Coronado 365 - December 2022

Season of gratitude

Here we are at the end of 2022, and this is our 12th issue of Coronado 365. It’s been fun, harrowing, satisfying and exciting — but which one of those depends on the day!

Printing a magazine is like riding a roller coaster. For every difficult decision or tough day, there are just as many things that make this worth doing, such as the people we have profiled with inspirational stories.

When we launched Coronado 365 Magazine, there were many reasons not to start a new publication; but there were many more reasons to bring quality journalism to Coronado. We had a good idea of what we were up against. But we also encountered the unexpected, such as the cost of paper going up a whopping 33 percent since January.

But we’re still here and gaining momentum every month. We have our adver tisers and subscribers from around the country to thank for that.

Our December cover story really makes us smile and is an example of why we love what we do. Longtime Coronado resident Peggy Price turns 100 on Dec. 23 and is a testament to a life well lived. One of the many fun facts about Peggy: She’s an enthusiastic Padres fan who still goes to games with her sons.

For the upcoming holidays, we look at Crown City Chorale led by talented director Elena Vizuet, who is also the director of the professional ensemble Musica Vitale, as well as Amanda McPhail, a quiet force in town who organizes a Christmas giving program for kids of families in need. Amanda’s work makes Christmas possible for many.

Life is really about the simple things, which can get lost in the noise of everyday life. Let’s all take time to stop and appreciate what’s around us.

Here’s to family, friends, health and happiness. And on Dec. 23, raise a glass to Peggy Price on her 100th birthday!

Happy Holidays, Leslie & Martina

IN BLOOM THIS MONTH: Hydrangea

ON

Peggy Price

NANCEE LEWIS PHOTO

CONTACT editor@coronado365.com or (619) 435-0334

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Peggy Price at her Coronado home, a sunny condo she now shares with her son, Jim.

NANCEE LEWIS

Intrepid spirit

As Peggy Price approaches 100th birthday, the longtime Coronadan counts life’s riches

By NICOLE SOURS LARSON

Don’t tell anyone, but Peggy Price is about to turn 100.

A full-time Crown City resi dent since 1964, Price is reticent about sharing her age, because she doesn’t want anyone to make a fuss over her — es pecially about her birthday. Sitting in her sunny condo overlooking San Diego Bay, reflecting on her life, she insists she “hasn’t done anything remarkable.”

Her family and friends disagree, pointing to her positive impact on her six children and seven grandchildren, as well as the children she taught and led as a Girl Scout volunteer, who guided scouts on backpacking and hiking trips.

“I enjoyed being a Navy wife,” she said but admitted she got tired of moving so

much and welcomed settling in Coronado. “I’m so blessed — my life has been joyous. My good fortune was marrying a Navy man who never lost his love of travel. He was very good at encouraging me if I wanted to do something, like go bicycling through the Dordogne,” in France.

Art Price often accompanied his wife af ter his retirement as rear admiral in 1980. They cycled through Europe, trekked through Nepal and traveled through South America, often with their children.

“She always went by the beat of a differ ent drummer,” observed her youngest son, Jim, who, along with his sisters, Caro lyn Price Gallant and Mary Price Boyd, reported that their Mom encouraged her children to find their own paths and make

their own mistakes.

“Mom had a very strict upbringing — she went to boarding school. She was the opposite with us, wanting us to be very independent,” Mary Price Boyd added.

“I was a laissez faire parent. I let them make their own decisions,” Price said.

As a teacher, she valued education and rejected petty rules. When a school prin cipal ordered Jim to cut his hair, his mom informed the administrator, “You’re more concerned what’s on his head than what’s in it,” Jim reported. He kept his long hair.

Price stood up for the local kids, too, intervening with the North Island com mander when Marine guards threatened teenagers surfing off of Naval Air Station North Island by confiscating and breaking their boards. She brokered a compromise, enabling the kids to keep their boards and stay in the water but not sit on the Navy’s beach.

Always extremely independent and ad venturous, she raised her children largely on her own, as her naval officer husband was gone for months on postings and commands at sea. She moved her family cross-country multiple times, typically camping for weeks, crisscrossing the Unit

ed States, Canada and Mexico between assignments, nurturing in her children the independence, resilience and love of nature and travel she still treasures.

An elementary school teacher before her marriage, Price returned to work as a substitute teacher in the Coronado Unified School District when her young est child, Mary, started at Miss Bunny’s Preschool in 1968. She substituted for 30 years and specialized in home school visits for special needs children.

Price began volunteering with the Girl Scouts in the mid-60s and served as a troop leader, teacher, outdoor consultant, trail buddy and board member, sharing her appreciation for the outdoors.

In 1980, she took the Girl Scout back pack adult training class, said her long time friend Dale Powell. It was the start of Price’s love affair with backpacking and leading scouts on trips into the mountains and deserts. With shared interests, Price and Powell often went on weeklong back packing trips together.

One of her favorite activities, which she hated giving up as her hearing deteriorat ed, was volunteering as a certified official for the National Track and Field Associ

“Mom had a very strict upbringing — she went to boarding school. She was the opposite with us, wanting us to be very independent.”

MARY PRICE BOYD

Peggy Price with five of her six children. From left: Mary, Arthur, Jim, Robert and Carolyn. Her eldest son, John, died in 2018.

Peggy Jane Wynn was born on Dec. 23, 1922, in New York. She married Lt. Arthur Price on June 20, 1952, in Monterey, a month after they met.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PEGGY PRICE

When at home, Peggy Price enjoys reading and working on crossword puzzles.

ation, officiating at numerous track and field events in the San Diego region. At 49, she had discovered the joys of running and working out after participating in the first women’s exercise class organized for the Coronado Recreation Department in 1968 by Stan Antrim, part of the Navy SEAL community. She later ran numerous half-marathons — and took up skiing again at 65, giving it up only at 86 when she broke her hip on the slopes and the doctors nixed returning to the sport.

Still extremely active as she approaches her centenary on Dec. 23, Price is all “gogo-go,” according to son Jim. Price invited Jim to live with her last December when he needed new housing. Because his mom gave up driving a few years ago, he takes

her places and assists with household tasks. But, he said, “She doesn’t want to be treated as though she can’t do something.”

The COVID-19 pandemic ended a few of her cherished activities including her 25-year stint volunteering at the library where she helped digitize the card catalog and worked in the computer lab, plus her annual treks to family reunions in North Carolina’s brutal August heat. But other activities are returning, including her an nual reunions with the Girl Scout troops that she started leading about 1972.

At 99, Price, who was widowed in 2007 after 55 years of marriage, still goes for long walks and hikes, albeit now with a walker. She works out twice weekly at the gym with a trainer, camps and travels with

NANCEE LEWIS

her children and is still committed to her beloved Girls Scouts and Sierra Club. The walks may be shorter, the hikes less ardu ous and the trips closer to home, but Price is still out in the world, still advocating for others, especially children. She’s still nurturing her adventurous spirit.

“She’s maintained her spark and her tenacity,” Jim said.

Price, born Peggy Jane Wynn, first came to California from her native New York in 1941. Just 19, she drove across the country in her Packard with another girl to attend Stanford University, where she spent the war years. She graduated in 1945 after studying Spanish and the regional geogra phy of Latin America.

“I wanted to get as far away from home as possible,” Price explained of her deci

sion to go to Stanford, which, she said, was “a great place. I had a really happy time there.” Her father, a corporate lawyer with clear memories of Great Depression job losses, “wanted me to have an educa tion to have a way to earn a living.”

Following graduation, she returned to New York at her mother’s request and attended graduate school at Columbia Teachers College. After, she taught second grade in Long Island for three years. But California beckoned. Following a visit to friends in San Francisco, she decided to apply for teaching jobs in the state and accepted an offer in Monterey. A fellow teacher helped her find a roommate and cottage in Carmel, where she lived for three years while teaching in Monterey County.

Peggy Price (far right) leads a Girl Scout troop at a planting session in the 1970s.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PEGGY PRICE

“My plan was to teach another year and then go teach in Europe,” Price said.

Her plans changed abruptly when she met a young naval aviator named Arthur Price, who swept her off her feet in a whirlwind romance. A lieutenant when they met on May 10, 1952, he had joined the Navy in 1939 as an apprentice seaman.

During World War II, he qualified as an enlisted naval aviation pilot — a Silver Eagle — with a promotion to ensign, subsequently transferring to surface ships. He was at Pearl Harbor during the attack in December 1941. He ended his career 40 years later as a rear admiral, one of three Silver Eagles to attain flag rank.

“My plan wasn’t to get married so quickly. Art wanted to take me with him

to his next posting in San Diego,” she explained.

They were married on June 20, 1952, in the chapel at what’s now the Naval Post graduate School in Monterey just over a month after meeting. Her parents flew out for the wedding, with her mother bring ing something for her to wear. She was 29. Her parents had given up on her ever marrying, she recalled.

“He knew she was an independent, strong woman” when her Dad married her Mom, daughter Mary said.

Their first child was born after they moved to their first posting in Coronado in 1952.

“She was a real fun mom, always having creative ideas to keep us busy,” said oldest daughter Carolyn. “She would give us ‘bee jars’ to catch bees and buckets of water and paint brushes to paint the fence. And she’d write the funniest letters to us at camp.”

All five surviving children — Carolyn, Arthur, Robert, Jim and Mary — live in the region, with the farthest, youngest daughter Mary, in Orange County. All cherish their time visiting and traveling with Price and credit their mother for their independent outlook on life. Price’s eldest child, John, died in 2018.

This year, Price favors a low-key birth day celebration compared to the big bash her kids threw for her 90th.

“If not this year, then we’ll do it for her 110th,” Mary said. “We’re so lucky to have her.” ■

Nicole Sours Larson is a freelance writer.

Peggy Price hikes the Pacific Crest Trail in the Sierras in this undated photo.

COURTESY OF PEGGY PRICE

Members of the Crown City Chorale do not have to audition to join, although most singers have had some music in their past. Many members of the chorale were in the Coronado Community Chorus (pictured).

DANIEL VIZUET

Happy notes

Community choir promotes joy of singing under auspices of Musica Vitale

By DAVID L. CODDON

There’s nothing complicated about Elena Vizuet’s vision for Coronado’s volunteer community choir, the Crown City Chorale. It’s “for people to be happy while singing music,” said the group’s chorus master.

Vizuet, a distinguished music educator and performer, is artistic director and board chair of the professional ensem ble Musica Vitale. The nonprofit Crown City Chorale, with about 40 members who rehearse weekly, exists under the umbrella of Musica Vitale. The choir was established in the fall of 2021 and came under Musica Vitale’s Education and Outreach department this summer. The chorale evolved from the Coronado Community Chorus.

Singers pay $200 a year for membership and do not need to audition. Member also do not need to be residents of Coronado. This fall’s rehearsal sessions will culminate with a concert, “Winter Dreams,” scheduled for Dec. 14 at Resur rection Lutheran Church on 5th Street.

Vizuet, who has a master’s degree in conducting and music education and who sang professionally for 20 years, is enthu siastic about working with the chorale members. “I’m very grateful I can teach these people the skills that I have,” she said. “It brings joy for me to give them that skill and encouragement and see how they love it.

“I’ve never seen a person who sings and hates it. It makes people feel good. They grow. It keeps them young and makes them think and explore something new.”

The members “are very eager to get together and do justice to the music as much as possible,” said Vizuet, who’s also a former teaching artist with San Diego Opera. “It’s not just ‘One hour, sing, and forget about it.’ Most of them have some music background. Some have not sung since high school, and they want to

retrieve their skills and to remember how much fun they had.”

Not lost on Vizuet is the mere cathartic power of singing. “These people want to sing music together,” she said. “It’s an outlet after the pandemic.”

For chorale member Dawn Richards, singing has helped her deal with a person al tragedy.

“I decided I wanted to sing because singing really is healing,” Richards said. “Because of the tremendous amount of crying and grief, my speaking voice was ruined. I had to learn just to speak well again, and I had a singing range of only about five notes.

“When I started studying with Elena that was very healing. I love to sing. For me, this is therapy to do so with a group of people. Numerous studies show that it’s mentally beneficial for humans to sing

with others. It also stimulates the vagus nerve” which controls involuntary func tions such as digestion, heart rate and the immune system.

Richards, who is also an equestrian, has discovered a direct connection between riding and singing.

“It’s helped with diaphragmatic breath ing,” she explained. “The breathing and the posture of singing is the same with riding.” Richards likened descending the musical scale the correct way to con trolling the movement and energy of the horse. (The great Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli is also a horseman.)

Vizuet regards herself as the chorale’s “wheel of the boat.” She selects the music, runs the scores and assembles musi cians, if needed. The upcoming “Winter Dreams” will have accompaniment from pianist Elena Galitskaya and harpist

The Crown City Chorale has two annual performances under the direction of Elena Vizuet (above). Vizuet also directed the chorale’s predecessor, the Coronado Community Chorus (shown at top).

DANIEL VIZUET

LESLIE CRAWFORD

Stefan Masao Wendel.

Vizuet also has ambitious plans for the group, which has more women than men and mainly singers ages 40 and up.

“I see it growing,” she said. “I would love to have people who are just starting, who want to sing but don’t know how. I want to help them make that transition and to teach those beginner skills. I would also

What: Crown City Chorale’s “Winter Dreams” concert

Where: Resurrection Lutheran Church of Coronado, 1111 5th St. When: 7 p.m. Dec. 14

Tickets: Suggested donation $10; students under 18 free Information: musicavitale.com

“I’ve never seen a person who sings and hates it. It makes people feel good.”

ELENA VIZUET

Elena Vizuet plays the piano during a weekly practice session at the Resurrection Lutheran Church of Coronado.

LESLIE CRAWFORD

love to collaborate with a community band.”

Vizuet hopes the chorale will one day sing with a live orchestra and that it will have a permanent, regular rehearsal space. Currently the group practices at Resurrec tion Lutheran Church.

The chorale, she said, is an important part of Coronado, and she is grateful for the support it has received.

“There are lots of wonderful people who help this organization,” Vizuet said. “Without them, we would not be able to move this forward. It’s truly a community effort.”

She cited an August fundraiser by Coro

nado residents Mike and Carol Kearney that helped create a financial foundation for Musica Vitale.

In turn, the singers “enrich the commu nity by sharing their gifts,” she said.

The upcoming “Winter Dreams” con cert, fully conceived by Vizuet, will be a mixture of sacred and secular music.

“There’s plentiful music about nature,” said Vizuet of the program, “and a little sentimentality. And titles you would expect to hear during preparation for Christmas.

“I look for aesthetics and something that gives value to your soul.” ■

L. Coddon is a freelance writer.

David

It takes a village

Grassroots

effort led

By LESLIE CRAWFORD

by

Amanda McPhail brings Christmas to needy families

When Amanda McPhail graduated from col lege in 2004, she threw a party for 250 friends and neighbors in her Coronado backyard as a way of saying thank you.

It was also an opportunity to show everyone what she was capable of in her chosen career, event planning.

And people noticed. In the first five years in business, McPhail, owner of Creative Affairs, was hired to plan 100 weddings. Creative Affairs is a full-service event planning company based in San Diego that also manages event venues including the Ultimate Skybox, which over looks Petco Park.

“If it weren’t for the people in this town who whole heartedly helped me and put their arms around me,

« Gabriel is one of the many children who has received presents though Amanda McPhail’s Christmas gift drive. PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA McPHAIL

there’s no way I’d be where I am today.” McPhail said.

Having benefited by the support of so many, McPhail knew she wanted to help those in need.

In 2004, she became aware of a woman who cleaned houses in Coronado who was struggling to make ends meet. McPhail gathered items for her and her children for Christmas.

The next year, McPhail identified a few more families in need, providing them with gifts for Christmas. A grassroots movement evolved during the next few years, with McPhail finding needy families and receiving donations from friends through word of mouth.

But after her daughter, Grace, was born

in December 2012, McPhail needed to take a step back to take care of her family and her rapidly growing business.

After a few years, she was ready to start the Christmas drive again. Longtime Coronado friend, Michele Petriccione Albin, a teacher at Mueller Charter School in Chula Vista, recommended that McPhail find children in need at the nonprofit school. Mueller serves very low-income students, from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade.

“We rely on the counselors to choose the families most in need,” McPhail said.

Last year, counselors found children of seven families to start, but as more money was raised, counselors added more fam ilies. Ultimately, 62 children were gifted

Abby and Oscar are all smiles Christmas morning after opening presents donated through Amanda McPhail’s fundraising efforts.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMANDA McPHAIL

through the Christmas Giving program in 2021.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, McPhail did all the shopping, wrapping and distributing the gifts. COVID radi cally changed the way she had to run the program to benefit the Chula Vista school and others. Now, once families have been identified, a counselor asks them to make a wish list for their children on Amazon. If they don’t have access to a computer, the counselor’s office helps them.

Once the wish lists have been created and donations have come in, McPhail purchases the items on Amazon, charging everything to her Amazon credit card. In addition to the wish lists, donations go toward clothing and other living essentials for the families, which the counselor’s office distributes as needed. Last year, one donor gifted 50 winter jackets.

Once McPhail is done shopping, she uses the points accrued on her Amazon credit card from those purchases to sup port Coronado elementary school teach ers by shopping their Amazon wish lists.

“Beyond just being a kind, smart, motivated person with integrity and heart, Amanda’s gift is making everyone she talks with feel like she cares, because she does,” said friend Jane Mitchell.

After the holidays, Mueller school counselors check in with the families to collect thank you cards and photos taken on Christmas morning, sending every thing to McPhail, who shares them with the donors.

One mother wrote: “I’ve been going through a really hard time and I feel like

Want to help?

This is the sixth year Mueller Charter School will be the beneficiary of the Christmas drive. Donations can be in the form of cash to pay for the gifts and gift cards, which go directly to the school. Monetary donations can be made by sending to:

• Zelle: amandarmcphail@ gmail.com or (619) 993-0710

• Venmo: @amanda1977 / Amanda Russell

• Check, payable to Amanda Russell, or cash. Mail or drop off to 731 G Ave., Coronado, CA 92118.

God really used you all and these blessings as a way to communicate that everything is going to be o.k. Words cannot describe how truly grateful me and my son are. Thanks for showing me that there are people in the world who really care to help those in need.”

The program also has held two clothing drives for the school, and donations have

provided snack items, water and other essentials that families can’t afford. Any child can go to the counselor’s office and ask to go to Ryan’s Closet, a small room named after a student, to get a tampon, shampoo or other necessity, with no questions asked.

Planning for Christmas starts in November with an initial email sent to solicit donations. It is a lot of work, and combined with a robust holiday events schedule, McPhail was beginning to won der if she was going to be able to keep up the pace.

This year, Coronado resident Amanda

Werth has stepped in to help. Werth has been involved in past clothing drives and Ryan’s Closet. She brings a new energy, and she has been able to get the word out to a wider audience via social media channels.

McPhail is humble about her part in the program, and she’ll tell you that donors are the key to making it happen. Last year, more than $26,000 was raised to shop for the kids at Mueller school.

She would like to raise more money this year because more donations trans late to more happy kids on Christmas morning. ■

Amanda McPhail changed the way she approached her gift-giving project during the pandemic. She now buys everything on Amazon and has it shipped to the recipients.

JANE MITCHELL

Did you know?

In 1904, Hotel del Coronado made history when it unveiled the world’s first electrically lighted, outdoor living Christmas tree. To accomplish this feat, electric lights were strung from the hotel — at that time one of the largest buildings in America to have elec tricity — to a nearby Norfolk Island pine. The lights were probably made on-site.

Although indoor Christmas trees had become popular in America by this time, electric Christmas lights were all but un heard of, and there is no record of an illuminated exterior tree that predates The Del’s 1904 tree.

The San Diego Union reported Dec. 25, 1904: “…All day yester day electricians were busy fitting it up and by night 250 lights of many colors gave beauty to the fine old pine. Lanterns, great and small, hung from its boughs.”

According to the article, The Del’s holiday tree was lighted ev ery night from 7-10 p.m., starting Christmas Eve and continuing through Dec. 31. Today, the same Norfolk pine is part of a grove of pines on The Del’s Founder’s Lawn and the center of a light show that runs every half hour from 5-9 p.m. through Jan. 1. ■

—

Gina Petrone, heritage manager Hotel del Coronado

PHOTO COURTESY OF HOTEL DEL CORONADO

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATTHEW DeGREE

Taking off

Navy pilot renders engineering degrees into precision-painted fine art

By CATHERINE GAUGH

The first painting by Matthew DeGree that pops up on his online portfolio is a beach scene. The natural curl of the waves crashing on the sand in the early morning light is precise and so detailed, you can almost smell the salt air and feel the chilly water.

The next piece is a pair of VA-195 bomber jets soaring over Hwacheon Dam in South Korea. There are more flight scenes, as well as landscapes and seascapes featuring sailboats, children romping on a beach, trees, birds and dogs, all glimpses of memo rable life moments, captured in oils and watercolors.

DeGree, a lieutenant commander and Navy pilot, first picked up a paintbrush in 2013, while stationed in Lemoore in central California, where he flew six days and had one day off every week. Tired of filling his free time with reading and watching TV, he decided to learn how to paint.

“I read articles online about how to paint with oils and got a bunch of canvases. I painted all day on my one day off. Now I paint five days a week, usually after we put the kids to bed,” said the father of two small children.

MATTHEW DeGREE

Matthew DeGree, a Navy pilot who has two engineering degrees, applies the exacting principles of engineering to his art, which he calls structured. DeGree’s paintings range from beach scenes to Navy fighter jets

MATTHEW DeGREE

Q: I see preciseness in your work. How would you describe your art?

A: I think of my art as structured. I have engineering degrees [U.S. Naval Academy and Stanford University]. My paintings are highly detailed. I want them to look as real as possible but still look like paintings. Everything must be accurate, the right sizes, angles and dimensions.

Q: What inspires you?

A: My muse is the beach. I love to see it every day. The ocean is my favorite subject, and I like to capture all the colors. I love the beachy colors, like creams and blues. I love learning how to make the right colors, like how to get that slate gray color of the ocean on a foggy day.

Q: Your Instagram account (@mattde greefineart) has an amazing variety of subjects.

A: Nine out of 10 paintings are com missions. They come from friends, family members and the military community. Military families commission paintings as a gift at retirement or change in com mand. They might want a painting of a house they lived in or a ship or plane. Whatever they want me to paint, I go for it. Accepting everything I think is

making me a better artist.

Q: How long does it take to complete a commission painting?

A: A simple painting might take 10 hours to do. More detailed work might take 60-plus hours. A recent project took me two solid months.

For a while, I told people I don’t do por traits, but I do now and want to do more of them. For the dog portraits, I focus on the eyes; I make the dog look happy or thoughtful. It is fun to paint fur. Most people tell me what they want in the painting and the colors they like. One friend though, said she wanted a painting representing Colorado, a favorite vacation spot, for her dining room, but said I should paint whatever I wanted, and that she did not want to see it until it was on hanging on the wall. That was nerve-wracking. Luckily, I was familiar with colors in her dining room.

Q: I heard that you were given a com mission from your wife for a painting to match some new blue pillows she bought.

A: The blue pillows? That did happen. My wife, Ashley, is a marketing profes sional, but she really should be an interior designer; she is so good at it. She is very

“The ocean is my favorite subject, and I like to capture all the colors. ”

MATTHEW DeGREE PHOTOS

“My muse is the beach,” said Matthew DeGree, who started painting in 2013. Ninety percent of his work is commissioned, often from people in the military community.

particular about what goes on the walls. If we have an empty wall, she’ll say, ‘Matt, I need a painting this size and with these colors.’

For my first Coronado Wine and Art festival, I wanted my tent to be full, so I started pulling a lot of paintings from our walls. I took down the one I did for our dining room [Coronado Beach looking out to Point Loma in a floating frame]. It didn’t have as much detail as most of my work; I used a palette knife to smear the paint. After I took it off the wall, my wife said, ‘Wait, I don’t want to sell this one.’

We agreed we did not want to sell it, so we set a price so high that no one would buy it. But someone did buy it. So, my wife says, ‘Matt, you know you are going to do that one again.’

Q: I understand you were born in Coronado.

A: Yes, my dad was Navy, too, so we left when I was about 2, but everywhere he was stationed was next to a beach. My wife and I were in Coronado in 2015 for a few years and loved it. Then I was deployed to Annapolis to teach at the Naval Academy. That was supposed to last seven years, but we asked to go back to Coronado early.

At the end of this tour in 2025, I’m go ing to retire here. Coronado is a place that feels like home.

We love the beach, the great people and the great weather. We spend most of our time outdoors, and we are on the beach four or five days a week.

Q: Has being an artist changed you?

A: Art has changed me. I am a more passionate person. And I see the world differently. ■

Catherine Gaugh is a freelance writer.

“Low Flying Aircraft” is a commissioned piece painted with oil and set in Fallon, Nevada.

MATTHEW DeGREE

THIS MONTH IN CORONADO

Dec. 1, 1915

Coronado Beach Co. requested the Army vacate North Island because the Army didn’t have a contract to be on the land. The Army had been oper ating under the umbrella contract of Glenn Curtiss, an early aviator who started a flight school on the land. Coronado Beach Co. had plans to sell the acreage as high-end properties.

Dec. 2, 1960

Demolition of the 38-year-old Coro nado High School began. The original cornerstone, laid Feb. 22, 1922, was re trieved and a time capsule in the form of a copper box was opened. High school Principal Wilfrid C. Seaman

HISTORY

found a variety of mementos including photographs, copies of The San Diego Union and the Coronado Strand week ly, approximately 115 cards inscribed by students, a pamphlet with the school curriculum and a 1922 silver dollar.

Dec. 7, 1887

As the Hotel del Coronado neared completion, the first dinner was held for the 250 staff members hired for the hotel. The next night, a dance was held at the pavilion so everyone could get acquainted.

Dec. 10, 1942

The desperate housing shortage in Coronado saw some relief when

This aerial photo of the Coronado Golf course was taken in 1960.

CORONADO PUBLIC LIBRARY

Coronado Homes, Inc., was issued a permit to build 40 apartment units on G Avenue, between 4th and 5th streets at a cost of $120,000. The apartments were designed as 10 buildings with four units each.

Dec. 11, 1941

The first official blackout was declared by the Coronado City Council following the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor. A blackout signal of three short blasts and one long blast repeated three times from the gas company whistle in San Diego ordering the extinguish ing of lights in all buildings and cars. Streetlights were also turned off. The ordinance also called for a maximum fine of $300 for violators.

Dec. 15, 1919

The Navy fish patrol began as aviators flew missions to sight schools of sar dines so fishermen could be directed to them. In two weeks, 100 tons of sardines were caught.

Dec. 19, 1957

A ribbon-cutting ceremony on the first tee of the new Coronado Golf Course occurred at noon. Mayor Coleman Gray cut the ribbon and the resident pro, Don Collett, hit the first drive down the first fairway. An exhibition match played by Collett, Gene Littler, Billy Casper and Paul Runyan followed. The golf course was constructed at a cost of $100,000 on land that was 90 per cent fill dredged from Glorietta Bay. Coronado resident and golf architect

Jack Daray came out of retirement to design the course.

Dec. 24, 1942

The new Coronado hospital officially opened its doors to the public at noon when seven patients were transferred from the old hospital on Orange Avenue. The new building had facili ties for handling 35 patients and was designed to permit the addition of several wings once additional hospital space was needed. The hospital was fi nanced by private donors in Coronado. The City of Coronado contributed $200 a month to cover the fees for those who couldn’t afford their care.

Dec. 25, 1951

Hopalong Cassidy, played by William Boyd, spent Christmas Day at North Island with the children of deceased aviators. As he stepped from the plane, kids yelled “Hi Hoppy!” Cassidy was joined by cowboy singer Smokey Rogers, Dodo the Clown, child skating star Janet Champion and, of course, Santa Claus. Cassidy donated his time and gifts were bought with money given by North Island servicemen. The party was hosted by the Coronado chapter of Gold Star Wives of America. ■

Gifts that give

Naval home-goods boutique raises funds for military charities, scholarships

By MICHELLE DELANEY

Coronado is filled with local shops that offer everything from artwork to books to jewelry. But one of the best-kept shopping secrets is the Sand Dollar Too gift shop at Naval Air Station North Island.

specializes in items for the home, but need someone with base access to escort them. Even better, Sand Dollar Too sets up shop each year at the Coronado Flower Show and Coronado Artisans Alley Craft Fair, as well as for occasional pop-up gatherings. This month, the shop will be at Artisans Alley at Village Elementary School on Dec. 3.

Sand Dollar Too was founded by the Naval Officer Spouse Club (NOSC), which is a nonprofit organization that provides enrichment and mentoring for military spouses throughout San Diego. The

Bath products and locally made items are among the merchandise at Sand Dollar Too.

LESLIE CRAWFORD PHOTOS

club opened its first gift shop, Sand Dollar Collections, at the Naval Medical Cen ter San Diego in 1990. Sand Dollar Too followed in 2008.

“The mission is the same; they are both nonprofit shops run entirely by volun teers for the purpose of raising funds for NOSC. NOSC then designates these funds entirely to military charities and college scholarships for military families in the San Diego area,” said Alison Greg ory, manager of Sand Dollar Too. “Where we differ is in what we offer; Sand Dollar Collections offers primarily clothing and jewelry, whereas Sand Dollar Too is considered to be the home goods and gifts store.”

That is just part of what makes San Dol lar Too more than just your typical shop.

“We source from many local small artists. And more importantly, many of the items are made by military spouses or dependents themselves,” Gregory said. She noted that much of the merchandise can be personalized with an insignia or logo and said items can be special ordered.

Visit Sand Dollar Too and you will

find a bright, open space where the walls are lined with furniture pieces that showcase the many one-of-kind items offered: candles, cocktail napkins, beach bags, children’s items, jewelry, Christmas ornaments and decorative pillows. In the center of the shop are decorative tables carrying such items as bath bombs, hand lotions, specialty soaps, signature tea tow els, jewelry dishes, Mexican blankets and wine glasses.

One display cabinet features all things Coronado and Hotel Del: decorative plates featuring the famous red turret roof, mugs with images of Coronado and San Diego landmarks, wooden “crown” spoons and popular Coronado tumblers commis sioned especially for the shop.

Another area spotlights coastal items with sand dollar ornaments, decoupage oyster jewelry trays and military insignia boards. One local military dependent created original artwork of the Hotel Del with military aircraft flying above it, and this image was made into prints and sta tionery for the shop.

Gregory credits Sand Dollar Too buyer,

We source from many local small artists. And more importantly, many of the items are made by military spouses or dependents themselves.”

ALISON GREGORY, MANAGER OF SAND DOLLAR TOO

Shopper stands in front of a cabinet with Coronado- and Hotel Del-themed products.

Paige Abernathy, for the current success of the shop. Abernathy owned her shop on the East Coast for many years and has brought that expertise to Sand Dollar Too. Not only has Abernathy success fully tracked down specialty items from military spouses near and far — and has tapped into the local community — but she also has contributed to the invento ry with her popular ocean-resin cutting boards for entertaining.

Abernathy believes the success of the store comes from the energy of the team, including the 10-member board. “We have an incredible board and a selfless, dedicated group of 47 volunteers. And because everyone is a military spouse,

we all understand that people move and products change,” Abernathy said. “But we can use that to our advantage. Every board member has a voice in our day-to-day operations, and we are stronger because of that. Our shop is a reflection of the talent of the people on board right now.”

Proceeds from the store provided more than $40,000 to the Naval Officer Spouse Club this year, with approximately $20,000 going toward military charities and approximately $20,000 toward scholarships.

Sand Dollar Too is the gift shop that gives back. ■

Michelle Delaney is a freelance writer.

LESLIE CRAWFORD

Coronado restaurants

ALBACA

Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa 2000 2nd St. (619) 435-3000

Amalo Brew Coffee Coronado Public Library 640 Orange Ave. (619) 537-9011

Avenue Liquor Wine & Subs 878 Orange Ave. (619) 435-4663

Blanco Cocina + Cantina Coming summer 2022 1301 Orange Ave.

Bluewater Grill 1701 Strand Way (619) 435-0155

Boney’s Bayside Market 155 Orange Ave. (619) 435-0776

The Brigantine 1333 Orange Ave. (619) 435-4166

Bruegger’s Bagels 1305 Orange Ave. (619) 435-3900

Burger King Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 435-8707

Burger Lounge 922 Orange Ave. (619) 435-6835

Café Madrid Coffee Cart Ferry Landing 1029 Orange Ave. (619) 843-2524

Calypso Cafe 505 Grand Caribe Causeway (619) 423-5144

Central Liquor & Deli 178 Orange Ave. (619) 435-0118

Chez Loma 1132 Loma Ave. (619) 435-0661

Chipotle 1360 Orange Ave. (619) 435-7778

Clayton’s Bakery and Bistro 849 Orange Ave. (619) 319-5001

Clayton’s Coffee Shop 979 Orange Ave. (619) 435-5425

Clayton’s Mexican Takeout 1107 10th St. (619) 437-8811

Cold Stone Creamery Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 437-6919

Coronado Brewing Co. 170 Orange Ave. (619) 437-4452

Coronado Coffee Co. Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 522-0217

Costa Azul Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 435-3525

Crown Bistro Crown City Inn 520 Orange Ave. (619) 435-3678

Crown Landing Loews Coronado Bay Resort 4000 Coronado Bay Road (619) 424-4000

Crown Room (currently closed) Hotel del Coronado 1500 Orange Ave. (619) 522-8490

Crown Town Deli Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 675-0013

Danny’s Palm Bar & Grill 965 Orange Ave. (619) 435-3171

Domino’s Pizza 1330 Orange Ave. (619) 437-4241

Feast & Fareway Coronado Golf Course 2000 Visalia Row (619) 996-3322

Garage Buona Forchetta 1000 C Ave. (619) 675-0079

Gelato Paradiso 918 Orange Ave. (619) 629-5343

High Tide Bottle Shop & Kitchen 933 Orange Ave. (619) 435-1380

Hotel del Coronado 1500 Ocean Blvd.

• Babcock & Story Bar (619) 435-6611

• Eno Pizzeria (619) 522-8546

• Serea Coastal Cuisine (619) 435-6611

• Sheerwater (619) 522-8490

• Sundeck (619) 522-8039

• Beach Taco & Shack

• Sundae's Ice Cream & Gelateria

Il Fornaio 1333 1st St. (619) 437-4911

Island Pasta 1202 Orange Ave. (619) 435-4545

KFC/Taco Bell 100 B Ave. (619) 435-2055

Lil’ Piggy’s Bar-B-Q Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 522-0217

Little Club 132 Orange Ave. (619) 435-5885

Little Frenchie 1166 Orange Ave. (619) 675-0041

Lobster West 1033 B Ave. #102 (619) 675-0002

McP's Irish Pub 1107 Orange Ave. (619) 435-5280

Miguel’s Cocina 1351 Orange Ave. (619) 437-4237

Mindful Cafe Sharp Coronado Hospital 250 Prospect Ave. (619) 522-3600

MooTime Creamery 1025 Orange Ave. (619) 435-2422

Nado Gelato Cafe 1017 C Ave. (619) 522-9053

Nado Republic 1007 C Ave. (619) 996-3271

Nicky Rottens Bar & Burger Joint 100 Orange Ave. (619) 537-0280

Night & Day Cafe 847 Orange Ave. (619) 435-9776

Panera 980 Orange Ave. (619) 437-4288

Parakeet Cafe 1134 Orange Avenue (619) 675-0104

Parakeet Juicery West 1138 Orange Ave. (619) 537-0018

Parakeet Juicery East 943 Orange Avenue (619) 319-5931

Park Place Liquor & Deli 1000 Park Place (619) 435-0116

Poke123 1009 Orange Ave. (571) 221-4649

Rosemary Trattoria 120 Orange Ave. (619) 537-0054

Saiko Sushi 116 Orange Ave. (619) 435-0868

Serrano 126 Orange Ave. (619) 319-5955

Spiro’s Greek Cafe Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 435-1225

Starbucks 960 Orange Ave. (619) 437-8306

Stake Chophouse & Bar 1309 Orange Ave. (619) 522-0077

Subway 1330 Orange Ave. (619) 435-8272

Swaddee Thai 1001 C Ave. (619) 435-8110

Tartine 1106 1st St. (619) 435-4323

Tavern 1310 Orange Ave. (619) 437-0611

Tent City 1100 Orange Ave. (619) 435-4611

The Henry 1031 Orange Ave. (619) 762-1022

The Islander 1015 Orange Ave. (619) 437-6087

Trident Coffee 942 Orange Ave. (619) 509-7118

Villa Nueva Bakery Café 956 Orange Ave. (619) 435-1256

Village Pizzeria 1206 Orange Ave. (619) 522-0449

Village Pizzeria Bayside Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 437-0650

Which Wich 926 Orange Ave. (619) 522-9424

Wine a Bit 928 Orange Ave. (619) 365-4953

Yummy Sushi 1330 Orange Ave. (619) 435-2771

Beautiful, little PURPLE OLIVE SHELLS, Callianax biplicata, range along the west coast of North America from Vancouver, British Co lumbia, Canada, to Magdalena Bay in Baja California, Mexico.

Living 8 to 15 years, this sea snail is active at night, moving with the tides and hiding under the sand for protection when the tide goes out. The snail burrows in intertidal and subtidal environments with its long siphon sticking out of the sand like a snorkel. It also has a foot that helps it plow through the sand, leaving a trail on the sand’s surface.

The shell is elongated, smooth and shiny. Its mantle covers an outer flap membrane. The membrane secretes enamel that forms the hard shell, which protects the soft parts of the animal.

Purple olive shells are about 1 inch long. Shell colors are typically grayish purple, but colors can range from a near white to lavender and from light brown to dark brown with yellow highlights. Natural predators include the sea stars, octopus, moon snails and seagulls. Native Americans used the shells as beads or currency, and empty olive shells can be home to hermit crabs. ■

Class: Gastropoda

Order: Neogastropoda

Family: Olividae

Genus: Callianax

Species: C. biplicata

Purple olive shells

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.

CORONADOBEACHCOMBER

COMMENTARY

A greener tomorrow

Community

event sparks ideas for Coronado as model in sustainability

By AMY STEWARD

The Nautilus Room at the Corona do Community Center hummed with innovative energy.

Emerald Keepers’ Coronado Community Convening, held Oct. 14, brought together representatives from all sectors of the city. The all-day event was a conference to educate and provide lead ership to re-imagine our city as a thriving model of environmental sustainability. That future would include:

• A healthy community with clean energy in homes, vehicles and in city buildings.

• A coastal community with sea-levelrise mitigation in place and fully prepared for natural disasters.

• Green mobility with walkers, bikers,

electric cart drivers and free microtransit opportunities and select traffic-free streets and zones.

• Coordinated, viable and efficient public transit traffic solutions for Navy commuters improving traffic, air quality and safety.

• Solar-powered, filtered, climate-con trolled air, cooling and heating in class rooms throughout the school district.

• A zero-waste community with drought-tolerant, native plants.

Can you imagine a Coronado with clean air, litter-free parks, streets, water and beaches?

The Coronado Community Convening did more than just imagine.

The interdisciplinary approach to prob

lem solving yielded exciting and practical solutions for a sustainable Coronado. Problems were not dealt with individually, but rather from the perspective of impact on our ecosystem, where every element in the system impacts and is impacted by every other element. Thus, solutions must be holistic.

To inspire thinking, expert speakers educated participants on climate im pacts. The day’s speakers included Tim Gallaudet, an oceanographer, retired rear admiral and former acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Mark Merrifield, director of the Center for Climate Impacts

and Adaptations at Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

The collective willingness to collabo rate to improve Coronado by examining climate change, pollution, waste, clean energy, water and drought was inspiring. So where do we go from here?

Emerald Keepers has documented ideas and solutions from the event, which are available on the website. The results will also be formally submitted to the Corona do City Council to complement and — if suggestions are accepted — provide teeth to the city’s climate action plan.

Mobilizing grassroots civic participation is critical for changes to be implemented. Concerned citizens should contact council members and attend council meetings to let leaders know they want Coronado to be proactive in the face of climate change. Persistence, courage, engagement and resolve are required to move to a greener Coronado.

By becoming a model city of sustain ability, we can preserve the uniqueness of Coronado for generations to come. To do that, the City Council must be proactive and lead from the front. Multidisciplinary innovation, community-based ideas and action will ensure the best solutions are developed.

Albert Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same think ing we used when we created them.”

Becoming a model city is within our collective reach, but it will take a village. ■

Amy Steward is president and founder of Emerald Keepers

Tim Gallaudet, an oceanographer and former acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, speaks at the Coronado Community Convening on Oct. 14.

ELIZABETH WILDER

WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

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