LOOKING BACK

CORONADO PUBLIC LIBRARY President Franklin Roosevelt departs Coronado, crossing San Diego Bay by ferry on Oct. 2, 1935. Gov. Frank Merriam is seated next to him in the rear of the car.

THIS MONTH IN CORONADO HISTORY

Oct. 1, 1935

President Franklin Roosevelt stayed at the Hotel del Coronado during his visit to the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park and Naval Air Station North Island. During his stay, the presidential flag flew over The Del, which made the hotel the official White House for the time he was in residence. Roosevelt had two sons who lived in Coronado during World War II: one on J Avenue, the other on A Avenue, so he and his wife, Eleanor, were frequent visitors to Coronado and the Hotel Del during those years.

Oct. 4, 1956

It was reported that Coronado’s shoe burglar was “caught in the act” by an alert newspaper boy. The newspaper boy left a paper at the door of 714 F Ave. about 5 p.m. As he continued past the house, he saw a man jump from a downstairs window and run down the street. Police said four pairs of women’s shoes, wrapped in a brown skirt, were found just inside the window used by the burglar. The suspect was described as a white male, with light brown hair cut in a butch, 25 to 30 years old, wearing blue jeans and a dungaree shirt. Police said the

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS / DETROIT PUBLISHING CO. COLLECTION

“Great Shoe Mystery” investigation had dwindled until the new description came in.

Oct. 7, 1934

New, furnished two-bedroom, ocean- or bay-front cottages at Tent City were advertised for $37.50 a month including electric refrigeration, light, water and a garage.

Oct. 9, 1995

The final Coronado High School football game was played on Cutler Field, which is now home to Coronado Middle School and its playing field. Cutler Field covered an entire block from 5th to 6th streets between F and G avenues. Deeded to Coronado High School in 1925, the field hosted over 500 football games and yearly high school graduations, as well as many other sports and community activities over the years.

Oct. 10, 1924

The USS Shenandoah (ZR-1), the Navy’s first rigid airship — or dirigible — landed at North Island’s Rockwell Field on its first visit to the West Coast.

LESLIE CRAWFORD COLLECTION

The dirigible USS Shenandoah

Oct. 18, 1945

The Gen. Henry D. Styer Post No. 2422 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars was presented with a deed to six lots, valued at $12,000, by Elizabeth Styer, widow of the general for whom the post was named. Styer donated the property at 6th Street and Orange Avenue as a memorial, so a clubhouse could be built in tribute to her late husband. Plans called for large meeting rooms, smaller conference rooms, dining rooms, a bar, cocktail lounge, reading rooms, a large, terraced patio and “all the appurtenances” of an upto-date clubhouse.

Oct. 21, 1960

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first president to land on North Island, was greeted by Mayor Robin Goodenough, who read a proclamation declaring “Ike Day” in Coronado. More than 7,000 people greeted Eisenhower at North Island and the children from Coronado public and private schools assembled at the First Street gate to see the president.

Oct. 25, 1956

The San Diego County Department of Public Health announced two polio cases from Coronado. One young women was suffering from some paralysis and was on a respirator. The other had much less severe symptoms. The two were part of an upsurge in polio cases during the last week in October, according to the county health director. ■