Every piece of history has more than one storyteller.
Newspapers, photographs and archives help preserve the past, but so do the people who lived it. Sometimes history is found in a museum. Other times, it is carried in a family keepsake box, remembered from childhood or shared through a simple email from someone wondering if a piece of the past can be found.
After many of my historical San Diego stories, readers have shared memories, photographs, family connections and discoveries that add new layers to the history of the region.
Here are just a few of the stories they shared.
A family keepsake reveals a link to Ramona’s Marriage Place
This souvenir notebook, also seen above, was discovered by Emily Hoover in her grandmother’s belongings. She sent it after reading the story about Ramona’s Marriage Place. This is what it looks like open. (Photo courtesy of Emily Hoover)Sometimes the smallest objects hold the biggest stories. A family keepsake, a faded photograph, or a souvenir from a place long changed can become a doorway into San Diego’s past.
Emily Hoover recently shared how a small family item led her to a piece of local history.
Hoover wrote that her grandmother recently passed away at the age of 98 and that she was going through belongings her grandmother had given her years earlier.
Among those items was a small souvenir notebook with a pencil that belonged to her grandmother’s aunt, Bess, a nurse who traveled around the country.
The item caught her attention because it carried a San Diego connection, with the words “Ramona’s Marriage Place, San Diego, Calif.” displayed on its cover.
That discovery led Hoover to one of my articles.
View of Casa de Estudillo in Old Town San Diego in about 1924. Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Cox are standing in front of the adobe building with an automobile parked at left; were they getting married? (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)“I happened to stumble upon your article this evening,” she wrote. “My grandmother recently passed away at the age of 98, and I am going through some things she gave me years ago.”
“Among her items was a fun little trinket that led me to your article,” she added.
The keepsake is a reminder that history often survives in unexpected ways — through family heirlooms, souvenirs and small objects that preserve the names of places that once held meaning for visitors.
While the souvenir does not tell the entire story of the site, it shows how even small souvenirs can preserve memories of places that might otherwise fade from view.
A reader’s memory sparks a future story
Aerial view of Del Mar Castle in Del Mar in 1927. This is also known as the Marston Harding residence. Designed by Richard Requa, architect. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)After reading the story about Del Mar Castle, reader Susanne Stevenson asked if I would be interested in doing a story about the upcoming Surf Del Mar Festival, which is loaded with history.
She also shared a suggestion for another piece of local history — the old Del Mar Airport.
“As far as history stories in the area, I’d love to see a story on the old Del Mar Airport, if you haven’t already done one,” Stevenson wrote.
She recalled that the site served as a U.S. Navy blimp base during World War II before the Navy sold it to the city of San Diego, which later sold it to her uncle.
The airport was especially busy during the summer when planes ferried visitors to the Del Mar Races, but quieter during the winter months. Stevenson remembered spending time there with her sister and even starting a small business selling coffee and sandwiches to pilots waiting for their passengers to return from the races.
Eventually, her uncle sold the property, which later became home to Non-Linear Systems, where Stevenson worked as a secretary. The company was part of the early computer industry and a precursor to Kaypro, one of the pioneering personal computer companies.
“Both sets of my grandparents moved to Del Mar in the late 1930s, so I’ve been around a while,” Stevenson wrote.
(Stevenson’s memories sparked my interest, and I’m currently researching the history of the old Del Mar Airport for a future story.)
Reader’s question brings family history back to life
Sometimes a question is the beginning of a history story.
Jennifer Goulet first reached out while trying to piece together her family’s connection to downtown San Diego after reading my Lost Restaurants series.
Her questions about her grandfather and her family’s history eventually led to the story of Pete’s Garden Café and the Ferrantelli family.
An old newspaper clipping about Pete’s Garden Café. (Courtesy of Jennifer Goulet)After the story was published, Jennifer shared her appreciation for the effort that went into uncovering those memories.
“So good, Debbie!!! Job well done,” Goulet wrote. “Thank you for all of your hard work and thoughtful words to recreate time’s past.”
She added that she hoped to locate a photograph connected to the story.
“I know, someday, I’ll locate that picture,” she wrote. “It will be waiting in your inbox.”
Jennifer’s story is a reminder that local history often begins with a question — and that family photographs, memories and conversations can help bring forgotten chapters back to life.
A Marine veteran remembers Camp Callan
1941 Camp Callan. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)Anderson wrote that the article brought to mind a marker located in a grassy area east of the senior leadership facilities at UC San Diego.
He recalled seeing a marker featuring the Marine Corps emblem and an information plaque identifying the area’s connection to World War II rifle training.
His message is a reminder that traces of San Diego’s military history can still be found throughout the region — sometimes in places where few people realize an important chapter once unfolded.
He read my story about Camp Callan, the World War II military training center once located near La Jolla, retired U.S. Marine J.S., and shared another piece of the site’s history.
Fishing family’s story adds another voice to maritime history
Tuna pole fishing back in the day was a popular pastime, as well as helped build the local economy. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)Once he finished reading my story about fishing in San Diego, Jason Lopez shared his family’s connection to the local fishing industry.
Lopez wrote that his grandfather and other relatives fished alongside Portuguese fishing families, while his aunt and other Mexican women worked in local canneries.
“My grandfather and many of the men in my family fished alongside the Portuguese,” Lopez wrote. “My aunt and other Mexican women worked in the canneries.”
He also shared a family memory from World War II, when he said the Navy took fishing boats for wartime use before they were later returned to fishermen, including his grandfather.
His story is yet another reminder that San Diego history is made up of many voices — those who worked on the waterfront, supported local industries and helped build communities.
A childhood memory of Mission Valley’s dairy country
Allen’s dairy farm – Mission Valley – c. 1922. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)My story about Mission Valley’s dairies prompted Mike Hughey to share a memory from his childhood.
Born in San Diego in 1947 and raised in El Cajon, Hughey remembered a grade school field trip during the 1950s that took his class to a dairy in Mission Valley.
“Thank you for the article about the dairies in Mission Valley,” Hughey wrote. “When I was in grade school in the 1950s, our class went on a field trip to a dairy in Mission Valley.”
The visit left a lasting impression.
“I had my first ice cream sandwich there,” he recalled.
For many San Diegans, history is not only found in dates and photographs. It is also found in simple moments — a school trip, a favorite treat or a place that becomes part of a childhood memory.
“I enjoy your articles about San Diego history,” Hughey wrote. “Thanks for the memories.”
A bartender’s son remembers El Cajon Boulevard nightlife
Creole Palace, dancers, unknown date. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)The Lost Restaurant series was fun to write, and the part about San Diego’s nightlife prompted Larry Grano to share a family connection with the city’s entertainment history.
Grano, a native San Diegan, wrote that his father worked as a bartender on El Cajon Boulevard at two establishments: The Streamliner and Sexton’s Steakhouse.
“As I was very young, I never knew much about those places,” Grano wrote.
He reached out hoping to learn more about the places where his father once worked.
His message is a reminder that behind every vanished restaurant, bar or nightclub are the people who helped bring those places to life.
A childhood memory of an Encinitas chimpanzee
I was in awe when Fred Berg’s shared his colorful memory from growing up in Encinitas during the late 1940s.
Berg recalled that a chimpanzee was kept in a cage along Main Street (Highway 101), where passersby could see the animal from the sidewalk.
Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center. Street view of Highway 101 in Encinitas looking south from D Street in about 1928. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)“There was a chimpanzee kept in a cage on the sidewalk right on Main Street, Highway 101,” Berg wrote. “A small kid stuck his fingers in, and the chimp bit them off! No more chimp!”
Whether remembered through childhood eyes or local lore, stories like Berg’s offer a glimpse into a very different era — when unusual roadside attractions and unexpected encounters were part of everyday life.
His memory offers another glimpse into a time when unusual animal exhibits and roadside attractions were more common, and when childhood encounters often became family stories passed down through generations.
A familiar face in an old photograph
View of lifeguards at Mission Beach performing acrobatics on the beach near Belmont Park in 1951. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)Sometimes readers recognize more than a place—they recognize a person.
I like old beach stories, and Mission Beach has a lot of them; one features a vintage photograph of San Diego lifeguards doing their thing. A reader wrote to thank me for the article and shared that she believed the lifeguard pictured might have been her father.
Whether or not the identification could be confirmed, her message was a reminder that old photographs often hold deeply personal connections, turning pieces of local history into treasured family memories.
A childhood connection comes full circle
Lynn Rosenbaum at Alpine Dinosaur Land in 2015. She sent this in after being alerted to the article. (Photo courtesy of Lynn Rosenbaum)Sometimes a story reconnects people with places they never expected to revisit.
IN a new series about the area’s roadside relics and oddities, and featuring Alpine’s Dinosaur Land, Lynn Rosenblum reached out with a note that brought the story full circle.
“What a delight to read your article about the Alpine Dinosaur Park of my childhood,” Rosenblum wrote.
She even shared a photograph of herself returning to Alpine in 2015 for a reunion with Bob, one of the dinos connected to the one-time attraction.
Rosenblum explained that her son, who works in public relations, discovered the article while monitoring news coverage for her. Today, she still lives in San Diego and teaches the history of toys as a college professor.
Her note is a reminder that the places we remember as children often shape us in unexpected ways — and that the stories behind those places continue to inspire new generations.
We will be exploring old toys and their history closer to the holidays.
LA filmmaker searches for Mabel Normand’s ‘Peace Tree’
A scene from the film “Fatty and Mabel go to the San Diego Exposition.” (Photo courtesy of The Movie Database (TMDB)Sometimes a history story sparks new questions rather than providing all the answers.
After my article about Balboa Park’s gardens, LA filmmaker Kevin Cloud Brechner contacted me while researching a feature film about silent movie star Mabel Normand.
Brechner described an event during the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition in which Normand reportedly gathered schoolchildren in Montezuma Garden, buried a rifle, pistol, and sword as symbols of peace, and planted an olive tree over them.
View of Dorothy Taylor Chamberlain standing at Botanical Garden beside Lily Pond in Balboa Park in the 1920s. (Photo courtesy of the San Diego History Center)He wanted to know whether the tree still survives and whether the buried artifacts remain beneath the garden.
“I am working on a feature film about Mabel Normand,” Brechner wrote, “and am hoping to shoot a recreation of that event in the garden.”
His questions are a reminder that local history continues to inspire new research, documentaries and films—and that sometimes an old newspaper article becomes the starting point for someone else’s search for the past.
I’m still researching his claim, as it is fascinating and I am an old silent screen buff.
One story leads to another search
Mountain Meadow Milk – c.1935. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center Collections)History research has a way of sparking new questions.
The Mission Valley dairies story hit home for a few folks like John Pierre Menvielle, who reached out not only to share part of his own story but to ask for help uncovering another chapter of San Diego County history.
Born in 1945 and raised on an alfalfa and vegetable farm in Imperial Valley, Menvielle wrote that his mother graduated from San Diego State College in 1934 when the campus was located in Mission Valley.
His message soon turned to another local mystery.
“How do I locate photos of the rodeos held in Jacumba (San Diego County) in the 1950s?” he asked. “If you can direct me to find them, I would appreciate it.”
He ended his note with a simple encouragement:
“Keep writing, all very interesting, thank you.”
His message is a reminder that every history story often leads to another. A reader may come looking for one piece of the past but leave inspired to uncover another.
Read more history stories here.
Do you have a story to share?
Do you have a memory, photograph, family keepsake,e or story connected to San Diego’s past? I’d love to hear from you at Debbiesklar@cox.net.
Whether it is a favorite restaurant that disappeared, a neighborhood landmark, a family connection to a historic place, or a photograph tucked away in an album, those personal stories help add another layer to our understanding of San Diego history.
After all, history is not just found in archives — it is also carried through the memories and experiences of the people who lived it.
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