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history: You've come a long way, baby! - 08/29/10 05:01 PM

You've come a long way, baby!
It was this month just 90 years ago when the nineteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. That was the amendment that gave women the right to vote. Voting, however, is only part of the ongoing story of the rights of all Americans to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Back in 1878, Clara Shortridge Foltz (1849-1934) became the first woman to be admitted to the California Bar and the first female attorney on the West Coast. As with anything that is worth doing, though, it didn't come easily. Several years earlier, … (13 comments)

history: How to impress prospective buyers - 08/26/10 12:16 AM

How to impress prospective buyers
Someone said that if you study history, you can learn from it. Perhaps we can learn something about real estate and prospective buyers from a little San Diego history.
Way back in the late 1860s, Alonzo Horton was in the process of building a new downtown San Diego (New Town). By the spring of 1869, 124 houses had been built in New Town or close by. Horton offered to furnish brushes and lime if the owners would whitewash their houses. Although most of them took Horton up on the offer, they were slow to actually … (13 comments)

history: What famous person was the first person jailed in San Diego? - 08/22/10 10:42 PM

What famous person was thefirst person jailed in San Diego?
In the middle of the nineteenth century, San Diego decided that if it were to be considered a civilized area, it needed a jail. The first jail was a 20x50-foot room built from cobblestones in what is now Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Legend has it that the first person to spend time in the new jail was Roy Bean, nephew of Mayor Joshua Bean. Since the cobblestones were set in mortar without cement, Roy quickly dug through the soft mortar and found freedom.
Many years later he … (14 comments)

history: What was the name of the first child born in San Diego to American parents? - 08/22/10 10:02 PM

What was the name of the first childborn in San Diego to American parents?
Considering the nationwide brouhaha over Arizona's immigration law and anchor babies, I thought digging deep down into San Diego history might be interesting.
In 1846-47, a Mormon Battalion marched from Iowa to San Diego to help secure California during the Mexican-American War. Captain Jesse D. Hunter was accompanied by his wife, and in April 1847, Lydia gave birth to the first American child born in San Diego. The proud parents named him Diego in honor of his birthplace. Lydia died just a few weeks later, apparently of typhoid fever. 
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… (5 comments)

history: Did you know? — The military in San Diego - 08/22/10 09:44 PM

The military in San Diego
San Diego claims that it has the second largest population of military personnel in the free world, behind only the D.C./Arlington area. I have seen estimates as high as 225,000 military personnel living and working in San Diego.
San Diego got its start as a military location way back on July 29, 1846, when the Army, Navy, and Marines all arrived just a couple of months after the start of the Mexican-American War which was fought mainly over the U.S. annexation of Texas.
United States Navy Captain Samuel F. Dupont (of the famous du Pont … (4 comments)

history: Did you know? — The first American ship to enter San Diego Bay - 07/11/10 02:52 PM
This is the first in my new Did you know? series. This series will be mostly about San Diego, but occasionally I might visit other areas in Southern California, California, and the United States, the world, and the universe. I hope to make this series about the little known things, little known but interesting. I hope you enjoy it.
Most of the pictures that I'll use in this series are from Russel Ray Photos. If you need inexpensive, high quality, royalty-free photographs, check him out. His prices are very competitive with all the other stock photo sites, and he's the only one I … (6 comments)

history: Out & About with Jim Frimmer, Your Realtor in Mission Valley — A short history of the German Colony of Olivenhain - 07/03/10 11:00 PM

This is one of a series titledOut & About with Jim Frimmer,your Realtor in Mission Valley.Read others in this seriesright here.
About 25 miles north of downtown San Diego is the City of Encinitas:

In the 2000 Census, Encinitas had about 58,000 residents. The 2005 estimate of median household income was $86,520. It's one of San Diego County's more affluent cities.
On the eastern side of Interstate 5 in Encinitas is the somewhat rural community of Olivenhain, featuring two-lane roads, wood rail fences, and parks and trails for pedestrians, bicycles, and even horses. Most of the homes are single … (7 comments)

history: San Diego Then & Now: East San Diego City Hall - 06/07/10 01:45 PM
The City of East San Diego only existed from 1912 to 1923, yet the building that used to be its City Hall still stands today on the northeast corner of University Avenue and Van Dyke Avenue:

 
 
As you can see, the building is being used as a series of store fronts. Here are two pictures from earlier times, the first from around 1919, and the second from 1992.


 
The building itself was built in 1912 and became the City Hall in April 1916, allowing the City to move all of its city services and departments … (12 comments)

history: Out & About San Diego with Jim Frimmer, your Mission Valley Realtor: Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, San Diego's oldest building - 03/26/10 09:28 PM

This is one of a series titledOut & About San Diegowith Jim Frimmer,your Mission Valley Realtor.Read others in this seriesright here.
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Right in the heart of Mission Valley is San Diego's oldest building, the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, founded by Father Junipero Serra, a Spanish Franciscan monk, on July 16, 1769:    

    
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, more commonly known simply as Mission San Diego, was the first mission founded in California by Father Junipero Serra (1713-1784), who went on to found a total of nine of California's twenty-one missions.
There are nine niches … (7 comments)

history: Some things could only happen in Texas - 03/14/10 11:49 PM
Although I haven't done my due diligence to dig deeper and find out "the rest of the story," just the initial headlines are enough to make one go "Huh?".
I heard that Texas schoolbooks will be removing Thomas Jefferson from the world history section devoted to great political thinkers.
Huh?
I've heard other things, too, but that is the one that definitely sticks out in my mind and that I remembered.
Maybe someone can find a link to all the changes. I'm sure they'll be good, since some things could only happen in Texas. I can say that since I'm married … (10 comments)

history: Who am I? A February history quiz. - 02/21/10 11:08 AM
I was first proposed in 1783.
My plans weren't adopted until 1832.
My cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848.
Political quarreling interrupted my construction several times in the 1850s.
My construction ceased entirely during the Civil War.
From 1859 to 1879, I sat undisturbed but only one-third completed.
I am made of marble from two different quarries, so my bottom third is slightly lighter than the rest of me.
I am now 555 feet, 5-1/8 inches tall, and nothing in my vicinity will ever be built taller. Why?
On December 6, 1884, a 100-ounce aluminum crown was placed on me. … (11 comments)

history: In memoriam: In just 73 seconds, the world changed - 01/28/10 09:55 PM
On January 28, 1986, I was working for Waldenbooks. The Space Shuttle Challenger was due to lift off around 7:30 a.m., so I made plans to get up early to watch the event.
It was to be Challenger's tenth mission, and this one was special since it would carry an ordinary civilian into space, one Christa McAuliffe, a 37-year-old social studies teacher from New Hampshire who had won a competition to be one of the astronauts. McAuliffe, anything but an "ordinary civilian," had undergone months of shuttle training in preparation for Challenger's liftoff on January 23. Unfortunately, weather and technical problems delayed … (9 comments)

history: Happy Birthday to our First Lady! - 01/17/10 10:35 AM
An interesting and motley crew of famous people were born on this date. Happy birthday to them, and to you if you were born on this date!
Benjamin Franklin - 1706, Boston, Massachusetts - Founding Father, inventor, scientists, politician, diplomat, and much more. Alva Belmont - 1853, Mobile, Alabama - Prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s. You might know Alva from her two most famous quotations:"Just pray to God. She will help you.""First marry for money, then marry for love." Al Capone - 1899, Brooklyn, New York - Prominent American gangster in the … (15 comments)

history: The ActiveRain History Station: San Francisco real estate trivia - 01/12/10 12:20 PM
One of the History Channel's Mega Disaster shows is about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
The earthquake struck on Wednesday, April 18, at 5:12 a.m., and was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada. It has been estimated that the earthquake was anywhere from 7.7 to 8.25 on the Moment Magnitude Scale, the successor to the Richter Scale which was developed in 1935.
A little bit of real estate trivia from the show tells us that after the earthquake, the San Francisco Real Estate Board voted that, in all real estate matters, what had been … (5 comments)

history: I was the 17th United States National Park. Who am I? - 01/11/10 09:28 PM

Three other hints:
I'm 277 miles long, 4-18 miles wide, and almost 6,000 feet tall. Although Native American Indians knew about me, I was "discovered" in 1540 by the Spanish explorer García López de Cárdenas. It took about two billion years to create me, yet God created the heavens and the Earth in a mere seven days. If you guessed Yellowstone National Park, you guessed wrong.
However, if you guessed the Grand Canyon National Park, you are right!

On this date in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared by Executive Order that over 800,000 acres of the Grand Canyon area … (20 comments)

history: The ActiveRain History Station: Voting for President used to be so easy - 01/07/10 07:55 AM
On this day in 1789, George Washington won the first election for President of the United States of America.
At the time, the person receiving the most electoral votes became President, and the person receiving the second most electoral votes became Vice-President.
Only ten states had electoral votes. North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the United States Constitution, so they were ineligible to participate. New York deadlocked in their state legislature on voting for their electors and thus had none.
Each elector had two votes, and each elector cast one of them for George Washington, giving him 69 electoral … (11 comments)

history: Who's on first? - 12/10/09 09:30 AM
I might be revealing my age —
"He's almost 55," says Zoey the Cool Cat.
"No more special kitty treats for you," says Zoey the Cool Cat's owner.
"You might find that your garage door won't open in the morning," Zoey the Cool Cat replies.
— but comedy on television when I was young were reruns of The Abbott & Costello Show.
Arguably their best routine was "Who's On First?", which resulted in them being featured in the Baseball Hall of Fame. An urban myth says that they were inducted into the Hall of Fame, but it truly is an urban … (27 comments)

history: Today in 1824 is the only time this has ever happened! - 12/01/09 01:41 PM
Those of us who lived through the presidential election of 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore thought it was the most contentious presidential election ever.
Possibly.
The presidential election of 1824 might have been just as contentious, if not more so, since there were four candidates involved and allegations of corrupt political bargains.
On this date in 1824, the election was turned over to the United States House of Representatives in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution since none of the four candidates had acquired the 131 electoral votes required to become President.
The candidates and their … (16 comments)

history: We didn't start the fire! - 11/16/09 11:53 PM
Possibly my all-time favorite rock song is "We Didn't Start the Fire," off of Billy Joel's Storm Front album.
The song has an upbeat, catchy rhythm that encourages one to get up and dance, or at least snap your fingers.
It mentions various historical events from 1949 to 1989, 1949 being the year Billy Joel was born, and 1989 being the year the album was released.
My mom just sent me an email with this cool video using "We Didn't Start the First" music and historical pictures. See how many pictures you recognize, how many events you remember.
We Didn't Start … (13 comments)

history: Veterans Day - 11/11/09 10:38 AM
I'm firmly convinced that there will never be peace in the world during my life time, nor during any one's lifetime, as long as we have people fighting over religious beliefs and patriotism. John Lennon's song Imagine comes to mind.
Today is Veterans Day. Sure, we all know about the famous Veterans: George Washington, George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy. And even some infamous ones like Benedict Arnold.
While many calendars and people use the singular possessive Veteran's Day or the group posssessive Veterans' Day, and they are grammatically correct, the United States Government has declared that the attibutive Veterans Day … (11 comments)