O.C. Writers

By Roberta Ellington // 

Dry, dusty wind blowing along the Santa Ana River swirled the dust we kicked up as we pulled into the truck-sized gravel parking lot. We’d just got off the 91 Freeway and passed a weird, two-story gas station – Shell gas on the bottom and a restaurant on the top. It was lunchtime, but we weren’t climbing any stairs. We were headed to the only other building in sight. This was May 1972, right before everything changed.

On the north side of the last quarter mile of La Palma Avenue at the Imperial Highway exit, was the landmark, the destination, Knowlwood – the World’s Best Hamburger! It didn’t look like much. There was a big tree in the outdoor eating area shading a few picnic benches. The wooden structure, which looked like it had been added here and there, spread out a bit with the kitchen at one end and the indoor seating at the other.

Inside wasn’t really much different than outside, with screen doors that squeaked and wooden window and door frames that hadn’t been straight or smooth in a while. They kept out the leaves and some of the wind, but not the heat or the flies. Same basic picnic tables inside as out, hand-painted menu items over the counter, beer bottles in the window below; everything was a bit brown and rugged, but you didn’t come for the décor. 

The food was the draw – big burgers, thick fries, real shakes, and the root beer was great, too. I remember a ham sandwich, piled high with a special mustard sauce. That sandwich didn’t seem to make it to the later menu, but it was still there when we first moved in.

That’s why we were there, and why everything changed. Our little mobile home park was only the first bit of development east of Imperial Highway. We were one of the first trailers moved into the park with nothing else on that stretch of road.  We were so far out from the developed areas that we drove to Yorba Linda or Orange to get milk. We didn’t eat out much, but every once in a while, we’d get the chance to walk over to Knollwood’s and bring back dinner. 

As I got a little older and made some new friends, we occasionally walked over or rode our bikes, got a coke, sat under the tree, and talked. Then, things started to change. About the time I got my driver’s license, Carl’s Jr. moved in across the street with a convenient drive-thru. Life involved jumping on the freeway and driving to activities miles from the local neighborhood.

La Palma Avenue no longer stopped at the strawberry fields, but went on past rows, then miles of houses. The orange groves on the other side of the train tracks became condos and more houses. The corner with just the strange gas station across from the hamburger stand was full of more restaurants, banks, and grocery stores.   

The sad shock came a few years later, when I came back to visit my folks in the same mobile home park. The entire corner that had been Knowlwood’s was now a shopping center with a movie theater! I met my old friend at the Knowlwood location in the brand new structure. They gave it some industrial and agricultural decorative elements, air conditioning, and clean, smooth surfaces. It was a few dozen yards from the original location, but miles from the authentic feel. The original Knowlwood – World’s Best Hamburger was gone.

ROBERTA ELLINGTON is an Orange County native and alumna of CSU Fullerton and Fuller Seminary.  You may have also seen her win on Jeopardy. When not working as a business analyst for a Christian charity, she has a book in one hand and dancing shoes in the other.  She also loves traveling with her husband. She says, “I can’t imagine spending my childhood in a better place than Orange County.  While I have nostalgia for places that are gone, or changed beyond recognition, it’s still a lovely place to call home.”  This is her first online published piece.

EDITED BY Fred Klein.