History

Items that are historically significant in some way. They may be recent history or ancient history, pertinent to local history or something on a grander scale…

‘Through the Lens’ – A Photographic Family Legacy with Randy Dible – OB Historical Society — Thursday, April 20

April 19, 2023 by Source

Through the Lens, A photographic Family Legacy

Thursday, April 20, 2023, The Ocean Beach Historical Society presents: Through the Lens, A photographic Family Legacy, featuring Ocean Beach Photographer Randy Dible, at Water’s Edge Faith Community, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. at 7:00 pm.

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Martin Luther King’s Assassination Changed San Diego’s Media Forever

April 5, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Thousands of miles away, his death changed San Diego media forever.

Many San Diegans don’t know the connections between citizen journalism in San Diego and King’s death. But they exist – ….

Five days after King’s death hundreds of students and some faculty at UC San Diego met in a protest meeting decided to form various committees or collectives and one group of students and grad students wanted to move off campus and publish a newspaper.

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César E. Chávez (1927-1993)

March 31, 2023 by Source

Originally posted March 31, 2009

César Chávez is one of the greatest labor leaders and human rights activists in the United States history and the world. He fought for a better life for migrant farm workers, and founded the first successful farm workers’ union. César was the president of the United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO.

César Estrada Chávez was able to accomplish his goals through the philosophy of non-violence that he inherited and followed from leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King.

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‘Viva Lorena!’

March 31, 2023 by Source

By Frances O’Neill Zimmerman / March 30, 2023

A lot of Democrats have drowned in water under the bridge since Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher wrote this hopeful piece ten or so years ago. But Lorena is still standing and I personally hope she will reassess her situation and our need and carry on.

Included in the flotsam and jetsam are failed political careers of Democrats that Lorena’s essay mentions as up-and-comers

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‘Activism in OB in the 70s and 80s’ – A Video With Kathy Blavatt

March 30, 2023 by Source

See this short video by Charles Landon about “Activism in the 70s and 80s” with Kathy Blavatt talking about her book, San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs Park.

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Myths About Historic Preservation of Houses

March 29, 2023 by Source

Ch-Ch-Changes… Evaluating Historic Places

By Bruce Coons / SOHO / March-April 2023

One of the great misunderstandings or myths about the historic preservation of a house or building is that it must be “frozen in time” to qualify for historic designation.

But this is not the case. The National Register of Historic Places guidelines clearly state:

“Additions and changes to a historic building over time need to be evaluated for their own potential significance, and the historical and architectural importance of the building as a whole should be considered.”

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Kensington’s Historic Over-110 Year Old Trees Have Been Under Threat From the City

March 28, 2023 by Source

By Maggie McCann / SOHO / March-April 2023 Newsletter

After ill-conceived actions by the City of San Diego, Kensington’s parkways still retain 30 of the original California pepper trees planted when the subdivision was mapped in 1910.

When neighbors first proposed that the City designate the trees under Council Policy 900-19’s Conserve-a-Tree program as heritage trees, 37 trees were alive and doing fine. The City has since suspended the program, claiming that having trees designated as historic would cause them California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) problems. As if that’s a bad thing.

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The End of San Diego’s Community Planning Boards: How We Got Here

March 24, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

By Frank Gormlie

After decades of existance, the community planning boards of San Diego were delivered a devastating shock last September 13, 2022, when the City Council passed a breath-taking tsunami of so-called “reforms” that laid out a blueprint for the demolition of the city’s current 42 citizen volunteer planning panels.

In my post from yesterday, I outlined the 3 main methods the city will use to dismantle San Diego’s community planning boards.
None of this is hyperbole. Here is the language at the city’s Planning Department website page under “Community Planning Group Reform“:

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San Diego’s Trees are Going…Going…

March 15, 2023 by Source

By Anne S. Fege / SOHO Newsletter March – April 2023

Considering the history of shade and ornamental trees in San Diego neighborhoods, it’s clear the numbers are going down—just as we need thousands more in every part of the city.

In older “privileged” neighborhoods (Kensington, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla, for example) that were developed in the 1920s and 1930s, there were large lots for trees. Some developers planted street trees, which were likely watered by tree roots reaching soil water in irrigated front lawns.

In older “redlined” and lower-income neighborhoods (south of the 94 freeway, now the Promise Zone) that were developed in those same decades, the lots were small, the streets were unpaved, and there were no sidewalks or street trees. Today, there are few places to plant trees, as paved parking areas cover many front yards and business districts.

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Point Loma House Newly Designated as ‘Historic’

March 15, 2023 by Source

At its January 2023 meeting, the City of San Diego Historical Resources Board designated six historic buildings — five houses and one commercial building — including one two-story house in Point Loma.

This was highlighted in the March/ April newsletter of Save Our Heritage Organization and here is what they reported about the Point Loma house:

3425 Xenophon Street in the Peninsula Community is a two-story home built in 1937 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style with a Monterey style cantilevered second-floor balcony covered by the primary roof.

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Wisteria Garden Party Hosted by OB Historical Society — Sunday, March 19

March 14, 2023 by Source


Come inside for details

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San Diego’s Celebrations of Flowers

March 2, 2023 by Source

By Kathy Blavatt

What do the cultural celebrations of A Festa do Espirito Sano and Dia de los Muertos have in common that symbolize their ceremonies and come from nature? The answer for these events, and many other cultural ceremonies, are flowers.

Historically, these colorful live symbolic decorations from nature play essential roles in ceremonies that go back generations.

The recent annual Congress of History of San Diego and Imperial County (COH) conference highlighted the importance of community events that bind us together, which makes up the wonderful fabric of San Diego’s communities and landscapes.

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Councilmember Gloria to the Rescue – The Sins of San Diego Mayors – Part 2

February 22, 2023 by Source

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / Feb. 22, 2023

Councilmember Gloria Bounds to the Rescue (2013–2014)

According to the City Charter, the presiding officer of the city council has limited authority to act as mayor in the event of an unplanned vacancy in the mayor’s seat. With a wink and a nod from City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, Councilmember Todd Gloria put his feet up on the mayor’s desk and immediately got to work reorganizing city government in his own image.

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‘Come One, Come All’ to Congress of History Conference in Point Loma – Feb. 24 & 25

February 21, 2023 by Source

Congress of History San Diego & Imperial Counties invite you to the Come One, Come All! Community Events that bind us together, Conference 2023 on :

Friday February 24, at 9 am to 4 pm & Saturday February 25, 9 am to 4 pm At S.E.S. Portuguese Hall 2818 Avenida de Portugal 92106

All who paid in 2020 for the canceled conference are invited back at no additional cost, and new guests are welcome to experience a day and a half of dynamic speakers on interesting topics.

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The Sins of San Diego’s Mayors On Parade – Part 1

February 20, 2023 by Source

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / Feb. 19, 2023

One thing’s for sure–San Diegans are under a gag order when it comes to naming names and identifying the corrupt, self-serving, and unethical maneuvers of many of our city’s  influential players–elected and unelected–who steer the San Diego ship.

Isn’t it time to put our mayors on parade and figure out if there’s still time to change direction?

1) The Parade Starts with Mayor Susan Golding (1992-2000)

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Black History Month Has Come a Long Way

February 13, 2023 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Black History Month
has come a long way
since a beginning
that was filled with
controversy over celebrating
it in the month that has the fewest days
when Black History, so much of it
American History,
could be integrated in historical studies
throughout a school year
and there have been those

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New Discoveries Made During Restoration Work at Cholula Pyramid in Mexico

February 10, 2023 by Source

Mexico News Daily Staff / February 8, 2023

At the site of the world’s largest pyramid (by volume), the Great Pyramid of Cholula, Puebla, the remains of pre-Hispanic braziers and a sculpture of the god Tlaloc were discovered during restoration work, the according to a press bulletin from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

The findings were made while working on the pyramid’s stairway, “Escalinata del Pocito”, which started in December under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture through INAH. The first discovery was an adobe core that would correspond to the filling of the fifth stage of the pyramid base, dated towards the end of the Classic period (100-600 AD).

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OB Historical Society Presents: Balboa Park Historian on ‘Coastal Scrub to Garden Fair’ – Thurs., Feb.16

February 10, 2023 by Source

Ocean Beach Historical Society Presents: Coastal Scrub to Garden Fair, by Nancy Carol Carter, Thursday February 16 at 7:00 pm at Water’s Edge Faith Community – 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.  

After many years of debate and controversy, a formal plan for the landscaping and planting of San Diego’s City Park was adopted in 1902. Much of the original plan was shelved when preparations for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition began in earnest.

When the Olmstead Brothers Landscape firm bowed out of the Exposition team, opportunity fell to two “accidental landscapers.”  Balboa Park historian Nancy Carol Carter will describe how this precarious predicament resulted in the richly planted and beautifully maintained grounds

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Lecture: ‘The Craftsman Bungalow – Simple Life to High Style’ — Thursday, Feb.9

February 8, 2023 by Source

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My Wild Prediction: The ‘Arc of History’ Will Decide Senator Feinstein’s Successor

February 6, 2023 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

First, that history.

“In a letter dated March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams writes to her husband, John Adams, urging him and the other members of the Continental Congress not to forget about the nation’s women when fighting for America’s independence from Great Britain.

‘I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.

‘Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could.”

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11 Years Ago Today, San Onofre Nearly Became the Next Fukushima

January 31, 2023 by Source

From San Clemente Green

Eleven years ago today — Jan. 31, 2013, we almost nuked Southern California. We owe a debt of gratitude to the nuclear operators that managed a swift and flawless emergency shutdown.

A Thank You Note to Edison Employees and a reminder to all. It is important to remember that they prevented a major disaster eleven years ago.

Your quick actions when radioactive steam began escaping into the environment, prevented a chain reaction from occurring in one of the newly replaced steam generators. It turns out that whistleblowers, afraid of known retaliation from management for such things, had rightfully warned us of this possibility two years prior.

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OB Historical Society Presents: Mystery at the Blue Sea Cottage — Thursday, Jan. 19

January 17, 2023 by Source

The Ocean Beach Historical Society presents: Thursday, January 19, 2023, Mystery At The Blue Sea Cottage, at Water’s Edge Faith Community, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd, at 7:00 pm.

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Martin Luther King, Jr’s Connections to San Diego Citizen Journalism

January 16, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

In U2’s Pride (In the Name of Love) Bono sings:

Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

These lines are about the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4th, 1968 – 50 years ago. King was in Memphis where he had gone to provide support and encouragement to 1300 African-American sanitation workers who had walked off their jobs in that city.

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La Playa Trail Association Lecture Series: ‘Further Expeditions of Scripps Oceanography & U.S. Navy’ — Tues., Jan.17

January 12, 2023 by Source

La Playa Trail Association Lecture Series is presenting “Further Expeditions of Scripps Oceanography & U.S. Navy – Homeport: Point Loma, Part 2.”

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Photos From the Great San Diego Floods of 1916

January 9, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

The San Diego public needs to see these photos – taken over 100 years ago in January 1916 during the Great Floods of the Rainmaker. (Most of these photos are from the San Diego Historical Society.)

San Diego flood 1916 01

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Point Loma Home on 4500 Block of Long Branch Designated as Historic Resource

January 9, 2023 by Source

At its last meeting of the year in November 2022, the City of San Diego Historical Resources Board designated a Point Loma home at 4505 Long Branch Avenue as an “historic resource.” The home was one of four the Board designated.

In its January-February 2023 newsletter, Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO) reported on the designation:

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It’s Now Been 2 Years Since Trump Organized the Insurrection at the Capitol – And He’s Still Walking Around Free

January 6, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

Today is January 6, 2023, and it’s now been two years since Trump instigated and organized the insurrection at the Capitol and assault on our democracy. And he is still walking around free. Although hundreds of those he mobilized for the attack are not.

And as Kevin McCarthy knows, the insurrectionists in the House are still with us. America is still dealing with the insurrection on so many levels.

Yes, the House Panel that investigated January 6 did vote on Monday, Dec. 19, to send to Justice Department prosecutors a recommendation that the former president Trump be charged with four crimes:

  • inciting or assisting an insurrection,
  • obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress,
  • conspiracy to defraud the United States and
  • conspiracy to make a false statement.
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Long Beach’s Site of 1938 National Surfing Championship Nominated as California Historic Point

January 4, 2023 by Source

From Save Our Heritage Now – Jan-Feb 2023 Newsletter

The nonprofit Sea of Clouds (a San Diego preservation group) together with Surfrider Foundation, Long Beach Chapter, have nominated Long Beach’s former site of the 1938 National Surfing and Paddleboard Championships as a California Point of Historical Interest to commemorate the area’s pre-World War II surfing history.

Held adjacent to Long Beach’s famed (and since demolished) Rainbow Pier, the contest was Los Angeles County’s first surfing and paddleboard competition billed as a national event.

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6 Californian Representatives Make Michael Moore’s ‘Traitors Attempted Coup’ List

January 3, 2023 by Source

Six Californian House of Representative members — including Darrell Issa – have made Michael Moore’s list of “Traitors Attempted Coup.” Here is what Michael Moore is asking us …

By Michael Moore / Jan. 3, 2023

Sometime today in the morning (Tuesday, January 3rd), 121 reelected members of Congress (including 2 promoted to the Senate) who participated in the attempted coup of January 6th by voting in the House and Senate to overturn the 2020 election — i.e., overthrow the elected government — will raise their hand and take the same oath they took three days before they voted to give the insurrections what they wanted in 2021.

This should not happen. I’m asking you to join me in calling your representatives

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Robert Reich: ‘It’s Hard to Believe, but Things Are Getting Better. They Will Continue to if We Keep Up the Fight’

January 3, 2023 by Source

Setbacks notwithstanding, we are better today than we were 50 years ago, 20 years ago, even a year ago

By Robert Reich / Guardian UK/ Jan. 3, 2023

It was quite a year. Some of the regressive forces undermining our democracy, polluting our planet, widening inequality and stoking hatred have been pushed back.

This is a worthy accomplishment and cause for celebration. It offers hope that the Trump years are behind us and the hard work of building a decent society can resume. But this is no time for complacency. No one should assume that the battle has been won.

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