From the Director

Carolyn came to help today and we started entering the books from the small RBHS library into the database in PastPerfect. Doesn't she look happy? There are alot of questions to be answered: what type of books should be accepted? What about books that have already been donated? What about books written by residents of RB? Do we have space for all of these?

I am now calling the temporary museum a dust bowl. Yes, because there is so much dust everywhere. We constantly are wiping down the desk and the shelves and the boxes. After so much time has elapsed since the fires of 07, we are still finding traces of soot.

Please mark your calendars for July 7th. That's when the Poway City Council is going to approve the building permit for the museum. The meeting is in the evening.

From the Director

Today while inventorying the collections, we found these two Rancho Bernardo Christmas cards. They date from the 60s. We would very much like to know who designed the cards and any information about the artist (s).

The card at the top depicts the lighted olive trees. The other card is a panoramic fold out. You see only half of it here. Don't these hills look lovely?

Please contact us if you have information.

From the Director

Photo by Oscar Teel

Last night this was the site of the post Pancake Festival Thank You Party. Volunteers sat in front of the temporary museum, celebrated the recent fundraising successes, and enjoyed the beautiful evening weather. One aspect of the site was different. Do you see the two lamp posts? Thanks to Volunteer Oscar Teel, the lights are now electrified, a difficult task. The lights were originally in front of of the Rancho Bernardo Anthony's restaurant. When the theme and decor of that establishment changed to the current Asian Pearl, the lights were discarded. They have been landmark artifacts with us for over two years and will reappear this fall in front of the new museum building. Thanks, Oscar, for your efforts and time you put in to this project.

From the Director

This was the weekend of the Bernardo Winery Craft Faire. Saturday and Sunday brought over 100 visitors to the museum. We invited folks to view the Rancho Bernardo video, sold pancake breakfast tickets, and gave away free posters. All the volunteers from 10-5 did a grand job. So many people had the same question: When will the museum be built? We are patiently waiting.

From the Director

Here we are at Pomerado News in Poway. Peggy is busy inventorying over 100 bound volumes of Rancho Bernardo news dating back to the 70s. Tom is loading the volumes onto a cart. We are waiting for the rental truck to pull up to the door. After many years on Poway Road, this office is moving to the Poway industrial park, to a small facility with little storage. So now, RBHS is the recipient of a wonderful donation. Once our museum is open, these tomes will be available to the public. In the meantime, they are being stored at the Rancho Bernardo Library. Yes, it was an exciting day.

From the Director

Today was fundraiser day. Held at a private residence overlooking Lake Hodges, Life Members and new Life Members were treated to refreshments, buffet hors d'oeuvres, and entertainment from Woody Guthrie songs. The view from the home as well as as the contemporary art was fantastic. It's heartwarming to know that these community members are so supportive of the Museum Project. Above, Margarita welcomed visitors; the overlook; Tom, Nancy and Carolyn. Thank you all!

From the Director

(antiques.about.com)

Today an RBHS docent and I visited the Poway Historical Society Museum. In a display case were examples of cups, saucers, and platters dating from the 1920s-40s appropriately called Depression Glass. In colors of pink, green, cobalt blue, amber and yellow, these pieces were on loan to the museum from private collections. In addition there was tableware from the Blue Willow period to the more modern Noritake. It was evident that great importance was placed on entertaining and the emphasis of beautiful table ware.

The Poway Museum also includes a replica turn of the century classroom, an exhibit about aprons ( That was my favorite!), the first Poway post office, a great selection of gifts and lots of Poway history. It's open on Saturday and Sunday for visitors.

The question that came to mind was: what are the items we collect and how would they best be displayed in a museum exhibit?

From the Director

The latest RBHS exhibit is almost complete. Curators Marge LaGrone and Peggy Rossi (pictured above) arranged the photos on the walls this morning. Historic items were placed in the display case. A door sign will announce the exhibit.

Please stop by the museum Tuesday 9-12 or Friday 9-12 and please sign our guest book with your comments and questions.

In 2007 the North County Times dispersed their hard copy photos to the various local historical societies. There is a wealth of information about our community in this photo collection. There are people you may know, places you may have visited in the past. Some, like the Ice Cream Shoppe, have disappeared. Others have changed. Some of the people are no longer with us.

I hope you will enjoy the exhibit.

From the Director

There has been a flurry of activity going on this week. Above you can see the orange cones and a red line marking the outline of the proposed museum building, evidence that the Contractor is making serious inroads in this parking lot!
Everyone is working so hard to make this dream come true. Today the Budget/Finance committe met; earlier in the week the Executive Committee reports included a focus on fundraising, event planning, and revision of the by-laws.
Yesterday a small group of museum volunteers spent the day putting the North County Times photos (copies, actually) in frames in preparation for the next exhibit "Rancho Bernardo Through the Lens." We hope it will open in another week.
Another milestone is the printing of the Rancho Bernardo Memories book. It is now available for sale at the museum.
Please check back again soon as I expect to be posting more regularly. We always welcome your comments and questions.

From the Director

RBHS Member Jane Harmon received this jigsaw puzzle as a recent present. Offered by the National Geographic Society and based on a US Geological Survey, each puzzle features the recipient's local area. Upon close examination of this map/puzzle, we discovered "proposed Pomerado Road" and "Highway 395" indicating that this was an early 1960s or 70s map of the Rancho Bernardo community. In addition, the Grant Boundary is marked, Battle Mountain, the RB Country Club, 4S Ranch, Winery Road, and Highland Valley Road. We were puzzled to see two trailer parks marked in the Green Valley area of adjacent Poway. The puzzle was manufactured in the UK, and if you are interested in obtaining one, please contact orders@historicnewspaper.com

From the Director

There is a Farmers' Market every Friday at the Bernardo winery. You can find everything there from Provencal tablecloths to Italian specialties and of course, fruits and vegetables. One of my favorite vendors is Bernardo who has a wide assortment of flowers. The man in the photo above sells lemons, limes and avocados. Today his display included Zutano avocados and macademia nuts along with a special nutcracker.

Usually the museum is open at the same time as the Market, from 9-12, but since the weather was wet and cool, we decided to take the day off. If you visit the Winery on Fridays, you will always find some tasty treats from our own area.