PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN DIEGO, CA PERMIT NO. 835
The
BOXHOLDER
THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
.com
SERVING NORTH COUNTY SINCE 1987
VOL. 15, N0. 25
DEC. 6, 2019
Family visit inspires RSF teen’s first patent By Alexander Wehrung
HISTORY
in the making THE 10-ACRE Bumann Ranch is one of the few— if not the only — preserved homestead ranches in San Diego County. The land was settled in 1886 under the Homestead Act, which granted migrants moving west 160 acres if they agreed to settle and improve the land. Photo by Lexy Brodt
Now a state landmark, Olivenhain homestead awaits national recognition
By Lexy Brodt
ENCINITAS — Rustic, spacious barns housing century-old plows and threshers, a crooked but lovable shanty, and a blacksmith shop still lined with slow-rusting tools and piles of leather. These structures are among the treasures found at the Bumann Ranch — a 10-acre property in Olivenhain that may soon find its place on the National Register of Historic Places. Essentially frozen in time, The Bumann property is the last remaining
piece of a late 19th-century homestead ranch, once a self-sustaining property that encompassed as many as 480 acres. It is likely among the few — if not the only — intact homesteads left in San Diego county. Step on the ranch and you’ll feel transported back to 1886, to a largely undeveloped Olivenhain with ranches and farmland as far as the eye can see. “When I was younger, there was a lot of these ranches around,” said Richard Bumann, who
maintains the ranch with his wife, Adeline. “But one by one, development, fires or whatever would destroy them … and it just so happened that this one here kind of survived.” Richard’s grandfather was the original owner of the homestead, which has now witnessed and been cared for by three generations of Bumanns. The property was designated a state landmark in early November by California’s Historical Re-
RANCHO SANTA FE — Canyon Crest Academy senior Avery Kay received her first United States patent from the Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 8. Her invention is a cosmetic cover for Life Alert devices, featuring a hibiscus flower design. The process of obtaining the patent took approximately four years between creating the initial design and redesigning the product at the patent office’s behest. The office was particularly picky about the location of the hibiscus flowers on the device cover, which caused a years-long back and forth with Kay. Why a hibiscus? “I just wanted something that was pretty general and something most seniors would like,” Kay said. The idea for the cover sprouted when Kay, then 13, went to visit her Parkinson’s-afflicted grandmother in Florida, who had fallen and broken her hip while visiting a graveyard. Kay asked her grandmother why she didn’t have Life Alert, a device designed to easily inform emergency services that the user needs help — made (in) famous by the commercials featuring senior citizens exclaiming, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Kay’s grandmother said that she thought the device was too
“ugly and plain” to wear. When Kay noticed that there was no response to the demand for cosmetic addons to Life Alert — which has retained the same steelgray color for its devices for 30 years — she decided to fulfill the demand. Though she has a patent on the cover, Kay has not yet produced any copies of her invention, though she plans on that being her next step. Kay’s business knowledge was partially fostered by her formal education; the Rancho Santa Fe student took a business management class in her freshman year of Canyon Crest Academy, where her class was instructed to create a company or product with a team. “I thought that was really cool because it was firstand experience as a freshman that my school was offering. Which was really special and unique because I know a lot of high schools don’t offer business-related courses.” Kay will be taking an Advanced Business class next semester at Canyon Crest. But after taking a summer course related to her current interests, Kay realized that there is a substantial gender gap in the world of entrepreneurship. She said that in this class, TURN TO PATENT ON 11
TURN TO HOMESTEAD ON 3
Tackling loneliness through listening Group of North County residents freely offers a sympathetic ear By Hoa Quach
ENCINITAS — A group of North County residents hopes to reduce problems surrounding loneliness with one simple project: free listening. Since the summer, the group has gathered at Cardiff Kook for a few hours to offer “free” listening to anyone in the public. Passersby can stop and talk about any subject for up to 10 minutes. Shannon Gilbride, a local marriage and family therapist, said she
got the idea of the “Free Listening Project” after learning about “Sidewalk Talk” on CBS News earlier this year. The unaffiliated project has the same goal of solving the epidemic surrounding loneliness in the U.S., she said. “This past June, a small group of us created a ‘Free Listening Project’ to engage with our community and bring awareness to our country’s loneliness epidemic,” Gilbride said. “Sigmund Freud got it right over 100
years ago when he wrote, ‘Without love, we fall ill.’” Loneliness is felt by at least 47% of adults in the U.S. and contributes to other health issues such as obesity, high blood pressure, depression and even suicide, according to Psychology Today. “Those feeling lonely at any age perceive others are not listening to them, taking them seriously, making TURN TO LISTENING ON 2
AVERY KAY, 17, a senior at Canyon Crest Academy, holds her patent for a cosmetic cover for Life Alert devices. The patent was inspired by a visit to her grandmother, who thought the devices were too “ugly and plain” to wear. Courtesy photo