New Sunday Series Will Probe Jewish Stories Along the Interstate 5

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO – Every Sunday of 2022, with the permission of San Diego Jewish World’s new publisher and editor Jacob Kamaras, I will be posting an installment of a new book that I am writing, tentatively titled Schlepping and Schmoozing Along the Interstate 5.

Back in 2017, I wrote another book titled 77 Miles of Jewish Stories: History, Anecdotes & Tales of Travel Along I-8.  Acting upon San Diego Jewish World’s slogan that “There is a Jewish Story Everywhere,” I decided to follow the Interstate 8 from the Pacific coast to the San Diego/ Imperial County line, a distance of 77 miles. En route, there were 35 surface street exits, and I determined that I would get off at each exit and try to find a “Jewish story” within the vicinity. Ultimately, I found and published 70 such stories, with at least one for every exit.

This new book, utilizing the same model, will follow the Interstate 5 from the Mexican border to the Orange County line, a distance of 72 miles. Although that is five miles shorter than the Interstate 8 route, there are many more exits.  Much of Interstate 8 runs through the rural portions of East San Diego County, with the exits fairly well separated.  In contrast, coastal Interstate 5, with the exception of Camp Pendleton, runs through a continuous urban area. There are more exits and more Jewish stories to be reported.

Both these books might be considered as companions to my two-volume Schlepping and Schmoozing in San Diego County.  Volume 1 of that title offers stories from within the City of San Diego, whereas Volume 2 is a compilation of stories in San Diego County’s suburban cities and towns.

My hope is that when all these books are taken together with three others I have written, I will provide for current readers and future historians interesting material about Jewish life in San Diego County since 1850 when Louis Rose, the first permanent Jewish settler, arrived in our city.  My biography of him, Louis Rose: San Diego’s First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur, was the first book I wrote.  Next came Schlepping Through the American West: There Is a Jewish Story Everywhere in which, with my then 13-year-old grandson, Shor, I followed the Interstate 15 to Lethbridge, Canada, writing stories here and there, and then writing and returning to San Diego via a coastal route.  A third book, the privately commissioned Waxie: An American Family Business Success Story told of the family of Harry and Morris Wax, Morris’s sons Charles and David, and the corporation that they built into the largest privately-owned janitorial supply company in the United States.

Some have questioned my thesis that if you look hard enough, you are certain to find a Jewish story.  How can that be when we Jews are but a tiny percentage of the American population? Well, whenever I go looking for a Jewish story, I know that there are quite a few avenues to explore. Most obviously, there is a Jewish story to be found at such Jewish institutions as synagogues, Jewish community centers, and other Jewish non-profits.  There also are stories to be found at places where Jewish entrepreneurs, merchants, scientists, educators, entertainers, and other celebrities have left their marks. In addition, there are stories in places that are named after personages and places in the Tanakh, known to Christians as the “Old Testament.” Local relationships with Israel or Israelis provide another treasure trove of possible stories.

When I first study an area in the vicinity of a freeway exit, I often don’t know what story I will pursue. Through preliminary research and networking, however, I soon encounter possibilities that I know I will enjoy further researching and that I earnestly hope you will find both worthwhile and interesting.

I decided to go from south to north on the Interstate 5 because that is the way the exits are numbered. Exit 1B, Via de San Ysidro, is located very close to the Mexican border in San Ysidro. Exit 72, Cristianitos Road, is located 72 miles from the Mexican border.

Given the wealth of material available along the I-5, my guess is that when the series is published in book form it will fill up at least two volumes. Long before that publication, however, you’ll be able to travel with me every Sunday to a different exit and find another Jewish story.

Come along. I hope you will find our trip to be both interesting and educational.

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Donald H. Harrison, as of January 1, 2022, will be editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com