By Fred Klein //
When I moved to Orange County in the 1980s, it was less populated, and the newer cities (Irvine, Lake Forest, and Laguna Niguel) had new housing developments that catered more to singles living. Smaller houses were offered with recreational facilities such as pools and clubhouses nearby in the neighborhoods. Many ski and hiking clubs were also available that welcomed singles. I moved into a small cottage home in the Woodbridge development in Irvine and joined the Woodbridge Ski and Social Club, which offered trips to Mammoth and social mixers in Irvine. This allowed me to meet many new single friends.
Back then the singles scene had quite a bit of nightlife, including many nightclubs and concert venues. Frequently, I went barhopping at Bobbie McGee’s, Baxter’s, Rusty Scupper, and The Hop, which had a large dance floor, several locations, and different types of music for each night. Bobbie McGee’s had a DJ and several locations in the county. A typical night at Bobbie McGee’s would have people arriving around 9:30 p.m. The DJ would strive to get the people on the dance floor by 10 p.m. Drink specials would be available until closing. Barhopping buses would arrive around 11:30 p.m. with clients who would stay at the club for an hour and then move on to the next club. Dancing would go on until about 2 a.m. At closing time, guys would still be trying to pick up women.
As for concerts, I saw Al Stewart at the Golden Bear right before it closed, and REO Speedwagon at the Coach House. At The Hop, I got to see The Righteous Brothers. The Pacific Amphitheater showed Duran Duran, Styx, Joan Jet, and Pat Benatar. Irvine Meadows provided Eagles and The Who.
Of course, one wanted a date for all these venues so I joined Great Expectations Dating Service. Great Expectations membership provided a database of women with profiles and videos. Essentially you could have a new date for every week if you updated your club number every few months so you would appear in the new member’s book. In addition, the local churches started to promote singles events. There were singles ministries at the Crystal Cathedral, St. Andrews church, Mariners Church, and Saddleback Church. At the time, I attended the Crystal Cathedral and was part of its singles ministry.
Then, in the 2000s, many of the singles in Orange County got married or moved out of the area. Even I got married in 2008. New housing developments were now offering larger houses for larger families with five-car garages, five bedrooms, and family recreation facilities.
Many of the nightclubs closed along with many of the concert venues. The Hop became a Chinese restaurant. The churches changed their interests to more family ministries. All the singles ministries in Orange County closed except for Mariners Church. Since the remaining singles now had no other place to go, 300 singles attended Mariners Singles Ministry.
Quite a few of the dating services went out of business and were replaced by online computer dating. Orange County changed from the new housing developments offering singles housing and amenities in the 1980s to large family housing and amenities in the 2000s.
FRED KLEIN is a member of the Southern California Writer’s Association, O.C. Writers, and Hometown Reads. He has a humorous book, Memoirs of a Road Warrior, for sale on Amazon.com. Fred writes from his experiences as a salesman, laboratory technician, food service worker, writer, drummer, and pilot. He lives in Irvine with his wife.
Thanks for the insightful overview of planned cities in their early years. Irvine, Lake Forest, etc. have definitely moved to large family housing. Problem is, the cost is also large, beyond the reach of young families trying to buy and something like $5000 a month if you’re renting. My son, a former Irvine AND Lake Forest resident, has moved thousands of miles away to a place with more affordable housing.