Escondido: A Pictorial History of the Hidden Valley

Escondido 

A Pictorial History of the Hidden Valley 

A publication of the Escondido History Center

Thank you for your interest in this HPNbooks publication. 

For more information about other HPNbooks publications, or information about 

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Escondido 

A Pictorial History of the Hidden Valley 

By Robin Fox & Carol Rea 

Sponsored by the Escondido History Center 

Published by HPNbooks, a Division of Ledge Media, Jackson, Wyoming

Legacy Sponsors 

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

ALHISER-COMER MORTUARY 

225 South Broadway 

Escondido, California 92025 

760-745-2162 

www.alhiser-comer.com 

KEN BLANCHARD COMPANIES 

125 State Place 


760-489-5005 

www.kenblanchard.com 

TOYOTA OF ESCONDIDO 

231 East Lincoln Parkway 


760-300-1112 

www.toyotaescondido.com 

THE HILLEBRECHT/EMERSON/ADAMS FAMILIES 

First Edition 

Copyright © 2020 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 Ledge Media, 690 S Highway 89, Suite 201 Box 12679 Jackson, WY 83002. Phone (800) 939-5311, www.hpnbooks.com. 

ISBN: 978-1-944891-69-5 

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019954562 

Escondido: A Pictorial History of the Hidden Valley 

authors: Robin Fox, Carol Rea 

cover artist: Gloria Warren 

project manager and managing editor: Daphne Fletcher 

contributing writers for “Sharing the Heritage”: Kevin Kern, Marcus Matthew, Sid Shapira 

HPNbooks/Ledge Media 

publisher & CEO: Daphne Fletcher 

VP & Director of IT: Rafael Ramirez 

administration: Donna Mata, Kristin T. Williamson 

production: Colin Hart, Christopher D. Sturdevant 

2 F E S C O N D I D O : A P i c t o r i a l H i s t o r y o f t h e H i d d e n V a l l e y

A view of Escondido from the veranda of the Escondido Hotel, looking west, in 1910. 

This book is dedicated to past, present and future pioneers of Escondido. 

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

Contents 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..............................................................................................5 

PREFACE ..............................................................................................................6 

INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................7 

Jeffrey R. Epp 

CHAPTER 1 — EARLIEST ESCONDIDO.....................................................................................8 

The Beginning of the Story, Changing Landscapes 

CHAPTER 2 — COMMUNITY ...............................................................................................28 

Housing, Faith, Education, Historic Preservation, 

Clubs & Organizations, Sports, Events, People 

CHAPTER 3 — COMMERCE ................................................................................................60 

Transportation Industry, Agriculture, Communications, Banks, Retail & Services 

CHAPTER 4 — CULTURE ...................................................................................................86 

Music, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Literature, Museums 

CHAPTER 5 — GOVERNMENT SITES & SERVICES ...................................................................99 

Buildings, Parks, Law Enforcement, Fire Protection 

ESCONDIDO TIMELINE ...................................................................................................118 

SHARING THE HERITAGE INTRODUCTION ...............................................................124 

Kristen Gaspar 

SHARING THE HERITAGE .....................................................................................125 

Quality of Life, The Marketplace, Building a Greater Escondido, Family Heritage 

SPONSORS ......................................................................................................................241 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS .........................................................................................244 

ABOUT THE COVER.............................................................................................245 

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS .........................................................246 

ESCONDIDO AND THE CORONAVIRUS .....................................................................247 


Acknowledgments 

As the pages of this book suggest, Escondido has proven itself to always have been a community that comes together for positive 

efforts and to help when needed. Many persons assisted in putting this book together and we appreciate them all, starting with the 

community members who have graciously donated their family photographs to the Escondido History Center over the years. We 

thank the City of Escondido for supporting this project, including City Manager Jeff Epp, Joanna Axelrod, Vince McCaw, Raymond 

Seraile, Michelle Geller, Teresa Collins, Rick Vogt, Craig Carter, Ed Varso, Joyce Masterson and Linda Loughnane. Additionally, we are 

grateful for the time, effort and support provided by Edith Hillebrecht and her late husband, Ben Hillebrecht, and to our many 

sponsors who made this important historical book possible. 

2020 Escondido History Center Board of Directors 

June Rady, President 

Carol Rea, Vice President 

Rod McLeod, Secretary 

Bob Johnson, Treasurer 

Kent Baker 

Edith Hillebrecht 

Tom Humphrey 

Jeff Johnson 

Christ Miller 

Fred Miller 

Victor Pestone 

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

Preface 

In 1988, in celebration of the City of Escondido’s Centennial, a book, The Hidden Valley Heritage, Escondido’s First 100 Years, was 

put together by a dedicated group of local history enthusiasts, led by Alan McGrew. Since that time, a few other books have focused 

on specific areas of Escondido’s history, but, in 2018, the Escondido History Center happened onto an opportunity to put together 

another book about the history of the “Hidden Valley,” in order to share more of its vast collection of photographs and other resources. 

The result is the book you now hold in your hands, a review of our city’s early history that includes rarely seen photographs from 

long ago, as well as a range of newer photographs with information about our more recent history. The Escondido History Center 

is pleased to be able to share these photographs and a glimpse into how quickly today becomes the history to be reflected 

upon tomorrow. 

Toward the back of the book, numerous Escondido families, businesses, and organizations have financially supported the printing 

of this book by purchasing pages to share their own stories and supplement the historical content developed for the front. We thank 

them for making the publishing of this entire book possible. 

What was most striking, as we put this book together, was that our city has grown and changed dramatically since its early 

beginnings, but it still remains a community of active and caring people who feel blessed to live, work, and play here. We hope you 

will also feel that sense of community and you will enjoy seeing Escondido’s past, some of the present, and look forward to a 

continued sense of community into the future as we do. 

The most challenging part of putting this book together was deciding what information and history, out of thousands of 

photographs and events, to include within the set number of pages. We did our very best to represent key points in Escondido’s 

fascinating history, the story of a small town, developed by a savvy group of businessmen, as it grew to become the diverse and 

successful city it is today. We hope that you enjoy your step back into time. 

Robin Fox 

Carol Rea 


Introduction 

Little did I realize what was ahead when I rolled into town some thirty-three 

years ago. The occasion was a job interview for a deputy city attorney position. 

Interstate 15 was still very new. A huge subdivision was contemplated for Daley 

Ranch. East Valley was quiet and empty after the stores had moved to the new 

shopping center south of town. 

My office would be in the old City Hall, which used to sit on the knoll at Grand 

& Valley Blvd. It’s the same knoll in front of the old hospital which will soon be 

demolished and replaced, probably with residential buildings. Two careers later, 

I’m in the new City Hall, which itself is now twenty years old. Our new hospital 

is already six years old. 

Time marches on and nearly everything changes. Yet, as I looked at an old black 

and white photograph of Escondido’s first City Hall, I realized that the design 

concepts on that building had carried over to our current building. Grand Avenue 

and Grape Day Park have changed, but they still retain the rich, original character 

that make them special places in Escondido. Lake Wohlford is still a great place 

for fishing. The view from Bottle Peak remains awesome. 

Sometimes the best way forward is pausing for a look back, and this book provides 

that opportunity—especially for those who have a connection with this wonderful city. As you leaf through its pages, you realize how many 

came before us, and they weren’t all that different. You will turn the final page knowing that others will come after. And in between, you 

will find that Escondido history adds that sense of community, of shared friends, families, and places that make up Escondido. 

I am so pleased that the City of Escondido chose to participate in the development of this book with the Escondido History Center. A 

city government, its citizens, and its history should be tightly interwoven. I will never forget that April evening in 1988 when hundreds of 

Escondido’s residents filled both levels of our newly constructed City Hall to celebrate. We have always had the warmth of a small town 

and the benefits of a thriving city. Through the creation of this book, the Escondido History Center helps us understand that while working 

together creates the future, we must also acknowledge the contributions of the past. It has been a pleasure to assist them in this endeavor. 

Jeffrey R. Epp 

Manager, City of Escondido 

E S C O N D I D O 

2 0 1 9 C I T Y C O U N C I L 

From left to right: Council Member John Masson, 

Deputy Mayor Consuelo Martinez, Mayor Paul 

McNamara, Council Member Olga Diaz, Council 

Member Michael Morasco. 

I n t r o d u c t i o n F 7

Chapter 1 

The Beginning 

“Escondido is the 

most stirring new City in 

Southern California...its 

streets are daily thronged 

with new arrivals, who, 

one and all, proclaim it 

the Garden Spot of the 

world,” (November 4, 

1886, The Times). This 

photograph, looking west 

down Grand Avenue, was 

taken that same fall. 

The name, “Escondido” is roughly translated to “hidden place” and the city ‘s fascinating history 

began on land that formerly comprised the Rancho Rincon del Diablo, an old rancho predating 

California’s entrance into the United States. In 1886, the ranch was purchased by the Escondido Land 

& Town Company (EL&T Co.), headed by the Thomas Brothers; Richard, Charles, John and William, 

as well as Jacob Gruendike, Daniel Hale, Thomas Metcalf and several others. Numerous attempts had 

been made to utilize the land before, but the actions taken by the Escondido Land & Town Co. were 

the first to attempt to turn the area into a full-fledged city. 

Escondido was just one of many Southern California towns that was established during the 1880s 

land boom. The EL&T Co. immediately opened a San Diego office and began building a 100-room 

hotel in Escondido. Proceeds from their first land sales were used to bring the railroad to Escondido, 

thus ensuring their community would grow and prosper. 

Offering free land to anyone who would build a church or school, the young community soon had 

an elementary school (the Lime Street School), a large seminary built by the University of Southern 

California (USC) for $75,000, and several churches. The EL&T Co. also sponsored the creation of a 

local newspaper, The Escondido Times. The newspaper was used initially as an advertising tool targeting 

mid-western farmers, luring them to Escondido’s perfect year-round growing season. 

Escondido was described as one of the most prosperous and rapidly growing colonies in southern 

California. Two years after the EL&T Co. was formed, the city of Escondido was incorporated on 

October 8, 1888. Local voters approved incorporation 64-19. The population was approximately 500. 

The city grew slowly but steadily, as an agricultural center ideal for grapes, citrus and later for avocados. 

Eventually, Escondido became the commercial center serving North San Diego County and encouraged 

banks and financial institutions to locate here. Both World Wars contributed to an influx of people 

and a labor force, light industries began moving in, and the groves and vineyards gave way to housing. 


Early Escondido 

In 1886, the townspeople stood in the middle of the weeds of Grand Avenue as the cornerstone was laid for the Bank of Escondido 

(still standing) on the northwest corner of Grand Avenue and Broadway. The Escondido Hotel is under construction on the hill in 

the background. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 9

The Escondido Land 

and Town Company set 

up business first in San 

Diego. They then opened 

this office in the Bank of 

Escondido building in 

1887. Next door was the 

office of the San Marcos 

Land Company; Jacob 

Gruendike was the 

principle stockholder in 

both companies. 

1 0 F E S C O N D I D O : A P i c t o r i a l H i s t o r y o f t h e H i d d e n V a l l e y

A view of the Escondido Hotel under construction in 1886. When completed, the hotel had one hundred rooms and was the location 

of many community celebrations. 

Construction of the railroad between Oceanside and Escondido began in early 1887 and was completed by the end of December 

that same year. This photograph was taken in the spring of 1888 before the construction of the Santa Fe Depot. A boxcar sits on a 

siding north of Grand Avenue. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 1 1

On February 7, 1888, a sixteen-car excursion train pulled into town to celebrate the coming of the railroad. According to the 

Escondido Times, at least three housand people attended the event, which included dinner, bands from Escondido and San Diego, and 

a “monster” tent featuring displays of fruit 

The construction of the Escondido depot was completed in July 1888. It was located at the very west end of Grand Avenue. In 

1984, the Depot was moved to Grape Day Park and is now one of the buildings in the museum complex of the Escondido History 

Center. This view of the Depot was taken c. 1890. 


Two little girls stand in an open field with downtown Escondido behind them. The photograph was taken c. 1894 from the 

northeast corner of 7th Avenue and Quince Street. 

A view of Grand Avenue looking west from the Escondido Hotel (the former Palomar Hospital site) in 1895. The first building on 

the left is the Rainey building. The spire from the First Methodist Church can been seen just beyond. The first building on the right 

is the Escondido Cannery. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 1 3

Construction began on a 

dam in Bear Valley in 

September of 1894. The 

Escondido Irrigation District 

sold water bonds to pay for 

the construction. The water 

bond debt was finally paid 

off on October 31, 1904. A 

celebration was in order and 

on September 9, 1905 Bond 

Burning Day was inaugurated. 

Everyone gathered in 

front of the Lime Street 

School to watch the water 

bonds go up in smoke. 

In 1905 people came from far and near to help Escondido celebrate their “Freedom” from the water bond debt. A procession started 

at the train depot and went east on Grand Avenue. Every visitor went home with a basket of free grapes. This celebration was 

commemorated each year until 1908 when the Grape Day festival began to be held annually. 


The construction of the 

water canal more than a 

century ago was the first 

reliable means of supplying 

local water to early 

Escondido, but led to a 

bitter dispute over area 

water rights promised by 

the federal government to 

the local Indian tribes. More 

than fifty years of legal 

battles finally gave way to 

an impressive example of 

camaraderie and teamwork 

between the local Indian 

bands and the City of 

Escondido that led to a 

historical settlement, 

agreeable to all parties and 

finalized by an act of the 

United States Congress in 

2016. 

This c.1908 photograph was taken just west of Juniper Street, between 10th Avenue and Chestnut Street, looking toward Park Hill. 

The Hooper House to the left still stands today at 1006 South Juniper Street. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 1 5

The Beach House, built by Albert Beach in 1886 and still standing today, can be seen in this photograph taken from 8th Avenue, 

looking north on Juniper Street toward Grand Avenue in the early 1890s. 

Fumigating citrus trees with cyanide was an early form of pest control. This c.1890 photograph shows workers fumigating the trees 

at the Escondido Hotel. 


During the rainy season, fording the Escondido Creek was hazardous. A group of Escondido citizens banded together and decided 

to build a wooden bridge in 1889. This is a photograph of the Lime Street Bridge, at what is now Broadway near Grape Day Park, 

looking southeast in 1895. 

The Stevenson Brothers General Merchants are making a delivery by horse-drawn wagon to this unidentified home, circa 1895. 

Note the dormer windows protruding from the roof of the home and the differing colors of shingles in the roof, as well as the clothing 

of the period worn by the family 

C h a p t e r 1 F 1 7

Then and Now 

Looking east down Grand Avenue from Tulip Street in 1903, the Escondido Hotel can be seen in the distance. The Hotel and the 

Train Depot were separated by a distance of one mile. 

Looking east down Grand Avenue from Tulip Street in 2018, the now vacant Palomar Hospital can be seen in the distance, built 

on the site of the Escondido Hotel. Raymond Seraile photo. 


Looking east along Grand Avenue from Maple Street in 1911, horses and motorized vehicles can be seen sharing the wide dirt road. 

Looking east along Grand Avenue from Maple Street today reveals that the former Bank of Escondido building lost its ornate 

architecture over the years, but the structure, itself, remains. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 1 9

Left: Escondido postcard c. 1950s. 

On the opposite page: Harry A. Erickson took 

the 1936 photograph of the city and submitted 

hundreds of other aerial photographs to the 

Smithsonian Museum. Before drones with 

cameras became available and affordable, 

photographs were taken from the air through the 

use of balloons, kites, blimps, airplanes, 

helicopters, and even pigeons. The first aerial 

photograph was taken in 1858. 

Below: Using his drone, city employee Ray 

Seraile took the current aerial photographs. The 

greatest challenges were finding the right spot to 

launch and photograph from and coping with 

trees that have grown over the years. 

This aerial photograph of Escondido is also looking east, but it was taken in 2018. At the left edge of the photo-graph, the Transit Center 

covers the north side of the block along West Valley Parkway, with many of the old eucalyptus trees still in place. Construction equipment 

can be seen on the site of the former Police Headquarters near the center of the page and freight cars stand on the railroad tracks, carrying 

freight as they have for more than 130 years. Their destination is the silos belonging to Vitagold Brands, the only surviving poultry feed 

mill in the county. Raymond Seraile photograph. 


An aerial photograph of 

Escondido looking east in 

1936. Tree-lined Grand 

Avenue can be seen in the 

center of the bottom half of 

the photograph. The train 

depot is barely visible on the 

east side of the track, south 

of Grand. The next building 

to the east along Grand is a 

poultry and feed store, 

Hawthorne’s Country Store 

today. The hill at the far end 

of Grand Avenue is empty 

after the Escondido Hotel 

was demolished in 1925. 

An aerial photograph of 

Escondido looking east in 

1987. The two-story Police 

Head-quarters can be seen 

slightly to the left of center 

and, across Valley Parkway 

on the left side of the 

photograph stands the farm 

workers’ camp. On the right 

side of the photograph, the 

former site of the train depot 

can be seen as an empty lot 

between the grain silos and 

the train cars. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 2 1

Looking northwest from the grounds of the first Escondido High School at 3rd Avenue and Hickory Street in 1915, the Schnack 

Apartments (later Trenton Apartments), built in 1912 at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Kalmia, can be seen in the center of the photograph. 

The same view, looking 

northwest from the former 

grounds of the High School 

at 3rd and Hickory, incudes 

the Trenton Apartments, still 

standing on the corner of 

2nd Avenue and Kalmia 

Street, but now obscured 

by trees. 


Looking west on Grand Avenue from Ivy Street c. 1969, lots of signage, streetlights, parking meters, and traffic made the downtown a 

vibrant place to spend time. 

Looking west on Grand Avenue from Ivy Street today reveals more trees, fewer signs, and no parking meters to give the downtown a 

more sedate look. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 2 3

Looking south from a hillside just north of Mary Lane in 1972. San Pasqual High School can be seen under construction. The bridge 

over Lake Hodges can be found toward the top of the photograph. 

Looking south from a hillside just north of Mary Lane in 2018. San Pasqual High School construction has long since been completed 

and the campus includes additional buildings. The shopping mall and Kit Carson Park can be seen to the right and residential areas can 

be seen covering the hillsides, surrounded by trees. Raymond Seraile photograph. 


This plat map from 1886 shows Escondido as it was originally laid out. The Escondido Land & Town Company looked toward a future 

of homes, schools, churches, and ranches and created the impetus to quickly make the "Hidden Valley" a thriving town. They hired 

surveyor O. N. Sanford to plot Escondido townsite lots and five- and ten-acre valley ranches. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 2 5

The map above shows the City of Escondido as it was in 1955. The boundaries had changed little sixty-seven years after incorporation 


This 2018 map shows the lot lines within the city’s current boundaries with the 1955 boundaries overlaid in yellow at the center. It’s 

obvious that the City of Escondido has grown exponentially over the last sixty-four years! Provided by the City of Escondido, Geographic 

Information Systems Division. 

C h a p t e r 1 F 2 7

Chapter 2 

Community 

The Escondido Duck 

Derby of 1942, was sponsored 

by the Escondido 

Woman’s Ambulance & 

Transportation Corps, and 

was meant to raise the 

spirits of the community 

during World War II. 

Andy Andreasen, the City 

Police Judge, officiated at 

the event. The girls with 

the ducks are (from left 

to right): Pamela Baudy, 

Natalie Wilder, Leona 

Marin, and Eileen Beckley. 

Escondido has a rich history of people of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, coming 

together as a community and that diversity continues to be one of its strongest features today. From 

the beginning, when pioneering families settled in this hidden valley, it grew steadily with a boom in 

the 1950s and it continued growing with a population that exceeds 145,000 today. Housing for the 

expanding population has brought a variety of building methods and styles that has created a great 

diversity of neighborhoods and often among individual homes within those neighborhoods. 

We are also a community of faith. The Escondido Land & Town Company donated land to 

churches in Escondido’s early days and, since then, churches of many denominations have continued 

to multiply and expand here. Several significant faith-based events have occurred over the years, 

including the observance of the National Day of Prayer. 

Schools and the way education is delivered have transitioned over the years. From the first elementary 

school and then the USC seminary, a strong school system has grown. Public schools 

and, more recently, charter schools and options for home schooling give families a wider variety of choices. 

We care about our past, as well. A strong historic preservation program, instituted in 1992, 

created the Old Escondido Neighborhood Historic District and is protecting and preserving our built 

history throughout the city, while the Escondido History Center and the Library’s Pioneer Room 

maintain vast collections of photographs, documents, and artifacts. 


From the earliest times, community members came together to form clubs and organizations, offering social, networking, and 

community support opportunities. Community volunteers organized a variety of events over the years and sporting events, most often 

featuring school teams, have long been popular in Escondido. 

Housing 

In 1843, the Mexican government granted 12,653 acres of land—the “Rancho Rincon del Diablo”—to Juan Bautista Alvarado; the 

area that was to become the City of Escondido. This photograph is of the ruins of the adobe-brick built Alvarado home near presentday 

San Pasqual Valley Road and Bear Valley Parkway. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 2 9

The Stewart House is the 

oldest house standing in 

Escondido. Alexander Stewart 

disassembled his two-story 

Eastlake-style family home, 

built in Nova Scotia in 1865, 

and shipped it around Cape 

Horn to Escondido. He then 

reassembled it in 1894 where 

it still stands today on 5th 

Avenue, near Hickory Street. 

Prior to the City’s 

incorporation, a brickyard 

was established along the 

Escondido Creek and 

Chinese laborers were hired 

to prepare the bricks for 

firing in the kiln. Many 

early structures were made 

out of this material because 

it was readily available and 

less expensive than lumber 

that had to be shipped from 

the northwest. This home 

is an example of an early 

structure made from 

Escondido brick. Built in 

1885 for Charles E. Thomas 

and his wife, Imogene, the 

house still stands at 969 

West 3rd Avenue. 


The Thomas-Turrentine house was built circa 1885 by George V. Thomas, one of the five Thomas Brothers who founded the City 

of Escondido. George was the manager of the Escondido Lumber Company and Brickyard. Possibly the oldest home originally built 

and still standing in Escondido, it was the oldest home continuously owned by a single family in the County of San Diego, not 

changing hands until it was sold in 2018. 

The Thomas-Turrentine 

House stands in this 2019 

photograph with new paint 

colors at its original 

location, the northeast 

corner of 5th Avenue and 

Kalmia Street. The house 

was added to the National 

Register of Historic places 

in 1992 and remains on 

Escondido’s Local Register. 

The original two-story 

Victorian period, Queen 

Anne-style home was 

altered between 1896 and 

1907 with the addition of a 

bay window on the south 

side. In 1908, a Classical 

Revival addition was built 

on the east side and the 

second floor was expanded 

over the porch. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 3 1

“Palma Vista” was built by L. V. Boyle on what is today Boyle Avenue and Oak Hill Drive. It later became the home of the John 

Whetstone family. Elsie, Roy and Clyde Whetstone are shown in the front of the house in this photograph, taken c. 1910. 

In 1911, Fred and Helen 

Hall built a 2-½ story, 

Craftsman-style home with 

Tudor elements on 10th 

Avenue near Maple Street. 

Here, the spacious living 

room can be seen, decorated 

for a card party in 1914. 


Many houses were built along Grand Avenue 

and on other streets in the downtown area in 

early Escondido. In 1912, local photographer 

Peter Schnack built Escondido’s first apartment 

building on what is now 2nd Avenue. Built of 

redwood, only the city’s citrus houses boasted 

more square footage. It featured 22 three- and 

four-room suites, as well as 10 single rooms, surrounding 

a central atrium. Renamed the Trenton 

Apartments after World War I, when all things 

German were frowned upon, the unique building 

still stands today. 

The idea of living downtown has become popular once again, and a relatively recent plan by city leaders to create more density in 

the downtown area has resulted in apartments under construction and planned for the downtown area, built to house thousands of 

new residents. The Latitude 33 Apartment Community, at the corner of Washington and Centre City Parkway is an example of the 

current trend in downtown living. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 3 3

The dramatic increase in population after World War II brought a housing boom to Escondido and the “mid-century” styles 

brought a new look to town. Mid-century modern homes with clean, simple styles, and ranch-style homes became popular. This 

ranch-style house was built in 1950 by B.A. Sweet, a partner in the Pine Tree Lumber Company. Photograph by Katalin Cowan. 

Having rented a small bungalow across East 7th Avenue for nearly seven years, Bud and Cordia Sayre bought the empty lot across 

the street in 1946, ready to build their own home. Bud, shown in the photograph on the left, utilized Escondido granite rocks left 

on the lot and found elsewhere for free and learned how to split them with a weed-burning torch in order build a lovely Colonial 

Revival bungalow with 14-inch thick walls. The photograph on the right shows the house as it appeared in 2007. 


Thanks to L.R. Green and his Adobe Block Company, the Weir Brothers and other builders were able to utilize this ancient building 

material, making it popular again in the mid-twentieth century. Green Ranch and Longview Acres in south Escondido were adjacent 

subdivisions made up entirely of adobe homes. Many others were built around the city and, as a result, Escondido has more adobe homes 

than any other city in California. This photograph shows adobe blocks drying at L. R. Green’s adobe brickyard along Highway 395 

(I-15) in 1949. 

The “Castle House,” built for James and 

Gretchen Jackson in 1964 on Palmas Avenue, is a 

Weir Brothers adobe home, uniquely dominated 

by an exterior welcoming turret. In this case, the 

bricks were made on site. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 3 5

Faith 

The Escondido Land & Town Company gave 

free land to any congregation that wanted to 

build a church here. Seven faiths accepted the 

offer and, in 1886, the Methodist Episcopal 

Church was the first to build, choosing the 

corner of Grand Avenue and Ivy Street. The 

church was sold in the 1920s to the first Grace 

Lutheran Church. Prior to being torn down in 

the late 1960s, the building was the home of 

Georgia Copeland’s School of Dance. 

More than three hundred San Diego County Adventists attending a conference posed for this photograph in 1914. The church, built in 

1887 for a Southern Methodist congregation, was sold to the Seventh Day Adventists in 1900. In 2005, the Iglesia Monte de los Olivos, a 

non-denominational Latino congregation, purchased the building that still stands today on the corner of 4th Avenue and Orange Street. 


The Escondido Mennonite Brethren Church, 

known also as Bethania Mennonite Brethren 

Church, was founded in Escondido in 1908 by 

Elder Abraham Schellenberg. The small Germanspeaking 

Mennonite colony remained in 

Escondido for 10 years and had a congregation of 

approximately 70 people. Mennonite churches 

are identifiable by the two entry doors; one for 

men and the other for women. The building was 

sold in 1921 and its exact location is unknown. 

In 1931, a large group of Filipino workers began meeting in homes and rented halls to study the scriptures and share their newfound 

faith in God. By 1936 they bought and renovated a small saw-sharpening shop located at the corner of 401 West Grand Avenue 

and South Orange Street. The congregation named their church “Calvary Lighthouse Mission.” In 1946, the congregation sold the 

property and constructed a new church at 950 E. Ohio Street and the church was renamed “Calvary Assembly.” Unfortunately, the 

church was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 2014, but eventually rebuilt and reopened for services by 2018. In this 1941 photograph, 

the members of the Calvary Mission congregation bid farewell to their pastor. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 3 7

Franklin Graham, son of well-known minister Billy Graham, launched his “Decision America.” California Tour in Escondido In May 

2017. Standing on a stage in Grape Day Park in front of approximately ten thousand people, Graham mentioned his early days, 

accompanying his famous father to Escondido when they visited friends in the area. Photo courtesy of Billy Graham Evangelistic 

Association. Used with permission. 

A 4-½-ton statue of 

Buddha, made of rare dark 

jade, and valued at $5 

million was displayed in 

Escondido in 2010 on its 

first stop in a U.S. tour, 

intended to spread peace and 

happiness. The 8-foot, 10- 

inch statue was displayed at 

both Grape Day Park and the 

Phap Vuong Monastery. 


In 2010, the Escondido City Council gave a Proclamation for October 27, 2010 to be named "Day of Peace” and placed a Peace Pole 

in Grape Day Park. More Peace Poles followed and, as of 2018, there are 11 Peace Poles located in the City, this one located at the First 

United Methodist Church. The purpose of the pole is to be a symbol of the dream for Peace in our hearts, lives, homes, schools and city. 

The community organization, “DOVE,” (Dreaming of a Violence Free Escondido) has challenged each business, organization, place of 

worship and school to erect a peace pole in solidarity with this message. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 3 9

Education 

Among the first buildings constructed in the new town of Escondido was an elementary school named the Lime Street School. Situated 

in what is now Grape Day Park, the Escondido Creek ran behind the school but the sandy shores of the creek did not provide an adequate 

foundation; the building was deemed unsafe in 1909 and torn down. A new school was built on 5th Avenue at Broadway in 1910. 

Central School was built in 1938 at the site of the previously demolished Fifth Avenue School. In November 2014, Escondido voters 

passed Proposition E, a $181.2 million bond measure that meant new buildings and modernization for Central School, but many historical 

features were left intact, including murals in the multipurpose room, “cloak closets” inside the older classrooms, and the classic original 

look of the older buildings that allow access to individual classrooms via indoor corridors. 


Built by the University of Southern California 

(USC) as a college in 1888, the large gothic brick 

building became the first Escondido High School 

in 1894. Because the Escondido Creek was the 

only place to swim at that time and it would dry 

up at the peak of every summer, the high school 

boys took it upon themselves to dig a hole, by 

hand, for a swimming pool that was sorely 

needed in this hot inland valley. It took two years 

for the boys to dig the hole large enough and the 

school board had the big basin coated with 

concrete in 1909. At the time, the boys and the 

girls of Escondido used the pool separately and 

this photograph of the boys cooling off in the pool 

was taken circa 1912. 

By 1927, the first Escondido High School was no longer big enough to accommodate the growing number of students. A new high 

school was built that same year just down the block at 4th Avenue and Hickory Street. On the first day of class, the students walked with 

their chairs from the old school to the new school. This photograph shows the “new school” in 1938. This school was condemned in 1955 

and a newer school, which is the current Escondido High School, was built on North Broadway. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 4 1

John Paul the Great Catholic University opened in 2006 and moved to Escondido in 2013, first occupying the former J.C. Penney’s store 

on Grand Avenue. The University has grown steadily and has purchased multiple properties along Grand and in the Downtown area, to allow 

more classroom space as well as housing for students seeking degree programs in communications media, business, and the humanities. 

There was no Reformed seminary in the 

western part of the United States until Westminster 

Seminary California (WSC) welcomed its first 

students in the fall of 1980, committing itself to 

providing the finest in theological education. With 

an established a campus featuring an extensive 

library, a comprehensive curriculum, and a full 

faculty of teachers who were both experienced 

pastors and experts in their academic disciplines, 

WSC has attracted students from all over the 

United States and many foreign countries. 

Westminster Seminary California Photograph 


Historic Preservation 

By the 1980s, a heavy concentration of 

Escondido’s earliest homes could still be found 

standing in the neighborhood south of 

Escondido’s historic Downtown, but the area had 

fallen into serious decay and the potential for 

demolition posed a significant threat. With the 

help of Councilmember and then Mayor Doris 

Thurston, it was designated the city’s first 

Neighborhood Group in 1988. The founders of 

the Old Escondido Neighborhood Group can be 

seen in the 1992 photograph on the left. Shown 

are (from left to right): Margaret Moir, Sharon 

Kramer, Doris Thurston, and Ginny Leighton. Old 

Escondido Historic District Photograph. 

The City of Escondido was designated a 

Certified Local Government (CLG), by the 

California Office of Historic Preservation in 

1989, after six women, all dedicated and 

persistent historic preservationists, spent more 

than eight years convincing the city to apply for 

the distinctive Federal preservation program. As 

a CLG, Escondido is responsible for designating, 

saving, and protecting historic structures 

throughout the city. In the photograph are three 

women who were instrumental in establishing 

the program (from left to right): Mable 

Dalrymple, Harriett Church, and Margaret Eller. 

Others who were vital in creating the program 

included Dorothy Mortensen, Meg Mount, 

Janean Young, and Lucy Berk. 

Dedicated historic preservationist and local historian Lucy Berk served on the Historic 

Preservation Commission from its inception until she stepped down in 2012. Her contributions in 

terms of preserving Escondido’s history, both in tangible structures that were saved and protected, as 

well as by documentation, are immeasurable. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 4 3

The Old Escondido Historic District was established by the City Council in 1992 and is comprised of Escondido’s oldest neighborhood, 

with homes in a variety of styles dating back to 1886. The neighborhood has held home tours to raise funds and awareness for more than 

thirty years. The photograph on the left is from June 1990. The annual Mothers Day Home Tour, as shown in the 2018 photograph on the 

right, has become a tradition for many families. Photographs courtesy of Old Escondido Historic District 

Inarguably the most notable house in the Old Escondido Historic District is the Beach House, located at 7th Avenue and Juniper Street. 

Lovingly restored, beginning in 1998, by art dealer Harry Parashis and his wife Letitia with guidance from San Diego’s Save Our Heritage 

Organization, the Queen Anne Victorian, built in 1896, stands out today as the Crown Jewel of Old Escondido. The Beach House is on 

both the National Register of Historic Places, as well as on the Local Register, here in Escondido. 


Clubs & Organizations 

Escondido has been the home of fraternal and 

service clubs over the years. In Escondido, the 

Kiwanis Club was the first service organization 

formed, just a few weeks before the Escondido 

Rotary Club, both having been established in 

1924. This photograph shows the men of the 

Kiwanis Club at one of their lunch meetings at 

the Charlotta Hotel in 1935. 

The unique East End Club was organized in 1907 by women who lived on isolated ranches at the east end of the Escondido valley 

and its sole purpose was to create opportunities to strengthen friendships. Remarkably, the East End Club still exists today, making it the 

oldest social organization in Escondido. In celebration of the club’s 100th anniversary, members posed for this photograph at the 

Escondido History Center on May 11, 2007. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 4 5

Founded in 1924, the Escondido Country Club started with a stone clubhouse and course built by the members’ own hands, but 

the property was sold during the depression. Re-established in 1965, the manicured grass, majestic trees, and welcoming facilities of 

the new Escondido Country Club property provided beauty and value to create one of the most treasured neighborhoods in Escondido. 

The clubhouse and golf course closed in 2013 and the property was sold to a Los Angeles developer with plans to build homes. While 

the owners of surrounding homes and the developers continued to disagree over plans for the property, a fire destroyed the clubhouse 

in 2017 and the controversy continues. 

Started in 2006, the Escondido Charitable 

Foundation’s mission is to increase responsible 

and effective philanthropy through annual 

grants to charitable nonprofits serving the 

residents of Escondido. Through the generosity 

of one of its members, The Escondido Charitable 

Foundation is donating a community gateway 

arch to the City of Escondido in 2019. Artist’s 

conception of the Arch provided by the Escondido 

Charitable Foundation. 


The Escondido Creek Conservancy was incorporated in 1991 with a mission to preserve and 

restore the Escondido Creek watershed. Since that time, the Conservancy has helped preserve 

more than four thousand acres of land. The Conservancy also provides outdoor education 

programs for 3,500 youth and adults every year as in this photograph showing students releasing 

trout as part of the Conservancy’s 2018 Trout in the Classroom program. Escondido Creek 

Conservancy photograph. 

Interfaith Community Services was founded in 1979 by a handful of diverse faith communities to address the needs of low-income, 

homeless, and under-served people in North San Diego County. Over the years, Interfaith has evolved into a broad variety of programs 

and services that assist people in crisis to stabilize and rebuild their lives. 

In 1989, leaders from the Escondido Union 

and Escondido Union High School Districts, 

Escondido Chamber of Commerce, and the City of 

Escondido formed an organization committed to 

developing and implementing community-wide 

programs to support youth, calling it Education 

COMPACT, for “Creating Opportunities, Making 

Partnerships and Connecting Teens. In the 

photograph from 2015, COMPACT staff and 

youth pose with Escondido Police Chief, Craig 

Carter, at the ribbon cutting of the new high 

visibility crosswalk at the corner of Ash Street and 

Mission Avenue. This crosswalk was the numberone 

priority identified by Mission Park residents to 

improve their kids’ Safe Route to School. Escondido 

COMPACT Photograph. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 4 7

Sports 

In 1908, the Escondido High School (EHS) 

football team played remarkably well, 

considering none of the young men had played 

football before. EHS played San Diego’s Russ 

High School twice and won both times. The 

other county team was comprised of men from 

the San Diego Y.M.C.A., whose members’ 

individual average weight was greater than that 

of the high schoolers, but EHS held their own 

and lost by only four points. 

This giant bonfire in 1949 was representative of school and 

community spirit before the annual Escondido High School football 

game with their rival, Oceanside High School. The week before the 

big game, boys from EHS would leave school early to gather wood of 

any kind, from trees to outhouses, and it was piled in the baseball 

field just west of Grape Day Park. The pep rally began at the high 

school campus on 4th Avenue and Hickory Street when the students 

held hands, formed a serpentine chain, and ran from the school 

down Grand Avenue to the park, where they met up with the pep 

band, cheerleaders, football players, and others to cheer and chant 

before the big bonfire was ignited. 


Baseball games were played on a field at the 

corner of 4th Avenue and Spruce Street. 

Escondido’s town team aided greatly in the 

development of several players who went on to 

play professionally. Outstanding among the 

local players were the Coscarart brothers. The 

oldest, Joe, eventually played for the Boston 

Braves, Steve played minor league baseball at 

Kansas City, and Pete, the youngest, played for 

the Brooklyn Dodgers. In this 1925 photograph 

are, top row (from left to right): Ted Wright, Hal 

Finney, Joe Coscarart, Lefty Hunt, Richard 

Spaulding, Sam Kolb, Dan McGrew. Bottom row 

(from left to right): Rupert Baldridge, Felix 

Quisquis, Steve Coscarart, Lloyd Babley, Dean 

Oliver, Marcus Alto, Pete Coscarart. 

This 1941 photograph shows the “Fordettes,” a local girl’s baseball team that was formed to keep the baseball tradition alive in the 

absence of many men during World War II. The Fordettes, sponsored by Homer Heller Ford, played in an all-female league with other 

teams from around Southern California. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 4 9

Escondido was a softball town in the 1950s 

and ’60s. They called it Night Ball and each 

summer, life revolved around Finney Field, 

adjacent to Grape Day Park. This was the first 

softball field built with lights in Escondido. 

Watching from the stands or from an 

automobile was a favorite summer time activity 

for all ages. Finney field was named after Harold 

Finney, the man who helped form the 

Escondido Night Ball Association in 1927 and 

served as its president for 27 years. 

The 1981 Escondido 

National Little League All- 

Stars, standing on the steps 

of the Escondido History 

Center office, were the only 

undefeated team that went to 

the Little League World 

Series that year in South 

Westport, Pennsylvania. 

They were the Western Little 

League Champions and it 

was the first team from San 

Diego County to reach the 

Series since La Mesa won it 

in 1961. Even though the 

team lost, when they 

returned home there was 

plenty of Little League spirit 

and town pride. The players 

were: Alex Borboa, Brett 

Salisbury, Russell Brooke, 

Frank Escalante, Nick Scales, 

Gary Larrabee, Bobby 

Esposito, Kelly Simpson, 

Jason Hobbs, Mike Hopkins, 

Peter Villalobos, Gary Kinch, 

and John Moran. The coach 

was Mike Pumar. 


Events 

In 1917, two circuses paraded their animals, 

bands and performers down Grand Avenue, two 

days in a row. Al G. Barnes Wild Animal Circus 

performed on March 9, 1917, and Cole Brothers’ 

Big Three-Ring Trained Wild Animal Show 

appeared the following day. Each gave an 

afternoon and evening tent show, following their 

parade. Pictured is the Cole Brothers’ troop of 

animals and performers. The Cole Bros. Circus 

was founded in 1884 and, in 1939, was the last 

circus to feature a horse-drawn parade. As of 

2014, Cole Bros. Circus was one of the few 

traditional circuses in the U.S. to perform under 

the “Big Top” tent, but just two years later was 

seriously struggling, apparently in response to 

animal rights activists protesting the use of 

animals in live performances. 

At each Grape Day Parade, vehicles were backed into position against the curbs along the Grand Avenue parade route so that their 

occupants could comfortably watch the procession pass by. The parade was a highlight of the Grape Day Festival, which began in 1908 

and was in its heyday in the 1920s and ’30s, when it drew up to 30,000 spectators annually. This photograph, taken from a rooftop 

perch, shows the parade in 1926. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 5 1

Celebrating their first-place prize at the county fair, the Pio Mighetto Winery entered this float in the 1939 Grape Day Parade. The 

float included a cask of wine, supported by a giant mound of grapes, in addition to four beautiful young women who posed gracefully 

while holding the fair’s first-place silver trophy above their heads. 

When the Grape Day Festival was revived in 1996, 

Grape Day Royalty was selected using different criteria 

than in its early days and choices were based on 

service to the community. In 2003, two queens were 

selected, Ruth Thomas and Helen Heller, in honor of 

their many years of service in the Palomar Hospital 

Auxiliary and running the hospital gift shop. 


This 2018 photograph shows the start of the 8th annual Grape Day 5K in 2018 at Grand Avenue near Orange Street; from here the 

participants followed the established course along Grand and south into the Old Escondido Historic District. The Escondido Sunrise 

Rotary Club initiated the annual 5K event, which was initially scheduled in conjunction with the Grape Day Festival, and benefits the 

National Multiple Sclerosis Society. More than 600 people participated in 2018, as did many spectators and local high school 

cheerleading squads, while the Escondido Police Department re-routed traffic. 

Kit Carson Days, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, celebrated the opening of Kit Carson Park, in 1969. Colorado resident, 

Kit Carson III, 86-year-old grandson of the famed frontiersman, was invited to the festivities. This photograph shows him speaking 

to the crowd. The three-day festival included Square and Western dancing, a horse show, talent contest, and barbecue. The event was 

celebrated for the last time the following year. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 5 3

In December of 2000, the Jaycees Christmas Parade 

celebrated its 50th anniversary with giant balloons. Rarely seen 

in this part of the country, the giant balloons made this 

landmark parade year very special. Members of local 

organizations were the balloon handlers with a quick hands-on 

training the morning of the parade. Each balloon was sponsored 

by a local business. “The Snowman” was sponsored by the Law 

Offices of Paleck & Skaja and the Escondido Rotary. 

It started in 1966 with 325 lights on a young deodar cedar. 

Eventually, this annual Christmas display blossomed into an 

awesome tree with 1,800 lights and Santa’s village in the front 

yard. John and Velma Myers decorated their front yard at 920 

East 5th Avenue for more than twenty-five years and attracted 

multiple generations of Escondidans, as well as holiday visitors 

from around the world. This holiday ritual came to an end in the 

1990s after John Myers passed away, ironically the same year he 

was slated to be the grand marshal of the Jaycees Annual 

Christmas Parade. 


In 1988, at the invitation of Congressman 

Ron Packard, George H.W. Bush visited 

Escondido while campaigning for president. His 

campaign stop happened to fall in the midst of 

Escondido’s centennial celebration and he spoke 

from the newly restored Santa Fe Depot in Grape 

Day Park. It’s interesting to note that his son, 

George W. Bush, would also visit Escondido, 19 

years later, to tour the 2007 Witch Fire disaster 

areas and thank the firefighters who had staged 

at Kit Carson Park. 

On February 22, 2009, Escondido hosted the finishing leg of the Amgen Tour of California, an annual, professional cycling event on 

par with the Tour de France. More than 100,000 spectators gathered along the race route that day, including tens of thousands of people 

along Grand Avenue. The Amgen Race would return in May of 2013, when Escondido hosted the starting leg of the tour, the first time 

the famous race ever started in Southern California, and headed north. Again, more than 100,000 spectators lined the route to watch 

the cyclists and it was broadcast around the world. This 2013 photograph provided courtesy of Amgen Tour of California. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 5 5

On Friday nights from April through September, Downtown sidewalks fill with more than 5,000 people of all ages, looking at the 

pre-1970s cars displayed along both sides of the streets and listening to live bands while old and new cars cruise up and down Grand 

Avenue. “Cruisin’ Grand” was initiated by car enthusiast and local merchant Steve Waldron; the well-loved tradition started on April 

7, 2000 and has brought more attention to Escondido than any other event in decades. In commemoration of 9/11, each September, 

Fire Truck Night brings dozens of old and new fire trucks out in full force and, high overhead, a very large American flag hangs from 

a fire truck’s extended ladder. This enhanced photograph of one of those occasions was taken by Heidi Hart in 2013 and entered into 

the City’s “Happy Birthday, Escondido” contest. 

Also satisfying the area’s hunger for vintage 

vehicle events, is the annual American Heritage 

Car Show, sponsored by the Escondido History 

Center. The Car Show has been bringing 

together enthusiasts to “park on the green” of 

Grape Day Park since 1997. Photograph from 

the 2009 event. 


People 

A familiar Escondido sight at the turn of the 

twentieth century was San Pasqual Indian 

princess Felicita with her husband, Boley 

Morales, on their donkey. In 1906, they were 

found destitute in an old hut in one of the 

canyons leading into San Pasqual Valley. 

Elizabeth Judsen Roberts befriended the couple, 

and cared for them. She eventually wrote a 

book, Indian Stories of the Southwest, based on 

Felicita’s local accounts. Felicita died in 1916 

and, in 1920, a pageant was written in her 

honor. A county park now bears her name as 

does a street and several shopping centers. 

Scrap drives were a regular occurrence throughout World War II. As this delightful photograph from our archive illustrates, these 

youngsters managed to make it fun. Loading up scrap metal for the war effort in their wagon, made from a citrus box and bike wheels 

and pulled by a goat, are Tom Hinrichs, George Payne, and Jerry Smith. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 5 7

Escondido’s first barber, Leo Escher stands 

behind a wire fence with his pet goat in this c. 

1910 photograph. A native of Germany, he 

named the goat ”Glocke Baah” because of the 

bell that hung around its neck. “Glocke” is 

German for “bell.” “Baah” represented the 

sound the goat made. Whenever Escher would 

sit down, this particular goat would climb up 

on his shoulders and Leo would walk around 

the property at ease, just as you see him in 

the photograph. With limited space on his 

property at 109 West 7th Avenue, Escher raised 

goats instead of cows for their milk and to 

make cheese. 

Known as the “Golden Greek,” Jim 

Londos was a professional wrestler in the 

1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. During his career, 

professional wrestling was a big sport in 

this country, a genuine athletic event, not 

mere theater. A resident of Escondido for 

almost forty years, Londos retired from the 

sport as world champion in 1946 


Amateur astronomer Clarence Friend looks through the lens of the 16-inch 

telescope that he built in his backyard orange grove. From his backyard 

observatory, Friend became world-renowned as the discoverer of three comets 

that bear his name. He was also co-discoverer of another comet and of a nova 

(new star) in the constellation of Puppis. His discoveries won him many 

accolades, including a membership in the Royal Astronomic Society of London, 

England; the most famous of all astronomers’ groups. Upon his death in 1965, 

his widow donated his telescope to Palomar College. 

Silent movie actor Billy Beven and his dog, Spot, pose in this 1927 photograph at his ranch in southwest Escondido. Well known 

as one of the early movies’ comical Keystone Cops, Beven purchased his 31-acre ranch in 1924 and planted 15 acres in citrus and 

then more in avocados. Eventually he built a home and dubbed it “Rancho La Lomita.” He is credited with introducing the use of 

wind machines to combat frost in cold pockets of avocado and orange groves. The idea caught on and the use of wind machines was 

generally adopted by growers throughout the area. 

C h a p t e r 2 F 5 9

Chapter 3 

Commerce 

Grand Avenue was a 

bustling, vibrant place in 

Escondido’s early days. 

Businesses of all types 

lined the wide dirt road. 

This postcard, mailed in 

December 1911, shows 

the view from the 100 

west block toward the 

east. Horse-drawn wagons 

share the road with 

automobiles and the 

ornate Bank of Escondido 

building can be seen on 

the corner at the left. 

While the area had been farmed for many years, the Escondido Land & Town Company was 

Escondido’s earliest commercial enterprise, a group of developers looking toward a future of other 

businesses, homes, schools, churches, and ranches in this Hidden Valley. They developed a clever 

marketing plan and it worked; a lumber company and brickyard were soon started to handle the 

building surge. Blacksmiths and wheelwrights like Thomas Bandy and Alexander Stewart set up 

businesses to repair wagons and forge hardware and tools. The hospitality industry began with the 100- 

room Escondido Hotel, built to accommodate the many early visitors. Later, as horse drawn wagons 

were replaced by automobiles, surfaced streets began to crisscross the County and by the 1940s, motor 

courts and motels became economical “homes away from home” for families seeing the country. 

Agriculture, started on early ranchos, continued to grow along with the city. Census reports from 

the early 20th century reflect an influx of farmers, especially from the East, Midwest, and Europe. 

Families like the Hillebrechts and the Henrys ran large farms on the outskirts of town, still operating 

today. Grapes were Escondido’s largest crop in the early days, later to be replaced by citrus fruit and 

avocados, but the fertile soil and mild weather meant that nearly everything could grow here. Edward 

Paul Grangetto, Sr., first arrived in Escondido in 1913 and, in 1952, he started Grangetto’s Farm and 

Garden Supply, still run by the Grangetto family today. 

Before the prohibition era, there were at least a dozen wineries in Escondido, but only the Ferrara 

Winery survived beyond that time and it continued to operate until 2011. The historic site was taken 


over about six years later by new owners joining multiple new wineries in and around Escondido. Also becoming popular more 

recently are local craft breweries, the most successful and now thriving internationally, Stone Brewing Company. 

In time, other businesses needed by the growing township lined Grand Avenue in the Downtown. Pharmacies, general stores, 

restaurants, and markets featuring locally grown produce, brought commerce to Escondido. Services, like those provided by barbers 

and photographers, came along, as well. 

In later years, as the town continued to grow, malls became popular. The Escondido Village Mall, the Auto Park, and North County 

Fair brought numerous businesses into single shopping sites to make it easier for shoppers to spend their money. 

Truly diverse companies have made Escondido their home over the years. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps was founded in 1948 by Emanuel Bronner, 

a third-generation master German soapmaker, and it became a company respected world-wide; the headquarters and manufacturing plant operated 

here on West Mission from the 1960s until 2014 when it moved to Vista California. The Ken Blanchard Company, Escondido Disposal, and Alhiser- 

Comer Mortuary have all served the community for many years while relatively newer ventures like Trapeze High, a unique school for teaching the 

art, have also become established. 

Transportation Industry 

The Escondido Land & Town Company initiated the construction of a rail line from Oceanside to Escondido in 1887 for hauling 

freight and to bring prospective settlers to the town. The Santa Fe Depot was built near the corner of Grand and Spruce Street, where 

this photograph was taken around 1890. Passenger service ended in 1945 and the depot was moved to its current site in Grape Day 

Park in 1984 when it was no longer needed for freight storage. A freight train continues to run through the area at night. The Sprinter, 

a 22-mile light rail system run by the North County Transit District, re-established passenger service with 15 stops along the way to 

Oceanside in 2008. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 6 1

The Escondido Hotel, on the knoll of East Grand Avenue was 

built by the Escondido Land & Town Company in 1886 and 

purposely located at the east end of Grand Avenue, across town 

from the railroad depot, to provide visitors with an opportunity 

to see more of the lovely Hidden Valley before reaching their 

accommodations. The three-story building included 100 rooms. 

In this photograph from 1890, the stagecoach is carrying passengers and freight along the narrow dirt road that was the only link 

between San Diego and Escondido. The eight-hour trip would include a break for lunch in what is now Poway. Still unpaved by the 

turn of the twentieth century, motor vehicles found it a challenge, but by 1910, they would outnumber the horse-drawn wagons and 

the road was paved in 1920. The grade would eventually become part of Route 395, the only direct route from San Diego to the 

Canadian border. 


The Lake Hodges Dam was completed in 1918, flooding the area, and the Lake Hodges Bridge was added in 1919. In the late 

1960s, needed improvements and realignment of the road meant that the bridge was demolished and a new one built in 1969. That 

bridge, too, would be demolished and replaced again in 1981 when the route became I-15, and it was widened in 2006-2009. In 

2009, a second bridge across Lake Hodges, built for pedestrians and cyclists, was opened slightly to the west. When built, it was the 

longest of its type in the world, designed for the least amount of impact on the sensitive habitats located there. 

The newly built Highway 395 “freeway,” as shown in this 1959 photograph, is now Centre City Parkway. The palm trees had been 

planted along Grand Avenue in 1914. Route 395 was designated historic by the State of California in 2008. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 6 3

In 1945, railroad passenger service ended 

between Escondido and Oceanside. Homer 

Heller Company provided a station wagon to 

transport passengers between Escondido and 

Oceanside, beginning in September with four 

daily runs. As ridership increased, a pre-war 

school bus that Homer Heller whimsically 

labelled a “stage” came into use, later replaced 

by a regular transit bus. 

Escondido has had three 

very small airports. The most 

significant was Engel Field, 

developed in 1942 by Anna 

von Seggern. Featuring two 

runways it was located on 60 

acres north of what was the 

Talone Meat Packing plant, in 

the northwest part of town. 

Other sites for a larger airport 

were considered in the 

1960s, but interest waned 

and Palomar Airport at 

Carlsbad was deemed close 

enough. Anna von Seggern, 

is shown in the photograph 

with her husband, John 

Engel, at the airport that bore 

his name. 


Families enjoyed trips in the family car and 

multiple motor courts, less expensive than 

hotels and featuring convenient parking stalls 

near each unit, sprang up along the way. Several 

motor courts can still be found here, like this 

one on Escondido Boulevard. 

Pine Tree Lumber Company owner B. A. Sweet used massive redwood timbers to build the Pine Tree Motor Lodge in a western 

ranch style in phases, between 1953 and 1958. Located at what is now Mission and Centre City Parkway, it was the first place to settle 

in as travelers came into town from the north. Sweet served on the City Council and also on the County Board of Supervisors when 

he wasn’t managing the lodge and running Pine Tree Lumber. His grandson, former state senator Mark Wyland, learned to swim in 

the Pine Tree Lodge swimming pool. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 6 5

Located adjacent to the Pine Tree Motor Lodge, the Wagon Wheel Restaurant was a popular place to eat for locals and travelers 

alike from 1953 until 2014. When the Charger football team’s practice field was located in Escondido during the 1960s, the team 

members often ate breakfast here. Numerous celebrities dined here, as well, including Robert Young, Jim Kennedy, and Dale 

Robertson. The “sputnik” was added to a cupola, and later plywood horses added to the roof, making the restaurant truly unique. 

The horses blew over in a windstorm and the sputnik mysteriously disappeared after the restaurant closed. The Wagon Wheel 

Restaurant and the Pine Tree Lodge were both demolished in 2017 to make room for a shopping center and carwash. 

The Car Hop Drive-In Café was built in 

the early ’40s at 314 East Grand Avenue. The 

place to hang out after school, games, and 

dances, it was so popular that cars usually 

parked three deep. When the first car in line 

was ready to leave, the two cars behind 

would have to pull out and then drive back 

in. This photograph was taken c. 1945; the 

business closed by 1964. 


Agriculture 

Agriculture was Escondido’s most significant 

money maker in the early years. Its growth 

depended on the construction of the Bear 

Valley Dam, and the expansion of a water 

system was completed in 1895. In time, the 

formation of the Escondido Mutual Water 

Company stabilized the availability of water to 

most ranches, farms, and homes that 

functioned without wells. With water, the 

grape industry expanded. 

The construction of the Escondido reservoir 

and canal more than a century ago was the first 

reliable means of supplying local water to early 

Escondido, but led to a bitter dispute over area 

water rights promised by the federal 

government to the local Indian tribes. More 

than 50 years of legal battles finally gave way to 

an impressive example of camaraderie and 

teamwork between the local Indian bands and 

the City of Escondido that led to a historical 

settlement, agreeable to all parties and finalized 

by an act of Congress in 2016. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 6 7

Lewis B. Boyle irrigated his orange trees using a wooden water flume. His property and house were on Boyle Avenue near Midway 

Street and Oakhill Drive. 

Grapes thrived in the Escondido soil and climate and the Muscats grown here were considered the sweetest tasting anywhere. Here, a 

group pauses for a photograph while picking grapes in 1910. 


The Escondido Lemon Association was the 

largest citrus grower in the state and their 

packing plant, seen here in 1928, was located at 

Tulip and Del Dios Road. Designed in the 

Mission Revival style by architect J. Rex Murray, 

it was the largest packing house under one roof 

in the citrus belt. More than 800,000 field boxes 

of lemons were processed here annually. 

Inside the Escondido Lemon Association packing house, lemons were washed and graded. Many women were employed in the 

plant, which was the largest employer in the city at the time. In the photo, you can see recently picked lemons packed into boxes in 

the fields and stacked prior to processing. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 6 9

In addition to their packing house, the Escondido Orange Association operated this plant where ice was manufactured and stored 

to pack into produce transporting railroad cars before refrigeration was available. During World War II, high school students helped 

load ice when the regular workers were called away to war. Much of the ice plant, located on what is now Metcalf, remains there today 

and a later “ghost sign” is still visible. 

This picking crew, made up mostly of Filipinos, 

worked in the groves for the Escondido Lemon 

Association. In addition to picking the fruit, they 

were responsible for planting new trees, cultivating 

the soil, fertilizing, pruning, and protecting the trees 

from frost. 


When the Filipinos were drafted during WWII, 

Mexican Nationals were hired and a camp with kitchen 

and dining hall was provided at Quince and Valley 

Parkway, where the Transit Station is now located. Many 

Latino families remember the camp as the place of origin 

of their Escondido past. Max Atilano, foreman for the 

fruit picking crew, and best remembered as an 

entertainer, penned music for a corrido about life at the 

camp. This photo, most likely from the 1960s, shows the 

vacant buildings of the camp among the eucalyptus trees. 

In the 1920s, most homes in Escondido had a flock of chickens to feed the family, but raising poultry turned into a profitable industry. 

Hatcheries were lucrative businesses well into the 1930s, as Escondido’s population grew. Here, Ralph Squier stands with his daughter, 

Geraldine Squier (Beckman), in front of their chicken coop at his truck farm. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 7 1

Pigs and cattle were also raised here and a slaughter house near the railroad tracks was established in the 1930s when Henry and Mario 

Talone opened a packing house and market on Hale Avenue, shown in this photograph from 1959. It would change hands and variety of 

services over the years until it was finally closed and left vacant for several years; it was destroyed by fire in 2016. Multiple dairies and 

creameries were located in the Escondido area over the years, as well. 

The San Diego County Farm 

Bureau was one of the earliest 

farm bureaus organized in the 

state. The first formal meeting 

was held on Feb 20, 1914 at the 

Spreckels Theater in San Diego. 

Today, the San Diego County 

Farm Bureau is a non-profit 

organization supporting the 

more than 5,700 farms within 

the county. The San Diego Farm 

Bureau “AgHub” moved to 420 

South Broadway in 2018. The 

Hub serves as local agriculture’s 

key site for sharing knowledge 

and a place for agricultural 

groups to hold meetings and 

exchange ideas. 


Communications 

The Escondido Times was the town’s 

first newspaper, founded in 1886 and 

published by Amasa Sibrent Lindsay, a 

Civil War veteran and experienced 

newspaperman and his partner, Richard 

Beavers. The first office for the Times 

was located on Grand Avenue, on a lot 

donated by Thomas Metcalf. Still 

standing today at 114 West Grand 

Avenue, it can be seen in this 1889 

photograph, taken during the 

Decoration Day parade. The Advocate 

was founded in 1891 and it would 

merge with the Times in 1909. Through 

name changes and mergers, it became 

one of the longest-standing institutions 

in Escondido. In 2012, it was purchased 

by the San Diego Union Tribune and 

publication ended in 2013. A few free 

and online papers have provided news 

since, including The Paper, The 

Grapevine, and eventually, the new 

Times Advocate. 

In 1952, Kay Owens started 

Escondido’s only radio station and 

the call letters, KOWN, came from 

her name. It was first located on 

Hale Avenue between the Patio 

Playhouse’s first site, and Verne 

Williamson’s septic tank business. 

Alan Skuba, who would become 

mayor, bought KOWN in 1964 and 

moved it to the Escondido Village 

Mall on West Valley Parkway. In 

this photograph from 1965, on the 

right, Skuba is seen interviewing US 

Senator and former actor George 

Murphy in the Village Mall studio. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 7 3

This photograph, from July 4, 

1905, shows the entire staff of the 

Escondido Telephone company, 

which served Escondido, San 

Pasqual, and San Marcos. Left to 

right: Ed. J. Hatch, Manager; 

Harry Smith, “trouble shooter;” 

Olga McCorkle and Pearl 

Trumbley, operators; and “Daddy” 

Black, another trouble shooter. In 

1919, the telephone business 

office moved to the corner of 2nd 

Avenue and Broadway and, while 

the names have changed, a 

telephone company has remained 

there ever since. 

In 1899, the first Escondido 

telephone directory was published 

and listed 18 phone numbers. By 

1955, when this photograph was 

taken, the number of homes with 

phones had increased dramatically 

and the phone company had many 

employees handling calls, before 

the advent of self-dialed phones. 

Women were considered to have 

more soothing voices and from 

early on, telephone operators were 

women. Westminster Seminary 

California Photograph 


Banks 

The first bank was the Bank of 

Escondido, established in 1887. 

During a financial downturn in 

1890s, it was the only local bank to 

survive. Shown here in the 1890s at 

the Northwest corner of Grand 

Avenue and Lime Street (now 

Broadway), the building features an 

addition and is surrounded by the 

wooden boardwalk. The structure 

has experienced multiple changes 

with many details lost and covered 

over, but returned to a more classic 

look by realtor and property 

developer, James Crone. 

Built in 1975 for the 

headquarters of North County 

Bank, this unique structure was 

located at the corner of 5th 

Avenue and Escondido 

Boulevard. Architect Chris Abel 

from Laguna Beach was 

responsible for the unusual 

design. Other tenants who did 

business in the building 

included Ken Hugins, former 

city treasurer for more than 

thirty years, and George 

Chamberlain, local financial 

expert and broadcast 

personality. The building also 

housed the headquarters of 

Robert Klark Graham’s Nobel 

prize winner sperm bank. In 2000, when North County Bank merged with Wells Fargo Bank, it became a Wells Fargo branch. After 

Wells Fargo closed the office, the building sat empty and was allowed to deteriorate for nearly a decade except for a brief period when 

a church leased it, but with no plans to replace it, the building was demolished in early 2017. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 7 5

Retail & Services 

The Board of Trade was founded in 

1886 but it was renamed the Chamber 

of Commerce in 1895. In 1919, ground 

was broken for a California mission-style 

building located at Grand Avenue and 

Maple Street. After moving to Escondido 

Boulevard and 5th Avenue in 1960, the 

Chamber would again move to the 

corner of Park Avenue and Broadway in 

1982. They remain at that location today 

although the building was replaced; the 

new one dedicated April 19, 2005. The 

Chamber of Commerce has been 

instrumental in bringing businesses to 

Escondido and helping businesses 

succeed for 130 years. 

The Avenue Livery Stable was located next door to McDonald & Rechnitzer House and Carriage Painting in the 300 block of East Grand, 

shown here in 1910. Horses and mules were the primary means of local transportation and Speer’s Truck & Transport carried commercial 

items as well as household items, like the trunks loaded in the back of the wagon in the photograph. 


A surprising number of women owned and 

operated businesses in Escondido’s early days. 

This photograph of Mrs. Pendergast and her son, 

standing on the steps in front of her Chicago 

Millinery Store with Mrs. Stiles standing next to 

them, was taken around 1895. 

Loomis & O’Dell sold second hand goods in a store at 237 West Grand Avenue, a building that still stands today. Their slogan, “Will 

trade you what you want for what you don’t want—we buy everything,” appeared on their Grape Day float in 1919, along with their 

phone number; 167-J. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 7 7

From 1886 to 1896, there was 

only one phone in the area, 

located at Graham & Steiner’s 

General Store on the southwest 

corner of Grand and Broadway. 

Graham & Steiner’s was the first 

grocery store in Escondido and, 

shortly after Escondido became 

incorporated in 1888, they added 

a wider variety of stock, 

converting it into an early 

department store. The upstairs 

space was a community space, 

“Eagle Hall,” but in 1960, it, like 

most other second floors in the 

downtown area, was removed out 

of concern for earthquake risks. 

Horace Lyon was 73 years old when he built the Escondido Mercantile Company on the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and 

Kalmia in 1905. The 50- x 70-foot store stood on two lots and boasted a wide variety of mens and womens wear, shoes for adults and 

children, and sewing notions and materials. Who the legs belong to in the lower left corner of the 1905 photograph and why the person 

is lying in the street remains a mystery. 


Ting’s Pharmacy, located on the northeast 

corner of Broadway and Grand, was owned and 

operated by Darwin M. “Pete” Ting, who owned 

and operated the store from 1920 to 1960. The 

fountain inside was a popular gathering place 

for enjoying coffee, milk shakes, or lunch. 

By 1927, when this photograph was taken, the 

streets downtown had been paved and striped for 

diagonal parking. The flag pole was installed at the 

intersection of Grand and Broadway on June 12 of 

that year, in honor of Flag Day, but it was removed in 

1944 because rust had damaged its structural 

integrity. The pole was cut into pieces and the longest 

piece now stands in front of City Hall, still flying the 

American flag and, now, the City flag, as well. 

The Downtown continued to draw 

considerable activity in the 1960s and the look 

of many of the buildings was changed to reflect 

the times. The building that once housed the 

Graham and Steiner store was “modernized” and 

a band of tiny mosaic tiles edged the overhang. 

The remarkable vertical sign at the corner makes 

it very clear that this was now a drugstore. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 7 9

Probably the most interesting grocer in 

Escondido history was Rube Nelson. After 

buying a smaller store on Broadway with his 

brother in 1937, they expanded their stock 

until they needed a larger new store a block 

north at Washington. Rube became the sole 

owner of the “Country Corner,” which sported 

an array of over-sized animals on the roof and 

grounds. Rube sold the business and property 

to the Albertson’s chain and retired a millionaire 

in 1983, but, quite a character, Rube is still 

fondly remembered by many in the community. 

Edward Woolley was a professional golfer from Scotland who began making golf clubs at the age of 12. He emigrated to the US in 

1922 and, after World War II, bought Chicago-based Golfcraft. In 1952, he moved the company to Escondido where this plant was 

built at 1021 West Mission, bringing 22 workers and their families from Chicago to work there. Golfcraft would eventually employ a 

total of 167 workers and produce 600,000 golf clubs, the third largest producer of golf clubs in the United States. The company’s Vice 

President, Edward Redmond, served on the City Council from 1955 to 1962. Golfcraft also developed and was the first company to 

manufacture fiberglass golf club shafts. The property was sold to the manufacturer of Titleist golf equipment in 1969 and more 

recently purchased by Escondido Disposal Incorporated, who adapted it as part of their state-of-the-art recycling center. 


As the city grew, businesses could be found in other areas, 

often grouped together. These fashion show models from the 

Walker Scott Department Store are standing in front of the 

Escondido Village mall. Built in 1964, it was the first enclosed 

mall west of the Mississippi River, but only two decades later, it 

wound up in bankruptcy. A Los Angeles-based company 

purchased the property in 1984 and, later, when it faced stiff 

competition from the new North County Fair Mall, Escondido 

Village underwent a major renovation and turned into a strip 

mall, offering easier access to individual shops by their 

customers that has proven successful. 

An aerial view looking west, with Valley Parkway running along the far-right side from the lower righthand corner, shows the old 

Vineyard mall, built in 1974, with its wood-clad angular buildings that housed a two-screen movie theater, a radio station and several 

quality restaurants. To the west of the Vineyard is the Village Mall, closer to the top of the photograph, and another strip mall can be 

seen to the east, toward the bottom of the photograph. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 8 1

North County Fair, the largest mall in the 

county, boasted six anchor stores when it was 

opened on February 20, 1986, with confetti 

shot from rooftop cannons, 5,000 helium-filled 

balloons and seven huge hot-air balloons, 

cheerleaders, magicians, music makers and 

speeches. The mall was purchased by Australian 

firm, Westfield, who renamed it Westfield 

North County in 1998 and completely 

renovated the shopping mall in 2012. In 2017, 

Westfield Corp., including their 16 malls in 

California, was sold to French commercial real 

estate giant Unibail-Rodamco. 

In 1970, five auto dealers came 

together as the Escondido Auto 

Dealers Association and they 

decided that Escondido should 

have an auto park. In 1977, two 

realtors were able to convince 29 

separate property owners to sell 

their 78 acres north of Valley 

Parkway, east of the I-15 freeway. 

Today, the five posts bearing flags 

at the entrance to the Escondido 

Auto Park still represent those 

initial five auto dealers, and 14 

automobile dealerships line the 

loop at “the Home of the Full 

Circle Test Drive.” 


George Weir started out by driving a pickup 

truck around town, filling potholes; the 

photograph of George is from the late 1970s or 

early 80s. His work ethic would lead to the 

development of several businesses and Weir 

became well known for his philanthropy. From 

filling pot holes for the city at no charge, to 

helping create the Heritage Garden at Juniper 

and Grand and enhancing outdoor areas at the 

Center for the Arts, George and his wife, Cynthia 

have quietly made a difference in Escondido. 

The Treasure House, shown in this 1947 photograph, was located at the corner of Grand and Quince. Customers could store their 

frozen food here when space at home was absent or lacking in size. The building stands today and can be recognized by the curved 

window of glass blocks at the corner. Next to it was an earlier site for Pyramid Granite, a granite cutting factory. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 8 3

The Offshore Model Basin, formerly on Enterprise Street, contained a 300-by-50-by-15-foot-deep indoor pool capable of creating 

significant waves. It was often used to test boats and underwater equipment by companies and organizations from around the country. 

It also hosted an annual submarine race for college students, as shown in the photograph, and used for making movies, including 

scenes from the movies Titanic, True Lies, and Free Willy. Photograph courtesy of Jill Campbell. 

Stone & Glass is an art glass and mixed 

media studio and gallery that began in a tiny 

500-square-foot studio in 2001, the 

culmination of James Stone’s lifelong dream to 

be a full-time working artist. In 2015, the 

owners were drawn to Escondido for its history 

of glass arts and art culture and moved into the 

industrial area. Following a fire that started in 

a neighboring business, Stone & Glass moved 

into their current location on Grand where 

emerging artists continue to be mentored and 

students are taught the art. Photograph courtesy 

of Stone & Glass 


Giants of Business 

The Joor Muffler Man has stood steadfast on the corner of Juniper 

Street and Valley Parkway in the Downtown since he was placed in 

front of the muffler shop in the 1960s. Made of fiberglass, he stands 22 

feet tall on top of a concrete base and has had quite a wardrobe through 

the years. Below, the Joor Muffler Man can be seen in his Santa suit, 

enjoying the holidays. 

In addition to its unique sign in the front parking 

lot, the Ups ‘N’ Downs Roller Rink on North 

Broadway featured a giant roller skate on the roof. 

The roller skating rink was built in 1959. 

The Muffler Man was wearing his Amgen vest and 

cap to honor the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race 

that started in the Downtown in 2013. 

C h a p t e r 3 F 8 5

Chapter 4 

Culture 

The Escondido Band 

lined up for the 

Decoration Day parade on 

May 30, 1889 in front of 

the Methodist Episcopal 

Church, the first church 

constructed in Escondido. 

Barber Leo Escher can be 

seen on the very left, 

wielding a baton as the 

drum major. 

Escondido’s relationship to the arts and its endeavor for cultural development began almost at the 

city’s incorporation in 1888. The first city band was formed by twelve local musicians. In 1889, a band 

stand was built on the southeast corner of Grand Avenue and Maple Street. Band concerts often made 

Sundays and holidays merry occasions. These early days also boasted local celebrations, eventually 

including the Grape Day Festival, which always had a musical component. Early theatrical productions 

were also quite common in the schools, churches and clubs. 

In the 1920s and 30s, the Community Arts Association was organized to give attention to arts and 

drama. About the same time, local optometrist, Benjamin Sherman, who had studied drama at leading 

Southern schools, gathered local young people together and presented several plays at the Kinema 

Theatre. Audiences of 500 to 700 attended. Later, he wrote the outdoor play “Felicita.” In more recent 

history, the Patio Playhouse Community Theatre has been providing local, live theatre since 1967. 

In 1946, the Philharmonic Arts Association was formed and launched its first concert series, 

held in the Escondido High School auditorium. Through the Association’s efforts, Escondido was 

host to world-renowned artists such as Risë Stevens, Jose Greco, Artur Rubenstein and the Los 

Angeles Philharmonic. 

In the 1970s, the Escondido Regional Arts Council was created to bring visual arts to North County. 

The first gallery was in the Vineyard Shopping Center on East Valley Parkway. Today, the Municipal 

Gallery and the Escondido Arts Partnership both provide venues for local artists to exhibit their work. 


The City established a Public Art Program in 1988 and more than 22 public art projects have been installed by the City of Escondido 

and private developers under the guidance of the Public Art Commission. 

Also in the 1970s, the cultural history of the community came into focus with the establishment of Heritage Walk in Grape Day Park. 

The City’s first library was identified and moved to the Walk, opening in 1976 as the first local history museum. Since that time, other 

historic buildings have been added to Heritage Walk to help keep the history of Escondido alive. Additional museums and galleries have 

been established in the City, over time, to provide the people of Escondido with well-rounded cultural opportunities. 

With the success of the Regional Arts Council, a stronger, more comprehensive Felicita Foundation was formed, which successfully 

lobbied to use the city’s old library space upon completion of the new library in the early 80s. With the support of the National Endowment 

for the Arts, the Felicita Foundation was able to use the newly acquired space to present both visual and performing arts in a limited scope. 

Sparked by this civic vision that recognized how vital the arts are to a community, Escondido voters, in 1985, approved the building 

of a $73 million arts center that would bring music, dance, theater, education and the visual arts together on one dynamic campus as 

part of an overall redevelopment project. Since its opening in 1994, the California Center for the Arts, Escondido has been dedicated to 

promoting the arts along with their power for community building and enhancement, and to enrich the lives of Escondido citizens. 

Literature has always played a key role for Escondido residents, as well. First librarian Mina Ward authored a book that included 

her own stories as well as articles from technical magazines to assist in gauging shorthand speed. Several other notable authors have 

made Escondido their home, including, more recently, Martha C. Lawrence and former Escondido Police Officer Neal Griffin; as well 

as childrens book illustrator Debbie Tilley. 

Music 

The Escondido Band added “Cornet” to its name and and later donned uniforms to pose for this professional photograph, c. 1890. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 8 7

Max Atilano and his Mexican Troubadours 

were a constant at the Grape Day Festivals from 

1920-1940. They also provided music for the 

outdoor play, Felicita. Shown in this c. 1925 

photograph are (from left to right): Pete Ruiz, 

Frank Salcido, John Cosio, Ted Borja, Senorita 

Paquita Cantu, and Max Atilano. 

“Sound Town” was one of the original stores in the Escondido Village Mall and one 

of the favorite hangouts for those who enjoyed music. This 1965 photograph shows 

Lawrence Welk promoting one of his albums at the popular store as the featured star 

of the day. Welk had a special connection to the area and visited often because of his 

Lawrence Welk Resort just north of Escondido. He sometimes produced his popular 

TV show in Escondido, which brought national exposure to the city. Photograph by 

Bill Rutledge 

John Marikle built his art and music store on 

South Kalmia in collaboration with photographer 

Louis Havens, who built his photograph studio 

next door and took many of the early photos 

found in this book. Both businesses opened in 

1911. Each family lived in an apartment above 

their respective store. 


In 1970, artist Frank Matranga, was commissioned to create four murals portraying scenes from San Diego’s history to be installed 

over the entry doors of a new Sears building on East Valley Parkway in the mid-1970s. When the building, which had also been 

occupied by the Fedco membership store from 1986 to 1989, was demolished in the early 1990s, the murals were saved. One, 

depicting a scene from the 1846 Battle of San Pasqual, can be seen today on the front of the Children’s Discovery Museum at 320 

North Broadway while another can be found on a median wall along South Date Street. 

Queen Califia's Magical Circle is the only 

American sculpture garden and the last major 

international project created by French artist 

Niki de Saint Phalle, one of the most significant 

female and feminist artists of the twentieth 

century. Inspired by California's mythic, 

historic and cultural roots, the garden is located 

at Kit Carson Park. In the photograph, taken at 

her home where the maquette was displayed, 

stands Niki de Saint Phalle with her arm raised 

and to her immediate right, Mayor Lori 

Holt Pfeiler. Don E. Anderson photograph. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 8 9

Since the Public Art Program began in 1988, more than 22 public art projects 

have been initiated by the City of Escondido and private developers. The Public 

Art Program has received a number of local and national awards for its projects. 

This bronze fountain at the right, designed by James Hubble in 1989, is a 

memorial to Joyce and Irvin Malcolm, prominent supporters of the arts and the 

preservation of Escondido. It can be found at Trinity Episcopal Church, 9th 

Avenue and Chestnut Street. 

In 2000, Wick Alexander created Pillars of the 

Community in multiple locations along South 

Escondido Boulevard. The entire Public Arts 

project included nine obelisks, three murals, 

and sundials and historic street names incised 

into the surface of the sidewalks. The obelisks, 

like the one at the left, start at the southeast 

corner of 6th Avenue and end at the southeast 

corner of 15th Avenue. 

The mural at right with a self-guided walking 

tour of historic homes that had been located at the 

corner of Escondido Boulevard and 8th Avenue 

fell into disrepair and was removed in 2017. 

Located in the Maple Street Plaza, between 

Grand Avenue and West Valley Parkway, artist 

Paul Hobson created a fountain and curved seat 

wall to celebrate the importance of Escondido 

Creek. The risers in the water feature were 

inspired by historic agricultural flood irrigation. 

Brad Ansley photograph. 


Military Tribute, created by Gale Pruitt in 2007, is one of 

several veterans memorials in Grape Day Park. Bronze statues 

depict a female fighter pilot representing Women Air Force 

Service Pilots of World War II; a tall male soldier symbolizing 

those currently in combat; and a youthful ROTC student 

representing the future. The statues are flanked by the Walls of 

Courage, inscribed with names of local veterans. 

Community was created by Jeff Lindeneau in 1990 as 

one of the early public art pieces.. Two cast bronze 

triangles featuring silhouettes of human figures stand 

atop two copper clad and granite slabs, facing each 

other, connoting a passage way. 

Also created as a Public Art project, the 2011 New Leaf by artist Dan Dykes is 

located on South Centre City Parkway near Felicita Avenue. According to the 

artist, the green patina represents Escondido’s agricultural past, the stainless steel 

represents modern manufacturing, and the stainless-steel mesh at the top 

symbolizes the history of Escondido, coming together to form a new leaf. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 9 1

Performing Arts 

The annual Felicita 

Pageant featured 200 local 

thespians and was held from 

1927-1932 in the Quiet 

Hills area near Felicita Park 

in south Escondido. The 

play was written by 

Benjamin Sherman, a local 

optometrist, and based on 

Elizabeth Judson Robert’s 

book, Indian Stories of the 

Southwest. The pageant 

attracted hundreds of guests 

every year to sit under a 

canopy of oak trees while 

viewing the play. This 

photograph was taken 

during the 1930 production. 

In 1923, The Tom Thumb Wedding was performed by a group of children at the Kinema Theater on Grand Avenue. In 1935, the 

children of the Methodist Church performed in a similar production, taking the roles normally played by adults. 


This photograph was taken on April 14, 1916 

and shows the cast of the Escondido High School 

production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s, H.M.S. 

Pinafore. The operetta took place at the school in 

the Robert’s Auditorium and the special scenery 

was produced by the Art Department. Although 

the operetta story-line centers around the British 

Navy, it’s interesting to note that American flags 

were used in the production. 

The first Patio Playhouse opened with its first 

play in 1971 in this remodeled machine shop on 

Hale Avenue. The founders sought to provide a 

creative outlet for talent, young and old, and to 

bring live theater to the community. The 

founders were Curtis Babcock; Dale Baldridge, 

and Greg and Don Krueger. Today, it is the oldest 

continuously-operating community theater in 

San Diego County. 

Georgia Copeland, a former MGM starlet who danced in 

numerous musical movies, opened her dance studio in 

Escondido in 1953, making it the oldest dance studio still 

operating in North San Diego County today. Georgia personally 

produced more than 40 professional dancers in the course of her 

teaching career. When Georgia died in 1998, Sue Gibson 

assumed the operation of the studio. The snapshot shows 

Georgia on the left and Sue Gibson on the right. Photograph 

courtesy of Georgia’s Dance Studio 

C h a p t e r 4 F 9 3

This aerial photograph shows the California 

Center for the Arts under construction in April 

1992, located just west of Grape Day Park, along 

Escondido Boulevard. Escondido voters 

approved spending $73 million to build the 

Center that would bring music, dance, theater, 

education and the visual arts together on one 

dynamic campus as part of an overall 

redevelopment project. 

The completed Center for the Arts, Escondido, is shown in this September 1994 photograph. 


The Kinema Theatre opened at the 200 block 

of east Grand Avenue in December 1920 and is 

featured in this photograph from 1929. The 

Kinema hosted Escondido’s first motion pictures 

with sound and was the place of many 

community gatherings. In 1931 it became 

known as the Pala Theater. 

The Ritz Theater, near the southeast corner of Grand Avenue and Juniper Street opened during the Grape Day Festival in 1937. In 

1950, a fire damaged much of the interior and this photograph from 1952 shows the wood barricades in the doorways prior to its reopening 

in 1953. The theater managed to stay open for a time, then closing and re-opening multiple times under a succession of 

owners until it closed for the final time in 2003. The Grand Market, in the companion building next door on the corner with similar 

art deco features, was the first grocery store in the city to have wheeled shopping carts. In 2015, it would become an Arthur Murray 

Dance Studio. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 9 5

On June 19, 1950, a 2,080-pound replica of 

the Liberty Bell visited Escondido. The bell was 

one of 52 replicas donated to the U.S. Treasury by 

America’s copper industry. The visit was part of a 

state-wide tour being made in connection with 

“Independence Drive,” a program to increase the 

sales of U.S. Saving Bonds. The photograph 

shows the procession in front of the Pala Theater, 

which was located near the corner of Grand 

Avenue and Kalmia Street. Shortly after this 

photograph was taken, the theatre was converted 

into an eight-lane bowling alley, Pala Bowl. 

The Escondido Drive-In opened on July 6, 1950, at 755 West 

Mission Avenue and the price of admission for that night’s 

feature, The Boy from Indiana, was 50 cents. California political 

hopeful and future President, Richard Nixon, made a campaign 

stop at the drive-in that same year, and in 1962, a local pastor 

began holding Sunday worship services in the lot. The drive-in 

could accommodate about 320 cars and films such as 1959’s Ben 

Hur sold out several times each night. The owner, Dan Johnston, 

moved the drive-in to West Mission Avenue in 1967 to 

accommodate the thriving business. This drive-in closed 

September 8, 1985. 

In 2000 and 2001, Escondido’s last two movie theaters 

closed, forcing residents to drive to theaters in San Marcos or 

Oceanside to see new movies on the “big screen.” The 

community was pleased to have a local theater again, when a 

new 16-screen multiplex with stadium seating, shown in the 

2018 photo, opened on January 30, 2004, at the site of the old 

Montgomery Ward store on the corner of Valley Parkway and 

Escondido Boulevard. 


Literature 

Harold Bell Wright was a best-selling American writer of 

fiction, essays, and nonfiction. Although mostly forgotten or 

ignored after the middle of the twentieth century, he is said to 

have been the first American writer to sell a million copies of a 

novel and the first to make $1 million from writing fiction. 

From 1935 until his death in 1944, Wright lived on his “Quiet 

Hills” farm in south Escondido. Two of his most popular novels 

are: Shepard of the Hills and The Winning of Barbara Worth. 

Frances Beven Ryan taught home economics 

in Escondido schools for thirty years and then 

wrote several books about Escondido history, 

based on stories told to her by her relatives, 

who were among Escondido’s founders and first 

settlers; Early Days in Escondido (1970), 

Yesterdays in Escondido (1973), and Escondido As 

It Was (1980). She also wrote a weekly history 

column for the Times-Advocate. The Escondido 

Library Pioneer Room was established as a 

bequest by Ryan in 1992. In the photograph 

from 1971, she is seen handing one of her 

books to then Mayor Allen Skuba while William 

Fark sits to the right and her husband, Lewis, 

stands by her side at the dedication of the 

recently relocated original library. 

Another Escondido native, William Maurice Culp, whose uncle was the town marshal for a 

time, wrote several childrens books, including Tumba of Torrey Pines in 1931, Jeremiah in 1932, 

as well as And a Duck Waddles Too in 1939. 

C h a p t e r 4 F 9 7

Museums 

The San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum provides hands-on educational exhibits and programs focusing on science, art, and world 

cultures for children. In 1999, it was founded by local resident Katie Ragazzi as a traveling education program in science and art. The 

following year, it incorporated as the Escondido Children’s Museum. In 2001, the doors to the first museum facility opened in a small 

storefront on Grand Avenue. Three years later, it moved to a larger venue on the campus of the California Center for the Arts Escondido. 

With the opening of its third and current location on North Broadway, the Escondido Children’s Museum changed its name to San Diego 

Children’s Discovery Museum. 

Keith Roynon began collecting his first fossils 

as a young child and, in 2000, began inviting 

school children to his home where his large 

collection was displayed. After a complaint was 

filed in March 2015, the City notified Roynon 

that the residence could no longer open its 

doors for the thousands of students who came 

every year. Community volunteers quickly 

intervened, finding and renovating acceptable 

quarters in a storefront on Grand Avenue to 

house Roynon’s entire collection of more than 

4,000 artifacts. The Roynon Museum of 

Paleontology was voted “Best Museum in the 

San Diego area” for 2016, according to the San 

Diego A-List website but would close in 2019 

due to operational challenges. 


Chapter 5 

Government Sites and Services 

Escondido was incorporated in 1888 as a result of a 64-19 vote by city residents, who also elected 

the first members of the Board of Trustees. The Board met monthly, upstairs at 110 West Grand. In 

1930, the Board of Trustees became the City Council and the chairman became the mayor. In 1955, 

an ordinance was adopted, setting up the current Council-Manager form of government. 

A Public Library was Escondido’s first city service. In the early 1900s, the city also began paving 

roads. The Parks and Recreation Dept. was formed in 1956, later to become part of the Community 

Services Department. Escondido has always offered a wide variety of outdoor recreational 

opportunities, including camping, fishing, picnicking, hiking, and boating. Currently, the City 

maintains Dixon Lake, Lake Wohlford, Daley Ranch, and nine urban parks. 

The scope of city services has steadily increased over the years, particularly as the city limits 

extended outward and the population grew. Eleven different departments, in addition to the City 

Manager’s, City Attorney’s, City Treasurer’s, and City Clerk’s offices, now provide residents with a 

wide range of services. 

Escondido has experienced very few major crimes that have attracted national attention. Sadly, a 

post office shooting in 1989 became the second postal shooting in the country, followed by others in 

different cities that led to the term “going postal.” Also receiving national attention was the murder 

in 1998 of Stephanie Crowe, who was stabbed multiple times in her bedroom. Another tragic murder 

In celebration of the 

City’s Centennial, a time 

capsule was buried under 

the center of the dome of 

the new City Hall and covered 

by a bronze marker. 

City employees Jerry 

Chappel (left) and Dave 

Cramer (right), are shown 

installing the time capsule 

in this 1988 photograph. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 9 9

occurred in 2009, when Amber DuBois was 

abducted on her way to school. Her murder, 

and Chelsea King’s of Rancho Bernardo, 

by the same man, led to the passing of 

Chelsea’s Law, which, among other provisions, 

increased penalties, parole provisions, and 

oversight for violent sexual predators who 

attack children. 

Fires have taken lives as well as damagied 

and destroyed property throughout Escondido’s 

history. Thankfully, however; the number of 

fires has steadily decreased, thanks to stricter 

fire codes, including mandated fire sprinklers 

in new construction, as well as more advanced 

firefighting equipment and strategies. The Fire 

Department also began offering medical aid and 

transport in 1977 with those calls now making 

up 80 percent of fire department calls while 

fire-related calls constitute only 1.7 percent of 

their nearly 16,000 annual calls. 

Ol' Betsy housed at Station 1. 

Buildings 

By 1890, the first dedicated City Hall was located on Grand Avenue and a small building to the rear served as the City jail. Note 

the sunrise decoration above the windows and doors; similar detail adorns the front of the current City Hall. 

1 0 0 F E S C O N D I D O : A P i c t o r i a l H i s t o r y o f t h e H i d d e n V a l l e y

A City Hall built of adobe block and made possible by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), was finished in 1938, in time to 

celebrate the city’s fiftieth anniversary. It housed city offices, including the Police Department, and the Fire Station, which was added 

onto the north side a year later. The building was located on what is now the front lawn of the vacated Palomar Hospital, downtown, 

where Valley Parkway and Grand split. 

In 1988, a new 108,000- 

square-foot City Hall was 

built at the corner of Valley 

Parkway and Broadway. 

The design was chosen by a 

public process, and a 

nation-wide competition 

was held. The 108 entries 

were reviewed by 1500 

citizens and, using their 

comments, a jury chose the 

design submitted by Pacific 

Associates Planners and 

Architects, a San Diego 

firm. The building won 

several prestigious awards, 

including the Urban Land 

Institute Award for 

Excellence in 1989. This 

photograph shows the 

building’s dedication 

ceremony with Mayor Doris 

Thurston at the podium. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 0 1

Escondido’s first Public Library was built in 

1894 and the City assumed responsibility for its 

operation in 1898. The first librarian was Mina 

Ward and she was initially responsible for more 

than 300 books, all donated by the community. 

The building was moved to Grape Day Park in 

1971 and now houses the Escondido History 

Center offices and research center. 

On March 25, 1910, the cornerstone was laid for the Carnegie Library, which opened in October of that year. Books could be checked 

out every day except Sunday, when the library was open for quiet reading only, to honor the Sabbath. Businessman and philanthropist, 

Andrew Carnegie, donated money for building libraries around the world; 2,509 libraries were built between 1883 and 1929. This 

photograph is from a 1938 time capsule located at the adobe city hall and opened in 1988. 


Also outgrown, the Carnegie Library was 

replaced in 1956 by this building on the left, 

designed by popular architect George Lykos. The 

strong example of Mid-century Style, named for 

art and culture advocates, Bob and Ruth Mathes, 

still stands at the northwest corner of Kalmia 

Street and 3rd Avenue. 

Its distinctive light-controlling louvers recently removed, the Mathes Center 

continues to house meeting rooms and the Pioneer Room, which was established 

in 1992 with local historian Frances Beven Ryan’s collection and other historical 

and genealogical research material. 

In 1981, the 40,000-square-foot library was 

built next door and is still in use with more than 

1,000 visitors daily. A major renovation was 

performed in 2009 to better accommodate 

today’s technological needs and make it more 

attractive to visitors. In a controversial move, 

the City Council voted 4-1 to privatize the 

library services in 2017. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 0 3

Parks 

Grape Day Park was the 

city’s first park, donated to 

the city to celebrate Grape 

Day, beginning in 1908. 

This photograph from 1976 

shows the welcome sign 

and fountain, which still 

stand today. At one time, 

the park featured a bandshell 

and baseball fields as 

well as “the plunge,” the 

first community pool. 

The second oldest and largest in the county, this grand, multitrunked 

eucalyptus tree sheltered Grape Day Park visitors for 

decades. Out of safety concerns, it was cut back significantly in 

2013 with the tall stump remaining as a reminder of its earlier 

glory, while a design for its future use is being considered. 

Nearby, when a restroom was needed for the Heritage Walk 

location, the last bid opened offered to do the job for only $1. 

Immediately accepted, the gazebo-shaped facility was completed 

by the community minded K. L. Wessel Construction Company. 


“The Plunge” swimming pool in Grape Day Park was a popular place to cool off in the 1950s. A replacement municipal pool, built 

closer to Woodward Avenue, was named after Jim Stone, an Escondido High School teacher who worked as aquatics manager for the city 

during the summer. Stone was in charge of pool programs for more than twenty years. 

James B. Dixon, superintendent of the Mutual Water Company, urged the City to build a dam, northeast of the city at this location, 

and the Dixon Lake Recreation Area was dedicated on May 12, 1977. The lake area continues to provide opportunities for fishing, 

camping, and picnicking. Eric Johnson photograph. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 0 5

Robert Daley built a small cabin and settled in the valley around 1869. In 1925, he built a ranch house of single board, heart 

redwood that still stands today. In 1996, developer plans for the land surrounding it were halted when the Escondido City Council 

voted to purchase and forever protect the 3,058-acre ranch as a habitat preserve. Today, Daley Ranch offers more than 20 miles of 

trails for hiking, mountain bikes, and equestrian use and the ranch house is available for public use. 

Named after the famous scout who also 

fought in the Battle of San Pasqual, the 285 

acres where Kit Carson Park sits was purchased 

from the City of San Diego in 1967. One 

hundred acres have been developed into ball 

fields, tennis courts, and the Sports Center 

Complex. It’s also the home of an amphitheater, 

Queen Califia’s Magical Circle and the Iris Sanke 

Arboretum. The popular Escondido Rotary 

Club Disc Golf Course, depicted in this 2013 

photograph, was established in 2010. The 

course meanders through a creek, oaks, alders, 

and manicured grass. 185 acres of Kit Carson 

Park have been preserved as natural habitat. 


The photograph on the left, from January, 

1952, shows Escondido Creek at a higher than 

average level, flowing through Grape Day Park. 

The City “Plunge” swimming pool can be seen 

toward the center back of the photograph. 

Flooding along Escondido Creek could be even 

more problematic. 

In the 1960s, a flood control channel, shown 

in an early photograph on the right, was 

constructed to prevent flooding that occurred all 

too often throughout the community. The 

channel has been effective but not attractive, 

especially as it has collected trash, and the 

original wildlife habitat was greatly compromised. 

In 2010, Landscape Architecture students at 

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 

developed the “Revealing Escondido Creek Vision 

Plan.” In it, all portions of the concrete drainage 

canal running through Escondido would be 

redesigned to return Escondido Creek to its more 

natural state while still retaining the ability to 

control flood waters as needed. As a result of that 

study, the City of Escondido began implementing 

the 100-acre linear park in phases. 

In 2011, a portion of the Creek Trail was 

staged in conjunction with the grand opening of 

the adjacent Juniper Senior Village as shown in 

this photograph. 

Deemed successful, the improvements were 

made permanent. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 0 7

Law Enforcement 

When Escondido was first incorporated, the town’s law enforcement consisted of one man, who held the title of city marshal. In the 

photo, Marshal Luther Culp, who served from 1910 to 1916, is directing traffic on Grand Avenue. By 1956, the number of all law 

enforcement personnel stood at 15 but by 1986, the number had climbed to 125. Today there are 170 sworn police personnel, 93 nonsworn 

support personnel, and 73 volunteers. 

After the new adobe City 

Hall at 100 Valley Boulevard 

was built in 1938, a small 

police headquarters and jail 

were constructed, also of 

adobe, north of and 

immediately adjacent to the 

City Hall. In this photograph 

from 1955, motorcycle 

officers are seen lined up for 

inspection by the police 

chief and the mayor behind 

City Hall. 


In 1976, a new one-story Police Department 

headquarters, was built at 700 West Grand 

Avenue, while Lester R. Lund was Chief of Police. 

Plans had included a second floor but it was 

eliminated when city officials realized it would be 

too expensive, leaving two odd vertical features 

rising from the roof. When Lund became chief in 

1956, the total department personnel numbered 

15 in all ranks, but the population skyrocketed 

from 6,544 in 1950 to 64,355 in 1980 and the 

need for more police officers to provide service 

became obvious. By the time Lund retired in 

1986, there were 125 employees. Escondido 

Police Department Photograph. 

In 1982, to accommodate increasing staff numbers, a second floor was finally added to Police Headquarters at 700 West Grand 

Avenue and the look of the building was drastically different. It served for another 27 years until it was replaced in 2009 by a new 

facility shared with the Fire Department Administration on Centre City Parkway. Escondido Police Department Photograph. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 0 9

In 2004, Proposition P was passed by the 

voters, providing $84.3 million to fund the 

construction of several fire stations and the 

construction of a $61 million combined state-ofthe-art 

Police and Fire Headquarters building on 

Centre City Parkway. Shown in this photograph, 

groundbreaking for the 115,000-square-foot, 

three-story headquarters on Centre City Parkway 

at Decatur Way took place in September, 2006. 

The building was fully operational by May 2010. 

Escondido is the only city in the county that has its own 

dispatch center for handling both police and fire emergency calls. 

This photograph, probably taken in the 1980s, shows Zelda White 

and Deanna Concannon at the far side of the room, handling 

emergency calls when it was located at the 700 West Grand Police 

Headquarters. Escondido Police Department Photograph. 

Today’s communications center, located in the more spacious 

Police and Fire Headquarters building, is staffed by 25 

employees, working shifts to ensure that phones are answered 

24/7 and 365 days per year. In the photo, Dispatcher Kim 

Rodriguez is viewing one of the five computer monitors at her 

station, typical for each of the dispatch stations in the center. In 

2017, Dispatch answered more than 200,000 calls for service. 

Escondido Police Department Photograph. 


A mounted police posse was formed by Police Chief Lloyd “Lefty” Mitchell in 1948, the first chartered mounted posse in the State of 

California. The Posse continues a fine tradition today, a popular riding group in local parades, including the Pasadena Rose Parade in 2012. 

At one time, Escondido’s small police force was bolstered by county deputy 

sheriffs stationed here, primarily to serve at the County Courthouse, located on East 

Valley Parkway. In October, 1958, Sheriff Deputy Neil Poole, who is pictured here, 

was involved in locating two bodies left by Harvey Glatman, the notorious “Glamour 

Girl Slayer,” in the desert east of Escondido. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 1 1

Fire Protection 

In Escondido’s earliest days, the town marshal 

would ring a hand bell along Grand Avenue when 

smoke was detected, replaced by a large bell at 

City Hall in 1892. Firefighting equipment 

consisted of a two-wheeled cart with a garden 

hose wrapped around a central cylinder, pulled 

by anyone who could respond; the original cart is 

shown in this photograph. 

This 1914 Federal fire truck, with a maximum speed of twenty miles per hour, was the volunteer fire department’s first motorized piece 

of equipment. When it was overwhelmed during a major fire that destroyed the Escondido Vineyard and Winery Company on the west 

side of town in 1926, funds were allocated for a 1926 La France fire truck with a 500-gallon water tank. Leather helmets and canvas turnout 

coats were purchased at the same time. In 1922, a 20-man volunteer fire department was established. 


In 1939, the first fire station was constructed 

on the north side of the year-old city hall. The 

two-story structure included a brass pole to speed 

the firefighters’ descent to the first floor. By 1953, 

the former all-volunteer Fire Department had two 

paid firefighters who alternated 24-hour shifts. 

The position of fire chief wasn’t full time until 

1958 when 18 full-time firefighters were hired 

and a Fire Prevention Bureau was established. 

This photograph was taken in 1987, the year 

before the fire station was demolished along with 

the old City Hall. 

Brand new Cadillac ambulance, c. 1916, driven by Escondido resident, Charles B. Weseloh for the San Diego Health Department. Photo 

provided by his grand-daughter, Jean Wold, who is currently serving along with her husband in the Escondido Fire Department. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 1 3

In 1961, a new main fire station with administrative offices was built on Quince north of Valley Parkway. It was heavily 

remodeled twice in its lifetime and demolished and replaced in 2008. By 1984, there were five fire stations in Escondido and two 

more by 2009. 

In addition to the new Police/Fire Headquarters, Proposition P funding also provided for the construction of three fire stations and for 

the rebuilding of Fire Station 1 on Quince Avenue, which opened in September 2009. The 28,340-square-foot facility includes a state-ofthe-art 

six-story training ground with tower. 

The city’s first major fire occurred in 1929 when the first high school, then located at 3rd Avenue and Hickory Street, burned to the 

ground. Flames could be seen from at least as far as Poway. Unfortunately, the new 1926 La France fire engine, now on display at Fire 

Station 1, broke down and was unable to be used to fight the fire. 


Working in an area completely surrounded 

by wildland areas, Escondido fire crews have 

fought numerous fires in rough terrain and with 

development pushing outward from the city, 

wildland/urban interface fires have meant 

defending increasing numbers of homes located 

there. The fire in this photograph, looking west, 

shows a brush fire near Lake Hodges Dam in 

November 1944. 

Flame (below) was a tiny puppy who became 

the last animal to be rescued from the tragic 

Humane Society fire (right) in January 2001. 

Approximately 85 animals were rescued 

overnight, but Flame had been overlooked in 

the darkness and wasn’t brought out from the 

rubble until the following morning, 11 hours 

after the fire had started. The tragic fire, which 

killed at least 100 animals, garnered 

international attention and Flame was featured 

in an interview on the Today Show. 

Adopted by the department’s Public Education Specialist, Flame made several 

public appearances to teach fire safety behaviors before taking an early retirement. 

The two-alarm fire was determined to have been the result of arson, although 

an intensive investigation never uncovered the identity of the perpetrator. Flame’s 

photo by Julia Escamilla. 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 1 5

The events of 9/11 deeply affected our nation, and Escondido mourned the loss of our own Juan Pablo Cisneros, a beloved 24-yearold 

graduate of Orange Glen High School, who perished in the North Tower of the World Trade Center as a result of the terrorist attack. 

In response to the unprecedented loss of emergency responders, a small group of Escondido firefighters climbed into a borrowed 

motorhome with a supply of custom-printed T-shirts to sell and drove across country, collecting more than $250,000 from communities 

along the way. When they reached New York City, the firefighters presented a check and connected personally with families and friends 

of the firefighters who had perished. Shown in this photograph of the firefighters being blessed by the Police Department Chaplain are, 

(from left to right) Chris Sovay, Chaplain Pat Kenney, Mike O’Connor, Eric Souza, Mike Bertrand, and Mike Diaz. 

Escondido firefighter Pete Ordille, standing 

upright in the center of the photograph, was 

part of the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency Urban Search and Rescue team from San 

Diego, sent to New York City to work in the 

aftermath of 9/11. Deployed from September 17 

until October 8, they worked “the pile” in 12- 

hour shifts. Pete Ordille photograph 


The Witch Creek Fire of 2007 started east of Julian and 

combined with the Guejito Fire in the San Pasqual Valley, 

spreading nearly to the coast, and burning more than 197,990 

acres and killing 2 people. The fires triggered the largest 

evacuation in county history with more than 500,000 people 

evacuated and a final total cost of $1.339 billion. The Witch 

Creek and Guejito Fires were among twenty-one wildfires 

burning in Southern California at the time. Escondido Fire 

Department photograph. 

The largest structure fire in the city’s history destroyed four 

four-story condominium buildings under construction in 

downtown Escondido in 2007. The dry wood framing, much of 

it still surrounded by scaffolding, burned explosively with 300- 

foot flames and a 1,000-foot tall column of smoke visible from 

as far as the coast. The active fire continued from early afternoon 

until well into the night. A total of 100 firefighters responded 

along with 25 engines, including all five of Escondido’s and 20 

others from across North San Diego County. Damage was 

estimated at $6 million. Troy Burlington photograph. 

The city’s second four-alarm fire occurred in 

2017 when the abandoned historic Talone’s meat 

market and slaughter house on Hale Avenue, next 

to the I-15 Freeway, burned to the ground and 

presented a risk to the Sprinter light rail line. 

Escondido Fire Department photograph 

C h a p t e r 5 F 1 1 7

Escondido Timeline 

1000 BC-1700 AD 

First people in area were the Kumeyaay Indians 

1843 Governor Micheltorena granted Escondido Valley to 

Juan Bautista Alvarado, who named the 12,653 acres “El 

Rincon del Diablo.” 

1846 Battle with Mexico fought at San Pasqual, December 

6, 1846 

1847 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 

1850 California became a state 

1855 After Alvarado died, his descendants started selling off 

his land and Judge Oliver Witherby of San Diego began 

buying portions of El Rincon del Diablo. It took him 10 

years to purchase the entire ranch. 

1884 Post office name changed from Apex to Escondido. 

1885 The Thomas brothers came to California. Five of the 

brothers, Jacob Gruendike, and seven others formed the 

Escondido Land and Town Co. and purchased the 

12,814-acre valley for $102,042. 

1886 Construction began on the Escondido Hotel on the east 

end of Grand Avenue. The University of Southern 

California, with Methodist backing, was given land to 

build a church on Grand Avenue and a seminary at 3rd 

and Hickory. Graham & Steiner opened the first store in 

town. The Escondido Times, a local newspaper, began 

weekly publication. The Board of Trade was founded, 

renamed the Chamber of Commerce in 1895. 

1887 Construction of the Oceanside-to-Escondido railroad 

line began in March 1887 and was completed in January 

1888. The Lime Street School, in what would later 

become Grape Day Park, opened. The first stagecoach 

travelled between San Diego and Escondido. 

1888 The City of Escondido was incorporated on October 8. 

It consisted of 1854 acres. 

1890 Population: 541. Escondido Irrigation District proposed 

a $450,000 bond issue to build a reservoir. 

1868 Nathaniel Harrison, a freed slave, homesteaded on the 

side of Palomar Mountain. Witherby sold Rancho del 

Diablo to John, Josiah, and Matthew Wolfskill and Ed 

McGeary for $8,000. 

1870 Zena Sikes built his adobe home (across Bear Valley 

Parkway from today’s Westfield Shoppingtown, 

North County) 

1891 Grand Avenue, downtown, had at least 12 oil lights. The 

Advocate, the second newspaper in town, began 

publication. 

1893 50,000 fruit trees were planted. 

1883 Valley purchased by the Stockton Company, a group 

formed by fifteen men from Central California. They 

planted grapes next to the Escondido Creek. It rained 

fifty inches which was too much for the grapes. 


1894 Construction of Bear Valley Dam began. USC’s seminary 

became Escondido High School. 

1895 Bear Valley Dam completed. Water became available. 

City’s first library built. 

1900 Population: 755. Grove owners formed the Citrus 

Union within the decade. 

1901 Street lights were changed from oil to gas. 

1905 The water bonds were paid off on October 31. Grand 

Avenue received sidewalks. 

1907 Two inches of snow fell in February and again in April. 

A movie theater opened. Escondido High School 

students dug a pool by hand, next to the school. 

1908 The first official “Grape Day” was held on California 

Admission Day, September 9. 

1914 Palm trees were planted on Grand Avenue from the train 

depot to Maple Avenue. 

1915 Hotel Charlotta opened. Escondido Humane Society 

was organized. 

1916 “Hatfield’s Flood,” 24.1 inches, ruins railroad tracks. No 

trains in or out of Escondido for a month. 

1917 San Diego Gas & Electric purchased the Escondido 

Utilities Company and provided 24-hour service. 

1918 Lake Hodges Dam was completed. 

1920 Population: 1,789. Prohibition began, banning 

manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol while 

thousands of acres of grapes are being grown in Escondido. 

1921 First service station started in town. 

1909 Giant eucalyptus tree was planted in what will become 

Grape Day Park. Local newspapers, the Escondido Times 

and The Advocate, merged into The Times-Advocate. 

1910 Population 1,334. The first electric service in town was 

available on March 5 from sundown until 10:00 p.m. 

The Lime Street School, the city’s first, was torn down. 

Escondido Women’s Club was organized. Carnegie 

Library replaced city’s first library. 

1911 Natural gas became available. In December, William 

Alexander bought the Escondido Land and Town 

Company. 

1912 Grand Avenue was fully paved. 

1922 A 20-man volunteer fire department was established. 

1923 Escondido Hotel, built in 1886, is torn down. 

Escondido Hospital, the first in town, was opened on 

Grand Avenue by six doctors. 

E s c o n d i d o T i m e l i n e F 1 1 9

1924 Escondido Dam and Lake becomes Lake Wohlford. 

Kiwanis and Rotary clubs form. 

1927 Escondido High School moved into new building at the 

corner of Hickory Street and 4th Avenue. The Masons 

erected a flag pole in the middle of the street on Grand 

at Broadway. The Felicita Pageant debuted. 

1928 Escondido Fruit Growers divided into Escondido 

Lemon Association and Escondido Orange Association. 

First commercial avocados planted. 

1936 WPA built an adobe band stand in Grape Day Park. 

1938 Escondido celebrated its fifty-year anniversary. The 

second City Hall, built of adobe, opened at Grand 

and Valley. 

1940 Population: 4,560. 

1929 A. L. Houghtelin constructed a 50-foot-diameter 

wooden tepee, which became a local landmark for 

nearly 50 years. First Escondido High School burned 

down. Lemon packing house opened. 

1930 Population: 3,421. Post office began home delivery of 

the mail. Many street names changed. The city’s Board 

of Trustees changed their name to the City Council. 

1931 Lake Hodges overflowed the first time. 

1933 Charlotte Baker and Elizabeth Martin started the city’s 

second hospital in a former egg and poultry business on 

the west side of Lime Street, now Broadway, just north 

of 2nd Avenue. 

1941 World War II troops camped in Grape Day Park. 

1944 Flagpole on Grand Avenue at Broadway was removed. 


1945 Local lemon production reached a peak, with 1,159,039 

field boxes. Railroad passenger service between 

Escondido and Oceanside was discontinued. 

1947 Escondido High School had its first night football game. 

1948 Palomar Observatory was completed. Palomar Hospital 

District was formed. 

1949 Highway 395 opened through town. 

1950 Population: 6,544. Highway 395 to San Diego was 

opened. Palomar Hospital opened with 10 patients. 

Cora Swingle was the first woman elected to serve on 

City Council. The Ritz Theater was gutted by fire. 

1951 The city’s first annexation added 8.7 acres to the city. 

1952 Ups N Downs Roller Rink opened. Kay Owens started 

Escondido’s only radio station, KOWN. 

1955 After a construction flaw in Escondido High School was 

discovered, the student body was divided, with some 

attending a new campus on North Broadway. The rest 

were taught in temporary classrooms on the original 

campus. 

1967 Four inches of snow fell in December. Patio Playhouse 

opened. 

1969 Kit Carson Park was dedicated. 


1971 Dixon Dam and Lake were dedicated. City’s first 

library building was moved from Grand Avenue to 

Grape Day Park. 

1956 New library at 3rd Avenue and Kalmia Street replaced 

the Carnegie Library. The Escondido Historical Society 

was established. 

1959 Entire student body attended Escondido High School 

together again at North Broadway site. 

1960 Population:16,377. Lemon packing house closed. 

1962 Orange Glen High School opened. 

1964 Escondido Village Mall was built on East Valley 

Parkway. 

1966 Medians were added to Grand Avenue. The first 

Escondido Drive-In opened. 

1972 San Pasqual High School opened. San Diego Zoo’s Wild 

Animal Park opened. 

1974 Lorraine Boyce was the first woman to be elected mayor. 

1976 New Police Headquarters was built at 700 West Grand. 

Heritage Walk was established in Grape Day Park. 

1977 Dixon Lake Recreation Area was dedicated. Escondido 

Auto Park was built. The Tepee, a large wooden 

structure and local landmark for nearly fifty years was 

blown down by the wind. 



1981 Current library at Broadway and 2nd Avenue was built. 

Escondido Auto Park opened. Escondido National Little 

League All-Star team played in the Little League World 

Series in Pennsylvania. 

1982 Rube Nelson’s Country Corner grocery store closed. 

2000 Population 133,630. Steve Waldron started the Cruisin’ 

Grand event. 

1984 Santa Fe Depot was purchased from the Santa Fe 

Railroad Company and moved to Grape Day Park. 

2001 Escondido Humane Society in Kit Carson Park burned 

down. Escondido Children’s Museum opened on Grand 

Avenue. 

1986 North County Fair Shopping Center (currently Westfield 

North County), a regional shopping center, opened. 

1988 Escondido celebrated its centennial. City personnel 

moved into a new City Hall at the corner of Broadway 

and Valley Parkway. Biannual Street Faire began. 

1989 Downtown Farmers Market began in October 

1990 Population: 108,635 

1994 California Center for the Arts opened. 

1995 East Valley Community Center opened. First Night 

began December 31, 1995. Escondido Arts Partnership 

was established. 

1996 Grape Day Festival and Parade were revived. City 

purchased Daley Ranch. 

2003 Queen Califia’s Magical Garden by Nikki de Saint Phalle 

opened in Kit Carson Park. In October, firestorms 

raged. Mingei International Museum satellite opened 

downtown. Escondido Humane Society opened new 

facility on East Valley Parkway. 

2004 Escondido Children’s Museum moved to Studio One at 

the California Center for the Arts. “Vinehenge,” public art 

that doubled as a playground opened in Grape Day Park. 

2006 Escondido Historical Society celebrated its fiftieth 

anniversary with a name change to Escondido History 

Center 

2007 Witch Creek fire destroyed more than 200,000 acres 

and caused two deaths. President Bush landed at San 

Pasqual High School to tour the devastation. Paramount 

Condominiums, under construction on Escondido 

Boulevard, burned down. 


2010 Population: 144,464 California State Polytechnic 

University, Pomona developed plan for “Revealing 

Escondido Creek” to create a linear park to ultimately 

replace most of the flood control channel. 

2008 Sprinter light rail system began running between 

Escondido and Oceanside. 

2012 The new 740,000-square-foot, 11-story Palomar 

Medical Center on the west side of Escondido was 

opened. 

2013 The first leg of the Amgen Race of California started in 

Escondido. 

2014 Maple Street Plaza, a pedestrian mall with public art pieces 

opens across from City Hall. For the first time, four of the 

five City Council Members were elected from individual 

districts with the mayor elected by all city voters. 

2015 After more than 50 years, most departments in the 

Palomar Medical Center downtown campus closed. The 

Roynon Museum of Earth Science and Paleontology 

opened to the public on Grand Avenue. 

2009 Final stage of the Amgen Race of California brought 

thousands of bicycle enthusiasts downtown. 

2016 New agriculture-themed playground area opened at 

Grape Day Park. EcoVivarium, a “living museum,” 

featuring reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods opened 

to the public. 

2017 Talone’s meat market and slaughterhouse, vacant for 

several years, burned down. 

2018 Signage added to History Center’s Heritage Walk Buildings 

and Grand Avenue receives a new “Escondido” sign. 

2020 Like so many communities around the country, many 

businesses, recreational hotspots and civic events also 

faced hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 


Introduction 

Escondido is a city rich in history, zealous for innovation, and thriving with culture. As a regional destination, Escondido is loved 

by everyone from hikers to vintners, car enthusiasts to animal lovers. Every time I visit Escondido, whether it is for a football game 

or a Rotary meeting, I am welcomed by the friendly faces and inviting places that make this city so special. 

Escondido’s unique blend of nostalgic history and vibrant future can be viewed as you walk or roll down Grand Avenue on a Friday 

evening in June during Cruisin' Grand. Its deep ancestral roots can be discovered as you spend a Saturday hiking the trails of Daley 

Ranch. The city’s abundant offering of nature is best experienced by spending an evening camping under the stars at Dixon Lake. And 

the essence of the community can be felt as you trick-or-treat through the Old Escondido neighborhood on Halloween. 

Arts and culture are alive in Escondido. Just take a stroll through the Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery during the 

Farmers’ Market on a Tuesday or catch a performance by the students from A Step Beyond on the big stage at the California Center 

for the Arts. Enjoy a Broadway-worthy production from Patio Playhouse this summer at Kit Carson Park Amphitheater or bring your 

littlest ones to play and explore at the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum. My family has made so many incredible memories 

with Escondido as our backdrop. 

As you take the time to explore the jewel of the hidden valley through the pages of this book, I leave with you a quote by American 

cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead. “A city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, 

to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again.” May you always cherish what you 

love about Escondido and embrace what you may have never known. 

Kristen Gaspar 

Supervisor, San Diego County 

Left: San Diego County Supervisor Kristen Gaspar. 

Right: The San Diego County Board of Supervisors (from left to right): Greg Cox, District 1; Kristen Gaspar, District 3; Nathan 

Fletcher, District 4; Dianne Jacob, District 2; and Jim Desmond, District 5. 


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 s c o n d i d o 

Q U A L I T Y O F L I F E ...........................................................1 2 6 

T H E M A R K E T P L A C E .................................................................1 6 6 

B U I L D I N G A G R E AT E R E S C O N D I D O .......................................1 9 4 

F A M I LY H E R I T A G E ...................................................................2 0 4 

S h a r i n g t h e H e r i t a g e F 1 2 5

Carmichael & Sons’ General Store, February 1910. 


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 , 

u n i v e r s i t i e s , 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 s c o n d i d o 

The American Heritage Charter Schools ............................................1 2 8 

Palomar Health ............................................................................1 3 2 

Graybill Medical Group .................................................................1 3 6 

Escondido History Center ...............................................................1 3 7 

Escondido Union School District ......................................................1 3 8 

Neighborhood Healthcare ...............................................................1 4 2 

City of Escondido ..........................................................................1 4 6 

The Grand ...................................................................................1 5 0 

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego ..........................................1 5 2 

Citracado Dental ..........................................................................1 5 4 

Friends of the Escondido Library .....................................................1 5 6 

North County Cemetery District ......................................................1 5 8 

Rotary Club of Escondido ...............................................................1 6 0 

Escondido Union High School District...............................................1 6 2 

Assistance League ® of North Inland County .......................................1 6 3 

Interfaith Community Services ........................................................1 6 4 

Q u a l i t y o f L i f e F 1 2 7

THE AMERICAN 

HERITAGE 

CHARTER 

SCHOOLS 

G 

Above: Setting the tone: Five bronze 

statues salute the American flag at the 

ECHS entrance. 

Below: “Coach” Dennis Snyder, 

Founder & First Executive Director 

In 1992 the California State Legislature 

passed the Charter Schools Act, which allowed 

the formation of independent public schools that 

were free from many of the bureaucratic burdens 

placed on regular public district schools. These 

new independent public schools were 

established to provide educational choice and 

competition, encourage innovation in public 

schools, and improve student achievement. 

These new schools were also required to operate 

under a ‘charter’ granted by the local school 

district and are therefore commonly referred to 

as ‘charter schools’. 

In August 1996, under the guidance of Dennis 

Snyder—referred to as “Coach” Snyder by 

staff, students, parents and community members, 

Escondido Charter High School (ECHS) received 

its charter from the Escondido Union High 

School District and began operating in a 

business complex at 1855 East Valley Parkway, 

Escondido, California with 62 students. From 

the outset, ECHS focused on small class sizes 

that provide academic excellence, back-tobasics 

education (reading, writing, math and 

science), technology/computer competency, and 

character development based on traditional 

American culture and values: honesty, integrity, 

individual initiative, service to others, personal 

responsibility and the entrepreneurial spirit. 

ECHS has grown steadily since the beginning 

by steadfastly maintaining its focus and 

providing a solid, top-notch educational choice 

for thousands of students. 

Since 1996 “Coach” Snyder has assembled 

outstanding teams of educators and has overseen 

the expansion of the American Heritage Charter 

Schools from its first school, ECHS, to now include 

Flex Learning—9th to 12th grades; Heritage 

Elementary Charter School—K to 6th grades; 

Heritage Junior High Charter School—grades 7th 

& 8th grades; and Heritage Flex Academy—K to 

8th grades. “Coach” Snyder’s vision to provide 

‘educational choice’ in the local public school 

system has become a reality for students and their 

families in and around Escondido. 

The Escondido Charter High School is 

committed to providing a safe and orderly learning 

environment in which teachers are responsible for 

implementing a curriculum based on the 

fundamental skills that form the foundation of 

learning: reading, writing, mathematics, and 

computer skills. Accomplishment in academic 

areas is stressed. In addition, the Escondido 

Charter High School emphasizes the 

understanding and appreciation of American 

Civilization and United States History. 

The Escondido Charter High School believes 

that parents and the school share a dual 

responsibility in developing the education plan that 

will provide the individual student the opportunity 

to succeed both as a scholar and as a citizen. 

All the American Heritage Charter Schools 

fill a very important role. The schools have 

dedicated staff members who are committed to 

helping students succeed. A safe, orderly and 

secure environment is provided at all of the 

schools and the staff members understand the 

sacrifices that families make, and they support 

the vital role that parents play as partners in 

providing the education of the students. 

The over-riding mission of the American 

Heritage Charter Schools is to help prepare 

students for a successful, meaningful, 

productive life—whether it be continuing their 

education, entering the workforce, joining the 

military, or establishing a home. Upon 


graduation ECHS students have been accepted 

at top-rated colleges/universities. This mission 

is accomplished by developing students with a 

solid base of foundational knowledge, critical 

thinking skills and previously listed positive 

character traits stressing honesty, integrity, 

personal responsibility and by instilling 

traditional American ideals of hard work, 

discipline and service that is necessary to 

provide leadership in the community. 

In addition to providing academic rigor, the 

American Heritage Charter Schools provide a 

full range of athletic opportunities as well as 

many extra-curricular activities including a 

Robotics Program, an Academic League Team, a 

very active National Honor Society and a Civil 

Air Patrol Cadet Squadron #714 that is a US Air 

Force Auxiliary. 

ECHS is known for its magnificent statues...The 

life-size bronze statues on ECHS’ campus reinforce 

our American history, culture and values. 

• The Flag Raising—created by artist/sculptor 

Phyllis Peuker Raynes of Valley Center—was 

unveiled in August 2003 and displays respect 

for our nation’s flag. As Raynes created these 

five life-size, bronze figures, she gave a name 

to each one: Penny, Roberto, Isabelle, Donald 

and Edward. The first letter of each name 

spells “PRIDE.” 

• Lincoln—created by world-renowned sculptor 

Mark Lundeen of Loveland, Colorado, was 

unveiled in February 2005 in the ECHS 

courtyard in front of the school’s library. This 

life-size, bronze statue shows Abraham 

Lincoln holding a page from his famous 

Second Inaugural Address. 

G 

Above: The Flag Raising figures show 

respect for our flag. 

Below: The statue of Lincoln holds a 

page from Second Inaugural Address. 


G 

Above: The Spirit of ’76 painting 

brought to life. 

Below: A Patriot Day assembly 

at HK-6. 

• The American Spirit—also created by 

artist/sculptor Phyllis Peuker Raynes—was 

unveiled in May, 2008 in front of the 

American Spirit Theater on the ECHS 

campus. These three life-size, bronze figures 

celebrate the founding of our nation and 

bring Archibald Willard’s famous painting, 

The Spirit of ’76, to life. As Raynes created 

each figure, she named them: Ulysses, 

Samuel, and Adam. The first letters of their 

names spell: “USA.” 

American Heritage Charter Schools’ 

innovative programs provide a seamless 

academic progression from kindergarten through 

high school and accommodate the varying needs 

of the student population. 

• Escondido Charter High School (ECHS), 9th 

to 12th grades, 1868 East Valley Parkway, 


• Flex Learning, 9th to 12th grades, 

463 North Midway Drive, Escondido, 

California 92027 


• Heritage Elementary School, Kindergarten to 

6th grades, 1855 East Valley Parkway, 


• Heritage Junior High School, 7th & 8th grades, 

2255 East Valley Parkway, Escondido, 


• Heritage Flex Academy, Kindergarten to 8th 

grades, 2269 East Valley Parkway, Escondido, 


When Escondido Charter High School, the 

flagship school for the American Heritage Charter 

Schools, was established in 1996, the policies and 

procedures were adopted by the founding Board 

members: Neal Steinbeck, President, and Keith 

Battle, Anita Powell and RoseMarie Crouch. The 

school’s founder, “Coach” Dennis Snyder, was the 

first Executive Director for ECHS and from the 

beginning provided important leadership and 

guidance and selected Ron McCowan to serve as 

the first Director/Principal. The school’s ‘tone’ was 

set! The vision for ‘improving pupil learning’ 

continues as the focus for all the schools with the 

staffs and parents working together— 

TEAMWORK—making a difference in the lives of 

the students. From vision to reality—a reputation 

of excellence has been established by the 

American Heritage Charter Schools and continues 

through the on-going dedication of the staffs, 

students and parents. 

School colors: Black, maroon and white 

School mascot: White Tigers 

School motto: “We will face any challenge with 

strength and pride.” 

For additional information about American 

Heritage Charter Schools, call: (760) 737-3154 or 

visit www.americanheritagecharterschools. 

G 

Below: Heritage Junior High School. 


PALOMAR 

HEALTH 

G 

Above: Charlotta Baker Hintz and 

Elizabeth Martin founded Escondido’s 

first hospital in 1933. 

Below: Palomar Memorial Hospital 

opened on Feb. 16, 1950 with 37 beds 

and 35 staff. The hospital grew to 

more than 300 beds by 1976 and was 

fully operational until 2016. 

Palomar Health has a long and rich history 

dating back to 1933 when a nurse and dietician 

from Orange County lead a grass-roots effort to 

establish Escondido’s first permanent hospital. 

Those early roots sprouted into what is today 

the largest public health district in California. 

Through name changes, expansions, and facility 

movements, Palomar Health has stayed true to 

its roots by meeting the health and well-being 

needs of a growing community. 

Mrs. Charlotta Baker Hintz, a nurse and Miss 

Elizabeth Martin, a dietician, life-long friends 

from Friedensau, Germany, founded “Escondido 

Community Hospital” in the fall of 1933 (North 

County Inland’s first hospital) in a vacated egg 

and poultry building at 125 South Broadway in 

downtown Escondido. 

It originally began as thirteen beds but 

quickly grew to twenty-five, leaving little space 

to walk between beds and putting patients on 

waiting lists. Newborns slept in cardboard cribs. 

Emergency operations were performed on a 

stretcher in the bathroom. Patients with 

infectious diseases were placed next to noninfected 

patients. By 1945, the community 

realized it needed a new and expanded facility 

to meet growing demand. 

In 1945, a citizen’s group formed the 

Escondido Valley Hospital Association and 

began raising money to build a new hospital. 

They set a goal of $150,000, about one-third the 

cost of the building with the remainder to be 

supplied by state and federal grants. They held 

benefit dances, rummage sales, raffles, etc., and 

raised the money in five months and eventually 

identified the ideal property on a nine-acre hill 

on Grand Avenue and Valley Parkway. The 

property was purchased from Numerologist 

Stewart Henderson for $12,965 (after offering 

$20,000) because he looked on the new hospital 

as representing LIFE. (The specific offer 

corresponds to L being the 12th letter of the 

alphabet, I the 9th, F the 6th, and E the 5th and 

Henderson believed if he sold the land for 

L-I-F-E it would bring him good fortune). 

In 1948, two historic events took place in 

Escondido: the completion of the Palomar 

Observatory and through a vote of the people, 

the formation of Palomar Health, the largest 

public healthcare district in California covering 

eight hundred square miles. Less than two years 

later, the new hospital was constructed and on 


February 16, 1950, ten patients transferred 

from the hospital on South Broadway to 

Palomar Memorial Hospital, named in honor of 

local veterans who died during war. The thirtyseven 

bed hospital would become an iconic 

figure in the heart of Escondido for the next 

almost seventy years. On opening day it had 35 

employees, a monthly payroll of $9,000 and a 

daily private patient room rate of $13. 

The hospital grew in size with multiple 

additions throughout the 1950s and ’60s to 

keep pace with the population growth in north 

San Diego. In 1970, the iconic nine-story 

McLeod tower was constructed and by 1976, 

total bed capacity reached 306. The district 

opened its second hospital, Pomerado Hospital 

in Poway, on June 29, 1977. In 1985, Palomar 

Memorial Hospital received full designation as a 

trauma center and was renamed Palomar 

Medical Center in 1987. 

As the region continued to grow and new 

hospital building codes made retrofitting the 

60-year-old facility a costly endeavor, Palomar 

Health hosted a series of more than 200 town 

hall meetings to discuss the future of healthcare 

in north inland San Diego County. Ultimately 

Proposition BB passed with nearly seventy 

percent of voters saying yes to a bond measure 

in November 2004 to construct a new hospital 

in Escondido and upgrade existing facilities. In 

August 2012, the district’s third hospital, 

Palomar Medical Center Escondido, opened on 

Citracado Parkway. The new 288-bed acute care 

facility was known as “The Hospital of the 

Future,” earning multiple awards for its quality 

of care, architecture, technology, and small 

carbon footprint. In June 2015, Palomar Health 

decided to close the downtown campus and sell 

the land to use for housing. 

Two of the most prominent Escondido 

physicians during the mid-twentieth century, and 

activists to build a new hospital, were Dr. Martin 

B. Graybill and Dr. Linus Adams. Dr. Adams 

opened his practice in what is now Rosemary- 

Duff Florist shop on Broadway and 2nd Avenue in 

1931 next to the mortuary and what would 

become Escondido’s first hospital. 

Dr. Adams loved to practice “country 

medicine,” his daughter, Edith Adams 

Hillebrecht said, meaning doing a little bit of 

everything. She says he had his own pathology 

lab with a scope, operating room, x-ray machine 

and three separate rooms for people who were 

contagious. He had the same nurse, Lena, for 

the entire duration of his practice. 

Dr. Adams was instrumental in forming 

the Escondido Valley Hospital Association to 

raise funds for the new hospital and became 

chief of the medical staff in 1956 during a 

time when every physician in town took turns 

doing shifts at the hospital. When he retired in 

1965, a wing of Palomar Medical Center was 

named for him. 

Dr. Douglas Moir, a long-time Escondido 

resident and respected cardiologist, began his 

practice in 1975 and as of 2019 serves as the 

Chair of the Palomar Health Board of Directors. 

As a community activist, Dr. Moir was heavily 

involved in the fundraising and promoting of 

Proposition BB to build the “Hospital of the 

G 

Above: Escondido Community 

Hospital opened in a vacated egg and 

poultry building at 125 South 

Broadway in downtown Escondido. 

Below: Palomar Medical Center 

Downtown, c. the 1970s. 


G 

Right: Dr. Doug Moir has been 

actively involved in promoting the 

health and well being of Escondido for 

more than forty years as a 

cardiologist and community activist 

and philanthropist. 

Below: Palomar Medical Center 

Escondido was hailed as the Hospital 

of the Future when it opened in 2012. 

Future” on Citracado Parkway. Together with his 

wife and friends, Dr. Moir also started one of the 

first hospital pet visiting programs in the nation 

at Palomar Health, Rx Pets (now known as 

Palomar Paws) that became a national model. 

Dr. Moir is a founding member of the California 

Center for the Arts and the Escondido 

Charitable Foundation and has been an active 

philanthropist in the community. In 2018, the 

North County Philanthropic Council awarded 

Dr. Moir with the “Robert Krejci Standard of 

Excellence Award” for his tireless effort to 

promote and support the community. 

Palomar Health provides comprehensive 

coordinated care that extends from traditional 

hospital services to the community and your 

home. However, meeting the needs of the 

community goes beyond the normal breadth 

of services. 

In 1991, Palomar Health committed to 

helping survivors of sexual assault and child 

abuse by founding Forensic Health Services 

(FHS) to provide forensic medical evaluations 

and evidentiary examinations to hold 

perpetrators accountable. Today it serves more 


than a thousand victims of domestic violence 

and sexual assault each year. 

Palomar Health maintains industry-leading 

standards as the only hospital-based home 

health care provider in San Diego County 

allowing patients to have peace of mind that 

they will receive top-quality care in the comfort 

of their home. 

To uphold the mission “to heal, comfort and 

promote health in the communities we serve,” 

Palomar Health holds more than six hundred 

free health education classes each year so 

residents can make the best health care decisions 

for their families. 

Palomar Health is committed to supporting 

the healthcare workforce of tomorrow by 

operating the Pathmaker internship program 

that provides hands-on opportunities for more 

than 850 high school and college students 

performing 165,000 internship hours every year. 

Throughout the past eighty-five years, 

Palomar Health has continued to meet the 

needs of a growing community by providing 

industry-leading health care close to home. In 

that time, the physicians, nurses, technicians 

and the entire workforce have been recognized 

with numerous national awards and 

designations including Centers of Excellence in 

Orthopedics, Heart and Vascular Care, 

Bariatrics, and Stroke care. The district 

operates the only Level Two Trauma Center in 

North San Diego County and one of 

the busiest Emergency Departments in 

California. In 2014, Palomar Health passed 

Mayo Clinic’s rigorous evaluation process and 

was named California’s first member of the 

Mayo Clinic Care Network, bringing expertise 

from this top-ranked hospital to the residents of 

North San Diego County. 

Palomar Health is as committed as ever to 

heal, comfort, and promote health in the 

community and be the health system of choice 

for patients, physicians and employees for 

generations to come. 

G 

The Pathmakers internship 

program is developing healthcare 

leaders of tomorrow.. 


GRAYBILL 

MEDICAL 

GROUP 

G 

Right: Dr. Martin Graybill. 

Below: Graybill Medical Group’s office 

at 225 East Second Avenue. 

Escondido was a small town of just thirty-five 

hundred residents when a young Dr. Martin B. 

Graybill and his wife, Ruth, arrived in 1931. As he 

later recalled for Escondido historian Frances Ryan, 

“On Christmas Eve that year, Ruth and I stood on 

a hill in West Escondido and saw the panoramic 

view of Palomar Mountain covered with snow, the 

beautiful greenery in all areas, and the beautiful 

orange trees just below us. I said to Ruth, ‘This is 

paradise. Here is where we should settle.’” 

Thus began a decades-long legacy of healthcare 

service to the community. In 1932, Dr. Graybill 

and Dr. Henry C. Barron opened the first Graybill 

Medical Office at 145 West Grand Avenue, on the 

second floor of what was then Escondido Hospital. 

During those early years, the physicians delivered 

babies, performed surgeries, took turns covering 

the emergency room at the hospital, and worked 

as a team helping each other with a wide variety of 

medical procedures. The Group remained in its 

original location for more than two decades before 

moving to a new building at 250 South Kalmia. 

Economic development and a growing 

patient base resulted in growth for the Group 

and, eventually, a need for larger facilities. In the 

mid-1990s, the Group relocated to a new multistory 

medical office at 225 East Second Avenue. 

Today, Graybill occupies nearly the entire 

50,000-square-foot building. 

Today, Graybill Medical Group has locations 

throughout North San Diego County plus 

Murrieta and Temecula in Riverside County. It 

provides more than 350,000 patient visits 

annually. More than eighty physicians and 

advanced practitioners offer the following services: 

• primary care services, including family 

medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics 

• urgent care 

• specialty care services, including cardiology; 

ear, nose & throat; functional medicine; 

gastroenterology; general surgery; orthopedic 

surgery; sports medicine; and urology. 

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 

pandemic, the Group instituted enhanced safety 

measures at all locations to avoid the transmission 

of coronavirus. This included taking temperatures 

of all who enter the premises, requiring the 

wearing of facial coverings, encouraging social 

distancing, and recommending the use of 

telehealth whenever possible. 

Dr. Graybill continued to practice medicine 

until his death in 1979. His values of quality, 

personalized health care remain the Group’s 

guiding principles today. 


The Escondido History Center is a 

non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The 

grass roots community organization was 

formed in 1956 as the Escondido 

Historical Society. Its purpose: to collect 

photographs, artifacts, and documents. 

In January 2006 the organization’s name 

was changed to the Escondido History 

Center. The History Center relocated 

the city’s first library to Grape Day Park 

in 1971 and it became the first 

component of the Center’s museum. 

The Escondido History Center has a photograph 

collection of over 8,000 images of Escondido 

and the immediate area, and a collection of over 

30,000 artifacts that emphasizes items with a 

clear connection to Escondido either by 

manufacture or use. Much of the History 

Center’s archival materials, including rare 

books, manuscripts, maps and paper files are 

currently on long term loan to the Pioneer 

Room of the Escondido Public Library where 

they are accessible to the public. 

The Escondido History Center’s largest 

accomplishment is saving a number of significant 

buildings from destruction and moving them to 

Grape Day Park where they now form our local 

history museum. By visiting the Escondido 

History Center, visitors gain an understanding of 

Escondido’s history, and see how the city has 

grown and changed since it was incorporated in 

1888. The museum buildings represent the many 

facets of our community: residential, agricultural, 

business, transportation, and cultural life. 

With the initiation of the museum, the 

Escondido History Center began a period of 

great growth and organizational progress which 

continues through today. The History Center’s 

many activities are as follows: 

• operating a free public museum 

• operating a working blacksmith and wheelwright 

shop 

• providing blacksmithing and wheelwright 

classes 

• providing access to research materials 

• promoting local history through various 

educational programs 

• conducting school tours and group tours 

• producing a quarterly newsletter and other 

publications 

• interpreting Escondido history through 

exhibits, events and tours 

• producing annual events such as the 

American Heritage Car Show, Adobe Home 

Tour, Grape Day Festival, and Movies in 

the Park 

• conducting monthly walking tours of 

historic Escondido 

ESCONDIDO 

HISTORY 

CENTER 

G 

Above: A view of the Escondido 

History Center from Broadway 

looking west. The History Center is 

comprised of six historic buildings 

which include the 1895 Escondido 

first library; an 1890 Victorian 

country home; the 1907 Penner Barn; 

the 1908 Bandy Blacksmith and 

Wheelwright Shop; the 1888 Santa 

Fe Depot; and a 1929 Pullman 

railroad car. 

Bottom, left: A major function of the 

Escondido History Center is to 

promote local history education to the 

schools in the area. Volunteer, Norm 

Barnhard, can be seen leading a 

group of 3rd graders through the 

Santa Fe Depot. 

Bottom, right: Movies in the Park is 

an annual event produced by the 

Escondido History Center in 

partnership with the City of 

Escondido. Free to the public, 

four family-friendly movies are 

shown each summer attracting 

hundreds of participants. 


ESCONDIDO 

UNION SCHOOL 

DISTRICT 

G 

Above: Orange Glen School was built 

quickly to replace Oak Glen School, 

which was destroyed by fire in 1894. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FRANCES RYAN 

COLLECTION, ESCONDIDO PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Below: Bus driver Jack Stoft and his 

young passengers paused for a photo 

in front of Escondido Grammar 

School, located at Fifth Avenue and 

Broadway (formerly Lime Street) 

c. 1919. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ELOISE PERKINS 


Escondido Union School District (EUSD) has 

been a proud member of the community for more 

than 135 years—well before Escondido became a 

city in 1888. EUSD has been educating, nurturing, 

and empowering the children of Escondido since 

the 1880s, giving the district a strong sense of 

community and commitment. 

EUSD is hardly stuck in the past, however. 

Serving nearly 16,000 children from preschool 

through 8th grade, the district is a forwardthinking 

community that believes in educating 

and caring for the whole child—preparing them 

for success in our neighboring Escondido Union 

High School District, in college, and beyond. 

From the district’s humble beginnings, at the 

Little Rock Springs School, to our newest school 

community, at Quantum Academy, EUSD has 

grown and changed with the times. 

Had a visitor from the future told Elizabeth 

Judson, Escondido’s only teacher in the 1880s, 

what was to come for the community’s schools a 

century later and beyond, she likely would have 

thought it the stuff of science fiction: Children 

building robots, writing computer code, designing 

presentations on handheld electronic devices, 

taking instantly viewable photographs, making 

movies. In the 1880s, no one would have guessed 

that a woman would ever lead the school district. 

But that did happen, in 2006, when Jennifer 

Walters became superintendent. 

Much of the work that today’s Escondido 

students produce also would be recognizable to 

nineteenth-century teachers. It’s just on a much 

bigger scale. EUSD children grow fruits and 

vegetables in large school gardens. They study 

the local environment. They create art and make 

music. They conduct science experiments. They 

exercise and compete in sports. They write 

stories, poems, and essays. They add, subtract, 

multiply, and divide—albeit in a much more 

thought-provoking manner than a century ago. 

EUSD’s roots in the community are deep, and 

it’s been a generous, give-and-take relationship 

from the beginning. Residents in 1894 rallied to 

rebuild a fire-stricken Oak Glen School into 

what would become Orange Glen School— 

thanks to the donation of orange trees from 

orchard owner B.F. Dixon. In the 1930s and 

1940s, the small neighboring districts of 

Oakdale, Richland, and Rincon needed help 

educating their children, and they were 

added to the Escondido district. In 2014, 

residents overwhelmingly supported the district 

with the passage of a $182.1 million bond that 


today is providing much-needed modernization 

upgrades to our campuses. 

Community partnerships give Escondido 

students access to extraordinary enrichment 

experiences. Today, EUSD is fortunate to call 

more than two dozen organizations true 

community partners in the education and care 

of our students. These include—but are far from 

limited to—an arts center, a state university, a 

technology company, a museum, an orchestra, 

health agencies, environmental organizations, 

charitable foundations, youth agencies, local 

government, and much more. 

These partners aim to get our students out in 

the field learning to protect our watershed. They 

work to shade our kindergartners from the 

bright Southern California sun. They raise funds 

for innovative classroom projects like a 

hydroponic garden. They enrich our students’ 

musical education experience. They support our 

families with an extra layer of social-emotional 

resources. These are parents and taxpayers who 

support multimillion-dollar bonds to modernize 

our campuses. 

EUSD families want their children to have 

opportunities that enrich their lives and are 

relevant to the things they are learning. EUSD 

students have opportunities that go beyond 

reading, writing, and arithmetic. The district 

achieves this by creating enrichment programs 

with partners in the community. These programs 

provide hands-on experiences in and outside the 

classroom that would expose students to realworld 

applications of the lessons they are learning 

in science, math, art, music, and more. 

One of those most valuable partners has been 

the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 

(CCAE), which provides professional performance 

space for our students as well as numerous arts 

education programs. The crowning achievement of 

this partnership is the annual smART festival. The 

visual and performing arts showcase, which began 

in 2013, is a flagship event for the district, 

featuring thousands of pieces of art and numerous 

band and theater performances. Its growth and 

success is a testament to the partnership between 

the district and CCAE. 

In 2019, one of these programs was awarded 

an Honorable Mention Inspire Award in the 

Classroom of the Future Foundation’s annual 

Innovation in Education Awards. That program, 

“Protecting Our Watershed: Inquiry to Action,” 

was spearheaded by an EUSD science educator, 

who brought together The Escondido Creek 

Conservancy, San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, 

and San Diego Zoo to give every 3rd-, 4th-, and 

5th-grader hands-on field work experience. 

This extraordinary field work also happens for 

our middle-schoolers thanks to the Friends of 

Daley Ranch. 

EUSD’s partnership with Escondido’s own 

San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum 

supports our youngest learners and their 

families, with field-work visits to the museum 

and complimentary museum memberships so 

students can return with their parents. The 

Summer Scholars program with the Palomar 

G 

Above: Escondido Grammar School, 

completed in 1910, also known as the 

Fifth Avenue School. The two-story, 

red-brick school was similar to its 

predecessor, Lime Street School. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANCES RYAN 


Below: First-grade teacher at Rose 

Elementary, Stephanie Glanz was 

honored as a “San Diego County 

Teacher of the Year for 2018-19.” She 

teaches in the same classroom where 

she sat as a second-grader. 

CREDIT: COURTESY OF ESCONDIDO UNION 

SCHOOL DISTRICT 


1 4 0 F E S C O N D I D O : A P i c t o r i a l H i s t o r y o f t h e H i d d e n V a l l e y 

Family YMCA combines academic work with 

enrichment activities. In addition to extra 

academic support, students had the chance to 

learn to swim and try other sports. 

These partnerships support our children and 

families beyond academics and focus on health 

and well-being to ensure that students are ready 

to learn when they arrive in class every day. With 

school social workers, family liaisons, and 

counselors in every school, backed by a stellar 

intervention and Integrated Student Supports 

team, our students and families are well-assisted. 

The district’s community collaborative 

partnership program, born as the award-winning 

CARE Youth Project, has made a tremendous 

impact on our students and schools. This project 

earned a prestigious Golden Bell Award from the 

California School Boards Association, and a 

Public Health Champion Award from the County 

of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. 

In 2015, EUSD was one of 11 school districts in 

California to be designated as a model of 

attendance improvement by the State School 

Attendance Review Board. 

These are just a fraction of the dozens 

community partnerships of which we are proud 

to be involved. 

EUSD programs are admired near and far. The 

Technology and Innovation team’s work is just 

one example. Its iREAD program has been 

modeled around the world, with educators from 

Japan and New Zealand making repeat visits to 

EUSD to learn more and replicate the program’s 

success. Our technology initiatives continue to 

grow, with one-to-one iPads rolling out across all 

grade levels, accompanied by the highest level of 

professional training for all teachers in order to 

maximize the potential of this education tool. 

This technology enhances the learning experience 

for students, giving a boost to communication, 

collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. It 

comes as no surprise that EUSD is a three-time 

recipient of the Apple Distinguished Program 

award that recognizes innovation, leadership, and 

educational excellence. 

Today, EUSD educators and support staff are 

committed to opening the doors to the unlimited 

potential for every student through award-winning 

academic, arts, technology, and family engagement 

programs. In EUSD, all means all when preparing 

our students for the twenty-first century.

G 

Opposite, top: Lincoln Elementary 

students grow food in a hydroponic 

indoor garden established by teacher 

Melody Crook. Everything the 

students harvest is used in the 

school cafeteria. 

COURTESY OF THE ESCONDIDO UNION 

SCHOOL DISTRICT. 

Opposite, middle: Del Dios Academy 

of Arts and Sciences was established 

as a specialty school in 2014. In 

2018, the school unveiled a state-ofthe-art 

STEM lab that was made 

possible by a $100,000 grant from the 

Northrop Grumman Foundation. 



It’s no wonder that so many of our students, 

parents, teachers, and staff members are 2nd-, 

3rd-, or even 4th-generation EUSD families. 

One of EUSD’s award-winning educators 

teaches in the very classroom where she sat 

years ago as a 2nd-grader. 

The Escondido Union School District is 

dedicated to providing a high-quality, enriching 

educational experience for all students. It is a 

school district that is constantly moving forward 

in an upward trajectory. 

The sky is the limit for EUSD students, and 

they are ready to tackle the world. See for 

yourself: We encourage community members to 

set up a visit to one of our beautiful campuses or 

attend one of our festive events. 

Opposite, bottom: EUSD was a 

pioneer in using hand-held digital 

devices to enhance learning and 

instruction. By 2020, every student in 

the district will be assigned an iPad to 

use for classwork and homework. 



Above: EUSD boasts a robust visual 

arts program, and students’ 

creativity is showcased at the annual 

smART Festival. 

Left: Broadcast production programs 

are in place at five middle schools and 

numerous elementary schools in 

EUSD, with students producing daily 

and weekly news programming. 




NEIGHBORHOOD 

HEALTHCARE 

It was 1969, the year that man landed on the 

moon. The possibilities seemed endless and a 

spirit of unity was foremost in the minds of local 

Escondido residents. 

Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong left a plaque 

on the moon in July 1969 that said: “Here men 

from planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. 

We came in peace for all mankind.” 

If we could land on the moon, surely 

concerned Escondido leaders could bring a 

spirit of unity and collaboration to solve our 

problems right here at home. A handful of 

concerned Escondido citizens did just that by 

opening Escondido’s first, free community clinic 

in September 1969. 

Thanks to the determined efforts of Dr. and 

Mrs. Oliver Thomas, along with Dr. and Mrs. 

William Boyce and others, the free clinic called 

“Escondido Community Clinic” became a 

reality. City volunteers paid the city one dollar 

for a one-year “lease” for a building in 

downtown Escondido. 

Once the clinic opened its doors, Dr. Thomas 

began seeing patients at no charge for three days 

a week and free healthcare was available for 

anyone in need. 

Why the need for a free clinic? It was quite 

simple. Sick children who were missing school 

could now get help and medication when 

their parents could not afford to pay a doctor. 

Adults could get care as well. Adults checking 

into Palomar Hospital’s emergency room with 

a toothache, the flu or a bad back now had 

access to a new “medical home” at Escondido 

Community Clinic and could avoid going to the 

local emergency room. 

Fifty years later, Neighborhood Healthcare 

(Escondido Community Clinic) now boasts 

sixteen health centers located throughout San 

Diego and Riverside counties. Since that first 

clinic’s opening in 1969, each successive decade 

has brought more growth and diversification to 

Neighborhood Healthcare, which incorporated 

in 1971. 

In the 1970s, the clinic acquired nonprofit 

status, added volunteer dental services, and 

moved into a new facility to allow more patients 

to get care. 

In the 1980s, the clinic’s services expanded to 

include prenatal care for moms and babies. Tracy 

Ream was named chief executive officer, the clinic’s 

first full-time physician was hired and Saturday 

hours were added. Because of the extraordinary 

demand for its services, Neighborhood Healthcare 

outgrew its original health center and renovated a 

retail building on Elm Street in Escondido, thanks 

to financial assistance from Palomar Health. The 

center offered prenatal care, vaccines, and medical 

services for those without health insurance. 

Five new clinics—in Temecula, Pauma Valley, 

Lakeside, El Cajon, and La Mesa—opened in the 

1990s. In partnership with Palomar Health and 

Escondido Women’s OB/GYN group, a nurse 


midwife program for comprehensive prenatal, 

deliveries, and postpartum care for low-income 

women was initiated in 1995. The same year, an 

adult medicine office in Escondido specializing in 

care for the HIV population was opened under 

the expertise of Dr. Daniel Harrison, an internal 

medicine doctor who specialized in treating the 

exploding population of HIV positive individuals. 

In 2002, Neighborhood Healthcare merged 

with East County community health centers 

in Lakeside, El Cajon, and La Mesa and was 

designated to receive federal funding. In 

response to the increased demand for geriatric 

services, Neighborhood Healthcare purchased 

and renovated a building in Escondido to serve 

older adults in 2008. 

The next decade brought further growth and 

accomplishments for Neighborhood Healthcare. 

In 2016, the organization successfully 

completed a $3-million campaign for the Gold 

Family Health Center in Poway. This milestone 

was celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony 

and, in 2018, The Gold Family Health Center in 

Poway opened its doors. 

Meanwhile, Tracy Ream retired as CEO in 

November 2017 after thirty-one years of 

service. The Board of Directors named Dr. 

Rakesh Patel as her successor. Dr. Patel worked 

at Neighborhood Healthcare for fifteen years 

prior to his appointment as CEO. He began 

working as a family physician in 2002, 

spending much of his time caring for the 

Middle Eastern refugee population seeking care 

at Neighborhood Healthcare, El Cajon. Over 

the years, he had moved into more 

administrative leadership roles. 

“I am honored to be part of an organization 

where hearts still guide our mission and where 

I am supported by the hardest working and 

most compassionate employees, leadership and 

board of directors out there,” said Dr. Patel. 

“Our mission is to improve the health and 

happiness of the communities we serve by 

providing high-quality healthcare to all, 

regardless of situation or circumstance has 

never changed in fifty years. That’s what makes 

the relationship we have with the communities 

we serve so special.” 

During Tracy Ream’s remarkable tenure, she 

led a nonprofit community healthcare agency 

that transformed from a tiny office provided by 

G 

Neighborhood Healthcare builds 

lifelong relationships. A patient as a 

child, this young woman (left) is now 

employed with us as a nurse. We are 

so proud! 


G 

Above: Breaking ground for the Gold 

Family Health Center. 

Below: Growing access to quality 

healthcare for the community. 

the City of Escondido for a dollar’s rent per year 

to a two county, 14-site health system serving 

67,000 low-income and uninsured patients and 

comprising some 271,000 medical, dental and 

behavioral health visits a year. 

Since its inception, Neighborhood Healthcare 

has been committed to providing quality 

healthcare and promoting wellness to everyone in 

its communities. Over the years, Neighborhood 

Healthcare has expanded its services to include 

not only medical care, but also dental, behavioral 

healthcare, chiropractic care, acupuncture care 

and podiatry. In addition, various educational 

programs to encourage healthy lifestyles are 

offered as well as teen wellness clinics. This 

program helps local teenagers address healthcare 


issues and includes screening for depression. 

Teens discuss traits of healthy relationships and 

staff teach interested students how to prepare for 

a college education. 

Neighborhood Healthcare now operates 16 

health centers in two counties, cares for 66,500 

patients, employs 720 staff members, and has 

an operating annual budget of $75 million. 

Clearly, the little neighborhood clinic has 

grown up quite nicely. And, in 2019, 

Neighborhood Healthcare celebrates an 

enduring milestone—fifty years of healing and 

hope to its neighbors in need! 

G 

Top: The generous support of the 

Escondido community has allowed 

Neighborhood Healthcare to grow to 

16 health centers serving 66,500 

patients each year. 

Middle: The annual Pace Setter Gala. 

Bottom: Celebrating fifty years 

of service. 


CITY OF 

ESCONDIDO 

The City of Escondido’s rich past brings 

charm and stability to the community. You can 

see it in the historic homes of Old Escondido or 

experience it in the thriving downtown area and 

the weekly blast from the past, “Cruisin’ Grand.” 

Yet integrated with Escondido’s treasured 

heritage is a progressive future, bright and 

brimming with promise. New jobs, new cultural 

amenities, new entertainment venues, new 

choices for residential living, and a new vision 

for Escondido’s future make Escondido a safe, 

clean, and efficiently run city. 

Incorporated in 1888, Escondido is a fullservice, 

general-law city with four Council 

Members elected by district, and a Mayor 

elected at large. These elected officials create the 

policy that shapes the City while navigating 

challenges and prioritizing the safety and 

quality of life in Escondido. The City operates 

under the Council-Manager form of government 


that combines the strong political leadership of 

elected officials in the form of a Council with 

the strong managerial experience of an 

appointed local government manager. 

More and more people are making 

Escondido their “City of Choice.” As the heart 

of San Diego’s North County, it is one of the few 

remaining communities where people of all 

income levels can enjoy the Southern California 

lifestyle. Escondido offers attractive homes in a 

wide range of prices, education options from 

grade school to university, two lakes, several 

parks, a sports center, golf courses, restaurants, 

breweries and wineries, shopping centers, an 

established auto park, comprehensive 

healthcare and the nearby San Diego Zoo’s 

Safari Park. In addition, our beautiful local 

theaters bring world class entertainment to the 

area at the California Center for the Arts, 

Escondido, Patio Playhouse, the Amphitheater 

at Kit Carson Pak, and the Welk Theater. Queen 

Califia’s Magical Circle sculpture garden was 

donated by late internationally renowned artist 

Niki de Saint Phalle and opened in Kit Carson 

Park in 2003. 

In recent years Escondido was named 

by Money Magazine as the “Best Place in 

the West” in which to retire and, at the 

other end of the spectrum, was named a 

“Kid-Friendly City” for our broad range of 



youth programs. Ladies Home Journal also 

ranked Escondido number eight among the 

“Top Ten Cities for Government.” 

The Escondido City Council adopted a 

Council Action Plan in 2000 to provide a 

comprehensive road map for achieving goals. 

The City Council Action Plan represents the 

City Council’s collective vision for Escondido’s 

future and the key strategies that will be used to 

achieve that vision. It is developed biennially 

following a workshop where key policy 

interests are identified and discussed by the 

City Council, City staff and the public. City staff 

then work collaboratively to make sure the City 

Council’s goals remain a top priority across all 

departments. The current Council Action Plan 

is focused in four areas: 

Economic Development—A key priority for 

the Escondido City Council is to ensure the 

City’s business community thrives. Staff have 

expanded Escondido’s Comprehensive 

Economic Development Strategy to target 

specific geographic areas based on factors such 

as demographics and emerging trends. To keep 

Escondido positioned as a business forward 

community, the City has partnered with the 

other five cities in the North County region 

along the Highway 78 Corridor to form 

Innovate 78 to collaborate as a hub for 

innovation. Escondido strives to maintain a

strong relationship with business groups in 

the City including, the Escondido Chamber 

of Commerce, the Downtown Business 

Association, and the Mercado Business District. 

Fiscal Management—The City of Escondido 

weathered the Great Recession that began in 

2007. During that time, the City reduced 

government size, improved efficiencies, and 

streamlined regulations. Because it proactively 

responded to the economic downturn, the City 

now boasts a bond rating of AA- and has built a 

General Fund reserve surpassing $17 million. In 

an effort to continue to protect the City’s fiscal 

health, the Escondido City Council has started 

to contribute surplus funds to the employee 

pension trust. 

Neighborhood Improvement—A key priority 

for the Escondido City Council is enhancing the 

quality of life in the City. Strategic goals have 

been set to improve our neighborhoods: 

increasing proactive code enforcement staffing 

and activity, aggressively addressing issues 

related to homelessness, improving traffic flow, 

rehabilitating pool and recreation facilities, and 

developing more opportunities for youth. 

Public Safety—Escondido is a full-service 

city with our own police and fire departments, 

and providing top notch public safety services 

is central to our mission. In the past few years, 

the City has developed unique and effective 

strategies to partner with the community to 

enhance public safety. These programs— 

the Neighborhood Transformation program 

(NTP) and the Neighborhood Enhancement, 

Awareness and Training (NEAT) program are 

thriving and creating a strong sense of 

empowerment in the City’s neighborhoods. 

Escondido continues to be a great city in 

which to conduct business, to explore, and to 

call home. 


THE GRAND 

G 

Above: The site of The Grand, 

c. the 1950s. 

Below and opposite page: The Grand 

Opening, October 2020. 

THE HISTORIC RITZ THEATER 

The cultural heart of Escondido has always 

been on Grand Avenue, and for much of the 

city’s early history, an icon of Grand Avenue was 

the Ritz Theater. Originally built in 1937 by Mr. 

and Mrs. John Johnson, the historic theater was 

once a vibrant place of community life in the 

early-mid 20th century until 1951 when a fire 

gutted the interior. It reopened in 1954, but 

struggled and eventually even became an X- 

rated movie house in the early 1970's called the 

Pussycat Theater. After being shut down for a 

time, the theater was reopened with family films 

in 1976 and renamed the Bijou Theater, but the 

venture failed. The theater was remodeled again 

in 1981 and featured Spanish language films. In 

1993, the theater was renamed once more as the 

Big Screen Theater and showed art films, but 

that did not last long. In 2003 the theater was 

once more called by it’s original name the Ritz 

Theater, but the double bill only lasted nine 

days and the theater closed, remained vacant for 

over 15 years. 

In 2018, New Vintage Church, a local nondenominational 

church led by Pastor Tim Spivey, 

launched an exciting, fresh project to restore the 

Ritz and redevelop the adjacent corner building 

into a stunning new performing arts complex and 

community events venue, called The Grand. This 

reimagined and fully renovated space would not 

only function as a theater, but now serve multiple 

uses, bringing new people, vibrancy and cultural 

activity back to the heart of Escondido. 

Working closely with a world-class team of 

architects, city council and planning officials, as well 

as the Escondido Historical Society, 

Pastor Spivey and his team were very 

intentional about honoring the historic 

significance of the original Ritz Theater, 

utilizing the art-deco elements that are 

reminiscent of the theater’s golden era, 

including a newly commissioned mural 

by esteemed artists Darren LaGallo and 

Chandler Woods. The result was a 

beautifully expanded and enhanced 

structure, including the iconic corner 

blade sign that is now a landmark, 

making this one of Escondido's most 

significant buildings in the same style as 

the California Center for the Arts and 

City Hall. 


A GRAND NEW ERA 

The new Grand building opened Fall of 

2020. The renovation included a fully updated 

Ritz, with the addition of state-of-the-art 

lighting and sound and a 477-seat theater that 

accommodates not only movies, but also 

includes the addition of a stage for live 

performing arts productions and concerts. A 

mezzanine level was also added to the theater 

space to provide a versatile event and cabaretstyle 

venue. 

Interior design pay homage to some of the 

original design elements, including decorative 

seat ends similar to the original 1937 theater 

seats. Whether showing vintage films, featuring 

civic youth orchestra, or showcasing the 

developing talents of young theater performers, 

this theater is once again the cultural heartbeat 

of Escondido. 

Additionally, The Grand features 20,000 

square feet of public gathering and event 

spaces, including the only rooftop patio venue 

of any kind on Grand Avenue and Manzanita 

Roasting Company, a nationally recognized craft 

coffee café, owned and operated by Samantha 

and Weston Nawrocki. These beautiful spaces 

bring people from all over the region together to 

connect and celebrate. Part of the Grand design 

was to provide classy, high-end gathering spaces 

that help build Escondido’s reputation as an 

event and recreation destination. 

Finally, The Grand remains the home and 

primary worship space for New Vintage 

Church. While it will never resemble what 

most people think of as a traditional church 

building, Pastor Spivey believes this facility to 

be the kind of endeavor that churches of the 

future will need to grow and thrive. “We 

believe that the gospel of Jesus restores,” states 

Pastor Spivey, “not only individual lives, but 

communities and cities. The idea that the 

gospel can restore life, beauty, art, culture, 

education, and community back into this 

prominent and visible historical corner is part 

of what we believe God is calling us to do. This 

corner of Grand Avenue, both its location at 

the heart of our city marketplace and its 

cultural significance as a historic theater, is an 

ideal location for our church to make a 

positive impact.” 


BOYS & GIRLS 

CLUBS OF 

GREATER 

SAN DIEGO 

G 

Above: Historical and current photos of 

the Conrad Prebys Branch Clubhouse. 

Below: Pool builder Bruce Dunn 

makes a splash with Club kids 

during the Baker Branch pool 

opening ceremony. 

In 1954, Escondido resident Lefty Mitchell, 

sought to provide a place where boys could 

gather for constructive activities after school. As 

chief of police, Mitchell saw a need for youth 

guidance and started the Escondido Boys Club 

with the support of several business and 

community leaders. 

The Boys Club quickly became a second 

home that instilled morals, gave members a 

sense of responsibility and hope for a better 

future. Six years after seeing the influence of The 

Boys Club, Soroptimist International opened the 

Escondido Girls Club to serve girls in the area. 

Through the course of twenty-seven years, 

the Boys Club added a gymnasium, a child 

development program, and a teen center. Due to 

changing demographics, which resulted in 

families with both parents working, the two 

organizations combined in 1981 to create the 

first merged Boys Club & Girls Club in San 

Diego County. In 1989, the organization opened 

a second clubhouse in Escondido—the Neville 

& Helen Baker Family Branch. The club 

currently operates multiple school and public 

housing based sites in the community. 

Today, the Conrad Prebys Escondido Branch 

is part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San 

Diego. The organization’s largest clubhouse, it 

serves over 1,200 youth annually, with its two 

gymnasiums, ball field, computer lab, dance 

studio, and arts room. The branch offers youth 

the opportunity to explore sports, technology 

and the arts. Through after school programs and 

day camps, the club promotes the social, 

emotional, mental, and physical development of 

school age boys and girls. The Club also 

provides licensed child care for children, ages 

six weeks through six years. 


In its 65 years of service, the Boys & Girls 

Clubs of Greater San Diego have impacted 

over 100,000 children and has mentored 

influential community members such as renowned 

wildlife artist Joe Garcia, NFL quarterback 

Sean Salisbury, television actor Randy Vasquez, 

PGA golfer Mark Wiebe, and State Senator 

Mark Wyland. 

G 

The Albert & Wilma Wilson Ball Field 

opened in 2016. 


CITRACADO 

DENTAL 

WILLIAM R. 

JUNGMAN, DDS 

JULIE E. 

KANGAS, DDS 

ROBERT W. 

JUNGMAN, DDS, FAGD 

G 

NICOLAUS R. 

JUNGMAN, DDS 

AND 

ASSOCIATES 

Above: Dr William Randy Jungman 

and Dr Julie Kangas in the late 

1980s. 

Below: Dr Robert D. Jungman and 

son Dr William Randy Jungman with 

the senior Dr.’s first dental office door 

from Iowa, celebrating the completion 

of their current, Citracado Dental 

office, 1996. 

Opposite page, top and middle: The 

Citracado legacy continues with two 

of Dr Jungman and Dr Kangas’ sons 

now a part of the dental 

practice. Shown in this 2019 photo 

are (from left to right) Dr. Robert 

Jungman, Dr. Julie Kangas, Dr. Wm. 

Randy Jungman, and Dr. Nicolaus 

Jungman. 

Opposite page, bottom: (From left to 

right) Eagle Scout Nick Jungman, 

Eagle Scout Brian Jungman, proud 

mom Dr. Julie Kangas, happy dad Dr. 

Randy Jungman, Eagle Scout David 

Jungman, and Eagle Scout Dr. Robert 

Jungman, 2013. 

There is no greater example of a legacy 

family dental practice in San Diego County 

than Escondido’s Citracado Dental Group. 

Founded by second generation dentist, Dr. 

William Randy Jungman in 1980, he followed 

his father and brother into dentistry. Dr. Randy 

met the love of his life, Dr. Julie E. Kangas, and 

they married upon her 1981 graduation, also 

from USC. 

The dental legacy began with Dr. Robert D. 

Jungman (University of Iowa-1947). Practicing 

a few years in West Des Moines, he was called to 

Korean War duty as a U.S. Navy dentist. 

Stationed in San Diego, which he loved, 

discovering that “winters are optional” here. Dr. 

Randy Jungman spent time in his father’s office 

and saw that this profession offered him a 

perfect mix of serving in healthcare, getting to 

know people on a personal level, and using his 

loves for art and science. Dr. Jungman’s older 

brother, Dr. Greg Jungman, moved to Colorado 

in 1976. 

Dr. Randy Jungman opened his first office in 

a tiny building on Broadway. After working 

opposite days with his wife and dental partner, 

they moved to the Del Norte Plaza in 1985. By 

the early 1990’s it was apparent that the 

personalized dental care provided by Dr. 

Jungman & Dr. Kangas was successful beyond 

their imagination. They were fortunate to be 

able to build a larger and more modern office. In 

1996 they moved into their third and final 

location for Citracado Dental, on El Norte 

Parkway. This mission style building was 

designed by a college friend, architect Art Sturz 

of Santa Barbara. Designed from the inside out, 

it accommodates all the modern and 

technological advances that are needed today, in 

a very timeless and comfortable office. 

Doctors Jungman and Kangas have been 

continually busy seeing patients, and growing 

their dental practice. They have always had a 

personal commitment that dental care be 

available to as many in our community as 

possible. This has included extended hours and 

Saturdays. In addition to the Jungman and 

Kangas family, Citracado has had other long 

term associates to provide their same level of 

care. They maintain a team of skilled dental 

hygienists, and are committed to their patient’s 

preventive health. Additionally, they provide the 

specialty services of a periodontist and an 

endodontist to provide complete family 

dentistry in their office. They value their long 

term staff, and know patients love seeing their 

familiar faces when they come in. Citracado 

Dental has over 150 Five Star Google reviews 

from their wonderful and thoughtful patients. 


Citracado Dental has continued to stay at the 

forefront of dentistry. They offer “same day” 

crowns, 3-D x-ray technology, as well as 

Invisalign orthodontics and dental implants in 

our office. Among their newest professional 

services offered are dental sleep apnea appliances 

and saliva DNA testing for advanced periodontal 

care and total health dentistry. Their love for 

dentistry was passed on to their children, as two 

of the four sons followed them into dentistry. Dr. 

Robert W. Jungman (named after his grandfather) 

graduated from the UCLA School of Dentistry in 

2012, and after a residency at UCLA, he joined 

the practice. He is now a partner and the clinical 

director. Dr. Nick Jungman graduated from USC’s 

School of Dentistry in 2018, like his parents, and 

after completing his residency in Santa Barbara, 

he joined the practice as well. 

They have also been very involved with the 

Escondido community from the beginning. Dr. 

Jungman has become and remained very 

involved with the Escondido Jaycees, The Boys 

& Girls Clubs and the Boys Scouts of America. 

Dr. Kangas is active in the American Business 

Woman’s Association and is a Chamber of 

Commerce Ambassador. They are proud parents 

of four Eagle Scouts. 

The doctors and team of Citracado Dental are 

committed to providing the highest level of care 

in a comfortable and affordable manner. From 

our family to yours-we promise to always treat 

you like family! 


FRIENDS OF THE 

ESCONDIDO 

LIBRARY 

G 

Above: Jean Farke (left) and Marjorie 

Vaile, members of the Steering 

Committee for the Friends of the 

Library in 1970. 

The Friends of the Escondido Library 

2018-2019 Board of Directors. Seated 

(from left to right): Patricia Crosby, 

library director; Mary Roy, secretary; 

Jim Tisdale, vice president; Elmer 

Cameron, president; and Cookie 

Allen, library volunteer coordinator. 

Standing (from left to right): Directors 

Linda Faulkner, Marlene Hoover, 

Georgia Chonko, Marge Kelley, Linda 

Parker, and Judy Tisdale; and Linda 

Atkinson, shop coordinator. Not 

shown: Christel Luther, treasurer. 

Friends of the Escondido Library began with 

a seven-member steering committee of local 

citizens who agreed to handle details of 

organizing this group. Dorothy Flessa chaired 

the committee and the charter meeting of 

the Friends was held June 7, 1970, at which 

time forty-four charter members adopted 

the organization’s constitution and bylaws. 

Richard Kornhauser served as president for 

the initial 1970-71 term. Graham Humphrey 

was librarian. 

At that time, the 6,000-square-foot library, 

built in 1956, was located at Kalmia and 

Third Avenue. It is now the library’s Pioneer 

Room which houses its collection of local 

Escondido history and genealogy research 

materials. The current two-story, 40,000- 

square-foot library on the same block was 

built in 1980 and underwent a major renovation 

in 2010. 

The Friends held their first of many book 

fairs and sales October 28, 1972, earning about 

$450. Most of the items for sale were discards 

and duplicate books weeded from the Library’s 

existing collection. In April 1973, Friends 

volunteers began manning a small area within 

the old Library on the first Friday of each month 

to sell books and records. That little area grew 

into a small shop. 

Now, approaching 50 years from the Friends 

founding, a current 11-member Board of 

Directors administers the Friends of the Library 

and membership averages about 300 people, 

with some 50 volunteers helping to operate the 

shop. The Friends Book Shop occupies a 

prominent space inside the library and is open 

forty hours a week. 

The shop is stocked with books, magazines, 

CDs, DVDs, and more, all donated from 

residents of the community. Books are priced 

very reasonably all the time, and half-price sales 

are held in the shop almost every month. 

Proceeds from the shop consistently average 

about $75,000 a year which allows the Friends 


to provide college scholarships to dedicated 

staff employees, and to sponsor a host of 

library programs that serve all ages of the 

community. We support a very active and 

progressive library and just some of these 

programs are listed below. 

Every year, the Summer Reading Challenge 

enrolls hundreds of patrons in all age groups. 

Youth Services Division presents BabyLapsit for 

newborns to toddlers to enjoy great books, fun 

songs and rhymes; The Toddler Tales program 

shares bilingual stories and songs; Inclusive Art 

Club where children of all ages and abilities 

enjoy stories and create art from favorite 

pictures books; Rhymes and Reading Storytime 

aimed at preparing preschoolers to enter 

kindergarten; Knights Realm Chess Club for 

ages 6-12; Paws for Reading for children to read 

aloud to Certified Pet Therapy Dogs and 

improve their reading skills; an occasional PJ 

Storytime where kids come to the library in the 

evening in their pajamas and bring their favorite 

stuffed animal to listen to some great stories, 

and a Sci-Fun Science Club offering cool science 

experiments for kids, taught by a retired 

scientist. A big hit is the annual John Abrams’ 

Animal Magic program. 

Teen programs include a Burritos & Books 

reading club; TeenTasticFunTime arts & crafts; 

Safe Space Escondido for ages 12-17 in a safe 

and friendly space to be yourself, meet new 

people, and participate in craft activities; Virtual 

Reality at the library for teens and adults to 

interact with unusual creatures and explore 

familiar and otherworldly landscapes. 

Adult programs include a very popular Winter 

Concert Series of professional musicians; 

Escondido Writers Group; Rincon Literario 

Bilingual Book Club; Second Tuesday Book Club; 

two Adult Graphic Novel Clubs; Book Club in a 

Bag program; and a variety of occasional events 

like (Halloween) Boos & Booze to learn about 

brewing craft beers, and a Succulent Swap for 

gardeners and gardeners-to-be. 

G 

Above: The Friends of the Library 

Book Shop. 

Below: Attendees line up in the 

Children’s Library area in anticipation 

of the Animal Magic program. 


NORTH COUNTY 

CEMETERY 

DISTRICT 

The North County Cemetery District—a 

consolidation of the Escondido Cemetery 

District and the San Marcos Cemetery District— 

was formed in 1984. This combined the 

resources of the two districts to provide a higher 

level of service and to standardize the policy and 

prices for residents and taxpayers of the district. 

The roots of the North County Cemetery 

District can be traced all the way back to the late 

1800s. In fact, the first recorded burial in 

the area occurred in 1878. With the death of 

Charles Thomas (part of the family which 

established the Escondido Land & Town 

Company) eleven years later, the Oak Hill 

Cemetery was officially established. The 

Escondido Land & Town Company deeded 

thirty-four acres of land along the southeast 

border of Rincon Del Diablo for use as a 

burial ground. 

“Back then, the location was quite a distance 

from town,” said Dennis Shepard, general 

manager of the District Office. “Of course, the 

town has grown quite a bit since then. Our site 

has grown from 34 acres to 150 acres.” 

The Oak Hill Cemetery Association, a 

voluntary group, was formed in October of 1889 

to administer the cemetery. Many local 

volunteers assisted. Albert Bandy constructed a 

decorative archway for the entry gate which 

remains to this day. 

Oak Hill Memorial Park is a public owned 

cemetery, paid for by a specific population 

through their taxes. The North County 

Cemetery District administers the cemetery and 

is governed by a five-member Board of Trustees. 

The district consists of two cemeteries—Oak 

Hill Memorial Park on Glen Ridge Road in 

Escondido and San Marcos Cemetery on 

Mulberry Drive in San Marcos. 


“We provide a history of service to the 

community,” said Shepard, who has served with 

the district in two different capacities since 

1991. “The individuals involved with the 

district are members of the community who 

have helped the community grow.” 

One constant remains. Community residents 

value their cultural and family histories. 

“During services or watching people visiting 

their families here, you can’t help notice the 

tremendous pride they have in family heritage,” 

said Shepard. 

Serving its community and providing 

outreach within the community is very important 

to the North County Cemetery District. 

“We do our best to positively impact our 

community,” said Shepard. “We partner with the 

Allied Veterans Council of Escondido for a 

Memorial Day service. We also partner with 

other organizations, such as the Audubon 

Society, whose members stop by on a regular 

basis. Our location is ideal for birdwatching. 

Then, there are those people who like to visit 

the grounds to take walks every day.” 

Each Memorial Day at Oak Hill, a special 

service is held to honor American war dead. The 

service features an avenue of flags, ritual of the 

flowers and a roll call of the current year’s 

deceased veterans. 

That’s not the only special event to be held at 

the cemetery. In 2004, the cemetery introduced an 

event in late October called “Echoes of the Past.” 

Organized by the Escondido History Center, its 

purpose was to breathe life into memory by 

selecting some of the decedents and having actors 

portray them for visitors. Dressed in period 

clothing, the actors were coached to accurately 

interpret the individuals being depicted. The event 

attracted residents to one of Escondido’s beautiful 

landmarks and generated pride and interest in the 

community’s unique history and heritage. 

Clearly, Oak Hill Memorial Park has done its 

part to positively impact the community it serves. 

But, it is always a work in progress. The past 

copings surrounding family plots, the windmill 

and reservoir, and some roads have been either 

removed or changed. Now, a lake and niche area 

is on the west side and Babyland is gently tucked 

on the east corner. In the future, Oak Hill will 

have features for a scattering garden, a committal 

center for ceremonies and family gathering. 

Irrespective of design, Oak Hill Memorial Park 

will continue to represent the community. 


ROTARY CLUB 

OF ESCONDIDO 

G 

The members of the Rotary Club of 

Escondido in 1959. 

Rotary is an organization of business and 

professional men and women united worldwide 

who provide humanitarian service, encourage 

high ethical standards in all vocations and help 

build goodwill and peace in the world. 

The first organizational meeting of the Rotary 

club of Escondido was held at the Lake Hodges 

Restaurant in March of 1924. Club 33 of San 

Diego sponsored the chartering of the 

Escondido Club on October 20, 1924. The charter 

membership of the club consisted of 25 

Escondido business and professional leaders 

including bankers, farmers, businessmen, a 

newspaper editor, a doctor, dentist, lawyer, 

pharmacist, and school superintendent. In 

November of 1924 the club held its first meeting 

at the Vale View Restaurant just east of 9th 

Avenue. Today, no less than 10 North San Diego 

County Rotary Clubs claim the Rotary Club of 

Escondido as their sponsor. 

At the time of the Rotary Club’s chartering in 

1924 Escondido’s population of 3,000 inhabitants 

enjoyed a prosperous city whose major 

crops were grapes and a growing citrus industry. 

Escondido had incorporated October 8, 1888, 

and annually celebrated a Grape Day Festival 

every September 9th, California Statehood Day. 

The event drew thousands of people from 

around the area, some arriving by train from 

Oceanside. The only parade with more entries 

in Southern California was the famous Rose 

Parade in Pasadena. 

The Rotary Club of Escondido and its members, 

as do all Rotary Clubs, believe that the 

objective of Rotary is to “encourage and foster 

the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise.” 

There are four areas by which this “ideal 

of service” is fostered: through the development 

of acquaintance as the opportunity for service; 

the promotion of high ethical standards in business 

and professions; through service in one’s 

personal, business and community life; and the 

advancement of international understanding, 

goodwill and peace. 

Over the years since the Chartering in 1924, 

the Rotary Club of Escondido has built and 

maintained strong Community and 

International ties. Throughout the years 

Community Service Grants through the Club’s 

501(c)(3) Escondido Rotary Foundation have 

contributed millions of dollars to several 

Escondido non-profits and charitable organizations 

including scholarships given to deserving 

seniors from area high schools. Local elementary, 

middle school and high school aged students 

have been annually honored for their 

scholarship and Service-Above-Self. 

Since 1998 the Rotary Club of Escondido has 

been recognized as one of the largest contributors 

in all of the District 5340 to the Rotary 


International’s Polio Plus Program. Also on the 

international Rotary scene the Club has contributed 

time, medical supplies and money to 

areas in the world consumed by local disasters 

and need including building houses in Ecuador 

and Thailand. Through participation in 

International Grants the club has provided 

funds for Education and Literacy in Liberia, 

Monrovia East Africa and Ghana, Africa. 

Support has been given to disease prevention 

and treatment in Uganda, Africa, clean water 

projects in Ecuador and through the 1,000 

Smiles Dental Project in Ensenada, Mexico. 

For the past several years The Rotary Club of 

Escondido has supported the San Pasqual 

Academy through many activities such as issuing 

school supplies and clothing for the popular 

“Shop ‘til you Drop” day. Funds and labor were 

provided for a storage shed augmenting the 

Academy’s athletic field and provided building 

materials and labor for a “Serenity Garden” constructed 

during the annual “Rotarian’s at 

Work Day.” Holiday gifts from Escondido 

Rotarians are made available to all Academy students 

at Christmas. 

What is the future of the Rotary Club of 

Escondido? The membership aspires to be a 

group of irreverent jokesters, full of fun with the 

desire to sing and sing loudly, on or off key. The 

Club consists of local leaders who want to give 

back to the community supporting local nonprofits, 

our youth and charities. The Rotary 

Club of Escondido will continue to look for 

avenues to grow, personally, and to help others, 

throughout the nation and the world. 

We are proud to be Rotarians. 

G 

Above: The Rotary Club of Escondido 

present day. 

Below: Past presidents of the Rotary 

Club of Escondido. 


G 

ESCONDIDO UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 

Above: The original Escondido 

High School. 

Below: Del Lago Academy–Campus of 

Applied Science. 

What are the hallmarks of an outstanding 

educational system with a commitment to the 

academic and social/emotional well-being of its 

students? For over 125 years, the Escondido 

Union High School District (EUHSD) has been 

committed to providing its students with the 

necessary skills to be successful in the school to 

career pathway. Since the District first opened 

its doors in 1894, EUHSD has inspired and 

guided students to reach their personal goals. 

Beginning with Escondido High School in 

1894 and now on every campus including 

Orange Glen (1963), Escondido Adult School 

(1968), San Pasqual (1972), Valley (1971), and 

Del Lago Academy–Campus of Applied Science 

(2013), you will find a unique learning 

environment in which students are thriving. With 

nationally recognized Advanced Placement, 

Career Technical Education, Independent Study, 

after school enrichment, career exploration, 

STEM and more, opportunities to explore and 

grow are abundant. Today, over 180 courses are 

available and rigorous graduation requirements 

help to ensure the more than 7400 diverse 

students are well prepared for the competitive 

and global world of tomorrow. Graduates 

showcase their readiness for their future by 

earning acceptance into some of our nation’s 

most prestigious colleges, universities, and trade 

schools. Others admirably commit to the military 

or choose to pursue a variety of career pathways. 

Many remain in, or return to, Escondido sharing 

their expertise, running their businesses, or 

raising their families. 

The District embraces the responsibility of 

public education for every child. EUHSD 

teachers, staff and administrators work alongside 

parents and community members to inspire and 

reassure students as they develop into 

responsible, productive and engaged citizens. 

We are fortunate to be able to offer personalized 

assistance to students through support services 

such as special education, counseling and 

tutoring programs. Students also learn the value 

of making wise informed choices to positively 

impact their future physical/emotional health. 

Each EUHSD campus is committed to 

building critical thinking and problem solving 

skills so that when students graduate, they are 

ready for college, ready for work–ready for life. 

The Escondido Union High School District 

remains dedicated to educating future 

generations as they develop their knowledge 

and skills for success. 


ASSISTANCE 

LEAGUE ® OF 

INLAND NORTH 

COUNTY 

Escondido is home to Assistance League ® of 

Inland North County, an all-volunteer nonprofit 

organization helping to transform the lives of 

children and adults through community programs. 

In 1982, a group of eighty women 

established a chapter of National Assistance 

League ® . To fund the programs of the chapter, a 

thrift shop called The Bargain Box was opened 

in a rented building on Escondido Boulevard 

with a cigar box as a cash register. 

After several years, a capital campaign to 

purchase a building was established. This 

campaign along with $50,000 in winnings from 

the Paul Newman recipe contest won by 

member, Janet Sutherland, and $10,000 

donated by Major Market, enabled the chapter 

to purchase the AAA property on East Valley 

Parkway. With the growth of the chapter and its 

programs, a larger building rapidly became 

necessary. In 2005, a two-story facility was 

constructed at the East Valley location thanks to 

a second capital campaign and a generous 

donation from Matt and Jean McLaughlin. 

The chapter has grown to over 150 members 

and nine community service programs that assist 

children, homeless adults and seniors in need. 

Operation School Bell ® helps build self-confidence 

and improve school attendance by providing new 

clothes and shoes to over 2,000 students in grades 

K-12 each year. The Scholarship Program awards 

over $100,000 to high school seniors and college 

nursing, paramedic, trade and industry students. 

Students graduating from San Pasqual Academy, a 

residential school for foster teens, are helped toward 

an independent life through Operation Duffel Bags. 

The donated duffel bags are filled with items 

graduates need to begin life on their own. Recently, 

Escondido Union High School District foster and 

homeless graduates were added to the program. 

The chapter continues to fund its programs 

through its Thrift and Consignment Shop located at 

2068 E. Valley Parkway. The shop offers quality 

items in a clean and friendly environment. It accepts 

donations of gently used items during business 

hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through 

Saturday. Please call (760) 746-7532 or visit 

www.assistanceleague.org/inland-north-county. 


INTERFAITH 

COMMUNITY 

SERVICES 

G 

Above: Betty and Melvin Cohn. 

Below: Hawthorne Veteran and 

Family Resource Center. 

On May 20, 1979, volunteers from fourteen 

different faith communities in the Escondido 

and surrounding inland area met to respond to 

the growing crisis of poverty and homelessness 

in their communities. Each congregation agreed 

to take ownership of one month by voluntarily 

distributing emergency food, clothing and other 

basics resources. In 1980, Mary Dunn became 

first board president. 

Working alongside other local organizations 

and people from all walks of life, Interfaith 

Community Services became a secular 501c (3) 

not-for- profit organization in 1982. Although 

Interfaith had primarily been a volunteer-led 

organization up to this point, Suzanne Pohlman 

became its first employee that same year. 

Celebrating forty-two years of service, 

Interfaith has grown to become the largest social 

service organization in North San Diego County. 

With over 220 employees and thousands of 

volunteers, Interfaith offers its multi-faceted 

programs at numerous locations. Services include 

food and basic needs assistance, employment 

help, tax and legal services, mental health and 

substance use services, and housing. Last year, 

Interfaith served 20,717 unique people, including 

5,328 children, 798 veterans, and 1,477 men, 

women and children housed. Interfaith’s model of 

Helping People Help Themselves ensures the 

commitment of each person served to be part of 

the positive change in their own life. 

Currently led by CEO, Greg Anglea 

and Board Chair, Reverend Meg Decker, 

Interfaith pays honor to its historical donor and 

volunteer leaders: 

• Betty and Melvin Cohn Center, Interfaith 

headquarters 

• Hawthorne Veteran and Family Resource Center, 

in honor of Dorothy and Tom Hawthorne and 

home to the Recuperative Care Program, 

• Raymond’s Refuge, in honor of Caroline and 

Jack Raymond 

• Escondido Community Sobering Services, a 

program of the Joan and Lee James Recovery 

and Wellness Center. 

For five years, Interfaith has achieved a fourstar 

rating from Charity Navigator. Only twelve 

percent of charities in the U.S. have attained this 

prestigious rating. 


Palomar Mountain’s historic artesian well. Daphne Fletcher photograph. 



The historic Ferrara Winery. Forgotten Barrel, 

LLC, photograph.

The Marketplace 

E s c o n d i d o ’ 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 

The Ken Blanchard Companies ® .......................................................1 6 8 

Toyota of Escondido .......................................................................1 7 0 

Alhiser-Comer Mortuary ................................................................1 7 2 

El Plantio Nursery ........................................................................1 7 4 

Arie de Jong and Hollandia Dairy ....................................................1 7 6 

Palomar Mountain Spring Water ......................................................1 7 8 

Rancho Guejito .............................................................................1 8 0 

Filippi’s Pizza Grotto ....................................................................1 8 2 

Henry Avocado Corporation ............................................................1 8 3 

Esperanza’s Tortilleria ...................................................................1 8 4 

Jack Powell Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram...............................................1 8 5 

West Escondido Automotive & Transmission .......................................1 8 6 

OneWest Bank ..............................................................................1 8 7 

Volvo Specialist of Escondido ..........................................................1 8 8 

Sunny Side Kitchen .......................................................................1 8 9 

Visit Escondido .............................................................................1 9 0 

Downtown Business Association .......................................................1 9 1 

Ledge Media dba HPNbooks ............................................................1 9 2 

T h e M a r k e t p l a c e F 1 6 7

G 

Above: Spencer Johnson (left) and Ken 

Blanchard (right), co-authors of The 

One Minute Manager ® , in 1982. 

Below: Ken and Margie Blanchard at 

a ribbon-cutting ceremony in 1985. 

THE KEN BLANCHARD COMPANIES ® 

Ken Blanchard is one of the most influential 

leadership experts in the world. He is co-author 

of the iconic bestseller The One Minute 

Manager ® , with Spencer Johnson, and more than 

65 other books that have combined sales of 22 

million copies in 47 languages. 

The roots of The Ken Blanchard Companies ® 

began in 1976 when Ken, his wife, Margie, and 

their children, Scott and Debbie, traveled to San 

Diego during a sabbatical from his tenured 

professorship at University of Massachusetts. After 

his speeches wowed attendees at a Young 

Presidents’ Organization (YPO) event, YPO leaders 

urged Ken to start his own consulting firm. 

With this encouragement from YPO, Ken and 

Margie decided to stay in San Diego. After a year 

of running successful seminars, they invited six 

of their UMass colleagues—Laurie Hawkins, Fred 

Finch, Drea Zigarmi, Pat Zigarmi, Don Carew, 

and Eunice Parisi-Carew—to join them as 

founding associates of their new company. They 

incorporated Blanchard ® in 1979 and had three 

goals: to make a difference in people’s lives; to 

drive human worth and effectiveness in the 

workplace; and to help each organization they 

work with become the provider, employer, and 

investment of choice. Today, Blanchard is one of 

the largest family-owned businesses in San Diego. 

Ken, Margie, Scott, Debbie, and Tom McKee 

(Margie’s brother) own and operate the company. 

In their quarterly Family Council meetings, they 

further support each other in the multitude of 

issues related to running the business. 

Blanchard offers award-winning training 

programs with powerful models that are 

instantly applicable to the workplace. Based on 

decades of research and experience by renowned 

thought leaders, programs include such topics as 


trust, motivation, change, self leadership, and 

customer service as well as two of the world’s 

most widely used leadership frameworks: SLII ® 

and The One Minute Manager ® . Program content 

is proven to help organizations achieve 

operational goals while creating a great 

workplace experience for employees. 

Year after year, Blanchard has been recognized 

as a top place to work in San Diego and one of the 

top leadership training companies worldwide. 

Much of this acclaim can be attributed to the 

company’s unique culture. 

Employees receive a daily morning message 

from Ken with inspiring thoughts, shared 

victories, and requests for support. 

When the industry was impacted by September 

11, 2001, Ken was adamant about avoiding 

layoffs. Top leaders agreed to defer all raises and 

aggressively cut expenses. After three lean years 

without a layoff, the business flourished, and the 

entire company went to Hawaii to celebrate. Then 

when the 2009 recession hit, everyone assembled 

again to brainstorm ways to increase revenue and 

reduce expenses—and again Blanchard came 

back, stronger than ever. 

Blanchard has a decades-long history of 

supporting local communities. 

• Blanchard for Others is an employee-driven 

program that contributes to charitable 

organizations and relief funds. 

• A percentage of company profits go to 

Blanchard’s Give Back program, in which 

each employee chooses a 501(c)(3) 

organization to receive a donation from 

Blanchard in their name. 

• The Blanchard Ambassador Program invites 

associates to spend up to forty paid hours per 

year in service to others. 

• The Blanchard Institute provides access to 

training and development programs that help 

students of all ages develop leadership skills. 

• Blanchard’s Infant at Work Program 

encourages parents to bring their baby to 

work until the age of six months, providing 

peace of mind for parents, reduced stress for 

coworkers, and socialization for the baby. 

• By enhancing systems and products to conserve 

natural resources, Blanchard’s corporate 

Sustainability Team ensures that sustainability 

is ingrained in the company culture. 

Finally, servant leadership is at the root of 

everything that Blanchard does. “On the road to 

success, many organizations hit a plateau and 

struggle in getting to the next level,” says Ken. 

“We believe the key to breaking through is servant 

leadership—a management approach where 

people lead best when they serve first.” 

G 

Left: Ken and Margie Blanchard. 

Below: The Ken Blanchard 

Companies ® Family Council (from 

left to right): Debbie Blanchard, Scott 

Blanchard, Ken Blanchard, Tom 

McKee, and Margie Blanchard. 


TOYOTA OF 

ESCONDIDO 

G 

Above: Nancy and Gary L Myers. 

Below: Toyota of Escondido is located 

at 231 Lincoln Parkway. 

The Myers family purchased Toyota of 

Escondido in October 1978 with the dream 

of building a family-owned and operated Toyota 

dealership. Now, more than forty years later, 

Toyota of Escondido continues to serve 

thousands of satisfied customers throughout 

the county. 

With more than 300 employees and more 

than 1,200 new and used vehicles in its 

inventory, Toyota of Escondido is one of the 

largest family-owned dealerships in southern 

California and the second-largest car dealership 

in San Diego County. 

Located at 231 Lincoln Parkway, where 

Highway 78 meets Broadway, the dealership is 

headed up by family patriarch Gary L. Myers, a 

graduate of Los Angeles State University and 

a former member of the Air National Guard 

where he served with honor. The family laid 

the groundwork for the dealership you see 

here today. 

The early years focused on the development of 

the sales and service departments as well as a 

management team to steer the ship. With the 

addition of some key, hardworking employees, 

the dealership began to flourish. 

Meanwhile, the family was growing alongside 

the business. Gary pursued his passion for 

offroad and sailboat racing while wife Nancy 

Myers, a graduate of Criss Business College, was 

enjoying racing Flight of the Snowbirds, 

Lehmans, and Sabots. A clear theme was 

emerging—this family loved the outdoors! From 

the deserts to the ocean, racing was in their 

blood. A lifestyle that each of their children has 

adopted as well. 

Son Stephen Myers, a graduate of Southern 

California Christian College serves as CFO at 

Toyota of Escondido while spending his spare 

time racing with his two daughters in the deserts 

of California and Baja. 

Daughter Cindy Myers relocated to Hawaii 

where she is raising her two sons, following her 

time in the 63rd U.S. Army Reserve Command in 

Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Cindy has her 

captain’s license and private airplane license. Son 

Daniel Myers is a graduate of California State 

University Long Beach with a business degree. 

Dan works for Toyota of Escondido as the general 

manager. Dan has two girls and one boy and still 

enjoys off-road racing regularly. 

Son Andrew Myers is a graduate of California 

State University Long Beach with a business 

degree. Andrew has two daughters and enjoys 

off-road racing as well. 


“Toyota of Escondido has truly become a 

family business and it’s been a great source of 

pride,” said Gary Myers. “It’s been a thrill to watch 

my sons embrace the automotive business.” 

Over the years, Toyota of Escondido has 

continually led San Diego County in new 

Toyota truck sales and Toyota certified used 

sales. Toyota of Escondido has also consistently 

ranked in the top 10 of all 77 dealers in 

the Los Angeles region in total new Toyotas 

sold annually. 

With a total of 70 service stalls, including 20 

built to accommodate Toyota’s new and much 

larger full-size Tundra trucks, Toyota of 

Escondido is readily equipped to handle all of 

its customer needs. The dealership also takes 

pride in its wide assortment of parts and 

accessories for both cars and trucks. 

Toyota of Escondido’s Truck Center also offers 

one of the most complete truck parts and 

accessories selections in the region, with a large 

inventory of custom tires, wheels, suspensions 

and performance exhaust systems. Its awardwinning 

Truck Center is an expert in installing 

lift kits, performance exhaust systems, custom 

tires, wheels and much more. 

Clearly, the success of Toyota of Escondido is 

a testament to the commitment and hard work 

of the Myers’ family. With a team of dedicated 

and experienced employees, they will certainly 

achieve their dream of continuing to grow and 

expand as a successful family-run business. 


ALHISER- 

COMER 

MORTUARY 

G 

Alhiser Comer Mortuary has been 

located at 225 South Broadway 

since 1897. 

The oldest, continually-operating familyowned 

business in Escondido has adopted a 

simple, effective and compassionate approach 

in dealing with its customer base. 

“We put the needs of the family first,” said 

Megan Comer, President of Alhiser-Comer 

Mortuary. “We are here to walk beside them in 

their most difficult time and to make sure that 

we treat them like family. They are part of our 

extended family.” 

The mortuary has been operating in the same 

location at 225 South Broadway since 1897. In 

fact, the chapel used to be the stable where the 

horses would transport the deceased. The old 

stable floor remains underneath the carpet today. 

Over the years, the facility has undergone 

significant expansion and enhancements. The 

Wilson family, which took over the business in 

the late 1940s, renovated and doubled the 

floorspace of the mortuary. The business was 

known as Alhiser-Wilson Mortuary at that time. 

In 1989, Stuart Comer, a second-generation 

funeral director, purchased the mortuary and 

extensively refurbished and updated the 

building. In 2000, the name was changed to 

Alhiser-Comer Mortuary. Stuart also opened a 

crematory in order to meet the needs of 

families in a changing industry. 

Stuart’s daughter, Megan Comer, took over the 

business in 2013. The third generation of Comers 


in the business, Megan works alongside her sister, 

Nicole, who serves as a funeral director. 

Since then, they have incorporated more 

upgrades into the building, including the most 

recent addition—a new reception room to better 

serve families while still maintaining the 

integrity and charm of the building. 

Not only has the facility changed over time, 

but the industry has transformed as well. 

“There’s definitely been a rise in cremation,” 

said Comer. “It’s increased steadily in recent 

years. In the state of California, it should be 

close to seventy percent cremation in the next 

few years. That has changed the dynamics of the 

business. Traditional funerals with limos, 

hearses, church services and viewings are 

becoming a tradition of the past.” 

The reason for this transformation is 

two-fold—people are going greener and it is 

much cheaper. 

“There's been an increase in online 

cremation,” said Comer. “Families never come to 

the building. They just complete the paperwork 

online. The funeral industry tends to be a little bit 

behind other industries in the technology arena, 

but it's starting to catch up.” 

Another dramatic shift has been in people 

attitudes from mourning a life to celebrating a life. 

“Now people want to have some drinks and a 

meal and celebrate a person's life rather than sit 

in black in the front row and cry,” said Comer. 

“There's been a shift in society to celebrating 

a life.” 

Having grown up in Escondido, Comer quickly 

realized the importance of community involvement. 

“We’ve always been a part of the community,” 

she said. “We are part of the Chamber of 

Commerce and we were named family-owned 

business of the year in 2017. We’ve always made 

it a priority to help out our community in 

whatever way we can—from providing birthday 

cakes for senior centers to volunteering in the 

community or donating money.” 

One of Alhiser-Comer Mortuary’s bigger 

projects recently was creating the new family 

viewing room—comprising warm colors and a 

calming nature wall—at the new Palomar 

Medical Center. 

“It was very important that we built a room 

that was comfortable for families viewing their 

loved ones,” said Comer. 

Being considered part of the fabric of 

Escondido is very important to Alhiser-Comer 

Mortuary. The Comer sisters are honored to 

continue their father and grandfather’s legacy 

and commitment to the community. Sadly, 

Stuart Comer passed away in 2018. 

“There are a lot of family-owned businesses 

in Escondido, but not many have been around 

for as long as ours has,” said Comer. “We want 

to do our part to help make our community a 

good place.” 

G 

Above: Nicole Comer, Stuart Comer, 

and Megan Comer with their Family- 

Owned Business of the Year Award, 

2017. 

Below: The Comers with the building 

staff of Palomar Medical Center in 

the Family Viewing Room, 2016. 


EL PLANTIO 

NURSERY 

G 

Above: The El Plantio storefront, 

c. 1959. 

Below: The original El Plantio Nursery 

sign in the parking lot, c. 1960. 

El Plantio Nursery & Landscaping has been 

in existence since 1959 and has been a familyowned 

business for more than half a century. In 

1969, Nathan Snapp, who had studied forestry 

in college, bought the nursery and ran it for 

seven years. 

Prior to purchasing the business, Nathan 

worked for the city of Escondido as a personnel 

manager. When a new city manager came on 

board, Nathan and several other employees quit 

in protest. As the nursery was in line with what 

he had studied in college and he had always 

enjoyed the outdoors, Nathan decided to buy it. 

And, it has remained in the family ever since. 

Nathan's passion for plants rubbed off on 

two of his sons—Bill and Warren—who began 

working with him full time. After a few years, 

Nathan felt it was time to let them take over the 

reins. Warren and Bill bought the business and 

assumed ownership on January 1, 1976. 

Meanwhile, Warren’s three children—Nolan, 

Lloyd and Melinda—are now the third 

generation of Snapps to be involved in the 

business. Nolan works as landscape construction 

manager while Lloyd serves as operations 

manager and Melinda functions as landscape 

designer. All three hold horticulture degrees. 

In the early 1970s, Bill and Warren began 

working for their dad at the nursery. A couple of 

years later while in college, Warren was 

summoned to work full-time in the business. 

“My dad discovered that his manager was 

stealing from him,” said Warren. “I had to quit 

school and start working for him full-time.” 

Throughout the years, the Snapp family has 

handled the gardening needs of multiple 

generations of Escondido families which gives 

them great satisfaction. 

“We take the time to talk to them, find out 

their needs and educate them in an applicable 

way,” said Lloyd. “A lot of people value that. 


We’re like barbers and therapists in that our 

customers really open up to us. We help them 

improve their garden spaces which in turn 

brings them joy.” 

As Warren is quick to add: “Gardening is 

therapeutic. We want to help people have a 

good experience by getting close to nature.” 

And, being in the community for so many 

years, El Plantio Nursery has become part of the 

fabric of Escondido. 

“We are members of the Rotary Club, the 

Chamber of Commerce and we helped revitalize 

the river walk by designing a pocket garden 

along the flood control channel,” said Lloyd. “In 

addition, we hold a number of classes and 

educational seminars at the store on topics 

ranging from tomatoes to fruit trees to drought 

tolerant plants.” 

El Plantio has about 25 employees. What 

separates them from many other nurseries is 

that they provide a turnkey service. This 

includes all landscape services – maintenance, 

design, installation and construction. They also 

install irrigation, new patios, pergolas and 

outdoor barbecues. 

Bill Snapp manages the landscape maintenance 

portion of the business. In that regard, El Plantio 

crews are out and about every week maintaining 

larger residences and commercial properties, 

including apartment complexes, homeowner 

associations and museums, among others. 

“We are able to install an entire yard and 

maintain it,” said Lloyd. 

Most gratifying to the Snapp family is the 

impact the nursery has had on its community 

and its residents. 

“Every week, people come in and say they've 

lived in the area for 20 years and they’ve finally 

had a chance to stop in,” said Warren. “They 

remember coming into the nursery with their 

parents and grandparents and are now just 

rediscovering the store. And, then there are 

others who have been coming here for decades. 

Now, their kids are all grown up and getting 

their own yards in order.” 

The term “El Plantio” means planted area or 

garden place in Spanish. Without question, this 

fixture on the Escondido landscape fills an 

important niche among true dirt-under-thefingernails 

plant lovers and novices, alike. 

G 

Top, left: Warren Snapp. 

Top, middle: An aerial photo of El 

Plantio, 1989. 

Top, right: Bill Snapp. 

Below: El Plantio in 2019. 


ARIE DE JONG 

AND 

HOLLANDIA 

DAIRY 

G 

Above: Maartje & Arie de Jong, Sr. 

Top, right: Arie de Jong, Jr., in front of 

Milne Motors in Escondido. 

Below: Arie de Jong, Jr., making sales 

calls in Escondido. 

For Dutch businessman and philanthropist, 

Arie de Jong, life in Southern California after 

his immigration from Holland has been good. 

Arie was born in 1939 in Alphen on the 

Rhine, a town in the province of South Holland, 

between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. 

Like most families, the de Jongs had little 

money during the Depression. During World War 

II, the Germans occupied Holland, including the 

dairy the de Jong family operated. The de Jongs 

were allowed to stay and manage the dairy, since 

the Germans were soldiers and not dairy farmers. 

In 1942, the residents of Alphen began 

feeling the negative effects of food shortages 

and rations. Arie’s father, Arie Sr., decided to 

take action. 

“People were starving all around us,” recalled 

Arie. “We had food and we used it to barter for 

other items. I served as a courier and delivered 

packaged food to all the neighborhoods in 

the area.” 

Arie Sr.’s twin sister, Henrietta, had 

immigrated to the United States from Holland in 

the 1920s. His oldest son, Tom, wanted to move 

to the U.S and declared his intentions to his 

uncle, Sam Bruinsma, Henrietta’s husband. Sam 

owned a dairy in Artesia, California, but really 

wanted to be a rancher. He sold his dairy, bought 

a ranch in Poway, California, and sponsored 

Tom’s immigration to America in 1948. 

After Tom’s arrival, he wrote letters to his 

family in Holland, raving about his new home. 

He made a deal with his uncle—if Sam built a 

dairy and became a sponsor for them, Tom’s 

family would provide the necessary labor to run 

the dairy. 

“We arrived in America with only $35 in our 

pockets,” said Arie. “We left almost everything 

behind, including money, in Holland.” 

The de Jong family settled in Poway on Sam’s 

cattle ranch, the Bar ‘C’ Bar, which is now 

Metate Lane, off Pomerado Road, the old 

Highway 395. 

“I was ten years old when we arrived and 

that was the only year in which I didn’t have a 

job,” said Arie. “I learned English at school.” 


On a trip to Escondido, Arie Sr. and Sam 

passed a small, five-acre dairy with a “for 

sale” sign posted. In 1950, the de Jong 

family purchased the dairy, including a cash 

and carry drive-in store, with a $7,000 cash 

down payment. 

The dairy was named Hollandia Dairy, in 

honor of the Hollandia Creamery back in 

Holland, where the milk from their dairy in 

Alphen was taken to be processed. 

Eleven-year-old Arie and his older siblings 

helped feed and milk the cows. At sixteen, he 

became a delivery driver, and soon became a 

sales manager for the dairy. 

The Hollandia Dairy brand was expanding. 

The de Jongs began lobbying the Southern 

California school boards to deliver 

their milk products to schools throughout 

Southern California. 

They started with one school in the 

early 1960s and eventually grew to include 

over 1,000 schools in Riverside, San Bernardino 

and San Diego counties. Hollandia also 

expanded and became a supplier of milk and 

dairy products to hospitals, prisons, jails and 

military installations. 

When Arie was sixteen he delivered 

milk to the Green Oak Boys Ranch, a 143-acre 

ranch in Vista belonging to the Los Angeles 

Rescue Mission. It was a rehabilitation 

facility for the homeless and recovering addicts 

and alcoholics. 

In the mid-1990s, Arie heard the ranch was 

for sale. He became acquainted with the 

director and purchased the ranch to keep it 

going as a rescue mission. He renamed it Green 

Oak Ranch Ministries, a faith-based, nondenominational 

organization. 

“We usually have about 40 to 80 people in 

residence on a regular basis,” said Arie. “Our job 

is to get them off drugs and alcohol and back 

into a stable position. They have to stay with the 

program for nine months before they graduate.” 

From their business successes to 

philanthropic support, the de Jong family has 

clearly developed deep roots in Southern 

California. 

G 

Above: Back row (from left to right): 

Elso, Maartje, Arie Sr., Ellie, and Piet. 

Front row (from left to right): Kees, 

Arie Jr., Mary, Jet, John, and Karel. 

Below: In front of the cash and carry 

on the corner of 17th and Center City 

Parkway. Standing: Arie Sr. and, 

Maartje. Kneeling (from left to 

right): Arie Jr., Teun, Piet, Karel, 

and cousin Rudy. 


PALOMAR 

MOUNTAIN 

SPRING WATER 

G 

Above: Eric de Jong 

Below: Conrad Pawleski, Eric de Jong, 

and Silvia de Jong. 

In June 2005, North County resident Eric 

de Jong and his wife, Silva, purchased Palomar 

Mountain Spring Water and its distribution 

facility. It had previously been owned by 

Dick Einer. 

Eric is part of the de Jong family that has had 

strong ties in the community ever since his 

grandparents, parents, and aunts and uncles 

emigrated from the Netherlands in 1949. 

“My father, Arie, who owned a dairy business 

with his siblings, was instrumental in the 

purchase,” said Eric. “He was always envious of 

the water business. He liked that there were 

fewer hurdles than in the milk business—no 

spoilage, no refrigeration, and no storage issues. 

Dad also knew the Einer family and said I 

should look into it.” 

Since acquiring the company, Eric has 

made efficiency improvements and expanded 

the suite of waters to include, among others, 

sparkling water and flavored water. Palomar 

Mountain Premium Spring Water has also 

been made available to restaurants in 

returnable, refillable glass. However, he did not 

change the bottling process, which has 

continued to be the success of Palomar 

Mountain Spring Water. It has the only bottled 

water from a private spring source in Southern 

California—water from the springs to the 

consumer in its most natural state. 

Today, Palomar Mountain Premium Spring 

Water is delivered to homes, offices and 

restaurants. Its fine water is available at the 

Palomar bottling facility and selected 

convenience stores. Palomar Mountain Spring 

Water offers a variety of waters and dispensers 

to meet every residential and commercial need. 

The natural spring water is sourced from 

free-flowing springs high atop 160-million yearold 

Palomar Mountain in San Diego County, 

Southern California. The springs lie away from 

civilization, high above smog levels, 

contaminants or additives. 

Palomar Mountain Spring Water is a onestop-shop 

for local spring water as it solely 

manages the flow of bulk hauling, bottling and 

delivery of spring water. Water is collected 

straight from the spring and transported directly 

to its bottling facility in state certified water 

trucks. There, it is filtered to remove possible 


microorganisms, and passed through high 

intensity, ultraviolet light to destroy any 

possible bacteria. The result is true, pure, clean 

and healthy bottled water. 

Conrad Pawelski serves as chief financial 

officer/general manager of Palomar Mountain 

Premium Spring Water. He was working for Eric 

at the time Eric bought Palomar Water and was 

actively involved in the purchase of the 

company out of bankruptcy in June 2005. 

“The business has grown more than tenfold 

from the time we bought the business,” said 

Conrad. “We will be bringing back our 

sparkling water with natural fruit extracts and 

no sweeteners, and provide more of our water 

in refillable and one-way glass bottles. We have 

also expanded our production to include a 4.5- 

acre facility in Oceanside for small pack bottling 

capability so that we can get our products into 

more San Diego North County locations.” 

Both Eric and Conrad have deep roots in 

the community. 

Eric was born in Escondido and raised in 

Escondido and San Marcos. He graduated from 

Calvin Christian High School in Escondido. 

Eric and his wife have three children—a 

daughter, Ella, and sons Robert and Niels, who 

all work in the family businesses. 

Conrad has lived in North County since 

he was two years old. He grew up in Vista 

and resides there now. After attending Cal 

Poly, he earned his MBA from Cal State 

San Marcos. 

A family-owned spring and distribution 

company, Palomar Mountain Spring Water is 

exactly as advertised—true spring water, 

straight from the source. 


RANCHO 

GUEJITO 

G 

Before Escondido, before statehood— 

Rancho Guejito, sustainably ranching 

since 1845. 



FILIPPI’S 

PIZZA GROTTO 

G 

Right: Bobby DePhilippis performing 

with his band, The Sound Doctors. 

Below: The front of Filippi’s Pizza 

Grotto on West Grand Avenue in 

Escondido during opening night of car 

show in 2018. 

Any list of popular Italian restaurants in 

San Diego County is certain to include the 

name Filippi’s. 

Filippi’s Pizza Grotto has been revered since 

its first restaurant was opened in Little Italy in 

1950 by the patriarch of the family, Vincent 

DePhilippis. Since then, the Filippi’s brand has 

expanded to include 15 restaurants, including 

one in Escondido on W. Grand Ave. 

Vincent’s grandson, Bobby DePhilippis, moved 

here from Philadelphia in 1965 and has carried 

on the tradition since 1972. He manages locations 

in Escondido (the chain’s busiest), Poway, Jamul 

and Santee. His daughter, Michelle, the fourth 

generation of restauranteurs in the family, runs 

the Imperial Beach site. 

The Filippi’s story began when Vincent and 

his wife Madeline arrived from New York in 

1947. Vincent opened an Italian grocery store 

on India Street and built a 30-seat restaurant 

behind it. Then, they purchased the property 

next door and today Filippi’s is the biggest 

Italian restaurant in town with 220 seats. 

“In 1950, the area consisted entirely of 

fishermen,” said Bobby. “If you didn’t speak 

Italian, you could get waited on in the store.” 

Vincent, who passed away in 1957, created 

the recipe for lasagna which still thrives at 

Filippi’s locations today. 

“My grandfather's recipe is nothing fancy— 

garlic, oil and tomatoes, without the peels,” said 

Bobby. “We use the best whole milk mozzarella 

and the best flour.” 

Bobby’s father, Roberto, was more of a 

steakhouse and cocktail guy. He launched a 

restaurant called Caruso's and then opened 

Butcher Shop steakhouses in Chula Vista and 

Mission Valley. 

“My father taught me how to treat people,” 

said Bobby. “Always have a smile and say hello 

to everybody. And, if there are any complaints, 

take care of it yourself right away.” 

The restaurant business has been part of 

Bobby’s DNA for some 50 years. But, he still finds 

time to pursue other interests. He promotes 

boxing events (he’s been inducted into the 

California Boxing Hall of Fame and the West Coast 

Hall of Fame) and sings in a band called The 

Sound Doctors. And, for good measure, he is a 

founding board member of Seacoast Commerce 

Bank of Rancho Bernardo which began in 2003. 


Henry Avocado was founded in 1925 by 

Charles and Florence Henry, who were among 

the first to plant avocados in San Diego County. 

Prior to service during World War I, Charles 

Henry worked as a gardener in Los Angeles. On 

one of the estates, he took special note of some 

newly planted avocado trees and marveled at 

how well they did in the Southern California 

climate. In the early 1920s, he and Florence 

Schoeffel were married. Her family owned citrus 

groves which they had developed in the late 19th 

century along the foothills of the San Gabriel 

mountains. Because of their mutual interest in 

farming, Charles and Florence searched for a 

location to plant avocados and raise a family. 

They found an ideal eighty-acre parcel on the 

hillsides of Escondido. In 1925, they started 

planting Fuerte trees, which, at that time, was the 

most popular avocado variety. Over the years, the 

original trees were replaced with the Hass variety. 

By the 1930s, they had built a packinghouse 

and were delivering avocados to many Southern 

California customers. Even though times were 

difficult during the depression, avocados were a 

specialty fruit that commanded high enough 

prices to keep the farm going. Florence and 

Charles soon realized they needed a distinctive 

name for their product. Gil and Warren, their two 

young sons, were taking piano lessons from Lyle 

Barber, a classically-trained piano teacher. He was 

over for dinner one night to celebrate the Henry’s 

recent blue ribbon for their avocado entry at the 

Los Angeles County Fair. He tasted one of the 

award-winning avocados, and, using the musical 

term to praise an excellent performance, exclaimed 

“Bravo”. They all thought that sounded fitting, so 

“Bravo” was combined with “avocado” to become 

“Bravocado”. The company has continuously used 

Bravocado for its premium label ever since. 

After serving in the military during World 

War II, the Henry’s eldest son, Gil returned to 

Escondido to assist his parents. Gil’s brother, 

Warren, after military service in the Korean War, 

also joined the company and both took on 

added responsibilities after their father, Charles, 

was killed in a tractor accident in 1953. Warren 

focused on farming and Gil handled packing, 

while their mother continued to do the 

accounting. Later in the 1950s, Florence’s 

nephew, George Schoeffel, joined the company 

to handle sales. In subsequent years, the 

company dramatically increased production by 

developing additional groves. 

Henry built the avocado industry’s first 

forced-air ripening room in the early 1980s. 

Ripening ensured that all avocados in the same 

container ripened faster and more evenly, so 

consumers could receive a fresher avocado in the 

desired stage of ripeness. This was recognized by 

consumers as an added value resulting in higher 

demand. To supply its expanding demand, in the 

1990s, ripe distribution centers were added in 

Phoenix, Arizona, and San Jose, California. In 

subsequent years, distribution centers were 

added in San Antonio and Houston, Texas, and 

Charlotte, North Carolina. 

In 2018, the company moved its headquarters 

from the original property to a modern 

distribution building in Escondido, although the 

original grove remained in avocado production as 

it has since 1925. Throughout its history, 

members of the Henry family have been involved 

in numerous farming-related associations such as 

the Farm Bureau and the California Avocado 

Commission, in addition to local civic and 

charitable organizations. 

Over the years, additional owners were added 

to assist and replace the retiring original partners. 

The current managing owners are Phil Henry, 

president; Don Hoey, vice-president of Sales; Rick 

Opel, vice-president of farm management; and 

Vic Varvel, vice-president of packing operations. 

In the early years, Henry was strictly a grower 

and packer of California avocados. Today, the 

Henry’s are still growers, but the company is 

better described as a year-round distributor of 

custom-ripened fresh avocados. 

HENRY 

AVOCADO 

CORPORATION 


ESPERANZA’S 

TORTILLERIA 

G 

Top: From left to right, Luis 

Martinez—Victors older brother. 

Victor Martinez. Picture taken in 

1960 when the two worked at El 

Charro Tortilleria. 

Below: Victor and Teresa Center. Left 

to right: Raymond, Manuel, Hugo, & 

Gabriel. Picture taken at 2017 

holiday party. Victor named the 

business in honor of his mother 

Esperanza. 

Esperanza’s Tortilleria, founded in 1980 by 

Teresa and Victor Martinez, is a family-run 

business that believes tortillas, chips, tostadas, 

masa (dough) for tamales and other corn and 

flour-based products should be made using 

traditional techniques. 

Victor, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, 

immigrated to California when he was seventeen 

years old. Family friend and former owner of El 

Charro Tortilleria, Alejandro Lievanos, assisted 

Victor’s father, Victoriano Martinez, by offering 

him, his wife, Esperanza, and their children— 

Luis, Victor, and Jose—jobs and by sponsoring 

the Martinez family in applying for permanent 

residency. Victor worked there from 1959 to 

1980, all while saving up for his own tortilleria, 

which he opened with his wife. 

Victor and Teresa, having only a sixth-grade 

education, shared a vision of one day owning 

their very own tortilla business. Gathering their 

limited resources, they decided to take a chance 

and move forward with their dream—one which 

has led to today’s enterprise. 

Now onto its third generation of tortilla 

specialists, Teresa and Victor’s sons—Manuel, 

Gabriel, Raymond, and Hugo—have been 

involved in its management and expansion. 

Originally located in San Marcos, the tortilleria 

moved to its current location in Escondido in 1996. 

Behind an interior door of a small Mexican 

market lies a factory filled with loud, rumbly 

machinery. Thousands of flour and corn tortillas 

are produced every day that will later be served in 

homes and restaurants as part of authentic meals. 

All the corn products are made from whole 

ground corn and are grounded by limestone; a 

traditional grinding method started by South 

American Indians. 

“We like the texture, we like the smell, and 

especially like the taste which goes great with 

Mexican dishes,” said Hugo Martinez, company 

vice president. 

Over the years, Esperanza’s has earned an outstanding 

reputation among its customers due to its 

simple, yet consistent recipes and strong service. 

A wholesale and retail tortilleria, Esperanza’s 

distributes to restaurants, grocery stores, and catering 

businesses throughout Southern California 

and is increasing its clientele to further regions. 


JACK POWELL CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP RAM 

Celebrating its sixty-second year in 

Escondido, the family-owned Jack Powell 

Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram has roots in 

Dearborn, Michigan, where Dodge dealer Jack 

Powell, Sr., ran Jack Powell Motors from 1933 

until 1952, when he moved his family to 

California. In 1958, Powell established Jack 

Powell Desoto-Plymouth. The company, located 

at 332 South Escondido Boulevard, eventually 

obtained a Chrysler franchise, following 

Desoto’s discontinuation in 1960. 

In 1971, Jack Powell, Jr., a USC graduate, 

assumed management of the company, which 

then sold 10 to 12 new cars per month, 

maintained a seven-bay service department, 

and employed 11 people, including Jack 

Jr.’s mother Anita, who was the bookkeeper. 

In 1973, the Arab Oil Embargo was a 

significant test of Jack Jr.’s leadership. After 

successfully seeing the dealership through 

that challenging period, he bought the 

business from his father. 

In the mid-1970s, Escondido’s auto 

dealers recognized the need for larger 

facilities and organized to create an auto 

retailing cluster. Over a five-year period, 

Powell Jr., along with the owners of four 

other local dealerships, bought and developed the 

78 acres of land that comprise the Escondido Auto 

Park. In 1987, Jack Jr. merged Jack Powell Chrysler 

Plymouth with his new Dodge franchise to form 

Jack Powell Chrysler Dodge, located at 1625 Auto 

Park Way. Today, with 15 franchises and 

approximately 3,000 vehicles, the Escondido Auto 

Park ranks as the city’s primary sales tax generator. 

Jack Jr.’s children, Jasmine and Jasen Powell, 

entered the family business in the early 2000s, 

each receiving extensive training in every 

department. This third generation of Powell 

auto dealers would help navigate the 2008 

financial crisis and the subsequent addition of a 

Jeep franchise. In 2012, Jack Jr. retired, selling 

the business to Jasen and Jasmine, who, as partowners, 

oversee all operations. Jack Powell 

Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram employs over 100 

people, carries about 1,000 vehicles, and boasts 

and annual sales volume of over $100 million. 

G 

Top, left: Jack Powell, Sr. 

Above: Jack Powell Motors opened 

in 1958. 

Below: Jack Powell Chrysler Dodge 

Jeep Ram in the Escondido Auto Park. 


WEST 

ESCONDIDO 

AUTOMOTIVE & 

TRANSMISSION 

G 

The West Escondido Automotive & 

Transmission facility at 2200 Auto 

Park Way. 

West Escondido Automotive & Transmission 

began in August 1993 when Brian Bowersock, a 

23-year-old Master ASE (Automotive Service 

Excellence) Certified Automotive Technician, took 

over a failing transmission facility encompassing 

4,500 square feet at 644 9th Avenue in Escondido. 

Not only did the business name change, but 

Brian and his brother, Kevin, immediately went 

to work to transform the scope of the business. 

In addition to performing transmission repairs, 

rebuilding and servicing, they would also 

become a general automotive service facility, 

covering everything from simple engine oil 

changes, smog, drivability and diagnosis, to 

major transmission rebuilds. 

As the business grew, more space was needed 

and the business moved to a 7,500 square-foot 

(now covering 10,000 square feet) facility at 

2200 Auto Park Way. West Escondido 

Automotive employs eight Master ASE Certified 

Technicians, a manager, two service consultants, 

a parts manager and two customer service 

drivers. Kevin Bowersock has headed up the 

transmission department since 1995. 

From the outset, Brian Bowersock has 

maintained a simple and effective philosophy. 

“Our vision is to provide the highest level of 

automotive and customer service to everyone in 

the community,” said Brian. “With some of the 

longest warranties in the industry, it makes for a 

great automotive experience.” 

And, the business keeps growing every year. 

With locations in Escondido, El Cajon, Kearny, 

Mesa, and its newest facility in Miramar/UTC, 

the West Automotive Group plans to open from 

two to four more locations in the future. 

And, Brian’s industry knowledge and reputation 

has made him a media personality. For 15 years, he 

has done weekly auto segments as the “AutoMan” 

on the CW San Diego Channel 6 and Fox 5 News 

along with for the better part of a decade, he has 

served as host of Auto Talk Radio on KFMB 760 and 

now the Answer San Diego 1170 radio. 

In addition, West Automotive Group 

maintains a strong commitment to its 

community. For many years, it has sponsored 

youth baseball leagues and boy scout functions 

in Escondido. 


OneWest Bank, CIT's Southern California 

branch bank, is committed to supporting the 

local community of savers and small businesses 

through deposit products, lending solutions and 

community investments. With over 60 locations 

spanning from San Diego and Ventura County, 

we proudly offer a personal, high-level customer 

experience across our branch network. In 2018, 

OneWest won a Gold Stevie award for 

excellence in customer service. 

In addition to serving customers' everyday 

financial needs, OneWest's employees regularly 

aid in volunteer efforts, such as providing 

assistance at senior centers and food banks. 

Chief among its philanthropic pursuits, 

OneWest's Escondido branch is proudly 

partnered with Operation HOPE, a nonprofit 

organization that empowers low to moderate 

income youth and adults with financial dignity, 

to offer one-on-one counseling at no cost to 

clients via the HOPE Inside programming 

model. Financial wellbeing coaches help clients 

meet their goals, which might include boosting 

credit scores, home buying, entrepreneurship, 

and better money management. 

John Hope Bryant began Operation HOPE in 

Los Angeles in 1992 as a means to financially 

empower those affected by that year's riots. 

Since then, the organization has expanded its 

reach across the country and internationally 

through the HOPE Inside network of more than 

120 locations, promoting personal fiscal 

responsibility, small business development and 

job creation. Operation HOPE has touched the 

lives of four million people, thereby generating 

over $3 billion in economic activity within 

underserved communities. 

ONEWEST 

BANK 

G 

Above: Clyde Taitano vice president of 

OneWest Bank. 

Below: Clyde Taitano with Operation 

Hope founder John Hope Bryant. 


VOLVO 

SPECIALIST OF 

ESCONDIDO 

G 

Volvo Specialist of Escondido is 

located at 235 North Andreasen 

Drive in Escondido. 

Established in 1984, Volvo Specialist of 

Escondido is the premier destination for Volvo 

repair service, A small, high-end repair shop in a 

relatively small city, customers travel to Escondido 

from Los Angeles, Arizona, and Nevada to receive 

quality service for their Volvos. 

Vol-Spec’s factory-trained mechanics work in 

clean, full-service work bays, servicing the entire 

range of Volvo vehicles. Additionally, it is one of 

the only shops in San Diego County that offers 

Volvo hybrid repair service. Volvo Specialist of 

Escondido has the highest-quality diagnostic and 

repair technology, the same equipment that is 

found in Volvo dealerships. For those customers 

who need to leave their vehicle with Vol-Spec, the 

shop offers complimentary rentals and Uber rides. 

Volvo Master Technician Axel Cojulun is the 

current owner of Volvo Specialist, having 

purchased the business four years ago. With over 

twenty-five years of hands-on experience with 

Volvos, he has worked as an import/export parts 

manager, technician, and technical trainer. His 

extensive background with Volvo includes 

technical work at the company’s Gothenburg 

headquarters and the management of a training 

center in Latin America. He has shared his 

cumulative expertise with Volvo dealerships 

worldwide. The technicians of Vol- Spec continue 

to attend Volvo training sessions to stay informed 

about the latest industry developments. 

Axel lives with his wife and children in a 

historic residence, once named “San Diego 

House of the Month.” Having lived all over the 

world, Axel is proud to call Escondido home. 

He considers it a town on the rise and, through 

Vol-Spec, delivers the kind of skills and service 

that you’d expect to find in larger cities. 

For more information or to schedule a repair, 

please visit www.volvoserviceescondido.com. 


SUNNY SIDE 

KITCHEN 

Though it only seats about 24 in 

approximately 600 square feet, downtown 

Escondido’s Sunny Side Kitchen makes a big 

statement as a two-time winner of Yelp’s 

nationwide “Top Places to Eat.” 

“We are a mom and pop panini shop,” said 

owner Kate Carpenter. “But thanks to our 

amazing customers we earned a spot on Yelp’s 

annual list of top 100 places to eat in the nation. 

We are honored.” 

Open since 2015, Sunny Side Kitchen 

specializes in grilled to order panini sandwiches, 

homemade soup, fresh seasonal salads, and 

made from scratch bite-sized cookies and glutenfree 

muffins. The restaurant’s best-seller is “The 

Works,” which features egg, honey cured bacon, 

smashed avocado and three melty cheeses on 

locally baked sourdough bread. 

“The thing that defines us at Sunny Side 

Kitchen is handcrafted deliciousness,” explained 

owner Bob Carpenter. “We keep that in mind for 

everything we do, from making old-fashioned 

lemonade one at a time with farmers’ market 

lemons to our oven roasted, hand shredded 

chicken that goes into the signature Tuscan 

chicken panini and all the other details that make 

a difference.” 

The recipes are from family members and 

from Kate’s collection of cookbooks acquired 

during her years as a food editor. 

“Ever since I was a kid watching my mom in 

the kitchen, I have loved cooking, baking and 

eating!” she said.“My kids always said I make 

the best grilled cheese sandwiches,” Bob said. 

“And now that I have made thousands of them, 

I think a lot more people would agree!” 

Sunny Side Kitchen is happy to be located in 

Escondido, where Bob and Kate live. They feel 

like they are becoming an established part of the 

historic downtown business community, one 

bite-sized cookie, cheesy panini and Yelp review 

at a time! 

Sunny Side Kitchen is located at 155 S. 

Orange St., in downtown Escondido. Hours are 

6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through 

Saturday. Catering available. The web site is 

www.SunnySideKitchen.com and the phone 

number is 760-294-4450. 

G 

Bob and Kate Carpenter. 


VISIT 

ESCONDIDO 

G 

Top: Queen Califia’s Magical Circle. 

COURTESY OF VISIT ESCONDIDO. 

Middle: San Diego Zoo Safari Park. 


Bottom: Hungry Hawk 

Vineyards & Winery. 


Escondido may mean “hidden” in Spanish 

but it is no secret there is a lot going on here! 

Located just 30 miles north of downtown San 

Diego and 20 minutes from the coast, 

Escondido is home to major attractions, 

beautiful wineries, craft breweries, unique arts 

and theatre, delicious culinary experiences and 

a charming historic downtown. Visitors and 

locals alike enjoy the beautiful climate with 

year-round golfing, hiking, biking, fishing, and 

fantastic events! 

The list of “must-do sights” 

includes the California Center for 

the Arts, Escondido, a unique 

performing arts complex, 

museum, and conference center; 

the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, an 

expansive wildlife sanctuary and 

conservatory; Stone Brewing 

World Bistro & Gardens; and the 

amazing sculpture garden, Queen 

Califia’s Magical Circle, created by 

the late world-acclaimed artist 

Niki de Saint Phalle. The San 

Diego Children’s Discovery Museum is a 

fantastic family resource with interactive 

learning activities and the outdoor expanse of 

Daley Ranch’s wilderness preserve provides 

extensive hiking, biking and equestrian trails 

located adjacent to Dixon Lake with great 

fishing and camping grounds. 

Escondido is host to over thirty-five major 

annual events including Cruisin’ Grand 

Escondido , which has been one of the greatest 

ongoing vintage car show traditions in Southern 

California since 1999. More recent to the 

local event scene is the Escondido Tamale 

Festival in November, which attracts over 

twelve thousand people and celebrates 

Escondido’s Latino culture. 

Embracing a farm-to-table experience, 

Escondido offers a variety of culinary 

experiences with chef-owned restaurants 

and local eateries that are very popular in the 

San Diego foodie world. There are also three 

weekly farmers’ markets and several year-round 

farm stands that supply the community with 

fresh produce, flowers, honey, and goods from 

local farmers. 

Escondido’s regional wineries offer over 

twenty diverse tasting experiences from 

cool urban wineries and tasting rooms to 

hilltop terraces with spectacular views. Guests 

can spend relaxing afternoons with friends 

and enjoy casual opportunities to meet the 

vintners and learn about their award-winning 

wines. The Escondido Wine Region is rich in 

California’s historical significance for both grape 

growing and wine making. Some of California’s 

first wine grapes were grown and pressed right 

here, starting the state’s wine making traditions 

dating back to the late 1700s. 

San Diego is considered the “Capital of Craft 

Beer” and Escondido is renowned for having the 

largest and most historically significant brewery 

in Stone Brewing and one of the newest, and the 

smallest brewery in the County at the 

Escondido Brewing Company. 

With a small-town feel and diverse attractions 

and things to do, Escondido is a wonderful place 

to explore, experience and enjoy! 


DOWNTOWN 

BUSINESS 

ASSOCIATION 

The Downtown Business Association (DBA) 

of Escondido was established in 1962 by some 

community—minded downtown business 

owners. The main thoroughfare of downtown— 

Grand Avenue—dates back to 1888. 

“The primary function of the DBA is to 

promote our historic downtown as a shopping, 

dining and entertainment destination,” said 

current board president, Alex MacLachlan. 

“We’ve learned from the experiences of the past 

and we’re developing our own path.” 

One means by which the DBA promotes 

downtown Escondido is through developing 

events or assisting in the development and 

running of events. Currently, the DBA sponsors 

three recurring events in the community— 

Escondido Street Faire (held twice annually in 

May and October), For The Love of Chocolate 

Festival in February and the Escondido Tamale 

Festival in November. 

These events bring shoppers, investment, 

visitors and awareness to Grand Avenue and to 

the city in general. In addition, they support the 

economic health and cultural tourism goals of 

the district. 

One event on the DBA’s wish list is the 

establishment of an annual outdoor music 

festival in downtown Escondido. This festival 

would be similar to the former San Diego Street 

Scene, albeit smaller in scale. 

Always looking to enhance the beauty of the 

community, the DBA recently collaborated with the 

city of Escondido in a median beautification 

program along Grand Avenue. This project 

involved the removal of old eucalyptus trees and 

replacement with drought tolerant trees and plants. 

A key function of the DBA is for business 

owners to get to know their fellow 

entrepreneurs and business neighbors while 

serving as an advocate and promoter of 

downtown Escondido. This goal has been 

achieved through regular meetings that bring 

downtown business owners together. 

“We used to have a handful of people 

showing up at a monthly merchant meeting,” 

said MacLachlan. “Now, we get 40 to 50 

business owners together every three months. 

We meet at a different business each quarter and 

discuss the issues affecting the community. We 

are proud of the camaraderie we’ve been able to 

build among business owners in Escondido.” 

G 

Above: The always popular Escondido 

Tamale Festival draws big crowds 

very year. 

Below: The Downtown Business 

Association board. 


LEDGE MEDIA 

DBA 

HPNBOOKS 

Ledge Media is a leading-edge multimedia 

and publishing company, now headquartered 

in Jackson, Wyoming. Its origins can be traced 

back to 1973 where a small regional publishing 

company based in San Antonio, Texas was 

helping businesses and historical societies tell 

their stories in the most compelling and 

powerful ways possible. Working with a wide 

variety of clients—from corporations to civic 

organizations to individuals and families, 

Ledge Media has emerged as a force in the 

publishing industry. 

In the mid-1990s, a new division was created, 

the Historical Publishing Network, better known 

as HPNbooks, and this division focused on 

producing hardcover coffee table-style history 

and photo-journal type cityscape books. The 

first of these was Fire and Gold: The San 

Francisco Story. In the ensuing years, HPN 

Books has perfected the sponsored-book model 

of publishing. 

Conceived around the idea of an ultra-highquality 

hardcover chronicle of a city or county’s 

past, these exceptional books were also designed 

to raise funds for a sponsoring organization. As of 

2020, HPNbooks has published more than 200 

titles, while raising hundreds of thousands of 

dollars for its many partnering groups. Now a 

woman-owned company, Ledge Media has further 

developed their publishing network and 

incorporated many new modern technologies 

including augmented reality which embeds video 

and other information into printed materials. 

The unique mix of talents and expertise 

brought to bear in a Ledge Media/HPN project 

culminates in a remarkable creation—everything 

from breathtaking, photo-rich, coffee table 

books and other printed materials to stunning 

websites and captivating video productions. 

For more information, or to inquire about 

producing your own publication, please visit 

www.ledgemedia.net or www.HPNBooks.com. 


Escondido from the Daley Ranch. 


Webb Brothers Trucking Company, on Grape Day in 1920. 


Building a 

Greater Escondido 

E s c o n d i d o ’ 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 

Richard Meyst and Fallbrook Engineering .........................................1 9 6 

San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority ...............................................2 0 0 

Traci Bass & Associates .................................................................2 0 3 

B u i l d i n g a G r e a t e r E s c o n d i d o F 1 9 5

RICHARD 

MEYST AND 

FALLBROOK 

ENGINEERING 

G 

Young Richard Meyst. 

Richard Meyst, CEO of Fallbrook Engineering, 

the influential medical engineering company, has 

been instrumental in developing health care 

technology that many of us utilize today. 

A medical device design and development 

expert, Meyst was an engineer long before 

receiving his diplomas from the University 

of Wisconsin, Madison. In fact, it was winning 

a high school science fair project, in which 

he measured the effects of G-force on 

hamsters, that really propelled him on his 

career path. It also earned him a tour of the 

university’s physics and engineering labs back 

in the 1960s. 

“The local newspaper (Milwaukee Journal) 

sponsored the science fair,” said Meyst. “One of 

the perks for winning the competition was 

getting to spend a week at a Navy base and 

going out on a ship. We stayed in the barracks 

and went out on a destroyer. It was quite 

an experience.” 

Born in Milwaukee and raised in suburban 

Elm Grove, Meyst began his career in 

northern climes before an opportunity arose in 

Southern California. 

“After graduating from UW Madison, I 

landed a job in Glens Falls, New York with a 

medical device company in the research and 

development area,” said Meyst. “Glens Falls 

averages more than two hundred inches of snow 

a year. After two years there, I moved to Crystal 

Lake, Illinois where I worked for Baxter 

Healthcare. Five years later after enduring 

three of the worst winters I can remember, I 

was recruited by a neighbor who was an 

executive with an electronics company (Oak 

Industries) that was relocating their 

headquarters to Rancho Bernardo.” 

The idea of living in Southern California after 

those miserable winters certainly appealed to 

Meyst, who moved to Valley Center in 1980. 

Unfortunately, the company fell on hard times 

and Meyst returned to working for a medical 

device company. He spent five years with Imed 

Corporation and another two years with Diatek, 

Corp., a medical products design and 

manufacturing company. He held various 

technical and management positions with those 

companies in developing and manufacturing 

new medical products. 

Meyst left Diatek in 1988 and began 

consulting with Fallbrook Engineering as an 

independent contractor. After a year, he became 

a partner and a year later became vice president. 

In 2003, the company founder retired and 

Meyst became the sole owner, president and 

CEO. Bill Atkinson, a long-time employee of 

Fallbrook Engineering, serves as vice president. 

Shortly after Meyst became sole owner, 

the company headquarters was heavily 

impacted by the San Diego County wildfires— 

specifically the Paradise fire—in October 2003 

which destroyed two of its four buildings. With 

the assistance of employees, friends, colleagues, 

and a great insurance policy, the company 

rebuilt and, after a year, was performing better 

than ever. 


G 

Left: A newspaper clipping of a 

teenage Richard Meyst winning an 

award at the Southeast Wisconsin 

science fair. 

Below: FEI President and CEO 

Richard Meyst. 

“Then, the wildfires of October 2007 once 

again threatened our property,” said Meyst. 

“Fortunately, we were spared, but it became 

apparent that our location was vulnerable. So, 

we made the decision to move to a safer, more 

central location.” 

In January 2008, Fallbrook Engineering 

moved its offices from Valley Center to its 

current location in Escondido. 

The core of its business is product design 

and development. And, all these years later, 

that is something that still energizes Meyst to 

this day. 

“Being able to design and develop products 

that improve the health and overall life 

experience of so many people is what drives 

me,” said Meyst. “Our project teams 

have worked in concert to find design solutions 

to many challenging new medical product 

opportunities. Satisfaction comes from seeing an 

inventor’s dream or napkin sketch product idea 

turn into a manufactured product that really 

does improve people’s health and saves lives.” 

To Meyst, design is the science of compromise. 

Its purpose is to find optimal solutions to a myriad 

of difficult design challenges that result in safe, 

effective, reliable and economical new products. 

Over the years, Meyst has been involved in 

numerous medical product inventions. In fact, 

he has 16 patents to his credit. When asked to 

identify his most memorable invention, he is 

quick to mention his very first one ranks right 

at the top. 


G 

Above: FEI Vice President 

Bill Atkinson. 

Below: FEI’s offices at 355 

West Grand. 

“That first product was a blood transfusion 

filter that was better than all other products on 

the market,” said Meyst. “It was able to filter 

more blood, cleaner and faster than all the 

competition. And, my co-inventor and I 

developed the product in record time. That 

product was sold for better than 20 years at the 

rate of 50,000 per month.” 

Fallbrook Engineering has many projects 

currently in the works. For starters, they are 


developing a computer-controlled device to 

keep track of a patient’s medications and even 

dispense them. 

“People who are very sick often have complex 

medication requirements, and doctors need a way 

to improve compliance and make sure patients 

take their medications on time,” said Meyst. 

They are also working on an ergonomic 

hand piece for laparoscopic surgery to reduce 

fatigue and allow the surgeon to be faster 

and more precise. Many instruments used 

today are uncomfortable and don’t fit any 

natural hand motion. 

Fallbrook Engineering is also developing an 

improved method of collecting umbilical cord 

blood. When a baby is born, the umbilical cord 

and placenta are eventually thrown away, but 

the cord blood is rich in stem cells, so they are 

looking at a faster and easier way to collect and 

store more blood. 

“This is the project I’ve been working on the 

longest,” said Meyst. 

Much of Meyst’s time today is spent as an 

expert witness where he has learned many 

valuable lessons that can be utilized in current 

and future design projects. 

“Many of the expert witness projects I take 

on are patent infringement legal cases,” said 

Meyst. “Oftentimes, the case is complicated 

by the fact that the original patents in suit 

were not written well or did not anticipate 

being challenged in a lawsuit. When we are 

working with our clients and their patent 

attorneys, we try to look down the road and 

help ensure any new patents are properly 

researched and documented, technically 

complete, meet all of the clients’ needs and will 

stand up to future scrutiny.” 

Over his long and eventful career, Meyst has 

certainly carved out a strong niche as a medical 

device design and development expert. 

And with all that experience and knowledge, 

he has a simple message for students and those 

just getting started in their careers: “Do what 

makes you happy, and you will do an excellent 

job, whether you’re an engineer or anything 

else. If you don’t enjoy it, find something else. 

You have a long career ahead of you.” 

Those are definitely words Meyst has taken 

to heart. 

G 

Above: A FEI staff meeting. 

Below: The lab on the second story of 

FEI’s offices. 


SAN LUIS REY 

INDIAN WATER 

AUTHORITY 

G 

Below: The birth of Lake Wohlford. 

Bottom, left: Laying a siphon at La 

Jolla Reservation. 

Bottom, right: Lake Wohlford, 1924. 

The San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority, a 

federally charted government agency, was created in 

1984 by the La Jolla, Pala, Pauma, Rincon and San 

Pasqual Bands of Mission Indians and ratified in the 

settlement act. The Authority was originally created 

to direct and manage the federal litigation related to 

misappropriation of water rights associated with the 

San Luis Rey river which was the primary source of 

water for the reservation lands of all five Bands. 

The Luiseno people have lived in the San 

Luis Rey Basin of northern San Diego County 

for thousands of years. Beginning in the mid 

and late 1800s, reservations for the La Jolla, 

Pala, Pauma, Rincon and San Pasqual Bands of 

Mission Indians were established along and near 

the San Luis Rey River. 

The La Jolla reservation, which was established 

in 1875, is located on the Southern slopes of 

Mount Palomar off State Highway 76, about 25 

miles east of Escondido and 60 miles northeast of 

San Diego. Its population today is about 615. 

The Pala reservation, established by Executive 

Order in December 1875, is situated about forty 

miles northeast of San Diego and on the San Luis 

Rey River. Its current population is about 1,125. 

The Pauma reservation, established in 1893, is 

located in the northeastern corner of San Diego 

County in the foothills of Mount Palomar about 

sixty-five miles from downtown San Diego. Its 

population today is approximately 150. 

The Rincon reservation was established in 

1875 and is located in the northeastern corner of 

San Diego County, along the San Luis Rey River. 

Its present population is about fifteen hundred. 

San Pasqual reservation, established in 1910, 

is situated about 40 miles north of San Diego 

and 12 miles from Escondido in the community 

of Valley Center. Its current population is 

slightly more than five hundred people. 

In 1895, a diversion dam was built on the La 

Jolla reservation, without the tribes consent, 

diverting the water for the five reservations to 

the newly founded city of Escondido. The water 

was diverted from the San Luis Rey River 

through the Escondido Canal, which crosses 

several reservations to Lake Wohlford, owned by 


the city of Escondido. The United States 

government sanctioned this project and the 

State of California was complicit in this action. 

In 1969, the five bands filed a lawsuit 

maintaining the Federal Government had violated 

its “Trust” relationship with the Bands by allowing 

their water to be diverted to Escondido and Vista.. 

The lawsuit accused the United States, the Vista 

Irrigation District and the city of Escondido of 

acting to illegally divert ninety percent of the San 

Luis Rey River water to an aqueduct—even though 

the five North County Indian tribes relied on the 

water to supply their lands. 

The parties came together to support Public 

Law 100-675 San Luis Rey Indian Water Rights 

Settlement Act, which was passed on November 

17, 1988. In an act to settle water rights, Congress 

concluded that "the La Jolla, Rincon, San Pasqual, 

Pauma, and Pala Bands of Mission Indians on or 

near the San Luis Rey River in San Diego need a 

reliable source of water.” This Law established a 

$30 million Tribal Development Fund and 

allocated 16,000 acre-feet of supplemental water 

per year to the Indian Water Authority. 

On January 18, 2001, the Secretary of the 

Interior signed a preliminary agreement to restore 

water rights to the La Jolla, Pala, Pauma, Rincon, 

and San Pasqual Bands after years of litigation over 

the diversion of the San Luis Rey River by the city 

of Escondido, the Escondido Mutual Water 

Company and the Vista Irrigation District. 

Mission accomplished? Not so fast. 

G 

From top to bottom: 

Water from the San Luis Rey River 

flowing to Escondido. 

Building Escondido canal 

Building the All-American canal. 

Lake Wohlford today. 


G 

Above: Tribe members at the historic 

signing of the agreement returning 

water rights to the tribes in 2016. 

Below: Allen E. Lawson signing 

the agreement restoring tribal 

water rights. 

After decades of debate and litigation, a 

settlement in the case was tentatively reached in 

2014. But, Congress wasn’t allowed to act after the 

Congressional Budget Office labeled the deal as 

having a fiscal impact because it would enable the 

tribes to fully deplete a fund created in the late 

1980s that was specifically earmarked for ending 

the dispute. After several amendments to the bill, 

the agreement was finally signed into law by the 

United States government on December 16, 2016. 

The settlement finally took effect on May 17, 2017 

after it had been approved by the Federal District 

Court in San Diego and the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C. 

The big breakthrough in the lawsuit came in 

the mid-late 2000s when parts of the All-American 

Canal and the Coachella Canal—which both bring 

water from the Colorado River to parts of Southern 

California—were lined to stop about a hundred 

thousand acre-feet of water from seeping into the 

ground each year. The first sixteen thousand acrefeet 

of the captured water was set aside for the 

tribes, as per the 2014 settlement, to make up for 

the river water taken from them years earlier. 

The San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority was 

formed to manage this litigation on behalf of the 

tribes. For 47 years, the Indian Water Authority and 

the five tribes fought the federal government, the 

city of Escondido and the Vista Irrigation District to 

return the water rights that had been taken from 

them. Long overdue, it was finally realized in 2016. 

Unfortunately, litigation carried on for so many 

years that by the time the agreement was reached 

in late 2017 many of those who had fought so 

hard for the deal had already passed away. 

For Bo Mazzetti, chairman of the Rincon band 

of Mission Indians, it was indeed a bittersweet 

moment. He admitted that his biggest regret was 

that none of the original people who labored so 

diligently for the agreement were not alive to see 

it come to fruition. 

This included deceased board members Henry 

Rodriguez, Robert Lofton, Lester Nelson, Leonard 

Nelson, and Rose Hatfield (La Jolla Band of Luiseño 

Indians); Leland Majel, Benjamin Magante, Sr., 

Florence Lofton, and Lorena L. Dixon (Pauma 

Band of Mission Indians); Mary Matteson, Agustine 

Orosco and Ray Natividad (San Pasqual Band of 

Mission Indians); Don Magee (Pala Band of Mission 

Indians); Vernon Wright, Leo D. Calac, Max 

Mazzetti, Donald Calac, Edward T. Arviso, Douglas 

Calac, Frank Mazzetti and Richard M. Sola (Rincon 

Band of Luiseño Indians). 


TRACI BASS & 

ASSOCIATES 

Traci Bass moved to Escondido in 1985 from 

the Silicon Valley to be close to her sisters. Traci 

got her Real Estate license in 1985 and her Brokers 

license in 1992. She is a mother of four and 

grandmother to five beautiful little girls. Dedicated 

to being a presence in their lives, she nevertheless 

hasn’t slowed down her drive for Real Estate. 

Working with both buyers and sellers, Traci is 

constantly giving her clients one hundred percent 

of her attention and helping to build their dreams 

of homeownership. Traci has been rated top agent 

in sales with her company for over the years and 

continues to treat her clients like family, always 

giving them her best service. Traci has been 

growing her team, and her son Ryan Bass and 

daughter Barbie Bass are now assisting her with 

making her clients’ dreams come true, no matter 

the market. 

Traci has made her stamp here in San Diego 

County and continues to help families reach their 

dream of home ownership, either here or relocating 

away. With thirty-four years of Real Estate passion, 

you’re definitely in good hands with Traci 

and her team. 

G 

Above: For over thirty years, Traci 

Bass has been helping her clients 

make Escondido their home. 

Below: Ryan, Traci, and Barbie Bass. 


G 

Santa Ana photographer Edward Cochems and family at Escondido Grape Day, Escondido, 1912. 

COURTESY OF TUSTIN AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 


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 s c o n d i d o 

S P E C I A L 

T H A N K S T O 

The Hillebrecht/Emerson/Adams Families ..........................................2 0 6 

The Bandy Family 

(Crandall, Kelsey, Loomis, O’Dell, Bandy) ...................................2 1 1 

D’Agosta Shoes .............................................................................2 1 2 

The Knappe Family .......................................................................2 1 7 

Bob Wilson ..................................................................................2 1 8 

The Homer Heller Ford Family ........................................................2 2 0 

Chick Embry ................................................................................2 2 2 

The Von Seggern Family .................................................................2 2 4 

Neri Hoxsie .................................................................................2 2 6 

The Lusardi Family .......................................................................2 2 8 

The Humphrey Family ....................................................................2 3 0 

The Baker Family..........................................................................2 3 2 

The Alto Family ............................................................................2 3 4 

Judy and Eric Kroesche ..................................................................2 3 5 

The Hawthorne Family ...................................................................2 3 6 

The Redmond Family and Golfcraft ..................................................2 3 7 

The Witman Ranch ........................................................................2 3 8 

The Prior Family ..........................................................................2 3 9 

Gloria Warren ..............................................................................2 4 0 

The Bates Family & 

Bates Nut Farm 

15954 Woods Valley Road 

Valley Center, CA 92082 

760-749-3333 

www.batesnutfarm.biz 

F a m i l y H e r i t a g e F 2 0 5

THE HILLEBRECHT/EMERSON/ADAMS FAMILIES 

Hillebrechts have been farmers in Southern 

California for four generations. George and Caro 

Stone Bass were married in 1925. Georgia, 

James Henry, and Benonia Bass were born 

during 1926-1929. Caro Stone Bass Hillebrecht 

died in 1947. George struggled with the family 

farming business. Ben learned how to farm 

from his dad, but received a college degree from 

Cal Poly State University. 

Ben married a widow, Frances Emerson 

Miller, daughter of Eric and Ruth Smitley 

Emerson. Eric Emerson had brought his family 

to Escondido from Ohio in 1943 and 

established an accounting business. 

The Ben Hillebrecht family grew with Michael 

Miller, Mary Caro, Sally Ruth and Laura Jane, all 

two years apart. The growing family and farming 

demands created long days of hard work. Each 

offspring after graduating from college received 

over twenty acres of land in 1990. Michael Miller 

Hillebrecht married Carol Anne Spoelstra and 

raised three children. Lisa, Robert and Joni grew 

up on this farm called Brecht Farm. Mary Caro 

manages farmer’s markets in San Diego. Sally 

Ruth married Martin Pozzi, a hay broker and 

cattle/sheep rancher in Petaluma, Ca. Laura Jane 

married John Kapusnik, an engineer. Ben and 

Frances worked to improve the quality and 

diversity of their crop offerings, and opened two 

farm stands that John and Laura continue to 

operate “Farm Stand West” and “Fran’s Original 

Farm Stand” along with growing produce on 

their land. Frances died of cancer in 2004 at the 

age of 73. 

Ben formally transferred over a hundred 

acres to the third generation with hopes for their 

success, but remains in the homestead on 40 

acres of the farm he loves. 


T H E E M E R S O N / H I L L E B R E C H T F A M I L I E S 

The great grand-children 

of George and Caro 

Hillebrecht are Lisa, Robert, 

and Joni Hillebrecht; Regina 

and Steven Pozzi; and 

Christina, Adam, Samuel, 

and Jillian Waldum 


In 2005, Ben married Edith Anne Adams Blood, a widow 

with her own local roots. 

Her parents, Dr. Linus Emanuel Adams and Helen Louise 

Neill Adams, came to Escondido to start their family in 1931. 

Dr Adams, newly graduated from medical school, was one of 

the few doctors in a then-small farming town of less than four 

thousand people. Dr. Adams was the first doctor to have an 

office with all the modern medical equipment, including an 

X-ray machine with developing room, operating-room, 

pathology lab, and three rooms for bed patients. 

Linus and Helen raised three children: Jane Louise, Edith 

Anne, and Richard Lee. 

Jane Louise married Robert Charles Froeschle and raised two children: 

Richard Craig and Anne Louise. Edith Anne, a teacher, married James Richard 

McKenzie and raised three children: David Neill, Kathryn Jane, and Julie Anne. 

Richard Lee, a pharmacist, married Susan Jeffers (also an Escondido family) 

and raised three children: Barbara Lynne, Roderick Colley, and Mark Clement. 

Jane Louise married Robert Charles 

Froeschle and raised two children: Richard 

Craig and Anne Louise. Edith Anne, a teacher, 

married James Richard McKenzie and raised 

three children: David Neill, Kathryn Jane, and 

Julie Anne. 

Richard Lee, a pharmacist, married Susan 

Jeffers (also an Escondido family) and raised 

three children: Barbara Lynne, Roderick Colley, 

and Mark Clement. 

G 

Left: from left to right. Siblings Edith Anne, with Mom (Helen 

Louise Neill Adams), Jane Louise, Richard Lee in Palm Springs, 

California 1998. 


T H E A D A M S / H I L L E B R E C H T F A M I L I E S 


Today, Ben and Edith continue to live on the 

Hillebrecht family farm while also traveling and 

enjoying their blended grandchildren and 

extended family. 

Ben says, “The forty acres is more than 

enough to retire, but difficult to maintain the 

farm with raising costs of water.” Growth of this 

wonderful city, called Escondido, continues to 

flourish with the new modern ways of the San 

Diego County. 

G 

Top: Catalina Institute of Oceanography Sailing Camp 2015: 

Edie and Ben, Samuel, Kate, Julie, and Jillian. 


THE 

BANDY FAMILY 

(CRANDALL, 

KELSEY, 

LOOMIS, 

O’DELL, 

BANDY) 

The lineage began with George Wyatt Gibson 

(Civil War VET) and wife Liddia Warren, who 

moved from Arkansas to Oklahoma. After 

Liddia died, George moved with daughter Susan 

Bandy’s family to Escondido in 1908. When 

George passed away in 1909, his death made 

the front page of the Escondido paper. 

Esther Kelsey married Augustine O’Dell Jr in 

Michigan. After Augustine died, Esther moved 

with William Loomis to Escondido. They 

married in 1908. Esther’s son Emery followed 

later. Will and Esther owned Loomis & O’Dell 

second-hand goods store on 227 W Grand Ave. 

Emery O’Dell married Hattie Crandall in 

Michigan. Hattie died in 1918 after traveling to 

California. Emery worked with his step-father 

and mother until he opened his own furniture 

store next door to theirs. Emery and his 

children, including Pansy, lived in the basement 

of that store. 

Tom Bandy and Susan Gibson married in Pauls 

Valley, OK. They had nine children, including 

Albert. Tom opened a blacksmith shop called “Tom 

Bandy and Sons” in Escondido in 1908, which later 

moved to the Heritage Park. The family owned a 

Victorian-style house on S Juniper Street that is on 

the National Register Home listing. 

Albert Richard Bandy and Pansy Mae O’Dell 

met in Escondido, got married and had Pamela 

Condry, Jacqueline Rigg and Allene Robinson. 

Albert bought the blacksmith shop from his father 

when Tom Bandy retired. Pansy and Albert did 

volunteer work. Pansy served as treasurer/Sunday 

school teacher at First Congregational Church. 

They lived on a ranch on N Fig Street. 

Jacqueline Bandy married Edward James Rigg, a 

WWII VET serving in the Marines. Jacqueline was 

born in 1927 in the house at 832 Escondido Blvd, 

now a beauty shop. They had four children, 

Cynthia MacDonald, Deborah Sitlington, Christy 

Hendrickson and Edward A. Rigg. Sadly, Jacqueline 

Jean (Bandy) Rigg passed away on December 6, 

2019 at the age of ninety-two. 

Our family fondly remembers trips to visit 

our grandparents, aunts and cousins in 

Escondido. We also shared memories of our 

great aunt Mary Bandy, a respected interior 

designer in Beverly Hills, who decorated homes 

for many celebrities and also maintained a home 

in Escondido. 

G 

Above: Tom and Sue Bandy. 

Below: Pansy and Albert Bandy. 


D’AGOSTA 

SHOES 

A long time Escondido business establishment 

was opened at 146 East Grand Avenue in 1931 by 

Alfio D’Agosta who immigrated from Sicily in 

1921. He originally opened it as a shoe repair 

shop. He and his wife, Josephine, lived behind 

the store with their family. The photo above 

shows Alfio and his children, Tom and Josephine 

(Johnston). Son Cirino (Sid), who is not shown, 

had joined the Navy and was off serving his 

Country. If you look closely at the calendar on the 

wall, you will see the year was 1942. Also, note 

the many cowboy boots left for repair by the 

Wranglers at Daley Ranch. At this point in time, 

Escondido had developed a thriving agricultural 

community that included many ranchers and 

farmers in need of boot repairs. 

In 1946, Alfio relocated the family business 

to 106 West Grand Avenue. Solid and sound 

operation through the depression years and 

through the years of World War II, when 

rationing and shortages made business difficult 

marked the store’s history. When World War II 

ended, Sid D’Agosta became manager and the 

store opened a new department featuring men’s 

work shoes. Since then the store expanded its 

offerings to include both women and children’s 

shoes and it became noted for the quality of its 

shoes and repair work. 

In August of 1960, Alfio D’Agosta established 

his second shoe store in Vista. It would be 

managed by his son, Tom D’Agosta, and assisted 

by his sister, Josie D’Agosta (Johnston). The 

Escondido store would be managed by Sid 

D’Agosta. Bennie Colia, who joined the family 

business in 1946, was named Assistant Manager 

of the Escondido store. 

D’Agosta Shoes would remain in business on 

Grand Avenue in downtown Escondido for 67 

years. Alfio D’Agosta would continue working at 

the store until he was 92 years old. 




MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO TOM D’AGOSTA 

OCTOBER 24, 1938 TO AUGUST 2, 2020 

Those of us who knew and loved Tom 

D’Agosta miss him dearly. Tom had such a great 

sense of humor and was generous to a fault. 

Tom D’Agosta was born at home in 

downtown Escondido on October 24, 1938. He 

joined two siblings, Josie and Sid D’Agosta. He 

attended grade schools here and graduated from 

Escondido High School in 1958. Tom joined the 

family shoe business in 1958. Right away it was 

clear that Tom had the mind of a businessman. 

D'Agosta Shoes opened a second shoe store in 

Vista which Tom successfully managed. 

Expanding his entrepreneurial skills and his love 

for motorcycles, he opened the very first Suzuki 

motorcycle dealership in San Diego County in 

Vista. His second Suzuki dealership was opened 

in Escondido and a third he opened in Poway. 

Tom decided Escondido could use a broader, 

more exciting nightlife. He opened his first 

restaurant—The Chez Orleans restaurant and 

the nightclub Time Machine—in Escondido in 

1980. His grand opening spanned two 

weekends with a total of over 4,000 attendees. 

Disco had come to Escondido. 

In the same year he opened D’Agosta Realty 

and D’Agosta Development. Tom was a General 

Contractor. He built and ran the Sheridan Inn 

on the corner of El Norte Parkway and Centre 

City Parkway and was involved in building 

many developments in Escondido, including 

the project that became known as Circle R. 

In 1994 Tom took his love for cooking, fine 

dining and delicious food to the next level and 

opened Sirino’s Restaurant on his beloved 

Grand Avenue. Tom had a vision that Grand 

Avenue could attract people who loved to eat, 

shop, and congregate and would become once 

again the centerpiece of Escondido. 

Tom was a true visionary and had big ideas 

for Escondido. He served on the Escondido City 

Council from 2000 to 2004. Too often people 

run for elected office for personal gain. That 

wasn't the case with Tom. His motivation was to 

give back to the community he loved. Tom was 

the sort of homegrown local boy who just 

wanted to make sure that government did right 

by his neighbor. That's why he served. 

Tom loved life. He loved riding his 

motorcycle. He loved red wine and good food. 

He loved his community and his country. And 

most importantly, he loved the people in his 

life—number one was the love of his life, June, 

the kids he inherited as well as the grandkids, 

and the friends that he cherished so deeply. If 

you were lucky enough to be in his circle, you 

were certainly the better for it. 

We miss you, Tommy D. We love you. 



Julius Knappe (b: 1871) met his future wife, 

Bertha Koch, (b: 1882) on a Berlin, Germany, 

trolley. After marrying in 1903, the couple sailed 

to England then to Canada, where Margaret was 

born (1904-1978). The Knappes entered the US 

via the Great Lakes. Elsie (1906-1991) was born 

in Indiana. The family finally settled in San 

Diego where Oscar (1909-1989) was born as 

was Helen (1910-1998). The family moved to 

Escondido in 1911. Julius, a tailor, opened 

Knappe Kleaning Kompany at 437 E. Grand 

Avenue. The family lived in the rear. The arrivals 

of Bertha (1912-2005) and Frieda (1918-2001) 

completed the family. 

Upon Julius’ death in 1939, the business 

was sold to Hoovers Cleaners. Bertha remained 

on their vineyard property at Hill Avenue (El 

Norte Parkway) and Broadway. Bertha remarried 

in her sunset years to Horace Gilbert. She 

passed away in 1973. Later, Oscar developed 

the homestead into a neighborhood shopping 

center, sold in 1989. 

The Knappes celebrate four generations of 

descendants born in Escondido. It began when 

Margaret married Henry Junge, citrus rancher. 

Bertha married James “Cy” Adkins, orthodontist. 

Oscar married Leona Wells. Oscar’s Escondido 

business endeavors included Valley Oil Co., 

North County Employers’ Association and 

The Fabric Mart. 

The other Knappe offspring settled within 

the county—close enough for family reunions. 

THE KNAPPE 

FAMILY 

G 

Left: Julius and Bertha Knappe, 

wedding photo 1903, in 

Charlottenburg, Germany. 

Below: Knappe Kleaning Kompany 

Bertha, Julius and Oscar Knappe. c. 

1930, Grand Avenue, Escondido. 

Bottom: Oscar and Leona Knappe, 

50th anniversary celebration, 1984. 

The tailor shop’s large window faced Grand. 

Julius, just over five feet tall, was often seen 

cross-legged on the cutting table hand-stitching 

a suit. 

Julius and Bertha, with six other German 

immigrant families, founded Grace Lutheran 

Church in May, 1919. Their first sanctuary, on the 

corner of Grand and Ivy, built by Chinese labor, 

was purchased from the Methodists for $2500 in 

1920. Grace Lutheran Church and School, now 

located at 13th and Redwood, celebrated its 

100th anniversary in May, 2019. Arlene Knappe 

Shuster (Bob), Julius and Bertha’s granddaughter, 

co-chaired the event and is the only living 

descendant of the founding families still an active 

member at Grace. 


BOB WILSON 

G 

Above: Bob Wilson and his twin 

brother, Bill. 

Bottom, left: Bob Wilson's family at 

the Richland Schoolhouse at his 90th 

Birthday Celebration. 

Bottom, right: Richland Elementary 

School students in 1938. Bob is in the 

back row on the far right. 

Growing up in Escondido...The Bob Wilson 

story began on January 23, 1929, the day he 

and his twin brother, Bill, were born in their 

family’s home at the northeast corner of Fourth 

and Grape Streets in Escondido. 

After the birth of the twins, Bob’s father went 

to settle up with the doctor. 

He asked, “What do I owe you, Doc?” 

“Delivering a baby and the pre-care is a 

standard $50,” replied the doctor. 

“But, doc, there were two,” said Mr. Wilson. 

“You’re right,” said the doctor. “Throw in an 

extra five dollars for the second one.” 

His father’s resourcefulness was evident to 

Bob. A post office worker, his father enlisted the 

help of his fellow colleagues to help build his 

new home. 

“Dad didn’t have any money to speak of, yet 

he managed to not only oversee, but physically 

assist in the construction of a small house of 

about six hundred square feet,” said Bob. “It 

consisted of one bedroom, a bath, kitchen and 

living room/dining room combination, along 

with a detached garage.” 

When the house was finally ready, Bob’s 

father carried his bride over the threshold, 

through the front door, and set her down on the 

kitchen counter at their new home. 

“To his horror, the varnish was not yet dry,” 

said Bob. “As a result, her dress stuck to the 

counter when she tried to get back on her feet.” 

Nearly two years after Bob and Bill were born, 

a younger sister, Carol, arrived in late 1930. ten 

years later, younger brother, Martin, was born. 

Tragically, an older sister, Charlotte Jean, died 

from polio at the age of seven in 1934. 

When Bob and Bill were seven, Mr. Wilson 

purchased a ten-acre plot of land in Richland, 

four miles west of the city. This became the site 

of their second home. Because he couldn’t afford 

to own two houses, he moved the family to a 

house on 7th Street which he rented. This was 

where Bob would begin the first grade. The 

country home was finished by the time Bob and 

Bill entered second grade. Bob cherishes the 

lifetime friendships that were forged in those 

early years. 

Life in Richland was a wonderful experience 

for Bob. His father was a “gentleman farmer” in 

that farming wasn’t his profession, but it became 

a way of life. Most of what they ate came from the 

farm. Bob’s mother canned vegetables in season 

to be consumed in winter when fresh vegetables 

were not available. Protein came from chickens, 

rabbits and the occasional turkey. And, they had 

a cow for milk, butter and cottage cheese. 

Bob and Bill were enrolled at Richland 

Elementary School. There was one room and 

one teacher for all eight grades. At the time, 


there were just 12 students in the entire school, 

three of them from the Wilson family. 

Bob and Bill then made the giant leap from the 

rural, one-room school to the imposing new 

world of Escondido High School, complete with 

six hundred students. Their mother purchased 

shiny new lunch pails for the boys. When the bell 

rang to signal lunch, Bob and Bill grabbed their 

lunch pails and followed the other kids out to the 

lawn to eat. To their horror, the twins noticed 

everyone else was eating out of brown paper 

bags. Not one other lunch pail could be spotted! 

Needless to say, that was the last day they would 

venture to school toting their lunch pails. 

At a high school reunion thirty years later, a 

female classmate remarked to Bob: “I remember 

you and Bill on your first day in school. You 

were the ones with the lunch pails.” 

The Wilson boys survived that first year. The 

following year, they both went out for football and 

made the team. Soon, they joined social clubs and 

Bob became student body president in his senior 

year. After that inauspicious start, they had arrived. 

Bob Wilson was feted with a celebration at 

Escondido High School in 2019 to mark his 

90th birthday with more than 300 people in 

attendance. To cap off the day, Escondido mayor 

Paul McNamara proclaimed February 10, 2019, 

as Bob Wilson Day in honor of the graduate 

from the class of 1947. 

G 

Above: Bob and wife Marion. 

Below: Bob, Marion and their sons. 


THE HOMER 

HELLER FORD 

FAMILY 

G 

Top: Helen and Homer Heller, 

founders of Heller Ford. 

Middle: Helen and Don Heller. Don 

was named general manager of Heller 

Ford in 1969. 

Bottom: The Homer Heller Co. 

Stage in 1945. Shown are (from left 

to right) John R. Crenshaw, service 

manager; Homer M. Heller, owner; 

Fred Rich, driver; and Percy 

Evans, owner of the Escondido 

Times-Advocate newspaper. 

The Homer Heller Ford Family is proud of its 

seventy-two-year heritage in Escondido. Three 

generations of Hellers kept pace with the city’s 

growth, by expanding and relocating their Ford 

dealership facilities and volunteering seven 

decades of community service. 

The Heller family’s legacy began in 

September 1940 when Homer and Helen Heller 

moved from Long Beach, California, with their 

two children, Marilyn, age three, and Don, nine 

months, to Escondido’s growing community of 

4,560 residents. 

The Hellers’ dream of owning an automobile 

dealership came true on January 14, 1941, 

when Ford Motor Co. granted them Escondido’s 

franchise at 224 East Grand Avenue. A few years 

later, Homer was awarded the Oceanside 

franchise and partnered with Long Beach friend 

Vince Dixon, who became sole owner of Dixon 

Heller Ford in 1960. 

During World War II, dealers were denied 

new cars, so Heller built a thriving used car sales 

and auto repair business. Both Escondido and 

Oceanside had train stations carrying auto parts 

from the East Coast. Heller realized the need for 

residents to travel between the two cities to visit 

friends and meet trains. Heller was granted a 

State of California franchise for passenger service 

in 1945 between the two cities, thus setting up 

his Homer Heller Co. Stage Line (from station 

wagon to school bus to NCTD today). 

Heller remodeled the Grand Avenue 

storefront in 1946, and opened a full-service 

Texaco station at Grand and Kalmia Streets. 

Heller also built on Grand Avenue, the Patio 

Shops and two-story Arcade Building. The “mini 

malls” are still in use today. 

The dealership relocated to 400 West Grand 

Avenue at Freeway 395 in 1951. It brought 

visitors from throughout Southern California to 

view the modern facility which served the North 

County for thirty years. An innovative “Jewel 

Box” featured the latest Ford model on its 


evolving turntable. During the holidays, the 

building was crowned with a lighted, waving 

Santa and eight prancing reindeer. 

In 1959, the Heller family suffered the loss of 

Homer Heller who was killed in a private 

airplane crash. Helen was in the unique position 

of possibly being the first woman to own a Ford 

dealership. After a hard-fought battle, she earned 

the Ford franchise in 1960. Son Don Heller 

joined the business that year as assistant general 

manager and became general manager in 1969. 

In the early 1970s, Don was eager to move 

the city’s economy forward. He played a key role 

in the ten-year planning to establish the new 

Escondido Auto Park in which Heller Ford was 

the first to open on January 7, 1983. Don added 

a Suzuki franchise in 1985 and replaced it with 

a Hyundai franchise in 1987. Don’s son, DJ 

Heller, joined the dealership sales team in 1991 

and worked his way to become general manager 

of both the Ford and Hyundai franchises. The 

Hyundai store was the highest volume franchise 

in San Diego County under DJ’s leadership. 

The Hellers’ opportunities for community 

service began in 1941 when Homer became the 

fundraising co-chairman to build Escondido a 

new, modern hospital. In 1950, the thirtyseven-bed 

Palomar Memorial Hospital on East 

Grand Avenue was dedicated to World War II 

Veterans. Helen, a charter member of the PMH 

Auxiliary, managed the gift shop which opened 

in 1960. It was named “Helen Heller Gift Shop” 

in 2002 to honor her 43 service years and 

75,000 volunteer hours. 

The Hellers served on boards of directors for 

many Escondido organizations including 

Elementary School Board, Chamber of Commerce, 

Planning Commission, Escondido Auto Park, 

History Center and its Endowment Foundation, 

Girls Club, Girls Softball and its Kit Carson Park 

Field Development. Sponsorships were given for 

Girls and Women’s Softball, American Legion 

Baseball, Boys and Girls Club activities. Heller 

Ford loaned used cars to Escondido Police 

Department for surveillance work, donated autos 

to Escondido High School for Drivers Education, 

and participated with cars and floats in the Grape 

Day Parades. 

Retired from the auto industry since 2013, the 

Hellers are thankful for their loyal customers, 

excellent employees and wonderful friends who 

have supported them throughout the years. 

G 

Above: The Heller Ford “Jewel Box” at 

400 West Grand Avnue topped with 

Santa Claus and reindeer in 

December 1951. 

Below: The Heller family, c. 1991. 

Shown are (from left to right) DJ 

Heller, general manager; Don Heller, 

president; Marilyn Heller Keast, 

secretary; and Mrs. Helen Heller, 

Founder. Helen pas

Escondido: A Pictorial History of the Hidden Valley

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