About Us

‘Rustin In Tustin’, what does it mean?

The simple answer is currently, it’s a term of endearment. But it wasn’t always the case.

To get a full understanding, we have to look back several decades.

If you visit the Tustin Historical Museum on El Camino Real and look at early photos and accounts of the City of Tustin you’ll quickly realize like most other Orange County cities, the city didn’t consist of much other than orange groves and other agriculture.

It mostly stayed that way until post World War II.

As peace time was upon us and we were able to focus on local industry, housing development and the economy in general.

As a result more and more kids were regularly attending school.

Tustin Union High School (Tustin High) was established in 1921.

As you can imagine, 100 years ago there were no shopping centers, no movie theatres and no real entertainment.

So the phrase probably originally came out like this. (modern interpretation)
High Schooler A: Hey bruh, whatcha up to tonight?
High Schooler B: Duuuude! There ain’t nothin’ to do. I feel like I’m “Rustin In Tustin”.
And BOOM the saying begins.

In random searches over the years (I wish I kept snapshots), I recall being able to find references to the old adage dating back to the 1940’s.

Who knows, maybe it started way back before then.

It seems that it gained popularity from the 50’s to the 80’s and then started to fizzle out.

Why did the mantra fizzle out? Simple…Progress.

More shopping started popping up. Tustin Lanes became a staple of Tustin culture and there were even go kart tracks and arcades for kids to hang out in. (Those are gone now but other great venues have taken their place)

Finally, there were actually things to do in Tustin.

As more homes were developed, kids actually had near by neighbor kids they could ride bikes with and visit in their own neighborhood instead of trekking accross the fields or orchards.

Ultimately more and more restaurants and entertainment venues showed up and our little city became a destination location.

Now when you hear people use the phrase Rustin In Tustin it’s in reference to good times from the past and it triggers great memories and emotions. Those people most likely went to one of Tustin’s wonderful High Schools and are now grown and continue to live and raise their families here.

As we all know, the City of Tustin has continued to be a great city to live in. I’ve always referred to it as the biggest small city around. It’s just big enough to offer all the entertainment, recreation, social and shopping anyone could handle but small enough to feel like a good old fashioned American city.

Graduating High School here in 1985 myself, I’ve held onto the saying as a way to show my fervent pride and love for this great city and always will.

Even if you didn’t grow up here, or you’re planning on making Tustin your home, when someone asks you “whatcha doin tonight”? Proudly exclaim, “Rustin In Tustin” before you get dressed up and support one of the many wonderful businesses found in our amazing city.