Feb. 18, 2016, The OBHS & Rick Crawford  presented the “Centennial of the Devastating 1916 Flood and the Rainmaker”.
One hundred years ago, the drought-fearing city councilmen of San Diego hired a rainmaker. For a handshake pledge of $10,000, Charles Hatfield built a wooden tower, set up equipment at Lake Morena, and began “milking the skies.” In the days that followed, San Diego was deluged with nearly 30 inches of rain. Mission Valley flooded, reservoirs filled and dams collapsed, roads and bridges washed away. Did the rainmaker produce the epic storms of January 1916?  Or was this massive deluge an act of God?
In words and pictures this presentation will re-visit the famed Rainmaker Flood and look at the strange story of an itinerant sewing machine salesman—turned rainmaker, who claimed the historic rainfall as “an act of Hatfield.”

Rick Crawford is the supervisor of Special Collections at the San Diego Public Library. He is the former archives director at the San Diego Historical Society, where he also edited the Journal of San Diego History. He has degrees in history and library science, and has written extensively on local history, including articles for the San Diego Union-Tribune, and the books “San Diego Yesterday” and “The Way We Were in San Diego”. 

Jan. 21, 2016 the Ocean Beach Historical Society Presented: Guest  Claudia Jack, as she presented “OB’s History of VOLUNTEERISM”. She told of how the many organizations and volunteers helped make OB special… and many of them attended the program. We are thankful to the  multitude of caring and helpful residents that are the heart of of our beach town.  Claudia included information sheets about the many local and nation organizations and how you can get involved.. and keep OB’s  wonderful community volunteerism spirit alive!

We thank  Claudia for her enjoyable and  inspirational talk, and applaud her for her lifetime of VOLUNTEERISM!

 

Nov. 19, 2015, over 200 attendees were at the Ocean Beach Historical Society  “Centennial of Historic SUNSET CLIFFS!” at St. Peter’s by the Sea Lutheran Church.
Topics included: Ever wonder what was along Sunset Cliffs Blvd 100 years ago? How about 600 years? 70 million?
Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Chair, Ann Swanson, and members talked of the park’s dinosaurs, sea-going monster lizards, Kumeyaay Indians and other early visitors. Also, about the Sunset Cliffs’ connection to Balboa Park’s famous exposition, the contributions of sporting goods magnate and developer Albert Spalding as he created the cliffs’ romantic bridges, gazebos and staircases. Hear about the secret passageways, caves and myths. Then hear of the later history of neglect and rubble-dumping; and now the renewed caring led by the community.
The human history of Sunset Cliffs started with the Kumeyaay who considered Sunsets Cliffs sacred, a place to be shared with all. Around the turn of the century came the Theosophists and Albert Spalding, who developed the linear section in time for the Panama California Exposition of 1915. This  program will included coastal bluffs photos showing images from 1915, contrasting them with their present formations (photographed by Steve Rowell). An update regarding park planning efforts will be included, as well as a look toward future plans and needs.

Don’t miss this fabulous 2016  Congress of History Conference “Scandals & Scoundrels”
Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5, 2016 at San Diego OASIS at Mission Valley Macy Store, 3rd floor—1702 Camino del Rio North, San Diego, CA 92108 For information and reservations: http://www.congressofhistory.org
The Congress of History of San Diego and Imperial Counties is a  networking organization that brings together representatives of historical  organizations, groups, museums and historical archives in California’s San Diego and Imperial Counties.

The OBHS Presented:  The SISTERS of O.B. By Sister Marie Louise Flick RSCJ, Thurs. Oct. 15,, 2015.
The nuns who live/ lived in  O.B. are an important part of the history of Ocean Beach, San Diego and California. “Church Row” on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. goes back to O.B.’s early history, as does Sacred Heart Church and Sacred Heart School (now Preschool). These nuns played vital roles at St. Charles Academy, University High School, USD, St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center and other institutions.
The O.B. nuns have helped the homeless, aided children and the disabled as well as many others in our region.
Many of these nuns have multiple degrees, music backgrounds, various talents and interesting family histories. Some have lived in O.B. for short periods, while others for many years. Many can be seen walking around the community and enjoying our local coffee houses.
Sister Marie Louise Flick RSCJ is a retired educator.  Most of her life has been in secondary education for girls. Primarily she has been the academic dean responsible for faculty evaluation, curriculum development and student academic progress. Every summer for 15 years she was an adjunct professor at Creighton University in Omaha NE in their Christian Spirituality Masters Program.  Since 1996, she has been a staff member at the Spiritual Ministry Center on Del Mar Ave. in Ocean Beach.

Sept. 17, 2015 the OB Historical Society presented: KUMEYAAY ON THE COAST- OVERLOOKED ASPECTS OF NATIVE FISHING AND MARITIME, by Professor Richard Carrico. The San Diego region has always been a mecca for those who want to fish and to enjoy the rich bounty of our bays and ocean. When guest lecturer Professor Richard Carrico says always, he means always—as in for thousands of years.
The Kumeyaay people of San Diego County are often portrayed as people who relied on acorns, deer, and rabbits as their primary food sources. While these foods were important, the Kumeyaay were also masters of the bays and oceans—they were maritime peoples thousands of years before arrival of the Spaniards.
Mr. Carrico has been researching the role of the ocean and bays in Kumeyaay culture, including the Ocean Beach area, for more than thirty years. Relying on archaeological, anthropological, and historical data, Carrico will peel back more than 3,000 years of history to provide an image of the Kumeyaay that has been largely ignored.
This discussion focused on the techniques and methods used by the Kumeyaay to procure a large variety of fish, shellfish, and other maritime food sources. Topics ranged from the types of boats and canoes used by the Kumeyaay, the importance of the oceans and bays in Kumeyaay oral tradition, the various locales exploited by the Kumeyaay including the deep ocean, the off shore islands, and San Diego and Mission Bays. Mr. Carrico also placed Kumeyaay fishing and maritime activities within the context of their overall cosmology including the many native maritime place names. His knowledge and humor were well received.

Sept. 10 at 3:30pm at the Point Loma Assembly, 3035 Talbot St, San Diego, CA 92106 – History of Balboa Park’s Botanical Building with Vonn Marie May (former OB Resident)
Landscape historian and cultural landscape specialist Vonn Marie May will speak about the History of Balboa Park’s Botanical Building.
All land has a history. A ‘deep read’ of the cultural landscape will reveal its origins and intents. Those precedents, or findings, can inform and cue the future. A cultural landscape investigation conducted during land use planning will provide a richer understanding of the past, an account of the present, and more culturally grounded future.– Vonn Marie May
Vonn Marie is a landscape historian and cultural landscape specialist with over 20 years of project experience. Her advocacy and rigor reflects her historic preservation and legal research background. Embracing the use of historic values in planning and design she has authored several successful National Register nominations, which include historical landscapes and settings.
Vonn Marie May, Cultural Landscape Consultant

Thurs., Aug. 20  The OBHS presented:  1915  S.D. Exposition Road Race in Point Loma. Presenter  Mac McPherson of the  Horseless Carriage Club, S.D., program is about the Jan. 9, 1915,  the Automobile Club of Southern Calif. & Al Bahr Shrine sponsored the San Diego Exposition Road Race,  a 300 mile road race over a 6-mile course around Point Loma. The race was one of the opening events of the 1915 Panama California Exposition in Balboa Park.
The race course routed around Point Loma starting  on Rosecrans St., heading North, turning West on Lytton St.,  South on Chatsworth Blvd. and Catalina Blvd., East on Cañon St. and back onto Rosecrans.  Almost 5 hours and 51 laps later, Earl Cooper in Stutz #8 won the race averaging over 65 mph. Only 5 of the 18 cars that started the race finished the grueling 300 mile 51 lap route. Racing cars in those days carried a driver as well as a mechanic. Other notable drivers were San Diegan, William Carlson, who finished 2nd, Barney Oldfield, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Bob Burman.  An estimated 50,000 people spread out along the course to watch the spectacle. The San Diego Union newspaper proclaimed: “It was the greatest throng ever seen at one event in San Diego, excepting, perhaps, the opening of the exposition.”   Also, clips from the recent Balboa Park Centennial Tour Reenactment were shown at OBHS program.

The Ocean Beach Historical society presentsed: Newport Ave.-Thru-The-Decades July 16 by Craig Gerwig & Judy Parry. Craig Gerwig (Owner of the Newport  Ave. Antique Center) and Judy Parry will talked about popular businesses that lined Newport Ave. over several decades. They spoke about businesses and properties their family owned/own on the 4800 block of Newport Ave. including Judy’s father appliance store where the Humble Hippie shop is now. Craig suprised us with a showing of the 4 blueprints of the old Spray Plunge and a donation of old OB Deeds dating from  1890 & 1891. Cost for one of those lots at the time was around $7, with taxes to the City at 4 cents and the State at 6 cents. Don’t you wish you could go back in time and buy a bunch of lots?  Anyhow, we really enjoyed this family’s interesting history and fun facts about O.B. A big thank you to Judy, and also a special thanks to Craig for keeping the OB spirit alive with his antique store..

On June 18 Jack Innis brought us  “San Diego Legends” —Jack Innis author of “San Diego Legends” book, brought together many extraordinary accounts of famous and infamous people, places including local caves, and events in San Diego’s past.
Jack began writing in 1990.  He has  published more than 1,200 stories. His career as San Diego’s Legend Hunter began in 1999. He opted to hunt the annals of history to uncover legends, stories, and myths that were simply too fascinating to find in typical history books.