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Port Hueneme is a small beach city in Ventura County, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Pacific Ocean. It is believed that the Chumas Indians were the primary inhabitants of this region, which was later discovered by Cabrillo in 1542. Hueneme is a Chumas word ("wene me"), meaning "half-way" or "resting place". On 1876, Thomas Bard constructed a wharf to serve as a port for shipping of foodstuffs and goods grown and produced in this rich agricultural area known as the Gold Coast. By the early 1920s, lemons outstripped lima beans and sugar beets as the number one crop. In 1922, two giant Sunkist lemon-packing plants were built and Sunkist became one of the port village's largest employers. The name was officially changed to Port Hueneme in 1939, and the city was incorporated on March 24, 1948. Port Hueneme is the only deep-water harbor between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area, and is the U.S. Port of Entry for California's central coast region. The United States Navy maintains a facility at Port Hueneme, which is the West Coast home of the Construction Battalion famously known as the "Seabees". "The Friendly City By The Sea", as it is known, has a current population of 22,202. Photograph caption dated December 13, 1963 reads, "Joe E. Brown, second from right, helps Santa get a fast start during the holiday season when he cut the ribbon and opened Bay Boulevard to big Hueneme Bay development in Ventura County. With Joe are, left to right, Mayor Ray D. Prueter, Port Hueneme, Ventura Supervisor J. K. MacDonald, Joe and Santa."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Santa Claus Brown, Joe E.--(Joe Evan),--1892-1973 Men--California--Port Hueneme Motion picture actors and actresses--United States Comedians--United States Mayors--California--Port Hueneme Dedications--California--Port Hueneme Ribbons--California--Port Hueneme Scissors and shears--California--Port Hueneme Novelties--California--Port Hueneme Costumes Automobiles--California--Port Hueneme Dwellings--California--Port Hueneme Trees--California--Port Hueneme Bay Boulevard (Port Hueneme, Calif.) Port Hueneme (Calif.) Valley Times Collection photographs
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