Encinitas: Our History and People
Encinitas: Our History and People By the Encinitas Historical Society Authors Carolyn Roy Cope, Jim Filanc and Garth Murphy Cover painting by artist Kevin Anderson Published by HPN Books and Ledge Media ©2021 Visit www.ledgemedia.net/encinitas to order printed copies And visit www.HPNBooks.com for info on how to publish your own book as a fundraiser for your community
Encinitas: Our History and People
By the Encinitas Historical Society
Authors Carolyn Roy Cope, Jim Filanc and Garth Murphy
Cover painting by artist Kevin Anderson
Published by HPN Books and Ledge Media ©2021
Visit www.ledgemedia.net/encinitas to order printed copies
And visit www.HPNBooks.com for info on how to publish your own book as a fundraiser for your community
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Roberts Poinsett. A botanist, physician <strong>and</strong> the<br />
first United States ambassador to Mexico (1825-<br />
1829), Poinsett was so fascinated by<br />
the ruby red-bloomed plant in Mexico that<br />
he sent cuttings to his home in Charleston,<br />
South Carolina.<br />
“My gr<strong>and</strong>father <strong>and</strong> great-gr<strong>and</strong>father were<br />
so impressed by these flowers,” said Paul Ecke<br />
III, who has a BS in horticulture from Colorado<br />
State University <strong>and</strong> an MBA from Duke<br />
University. “And, they were even more<br />
impressed that they bloomed in the middle of<br />
winter. Most flowers don’t bloom in November<br />
<strong>and</strong> December.”<br />
Paul Ecke, Sr., began promoting the<br />
poinsettia as the Christmas flower. If the rose<br />
was synonymous with Valentine’s Day <strong>and</strong> the<br />
lily with Easter, why couldn’t this red flower be<br />
attached to Christmas? It seemed only natural.<br />
“My gr<strong>and</strong>father is the one who declared the<br />
poinsettia will be the Christmas flower,” said<br />
Paul Ecke III. “He thought if you kept saying it<br />
over <strong>and</strong> over again, people would believe it.”<br />
The Ecke family <strong>and</strong> their flower business<br />
has been linked to <strong>Encinitas</strong> since 1923, when<br />
Paul Sr. <strong>and</strong> Magdalena moved to the area. The<br />
town had only 600 inhabitants back then. They<br />
built a business that at its height produced more<br />
than 90% of the world’s poinsettia stock <strong>and</strong><br />
employed 450 people at the <strong>Encinitas</strong> Ranch.<br />
Paul Sr. <strong>and</strong> Magdalena also showed their<br />
compassionate side in ways that weren’t always<br />
popular. During World War II, Japanese<br />
Americans were sent to internment camps.<br />
Many of them were farmers who lived in<br />
<strong>Encinitas</strong> <strong>and</strong> were their friends <strong>and</strong> neighbors.<br />
The Eckes felt the situation was wrong <strong>and</strong> did<br />
the only thing they could, which was to offer to<br />
store their trucks, tractors <strong>and</strong> personal<br />
belongings in the Ecke Ranch Barns. When they<br />
returned, all of their property was waiting for<br />
them which allowed them to start over again.<br />
Unfortunately, many others weren’t as fortunate,<br />
<strong>and</strong> their property was gone when they came<br />
back. “<strong>Our</strong> Gr<strong>and</strong>parents saved their belongings<br />
<strong>and</strong> allowed them to more easily return to their<br />
former life,” said Paul Ecke III.<br />
For Paul Ecke, Sr., <strong>and</strong> his father, it was<br />
an outdoor business. Beginning in Los Angeles<br />
G<br />
Above: Bare Root poinsettias being<br />
shipped by rail circa 1960 from the<br />
<strong>Encinitas</strong> Train Station, now Pannikin<br />
Coffee & Tea in Leucadia<br />
Below: The three Pauls in 1965—<br />
Paul Ecke, Jr., Paul Ecke III, <strong>and</strong> Paul<br />
Ecke, Sr.<br />
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