A traditional Sicilian cart on display at 2016 Festa in San Diego’s Little Italy.
Festa is a celebration of Italian culture and history. Every year it’s held along several blocks of India Street, in the heart of San Diego’s historic Little Italy neighborhood. Thousands turn out to enjoy music, food, and all things Italian.
Here are a few photos I snapped yesterday. They provide a taste of what Festa is all about. Read the captions for explanations, and click the images of signs in the cultural pavilion if you’d like to read them. By the way, the food and music were great. I wish this blog could convey the deliciousness of my slice of Filippi’s pizza!
Thousands turned out along several blocks of India Street for the annual celebration of Festa.A cultural pavilion at Festa attracted people who were interested in Little Italy’s rich culture and history.An exhibit in the cultural pavilion included old photos of life in Little Italy, a neighborhood in San Diego once associated with fishing.The Italian neighborhood remained deeply rooted in social tradition revolving around family, work and church.The fishing industry defined the residents’ lives and included labor in boat building, net mending, and tuna and sardine canning.Historical photos of Little Italy fishermen at work off the coast of San Diego.Photo of young man on a boat with a very large catch.Old photos of life in Little Italy include workers at a cannery and fishermen mending nets.A display at Festa includes nets and old commercial fishing gear.A pillar for San Diego’s Italian community, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish has endured for more than 80 years.Photographs and puppets provide a glimpse of San Diego’s past.The Columbus Day Queens are presented on stage during 2016 Festa in Little Italy.The Sicilian Band performs during Festa in San Diego.A crowd admires chalk art, or Gesso Italiano, during Festa. The amazing artwork celebrates Italy’s history and culture.A vendor at Festa sells funny signs and aprons to Italy lovers.Of course, lots of pizza, pasta and other Italian food could be found up and down India Street.Chef Boyardee (Ettore Boiardi) appears on a street lamp banner in Little Italy.People at Festa check out some shiny new Vespas.An exhibition of Italian sports cars included Maseratis and Lamborghinis.A kid and gondoliers at Festa. Anyone can ride elegant gondolas in San Diego at the Coronado Cays.
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Dr. Carol Williams, San Diego Civic Organist for 15 years, in the middle of her final Sunday afternoon performance at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.
Thank you Dr. Carol Williams.
Thank you for 15 years of inspiration, dedication, and–most of all–unparalleled music. Thank you for making the Spreckels Organ come so alive. Thank you for your quirky good humor and your wonderful showmanship. Thank you for being such a great part of San Diego’s history, for being one of a long string of distinguished musicians, Civic Organists who first made the Spreckels Organ’s powerful lungs sing in 1915. Thank you for helping culture in Balboa Park to thrive. Thank you for bringing in some of the finest organists in the world for our absolutely incredible Summer Organ Festivals. Thanks for being a part of many Sunday afternoons, at two o’clock, when I could simply close my eyes and feel the music move through me. Just music. Each living note. Thank you!
In the years ahead, may you produce many fantastic compositions for the king of instruments!
A large crowd turned out to enjoy the music produced by Carol and the Spreckels Organ one last Sunday afternoon.Dr. Carol Williams wows the crowd with another amazing performance. She is one of the world’s finest concert organists. And her dog Dietrich up on stage seems quite proud!A special day in Balboa Park as our nation’s first woman Civic Organist plays the king of instruments one last Sunday.The Spreckels Organ Pavilion was filled with people who have enjoyed Carol’s concerts for many years.Carol and pal Dietrich between pieces. KUSI television videotaped the historic occasion.Dr. Carol Williams, a premiere concert organist, plays the Spreckels Organ, the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world.An artist at work.The beginning of a standing ovation, just as Carol asks everyone to stand for the National Anthem.Dr. Carol Williams greets organ lovers in the gift shop after her final Sunday concert in Balboa Park. She has long been a San Diego treasure, and now becomes a part of our city’s history.An organ student thanks Dr. Carol Williams. She worked hard to educate youth, to encourage aspiring musicians, and to build the Spreckels Organ Society into a powerful presence in the music world.
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Master craftsman works in the Model Shop of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The magical place is located inside the steam ferry Berkeley.
Who isn’t fascinated by small model ships? Every one is a unique work of art, built with precision down to the finest detail. A realistic historical model ship represents real stories, real lives, real adventures.
Visitors to the Maritime Museum of San Diego are often seen lingering by the Model Shop, gazing through the window as master craftsmen spend countless joyful hours building amazing small ships. It’s a hobby that can trace its origins to ancient times.
I recently learned that several craftsmen use the museum’s Model Shop, including one young man in high school. The tradition of model ship building is being carried into the future by skilled and steady hands.
Ship and yacht model construction and repair. Sign beneath a window where museum visitors can watch craftsmen building small works of maritime art.Many fine tools required in the building of model ships can be seen in the workshop.Of course, there are ships in bottles, too!A finished model of ARMD Virginia Sloop 1768 intricately made to replicate an actual historical vessel.Master craftsman at the Maritime Museum of San Diego is building a small Danish fishing vessel. He works from detailed plans.
I peered into the Model Shop window during a later visit and look what I saw…
Detailed model of Sovereign of the Seas, a 17th century English Navy warship, is under repair at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
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Tall ship Californian fires a cannon toward the Maritime Museum of San Diego during the 2016 Festival of Sail!
I took a fair number of photos at the 2016 Festival of Sail today. The celebration of tall ships, which takes place at the Maritime Museum of San Diego during Labor Day weekend, is just as wonderful as ever. I suppose I’m biased. I’ve always loved tales of the sea and stories of rugged souls who have embarked on journeys of discovery.
The Festival of Sail this year includes 19 ships. Many have arrived for this event from locations up and down the West Coast.
I blogged about the annual Festival of Sail the last couple of years, so this time I won’t provide heaps of information. Just a sense of what it’s like to wander among the beautiful and amazing ships, and to watch them out sailing on San Diego Bay. Remember–this awesome event continues through Labor Day!
The 2016 Festival of Sail includes dueling tall ships out on San Diego Bay. Here we see Californian and Bill of Rights maneuvering to fire some broadsides.Out on the Big Bay and along the Embarcadero, many beautiful sailing ships are part of this year’s annual Festival of Sail in San Diego.Mister Mac, that notorious pirate, has descended on San Diego with two rascally accomplices to wreak havoc.The tall ship Spirit of Dana Point is a replica of a 1770s privateer used during the American Revolution. It is based at the Ocean Institute up the coast in Dana Point, California.Figurehead of the Spirit of Dana Point is a Native American female.The graceful brigantines Exy Johnson and Irving Johnson have returned for this year’s Festival of Sail. They are based at the Los Angeles Maritime Institute.Volunteer crewmember aboard the Exy Johnson tells a visitor about the complex workings of an amazing tall ship with many sails.Visitors to the 2016 Festival of Sail in San Diego learned about maritime history and experienced a little of what life might have been like sailing across the broad ocean on a tall ship long ago.These Royal Marines belong to the HMS Surprise, docked just behind them. They’re enjoying a bit of grog. Don’t tell the captain!Visitor standing on the newly rebuilt poop deck of the Star of India rings the historic ship’s bell. The wheel has been removed for refurbishment. The nearby binnacle and wooden benches will also be made like new!The Tiama and Cloudia were docked side by side not far from the Maritime Museum of San Diego during the 2016 Festival of Sail.The Cloudia is an old wooden Norwegian top-sail ketch recently restored in San Diego. I believe it is available for local sailing trips.There is so much to look at and explore! What’s down below the deck?Docked behind the Maritime Museum’s steam ferry Berkeley, the galleon replica San Salvador made its public debut during the 2016 Festival of Sail.Visitors line up to have a chance to go aboard San Salvador for the very first time.Looking up at masts, a crow’s nest, and a flag of the Spanish Empire while waiting to board the San Salvador. This ship is an approximate replica of what Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed in when he discovered San Diego Bay in 1542.A park ranger from Cabrillo National Monument, across the bay on Point Loma, talks to visitors about the history of the actual San Salvador and the difficulties of sailing long ago.Once aboard the replica San Salvador, we were permitted to explore the main deck and enclosed areas at either end. It’s hard to believe, but during the journey of exploration in 1542, over 100 men occupied a similarly tiny deck!Ropes and a bombard tucked away inside the forward part of the galleon San Salvador.Exhibits on the San Salvador replica galleon include a crude narrow dining table and armor used by Spanish conquistadors.Out at the end of the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s dock, three cannons are prepared to be fired!Boom!Californian sails in toward its docking place near the San Salvador. More cannon battles out on San Diego Bay will take place all Labor Day weekend!
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Visitor to the second floor of the McCoy House Museum learns about some notable early residents of Old Town San Diego.
Should you visit the McCoy House Museum in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, be sure to venture up the stairs to the second floor. There you’ll discover several fascinating exhibits. In addition to old photographs of notable early residents of San Diego, you’ll find an explanation of Old Town’s gradual decline as competing New Town (the site of modern downtown San Diego) grew and became the center of government and commerce. You will also learn about Old Town’s continuing legacy, including the events that led to the creation of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park in 1968.
If you’d like to read the displays, click the images to enlarge them.
From a window on the museum’s second floor one can also look down upon the scraggly native plant garden just northwest of the McCoy House. A map near the window shows the location of Sycamore, Toyon, Oak, Cottonwood, Elderberry and Willow trees. Other native plants include Yerba Mansa, Datura, Aster, Poppy, Deerweed, Sumac, Lemonadeberry, Manzanita, Monkeyflower, different Sages, Deergrass, Prickly Pear and Yucca. Many of these plants were used by the Native American Kumeyaay in their daily lives long before explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered San Diego Bay in 1542.
Pio Pico settled in San Diego in 1819 after the death of his father, a soldier assigned to the Presidio. Merchant and rancher, he later lived in Los Angeles and became the last governor of Mexican Alta California.In 1865, Mary Chase Walker became Old Town’s first school teacher. She taught at the one room Mason Street schoolhouse and described early San Diego as a desolate place. She went on to join the suffragette movement.Agoston Haraszthy, born in Hungary, led a fascinating life. As an American pioneer, businessman and wine expert, he became San Diego’s first town marshal and the first county sheriff.Fire devastated Old Town in 1872. At the time only one water pump existed, and it was broken. Firefighters watched helplessly. The fire and many other factors helped to bring about the rise of competing New Town.Various fascinating historical exhibits can be explored on the second floor of the McCoy House Museum in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.In the early 20th century, neglected, ruined buildings in Old Town were fixed up and converted into tourist attractions. Entrepreneur John D. Spreckels extended his streetcar line to Old Town.Artifacts found under the rebuilt McCoy House date from the 1830’s to 1850’s. They include fragments of daily life from that eraArchaeologists analyze each find, record every detail. These objects probably came from the time when Eugenia Silvas owned this site. Family descendants still live in San Diego and are involved in Old Town’s activities.Archaeologist’s tools on display in the McCoy House Museum.Once again, Old Town became a tourist destination in the 1930’s when San Diego Avenue became connected to the new Coast Highway.Old Town languished during World War II. After the war, some suggested setting aside Old Town as a historic community. In 1968, Old Town San Diego became a state historic park.Photographs in the McCoy House Museum recall Old Town San Diego’s colorful past.
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The McCoy House Museum, in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, is a reconstruction of a home built in 1869 for Sheriff James McCoy.
While there are many small museums and historical attractions that visitors can enjoy in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the McCoy House Museum is the best place to see an extensive series of interpretive displays that describe the complete history of early San Diego.
The McCoy House, standing on the north end of Old Town, is a reconstruction of a home built in 1869 for Sheriff James McCoy and his family. James McCoy, who lived from 1821 to 1895, like many early San Diego residents was an ambitious man, working diverse jobs, filling many roles. At the age of 21 he sailed from Ireland to America seeking opportunity. He became a soldier, then a stagehand, then San Diego county assessor, then county sheriff in 1861. He acquired substantial real estate holdings and finally won election to the state senate in 1871.
The interpretive displays in the McCoy House Museum provide a good look back at San Diego’s formative years. They detail the life of the Native American Kumeyaay who’ve lived in the region for thousands of years, the first Spanish explorers, the establishment of the Spanish mission, the Mexican period and the subsequent American period.
If you’d like to read the displays, click my photographs to enlarge them.
This blog post covers the first floor of the museum. I’ll cover the second floor exhibits in a later post. After heading up some stairs, one can find information about the more prominent residents of Old Town, plus the town’s later history as it competed with New Town, which eventually rose to become downtown San Diego as we know it today.
Anyone who is a history buff must visit the McCoy House Museum. You’ll be transported back in time and see how life was exciting, difficult, and altogether different many, many years ago in San Diego.
Sign lists important dates concerning the McCoy House. Today it’s a museum containing exhibits that explain the fascinating history of Old Town San Diego.Just inside the front door, this might have resembled the parlor of the original McCoy House, occupied by an upper middle class family in San Diego’s Old Town.Framed photo on one wall from the San Diego Historical Society shows the original McCoy House.Interpretive exhibits inside the McCoy House Museum begin with the Spanish period of San Diego, from 1769 to 1821.Quotes from the journeys of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Sebastian Vizcaino and Gaspar de Portola.A string of missions was created by Spain in California to secure its claim to new territory. The first mission, in San Diego, was originally established on Presidio Hill near the native Kumeyaay village of Cosoy.An artistic representation of life among the Kumeyaay people. They often visited the nearby coast to hunt and gather food.For thousands of years, the Kumeyaay lived along the coast and interior valleys of what is now San Diego County. They moved with the seasons to take advantage of available resources.The Kumeyaay built dome-shaped houses from oak, willow or sycamore branches. The simple structures were called ee-wahs.The Kumeyaay saw the physical and spiritual world as one and the same.Exhibit in the McCoy House Museum shows artifacts associated with the Kumeyaay, including a bark skirt, arrows, rabbit stick, child’s sandals, gourd rattle and war club.The Kumeyaay revolted against the Spanish missionaries in 1775, a year after the San Diego mission was relocated inland very close to a large Kumeyaay village.Once baptized, converted Kumeyaay followed a strict life. Mission bells signaled the day’s activities, including the singing of hymns, Mass, meals and work assignments.Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821 after a decade of bloodshed. Changes included a decline in support for the presidio and freedom from Spain’s trade regulations.After the breakup of the Spanish missions, the era of the great ranchos began. Californios were often racially mixed descendants of soldier-settler families.Vaqueros were the original cowboys. They worked on the extensive ranches and handled the large herds of stock.A fanciful picture of life on a rancho, with vaqueros at work and children at play.The Californios loved to celebrate feast days, weddings and religious festivals.Cattle by the thousands roamed San Diego’s hills. Their dried hides were used in trade and were sometimes referred to as California banknotes.Illustration of loading cow hides onto a carreta. Hides were gathered by ships along the coast to be transported around Cape Horn to the eastern United States.Exhibit inside the McCoy House Museum recreates the small shop of a Boston trader. The brig Pilgrim of Two Years Before the Mast brought people aboard to buy wares and finished goods that weren’t available in San Diego.Illustrations of cow hides being cured. This activity took place at La Playa, a point on San Diego Bay near Ballast Point in Point Loma.Diagram of the brig Pilgrim, made famous in Richard Henry Dana Jr.’s classic Two Years Before the Mast. As an ordinary seaman, Dana collected cattle hides up and down the California coast.Exhibit in the McCoy House Museum details local history during the Mexican–American War from 1846 to 1848.During the war, U.S. occupation of San Diego divided the loyalty of the Californios. The two sides fought briefly at the Battle of San Pasqual.Around the time of the Gold Rush, San Diego saw an influx of emigrants from all over, including New England, the American South, Mexico, South America, Ireland, Great Britain and Germany.Old Town tales include the construction of the first jail in 1850. The walls were so poorly made, the first prisoner, Roy Bean, easily dug himself out, then celebrated at a nearby saloon!Grog shops became popular gathering places. They were a social hub of San Diego life, providing customers with news and provisions.A recreated Old Town grog shop can be found inside the McCoy House Museum.After the California Gold Rush of 1849, San Diego became more developed. A courthouse and newspaper were established. Transportation included clipper ships, stage lines and steamships.Poster advertises a new clipper ship route. A very quick trip may be relied upon!Between 1865 and 1872, Old Town San Diego continued to grow. The first public school opened, and the town welcomed its first theatrical company in the Whaley house.The first overland coach to San Diego began service in 1854. Additional stage lines came into existence, allowing for the delivery of mail, express packages and passengers.Visitors to the McCoy House Museum can step into a replica stage stop and see what life was like in Old Town during San Diego’s rugged early history.
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Carpenter’s Wheel quilt, Mennonite, about 1890. Made by Mrs. Miller in Easton, Pennsylvania.
My eyes opened wide with amazement last weekend, when my docent friend provided another special tour at the San Diego Museum of Art. This time we had a good look at a surprising exhibition of early American quilts from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
These quilts, which date mostly from the 19th century, created in many instances by lone Amish and Mennonite quiltmakers, are so dazzling with brilliant colors and inventive, abstract designs that they seem thoroughly modern, like hung works of art by the greatest 20th century Abstract Expressionists.
I know relatively little about quiltmaking. All I know is that when I gazed at these vibrant works of art, I felt that I was peering into the inner life of a spiritual people, where joy, memories and dreams are represented with magically combined bits of color. These delights for the eye were created to be a warming family treasure, meant to last for generations.
In this blog post you can see just a few photos of the nearly 50 quilts on display. The craftmanship is intricate. I can’t imagine the many hours of persistent dedication, patience and love a quiltmaker required to create just one of these examples. They lived in a very different time and place. In their world living was more simple, and beauty was quietly formed from single threads.
All of these old quilts were discovered over several decades by collectors Gerald Roy and Paul Pilgrim, who also played an important role in the creation of the The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. Many of these quilts were collected solely for their aesthetic appeal. Paul Pilgrim, now deceased, was also an innovative quiltmaker.
Head to Balboa Park to visit the San Diego Museum of Art and you’ll be astounded by many of these quilts. If you do plan to visit, do so by September 5, 2016, when this very unique exhibition comes to an end.
Quilts and Color from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This special exhibition can be enjoyed at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.Amazing early American quilts on display at the San Diego Museum of Art feature beautifully contrasted colors and fascinating abstract designs.Spider Web quilt dazzles the eye. Many of the quilts feature unique visual effects or optical illusions.Fans quilt, Amish, 1900-1910. Made in Pennsylvania.Field of Diamonds quilt, about 1860. The design is achieved by creatively combining differently colored hexagons.Close-up photograph of fantastic, radiant Sunburst quilt.
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These beautiful quilts are on public display at Threads of the Past, in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
I recently visited Threads of the Past, a living history exhibition in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Not only did I see a number of beautiful quilts, but I learned about spinning and weaving. I was even able to watch a skilled artisan work an old-fashioned loom!
Here are some fascinating photos that I took inside Threads of the Past. I know very little about weaving and needlework, so I’m afraid I can’t provide much commentary. I do know that I really enjoyed looking at all the colors and patterns. I also learned a bit about San Diego’s past from the friendly members of Old Town’s Historic Quilt Guild and Fiber Arts Guilds. They’re keeping history alive! With great skill, they have produced beautiful textile artwork that visitors to Old Town can appreciate with their own eyes!
Threads of the Past is located near San Diego’s first courthouse. You can find it among the many other museums and historical attractions in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Should you visit San Diego’s Old Town, look for this sign outside the Threads of the Past living history activity center.Shelves full of colorful fabric woven with geometric patterns.Two quilts on one wall greet visitors as they enter Threads of the Past. On the left is a modern version of the 1850s Juana Machado Quilt.According to family lore, this applique quilt was made by Juana Machado in the 1850s. Juana was born in 1814 to a soldier of the San Diego Presidio and his wife.Threads of the Past contains several small looms and a variety of educational displays.Some colorful fabric circles arranged on a table.As you can see, this Inkle Loom is quite narrow. It’s used to make woven bands for belts and straps.A rather simple wood Colonial Loom on display in Threads of the Past.One display explains shearing sheep for wool, then carding, combing, and spinning wool.Several hand carders. Carding is gently spreading washed and dried wool in preparation for future processing, like spinning.All sorts of very colorful threads!A living demonstration of an old-fashioned hand loom at Threads of the Past, in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
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One brief moment in a 63 second video that relives MLB All-Star Game history, seen in the San Diego library’s auditorium during today’s special “Talking Baseball” event!
A very cool event was held today, Saturday, at downtown San Diego’s beautiful Central Library! “Talking Baseball” was the title an all-day program held in the Neil Morgan Auditorium, and featured diverse speakers and entertainers celebrating baseball and its rich history. Speakers included Bob Kendrick, Negro League Baseball Museum president and Gene Locklear, former Padres outfielder, who talked about his life as a Native American professional baseball player.
Talking Baseball was organized by Andy Strasberg, who served for twenty years as the Padres baseball team’s Vice President of Marketing. This cool event was held in conjunction with Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game Week, which is taking place right here and now in San Diego!
I lingered and enjoyed the programming for about an hour and a half. I listened to the hilarious and heart-warming tunes of San Diego baseball singer/songwriter Joe Rathburn, then watched a rarely seen 63 second video that was shown on the scoreboard during the 1992 All-Star Game in San Diego. Every second represented one year of 63 All-Star Games. This was the first time the video has been seen in 26 years! Finally, I watched with amazement as former Yankees catcher Matt Nokes narrated a film that showed every pitch of Jim Abbott’s 1993 Yankees no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. Now that was inspirational . . . and just plain exciting! That was easily the highlight of my day!
Here are a few captioned photographs that provide a taste of this very cool event. Some photos, taken in the dark auditorium, came out a bit blurry.
Talking Baseball was a special event programmed to coincide with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego this year. It was held in the downtown library.Just before stepping into the Neil Morgan Auditorium, visitors are greeted with lots of cool posters and professional baseball memorabilia!A huge collection of baseball memorabilia on display was courtesy of Andy Strasberg, who was once Vice President of Marketing for the San Diego Padres.There were so many cool baseball sights to absorb! Displayed were old magazines, programs, autographed baseballs, pennants, baseball cards, souvenir bats–you name it.Collectibles remember New York Yankee reliever Sparky Lyle and San Diego’s own superhuman Wizard of Oz shortstop, Ozzie Smith!Cool old team photograph of the 1952 San Diego Padres, with the players’ names and autographs!San Diego’s gifted baseball musician and songwriter Joe Rathburn performs. His lyrics are really good and touch a warm spot in the heart.Next, a 63 second video that was last played at the 1992 All-Star Game shows the history of the Midsummer Classic. One second equals one year!Matt Nokes, former catcher for the New York Yankees, narrates a special video which documents–pitch by pitch– Jim Abbott’s 1993 Yankees no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.Jim Abbott was born in 1967 without a right hand. That didn’t stop him from becoming an accomplished professional baseball pitcher. He spent 10 years in the major leagues.Suspense builds as pitch by pitch, inning by inning, Jim Abbott works his way brilliantly (with some sparkling Yankees defense) toward a rare no-hitter.The amazing no-hitter is achieved! Jim Abbott’s teammates swarm around the triumphant pitcher with excitement. At the time, this was only the Yankees’ 8th ever no-hitter.Jim Abbott overcomes a difficult physical challenge and great odds, adding his name to a list of baseball’s immortals. Today he is a motivational speaker.
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American flags lead a Fourth of July parade in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Here come oodles of fun photos! I took them during the first two hours of Old Town San Diego’s Fourth of July celebration! (Sorry, but I missed the pie eating contest!)
I’ve captioned the photos with descriptions. If you’ve never enjoyed Independence Day at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, you’re missing out on a very colorful and patriotic event! And there’s a lot of fascinating history that you can absorb, as well!
During the Independence Day celebration in Old Town San Diego, there were all sorts of fun and educational activities. Musical entertainment could be heard at the main stage.The Armory Band played music popular in America long ago–patriotic tunes that citizens in San Diego would have enjoyed during the mid 1800s.Los Bailadores, performers in period costume, sing vintage patriotic songs like The Battle Hymn of the Republic inside Old Town’s historic La Casa de Estudillo.Los Bailadores then lived up to their name and began a few social dances that folks would have enjoyed in the 1850s and 1860s. Their first dance was the Virginia reel.During the Fourth of July, there were many historical demonstrations in Old Town’s central square, which was originally called La Plaza de Las Armas.A lady in a bonnet at a spinning wheel was making wool yarn.Quilters were getting their tent displays ready as Old Town San Diego’s Fourth of July events got underway.These guys were playing the old Victorian Game of Graces. A small hoop is shot into the air by pushing apart two rods. The hoop is then caught by one’s partner. Winner catches the hoop ten times first.The San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association had an interesting display, including ammunition that was used in old cannons.A poster has photos of reenactments of the Battle of San Pasqual, which took place northeast of San Diego during the Mexican-American War.Of course, you need some tasty watermelon during a traditional Fourth of July!The middle of the plaza became a center of attention as various tug of wars were contested by young and old alike.These ladies vied for tug of war glory!Later games would include wheelbarrow races.A cakewalk. Stop on the winning number and you receive a cake! This simple game was common in mid 19th century San Diego.Several speeches included one by Connie Gunther, a descendant of early San Diego. The legacy of those early Californios, townspeople, settlers and immigrants live on.
Are you a descendant of early San Diego? Do you think you might be? There’s a website I learned about that you ought to visit. Here it is. Those with family trees that reach back into early San Diego history can relate their knowledge for posterity and the benefit of others; those who think they might be related to an early resident of San Diego can perform searches and do extensive research. Check it out!
Kids listening to the speeches wave American flags.The keynote speech was by Tom Vilicich, portraying a first sergeant, Company K, 1st U.S. Dragoons, who fought in the Battle of San Pasqual.After the speeches, there was a Flag Raising Ceremony. People removed their hats as Old Glory was hoisted up Old Town’s high flagpole.Salutes as the Star and Stripes ascends into the San Diego sky.A billowing American flag rises on Independence Day!The musicians left the stage to make way for a special public reading of the Declaration of Independence.Diverse folk representing San Diego in the mid 19th century take turns reading the Declaration of Independence. Ordinary citizens in the crowd also took part!An ordinary American young person reads a few lines from the Declaration of Independence, on the Fourth of July in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.And then the parade began! It wound around the plaza twice. Ordinary Americans were invited to join in!Represented in the small patriotic parade were Old Town volunteers, boosters, and descendants of early San Diego.Here comes the old-fashioned marching band!People in the parade wore every sort of period costume–even red, white and blue attire from our own modern period!That’s because ordinary American citizens joined in the fun!This photo shows the good crowd that converged on Old Town San Diego for the Fourth of July!A scene from the colorful American Independence Day parade in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
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