Boysenberry Juice is in My Veins

I thought I start my posting off by telling about my life long association and family history with Knott's Berry Farm. I am a third generation Knott's employee. There has been someone from my family working at Knott's for also 60 years. First was my grandfather who started in 1951 driving the stagecoach (see the picture below, taken in 1954).

My father started working at Knott's in 1956, the same year that my parents moved to California from Oklahoma. My father retired from Knott's in 1984 after working his full 28 years on the night janitor crew, working the midnight to 9 a.m. shift. I was born in 1957, lived and grew up in Buena Park all the way up until I got married.

The above picture on the left is me and my older brother in the Old MacDonald's Farm. The picture on the right is of my mother holding me also taken at the Old MacDonald's Farm at Knott's in 1959. The next picture is of me and my youngest sister again at Old MacDonald's Farm taken in 1969.

I started my career at Knott's in 1974 as a Sweeper (now known as Park Services). I interviewed with Steve Knott, the Sweepers were one of the departments that reported to him. In 1975, I moved to the stroller rental department that reported to the Sweeper manager also. The stroller rental building was located in the parking lot about were the Grand Entrance is now. In 1976, they built the new Grand Entrance and with it the new souvenir and stroller rental shop. Merchandise took over the stroller rental operation at this time. I worked in the stroller shop and Merchandise area until 1981. This is when I transfered to the printing department as a Graphic Artist and have worked there ever since.

All my brothers and sisters have worked at Knott's at sometime or other. I meet my wife at Knott's while working in Merchandise. My son and two nieces have also worked at Knott's for a while.

Pictured above is my family at Knott's for the second annual Employee Night "Funtastic II". That is me sitting on the bar on the left, then my brother's wife (who also worked at Knott's), my brother, my two sisters, my mom and then my dad.

I would to like to end this post with remembering Mrs. Knott on this her birthday, born January 23, 1890. One of my childhood memories of Knott's is of going to work with my dad. My mom never worked, except as a wife and mother (and that was enough back then), so she would get up at 4 or 5 o'clock every morning and cook my dad breakfast for his lunch hour, we lived close enough to Knott's for him to do this. Sometimes I would get up at this time of the morning and go back out to work with him and tag along for the rest of the morning. We would walk though the Chicken Dinner Restaurant kitchen a Mrs. Knott would be in there preparing for the day and she would give me biscuits to eat.