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CHRISTOPHER WAGNER/FullertonCENTURY MAN: George Schade, celebrating his 100th birthday at Summit House Reatairtacrte in Fullerton, gets a hug from his daughter-in-law Pam Schade.A LIVING LEGACYGeorge Schade, 100, has done just about everything. And that includes inventing a chicken plucker for Knott's Berry Farm.By BARBARA GIASONEFullerton News TribuneHe invented the chicken feather picker for Knott's Berry Farm matriarch, Cordelia.The first sheet metal kayaks rented at Balboa Island in 1932 were symbolic of his entrepreneurial spirit.Community spirit was marked by bleachers built in his living room in 1946 so Fullerton neighbors could enjoy that new contraption, television.“The Gutenberg Bible would be a dime novel compared to Dad's volumes, writes son, Robert, in a 33-page biography of George John Schade. AndRobert has plans to write a sequel on George’s 105th birthday.That’s only five years away for the South Dakota-bred businessman who was fondly saluted as “The Century Man during a family birthday bash Feb. 9 at the Summit House Restaurant.On Saturday, Schade's neighbors in the 400 and 500 blocks of Brookdale Avenue, where he built his home 40 years ago, will host another celebration for their “front-porch friend.Though confined to a wheelchair, Schade’s mind still skillfully navigates the generations from his roots in Redfield, S.D., to California.To sit a spell with the patriarch of three sons, 19 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren is to experience Orange County - and a good dose of Fullerton history.“Grandpa came from Germany and found free land in South Dakota,” recalls Schade, smiling at thoughts of the family’s work ethic, , s \ . , - ,He spins midwestem tales of life on the prairie. After Schade’s father died of pneumonia at 28, his mother remarried, gathered her brood and moved to Santa Ana, Calif, to be close to her sister.Schade recalls the train trip west in 1910, particularly a side trip through the Rockies on a flat car fitted for tourists. Sparks from the engine fell on their heads.When arriving in Los Angeles, the Schades boarded the Angel’s Flight cable car to reach an aunt’s house on Bunker Hill, then traveled aboard a Santa Fe to Santa Ana.“Little did George know that Orange County would be his home for the next 92 years, Robert writes.The family settled on north Shelton Street in Santa Ana. At the tender age of 9, George -who had the only bicycle in the neighborhood - went to work delivering milk for Dean Dairy. When the route was finished, he scurried to Central► See SCHADE, Page 13
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Costa Mesa Breeze
Costa Mesa, California, US
Thu, Feb 20, 2003
Page 103
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Los A.
CA, USA 17 Jan 2025
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