San Diego Yesterday

The Way We Were in San Diego, published by The History Press, will be released on October 18.  This is a compilation of 38 articles that I’ve written for the Union-Tribune.  Here’s an image of the Contents page.

You can pre-order the book now from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1609494415  Or just wait two or three weeks.  We should see it in San Diego by the end of the month.

Courtesy sandiegotunaboats.com

It was so sudden. The waters were very rough. I thought we were going to die. –Fisherman Joaquim Rico, aboard the tuna oat American Boy.

On the morning of March 6, 1966, twelve fishermen from the tuna clipper American Boy fought for survival when heavy waves swamped their boat.

Read about The Wreck of American Boy.

Douglas Gunn

No man was ever more thoroughly identified with the history of a city than is Douglas Gunn with that of San Diego. No city has ever had a more sincere and zealous advocate.  –San Diego Union, January 12, 1888.

The story of Douglas Gunn.

In the 1890s, San Diegans believed the finest theater west of Chicago could be found in the opulent Fisher Opera House on Fourth Street. Glittering productions drew sellout crowds to the 1,400-seat Romanesque style building. But not everyone was permitted to enjoy the local theater. In 1897, the popular playhouse was the scene of an ugly incident of racial prejudice.

The story of “Anderson v. Fisher,” a Case of Discrimination.

Chargers Quarterback Jack Kemp

The Chargers got off the longest quick kick in Civic Center history yesterday, booting themselves right out of apathetic Los Angeles and into eager, enthusiastic San Diego. –Jerry Magee, San Diego Union, January 25, 1961.

It’s been fifty years!  The Chargers Come to San Diego.

Back in December 2010, we talked about digitization of San Diego Directories from the San Diego Public Library. One glitch in the link above is that most of the directories are not dated on the website. I’ve listed these directories below. Just find the year you need and click on the corresponding title. I hope that will make it a bit easier.

1887- 88 Maxwell’s Directory of San Diego City and County for 1887-88

1889-90  Monteith’s Directory of San Diego and Vicinity for 1889-90

1892  Directory of San Diego City, Coronado and National City

1893-94 Directory of San Diego City and County for 1893-94

1895 San Diego City and County Directory 1895

1897 San Diego City and County Directory

1899-1900 San Diego City and County Directory 1899-1900

1901 San Diego City and County Directory

1903 San Diego City and County Directory

1904 San Diego City and County Directory

1905 San Diego City and County Directory

1906 San Diego City and County Directory

1907 San Diego City and County Directory

1908 San Diego City and County Directory

1909 San Diego City and County Directory

1910 San Diego City and County Directory

1911 San Diego City and County Directory

1912  San Diego City and County Directory

1913 San Diego City and County Directory

1914 San Diego City and County Directory

1915 San Diego City and County Directory

1916 San Diego City and County Directory

1917 San Diego City and County Directory

1918 San Diego City and County Directory

1919 San Diego City and County Directory

1920 San Diego City and County Directory

1921 San Diego City and County Directory

1922 San Diego City and County Directory

1923 San Diego City and County Directory

1924 San Diego City and County Directory

1925 San Diego City and County Directory

The cells at Police Headquarters at the foot of Market St. Courtesy San Diego Police Museum.

It was terrible. The screams of the dying and injured were ghastly. The heat was terrific. Flames leaped 20 feet high through the ventilators. –Battalion Chief Ed McLarney, San Diego Fire Department.

On February 4, 1942, an accident in the “drunk tank” of the City jail led to tragedy. The story of the Jail Fire of 1942.

A shocking mystery grabbed the attention of newspaper readers on Tuesday morning, January 16, 1923. “A Young Woman’s Body Found on Beach,” the San Diego Union headlined. “BODY OF PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN CAST UP ON THE WAVES” was the San Diego Sun’s lurid story.

A family picnicking on the beach at Torrey Pines had stumbled across a body . . . Had this been an accident? Was it possibly suicide, or even murder?

The story of the Death of the Dancer.

The public library will be open to the public evenings and Sundays, even if it requires the use of an axe, a la Carrie Nation style. –City Councilmen Percy Benbough, Jan. 20, 1917.

In 1917, San Diego librarians and the public waged war with the City Council over the library hours. Who would back down? The Library Mutiny.

San Diego's Carnegie Library at 8th and E Streets.

San Diego Union, May 28, 1881

In San Diego of the mid-1800s, successful townspeople were individuals with ambition, community spirit, and valued frontier skills. Few pioneers typified these traits better than Edward W. Nottage, a man little remembered today but well-known to San Diegans of his day as “Cast Iron Nottage.”

The story of a well-loved San Diego pioneer Cast Iron Nottage.