment (not Zillow), which has the application for the Hillcrest house address.
This Blog and the Observer are both incorrect about the location of the historic house in question. I believe the historic house is located at 156 Hillcrest Dr., not 104 Park View Road.
Jesus H. I’m in the same company as the Observer? I need a shower.
You are correct. I mixed up the addresses on the application. Mea culpa.
So is a house built by a klansman is automatically excluded for historical consideration?
Do you know your plumber’s racial beliefs?
If that’s the case, it’s possible that the Kennedy sister house on Brookdale (their family’s house both sisters inherited) was constructed by someone with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Taking it a step further, it’s conceivable that many of us who live in the older neighborhoods in Fullerton reside in homes built by individuals with similar affiliations. The question then arises: does this implied connection make us complicit or guilty by association? I’d argue that it doesn’t, but others might disagree, suggesting that our indirect connection to such individuals or their actions is enough to implicate us.
The document “went missing?” What a shame.
You can vote to preserve a building such is this, and also acknowledge that the guy had racist convictions. You can’t decide to divorce the man from his house, or the man from his beliefs. We don’t want preservation to be fixated only on looks, style, or charm. Preservation is one piece of the picture, but not the whole scene.
We learn from history as a way forward.
I bet the older sister sleeps with the KKK list under her pillow.
I wonder about that house. It was stuccoed at one point. How valuable is it really? Fullerton Heritage loves to slap plaques on architecture that’s been stripped of original materials (see Bank of Italy).
Frankly, any homeowner, can slap a plaque on their house. You don’t need Fullerton Heritage’s permission to put on up stating who the designer was, or something pithy about the past (or present) occupants.
Even Aunt Edna, who swore at little kids while downing shots of whiskey while seated on a Stickley rocker on the porch of her Spanish revival house, complete with Batchelder fireplace tiles and old growth hardwood floors, could warrant her own plaque.
You know my Aunt Edna?