Encinitas: Our History and People

Encinitas 

Our History and People 

By 

Carolyn Roy Cope, Jim Filanc and Garth Murphy 

A publication sponsored by the Encinitas Historical Society. 

Published by HPN Books/Ledge Media, divisions of FRE-Enterprises, Jackson, Wyoming

LEGACY SPONSORS 

Through their generous support, the following companies helped make this project possible. 

The Ecke Family 

7220 Avenida Encinas, Ste 204 

Carlsbad, CA 92011 

Charlie’s Foreign Car 

751 2nd Street 

Encinitas, CA 92024 

(760) 753-4969 

www.charliesforeigncar.com 

Esplin & Associates 

206 4TH ST, 

Encinitas, CA 92024 

(760) 249-2133 

www.esplin.legal 

Ledge Media 

690 S Highway 89, Suite 201 Box 12679 

Jackson, WY 83002 

(800) 939-5311 

www.ledgemedia.net 

First Edition 

Copyright © 2021 HPNbooks/Ledge Media 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from 

the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to HPNbooks, 690 S Highway 89, Suite 201 Box 12679 Jackson, WY 83002. Phone (800) 939-5311, www.hpnbooks.com. 

Printed in the USA. 

ISBN: 978-1-944891-72-5 

Encinitas: Our History and People 

authors: Carolyn Roy Cope, Jim Filanc and Garth Murphy 

cover artist: Kevin Anderson 

project manager and managing editor: Daphne Fletcher 

contributing writers for “Sharing the Heritage”: Kevin Kern, Kyle Thomas and Sid Shapira 

contributing photographers: Daphne Fletcher, Kyle Thomas and Neal Glasgow 

HPNbooks/Ledge Media 

publisher & CEO: Daphne Fletcher 

director of IT: Rafael Ramirez 

administration: Donna Mata, Kristin T. Williamson 

production: Colin Hart, Christopher D. Sturdevant 

2 F E N C I N I T A S : O u r H i s t o r y a n d P e o p l e

DEDICATION 

G 

“Socially distanced” 2020 gathering of 

the Encinitas Historical Society Board 

of Directors. 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Carolyn Cope 

Lois Aufmann 

Dayna Donatelli 

Jim Filanc 

Marilyn Fowler 

Liz Kovack 

Joy Lyndes 

Gigi Lopatriello 

Connie McIntire 

Suzanne Spector 

Adrien Spector 

Mike and Terri Wallace 

Pam Hammond Walker 

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAPHNE FLETCHER. 

SOURCES 

“Profiles in Flowers,” by Robert Melvin 

“Encinitas History & Heritage,” by Mac Hartley 

“San Dieguito Heritage,” by Maura Wiegand, Ph.D 

“Encinitas Magazine,” publisher Jim Baumann 

“Santa Fe Coast Lines Depot,” by Serpico and Gustafson 

“Goat Roping and a Town Called Merle,” Kathie Jenuine 

“Images of America: Encinitas,” by Kenneth Holtzclaw and Diane Welch 

“Images of America: Cardiff-by-the-Sea,” by Wehtahnah Tucker and Gus Bujkovsky 

“Brief History of Encinitas,” by Annie Hammond Cozens 

“Colony Olivenhain,” by Richard Bumann 

Encinitas Historical Society Archives 

D e d i c a t i o n F 3

CONTENTS 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................5 

INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................6 

Catherine Smith Blakespear, Mayor, City of Encinitas 

CHAPTER 1 — IN THE BEGINNING: THE EARLY YEARS .............................................................9 

CHAPTER 2 — ENCINITAS IS BORN: 1850 - 1899 .................................................................15 

CHAPTER 3 — ENCINITAS GROWS UP: 1900 - 1919.............................................................27 

CHAPTER 4 — THE FLOWER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD: 1920 - 1929.......................................39 

CHAPTER 5 — THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WAR YEARS: 1930 - 1949 ..................................49 

CHAPTER 6 — SURF’S UP: 1950 - 1979 .............................................................................59 

CHAPTER 7 — INCORPORATED! ENCINITAS GROWS UP: 1980 - 1999 ......................................73 

CHAPTER 8 — THE NEW MILLENNIUM: 2000 - PRESENT.......................................................85 

CHAPTER 9 — ENCINITAS AND THE CORONAVIRUS ..............................................................101 

SHARING THE HERITAGE .....................................................................................108 

QUALITY OF LIFE ....................................................................................110 

THE MARKETPLACE..................................................................................136 

FAMILY HERITAGE....................................................................................164 

BUILDING A GREATER ENCINITAS ...............................................................186 

LOCAL LEGENDS......................................................................................194 

INDEX ..........................................................................................................................208 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS .........................................................................................209 

ABOUT THE COVER .............................................................................................210 

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS .........................................................211 


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Garth Murphy 

Lloyd O’Connell 

Mrs. Jan Grice 

Pamela Hammond Walker 

Irene Kratzer 

Teresa Arballo Barth 

Susan Hays 

Richard and “Twink” Bumann 

Charles Marvin III 

Dave Oakley 

Rachel Brupbacher: 

(Great-Grand Niece to Miles Justus Kellogg) 

Lorraine Anne Eden: 

(Grand-Daughter of J. Frank Cullen) 

Fred Caldwell 

Jim Filanc 

Sonja Holtman 

Lois and Richard Aufmann 

This timeline and publication is as historically accurate as possible using the sources mentioned on the previous page, along with 

personal interviews, and on-line documents to verify and validate facts, locations and events. The publisher and the Encinitas 

Historical Society are not liable for any errors or omissions. 

G 

PHOTO BY TO BETSY O’NEIL. 

A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s F 5

INTRODUCTION 

B Y C A T H E R I N E S M I T H B L A K E S P E A R 

M A Y O R , C I T Y O F E N C I N I T A S 

When my family first moved to the area that would become Encinitas nearly 100 years ago in the 1920s, they undoubtedly were drawn 

to the same magical qualities that capture our individual and collective imaginations today. Those intangibles define the place that is 

Encinitas—the soft, slight coolness on the breeze, even on the hottest day; the variety in our eclectic built environment created incrementally 

over many decades; the glow reflected from the seaside bluffs at sunset onto our sandy beaches; the lagoons that meet the oceans bookending 

the undulating sandstone ecology; the touch and smell of our plants, reflecting both the desert and the tropics; and most importantly the 

historic, founding roots of the community created by our original families. These provide the mooring for our present-day city and its culture. 

My great-grandma’s family moved to Encinitas, an area that was then known as San Dieguito, from the greater Los Angeles area in 

order to plant, harvest, and sell flowers. Born in 1917, my grandma Dorothea Patricia Smith described many times how flower 

growing was the ideal business to weather the Great Depression. Even in down times, “people will still get married and die,” she’d 

say, ensuring a steady source of flower-buying customers. 

Encinitas has several well-known historic flower-growing families, most prominent the Paul Ecke family, who hybridized and mass 

marketed the Poinsettia flower during the 1950s. Thanks to the impact of newly colorized televisions and immensely popular shows, 

including the Bob Hope Christmas specials, the bright red Encinitas-grown poinsettia became the flower indelibly linked to the 

holidays throughout the United States and the world. 

G 

The 2021 Encinitas City Council raising the flag, from left to right: Joy Lyndes, Tony Kranz, Mayor Catherine S. Blakespear, Joe Mosca, and Kellie Hinze 


In addition to the pioneering Ecke family, there were dozens of smaller flower-growing players, like my grandma’s family. She and 

her family would get up in the stillness of the pre-dawn hours to drive their flowers—mainly gladiolas, which she called “glads”—to 

the Los Angeles Flower Market. Long after many types of flowers had moved indoors to be nurtured safely within greenhouses, 

gladiolas remained a local outdoor row crop. 

Over the last 70 years—from the post-war 1950s boom to the go-go 1980s and through to the slower-growth movements of 

today—Encinitas has experienced nothing short of a complete transformation. Instead of growing plants, the land now sprouts homes 

and businesses. But the essence of our beloved hometown remains resolutely intact. 

As Encinitas transformed, my family mirrored its path over four generations. While my great-grandparents were flower farmers, 

my grandparents moved into construction. Their family business, “Smith Construction Company” was the largest employer in Cardiff 

in the 1950s, building schools, bowling alleys, and roads. My parents pursued professional degrees to become attorneys; and I work 

as the mayor of the City of Encinitas and also as a practicing attorney. The question for all of us is the same—what will my children, 

and our city’s children, do and become? What will Encinitas do and become? 

I believe that the key to the healthy, long-term evolution of the City of Encinitas is our community’s reckoning with its inevitable growth. 

Together, we are committed to preserving the magical essence that defines Encinitas. Our challenge is to shape the future to ensure our vitality 

and continued high standard of living. At nearly every stage, the sentimental reflection on an idyllic past can thwart the best-intentioned 

efforts toward beneficial change. The art of positive progress lies in the delicate balancing of both preservation and enhancement. 

With our future in mind, the city in 2019 has dedicated itself to providing more homes for residents at all income levels, with a particular 

focus on housing for middle and low-income workers. A vibrant city accounts for all its residents; it does not shut the door on people. 

We are also conscientiously working to maximize the potential of our historic rail corridor for transportation, the economy, 

recreation and pleasure. The railroad laid down its first tracks in the 1880s, literally putting Encinitas on the map between the 

Mexican border and Los Angeles. Now, almost 150 years later, living with a railroad that bifurcates our coastal community increasingly 

challenges Encinitas to get creative when it comes to sharing physical and auditory space, and facilitating the flow of residents across 

and through this busy corridor, whether on bike, foot, train or in a car. 

In order to improve our city’s environment, and the health of our largest eco-system, the planet, Encinitas has committed to an 

ambitious program of greatly reducing the amount of emissions we produce. Our lauded “gold-standard” climate action plan relies on 

more bike lanes and walking paths, more trees, less driving, more recycled water and cleaner power sources. 

When the people of Encinitas came together in 1986 and decided at the ballot box to become an incorporated city instead of an 

insignificant part of San Diego County, we laid claim to our right to self-determination. Now in our five distinct communities—Old Encinitas, 

Leucadia, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, New Encinitas, and Olivenhain—we continue to define for ourselves our shared future and how our city looks 

and feels. 

This photo journal reminds us of the historic and diverse cloth that created the present; it’s a colorful tapestry that we’re all a part 

of today. Looking back is a soul-nourishing pleasure, and importantly it provides the insight we need when we face forward. As we 

walk the path to the future together, I have no doubt that Encinitas will continue its dynamic evolution, inspired by the footsteps 

of those who came before us. 

G 

Catherine Blakespear’s family: uncle, 

Raymond Elstad; aunt, Rosemary 

Kimbal; grandmother, Dorothea P. 

Smith (seated in the chair); mother, 

Tricia A. Smith; step-father Richard 

Cottrell; Catherine Blakespear; 

son, Oliver; daughter, Ava; and 

husband, Jeremy. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF RAYMOND ELSTAD. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 7

G 

An artistic “then and now” look at Encinitas, the murals can be found at on the 7-11 building at D Street and 101 by Artist Micaiah Hardison. 

IMAGE COURTESY OF DAPHNE FLETCHER. 

8 F E N C I N I T A S : O u r H i s t o r y a n d P e o p l e I n t r o d u c t i o n F 8

CHAPTER 1 

I N T H E B E G I N N I N G : T H E E A R L Y Y E A R S 

B Y G A R T H M U R P H Y , N A T I V E A M E R I C A N H I S T O R I A N 

The people we call Native Americans arrived in Southern California at least 13,000 years ago. 

They came on foot from the north, crossing from Siberia on a snow-covered land bridge during the 

last ice age, when the sea levels were 30 to 100 feet lower than today. “The People”, as Native 

Americans called themselves, rapidly spread east and south, from Nova Scotia to Tierra Del Fuego at 

the tip of South America—still walking—horses would come later with the Spanish. San Diego 

County became a permanent home for these nomadic people. This area offered a temperate climate; 

seven major rivers flowed from the Sierra to the sea with a natural wealth of available animal and 

plant food on the land from the rivers. Estuaries and the ocean provided enough to support a healthy 

population of tribal bands speaking five distinct dialects and numbering in the tens of thousands. 

In the north county there were 111 native townships when the Spanish arrived in 1769, according to 

Spanish Mission records from San Luis Rey. This territory included Encinitas. A native village called Hakutl 

centered on Moonlight Beach at the mouth of Cottonwood Creek. There were other large villages nearby. 

The Jeyal people settled at the back of San Elijo Lagoon and the Ajopunguile at the east end of Batiquitos 

Lagoon. Fresh water flowed into the brackish estuaries that define Encinitas’ current boundaries. 

The Hakutl people found the area special because they had a permanent spring-fed creek that 

provided sweet fresh water directly into the sea—no lagoon. The Hakutl people could thrive at the 

G 

By the late 1700s, the Native 

American population of the Encinitas 

region numbered tens of thousands. 

The native town of Hakutl near 

Moonlight Beach at the mouth of 

Cottonwood Creek, between the 

Kumayaay and Luiseno tribes. The 

Hakuti were close enough to 

Batiquitos and San Elijo Lagoons to 

harvest their estuaries’ bounty of fish, 

shellfish and fowl. 

ARTIST MICAIAH HARDISON 

C h a p t e r 1 F 9

G 

Artist’s renderings of Native 

Americans who inhabited the 

Encinitas area. 

ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID HOUSE. 

ocean’s edge. Hakutl people were still close 

enough to Batiquitos and San Elijo lagoons to 

harvest the estuaries’ bounty of fish, shellfish and 

fowl without having to deal with the torrential 

winter floodwaters that came from these larger 

rivers. Hakutl also had west facing and frost free 

highlands where Cottonwood Creek traverses its 

way to the beach. A temperate year-round microclimate 

extended from lagoon to lagoon. All of 

this made for a pleasant living environment in 

recyclable grass huts. 

The natives of Hakutl lived very close to the 

ill-defined border between the two great coastal 

tribes, the Kumayaay, or Diegano, what the 

Spanish called them. The Luiseño, the northern 

tribe, were associated with the San Luis Rey 

Mission whose territories extended east to the 

Sierra and north to Rancho Santa Margarita y 

Las Flores, now Camp Pendleton. The 

Kumayaay occupied a vast tract straddling the 

border from Ensenada to the San Dieguito River, 

just three miles south of Encinitas. The eastern 

tribes were the Yuman, Kuupiaxchem, and the 

Cahuilla whose territories covered the east side 

of Sierra to the Colorado River. 

By 1769 these tribes were no longer 

nomadic. The land was rich and they did not 

have to go far for food. The tribes lived at peace 

most of the time as tribal skirmishes were 

sporadic and short lived. The People moved 

within their boundaries seasonally, mountains 

to the sea trading food, tools, shells, beads and 

seeds. Native villages and tribal bands were run 

as simple democracies with elected chiefs for 

both men and woman. A large tribe was divided 

into moieties. There were two groups, the 

1 0 F E N C I N I T A S : O u r H i s t o r y a n d P e o p l e

coyotes and the wild cats, best described as 

fraternal orders. Marriage had to be with a 

member of the opposite group. 

Hakutl residents, as with other San Diego 

natives, cultivated and consumed the acorn. 

This nutty seed of the oak tree provided their 

diets with a calorie-rich staple. Acorns were 

soaked to remove the bitter tannins, dried and 

ground on a stone to create a flour to make 

nutritious porridge or patties roasted on a fire 

heated rock. The acorn diet staple was 

augmented with creek-side greens, berries, 

roots and grass seeds, as well as game birds. 

They hunted animals large and small from rats, 

possums and rabbits to antelope, deer and elk. 

The valley east of the Hakutl village held the 

big game and the huge oaks produced bushels 

of acorns. The wild back country valleys were 

also grizzly bear and mountain lion habitats. 

The bears were respected by The People as 

equals and were not hunted. California’s state 

flag carries the extinct grizzly bear’s image in 

their honor, a surviving vestige of this native 

cultural ethos. 

Horticulture practiced by The People of 

Hakutl included controlled burning to preserve 

the oaks and to aid in grass seed collection for 

trading and planting. A symbolic handful of 

seeds were given to a bride when asked to marry. 

Woman did most of the planting, harvesting and 

gathering. Hakutl women would gather supplies 

in a flexible bag each day with the natural 

resources that provided about 65% of their diet. 

Women did the food preparation as well as house 

building and maintenance and production of 

their clothing. In a society where all movement 

was on foot, mobility and safety depended on 

everyone being able to walk and carry something. 

Bands of The People would gather at the coast 

just south of Hakutl for the yearly Torrey Pines 

G 

Reproductions of early Native 

American dwellings can be found at 

the San Diego Botanic Gardens and at 

the San Dieguito Heritage Museum. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 1 1

G 

This “wikiup” is an example of a 

typical coastal Indian dwelling found 

around Encinitas. 

Festival when the pine cones were ripe. There 

they could socialize, find mates, trade and feast 

on the fatty Torrey Pine nuts that grew nowhere 

else on California’s mainland. Such events were 

also a chance to discuss the alarming invasion of 

white and black immigrants. They developed a 

code of smoke signals to identify the arrival of 

ships. The Hakutl had prime sea observation 

posts from the tall seaside bluffs. 

The Spanish and their missionaries ruled 

California and the Hakutl from 1769 to 1822. 

During those 53 years the missionaries and the 

missions were controlled by Spanish king’s 

agents. The goal of the Padres was to convert the 

natives to Christianity, educate them and make 

them servants of the king. Under Mission rule, 

the isolated native population in San Diego 

County had been severely depleted by invasive 

European diseases. Population fell from 20,000 

to 5,000 in 1822. During a 24 year period from 

1822 to 1846, known as the Mexican Rancho 

Period, the Californios ruled themselves. The 

Missions of San Diego and San Luis Rey created 

twenty-two land grant ranches. Rancho 

Encinitas was one of those land grants owned by 

the Ybarra Family. The People of Hakutl, now 

part of Rancho Encinitas, worked at the 

haciendas as ranch hands or servants. This was 

a low point for a proud race. In 1846 the 

Americans conquered California with an army 

of 120 men and a few naval warships. In 1848 

the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo 

gave all Mexicans in California US citizenship. 

Many educated natives claimed their rights too. 

That same year the discovery of gold began the 

rapacious California Gold Rush. The first census 

in 1850, after California became a state, there 

were reported only 30,000 natives left in the 

entire state...down from 400 thousand. 

Oak trees in Spanish are encinos. Encinitas 

means little live oaks after those important oak 

trees that flourished in abundance along 

Cottonwood Creek and the surrounding valleys. 

Encinitas became a platted township thirtythree 

years later in 1883. Permanent fresh water, 

along with plenty of oak firewood, the first 

steam engine train arrived in Encinitas. 

The Hakutl people were gone for good. 


G 

Top:.Because of our coastal desert 

climate, the natives did not need to 

wear layers of clothing. Very little 

coverings were required for both men 

and women. 

COURTESY OF GARTH MURPHY. 

Bottom: A gathering place for women 

preparing acorn, nuts and herbs using 

the metate (mealing stone). 

COURTESY OF THE SAN DIEGUITO HERITAGE 

MUSEUM AT HERITAGE RANCH 

C h a p t e r 1 F 1 3

G 

Top and bottom: Early Native 

American mortar and pestle exhibit. 

COURTESY OF THE SAN DIEGUITO HERITAGE 

MUSEUM AT HERITAGE RANCH 


CHAPTER 2 

E N C I N I T A S I S B O R N : 1 8 5 0 - 1 8 9 9 

By the time California became the 31st state of the Union in 1850, Encinitas as we now know it 

started to take shape. America continued to move west, bringing innovation and new settlers looking 

for a new place to call home. Early outposts in what were to become Leucadia, Encinitas, Olivenhain 

and Cardiff started to appear. By the time the 1880s rolled around, the region started to see 

accelerated growth, led by the new Santa Fe railroad. Encinitas’ first school house, our beloved 1883 

school house, was built. The early settlements of Olivenhain and Leucadia started to take root. 

Agriculture started to develop, boosting the local economy. 

G 

The 1800 Schoolhouse. The original 

one room schoolhouse sat neatly atop 

the highest part of the western bluff. 

Originally the building faced east to 

west with the doors facing east. Two 

doors, one for girls and one for boys. 

When the building was moved back to 

its current location it had to face 

south to north, although only 100 feet 

from its original location. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 1 5

1850 ä 

• California becomes the 31st state on September 9th. 

1869 ä 

• Encinitas stagecoach station is established along El Camino Real (King’s Highway). 

1870 ä 

• Leucadia Roadside Park is created. This is the oldest park in Leucadia. It was 

once known as “Spirit Woods”. It is reputed to have been the outdoor meeting 

place for the English Spiritualists, a very popular movement in the mid-1800s. 

1875 ä 

• Nathan Eaton, a New Yorker, is the first to settle on the south shore of 

Batiquitos Slough in Leucadia. He is a successful bee keeper and names his 

plot of land Eatonsville but is often referred to by locals as Eaton’s Canyon. 

• Hector and Sara Cray MacKinnon (and three toddlers) homestead 600 acres 

two miles south of Encinitas near San Elijo Lagoon from the beach to what is 

now I-5 in Cardiff. They are instrumental in developing a school there. The 

first classes are held in their barn. Hector sells some of his land to James 

Frank Cullen, a painter from Boston, who also becomes a developer. 

G 

Above: Peter Lux. 

Below: Early Encinitas. 

1880s ä 

1881 ä 

• Lemuel Cornell Kincaid, a conductor for Santa Fe Railroad, is the second 

settler in the Leucadia area. He homesteads the property where the Paul Ecke 

ranch is eventually established along Saxony Road. 

• Encinitas is born! (named after the coastal scrub oak encinitos) California 

Southern Railroad directs Thomas Rattan to lay out the town of Encinitas. 

• John Pitcher and Thomas Rattan are recognized as “Encinitas Founders”. 


1882 ä 

• A school district is established. The founders pass a $600 bond at 6% to build the 

schoolhouse for grades 1-8. Twelve votes were needed and passed unanimously. 

• Merle is another name used for Leucadia. E.B. Scott’s second son’s name is 

Merle. E.B. Scott also builds the Merle post office (that may have been at 

Vulcan and Hillcrest area). A little shack in a clearing was the first school. 

There were only fifteen students. Last known use of the name Merle is in 

1947. It opened on July 1, 1894, and closed in 1910. 

• The Railroad comes through Encinitas for the first time on August 14th. The 

population at that time was only eleven. 

G 

Top, left: The Green Valley route for 

El Camino Real. 

Top, right: A summer harvest. 

Below: Hammond Family Ranch. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 1 7

G 

Originally known as Noonan’s Point 

this impressive piece of land became 

the property of the Self Realization 

Fellowship in 1936 when it was 

purchased as a gift for Paramahansa 

Yogananda for his private hermitage. 

1883 ä 

• John Pitcher buys half of Encinitas and gifts 2.25 acres for a new schoolhouse. 

• Edward Graham Hammond and Jane Latchford Hammond family arrive on 

May 8th with their seven children, Thomas Latchford (Jane’s father) and Harry 

Carter. The arrival doubles the population from 11 to 22. The only buildings in 

town are the combination grocery store/ticket office and three section houses 

where Ben Elliott and the Chinese rail workers live. These were built by Ruben 

and Sue Chaffin not only manages the store but also sells train tickets and is the 

post-mistress. Most of the Hammonds settle in the area that eventually becomes 

part of the Paul Ecke Ranch. There they establish the Hammond Sunset Ranch 

complete with a natural spring fed artesian pond, which is still there today. 

(southeast corner of Quail Gardens Dr. & Leucadia Blvd). Edward Hammond 

is also an experienced cabinet maker. He constructs several buildings in the 

community, including the first dedicated school building, the Pitcher House 

Hotel and the Derby House (649 South Vulcan Avenue.) 

• One-Room Schoolhouse (390 W. F St) is built by Mr. Edward G. Hammond 

and his 17-year-old son Edward “Ted”. John Pitcher had already personally 

gifted this land at 3rd and “E” Streets specifically for a school on March 8th. 

This 900 square foot building is made mostly out of redwood with fir for the 

flooring, using handmade square nails. The “desks” are slab tables with 

redwood benches. In 1890 “combined desks” replace the slab benches. 

Seventeen children attend the first class. It is currently the oldest building 

still standing in Encinitas, maintained by the Encinitas Historical Society. 

• James Benjamin Elliott, a railroad foreman, directs Chinese train laborers in 

planting acres of Eucalyptus trees shipped from Australia. Eucalyptus and 

Cypress trees are planted in Leucadia from 1885-1900. 


1884 ä 

• Great Flood-No Trains! In February, heavy winter rains wash out 30 miles of the 

train tracks in the Temecula Valley. For nine months there is no rail 

communication to Encinitas. The Chaffin’s grocery store begins to run out of food. 

• Everyone shares what they have and made their supplies last. 

• German Colony Olivenhain is officially formed on May 21st. Sixty-seven new 

German colonists arrive on November 8th. Lack of water is not what they 

expected. Over the next few years Colony Olivenhain population peaks at 

310. By 1887 only 80 people remain. 

1885 ä 

• Leucadia is named after the Greek Isle Lefkada in the Ionian island chain. The 

name means “bright & shining isle of paradise” or “sheltered paradise” or 

“place of refuge”. These all have been noted to be the translation to describe 

this area by the English Spiritualists who settled here. Surveyor, Mr. D.N. 

Sanford, names the streets and a pantheon of Greek gods and Roman deity 

names are scattered throughout Leucadia. By 1898 there is a schoolhouse, a 

church and a railroad stop in the Vulcan and Hillcrest area. 

• The Germania Hotel is constructed for $500 as a private residence in Olivenhain by 

Herman Baecht and his family of twelve. It is eventually moved to the Olivenhain 

Meeting Hall property in 1982. Restoration the home/hotel is complete. 

G 

Looking west towards the ocean, this 

is the first “downtown” picture 

showing the one room schoolhouse, the 

church and the almost completed 

train station. 

1886 ä • Olivenhain School opens in Theodore Pinther’s old house and is used until 1888. 

• Herman Bumann homesteads 160 acres in Olivenhain. The buildings are 

preserved to this day by his descendants. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 1 9

G 

Top: The Derby House. 

Bottom: The Hammond Sunset Ranch, 

c. 1890. Rows of apple trees along 

what would become El Camino 

Real in what was then known as 

Green Valley. 

1887 ä 

• Derby House (649 S. Vulcan) is built by Edward Hammond for railroad man 

Amos Gates Derby, his wife and four daughters. The completed 5,600 sq. foot 

house made of redwood has seven bedrooms, a central dining room and a red 

brick fireplace. The combined dining and living room ran the length of the 

home. The built-in cabinets were beautifully handcrafted. It has not only 

been a house but also a hotel for railroad travelers. During WWII it was 

“some sort of hospital”. At one time “THE HOME” was painted on the slanted 

roof and was dedicated to the Eternal Brotherhood. It was a 14-room 

boarding house when purchased in 1976 and is still privately owned. 

• Encinitas Community Church (560 3rd St) is built on donated land by John 

Pritcher and financed by the community. Later, it was moved to San Marcos. 


1887-88 ä 

1888 ä 

1890 ä 

• The Encinitas Train Station (directly west of the Derby House) is built, along 

with many other downtown stores. This period is referred to as “The Boom 

Years.” Over time the number of rail cars needed is greatly reduced and the 

station is permanently closed January 24, 1969. 

• Noonan’s Point is purchased by James Noonan for $1,000 for the ten acres. 

He hires Edward Hammond and his son, Ted, to build their cliff-side home. 

The Noonan’s raise seven children there. On a September night in 1893 the 

house burns to the ground and the Noonan’s move away. (This 10-acre ocean 

bluff property, known as Noonan’s Point, is purchased in 1936 and the 

hermitage for Paramahansa Yogananda is built.) 

• Olivenhain One-Room School is purchased from Fred Balzer. It is moved to 

the southwest corner of 7th and Cole Ranch Road and remains active for fiftyfour 

years. It was then moved to the San Dieguito High School campus and 

used as a class room before being demolished in the mid 1960s. 

• Cozens House (112 “C” Street) is built by Tom and Annie Cozens. Edward G. 

Hammond helped his son-in-law and daughter build their home originally near 

the bluff at “F” Street. In 1900, over a two-week period, they literally move the 

house to where it is now just above Cottonwood Creek. There Tom could dig 

a well in the small canyon below where the fresh water could be pumped . 

• South Bay Shooting Club is built on Hillcrest Street in Leucadia by Fred Coutts. 

G 

Left: The Cozens original house 

location on the bluff located 

approximately at 4th and “G” Streets 

prior to its move to just above and 

south of Cottonwood Creek where it 

sits today. 

Bottom: The Cozens house today. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 2 1

G 

Eucalyptus trees such as these were 

the source of many ties used in the 

local railroads. Eucalyptus trees 

lined the highways. These beautiful 

tree canopies provided shade and 

offered up the most pleasing 

aroma. Unfortunately, most 

succumbed to bark beetle, high winds, 

and street improvements. 

1893 ä 

1894 ä 

• Fred and Anna Teten, purchase from the colony Theodore Pinther’s vacated 

1885 house. For a while, Pinther’s house was used as the San Dieguito Valley 

One-Room Schoolhouse. In 1895 another vacated house is combined to it 

adding to the square footage. This structure was saved by the San Dieguito 

Heritage Museum and is now wonderfully restored on the museum property 

on Quail Gardens Drive and is known as “The Teten House.” 

• Olivenhain Town Hall (423 Rancho Santa Fe Road) is constructed to celebrate the 

colonist’s ten-year anniversary. In 1916 a kitchen and bathroom are added from 

the wood from the dismantled Owl Club building increasing the size to 28 feet 

by 36 feet. A new floor and much needed upgrades happen in 1928. Business 

meetings and social gatherings including picnics, celebrations, dances and 

weddings are among the many events that still take place there. This historic 

building is maintained by the Olivenhain Town Council. 

1895 ä 

• Green Valley One-Room School is located north of Olivenhain Road. The 

building is removed when El Camino Real is widened in 1966. 

1987-1917 ä 

• The Copper Creek Mine was active with two shafts, 140 feet and 400 feet. 


O L I V E N H A I N 

Olivenhain, “olive grove”, is a beautiful name with a contrary meaning. Open spaces and lots 

of it...land as far as the eye could see. A man could homestead 160 acres. Many tough families 

did try to make a go of it growing the “promised” olives, but alas there was a lack sufficient water. 

This land was more arid than grove-like. Five years later the population dropped from three 

hundred-ten new settlers down to just eighty die-hard farmers who chose to remain on the 

parched land. Wells were dug, but eventually dry farming was introduced with lima beans. 

Springing up over the rolling hills came shanties, a local school, a town hall and a hotel. Some 

of the descendants of those hearty early Olivenhain pioneers still live in the area. They hold the 

rights to be buried in their own private cemetery. The Olivenhain Town Hall is still the center 

piece of community activity. Locals gather yearly to celebrate their German roots with an 

authentic Oktoberfest. Water did eventually come via the pipe-line, but not until 1961. 

Immediately the area boomed. Large estates replaced grasslands and fields. The Colony 

Olivenhain still has a farm feeling though with horses, goats, turkeys, chickens and a few cattle 

in the back yards of many of the properties on this quiet rolling “back county”. 

G 

The Olivenhain Town Hall, built in 

1894, was the main gathering place 

for settlers. It was placed on the 

National Register of Historic Places 

in 1993. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 2 3

G 

Above: Dressed in their Sunday 

best, these early pioneers pose in 

typical attire. 

Right: Farmers bringing cattle to the 

once free flowing La Bajada Creek. 


G 

Top: Miles Justus Kellogg’s home on 

Second Street. Note the Boat Houses 

in the upper right-hand corner. 

Above: A formal portrait of Miles 

Justus Kellogg. 

Left: Local miners finishing a shift at 

The Copper Creek Mine, operating 

from 1897 to 1917. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 2 5

G 

Early image of Encinitas farmers. R A N C H O D E L O S E N C I N I T O S 

Rancho de los Encinitos, a Mexican land-grant of one square league or 4,431-03 acres, was 

given to Andrés Ybarra by Governor Alvarado on July 3, 1842, and a United States land-patent 

was granted on April 18, 1871. Being halfway between the mission at San Diego and that of San 

Luis Rey, it proved to be a convenient stage station, where horses were changed. In later years, 

it became a train stop for the California Southern Railroad. 

Attention was drawn to the ranch when an ostrich farm was established there. On February 

21, 1884, the National City Record said: “The ostriches have laid 10 eggs since they arrived at 

Encinitas. The boss egg weighed 3 lbs. and 11 oz.” The ostrich venture must have been of short 

duration, for on August 24 of the same year, Kimball Brothers ran an advertisement in the San 

Diego Union: “Rancho Encinitas, 4,400 acres. The best ranch for its size for a Colony.” 

Colonization was a favorite method for settling land, during that period. 

The advertisement was answered by Theodore Pinther, favorably known in Colorado, who 

was planning to organize a colony. With several others, Pinther arrived in San Diego September 

27, and Frank Kimball showed them several locations. “Took the party to Jamul,” he noted in 

his records, “Also to Otay and then went to Encinitas and examined the springs in the northeast 

corner; then went down the east side to the southeast corner, then up to the location of the dam 

across Elijo Creek, through the valley and nearly to the ocean. The stage overtook us at San 

Dieguito, and we came home.” Two days later he recorded: “At work on the Pinther Colony 

scheme.” The following day the National City Record mentions the name of the colony at 

Encinitas as “Olivenhain.” 

On October 3 Kimball was in San Diego and saw the Articles of Incorporation for the Colony 

and received $400 to bind the bargain on the sale of the Encinitas Rancho for $65,000. The 

contract was made by Pinther, Conrad Stroebel, Paul Flossig and others. So began the 

Olivenhain venture; shortly afterward, a courageous little group left their homes in Colorado, for 

the new colony. On November 8 Kimball noted that he had “Carried apples to the first 

installment of Colony Olivenhain which came down by steamer. Consisted of some 60 persons, 

including children.” 


CHAPTER 3 

E N C I N I T A S G R O W S U P : 1 9 0 0 - 1 9 1 9 

El Camino Real (The Kings Highway) has grown to become the central route for travel and commerce. 

The railroad continues to grow, connecting the region with the rest of the state. The economy 

continues to expand with the harvesting of kelp as another cash crop supporting the area. Cardiff is 

starting to become the community we know today. Electricity comes to the region, providing light 

and energy to fuel the next wave of development for the region. 

G 

Above: A typical foggy morning along 

the south bound train tracks rolling 

into Encinitas. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 2 7

1905 ä 

1906 ä 

• El Camino Real is now the main road going north to south. 

• Lima Beans are introduced as a dry farm crop in Olivenhain. The fields would get 

enough moisture from the coastal mist for the lima bean crops to survive. Lima 

bean farming became extremely successful and annually farmed for over 50 years. 

• Southern California Railroad becomes a subsidiary of The Acheson, Topeka 

& Santa Fe Railroads. 

G 

Right: Early settlers built small 

wooden homes dotting the landscape 

from the coast to Olivenhain. 

Bottom: Early Cardiff looking north. 

Note the historic Cardiff Mercantile 

Building to the right. 


1908 ä 

• Lone Jack Road has a very interesting history. A real estate salesman named Mr. 

Muir purchased a 160-acre homestead in Olivenhain. His ranch has a few head 

of cattle and a mule named Jack. One hot, dry and windy day, a wildfire starts 

to sweep across the ranch. Muir tries to get Jack across a narrow canyon to head 

off the cattle. Jack won’t move. Suddenly the canyon flashes into flames! He 

realizes then that Jack has saved his life. Out of respect, Muir names his ranch 

then the road after Jack. Muir sells the ranch in 1915, but the name sticks. 

G 

Above: The trains started coming 

through Encinitas for the first time on 

August 14, 1882. The Hammond 

Family arrived with eleven members 

on May 8, 1883, literally doubling 

the population. 

1909 ä 

• Encinitas Schoolhouse Annex is added to the 1883 one room school. This 

new entry addition is used for coats, books and teacher materials. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 2 9

G 

The Encinitas baseball team, 1912. 

1911 ä 

• Cardiff resident James Frank Cullen, purchases land from Hector MacKinnon, 

and names his tract of land Cardiff. Encouraged by his wife, Esther, they 

name the streets after places in the British Isles, Cambridge, Edinburg and 

Oxford, to name a few. The family home is built on the corner of Oxford and 

Norfolk. Mr. Cullen also builds a hotel overlooking the bluff, as well as a 300- 

foot wooden pier south of the campgrounds and a bathhouse in 1912. The 

pier is later destroyed in the fierce winter storms of 1916-1917. 

• Mr. Victor Kremer, music publicist/developer, names the streets after composers 

such as Verde, Liszt & Mozart. The lots cost $30. or $45. for a corner lot paid in 

six equal payments. Kremer is also credited for adding “by-the -Sea” to Cardiff. 

• Cardiff Mercantile (2185 San Elijo Avenue) building is also a project of J. 

Frank Cullen. He builds the Cardiff Mercantile Building reminiscent of 

Victorian English seaside architecture. He visualized it as a hotel for artists 

with the first floor designed as a grocery store. 

1912-15 ä 

• Cardiff Kelp Processing Plant is built 300 feet south of the present-day 

intersection of Kilkenny and San Elijo Ave. It processed seaweed for its many 

food and industrial chemicals, such as iodine for use during WWI. 


G 

Top: Downtown Encinitas, c. 1916. 

Middle: Coast Highway Downtown 

Encinitas, c. 1910. The coast highway 

was a dirt road until 1913 when the 

two-lane concrete road was 

constructed running from San Diego 

to Oceanside. 

Bottom: The Cardiff Mercantile was 

designed to resemble Victorian English 

architecture. It was built in 1911 by 

J. Frank Cullen. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 3 1

G 

Top, left: Albert Lickert, c. 1912. This 

is at the corner of East Street and El 

Camino Del Norte in Olivenhain. 

Top, right: Encinitas pioneer 

Herman Wiegand (1890-1993). 

The Wiegand family cultivated 

farmland in Olivenhain near the 

turn of the century. 

Right: A couple enjoys the beach 

c. 1910s 

1913 ä 

1914 ä 

• Highway 101, a two-lane concrete road, is constructed from S. D. to Oceanside. 

• Cardiff-by-the-Sea School District is established. 

• Cardiff Train Depot is built. Architect, Del W. Harris of San Diego designs the 

mission style depot. It has four rooms and is built on a cement foundation, with 

cement floors, plastered exterior and a tiled roof. Located slightly north and 

west of the Cardiff Mercantile just east of the railroad tracks. In the mid-1940s 

the depot is partially demolished. A section of the building, probably the ticket 

booth, is moved to “A” and Fifth Streets to become part of a house in Encinitas. 

• 1st Branch Library of San Diego County opens on October 13th in the first 

floor of the Cardiff Mercantile building. 


E N C I N I T A S F U N F A C T S 

A L’ S B A R B E R S H O P 

G 

Above: Proud family posing next to 

their home in downtown Encinitas. 

In 1920, Grant Ulysses Johnston played a lucky hand of cards at the Encinitas Pool Hall and 

won Al’s Barber shop in Encinitas. Grant had to quickly change his name to Al for all to believe 

it. Al’s barbershop became the hottest stop during this time for gossip and “friendly” cardplaying. 

Haircuts for men and women were only 35 cents and a shave went for 15 cents. This 

barbershop is now a part of the San Dieguito Heritage Museum located in Encinitas. 

Below: Encinitas Hotel and Clayton 

Drugstore shared retail space with 

Al’s Barbershop. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 3 3

G 

Top: The Mission School was built in 

1916 in front of the 1883 one-room 

school. It served as an elementary 

school until 1936, then became the 

temporary San Dieguito High School. 

In 1953 it was moved to become part 

of the Self Realization Fellowship. 

Bottom, left: Portrait of the Amos 

Gates Derby’s wife and four daughters 

at the turn of the century. 

Bottom, right: Local Encinitas family 

posing in their Sunday best. 


1915 ä 

1916 ä 

• Lake Hodges Dam begins construction. Due to the flood damaged railway 

lines and bridges, the dam is built at the narrows of the San Dieguito River 

just above Rancho Santa Fe. It is completed in 1918. 

• Electricity comes to Encinitas via a trunk line from La Jolla. 

• George’s Lobster Inn (Cardiff’s Restaurant Row), formerly The Beacon Inn, is 

built using the wood from the kelp processing plant. It has been a bar, 

restaurant, and gambling establishment. Hollywood stars such as Peter Lorre, 

Betty Grable and Jimmy Durante like the Inn and often stop on their way to 

San Diego. 

• The Mission School is built adjacent to the original 1883 one-room 

schoolhouse. This serene mission-style building is located on the hill 

overlooking downtown at 3rd and “E” Streets. A campanile bell tower fronted 

the school. This new school is needed for the increasing number of students. 

It serves as the elementary school until 1936. The school then becomes a 

temporary high school until San Dieguito High is built. Some sections of the 

building are moved to its present location at “J” and 2nd Street in 1953 and 

is owned and operated by the Self Realization Fellowship, where devotees 

restored it. 

G 

Above: Wenz Apartments/Danforth 

Building, c. the 1930s. The Danforth 

Building still stands today on the 

northwest corner of Coast Highway 

and E Street. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DANFORTH FAMILY. 

1918 ä 

• Originally the Wenz Apartments, now known as the Danforth Building, has 

been in Encinitas since 1918 on the corner of First Street (Main Street 

Highway 101) and E Street. The southbound Greyhound bus stop was in front 

of the building and tickets were purchased in the building’s gift shop. It 

included all that was needed for everyday life. The Market was open to the 

street, with a fruit and vegetable stand across the front, where you could buy 

a glass jar of milk and a loaf of bread for about 10-cents. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 3 5

G 

Above: James Frank Cullen’s majestic home once stood alone in Cardiff when built in 1911. It is now surrounded completely by modern homes and developments. 


G 

Top: Encinitas Garage on Coast 

Highway c. 1910s 

Middle: Known as George’s Lobster 

Inn (formerly the Beacon Inn) was 

built in 1916 with recycled wood from 

the closed kelp processing plant. 

Bottom: Art Cole Hauling Hay in 

Olivenhain c. 1918. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 3 7

G 

Right and below: Life in Encinitas is 

booming as families discover the 

wonderful mild temperatures of our 

coastal desert climate. 


CHAPTER 4 

T H E F L O W E R C A P I T A L O F T H E W O R L D : 1 9 2 0 - 1 9 2 9 

With Lake Hodges now in service, water for irrigation and home use was now readily available. 

Water allowed agriculture to flourish, driving the local economy. The Paul Ecke Ranch was established, 

bringing world famous poinsettias to the region. Downtown Encinitas started to flourish 

around the growth of Highway 101. This is the era of the La Paloma theater and the Boat Houses. 

G 

An aerial view of Encinitas, c. 1928. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 3 9

G 

Top: A Williams & MacPherson 

Subtropical Nursery display at a 

flower show. 

Bottom: The Ecke Family changed the 

course of Encinitas history when Paul 

Ecke Sr. and wife Magdalena 

established their poinsettia ranch 

along Saxony Road in 1923. This 

“Christmas flower” becomes a 

traditional addition in homes and 

businesses during the holiday season, 

now literally all over the world. 

C. 1920 ä 

1922-23 ä 

1923 ä 

• Leucadia Beach Inn (1332 N. Coast Highway 101) is designed in the popular 

horseshoe shape. It is now fully restored by owner Charles Marvin and continues 

to be the oldest continuously operating auto park style motel in California. 

• Water for the coastal areas from the completed Lake Hodges Dam comes to Leucadia 

allowing flowers and agriculture to flourish along with another population boom. 

The new San Dieguito Mutual Water Company brings water to downtown Encinitas. 

• Paul Ecke Poinsettia Ranch (Saxony area) is established. Paul Ecke Sr. and his 

family had been growing poinsettias in Hollywood since 1919. Mr. Ecke buys 40 

acres at $150 an acre that previously had been the Lemuel Kincaid Ranch. Most 

of the world’s poinsettias originated from the Paul Ecke Ranch. The Ecke family 

ranch house is designed by Lillian Rice and is built in 1935. Lillian Rice buildings 

are historic in Rancho Santa Fe. The house still remains on the property. 


1924 ä 

• Mid-Winter Flower Festival is started by Thomas McLaughlin in February. 

• For eight years this annual event attracts crowds from all over Southern 

California to the downtown area along Highway 101. The 1932 depression 

unfortunately brings the event to a close. 

• Egyptian House (959 Cornish) is built by Mr. Steele after being affected by the 

“Tut-mania” and the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922. The entrance to 

the home is flanked by two Egyptian-style papyrus columns. Cobra goddesses 

with vulture wings rest above the windows, while a cobra and globe lie above the 

entryway. Two pilasters contain bas relief fruit, vegetable and animal shapes, along 

with Egyptian hieroglyphics. A similar style home is at 1239 San Dieguito. 

G 

Above: Highway 101 in Encinitas, 

c. 1928. By the mid ‘20s downtown 

Encinitas was thriving with many 

locals starting their family business 

along the coast highway. Encinitas 

was becoming self-sufficient with 

services and goods being available to 

the active downtown district. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF BETSY O’NEILL 

1925 ä 

• Encinitas Hotel is built. It is noted that the lower floor is used for the 8th grade 

overflow. It originally had three stories, but the third floor becomes invaded by 

bats and is removed. This recycled wood helps build the dance hall at Moonlight 

Beach. When that was taken down, some lumber went to build the Boathouses. 

• Dance Pavilion and Bath House is built by Aubrey Austin and deeded to the 

public. He also is the developer who designs and builds the La Paloma Theater. 

• Dr. Charles Victor Lindsey is Encinitas’ first doctor. He establishes his 

practice assisted by his wife, Mary, who is a nurse. From that point on he is 

the only doctor to deliver babies born here through 1941. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 4 1

1927 ä 

• Glen Park (2149 Orinda, Cardiff-by-the-Sea) is deeded to the County of San 

Diego. Frank Cullen manually excavates the wash to help create the park. 

This property once housed the Cardiff Library in the newly built Scout Hut. 

Over the years the children’s play area and tennis courts are added. 

• Central School in Leucadia is completed (renamed Paul Ecke Central in 1986). 

G 

Right: The Aubrey Austin building, 

which brought to Encinitas the 

La Paloma Theater, has remained 

one of our most treasured and 

iconic buildings on Coast Highway. 

Still standing today, the building was 

built in 1928. This Spanish Mission- 

Art Deco design still attracts 

popular films, performances and 

special events. 

1928 ä 

• La Paloma Theater “The Dove” (471 So. Coast Highway 101) hosts its Grand 

Opening on February 11th. Costing $50,000 to build, this beautiful theater of 

Spanish Mission and Art Deco design, is built by Santa Monica banker, Aubrey 

Austin. It is one of the first theaters to show “talkies.” The theater is equipped 

with a beautiful pipe organ and vaudeville stage. Reported as “the most exciting 

night in downtown Encinitas history.” Over the years many performers have 

graced its stage. Known then as the “Broadway of the Pacific”, this is referred to 

historically as the Aubrey Austin building as it is occupied by other businesses. 

• Original 1883 One-Room Schoolhouse is sold to George Roberts for his 

“country home”. It was moved to the corner of 4th and “H” Streets. 

Bottom: The Coast Dispatch 

newspaper covered everything 

Encinitas, literally all events including 

children’s birthday parties. In the 

beginning it had a circulation of 125. 


1927-28 ä 

• The Boathouses (726 & 732 3rd Street) are built by Miles Minor Kellogg and 

his son, Miles Justus Kellogg. These iconic boats on 3rd Street are built with 

recycled lumber from the Moonlight Beach Dance Pavilion and Bathhouse 

that was dismantled. Miles Kellogg’s Michigan family background included 

captains, sailors and boat builders. Each houseboat is 52 feet long and has 

two bedrooms, a loft, 1½ baths and a kitchen. The SS Moonlight and SS 

Encinitas are perched on the west side of 3rd between “F” & “G” Streets 

facing east. 

G 

Above: Miles Minor Kellogg. 

Left: Using scrap wood from the 

Moonlight Beach Dance pavilion 

Miles Justus Kellogg builds these 

whimsical boats on 3rd Street. In 

October 2019 they were placed on the 

National Register of Historic Places. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 4 3

G 

Above: As life is thriving along the 

coast highway, Olivenhain becomes 

dotted with cattle ranches and dry 

bean farming. With wide open spaces, 

and very little coastal moisture, 

settlers relied on wells for water as 

they struggle to survive. 

1928 ä 

• The Encinitas Sign is erected across Highway 101 south of “D” Street as the 

brainchild of T.J. Lewis. In 1937 it is removed to widen Highway 101. 

• The Rupe Building, (137 West “D”) a white art deco building, is built by Miles 

Kellogg. When Mr. Rupe brings his family here in 1913, he opens a small 

grocery store at Highway 101 and D Street. He always dreamed of a larger 

store. Mr. Rupe builds his new store across the street at 2nd and “D” Streets. 

It offers a variety of services from groceries to hardware and even a pool table. 

When the Great Depression hits three years later he loses everything. 

Below: Looking north toward the 

Lotus Gardens at the Self Realization 

Fellowship Hermitage. 

1929 ä 

• The Aldrich Castle (southwest end of “H” Street) is built by Dr. Richard Aldrich, 

an art historian, on this one-acre site atop the 400-foot bluff. It is also referred 

to as “Casa San Lorenzo”. Dr. Aldrich died in 1976 and developers purchase his 

iconic home with plans to build six two-story condominiums. They were 

eventually successful after a major public outcry to save the “castle” failed. 

• The Coast Dispatch is started by Archie J. Hicks, Sr. It had a circulation of 125. 

In 1954, his son Archie Hicks, Jr. takes over the publishing. 

• First Heritage Tree is planted on Requeza Street near Stratford Drive. It is a 

Cock Spar Coral and is planted by Bertrand and Margurite Butler. It is 

dedicated as an official Heritage Tree in 2010. 


G 

Top: Moonlight Beach, c. the 1920s. 

Moonlight Beach still attracts 

visitors and locals alike to its gentle 

sandy shoreline. 

Left: General store, c. the 1920s, 

Leucadia roadside park. 

L E U C A D I A 

Eatonville, Eaton’s Canyon, Merle, then, finally Leucadia. Named after the Greek Isle, Lefkada, this name has a litany of translations: 

“bright and shining isle of paradise,” “sheltered paradise” or “place of refuge”. All have been used in translating what the English 

Spiritualists meant it to be when they settled here. Leucadians have maintained the “spirit woods”, this area’s oldest park, Leucadia 

Roadside Park. The train used to stop here, too. The last known signage for this town, when it was called Merle, was at the closed train 

stop. Greek gods and Roman deity street names are scattered throughout Leucadia. Once there was a shooting club up in the hilly area. 

Wonderful roadside motels dotted the old highway 101, providing rooms for the many travelers. There was even a cafe resembling 

Noah’s Ark, with painted plywood life-sized shapes of animals dotting the hillside. The poinsettia and flower industry put Leucadia on 

the map. The Ecke Ranch was ground zero for the best poinsettia operation in the world. Many other farmers in the flower industry 

thrived here, easily making this The Flower Capital of the World. Art studios, antique shops, shell shops and local cafes occupied most 

of the buildings along the highway. Today Leucadia is best known for its successful summertime Art Walk. A menagerie of “this and 

that” proves to be an appropriate descriptive motto that Leucadians hang on to: “Keep Leucadia Funky.” 

C h a p t e r 4 F 4 5

G 

Cardiff Beach, looking north along the then-dirt highway towards Swami’s Point, Restaurant Row and San Elijo Campground now fill this landscape. 


G 

Top: Nearly the entire community 

turns out for the annual Dinner Time 

Flower Show. This picture was taken 

in 1928. 

T H E M I D - W I N T E R F L O W E R F E S T I V A L 

The Mid-winter Flower Festival is started by Thomas McLaughlin in February of 1924. This 

annual event attracts flower growers and flower lovers alike from all over California. The Mid-winter 

Flower Show was incorporated in 1928 under California law. This event encompassed several blocks 

in the area of town now known as “The Lumberyard.” The Great Depression caused the demise of 

the event in 1932. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 4 7

G 

Above: Downtown Encinitas looking 

west from E Street. The lot at right is 

the current home of the Encinitas 

Civic Center. 

Right: One of the earliest known 

photos of the original downtown 

Encinitas sign. The original Encinitas 

sign shown here was erected in 1928. 

The sign was removed when Coast 

Highway was widened in 1937. 


CHAPTER 5 

T H E G R E A T D E P R E S S I O N A N D W A R Y E A R S : 1 9 3 0 - 1 9 4 9 

Though the region continued to expand, the Great Depression impacted the community as people 

looked for ways to feed the poor, led by local churches. But the growing community continued to 

keep an eye on the future, as San Dieguito High School opened up and Highway 101 expanded to 

four lanes. 

Encinitas played a role in defending our Coast from attack by the Japanese, with outposts and foxholes 

entrenched along the coastline. But the resilience of the local citizenry wasted no time in recovering 

from the war, bringing electricity to Olivenhain. Encinitas’ surf roots started to grow, bringing 

a new lifestyle and culture to the region. 

G 

Encinitas from above. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 4 9

D A L E Y D O U B L E S A L O O N 

If you are interested in stepping back in time and getting a feel for what Encinitas was like in 

days long past, all you have to do is pay a visit to the Daley Double Saloon at 546 First Street. 

The Daley Double Saloon qualifies as one of the most unique and historical buildings in 

Encinitas. It’s the site of Encinitas’ first and oldest bar, as well as the second oldest downtown 

business in Encinitas (second only to the La Paloma Theater) and is a place where time appears 

to have stood still having changed very little over the years. 

Historical records show that the building the Saloon is housed in was built in circa 1915 and 

that this location has always been a drinking establishment. 

G 

Top: The art deco bar at the Daley 

Double Saloon in Encinitas, 1930. 

The famous walnut burl wood bar 

and cozy friendly atmosphere is still 

alive in this iconic bar. 

Bottom: Before there was the 

Daley Double, there was the 

Village Rendezvous. 

1933 ä 

1935 ä 

• Mr. Gresham’s Service Station (1205 Coast Highway 101) is one of the most 

unique and fanciful buildings along Highway 101. He hopes to catch the eye of 

the many tourists that are a major component of the downtown economy from 

the 1920s thru the 1940s. What makes this building’s architecture so unique is 

the Italianate style “pyramidal lip roof and blind Italian-like Arches.” 

• San Dieguito American Legion, Post 416 (210 West “F” Street) serves veterans, 

service members and the community. “It is a true testament of the dedication, 

commitment and hard work of several generations of active members.” 

• Red Roof Cabins/Log Cabin Motel (1660 N. Coast Highway 101) in Leucadia 

are built. This motel is a true reminder of the auto court days. 


1936 ä • The Self-Realization Hermitage (1105 2nd Street) is established. In the early 

1930s while traveling by car from Los Angeles to San Diego, Paramahansa 

Yogananda asks his driver to pull over to the bluffs on the right to stop for a scenic 

picnic. He is enthralled with the majestic ocean views. Soon after Yogananda 

began his travels, one of his followers, James J. Lynn, purchases the property and 

has the hermitage built. Two years later Mr. Lynn presents this gift to Yogananda. 

Yogananda departs from his physical body March 1952. His dwelling has not 

been changed in any way. The Meditation Garden is open to the public Tuesday 

through Sunday. Occasionally the private areas are open for public tours. 

G 

Above: Left to right, Muriel Kincaid, 

Irene Rupe, Hilda Remmele, Isabel 

Rupe, and Florence Kincaid. 

Left: The Golden Lotus Temple, c. 

1938. Built on the bluff within the Self 

Realization Fellowship grounds in 

1938. Unfortunately, the temple 

toppled to the beach below just four 

years later in 1942. The tiled 

entryway is still prominent on the 

garden grounds. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 5 1

G 

Top, left: Encinitas Central School, 

c. 1932. 

1937 ä 

• Highway 101 is widened to a four-lane road to help accommodate the 

increasing traffic flow thru town, made possible by the State of California. 

• The San Dieguito High School (800 Santa Fe Dr.) is dedicated on June 11th. 

Top, right: A Cardiff graduation class, 

c. the 1940s. 

Bottom, right: Downtown Encinitas at 

the corner of “D” Street and Coast 

Highway. Note the old Encinitas Hotel 

on the top floor. 

1939 ä 

The 1940s ä 

• Rotary Club of Encinitas begins “Service Above Self” on July 12th. 

• Surfing along the entire Encinitas coastline starts becoming popular with many 

locations to catch that perfect wave. Surfing at Swami’s is immortalized by the 

Beach Boys popular song, “Surfing USA.” Other good surf breaks include: Stone 

Steps, Beacons, Pipes, Cardiff Reef, Table Tops, Stretch Mark, Brown House, 

Bone Yard, Little Tahiti, Old Man’s, Barney’s, Traps, “D” St. and Turtles. 


G 

Top: The U.S. Navy protecting the 

Coast during the war. 

Left: “Have Yourself a Merry Little 

Christmas” is a song written in 1943 

by longtime Encinitas resident Hugh 

Martin and Ralph Blane and sung by 

Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM 

musical Meet Me in St. Louis. 

IMAGES COURTESY OF S. BOSS. 

Below: A member of the Coast Guard 

patrolling Encinitas. 

1941 ä 

1942 ä 

1946 ä 

1948 ä 

• Black out is ordered along the Southern California coast following the 

bombing of Pearl Harbor. Headlights are taped revealing only a 1” slit of light. 

Local volunteers patrol the streets at night. 

• The Golden Lotus Temple on the bluffs of the Self-Realization Fellowship, 

topples down onto the beach below on July 21st. It had been built and 

dedicated just a short four years earlier on January 2, 1938. 

• Japanese-American citizens, living in San Diego County on February 19th are 

taken to the Oceanside train depot with only one suitcase each not knowing where 

they are going. Due to the Civilian Exclusion Order 9060, these local citizens are 

transported to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona for the duration of WWII. 

• Electricity comes to Olivenhain. 

• Noah’s Ark Cafe is a favorite attraction on the northwest bluff of Leucadia. It is 

created by George H. Herbert to resemble an ark and is flanked by several large 

plywood animal shapes, colorfully painted with reflectors for eyes, that are 

placed all over the entire hillside. Unfortunately, it is demolished in 1962. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 5 3

G 

Top: Security check points were 

common during the war years along 

all highways. 

Bottom: The San Dieguito High School 

was built in 1936/37 and dedicated 

on June 11. The structure for 

education at the high school was 

redesigned in 1996 as the San 

Dieguito Academy. It has been ranked 

number 74 of the 1,840 California 

public high schools. 

H O W E N C I N I T A S G O T I T S N A M E 

In 1669 Governor of Baja California Gaspar de Portola was traveling throughout the San 

Diego area. His plan was to build so-called presidios, where the population could learn and 

attend religious service. The expedition was traveling through what was later to become 

Encinitas. During his travels he names the area of Encinitas or the small oak tree, giving us the 

original name of Encina Cañada, which translated from Spanish means ‘Hills of Live Oak.” Over 

time, it became known as Encinitas, which means “Little Live Oaks.” 


G 

Top: Encinitas’ first post office was colocated 

with the Encinitas General 

Merchandise Store. Cash-only. 

Bottom: Payne Cleaners Original 

cleaners built in 1937. It was sold in 

1946 and is still the longest 

continuous cleaning business in San 

Diego County. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 5 5

G 

Top: Navy sailors enjoying a day at 

Moonlight Beach. Note 5th Street 

heading north in the background. 

Bottom: Looking south along the coast 

highway with the lotus towers of the 

Self-Realization Fellowship Hermitage 

and Ashram Center in the distance. 

The Texaco gas station was one of 

many service stations that dotted the 

coast highway. 


G 

Top: The Aubry Austin Building, still 

housing the La Paloma Theater, has 

been home to many businesses, 

including restaurants and bars. For 

years it was the Bank of America. 

Bottom: The corner of E Street and 

Highway 101. Looking north along 

the coast highway in the distance is 

the original “Christmas Tree”, 

adorned during the holidays by the 

local fire department. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 5 7

G 

Top: Moonlight Beach, c. the 1940s. 

Note the old lifeguard tower that 

stood until the early 1970s. 

Middle: The Hammond Family, 

December 31st, 1934. 

Bottom: View looking southeast at the 

very early Cardiff-By-the-Sea from 

the Golden Lotus Temple at the Self- 

Realization Fellowship . 


CHAPTER 6 

S U R F ’ S U P : 1 9 5 0 - 1 9 7 9 

In the 1940s and 1950s, surfing took root in Encinitas. Back then, surfers surfed for love of 

surfing. Surfing competitively evolved in the 60s with the growth of local surf clubs like Swami’s 

Surfing Association and Windansea Surf Club, producing world class surfers like Rusty Miller. 

Surfing has forever changed the culture of Encinitas. 

With the opening of Interstate 5 in 1966, the region opened up like never before. People from 

outside the region started to discover Encinitas, leading to development changing the community 

forever, starting with Village Park. The population swelled. The surf culture was further celebrated 

by the start of the Wavecrest Woodie Meet in 1979, now in its 40th year. 

G 

The original train station, built in 

1887/88 is closed in 1969. It is bought 

and moved from its original location 

to Leucadia. The building was 

restored and is now the Pannikin 

Coffee and Tea House. 

C h a p t e r 6 F 5 9

1950ish ä 

1952 ä 

• Jim Truax and Harry “Hodie” Zimmerman were among the first locals to take 

up the sport of surfing. Hodie’s family opened up Zim’s Diner, later to be 

known as the Coffee Mill, then Encinitas Café. Both Hodie and Jim were 

graduates of San Dieguito. 

• San Elijo Bluff referred for a time as the “gypsy camp” is acquired by the 

County of San Diego. Construction begins in 1966 and is now the popular 

San Elijo Campground, operated by the State of California. 

G 

Top: Encinitas First Street from 

D to E Street. Over the years other 

building tenants have included 

Lou’s Records, Reder Insurance, 

Detour Salon, a yoga studio, and 

a laundromat. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

Below: Jim Truax (front row, far 

left) and Hodie Zimmerman (Front 

row second from left)—Early 

Surf Pioneers. 


1953 ä • Second Heritage Tree (406 4th St.) is planted by Ben Danforth and sons, Peter 

and John, for his wife, Jane, as a Christmas present. This Norfolk Island Pine 

is often referred to as a Star Pine. In 1994 local citizen, Luis Ortiz, starts 

decorating the tree for the holidays. In 2015 the Encinitas Historical Society 

joined in helping to assure the community that the tree will be celebrated 

yearly on the first Friday of December. 

• Roy’s Market (1144 N. Highway 101) is built by Gerard E. Roy in October. The 

3,500 square foot building, made of sturdy cinder block, serves a vital need in 

the Leucadia area. Mr. Roy is the butcher and also delivers groceries to shut-ins. 

Greyhound bus tickets are also sold at the market. It is a family operation. 

• Pacific View Elementary School (608 3rd St) opens. These mid-century 

modern classrooms replace the Mission School. It is a functioning school 

until 2003. Currently (2019) it is being renovated by the Encinitas Arts 

Culture and Ecology Alliance (EACEA) and the Encinitas Historical Society. 

G 

Above: Luis Ortez, began decorating 

the Heritage Tree in 1994. 

Below, left: Peter Danforth, one of the 

brothers who planted the now 100’ 

tall Heritage Tree, working at his 

parent’s store, the Encinitas Market, 

c. 1954-55. 

C h a p t e r 6 F 6 1

1954 ä 

1956 ä 

• Hammond Family’s Sunset Ranch (Saxony Road) is sold to Paul Ecke Sr. and 

his wife Magdelena, expanding their farming operations by 300 acres. 

Farmers are growing a variety of flowers throughout Encinitas such as: 

begonias, orchids, carnations, roses, gladioli and chrysanthemums help 

make this area “The Flower Capital of the World.” 

• Leucadia Post Office (1160 North Coast Highway 101 & Phoebe) is built. 

Gerard Roy, owner of Roy’s Market, is approached by the US Postal Service to 

build a specified-set-of-plans to which in-turn grant him a long-term lease to 

operate a new post office. Leucadia still has their own local post office. 

G 

Top, right: The Ecke Ranch is sold to 

Magdalena and Paul Ecke Senior 

expanding their farming operation 

in 1945. 

Bottom, left: The Leucadia Post Office 

in 1963. 

Bottom, right: The last days of Noah’s 

Ark before its demolition in 1962. 

1957 ä • Ruth Baird Larabee, an avid plant collector and naturalist, donates twentyfive 

acres of land to the County of San Diego as a park and wildlife sanctuary. 

Originally called El Rancho de las Flores, then Quail Park, later Quail 

Botanical Gardens and now officially San Diego Botanic Gardens. 

• Fire Station One opens on the corner of 2nd and “C” Streets. In 1927 the 

citizens of Encinitas petition the county supervisors for a fire station. It is 

declined. Eighteen years later in 1945 they get approval. Finally, the first fire 

station is built and is still fully operational today. 


H I S T O R I C 

“ O L D ” E N C I N I T A S 

Cottonwood Creek was the life blood of Encinitas. Now dedicated as an historic natural creek it is permanently recognized. This is 

what started our little town as the steam locomotives needed to stop to refill their supply of fresh water. Small scrub oaks, encinitos, 

were cut to add fuel for the engines. There were only eleven people living here, mostly Chinese rail workers, when the Hammond Family 

arrived and doubled the population. A school was one of their first projects. Hotels, eateries, homes and businesses sprang up quickly 

as the word spread that this area was indeed a good place to live. A strong sense of community support was inherent to the people of 

that time that can still be felt today. The railroad played a vital part as towns across America, especially in the west, were being created. 

It was a great time for a new life and a fresh start in the “wild west”. Ranchers and farmers struggled to make a go of it. Many failed and 

moved on, but to this day descendants of those hardy newcomers still live in the area. 

1959 ä 

The Late ä 

1950s ä 

• Poinsettia Heights Tract Homes changed the topography and population of 

Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The hills just east of I-5 soon become dotted with tract homes. 

• The first traffic signals were installed on Highway 101 at D and E Streets 

G 

Downtown corner of Coast Highway 

and D Street prior to installation of 

Encinitas’ first traffic signals. 

1960 ä 

• Ada Harris School (1508 Windsor Road, Cardiff-by-the-Sea) is built in honor 

of their favorite teacher and principal. 

• Rancho Coastal Humane Society (389 Requeza St.) is started by German 

immigrant Maria K. Lloyd. During WWII she witnessed the suffering of not 

only people but animals as well, following the Nazi invasion. Her goal is to 

care for the homeless animal population and to educate the public about pet 

over-population and responsible companion animal care. 

• Population is 2,786. 

• Vulcan Square Shopping Center is built on the hill above Vulcan Avenue 

between “D” & “E” Streets. This location is currently the Encinitas Civic Center. 

C h a p t e r 6 F 6 3

1961 ä 

• Elks Lodge #2243 has occupied 1393 Windsor Road, Cardiff-by-the-Sea 

since it was chartered on the 24th of November. 

• Olivenhain Municipal Water District (1966 Olivenhain Road) is completed and 

water is now available to the Olivenhain Valley. OMWD President Alvin 

Wiegand, then 74 years old, turns the main water valve feeding an ample supply 

of water to the thirsty valley. Large estates and stables now cover the hillsides. 

• Hansen Surfboard Shop is opened by Don Hansen in a shack in Cardiff-bythe 

Sea, near Cardiff reef on Highway 101. 

G 

Above: World Champion Surfer and 

Encinitas local, Rusty Miller surfing 

at Wiamea Bay. 

1962 ä 

• The Christmas Parade begins as an annual event, which stopped in 1990 because 

of lack of funds. It resumes in 1994, sponsored by the City of Encinitas.The 

parade originally was along 2nd Street during the day. Now the Holiday Parade, 

is on the first Saturday of December during the early evening hours. 

1963 ä 

• Caldwell’s Antiques (1234 N. Hwy 101) opens by owner Charles K. Caldwell. 

• Chamber of Commerce in Cardiff-by-the-Sea is officially established. 

• Encinitas Hospital first opened. Founded by Dr. Charles Clark, Dr. Ronald 

Summers, Dr. Dwight Cook and Herman “Pop” Wiegand. 

• Rusty Miller is crowned world surfing champion by the World Surfing 

Federation. Rusty was a local surfing favorite and lifeguard at Moonlight Beach 

in the 1960s. Rusty moved to Encinitas at age 5 and started surfing at age 10. 

1965 ä 

• Besta Wan Pizza House (148 Aberdeen) is opened by the Corder Family on 

March 12th. It is still there today with parking and a “play” area in front. 

• Pacific View Elementary School Expands to 2.8 acres when the school district 

purchases two houses on the south side for a larger playground area. 

• Lake Val Sereno is purchased and constructs the ill-fated “lake front homes”. 


• Local Encinitas surfer, Danielle Corn, was a last-minute replacement to join 

Mike Doyle to compete in the Makaha World Tandem Surfing Championship 

on Oahu, Hawaii. With limited time to practice, Danielle and Mike went on 

to win the competition.. 

G 

Top, left: Danielle Corn and Mike 

Doyle at the World Tandem Surfing 

Championship in Oahu, Hawaii. 

1966 ä 

• Interstate I-5 Freeway is completed. 

• Boys & Girls Club of San Dieguito (1221 Encinitas Blvd) opens in Encinitas 

in a donated temporary building. 

• Encinitas Branch Library (540 Cornish Dr.), proudly opens its modern 4,100 

square foot round facility. 

Bottom left: The Encinitas Hospital at 

Santa Fe ribbon-cutting Ceremony, 

October 24, 1963. From Left to right: 

Dr. Hughes, Dr. Cook, Dr. Clark, and 

Dr. Summers. 

1967 ä 

• Snow on December 13th falls in Encinitas. Prior reported snowfall was in 1933. 

Bottom, right: The Freeway 5 ribbon 

cutting ceremony, June 21, 1966. 

C h a p t e r 6 F 6 5

G 

Above: Local Leucadians gather to 

install the Leucadia welcome sign. 

COURTESY OF THE CALDWELL FAMILY. 

Right: Moonlight Beach, c. the 1960s. 

Note the old boardwalk connecting the 

beach south to north. 

1969 ä 

c. 1970 ä 

• VG Donut & Bakery (106 Aberdeen) opens in the new strip mall in Cardiffby-the-Sea. 

Still owned by the Metee family, this landmark business is now an 

icon, providing the community with “very good” donuts. 

• YMCA (200 Saxony Road) begins construction on the first five-acre plot of land 

donated from the Ecke Family. In 1988 the Ecke Family donates additional land 

for a total of 20 acres to become the “Magdelena Ecke Family YMCA”. 

• Village Park started developing tract homes, apartments and duplexes in the 

eastern portion of Encinitas, replacing the area that was our city dump and a 

prosperous bee keeping business. The last phase was completed in c.1985. 


1970 ä 

• Encinitas Train Station/Pannikin Coffee & Tea House (510 N. Coast Highway 

101) is started in the original train station building which was closed in 1969. 

The building is sold for $1 but has to be moved to its present location costing 

$35,000. John Henderson was the architect that restored the building. It is 

initially an arts and crafts shop. Today it remains a popular local gathering spot. 

• Quail Park (Quail Gardens Rd.) opens the Larabee land to the public by the 

County of San Diego. It quickly became a popular tourist attraction. 

• Cap’n Kenos (158 North Highway 101) was originally built in 1929. This 

building has morphed over time and has historically been the Kolb’s Drive- 

In, owned and operated by Aubrey Austin, who built the La Paloma Theater 

complex and Moonlight Beach bathhouse. It has also been the Vienna Villa, 

Shamrock Cafe and El Rancho Restaurant. Gerry Sova buys the business and 

for only a few months calls it “The Green Apple.” Gerry runs the bar and 

restaurant as well as cooks and serves tables. Today this landmark local 

treasure is still “hoppin.” 


G 

Above: “Locals” enjoy a winter day at 

Moonlight Beach. Note the 

playground looking south. 

Below: Young local surfers descend 

the stairs at Swamis Point to catch a 

few waves. 

C h a p t e r 6 F 6 7

G 

Encinitas Magazine featured article Stone Steps Surf Contest 1975, by photojournalist and Encinitas local Kyle Thomas. 

COURTESY OF ENCINITAS MAGAZINE EDITOR IN CHIEF CHRIS COTE 


S T O N E 

S T E P S 

I N V I T A T I O N A L S U R F I N G C O N T E S T 

If you grew up and lived in Encinitas from 1967 to 1979, the Stone Steps 

Invitational Surfing Contest was an event that you just didn’t want to miss. 

It was the Woodstock of Encinitas—Music—Beer—Big crowds— 

There was just nothing else like it. 

If you hadn’t seen a local Encinitas friend or two for a while, you were 

guaranteed to run across them here, on this day. If you didn’t, it was 

because they were either in the hospital, in jail, or had died. 

The contest was a huge, challenging event to organize and set up. It 

was not sanctioned by the State of California, which had jurisdiction 

over beach access, making it illegal, and therefore had to be set up in 

secret under the cover-of-darkness the night before the event. 

Everything had to be walked down the stairs—all 100 kegs of beer. 

The band stage had to be carried down, along with the speakers and 

everything else it would take to put on the party. 

The rules of the contest were simple: When the starting gun goes off 

signaling the beginning of your heat, you have to guzzle a resin bucket 

full of beer—then go surf. The winner of the heat goes on to drink more 

beer and surf more heats, until finally, from the last group standing— 

and that can still surf, a “winner” is selected. 

Encinitas historian and Stone Steps contest organizer John Peugh sums 

it up quite nicely when he says, “This thing was started purely to have fun. 

It wasn’t about who won, or if it was, you wouldn’t be drinking all that beer 

before you went out into the water!” 

G 

Top, right and bottom: The Stone 

Steps surfing contest gained 

popularity in the 1960s as interest 

in surfing exploded. 

1975 - PHOTO BY KYLE THOMAS 

C h a p t e r 6 F 6 9

G 

Top: Moonlight Beach looking north. 

Note the playground equipment and 

picnic pavilion at left. 

Right: Moonlight Beach, c. the 1960s 

looking south. Note the Lifeguard 

Tower along the Boardwalk. Local 

surfing legend Rusty Miller served as 

a lifeguard here in the mid-1960s. 

OPPOSITE PAGE PHOTOS COURTESY OF 

LEROY GRANNIS. 

1975 ä 

1976 ä 

1977 ä 

1979 ä 

• La Asociacion de Charros de Encinitas is formally chartered. The event 

celebrated life on the great land ranchos before California became a state. 

• Mira Costa Community College (3333 Manchester Ave.) purchases 42 acres 

for the Cardiff-by-the-Sea campus that was dedicated in 1988. 

• La Especial Norte (664 N. Highway 101) is opened by Angel & Matilde Salazar. 

• Greek Orthodox Church (3459 Manchester Ave.) is built but not consecrated 

until June 2001. Known as “the Church with the Shining Cross” as the sun 

adds a serendipitous cross that shines a reflection on the gilded dome. 

• Wavecrest Woodie Meet has their first gathering in the parking lot at 

Moonlight Beach. San Diego Woodies continue to meet in September every 

year at 4th and “B” Streets. September 2019 celebrates their 40th year. 


L I N D A 

B E N S O N 

The life of the surfer girl who grew up on 

Dewitt Street in Encinitas, Linda Benson, 

has been remarkable. In 1959 at age 15, 

Linda was not only the first woman to win 

the first national surfing contest held in the 

US at the West Coast Championships in 

Huntington Beach, but is also credited to be 

the first woman to ride the legendary big 

waves of Waimea Bay. That same year she 

became the youngest contestant ever, to 

enter the International Surfing Contest at 

Makaha, which she won. 

Linda continued competing for 10 years 

winning the women’s 1960 and 1961 West 

Coast Championships and the women’s 

1964 and 1968 US Surfing Championships. 

Winning over twenty first-place surfing 

titles from 1959 to 1969, Linda was discovered 

by Hollywood and acted as Annette Funicello’s 

C h a p t e r 6 F 7 1

G 

Article reprint courtesy of Encinitas 

Magazine Editor in Chief Chris Cote. 

RIGHT PHOTO COURTESY OF WAX PHOTOS. 

BOTTOM, LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF 

LINDA BENSON. 

BOTTOM, RIGHT PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE 

THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY.. 

surfing double in the “Beach Party” films, and 

as Deborah Walley’s surfing double in Gidget 

Goes Hawaiian. She appeared in Bud Browne 

and John Severson films, and she was in the 

first Surfer Magazine in 1960. She was also the 

first woman to grace the cover of a surfing 

magazine, Surf Guide 1963. 

Reflecting back, Linda remembers getting 

her first surfboard. “When I was eleven, 

there was a water-soaked balsa board for sale 

for $20.00 and my Dad let me get it.” 

“John Elwell was one of the lifeguards at 

Moonlight Beach,” Linda recounts. “He 

really took a lot of us under his wing— 

Rusty Miller, my friend Nikki and myself.” 

“Our parents drove us on the weekends 

to Swamis. We walked to the beach in the 

summertime. We could be down there as 

long as the lifeguards were there. So 

grateful to have parents that let us do that. 

They trusted me. When wintertime came 

then everyone went to Swamis. “So the 

weekends, my parents and Nicky’s parents 

took turns driving us to Swami’s and that’s 

where we were all weekend.” 

If you ask Linda today what her 

philosophy on life is, she’ll tell you, “Keep 

on paddling!” 


CHAPTER 7 

I N C O R P O R A T E D ! E N C I N I T A S G R O W S U P : 1 9 8 0 - 1 9 9 9 

Encinitas and the surrounding area continue to grow. By the vote of the people, Cardiff, Historic 

Encinitas, New Encinitas, Leucadia and Olivenhain become one city, leading to the community incorporating 

and exercising self-governance. As our community rapidly moves ahead the Encinitas 

Historical Society is formed, followed by the San Dieguito Heritage Museum to collect and save our 

history. San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy is created to protect this vital area as one of the last remaining 

California coastal wetlands. Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association fulfills the requirements to 

join the National Mainstreet Association to assist in advancing our historical 101 business district. 

Later, Leucadia and Cardiff are also accepted. Cottonwood Creek is recognized on the National 

Registry of Historic Places, along with Indian Head Canyon. 

G 

Encinitas aerial photo looking north 

from Swamis Point. 

C h a p t e r 7 F 7 3

G 

Above: The San Dieguito Heritage 

Museum sets its final roots on Quail 

Gardens Drive. Established in 1988, 

it has been housed in many locations. 

This locally focused museum collects 

and displays objects and buildings 

from Encinitas’ past. 

Below: San Elijo Lagoon on a classic 

misty morning looking southeast. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF MORGAN MALLORY. 

1980 ä 

• Value Fair & Vons Shopping Center (c.1960 at 2000 block of San Elijo Ave). in 

Cardiff-by-the-Sea is demolished making way for the new Cardiff Town Center. 

• Friends of the Encinitas Library is founded. The Friends play a vital role in 

raising money and advocating the need for a larger facility. 

• Teten House (450 Quail Gardens Dr.) is moved by the San Dieguito Heritage 

Museum to its permanent location. Extensive rehabilitation and restoration efforts 

commence. It is now complete and open to the public on the museum property. 

• Encinitas Historical Society (390 West F St.) originally the Leucadia-Encinitas 

Historical Society is incorporated. “The mission of the Encinitas Historical 

Society is to collect, archive and preserve the many documents, photos, videos 

and oral histories that shape our heritage, and to maintain the health and 

integrity of the oldest building in the City, the 1883 One-Room Schoolhouse.” 



1982 ä 

1983 ä 

• The Lumberyard Center (700-1000 blocks of Coast Highway 101) in 

downtown Encinitas is built using a railroad-style architecture. 

• Downtown Encinitas Merchants Association is formed to aid and promote 

businesses along Coast Highway 101 in downtown Encinitas. In 1988 the 

organization is granted the National Mainstreet Association status. It later 

becomes known as Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association “DEMA.” 

Currently nicknamed as E-101, they also manage the street fairs twice a year. 

• San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy (2710 Manchester Ave.) started by a small group 

of concerned citizens to save the lagoon, is formally dedicated to the public. This 

important lagoon is one of the few remaining coastal wetlands in the state as it is 

the terminus of the Escondido Creek. The lagoon is 915 acres with over seven 

miles of hiking trails and a 5,600-square-foot Nature Center. Prior to the 1970s, 

developers were proposing to replace the lagoon with condominiums, a marina 

and a water park. It is now jointly managed by the San Diego County Department 

of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and supported by 

the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy who bought the land in 2012. 

G 

Above: Citizens of all five districts 

vote to create one city: Encinitas, on 

October 1, 1986. The first Encinitas 

City Council members to be elected 

are, (from left to right): Greg Luke, 

Marjorie Gaines, Rick Shea, Gerald 

Steel, and Anne Omsted. 

Bottom, right: The Lumberyard 

Shopping Center was built in 1982 

in a railroad-style architecture as 

this area was literally the lumber 

yard during the early boom years, 

as well as the site of the Mid-Winter 

Flower Festival. 

C h a p t e r 7 F 7 5

G 

Top: The 1883 schoolhouse nearing its 

final resting place on West F Street. 

The one-room schoolhouse is moved 

back to close to it’s original site in 

1983, only 100 feet from where it first 

served the community. Saved by the 

Encinitas Historical Society, the 

Encinitas Elementary School board 

approves it’s location on the 

south/west corner of the active Pacific 

View Elementary School. 

Bottom: The original wooden railroad 

trestles that ran between Cardiff-bythe-Sea 

and Solana Beach over the San 

Elijo Lagoon. The new double tracking 

project was completed in 2021. 


1984 ä 

1986 ä 

• The Encinitas Historical Society works quickly to save the original 1883 oneroom 

schoolhouse from demolition. Bud Fisher offers the building to the 

Society. The Society is granted a small leased section in the southwest corner 

of the Pacific View Elementary School property at 390 West F Street. The 

schoolhouse is bought on April 13th for $1 but costs $2,300 to move. 

• Quail Park (Quail Gardens Dr.) changes its name to Quail Botanical Garden. 

• Friends of the Cardiff Library is formed. 

• The City of Encinitas on October 1st is created when five small uniquely 

individual communities become a city. Three prospective names were on the 

ballot; Rancho San Elijo, San Dieguito and of course Encinitas. Community 

activist, Marjorie Gaines, is appointed first mayor of the newly incorporated city. 

The Civic Center it is now permanently located at 505 South Vulcan Ave. 


C A L I F O R N I A 

S U R F 

M U S E U M G E T S I T S S T A R T 

I N E N C I N I T A S 

Stuart Resor, an Encinitas resident and 

surfer, says…”I got the idea to start preserving 

our surf history when I saw Woody Ekstrom 

walking down the beach at Grand View in 

Leucadia. It suddenly seemed to me that the 

early days of surfing were slipping behind us 

and if he and others were interested, we could 

display old surfboards and photographs for 

future generations to see.” 

In February 1986, after an article 

appeared in The Coast Dispatch and The 

Citizen newspapers, several interested 

people came together at George’s 

Restaurant on Coast Highway in Encinitas 

to discuss forming a surf museum. 

The dozen or so people who showed up 

for that first meeting became the founding 

board, a mix of men and women, surfers 

and non-surfers, connected by an avid 

interest in surfing and a desire to collect its 

history for the enjoyment of generations to 

come. The founding members were Mike 

Cates, June Chocheles, Don Fine, Steve 

George, Kevin Kinnear, Parry Payne, Stuart 

Resor, Jane Schmauss, Ian Urquhart, and 

Catherine Woolsey. 

G 

The most famous exhibit at the 

museum is the story of Bethany 

Hamilton losing her left arm to a tiger 

shark while surfing at Tunnels Beach 

on Kauai, how she survived that 

attack to not only recover from the 

incident, but returned to competitive 

surfing—and she continues to do well 

in surfing contests around the world. 

Her story and her positive outlook on 

life have caused her to be in demand 

as a motivational speaker. The exhibit 

features the surfboard Bethany was 

riding on that fateful Halloween day 

in 2003, the bathing suit she was 

wearing, featured in the documentary 

Heart of a Soul Surfer. 

C h a p t e r 7 F 7 7

7 8 F E N C I N I T A S : O u r H i s t o r y a n d P e o p l e 

The California Surf Museum took shape 

as a small display of surfboards and surf 

collectibles at George’s Restaurant, owned 

by Jane Schmauss, in 1986. The restaurant 

was open 7 days a week and had a little 

corner alcove dedicated to promoting the 

museum concept. The Board voted to use 

the name “California Surf Museum” after 

discussing the merits of the Encinitas Surf 

Museum, the North County Surfing 

Museum, and numerous other names, 

believing that the broader term would one 

day link to a string of museums up and 

down the coast, such as the “California Surf 

Museum, Ventura,” and the like. 

After many months of organizing and 

putting together a logo design contest (won 

by Ed Nava), Encinitas businessman Paul 

Rotsheck offered the fledgling California 

Surf Museum free space in his newly built 

Moonlight Plaza, on the corner of Encinitas 

Boulevard and the Coast Highway. CSM 

mounted its first exhibit, “Surfing: Trestles 

to Tourmaline,” on August 13, 1988, with a 

grand opening September 28, 1988. 

The surf museum found its new home in 

Oceanside, California, in 1996.

1987 ä 

• Indian Head Canyon (north Saxony) is saved from developers when several 

dedicated citizens gather to support the purchase of these 60 acres. The goal is 

to save this lush canyon as open space and stop the planned tract of 300 homes. 

After a long eleven-year struggle, the city, along with the assistance of the 

California Conservation Corp, joins to officially declare it public land in 1998. 

• Coast News started in the garage of Jim Kydd on September 17. It is currently 

in publication, with Chris Kydd, Jim’s son, as the current publisher. 

G 

These iconic boathouses built by Miles 

Justus Kellogg in 1927/28 were placed 

on the National Register of Historic 

Places in October 2019. 

1988 ä 

• Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association (DEMA) is officially awarded 

membership into the National Mainstreet Association. 

• The San Dieguito Heritage Museum is created. This locally focused museum 

collects and displays objects that represent everyday life of the pioneers and 

their families. Interactive exhibits and representatives of different cultures make 

the past come alive in and around these historic buildings. The museum is now 

permanently located on 1.2 acres on Quail Gardens Drive. The property is 

leased from the City of Encinitas for $1 per year for fifty-five years. 

C h a p t e r 7 F 7 9

G 

Above: Encinitas and Amakusa, 

Japan, have been sister cities 

since 1988. 

Below, left: Coast Highway between 

D and E Streets with the old Detour 

Salon, Beach & Town Liquor, 

and Flashbacks 

Below, right: Encinitas Child located 

near the Cottonwood Creek overlook. 

This bronze statue welcomes visitors 

to the downtown area. 

1988 ä 

1989 ä 

1990 ä 

• A Sister City relationship with Hondo, Japan, Kumamoto prefecture was 

officially established. In this area of Japan, the government combines several 

small communities (like Encinitas in 1986) and is renamed Amakusa on March 

27, 2006. Many cultural exchanges have taken place with students, fire fighters, 

medical personnel and government officials. There is a mile marker at the base 

of 2rd and “B” Streets that show the miles to our Sister City as 6,129 miles. 

• Swami’s Beach sign is erected at Swami’s Point by the Swami’s Surf Association. 

• Moonlight Beach supervision and maintenance is taken over by the City of 

Encinitas from the state. Local lifeguards are hired. 



1991 ä 

• Cottonwood Creek (Hwy 101 and “B” Street) is recognized and placed on the 

National Registry of Historic Places on August 5th spearheaded by Ida Lou 

Coley. Cottonwood Creek is the key reason Encinitas became a town. It was 

the first town between National City and Oceanside to spring up along the 

western section of San Diego county. From 1881 to 1920, Cottonwood Creek 

served not only as the main water source for the growing community but 

provided the much-needed water to run the steam locomotives. 

• Vulcan Square Shopping Center, (505 S. Vulcan Ave) built in 1960 is sold to 

the City of Encinitas to remodel as the new Encinitas Civic Center (City Hall). 

1992 ä 

• North County Transit District (NCTD) buys the Santa Fe Rail Line from San 

Diego to Oceanside. 

1993 ä 

1994 ä 

• The Olivenhain Town Hall (423 Rancho Santa Fe Rd.) is placed on the 

National Register of Historic Places. 

• The Encinitas Heritage Tree is adorned for the Holiday Season for the first time by 

Luis Ortiz. In 2011, the tree was officially protected as a Heritage Tree by the City 

of Encinitas. In 2015, the Encinitas Historical Society became the official sponsor 

of the lighting ceremony. Luis continues leading the lighting of the tree to this day. 

G 

Below, left:Veteran’s Memorial 

Cottonwood Creek Park. 

Below, right: An Egret in the San 

Elijo Lagoon 


C h a p t e r 7 F 8 1

G 

Top: San Diego Botanic Garden. 

Quail Botanical Gardens changed it’s 

name to San Diego Botanic Gardens 

in 2009. It is one of the worlds best 

known established gardens providing 

cuttings, plants and seeds to other 

gardens throughout the world. 

Bottom: The Leucadia Welcome Sign. 

Members of the Leucadia Town 

Council spruce up and replant the area 

around the Welcome Sign at the north 

entrance along the coast highway. 

1995 ä 

1997 ä 

• Coaster Commuter Train has its inaugural run from Oceanside to the 

downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot on February 27th. 

• Machado Surf Classic has its inaugural surf competition in late summer at 

Cardiff State Beach and is sponsored by the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce. 

In 2002 the event name is changed to Hansen/Machado Surf Professional 

Event, sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP). 

• La Bajada Bridge over the Escondido Creek connecting Encinitas to Rancho Santa 

Fe officially opened. This area consistently flooded during the rainy season. 

• 1883 One-Room Schoolhouse (390 West “F”) in December is now fully restored 

and open to the public. Total cost, along with many volunteer hours, is $17,000. 

• Carpentier Parkway (the “front garden” between Birmingham & Chesterfield) 

is named after Orville & Jessica Carpentier. A statue is erected in the image 

of the late Wayne Holden, a Cardiff-by-the-Sea community activist. 


1998 ä 

1999 ä 

• Indian Head Canyon along the north end of Saxony Road in Leucadia, with 

the addition of donated land from Magdalena Ecke Park, is officially declared 

public land encompassing over 90 acres. 

• 101 Artists’ Colony is formed as a co-op artists gallery by James Durfey, 

Nansy Phleger and Maria Festa. It has been in several locations in Encinitas 

with studios, performance stage, galleries and a coffee bar. It is supported 

solely by local artists. 

• Encinitas Ranch Golf Course, owned by the City of Encinitas, is opened to the 

public on March 1st. Rated a Champion Golf Course with 18-holes on 175 acres. 

• Cullen School Bell is dedicated at the Cardiff Elementary School on October 

23rd. The bell was purchased in Santa Ana for $20.00 and has a 

manufactured date of 1828. It is re-dedicated again in 2003 during the 

refurbished Cardiff School District’s 90th anniversary. 

• Full Moon Poets was formed by Danny Salzhandler for the laid-back poetry circle 

called a “read around.” It has grown to include a Summer Slam and a Winter Slam 

during the full moons and held at the historic La Paloma Theater. 

G 

Below: Olympic torch run through 

Encinitas on April 28, 1996. Local 

dignitaries help run the Olympic 

Torch through Encinitas on it’s way to 

the summer games in Atlanta, 

Georgia. The world games of the 

XXVI Olympiad was also known as 

the Centennial Olympic Games. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS. 

C h a p t e r 7 F 8 3

C A R D I F F - B Y - T H E - S E A 

Cardiff had an early start and a fascinating history. Streets were named after the British Isles, followed by more streets named after 

classical music composers. Cardiff, was located on a beautiful part of the California coastline. One of its first settlers erected a two-story 

building reminiscent of a Victorian English seaside manor. The building provided an artists’ studio on the second floor. During that same 

year “by-the-Sea” was added to its name. Remnants of Cardiff’s only industry can still be seen during low tide where a kelp processing 

plant operated. The pier, which was built near the mouth of the lagoon, has long since washed away. The main cement floor of Cardiff’s 

one and only train station is all that remains of the mission style depot. Restaurant Row was known to host many a celebrity traveling 

back and forth from Hollywood to Del Mar and Mexico. Japanese farmers’ crops covered the hills just east of town. The San Elijo lagoon 

was slowly choking. The mouth was opened occasionally by a farmer with a plow. Cardiff-by-the-Sea later changed to a new personality 

- surfing. It is where Don Hansen opened his first shop; where “the kook” put Cardiff-by-the-Sea on the international map; where surfing 

contests and beach fairs rocked the coast. Double tracking, the lagoon improvements, Harbaugh Trails and the Living Shoreline Project 

may have changed the scene, but not the heart: the pull is real and it is the soul of Cardiff-by-the-Sea. 

G 

Above: Cardiff-by-the-Sea looking 

north toward Swamis Point. A typical 

beautiful summer day looking north 

along the Cardiff coastline. 

Right: Local large mural artist Kevin 

Anderson paints a new San Dieguito 

Academy mural on the north wall of 

the main building. Many of his 

murals can be seen throughout 

Encinitas and San Diego County. 


G 

The Downtown Encinitas 101 

Mainstreet Association contracted 

several local artists to enhance the 

alleys and back buildings of many 

businesses along Coast Highway. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAPHNE FLETCHER. 

CHAPTER 8 

T H E N E W M I L L E N N I U M : 2 0 0 0 - P R E S E N T 

Encinitas’ culture, rooted in surfing and the arts, advances. The Arts Alive Banner program 

launches along Coast Highway 101; the first Switchfoot Bro-Am and Beach Fest is held at Moonlight 

Beach; Dog Days of Summer begins in Cardiff; the “Kook” is dedicated in Cardiff; the Encinitas Child 

sculpture is dedicated near Cottonwood Creek and the Surfing Madonna Mosaic appears to everyone’s 

delight; the first community garden is constructed; we elect our first mayor; create our new 

Encinitas Community park and focus on beach erosion, protection and expanded access to hiking 

trails and marine safety. 

C h a p t e r 8 F 8 5

2000 ä 

2002 ä 

2003 ä 

2004 ä 

• Arts Alive Banner Exhibit launches on Highway 101 in downtown Encinitas. This 

very successful and popular program is spearheaded by local artist, sculptor and 

welder Danny Salzhandler, his wife Norma and the 101 Artists’ Colony. 

• Encinitas Sign on October 7th , duplicated from the original 1928 sign across D 

Street at 101. It is rebuilt using the original design to celebrate the millennial. It 

was first hung on cables but a storm two weeks later almost brought it down. 

Later a solid steel support frame was installed. I true icon for our coastal town. 


• Encinitas Community/Senior Center is completed on Oakcrest Park Drive. 

• Downtown Streetscape Project has its Ribbon Cutting in June. 

• Cardiff Library opens its new 5,977 sq. ft. “green” facility, (1st in the county) 

on the corner of Newcastle & Liverpool on March 22nd. 

• The Pacific View Elementary School is closed at the end of the school year. 

• Leucadia-Encinitas Mainstreet Organization is awarded National Mainstreet 

status, becoming Leucadia 101 (L 101). 

• Cottonwood Creek Park has its ribbon cutting celebration June 14th. This 8.2- 

acre park is located on the northeast corner of Encinitas Blvd. and Vulcan Ave. 

• Switchfoot Bro-Am and Beach Fest is started by local surf legend Rob Machado 

and local, world famous Christian musicians, Switchfoot. This event includes 

surf contests, live music and much more always in the month of June. 

• Dog Days of Summer has their first event in the parking lot of Headline Graphics 

in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. In 2016 this popular event is moved to the new Encinitas 

Community Park. This is the largest dog-centric event in San Diego County. 

• Poet Laureate Trish Dugger is recognized officially on January 12 by the City. 

G 

The Wavecrest Woodie Meet has their 

first gathering in the parking lot at 

Moonlight Beach. September 2019 

was the 40th consecutive year 

drawing cars and woodie enthusiasts 

from all over the country to display 

and sell these iconic cars. 

COURTESY OF JENNIFER NELSON 


G 

Above: Moonlight Beach. 


Left: Switchfoot Bro-Am and Beach 

Fest, started by local Rob Machado, 

features the Christian band 

Switchfoot. Thousands of fans pack 

Moonlight Beach, c. 2018. 


2007 ä 

2008 ä 

• Magic Carpet Ride or Cardiff “Kook” is the creation of Matthew Antichevich. 

Since its debut, local surfers have deemed it a “kook”, which refers to a first 

time or beginner surfer. This wonderful statue, along the west side of 

Highway 101 across from Chesterfield Drive, becomes an unlikely attraction 

when a 15-foot-tall papier mache shark appears to devour the “Kook.” 

Costumes and props are now a common sight. Cleverly outfitted for 

birthdays, graduations, special events and political satire, the “Kook” has 

worn it all. The “Kook” is featured in many publications around the world, 

including the front page of the Wall Street Journal. 

• Encinitas Preservation Association (EPA) is formed and closes escrow on the 

iconic Boathouses for $1.55 million in May. It is touted as a “public trust of 

preservation” by the Encinitas Historical Society and Downtown Encinitas 

Mainstreet Association. The City of Encinitas use a developer’s fee of $631,538 as 

the down payment designated as affordable housing. Plans commence to place 

these iconic boats on the National Register of Historic Places. The E Clampus 

Vitus organization partners with EPA to assist with the historical bronze plaque. 

C h a p t e r 8 F 8 7

G 

Top: A few banners created by local 

artists along Coast Highway promoted 

by the Artist Colony’s “Arts Alive” 

community program. 

Above: Swami’s Beach & Park. 

COURTESY OF DAPHNE FLETCHER 

Right: “Dog Days of Summer”, first 

held in a parking lot in Cardiff in 2005. 

It expanded to Encinitas Community 

Park, holding various events like the 

dog/owner look-alike contest. 

• Encinitas Library (540 Cornish Dr.) has occupied several locations, 

including one on the corner of “D” Street in the Rupe Building during the 

1940s into the mid-1950s. Manuel Oncina Architects, Inc. are contracted to 

design a new state-of-the-art facility, financed by the City of Encinitas. On 

February 23rd the $20-million-dollar, 27,798-square-foot library opens. 

This facility includes a 2,000-square-foot Community Room, 537-squarefoot 

Special Collections Room, an informal Literary Lab with 15 computer 

workstations for group instruction and three group study rooms. A reading 

deck along the west side, a Friends of the Library bookstore and an entry 

coffee cart are part of the main space. Civic Art shows are included as part 

of the library design, with local artists and performers playing an integral 

part of the library’s design. 


2008 ä 

2010 ä 

• “Encinitas Child” is seated on the retaining wall on the west side on Highway 

101 between Encinitas Blvd. and D Street welcoming visitors to the downtown 

area. This beautiful bronze sculpture is created by local and nationally renowned 

sculptor Manuelita Brown. To celebrate its 20th anniversary the Downtown 

Encinitas Mainstreet Association (DEMA) installs this public art piece. 

• Pacific Station development opens on Highway 101. Whole Foods is the 

anchor business. Apartments are on the 2nd floor with underground parking 

for 250 cars. 


G 

Above, left: Coaster in Cardiff. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY NEAL GLASGOW. 

Above, right: Swami’s Beach gets a 

second Tiki statue, joining the first 

carved by Tim Richards in 2011 from 

an 80 yr. old Torrey Pine that fell 

victim to bark beetle infestation. 


2011 ä 

• Surfing Madonna Mosaic literally appeared overnight under the north side of the 

railroad bridge on Encinitas Blvd. Disguised as construction workers, Mark 

Patterson and friend Bob Nichols clandestinely install the 10-foot square, glass 

mosaic art piece on an early April morning. When threatened with demolition, 

Patterson steps forward to save his creation. He is fined $500 and has to pay 

$6,000 to have it removed. In 2013 the mosaic finds its permanent home on the 

outside north facing wall of the Leucadia Pizzeria on Encinitas Blvd & 101. In 

2019 artist Kevin Anderson paints an underwater scene below the mosaic. 

Below, left: Downtown Encinitas. 


Below, right: Swami’s Surf Memorial 

at Swami’s Beach. 


C h a p t e r 8 F 8 9

G 

Top, left: Santa Fe Drive railroad 

undercrossing at Swami’s Beach Park 

officially opens. 


2012 ä 

• “The Ranch” (441 Saxony Rd.) formerly known as the Ecke RanchFloriculture 

business, sells its property to the Leichtag Foundation. This 67 ½-acre ranch 

has a total of 850,000 square feet of green houses. 

• First electrical vehicle charging station is put into use in July at the north end 

of parking lot B just east of 101 at D Street and Vulcan Avenue. 

Top, right: The lotus towers of the 

SRF Hermitage and Ashram Center. 


2013 ä 

2014 ä 

• Santa Fe Drive Pedestrian under-crossing is officially opened on February 27th 

connecting South Vulcan to Highway 101 allowing easy access to Swami’s Beach. 

• Plastic Ban on single-use plastic bags is passed by the City of Encinitas. 

• First Elected Mayor of Encinitas, Kristin Gaspar, is voted in on November 7th. 

Previously the elected council members rotated the position on a yearly basis. 

• Welcome sign is dedicated at the south entry near the under crossing on 

Highway 101 into downtown Encinitas. Bob Partlow and Terry Weaver design 

and create this sand blasted 8X10 foot redwood sign. This is a project of the 

Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association (DEMA). 

• Pacific View Property is purchased by the City of Encinitas with a $10 million 

bond. The old elementary school (closed since 2003) had been scheduled for 

auction. The total bond package is $13 million, with three million earmarked 

for building the new lifeguard tower at Moonlight Beach. 

• Leichtag Foundation (441 Saxony Rd) joins six other Encinitas entities to sign a 

“Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) in April. They include The Encinitas 

Union School District, the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA, The San Diego 

Botanic Gardens, The San Dieguito Heritage Museum, Seacrest Village 

Retirement Community, along with the Leichtag Foundation “…to develop 

educational, experimental learning and multi-generational programs around the 

nexus of agriculture, horticulture, nutrition, science, sustainability, community 

building and the local history and agricultural traditions of Encinitas.” 


• Cardiff-by-the-Sea Mainstreet Association, formerly Cardiff Chamber of 

Commerce, is identified as an official main street organization (C 101). 

2015 ä 

• Encinitas Community Park (425 Santa Fe Dr.) is officially opened on January 

10th. Formerly the greenhouse floral business of Robert Hall, he sells the 

property to the City of Encinitas in 2000 for $17,000,000. The total cost over 

the next 15 years totals $42,750,000. This 44-acre park boasts a 13,000- 

square-foot renowned skate park, kids play areas, two acres for the Maggie 

Houlihan Memorial Dog Park, athletic fields and lots of open green spaces. 

• Encinitas Arts, Culture and Ecology Alliance (EACEA) enters into negotiations 

with the City of Encinitas to transform the closed 2.8-acre Pacific View 

Elementary School into a viable arts center. Rehabilitation commences in a rightof-entry 

lease situation while the long-term lease requirements are finalized. 

• Coastal Roots Farm (441 Saxony Road), dedicated on September 30 and located 

on the Leichtag Property, begin their certified organic farming operation. It is a 

non-profit educational community farm where growing organic vegetables 

“nourish connections—to ourselves, our neighbors and the land”, inspired by 

Jewish wisdom. Fresh organic produce is sold at their Farm Stand as a pay-whatyou-can 

system to offer healthy, organically grown produce for all. 

• Organic Fruit Grove is dedicated at Glen Park in Cardiff-by-the-Sea on October 

3rd, inspired by Cardiff resident and former mayor Teresa Arballo Barth. This is 

an organically managed city park setting the tone for healthy organic gardening. 

• Friends of the Arts received non-profit status on November 27. Created in 2014, 

the mission of EFA is to partner with the City of Encinitas by “fund raising and 

advocating for art in Encinitas and city owned art venues promoting all art forms”. 

G 

Below: Encinitas Sign on Coast 

Highway 101. The Downtown 

Encinitas Mainstreet Association 

contracts Bob Partlow and Terry 

Weaver in 2014 to create this Welcome 

sign on the south end of the business 

district entering the coast highway. 


C h a p t e r 8 F 9 1

G 

Above: Swami’s Pumpkins, Every year 

the SRF plants their fields with 

pumpkins to carve for Halloween. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS. 

2016 ä 

• Encinitas Community Garden (Quail Gardens Drive) ribbon cutting is in 

October. Community members rally to create this garden on Quail Gardens 

Drive in the undeveloped Encinitas Elementary School site. A total of eightynine 

raised beds are constructed along with eighty fruit trees. Gordon Smith is 

the “slow foods” advocate who started the process to make this garden a reality. 

2017 ä 

• Cannabis (marijuana)for recreational consumption is approved by statewide vote. 

2018 ä 

• Encinitas Board Riders Club is formed to compete in the WCBR contest and also 

“to support, build and protect our local coastal environment and surf history”. 

• Moonlight Beach Marine Safety Center at Moonlight Beach is dedicated in 

May. This $3.9 million-dollar project replaces the old 1952 wooden structure. 

In addition, a collaborative project with ocean artist Peggy Sue Zepeda with Bob 

Zepeda doing the finish work for this 8’x15’ mosaic titled “Pacific Playground”. 

2018-19 ä 

• Cardiff State Beach Living Shoreline Project Dedication was held on May 

22nd, 2019. This coastal protection project with extensive dune planting will 

help retain and protect the beach from tidal erosion and loss of sand, 

especially during the winter tides. 


2019 ä • Harbaugh Seaside Trails begins construction on March 1st. The area had been 

purchased by the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy in 2012. It is an extensive project 

of a three-acre overlook gateway of Solana Beach extending north to the Cardiffby-the-Sea 

trail formerly known as Carpentier Parkway. It is planned to be 

completed in early 2020 and will showcase a donor monument, viewing deck and 

a railroad under-crossing into the San Elijo Ecological Reserve. As a land trust, 

“years of fund raising and strengthening of community has come to fruition.” 

• Coastal Rail Trail opens to the public on May 9th. The 1.3-mile trail runs from 

Chesterfield Avenue to the pedestrian crossing at Santa Fe Drive into downtown 

Encinitas. Described as a “pedestrian and cycle friendly thoroughfare.” This is 

just a portion of the planned forty-four-mile bike-way, which will eventually 

run from Oceanside to the downtown San Diego Santa Fe Depot. 

• Chesterfield Avenue Crossing at San Elijo in Cardiff-by-the-Sea is complete as 

well as the much-needed rail line double tracking. It is now the first “quiet zone.” 

• Dickinson Family Education Conservatory (230 Quail Gardens Drive) is 

completed. Located within the Hamilton Children’s Garden, this 8,232-squarefoot 

glass educational facility also offers seating for 265 in the amphitheater. 

• San Elijo Lagoon Double Tracking Project gets underway. A new railroad bridge 

is complete in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. This 72.8 million dollar project is expected to 

be completed in approximately two years and will stretch 1.5 miles. 

G 

Swami’s Beach. 

COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY 

C h a p t e r 8 F 9 3

G 

Top: 2019 Saw an E-Bike (Electric 

Bike) Explosion. 

IMAGE COURTESY OF DAPHNE FLETCHER. 

Below: Biergarten Downtown Encinitas 

IMAGE COURTESY OF NEAL GLASGOW. 

• Boathouses (726 & 732 3rd Street) on October 12th are dedicated with an 

historical bronze plaque provided by the local chapter of the E Clampus Vitus 

organization. Working with Encinitas Preservation Association (EPA) and 

Encinitas Historical Society (EHS) and with aid from the City of Encinitas, these 

iconic boats will now be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

• “Boutique Luxury Hotel” begins construction on the 4.3-acre property on the 

northern bluff in Leucadia. Forty-five thousand cubic yards of sand was 

relocated to the beach below. The planned 226,000-square-foot building 

complex will boast 130 rooms (including 16 suites) and currently has an 

estimated cost of $110 million. Owners envision guests walking around in 

swimsuits, shorts and flip-flops, keeping with the Leucadia beach “vibe.” 

Marketing materials describe the hotel as “barefoot luxury.” 



2020 ä • Cylovia comes for the first time to downtown Coast Highway 101 on Sunday, 

January 12 as a no-cars approach to downtown shopping. 

• Dunham House built in 1885 on 10th Street, Del Mar, moves to the San 

Dieguito Heritage Museum in December. The house is named after Edward 

and Lovey Dunham who lived in the house from 1925 to 1975. The structure 

is literally sawed in half to 14ft. X 28ft sections and the roof was removed to 

accommodate the eight-mile trip. 

W H A T I S C Y C L O V I A E N C I N I T A S ? 

Cyclovia is a Spanish term that means “Cycleway”. This type of event includes the closing of 

certain streets to automobiles for a temporary time, in order to allow cyclists, skaters, and pedestrians 

access to local businesses on open streets. In January 2020 Encinitas hosted its first Cyclovia event, 

and was deemed a total success, with hundreds of participating residents this “all wheels” event. In 

2021 the event went “virtual” to keep the momentum going due to the COVID pandemic. Just like 

the inaugural live event held in 2020, it remains the City’s goal to put on an energetic, educational 

community celebration promoting healthy, active lifestyles, and self-powered transportation in a fun, 

but virtual way rolling all the way through 2021. 

Virtual Cyclovia Encinitas kicked off on Sunday, January 17, 2021 with the launch of the first wave 

of social media content and an official city-sponsored web page, loaded with interactive media, 

materials and resources. 

Following the January kickoff, the City of Encinitas will continue to roll out fun, informative, 

and engaging content online, here on this page, and via social media (Facebook, Instagram, 

Nextdoor, Twitter) with the goal of also offering limited live/in-person features as much as 

possible throughout 2021 as County Health Orders allow. 

C h a p t e r 8 F 9 5

G 

Above and below: Surfing Madonna Beach Run and Half Marathon in 2017 earned the new Guinness Book of World Records title after more than 4,000 people ran across the sands 

of Moonlight Beach.” The Carlsbad Encina Power Plant’s smokestack in the background was demolished after a 50-year history in the spring of 2021. 


G 

Above: Coaster train heading north 

from San Diego across the San Elijo 

Lagoon. 


PHOTOGRAPHY 

Left: Helena Holleran and the Nu 

Funk Shui. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLIN LEIBOLD. 

C h a p t e r 8 F 9 7

G 

Encinitas Holiday Parade 2019. 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAPHNE FLETCHER. 


G 

Encinitas Holiday Parade 2019. No 

one yet knew it would be the last big 

event for a very long time. 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAPHNE FLETCHER. 

C h a p t e r 8 F 9 9

G 

Article reprint courtesy of Encinitas 

Magazine Editor in Chief Chris Cote. 

IMAGES COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS. 

T H E R O C K ‘ N ’ R O L L H O U S E 

The Rock ‘n’ Roll House was once located between A and B Streets, in the alley, west of the 

Coast Highway, near Moonlight Beach on the property where The Lofts at Moonlight Beach now 

stand. It was a small two-story apartment whose entire structure, along with the garage, yard and 

even the telephone pole, was transformed into a crazy, wildly psychedelic piece of art by the 

apartment’s resident, Richard Margolin. 

“It began mysteriously and unpredictable,” says Richard. “I had never done art in my life. I 

was 56 years old, living in a motel room in Oceanside, and if somebody would have said, “You’re 

an artist”, I would have told them, “What the hell are you talking about!” 

1 0 0 F E N C I N I T A S : O u r H i s t o r y a n d P e o p l e

CHAPTER 9 

E N C I N I T A S A N D T H E C O R O N A V I R U S 

2020 Coronavirus, COVID-19 Pandemic statistics start being recorded on January 20th in the 

United States. It is believed the origin of this new virus is Wuhan, China, first reported in December 

2019. This purportedly resulted from humans ingesting exotic wildlife from an open market located 

there. Some other reports reveal the virus might have been created in a laboratory. It is declared a 

worldwide pandemic. 

By March the United States issues quarantine rules to stop its spread and closes its borders. 

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, is the first in the nation to completely “lock-down” the state 

by closing borders, businesses, schools, beaches, parks and theaters causing panic buying at the grocery 

stores clearing shelves and causing shortages and rationing. All concerts, sporting and cultural 

events are immediately canceled. Air travel is limited, and cruise lines are shut down. Nursing homes 

are in also in total lock-down, with meals being served in residents’ private apartments. School and 

church services at first are held outside, later not at all—only by “Zoom” which becomes the new 

meeting norm—an online digital meeting app which prior to the pandemic was barely heard of. 

Grocery stores offer on-line orders and/or delivery. 

In late spring, beaches and parks open back up. Coronavirus outbreaks continue despite the lockdown 

and new rules are set in place by individual state governors. California’s governor mandates 

protective facial masks to be worn for any activity outside the home. All public gatherings continue 

G 

IMAGE COURTESY OF DEPOSIT PHOTOS 

ID #360151110. 

C h a p t e r 9 F 1 0 1

to be canceled: weddings, graduations, funerals 

and family reunions have either been canceled, 

postponed or have severely limited attendance. 

Pharmaceutical companies fast-track testing kits 

to offer the public. 

Covid-19 testing becomes required prior to 

any medical procedure and international flights, 

with many countries restricting admission from 

the United States due to the highest case levels 

in the world by the end of 2020. Schools conduct 

classes online, and sports events hold 

games but with no audience. All meetings are 

now conducted via webinars and/or Zoom set 

up on computers, iPads, or smart phones. 

School hours are extremely limited on campus, 

as most lessons are conducted online. 

Late in 2020, several pharmaceutical companies 

tout the effectiveness of their vaccine and 

push for approval for mass inoculations as the 

cases are increasing and the death toll rises. 

Thanksgiving is mandated as having no more 

than three households in attendance by the state 

of California. Restaurant restrictions are eased to 

allow outdoor dining only. The Encinitas Fall 

Street Fair and Holiday Parade are canceled. By 

December 14, the first inoculation was administered 

to a health care provider in New York. 

To be continued....” 

G 

Airports became ghost towns as air 

travel, both domestic and 

international, was severely curtailed. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAPHNE FLETCHER. 


G 

Mask wearing and disruptions to 

daily life became the “new” norm. 

Hoarding toilet paper subsided as 

people adjusted to the new norm. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEPOSIT PHOTOS ID 

#6511819, 359940774 AND 357921970. 

C h a p t e r 9 F 1 0 3

G 

Tempers flared as aspects of the 

pandemic overturned daily life. 

Zoom became a popular way to 

continue work and connect with 

family. Children went to school by 

video classes. 

TOP LEFT AND BOTTOM IMAGE COURTESY OF 

DAPHNE FLETCHER. 

TOP RIGHT IMAGE COURTESY OF DEPOSIT PHOTOS 

ID #366166490. 


C h a p t e r 9 F 1 0 5

G 

Moonlight Beach D Street looking 

south toward Swamis Point. 



C h a p t e r 9 F 1 0 7

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A view from above of Swamis Reef at 

low tide. 

IMAGE COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS. 

1 0 8 F E N C I N I T A S - O u r H i s t o r y a n d P e o p l e

SHARING THE HERITAGE 

P r o f i l e s o f b u s i n e s s e s , 

o r g a n i z a t i o n s , a n d f a m i l i e s t h a t h a v e 

c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d 

e c o n o m i c b a s e o f E n c i n i t a s 

Q U A L I T Y O F L I F E ...........................................................1 1 0 

T H E M A R K E T P L A C E .................................................................1 3 6 

F A M I LY H E R I T A G E ...................................................................1 6 4 

B U I L D I N G A G R E AT E R E N C I N I T A S .........................................1 8 6 

L O C A L L E G E N D S ..................................................................1 9 4 

S h a r i n g t h e H e r i t a g e F 1 0 9

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PHOTO COURTESY OF DAPHNEE FLETCHER. 


QUALITY OF LIFE 

H e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s , f o u n d a t i o n s , 

e d u c a t i o n a l , a n d o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t 

c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e i n E n c i n i t a s 

Encinitas Union Elementary School District .....................................1 1 2 

Olivenhain Town Council ................................................................1 1 5 

Encinitas Historical Society ............................................................1 1 6 

Encinitas Rotary Club ....................................................................1 1 8 

San Diego Botanic Gardens .............................................................1 2 0 

North Coast Family Medical Group ..................................................1 2 2 

Self-Realization Fellowship .............................................................1 2 4 

Cardiff-by-the-Sea Branch Library ...................................................1 2 6 

Friends of Cardiff-by-the-Sea Library ..............................................1 2 7 

San Dieguito Heritage Ranch Museum ..............................................1 2 8 

The Heritage Tree .........................................................................1 3 0 

Dr. Kent Pollock, Chiropractor ........................................................1 3 1 

San Dieguito Art Guild ..................................................................1 3 2 

Surfing Madonna Organization ........................................................1 3 3 

Gaspar Doctors of Physical Therapy.................................................1 3 4 

101 Artist Colony .........................................................................1 3 4 

Cardiff Kook ................................................................................1 3 5 


ENICINITAS 

UNION SCHOOL 

DISTRICT 

G 

Above: Paul Ecke Central School. 

Below: Old school with cistern. 

The Encinitas Union School District serves the 

city of Encinitas and the Rancho La Costa area of 

south Carlsbad in North San Diego County. 

Approximately 5,400 students in Kindergarten 

through 6th grade are enrolled in the District’s nine 

schools. Each of the District’s schools have been 

recognized as California Distinguished Schools and 

La Costa Heights, Mission Estancia, Olivenhain 

Pioneer and Park Dale Lane have been recognized 

as National Blue Ribbon Schools. The District 

serves a diverse and varied community. The student 

population is approximately 22% Hispanic, 4% 

Asian, 68% Caucasian, and 6% other minorities. 

Back in the days of early Encinitas, settlers 

moved in and started raising families. When the 

children needed a school, everyone in the 

community stepped in to build a school for the 

children. This spirit is very much alive today. 

Encinitas has not forgotten its very first school. 

Our first one room school house is now 113 years 

old and has been authentically restored. It was 

built in 1883 and was operated by the Encinitas 

Union School District, which had formed one 

year earlier. The land for the school was donated 

by John Pitcher and the school was built by Mr. 


E. G. Hammond. Fifteen children, more or less, 

were taught together in this one-room 

schoolhouse with all ages taught by one teacher. 

After much fundraising and lots of hard work, 

the old schoolhouse now serves as a historical 

center for Encinitas school children and residents 

and is located near downtown Encinitas. To learn 

more about the history of Encinitas, visit the City 

of Encinitas website. 

The four pillars of focus for the district are: 

Academic Excellence, 21st Century Learning, Health 

& Wellness, and Environmental Stewardship. 

Encinitas Union School District consistently 

rates high in the state and county for their 

student achievement and supplemental 

programs. Scores on the state’s standardized 

tests place our district far above the county and 

state average in all subjects. 

Encinitas’ school history of recognition for 

outstanding schools is a tribute to the efforts of the 

Encinitas staff, students, community participants, 

and parents who are actively involved with the 

schools. Like the diverse communities that make 

us Encinitas, our schools each embody the 

characteristics and values of their neighborhoods. 

Individual areas of focus and concentration 

support unique brands. Within the district we 

have schools that have developed individual 

programs such as Leader In Me, International 

Baccaulareate, Dual Language Immersion, School 

of Wonder, Civics Learning, one with a focus on 

the Collaboration of Teachers and Artists. 

The Encinitas Union School District is 

committed to increasing the opportunities for 

our K-6 teachers and students to work 

collaboratively with parents and community 

members in the areas of science, technology, 

engineering, mathematics, and the arts. 

In 2014, the Encinitas Union School District 

broke ground on Farm Lab DREAMS Campus. 

Students have a new educational resource 

emerging at EUSD Farm Lab DREAMS Campus. 

Fitting in with the district’s Green Initiatives and 

Health and Wellness Program, the ten-acre farm 

and interactive learning center provides 

educational retreats for students. Educational 

G 

Above: The four pillars of focus for 

the Encinitas Union School District. 


activities focus on learning about nutrition and the 

environment through lessons as well as through 

problem and project-based learning. Design, 

Research, Engineering, Art, Math and Science 

(DREAMS) are integrated into the educational 

opportunities taking place on a fully functioning 

organic farm. Learning activities connect with the 

new State Standards (CSS), Next Generation 

Science Standards (NGSS) and the district’s Oneto-One 

Digital Learning Program. 

EUSD Farm Lab DREAMS Campus is located 

at 441 Quail Gardens Drive in Encinitas across 

the street from the San Diego Botanical Garden 

(previously referred to as Quail Gardens), 

Leichtag Ranch and the San Dieguito Heritage 

Museum. Approximately five acres of land is 

being cultivated to provide fresh produce for 

the district’s school lunch program at all nine 

EUSD schools. 

The core intent of Farm Lab DREAMS Campus 

is to provide students with educational experiences 

that demonstrate the interconnectedness of 

nutrition, agriculture, and ecology. Through handson 

lessons in the field and in food, science and 

maker labs, students will develop a rich 

understanding of the connection between our 

actions and our health, economy, and the 

environment. Key partnerships and community 

engagement will further enrich the program. Farm 

Lab DREAMS Campus curriculum is designed to 

cultivate a deep appreciation for natural resources 

and to equip our students with the tools they 

require for making healthy choices. 


The Olivenhain Town Council has its roots in 

the early German colonists who settled 

Olivenhain. These German immigrants had 

joined a German colony called Colony 

Olivenhain, they arrived in 1884 and 1885 with 

a hope of a better future. They had the foresight 

to set aside land for a community gathering place. 

The Olivenhain Meeting Hall built in 1895 

quickly became the nerve center of Olivenhain 

where dances, business meetings, 4th of July 

celebrations, and picnics were held. In later 

years a number of these celebrations were 

hosted by an Olivenhain group calling 

themselves the Owl Club. The Meeting Hall was 

placed on the National Register of Historic 

Places in 1995. 

In Spring of 1967 the Colony of Olivenhain 

Town Council incorporated as a not-for-profit 

corporation to preserve the Olivenhain Meeting 

Hall and property. The objective of the 

Olivenhain Town Council is: to protect and 

preserve the rural atmosphere that we have 

inherited from those before us. 

In order to save two of the original Colony 

buildings from being demolished, members of 

the community painstakingly transported them 

to the Olivenhain Town Council’s property. The 

first was the Lickert Shanty, which was 

originally constructed in 1885 for colonist 

Charles Lickert. The Shanty was moved to the 

property in 1979. 

In 1982, the Germania Hotel was moved 

intact to the Meeting Hall grounds. It had been 

built for Herman Baecht and his family in 1885. 

The Germania Hotel has been lovingly restored 

and is used for various events. 

The Olivenhain Town Council hosts a 

number of community events throughout the 

year, and the Meeting Hall is available for many 

local groups such as 4-H, AA, and Boy Scouts. It 

is also a beautiful venue for weddings, birthday 

parties and memorials. 

The original colonists would be pleased to 

see how much the land set aside for the 

community is used. 

OLIVENHAIN TOWN COUNCIL 

G 

Top: The Olivenhain Meeting Hall 

in 1976. 

Bottom, left: The Germania Hotel 

after its restoration. 

Bottom, right: The Olivenhain Meeting 

Hall during an Olivenhain Craft Fair. 


ENCINITAS 

HISTORICAL 

SOCIETY 

G 

Above: First class of the newly built 

schoolhouse. Cecilia Santiff is the 

first teacher. 

Below: In 1909 an annex was added. 

T H E S T O R Y O F T H E 

1 8 8 3 S C H O O L H O U S E 

In 1881 the California Southern Railroad, 

needed fuel and water for its wood-fueled steam 

engines and both were available in a small town 

named Encina Canada (“Hills of Live Oaks”), just 

north of San Diego. The railroad hired Thomas 

Rattan to lay out what is now the City of Encinitas. 

In 1882, the Encinitas School District was 

formed. The first school board members were 

Ben Elliott, L.C. Kincaid and Reuben Chaffin. A 

small cabin on J.M. Young’s Leucadia farm served 

as the first school. A grass fire on the farm caused 

a hurried evacuation. This near disaster rallied 

the community to approve a bond for $600 at 

6% to build a permanent school. In 1883, John 

Pitcher deeded the District approximately 2.25 

acres for a new school. 

In May 1883 Edward Hammond, a 

cabinetmaker arrived with his family by train. 

With his carpentry skills and his son Ted, the 

Encinitas School District awarded the 

Hammonds the contract to build a new school. 

With redwood lumber and pounds of handmade 

square nails, they went to work on the 

900-square-foot building. 

The outside walls of the building were 

curved lap redwood board siding. Eight sixfoot 

paned windows provided light. The roof 

was wood shingles and the floor was fir. The 

ceiling peaked to 26 feet. Wood slab tables 

and redwood benches were used by the 

children to study. 

The school was perched on a bluff high. The 

view east was of the town with low rolling hills. 

In 1885, a concrete cistern was added to 

provide water. A bucket was dipped into the vat 

and the children drank from a communal 

dipper. Water was delivered daily to the 

schoolhouse by push car from the railroad water 

tower. A potbelly wood stove provided heat and 

there were no lights after dark. 

The first teacher was Miss Josie Rees for the 

17 children (first through eighth grade). The 

teaching methods focused on memorization and 

elocution exercises. A slate board, chalk and a 

wet sponge were used for arithmetic and 

writing. Books were purchased by the parents. 


In 1909, desks, ceiling, walls and blackboards 

were added. Also the addition of an annex to the 

north wall. This added a new entry and was used 

for coats and teacher materials. 

In 1916, the Mission School was built to 

accommodate growth. A campanile bell tower 

fronted the building and added five classrooms. 

By 1927, the original 1883 schoolhouse was no 

longer used and declared surplus property. It was 

sold in 1928 to George Roberts of San Diego, who 

moved it to the corner of Fourth and H streets for 

his “country home”. The Mission School remained 

on site until the late 1940s. When the Pacific View 

Elementary was built in 1953, the Mission School 

was relocated to Second Street near H and was 

used by the Self-Realization Fellowship. In 1958, 

Mrs. Linda Schroeder bought the historic 

schoolhouse from Roberts and rented it out until 

1982 when she sold the building to Bud Fisher, a 

contractor/developer. When faced with demolition 

1983, the Encinitas Historical Society President, 

Julie Shoup, obtained a lease from the Encinitas 

Union School District for land on the southwest 

corner of the Pacific View Elementary School’s 

playground. Mr. Fisher sold the schoolhouse for 

one dollar to the Encinitas Historical Society, 

provided they pay to move the schoolhouse. 

Donations of $2,300 was collected. On April 13, 

l983 the schoolhouse had a new location where it 

sits today near its original location. 

The Encinitas Historical Society renovated 

the historic schoolhouse and it was opened to 

the community in December 1997. Boyd 

Hajlmarson, Mark Owens, Bob Halladay and the 

City of Encinitas, along with the Rotary Club of 

Encinitas, helped toward renovation. 

Today, the 1883 schoolhouse is staffed by 

knowledgeable docents who give tours of the 

school and answer questions about its history 

and the history of Encinitas. 

G 

In May 7, 1983 the Encinitas 

Historical Society is successful in relocating 

the original schoolhouse to 

it’s current location at 390 W. “F” 

Streets. Extensive renovation begins. 

The schoolhouse is the oldest building 

in Encinitas overseen by the Board of 

Directors for the Historical Society. 


ENCINITAS 

ROTARY CLUB 

G 

Above: Each year Encinitas Rotary 

sponsors the opening icebreaker for 

Hands of Peace. This organization 

brings together young Israelis, 

Palestinians and Americans to learn 

about each other and empower them 

to raise their voices as leaders 

of change. 

Having just celebrated its eightieth year, 

the Encinitas Rotary Club continues to serve 

its community and is one of over 35,000 

Rotary Clubs worldwide totaling 1.2 million 

members. The Encinitas Rotary Club was 

granted charter number 5058 in a ceremony 

hosted by Rotary International at the Hotel Del 

Mar on June 12, 1939. 

Encinitas Rotary annually undertakes a number 

of projects that benefit both local and international 

communities. The club has packed food boxes for 

the Community Resource Center and the San 

Diego Food Bank, helped upgrade the Encinitas 

Boys & Girls Club, services senior citizens through 

its Home Team, and annually hosts more than 

1,000 patrons at its Annual Wine and Food 

Festival, which has raised over $1 million for local 

charitable organizations. The Club also previously 

hosted an annual youth soccer tournament, with 

the proceeds (around $800,000 during its more 

than twenty-year run) distributed locally. 

Internationally, the Club’s recent projects 

include assistance with the construction of 

houses in Tijuana and upgrading rural health 

clinics in Nepal with the cooperation of a Rotary 

Club in Kathmandu. 

Encinitas Rotary is currently comprised of 

around ninety men and women. In addition to 

participating in service work, members are active 

in fellowship, ensuring they form close bonds with 

one another. The Club meets each Wednesday and 

hosts an inspiring speaker who presents a topic 

pertinent to the community featuring everything 

from recycling and travels, to peace-makers—even 

a Nobel Peace Prize nominee! 

Taking its name from its original practice of 

rotating meetings at different businesses, the Rotary 

was founded in 1905 in Chicago by Paul P. Harris as 


a networking resource for entrepreneurs. It soon 

transformed into a service organization, with its 

members’ actions guided by the Rotary Four-Way 

Test: “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will 

it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be 

beneficial to all concerned?” The Four-Way Test 

continues to serve as a guiding light for Rotary Club 

endeavors in Encinitas and beyond. 

G 

Top, and bottom, right: Rotary at 

Work 2019 Community Resource 

Center Holiday Box Packing Day at 

the Del Mar Fairgrounds. 

Middle, left and right: Encinitas Rotary 

Club was also excited to help fund the 

building three schools and two bridges 

in Vietnam. New schools and bridges 

are desperately needed in remote areas 

where children would not be able to get 

an education. The bridges help get 

them to school safely. 


SAN DIEGO BOTANIC GARDEN 

G 

Top, left: The Gazebo Lawn features 

magnificent trees, colorful flowers, 

and a picturesque gazebo. 

COURTESY OF RACHEL COBB. 

Top, right: Enjoying the 

Bamboo Garden. 


Below: The entrance to San Diego 

Botanic Garden. 


Each year San Diego Botanic Garden is 

visited by thousands of people from around the 

world who enjoy the scenic trails and inspiring 

vistas of this nationally recognized botanical 

garden. The history of Encinitas would not be 

complete without mention of this crown jewel 

and the visionary people behind the thirtyseven-acre 

urban retreat. 

In the early 1900s, the Garden’s roots 

consisted of two parcels of land on a sandstone 

ridge with a view of the Pacific Ocean, and 

canyons and mesas covered primarily in 

southern maritime chaparral. In 1917, the first 

parcel of 16.5 acres was purchased by Donald 

and Nan Ingersoll, who built a small ranch 

house on its hilltop. Ingersoll was in partnership 

with developer J. Frank Cullen, who built much 

of Cardiff-by-the-Sea in Encinitas. The next 

owner, Holland immigrant Anton van 

Amersfoort, was a successful landowner and 

avocado farmer who lived here from 1923 to 

1943. The second parcel of 10 acres was owned 

by German immigrant Herman Seidler. 

In 1942 and 1943, Ruth Baird Larabee 

acquired both parcels, and she and her husband 

Charles Wright Larabee brought their love for 

Latin cultures and their Midwestern aesthetic to 

the homestead. They were a well-educated, 

independently wealthy couple in their forties 

who abandoned their privileged lifestyle in 

Kansas City for a taste of adventure. Their slice 

of rural San Diego, with its ideal growing climate 

and rustic ranch house probably perfectly suited 

the couple whose shared passions included 

gardening and exploring the Southwest. 

The Larabees were unconventional transplants 

in this particular Encinitas coastal community. 

Their immediate neighbor, German poinsettia 

hybridizer Paul Ecke, Sr., inspired a large 

migration of growers here to cultivate exotic 

flowers, and by the mid-to-late twentieth century 

the area was dubbed the “Flower Capital of the 

World.” But Ruth and Charles were early 

conservationists, and over a whirlwind seven 


The mission of San Diego 

Botanic Garden is, 

“To inspire people of 

all ages to connect with 

plants and nature.” 

years they developed a stunningly beautiful, 

primarily low water landscape with over 200 

different species of trees, shrubs, cacti and 

succulents, many from Mexico and South 

America. Ruth typically began work in the garden 

at sunrise, dressed in her trademark overalls and 

green rubber boots. Under the Larabee’s 

stewardship the ranch rapidly developed into 

what Ruth christened “El Rancho San Ysidro de 

las Flores.” 

They were also civic minded people, and 

though childless themselves, the Larabees each 

devoted time to sharing the outdoors with high 

school scouting groups, sowing the seeds for the 

Garden’s present day commitment to education. 

After she and Charles divorced in 1950, Ruth 

remained alone at the ranch until 1957, when 

she generously deeded her 22.3 acres of land to 

the County of San Diego as a park to preserve 

the habitat of the resident flocks of California 

quail. Its potential as a botanic garden was later 

realized by a group of committed founders, 

among them board presidents Florence Seibert 

and Julia von Preissig, and local horticulturists 

Horace Anderson, Paul Ecke, Sr., and Mildred 

Macpherson. Finally, in 1970 Quail Botanic 

Gardens officially opened its gates to the public. 

Today the renamed San Diego Botanic Garden 

is designated one of the “Top 10 North American 

Gardens Worth Traveling For” by the American 

Gardens Association. Four miles of trails wind 

through its 29 uniquely themed gardens, among 

them a tropical rain forest, a bamboo garden, and 

regional desert landscapes. Together with two 

acclaimed children’s gardens and the Dickinson 

Family Education Conservatory, it’s a hub for 

horticulture, conservation, education, and events. 

And thanks to the foresight of its founders, the 

Garden will continue to play a vital role in the 

growth and development of San Diego for years to 

come. Please visit www.sdbgarden.org for more 

information and events. 

G 

Top, left: Charles Wright Larabee 

(1901-1968), c. 1950. 

COURTESY OF SAN DIEGO BOTANIC GARDEN, 

Top, right: Ruth Baird Larabee (1904- 

1969), 1962. 

COURTESY OF SAN DIEGO BOTANIC GARDEN. 

Below: Sapphire Tower (Puya 

alpestris) is native to Chile. Its long 

spiky leaves form a grassy-like clump 

up to three feet tall and six feet 

across. The bloom spikes rise three to 

four feet above the foliage. 



NORTH COAST FAMILY MEDICAL GROUP 

With a 1978 visit to loan officer Betty 

Camblin at the Encinitas Bank of America, 

family physician Dr. Jim Hay, newly released 

from his time in the navy at Camp Pendleton, 

obtained (on a handshake and with a handwritten 

proforma) the financing to start North 

Coast Family Medical Group. Dr. Jim Quigley 

joined him in 1982 (and retired in 2013) 

followed by Dr. Richard Payne in 1986 and now 

with Drs. Craig Duck, Amy Kakimoto and 

Christine Clotfelter, NCFMG is a group of five 

family physicians and four Physician Assistants 

serving over 15,000 North County residents 

with patient-centered preventive, medical, and 

total family care. In 1978 only the Encinitas 

Medical Group (Dr. Cook, Clark, and Summers) 

and Drs. Charles (Fred) Brass and Tony Armino 

in Solana Beach were providing general medical 

care to the local area. Encinitas and Carlsbad 

were growing rapidly, replacing flower fields 

with houses and a new population that needed 

medical care. 


With the advent of managed care (PPOs and 

HMOs) in the mid-1980s, Dr. Hay led the 

effort to create an Independent Physician 

Association (IPA), North County Physicians’ 

Medical Group, which later merged with 

Primary Care Associates (PCA), becoming one 

of the most successful IPAs in San Diego 

County, connecting doctors who wished to run 

their own practices as opposed to affiliate with 

hospital systems. NCFMG and PCA remain 

very successful by providing the way for both 

patients and doctors to navigate the health care 

system successfully. 

Recognizing the growth potential, Drs. Hay 

and Quigley were two of the 14 partners who 

designed and built the North Coast Health 

Center on El Camino Real, a successful effort 

almost fully leased from opening day in 1988. 

The subsequent owners have added a 4th 

building and the center remains a commercial 

success story in Encinitas as well. NCFMG 

celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018 by 

enlarging and modernizing its office and our 

doctors continue to enjoy their part in making 

Encinitas what it has become. 

G 

Previous page, bottom: Left to right: 

Craig Duck, MD, Christine Clotfelter, 

DO, Richard Payne, MD, Amy 

Kakimoto, MD. 

Above, left: Dr. James Hay. 

Left: Dr. James Quigley. 


THE SELF- 

REALIZATION 

FELLOWSHIP 

HERMITAGE, 

RETREAT & 

ASHRAM 

CENTER 

G 

Top: The three large lotus towers 

along South Coast Highway 101, 

designed and dedicated by 

Paramahansa Yogananda in 1948, 

welcome all to the Self-Realization 

Fellowship Hermitage, Retreat and 

Ashram Center. 

Right: Paramahansa Yogananda 

(1893-1952) wrote much of his 

spiritual classic Autobiography of a 

Yogi at his hermitage in Encinitas, 

pictured here in 1938. 

Below: The SRF Meditation Gardens 

in Encinitas offer stunning views of 

the Pacific Ocean. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SELF-REALIZATION 

FELLOWSHIP, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. 

The Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) 

Hermitage, Retreat and Ashram Center, 

established in 1937 by Paramahansa 

Yogananda—a world teacher who brought 

India’s ancient science of meditation to the West 

in 1920—has been welcoming visitors since the 

1930s to its tranquil environs on the bluffs of 

Encinitas, overlooking the Pacific. 

The 17-acre Center has a rich history—one 

that began with an inner vision experienced by 

Yogananda in which he realized he would one 

day have an ashram by the ocean. In his earlier 

years in America—soon after establishing the 

international headquarters of his society, Self- 

Realization Fellowship (in Los Angeles in 

1925)—he began searching for the right place 

to build a hermitage where he could retreat from 

the world and commune with God. 

One of his favorite places of meditation was 

along the Encinitas bluffs overlooking the 

Pacific Ocean, known as Noonan’s Point. He 

would frequently travel the 100 miles or so with 

a group of his disciples and spend the day there, 

picnicking, and meditating and chanting. 

While Yogananda was in India during a 

return trip in the mid-1930s, one of his 

foremost disciples, Rajarsi Janakananda (James 

J. Lynn), acquired the property at Noonan’s 

Point as a surprise gift to Yogananda. Upon his 

return to America, Yogananda was driven to the 


site by Rajarsi and some of his other close 

disciples, where he was surprised with the 

Encinitas Hermitage. He recognized the 

building from visions he had since youth, and a 

prophecy made by his guru, Swami Sri 

Yukteswar, that he would someday have “a 

retreat by the ocean.” 

Yogananda dedicated the SRF Hermitage and 

Ashram Center in 1937. Soon after, he 

established the Golden Lotus Temple on the 

site, where he conducted services until 1942, 

when the temple toppled due to soil erosion. A 

new temple was built in the late 1970s and is 

located at 939 Second Street. The three large 

lotus towers along South Coast Highway 101 

were designed and dedicated by Yogananda 

in 1948. 

Yogananda frequently invited students to 

attend informal satsangas and classes on his 

teachings at the Hermitage. He also received 

many visitors, including prominent figures in 

science, business, and the arts, such as 

conductor Leopold Stokowski, actress Greta 

Garbo, opera star Amelita Galli-Curci, scholar 

and author Dr. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, and scientist 

Dr. N.N. Das. 

Today, the SRF Hermitage and Ashram Center 

consists of monastic communities for SRF monks 

and nuns, retreat accommodations for SRF 

members and friends, and cliffside meditation 

gardens open to the public. The Hermitage, 

where Yogananda lived and worked for many 

years and where he wrote his spiritual classic 

Autobiography of a Yogi, has been preserved and is 

open from 2-4 p.m. on Sundays. 

The SRF Hermitage, Retreat and Ashram 

Center is located at 215 K Street. SRF Books and 

Gifts is located at 1150 South Coast Hwy 101, 

and offers SRF publications as well as distinctive 

arts and crafts from India. For more 

information, please call 760 753-2888 or visit 

http://encinitastemple.org/. 

G 

Top: A view of the SRF Retreat, 

Hermitage, and Ashram Center in 

Encinitas, overlooking “Swami’s 

Beach,” nicknamed after 

Paramahansa Yogananda, originally 

known as Swami Yogananda. 

Bottom: Thousands of visitors come 

each year from around the globe to 

retreat, reflect and meditate at the 

meditation gardens located at the 17- 

acre SRF Hermitage and Ashram 

Center. It is at the Hermitage where 

Paramahansa Yogananda wrote most 

of his Autobiography of a Yogi. 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SELF-REALIZATION 

FELLOWSHIP, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. 


CARDIFF-BY- 

THE-SEA 

BRANCH 

LIBRARY 

G 

The Cardiff-by-the-Sea Branch 

Library is located at 2081 

Newcastle Avenue. 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAPHNE FLETCHER. 

On Christmas Eve 1913, thirty-eight people 

signed a petition which read: “We, the 

undersigned respectfully make application for 

the establishment of a Free Circulating Library 

at this place, the books to be placed in S. M. 

Holbrook’s store.” 

That store was the Cullen or Mercantile 

Building at the corner of San Elijo Avenue and 

Chesterfield Drive which still exists. S. M. 

Holbrook’s name heads the list of signers. The 

library opened on March 18, 1914 and Mrs. 

Holbrook became the keeper of the books. 

Since 1913 to the present date, the library 

has had many homes, including a real 

estate/insurance office, the post office, and from 

there to the Scout House in Glen Park. 

In 1947, the library moved to a variety shop 

owned by the Maudlin family at 137 

Chesterfield Avenue. That building no longer 

exists. The Mauldins were the parents of World 

War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin. After the 

Mauldins closed their store in 1950, the 

community’s library needs were serviced by a 

bookmobile until 1960. 

In 1961, the Jepson family constructed a 

strip mall which provided a space for the library 

at 2139 Newcastle Avenue. The “Friends of the 

Cardiff Library” was formed in the 1980s and 

this philanthropic group was instrumental in 

getting the library moved to the Cardiff Town 

Center. In 1990, a beautification grant from the 

City of Encinitas allowed for an expansion. 

The “Friends” continued its efforts to find a 

permanent home for the library. With tireless 

support from then-Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, 

a grant from Hamilton-White Foundation and 

tremendous community contributions, the new 

library was opened at a ribbon-cutting ceremony 

on March 22, 2003 at its present location on the 

northeast corner of Liverpool and Newcastle. 

The building was designed by La Jolla 

Architect Manuel Oncino. 


In the spring of 1983, several local residents 

saw the need for a “Friends of the Library” 

support group whose mission would be to work 

for the preservation and betterment of the 

Library. In April 1984, a formal organization— 

Friends of the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Library—was 

founded with the late Betty Knutson and Irene 

Kratzer spearheading the group. 

“We were threatened with being closed,” 

explained Kratzer. “We didn’t want that to 

happen. Another lady called me and asked 

me about forming a friends’ group. We asked a 

few people to get involved. Once, the Chamber 

of Commerce became involved, it snowballed 

from there.” 

At the time, the library was located on 

Newcastle Avenue in a facility so small that 

when they had children’s programs, they had 

move out equipment and supplies to make 

room for the kids. 

The “Friends of the Library” adopted a 

three-tiered approach—to relocate, expand, 

and build a new library. That goal was reached 

with the grand opening of the new library 

facility at 2081 Newcastle Avenue on March 

22, 2003. 

Since then, the Friends of the Cardiff Library 

have introduced many wonderful community 

programs, including yearly scholarships to 

graduating high school seniors, the First 

Wednesday concert series, author talks, 

children’s programs and adult art classes. And, 

not to mention Kratzer’s pet project, the Mile of 

FRIENDS OF THE CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA LIBRARY 

Pennies (MOP) fundraiser. The MOP is fueled 

by donations plus recycling. 

“The year that we started the fundraiser, we 

gathered pennies until we reached our goal,” 

said Kratzer. “Within ten months, we had our 

first mile of pennies. Since then, we have 

collected in many different ways. The 

schoolchildren used it as a math project.” 

For the record, there are 16 pennies in a foot 

and 84,480 pennies (or $844.80) in a mile. 

G 

Above: Shoppers in the Book Nook 

Below: Author Marion Ross addresses 

a book talk. 


SAN DIEGUITO 

HERITAGE 

RANCH 

MUSEUM 

G 

Above: The Main Museum building 

contains exhibits relating to the 

history of the San Dieguito region. 

Below: The Museum has an extensive 

collection of photos documenting the 

history of the area, like this one 

showing the Encinitas train station 

in 1887. 

The San Dieguito Heritage Museum was 

founded in 1988 to preserve artifacts, photos, 

archives and stories pertaining to local history 

before they were lost to the passage of time. The 

San Dieguito region comprises the area 

surrounding and including communities of Del 

Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas (Leucadia, 

Cardiff, Olivenhain), and Rancho Santa Fe— 

roughly the area between the Batiquitos Lagoon 

and the Los Peñasquitos Lagoon. The Museum 

founders had deep roots in these local 

communities and cherished the uniqueness of 

the history in the area.They sought to share this 

history through a combination of hands-on 

experiences as well as traditional exhibits. 

Thanks to the generosity of the City of 

Encinitas, the 1.5-acre property at 450 Quail 

Gardens Drive (Heritage Ranch) was made 

available, and this allowed the Museum to move 

to its permanent home in 2007. Since that time, 

we have created our living-history museum, 

spanning the history of the region from the early 

Native Peoples through to the 1980s, including 

the Main Museum building, a Kumeyaay ‘Ewaa, 


G 

Top: The grounds feature historic 

buildings such as the 1920s Ecke 

Ranch Bunkhouse (left) and the 1890s 

General Store building. 

Middle, left: The Museum hosts a 

wide variety of events. Here it is set 

up for a Farm-to-Table dinner. In the 

background is the 1880s Teten Farm 

House which was originally in 

Olivenhain and is now a walkthrough 

exhibit featuring original 

furnishings from the home. 

Middle, right: The San Dieguito 

Heritage Museum is a great place for 

children to learn about how people 

lived in the past. 

Bottom, right: Docents conduct tours 

of the exhibits for visitors, students 

and adult groups. 

the 1885 Teten house from Olivenhain, the 

General Store, the Ecke Ranch Bunk House, the 

Main Street Building, and our latest addition, 

the 1885 Dunham House from Del Mar. 

The museum is open to the public for 

tours with knowledgeable docents on hand 

to enhance the experience. School groups 

learn about local history with engaging handson 

activities and the museum hosts annual 

events and family activities related to the 

history of the area. The history on display 

not only provides a fascinating stroll through 

time, but the entire Heritage Ranch serves 

as a unique backdrop for community events 

and celebrations, and life’s milestone events. 

For more information about the museum and 

for the current hours of operation, visit our 

website at www.sdheritage.org. 


G 

ENCINITAS 

HERITAGE 

TREE 

Bottom, left: Parkdale Lane 

Elementary School Honors Choir 

accompanied by Sarah Brown on flute. 

Encinitas’ famed Heritage tree was planted in 

1952 by two brothers, Peter and John Danforth. 

The now 87’ tall Norfolk Island Pine, located at 

4th Street and C Street above Moonlight Beach, 

was designated by the City of Encinitas as a 

“Heritage Tree” in 2011, the second tree in 

Encinitas to achieve this protected status. Today 

the tree is adorned once a year with LED lights, 

then lit up on a Friday, the day before the city’s 

annual Christmas parade, signifying the official 

beginning of the city’s annual holiday season. The 

Encinitas Historical Society serves as the event’s 

official sponsor. 

Starting in 1994, local long-time resident, Luis 

Ortiz, was inspired to light up the tree. Approaching 

the Danforth family, he was given permission to 

string lights on the tree. Luis donated his time and 

money, along with donations from the community 

and labor from his local buddies, to start what has 

now become an annual Encinitas tradition. Luis 

kept at it, reaching out to the community to keep 

the tradition going, annually raising funds and 

donations of labor and equipment to light up the 

tree. He recruited neighbors and merchants to 

support the effort, an effort that has grown into the 

annual tradition it has become. 

Helping Luis behind the scenes for nearly 

twenty years, Jim Filanc took over event 

management and emcee duties in 2015. He 

collaborated with the Encinitas Historical Society 

to serve as the event’s official sponsor. In 2017, the 

Encinitas Historical Society raised $24,000 to pay 

for a permanent power supply, saving on annual 

operating costs. As a result, the Heritage tree now 

has its own address, 406 4th Street. Today, the 

event has grown to include local chorales, 

musicians and school choirs, with crowds swelling 

to nearly five hundred. 


DR KENT 

POLLOCK/ 

CHIROPRACTIC 

CENTER OF 

NORTH COUNTY 

Dr. Kent W Pollock II, a second-generation 

chiropractor, started practicing in Carlsbad, 

California, in 2003. He moved offices to a 

wonderful new location in Downtown 

Encinitas, California in 2014. 

Following in his father’s footsteps, he graduated 

from Cleveland Chiropractic College Los Angeles. 

Having grown up around alternative medicine, he 

has seen countless positive life-changing experiences 

in others through natural chiropractic care. 

Chiropractic Center of North County uses a 

variety of safe and effective chiropractic 

techniques in order to stabilize, strengthen, and 

heal the body. 

Science has proven that everyone has an 

inborn or innate intelligence that utilizes the 

nervous system to control and regulate the body’s 

vital functions as it relates the environment. This 

inner wisdom works both consciously and 

subconsciously at keeping you in balance with 

the proper heart rate, release of hormones, 

digestion of foods, regulates our breathing cycles 

and so on. This system is always on and always 

functioning—24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

The most serious Interferences to this system 

occur when certain short or long-term stress is 

too much for the body to handle. These stresses 

can arise from various sources, such as physical 

stresses, chemical and nutritional 

stresses, emotional stresses, 

toxins in the environment and 

electromagnetic pollution. Any of 

these stresses will cause nerve 

interferences that result in 

malfunction to every system in 

the body. Research has shown 

that if these interferences persist 

for more than ten days, 

imbalances develop in the body, 

scar tissue forms, and cells cease 

to function properly. 

As Doctor Pollock says, “I am a 

firm believer that everyone can 

benefit regardless of age, current 

health problems, or pain levels. 

Chiropractic care simply improves 

the quality of your life and health. 

Alignment is everything.” 


SAN DIEGUITO 

ART GUILD 

G 

Top: Past and present guild presidents 

in September 1976. Back row (from 

left to right): Olivia C. Walker ‘66- 

’67; Betty Sturdevan, ‘75-’77; Margi 

Morgan, ‘72-’73; and Bill Wicknick, 

‘67-’68. Front row (from left to right): 

Dorothe Reavell, ‘73-’75; Sue Beere, 

‘65-’66; and Mary Ellen Melton, 

‘72-’73. 

Middle: Offtrack Gallery was located 

downstairs for over ten years with the 

Pannikin Coffee & Tea Shop upstairs. 

Bottom: Artist/members enjoy several 

opportunities: use of space in the Off 

Track Gallery, attending an 

educational meetup called Show & 

Tell, volunteering to be a featured 

artist, joining the Plein Aire outdoor 

painter’s group, or serve on a variety 

of committees that support the 

guild’s activities. 

Founded in 1965, the San Dieguito Art Guild 

has served North County’s community by 

providing opportunities for local artists to show 

and sell their artwork. 

The guild’s mission statement is to further 

artistic understanding of the Visual Arts through 

education of its members and the community at 

large. The first gallery location in Encinitas was 

behind the Corner Frame Shop on Highway 

101. However, most local residents remember 

when the Guild joined with the Off Track 

Gallery in 1982—becoming one entity— 

downstairs in the Pannikin. 

In 2006 the guild rented space in a metal 

building which was torn down to make way for 

Pacific Station. 

In 2009 the Gallery moved to what has proved 

to be an ideal location at the Lumberyard 

Shopping Center in downtown Encinitas. 

SDAG members enjoy several opportunities: 

displaying their artwork in space in the Off 

Track Gallery, attending an educational meetup 

called Show & Tell, volunteering to be a 

featured artist, joining the Plein Aire outdoor 

painters, or serving on a variety of committees 

that support the guild’s activities. 

The Mother’s Day Weekend Art, Garden, and 

Studio Tour was first organized over thirty years 

ago with a goal of inviting the public to view 

and purchase artwork at members’ studios. 

Proceeds from the tour help defray the costs of 

operating the Off Track Gallery and are used to 

invest in the community. 

In 2012 the Guild became a 501(c)3 

nonprofit organization. Current programs focus 

on providing financial support to local visual art 

students who show exceptional promise. 


SURFING 

MADONNA 

ORGANIZATION 

On Good Friday, April 22nd, 2011, the 

community of Encinitas was gifted with the Surfing 

Madonna mosaic, Our Lady, Star of the Sea. 

Local artist, Mark Patterson and his good friend 

Bob Nichols, dressed up as constructions workers 

and clandestinely hung the beautiful Surfing 

Madonna mosaic with its “Save the Ocean” theme. 

The mosaic was originally mounted underneath 

the train bridge, across the street from its current 

home. The mosaic received international attention 

while the artist remained anonymous for months 

until discovered. Although beloved by the 

community, she could not stay there and eventually 

found her new permanent home directly across the 

street from her original location. 

Mark Patterson and Bob Nichols sought to 

raise awareness of the value of the world’s 

Oceans. Through Mark’s his vision he created the 

Surfing Madonna mosaic to spread a message of 

environmental awareness of Mother Ocean. 

The mosaic gave birth to the Surfing Madonna 

Oceans Project which has continued to serve the 

Ocean and community through funding of local 

arts, environmental awareness, and by introducing 

special needs youth and those with disabilities to 

the joys of the ocean through free summer surf 

camps and aquatic programming. 

In 2013 Bob Nichols created the Surfing 

Madonna Beach Run to raise funds for the 

organization and their projects. And in 2017 the 

Guinness Book of World Records declared it the 

“Largest Beach Run in the World”. 

Says The Encinitas Advocate, “It’s official: 

Encinitas is the world record-holder for the largest 

beach run. The Surfing Madonna Beach Run on 

Nov. 5, 2017 earned the new Guinness Book of 

World Records title after more than 4,000 people 

ran across the sands of Moonlight Beach.” 

Since 2014 the Surfing Madonna Oceans 

Projects has donated over $600,000 to a variety 

of local ocean, beach, park and humanitarian 

related projects through its events. 

It’s amazing to think that all this started from 

the installation of a mosaic by two guys dressed 

as construction workers. 


GASPAR 

DOCTORS OF 

PHYSICAL 

THERAPY 

G 

The Gaspar Family: left to right- 

Payton 13, Addison 11, Kristin, 

Carson 15, and Paul Gaspar at Zion 

National Park, 2020. 

Gaspar Doctors of Physical 

Therapy (GPT) has been part of 

the fabric of Encinitas since its 

establishment at Frog’s Athletic 

Club in 1994. The practice has 

grown from a 350-square foot 

office to seven locations, 

employing 30 therapists and 

over 100 employees. GPT now 

treats almost 7,000 new patients 

per year. 

Employees of GPT have taken 

great pride in serving their 

community in many ways 

including, but not limited to, 

donating money and providing onfield 

sports medicine coverage for 

high school sports and Pop Warner, 

through stewardship with the Encinitas Rotary Club, 

getting their hands dirty with the Rotary Home Team 

and Wine Festival, coaching the two-time National 

Champion, the La Costa Canyon Lady Mavericks 

Cheerleaders, and through Kristin’s service as 

County Supervisor and Encinitas’ first-elected Mayor. 

GPT moved its Encinitas headquarters 

to the former Chili’s in 2021 to better 

accommodate patients during the pandemic. 

We wish all Encinitans great health and 

happiness, as we look forward to seeing you 

around town soon! 

101 ARTISTS’ 

COLONY 

The “Colony” was established in 1998 

and became a magical hub for the community 

and its artists to come together for painting, 

performance, classes, and all things creative. 

This artist-operated and funded co-op initially 

operated a gallery at the Lumberyard Center. 

There was a big move in 2001 to its own 

building at 25 East E Street and it was in 

this old ’30s sheet-metal shop that the Colony 

became known as the Art Center for Encinitas. 

From 2004-2007, the Colony operated in 

the buildings pictured which spanned the 

block from A Street to B Street on the PCH. 

This was the last hurrah for a place to call 

home. The Colony is a model for future art 

centers in Encinitas and is still going today 

producing its annual Arts Alive Exhibit with 

dozens of paintings by local artists exhibited 

on light poles from Leucadia to Cardiff, its 

“Full Moon Poets” Poetry Slams at La Paloma 

Theater, and the Halloween Fun Zone at 

the Lumberyard. 


CARDIFF KOOK 

Bringing a piece of notable public art to 

fruition was an invaluable experience. It never 

would have happened if not for my sister, 

Meredith Straw. She was a prolific contributor 

to her community. A member on the boards 

of the Friends of the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Library 

and the Chamber of Commerce, Meredith asked 

me to get involved in the community by 

volunteering before she passed away in 2003. 

She said it would change my life. Needless 

to say, it has. In 2004, I took her place on 

both boards. 

In a community so well defined by its surfing 

tradition, the sculpture at the intersection of 

Chesterfield and South Coast Highway 101 

sparked a debate amongst critics and supporters 

of the piece. The delicate balance of displaying 

public art was forced off center when The Magic 

Carpet Ride statue was publicly unveiled July 22, 

2007. Better known as the “Cardiff Kook” the 

art is now iconic and the community has 

embraced it by creating various costume and set 

designs to showcase it. 

The Cardiff Botanical Society, a part of the 

Cardiff Chamber of Commerce commissioned 

well-known artist Matt Antichevich to create 

the bronze statue. I, Susan Hays, was joined 

on the selection committee by Mike Clark, 

Barbara Cobb, Sheri Fox, Don Hansen, Carol 

Holub, Brad Maassen, and Danny Salzhandler. 

The highly technical piece of world-class 

art represents an everyday surfer performing 

a “floater.” 

Indeed, people talked about the details of the 

art itself but not as much about the process of 

bringing art out of the gallery and into the 

community. The work that goes into it is a labor 

of love and a testament to a community’s 

commitment to creativity. The Commission for 

the Arts donated $30,000 and we raised 

$62,000. It was a priceless investment to the 

residents and visitors of Cardiff-by-the-Sea. 

G 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MORGAN MALLORY. 



THE MARKETPLACE 

E n c i n i t a s ’ r e s t a u r a n t s , b a n k s , a n d 

r e t a i l a n d c o m m e r c i a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t s 

o f f e r a n i m p r e s s i v e v a r i e t y o f c h o i c e s 

Encinitas Chamber of Commerce ......................................................1 3 8 

Encinitas 101 Mainstreet Association ...............................................1 4 0 

Leucadia 101 Main St. Association (L101) ........................................1 4 1 

Cardiff 101 Main Street Association .................................................1 4 2 

Encinitas Preservation Society.........................................................1 4 3 

The Cardiff Mercantile/The Guild ....................................................1 4 4 

Seaside Market .............................................................................1 4 6 

PsyTek Lab ..................................................................................1 4 8 

Candice Gerlach, CPA ....................................................................1 5 0 

Encinitas Café ..............................................................................1 5 1 

Sunshine Gardens, Inc. ..................................................................1 5 2 

Rancho Auto Body .........................................................................1 5 3 

Soulscape Gifts & Bookstore ...........................................................1 5 4 

Hansen’s Surfboards ......................................................................1 5 5 

Fred Caldwell Antiques ..................................................................1 5 6 

Encinitas Surfboards .....................................................................1 5 6 

Neal Glasgow Photography .............................................................1 5 7 

Artist Kevin Anderson ....................................................................1 5 8 

Kyle Thomas Photography ..............................................................1 5 9 

Artist Danny Salzhandler ...............................................................1 6 0 

HPN/LedgeMedia ..........................................................................1 6 1 

Herman Cook VW .........................................................................1 6 2 

The Corner Frame Shop Tribute to Morgan Mallory ............................1 6 3 


ENCINITAS 

CHAMBER OF 

COMMERCE 

The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce was 

first incorporated in 1932 but became inactive 

due to the influence of the San Dieguito 

Chamber of Commerce conglomerate until 

1946 when Del Mar and Solana Beach formed 

their own chambers and at the same time the 

Cardiff-Encinitas-Leucadia Chamber was 

created as explained by historian Maura 

Wiegland-Harvey who often wrote about the 

history of Encinitas. In 1959, Sid Shaw, who 

operated Surf Dry Cleaning, and others 

reactivated the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce 

with the intention of exclusively promoting 

businesses in the Encinitas community. The 

Encinitas Chamber of Commerce played a 

major role in that community, including 

opposing the incorporation of a new city in 

1959 which was to be called “Marbello” and 

what was later incorporated to form the City 

of Encinitas. 

Soon the competition heated up between the 

Cardiff-Encinitas-Leucadia Chamber and the 

Encinitas Chamber of Commerce and eventually 

escalated into the legal arena. In 1960, the court 

urged the two rival organizations to combine; 

they eventually merged in 1964. Since the 

City of Encinitas had not yet incorporated, 

there was no official local government in the 

area. As a result, the newly merged chamber 

grew to be a major force, taking on 

responsibilities like paving alleys and even 

petitioning for a second traffic light on Highway 

101, amongst others. 

The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce has 

been advocating for and promoting a healthy 

and prosperous business environment for over 

fifty years and is still focused today on its 

mission to help local businesses grow and 

thrive. The Chamber helps connect the 

community with City officials and provides 

many opportunities each year for business 

owners to participate in the original form of 

networking. Annually, it hosts the State of the 

City Address, the Salute to Education, and the 

Encinitas Oktoberfest. 


Oktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16 to 18-day folk 

festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, 

Germany, running from late September to the first 

weekend in October with more than six million 

people from around the world in attendance every 

year. Oktoberfest began in Munich in 1810 and is 

an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities 

throughout the world also hold Oktoberfest 

celebrations, modeled after the Munich event. 

two hundred vendors, and a family food tent 

serving authentic German food and beer. There 

is also the Craft Corner beer tent serving some of 

San Diego County’s famous craft beer. A family 

Fun Zone rounds out the event. 

The Encinitas Oktoberfest brings together 

community and heritage, allowing all of us to 

celebrate the City’s German roots and be 

German for a day. 

ENCINITAS 

OKTOBERFEST 

Encinitas has German roots with the Colony 

Olivenhain (German for “olive grove”) founded 

in 1884 by German farmers. In 1994, the 

Encinitas Chamber of Commerce Board 

Members got together to discuss creating an 

annual fundraising event for the Chamber. 

Chamber Vice President Edgar Engert and Board 

Member Frank Mangio were granted permission 

from the City to put on a local one-day 

Oktoberfest event to celebrate all things German. 

The Encinitas Oktoberfest takes place 

annually at the end of September or the 

beginning of October. It starts at the corner of El 

Camino Real and flows down Mountain Vista 

Drive to Wandering Road. The event features an 

authentic German band, Bavarian dancers, up to 


G 

ENCINITAS 101 MAINSTREET ASSOCIATION 

Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association 

is located at 818 South Coast 

Highway 101 in Encinitas, and online 

at www.encinitas101.com. 

The mission of the Encinitas 101 MainStreet 

Association (E101) is to support our thriving 

downtown businesses and encourage historic 

preservation of our local landmarks so that 

Encinitas remains rich in culture and is a wonderful 

place to live, work, and play. E101 is proud to be 

part of the National Association of MainStreet Cities 

Program, which encourages imaginative use of 

business and government resources to support 

local downtown and neighborhood commercial 

district revitalization efforts. 

E101 was established in 1982 and, over the 

past four decades, we have helped to shape our 

downtown into an active and vital part of the 

Encinitas community with locally owned retail 

shops, fine dining, cultural events, and 

attractions that bring visitors from near and far. 

E101 takes pride in igniting downtown with 

creative art and cultural events. We host 

numerous events throughout the year including 

two local artisan-driven Street Fairs, Taste of 

Encinitas, Encinitas Cruise Nights, a Holiday 

Parade, and Safe Trick-Or-Treat. These events 

support downtown businesses and connect 

them with local residents, while also bringing 

music and entertainment to Coast Highway. 

Encinitas 101 MainStreet also sponsors 

various works of public art and other 

improvements to bring positive change to the 

coastal corridor of Encinitas. The organization 

recently sponsored the creation of wayfinding 

signs to help pedestrians and cyclists navigate 

the coastal corridor. The signs are bright and 

aesthetically pleasing, and maintain the historic 

downtown beach vibe for both local residents 

and business owners alike. 


LEUCADIA 101 

MAIN ST. 

ASSOCIATION 

(L101) 

The Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association was 

founded in 2003 to help promote and protect 

Leucadia’s unique culture and community and 

supporting Encinitas’s construction of the Leucadia 

101 Streetscape. Initially, historical protection was 

one of our primary concerns. And what a history! 

Founded in 1875 (purportedly by English 

spiritualists) it’s always been one of the last great 

surf/beach towns along the coast. Visitors driving 

south always knew they had arrived when they 

came to our “tunnel of trees” and winding road that 

they had arrived in North County. Sadly, years of 

neglect and interest allowed our beautiful canopy 

to suffer, but Leucadia is now experiencing a new 

renaissance, thanks to an active group of locals. 

L101’s vision is to enhance the civic, cultural, 

and economic vitality of Leucadia. In advancement 

of the cultural objective, L101 has established a 

501©(3) charitable organization, the Leucadia 

Arts and Culture Foundation. L101’s initial 

primary objective was to support the city of 

Encinitas constructing the Leucadia Streetscape 

project. That project will be the city of Encinitas’s 

largest and most significant infrastructure 

improvement project to date. 

After pushing hard in support of that project 

from its inception, L101 finally obtained city 

approval of the project in 2010. After a number 

of delays, with L101’s continuing strong 

support, construction of the project is 

scheduled to begin early in 2021. 

Employing the incredible energy of Morgan 

Malory, a L101 founder and original President, 

L101 established two incredibly successful 

community events. The Leucadia Farmers’ Market 

and the Leucadia Art Walk, a juried art show with 

an annual attendance of 8000 to 10,000 people. 

Sadly, we lost Morgan towards the end of 2019. 

Leucadia lost a great champion. A list of other L101 

community accomplishments include facilitating 

the installation of sidewalks and the design of 

sidewalk stamps along N. Coast Hwy. 101; in 

support of local musicians, starting and maintaining 

the wonderful Leucadia music Festival, Summer 

Fun On The 101, celebrating its 10th anniversary; 

as well as the Battle of the Bands; the widely popular 

Taste of Leucadia; establishing an Adopt a Plant 

median project for 101; and many more. 

The accomplishment of which we are most 

proud is through our efforts, creating and 

sustaining a safe family friendly atmosphere 

where residents and visitors alike can enjoy our 

unique, historic Coast Highway 101 Corridor. 

G 

Above: Leucadia residents swoon 

under the stars during the Savor 

Leucadia event. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLIN LEIBOLD 

Below: The Bubble Guy(tm) entertains 

kids at Leucadia Roadside Park. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF L101 


G 

CARDIFF 101 MAIN STREET ASSOCIATION 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MORGAN MALLORY. 

The Cardiff 101 Main Street Association 

has deep roots in the community. Originally 

formed in 1963 as the Cardiff-by-the-Sea 

Chamber of Commerce the name was changed 

in 2010 to the Cardiff 101 Main Street 

Association, locally known as Cardiff 101. The 

new name better reflects the organization’s 

mission to promote economic vitality, historic 

preservation and beautification. 

Cardiff 101 hosts numerous popular 

community events. The town comes alive during 

the Taste of Cardiff, a celebration of the unique 

local restaurants and retailers. Cardiff Small 

Business Saturday kicks off the holiday season 

and promotes local businesses. 

Kringle Mingle is Cardiff’s most beloved 

Holiday celebration. A free event for the entire 

community with live music, holiday treats, kid’s 

crafts and Surfer Santa. 

Begun in 2005, Cardiff Dog Days of Summer 

has become one of the largest dog-centric 

events in San Diego County. This free event 

features over 100 dog-related vendors, rescue 

groups, pet adoption agencies, dog contests and 

kids activities. 

Cardiff 101 activity supports local artists 

through mural projects that also enhance and 

beautify the downtown business area. 

Cardiff has a long history of volunteers coming 

together to beautify the community. For many 

years Orville Carpentier and Wayne Holden 

volunteered hundreds of hours to clean-up and 

landscape the area around the entrance to Cardiff 

at Hwy 101 and Chesterfield Drive. Cardiff 

Chamber and later Cardiff 101 hired Linda Lee, a 

local horticulturist to maintain the parkway. The 

area is now maintained by the Cardiff-by-the-Sea 

Foundation and City of Encinitas. The 

Foundation was formed in 2016 to support the 

Cardiff 101 Main Street environmental and 

aesthetic improvements. 

Cardiff-by-the-Sea is a charming, beautiful 

and historical beach community, an eclectic mix 

of residents, tourists, professionals and artisans 

seeking to live the California dream. 


ENCINITAS 

PRESERVATION 

ASSOCIATION 

Encinitas is home to the iconic boathouses, 

two of the West Coast’s most intriguing 

landmarks. Completely handcrafted in 1927 

and 1928 by local Miles Minor Kellogg and son 

Miles Justus Kellogg. The S.S. Moonlight and 

the S.S. Encinitas were purchased in 2008 by 

the newly formed Encinitas Preservation 

Association (EPA), which is mostly comprised of 

passionate members from the Downtown 

Mainstreet Association (E101) and the Encinitas 

Historical Society. The EPA is dedicated to 

preserving historic buildings and places that 

represent our early history. The 1.55-milliondollar 

purchase price was made possible 

through a partnership with the City of Encinitas 

using developers fees. 

These unique homes located at 726 and 732 

3rd Street, are an impressive sight to see, as if 

both washed ashore in a violent storm yet 

somehow calmly made their way to the bluffs, 

where they have rested ever since. Of course, 

these boats have never seen water. They were 

built almost entirely of recycled materials, 

including some wood from the Encinitas Hotel’s 

third floor and parts of the Moonlight Beach 

Dance Pavilion. Over the years, small upgrades 

and repairs have been done to keep the 

properties intact, as they continue to lure 

sightseers from all around the world, as well as 

keeping these affordable housing boats’ own 

residents happy. Both homes have tenants and 

will continue to until the mortgage is paid off. 

At the time, the EPA will decide whether to keep 

one of the boats as a rental unit. Most 

importantly, on October 12, 2019, the 

community joined together with EPA and 

dedicated the S.S. Moonlight and it’s sister ship 

S.S. Encinitas on the National Register of 

Historic Places. This final ceremony helped seal 

their fate not just as a local but a nationally 

recognized treasure for all to enjoy. 

G 

Above: A vintage photograph of 

The Boathouses. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF RACHEL BRUPBACHER. 

Below: The Boathouses today. 



THE CARDIFF 

MERCANTILE/ 

THE GUILD 

Since the earliest days of its settlement in the 

late 1800s, the town of Cardiff has fostered a 

community that is forward-thinking and 

equates economic development with prosperity 

for all. The collaborative spirit of kinship and 

abundance drove the town’s early founding 

fathers as they built out the infrastructure and 

attracted new businesses and neighbors. 

The building at the heart of Cardiff’s growth, 

now known as Guild, was originally called the 

Cardiff Mercantile building, and was central to 

the development and character of the town. For 

over 100 years, it’s been the linchpin of growth in 

the community—in its population, its 

marketplace, and its entrepreneurial spirit. 

Built in 1911 by J. Frank Cullen, a San Diego 

real estate developer, the Mercantile building was 

envisioned as the cornerstone of a coastal artist 

colony, thoughtfully crafted to draw visitors, 

engage new residents and spark new relationships. 

He sold surrounding property lots for just $30 and 

created an active market for expansion—beyond 

the funds to purchase, the new property owners 

just need to have passion, trust and a vision. 

Cullen also developed valuable community 

resources: beautiful Glen Park was an early 

project to benefit residents, and his donated land 

became the town’s first school location. He also 

helped create the first Irrigation District, which 

provided the town with a ready supply of fresh 

water, critical for growth. Cullen’s dedication to 

‘mercantilism’, or collaborative enterprise, set the 

foundation of a community still thriving today. 

The Cardiff Mercantile building, central to 

the town’s development and rapidly growing 

economy, evolved over the years, serving many 

different businesses. Throughout all the 

changes, the building remains a central 

structure in Cardiff, testament to the visionary 

spirit and tenacity of its original owner. 


The Guild today is a modern reflection of one 

of the earliest types of organizations supporting 

businesses and artisans. Medieval Guilds fostered 

collaboration, craftsmanship, and a sense of 

kinship—or belonging—for their members. 

Now the oldest standing building in Cardiff, 

The Guild has been owned since 1995 by 

Robert Ford Mance of Ford Mance Capital 

Advisors, a noted local real estate developer and 

long-term Cardiff resident. It represents modern 

day mercantilism, more fully described as 

Conscious Capitalism, or Business for the Better. 

This is a belief that every business can make a 

contribution to the greater good by focusing on 

sustainability and adopting an innovational 

approach to meeting future challenges. 

Looking forward to the next 100 years, the 

Mance family of entrepreneurs is committed to the 

idea that a GUILD of artisans and merchants will 

help strengthen kinship within the community. By 

working to foster business principles of creativity, 

harmony and integrity, they’ll provide benefit to 

both themselves and their collaborators. Leading 

the charge on social entrepreneurship is daughter 

Melina Mance Domingues, who will build out The 

Guild’s community events and business programs. 

Currently housing a number of forwardthinking 

businesses and creatives, The Guild 

welcomes entrepreneurs, innovators and art 

enthusiasts to participate in a range of workshops, 

enrichment seminars and community gatherings. 

Combining old world architectural style and 

panoramic ocean views, it the perfect atmosphere 

for purpose driven and out-of-the-box thinking. 

As Robert says, “Businesses are evolving with 

hope for the future—with collaboration rather 

than competition, and a focus on values. We think 

it’s no mystery this spirit represents the character 

of Cardiff; as a family owned company, we look 

forward to continuing this legacy of ‘kinship’ and 

social entrepreneurship for the common wealth far 

into the future, to benefit the community and all 

our neighbors.” 

Through all phases of its evolution, The 

Guild has embodied the entrepreneurial spirit of 

its original builder, now carried forward by the 

vision of the Mance family and their investment 

in the future. Please stop by or visit 

GUILDVenue100.com to see how you can 

participate in ensuring that Cardiff’s essence of 

kinship lives on. 


SEASIDE 

MARKET 

G 

Above: Cardiff Seaside Market 

owners John (on left) and Peter 

Najjar honored as Cardiff’s Citizen’sof-the-Year 

in 1988 by the Cardiff 

Town Council. 

They call it “Cardiff Crack” and, like the 

name suggests, it is highly addictive. Cardiff 

Crack is the name affectionately attached to 

the Burgundy Pepper Tri-Tip from Seaside 

Market on San Elijo Avenue in Cardiff Town 

Center. This item has been a staple for shoppers 

at the market since the late 1980s. 

The Burgundy Pepper Tri-Tip is a delicious 

USDA Choice, high grade tri-tip that has been 

trimmed, marinated and infused with an 

incomparable burgundy pepper marinade. The 

result is a tri-tip that is incredibly tender and 

flavorful. Working with a local spice company, 

market co-owner Pete Najjar took the lead in 

creating the concoction, although it took 

many trials before he settled on a recipe. It 

certainly has worked as customers can’t 

seem to get enough of this marinated 

delight. Hence the name, Cardiff Crack. 

The product has become the most 

recognizable item at Seaside Market and 

people have been known to travel great 

distances to buy it. So popular is “Cardiff 

Crack” that it even has its own 

Wikipedia page. 

But, there’s plenty more than the 

celebrated tri-tip to explore at Seaside 

Market. For example, the produce 

department focuses on outstanding 

locally-sourced items. The market is well 

known for its gourmet cheese 

department, as well as the prepared 


cuisine department, where everything is made 

fresh in-store daily. 

Opened in 1985 by brothers John and Pete 

Najjar, Seaside Market has enchanted customers 

since day one. The spacious 18,500 square foot 

store—it was recently expanded from 13,000 

square feet—has become a gathering place for 

locals to meet for something scrumptious from the 

deli counter or just to sip a fine blend of coffee. 

Before opening Seaside Market, John and Pete 

worked multiple jobs in San Diego just to make 

ends meet. With a desire to make more money, 

they began to look for other opportunities. They 

reached out to a cousin and went scouting the 

county for business opportunities. 

“We found this space in Cardiff that was 

originally a Vons store,” said John Najjar. “But, 

the store had closed because they thought there 

wasn’t enough business in the area.” 

A group of developers then purchased the 

building and remodeled it. A library was part of 

the center at that time but later moved to its own 

location. A grocery store opened briefly, but, “the 

center just didn’t have the right mix of product 

for the community,” said John. 

John and Pete, along with assistance from 

their cousin, leased the space from the landlord 

who was anxious to bring in new tenants. They 

bought the existing equipment in the store for 

pennies on the dollar and Seaside Market was 

born. Gradually, the old equipment was 

replaced and Seaside has been an integral part of 

the fabric of Cardiff ever since. 

“When you become part of the community— 

you live there, raise your children there—that 

contributes to your success,” said John. “It 

seems every customer that walks through our 

door is either a friend of ours or is a friend of 

our children. We’ve watched those children 

grow up and have kids of their own.” 

For many businesses, expansion often means 

adding a second location. But, for John and Pete, it 

was important for Seaside Market to expand its 

current location and remain true to its roots. (Since 

2013 the market has also operated a small store, 

managed by Pete, inside Petco Park, home of the 

San Diego Padres major-league baseball team.) 

“We decided long ago not to expand to a second 

location,” said John. “That was important. We live 

and work in the neighborhood and we want to be 

the best community market anywhere.” 

That desire to be the best isn’t just idle 

gossip. In 2018, the National Grocery 

Association voted Seaside Market as the 

recipient of the Independent Single Store of the 

year award. 

The Najjar brothers believe their patrons 

and community members, in some degree, 

take ownership in the business. In turn, it 

makes them proud knowing they are doing 

their part to enhance the quality of life in 

their community. 

G 

Above: Brothers Peter (on left) and 

John Najjar in their Seaside Market 

in Cardiff, California, 2019. 


PSY-TEK LABS 

Psy-Tek Labs—Bridging the gap between 

Integrative and Conventional Medicine using 

Subtle Energy Testing. Science fiction fans 

drool every time they see “Bones”, the doctor 

on Star-Trek pull out his Tricorder and 

magically diagnose any body before him. The 

Tricorder isn’t here yet but a generation of 

computers and devices that can measure our 

bodies energy fields have evolved and are 

starting to reveal previously undiscovered 

components of our health. 

Bob Hertz CDP, a computer scientist and 

serial entrepreneur, is at home with 

sophisticated computers, communications and 

laboratory equipment after decades of 

automating industry and businesses utilizing 

cutting edge technologies, 

Since 1996 Hertz has been working with 

Mary Clark Ph.D., a psychotherapist and 

specialist in Energy Psychology and Energy 

Healing. They focus on health systems, 

alternative methods of healing and non-invasive 

methods of assessing health for both allopathic 

and integrative physicians. They include the 

many different types of practitioners including 

nutritionists, acupuncturists, chiropractors and 

dozens of healing modalities and practices. 

“You name the field, we’ve worked with the 

practitioner” Hertz says.. 

In 2001 Hertz and Clark first came up with 

the idea of creating a Subtle Energy testing lab. 

They began exploring non-invasive equipment 

that claimed to be energy based. Most of the 

devices evaluated were not scientifically based 

and could not support repeatable data needed 

for assessments and research. Additionally, 

health practitioners such as acupuncturists and 

massage therapists, to name a few, could not 

order medical testing such as MRIs, blood work 

and X-rays. Hertz and Clark searched for 

cutting-edge equipment and advanced health 

technologies in body scans that reveal cellular 

level statistics, life energy patterns and other 

wellness information. They wanted health 

practitioners to use reports and images from 

these devices to help their patients understand 

what is happening internally and energetically. 

Psy-Tek Labs was born. 

Bob Hertz and Mary Clark are the cofounders 

and managing directors of Psy-tek 

Labs which is a division of Healing Energies and 

Research Technologies, Inc. a 501(c)3 nonprofit, 

dedicated to supporting advancement in 

health technologies and subtle energy research. 

Hertz and Clark have joined up with a longtime 

friend and colleague. Gaetan Chevalier Ph.D. a wellknown 

and published physicist who specializes in 

exactly what Psy-Tek Labs is all about. 

Subtle Energy is Gaetan’s ‘middle name’. He 

has the long-term experience in both utilizing 

and instructing in subtle energy devices. 

Together, Hertz, Clark and Chevalier have been 


All the Psy-Tek body scans are available for 

men as well as women. More and more people 

are showing interest in the procedures as a 

result of the non-invasive efficiency, increased 

accuracy, and lower cost elements, in addition 

to individual screenings. 

“Whether one’s goal is fun exploration, to 

gain insight into your own personal well-being, 

or to monitor your or your loved one’s health, 

our cutting-edge devices such as medical 

thermal imaging or any of our other advanced 

technology tests can serve as an informational 

roadmap to help guide one to learning more 

about one’s self,” Hertz affirmed. “It is a natural 

approach,” he notes, “to achieving wellness.” 

growing the assessment services, testing and 

research in Psy-Tek Labs for over 10 years. 

Psy-Tek Labs facility is in Encinitas California, 

located on the campus of CIHS, a graduate 

school and research institute. Psy-Tek Labs and 

CIHS collaborate in research and instruction. 

Presently, Psy-Tek Labs schedules testing and 

health assessments for the public and performs 

research on several health-related issues and 

products as well as individual body scanning 

that includes Medical Thermal Imaging, Menla 

Scans, and Brain Mapping. 


CANDICE 

GERLACH, 

CPA, CFE 

Candice is the founder and CEO of Candice 

Gerlach, CPA, Inc. She is a Certified Public 

Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner in 

Carlsbad, California. She holds a Master of 

Business Administration degree, and a Bachelor 

of Science degree in Accountancy. She is an 

active member of the American Institute of 

Certified Public Accountants and the 

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. 

Candice has nearly 20 years of experience in 

public accounting. Throughout her career her 

focus has been in a variety of areas such as, 

white collar crime, financial statement 

preparation, audits and tax compliance. She was 

the lead forensic accountant of many large 

national financial crimes, including a $100 

million Ponzi scheme. Her work included 

tracing laundered money around the world, 

recovering assets for the Federal Receiver to 

return to victims, and providing supporting 

documentation for various law enforcement 

agencies and attorneys. 

Today, she spends most of her time focusing 

on tax compliance in a variety of areas, 

including individuals, estates and trust, 

partnerships, as well as closely held C and S- 

Corporations. Her clientele covers a wide 

spectrum; from high net worth individuals to 

young entrepreneurs. She has also devoted a 

large amount of her time to not for profit tax 

compliance and governance 

Candice is originally from Scottsdale, AZ and 

moved to Carlsbad, CA in 2013. Prior to 

beginning her career in accounting, she was in 

the diamond business. While in that industry 

she became a Certified Diamontologist, as 

issued by the Diamond Council of America. 

In her spare time, Candice spends her time 

with her family, enjoys yoga, reading, traveling 

and aspires to complete a triathlon one day. She 

is always looking for ways to give back to her 

community and is a current member of the 

Carlsbad Rotary Club. She holds positions on 

the Boards of the Carlsbad Fire Department 

Foundation, Homeless Veterans of San Diego 

and Strategic Trusted Advisors Roundtable. 


ENCINITAS 

CAFÉ 

The Encinitas Café at 531 South Coast Highway 

101 has been a fixture in downtown Encinitas for 

more than eighty-five years. Located in the heart of 

the village, the site has been the home of numerous 

eateries over the years. 

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, it began as 

a restaurant called Fred’s Café. Then, in the late 

1940s, it was renamed Zim’s Café. 

The name changed to The Coffee Mill in 1960 

and remained so through four different owners 

until it became the Encinitas Café in 1989. 

Debbie Zinniger began working at The Coffee 

Mill in February of 1985. After the owner closed 

the Coffee Mill in April 1989, Debbie—along 

with help from Gil and Anne Forester and other 

regular customers of The Coffee Mill—opened 

the Encinitas Café a month later. 

The local flower growers, who frequented 

the café for breakfast and lunch, were eager to 

have it reopen. The café has been supported 

by many regular customers over the years 

and has become a meeting place for friends 

and neighbors. 

In fact, a group of alumni dating back to the 

1950s from San Dieguito High School still meets 

on a weekly basis at the café. 

Today, Debbie runs the café with the help of 

her son, Eric Soto and daughter-in-law, Erica. In 

the future, Debbie’s granddaughters and 

grandson will assist as well. 

The Encinitas Café has been serving good, 

quality food for decades and Eric says that it is 

because of that “homey feel” that customers 

have descended upon the café year after year. 

The café is known for its roasted turkeys, 

which are prepared daily. In addition, soups are 

made from scratch every day. Some of the 

popular menu items include the turkey dinner, 

turkey sandwich, the acai bowl, oatmeal 

pancakes and banana walnut pancakes. 

Always active in the community, the 

Encinitas Café makes donations to area schools 

and sponsors Little League baseball in the area. 


SUNSHINE 

GARDENS, INC. 

In the early 1960s the Richard Campbell 

family of Torrance settled on Encinitas, known 

at that time as “The Flower Capital of the 

World”, as the perfect place to open a growing 

grounds and nursery. 

The whole family; husband Dick, a trained 

horticulturist, wife Edith, stepson Ron Martin, 

son Dick and daughter Jacque, all worked 

at the renowned Palos Verdes Begonia Farm 

and they dreamt of a family business growing 

annual color plants to sell wholesale to other 

nurseries around Southern California. At that 

time, they could not afford land in Los Angeles 

or Orange Counties but were able to buy 

an affordable bit of property, several bits 

actually, in Encinitas. In 1963 the family moved 

south to start Cam-Mar Growers (a hyphenate 

of the Campbell and Martin names) on San 

Marcos Road, later renamed Encinitas 

Boulevard. Not long afterward they opened the 

retail wing of the family business, Sunshine 

Gardens, selling plants to the rapidly increasing 

surrounding community. 

Sunshine Gardens, INC. was, from the 

beginning, and is still owned and operated 

by Ron Martin and his family; kids, grandkids, 

and even a cousin or two. Cam-Mar Growers 

was owned and operated by Dick Campbell 

and his kids until Dick’s retirement when 

that business moved to 80 acres in Oceanside 

in 2000. Sadly, Dick passed away suddenly in 

2009 and Cam-Mar Growers is no longer. 

For many years, Reverend Ernie Richter, Ron 

Martin’s beloved uncle, was Senior Pastor of 

Grace Community Church of San Dieguito 

which held services in old Cam-Mar Growers 

office buildings and shared the parking lot with 

Sunshine Gardens. 

Sunshine Gardens has changed a lot over the 

last 50 years, originally occupying seven acres with 

an entrance on Encinitas Boulevard and now they 

are located, on four acres next door to the original 

location, at the corner of Encinitas Boulevard and 

Quail Gardens Drive. And yet, so much has stayed 

the same—the same great people, the same highquality 

products, and the same wonderful service. 


James “Jimmy” Gillan arrived in California on 

a surfing trip in 1974 and decided to settle in 

Oceanside. Having learned auto repair in high 

school, he soon found work at a body shop and, 

in 1976, partnered with his friend Dennis 

Murphy to open their own (Close Encounters in 

Leucadia). After several years in business, 

Jimmy and Dennis would close the shop. In 

1981, Jimmy founded Rancho Auto Body in 

Encinitas, leasing space at 751 Second Street 

and living with his son Jim in a cottage behind 

the property. Under the mentorship of Gene 

Garcia, owner of Gartel Vintage Cars nextdoor, 

Jimmy focused primarily on restoring hot rods 

and classic cars. 

During the shop’s first year, Jimmy met 

Linda, who had just moved to California with 

her son Shaun. The two of them moved with 

their children to a house in Cardiff. Linda 

assisted Jimmy with the shop’s bookkeeping, 

and the two soon became a couple, eventually 

marrying. The pair weathered a shake-up 

when, in 1986, the lessor sold the building. 

They were able to secure a loan and move to 

Suite A at 591 Westlake Street, where Jimmy’s 

main business switched from classic car 

restoration to collision repair. In the months 

following the shop’s relocation, Jimmy and 

Linda saw the birth of their daughter Siobhan 

and then, in 1990, their son Matthew. All four 

children spent summers working in the shop 

during their high school and college years. 

Later, grandchildren would make regular visits, 

eager to ride on the golf cart. 

Jimmy and Linda sold the business and 

retired in 2018, having served the Encinitas 

community for nearly forty years. During their 

ownership, the shop contributed to a number of 

charitable causes, especially those concerning 

youth groups (Jimmy has coached area youth 

sports teams for more than twenty-five years). 

Rancho Auto Body can attribute its staying 

power in part to its unwavering support for its 

employees and customers. 

RANCHO 

AUTO BODY 


SOULSCAPE 

GIFTS & 

BOOKSTORE 

From its humble beginnings in 1995, 

SoulScape Gift and Bookstore has evolved into 

the crown jewel of Encinitas, now the model of 

a Conscious Living shopping destination for all 

of San Diego. Known for their carefully curated 

selection of gifts and books, as well as a wide 

selection of crystals and minerals. 

In 2003, Lorraine Telnack purchased Heaven 

on Earth, as it was known then, and rebranded 

it, SoulScape Gift and Bookstore. She and her 

dedicated staff have proven themselves retail 

industry leaders, as evidenced by their 

discerning eye in finding meaningful and 

unique gifts. As soon as you enter the store, 

visitors are invited to share an atmosphere of 

peace and beauty, surrounded by hand-picked 

treasures from all over the planet. 

SoulScape attracts a unique crowd; from the 

Yogini to the Entrepreneur, soccer mom to 

the spiritual seeker. All are welcomed and 

encouraged to absorb the healing vibes, uplifting 

energy and seeming limitless gift ideas and 

information available throughout the store. 

Telnack sees the store as a sort of living entity 

that draws on energy from current and former 

staff members and associates, each of whom 

contribute to the overall image, which is what 

then makes the store, SoulScape. 

Outside of SoulScape, Lorraine has served on 

the Board of Directors for both Encinitas 

Mainstreet 101 Association and the Encinitas 

Preservation Association advocating for the 

preservation of the city’s culture and heritage. 

This work is in line with her long-term mission at 

SoulScape that is to provide authentic support to 

those looking to be a part of a involved, 

nurturing community. For the thousands of 

people who have entered SoulScape’s doors, this 

quaint gift store serves as resource for meaning 

and purpose-driven living. 


HANSEN 

SURFBOARDS 

Born in the dusty plains of Redfield, South 

Dakota, Don Hansen was introduced to the art of 

wave sliding via classic surf films by the Flynn 

brothers, two great watermen who were attending 

USD from Southern California. Transfixed by the 

images of the soulful surfers, Don decided he had 

enough of being landlocked and bravely 

hitchhiked his way to Coronado, where he would 

indulge in the surf lifestyle and begin his journey 

into surfboard manufacturing. 

He apprenticed under surfing legend, Jack 

O’Neill. During this time, he continued to hone 

his craft and shape for other notable surfing 

icons such as Hobie and Jacobs before making 

the ultimate surfing pilgrimage. 

The 1960s were an epic time for surfing and 

for Don. He spent 1961 on the North Shore of 

Oahu, fittingly dubbed the seven-mile miracle 

for its awe inspiring waves. In a small shack at 

the end of a dirt road in Kawela Bay, Don 

launched Hansen Surfboards and made his 

mark on the surfing world at large. 

After an epic year on the North Shore, Don 

moved his family and new surfboard label back to 

Southern California setting up shop in the small 

surfing community of Cardiff-by-the-Sea. The 

demand for his handcrafted boards was exploding 

and soon he would be one of the most sought 

after surfboard manufacturers in the world. 

During this period, Don sponsored some of the 

most progressive surfers including Mike Doyle, 

John Peck, Rusty Miller, Linda Benson, and Margo 

Godfrey. This was when Don created some of his 

most popular models, including the 50/50, with 

Mike Doyle, the Competitor, Classic and 

Superlight, all of which are still in production 

today. He and several good friends also started the 

brand, Ocean Pacific, with clothing geared toward 

the surfing community. 

Seeing a need for a quality surf shop in San 

Diego County, Hansen’s transitioned into a retail 

business in the early 1970s and quickly became 

highly respected as one of the most popular surf 

and sportswear shops in Southern California. 

Located in Encinitas, California, just north of the 

great surf spot, Swami’s, Hansen’s remains a true 

heritage shop that takes pride in providing an allinclusive 

shopping experience for everyone! 

Visit our website, www.hansensurf.com, for 

more information on Hansen Surfboards. 

G 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOM KECK. 


CALDWELL’S 

ANTIQUES 

Charles Caldwell married Tyke Kennedy in 

1953. Both moved to California in 1957. 

Charles moved furniture and Tyke, an artist, was 

a telephone operator. 

Whenever Charles moved someone, they 

would give him furniture. Consequently, Charles 

decided to open a used furniture 

store and have a friend operate it. 

It worked out well, but after four 

years of moving furniture in the 

horrendous smog conditions that 

used to plague Glendale, he 

discovered Leucadia to be more 

like the paradise he envisioned 

California to be. So they moved to 

Leucadia with their son, Fred Lee 

(6) and daughter Cindy Lee (3) in 

1961. Caldwell’s Moving was his 

next venture and in 1964, he and 

Tyke opened Caldwell’s Antiques. 

When Tyke passed in 1981, 

Fred took over the antique shop. In 

1982, Charles married Connielou 

Hannawalt. Both worked for San 

Dieguito High School District and both were 

members of the local post 416 American Legion— 

where Connielou still volunteers. 

Thanks to a stubborn genepool, Caldwell’s 

Antiques celebrated fifty-six years at the same 

location in 2020. 

ENCINITAS 

SURFBOARDS 

G 

Founders of Encinitas Surfboards, 

Marc Adam and John Kies 

The Encinitas Surfboards 

story began in 

1975. Marc Adam and 

John Kies had worked 

together at Koast Surfboards 

and when that 

closed down, they decided 

to open their own shop up 

the street. Not a lot has 

changed over the years, as 

the smell of surf wax still 

greets you when you walk 

through their door. Known 

as one of the last remaining 

“core” surf shops around, 

they feel blessed to be 

keeping the “stoke” alive 

since 1975. Their products 

are a marriage of lifestyle 

products and surf gear. 

“We supply everything you 

need to get in the surf or 

hang out on the turf, In 

surfer style.” 


NEAL GLASGOW 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

Neal Glasgow has been a local Encinitas 

resident for sixty-one years with a ten-year gap, 

five years in Northern California and five years 

in New York. Over the years Neal noted the area 

has moved from its rural beginnings to 

becoming an eclectic suburban hot spot for 

coastal beach culture. In the early 1960s when 

the I-5 Freeway finally connected through 

Cardiff, there was only one high school for our 

coastal area, now there are five. 

Neal grew up in Cardiff, living in the 

home built by his father on the then-dirt road, 

Glasgow Avenue. Neal noted there was 

lots of open space and trees to climb, with 

new adventures around every corner. 

Attending local schools and graduating from 

San Dieguito High School, Neal finished his 

sixteen-year teaching career as an art and 

science teacher at his alma mater, San Dieguito 

High School. 


G 

IMAGES ARE COURTESY OF KYLE 

THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY. 

ARTIST 

KEVIN 

ANDERSON 

The character and quality of our most 

awesome City of Encinitas is in large part defined 

and molded by the talented and creative people 

that have resided here over the generations. One 

such person of note is Encinitas’s very own, artist 

Kevin Anderson. 

Kevin’s art is expressed as public art in the form 

of outdoor and indoor murals, which can be found 

all over Encinitas, San Diego and beyond, and 

Kevin is one of Encinitas’s most prolific painters, 

who can be frequently spotted outdoors along the 

coast between Del Mar and Encinitas painting the 

coastal scenes in his ‘plein air’ style. 

Kevin is not a transplant that arrived here 

later in life, that happens to be a great artist, but 

is an artist who’s very inner artist being was a 

creation born of his own experience of having 

been raised in the special collective community 

us old-timers fondly called ‘San Dieguito.’ 

Kevin will tell you that, “As a kid, I grew up 

in Solana Beach, and then later in Cardiff. It was 

a great life. Went to the beach a lot in the 

summer. We lived the ‘Beach Blanket Bingo’ life 

in Solana Beach. Sunburned all day and partied 

all night for years and years, until I was older 

and out of high school.” 

“My high school experience in the early 

seventies, while I wasn’t into academics, it was 

rich in culture and art. The teachers there were 

the ones that pretty much paved the way for me 

to become an artist.” 

“There were a couple of teachers, in particular, 

Marianne Hanafin and Marilyn Delise, that were 

instrumental in opening my eyes to wanting to 

paint and draw, and kind of convinced me that 

that’s what I wanted to do with my life.” 

“Hanafan would take a student, put them in 

front of her, and sketch them and made it look 

just like them. When I saw her do that, I go, “I 

want to know how to do that!” 

“And then Mrs. Delise took a glass, it was 

actually a glass ashtray, put it on a table, with 

the light shining through the transparency, and 

did a color chalk drawing of it, that just blew 

my mind. I go, “I need to know how to do that!” 

“San Dieguito High School was just a great 

place to go. They had an open campus, so if I 

wanted to get away for a day, I could go surfing. It 

wasn’t so structured that it took the life out of a 

person. Actually, it was open enough to let you 

flourish, and do what you wanted to do. Mainly, it 

was the art that turned me on. From there I went 

to Palomar College, and then on to Long Beach 

State University, because of those teachers.” 

“But I never left Encinitas. I always lived in 

Cardiff, while I was going to college. I would 

commute. On Mondays, I would go to Long 

Beach, stay up there, oftentimes sleeping in my 

truck, and stay there all week and come back on 

Fridays to Cardiff.” 

“Living around here, it’s kind of like living a 

pretty good dream. I keep mind focused on 

what’s still here, the underlying beauty, 

regardless of the growth and the development. It 

has a certain soul and feeling. As far as painting 

the area, it’s unlimited what you can paint.” 

“I have spent a whole year painting from 

Swamis to Seaside, painting around sixty 

pictures and I never left those confines or ran 

out of new views or ideas to paint. 


From a young age, Kyle Thomas has had a 

love for San Diego, its history, and people. 

“This interest began,” Kyle explains, “When I 

discovered that my maternal great grandfather 

Henry Harrison Jones, had moved from 

Springfield Illinois to San Diego in 1910, where 

he held the position of President of the San 

Diego Consolidated Gas and Electric Company 

until 1920, during which time he was 

responsible for bringing electricity to the far 

reaches of San Diego County, which included 

bringing electricity to Encinitas in 1916.” 

Kyle further discovered that great-grandfather 

H.H. Jones helped plan, design, and build the 

original grounds and buildings in what is now 

Balboa Park, for the 1915 Panama-California 

Exposition while holding the position of third vice 

president on the exposition’s executive committee. 

Kyle grew up in Clairemont and at age fifteen 

moved to Del Mar in the summer of 1972. “My 

first trip to Encinitas took place when my dad 

drove me to register at San Dieguito High 

School,” Kyle recounts. “When we arrived at my 

new school, the first thing I noticed were 

penned up farm animals and crops growing out 

front. I’ll never forget telling my dad, ‘So looks 

like I’ll be going to school with farmers and 

cowboys!’ I learned later that the animals and 

crops were part of the 4-H Club.” 

“Once school started, I made friends quickly,” 

said Kyle, “and it didn’t take long for the people 

and culture of Encinitas, San Dieguito High, and 

the surrounding San Dieguito communities to 

permanently imprint upon me as ‘my people’.” 

Shortly thereafter, Kyle settled in Encinitas. 

In January of 2015, Chris Cote, the Editor in 

Chief of the newly formed Encinitas Magazine, 

having seen a picture Kyle had published of 

Encinitas’ landmark Rock ‘n’ Roll House, reached 

out to him, and asked if they could use his photo 

for a story they wanted to do. Kyle suggested, 

“Why don’t you let me write the story?” Thus began 

his journey as a photographer and journalist for 

Encinitas Magazine, where he naturally gravitated 

to writing stories about noteworthy people, places, 

and events of a historical nature that helped shape 

the character and color of Encinitas. 

We are pleased that Kyle has contributed 

some of these stories and photos here in our 

book, Encinitas, Our History and People. 

KYLE THOMAS 

PHOTOGRAPHY 


ARTIST 

DANNY 

SALZHANDLER 

Biosculptures and Steel Life artist Danny 

Salzhandler grew up in Houston and was a 

zookeeper at the Houston Zoo and supervisor of the 

Reptile Department at the Waco Zoo in 1968. When 

he and his wife Norma moved to Cardiff in 1994, “I 

gave up on the conveyor business and got back to 

my old zookeeper days, combining welding and 

reptile/amphibian knowledge to create sculptures 

that contained a vivarium within the sculpture.” 

Danny has been a member of the 101 Artists’ 

Colony Board of Directors since 1999 and has 

served as its president since 2003. He started Full 

Moon Poets in 2001 and the Arts Alive 

Foundation in 2014. 


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HERMAN COOK 

VOLKSWAGEN 

G 

Top: Ground breaking photo from 

1966. Left to right: Bob Watrous, 

Bank of America Manager; Bob 

Watkins, lead contractor; Herman 

Cook; Herman’s wife, Jeanne; and two 

Volkswagen corporate representatives. 

Middle: The tall VW lollipop in the 

background as Bob Watkins (left), the 

contractor who built the dealership, 

stands next to founder Herman Cook 

in 1967. That was the day Bob 

presented the keys to the dealership 

to Herman. 

Bottom: From left to right: President 

Dennis Cook with son, General 

Manager Connor Cook of Herman 

Cook Volkswagen. 

The legend of Herman Cook Volkswagen 

dates back to 1956 when an ambitious Herman 

Cook was hired as a salesman by Riviera 

Volkswagen of Manhattan Beach. It would mark 

the beginning of a multigenerational 

relationship with the Volkswagen family. After a 

successful stint at a dealership in El Centro, 

Herman was awarded a franchise dealership in 

Encinitas in 1966. 

Herman Cook Volkswagen has graced 

Encinitas since 1967 and remains in its original 

location at 1435 Encinitas Boulevard. 

“There wasn’t much of anything here back 

then,” recalls President Dennis Cook of Herman 

Cook Volkswagen and son of founder, Herman 

Cook. “Encinitas Blvd. was just a two-lane road 

lined with eucalyptus trees and there were only 

three buildings in our area—a Chevrolet dealer 

on one corner, the Ford dealer across the street 

and us.” 

Dennis started working full time at the 

dealership in 1970. He purchased his father’s 

interest in the business in 1980. 

A third generation of Cooks is now an 

integral part of the team. Dennis’ son, Connor, 

started working at the dealership in 2004 at the 

age of nineteen. 

“I’ve held most every position, from washing 

and selling cars, delivering parts, to service and 

finance manager and now general manager,” 

said Connor. 

The Cook philosophy remains the same after 

more than fifty years. 

“We treat our customers as family and not as 

another sale,” said Dennis. “We focus on taking 

the best care of our customers and our 

community. We’re now selling cars to fourthgeneration 

customers.” 

The majority of our management team at the 

dealership has been in place for fifteen to 

twenty years. 

“We hire people who share our family values 

and strive to retain them for as long as we can,” 

said Connor. 

Being a vital part of the community does not 

hurt, either. Cook Volkswagen sponsors 

numerous community events, including the 

Surfing Madonna Oceans Project, and many 

local race events. The dealership also proudly 

supports the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA 

and SDSU athletics. 


THE CORNER 

FRAME SHOP 

TRIBUTE TO 

MORGAN 

MALLORY 

The Corner Frame Shop & Leucadia Art 

Gallery was born in 1978 of Morgan Mallory’s 

passion for art in the charming eucalyptus tree 

canopy community of Leucadia. Soon after 

opening his store front, he became involved 

in community development and co-founded the 

Arts Association of Leucadia, helping to create 

an event called Leucadia Art Walk. The annual 

event is still very popular with 101 vetted fine 

artists showing their art along Coast Highway 

101, drawing thousands of people to Leucadia 

the last Sunday each August. Years later, Morgan 

helped found the Leucadia 101 Main Street, 

a national non profit organization aiding in 

economic vitality and community design. 

Partnering with the local school district, Morgan 

founded the Leucadia Farmer’s Market, one of 

the best weekly market’s in San Diego County. 

A longtime resident of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, 

Morgan also founded the Cardiff 101 Main 

Street. He loved spending his spare time at the 

San Elijo Lagoon where for decades he honed 

and shared his fine photography of nature, birds 

and flora and sometimes the Cardiff Kook (aka 

Magic Carpet Ride statue). 

His big personality and sense of humor made 

him very popular. He was well traveled, a natural 

athlete and inspired the young and old in 

everything regarding art. After his unexpected 

passing in Sept 2019, his wife, Brenda Dizon 

honored his legacy by taking over the Corner 

Frame Shop & Leucadia Art Gallery where 

his long time devoted, talented employees 

continue to serve Encinitas and beyond with 

their incredible design service based on the 

amazing foundation he had built. 


G 


PHOTOGRAPHY 


FAMILY HERITAGE 

F a m i l i e s a n d i n d i v i d u a l s w h o s e 

l e g a c i e s c o n t i n u e t o s h a p e 

t h e f u t u r e o f E n c i n i t a s 

The Ecke Family ...........................................................................1 6 6 

The Sougais Family, Charlie’s Foreign Car ........................................1 7 0 

The Charley Marvin Family ...........................................................1 7 4 

Bumann Ranch ..............................................................................1 7 6 

Tribute to Maggie Houlihan ............................................................1 7 8 

Tribute to Edgar Engert .................................................................1 8 0 

The Legacy of The McNeil House .....................................................1 8 1 

The Danforth Building ...................................................................1 8 2 

The Roy Family ............................................................................1 8 3 

Tribute to Dr. Takeo Sugimoto .........................................................1 8 4 

Weidners Garden/The Evelyn Weidner Family ....................................1 8 5 


THE ECKE 

FAMILY 

G 

Above: Paul Ecke Ranch, 1938. The 

road at bottom is Saxony Road, and 

the road towards the top of the frame 

is Quail Garden’s Drive. 

Legendary late-night talk show host Johnny 

Carson used to engage in friendly banter with 

his Tonight Show bandleader, Doc Severinsen, 

over the correct pronunciation of poinsettia, the 

flower that has become the symbol of 

Christmas. Severinsen said that it was 

pronounced “point-sett-uh” while Carson 

argued that it was “point-sett-ee-uh.” For the 

record, Carson was correct. 

“People can call it whatever they want,” said 

Paul Ecke III, part of the iconic Encinitas family 

that created the quintessential holiday plant. 

“Just as long as they buy one!” 

The Ecke family, who provided the plants to 

the Tonight Show hosted by Carson and then 

later by Jay Leno, made the poinsettia the topselling 

Christmas plant. The Eckes’ impact on 

the horticultural world, dating back to the early 

1910s, also put Encinitas on the map. Over a 

ninety-year period, four generations of Eckes 

worked in the business before the Paul Ecke 

Ranch was sold to a Dutch agriculture company 

at the end of 2012. 

Today, the Ecke family name and their 

contributions to the community are prominent 

at various locales throughout Encinitas. Drive 

around town and you’ll see the Magdalena Ecke 

YMCA, Magdalena Ecke Park, Paul Ecke Central 

Elementary School and the Ecke Family 

building at the San Diego Botanic Gardens, to 

name just a few. 

The story began in 1900 when Albert Ecke 

and his family, including son Paul Ecke, Sr., 

emigrated to Southern California from Germany. 

The family settled in Eagle Rock, a neighborhood 

in northeast Los Angeles. Albert had an apple 

orchard, a dairy, and flowers. Flowers ultimately 

became the focus of the family business. 

Albert and his son, Paul, noticed the 

Hispanic population in Los Angeles had these 

striking flowers—poinsettias—that grew in 

their yards. They were called Flores de Noche 

Buena (Flowers of the Holy Night). The Eckes 

soon began selling cut poinsettias along Sunset 

Boulevard around 1915. 

The poinsettia had its origins in Mexico 

and was brought to the United States by Joel 

Right:.The Paul Ecke Ranch employee 

photo of 1956. Paul Ecke III, age one, 

is in the bottom left hand corner with 

his parents, Jinx and Paul Ecke, Jr. 


Roberts Poinsett. A botanist, physician and the 

first United States ambassador to Mexico (1825- 

1829), Poinsett was so fascinated by 

the ruby red-bloomed plant in Mexico that 

he sent cuttings to his home in Charleston, 

South Carolina. 

“My grandfather and great-grandfather were 

so impressed by these flowers,” said Paul Ecke 

III, who has a BS in horticulture from Colorado 

State University and an MBA from Duke 

University. “And, they were even more 

impressed that they bloomed in the middle of 

winter. Most flowers don’t bloom in November 

and December.” 

Paul Ecke, Sr., began promoting the 

poinsettia as the Christmas flower. If the rose 

was synonymous with Valentine’s Day and the 

lily with Easter, why couldn’t this red flower be 

attached to Christmas? It seemed only natural. 

“My grandfather is the one who declared the 

poinsettia will be the Christmas flower,” said 

Paul Ecke III. “He thought if you kept saying it 

over and over again, people would believe it.” 

The Ecke family and their flower business 

has been linked to Encinitas since 1923, when 

Paul Sr. and Magdalena moved to the area. The 

town had only 600 inhabitants back then. They 

built a business that at its height produced more 

than 90% of the world’s poinsettia stock and 

employed 450 people at the Encinitas Ranch. 

Paul Sr. and Magdalena also showed their 

compassionate side in ways that weren’t always 

popular. During World War II, Japanese 

Americans were sent to internment camps. 

Many of them were farmers who lived in 

Encinitas and were their friends and neighbors. 

The Eckes felt the situation was wrong and did 

the only thing they could, which was to offer to 

store their trucks, tractors and personal 

belongings in the Ecke Ranch Barns. When they 

returned, all of their property was waiting for 

them which allowed them to start over again. 

Unfortunately, many others weren’t as fortunate, 

and their property was gone when they came 

back. “Our Grandparents saved their belongings 

and allowed them to more easily return to their 

former life,” said Paul Ecke III. 

For Paul Ecke, Sr., and his father, it was 

an outdoor business. Beginning in Los Angeles 

G 

Above: Bare Root poinsettias being 

shipped by rail circa 1960 from the 

Encinitas Train Station, now Pannikin 

Coffee & Tea in Leucadia 

Below: The three Pauls in 1965— 

Paul Ecke, Jr., Paul Ecke III, and Paul 

Ecke, Sr. 


G 

Above: Elisabeth “Jinx” Ecke, 

Magdalena Ecke, and Lizbeth Ecke, 

c. 1975. 

Bottom, left: An outdoor field of 

blooming poinsettias along Saxony 

Road, c. 1976. 

Bottom, right: A greenhouse full of 

blooming poinsettias at the Paul Ecke 

Ranch in Encinitas, California. 

Opposite, top: Paul Ecke III at Farm 

1 in Guatemala in the early 2000s. 

Opposite, middle: Paul Ecke III in 

poinsettia trials greenhouse at Paul 

Ecke Ranch, Encinitas, California. 

and then after moving the operation to 

Encinitas, it remained an outdoor enterprise 

until the early 1960s. In the wild, poinsettias 

are large, spindly shrubs. But once in a while, 

you’ll find one that’s full of branches. Paul Ecke 

Sr., figured out that when you graft one with 

branches to another regular poinsettia, you 

can create a plant that lends itself to potted 

plant production. 

In the 1960s, Paul Ecke, Jr., who was now at 

the helm, transformed the business from 

outdoors to indoors. Greenhouses started being 

built at the Ranch. He began marketing the 

poinsettia in the national media and started the 

breeding program. Instead of selling big, 

dormant stock plants, he sold cuttings, 

eliminating the need for so much land to grow 

their products. By the 1980s, poinsettias were 

the best-selling potted flower in America. 

Paul Ecke III bought the business in 1992 just 

as more competition, much of it from Europe, was 

entering the marketplace. In 1997, Ecke Ranch 

moved its operations to Guatemala in an effort to 

cut costs. The headquarters remained in Encinitas, 

where R&D and administration took place. 

With the move from field production to 

greenhouse production, which required much 

less land, the Eckes started the planning process 

that eventually converted their Encinitas Ranch 

into housing, the Encinitas Ranch Town Center, 

the Encinitas Ranch Golf Course, preserving 

over 300 acres of open space, and 126 acres of 

agriculture, while extending Leucadia Boulevard 

through to El Camino Real. 

By 2012, Paul Ecke III knew it was time to 

sell the flower business. 

“Like so many products, the poinsettia had 

become a commodity,” he said. “When Home 

Bottom: The children of Jinx and 

Paul Ecke, Jr., c. 2015—Sara Ecke 

May, Paul Ecke III, and Lizbeth Ecke. 


Depot, Walmart, Costco, and others began selling 

mass-market poinsettias, we had to find a way to 

make it cheaper and cheaper, but ultimately, for 

our company which had always been designed 

around high quality, high integrity, and high 

service, the writing was on the wall. Our industry 

was consolidating and a now relatively small 

company like ours could not continue to compete 

against large multinational corporations.” 

On December 31, 2012, the same day the 

company was sold to a multinational floricultural 

company, the nonprofit Leichtag Foundation 

bought the Paul Ecke Ranch property in 

Encinitas, sixty-seven acres of land located 

between Saxony Road and Quail Gardens Drive, 

adjacent to the San Diego Botanic Garden. 

The adage “behind every great man is a great 

woman” certainly applies to the Ecke family. 

Swiss-born Magdalena Ecke, wife of Paul Ecke, 

Sr., was renowned for giving poinsettias to 

shut-ins. Through her church, she found out 

where these people lived, and she would 

personally deliver poinsettias to them. She 

would also visit veterans in the hospital and 

bring them poinsettias. 

Elisabeth “Jinx” Ecke, who passed away in 

March 2019, was cut from the same mold. She 

picked up Magdalena’s mantel of supportive 

corporate wife, learning the business, and even 

learning German to serve as her husband’s 

translator on business trips abroad. 

After raising her children—Paul III, Lizbeth, 

and Sara—she spent the rest of her adult life 

as a volunteer and philanthropist. Among the 

organizations that benefitted from her 

charitable efforts were Planned Parenthood, 

Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, Scripps 

Encinitas Hospital, the San Diego Zoo, San 

Diego State University, the San Diego Women’s 

Foundation, and the Neurosciences Institute. 

Jinx’s daughters, Lizbeth and Sara, are 

continuing her legacy. Lizbeth works at the family 

real estate company, Carltas, which owns the 

Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch and the Encinitas 

Ranch Town Center Shopping Center. Sara is also 

a partner in the real estate company, along with 

Paul III. And Paul’s wife, Julie Hampton, is a 

published author of children’s books. 

For nearly a century, the Ecke family 

continues to be an integral part of the fabric 

of Encinitas. 


G 

THE SOUGAIS 

FAMILY, 

CHARLIE’S 

FOREIGN CAR 

Charlie and Shelly Sougias. 

There are sweet rides and sweet anniversaries 

and Charlie Sougias has experienced a bit of 

both. The owner of Charlie’s Foreign Car Service 

opened his business in downtown Encinitas on 

Valentine’s Day 1978, and it’s been a beautiful 

journey ever since. 

Charlie, born Kyriakos Sougias in Thessaloniki, 

Greece, turned his passion for foreign cars into a 

career soon after graduating from San Dieguito 

High School in Encinitas. As a student at the 

school, he was known as the auto mechanic of 

choice for several of his teachers. 

However, it was back in his hometown in 

Greece where Charlie began his journey in the 

auto repair business. In 1976, he worked in a 

little auto shop across the street from the house 

in which he grew up. A man named Kostas 

Iliadidis was kind enough to give him the 

opportunity to work there. And, as the saying 

goes, the rest is history. 

When Charlie returned to San Diego, he 

began working on cars in the alleyway behind 

his mother’s place at the corner of Hygeia and 

Leucadia Boulevard in Leucadia. Then in 1978 

at the age of 20, he took the leap and purchased 

his first shop on H Street at 2nd Street. Charlie’s 

Foreign Car Service was born. 

Ten years later, the shop moved north two 

blocks to its current location at 751 2nd Street. 

Charlie’s son, Niko, now owns the shop. Niko 

was born in Leucadia and also attended San 

Dieguito High School. Ironically, the community of 

Leucadia, which was founded around 1870, has a 

strong Greek influence. Its namesake, Lefkada, is 

one of the Ionian islands. In addition, the 

community includes street names with a Greek 

flavor—Hymettus, Neptune, Phoebe, and Daphne. 

Charlie Sougias started his business by 

repairing Volkswagen buses. Soon, the shop 

became the destination for European-made cars. 

Working side-by-side with his wife, Shelly, who 

began by assisting with daily operations, Charlie’s 

commitment to superior and personalized 

customer service earned him a loyal following. 

The customer base grew steadily and led to the 

expansion in 1988. Charlie and Shelly then 

purchased property a couple blocks north of the 

original location and built a state-of-the-art 

13,000 square-foot repair facility. 

As their auto repair reputation and clientele 

continued to grow, Charlie’s Foreign Car Service 

expanded again in 2001, this time by purchasing 

the Encinitas German Auto Service at 841 2nd 

Street, adjacent to the original auto repair facility. 

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, downtown 

Encinitas bore little resemblance to its current state. 

The community was not filled with restaurants, 

shops and a vibrant night life, as it is today. 

“At the time, the area was a little sketchy,” 

recalls Niko. “When my dad opened the shop, 

he had to build a security fence around it.” 

The Sougias family story and its path to 

America can be traced back to the Greek Pontic 

Genocide from 1914-1923. Charlie’s grandmother, 

Despina Aslanidis, was just six years old at the 

time of the genocide. She and her family were 

victims of the death march that occured when 

Greek citizens in Turkey were forced from their 

homes. Ironically, she met her future husband at 

that time. After the Pontian Genocide and World 

War I, they settled settled near the Turkish border 


and grew tobacco. Unfortunately, the civil unrest 

continued and in 1955, during the Istanbul 

Pogrom, the Turks burned down many villages 

including theirs. Like many other Greeks, Despina 

became a refugee and moved to America. 

She and her husband, Stellanos (Steve) 

Aslanidis, landed in Indianapolis, moved to 

Arizona and then to Los Angeles. From there, 

they re-located to Leucadia. 

Charlie was ten when he arrived with his mother 

Maria, Despina’s daughter. They moved to Los 

Angeles and bounced around from place to place. 

“My dad grew up next to a gas station in 

Greece,” said Niko. “His love for cars goes back 

to his childhood.” 

Niko’s paternal grandmother, Despina, found 

work as a seamstress in Los Angeles. She 

worked for a famous designer and made dresses 

for many Hollywood movie stars. 

Maria bought a house in Los Angeles and 

then bought property in Leucadia in the early 

1970s, including a hotel originally called the Las 

G 

Above: Charlie’s Foreign Car Service 

today with two generations of the 

Sougias family (from left to right): 

Christine, Niko, Shelly, and 

Charlie Sougias. 

Left: Charlie Sougias and 

Despina Aslanidis. 


G 

Despina Aslanidis fought in the Greek 

resistance in World War II and was 

recognized by the United Kingdom for 

providing aid to Allied servicemen 

(below). She and her husband, 

Stellanos, emigrated to the United 

States in 1955. 

Vegas Motel. It’s now called the Leucadia Beach 

Inn. It was here where Charlie started fixing cars 

as a teenager in the alleyway. 

“My grandmother owned a lot of property in 

town and helped get my dad get started,” said Niko, 

a proud member of the Encinitas Rotary Club. 

Sadly, Despina died in September 1981, just 

six months after Niko was born. To many, she 

was a Greek hero. She fought as an anti- 

Communist in the war. She was revered for 

courageously aiding her country and Allied 

servicemen during World War II as a resistance 

fighter. The family still talks about how she 

patiently hid in a tree for several days armed 

with a machine gun. When the moment arrived 

to engage the enemy, she bravely did her duty. 

Maria knew firsthand the importance of 

lending a helping hand to get someone’s career 

off the ground. She, herself borrowed money 

from an Indian family who was kind enough to 

loan her funds for her real estate investments. A 

colorful and entertaining personality, Maria died 

at the age of 89 in December 2015. 

Meanwhile, the maternal side of the family 

(Niko’s mother is Shelly Jenkins) had its share of 

talented and noteworthy characters. Niko’s 

grandfather, Jon Jenkins, was a gifted inventor. His 

notable invention was the volumetric infusion 

pump. Jon was associated with the formation of 

IVAC Corporation and later a co-founder of IMED 

Corporation. These were start-up companies 

founded in the late 1960s and 1970s in Sorrento 

Valley. Their goal was to provide tools for nurses. 

Niko’s grandmother, Fran Jenkins, was a 

registered nurse who would often discuss the 

need for better intravenous delivery for patients. 

In that era, fluid delivery was still administered 

by gravity feed with the nurse having to count 

the drops and compute how many cc’s per hour 

were being administered. With Jon’s inventive 

mind, the volumetric IV controller was born. 

Jon was also responsible for inventing the first 

electronic oral thermometer. 

From Greece to Encinitas, the Sougias family has 

established deep roots in San Diego. And now with 

son Niko and his wife, Christine, who purchased 

the business in January 2016, and daughter Julia, 

who is working on the property management side, 

it is truly a family affair at Charlie’s Foreign Car 

Service, one of downtown Encinitas’ most 

successful and enduring local businesses. 



THE CHARLEY 

MARVIN FAMILY 

T H E L E U C A D I A 

B E A C H I N N A N D 

T H E G O L D 

C O A S T P L A Z A 

G 

Below and Bottom: The Leucadia 

Beach Inn c. 2005 and today. 

Kirsten and Charley Marvin have been 

married for 35 years. They first met on a blind 

date and their routes prior to initially getting 

together were quite diverse. 

Kirsten was born and raised in Denmark. 

She then lived in Canada where her two 

children, Sean and Lisa, were born. She moved 

to the Los Angeles area before coming to San 

Diego County. 

Charley was born and raised in Woodbridge, 

Connecticut. After attending Amherst College, 

he became an Air Intelligence Officer in the 

United States Navy. Then he was an instructor 

at The Advanced Air Intelligence Training 

Center at NAS Alameda. He left the Navy to 

attend law school at the University of 

California, Berkeley and then joined a large 

downtown Los Angeles law firm prior to 

becoming a partner in a large San Diego law 

firm, in the early 1970s. 

Charley bought a home in Leucadia when he 

first arrived in 1971. He brought up his two 

daughters, Natasha and Tara, in that beach home. 

Charley later formed his own law firm in 

Rancho Santa Fe. He then returned to Encinitas 

and Cardiff-by-the-Sea where he practiced real 

estate and business law from 1984 until his 

retirement in 2005. 

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Charley invested 

in commercial real estate along the Coast 

Highway in Leucadia and downtown Encinitas. 

In 1976 Charley purchased the Gold Coast 

Plaza, when it was the Manor Motel. In 1990 

Kirsten and Charley changed the use of the 

property to a boutique shopping center. At the 

same time, Kirsten began laying the foundation 

for the wonderful gardens that exist on the 

north side of the property, directly across the 

street from the Pannikin. The gardens, which 

are open to the public, include a gazebo, a 

flowing stream, and a Koi pond. Their longterm 

tenants include the Cielo Hair Salon, the 

Fully Loaded Juicery, and, in the back, on La 

Veta, Indigo Dragon, a wellness center. 

Gold Coast is managed by Kirsten and 

Charley’s daughter, Lisa. 


After having two ladies clothing stores in 

Encinitas, Kirsten opened a widely acclaimed 

boutique shop, with a wine cellar, on the 

property she and Charley purchased in 1990 in 

the beautiful mountain town of Idyllwild. They 

traded the property in 2004 for the Leucadia 

Beach Inn. 

The Inn holds a unique place in the Encinitas 

and Leucadia guest lodging history. It is the 

oldest continuously operating lodging facility in 

the city. It was originally constructed in the 

1920s and has been in operation ever since. The 

Leucadia Beach Inn is comprised of two separate 

buildings. The one-story building on the south 

side was constructed in the classic California 

motel “horseshoe” design, around a flower filled 

central courtyard. Farrah Fawcett and many 

other Hollywood stars were guests at the Inn. 

The two-story building to the north was 

added in the 1970s in order to nearly double 

the capacity of the Inn. 

Kirsten and Charley have the distinction of 

being the longest tenured owners of the Inn. One 

of the most interesting owners of the Leucadia 

Beach Inn, in two separate stints, was Despina 

Aslinades. Despina was the grandmother of Charlie 

Sougais of Charlie’s Foreign Cars in downtown 

Encinitas, and the great-grandmother of the 

present owner, Niko Sougais. To learn more about 

this marvelous lady please refer to the Sougais 

family piece which is part of this Encinitas History. 

The Inn is presently managed by 

Todd Derr, the Marvin’s son-in-law, 

with the very capable assistance of 

Mark Decotis. The Marvins are very 

proud of the Leucadia Beach Inn’s 

ranking as the top lodging facility in 

guest satisfaction along the entire 

North San Diego County Coast. 

In his retirement, Charley has become 

a writer. He has already self-published a 

book, available on Amazon, “The 

Tuesday Morning Gang”. Among other 

writing projects, Charley is working on 

publishing his book, “Leucadia Tales— 

A Whimsical History of Leucadia”. 


BUMANN 

RANCH 

G 

Above: The Bumann ranch, in May 

of 1935 

Below: Herman and Emma Bumann. 

December 1893. 

In December 1884, Herman Friedrich 

Wilhelm Bumann arrived in southern California 

as part of a German colony called Colony 

Olivenhain. Sometime in 1886, Herman left the 

colony and homesteaded 160-acres, two miles 

northeast from the colony settlement. Part of 

this homestead and its improvements are now 

called the Bumann ranch. 

During the homestead period, Herman 

constructed a two-mile perimeter fence, cleared 

and plowed fields, constructed a small barn and 

dug a water well. Herman’s home was a 10 by 

12 foot shanty where he lived for six years. 

Finally, in early 1892, Herman was awarded a 

patent to the homestead and became the legal 

owner. In early 1893, a 24 X 28 foot ranch 

house was built. So, by mid-1893, Herman had 

a 160-acre ranch with three buildings, four 

horses and his good health. 

In 1893 Herman married Emma Marie 

Junker. Emma had only known the city but was 

now living on an isolated, mostly unimproved 

homestead ranch. She loved the ranch and 

became a major contributor to its development. 

Herman and Emma would have 12 healthy 

children, five boys and seven girls, all born and 

raised on the ranch property. 

The years from 1894 to 1920 became a 

period of growth for the ranch. Adjacent 

properties were purchased in 1909 and 1918 

increasing the ranch size to 480-acres. Seven 

additional buildings were added, including: a 

granary, bunk house, reaper barn, bee shed and 

a second hay barn. Animals included four work 

horses, 25 cows plus calves and bull, several 

hundred chickens, four pigs and thirty bee 

boxes. Field crops included wheat, barley and 

oat hay which were grown on up to 60-acres of 

cultivated land. This was a working ranch, 

which at the end of any day, Herman and Emma 

would confirm. 

The many years of hard labor combined with 

tobacco use, strained Herman’s health. He died 

in February 1926. With the help of the children, 

Emma continued the ranch operation for 

another ten years. Emma Marie Bumann passed 

away in February 1936. 

The estate divided the ranch property 

between the twelve children. All the children 

would leave the ranch except Herman Charles 

Bumann who would, on a reduced scale, 


continue the ranch operation for many years. 

Herman C. inherited the land with the ranch 

building and equipment. He alone would 

continue the ranch operation and through his 

maintenance and preservation efforts would 

allow the Bumann ranch to continue 

unchanged. As time passed, Herman’s small 

income could no longer satisfy the rising taxes. 

He started selling land in the late 1950s and by 

1971 only ten-acres remained. Herman kept the 

land with the ranch yard and buildings. Herman 

had reached his senior years and often worried, 

who would take over the ranch? Who would 

take care of him? 

Richard and Adeline (Twink) Bumann moved 

to the ranch in 1985. Their home had running 

water but electricity was not connected for six 

G 

Top: Feeding chickens. William, 

Emma and Herman Bumann. 

July 1916. 

Middle: Herman C. Bumann cutting 

oats, June 1935. 

Bottom: Richard and Adeline Bumann 

with their dog, Patches, March 2010. 

months. Herman chuckled, “What’s the 

problem, I’ve lived here without electricity 

for 80 years!”. Animals were reintroduced, 

including cats, dog, chickens, horse, pigs and 

cattle. Four-acres of oat hay was planted to feed 

the cattle. 

Herman Charles Bumann passed away in 

January 1994. Richard and Adeline alone would 

continue the preservation and operation of the 

Bumann Ranch. The Bumann ranch is unique 

because it survived into the 21st century. It has 

been carefully preserved by three generations of 

the Bumann family who have called it home. 

The Bumann Homestead Ranch was placed on 

the National Register of Historic Places on 

March 6, 2020. 


TRIBUTE TO 

MAGGIE 

HOULIHAN 

G 

Above: Maggie Houlihan visiting a 

Buddist temple in Amakusa City, 

Japan, June 2004. Amakusa City is a 

sister-city of Encinitas. 

Below: Maggie Houlihan received the 

Hands of Compassion Award from 

County Supervisor Pam Slater Price, 

September 2006. 

Animal activist, environmentalist, humanitarian, 

Country and Western dancer. Labels that only 

scratch the surface of one of the most diverse 

leaders in the history of Encinitas. Born June 16, 

1948 in Hollywood Maggie Houlihan grew up as 

the quintessential California girl. Raised in a 

working class neighborhood of Long Beach she 

soon embraced the nascent surfing subculture, 

often riding the waves off Seal Beach and listening 

to surf music at the local clubs. It was at one of 

these venues where a gang member involved her in 

an altercation. The lead singer on stage witnessed 

the incident and invited Maggie back to her 

dressing room where she promptly schooled her on 

how to fight. That artist was the now legendary 

Tina Turner. 

With a stellar academic record Maggie 

continued her education at Long Beach State 

becoming a member of the school senate 

and later being voted “Woman of the Year.” In 

1968, marriage and a newborn son put her 

degree on hold but the marriage was destined to 

fail and in 1970, while struggling below the 

poverty line, she gathered up her son Chris, a dog 

and two cats and left Long Beach to carve out a 

future in Encinitas. She landed at the Travelaire 

motel where, after checking in, she promptly 

smuggled her animals into her room. Desperate 

for work, she found a job at the Compass West 

print shop. The wages were low so she 

supplemented her income by cleaning houses, 

ironing clothes and sewing. This enabled her to 

rent two rooms on Cornish Avenue where she 

had to purchase a hot plate in order to cook. 

After Compass West she started a job at at the 

Bank of America and decided to finish her 

degree. With her two year old in tow, Maggie 

enrolled at UCSD where she graduated with 

highest honors and a place on the dean’s list. 

Upon graduation it was the UCSD library where 

she would start a new career as a catalog 

librarian and in 1994 Maggie was recognized by 

the chancellor as the “Most Valuable Employee” 

on the campus. In 1998 she received another 

UCSD award this time for her work in furthering 

the spirit of diversity, equal opportunity and 

affirmative action. 

As a staunch animal advocate she helped to 

create SNAP, the Spay and Neuter Action 

Project, which takes its surgical bus into lowincome 

areas and fixes pets in order to reduce 

the volume of unwanted animals in the county 

shelters. She also started Wee Companions; an 

organization that rescues, then finds homes for 

the smallest of household pets. 

In 2000 Maggie ran a successful grass roots 

campaign for a seat on the city council on a 

platform of maintaining the character of the 

community by advocating slow growth and 

environmental stewardship. She was reelected in 

2004 and 2008 with the most votes of any of the 

candidates and served as the city’s mayor in 2004 

and 2009. In 2004 she caused a stir while 

competing in a triathlon during a visit to 


Encinitas’ sister city, Amakusa Japan. Stopping 

during the bike leg she rescued an emaciated 

kitten trapped in brambles beside the road. Her 

love of animals had superseded her political 

obligations but her act of compassion won the 

admiration of the Japanese. 

During her time in office she created the Pet 

Health Expo, banned the leg hold traps used by 

hunters, made the exhibiting of wild animals 

illegal and championed clean water and the 

purchase of open space. In 2010, the Surfrider 

Association presented Maggie with their Clean 

Water award for her efforts to protect our 

shoreline and watersheds. 

Maggie passed away in 2011 from cancer but 

refused to give up council business until the very 

end, attending meetings via conference call from 

her sick bed. The city later designated a section 

of the community park as the Maggie Houlihan 

Memorial Dog Park in her honor. 

G 

Above: Maggie Houlihan at the 

opening of the Encinitas library 

February, 2008. 

Left: Maggie Houlihan at city hall 

during her cancer treatment 2011. 


TRIBUTE TO 

EDGAR ENGERT 

G 

Above: Edgar and Renate Engert. 

Top, right: Edgar Engert and 

Governor Arnold Schwarenegger at 

the state capital. 

Bottom: Family photograph taken of 

the Engert family at Edgar and 

Renate’s 50th wedding anniversary. 

From the beginning, Edgar Engert, fondly 

remembered by locals as “Mr. Encinitas,” 

seemed to be planting the seeds for what 

would become an amazing life which helped 

shape the horticulture industry, his family and 

his community. 

Born in Kreimbach, Germany in 1936, 

Engert immigrated to New York in 1958 to 

escape the aftermath of World War II and 

cultivate a new life for his wife Renate and 

newborn daughter. He landed a job in Long 

Island with a flower grower from his 

hometown, and not only discovered his passion 

for horticulture, but was also introduced to the 

flower and family which would bring him and 

his family to his beloved Encinitas. 

Though Engert first met Paul Ecke, Jr. in a 

New York greenhouse where Ecke had come to 

check out different species of poinsettias, Engert 

did not have a job when he took off for the west 

coast. It did not, however, take the Eckes long to 

snap him up and he spent the next 44 years 

helping them turn the poinsettia into an 

enduring Christmas tradition and a farming 

empire where he worked until it was sold in 

2012. Nine years later, on January 10, 2021, 

Engert passed away unexpectedly from 

complications of the novel coronavirus. 

The Coast News hailed him as a family man 

first and wonderful humanitarian second; a man 

who gave his time to organizations such as the 

YMCA, Y Service Club International, Encinitas 

Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, the Del 

Mar Fair Flower and Garden Show and San 

Diego County Flower and Plant Association, the 

California State Florist Association, San Diego 

Botanical Gardens and the San Dieguito Heritage 

Museum. He is credited with starting the 

Encinitas’ Oktoberfest and Holiday Parade. 

“I’m very sad he’s gone, but I am also 

surprised because he never seemed to stop,” 

Paul Ecke III said in the news article. “He 

never seemed to sleep; he was always working, 

spending time with his family and helping 

with charities.” 

“He lit up any room he entered, never met a 

stranger, and was always concerned about the 

well-being of his family and friends,” his family 

wrote in his obituary, adding that he always 

encouraged them to reach for the stars—just 

like he always did. 


McNeill Avenue is a one-block side street off 

of Vulcan. There were only eight small custom 

homes and one was a Sears Kit Home! The 

original McNeill House was built in the1920s 

on a double lot. Homes were small yet adequate. 

Carolyn Cope, owner of the new McNeill 

House recalls, “My father, Gerard E. Roy, and 

my mother, Thelma Boggs Roy, bought this little 

two-bedroom home in 1949 for $2,000. In 

1955 another room was added, and the western 

balcony was enclosed. This property has a 

magnificent 180-degree view of the ocean.” 

I always felt something special here. I could 

feel it from the moment I untied my shoes and 

rubbed my chubby feet into the warm, sandy 

dirt in our front yard as a two-year old. 

In December 1988 my father died and mom did 

not want to live alone. I wanted a big house and I got 

it. The house was disassembled and taken to Mexico. 

We built a three-level, four-car garage, with an 

efficiency apartment for my mother and five more 

bedrooms. Mom died in 2010, followed by my 

childrens’ father, Thomas M. Cope, M.D. in 2014. 

Our children, Rosannah Elaine Cope, Thomas 

“Morgan” Cope and Joseph Gerard Cope, 

had moved on into the world. To help 

with expenses, close friends who needed 

‘just a room’ moved in. 

Few people know about our 

wandering soul. He was here when I was 

a kid and he still makes himself known 

from time-to-time. Lights turning on 

and off, items falling off shelves and 

minor movements let us know when he 

is ‘disturbed’ by something or someone. 

Many birthday parties, bridal 

showers, rock concerts have filled this 

house. Pianists, sax players, drum 

circles, art shows, Tibetan Healing 

Bowls, Chi-gong, hula-hoops, and 

Rotary fellowships have kept this house 

lively. Young iPalpiti musicians from 

around the world make the house feel 

like Carnage Hall. 

The house is decorated with many 

local artists’ creations both inside and 

out. Julia C.R. Gray painted the logo on 

the front of the house and also the 

butterfly adorned pergola. Inside she 

painted the dining room with long 

vines of wisteria. Rooms are decorated 

with faux-sponged walls, cloud-filled skies and 

matching accents throughout the house. Artistic 

tile work, both inside and out, was done by Billy 

Stewart. Tiled mosaic panels, intricate mosaic 

light well, patio tables and all tiled flooring. Iron 

gates, fences and railings were designed by 

sculpture artist Danny Salzhandler. 

THE LEGACY OF 

THE MCNEILL 

HOUSE 

G 

Above: Left to right: Tom, Rosannah, 

Morgan, Carolyn and Joseph Cope. 


THE DANFORTH 

BUILDING 

The Danforth Building has been an anchor in 

Encinitas since 1918. For over 100 years a twostory 

multiple use building has stood on the 

corner of First St and E St. Most of the time, 80 

years, belonging to the Danforth family. 

The construction history of the building 

shows it was completed in 2 stages. The first 

stage was built in 1918. In 1937 when (First St) 

Highway 101 was widened in anticipation of the 

Del Mar Racetrack traffic, 20-feet was removed 

from the front of the building. The state paid the 

owners, the Wenz family, who then added the 

second phase of the building in 1937, the south 

side, as it remains today. 

It was purchased by Jane Danforth’s mother, 

Eckka Robinson Rowe in 1940. Eckka and her 

husband George resided upstairs in apartment 

#2. Eckka managed the entire building for the 

next 20 years to pay off the mortgages used to 

purchase the property. The Danforth family still 

own and treasures this building today. 

Before Interstate 5, the building was once 

part of the heart of downtown. It was a time 

in the past when people would meet one 

another at the post office, collect their mail, 

and buy a 3-cent stamp. The southbound 

Greyhound bus stop was in front of the building 

and tickets were purchased in the building’s gift 

shop. Downtown Encinitas was predominately 

between the La Paloma Theater and F Street. It 

included all businesses needed for everyday life. 

The Market was open to the street, with a 

fruit and vegetable stand across the front, where 

you could buy a glass jar of milk and a loaf of 

bread for about 10-cents. 

Over the years other building tenants have 

included Lou’s Records, Reder Insurance, a yoga 

studio, and a laundromat. Current occupants are 

Station Salon, Better Buzz Coffee, and Flashbacks. 

The Danforth Building remains a dominant 

landmark structure on Old Highway 101. There 

are three commercial units downstairs and 

apartments above providing downtown 

residential living for over 100 years. It is now 

adorned by two murals placed there by the 

Downtown Encinitas Merchant Association as 

part of the alley improvement project. It is also 

a reminder of where the Encinitas center of 

town once was before the Interstate was built 

and locals would come together as they went 

about their daily activities. 


THE ROY 

FAMILY 

The corner of Phoebe and Highway 101 is 

the unofficial heart of Leucadia, where Roy’s 

Market, post office and laundromat sat. Today 

the post office remains. Many Leucadians would 

come and drop off or pick up their mail, grab 

some salted peanuts and a beer as they did their 

laundry or waited for the Greyhound bus. 

Dad, Gerard, and mom, Thelma, wed in 

1942. In 1936, they moved to Encinitas 

simultaneously, Dad from Quebec, Canada, 

Mom from Colorado with a practical nursing 

degree, joining her brother and his wife, Ralph 

and Martha Boggs, the first home economics 

teacher at San Dieguito. Enlisting in the Army, 

dad was deployed to England. Discharged in 

1946, Elaine Verna was born 1947, Carolyn 

Jean, 1950, and Kenneth Eugene, 1957. 

We had several family members in the area; 

Jim and Teresa Meyers (Meyers’ Tires and Terry’s 

Knits), Joan and Kenny Bunyard (Bunyard 

Masonry), Bob and Anne Roy, Joe and Jeannette 

Reisner, and many cousins! Sundays brought 

BBQ’s, badminton, and picnics. 

Roy’s Market opened October 1953, the post 

office in 1956, and laundromat in 1966. Dad had 

one employee; Elaine and Carolyn helped after 

school. Goods were sold on credit and 

occasionally he would burn outstanding 

customer’s credit slips. The sisters would fill 

orders and dad made deliveries to shut-ins and 

the elderly. He left Christmas trees out on 

Christmas Eve for those who could not afford one. 

An inventor, dad motorized skates, dressing 

up as the Man from Mars, complete with ray 

gun and smoking jet helmet, for the Encinitas 

Christmas parade. 

Through the 1950s and ’60s Mom was a 

homemaker and community activist. Alongside 

neighbor Josephine Vargas, they helped Doug 

Hall start the first Boys & Girls Club. 

Retiring in 1970, they both enjoyed golf, 

travel and the Encinitas Elks Club. Mom was 

crowned 1973 “Elkinenas of the Year.” Dad died 

in 1988; Mom in 2010. 

Phoebe and Highway 101 remains a vibrant 

corner property and continues to be a major 

hub of Leucadia life. The property is still owned 

by the family, Elaine and John Terrell and Ken 

and Elyse Roy. 

G 

Above: Gerard Roy in Roy’s Market. 

Below: Thelma and Gerard Roy. 


TRIBUTE TO 

DR. TAKEO 

SUGIMOTO 

Takeo Sugimoto’s parents were born in Japan. 

In 1925, they migrated to the United States and 

began working as vegetable farmers on land 

they leased in Encinitas. 

The family had been working towards 

qualifying to be able to purchase land for their 

farming operations. Due to the United States 

Oriental Exclusion Act, they were prohibited 

from owning land when they originally arrived 

in this country. 

The family was taken away to the internment 

camps a few weeks before Tak’s older brother 

would have turned twenty-one. When he 

reached that age, the family would have qualified 

under the Act to be able to buy their own 

property to farm, instead of having to lease land. 

When Tak was only fourteen, his dad was 

separated from Tak, his mom, and his siblings, 

when the family was relocated to an internment 

camp with the euphemistic name of “The 

Colorado River Project” in Arizona. 

The family never saw Sajiro Sugimoto again. He 

died of tuberculosis while Tak and his other family 

members were living separately in detention. 

Once the Sugimoto family’s internment 

ended at the end of World War II, the family 

returned to Leucadia. 

By that point in time, it is believed at least the 

area youngsters began to fully appreciate the 

crushing reality of the horrible impact of the 

mass internment of Japanese families at the 

beginning of the war. 

Tak returned home in time to graduate from 

San Dieguito High School with his former 

classmates. It was reported that when Tak went up 

on stage to receive his diploma from the principal, 

his classmates gave him a standing ovation. 

There was another stroke of good fortune for the 

Sugimoto family upon their return. They started off 

their new life in Leucadia with nothing but the 

truck that they had left in the care of Paul Ecke, Sr. 

That treasured possession, which Paul Sr. 

had sheltered and protected during their 

absence, became critical in the family’s being 

able to make a living. As Tak acknowledged: 

“If it hadn’t been for that truck, I don’t know 

how we would’ve found work.” 

Tak went on to become a very successful 

pharmacist and businessman. Ironically, first he 

spent two years in the U.S. Army after the war 

serving in Japan with the American occupation 

forces! He later joined the National Guard and 

served in Korea. 

After completing his military service, he 

married his beautiful wife Ruth of sixty-four 

years, with whom he raised five children, 

earned his degree of Doctor of Pharmacy at the 

University of Southern California. 

Following graduation, Tak worked for an 

independent pharmacist for a number of years. 

Then he decided to come back to our area to 

open his own pharmacy in La Costa. 

He had never lost touch with the Ecke family. 

As a matter of fact, prior to making the lifechanging 

determination to move here and open 

his own pharmacy, he decided to obtain the 

advice of Paul Ecke, Sr. 

As Tak put it, first he “had to talk with Mr. 

Ecke to get his wise counsel and offer to his 

opinion relative to this momentous move.” 

Fortunately, Ecke told Tak that it was a good 

decision in light of the fact that the pharmacy 

business was an expanding field. 

Tak died on May 20, 2019. He was ninetyone 

years old. 


WEIDNERS 

GARDENS/ 

THE EVELYN 

WEIDNER 

FAMILY 

Weidners Gardens on Normandy Road in 

Leucadia has been brightening the Encinitas 

landscape since 1973. Weidner, pronounced 

WIDE-ner, as Evelyn says, “there are no weeds 

in Weidner,” and you won’t find any at Weidners 

Gardens either. 

For Evelyn Weidner, gardening has been a 

lifetime avocation. She was literally born into 

the nursery business. Her parents always had a 

nursery—first in Three Rivers and then in North 

Long Beach, California. 

“I’ve always loved the business,” said Evelyn. 

“After school, I would head over to the nursery 

to work. I would help customers and being an 

attractive 16-year-old girl, they loved me.” 

She married Bob Weidner, who owned a 

wholesale foliage plant business. They eventually 

came to Encinitas at the recommendation of Paul 

Ecke Sr. and Paul Ecke Jr. 

“They said, ‘you’ve got to come down here. 

Where else would you go?” said Evelyn. 

Following that advice, they bought the land 

where Weidners Gardens currently stands. 

“My husband knew that I loved begonias,” 

said Evelyn. “He came home one day and asked 

me if I’d like a big patch of begonias.” 

That patch was 25,000 plants because he 

wanted it to be a flower show. 

Now that flower show has grown to include 

thousands of fuchsias, succulents and poinsettias, 

including the famous Ecke Poinsettias. The annual 

“Behind the Scenes Poinsettia Tours” attract 

hundreds of visitors. 

Bob Weidner passed away in 1988 and Evelyn 

and daughter Mary ran the nursery until selling 

the business in 2014. It is now in the capable 

hands of production grower, Oliver Storm, and 

wholesale sales manager, Kalim Owen. Now 

semi-retired, Evelyn still writes the nursery 

newsletter and can often be found greeting 

customers and giving out gardening advice. 

“Wherever we go, it seems we run into people 

who are customers of ours,” said Evelyn. “They 

are still coming to Weidners for great plants and 

good gardening advice. It’s good to know we are 

still helping to make their gardens a success.” 

Since then, in her semi-retirement Evelyn 

continues to stay a very active member of the 

Encinitas community. She has written a gardening 

column in the Encinitas Advocate and Coast 

Newspapers for years, as well as being a board 

member of the Heritage Ranch Museum and an 

active member of the Encinitas Rotary Club. 

G 

Weidners Gardens in Encinitas. 


G 

A modern downtown Encinitas in 

2021 from D Street looking south to 

Swami’s and Cardiff-By-the-Sea. 

PHOTO BY KYLE THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHY. 


BUILDING A GREATER ENCINITAS 

E n c i n i t a s ’ e n g i n e e r s , r e a l t o r s , a n d u t i l i t i e s 

p r o v i d e t h e e c o n o m i c f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e c i t y 

San Dieguito Engineering ...............................................................1 8 8 

Olivenhain Municipal Water District ................................................1 9 0 

COMPASS/Steele Realty Group ........................................................1 9 2 


SAN DIEGUITO 

ENGINEERING 

G 

Above: Cindy Jamieson and Joe 

Campbell. 

Right: Laurie Simon. 

Below, left: (left to right) Ivan Fox, 

Daphne Munson, Susan Fox, Barry 

Munson and Gordon McElroy. 

Below, right: (left to right) Trudy 

Campbell, Jim Laret, Steve and 

Ellie Dillemuth. 

Due in large part to the synergy between 

its leadership and employees, San Dieguito 

Engineering has become a premiere land 

development company and public works 

consultant, surviving and even thriving in a 

post-Great Recession business climate. With the 

ability to change its business model to meet 

contemporary land development needs, SDE 

has become an award-winning woman-owned 

small business, with recognition in both the 

public and private sectors. 

Founded in Rancho Santa Fe in 1974 by John 

Fox and John Hawkins, San Dieguito Engineering 

originally undertook civil and soils engineering 

projects. David Newton joined the firm to manage 

the soils and geotechnical services. John Hawkins 

left the firm, and Steven Dillemuth took over his 

ownership position in 1977. In the early 80s, 

James Laret took an ownership position. In the 

mid-80s Gordon McElroy took an ownership 

position and managed the surveying services, and 


Wayne Pasco joined the firm as a project engineer. 

Ivan Fox (no relation to John Fox) signed on as 

General Manager. 

SDE performed work for a number of notable 

properties during the 1980s, including the 

Farms, Del Mar Country Club and The Bridges 

at Rancho Santa Fe. In 1989, Ernest Grabbe 

joined the firm, and James Laret left to establish 

Laret Engineering. That same year, Ivan Fox left 

to start Fox Engineering but would come back 

and, with Laurie Simon, purchase the shares of 

John Fox and Steven Dillemuth in 1991. 

By the early 1990s, SDE had long since secured 

its exceptional reputation. However, its leadership 

recognized that the company couldn’t rest on its 

laurels and adopted the unofficial motto, “Stay alive 

until 1995.” And indeed they would, by striving for 

client satisfaction, aiming to have “repeat clients 

repeatedly.” Noteworthy projects during the 1990s 

included Rancho Valencia Resort, Encinitas’ 

Wildflower Estates, Palma de la Reina Mixed Use 

Property, various sewer and water main extensions, 

The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, and single family 

grading plans and subdivisions. In 1994, Barry 

Munson joined the company as a partner, and in 

1999, Steve Crosby and Andrew Karydes, to 

eventually replace Ivan Fox and Gordon McElroy. 

Hired as a project engineer in 2000, current 

President and CEO Annie Aguilar assumed her 

leadership role in 2011. Under her guidance, 

SDE has garnered many awards, including 

Women-Owned Small Business of the Year from 

the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 

2014, a designation as one of the Top Women- 

Owned Businesses from the San Diego Business 

Journal in 2016, and in 2019, the American 

Public Works Association’s Project of the Year 

for its work on the San Diego County Water 

Authority Pipeline 3 relining from Lake Murray 

to the Sweetwater Reservoir, as well as ENR’s 

Best Project for BioLegend Campus Extension. 

Once again in 2020, SDE was presented the SBA 

Minority Business Champion of the Year Award. 

In 2000, Ivan spearheaded the creation of a 

subsidiary, AirX Utility Surveyors (which became its 

own entity in 2006), for the purpose of cataloging 

existing utilities via Subsurface Utility Engineering 

(SUE). This service incorporates geophysics in the 

mapping of existing underground utilities, aiding in 

relocation design, quality assessment, and the 

transmission of data to utility stakeholders. SUE is 

considered a best practice to avoid construction 

costs for land development projects and public 

agencies nationwide. SDE has implemented SUE 

on several large-scale projects, such as the San 

Diego Airport Terminal 2 landside expansion in 

2009, Sempra/Energy/SDG&E’s Pipeline Safety 

Enhancement Plan in 2013, and utility mapping for 

Scripps Health campuses in 2017. 

Patricia Urquiza joined the company as 

Accounting Manager in 2003 and would 

eventually become CFO in 2016. Andrew Karydes 

signed on to the firm in 1999, becoming a partner 

in 2002. In 2004, Karydes assumed the role of 

Vice President and Secretary. As of this 

publication, the company, which employs 17 

individuals, is based in Solana Beach and takes in 

an annual revenue of 2.8 million dollars. SDE will 

continue to grow and deliver top quality results for 

private development projects and public work 

agencies in the greater San Diego area. 

G 

Above: The SDE Team, c. 2019. 

Below: SANDAG’s MCTC Mid Coast 

Corridor Project 


OLIVENHAIN 

MUNICIPAL 

WATER 

DISTRICT 

G 

Right: The first Board of Directors of 

Olivenhain Municipal Water District 

were present at opening ceremonies in 

1959 when the first water trickled 

into Olivenhain. (Left to right) Otto 

Berk, Howard G. Golem, Alwin 

Wiegand, James B. Wood, and Clarke 

R. Thomas. 

Below: Crews construct Wanket 

Reservoir in 1975. The reservoir 

brought an additional three million 

gallons of potable water storage 

capacity to OMWD’s service area. 

In the mid-nineteenth century, the 

Olivenhain area was the site of a stagecoach 

station along the Seeley-Wright Stagecoach 

Line. The station was located in present-day 

Stagecoach Park, a mid-way point between the 

San Diego and San Luis Rey Missions. 

The historic route which ran along El Camino 

Real was propagated with olive trees by Spanish 

missionaries. Though the trees were not cultivated, 

their presence prompted a program enticing 

settlers to move to the area. Advertisements 

promised a climate where anything could grow, 

especially olive trees. Originally referred to as 

Olivenheim, which translates in German to “home 

of the olive,” and later changed to Olivenhain 

meaning “olive grove,” the prospect of farming 

attracted German settlers. 

By 1884, Colony Olivenhain was established. 

However, with a semi-arid local climate receiving 

an average rainfall of only ten inches annually, 

lack of water hampered development of the area. 

In 1959, as Southern California wholesale 

water agencies developed infrastructure that 

brought imported water from the Colorado 

River to San Diego County, several ranchers 

banded together to secure access to that water 

supply—Olivenhain Municipal Water District 

was established. 

The availability of a reliable water supply 

allowed agriculture in the area to thrive. New 

crops such as flowers and citrus trees were 

grown, and domestic growth accelerated in 

addition to agriculture. 


Early OMWD board meetings were held in 

the Olivenhain Town Meeting Hall. OMWD’s 

first vice president, Howard G. Golem, 

reminisced, “I remember the one light bulb 

dangling from the ceiling in that small room. 

We didn’t have running water, but we did 

have bats.” Shortly after, in 1961, a district office 

was constructed at the site of OMWD’s presentday 

headquarters. 

OMWD’s service area continued to rapidly 

develop in the ensuing decades. To ensure water 

availability and quality, OMWD initiated the 

Olivenhain Water Storage Project. OWSP 

consisted of a water treatment plant and a joint 

venture with San Diego County Water Authority 

to build Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir. 

In 2002, OMWD unveiled its David C. 

McCollom Water Treatment Plant which today 

is capable of producing up to 34 million gallons 

per day of high-quality drinking water. The 

facility uses ultrafiltration technology which 

provides a physical barrier to waterborne health 

threats while minimizing chemical use. At the 

time of its construction, the plant was the 

largest of its kind in the US. Not only does 

this facility reduce OMWD’s purchase costs 

for water, it also generates enough 

hydroelectricity to cover approximately fifty 

percent of its energy demands. 

To secure land for the OWSP, OMWD 

developed Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve in 

partnership with San Diego County Water 

Authority and US Department of the Interior’s 

Bureau of Land Management. The 784-acre 

reserve opened in 1992 and is managed by 

OMWD. EFRR offers recreational opportunities 

for hiking, biking, and equestrian use, as well as 

educational programs for community members 

and local schools. 

In 1998, OMWD added wastewater 

treatment to its list of services by annexing 

sanitation districts serving 4S Ranch and 

Rancho Cielo. To meet the long-term needs of 

the growing neighborhoods, OMWD upgraded 

the existing wastewater treatment plant and the 

4S Ranch Water Reclamation Facility was born. 

It began producing recycled water in 2003, 

adding an important drought-resilient water 

supply to OMWD’s portfolio. OMWD continues 

to expand recycled water availability throughout 

its service area, and is also exploring additional 

local, sustainable water supplies such as 

brackish groundwater desalination. 

In its first year of operation, Olivenhain 

Municipal Water District sold just twelve acrefeet 

of water. Today, it treats and delivers 

approximately 18,000 acre feet of drinking 

water annually to 86,000 residents. Over sixty 

years, OMWD has come a long way, and 

delivering a safe and reliable water supply has 

remained OMWD’s utmost priority. It is 

committed to making investments that enhance 

the quality of life in our community for the 

decades ahead. 

G 

Above: OMWD continues to develop 

local and sustainable sources of water 

supply including increasing the 

availability of recycled water 

throughout its service area. 

Below: OMWD’s David C. McCollom 

Water Treatment Plant in front of 

Olivenhain Dam. The facility 

produces up to 34 million gallons of 

potable water every day using 

advanced ultrafiltration technology. 


COMPASS/ 

STEELE 

REALTY 

GROUP 

Betty and Cody Steele have nearly 60 years of 

experience in Real Estate. This mother/son broker 

team bring many talents to the table. What really 

defines a good real estate agent? Some of the 

qualities this duo excel at are agreeable and patient 

personalities, local knowledge, changing real estate 

trends, the differing needs of a buyer versus a 

seller, and most importantly prioritizing a client’s 

satisfaction ahead of a commission. When you 

have loyal clients for over 40 years and you are 

selling or buying properties for their children and 

neighbors, they have given you the best 

advertising which is word of mouth. 

Betty has been a fixture in the North County 

lifestyle since her move from Texas in 1969. An 

avid surfer for 50 years she has a deep love for 

the ocean. It is in Betty’s DNA to give back to 

this area that has given so much to her and her 

family. She cofounded the 1st chapter of the San 

Diego Surfrider Foundation, was President of 

Solana Beach/Del Mar Rotary, was President of 

local networking group, helped bring back the 

charity event Cardiff Surf Classic and the Green 

Beach Fair & is actively involved with Cardiff 

101 Main Street. 

Betty’s abundant energy also includes world 

travel: Patagonia, Maldives, Mentawai islands, 

Costa Rica and Iceland to name just a few. 

The other half of the team is Cody Steele 

with 19 years in the family real estate business. 

Born and raised in Solana Beach, he purchased 

the house he grew up in from his parents. A 

natural athlete he had a successful career in 

professional surfing while also going to college 

with studies in sociology, graphic arts and 

marketing all of which were put to good 

use in real estate. Cody is married with 5 

children. He has carried on the tradition of 

coaching youth sports in Solana Beach. Of 

course, his family loves the beach and surfing, 

it is not unusual to see his tribe show up in the 

Seaside parking lot. 

Sincere service for your Real Estate needs is 

the foundation of the COMPASS/Steele Realty 

Group, DRE 01344459. 


G 

PHOTO BY NEAL GLASGOW PHOTOGRAPHY. 


G 

Switchfoot performed their annual 

concert after the BRO-AM charitable 

fundraiser surf competition in June of 

2018 drawing more than 10,000 to 

Moonlight Beach. 



LOCAL LEGENDS 

I c o n i c r e s i d e n t s o f E n c i n i t a s 

w h o s e n a m e s w i l l n o t b e f o r g o t t e n 

The Eagles & Jack Tempchin, Songwriter ..........................................1 9 6 

Joe Walsh ....................................................................................1 9 8 

Eddie Vedder ................................................................................1 9 9 

Paramahansa Yogananda ................................................................2 0 0 

Richard Dreyfuss ..........................................................................2 0 0 

Ravi Shankar ...............................................................................2 0 1 

Tom DeLonge ................................................................................2 0 2 

Tony Hawk ...................................................................................2 0 3 

Rob Machado ................................................................................2 0 4 

Switchfoot and the BRO-AM ............................................................2 0 5 

Johnny Rock .................................................................................2 0 6 

Cloris Leachman ...........................................................................2 0 7 

Hugh Martin ................................................................................2 0 7 


THE EAGLES 

& 

JACK TEMPCHIN, 

SONGWRITER 

G 

Top: House on Neptune Drive in 

Leucadia where the Eagle’s lived and 

wrote songs in the early 1970s 

IMAGE COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS 

PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Bottom: Rock band The Eagles 

performs at a concert of their 

world tour in Taipei, Taiwan, 

26 February 2011. 

CHINAIMAGES.DEPOSITPHOTOS_244310134 

The Eagles forged their place at the forefront of 

mainstream rock music in the 1970s with a 

laidback but deceptively regimented sound that 

netted them hundreds of millions in record sales, 

with enduring smashes like Their Greatest Hits and 

Hotel California. Notably, the founding bandmates 

(Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, and 

Bernie Leadon) spent some of their early days 

together in Encinitas, where they would lay the 

groundwork for a legendary career. 

They gathered at a home on Neptune Drive, 

situated on the cliffs of Leucadia. A plaque nearby 


eads, “The Eagles lived and recorded their music 

here in the early 1970s.” It is a direct, unpoetic 

statement, but when the subject is one of the 

most successful bands of all time, a band whose 

reputation precedes them by far, there is little else 

to say. The Eagles spent time in this house and on 

the beaches below, co-writing songs with 

musician Jack Tempchin, including “Already 

Gone” and “Somebody.” But Tempchin, who has 

long resided in Encinitas, is perhaps best known 

for providing the Eagles with one of their most 

enduring hits, “Peaceful Easy Feeling.” 

In 1980, the group disbanded and went their 

separate ways. Joe Walsh, Don Hendley and 

Glen Frey all had very successful solo carrers. 

In 1994, they formally reunited for the “Hell 

Freezes Over” tour. Frey commented at their first 

live performance, “For the record, we never broke 

up. We just took a fourteen year vacation.” 

The Eagles have been nominated for eighteen 

Grammy Awards, which resulted in six wins 

since 1973, including Record of the Year for 

“Hotel California” in 1978.. They were inducted 

into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, 

and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. 

Sadly, on January 18, 2016, founding band 

member, Glenn Frey, from Detroit, Michigan, 

passed away at the age of 67 from complications 

of rheumatoid arthritis and pneumonia. Frey 

wrote or co-wrote (often with drummer Don 

Henley) many of the group’s songs and sang the 

lead vocals on a number of Eagles hits including 

“Take It Easy”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “Already 

Gone”, “Tequila Sunrise”, “Lyin’ Eyes”, “New Kid in 

Town”, “Heartache Tonight” and “How Long”. 

The current members of The Eagles are Don 

Henley on lead and backing vocals, drums, 

percussion, rhythm guitar; Joe Walsh on lead 

and rhythm guitars, backing and lead vocals, 

keyboards; Timothy B. Schmit on bass guitar, 

backing and lead vocals, harmonica; Deacon 

Frey on rhythm and lead guitars, lead and 

backing vocals; and Vince Gill on rhythm and 

lead guitars, backing and lead vocals. 

G 

Above: Jack Tempchin with Dean 

Smith (on bass) at Cardiff-by-the- 

Sea’s 100th birthday celebration at 

Glen Park. July 2, 2011. 

IMAGE COURTESY OF KYLE THOMAS 

PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Below: House on Neptune Drive in 

Leucadia where the Eagle’s lived and 

wrote songs in the early 1970s 



JOE WALSH 

Though not a founding member of the 

Eagles, guitarist Joe Walsh has long since proven 

himself an integral piece of the band’s legacy. 

Aside from touring with the Eagles, Walsh has, 

in recent years, continued to release albums as a 

solo artist, including 2012’s Analog Man. He was 

inducted, as part of the Eagles, into the Rock & 

Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. 

Walsh lived with his fourth wife, Denise 

Driscoll, and their two sons in Encinitas 

between 1995 and 2001. In an interview with 

the San Diego Union-Tribune, Walsh praised the 

gift of anonymity that came with living in a 

town as serene as Encinitas. He returns the favor 

by giving back to the Encinitas community. In 

2007, he played a show at the Belly Up Tavern 

to benefit the Grauer School, a local preparatory 

school. And, according to Walsh in a 2012 

interview for the San Diego Reader, the rocker, 

who became a Buddhist later in life, once 

sheltered exiled Tibetan monks from the Gaden 

Shartse monastery at his Encinitas home. 

The home in question is the polar opposite of 

the asceticism favored by monks: a 5,635 square 

foot horse ranch in the Olivenhain neighborhood 

that now belongs to his ex-wife Denise Driscoll 

(Joe and his wife Margorie Bach currently reside in 

Los Angeles). But despite this extravagance, Walsh 

often preferred to experience life in the slow lane 

during his time in Encinitas. In an interview with 

the San Diego Union-Tribune, Walsh mentioned that 

he took Amtrak from Encinitas to Los Angeles for 

recording sessions with the Eagles. Walsh may be 

known for his over-the-top performance style, but 

he prizes the “peaceful, easy” moments found in a 

place like Encinitas. 

G 

Joe Walsh of The Eagles performs at 

a concert of their world tour in 

Taipei, Taiwan, 26 February 2011. 

CHINAIMAGES.DEPOSITPHOTOS_244310134. 


Eddie Vedder has served as Pearl Jam’s 

frontman since 1990. His debut solo release was 

the 2007 soundtrack album for the film Into the 

Wild for which Vedder won a Golden Globe for 

the song “Guaranteed.” In 2012, Vedder’s 

sophomore solo album, Ukulele Songs, received a 

Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Vedder 

was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 

as a member of Pearl Jam on April 7, 2017. 

The San Diego Reader tells his history of the 

area in the December 6, 2012 issue of the 

magazine, “Eddie Vedder was eight when he 

moved to San Diego with his family, including 

three younger half-brothers, in 1973. While 

residing in Encinitas, he lived in a two-story 

house with a piano that he began practicing 

on, and his mother gave him a guitar for his 

twelfth birthday. 

Living on his own at the age of fifteen 

and working nights at an Encinitas drug store, 

he attended San Dieguito High School until 

his senior year (1982), performing in school 

plays like Butterflies Are Free, Outward Bound, 

and Bye Bye Birdie. After a devastating breakup 

with his girlfriend, he quit school and moved 

to Chicago, where his mother and brothers 

had relocated.” 

The February 22, 2016 issue of The San 

Diego Union Tribune goes on to say that in 

2016, Eddie returned for a surprise visit and 

performed at the San Dieguito High School 

Alumni Variety Show. “Vedder has been a longtime 

supporter of the school and of his former 

SDA drama teacher Clayton E. Liggett, for 

whom a theater at the school’s performing arts 

center is named. Vedder was instrumental in 

making that happen. In 2005, the musician 

wrote a letter to Encinitas school officials in 

which he attributed his personal and 

professional success to the teacher.” 

EDDIE VEDDER 

G 

Bottom. left: The legendary band 

known throughout the world as 

Pearl Jam. 

IMAGES COURTESY OF PEARL JAM. 


G 

PARAMAHANSA 

YOGANANDA 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SELF REALIZATION 

FELLOWSHIP 

Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the 

modern spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi 

and widely regarded as the father of Yoga in the 

West, contributed in far-reaching ways to a 

greater awareness and appreciation in the West 

of the spiritual wisdom of the East. Arriving in 

America from his native India in 1920 as a 

delegate to an International Congress of 

Religious Liberals, he established Self- 

Realization Fellowship that same year to 

disseminate worldwide his teachings on India’s 

ancient philosophy of Yoga and its timehonored 

science of meditation. 

Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda’s life story, 

was published in 1946 and expanded by him in 

subsequent editions. Recognized from the 

beginning as a landmark work in its field, the 

book has been honored as one of the 100 best 

spiritual books of the 20 th century, and remains 

one of the most important, and most readable, 

works on Yoga and Eastern spiritual thought. 

The City of Encinitas named a park and beach 

in honor of Yogananda, called Swami’s, as he was 

affectionately known. The park adjoins the SRF 

Retreat center, where he enjoyed spending time. 

He was born on January 5, 1893 in 

Gorakhpur, India, and passed away on March 

7, 1952 in Los Angelos, California. 

G 

RICHARD 

DREYFUSS 

Richard Dreyfuss’ star on the 

Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

DEPOSITPHOTOS 29285901 

COPYRIGHT: SAINANIRITU 

Richard Dreyfuss, a mainstay of American 

cinema known for his roles in classic films such as 

American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third 

Kind, and Mr. Holland’s Opus. In 1977, he became 

the youngest man to win the Best Actor Oscar for 

the role of Elliot Garfield in The Goodbye Girl. Now 

in his seventies, Dreyfuss remains active today. 

Dreyfuss heads the Encinitas-based Dreyfuss 

Civics Initiative, a nonprofit which aims to prioritize 

civics education in the American public school 

system. In support for the program, Dreyfuss makes 

occasional public appearances, by which he 

proclaims the need for students to learn civic virtue 

as a means to better the nation. To bolster his own 

understanding of civics, Dreyfuss even attended 

Oxford University as a guest scholar. His ongoing 

efforts earned him a Peacemakers Award from the 

National Conflict Resolution Center in 2016. 

In 2008, he and his wife, Svetlana Erokhin, 

bought a nearly 5,000 square foot property in the 

Olivenhain community in Encinitas with the 

intent to upgrade the 1970s home with the latest 

water and energy saving technology. San Diego Gas 

& Electric selected the property as a case study for 

its Advanced Home program, which offers 

incentives to homeowners looking to make their 

properties more sustainable. In an interview with 

the San Diego Union Tribune, Dreyfuss stated his 

motivation for renovating the home stemmed less 

from environmental concern and more from an 

awareness of the United States’ dependence on 

foreign oil. Clearly, Dreyfuss stands by his civic 

responsibility, to the extent that he has quite 

literally brought it home with him. 


Of Ravi Shankar, George Harrison stated that 

he is the “Godfather of World Music,” and Cal 

Arts cites that he is “Musician to the World.” 

Shankar first gained international recognition 

when he popularized Indian sitar music through his 

work with the Beatles and violinist and conductor 

Yehudi Menuhin, beginning in the mid-1960s. 

Encinitas has always been a magical place that 

has attracted magical people, so it should be of 

no surprise that Shankar first found his way to 

Encinitas in the 1930s where he met the Self 

Realization Fellowship founder, Parmahansa 

Yogananda and that he also gave his first U.S. 

concert at the SRF Encinitas retreat in 1957. 

Shankar toured extensively, spending time in 

London, Paris, New York, but in 1992 while 

visiting friends in Encinitas, Ravi and his wife 

Sukanya fell in love with and purchased their 

home on Via Del Cerrito. 

It was here that they raised their daughter 

Anoushka, who attended the San Dieguito 

Academy where she was an honor student and 

crowned homecoming queen. Anoushka began 

studying music with her father at age seven and 

has since been nominated for seven Grammy 

awards in the World Music category. 

“It’s one of the most peaceful homes,” says 

Sukanya, “with the vibration of him (Ravi) still 

surrounding that house. He lived, breathed music 

there. He practiced every day. He taught so many 

people. He had such beautiful compositions that 

were born there in that house.” 

“So many famous people came, played and 

practiced,” recounts Sukanya. “George Harrison 

came and stayed there many times. Sting was there 

and Herbie Hancock came and spent many musical 

hours as well as Phillip Glass. The house just 

resonated with music and there was Anoushka and 

Norah (Jones) of course. We had so many house 

concerts with famous Indian musicians and dancers 

in the drawing-room with sometimes 100 people.” 

“He lived and breathed music to the very 

end,” recalls Sukanya. “He wrote an opera right 

in the hospital at Scripps Encinitas.” 

Ravi dedicated and named the opera for his 

wife; Sukanya. 

Ravi passed on December 11, 2012. 

The opera, Sukanya, premiered in London 

in 2017. 

“He gave me that as a parting gift,” said 

Sukanya softly. 

G 

RAVI SHANKAR 

Top, left: Ravi Shankar and his 

daughter Anoushka Shankar. 


COPYRIGHT: S_BUKLEY 

HOUSE PHOTO COURTESY OF SUKANYA SHANKAR. 

Bottom: Ravi at his Encinitas home 

with local and international musicians. 

COURTESY OF SETH PANDURANGA BLUMBERG 


TOM DELONGE 

G 

Above: Tom Delonge Blink 182 


COPYRIGHT: YAKUB88 

Tom DeLonge rose to stardom as the vocalist 

and guitarist in the pop-punk band Blink-182, 

which formed in Poway in 1992. During a 

hiatus from the group in 2005, DeLonge cofounded 

the band Angels and Airwaves, with 

whom he still performs. He split with Blink-182 

in 2015. In recent years, DeLonge, who has 

authored several books about UFOs, has 

focused much of his attention on the 

development of To the Stars Academy, 

established in Encinitas in 2017. 

Per the Academy’s website, “To the Stars 

Academy of Arts and Science (TTSA) specializes in 

creating, acquiring and commercializing sciencefocused 

intellectual property within the 

technology and entertainment verticals.” 

DeLonge’s team at TTSA is comprised of 

strategists, some of whom are ex-military officials. 

In 2020, the group achieved a breakthrough of 

sorts when the Pentagon confirmed the 

authenticity of U.S. Navy fighter jet footage, shared 

on TTSA’s website and depicting UAP 

(“unidentified aerial phenomena” or UFOs). 

TTSA’s Science and Technology Division 

amasses materials concerning UAP. Information 

gleaned from this work is made accessible to the 

public via TTSA’s Entertainment Division, which 

produces content across media, including, books, 

films, and television. Among this creative output 

is the History Channel series “Unidentified: 

Inside America’s UFO Investigation,” which 

DeLonge executive produces. 

In a 2019 interview with the New York 

Times, DeLonge spoke on his long abiding 

fascination with UFOs: “I started becoming very 

fascinated in the idea of what else is there 

besides working a 9-to-5 job and coming from a 

broken family. For some reason I just thought 

science fiction was just fascinating. My brother 

and I were so into the whole ‘Star Wars’ thing, 

obviously, in the early ‘80s. It just kind of led to 

me thinking a little bit broader.” No doubt 

DeLonge will continue this forward-thinking 

approach with TTSA’s future endeavors. 


Tony Hawk could have cemented his legacy 

solely by being the first skateboarder to 

complete the astonishing 900 trick (two and 

half turns in mid-air). He still gets on his board 

outside the competition circuit, but he 

acknowledges the aging process and its impact 

on his beloved sport: in 2021 he posted a video 

on social media in which he completed what 

he called his “last ever ollie 540” (one and half 

turns). Beyond the skatepark, the Encinitas 

resident with lifelong ties to San Diego County 

has gone on to work tirelessly in business 

and philanthropy. 

Today, the enormously popular Tony Hawk’s 

Pro Skater video game series first released by 

Activision in 1999 (the same year he pulled off the 

legendary 900), has grown into a billion-dollar 

franchise. Other lucrative Hawk brands include 

Birdhouse Skateboards and Hawk Clothing. His 

most notable and largest philanthropic effort is 

the Skatepark Project, formerly known as the 

Tony Hawk Foundation, which has allocated 

upwards of $10 million to the development of 

more than 600 skateparks nationwide, crucially in 

underserved communities. 

The Coronavirus pandemic prompted Hawk 

to offer a portion of the proceeds from 

autographed photos to Direct Relief, an 

organization that outfits frontline healthcare 

workers with personal protective equipment. He 

has also agreed to participate in Vans’ “Foot the 

Bill” program, which directs proceeds from 

custom shoe collection sales to certain local 

businesses that have struggled to stay afloat 

during the pandemic. In an interview with 

KFMB-TV, Hawk explained why he chose to 

support Witt’s Carlsbad Pipelines: “Witt’s was 

my very first skate shop sponsor back in 1984, 

[19] 85? Witt’s has been a staple of this area for 

a long time—always really supportive. I always 

try to send people there when they’re in town. 

He’s just trying to keep his doors open through 

all of this and this is the least I could do.” The 

shop’s owner, Witt Rowlett, designed Hawk’s 

shoe for the initiative, and it features an old 

photograph of the skateboarder in action at Del 

Mar Skate Ranch. Additionally, Hawk has 

offered his time for a private performance or 

skate lesson as part of the ALL IN Challenge, a 

campaign benefitting several charities, including 

Meals on Wheels and No Kid Hungry. For 

Hawk, fame and success are means by which to 

give back, both at home and abroad. 

G 

TONY HAWK 

Above and Below: Playa del Carmen, 

Cancun, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo 

Mexico, October 21st, 2017, 

Skateboarding In Paradise Woodward 

Riviera Maya Grand Opening 


COPYRIGHT: ARTUROVEREAPHOTO.GMAIL.COM 


COPYRIGHT: ARTUROVEREAPHOTO.GMAIL.COM 


ROB MACHADO 

G 

Top, left: Rob Machado (back, left), 

Christian Glawgow (back, right), and 

Jesse Billiauer (front), taken at the Rob 

Machado Surf Classic 2002-2003. 

They came together to support Jesse 

and his re-entry into the surfing world. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEIL GLASGOW. 

Top, right: Rob Machado catching a 

wave at local Encinitas surf break. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF. TODD GLASER 

PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Below: Rob Machado. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF TODD GLASER 

PHOTOGRAPHY. 

Machado attended San Dieguito High School. 

He describes himself in interviews, vlogs and 

social media as a free surfer. He was largely active 

in the competitive surfing scene from 1993 

to 2000. 

Machado has won the Hawaii’s Pipeline 

Masters (Triple Crown of Surfing), and the U.S. 

Open of Surfing,[11] the largest surfing event 

held on the U.S. mainland. 

Machado hosts and participates in an annual 

event held at his home reef called the Rob 

Machado Surf Classic and Beach Fair, which is 

an amateur competition for the locals of all ages, 

and it includes demo sessions with Machado 

and other pros. 

Machado portrayed “himself” in the 2007 

animated picture, Surf’s Up. Machado also 

starred in his own feature film released in the late 

90s titled “Drifting”. Additionally, Rob wrote and 

starred in the 2009 film, The Drifter. 

Machado is a 2011 inductee into the Surfing 

Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach, California 

in the surf champion category. 

Machado formed the Rob Machado 

Foundation, an organization focused on 

environmental causes. The Rob Machado 

Foundation was founded upon the fundamental 

belief that our planet needs to be taken care of, 

and there’s no better place to start than with our 

local communities and our children. What 

started out in the early days as the introduction 

of gardening programs at local schools— 

encouraging children to connect with the land 

they live on and the food they eat—has evolved 

into a water filling station program across a 

growing network of schools and public places 

that helps deliver clean, filtered water while 

encouraging reusables over single-use plastic 

water bottles. While this is the core focus of our 

foundation, we supplement our efforts to keep 

plastic and other trash out of our waterways 

with trash and recycling solutions at beaches, 

schools, surf events and local beach clean ups. 

We believe our youth are the stewards of our 

planet. We believe communities can come 

together to impact change. And we believe the 

future starts here. 


SWITCHFOOT 

BRO-AM 

FOUNDATION 

G 

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SWITCHFOOT BRO-AM 

FOUNDATION. 

In 2005, after traveling the world, Grammy 

Award-winning rock band Switchfoot dreamed 

up an idea to give back to their hometown, 

Encinitas, California, that supported them as 

young surfers and musicians. 

Founding band members Jon Foreman 

(vocals, guitar) and Tim Foreman (bass)grew up 

surfing at D Street and attending San Dieguito 

Academy. Together with drummer Chad Butler 

they cut their musical teeth playing shows at 

local venues like La Paloma Theater and The 

Belly Up. Inspired by the support they had 

received, Switchfoot created BRO-AM to invest 

in local kids who need a hand up. Seventeen 

years later, their idea has grown into two iconic 

annual San Diego summer events—the BRO-AM 

Benefit Party and the BRO-AM Beach Fest— 

with more than 17,000 attendees from all over 

the world. 

The Switchfoot BRO-AM Foundation is 

dedicated to giving back to the San Diego 

community by heightening the profile of and 

providing grants to nonprofit organizations that 

provide services to homeless, at-risk, and 

disadvantaged youth, with a special focus on 

programs related to music, art and surfing. The 

annual events have already raised almost 2.5 

million dollars impacting local kids in need. Get 

involved at www.broam.org and learn more 

about the band atwww.switchfoot.com. 


JOHNNY ROCK 

Tate Sanderson aka. Johnny Rock, “if you knew 

him growing up, you never saw him without a 

guitar or with a haircut.” Graduation day from 

Sunset High school he rolled out of town 

Hollywood bound. A dream, a guitar and a lot of 

ambition tossed him onto the highway of life, 

touring the USA, Mexico and over in Japan. MTVthere 

was Tate on Head-bangers Ball in rock group 

“Dirty Looks” on Sony/Rockworld Records. The 

video “One Bad Leg” was filmed in Encinitas and 

Del Mar. Watch this video and more Tate projects 

at www.youtube.com/c/jarprstudios 

Tate has played, performed and recorded with 

musicians from bands including Iron Butterfly, 

Tesla, Fishbone, Green Jello, Black Flag, The 

Motels, Beebs Money and many more. He got his 

first free guitar from Dean Guitars in 1994, still in 

love with this endorsement and now have many 

including: Encinitas Surfboards, Sabine, Carvin, 

Orange Amps, Jim Dunlop, Anvil of Hope, 

Alesmith Brewing Co. and Trust Me Vodka. 

Best seller now “Hotdog On A Stick Song” 

Johnny Rock Band. Tate is currently cast on 

GREENJELLOVISION every Saturday in 

Hollywood and performing nationally with 

Johnny Rock Band with tons of music and videos 

out online, a book out “Johnny Rock Tales From 

The Road” available on Amazon, and side projects 

G2 Cowboys, Tate Kid Easy, Magic Dogs, Green 

Jello, and he teaches music to students with 

special needs at his music school/studio Music 

Music at 230 W. F Street in Encinitas. 


In January 2021, Cloris Leachman, 94, died of 

natural causes at her home in Encinitas. She left 

behind an astounding legacy as a prolific 

performer, highly accomplished in both comedic 

and dramatic roles. Leachman’s decades-long 

career spanned theater, film, and television. 

Early in her career, Leachman was a finalist in 

the 1946 Miss America Pageant before acting in 

several Broadway productions, such as As You Like 

It, alongside Katharine Hepburn, and South 

Pacific. She soon transitioned to film and television 

work, starring in a number of classic shows, 

including The Twilight Zone and Gunsmoke. She 

starred in the 1955 film noir Kiss Me Deadly and 

would win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 

1971 for her role in The Last Picture Show. Other 

memorable film credits include Daisy Miller, Butch 

Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; and the Mel 

Brooks comedies Young Frankenstein, High 

Anxiety, and History of the World: Part 1. 

She landed dozens of TV credits, one of the 

best known being the role of Phyllis Lindstrom 

on The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970 to 

1975 and then on the spin-off Phyllis from 1975 

to 1977. During her TV career, she netted 22 

Primetime Emmy nominations, the most of any 

actress, and with eight wins tied with Julia Louis- 

Dreyfuss for the most Primetime Emmy wins 

by any performer. Her later film and TV 

work often cast her as 

grandmother characters, 

including Grandma Ida in 

Malcolm in the Middle and 

Maw Maw in Raising Hope. 

In addition to her acting 

career, Cloris Leachman was 

a longtime backer of animal 

rights issues, and received 

a Lifetime Achievement 

Award from PETA in 2017. 

Leachman was married to 

producer George Englund 

for 26 years until their 

divorce in 1979. They had 

five children: a daughter 

named Dinah, and four sons, 

Adam, George, Morgan, 

and Bryan. 

CLORIS 

LEACHMAN 

Louis. Martin lived in Encinitas since the 1970s. 

He was nominated, with his colleague Ralph 

Blane, for two Academy Awards for Best Song 

(for “The Trolley Song” and “Pass That Peace 

Pipe”). Martin was also nominated for four Tony 

Awards. He recounted his storied career in a 

memoir entitled Hugh Martin: The Boy Next 

Door. Though he was devoted to his work, 

Martin maintained close ties with his family. 

G 

HUGH MARTIN 

Above: Cloris Leachman. 


COPYRIGHT: S_BUKLEY 

Left: An original sheet music 

autographed by Hugh Martin. 

IMAGE COURTESY OF S. BOSS. 

In 2011, Hugh Martin died of natural causes 

at his Encinitas home, aged 96. Following his 

service in the U.S. Army during World War II, 

Martin had a long career in show business as a 

composer, playwright, musician, performer, and 

instructor. His best known pieces, “Have 

Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Trolley 

Song,” featured in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. 

Bottom, right: Ida Lou Coley poses 

with Hugh Martin. Ms. Coley was 

instrumental in preserving 

Cottonwood Creek as a historical 

landmark in 1991. Mr. Martin, who 

lived his last years in Encinitas, was 

best known for writing “Have Yourself 

a Merry Little Christmas” and many 

more Broadway musicals. 


INDEX 

– # – 

101 Artist Colony ......................................................134 

– A – 

Artist Danny Salzhandler ..........................................160 

Artist Kevin Anderson ................................................158 

– B – 

Bumann Ranch ..........................................................176 

– C – 

Candice Gerlach, CPA ................................................150 

Cardiff 101 Main Street Association ............................142 

Cardiff Kook ..............................................................135 

Cardiff-by-the-Sea Branch Library ..............................126 

Cloris Leachman ........................................................207 

COMPASS/Steele Realty Group ..................................192 

– D – 

Danny Salzhandler ....................................................160 

Dr. Kent Pollock, Chiropractor ....................................131 

– E – 

Eddie Vedder ............................................................199 

Encinitas 101 Mainstreet Association ..........................140 

Encinitas Café ..........................................................151 

Encinitas Chamber of Commerce ................................138 

Encinitas Historical Society ........................................116 

Encinitas Preservation Society ....................................143 

Encinitas Rotary Club ................................................118 

Encinitas Surfboards ..................................................156 

Encinitas Union Elementary School District ................112 

– F – 

Fred Caldwell Antiques ..............................................156 

Friends of Cardiff-by-the-Sea Library..........................127 

– G – 

Gaspar Doctors of Physical Therapy............................134 

– H – 

Hansen’s Surfboards ..................................................155 

Herman Cook VW ......................................................162 

HPN/LedgeMedia ......................................................161 

Hugh Martin..............................................................207 

– J – 

Joe Walsh and VetsAid ................................................198 

Johnny Rock ..............................................................206 

– K – 

Kyle Thomas Photography ..........................................159 

– L – 

Leucadia 101 Main St. Association (L101) ..................141 

– N – 

Neal Glasgow Photography ........................................157 

North Coast Family Medical Group ............................122 

– O – 

Olivenhain Municipal Water District ..........................190 

Olivenhain Town Council ............................................115 

– P – 

Paramahansa Yogananda ............................................200 

PsyTek Lab ................................................................148 

– R – 

Rancho Auto Body ......................................................153 

Ravi Shankar ............................................................201 

Richard Dreyfuss........................................................200 

Rob Machado ............................................................204 

– S – 

San Diego Botanic Gardens ........................................120 

San Dieguito Art Guild ..............................................132 

San Dieguito Engineering............................................188 

San Dieguito Heritage Ranch Museum ........................128 

Seaside Market ..........................................................146 

Self Realization Fellowship ........................................124 

Soulscape Gifts & Bookstore ......................................154 

Sunshine Gardens, Inc. ..............................................152 

Surfing Madonna Organization ..................................133 

Switch Foot and the BRO-AM ....................................205 

– T – 

The Cardiff Mercantile/The Guild................................144 

The Charley Marvin Family ......................................174 

The Corner Frame Shop Tribute to Morgan Mallory ....163 

The Danforth Building ................................................182 

The Eagles & Jack Tempchin, Songwriter ....................196 

The Ecke Family ........................................................166 

The Heritage Tree ......................................................130 

The Legacy of The McNeil House ................................181 

The Roy Family ........................................................183 

The Sougias Family Charlie’s Foreign Car Service ........170 

Tom DeLonge ............................................................202 

Tony Hawk ................................................................203 

Tribute to Dr. Takeo Sugimoto ....................................184 

Tribute to Edgar Engert ..............................................180 

Tribute to Maggie Houlihan ........................................178 

– W – 

Weidners Garden/ The Evelyn Weidner Family ............185 


ABOUT THE AUTHORS 

Carolyn Roy Cope is a second generation local, born in Encinitas in 1950. Her mother, Thelma 

M. Boggs, was originally from Burlington, Colorado and her father, Gerard E. Roy, immigrated from 

Quebec, Canada. Both arrived in Encinitas about the same time c.1938. 

Carolyn attended all local schools, focusing on journalism, sports and acting. She worked at her 

family’s grocery store, Roy’s Market, every day after school. She wrote for her schools’ newspapers in 

middle school, high school, and college. She had a column in the local Coast News for many years 

called “Cope’s Corner”. Carolyn has served on the boards of many local organizations in Encinitas: 

Sister City, Cardiff-by-the-Sea Chamber, San Dieguito Heritage Museum, Arts Commission, Coastal 

Community Foundation, E-101 Mainstreet, Encinitas Arts Culture and Ecology Alliance and 

Encinitas Preservation Association. She is currently the President of the Encinitas Historical Society. 

She is still an active member of the Rotary Club of Encinitas, serving over 20 years. Carolyn is also 

the well-known voice announcing at the annual Holiday Parade. “I like facts, dates and places. That 

is why I presented the historical section of this book chronologically.” 

Born in Whittier, California in 1953, Jim Filanc moved with his family to Encinitas in 1965. A lifelong 

lover of the outdoors, Jim participated in the Boy Scouts where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. A 1972 

graduate from San Dieguito High School, Jim went on to earn a BS of Finance from San Diego State University 

in 1976. He has had a varied career working construction. As an avid off-road enthusiast, he raced in the 

Baja 1000 twice, finishing the second time with his co-captains Malcolm Smith and JN Roberts. He produced a 

2008 feature length motion picture called “Full Circle—The Legend Lives On,” starring himself along with 

Smith and Roberts. The movie reunites Smith and Roberts 40 years after their inaugural motorcycle victory 

in the first Baja 1000 in 1967. He has raised over $100,000 for various charities. Jim is also a 

musician/songwriter/recording artist, having provided guitar tracks on several released albums. Currently, Jim is 

President/CEO of his firm, Intelligent Cities Associates, LLC, helping clients plan their “Smart City” future. 

Finally, for more than 20 years Jim has teamed with Encinitas local, Luis Ortiz, to light up the Encinitas Heritage 

Tree at Moonlight Beach, emceeing recent tree lighting ceremonies presenting local choirs and singing groups to 

celebrate the holiday season. 

Garth Murphy is a poet, songwriter, journalist and author. His historical novel, The Indian Lover, set in the 1840s 

of San Diego, explored the cultural clashes of Native American people, the Spanish Colonists Californios and the tidal 

wave of new American immigrants. The book explores the encompassing height of the Mexican Rancho era, the 

Mexican-American war of 1846, the international Gold Rush of 1848-49 and the US statehood of California in 1850. 

Researching with archaeologist James Moriarity made this effort to describe pre-Columbian Encinitas possible. 

Mr. Murphy’s own role in Encinitas history includes pioneering local surf culture, surf research, developing 

surfboard wax and the flexible lifeguard rescue buoy. He continues restoration of the 1887 Derby House, built by Miles 

Kellogg for Amos Derby an early railroad man. He is also instrumental in working with the State of California on the 

Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. During that time he help design and install a network of marine reserves between 

Point Conception and the Mexican border. This includes Swamis State Marine Protected Area that runs from Seaside 

bluff to Moonlight Beach plus San Elijo Lagoon and encompasses three miles off shore. He was also a founding member 

of The Encinitas Arts Culture and Ecology Alliance and the Pacific View Academy of Arts project in alliance with the 

City of Encinitas. Mr. Murphy is a long standing member of the Encinitas Historical Society. 


ABOUT THE COVER 

K E V I N 

A N D E R S O N 

Kevin Anderson is fascinated with imagery, art, and color. Since his childhood, 

this fascination has developed into an obsession that went from coloring books 

and comics, to more refined attempts at art in High School. He studied further 

into college, and after earning a degree in Fine Art, he began his career as a 

professional artist. He paints large murals on buildings, as well as commissions on 

canvas, and outdoor scenes on location. He is always painting and drawing, 

dreaming of making a significant contribution to the art world, and hopes his 

artwork keeps developing towards that end. 

P I P E S 

R A M P 

G 

The cover painting is showing the 

Cardiff beach known to local surfers 

as “Pipes Ramp” looking north 

towards Swami’s Point. 


ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS 

D A P H N E 

F L E T C H E R 

Daphne Fletcher, publisher, writer, editor, founder and CEO of Ledge Media, 

and President of HPN Books, is also an avid travel photographer and has 

contributed photography to more than a dozen coffee table books she has 

published. Daphne made a home for herself in Leucadia after falling in love with 

Encinitas while working on this book. She has become very active in the 

community serving on the boards of directors for both the Encinitas Rotary Club 

and the Mainstreet organization Leucadia 101. 

K Y L E T H O M A S P H O T O G R A P H Y 

Kyle Thomas is a Multimedia Specialist. He is a fourth-generation San Diegan, 

and a professional journalist and photographer who loves to bring history to the 

San Diego County public through writing, photography, and videography. He has 

been a regular contributor of stories and pictures to Encinitas Magazine since it’s 

inception. Kyle grew up in Clairemont, moved to Del Mar at age fifteen, and then 

to Encinitas shortly thereafter, where he attended San Dieguito High School 

graduating with the class of 1975. 

N E A L G L A S G O W P H O T O G R A P H Y 

Neal Glasgow is a Cardiff/Encinitas native who is continuing his exploration in 

art through photography. He graduated from San Dieguito High School. Over his 

career as both an artist and an art educator, he has focused on a variety of creative 

pathways, subject matter, and techniques. He returned to his alma mater to teach 

art and science for sixteen years. 

G 

PHOTO COURTESY OF PEG GLASGOW. 


For more information about the following publications or about publishing your own book, 

please visit www.ledgemedia.net or www.hpnbooks.com. 

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Bakersfield: It’s the People, And a Whole Lot More 

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Coastal Visions: Images of Galveston County 

Davis County: On the Move 

Escondido: A Pictoral History of the Hidden Valley 

Fort Myers - City of Palms: A Contemporary Portrait 

Garland: A Contemporary History 

Historic Abilene: An Illustrated History 

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Historic Albany: City & County 

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Historic Austin: An Illustrated History 

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Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History 

Historic Bexar County: An Illustrated History 

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An Illustrated History of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County 

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Historic Fayette County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Fairbanks: An Illustrated History 

Historic Gainesville & Hall County: An Illustrated History 

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Historic Hampton Roads: Where America Began 

Historic Hancock County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Henry County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hood County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Houston: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hunt County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Illinois: An Illustrated History 

Historic Kern County: 

An Illustrated History of Bakersfield and Kern County 

Historic Lafayette: An Illustrated History of Lafayette & Lafayette Parish 

Historic Laredo: An Illustrated History of Laredo & Webb County 

Historic Lee County: The Story of Fort Myers & Lee County 

Historic Louisiana: An Illustrated History 

Historic Mansfield: A Bicentennial History 

Historic Midland: An Illustrated History 

Historic Mobile: An Illustrated History of the Mobile Bay Region 

Historic Montgomery County: 

An Illustrated History of Montgomery County, Texas 

Historic Ocala: The Story of Ocala & Marion County 

Historic Oklahoma: An Illustrated History 

Historic Oklahoma County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Omaha: An Illustrated History of Omaha and Douglas County 

Historic Orange County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Osceola County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Ouachita Parish: An Illustrated History 

Historic Paris and Lamar County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History 

Historic Passaic County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pennsylvania An Illustrated History 

Historic Philadelphia: An Illustrated History 

Historic Prescott: An Illustrated History of Prescott & Yavapai County 

Historic Richardson: An Illustrated History 

Historic Rio Grande Valley: An Illustrated History 

Historic Rogers County: An Illustrated History 

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Historic Santa Barbara: An Illustrated History 

Historic Santa Maria Valley 

Historic Scottsdale: A Life from the Land 

Historic Shelby County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Shreveport-Bossier: 

An Illustrated History of Shreveport & Bossier City 

Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History 

Historic Smith County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Temple: An Illustrated History 

Historic Texarkana: An Illustrated History 

Historic Texas: An Illustrated History 

Historic Victoria: An Illustrated History 

Historic Tulsa: An Illustrated History 

Historic Wake County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Warren County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Williamson County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear: An Illustrated History 

Historic York County: An Illustrated History 

Iron, Wood & Water: An Illustrated History of Lake Oswego 

Jefferson Parish: Rich Heritage, Promising Future 

More Than a River: Decatur-Morgan County 

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Planes, Trains & Heroes 

Plano: An Illustrated Chronicle 

The New Frontier: A Contemporary History of Fort Worth & Tarrant County 

Rich With Opportunity: Images of Beaumont and Jefferson County 

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The San Gabriel Valley: A 21st Century Portrait 

Southwest Louisiana: A Treasure Revealed 

The Spirit of Collin County 

Terrebonne Parish: Stories of the Good Earth 

Tyler: A Natural Beauty 

Utah Valley: Heart of Utah 

Valley Places, Valley Faces 

Water, Rails & Oil: Historic Mid & South Jefferson County 

Working Underwater: The History of the Commercial Diving Industry

Encinitas: Our History and People

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