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Times WWW. S ANDIEGOHISTORY. ORG Spring 2005 Volume XXXXII, Number 2 Developing San Diego Making History Every Day ©Travers, San Diego Historical Society San Diego Historical ©Travers, Above: Lake Cuyamaca, September 2001; from top right: Lake Cuyamaca, 1923; Children at Lake Cuyamaca, 1902; Stonewall Mine with mule teams and drivers, ca. 1890; Trestle over Jamacha Road, El Cajon Valley, San Diego Cuyamaca Flume Company, 1897. A New Exhibition Opening May 12 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Welcome to our new Executive Director Our new Interim Executive Director, David Watson, has had a busy start to his first few months here at the Society. would like to thank staff, Many of you will have read the recent article in the San Diego volunteers and the Board Union-Tribune and are concerned by its talk of budget deficits and I for the help, warmth and financial problems. There are problems, certainly, but they are being welcome they have all extended addressed and are the primary focus of our new Executive Director. David admits he has a tough job to do in putting the Society back on to me in the first two months a stable financial footing, but feels that, even with its present difficulties, that I have been Interim Director the Society has a firm basis on which to build its future. An experienced of the Historical Society. It has businessman, with a PhD in English and an MA in Psychology, David is been a busy period, filled with working with the Board of Trustees and the Staff, to steer the Society change for the Society and a through its present troubles. His experience in court mediation means he sense of new direction. is open to all ideas and he welcomes any input that may help bring David Watson about a solution. This edition of the Times As we welcome David to the San Diego Historical Society, we would outlines many of our plans. We hope you will join us in our also like to remind our Membership that it is at times like these that we ‘brown bag’ lunches to talk about and contribute ideas for especially need you, our Members. We are your Society, the Historical our forthcoming exhibition about San Diego history. We Society for the people of San Diego, and we need your support, now more than ever, to continue with our mission to protect and preserve our plan to mine our vaults for images and artifacts and local history. combine them with lively narrative that will provide insight into our regional and municipal story for both residents and visitors. This exhibition will open toward the end of VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT the year and will fulfill over ten years of discussion and planning. JANE COWGILL This year, Designer Showcase is of special interest. f you gave most people a large box The Haines’ house in Golden Hill is representative of the of public documents with varying dramatic shift from Victorian influences in urban mansions Idegrees of poor handwriting and to the more understated Craftsman style that occurred asked for them to be cataloged, they would probably go pale at the thought just at the turn of the 20th century. It represents a move – lucky for us that Jane Cowgill is not toward a more utilitarian ethic that provides insight into one of those people. Since she started the tenor and values of San Diego during that era. Please as a volunteer in the Research Library in 2000, Jane has spent most of her join us as we celebrate and enjoy the efforts of our many time wading through such boxes and designers, including noted urban designer Roderick making the contents more accessible for our researchers. She originally Shade, as they bring this home back to life in the turning started with cataloging Affidavits of Citizenship, progressed to records for the old Probate Court and then graduated to the Superior Court records - years of still another century. It is our major fundraiser of for which, to date, she has cataloged over 10,000 records! She also found the year and, as always, we need your support. time to squeeze in the cataloging of the San Diego City Lot Books, all 129 As we move forward, however, expect more change. It of them, which are a great resource for anyone researching the history of their house. is no secret that the Society faces challenges, both Jane is no stranger to volunteering, starting out as a volunteer at the financial and in the way it defines its mission. At our core, Old Globe in 1974 because of her love for the theatre. She went on to and as founder George Marston envisioned, we have the become a staff member and finally retired after 25 years, which then gave her more time to indulge her other passion of history. Born and bred in responsibility to collect, to preserve and to make Oceanside, Jane has been researching her own family history for many available to the public, the many artifacts, images and years, even managing to track down some interesting details about the artworks that have defined San Diego over the years. English branch of her family during vacation visits to London. She is also an active member of Los Californianos, a genealogy group whose These responsibilities, however, create opportunities, members have to be able to track their Hispanic ancestors back to Alta and we must choose the best ways to remain vital, California and the period before statehood - she can lay claim to Jose relevant, and involved in the diverse, culturally and Francisco Ortega back in 1769. Even with all of the large numbers of records she has cataloged, Jane intellectually exciting, civic environment that is today’s still finds time to read through the interesting ones - and to discover she San Diego. Mr. Marston would expect no less. is related to many of the people concerned. This passion for family My door is open to you, and I welcome your thoughts history has definitely been instrumental in her starting her latest project – the cataloging of the Marriage Licenses from San Diego 1871-1959, all 300 and participation. It is my privilege to serve as your new volumes! This will provide a valuable resource for others researching their Director. own family history, and we consider ourselves very fortunate to have such an enthusiastic volunteer who is not put off by the immensity of such a project. 2 The Little Black Dress by Devan McGirr, Curatorial Assistant t’s 1934 in Coldwater, Michigan, and eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Hurley Fall poses with her best girlfriends for a high school graduation photograph. She’s wearing a black dress made by Le Vine of Cincinnati that is simple yet Ielegant. Made from black satiny fabric, the dress features a V-shaped neckline bordered with delicate off-white lace. Multi-colored floral embroidery, accented with gold metallic thread, decorates the neckline and sleeves. The skirt of the dress has three tiers of long ruffles falling from the hips and flares out at the bottom. Three-quarter length sleeves end in a ruffle at the elbow. Slits at the back of the sleeves reveal more off-white lace and sheer peach-colored material, tied with a black ribbon. In December 2005, Elizabeth’s daughter, Sally Fall, generously donated her mother’s dress to the Society’s Costume and Textile Collection. The dress had hung in a closet in her mother’s La Jolla home for years. Sally did not know the history of the dress until after her mother’s death when she discovered a photograph of her mother wearing it as a teenager. Although the date when the dress was made is unknown, its style is similar to the formal afternoon dresses fashionable during the late 1920s and early 1930s. This dress is a great example of Depression and Pre-War era fashion, and is a valuable addition to the collection. q RUTH MILBURN r Las Patronas Grant for New Microfilm Reader/Printer ong-time volunteer and friend of the San Diego one are the days of illegible microfilm copies, constant paper jams and overpriced, outdated toner cartridges. The Research Historical Society, Ruth L Library now has a new, state of the art microfilm reader/printer, Milburn, passed away on G thanks to a generous grant from Las Patronas. The new Konica Minolta December 25th. Ruth’s association MS 6000 reader/printer not only makes microfilm viewing and printing a with the Society started thirty-six breeze, it also provides crystal-clear copies and has the capability for years ago when the Research scanning microfilm images to create digital files. Library was at the Serra Museum. Las Patronas is a philanthropic organization that has been Her special interest was in manu- giving money to needy nonprofit organizations in San Diego County scripts and, during her many years since its inception in 1946. During its nearly fifty years of existence, Las in the Research Library, she Patronas has donated more than ten million dollars to organizations painstakingly inventoried and providing community services in the areas of health, education, social processed hundreds of manuscripts collections. services and the cultural arts. All the staff and volunteers at the San Diego Historical Society are Ruth and her husband, Ken, were also great supporters of immensely grateful to Las Patronas for granting us the necessary funds the SDHS Tours and took part in many of the trips from the for this much-needed piece of library equipment. very early days when it was still a ‘bus’ tour. One of their favorites was the annual ‘Gold Rush Tour’ which used to take in many of the tiny Gold Rush towns, where they would visit all the small local Historical Societies along the way.

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