19th c. San Diego County News Tidbits, Part I

The following selection of excerpts from Excerpts from the Plain Truth, compiled by Forrest V. Borden. The Plain Truth, which later became Spirit of Love was a newspaper created by Webster W. Borden. Self-labeled as a temperance paper, it was printed from 1884 to 1922 in various locations in north county. Mr. Borden was from Missouri and married daughter of another pioneer family, Minnie Kelly. She helped run the paper. In addition to putting out a local paper, WWB taught school in the early years. Note: I have left some misspellings and most of the grammar is as in original excerpts, etc. The brackets contain my additions to help with clarity.

1884 or 1888 - Rancho Encinitas sold for $66,000, 4,438 acres for the Olivenhain Colony

June 5, 1884 - Our paper, San Diego Union article as follows: The Post Office Department should extend route 46, 388 from Barham to Apex (Escondido) a distance of six miles and establish a permanent route from Oceanside via San Luis Rey to Capistrano - distance of 37 miles. The mail from Barham to Apex, 6 miles [currently] goes 100 miles via San Diego.

In June 12, 1884 - WWB says much safer investment to teach school at $60 per month than attempt to run a 6x9 circular.

July 24, 1884 - The blacksmith of Barham, E.D. Boxley has left us in search of better pay. In less than two hours after his departure there was a call at the shop for $8.00 worth of work.

August 23, 1884 - Republican primary election to have been held at this place last Tuesday, was rather a slim affair, there being no inspector at the polls, and only one voter. But, no doubt, the general election will show a stronger interest.

March 23, 1886 – The first experiment with electric lights in San Diego. Everybody was pleased.

March 23, 1886 – John Kelly finds dead man near Hoffman’s Chicken Ranch east of wind mill. I think they dug a hole and buried him there.

Sept. 16, 1887 – The new hotel at Coronado is 420x430 feet, covers nearly 4 acres, floor space 7 acres.

Nov. 1, 1889 – Story of the terrible locomotive, Stephenson predicted that his locomotive would draw a train of wagons at the rate of twelve miles an hour. There were men in England who declared that no passengers could travel at such a rate of speed and “keep their heads” was predicted in 1835.

April 1, 1891 – Charlie Chase of San Diego has lately placed a latest improved phonograph in the front of his drug store and we doubt not [that] many dimes have gone into the slot of the machine, which has the wonderful power of recording and repeating human speech.

1891 – The word kid is fast becoming an accepted word. The other day a parrot called out, “Hello! Hello, kid!” The dictionaries will perhaps be the next to adopt the slang term.

June 16, 1891 – Mr. Judson and Mr. Rainbow are looking for a good location for a public road from Smith Mountain [now Palomar Mountain] to Valley Center, will connect with the Pala road and give mountaineers an outlet to Valley Center, Escondido, and San Diego.

Oct. 10, 1891 – Merle [in the area of what is now Leucadia] – it is the beginning of a little seaside village about 30 miles north of San Diego on the line of Southern California railroad, between Oceanside and Encinitas. Public buildings are few and far between. There being a town hall, a school house, and a building once occupied by a store, but now answering for the Post Office.

Nov. 24, 1891 – Merle, Ca – The school at this place has its new clock. Now for the book-shelf and library next.

1891 – Merle, Ca. – The postal telegraph line is already completed past this place, and it adds to the business like appearance of things to see two rows of poles so near together.

Towns in the County, 1888: San Diego History Pt. III

Below are descriptions of some of the cities in San Diego County from T.S. Van Dyke's The City and County of San Diego (1888). Keep in mind that most of them were barely towns and that San Diego County was much larger then. Imperial County and most of Riverside County came from San Diego County.

"A few miles farther up the shore is La Jolla Park."

"Just around the opening of Soledad Valley upon the sea lies the handsome seaside town of Del Mar, with some 300 inhabitants."

"Carlsbad, a new watering-place with a mineral spring whose waters are attracting much attention. A few miles north of Carlsbad is Oceanside, a fast growing seaside town of over a 1,000 people."

Northeast of Temecula, 25 miles from the coast, is the Laguna Rancho, which contains 5,000 acres and surrounds the county's largest lake.
"By this lake is the thriving town of Elsinore with nearly a 1,000 people, with Wildomar near by well on the road to overtake it."

Adventures in yearbook research: Oceanside-Carlsbad Union High School, 1909-1950

After I completed my column for the Carlsbad Patch on the Carlsbad History Room yearbook collection: http://carlsbad.patch.com/articles/for-the-love-of-yearbooks, my curiosity about the state of girls’ sports was so piqued that I headed over to Oceanside High School to look at their complete collection of yearbooks for the former Oceanside-Carlsbad Union High School. Aside from girls’ sports, what I found in the earlier yearbooks was interesting enough to warrant a second write-up. 

The Oceanside-Carlsbad Union High School opened in 1906 with just twenty students in two grades, 9th and 10th. The first yearbook for the high school was published 1909. It gave a short history of the students’ activities and the school itself from 1906-1909. The yearbook was called The Nautilus and the cover included an inspirational saying: “Build thee more stately mansions, oh my soul." It seems that the student body had consisted mainly of girls from its opening until this first publication. Five girls made up the first graduating class: Sibyl Spencer, Ramona Rieke, Marguerite Brannen, Eunice Everett, and Edith Cotteral. They were active girls and serious scholars. During the 1906 and 1908-1909 school year, their basket ball [sic] team played against other schools: Santa Ana, Orange, Escondido, and Fallbrook. By 1909, they also had a new tennis court. 

Despite what our preconceived notions might be of the education available to girls in the early 20th century, there were no home economics classes until 1919. They did have a school library, which opened in 1907 and a student council. The student council consisted of the usual officers, as well as a “Mistress-at-arms”! Similar to our experience today, the incoming 1908-1909 freshman class was the largest: seven students, including two boys. Five girls made up the sophomore class. The junior class consisted of one boy and one girl. I hope they got along!

The “Athletics” section in the first yearbook was contradictory, as were many aspects of progressive behavior in women in the past. Just as Elizabeth Blackwell who was the first female to graduate from medical school would not walk in her college’s graduation because it wasn’t “ladylike,” so these active and intelligent girls apologize: “The feminine element of the OCUHS is predominant, so if the discussion of girls’ basketball fills the space devoted to athletics in general, we hope our readers will not be disappointed.” I have tried to surmise who that apology was meant for: the three boys at the school, parents, or perhaps the general public? Regardless, the rest of the section contained their scores for the season, descriptions of the players, a general discussion of the benefits of athletics, and gratitude to those who supported the team. 

They won four out of seven games, and the county championship. Each player was entertainingly described, e.g. "Sibyl Spencer-Small, quick, sly center" and "Enice Everett-A nifty guard with a swift arm." Ramona Rieke, who wrote the Athletics’ section, wrote a very inspirational and uplifting description of the game and its benefits (NBA/WNBA PR, take note!): “…basketball is one of the very best tests of the activity and alertness of the brain…. The real heart of its popularity is that the game is a most insistent shaper of character. Endurance, energy and patience are the secrets of successful playing. Good control of temper and the absence of selfishness and personal antagonism are necessary for a real player. But best of all is that beautiful friendliness, companionship and concentration of many minds on one thing in common, causing respect and love for one another, which is all so firmly established by team work.” 

By 1912, the yearbook had been re-titled, Green & White. Due to the fact that there were hardly any photos in these early yearbooks, there was a lot of space for information about their coursework, examples of student writing, etc. In the 1912 yearbook, a student wrote about how the tenth graders studied the papers of Sir Roger de Coverly, each taking a character name to “make them more interesting.” Based on other essays in the yearbook, it is evident that Joseph Addison was revered. (Joseph Addison wrote the play, "Cato," a favorite of many of our Founding Fathers.) Another student wrote an essay about the history of African-Americans. The sophomore class motto was “That which we think we understand best, we find ourselves most ignorant of.” Clearly, the human condition has not changed. This year also saw a new school built for about $16,000, after a $15,000 bond measure passed. The curriculum was still very general. This is understandable since there were only six graduating seniors in 1913. The ninth graders' course load consisted of: Latin, Algebra, General Science, and English. In the senior write-ups of 1913, it was noted that Mary Machado and Ruth Bryan were three-year graduates, with the well-earned congratulations on their achievement. 

In one of these early yearbooks, the foreword suggests that teens consider attending high school for its excellent social aspects, but admonishes them not to even consider it if they aren’t willing to improve themselves through the challenging academics offered at the school. In an essay by Sedric Brown entitled “Ranches of California,” he suspects that the land would soon be in the hands of the “incoming tourist population.” He felt that the government should preserve the ranches, just as they do the Missions. He was right on, the "tourists" have settled en masse, aided by developers.

The years of WWI are reflected in the pages of the yearbooks with former students serving in the military, and there were many! There were several seniors who served and then returned to finish high school, as noted in the senior write-ups. At a time when it wasn’t a requirement, coming back to complete their high school education speaks highly of those young men. By 1925, Home Economics was relabeled Domestic Science. In 1927, it had become Domestic Art. The boys were not to be left out of advancing their own knowledge of domestic activities- the 1931 yearbook had a photo of the inaugural Boys’ Cookery Class. Another unusual class that only appeared to last a year was an Advanced Physiology Class for girls, apparently to learn about hygiene! 

The 1928 yearbook showed a photo of the three buses the school now had at their disposal. Prior to this, my understanding was that most students took the train and/or walked. By 1931, the number of buses had increased to six and by 1932, seven. It was noted in the yearbook that some students had a round-trip of sixty miles. For those who participated in extracurricular activities, there were late buses that left the school at 5 p.m. Among the extracurricular offerings, the Stamp Club, Badminton Club, Homemaking Club, and Future Secretaries were new options in the 1950 yearbook. Senior superlatives made their debut in the 1945 yearbook. 

Watching the evolution of school culture and teen-aged students through their high school yearbooks in a “time-lapse” fashion affords us a unique “big picture” view, as with the changes in Home Economics classes and cheerleading. The similarities and differences between high school students of today and those one hundred years ago, demonstrate that while teen-agers haven’t changed as much as we might think, the world we grow up in affects our sensibility. And our sensibility creates the world for the next generation.

Jerome, Arizona

The town of Jerome, Arizona was considered a ghost town when I visited it in 1979 with my family and my uncle, aunt, and cousins. My cousin, Joe, who was at the time about 15 years old, wanted to find a tarantula to keep as a pet. It was their mating season and so there were lots of them around and the males were especially colorful and beautiful! We drove slowly around the area, us kids hanging out the back of the truck looking for a perfect specimen. When we spotted one, Joe hopped out the back of the truck. He located a large rock to drop in front of the tarantula to prevent it from crawling any further while he got a container to put it in. The tarantula was absolutely beautiful...like the sun or sunset...red, orange, and yellow. Unfortunately, it got crushed when Joe dropped the rock...We were all pretty upset at witnessing that, but none more than Joe who was responsible... He did capture the next one he saw and we drove back to Prescott, victorious!

From the Oceanside Blade, Sept. 17, 1898: The town of Jerome, Ariz., was almost totally destroyed by fire Sunday morning. About twelve lives were lost while the property loss will reach nearly a million. A gasoline explosion was the cause.