Being Off Beaten Track Suits Them Fine : La Habra: Citrus groves are gone but area’s small-town atmosphere still lingers.

When Jeana and Paul Michalko decided to move a few miles down the road from Whittier to La Habra, they wanted to be off the beaten track.

It was 1957, and Whittier Boulevard, which runs through both cities, was just a three-lane road. When Jeana Michalko shopped she had to return to Whittier. There just wasn’t much available in La Habra then, and that’s about the way she views it now. But that’s what they wanted.

“We were kind of in our own little world then, and we still are,” she said. “There’s some shopping on Imperial Highway, but I still go to Whittier or Brea for most shopping.”

They paid $26,000 for the 1,900-square-foot three-bedroom house. It was one of 12 homes on a private street in an unincorporated area of Orange County that was later annexed by La Habra.

The Michalkos raised three children in their La Habra home and were involved in church, scouting and PTA activities.

“We felt that small-town closeness then and we still feel that atmosphere,” said Jeana Michalko. “At one time we considered moving to south (Orange) county, but we see now that wouldn’t have been a good move for us.”

La Habra is about as far north as you can go in Orange County, as the upper boundary is defined by the city of La Habra Heights in Los Angeles County. Whittier and La Mirada (also in Los Angeles County) form the western border and Brea is the neighbor to the east along with Fullerton, which also marks the southern line.

La Habra residents must drive several miles to connect with a freeway, which contributes to keeping La Habra somewhat undiscovered. Whittier Boulevard is the main east-west thoroughfare, and Harbor and Beach boulevards provide north and south access to neighboring communities.

La Habra got its name 223 years ago when Gaspar de Portola, a Spanish captain, led an expedition from San Diego to Monterey and passed through the Puente Hills. Portola called the area his “pass through the hills” (although neither Spanish nor Indian, La Habra was thought to mean “the opening”) and he crossed through many times.

In 1784 Portola gave 300,000 acres, including the area that is now La Habra, to a retired soldier, Jose Manuel Nieto, who loved the valley. Nieto raised hundreds of thousands of longhorned steers on the land, but devastating rains and long hot summers eventually brought that enterprise to a conclusion.

Esther Cramer in her book “La Habra: The Pass Through the Hills” points out that while La Habra played no major role in early California history, it was “a witness to the passing parade of significant historical persons and events.”

Spaniards and Indians dominated the scene until 1826, when Jedediah Strong Smith, a trapper, entered the La Habra Valley and was arrested for being an American. He was released on the promise that he would not again enter Mexican territory.

However, the Americans did come, and between 1870 and 1900 sheepherders dotted the hills, and orange, lemon and walnut groves were planted. La Habra Valley also became an important barley-producing area of the state.

Willets J. Hole, a native of Indiana, came to the valley and established a 100,000-gallon reservoir and further guided the development of La Habra. He was called the father of the community and lived there until his death in 1936. La Habra incorporated in 1925, and by 1930 the population stood at 2,273, but it fell during the Depression.

In 1939 a young lawyer opened a branch office for his firm in downtown La Habra. Three decades later the city placed a historic marker outside the former law office of the then-President Richard M. Nixon. Now, the one-story building is considered unsafe to occupy.

There has been controversy within the city as to whether this is a building of historical significance that should be maintained. The former President has made known his belief that the building should not be preserved. In September, the City Council delivered the final blow to preservationists and opened bids for demolition.

In the late 1940s the citrus groves began to give way to home building, and in the decade between 1950 and 1960 the population jumped from 4,961 to 25,136. By 1990 La Habra had 51,000 residents.

And more will be added if, and when, a 381-acre site owned by Pacific Coast Homes, a subsidiary of Chevron Land and Development, in the Coyote Hills area in south La Habra is built out with a proposed 700 homes and a private golf course.

The project, which is still in the planning stages, will bring even more change to the community Donald and Colene Ott wanted for their family when they moved to La Habra in 1955 and bought a 1,450-square-foot four-bedroom home for $14,500.

“Harbor Boulevard was a two-lane road with one stop sign. It wasn’t even a signal,” said Donald Ott. “We used to come home from the show at 11 o’clock at night and there would be three or four cottontails eating our dichondra.

“Right across the street there was a 40-acre lemon grove and on the other side there was nothing but orange groves. We were here by ourselves in one little development.”

Today Ott laments that the small, quiet town they once knew is gone. “The little stores that we used to shop in are mostly gone,” he said. All groves are gone and in their place are homes that he estimates would probably sell in today’s market for $175,000 to $185,000.

“The average sales price in La Habra is $188,000 for a three-bedroom house,” said Kathy Benoit, a realtor with Century-21 Olympic. “A two-bedroom house would list for $159,000 and sell for around $150,000 and would have about 1,000 square feet.” The lower priced homes are generally below Whittier Boulevard, and both sides of Harbor and Beach boulevards.

“With higher priced homes, the average would list for $275,000 and would generally sell for around $250,000. That would be a four-bedroom 2 3/4-bath home of 2,000 square feet.

“We had eight houses sold in all of 1991 that had five bedrooms, and the average selling price of those was $306,000.”

Benoit and her husband, Ron, live in La Habra and they like the town because it “has the feeling of being small. Everybody knows everybody. It’s like a little town in Kansas transplanted to Orange County.”

Heidi Pearce, a realtor with Century-21 Chuck Stevens, also grew up there. She said that people are attracted to the city because it is a bedroom community.

“In the residential market it is the best value for your money in Orange County. We’re North Orange County, and as you go south toward the beach the prices get higher and higher.”

Price was an important factor for newlyweds James and Ann Helfrich Jr., when they hunted for a home, but James had grown up in La Habra, and that’s where he wanted to live.

They looked in other communities, however, before finding the two-bedroom, two-bath condominium they bought in La Habra, for $125,000.

“We have central air conditioning, nice kitchen cabinets and a double garage,” said James Helfrich, who owns and operates A & J Mobil Truck Repair.

Helfrich is pleased with their neighborhood. “(It’s) going through a transition. Old houses are being taken down and they’re putting up new condominiums,” he said. “For the price we got a nice town and a nice neighborhood.”

It was also the town and neighborhood that brought Roger and Barbara Kays back to La Habra after 20 years in the military. Roger Kays was a major in the Army and they had traveled extensively in Germany, Belgium and throughout the United States, but they wanted to settle in La Habra, where they both grew up. They did look in other Southern California cities, but kept coming back to their old home town.

“We wanted to return here because it’s a small town. It’s home. We found a house in the North Hills area above Whittier Boulevard. We liked the neighborhood, and we liked the floor plan, and we remembered that North Hills was a preferred place to live as far back as the ‘60s,” he said.

“We also considered schools, and wanted the neighborhood so our sons could attend Sonora High School. The school has high ratings and graduates achieve and are accomplished.”

The tri-level home the Kays purchased in May, 1990, for $306,000 has four bedrooms and three baths in 2,800 square feet.

Roger Kays said they are enjoying being home again in La Habra for another reason. Their parents still live in the city, and for the first time their sons, Greg, 18, and Brian, 14, are close enough to drop in on their grandparents, “after a lot of years missed because we were overseas and out of state,” said Roger Kays.

La Habra also has a safe feeling to it. Chief Steve Staveley of the La Habra Police Department said there is some gang activity in the community.

“However, the city and the department have worked for some time at being aggressive in dealing with this,” he said. “The community group called RAGE, which stands for Residents Against Gangs Everywhere, is having a real impact in the neighborhoods.”

He said that they have a tutoring program in the schools and that the several hundred members of RAGE come together to coordinate functions to deal with community and neighborhood problems.

“La Habra is a safe city,” Staveley said. “In violent crimes, our city is well below the average in the county. This community feels safe and is safe. Being off the freeways, people don’t somehow find us. We’re in a little valley. It’s a beautiful little town.”

At a Glance Population

1991 estimate53,558

1980-91 change+18.4%

Median age32.5 years

Annual income

Per capita17,824

Median household43,806

Household distribution

Less than $15,00012.2%

$15,000 - $30,00020.1%

$30,000 - $50,00025.9%

$50,000 - $100,00033.6%

$100,000 + 8.2%