Bruce Wilson

Thanks George, for the photos of one of my actual and one of my sort-of GF's.

As I recall, my now one and only, Michele W., was one of those Desi's. Stage left.

Bruce Wilson

Not sure which one. One of the reunions.

Bruce Wilson

Given my druthers, I'd opt for Cat Power (Charlyn Marie 'Chan' Marshall) coming to CV rather than Lady Gaga. Ironically, she attended ten different schools throughout the southern United States  and was discovered opening for Liz Phair in 1994 .

Now Jo Karen was not one of my girl firends, we never even played Tom Swifties together, but I did bring her the news everyday over there on First Avenue. This one is dedicated to her and her friends.

Bruce Wilson

Bill's has left the city.

Remnant of Chula Vista history reduced to nothing Robert Moreno | Sat, Apr 09 2016 12:00 PM 

g/http://www.thestarnews.com/chula-vista/remnant-of-chula-vista-history-reduced-to-nothing/

Bruce Wilson

Not CV's St. Rose of Lima, but familiar looking, no?

George Bracey Gillow

FROM SALT TO CHULA VISTA'S EASTLAKE DEVELOPMENT

There is a connection between the Western Salt Works at the southwestern part of Chula Vista and the eastward expansion beginning with the first Eastlake Development.

The Salt Works are almost all in National City and San Diego, not in Chula Vista. More in a future post.

The Hunte family (heirs of Henry Fenton) owned the Western Salt Works and also the large Janal Ranch that was to the east of what is now College Estates-- across the street from Southwestern College. This was also next to what was known as Cockatoo Grove (more on that in another post).

The Hunte family decided, in the late 1970s, that it was time to develop the Janal Ranch. So the Western Salt company hired Cadillac Fairview Homes--a Canadian company--to develop the area. Cadillac Fairview was the company that developed Irvine Ranch in Orange county.

The initial plan was terrible. There was little open space, bad plans for handling water, traffic, and some basic city services. It was also way to dense.

The plan was opposed by a couple of City Council members, civic groups, and many citizens. Mayor Will Hyde felt that the development should proceed very slowly over 20 years.

Compromises were worked out, the area was annexed to the City and development began. The first homes went for sale in the mid 1980s. The area has continued expansion to the east. 

Today it has nice open spaces and is well served by restaurants, stores, businesses and the Otay Ranch shopping center. However, traffic problems are much worse than feared and water shortages are a problem.

There is a Fenton Street and Hunte Parkway in Eastlake.

George Bracey Gillow

SALT WORKS IN SAN DIEGO AND NATIONAL CITY--NOT CHULA VISTA

California State law requires that city borders are contiguous. So a lot of cities expanded to distant areas by creating narrow corridors. Chula Vista did this for some of the Bonita developments.

A long time ago, San Diego did a corridor annexation of the San Ysidro area. A narrow corridor extends down San Diego Bay. This whole area, including west of I-5 is in the City of San Diego. The South Bay Drive-In is in San Diego, not Imperial Beach.

National City also did a corridor annexation to the area where the Salt Works are located. So, as I mentioned in post 2021, the Salt Works are in National City and San Diego and only a small part of the ponds are in Chula Vista.

This map shows the corridor annexations down the Bay:

George Bracey Gillow

CHULA VISTA BY THE SEA

Here is an idea. Maybe Chula Vista could, somehow, have the San Diego corridor down the Bay done away with. Then the San Ysidro area could become part of Chula Vista. That makes more sense for that area. Also, the part west of I-5 could become part of Imperial Beach.

Then Chula Vista could do a corridor annexation of Coronado. A narrow corridor could go straight west, since all of the Silver Strand is in the City of Coronado.

Then we could change the name of Coronado to "Chula Vista by the Sea"

I think residents of Coronado would be agreeable to that--right? 

George Bracey Gillow

COCKATOO GROVE

Cockatoo Grove is an area which is now the southern part of College Estates and the area of the Otay Lakes Mobile Home Park. It is east of Southwestern College.

Cockatoo Grove was owned by a man named Mr. Seiss who had a grove of eucalyptus trees.

Mr. Seiss also had a collection of white Australian cockatoos. He built a redwood bird house on top of a heavy 20' redwood post. The birds could easily be seen from the road.

Southwestern College was once believed to be part of Cockatoo Grove, but the Grove was to the east. This part of an article by Richard Pena is interesting. 

Cockatoo Grove was eventually purchased by the Lansley family, early pioneers in the Bonita Valley. Their ranch included the Grove, 1000 acres of Janal Ranch and where Southwestern College is now located. 

Alf Lansley was the 1976 Grand Marshall of the Bonitafest. He and his wife lived for many years on Calle Mesita, in Bonita, the same street where Jerry Rindone and Bea Price Ericksen live today.

Below is a picture of Alf Lansley in 1976 and of the three Lansley boys at Cockatoo grove greeting visitors.

George Bracey Gillow

"When Rain Comes" by Patricia Maxwell is a historical romance novel based on historic events that occurred in Chula Vista like the 1916 flood and Lemon growing.

I heard it is a good read and it has good reviews.

It is available on Amazon.com.

Bruce Wilson

Thanks George. The subject of Cockatoo Grove had come up before and nobody seemed to know anything about it. I think I saw it on an old map.

 its geographical coordinates are 32° 38' 35" North, 116° 58' 59" West and its original name (with diacritics) is Cockatoo Grove.

http://www.maplandia.com/united-states/california/san-diego-county/cockatoo-grove/

Bruce Wilson

The weather always seems like a timely topic, but let's see what Alf had to say ... and...  another new one on me "San Miguel Mesa".

THE WEATHER by Alf Lansley

 

 It is told that the first settlers at San Diego planted seed along the edge of the San Diego River at the base of Presidio hill, in 1769 and that their crops were washed out. Next year they planted further up the hill and as it was a dry year, their crops perished from drought. This experience is typical of southern California winter weather. As the rainy season is here, what can we expect? Worry about weather was always with the dry land farmer. For many years I made my living as a dry land farmer, therefore I became very weather conscious. Flood years and dry years have existed as long as the first settlers have known Califonia. There were seven dry years between 1897 and 1904, 1905 rain was copious 15.25 inches, 1906 - 15.75 inches, 1914 - 16.35 inches and 1916, when we had the big flood, we had 12.55 inches, but it all came in January and in half of February, it was a dry year for the dry land farmer, "no more rain that year." In 1921 we had 18.15 inches, in 1925 - 17.30 inches, in 1937 - 16.25 inches. These rains all soaked into the ground, and in 1941 we had a real wet year 25.97 inches and it all soaked in with no run-off at all. We have also had many dry years since the turn of the Century, 1904 - 4.40 inches, 1913 - 5.97 inches, 1956 - 4.52 inches, 1924 - 5.66 inches, 1934 - 4.26 inches, 1951 - 5.92 and the dryest year of all, 1961 - 3.46 inches. These measurements were taken on the San Miguel Mesa, at Cockatoo Grove, and where the Southwestern College is located now. Besides farming large dry acreage, I also grew lemons. When Chula Vista and Bonita, and the rest of Southern California grew 90\ of the lemons sold in America, and when the temperature dropped below 28 degrees, I was a very busy man lighting smudge pots in the lower cold parts of my lemon orchard. Heavy freezes occured in Southern California in 1913-1937-1947 and 1949. On January 10, 1949 a freak snow fall whitened Fallbrook, Escondido, and Ramona. Snow even fell as far south as table land in Mexico and the Coronado Islands, San Miguel Mountain was white with snow. Again December 11th and 12th in 1949, and November 11th and 12th in 1950 there were freezes throughout the southland. Usually E1 Cajon and Escondido valleys have double the rainfall of Chula Vist~, Bonita or San Diego. So far this year we have had very little rain in our three rainy months, January, February, March. Is this going to be a dry year.? 

Bruce Wilson

The quiz for the month(?)

Whose shoes and feet are pictured here?

Hint: It must be old, check out them socks.

\

Bruce Wilson

High school rankings in brief.

Cerritos? 

Among other area school rankings, the San Diego International Studies program at San Diego High School was 22nd in California and 191st in the nation; Westview High in Torrey Highland was 38th and 266th, respectively; Torrey Pines High in Carmel Valley, 43rd and 284th; Del Norte High in 4S Ranch, 50th and 334th; and La Jolla High, 54th and 355th.

U.S. News & World Report ranked the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas as tops in the U.S. for the fifth year in a row. The best in California was Whitney High of Cerritos, in southeastern Los Angeles County.

SAT News:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-college-sat-usa-idUSKCN0XH1PJ?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&google_editors_picks=true

But the College Board has recycled SATs more frequently than the occasional Saturday. Reuters found that tests were also reused in the United States during special midweek sittings, on Sundays and during makeup exams, even though some questions and answers from those tests had been discussed online.

George Bracey Gillow

GREG ROGERS HOUSE

Beverly, you mentioned in post 1882 (about page 77) that your grandmother owned the Greg Rogers Home (a.k.a. "Bay Breeze").  What was her name?

I know that Dick Zogob was the last owner of the home when it was at 669 E Street. He purchased it from Porter Yarbrough in the mid 1970s. Zogob was the developer of the town center at the southwest corner of 3rd and F Street where Peters Feed and Harvey's Bakery were once located.

I see Greg Rogers listed at the 669 address in the 1932 directory. But there is no listing at all for the home in the 1952 directory.

Dick Zogob wanted to convert the home into a Big Yellow House restaurant. This was a restaurant chain, I believe headquartered in Santa Barbara. Anyhow, that never happened and the house was moved onto City property.

There was a Big Yellow House restaurant at 1908 Sweetwater road in the 1980s and early 1990s. This is a Chula Vista Star News ad from 1983.

The house was eventually purchased by Lee Burch who moved it to its present location near the southwest corner of 2nd and I Street.  It is north of Corinne McCall's historic home and just behind the home were Larry Walton lived.

Greg Rogers was elected to the first City Council (then called the Board of Trustees) in 1911. He won with 144 total votes. The population of Chula Vista was 550.

I think he was the first mayor. In those days the Board of Trustees selected the mayor from their own membership.

Greg Rogers, also, founded the People's State Bank in Chula Vista.

Below is a picture of the Greg Rogers House in about 1976 and recently at the 614 2nd Ave. location. 

George Bracey Gillow

CHULA VISTA HISTORIC HOME TOUR MAY 14TH

The Home Preservation people are putting on another Home Tour of 5 historical or interesting homes in Chula Vista on Saturday, May 14. The homes will be open from 10am to 4pm.

Tickets will be sold from 9:3 am until 2pm in the parking lot on the north edge of the City Hall complex. This is on Davidson, just off 4th Avenue.  

Tickets are $25.  A small booklet with a map of the houses and a description of the 5 homes will be provided for the self tour. 

The address of the 5 homes are not made public before hand, because people who cannot come that Saturday will show up days before and ask to see the homes. The homes are privately owned and this would be a problem.

(In the past home tours there have been some antique cars on display.)

Terrence McCarthy Ryan

I pop in every now and then to get history lessons from Bruce and George. This time I learned of Frank's passing and was sadder than I thought I might be. I did not know Frank and want to thank  Prof Maple for his nice sketch.

Yet when I think back it seemed Frank was a little larger than life. I mean how many of us had the talent and the spark to be the star Quarterback and the sweetness to be the consort of the best Homecoming Queen Ever? Not many I’d guess. I suspect that Frank was an innocent in a tough world and one that’s going to get a lot tougher. Its kind of funny how when you are ruminating on a subject something falls out of the ether.

Terrence McCarthy Ryan

Religious creeds aside sometimes its good to just drink beer. As I was cruising through the site I see that there are plans afoot to have a '70 birthday bash. Cool. But why stop at one? For those interested in a Sunday afternoon at the beach, I'm having a little birthday bash upstairs at the Pennant in South Mission beach on May 15th. 2-5 pm. Email me and I will send you an evite or just show up. Beer & beach. Nice.

Bruce Wilson

How Ryanesque Mr. Ryan. I did not think you were local. May 15 sounds good to me. I spent some fun times at South Mission - volleyball, over-the-line tournament BITD. Frank wasn't into that sort of thing, but Jimmy Hitchcock and Wehmeyer were. 

It's been a tough year, death_wise. 

'I just learned recently that his Richard's youngest sister, Christine passed away from cancer in 2012.

Regarding Frank.

I suspect that Frank was an innocent in a tough world and one that’s going to get a lot tougher

I suspect you're right.

Karen Etsuko Tachiki (Savel)

www.cvhistorichomes.net 

This is the website for information about the historic homes tour and it does list the homes that will be on the tour. It's kind of interesting that they are all within walking distance from where I live and in fact we often walk by all of them on our daily walk.

George Bracey Gillow

Thanks Karen,  

So much for them trying to keep the homes a secret. I wonder if anyone will show up at the homes days before.

Also, the site allows purchase of tickets on line. But you still have to pick them up at City Hall complex.

Wish they had some of the old orchard homes on the tour.

Bruce Wilson

Patrol Boys

Sorenson (top rank)

Wilson (First and J)

Maple (didn't remember until Terry reminded me)

Chase (Robert)

Cronin (this is a long shot, I'm thinking maybe)

Ramsey (CPJHS) - Louis

(While we're in the R's though, I wonder what ever happened to Beverly Reddin and though we sort of know about Gordy Ricketts, he sure doesn't have much to say)..

I cannot recall how many years I did it, but there was a graduation ceremony at the old wood floored auditorium at the Youth Center. I think I left as a lieutenant. I only recall getting into trouble with Officer Bob twice (with one assistant from Baldy).

Bob Z remembered me later though and let me out of an errant motorcycle riding ticket.

Terry Lee Maple

I believe it was Mrs. Treais that told me they thought other boys would get more from being a patrol boy than I would. Apologies to Bruce, but you had to be a little edgy to be chosen. You may not remember but Sorenson, who was the top dog, had a dark side. There was an opening in sixth grade and they finally admitted me because I really wanted to be a patrol boy. I too graduated as a lieutenant. I never went on the Saturday excusions to movies that Officer Bob organized for the masses of San Diego patrol boys, but it was a wonderful way for boys to learn discipline. Larry Sorenson turned out really well as we know with an impressive medical and naval career. Bruce will remember something interesting about Larry when we all went to sixth grade camp at Camp Cuyamaca. Do we dare tell? I was also told by my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Treais, that I couldn't run for president in sixth grade because I was in line for something else (the outstanding citizenship award, I later learned). Frank won the race for President against perennial candidate Kathleen Robbins who was probably the most perfect human being I ever knew in school. Kathleen deserved to win, but we liked Frank better. It is interesting how the school managed leadership opportunities to benefit all.

Bruce Wilson

Patrol Boys II

Honorary/honorable mention: Dowayne "Butch" Hindman. Yeah, I'd say he was edgy, but as I discovered, a not so fearsome guy, who appears to have lived a successul life in comparison to some of my other associates.

Louis Ramsey told a funny story at PB camp, which for a good chunk of my life I attributed to Prof. Maple. He advised me of my error, but it took further work to track it to Louis, Louis (coulda been a good name for a song).

I'm wondering how many intersections were covered and how many patrollers served each year.

I went to the Palomar Mtn. camp, movies, the aircraft carrier (Hornet or Wasp) and Knotts Berry Farm. I'm pretty sure the trip to MCRD and the firing range had to be an Officer Bob production.

They showed us how to disassemble a rifle, but did not teach us the old rifle/gun lyric. Maybe Sorenson already knew it?

Bruce Wilson

OK by unanimous consent.

There's a story for this one. Later. Nice shot of Suzanne Phillips' house behind me, though she didn't live there at the time.

The Cuyamaca Monkey Bridge. I wonder what became of those boots as well as the red sweater and yellow/gold? hat.. The Wilson Family  whaling expedition. Possibly (but not likely) the reason I did not attend the High School version, it was cold and we didn't see any whales. You can't make him out, but Bandelin is behind us.