
These two were probably taken not many months after the three below, in 1955. In the early 50's in Santa Ana, on Main Street, not far from where we lived, was a Beany's hamburger stand. Beany (or Beanie) was based on a puppet (and several years later an animated) series, Beanie and Cecil. At the stand, you bought your burgers and fries and malts and drove to the back. It was a dirt parking area. They featured Beanie and Cecil puppet shows while you sat in your car with your kids. We kids thought it was great, if a bit awkward to fit a few cars into a small space. I also can't imagine, being in our car, that we could easily hear what the puppets were saying. Frankly, I don't believe the franchise was successful since we didn't see other Beany's hamburger stands anywhere else, and perhaps the owner was infringing on the copyright. I did find a reference to "Beany's on Main just above Edinger. Homage of Beany of Beany and Cecil fame." This was in an article about "Old Hamburger Stands of Orange County". In another article by Glen Creason, I found this: "Of course there are many more whose passing I mourn from my head to the tip of my taste buds. There were those whose exterior beckoned like Googees or the Travellers Cafe or the Frying Pan but their menus failed to excite more than groans. Across the landscape of the city the ghosts of many memorable restaurants haunt my memory: Beanie and Cecil Hamburger stands...." So my memory isn't faulty.
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