Category: History

This is Part 2 of my “brief” history of modern OB activism. Here’s Part 1. It is taken from a talk I gave at the Open House of the Green Store on July 14th.

The Eighties

The 1980s were a period of accommodation. Hippie businessmen and women emerged on the scene in OB and were accepted. The projects of the hippie radicals of the late Sixties and Seventies had all but faded away – many of the hippies remained however, buying homes in OB or Point Loma, getting married, and having careers and children. But the radical pioneers had paved the way for a new wave of hippies – it was the coming of age of the “hip-oisie”, a type of hip petite-bourgeoisie.

By Loverne Brown

I wait for a bus.
He comes up out of the shadows
to share the bench,
greets me with a broken-toothed smile.

He has the sad courtesy of the derelict
who remembers once being other than what he is,
the remote regard of one who no longer cares.

He drinks from a fragrant bottle, is himself fragrant
with all of the human smells.
His chariot arrives before mine. Two officers
relieve him of his bottle,
spill the red dreamstuff
into the gutter, rumple him into the car.

By Michael Moore / July 25, 2012

Since Cain went nuts and whacked Abel, there have always been those humans who, for one reason or another, go temporarily or permanently insane and commit unspeakable acts of violence. There was the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who during the first century A.D. enjoyed throwing victims off a cliff on the Mediterranean island of Capri. Gilles de Rais, a French knight and ally of Joan of Arc during the middle ages, went cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs one day and ended up murdering hundreds of children. Just a few decades later Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula, was killing people in Transylvania in numberless horrifying ways.

In modern times, nearly every nation has had a psychopath or two commit a mass murder, regardless of how strict their gun laws are – the crazed white supremacist in Norway one year ago Sunday, the schoolyard butcher in Dunblane, Scotland, the École Polytechnique killer in Montreal, the mass murderer in Erfurt, Germany … the list seems endless.

And now the Aurora shooter last Friday. There have always been insane people, and there always will be.

The following is based on a talk I gave at the Green Store’s Open House on Saturday, July 14th.

This is an outline of the history – the modern history – of OB grassroots activism – which began in the late Sixties with the development and growth of the hippie sub-culture, the counter-culture.

By 1967, Ocean Beach had become the Haight-Ashbury of San Diego. OB was the San Diego equivalent of that fabled and iconic San Francisco neighborhood that had become synonymous with “hippie-ism”. If you were a hippie or a hippie-wannabe during this time somewhere in San Diego, you ended up in OB.

Of course, other factors contributed to the incubation in Ocean Beach of a community sympathetic and supportive of the new emerging counter-counter: before there were long-haired hippies in OB, there were long-haired surfers – as this community had been a center of surf-culture for years by time OB had morphed into a hippie haven.

July 1970: construction begins on the jetty at north beach in OB.Editor: We originally posted this article about the movement to stop the jetty that the City of San Diego and the Army Corps of Engineers had designed for north OB as part of our series on the early history of the original OB Rag in November 2007. We re-post it now for its historic significance.

The Jetty is Stopped

There was definitely turmoil in OB the summer of 1970. For a number of weeks during those hot days, OB residents used a combination of direct action and legal moves to battle efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers and the City to construct a jetty parallel to the southern edge of the San Diego River channel — next to what is now Dog Beach.

Many locals viewed the jetty as a prelude to an attempt by the City and developer interests to create a marina and resort district at Ocean Beach’s waterfront.

by Dave Patterson

I think the Boy Scouts just set in place the demise of the organization. I say that because the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) just declared that gays are officially not welcome, and I know that some scout leaders and or parents will take it upon themselves to make sure that “Morally Straight” means no gays in attendance.

The official Boy Scout policy, as I understand it, states that the BSA does not proactively inquire about the sexual orientation of employees, volunteers or members.
For the remainder of this article, please go to San Diego Free Press.

by Frances O’Neill Zimmerman

At 8:30 p.m. yesterday, July 18, a lot of people milled around the illuminated American flag on the eastern side of the small federally-owned Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial in La Jolla, as City Parks and Recreation Department tested a new idea to keep Old Glory flying 24/7 up there year-round.

Members of the La Jolla Parks and Beaches advisory committee had been notified to witness this run-through. I too was invited at mid-afternoon yesterday, as I was one of several who testified at that group’s last meeting against electrification and in favor of keeping the greater Mount Soledad Natural Park a dark park for viewing the night sky and the spectacular 360-degree panorama of the city below. Parks and Beaches chairman Patrick Ahern put off voting on this matter in both May and June, though it was heatedly discussed.

For the remainder of this article, please go to San Diego Free Press.

The San Diego Unified School District is selling off seven properties in order to stay afloat – including the campuses of Barnard Elementary and Mission Beach Elementary schools.

Barnard is located at 2930 Barnard Street, a block from West Point Loma Avenue in the Midway area. The 9.37 acre parcel is in the “coastal zone” and is on the chopping block for a minimum bid of $9.14 million. Originally opened during World War II for Navy children, the elementary school was acquired by the District after the war.

The Ocean Beach Historical Society Presents:

REMEMBERING LoVerne Brown—

O. B. Poet, Activist, Beloved Friend

Thurs., July 19th, at 7 PM

At P.L. United Methodist Church, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B.

The Ocean Beach Historical Society is honored to present our July program featuring friends and family who will talk about the achievement of LoVerne Brown and the important part she played in Ocean Beach’s history.

LoVerne Brown, was born in North Dakota in 1912. Prior to coming to O.B. she led a somewhat nomadic life. In 1950, LoVerne’s husband, George Brown (employed by the federal government) was transferred to San Diego. They and their children- Tony, Jonnie, and Tim – chose beautiful O.B. as their new home. Sadly in 1952, George died of a heart attack, and LoVerne became the family breadwinner, working for the next 22 years in the City of San Diego Engineering Dept.

Originally posted September 29, 2009

Editor: This is part of a irregular continuing series about Ocean Beach since the late Sixties and the early history of the first OB Rag.

1968: The Rowdy College-Surf Town Morphs Into Hippie Haven

OB was already well-known for its rowdy and irreverent culture of beach, surf & beer; but by 1968, it began its transformation into something more. Bleach blond long-haired surfers lived next door to long-haired hippies, and soon you couldn’t tell them apart. It became official: Ocean Beach had become the hippie mecca. Since the late sixties, Ocean Beach had morphed into the hippie hangout for the entire city. OB had become the Haight-Ashbury of San Diego, shadowing the more famous early birthplace of hippie-ism. But if you were young and a hippie in San Diego, you ended up in OB.

Please Join the Celebration
For the new location of

The Green Store

Open House on Saturday July 14th
from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
4843B Voltaire St, Ocean Beach

The Green Store on Voltaire Street has been OB’s quintessential center of green, ecology and environmental awareness for decades now. Operated by Colleen Dietzel – she and Kip Krueger originally opened it – and several energetic volunteers, the Green Store has for 23 years been providing peace, social justice and environmental information to the community of Ocean Beach and San Diego in general.

Come inside for the Celebration Schedule of music and speakers …

Seven-and-a-half hour City Council marathon ends in 6-1 vote in favor of Balboa Park overhaul.

by Andy Cohen

The most controversial decision in the San Diego City Council since the Chargers ticket guarantee …. Go inside for more ….

Point Loman Incensed by Vote

By John P. Falchi

It was good to have spent Monday downtown on one of the hottest issues of our time, the preservation of the historic integrity of Balboa Park. . Go inside for more ….

Todd Gloria sells his soul

No surprise Todd Gloria voted in favor of the developer-backed Jacobs Balboa Park plan. Especially after … Go inside for more ….