Carlsbad Time Lines
Q1 2024 Carlsbad, California, Historical Society
President's Letter
Happy New Year! We wish you a healthy and happy year ahead.
We are starting off the year with an excellent book talk just in time for the Flower Fields to reopen, “In a Garden by the Sea: the Story of Luther and Olive Gage” will be presented by author Jo Ellen Guthrie, Friday, March 8, 2024 at 10:30 am, sponsored by the Carlsbad Historical Society and The Cole Library. Renowned flower bulb grower Luther Gage moved to Carlsbad in 1921, met his wife Olive and created the star of the Carlsbad Flower Fields: the Giant Tecolote Ranunculus. Come learn more about his achievements in flower production and their combined contributions to the Carlsbad Community.
More programs to come during the year, please let us know if there is a topic of interest you’d like to attend.
Oceanside Historical Society Director and Historian Kristi Hawthorne continues to create excellent historical documentation through her blog postings. I constantly learn something interesting. and highly recommend you take a look at this link
https://historiesandmysteries.blog/author/hawthorneoside/
Please remember to renew your annual membership and consider becoming a Lifelong Member.
Sue
Annual Election Results and Annual Meeting
2023 Annual Meeting and Holiday Event
Magee House
258 Beech Street, Carlsbad, CA 92008
December 3, 2023
Minutes December 3, 2023
At the Annual Meeting and Holiday event approval by affirmation of the 2023 Annual Board of Directors Election was reported for two year terms beginning January 2024 through December 2025 for the following positions: Marvin Sippel- first vice president, Ken Langen- second vice president.
Treasurer Germán Gutierrez presented the financials and stated we were in a financially positive position.
New address for Carlsbad Historical Society
We have installed a mailbox in front of the Shipley-Magee House. The post will be delivered either here or to our PO Box until May. After that, and for a year, the PO Box mail will be forwarded to our physical address. PO Box costs have increased a lot in the last two years.
The new address is:
Carlsbad Historical Society
258 Beech Ave.
Carlsbad CA 92008
Phone: (442) 500-4471
New mailbox in front of the House
Website Upcoming Events Calendar
Our website recently added a Calendar section. You’ll find it on the front Home page of our site, and it will list upcoming events. You can find other interesting items on our webpage including historical videos and past newsletters.
https://www.carlsbadhistoricalsociety.com/
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Board Meetings Magee House, at 4 pm. Contact the board for venue information:
February 19
May 20
Aug 19
Nov 18
March 8, 2024, Friday, at 10:30 am Author Talk “In a Garden by the Sea…” by Jo Ellen Guthrie
Nov 17 - Tentative Annual Meeting
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Items from our newsletter archives
A few items of interest from our Newsletter Archives turned up the following that caught our eye:
Our earliest newsletter listing in 1983; “Ways and Means…. We approved a new dues schedule at our last meeting, providing five separate categories of membership in the Carlsbad Historical Society…..Type of Membership: Student- $5., Individual-$15, Family- $25, Business/Institutional- $35, Sustaining- $100. Life-$250.
What a deal. Forty years later and our dues are almost the same! See the enclosed membership form and spread the word to your family and friends about joining. Each one of our members are our best advertisement. The more our little city changes, the more it becomes apparent that our purpose to preserve the knowledge of our local history is needed.
Membership application
Carlsbad Historical Society
258 Beech Ave., Carlsbad CA 92008
(442) 500-4471 cbadhistory@gmail.com
Name_______________________________________
Address_____________________________________
______________________________________
Phone Number _______________________________
Email Address________________________________
Individual $25. _______ Family $35. ___________
Student $5. ___________ Lifelong $250._________
Business $50_______
Yes I would like to volunteer, call me regarding___ Membership
_______Display Committee ________Docent ________Tours
_______Publicity ________Fund Raising
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From the Carlsbad Sea Lion (Carlsbad’s first newspaper)
February 18, 1888
The Carlsbad Land and Water Company will receive early next month two carloads of choice semi-tropical trees and plants to be used in beautifying the prettiest little city on the Pacific Coast. Every citizen should fall in line and work with zeal.
Keep up your stock. The plan of allowing stock to run at large during nights is a nuisance and a positive damage to Carlsbad and should be stopped at once. There are dozens of gardens and lawns and hundreds of rare trees and plants unprotected from the tread of stock that must not be molested. Owners of stock should see that the same is perfectly secured thus avoiding trouble, expense and great deal annoyance to all concerned.
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How we’ve grown!
When the historical society was first formed, members met for breakfast at Denny’s. A few years later, they were given space in the old train depot. By 1993, President Amelia Irvine included this tidbit in her end of the year list of highlights –“The Society relinquished its Depot space to the Park and Recreation Department. In trade, it gained access to a Magee House hallway, a small office and one closet”. Seven years later President Margie Monroy started off the year with this line in the 2000 Newsletter, “We will soon be given the use of the entire Magee House rather than just the front part we now use”.
Those who attended our holiday get together and the hundreds of visitors we receive each year, can attest that we certainly make use of the entire house and have converted each room into many valuable historical displays.
Check out our tour of the house and barn. They are listed under Walking Tours at the following link --
https://www.carlsbadhistoricalsociety.com/
Celebrating Christmas Carlsbad Style
December 2023 highlighted the Carlsbad Christmas spirit with inflatable Santas, Nutcrackers, Snowmen and other holiday themed displays popping up all over town. We might not have a ”White Christmas” but we know how to create holiday excitement for young and old. We, as well as our grandkids, looked forward to driving through town every few days to see how many more inflatables were added to each street. We thought it would be fun to take a look at a few 2023 displays as well as those from years past.
Before Carlsbad had its own Library, circa 1956
1917 Ramsay family Christmas card sent to the Shipley family
More than 40 Santas lined up Highland Drive between Tamarack and Chestnut
Neblina Avenue had a theme of nutcrackers
Skyline Drive had several snowmen
Poinsettia Plaza Shopping Center turns 60 years old
Its grand opening was on May 21, 1964. It is located west of the freeway on Carlsbad Village Drive, near City Hall and the Cole Library. It originally had a Big Bear Market, a TG&Y and an El Camino Pharmacy. The plaza was built where there used to be avocado fields. Our VP, Ken Langen, remembers that the young teenage Langen brothers played for this occasion.
Recent postings on Facebook have mentioned that this whole shopping center is being considered for demolition, and to be replaced by a five story building with a mix of shops and condominiums.
Carlsbad Journal article of May 21, 1964 with news of the Poinsettia Plaza Shopping Center Opening
The former TG&Y is where Denault's Hardware Store is now (TrueValue)
Here's a photo of the Smart & Final grocery store building in 1982 when it was Big Bear market. Big Bear was the original grocery store when the shopping center opened way back in 1964. That grocery store location, having gone through various owners over the years, has been an important part of our community for a long time, particularly for nearby residents!
This aerial view of the original Poinsettia Plaza shows images from the Facebook group “Save Carlsbad Village Plaza”.
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Author Talk
In a Garden by the Sea: the story of Luther and Olive Gage will be presented by author Jo Ellen Guthrie
Friday, March 8, 2024 at 10:30 am
Cole Library Community Room
1250 Carlsbad Village Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Book signing to follow
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CHS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Susan Schnebelen Gutierrez
1st Vice President: Kenneth Langen
2nd Vice President: Marvin Sippel
Secretary: Ginny Unanue
Treasurer: Germán Gutierrez
Carlsbad Historical Society
258 Beech Ave. Carlsbad CA 92008
(442) 500-4471
www.carlsbadhistoricalsociety.com
*Open Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm
*Private Tours by appointment
*School, Scouts and Families welcome
