Archive
Jane Schaffer, expert on essay composition, dies
SAN DIEGO (SDJW)–Jane Schaffer, a master teacher whose methodology for writing essays is taught in high schools around the country, died of brain cancer early Sunday morning at home. She was 64.
Schaffer, wife of San Diego Jewish World contributor and former San Diego Jewish Times columnist Dan Schaffer, had valiantly fought the cancer up until the time earlier this month when she slipped into a coma.
Her brave fight was the subject of a prize-winning essay written by her daughter, Sarah Cooper and reprinted on San Diego Jewish World. The essay may be accessed by clicking here.Arrangements for a celebration of her life are being made, family members said.
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Preceding was a San Diego Jewish World staff report
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, September 3, 1954, Part 2
Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff
Personals
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 3
Home From Abroad—Nelson Olf, son of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Olf, has ended his midshipman summer training in European waters aboard the USS Wisconsin, and is expected home. He will have just a few days with his parents before leaving to begin the fall semester at Oregon State College.
While in London, Nelson and his shipmates visited the Tower of London and saw the changing of the guard. The cultureal hnigh spot was his attendance at the Paris Opera House for a performance of “Rigoletto.”
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Short Visit – Alan Breslauer, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Breslauer, has finished a course at an Army school in Norfolk and will return home this week for a visit with his parents. Alan plans to make up for lost time with his friends while he’s here because before long he’ll be headed back to an Army School in New York.
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Pleasant Duty—At his annual summer duty with the Naval Reserve, Jewish Press columnist Irving Stone will serve on a special research project for the Navy which will take him by carrier to Hawaii. He left Wednesday and will return by plane about the middle of September.
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Good Timing—The Nate Schillers and family have been showing off San Diego to cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Mason Miller of Riverdale, N.Y. The Millers and their two children, Peggy and Michael, have been on a tour of the entire United States, but only here did they have the unexpected pleasure of arriving in time to neet a new relative—the brand new son of Harley and Mitzi Schiller Babbitz.
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Betrothal Announced – Mr. and Mrs. Robert I. Berkun are happy to announce the engagement of their daughter, Anita, to Calvin Green, son of Mr. Ernest Green of Escondido. No wedding date has been set.
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Farewell But Not Goodbye – An equal share of parting tears and pride in children’s achievement is the lot of many parents this month. The annual exodus of college students starts this weekend and judging by the numbers leaving San Diego, the town should be pretty quiet until the next school holiday.
Some of those leaving to attend UCLA are Linda Solof, Eileen Rivers, Sandra Schissell, Rosalyn and Elaine Burdman, Arline Mallen, Bunny Goodman, Ro9nny Greenberg, Stanton Camiel, Jerry Schissell, Leonard Naiman and David Levens.
USC calles Esther Jane Lustig, Carol Fischer and Anita Weinstock. Gene Freed will attend USC Medical School.
Expecting great thing from the next year at the University of California at Berkeley are Jean Goldstein, Judy Yukon, Paul Kaufman, Michael Soule and Burton Sharpe.
Sam Sosna will return to Stanford. Danny Schaffer leaves for Harvard, and Kay Miller enters M.I.T.
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Eastern Visitor – The many San Diego friends of Mrs. Rose Plotnick of Norwalk, Conn., are glad to learn that she is in town visiting her daughter, Mrs. S. Kerper.
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Good Luck! – The Leon Heimans with their two lovely daughters, Brenda and Ilene, have moved into their new home at 5822 Barbarossa Ct. The dog, Skipper, is the only one not delighted with the change – the “verboten” new carpeting is forcing him to change his habits. Friends with gardening tools: please call.
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V.I.P. – Richard Silberman is going great guns with his Kay-Lab Corp. His association with La Motte Cohu will enable him to expand his ideas in this new electronics field.
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Lefty O’Doul Take Note –Joel Mogy’s baseball career seems will assured. Playing centerfield for the S.D. team in Nebraska for the American Legion Jun ior baseball tournament, he has been one of the mainstays of the local nine.
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He Never Had It So Good!—Elfie Schwitkis’ skunk left home last week after living I the lap of luxury for 3 months. Elfie fed her de-skunked pet a diet of chicken and avocados.
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(Thanks)–Mrs. A. Breslauer wishes to thank her friends for their kindnesses during her recent hospitalization and convalescence.
Mr. and Mrs. M.S. Berlin wish to thank their friends for their kindnesses during his recent illness.
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Please Note! – Mrs. Irvine M. Schulman has accepted the post of treasurer of the George Neumann Memorial Fund. All those who wish to make contributions to any charity through this fund may contact Mr. Schulman at BE 3-8393 or write to 333 Plaza, Room 311.
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Nothing Gained – If all the investigations in the world were placed end to end they would never reach a conclusion.
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(Mother’s Business)– No one can say a mother’s business isn’t always picking up.
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Cradle
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 3
It’s a second boy for Mr. and Mrs. Harley Babbitz (Mitzi Schiller). Two year old Russell (Rusty) may not be impressed with the following statistics, but will welcome the new playmate. David Edward, weighing 7 lbs, 4 ½ oz., was born on Monday, August 30 at 10:00 a.m.
Grandparents are Mrs. Henry Babbitz of Sioux City, Iowa and Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Schiller.
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The stork had a busy schedule last Monday morning: for just 38 minutes later – at exactly 10:38 a.m. on August 30, weighing 5 lbs, 11 oz, Miss Suzie Arlene was born to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Goldberg (Lee Winicki).
Susie is the first child for the Frank Goldbergs and the second grandchild for Mr. and Mrs. Frank Winicki. Mrs. Jean Goldberg is paternal grandmother.
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Classified
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 3
For Rent – Large newly furnished room with kitchen privileges in lovely new home in La Mesa. HO 9-7266.
Room for Rent with 2 single beds. Kitchen privileges. BR-7-3361 or CY-6-2905.
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Calendar
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 3
11th –Beth Jacob P.T.A. Square Dance Frolic – B.J. Center – 8:00 p.m.
11th –Cottage of Israel 4th Annual Open Meeting – Tifereth Israel Center – 8:00 p.m.
15th—Jewish War Veterans Talent Show – War Memorial Bldg – 8:15 p.m.
19th – Poale Zion 2nd Annual Dinner – House of Hospitality Lounge
19th – B’nai B’rith Girls’ Mother and Daughter Tea –1201 Trieste Dr – 2:00 p.m.
20th – Birdie Stodel Membership Luncheon – Beth Jacob Center – 12 noon
22nd – Beth Israel Sisterhood “Breakfast with Sisterhood” – Manor Hotel – 11;00 a.m.
24th – Hadassah Israeli Fashion Show – State Theatre – 1:30 p.m.
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As the Psychologist Sees You
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
By Irving R. Stone, Psychological Consultant
What’s New In Print – Let’s continue with our consideration of the psychological impact of the news in our morning paper. Last time, you remember, we discussed the front page the general current events, and the theatrical page. Suppose we now turn to the sports section.
The late Knute Rockne, one of the greatest football coaches, was a great believer in psychology, His use of the subject in the development of his teams was almost as important as the development of teamwork. He instilled a fighting spirit in his teams that roused them to a pitch almost bordering on rage. Baseball managers use similar techniques. When a team is on a winning streak, the spirit of winning at all costs permeates from the coach to the players and even down to the fans in the stands. There are more fights among the spectators when their team is on the road to a championship than when it is among the cellar dwellers.
The editorial page next invites our attention. Here there is a definite attempt to sway our thoughts. Just as the writers of the editorials formulate their opinions, so must we as readers take a stand. (T)he extent to which we conform to the thoughts of the writers often will determine the continuation of our purchasing of the paper. Sometimes editorials lull us to a sense of security, others incite us to action, still others arouse an awareness of our own needs.
Let’s not overlook the society page. Here we have a view of the doings of our friends and neighbors, or possibly a recognition of things we would like for ourselves. We read that Mr. and Mrs. Jones are taking a trip and instantly toss in our own minds of how much we would like to make this trip, instead of being tied down to the duties of daily living. We are motivated to keep up with the Jones’s.
Now to the advertisements. Quite naturally, newspaper ads are there to prompt us to buy If the article, because of its clever display and attractive design, has any value for us and satisfies a desire or need, and is relatively within our means, we are prompted to purchase it. But, without the ad we would give little or no thought to the possibility of purchasing the merchandise. Television advertising has captures much of the power of newspaper advertising because it can dramatize and make the product more appealing to us by placing the merchandise in our own homes. We can remember better those things we can see placed in a natural setting.
In most newspapers we find a page or more of comics. Old and young alike turn to them with glee, often as the first thing looked at in the newspaper. That is why the Sunday paper is so popular on the day before the publication date, even though the news is general and often “stale.” Most comics are no longer humorous incidents but are serous, thrilling stories, some believable happenings of ordinary people, and others fanciful, fantastic, nerve-tingling adventures. The former are playful reflections of ourselves and the latter leads us on a merry chase, allowing us to live the lives of people we’d like to be, doing things we’d like to do.
Even the little items of the weather reports has psychological importance for upon it is based our activities. The farmer knows when to plant and reap his crops, the schoolboy knows whether he can play his ball game, the housewife knows whether she should wear her new dress to go shopping or whether to hang out the week’s washing, and the store manager knows whether he should put out his display of umbrellas. It can put us in a rage, when it is at variance with our plans, or fill us with glee when it allows us to complete our plans for the day.
And so, we arrive at the end of our little trip through the pages of our newspaper. The psychologist sees more than words or newsprint. To him, each page is filled with interesting material for psychological study. What’s New in Print has more than events, it is a study of human behavior.
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(Money and Happiness)
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
It’s a fact money cannot buy happiness, but it places the possessor in an excellent bartgaining position.
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(Talking and saying)
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
Anyone can talk—saying something is more difficult.
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(Wife’s influence)
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
A husband under his wife’s thumb may be underprivileged, but seldom under indictment.
(Old Age)
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
It’s a good thing that old age happens only once in a lifetime
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Jewish War Vets Stage Talent Show
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
The S.D. Post and Auxiliary No. 185, Jewish War Veterans, will sponsor a Talent Show, on Wednesday evening, September 15 at 8:15 p.m., in the San Diego Veterans War Memorial Bldg., in Balboa Park. There will be no admission charge and refreshments will be served immediately following the talent show, states Harry Apelman, who is in charge of the entertainment program for the month of September.
There will be acrobatic dancing; tap and soft shoe dancing; comic accordion duets; guitar and singing duets; an accordion and bass viol quintet combination; authentic Hawaiian dancers; pantomimics and other talent.
Several loving cup trophies will be presented as well as many beautiful and useful gifts which are being donated by generous members and merchants. Don’t forget the date: Wednesday, September 145. The place, San Diego Veterans War Memorial Bldg., Balboa Park. The Time: 8:15 p.m. Bring your Veteran friends, it’s all Free.
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Cottage of Israel Holds 4th Annual Meeting
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
Cottage of Israel cordially invites its members and friends to attend their fourth annual open meeting on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. in the North Auditorium of Tifereth Israel Center.
Nominations and election of officers for 1954-55 will take place at this time an appropriate program will be offered. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Theodore Herzl, Mr. John H. Ellsworth, president of the San Diego Museum of Man will deliver an oration in his memory. Mr. Ellsworth who is a dramatic speaker with a background of radio experience will base his address on one of the most colorful figures of modern Zionism.
Also featured on the program will be Mrs. Seymour Gates, pianist, Sonia Weitzman with Songs of Israel, and Israeli dances by Ethel Mallinger.
Refreshments will be served following the program. There is no admission charge and it is hoped that all friends of the Cottage of Israel will attend.
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(Lines and Ropes)
Southwestern Jewish Press, September 3, 1954, Page 4
Pinky Lee: “Many men think they are handing a girl a line when they are merely being roped in.”
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“Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” series will be a regular feature until we run out of history. To find stories on specific individuals or organizations, type their names in our search box.
Choose Hope
Editor’s Note: We previously noted in a column that we hungered for positive contributions about people whose lives are inspirations to us. We thank Sarah Cooper, and The Forum, the quarterly publication of Mothers and More, in which this article was copyrighted in the May issue, for sharing this first place essay. Sarah is the daughter of Jane and Dan Schaffer of San Diego. If other readers have positive stories to tell about the people in their lives, we urge them to share them.
By Sarah Cooper
My mom, Jane, is the last person I thought would get brain cancer young, at 61. She seemed indomitable, a road warrior on a mission. As a high school English teacher, she wanted to prepare students to tackle freshman composition in college, largely to make up for her failing grade in English when she was 18. After raising the essay scores of students in her school, she developed a nationally known writing program and incorporated her own business, in which she gave writing workshops for English teachers and published curriculum guides. Until three years ago, airports were nothing to her. When I went to college on the East Coast, she frequently flew out to meet me “on the way home” from a workshop in Dallas or Chicago—and home was in San Diego.
Along the way, she let me, her only child, watch TV at midnight during a bout of junior high insomnia,cajoled me into writing seven drafts of my college application essay, and cooked me over-easy eggs and toast for dinner. My own children are still little, but already I’m making my older son eggs and toast after school, buttered just as she did, and trying to say “Really? What do you think about that?”rather than ask too many invasive questions when I pick him up from kindergarten. Already I sense her seemingly laissez-faire yet critically observant eye in my motherhood persona.
Although my mom retired from daily teaching in 2001, giving a farewell speech at graduation in which she spoke of classrooms as “an oasis in adolescence, islands filled with rigorous academics andrelentless caring,” a year ago she had the chance to return to this oasis when she helped some friends teach AP English literature at her old school. The students called her “Mama Jane” and wrote her a poem, in sestina form, as tribute. During part of the year, my mom got chemo treatments on Thursday and returned to the classroom on Friday. She wrote up three-page lesson guides and sent them on to me, a middle school English teacher, so I could see her mind grinding through ideas. Last summer, buoyed by her recent teaching experience, she did her first writing workshop in years for a school that already knew her. Last October, she gathered several members of her “brain trust,” a group of people she hired to do workshop presentations, to brainstorm about her writing program for two days. Watching her—as she has continued to teach teachers, high school students, and her own grandsons—there is no room for me to despair.
Although I’ve always been pretty driven, I used to find it easier to take time to do nothing, to watchTV, to fritter away a couple of hours. Now I feel as if every minute must count. The clichés about seizing the day pile up because they are so true. We don’t know, any of us, how long we’ll be here. I also have less patience when dealing with people posturing about unimportant issues. “Cut the crap,” I think in my least charitable moments. “My mom has brain cancer. What’s your excuse?” And this tough-girl stance has changed my mom’s and my relationship. I used to complain to her about my worries, the slings and arrows that crossed my path each day. Our meals and shopping trips together used to be a litany of how my life could best be analyzed and scrutinized. Now the conversation is more give and take.
Aside from watching their physical pain, this must be hardest thing about a parent’s becoming ill: You say a final goodbye to your childhood, no matter if you’ve long inhabited adulthood. I feel healthier, more mature for it. I am more stalwart with my own family, more supportive for my parents, more unflappable at work—but at the same time, there’s still a part of me that wants to be taken care of by my mom. It’s been a while since she’s held me and said, “It’ll be OK. It’ll be OK.” Because, you know,it probably won’t. She will fight this scourge as much as anyone on earth can—friends have sent her Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” because she epitomizes the poem’s theme—but eventually, like all of us, she will die. And it likely will be sooner than my child or young adult self would have hoped or imagined. But in the meantime, I’ll be damned if I don’t choose hope over despair, each minute I am awake, to do honor to her take-no-prisoners, awe-inspiring, kick-ass example.
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Sarah Cooper has been a member of Pasadena, CA Chapter 252 of Mothers & More for three years and is grateful to Mothers & More for introducing her to such dynamic women and important issues. She lives near Los Angeles with her husband and two young sons, Noah and Sam. Last year Sarah published a book on teaching, Making History Mine: Meaningful Connections for Grades 5-9.
Adventures in San Diego Jewish History, May 28, 1954, Part 3
Compiled by San Diego Jewish World staff
Double Talk
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 4By Janet & Susan Solof
Hi gang! Here’s what’s cookin’with the Hop Katz.
On the spotlight for many teenagers was the A.Z.A. dance. Before the dance Jack Sharpe entertained with a wonderful “Before Party.” Everyone who attended had a really choice time.
Enjoying the music of Tex Beneke at the Annual Policeman’s Ball were Jane Cohn n’ Don Kobernick, Lois Liff ‘n Lenny Weiss, Sharlene Stone n’ Herb Wenig, Janet Solof n’ Steve Kerschtel, Susan Solof n’ Lawrence Schiller and Beverly Kitaen n’ Shearn Platt.
Being greeted with the traditional words “Surprise” was Bob Meyers for all his many friends. The party was rated “tops.”
Our sincerest congratulations to Judy Yukon who received a scholarship to U.S.C. and to Danny Schaffer who received a scholarship to Harvard University. Also best of luck and congrats to Harvey Cohen recently elected Prexy of J.C.
T.Y.L. will have a short business meeting on June 5th at 7:00 p.m. The Cashmere Sweater will be raffled and then there will be dancing. Attention: All ticket holders please turn in your money or tickets as soon as possible. Come and greet the new officers – Pres. Jane Cohn; VP Terry Kitaen; Corr. Sec. Brenda Heiman; Rec. Sec. Leani Leichtag; Treas. Alan Friedman; Dress-Sporty.
Pete Colt, walked away, we stand corrected. Marched away with the 1st place award as the best drilled individual among the city’s 1`st year ROTC Cadets. His school, Pt. Loma Hi won 6 of the 8 awards in the competitive drill on May 12. See you – CY-5-0672.
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June 27 Community Center ‘Lucky’ Nite
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 4
The Jewish Community Center “Lucky” Nite will be held Sunday, June 27, at 6;30 p.m. in Beth Jacob Center, according to Mickey Fredman and Al Solomon, co-chairmen.
This is the event it is hoped will help make up this year’s operating deficit of the JCC. The affair will be a long evening of fun and frolic, offering wonderful food, drinks, bingo, poker and many other fascinating games of skill and amusement. Another feature will be a tremendous cake sale .Prizes will be out of this world, according to the committee in charge of this particular phase, and it will shortly be out gathering them in.
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Adams Well Qualified
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 4
A positive juvenile delinquency program and plans for long-needed adequate law enforcement service in the county are to main points of the platform of Henry J. (Hanks) Adams, candidate for sheriff.
Adams, Stanford University graduate, received training in all branches of police work from 1934-1939, was a special agent for the FBI, 1940-41, and captured more bank robbers in the New Jersey area than any other agent in the history of that district. He ahs served as undersheriff twice, from 1941-42 and from Sept. 1945 to Jan. 1950.
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J.W.V. Entertain Veteran Patients at Local Ball Game
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 4
San Diego Jewish War Veterans Post No. 185 and Auxiliary will entertain 25 hospitalized patients from the U.S. Naval hospital at all Padre home games at Lane Field. Marshall Roth, Post Commander, and Theresa Furst, Auxiliary President, are in charge of the project. The box which the group occupies is generously donated by Bill Starr, president of the Padres, and refreshments for the guests are served by the Post.
All members of J.W.V. are expected to attend a short business meeting Wednesday, June 2nd, 8 p.m., at War Memorial Bldg., Balboa Park. Final arrangements for the coming department convention will be discussed. Don’t forget to make your reservations for J.W.V. Convention June 4th to 6th at Hotel del Coronado.
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Editorial Page~Some Interesting Facts
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5
Compared with the number of employed persons in other large cities and metropolitan areas, the San Diego area is under-represented in two professional and semi-professional job fields, according to an occupation reference guide just published by the National Office of the B’nai B’rith Vocational Service Bureau. The fields are law and undertaking.
The new guide shows that there is only one lawyer in the San Diego area for every 1,390 persons, while the nation as a whole has one practitioner for every 820 persons.
Statistics also indicate possibly more room for funeral directors in the San Diego area, where there is only one undertaker for every 6,250 persons, while the nation as a whole has one for every 3,700.
Such fields as chiropractic and real estate, however, are over-represented in San Diego, in comparison with other cities and areas. The San Diego area has twice the proportion of chiropractors as the rest of the country and two and one half times the proportion of real estate agents.
In eight fields, the San Diego area closely parallels the national average. These are accounting, architecture, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, medicine, therapy, and veterinarian medicine. For every 10,000 persons in the San Diego area, there are 24 accountants, 2 architects, 5 dentists, 1 optometrist, 6 pharmacists, 13 medical doctors, 2 therapists and 1 veterinarian.
The Directory also reports that the San Diego area has the 61st highest median family income among cities in the country. This means that half of all the family units here earned more than $3,465 a year, according to the U.s. Census for 1950. For this reason, the San Diego area is a favorable place for those preparing to embark upon their careers.
Editorial Page~’Educator’s’ Anti-Semitism Shows
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5
Unless current campus sentiment flops as a barometer, Southern Methodist University of Dallas, Texas, may get the distinction of becoming the first institution of higher learning to oust a faculty member on charges of anti-Semitism. The “educator” facing this dubious distinction is Professor John Owen Beatty, head of the English Department. Whose authorship of anti-Semitic tracts has aroused a storm of protests and indignation among students and faculty alike. His latest pamphlet containing the fantastic charge that powerful non-Christian elements – B’nai B’rith, Muscovites, and friends of Israel – were seeking to seize the university was denounced at a faculty meeting by a vote of 114 to 2. Beatty has long been mouthing the Hitlerite anti-Semitic thesis, but always claiming he was no Jew-hater but merely an objective reporter of facts. His infamous books, “The Iron Curtain Over Americaaa””” received the accolade from racist Gerald L. K. Smith as the finest of its kind.
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As the Psychologist Sees You
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5
By Irving R. Stone, Psychological Consultant
We do not need to peruse those newspapers which devote themselves to the sexual exploits of individuals to read about the topic of today, “Sexual Deviants.” Hardly a day goes by without some account of unusual sexual behavior appearing in our daily paper. To understand the problem a little better, let us consider the why and how of the condition.
Sexual deviation has been called many things, including character neurotics, sex perverts, sex variants, or sexual psychopaths. It is only recently that any organized programs of study and treatment have been organized so that these people can be understood, treated and their anti-social behavior controlled.
We frequently think of sexual deviation as being confined to homosexuality but this is only one factor in the problem. The male homosexual and the female lesbian are treated differently in our society, with only the former subject to criminal action. In many cultures, both homosexual groups are accepted without stigma. Freud pointed out there exists in all persons instincts which become perversion if they are permitted expression. Thus, when we consider sexual deviants, we must consider the situation and the culture in which they are found.
Another type of sexual deviant concerns the exhibitionist. In the main, this is concerned with males, those who derive sexual gratification from the exposure in public of their sexual organs usually in view of the opposite sex. Here, again, the cultural factor must be considered and some exhibitionism in our own culture is accepted. Witness, for example, the young child who doffs her clothes, the nudist, or the fan dancer and strip tease artist. Even our bathing suits show our acceptance of a modified form of exhibitionism. But the exhibitionistic and compulsive tendency of the male who acts for his own sexual satisfaction is anti-social and punishable.
Other forms of sexual deviation involve incest (sexual relationships between parent and child or between brother and sister); sadism and masochism; fetishism (sexual gratification from the sight or touch of an object); transvestism (wearing in public the clothes of the opposite sex) and many others.
Perhaps the form which disturbs us the most are the attacks upon young children. Of all the deviations, this more than others finds little acceptance in other cultures as well as our own.
The sexual deviant needs our careful consideration and help for many of them can be cured—if they want to change. They represent people apart from our social life; they are sick people in need of treatment. People are not born sexually deviated; something in their environmental development has caused a need in adult life for the erotic cravings of his childhood. The sexual deviant is living in the sexual past. All are lonely, unhappy and anxious individuals, no matter how much they attempt to deny it.
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Lasker Lodge News
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5
By Lou Levitt
First place honors in the bowling league went to the Cardinals, captained by Brother Sid Rose. It was a hotly contested league and the suspense was great as the winner wasn’t determined until the last game of the last night of bowling. Sid’s team mates were Gerry Freedman, Jack Harvey, Marshall Zucker, Mack Freedman, Abe Karnes. The summer bowling league will begin on June 3rd. Incidentally, 15 San Diego bowlers also beat the Glendale team for a leg on the perpetual trophy.
Our sincerest admiration and thanks to Jack Spatz who is doing such a magnificent job on the membership retention committee. Marshall Zucker and Abe Karnes are also doing an excellent job, having acquired 30 new members since the 1st of the year.
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Cysner in Recital
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5
Over 250 San Diegans attended a recital by Joseph Cysner last Tuesday evening. Many in the audience included members of Cantor Cysner’s Congregation Tifereth Israel, while familiar with his work with liturgical song, discovered that his capabilities extend to a wide and varied coverage of the world of music.
Cysner’s fine rendition of Schubert’s “Der Musensohn”, and his introduction of several new Israeli songs highlighted an excellent musical evening. He was accompanied by Robert Macdonald, one of the Southland’s most distinguished pianists.
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Absenteeism Unfounded
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5State Sen. Fred Kraft, this week charged his opponent of trying to create “political smog” with unfounded accusations of absenteeism from legislative sessions.
In answer to this charge of absenteeism, the following figures have been verified by the minute clerk of the State Senate. The record shows that in the 1951 and 1953 regular sessions, Senator Kraft’s attendance was better than 78 percent. This is higher than the average attendance record of members of the Senate.
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County Fair to Open At Del Mar June 25
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5The first Southern California Exposition and San Diego County Fair. Formerly the San Diego County Fair, will open an 11-day run at Del mar on June 25.
Every exhibit and event—from atoms to azaleas—will be keyed to the theme, “The World at Your Doorstep.”
The atomic energy exhibit, first and only showing on the Pacific coast, will include 25 separate displays on how the atom affects agriculture, industry, medicine and other activities.
The flower show, always a favorite at past fairs, has been expanded to include varieties of trees, shrubs and flowers from all parts of the world.
Name bands will play to every musical taste. The exciting modern arrangements of Sauter-Finegan, scheduled for opening day, will be followed June 26 by the consistently popular music of Les Brown and his Band of Renown. Lawrence Welk and his champagne music will be heard three times—June 28 and 29 and July 5.
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Pi Alpha Lambda News
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5
By Carole Simmons
Pi A’s will hold their first rush tea June 6th at the home of Ethel Schwartz, vice president. Invitations were sent to graduating senior girls who may be attending San Diego State College next fall.
A surprise shower was held in honor of Norma Simmons by sorority sisters. Norma is soon to be wed to Werner Dreifuss in Chula Vista.
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From Where I Sit
San Diego Jewish World, May 28, 1954, page 5
By Mel Goldberg
To fluoridate or not to fluoridate! It appears that since our health department, medical and dental societies encourages fluoridation and since they have used sane reasoning to evolve their decision; their opinion should be the plan of action to be considered. The major argument, that the anti-fluoridation forces are peddling is: whether civic officials, responsible for our own health, have the right to put a program of this type in force or must the voting citizens decide on it first? This boils down to sheer nonsense. If our health officials are a bunch of schnooks, they should be removed. We feel that they are intelligent and responsible people and we see no logic in the need for consulting John Q. Public on an issue of this kind.
If this is a voting issue—we predict that some crackpots will get together and demand a vote ach time there is a fire to decide whether and how the fire department should put it out….Come to think about it, let’s have a vote to see if we want our milk pasteurized. The health department is depriving us of our right to contact undulant fever. And as to food handling in the restaurants when did we have a proposition at the polls concerning dirty fingernails?
The an ti-fluoridation group gripe about the poisonous effects of flourine is ridiculous. Certainly we know that flouirne in excess is toxic—but so are Vitamin A, chlorine, orange juice, soy beans, bagels,or practically anything you name, if it were humanly possible to consume it in over-abundance. San Diego’s fluoridation program is basically a small fluorine additive to a deficient water supply. The addition brings our water to a fluorine rate that is safe and minimum standard for better health and less tooth decay among children. As yet, we recognize no one with the anti-forces who we consider as an outstanding medical and dental authority….
John Kluchin’s definition of a co-signer: An idiot with a fountain pen … Murray Kaplan says he can hear ‘em waking the G.I.’s at ‘Schine’ … Helen Thomsen, who at one time studied interior decorating is now decorating ‘interiors’ with some of the finest foods available locally. Readers who used to be regulars at her tearoom will be pleased to note that she has taken over Balboa Park’s Café del Rey Moro – thank goodness! Try the lemon chiffon pie or buttered rum sundae… Story circulating that one witness of the local Congressional hearings has decided for a very good reasons, to notify the committee, he will now name names, that he withheld during the local session…
Israeli counterpart to the U.S. hot dog and English fish and chips is the “falafel,” a concoction of tangy vegetables and spices eaten inside a piece of “pita,” soft, doughy brown bread. Cost about three cents each… Never underestimate the power of a woman: One local political office seeker who turned up as an eleventh hour candidate is said to be running solely because of the social ambition of his wife. She has reached as high a position in her set as possible and any rise can only come about through her husband’s election…
One of the most dedicated Jewish anti-Zionists in the U.S. today is a chap named Alfred M. Lilienthal. His spoutings are so extreme they make even the literature of the American Council for Judaism read like Bonds for Israel campaign publicity. Lilienthal’s latest ravings are expounded in his book, “What Price Israel?” recently published by Regenry. For some time now, Lilienthal, an ex-State Department employee, has fancies himself as a sage of many subjects. Now, he has the audacity to author a fantastically ideological book and convey the impression that he speaks for even a segment of American Jewry. This person, Lilienthal, should be about the last likely person to write as a representative of any form of Judaism, Americanism or for our part—human beings. Though an educated person, a graduate lawyer to boot, his knowledge of Judaism would fit on the head of a pin. As to his range of information regarding Israel, this columnist publicly declares that he will borrow $100 and pay it to any worthwhile charity, if Lilienthal ever spent more than a grand total of 7 days in that country. One week doesn’t even make John Gunther an authority.
This is not the first time that Alfred M. Lilienthal has overextended himself. During the 1945 San Francisco Conference, as a State Department employee, he turned up as the “veteran” consultant of veteran affairs, to aid Secretary of State Stettinus. His understanding off the affairs of veterans fell in about the same category of his knowledge of Judaism. When exposed by those who knew him, during his brief unsavory military career, the State Department dropped him like a “hot potato.” Pvt. Lilienthal’s Army career consisted of a few months junket in Cairo, Egypt, ten times more farcical than the career of Pvt. David Schine. Yes, teacher, even Democracies make errors! During his “holiday” in Cairo, Alfred lived in conditions a level or two below those of Farouk. Lilienthal eventually flipped his lid and was medically discharged back to the States. He has since written much anti-Zionist material, including an article which appeared in that well-known an ti-Communist magazine, “The Reader’s Digest.”
The Harbor House has added a sideline: they’re hawking old abalone shells out in the front yard, 3 for 25 cents… Dr. and Mrs. Harold Elden know that their four boys are active youngsters. But they were hardly prepared for a visit from a sheriff’s deputy who informed them that son Kenny, aged three and a half. Was “in capping neighborhood sprinklers and flooding the lawns. Kenny has also earned a reputation for exchanging dogs in various dog houses in the vicinity of his home…
It’s about time the big clothing store near 4th and Broadway repainted the seedy-looking Botany suit sign on the roof of the building. What an eyesore! … Mull this one over: most people tilt their head to the right when they kiss… There’s only one word in the English language that is pronounced differently when capitalized—polish and Polish… Attorney Ed Herman violated the no-swimming rule in Balboa Park, a Sunday ago. 2 ½ year old daughter Gale went bathing in the lily pond and Ed had to jump in and fish her out…
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“Adventures in Jewish History” is sponsored by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg. Our indexed “Adventures in San Diego Jewish History” series will be a regular feature until we run out of history.
San Diego’s historic places: archaeology at Mission San Diego
Archaelogical excavation at Mission San Diego (Dan Schaffer photo)
By Donald H. Harrison
Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO—Chief docent Janet Bartel removed a barrier and stepped into the archaeological dig area at Mission San Diego, beckoning others to follow. Two sets of shallow pits, with a dirt walkway in between, were on the southwestern side of the mission quadrangle.
Approximately at the middle of the inner set of pits, Bartel stopped and indicated two columns. “Dr. Jack Williams (the supervising archaeologist) believes that this was the front of the mission—the front of the quadrangle. They would have greeted people over here.”
From that point, one could follow what might have been a narrow hallway out to the quadrangle. The rooms nearby were probably used by visiting Padres. “There would have been a library here,” Bartel said, motioning to a nearby area. “There are remnants of windows opening out to the courtyard.”
If this interior set of shallow pits was the entrance to the mission, then what about the second set of pits, closer to the present-day exterior wall? What were they?
“This is a forward extension dating from 1812 to 1813, when they were enlarging the mission,” Bartel responded.” In 1812, there was an earthquake that hit San Juan Capistrano (some 70 miles to the north.) So when they were building here, they put buttress wings up for stability. We believe the enlargement of this area was added at the same time.”
The rooms built in that enlargement probably were used by the U.S. military after 1848, when California was ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
A sign by the dig said: “We make discoveries every time we dig. In addition to many architectural features such as old floors, filled-in doorways and filled-in windows, we unearth a lot of artifacts. The upper layers are filled with objects left behind by the U.S. Army. For example, we have found the sole of an army shoe, a horse harness buckle, percussion caps, ration cans, and glass. We have also found many things that were used during the mission era. These include Chinese porcelain, tin-glazed pottery, shell beads, a spinning whorl, broken animal bones (from meals), charcoal, plainware pottery and stone tools. We also unearth large amounts of building rubble such as broken tile, adobe bricks, cement and wall plaster. Each of these items helps us to determine what life was like at the mission.”
Like a home whose residents are constantly remodeling, the mission underwent many changes. A temporary structure made of poles and reeds was burned to the ground in 1775, when Native Americans killed Father Luis Jayme. Thereafter it was decided to build with sturdier materials. “The new constructions were laid out in the shape of a square, surrounded by a fortified wall,” another sign instructed. “Over time, new adobe buildings took the places of older structures. By 1790 the fortifications had been eliminated. Each year, additional structures were added to the exterior of the quadrangle. San Diego Mission has had at least four different churches and three different conventos (living quarters). The convent before you is not the earliest, however it was clearly in use before 1810.”
In 1834, the mission era came to an end when the new government of Mexico stripped the Catholic Church of its mission holdings. Thereafter, according to the signs, “the population dramatically decreased, and many buildings soon fell into ruins. Despite the efforts of local settlers, priests and Indians, the complex had been completely deserted by 1846.”
“During the Civil War, the mission was given back to the Catholic Church” in a proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Bartel said she had the privilege of escorting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia through the mission earlier this decade and he stopped by an enlargement of the proclamation signed by Lincoln, read it carefully, and commented that such a gift might “never fly” today, one assumes because of U.S. constitutional requirements governing the separation of church and state.
Objects that are unearthed at the site “are carefully washed and dried,” according to another on-site story board. “Every artifact is described and recorded. Some special objects are given more elaborate kinds of analysis. After they are cleaned and studied, the artifacts will be added to the holdings of the mission museum.”
Anticipating two questions of tourists and passers-by, the storyboards also say that neither riches nor human bodies have been found at the digs – nor would anyone expect to find either. At the missions, bodies were required to be buried in consecrated ground – which meant either under the floor of a church or in a cemetery. There are no records of either being at the western side of the quadrangle. As for riches, the signage informs: “The missionaries received a small stipend from the Spanish government in Mexico to support their efforts. However, the value of supplies, such as textiles, pottery and metal that were sent from Mexico, was deducted from those funds. Almost no coins were sent to the missionaries in California. Although they had taken vows of poverty, the Franciscans did possess as a group many fine objects for use in religious worship. When the missions were secularized in 1834, the friars took pains to see that these precious objects were entrusted to safe storage away from the mission.”
On the mission grounds is the Father Jayme Museum, where objects from the dig, along with photographs, objets d’art, and other memorabilia can be showcased. Paintings and photographs here, in the library and in other locations on the grounds, show the mission in its various iterations before its reconstruction in 1931.
The possibility of building a new museum on the southwestern side of the quadrangle is being considered, after the archaeological dig is completed. Typically digging occurs on Saturdays, with volunteers welcome to assist.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. This article appeared previously on examiner.com
San Diego historic places: Three padres of Mission San Diego
Father Junipero Serra (Dan Schaffer photo)
By Donald H. Harrison
Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO—Three Franciscan Padres whose lives are celebrated at Mission San Diego are Father Junipero Serra, who founded this mission and eight others, Fermin Lasuen, who succeeded Serra as president of the missions and founded nine more, and Luis Jayme (also spelled Jaime), who is remembered as the first Christian martyr in Alta California.
Serra, the most widely known of the three, has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church, a step toward possible canonization as a saint. Standing in front of a statue of him in the mission’s Meditation Garden, chief guide Janet Bartel notes that he was 5’2 inches tall, 110 pounds, and troubled by a zancudo (mosquito) bite that had become ulcerated and had made walking difficult.
Nevertheless, while making the 200-mile trek in 1769 from Mission Santa Maria in Baja California to San Diego, he insisted on walking, rather than riding on a mule. With the coarse material of his grey robe rubbing against his leg, it became more and more irritated, so that it became clear to his compatriots that Serra shouldn’t continue by foot. But he told a muleteer simply to dress the wound as he would for the mule—and after a day’s rest, he resumed his journey.
Why was he so stubborn? Bartel said that the Franciscan order was “dedicated to all God’s creatures” and that Serra didn’t want the mule to have to suffer his weight.
Born in Petra, Majorca, Spain, in 1713, Serra had dreamed as a child of becoming a Franciscan, but because he was frail and sickly, he was discouraged. Bartel explained that the Franciscans are a mendicant order who give away their own possessions and rely on the charity of others. Additionally, they are supposed to walk everywhere – a life thought to be too tough for the young Serra. But the boy was determined, eventually winning acceptance into the order. He was assigned to Lullian University, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy and was on the faculty.
Eventually, his dream to go to New Spain as a missionary was realized with assignment to the Sierra Gorda following a political decision by King Carlos III to expel the Jesuits. Before long, Serra was put in charge of Franciscan missions in Baja California. Like many Franciscans, Serra was a diligent diarist and record-keeper. His signature in the San Diego parish’s baptismal book is easy to recognize by the distinctive rubrica that follows it.
Although he was the founder of Mission San Diego, he soon relocated to the Monterey/ Carmel area, which he established as the headquarters for the mission system. Thereafter, he would come on visits to Mission San Diego but never again was its resident padre.
One long room at the mission, called Farther Serra’s quarters, is quite Spartan. At the end farthest from the door is a bed with rawhide lacing. Before someone repaired to such a bed, “sleep tight” would have been appropriate advice, because unlaced rawhide could cause someone to sag to the floor. Near the bed is a rope ladder leading to a loft, where another bed is located. Bartel said that in deference to his age and bad leg, Father Serra would have gotten to sleep downstairs, and an assistant would have slept in the loft. The room is also furnished with a chair and a small trunk in which Serra could have kept his possessions, particularly his writing materials.
The long room may have been divided so the front area could be used as sleeping quarters by others, or perhaps as a meeting place.
In addition to Mission San Diego de Alcala, the missions founded during Serra’s presidency included San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo, San Antonio de Padua, San Gabriel Arcángel, San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, San Juan Capistrano, San Francisco de Asís, Santa Clara de Asís, and San Buenaventura.
Some two centuries after Serra’s death at age 70 in 1784, controversy erupted when Serra was beatified by the church. Some Native American groups said their ancestors were treated as slaves by the Franciscans, who sometimes beat them to death. They said the reduction in population of Native Americans during the time of Spanish rule amounted to genocide. Counter-arguments blame the many Native American deaths on diseases inadvertently carried by the Spaniards to Alta California. Compared to other European colonialists, Spanish rule was benign, Bartel said.
“There will always be controversy, I am afraid, because a lot of people have misunderstood Father Serra and his motives,” said Bartel. “It really bothers me because I think they never read documented history to see what he went through.”
Serra’s successor, Padre Lasuen, at night time had very few people to talk to. “There were no other padres at the mission, and he had little in common with the few soldiers on hand,” Bartel noted. Although some Kumeyaay stayed in the mission’s quadrangle—sometimes building conical huts known as ewa’as for shelter – for the most part, they returned to their nearby villages. Although many local Native Americans desired to stay at the mission, there simply wasn’t sufficient room for them, Bartel said. Accordingly, Lusuen devised a system of rotation, under which the Kumeyaay who stayed eight days made way for the next group.
In such loneliness, Lusuen wrote to his superiors that he was ‘miserable’ and wanted to be reassigned to some other mission. However, they told him to persist in his assignment. Eventually, he was promoted to the mission presidency and able to make his home at a mission of his choosing. He chose Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, California. It is at that site that both he and Father Serra are buried.
As president of the mission system, Lusuen founded between 1786 and 1798 these nine missions: Santa Barbara, La Purisima Concepcion, Santa Cruz, Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, San Jose, San Juan Bautista, San Miguel Arcangel, San Fernando Rey de Espana, and San Luis Rey de Francia.
Three other missions in the chain of 21 California missions —Santa Ines, San Rafael Arcangel, and San Francisco de Solano– were founded between 1804 and 1823 by other Padres.
Outside Mission San Diego is a large white cross memorializing Padre Luis Jayme, who on the night of November 5, 1775, emerged from the mission to greet hundreds of Native Americans with his customary salutation “Love God, my children.” According to church accounts, they responded by clubbing him to death, dragging his body down a hill, and firing numerous arrows into it. They also looted the church before setting it afire.
Bartel said Jayme actually had a good relationship with the local Kumeyaay Indians, and that the marauders were Yuman Indians who resided in villages well to the east of the mission. As the story is told, the Kumeyaay who were living at the mission were warned that they would be killed if they raised an alarm, and so unhappily complied. Survivors of the attack escaped to the Presidio five miles away, where they learned to their consternation that the soldiers there had not noticed the flames of the mission and could not have rendered aid. Although the Indians apparently had meant also to attack the Presidio, it is speculated that they feared they would be repulsed by well-armed soldiers and so abandoned their plans.
The spot where Father Jayme’s body was found is memorialized on a marker that today is located within a condominium complex across the street from the mission. The marker faces a thick hedge so that it no longer can be seen from the street. From time to time, according to Bartel, there has been talk of removing the marker, but residents of the condominium complex who are also parishioners have thus far been able to stymie such a development. From a practical standpoint, it would be a fairly easy matter to create a nook in the hedge so that the historic marker could be shared with passersby.
The plaque on the hidden marker reads: “Padre Luis Jayme, Pastor of the Mission San Diego de Alcala, was martyred near this site November 5, 1775.Father Jayme had asked that the Mission be moved to its present site from Presidio Hill in order to better grow foods for the Mission.In this area, the Mission padres produced grape, olives and other farm products for the Indian and Spanish communities. Also near this site a small structure housed the guard from the Royal Presidio, which served as escort and guard for the Mission padres.”
Father Jayme’s body and those of other early padres are buried near the altar of the mission’s main church.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. This article previously was posted on examiner.com
San Diego’s historic places: Mission San Diego tells circumspect tale of Kumeyaay life
By Donald H. Harrison
Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Janet Bartel, chief docent at San Diego Mission, treads as carefully as a performer on a tightrope when discussing the Kumeyaay Indian experience at Mission San Diego, There have been too many controversies not to.
In September 1988, Pope John Paul II beatified Father Junipero Serra saying that the missionary’s “great goal was to bring the Gospel to the Native People of America, so that they too might be consecrated in the truth.”
On the other hand Rupert Costo, a Cahuilla Indian, wrote The Missions of California: A Legacy of Genocide. The book offers the view that at the missions established by Serra, Native Americans were systematically deprived of their culture and dignity, beaten unmercifully for infractions of the rules, and sometimes killed.
The website of the California Historical Society online tells of Pablo Tac, Victoria, and Lorenzo Asisaro testifying to Catholic authorities about their lives respectively at Mission San Luis Rey, Mission San Gabriel and Mission Santa Cruz.
Tac was the most positive, expressing “thanks to God for the coming of the missionaries to his country. He did observe, however, that thousands of his people died ‘as a result of the sickness that came to California.’
On the other hand, Victoria, a Tongva raised at Mission San Gabriel, said that “mission life was filled with misery, humiliation and terror. She reported that the missionaries punished an Indian woman who had a miscarriage by having her head shaved, by being flogged every day for fifteen days, and by wearing iron shackles on her feet for three months and by ‘having to appear every Sunday in church, on the steps leading up to the altar, with a hideous painted wooden child in her arms.’
And Asisaro said: “The Indians at the missions were very severely treated by the padres, often punished by fifty lashes on the bare back. They were governed somewhat in the military style, having sergeants, corporals and overseers, who were Indians, and they reported to the padres any disobedience or infraction of the rules, and then came the last without mercy, the women the same as the men. The lash was made of rawhide.”
To date, Serra has not been eligible for canonization—a process that requires documentation of two miracles attributable to Serra’s intercession. Beatification requires one miracle, and one was attested to by Sister Mary Boniface Dryda of St. Louis, Missouri, who said her prayers to Serra resulted in her being cured of lupus—a claim Vatican examiners found to have merit. Although others have subsequently stepped forward to claim miraculous results from prayers to Serra, no reported incident has yet been validated by the church as a second miracle.
With sainthood pending, and opposition to Serra among his critics unabated, Bartel knows that she must be circumspect in what she says, lest a slip of the tongue provoke another controversy.
There have been controversies large and small between Mission San Diego and Native Americans, Bartel explained.
In one, Mission San Diego planned to construct a building on the grassy side of the central quadrangle. However, archaeologists said there were bones on the property and notified local monitors for Native Americans. Bartel said it was entirely possible that the bones were those of 19th century U.S. military personnel who were stationed at the mission after the United States captured California in the Mexican-American War of 1846. But rather than have a drawn out controversy, the church decided to simply cover over that portion of the Mission property, and construct the building on another portion where there was no such controversy.
Ewa'a {Dan Schaffer photo}
Even construction of an ewa’a—the temporary shelter that Kumeyaay Indians used to build during their migrations along the San Diego River—was not without controversy, Bartel said. It turned out that the man who built the ewa’a for the Mission, while of Native American descent, was not a Kumeyaay, prompting protests.
On another occasion, she said, a guide provoked ire by telling a group that there were fleas at the Mission, and that Kumeyaay sometimes would burn down their ewa’as as a pragmatic form of pest control. That should have come as no surprise, said Bartel, as there were fleas all over San Diego County. One area of Camp Pendleton, for example, is called “Las Pulgas,” – Spanish for “the fleas.”
Bartel said that in any project that the Mission does now concerning the Kumeyaay, it seeks advice from representatives of the local tribe.
Besides the ewa’a, one can find in the quadrangle the Kumeyaay equivalents of mortars and pestles, known in Spanish as metates y manos. Kumeyaay culture also is represented in the Mission’s museum, where tightly woven baskets are on display. In the Meditation Garden, Indian neophytes who died during the mission are memorialized by crosses made from building materials from the original Mission San Diego.
When the Franciscan padres arrived in San Diego, the Kumeyaay were “hunters and gatherers, and fairly nomadic,” Bartel said. “They would get the small animals and they would fish. Occasionally when they were in the mountains they would catch a deer but a problem was that they had no means of meat preservation, so they would have to kill it, prepare it and eat it.
“To me, the Kumeyaay knew this land like no one else ever could have known it. They might not have been agriculturalists; they didn’t grow things, but the things that grew wild they knew how to propagate,” Bartel added. “They knew what to do with the wild berries and things like that. Sometimes it seems like the food was not plentiful, other times it was very plentiful. But I think it is important to know that the Spaniards were the ones who planted the first seeds of agriculture here in San Diego” – creating the foundation “for what turned out to be a great agricultural state – California.”
Of charges that Native Americans were forced to live at the missions, Bartel said that whatever may have happened at the other 20 missions, such was not the case at Mission San Diego, where there was no room for a permanent work force to reside. Instead the Kumeyaay came to the mission for eight days at a time, and then went back to their villages. “We have more than enough documentation to support the fact that it was definitely a rotating system here,” she said.
What attracted the Kumeyaay to the missions? The chief guide was asked.
Bartel responded that they were drawn by the advances in agriculture, food preparation, and technology. Whereas the Kumeyaay wore clothes of animal skins or plant material, Spaniards had brightly colored textiles. Whereas the Kumeyaay built rafts, the Spaniards had comparatively large ships.
At the missions, she said the Kumeyaay were taught to sew and to sow – they learned to stitch together clothing and to plant crops. They were taught the blacksmith trade. They were introduced to such livestock as cattle and horses.
They also were introduced to Christianity.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World; his story ran previously on www.examiner.com
