Jan. 20, 2022, The Ocean Beach Historical Society presented: San Diego During World War II – Life on the Home Front presentation by Linda Canada who enlighten guests about the local effects if WWII. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in early December 1941, had an overnight impact on San Diego, and civilians were affected nearly as much as the military. The City’s population doubled, but there was no increase in city services, transportation, or water supply. Rapid expansion in military and manufacturing jobs drew workers from all over the country, and overnight, San Diego was open for business 24/7. Shortages of food, clothing, and building supplies impacted everyone to some extent. We heard about the experiences of some locals, who began to doubt whether San Diego was a place they wanted to stay. 

Many changes happened in 2021 due to COVID. The Ocean Beach Historical Society went through many of its own changes… some good and others challenging. Technology is helping OBHS preserve history through online videos, teleconferencing, posting of information and photographs, and making contacts.
In the past couple years, the OBHS and its feature presenters have taken our programs to new levels through teleconferencing, more movies, recorded presentations, and more multimedia programs. Many of these productions intend to be fun while providing windows into our local history through great vintage photographs, film clips, and animation, and more.
OBHS has upgraded our website with a new look with news, a link to our Ocean Beach Historical Society Online You Tube® Channel at: Videos & OBHS YouTube. Our Sea Scrolls newsletter is changing to bi-yearly and we will continue our program announcements to members through creative postcards. Many of our Sea Scrolls from the last decade can be found on our archive page. We hope you enjoy our website and upcoming 2022 programs.

Dec. 2021- Happy Holidays. Enjoy an animated OB Holiday Card from OBHS’s Ray & Kathy Blavatt:

See OBHS’s “Spirit of OB’s Christmas Past”. This holiday treat brings you the experience and the spirit of OB’s Christmas Past. Decades of O.B. historic photos of Christmas Trees, Sandcastles, T-Shirts, the parades, and more. Relive the fun-filled cherished O.B. holiday events.

A Page from History: The twisty past of OceanBeach’s holiday tree
BY ERIC DUVALL DEC. 13, 2021, Point Loma and OB Monthly:
Well, that would depend on your vantage point. Or what side of the (chain link) fence you’re on. But all that aside, the Ocean Beach community Christmas tree is greeting its 41st consecutive season this year, and its preposterous, zany and improbable history is certainly something to celebrate. Article LINK: https://www.pointloma-obmonthly.com/news/story/2021-12-13/a-page-from-history-the-twisty-past-of-ocean-beachs-holiday-tree

Enjoy a post from Scott Mac Laggan of Point Loma:Some may be wondering what becomes of the OB Tree after Christmas.  Does it go to a landfill? Is it ground into mulch?  In recent years the S.D. Urban Timber folks (https://sdurbantimber.com/) have rescued the trees and turned them into many useful products. In 2014 the Star Pine my grandfather planted in our front yard in Loma Portal in 1960 was donated and became that year’s O.B. Christmas tree. S.D.U.T. designed and built a wonderful Whale themed bench from that tree and donated it to the Sunset View Elementary School Whales. The trees live on. 

OBHS presented Zoom Teleconference Nov. 18, 2021,“Ripples in Time” with Dr. Russell Low.

An old photograph may be much more than just a record of a place and time. An historic photo might provide a clue which unlocks a story from the last century.  San Diego radiologist Dr. Russell Low told just such a story, part of his own family’s history, in his book, Three Coins:  A Young Girl’s Story of Kidnappings, Slavery, and Romance in 19^th Century America.  In his lecture, Ripples in Time, Dr. Low shared his decades-long search for his own family’s roots. Also, how so many people who came to this country, by choice or not, faced hardships in search of the “American Dream”. Info. or to buy the book “Three Coins”. Book Sales go to: Nursing Scholarship to Cal State San Marcos Link to website: https://www.russlow.com/ 

October 21, 2021– The Ocean Beach Historical Society presented a Teleconference: Archives and Resources of the San Diego History Center, by History Center President and CEO, Bill Lawrence,
San Diego History Center CEO Bill Lawrence, discussed some of the new ways the vast treasures of the San Diego History Center archive are being made available during these historic times, and provided some tips and tricks for diving into O.B.’s past. Bill also revealed his own personal history and San Diego journey that centers on the Ocean Beach community.

The Ocean Beach Historical Archives were also talked about.

Sept. 16, 2021– The Ocean Beach Historical Society presented a great ZOOM presentation on the “The Lost and Found Balboa Park Gardens of Kate Sessions” by Nancy Carol Carter. See Youtube of the program. The Lost and Found Balboa Park Gardens of Kate Sessions

See Link: Postcard from the Past – Part 1

OBHS presented: Zoom Teleconference, Aug. 19, 2021 was a dream for old postcard fans and collectors.
“Every picture tells a story, don’t it?” San Diego is a region rich in visual diversity and destination type locales. As such, scenic San Diego has generated thousands of picture postcards over the decades. We would love to share them with you!  We have cards depicting Wonderland, Sunset Cliffs, The Theosophical Society, Balboa Park and various other excellent San Diego subjects. Did you realize that there was an actual “Age of Postcards?” Or that many people used to make their own originals? Thank you to Ocean Beach Historical Society postcard expert and collector Jonnie Wilson, and postcard geek Eric DuVall, we examined this fascinating niche in the historical record. 

Over 40 people came to hear Field Trip to the Presidio with the Ocean Beach Historical Society and Richard Carrico, Thursday evening July 15^th at 6:00 pm. We walked the grounds of the old Presidio de San Diego. During this unique experience Richard discussed the layout and significance of the very spot “Where California Began.”  We met in the parking lot of the Serra Museum (immediately west and down hill, in front of the Museum) on Presidio Hill.  This field trip event was very informative and a great way to kick off a more normal summer with lovely weather that evening in the par

June 17, 2021- The Ocean Beach Historical Society presented a Zoom presentation“Point Loma’s Lower Lighthouse has been beaming brightly since 1891.” With a $200 million dollar restoration, the beacon is set to continue its mission for another hundred years. Guests joined Ocean Beach Historical Society and Lighthouse volunteer and San Diego Historian Karen Scanlon and her sister Kim, for a lavishly illustrated discussion of San Diego’s Operational Lighthouse, and the Six Lights that have watched over San Diego Bay over the years.  The talk was fun and informational as we looked at this landmark perched on the southwestern-most corner of the continental United States. 

Link to OBHS YouTube Channel: “Anyone Talked History, Today”

May 20, 2021, The Ocean Beach Historical Society Presented a Zoom teleconference: “Anyone Talked History, Today“
Early San Diego historian Winifred Davidson is described as the woman who discovered San Diego’s Lost History. Davidson was a poet, a musician, an educator, a journalist, one of one of San Diego’s first preservationists, and a longtime resident of Point Loma. OBHS presented San Diego historian Alex Bevil with the story of Winifred Davidson via Zoom teleconference. Thanks to Alex we learned how Winifred preserved a great amont of our town’s history.