Jerry Person has just been reappointed by the Huntington Beach City Council to four more years as city historian. He has been in that position for 16 years.
“Mr. Person serves such an important purpose in our community and deserves our recognition and thanks for the amount of hours he tirelessly donates to keep our Huntington Beach History alive,” said City Clerk Robin Estanislau.
Person, 80, the editor/publisher of the oldest newspaper in town (the Huntington Beach News, founded in 1904) said he loves being city historian, “telling people what a great city we have and how it got that way.”
For 41 years, the Los Angeles native, has led tours through Huntington Beach’s oldest residence, the 1898 Newland House (in the Newland Shopping Center, near Beach and Adams). The Museum is maintained by the Huntington Beach Historical Society.
“The 500-acre Newland Ranch raised lima beans, sugar beets, celery and chili peppers and went from Beach to Magnolia and from Yorktown south to Atlanta,” Person said. “William Newland was active on the high school district board, Huntington Beach Bank, and the Road Commission, which was instrumental in getting Henry Huntington’s Pacific Electric Railway ‘Big Red Cars,’ that brought the first surfer (George Freeth) to what’s now called ‘Surf City.’ He also helped get Pacific Coast Highway extended to here.”
People can tour this house with the city historian, from 8 a.m. to noon, on the first and third weekends of the month at 19820 Beach Blvd. He shares photos of the furniture and rooms at www.hbnews.us/nhtour1.html.
“You can really feel a sense of history in the seven room house and admire the passion the Newlands brought to their residence and community. William’s wife, Mary, raised 10 kids, was on the Elementary School Board and donated bells to several local churches,” Person said.
“Jerry offers a wealth of knowledge and is one of HB’s unsung heroes,” said Catherine Wong, who really enjoyed touring it with her daughter.
Actor Patrick Warburton, who grew up in Huntington Beach and may be best known for “Seinfeld,” brought his whole family to tour the Newland House with Person. “He really loves history and the house,” Person said.
You can hear records on his mother Rose’s 1924 Victrola, which he donated to the Newland Museum.
“Some schools don’t share local history with the students,” the historian said. “It’s important to know history and correct errors. For instance, even official websites say President Franklin Delano Roosevelt rode in our 4th of July Parade in 1938 but the only place he stopped in his trip from Los Angeles to San Diego was in Laguna Beach.”
“Learning about the past helps you better understand the present and catch glimpses of the future,” Person said.
“Whenever I have a local history question, I call Jerry and he always comes up with the answer,” said Kevin Keller, Visit HB information specialist.
Huntington Beach Historical Society Lifetime Member James Kennedy said: “Jerry Person is the most dedicated and tireless of the volunteers in the Historical Society. He is the last of the original group who restored the Newland House from its sad state in the ‘70s and has conducted tours ever since. Jerry is easy going and great to work with.”
Person came to Huntington Beach in 1979 to open Beach Antiques on Main Street. He ended up working on the city’s Downtown Historic Survey, was on the Pier Design Committee and Bicentennial Committee.
