Below are the names of writers who are currently active. For others, living and deceased, please type their name into the search box above the masthead on our home page, www.sdjewishworld.com
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – When this city was a frontier town, punishments for transgressing the rules were meted out to pupils and, in one notable instance, to Mary Chase Walker, the first teacher. A visit to the Mason Street School, built in 1865 and now sitting within the confines of Old […]
San Diego’s Historic Places: Mason Street School Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–“Refugees.” That word means many different things to many different people. The readership of the magazine of the Association of Jewish Refugees (the British publication for which I also write) is loosely defined as having once fallen into that category. By today, however, most of those who once sought refuge from a
For refugees, policies of host countries make all the difference Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Thanks to fictionalized accounts of the lives of “lawmen” in the Old West, many people have romanticized notions about what it was like to be the sheriff in a frontier town. Probably a front parlor in a two-story Greek revival home where the children played the piano and
San Diego’s Historic Places: McCoy House Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison OCEANSIDE, California – Surf historian Jane Schmauss vividly recalls the day she waited expectantly as the telephone rang at the home of Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, a legendary figure in the development of surfing as a popular sport. “Hello?” responded the voice on the other end. “Hello,” said Schmauss. “Is this
San Diego County’s Historic Places: California Surf Museum Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—There are many automotive museums around the world, interpreting their missions in a variety of fashions. Some collect, wanting to obtain representative automobiles of every make, nationality, or year. Others love to show the marriages of art and technology, form and function, and marketing and self-perceptions all shaping people’s
San Diego’s Historic Places: San Diego Automotive Museum Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USA
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—Probably no event has seared into the consciousness of the Japanese-American community more painfully than their forced relocation from their homes on the West Coast of the United States to internment camps in the interior of the country during World War II. This is the central portion of
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–The Casa de Estudillo in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a re-creation of a hacienda owned by Jose Antonio Estudillo, one of the most influential men to live in San Diego under Spanish, Mexican and American rule. Jose Antonio was the son of Captain Jose Maria Estudillo,
San Diego’s Historic Places: Casa de Estudillo Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, USA
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—The intersection which Jewish settler Louis Rose called 1st and Main Streets back in 1869 as of Thursday, April 29, bears a plaque recognizing it as the place where the community of Roseville began. Today Roseville is a section of Point Loma, a neighborhood in the City of San Diego.
Roseville has its La Playa Trail marker again Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USA
By Donald H. Harrison LAKESIDE, California –Lindo Lake’s name is a combination of English and Spanish meaning “Beautiful Lake” and no doubt exercise enthusiasts, water fowl admirers, picnickers, horseshoe pitchers, antiquarians, and automobile racing fans would agree that the description is apt. The water surface area is divided into two basins—the slightly larger
San Diego’s Historic Places: Lindo Lake in Lakeside Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—It was a ten-mile journey over a rutted wagon road from the tip of Point Loma to the area of San Diego known as Old Town, a distance that may sound inconsequential today in the age of automobiles. However, for Lighthouse keepers Robert and Maria Israel, who lived
San Diego’s Historic Places: Point Loma Lighthouse Read More »
Donald H. Harrison
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—It is commonplace to see elementary school classes walking through Cabrillo National Monument on history field trips. But similar field trips to Cabrillo may also be appropriate for high school trigonometry classes – especially for those students who wonder, “What’s the point of this stuff? When would we ever
San Diego’s Historic Places: 19th Coast Artillery at Cabrillo National Monument Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, USABy Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — UCSD has become a campus battlegrounds in the movement by pro-Palestinians to have Associated Student oganizations divest their funds from companies doing business with Israel. A resolution that will go before the student Senate on Wednesday, April 28, specifically targets United Technologies, which it says makes Apache helicopters,
Israel divestment campaign moves to UCSD campus Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Middle EastSAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Members of the La Playa Trail Association will place a monument at 10:15 a.m., Thursday, April 29, at the corner of Rosecrans Street and Avenida de Portugal to mark the location where the town of Roseville was founded in 1869 by Louis Rose. The monument duplicates one that had been erected
Roseville section of San Diego to reinstall historic marker on La Playa Trail Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History
SAN DIEGO—Israeli song, Israeli dance, Israeli politics, Israeli geography, Israeli foods, Israeli merchandise, Israeli trips… they all were components on Sunday, April 25, of the Israel Independence Festival held on the grounds of San Diego Jewish Academy. Shoshi Bogoch, Israeli shelicha who helped organize the festival, estimated that perhaps 2,000 San Diegans toured the multi-level