Local history comes alive for students during a visit to city's historic home

Anaheim's Mother Colony House has survived winter floods, earthquakes, Santa Ana winds and "summer brush fires. Now the house is up against thousands of shoes that tread on its redwood floors every year. Last week; it was a group of third-graders from Lincoln Elementary School that walked . through Orange County's oldest historic monument. "This gives the kids a chance to see everything hands on. When things are not visual it's hard to keep their attention," said teacher Elvia Teixeira. Teixeira said she supplements her local history lessons with these field trips to whet her students' appetites because history can be dry at times. "It's hard for them to get into it but once they do they become very excited and interested," Teixeira said: The house was built by George Hansen, known as the "Father of Anaheim," in 1857 , out of redwood he imported from Northern California" Hansen, an Austrian who settled in Los Angeles, was the superintendent of the Los Angeles Vineyard Society and was responsible for laying out the plots for the 50 Germans who settled in what would later become Anaheim. Following Hansen the home became the residence of Juan Pacifico Ontiveras. He was followed by 13 other owners. The house also became the meeting place for 20 years for the Daughters of the American Revolution. The home survived a move from its original location on Los Angeles Street (now Anaheim Boulevard) to its current location on West Street next to the Red Cross building. "I think that for the younger generations this is the only real way to show what life was like in those times," said Jane Newell, head of the Anaheim Library's history room and the youngsters' tour guide. The tourlead the 22 children into the main entry-room that Was formerly divided into three bedrooms. Newell gave the bungsters a dose of 19th century life, explaining how essential rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom were located outside, how clothes were laboriously washed and the how the chandelier hanging in the parlor room was fueled by kerosene, not electricity. The chandelier was purchased by the Carrillo family, a mother and four daughters, who Newell describes as one of the more interesting families to have occcupied the house. Newell included a brief discussion of the furnishings, the decorations and the displays of clothing that line the w