APRIL 2022
CARVILL VEECH’S FLOWER POWER
INSIDE: STATUE TO HONOR LEAGUE OF WIVES | SEASIDE CAMP EMPHASIZES ABILITIES
» FROM THE EDITORS
Paper plight
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rom empty car lots to empty grocery shelves, the COVID-19 pandemic has produced shortages that we’re not used to seeing in America. Remember the great toilet paper panic of 2020? Presently, the printing industry is facing a shortage in supplies. Manufacturing shutdowns, border closures and shipping snags have put a crimp into the industry starting with the wood pulp required to make paper. We ran up against this for our February issue when we couldn’t secure the cover stock we preferred. Little did we know it would get worse. The paper shortage hit Coronado 365 magazine head-on when we learned our printer couldn’t print the March issue because the paper shipment the company expected was delayed. Our deadline for the March issue was the second week of February. The paper supply wasn’t expected until March 8. That put the March magazine into the time frame of the April issue — and us between a rock and a hard place. We called companies around the Southwest, but no commercial printer could immediately fulfill an order of thousands of magazines. One printer offered to do the job on newsprint. Paper shortage aside, printing a large run of magazines needs to be scheduled weeks in advance. After much deliberation, we decided not to print the March 2022 issue of Coronado 365 to keep the integrity and quality of the magazine. To make sure this doesn’t happen again, we have found another commercial printer willing to guarantee paper and printing dates. We want to thank our supportive advertisers, who have been wonderful throughout these proceedings. IN BLOOM Although not printing for a month was frustrating and disappointTHIS MONTH: ing, these past two years have taught us to be more flexible, resilient Rose and patient. We’re grateful for your continued support and kind words. Cheers, Leslie & Martina
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Contents APRIL 2022
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COVER STORY
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BLOSSOMING CREATIVITY
Carvill Veech taps into her artistic side through gardening and floral design.
FEATURES
20 CURTAIN RISES
Local theater companies emerge after pandemic-induced closures.
26 STRETCHING THE LIMITS
Camp Able empowers those with disabilities through old-fashioned fun at the beach.
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DEPARTMENTS
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DID YOU KNOW?
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MILITARY
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MADE IN CORONADO
Coronado Flower Show founder Harold Taylor. Plans underway to recognize League of Wives. Deborah Warriner explains the beauty of ikebana.
38 LOOKING BACK
This month in Coronado history.
40 FROM THE GROUND UP
What you need to know about honeybee swarms.
44 BEACHCOMBER
California market squid egg capsules.
46 BEACH AND BAY
Events for Earth Day and beyond.
ON THE COVER CARVILL VEECH PHOTO BY NANCEE E. LEWIS
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CORONADO
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PUBLISHER Now and Then Publishing LLC EDITOR Leslie Crawford CREATIVE DIRECTOR/MANAGING EDITOR Martina Schimitschek COPY EDITOR Rose Wojnar CONTRIBUTORS David Coddon, Coronado Historical Association, Michelle Delaney, Nicole Sours Larson, Nancee E. Lewis, Amy Steward, Leah Taylor, @coronadobeachcomber
Visit us online at Coronado365.com
WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT APRIL 2022 » VOLUME 1 » ISSUE 3/4
CONTACT editor@coronado365.com or (619) 435-0334 ADVERTISING To advertise, contact Heidi Iversen at heidi@Coronado365.com or advertising@Coronado365.com CORONADO 365 is a division of Now and Then Publishing LLC, 830 Orange Ave., Suite B, Coronado, CA 92118 Copyright ©2022 Now and Then Publishing LLC All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
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Carvill Veech works on a floral design. She often uses unusual or self-made containers created from found objects.
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Natural talent Success as floral designer, gardener stems from deep knowledge, unconventional creativity Story by NICOLE SOURS LARSON | Photos by NANCEE E. LEWIS
W
hen Carvill Veech returned to Coronado in 1988, she couldn’t find a job so she started gardening. She hasn’t stopped since. “I got two dogs and a cat and told myself I’d go inside when it started raining. I stayed outside with my dogs and became a Master Gardener in 1994,” Veech said. She had married in her mid-40s following a successful career as a registered dietitian in Northern California. She and her husband, Anthony McKerchar, considered moving to his native Australia following their 1988 marriage, but instead they opted to return to her hometown to restore and update her late step-grandfather’s circa-1927 Spanish-style home. As a true do-it-yourselfer, Veech did much of the work. When Veech moved in, the yard only had two still-flourishing loquat trees, a staghorn fern and a mature bird of paradise. Her first garden had an English country inspiration with 40 rose bushes including an arch of roses over the front entry path. Now far more water-conscious, Veech is down to about seven roses, replacing her thirsty plantings with drought-tolerant choices. Eager to learn when she first started, Veech joined the Crown Garden Club — she now belongs to “five or six” garden clubs and horticulture-related associations — and
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CARVILL VEECH
Carvill Veech's garden, shown here in full bloom in 2018, has steadily become more drought-tolerant. The lawn and flowers have been replaced with low-water varieties.
then helped with the Coronado Flower Show before entering her own designs. She quickly became hooked on floral design. “I studied everything about flower arranging. I took classes, read books and became more involved with the flower show,” Veech said. Veech is a multiyear winner of Coronado Flower Show Home Front Judging, where all the city’s front yards are considered for ribbons. She has also become a renowned local floral designer and master flower show judge; it takes about two to three years of study to qualify as an accredited flower show judge nationwide.
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“She has an artsy-fartsy, quirky fun personality,” said longtime friend, fellow Bonita Valley Garden Club member and flower show judge Kathy Taylor de Murillo. “She’s an inspiration to me and so many others. She’s an original.” Veech arrived in Coronado in 1945 as an infant from Lexington, Virginia, her birthplace. Late during World War II, her civil engineer reservist father, who taught at Washington & Lee University, was transferred to Coronado, where her family settled and remained after her parents divorced. Her mother, Fran, a journalist and also a Crown Garden Club member, married
Ware Marshall when her daughter was 10. Marshall was the classic-car-collecting son of retired Rear Adm. Albert Ware Marshall, the second owner of Veech’s 1920s home, which is filled with memorabilia of the elder Marshall’s storied naval career. “I live in a museum,” she said, explaining that she’s looking for suitable homes for some of his keepsakes. Veech grew up close to her stepfather and step-grandfather in a very adult-oriented household and was encouraged to develop her interest in science and nature. After attending the Bishop’s School in La Jolla, she went to the University of California Santa Barbara where a male counselor steered her to study nutrition, a “suitable” course of study for a woman interested in science. But she always wanted to work outside as a scientist or forest ranger. After earning a master’s degree from California State University Fresno, studying further at University of California Berkeley and completing an internship in New York, she became a registered dietitian. Veech’s 20-year career included working in hospitals, San Mateo city schools and at the Dairy Council of California, based in Sacramento. She enjoyed her work’s educational component — designing and implementing nutrition education programs — but burned out on the high pressure. “I was a woman in a man’s world. I stopped carrying a purse and just carried a briefcase. But I didn’t want to get off
Freesias add a pop of color between agave and aeonium succulents (top); a geranium blooms (above) in Carvill Veech's front yard.
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To add a reflective quality, Carvill Veech incorporated sheet metal into this arrangement.
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“I see floral design as ephemeral three-dimensional sculptures.” CARVILL VEECH
the career ladder,” Veech said. Her former boss at the Dairy Council of California and close friend of 50 years, Pat Kincaid, has followed Veech’s evolution from the left-brained meticulous scientist, skilled researcher and nutrition educator she first knew into the right-brained artist who creates eye-popping sculptures through her floral designs. It’s likely the creativity and innovative artistry was always there, Kincaid said, but it has manifested itself differently over the years. “I see floral design as ephemeral three-dimensional sculptures,” Veech explained. “We use the same elements and principles of design needed for all forms of art, whether interior design, sculpture, architecture, painting. We apply them to flower arranging.” Floral artists select form, size, pattern, texture and colors, working within the available space and illumination, Veech said. Like other key volunteers involved with the Coronado Flower Show, Veech has spent the last few months gearing up for the annual April show. Over the years, she took on progressively more responsible roles for the show, eventually
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performing every function related to the event, including 2004 show chair and 2004-05 president of the Coronado Floral Association. This year, Veech volunteered for the supporting role of ribbons and awards chair, a detail-oriented job made easier by her long familiarity with every aspect of the show. Veech’s floral design and gardening accomplishments can be credited to her diverse background, broad-base creativity and in-depth curiosity — all qualities that render her a Coronado original. Like many creatives, Veech is an unabashed forager who uses her finds to enhance her floral creations as well as her culinary adventures. Kincaid marveled at her ability to spot useful floral materials while riding in a car. “She sees things on the side of the road and sees their possibility,” Kincaid observed. A peek inside Veech’s garage confirms the fruits of her foraging. Hanging from the rafters are unexpected materials that she’s already turned into innovative floral containers or awaiting her magic touch: artfully shaped palm fronds, driftwood and dried aspidistra; discarded
Carvill Veech started gardening when she returned to Coronado in 1988 to restore and update the 1920s Spanish-style home of her late step-grandfather.
Styrofoam and cardboard packing materials; coiled electrical wires, lamp and plumbing parts; old metal grates and sheet-metal scraps. Earlier in her career, as she roved rural Northern California for work, Veech carried a bucket, plank and thick gloves in her car, ready to forage through roadside berry patches or abandoned fruit trees for fresh bounty for jams. Making jam, Veech said, still
provides her a distraction and helps her decompress. Now she uses the loquats, lemons, oranges and habanero chilis from her garden to craft marmalades, jellies and chutneys that pair well with the Indian and other ethnic foods she enjoys preparing. She is also encouraging more people to experience the joys of floral design. “I believe it’s important for people to participate — not necessarily to win
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— just to make the flower show better. Everyone has to understand they’re part of something bigger,” Veech said. For anyone interested in entering and learning about floral design, Veech recommended attending Coronado Floral Association’s classes as well as garden club and San Diego Floral Association presentations. She said judges look for key design principles: balance (even asymmetrical), dominance (color, spaces, form), contrast (size, texture, pattern), rhythm (flow, depth), proportion (quantity) and scale (size, relationship). “In traditional design, you’ll use
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a footed container and traditional materials, but not tropicals. If you want a very modern design, choose bold elements, color, shape, form, in new and different, creative ways,” she said. “You need an open and creative mind to be successful.” Veech’s success as a designer and gardener stems from her curiosity and ability to see what’s around her. “She’s the circus, sparklers, lightning and fireworks,” Kincaid said. “She sees things differently and notices things, from cloud formations to trees.” ■ Nicole Sours Larson is a freelance writer.
Centennial celebration This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Coronado Flower Show, a co-production of the Coronado Floral Association and the city of Coronado. The flower show, Coronado’s oldest tradition, is now the largest tented flower show in the nation, welcoming entries from all over San Diego County and from all age groups. Displays range from individual flowers to arrangements to children's creations. Also included are children's activities, a beer tent, garden-centric vendors, music and educational exhibits.
What: Coronado Flower Show Where: Spreckels Park, 601 Orange Ave. When: 1 to 5 p.m. April 23; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 24 Tickets: $5, free for children 12 and under and Coronado Floral Association members Home Front Judging: April 8-10 Information: coronadoflowershow. com
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» LOOKING BACK
Did you know? HAROLD A. TAYLOR was one of Coronado’s most culturally influential, well-respected citizens during the early 20th century. After moving to Coronado in 1909 with his wife, Maude, he opened a photography studio at the Hotel Del. Beyond his photography, he had a strong calling to serve his community. He was a charter member of the Rotary Club of San Diego in 1911 and the Rotary Club of Coronado in 1926. Taylor also served as the first president of the Coronado Floral Association, an officer at the Masonic Temple of Coronado Lodge 441 and president of the Civic League, as well as being appointed president of the city Planning Commission in 1921. His most lasting legacy was founding the Coronado Flower Show, which first opened on May 13, 1922. To learn more about Harold Taylor, the Coronado Flower Show and Coronado history, visit the Coronado Historical Association’s website coronadohistory.org. ■
— Vickie Stone, curator of collections, Coronado Historical Association
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CORONADO HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION COLLECTION
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» MILITARY
RICHARD NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM
Members of the Leagues of Wives — from left, Carole Hanson, Louise Mulligan, Sybil Stockdale, Andrea Rander and Pat Mearns — at a news conference with President Richard Nixon in an undated photo.
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Local heroes Sculpture to honor work of League of Wives By MICHELLE DELANEY
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n October 1966, a group of 13 Navy wives met at the Coronado home of Sybil Stockdale, wife of aviator and then-Capt. James Stockdale. Their most significant bond was that each of their husbands had been shot down behind enemy lines and was missing in action or captured as a prisoner of war. This meeting was not the typical social gathering to which they were accustomed. Rather, it was the precursor of many meetings around the Stockdale’s kitchen table, where the wives would exchange what information they had, support each other and work together to move forward in unchartered POW/MIA spouse territory. This band of women, led by Stockdale (the highest-ranking POW spouse), was
the beginning of the League of Wives, a sorority of sorts; it was born in Coronado but grew to be a well-organized national group of women. Together they broke through social protocols of the time and pressed politicians in Washington and the North Vietnamese to bring their husbands safely home. To honor those groundbreaking Navy wives, a movement is underway to erect a League of Wives Memorial in Coronado. The memorial will honor both the League of Wives and Sybil Stockdale for their “legacy of playing a major role in both Coronado and national history,” said Christina Slentz, co-chair of the League of Wives Memorial Foundation. Slentz credits Stockdale, who died in Coronado in
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BRAD WILLIS
A clay model depicts the proposed bronze sculpture of the League of Wives Memorial.
2015, and the wives for their unprecedented ability to organize and effect change. “These military spouses communicated with each other and knew their shared concerns, and they did this all without Facebook, email or free long-distance calls,” Slentz said. “They were not just survivors. They were able to take action as a unified front. What began as talks at their kitchen tables became conversations at the international negotiating table.” The significance of such a memorial is unquestionable. The League of Wives started small in Coronado but spread
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throughout military installations far and wide, eventually becoming a national movement. The movement became a nonprofit known as the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia; it is also legally known as National League of POW/MIA Families. The League of Wives Memorial Foundation hopes the project will serve as an important reminder for the community. The proposed memorial is a bronze sculpture featuring four female figures. The central figure represents Sybil Stockdale, signifying her leadership and determination. The other three unnamed women represent the nationwide movement that was the League of Wives. The women are stepping forward on an upward slope, symbolizing their uphill battle and their transformation from passivity to action. The sculpture will also include an unseen fifth figure representing the military spouse past, present and future, to pay homage to the long history of military spouses in Coronado. The foundation, which incorporated as a nonprofit in December 2021, has commissioned sculptors Christopher Slatoff and Elisabeth Pollnow and has identified three potential sites for the memorial: the Coronado Public Library, Star Park and Rotary Plaza. Fundraising is in motion. The foundation is in the process of bringing the public art donation proposal forward for City Council approval, anticipated this month or next. The goal is to have the funds raised for the memorial by the 50th anniversary of the return of the POWs in early 2023. The estimated cost for
the sculpture is $300,000. So far, more than $31,000 has been pledged. (Pledges can be made at leagueofwives.com/pledge.) For Slentz, the project is as much about the wives’ efforts for their POWs as it is about their contributions to the role of future military spouses. The women initially faced a “Keep Quiet” policy and were expected to play a passive role. They were told not to speak about their husbands’ situations, but in 1968, Stockdale broke her silence about her husband’s captivity and torture, thereby leading the way for more spouses to do the same. Under President Nixon, the “Keep Quiet” policy was dropped, but the league still had to battle various government agencies, which did little to prioritize their cause. Aided by allies in naval intelligence, Stockdale and many other wives sent coded letters back and forth to their husbands. The women were able to shine the
public spotlight on prisoners and those missing in action, placing pressure on the North Vietnamese government for the violation of the Geneva Conventions in the treatment and torture of POWs. During the Paris Peace Accords in late 1972 and early 1973, the Nixon administration agreed that the return of the prisoners and an accounting of the missing would be part of the treaty with North Vietnam. Although it took more than eight years, the heroic efforts of the League of Wives were ultimately instrumental in the return of 501 POWs. “The wives influenced the dynamics and brought forward the humanity of the POWs. They forever transformed the role of the military spouse and gave a voice to those who followed in their footsteps,” Slentz said. ■ Michelle Delaney is a freelance writer.
DOLE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS/ UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Sen. Bob Dole with Sybil Stockdale (center) promoting the League of Wives’ cause.
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KEN JACQUES
“Million Dollar Quartet,” a musical about a famous Memphis jam session with Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, opens the Lamb’s Players Theatre 2022 season on April 2. Pictured is Lamb's previous staging of the production in 2019.
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Supporting roles Local theater companies credit patrons for help in surviving the pandemic By DAVID L. CODDON
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amb’s Players Theatre recently celebrated its 50th year as a company and is now approaching another significant milestone: In two years, it will mark 30 years in Coronado after a longtime residency in National City. For producing artistic director Robert Smyth, who works and resides in Coronado with his wife, associate artistic director Deborah Gilmour Smyth, it’s a case of home sweet home. “We love this community,” Robert Smyth said, “and they love us.” Loyal subscribers and enthusiastic crowds in the lobby and in front of the theater’s home in the historical John D. Spreckels building on show nights are evidence of this mutual love affair. So have lengthy engagements for such popular productions as “Once the Musical” in 2018, “Les Misérables” in 2014 and the theater’s annual Festival of Christmas shows. But like theaters everywhere, Lamb’s has had to weather the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit has managed to retain all its nine full-time employees during the long shutdown periods through what Smyth called a “quilt of support.” “The biggest thing that kept us going was the Keep Lamb’s Alive campaign: grass-
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KEN JACQUES
Lamb's Players Theatre, which is in the historical John D. Spreckels Building on Orange Avenue, will mark 30 years in Coronado in 2024.
“The biggest
thing that kept us going was the Keep Lamb’s Alive campaign…” ROBERT SMYTH LAMB'S PLAYERS THEATRE PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
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roots support from the people who follow us and are a part of our audience who donated and got us through the first year,” Smyth said. “Then the second year, the grants started coming in.” Smyth credits a family-style connection to patrons for its staying power. “One of the big things that has kept us going is the relationship model we’ve worked on within the company and the way we treat and interact with multiseason ticket holders and our donors,” he said. “We see this as a long-term relationship between our audience and us.” The theater opted not to create a full virtual production as some companies
have done, instead offering patrons recorded cabaret shows starring familiar Lamb’s performers for streaming. After returning to the stage last fall with a production of “The Belle of Amherst,” Lamb’s presented “A Christmas Carol” until it was forced to close that engagement early because of omicron variant concerns. The decision was then made to push the planned 2022 season opener, “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” to October, leaving “Million Dollar Quartet” — already scheduled for an April 2 opening — as the first production of the year. “Million Dollar Quartet” is a musical
about a famous Memphis jam session that included Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. Previously staged in 2019, the musical, directed by associate artistic director Kerry Meads, features a cast familiar to Lamb’s audiences. Coronado Playhouse also credits its supporters helping to weather the pandemic. The Playhouse relied on donations, emergency grants and past reserves to survive COVID-19 shutdowns. “Thankfully, we have a very loyal base of subscribers who understood that Coronado Playhouse needed support. We
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KEN JACQUES
Coronado Playhouse's 2022 season opened with "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical." The Tony award-winning production was the most nominated musical of the 2017-2018 theater season.
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also applied for and received a temporary rent abatement from the city,” said Desha Crownover, president of the Playhouse’s board of trustees, which in the absence of an artistic director collectively chooses projects for the theater’s seasons. During mandatory closures, the Playhouse offered livestreams. The nonprofit company staged six productions, plus three special events last year, either virtually or in person. The Playhouse’s current production of “Murder on the Orient Express” runs through April 16. “Coronado Playhouse is home for so many people, both audience members and artists alike,” said Crownover, who also has directed plays. I wanted to serve on the board because the entire community is incredibly open and welcoming. This is a wonderfully creative space to be an artist and to be in the audience. “It doesn’t hurt that we’re in one of the most beautiful spots ever. We can always take a walk on the beach to get inspired.” Coronado is big enough to support two theatrical companies, Crownover said. She doesn’t see the community-theater Playhouse, which has three employees, in competition with the professional-producing Lamb’s Players. “There’s so much crossover with San Diego artists that we’ve had some from Lamb’s pitch projects at Coronado Playhouse,” she said. “We can produce things that don’t always fit into Lamb’s’ mission statement.” Both Smyth and Crownover are proud that significant numbers of their audience come from throughout the San
The farce-meets-murder mystery "Clue" was one of Coronado Playhouse's inperson productions in 2021. Last year, the theater staged six productions either virtually or in person.
KEN JACQUES
Diego area, to make the theaters two of Coronado’s destination attractions. “What’s always fascinated me about this little city of 26,000 people is that it has an excellent educational theater program with CoSA (Coronado School of the Arts), an excellent community theater with the Coronado Playhouse and what we consider an excellent professional theater,” Smyth said. “To have all three of those in this community is a real amazing asset culturally.” ■ David L. Coddon is a freelance writer.
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Getting out on the water helps campers realize what they are capable of achieving. COURTESY OF CAMP ABLE
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Camp for every body Water and land activities geared toward individual needs By MARTINA SCHIMITSCHEK
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very July, campers from around San Diego County gather on Coronado’s Silver Strand for a day of fun in the sun, sand and water. While this scene plays out at beaches across the region, this camp differs in its inclusivity. Camp Able is open to everyone — age or abilities don’t matter. The focus of the camp, which is based at Crown Cove, is to empower those with disabilities through activities on land and water. The daily calendar includes everything from canoeing, sailing and splashing in the surf to biking, singing and crafts. Activities are geared toward individual capabilities. The nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1981, has special equipment adapted to meet campers’ needs including floating wheelchairs and bicycles with wheelchair seats. Canoes and sailboats are packed with bean bags to stabilize the craft and the campers. The monthlong camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, averages about 100 campers daily. Some come every day, others only once — schedules are flexible. (This year’s dates are July 5-29.) “We make it so that campers can do everything they want,” said Jenelle
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“We make it so that campers can do everything they want.” JENELLE NETTLES, CAMP ABLE BOARD MEMBER
Nettles, a board member and Camp Able’s former director. Nettles, a recreational therapist at Rady Children’s Hospital’s Helen Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children, became involved with the camp about 20 years ago. At the time, she was a stay-at-home mom with an infant and a 3-year-old and was looking for an activity outside the home. Nettles started as a volunteer, became the volunteer coordinator and then stepped into the role of director for 16 years before becoming a board member. “It’s been great. My girls came with me every summer,” she said. The camp relies heavily on volunteers. Many are the siblings of campers, who pitch in once they are teenagers. A ratio of three to four campers per counselor is maintained. Those who require one-onone oversight need to bring a caregiver. “Nobody misses out on doing anything,” Nettles said, recalling a young camper who had a stroke and at 13 was paralyzed from the neck down. “She really wanted to go in a sailboat. We figured out how to do that and the joy she had on her face, I’ll never forget that,” she said. The activities build campers' self-confidence, and it's good for parents to see what their children are capable of doing. Victoria Bayer, known as Tori, who
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is developmentally delayed, has been coming to Camp Able since she was 8. She’s 20 now and is looking forward to heading back to the beach this summer for a few weeks. The camp had been closed for the past two summers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve missed camp,” said Virginia Bayer, Tori’s mom. “It’s a special experience. It’s a very joyful place.” Bayer’s three older children, who are not disabled, helped out during summers and gained valuable life experiences, Bayer said. For Tori, the camp is a source of joy and lasting friendships. “It’s a very close group,” Bayer said. Campers have ranged in age from 2 to more than 70 years old. The idea for the camp started in the recreation administration department at San Diego State University. In the late ’70s, Professor Robert Hanson, an advocate for youth camps, realized that the summer experience was not available for those with disabilities. With the help of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Camp Able was born in 1981. Today, it’s still under the umbrella of San Diego State’s Campanile Foundation, which manages the camp’s accounting, payroll and insurance. The cost of a week at camp in 2019 was
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAMP ABLE
At Camp Able, which is held at Crown Cove on the Silver Strand, people of all ages and abilities get to experience the activities of a summer beach camp.
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A young superhero heads to camp.
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$425 or $85 a day. Scholarships are available and fees are assessed on a sliding scale. “We never turn a camper away,” Nettles said. Many of the kids come from group homes. Nettles brings children from the Helen Bernardy Center to the camp and raises funds for them at Rady’s. Seventy percent of the camp’s funds come from donations, grants and fundraisers, while 30 percent are camper fees, Nettles said. “We run a really tight budget. The money really goes right to camp,” she said. Camp Able has basically been in
hibernation since the beginning of the pandemic. With the restart of the camp this year, the organization held a benefit at Feast and Fareway at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course on March 12. The ’80s cover band Betamaxx provided the entertainment. And while the band was chosen based on their popularity and repertoire, Betamaxx has a connection to Camp Able. Lead singer Kirk Howe was once a camp counselor. “Once they work there, they are part of it. They can’t let go,” Nettles said. “It’s magical.” For more information on Camp Able, visit campableatcoronado.org. ■
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» MADE IN CORONADO
Meditative art Simple yet purposeful, ikebana more than just flowers in a vase By MARTINA SCHIMITSCHEK
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he Japanese art of ikebana is a way of arranging flowers with simplicity and in harmony with nature. All elements are chosen and placed deliberately with the environment of the arrangement in mind. Deborah Warriner has been studying and practicing this art form since 1988 and is a master of ikebana. She took her first class while living in Tokyo and continued studying when her husband’s business as an international banker took them to London. She is a member of the Ichiyo School of Ikebana and Ikebana International. While most of her demonstrations have been online during the pandemic, Warriner is hoping to begin teaching ikebana in Coronado soon. She has kept connected with the global ikebana community through Zoom sessions and makes sure there’s always an arrangement in the house.
« Deborah Warriner's spring arrangement for the Japanese Friendship Garden Exhibition House in Balboa Park includes fasciated willow, pussy willow, foxtail asparagus, fatsia leaves, feverfew and pink stargazer lilies. DEBORAH WARRINER PHOTO
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Warriner, who lives in Coronado with her now-retired husband, Craig, took some time to talk about the centuries-old art form.
JOE CROSS
Deborah Warriner demonstrates her craft at an Ikebana International San Diego Chapter exhibition in Balboa Park.
“There’s a whole
philosophical angle to it, and that’s what got to me. It’s almost a meditation exercise.” DEBORAH WARRINER
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Q. You started ikebana in Tokyo. What drew you to it? A. With the expat community in Tokyo, there’s an American club in Tokyo, and they offer culture classes, language classes, all kinds of things. I took a culture class and one of the events was an ikebana lesson. Something about it just clicked with me. A friend who was also interested found a teacher that would come to her house. She organized a class of expat women, and we took lessons in our neighborhood, which was great. That’s what got me started. Within two years I had become an instructor. I just really loved it. Q. How would you describe ikebana? A. It’s such a different way of approaching flowers. The literal translation is ‘the way of flowers,’ and it just changes your perspective on life. There’s a whole philosophical angle to it, and that’s what got to me. It’s almost a meditation exercise. The more you get into it, the more it becomes that for you. You start to see the world in a different way. It’s all about achieving balance through imbalance. It’s much more than sticking flowers in a vase. Q. You are a member of the Ichiyo School. What differentiates one school from another?
A. At last count, there are about 2,000 schools of ikebana. They all developed from Ikenobo, the original school, which is about 550 years old. Originally from China, it was a way of making an offering to Buddha at temples. There was a very formalized style of arranging that came from China at the beginning. From there it morphed. People would get slightly different ideas and start their own school. Over the course
of the last 550 years, there have been all these slight variations. It’s hard to tell one school from another unless you’ve been in it for a fairly long time. For me, the school picked me because it was convenient. I like the school because it’s one of the more modern schools, started in 1937. Q. How do you go about creating an arrangement? A. You think about nature, or you think about a theme before you start. There are four elements to any arrangement. One is the floral materials, usually it’s seasonal floral materials wherever you happen to
New Zealand flax, bird of paradise, hypericum and two containers were used for this arrangement. DEBORAH WARRINER
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be located. The second is the container in which you put the materials. Then it’s the style of arrangement, which sometimes is dictated by the container. And the fourth element is the environment in which the arrangement is going to be placed. All those things have to be considered and are deliberate choices. I just made an arrangement today for the Ikebana International San Diego Chapter spring exhibition, which they decided to do virtually this year. I had a container that my son had given me for Christmas that I really, really liked. Then I decided to use only materials from my yard rather than buying something. I had some azaleas that were in bloom and some African corn lilies that just started blooming. I used those and added some ferns. The idea was to do a spring arrangement, and I thought looking at what’s available in my yard is as seasonal as it gets. So that was my kickoff point. Q. You are ranked as a master. What does that mean? A. That’s kind of hard to define. Every school has its own rankings. It’s a matter of how much you do with the school, whether you’re teaching, demonstrating, exhibiting and traveling to give demonstrations for other chapters or attending world or regional conferences. It’s about being involved on a larger platform than « Warriner used crocosmia, grevillea, photinia and lantana from her garden, plus dried kiwi vine in an Ichiyo-design container for this autumn arrangment. DEBORAH WARRINER
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DEBORAH WARRINER
A spring arrangment features New Zealand flax, gladiola leaves, gerbera daisies and dried kiwi vine.
just your own chapter. There are two levels above me, and the highest level is grand master of the school. There’s only one for every school and the position is hereditary. I can’t become a grand master unless I start my own school. Q. What do you love about Coronado? A. I’ve been in so many parts of the world and I always come back to Coronado. There’s something about the connection between the people and the businesses and the sense of place and the sense of history. The more I’ve traveled, the more I realize Coronado, for a city its size, has amazing resources. It’s got the best library I’ve ever seen. Coronado just ticks all the boxes and yet it’s a comfortable, nice little community. To learn more about Warriner and ikebana, visit her website at ichiyo-ikebanawarriner.mystrikingly.com. ■
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» LOOKING BACK
LESLIE CRAWFORD COLLECTION
The Silver Gate (upper left) was moored on Glorietta Bay and used as a dance hall and casino at Tent City after its decommisioning in 1890.
THIS MONTH IN CORONADO HISTORY April 1, 1888 The ferry Silver Gate was launched on April Fools’ Day and was doomed from the beginning. It was poorly designed, too big and unwieldy, and it damaged docks on both sides of San Diego Bay. Decommissioned after two years, the Silver Gate found a new life at Tent City as a dance hall and casino until 1910 and later as a clubhouse for the San Diego Yacht Club.
April 2, 1942 The new Marine corps’ training camp on Rancho Margarita y Las Flores
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was named after Maj. Gen. Joseph H. Pendleton. The huge holding in North County was one of the last remaining Spanish land grants. Pendleton was affectionately known as Uncle Joe in Coronado, where he retired. He served on Coronado’s city WIKIMEDIA council and school board and was may- Maj. Gen. Joseph or from 1928 to 1930. H. Pendleton He died on Feb. 4, 1942, in his Coronado home at the age of 81.
CORONADO PUBLIC LIBRARY COLLECTION
The ferry Coronado plied between San Diego and Coronado from 1886 to 1922.
April 11, 1992
The 47-year-old aircraft carrier USS Midway was retired from active service in a ceremony at North Island Naval Air Station.
April 15, 1893
The federal government condemned 18.05 acres on the southwest corner of North Island to build a jetty to stop the flow of sand from the southern littoral current. A rail line was laid through Coronado to supply quarried rock for construction, which started in 1894. The jetty, which cost more than $550,000, jutts out from the corner of North Island, extending 7,500 feet into the ocean, parallel to Point Loma.
April 16, 1886
Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story filed articles of incorporation for the San Diego and Coronado Ferry Co., retaining the sole right to provide transportation from San Diego to Coronado. The first ferry was put into
service on Aug. 19, 1886. The Coronado was a double-ender, meaning it had side paddle wheels so it did not need to turn around at each side of the bay. It operated in San Diego Bay from 1886 until 1922, when it was sold to a Hollywood film company and blown up for the 1924 silent movie “Captain Blood.”
April 21, 1955
All of the 707 first- and second-grade students in Coronado’s schools received their first Salk anti-polio vaccine. Four Coronado doctors volunteered their time and experience, including Dr. Charles Eaton, who contracted polio in 1951 while in the Navy.
April 19-20, 1947
More than 5,000 people attended the 21st annual Coronado Flower Show, admiring hundreds of beautiful displays at East Plaza Park, which is now Spreckels Park on Orange Avenue. The record-breaking attendance was 2,000 more than the 1946 show. ■
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» FROM THE GROUND UP
LESLIE CRAWFORD
A honeybee swarm lands on a signpost at the corner of 4th Street and J Avenue.
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Swarming season Spring, early summer peak time for area's honeybees to find new nests By LEAH TAYLOR
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alifornia has more than 1,600 species of bees. But the one you’ll most likely see swarming down a street is the honeybee. Although a swarm — which is a mass of flying bees — can be alarming, understanding bee behavior will help you to remain calm and act quickly. Swarming is a natural occurrence in bee colony reproduction, normally occurring in spring and early summer. As a colony grows and their nesting space gets too tight, it will produce a new queen. Special queen cells are constructed by worker bees with selected larvae fed a honeybee secretion called royal jelly, which triggers the
development of a new queen bee. Each colony can only have one queen, an adult female whose job is to lay eggs. The queen, who is about twice the size of the worker bees, is the mother of most of the bees in a hive. Once a hive divides, the new queen stays in the current nest while a portion of the colony will leave with the old queen to seek out a new home. Most of the individual bees and the queen fly until she is tired, resting as a cluster on the ground or a tree branch. Other workers leave the cluster to scout out potential new homes and report back to the collective. A hole in an attic space or a water meter box are both attractive places
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GRAFVISION
Worker bees gather around the queen bee, the largest bee in the center of the hive. Each hive only has one queen bee, whose sole task is to lay eggs.
for bees to nest. An ideal location for a bee colony is a cavernous space with about a four- to nine-gallon capacity and a small, defensible entrance. Generally, colonies of honeybees (Apis mellifera) are docile when swarming. They are focused on finding a new place to live, rather than on defending their home, food resources and baby bees called a brood. If you see a swarm flying toward you, cover your face and neck, move calmly and quickly away and seek shelter indoors, if possible. If a swarm is forming a cluster on the sidewalk, the side of a structure or a tree branch, bees are resting and will typically move on in 24 to 48 hours, depending on the weather. If a swarm lands on your property and doesn’t move on or is a safety concern, it is
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up to you to have it removed. Who do you call? Options are a licensed pest control company, an insured swarm removal service or a beekeeper experienced in removing swarms. If any bee removal service operator uses pesticides, they are required by the state of California to be properly licensed and report any pesticide usage on the property. Companies or operators that remove swarms without using pesticides are not required to obtain and maintain a pest control operator’s license. Do some research to find the best person for your situation. Ask about years of experience, the number of removals/relocations per year, what happens to the bees after removal and their insurance status. Personal references and online reviews will also help
choose the right professional to hire. Bees have a very acute sense of smell and will be attracted to a site of a previous swarm, long after the removed bees are gone. Once a swarm has been removed, it is critical to remove any wax or honey left behind and seal any holes or entrances to discourage other swarms from moving in. Any holes into buildings larger than a pencil must be sealed. For larger potential entrances, cover the area with a metal screen with six or more meshes per inch. Cavities that cannot be sealed off can be filled with expandable foam to make the area smaller and less favorable for a nesting site. Beekeeping is against city ordinance
in Coronado. Other areas of San Diego County allow beekeeping under certain regulations. Bees must be kept in managed bee boxes with movable frames. Swarm prevention is a top priority for beekeepers. Native bees and honeybees coexist in the region, and honeybees are an important part of the environment. But public safety is the top priority when unmanaged swarms move in, and eliminating or removing swarms of honeybees will not negatively impact the population of honeybees in our area. ■ Leah Taylor is a University of California Master Beekeeper.
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» BEACHCOMBER
AT FIRST GLANCE, this might be mistaken for a variety of seaweed, but the translucent clusters are California market squid egg capsules. Female market squids can lay 50 to 300 eggs per capsule with multiple paternities within each capsule. In Southern California, spawning occurs between October and May, with eggs hatching in three to five weeks. The capsules contain a form of bacteria that is believed to be a repellent against predators and microbial infection. California market squid have a lifespan of about nine months and live near the shore. Egg capsules have a coating to protect them from the rough and tumble of washing around on the shallow, sandy sea floor. If you find one of these clusters washed up on the beach, gently pick up one end and place it back in the water. ■ Class: Cephalopoda Order: Myopsida Family: Loliginidae Genus: Doryteuthis Species: Doryteuthis (Loligo) opalescensnaria
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California market squid egg capsules
CORONADOBEACHCOMBER
Coronado’s shoreline changes with the weather, tides and time of year. Coronadobeachcomber explores our shores daily on the beach or at the bay, paying attention to the interesting animals, shells and sea life. Follow @coronadobeachcomber on Instagram.
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LOCAL EARTH DAY EVENTS April 22 • Earth Day Rally. Join Emerald Keepers along Orange Avenue between Third and Sixth streets. Bring your homemade signs to celebrate Earth Day and Coronado; the more colorful your sign, the better. Reuse your sign by placing it in your window at home, work or classroom to inspire others. 7 to 8:15 a.m. • Emerald Keepers Earth Day poster competition awards. 3:30 p.m., Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave. Details: emeraldkeepers.org. • Coronado cleanup. Pick up trash around the neighborhood, in parks and at beaches while searching for
one of Emerald Keepers’ 10 golden tickets hidden throughout Coronado, including the Cays and Strand housing. Tickets are redeemable for prizes at the Coronado Public Library through April. April 23-24: Stop by the Emerald Keepers booth at the Coronado Flower Show to learn how to make every day Earth Day. Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Spreckels Park, 601 Orange Ave. May 1: Native plant walk. Identify and learn about native plants at Grand Caribe Shoreline Park. Don’t forget water, sunscreen and a hat. 9 to 10 a.m., 598 Grand Caribe Causeway.
NASA
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» BEACH AND BAY
Earth Day Grass-roots movement now more than a billion strong across the globe By AMY STEWARD
A
pril 22 will mark the 52nd anniversary of a truly earth-changing event: Earth Day. What began as a simple idea from Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis., to raise awareness about the environment has exploded into an international event. Inspired by the antiwar movement on college campuses, Nelson and his steering committee co-chair, Rep. Pete McCloskey, R-Calif., selected activist Denis Hayes to organize “Campus Teach-Ins” to channel energy toward combating air and water pollution. Hayes’ efforts led to the inaugural Earth Day in 1970. Thousands of college and university students participated in rallies across the country, and environmental groups came together with Republicans and Democrats in a rare show of unity. On that day, 20 million Americans protested the deterioration of the environment. Earth Day was a catalyst for the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of laws to protect water, hundreds of species from extinction and the health of millions of Americans. It wasn’t until 1990 that a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another Earth Day. This time, Earth Day went global with 200 million people in 141 countries elevating environmental issues. Earth Day 1990 raised world awareness about recycling and set the stage for the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Worldwide awareness and activism continued to grow. By 2000, Earth Day saw 184 countries take part with 5,000 environmental groups from across the globe participating. That year, activists leveraged the internet to spread a message focused on global warming and a push for clean energy.
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CECIL W. STOUGHTON | NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Protestors march during the National Capital Region Earth Day flag ceremony in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day.
A decade later, Earth Day engaged 75,000 global partners in 192 countries, while the Earth Day Network launched The Canopy Project, which, since that day, has planted tens of millions of trees worldwide. Today, Earth Day is recognized as the largest secular observance in the world with more than a billion people participating in a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy awareness and change. Earth Day 2022 focuses on climate change with a call to “Invest in Our Planet.” This call to action is for all people to take steps to protect the environment, establish sustainable habits and invest in climate-friendly innovation. What can you do? Options include participating in a beach or neighborhood
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cleanup; advocating for strong climate action by writing city council members and congressional leaders; getting involved with #BreakFreeFromPlastic; requesting your local restaurant to ask customers if they want plastic wear and straws before automatically including them in takeout orders; planting a tree; making a plant-based meal; choosing sustainable clothing; composting food waste or placing it in your green bin each week; and conserving water. For more ideas, go to emeraldkeepers.org On Earth Day, every city, every business, and every individual around the globe is asked to participate and take steps to help save the planet. Amy Steward is president of Emerald Keepers.
WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
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