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.

Ocean Beach Historical Society had it’s 2015 Annual OB EXPOSED!  Photographic Impressions of Ocean Beach & Point Loma. Friday, May 22 at the Masonic Center and it was a blast!  The photos were fabulous… they get better each year. Congratulations to the winners, whose photos are hanging at the OB Business Center, 4876 Santa Monica Ave. Entries that were not donated to the OBHS Archive may be picked up at the OB Business Center. Attendees were supportive as they were encouraged to become members, buy opportunity drawing tickets, donate to the OBHS or buy our gift items & books. Refreshments as always were YUMMY!

Winners of the 2015 “OB Exposed!” Photo Contest: People’s Choice Winner: Fran Del Santo – “Much Respect”, Best in Show Winner: Steven Drummond, “The Guardian” Color Winner: Fran Del Santo – “In a Moment” – Young lad dancing to music at OB Farmers Market, Black & White Winner: Cameron Pettit – “Sunrise at the Pier”, Special Effects Winner: Fran Del Santo – “Mindfulness 2013″, Vintage Winner: Virginia Davis – “Lisa Davis in back of West Point Loma House 1973″ —See Winning Photos at the OB Rag.

© K. Blavatt Photo of  Three Award Winner Fran Del Santo and OBHS President Pat James at 2015 OB Exposed!. THANK YOU to all the businesses that donated food and opportunity drawing awards. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers, MC Nancy Cassidy , judges, those who entered photos, and the Masonic Center.

Photos not donated to OBHS are available for pick up at the OB Business Center (M-F). 4876 Santa Monica, OB (9 am-5 pm, M.-F.) Sept. 1 all unclaimed photos become the property of the OBHS. The OBHS is not responsible for lost or damaged photos.

OBHS presented The History of Famosa Slough Featuring Jim Peugh, , April 16, 2015  Jim Peugh, Chair of Board of Directors of Friends of Famosa Slough, will give the history of Famosa Slough that runs from being an ice age coastal canyon, a part of the estuary of the San Diego River, a dump
for construction rubble, a planned construction site, to a City-owned urban
wildlife preserve and hot spot for bird watching and nature study.
He discussed the successful campaign to get the City to buy it for conservation in 1990. Also the restoration that has occurred, the current uses by people & wildlife, including endangered Ridgway’s Rails and California Least Terns.
Famosa Slough is owned by the City of San Diego as a Wetland Preserve. It is a part of the City’s Multiple Habitats Protection Area for the protection of at-risk, threatened, and Endangered Species. It has also been identified as a No-Take Marine Conservation Area under the State of California’s Marine Life Protection Act. And it is a nice place to watch, hear, and study coastal wetlands. The Friends of Famosa Slough partner with the City to help manage and improve its value for wildlife and for visitors.

Thurs., March 19, the Ocean Beach Historical Society Presented a wonderful speaker… Margaret Francis worked on the decoding machines as seen in the movie “The Imitation Game”. Margaret Francis is a WWII Veteran of the WRENS (Women’s Royal Navy Service) in England. She worked on the decoding machines (the bombe) 10 miles from Bletchley Hall at Gayhurst Manor.
Margaret talked about her experiences bringing history to life. She is an excellent storyteller, and very funny, remembering with vivid details some of her experiences. She is 91 years old and has lived in San Diego since the 1957. She gave us a very entertaining night packed with historical information.

Congress of History  of San Diego & Imperial Counties present: FRI., MAR. 6 & SAT., MAR 7, 2015, “BALBOA PARK: 1915 & BEYOND”
A 2-DAY CONFERENCE, 9AM to 4 PM, Registration only $35 ($25 Seniors, $15 Students) Registration form at: http://congressofhistory.org
You weren’t born in time to attend the 1915 Panama-California Exposition but you can relive the excitement at the 50th Congress of History Conference! Two days of dynamic speakers with special stories about the event that made a lasting impression on San Diego. Don’t miss the fun in 2015. See the speakers, authors, and exhibitors. History comes alive in Balboa Park!

Feb.19, 2015 the OBHS presented Highlights of O.B.’s Historic Beach Cottages: History, Architectural Details and the Mills Act
Featuring members of the Ocean Beach Historical Society board Kathy Blavatt, Jane Gawronski & Tom Gawronski who were happy to present this special program about O.B.’s Historic Beach Cottages, a subject that is near-and-dear to their hearts. All three have local planning board experience and been advocates in preserving our historic structures. Tom and Jane own historic Ocean Beach homes including the famous “Red House”.
Kathy has interviewed cottage owners, collected photos and written about O.B.’s historic homes.
These presenters talked about the importance of the Mills Act , the role the cottages play in the Ocean Beach Community Plan (approved at San Diego City Council 2014), and in retaining our beach town character. Cottage owners were encouraged to talk and show photos of their houses towards the last segment of the program. We learned some great new information from the audience at the program, but what to encourage people to donate records, photos and historical information to the OBHS Archives before these are lost forever.

Also for those that want more information on the Mills Act see our Preservation page.

The OB RAG did a great job reporting on this important issue… this is very timely since the Feb. 19, 2015 OBHS program is about the importance of keeping our cottages. Excerpt: Ocean Beach Planning Board Votes Against Demolition of 100-Year-Old House, by FRANK GORMLIE on FEB. 5, 2015—In a bold move that would put a smile on any preservationist, the Ocean Beach Planning Board last night voted against approving a proposed development for 4677 Niagara that included the demolition of the current house, originally built in 1915.

At their monthly meeting, after the developer’s presentation and a lengthy question and comment session, the Board voted 8-2-1 against the developer’s application for a permit to build two condos on the lot, once the lot had been cleared of the old hundred-year-old structure. Full report at: http://obrag.org/?p=91623

Ocean Beach Historical Society Program, Jan. 15, 2015 presented: “Tales from the Trails: San Diego’s Rich Outdoors History” by Author Thomas Leech. Leech’s program focused on stories linked to our natural environment and the early colorful characters who played key roles in shaping San Diego. How Father Junipero Serra, Kit Carson, Hatfield the Rainmaker, Ysidora Bandini, and the Cisco Kid fit in? Leech included many intriguing aspects of local history.
Thomas Leech is a long-time San Diegan and has attended the OBHS programs for years. For several years Leech was Editor for the Outdoors Forum for San Diego Magazine online. This led him to write OUTDOORS SAN DIEGO: HIKING, BIKING & CAMPING with co-author Jack Farman.