Although there is an overwhelming abundance of Disneyland fans/admirers/geeks/enthusiasts, NOBODY tops the knowledge of Jason Schultz, the unofficial Disneyland archivist supreme. Recently, his twitter feed featured a vintage 1950’s image from my collection that shows both Ron Dominguez AND the Dominguez palm. Below, you can see Ron on the right:
…and this detailed view shows the Gullywhumper Keel Boat, Aunt Jemima’s Pancake House, and the Dominguez Palm (2nd tree from the right).
If you don’t know about the Dominguez Palm Tree, here’s the 411: Ron Dominguez grew up on ten acres of orange trees that were sold to Walt Disney to build Disneyland. After a year of construction, that acreage became part of Frontierland and Adventureland. The Dominguez family asked Walt to keep this one tree, as it had been planted in 1896 as a wedding gift to Ron’s grandparents. The Dominguez Palm is located to the right of the Jungle Cruise boathouse.
Ron also has a Main Street, U.S.A. window:
Inscription: Orange Grove Property Mgt. - “We Care For Your Property As If It Were Our Own” - Ron Dominguez - Owner
Ron Dominguez was raised on a grove where the Rivers of America is now. He began working at Disneyland in its early days and eventually became Executive Vice President of Disneyland and “Mayor of Our Community.”
Thanks for knowing more about my collection than I do, Jason!
See more photos at my main website.
Thanks for your kinds words! And for (unknowingly) providing the photo that made the identification possible.
ReplyDeleteThere's more fun stuff related to the Dominguez Palm. First is this nugget from a Jim Korkis interview (https://www.mouseplanet.com/12838/Remembering_Ron_Dominguez_An_Exclusive_Interview):
"There's something from my old orange grove, from that original property, that is still at Disneyland, a palm tree (over by the Indiana Jones Fast Pass; the fat tall tree that punches through the boathouse). For a long time it was in the queue for the Jungle Cruise. Walt agreed to save it as part of the deal for buying our property. He was a sentimental guy like my mom and he saw how important it was to her. Besides he needed all the trees he could get. It is a Canary Island Date Palm and it was planted in 1896 as wedding gift to my grandparents from the area's first horticulturist, Tim Carroll. Life is funny. My daughter married the great-grandson of the guy who gave my grandparents the palm tree. Today at Disneyland, it is called the Dominguez Tree."
Besides the connection between Tim Carroll's great-grandson marrying Ron's daughter, Tim planted a Moreton Bay Fig in Anaheim that Imagineers researched when building the Swiss Family Treehouse (http://miehana.blogspot.com/2010/03/some-really-really-big-roots.html)!
I love this place. You guys are awesome. Just when I think I've read all the research on a topic there's something new. ( The Moreton Bay Fig in Anaheim! ) That connection makes it that much more special.
ReplyDeleteI recall reading an interview with Ron that was probably mid-80's and I could have sworn he said they were TWO Dominguez trees, two original Canary Island Date Palm trees. Pics from 1955-1960 seem to show a second tree close to where Bengal Terrace is. Then in later interviews they only speak about the ONE tree as if the other never happened. ( Maybe it died and so they abbreviated history by only speaking about the remaining tree? ) Does anyone know more detail about that second one?
There's some helicopter footage from Disney circa 1955-58 where they fly over and at one point you can see the two trees opposite each other and they sure look like twins. ...or is it possible that this other tree was purchased later and had nothing to do with the Dominguez farm?
There were three trees, from two different properties, that were moved to Adventureland. Besides the Dominguez Palm, the other two were named Ella (for poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox) and Robert (for her husband). She had a relative who owned ten acres of the future Disneyland site and visited several times. Those two were both removed by the early 1960s.
ReplyDeleteDave and Jason, I LOVE today's post, pictures and comments. Great images and interesting info - thank you! And it's fun to know the background about Ella and Robert, too.
ReplyDeleteSue
Another big thanks to Dave and Jason. It's so fascinating to hear these stories.
ReplyDeleteWow. Thank you Jason. Ella and Robert! So there's the missing piece of that puzzle. I always wondered about it and stand corrected that it was a second Dominguez tree.
ReplyDeleteThis is a true find for those of us who love Disney history. More so for us who worked under Ron a couple decades later. A greatly admired fellow who truly embodied the Disney spirit. He was a valued member of the Order of the Red Handkerchief and was awarded the #1 medallion of the Order a year or two before his passing. Great memories! I will share this post with my friends. KS
ReplyDelete