Budget woes plagued Surfside City in its infancy
DEL MAR — In 1959, two years after Del Mar was incorporated, some residents and mostly the business community decided the city wasn’t cutting it...
EyeWitness
Pier fishing used to be low-budget fun for kids
DEL MAR — After making a modest investment for hooks, lines and sinkers, Depression-era kids could spend hours fishing off the pier for perch and...
‘Obese’ children a recent issue
DEL MAR — Obesity is the big buzz these days. That brings up the question — how come kids were not obese years ago? They...
Youngsters earned money the old-fashioned way
DEL MAR — During the Depression era, the average kids had to do without a weekly allowance. Instead they made their spending money the old-fashioned...
Young drivers also were their own mechanics
DEL MAR — In the 1930s and 1940s, during the height of the Depression, kids who drove pollution-spewing cars were also junior mechanics. Of necessity....
Jaycees made world’s largest valentine
DEL MAR — After World War II, the most active organization in the area was the San Dieguito Jaycees comprised mostly of war vets. Every...
Adventures in the Del Mar slough
DEL MAR — A coppla old geezers were quaffing a few adult beverages and talking stories when the reminiscing turned to the neat improvements being...
Embarrassing New Year’s Eve event talk of town
DEL MAR — Several decades ago New Year’s Eve house parties were the norm in the village. One that went down in infamy had to...
Silver payola for Christmas pageant cast
DEL MAR — Decades ago, the week after Thanksgiving marked the beginning of rehearsals for the annual Christmas play presented by the elementary school kids....
Historic replica missing in Rancho Santa Fe
DEL MAR — One-hundred-pound, cast iron bells that replicate hand-held choir bells have been in the news lately because a spokesperson for the Rancho Santa Fe...
Trees are always in the news, no matter where you are
SAN DIEGUITO — Trees are a perpetual item in the area. In Rancho Santa Fe, an arboretum is in the works that folks can visit...
Sometimes mail came general delivery
DEL MAR — A long time ago, 75 years or so, during the depression some folks could not afford to rent a mailbox so they...
Halloween was no trick or treat proposition
DEL MAR — When today’s boy seniors were juvies, Halloween was more than a night of dressing up in store-bought costumes and knocking on doors,...
Vote to incorporate was heated and bitter
DEL MAR — When residents celebrated the city’s 50th anniversary in July at Powerhouse Park it was in vast contrast to the 75 percent of...
Reckless tax spenders would find themselves in slammer
DEL MAR — “Golden Nuggets,” an eight-page, mimeographed review of village school operations published by the Del Mar PTA in 1970 noted that “money expenditures...