A Grave Affair

Imperial Highway in Yorba Linda, parenthetically named the Richard M. Nixon Freeway on many maps, serves a historic route from little Richard’s birthplace to the Yorba family cemetery. The experience can be haunting. Tying much of it together is Dick’s dad, Frank.

MORNING: 1

Richard M. Nixon was born in the farmhouse that Frank Nixon built (in 1912) with his own hands. The restored birthplace is a cornerstone of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace. In it, you can listen to a tape of the 37th U.S. president describing his boyhood.

“My goal was to become a railroad engineer,” Nixon recalls. He characterizes his father as “a highly skilled mason and carpenter.” You can also see a photo of his mother, Hannah, and her sisters.

In the library, you can hear excerpts from the infamous Watergate tapes that were Nixon’s undoing. Memorabilia includes the pistol Elvis Presley gave to Nixon during a meeting that recently inspired a TV movie.

New at the facility are a re-creation of Nixon’s private study at his New Jersey home exactly as it was the day of his fatal stroke, a 3-ton section of the Berlin Wall and the armored limousine used by four presidents.

The flower gardens will provide the setting for an “Old-Fashioned Labor Day Picnic” (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) with country and Cajun bands.

The birthplace is also the final resting place of Richard and his first lady, Pat. To facilitate their legal burial there, the plot was deeded to the Yorba Linda Friends Church, whose original building Frank Nixon also helped build in 1912.

LUNCH: 2

Polly’s Bakery Cafe is housed in Yorba Linda’s first train depot, which opened in 1911 to serve the Pacific Electric Railway Co.’s Big Red Cars. Frank worked as a motorman at the station, the end of the Big Red Line.

On the walls of the eatery, which opened in 1991, are historic photographs. One caption outlines the Red Car’s history: “Born in 1874 . . . it was gradually strangled, abandoned, torn apart and buried.”

Richard Nixon’s autographed photo, signed three months before his death, thanks the restaurant for its support; Polly’s still prints the Nixon Library’s visitors guide.

Also on the walls are works by Thomas McKnight, the artist featured annually on President Clinton’s Christmas cards. Coincidentally, the Nixon Library gift shop sells authentic Clinton White House Christmas cards, with the White House envelope, for $19.50. Put one on your mantel in December and impress your friends!

Polly’s, part of the area chain owned by two brothers, is known for its pies. Try a slice of the California tree-ripened peach pie ($2.99). You practically feel healthier after eating it! Other possibilities include marionberry ($2.59 per slice) and olallieberry in season.

AFTERNOON: 3

At the opposite end of the same business strip with Polly’s is Richard M. Nixon Park (at the corner of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway). It basically amounts to a circular brick planter, a lamppost and some lawn. Frank and Hannah Nixon were founding members of the local Society of Friends; you can see the original church building (now part of a Baptist church) next door to 4835 School St.

En route to the Yorba Cemetery Historic Site, you’ll pass the private Yorba Linda Country Club, a golf course that Richard Nixon played from time to time.

Oak and pepper trees shade the ornate headstones at Yorba Cemetery, which served the Yorba family for more than a century. Tours are by reservation only ($3).

Tales are told of a “pink lady” who appears between midnight and dawn on June 15 of every even-numbered year; many sightings have been claimed. She’s said to be the ghost of Alvina Yorba de Los Reyes, who died in 1910 after being thrown from a horse-drawn buggy, on her way home from a dance and wearing a pink gown.

Alvina is said to float or kneel over the graves of her relatives, including a daughter who died after ingesting oleander leaves; an oleander bush grows from the child’s grave.

1) Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace

18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., (714) 993-3393.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

2) Polly’s Bakery Cafe

18132 Imperial Highway, (714) 572-9679.

6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

3) Yorba Cemetery Historical Site

Woodgate Drive, Orange County, (714) 528-4260.

Tours by reservation.

Parking

There is free parking in lots at each location. (Spaces near the cemetery serve Woodgate Park.)

Bus

OCTA Bus No. 26 runs east and west along Yorba Linda Boulevard with a stop at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace.