THE POPPY PAPER Official Monthly Publication of the Boosters of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park A Non-Profit Organization

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THE POPPY PAPER Official Monthly Publication of the Boosters of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park A Non-Profit Organization June 2011 Be part of an exciting program that promotes the Californio

The Californios de San Diego Living History Group welcomes Old Town Descendants, BOOT members and volunteers to join in one or more of the following Californio activities: Dancing, food preparation,

1 THE POPPY PAPER Official Monthly Publication of the Boosters of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park A Non-Profit Organization June 2011 Be part of an exciting program that promotes the Californio culture in San Diego during the time period. The Californios de San Diego Living History Group welcomes Old Town Descendants, BOOT members and volunteers to join in one or more of the following Californio activities: Dancing, food preparation, cooking, craft demonstrations, gambling demonstrations, horse riding, playing games, playing music and much more! No experience is required. We also welcome groups that play or dance to the music of the Californio culture. Los Bailadores, a local dance group has generously participated in bringing the lively dances that were part of the Californio celebration. Lucy Thorpe is the leader of the following Los Bailadores members: Marcas Barragan, Wayne Ellsworth, Ursulla Ellsworth, June Goldenberg, Harry Goldenberg, Nicole Molina, Rodney Henderson, Nelly Phillips, Bill Thorpe, Deanna Turton, Gary Turton, and Ron Vosacek. Come on the second Saturday of the month and you may observe Laura-Lee Bisbal making paper flowers, Nancy Kelleher and Patricia Law demonstrating how to make cascarones (decorated empty egg shells filled with confetti), Shirlee Rodriguez and/or Benita Gray demonstrating how to play Monte, (one of the most popular Californio card games), Chris Clark playing romantic music with his guitar, Patt Seitas grinding corn on the metate to make the masa (corn dough), Catalina Leon- Jimenez making salsa, Minnie Tafoya preparing a delicious prickly pear cactus dish, Pauline Marquez and Valerie Marquez making flour tortillas, Alex Marquez, Camilo Marquez, Samuel Kelly demonstrating the art of grilling beef the traditional way, Edward Garcia and Blanca Garcia demonstrating one of their favorite Californio dishes! Continued on page 2 By Joe Vasquez, Volunteer Coordinator Los Bailadores Dancers BOOT BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Jeanne Ferrell (619) Vice President: Gary Turton (619) Secretary: Zulema Franco Treasurer: Deanna Turton (619) BOOT Store: Mary Jones Membership: Shirlee Rodriguez Historian: Bob Wohl Restoration Spec: Chuck Ferrell Web Master: Bob Jones Poppy Paper Ruth French (858) Editor: poppypapereditor@gmail.com Board Members: Mary Ellen Young Tom Young Cindy Furlong BOOT Website: Park Website: pg. 1

2 President s Notes By Jeanne Ferrell It was the best of times; it was the worst of times! The CALPA Conference this year in Mendocino was filled with great contradictions and extremes, from good to bad. The good was the networking again with friends from other state parks. The bad news was the announcement that 70 state parks will close by July 2012! The California State Parks Foundation president, Elizabeth Goldstein stated in a news conference: We are not going to stand by as our state parks system is closed and dismantled. California s state park system belongs to the people of California and its existence is critical to the state s environmental, economic and civic fabric. Poor choices made now will forever change the state parks system. When state parks are closed, their natural and cultural resources may suffer such significant harm that it may be impossible to recover these gems later, either because of great cost to correct the deterioration or because the harm is irreparable. Added to that will be a loss of economic opportunities in communities surrounding these parks. The bill AB 42 proposed by Jared Huffman, Novato s representative in the California Assembly, which will help the state park system receive help from nonprofits, has passed the Assembly. The Assembly s support of AB 42 will move into the State Senate for further consideration. AB 42 authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into operating agreements for the development, improvement, restoration, care, maintenance, administration or operation of a state park unit with a qualified nonprofit organization that exists to provide visitor services in state parks, facilitate public access, improve park facilities or provide interpretive and educational services. Rep. Huffman said: We need to continue to seek stable long-term funding for state parks, while at the same time work to facilitate other creative solutions, including public/private partnerships, to keep state parks open for the public s benefit. On the home front, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park was not on the closure list. However, our sister park, San Pasqual Battlefield was listed. More to come Making Living History Come Alive (cont d) You may see Abel Silvas, George Gray and Caryn Zimmer cheerfully inviting you to come inside the Machado y Silvas adobe or David La Torre and Alfred Viruegas riding their beautiful horses, dressed in their vaquero outfit. Visitors of all ages may participate in most of the activities. Anyone can attend as an observer and potential member on the second Saturday of the month. You can also help behind the scenes. Doug Zimmer helps with set-up and take-down. Ray Tafoya helps with logistics, and Bert Randlett comes in to relieve Samuel Kelly in one of the museums so Samuel can share his wealth of Californio knowledge with the public. For more information about the opportunities contact Joe Vasquez at Alfred Viruegas and David La Torre riding their horses (Atlas and Apache) pg. 2

Treasurer s Notes By Deanna Turton Once again, the month of April was almost a break even month...although we did show a profit of $162.55 after all bills were paid.

3 Treasurer s Notes By Deanna Turton Once again, the month of April was almost a break even month...although we did show a profit of $ after all bills were paid. On the income side of the ledger, things were about the same, except for the fact that there was no income from BOOT tours for school children. There was, however, $ from Ladies Day income from all sources...the hat contest, refreshment table donations, plant sales, ice cream sales, and craft booth donations. Thankfully, expenses were also not too heavy in April with only five expense categories going over the $200 threshold. First quarter sales taxes - $746.00, BOOT funded park maintenance projects - $292.27, BOOT store inventory replacement - $ , Ladies Day expenses - $ and new chairs from the general fund - $ All ten other expense categories were less than $200. Perhaps a word should also be said about the general account mentioned above. It was decided by the BOOT board at the April meeting, that any leftover funds from event budgets would be placed in a general fund for the park to use for other projects...with oversight of the BOOT board, of course. This was placed on the agenda because Gregg Giacopuzzi found a good price on wooden chairs on the internet and asked me if he could buy them with unused Ladies Day funds. I agreed, but then asked the Board for further direction if future expenditures were charged to leftover event funds. Therefore, it was decided to create a general fund for all event budget allocations that were not used in the course of funding an event. After all expenses are paid for an event, park staff can notify the BOOT treasurer or BOOT secretary for desired items so that additional purchases can be placed on the next month's agenda. If the BOOT Board agrees to the purchase, the Park can buy the desired item and the item will be charged to the general fund. BAKED GOODS NEEDED 4 TH OF JULY CAKE WALK Once again baked goods will be needed for our popular Old Fashioned Cake Walk, a favorite activity at our 4 th of July celebration at Old Town. Please help make it a big success again this year by donating small cakes, 6 to 8 cupcakes or brownies, or 6 to 12 cookies, decorated and covered with plastic wrap so the ants won t get to them first. Sugar-free or gluten-free items are always welcome, but please label. The baked goods may be delivered to the upstairs rooms of the Robinson-Rose Building on Sunday, July 3 rd or at the Cake Walk area on the Plaza from 10 to 12 on Monday, July 4 th. Please contact Shirlee Rodriguez at shirlrod@gmail.com if you have further questions. Thank you for your continuing support and generous donations. BOOT Store News By Mary Jones I was one of 10 park representatives at the CALPA conference. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet members of many other co-operative associations. I talked to a number of people about their stores and came away with some new ideas for our store. Bob and I visited several historical parks on our way home: Fort Ross, Stanford home in Sacramento, and Sutter s Fort. Lisa, the executive director at Sutter s Fort, gave us a tour of their store. I saw several new items that I will be ordering for our store. As soon as the new items arrive, I will list them in the Poppy Paper. Please continue to support our store. Remember all BOOT members receive a 10% discount. pg. 3

CALPA Reflections By Deanna Turton Perhaps the only way to describe the CALPA convention in Mendocino is to reflect on the bitter sweet aspects of the long weekend.

4 CALPA Reflections By Deanna Turton Perhaps the only way to describe the CALPA convention in Mendocino is to reflect on the bitter sweet aspects of the long weekend. Let me begin with the positive things and special highlights. On Monday, May 9th, Jeanne and Chuck Ferrell, with me in tow, pulled out of their driveway for the long road trip to Mendocino. A day earlier, Mary and Bob Jones, as well as Mary Ellen and Tom Young, with Elena Orozco as a passenger, set out on the same path. And what a lovely ride through the California countryside it was! Camping with the Ferrells is always a wonderful treat for me because Jeanne and I are sisters of the heart! She cooks and I do the dishes! Arriving on Tuesday, we had time to check out the Fort Bragg community and eat lunch together in a small restaurant near the Skunk Train landing. Afterwards, there was time for shopping at the local farmer's market and a hike through the redwoods. The next morning, Mary, Bob, and I took a three hour tour of the local botanical garden where we were treated to a rainbow of blooming rhododendrons. The garden also showcased a goodly variety of wildflowers, fuchsias, redwoods, and ferns. Then it was down to business with the opening session on Thursday night at the historic Ford home on a headland in Mendocino where convention guests could renew old friendships and make new acquaintances. However, by midmorning on Friday, the long dreaded rumor of park closures drifted through all the rooms where the individual sessions were held. As noon approached and lunch was finished, the long list of closures was read aloud so all participants could learn if their park was being closed or spared. Needless to say, it was a sad moment for everyone. Perhaps the only good thing about hearing the long list of 70 park closures was that we were all together for mutual support 150 people all dedicated to State parks and resolved to fight these closures. Our goal was to keep the parks open, even if it meant non-profit associations accepting the responsibility for operating the parks! Later we heard a heartfelt speech from Director Ruth Coleman telling us it was time to "think out of the box" to solve problems, for it was clear that we could no longer operate as usual. Her talk was filmed by Bob Jones, and we hope to be able to share it with you in the near future. On Sunday when we headed for home, the weather turned bad with hail, heavy rain and strong winds. In some ways, it seemed a metaphor for errors made in the past and perhaps things left undone. For me, now is surely the time for new thinking and fresh ideas to save our State parks. 42 nd Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree Friday through Sunday June 10-12, 2011 Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA The Old Spanish Trail in California pg. 4

5 CALPA Reflections By Bob Jones During the CALPA conference in Mendocino, BOOT was well represented by several board members. We attended workshops, networked, and received the most current, accurate information from Sacramento Park staff and from many members of other associations. This year we were able to meet and talk with Wayne Breece, Cooperating Association Manager, California State Parks. The California State Budget deficit has caused the State Park staff to close 70 parks for the first time in state history. Elizabeth Goldstein, Executive Director of California State Parks Foundation announced the closures to the 150+ CALPA attendees. There was initial shock as several people were from parks being closed. Later, Goldstein and California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman expressed their resolve to move forward and push to make the best of a bad situation. Saturday evening, Coleman outlined how we must all work collectively to find solutions. Some excerpts of her ten goals include: Use electronics, Facebook, web site, Twitter etc. to get the message out. Broaden your base approach different communities, get out of your comfort zone Broaden your vision of what you can do Say Yes! - What else? - Why not? Don t borrow trouble or imagine all of the negatives so you freeze and don t act. Seek to understand - then be understood Instead of our usual Decide, Announce and Defend method, work collaboratively. It takes longer, but is better and will be challenging. Respect each other and be kind to each other. Connect to young generations every organization, Parks Department and non-profits, should move from good to great. Think like an entrepreneur but don t ignore the other responsibilities of preserving nature, history and culture and don t trash each other s ideas. Believe that you are a winner legislators do not fund losing causes. We are not losers, we are not downtrodden, and we are not giving up! BOOT Board Members at CALPA Conference 2011 Bob and Mary Jones, Mary Ellen and Tom Young (front); Jeanne and Chuck Ferrell, Deanna Turton (back) pg. 5

6 CALENDER PAGE pg. 6

GARDEN VIEWS By Deanna Turton The Garden Committee, mainly with the assistance of Edna Nerio and JP Gendron, recently installed the new irrigation system in the Machado-Stewart Garden.

Love, fertilizer, compost and water can make all the difference in a garden!!! At the present time, the Stewart Garden is being readied for summer vegetables.

7 GARDEN VIEWS By Deanna Turton The Garden Committee, mainly with the assistance of Edna Nerio and JP Gendron, recently installed the new irrigation system in the Machado-Stewart Garden. It is the same type of irrigation system as JP recently put in the Machado-Silvas garden. As you can see from the photos of the Machado-Silvas garden, the before and after views are startling. Love, fertilizer, compost and water can make all the difference in a garden!!! At the present time, the Stewart Garden is being readied for summer vegetables. That means moving some well-established plants around to make room for the corn that Edna is growing from seed. As you receive the June issue of the Poppy Paper, these plants should be big enough to go in the ground. We also plan to plant beans, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon, pumpkin, peppers, and anything else that looks interesting in the seed catalog! The garden committee would like to thank Gregg Giacopuzzi for helping pull out the old irrigation lines as Deanna unearthed them with the shovel. Many thanks also to Gary Turton for cutting up and pulling out all the old soaker hoses which were full of leaks and meandering all over the garden. And finally thanks to the Maintenance Department for hauling away all of our sacks of garden refuse! January 2011 Spring 2011 From the Editor s Desk We cannot avoid the overwhelmingly bad news these days! Over 1,500 teachers in San Diego County have received pink slips (and the 4 th Grade program in Old Town is being eliminated). Seventy California State Parks will be closed in the very near future. Unemployment is still in the double digits in many parts of our country!!! What will we do? How will we, especially the Old Town community, survive all of this? Many years ago I was given this advice: When faced with adversity, try and recognize that no matter how difficult things might seem, someone else, somewhere else is having a much more difficult time. By doing this, you generally realize that your problems really aren t that great after all! The recent tornado devastation throughout the Midwest brought me back to the lessons of my youth. I believe that through hard work and cooperation, our Old Town community will weather the storm. Just as those folks in the Midwest are coming together to rebuild their lives, I know that WE will pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and continue providing quality experiences for our visitors. Happy Father s Day, Happy Summer Happy Reading! pg. 7

THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE MEMBERS! Join us in our support of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park! $ 50.

gov Volunteers: Submit to jvasquez@parks.ca.gov ALL OTHER SUBMISSIONS may be sent directly to: poppypapereditor@gmail.

Bldg.) If you do not desire any editing of your article, adherence to the following is mandatory: FONT TYPE AND SIZE: Times New Roman (12) STYLE:

8 THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE MEMBERS! Join us in our support of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park! $ Corporate Basic Membership (business card or logo ad for 1 month) $ Corporate Enhanced Membership (business card or logo ad for 12 months) Please refer to the back cover page for more details. POPPY PAPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Park Aides: Submit to rdennison@parks.ca.gov Volunteers: Submit to jvasquez@parks.ca.gov ALL OTHER SUBMISSIONS may be sent directly to: poppypapereditor@gmail.com DEADLINE: 25 th of each month (handwritten deadline is the 20 th Please drop in Ruth French s volunteer folder in the Robinson-Rose Bldg.) If you do not desire any editing of your article, adherence to the following is mandatory: FONT TYPE AND SIZE: Times New Roman (12) STYLE: single spaced with a double space between paragraphs (not indented) LENGTH: 400 words or less NOTE: Submissions that exceed 400 words are likely to be edited for length and clarity. Exceedingly longer articles may be divided and published in consecutive editions of the Paper. Inclusion of articles is on a space-available, first-come basis and at the editor's discretion. pg. 8

9 Annual Descendants Luncheon Old Town Cultural and Historical Program Campus 3939 Conde St., San Diego, CA SATURDAY, JUNE 25, am 4pm Families Are a Part of History Descendants networking, family research workshop, report from Descendant Committee, report on Park activities. Raffle and social time! Luncheon Cost: $15 ($5 no meal) Reservation and pre-luncheon payments are due by June 15! (After that we will take whom we can at the door as resources permit.) Send in your reservations to Benita and George Gray, 9720 Oviedo St., San Diego, CA Make checks payable to BOOT (Boosters of Old Town). More Info: gray850@aol.com or MAKE OLD TOWN HISTORY COME ALIVE! BECOME A TOUR GUIDE We are looking for volunteers to help preserve the history of Old Town and share the many colorful stories of our past with local school children. There are exciting and rewarding opportunities for you as an educational tour guide. Local school groups are calling, anxious to schedule student tours, but we need more tour guides to meet their requests. You can make a difference in the lives of young people by getting involved! Please join us for a Tour Guide Orientation/Open House on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, starting at 10:00 am. We will meet in the McCoy Interpretive Center, give you an overview of the Educational Tour Program in the park, and answer any questions you may have about the program. Free Lunch will be served at noon. An experienced tour guide will conduct a sample student tour on Saturday, June 18 th starting at 10 am at the Seeley Stables. All volunteers are welcome to attend and learn more about becoming an educational tour guide at Old Town State Historic Park. VOLUNTEER TRAINING A training session for new volunteers is scheduled on June 18 th at the McCoy Interpretive Center. The three hour orientation starts at 1 p.m. Additional monthly training sessions will be presented, as needed, throughout the year. Volunteers are needed to demonstrate living history through gardening, food preparation and cooking, blacksmithing, women s artisan skills, leather tanning, shoe making, care of animals, period dance and music, and other activities of daily life. There are also behind the scenes opportunities for administrative duties, period sewing, and craft making. We invite you to have fun, meet new people, and get involved! Please RSVP your attendance to Volunteer Coordinator, Joe Vasquez jvasquez@parks.ca.gov pg. 9

BOOSTERS OF OLD TOWN San Diego State Historic Park 4002 Wallace Street San Diego, CA 92110 NOTICE: If you have a friend who would like to learn more about San Diego History, enjoys meeting people,

10 BOOSTERS OF OLD TOWN San Diego State Historic Park 4002 Wallace Street San Diego, CA NOTICE: If you have a friend who would like to learn more about San Diego History, enjoys meeting people, and likes to have a good time, give him/her this application form to fill out and send in. New members are always welcome. And, if you have forgotten to renew your membership it s never too late to send it in. We miss you! $ Single Supporting Member $ Family (2 or more individuals) $ Senior (62+ years)/student Single $ Senior Couple (62+ years) $ Life Member (62+ years) MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION $ Corporate Membership (includes business card sized ad in the Poppy Paper and on our website for one month) $ Enhanced Corporate Membership (includes business card sized ad in the Poppy Paper and on our website for 12 months) I am also interested in volunteer opportunities, please contact me! (Please fill out the reverse side.) NAME(S) ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP PHONE I belong to the following group(s): Docent Military Descendants Californios Make your check out to BOOT and mail to: BOOT Membership Chairperson, Shirlee Rodriguez, P.O. Box , San Diego, CA pg. 10

THE POPPY PAPER Official Monthly Publication of the Boosters of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park A Non-Profit Organization

THE POPPY PAPER Official Monthly Publication of the Boosters of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park A Non-Profit Organization Student Tour Guide Orientation/Open House By Shirlee Rodriguez July 2011