Coronado 365-July 2022

CORONADO

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ULY N E 22002222 JJU

QUILTER KATHLEEN AFGHAN JOURNALIST McCABE FASHIONS SAYED AHMAD SADAT PICTURES ADJUSTS TO NEWWITH LIFE FABRIC AND THREAD

INSIDE: INSIDE: L. FRANK REVVED BAUM UP ON FINDS VINTAGE ‘OZ’ INCARS CORONADO | ARMY| ONCE BACKYARD REIGNED SHELTERS ON NORTH AID NATIVE ISLAND BEES

» FROM THE EDITORS

Celebrating the season

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oronado knows how to throw a party. Independence Day is always a joyful celebration. The Fourth of July is packed with events, from morning pre-parade activities to the fireworks over Glorietta Bay at the end of the day. (See page 12 for listings.)

And while Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, the Fourth of July kicks the season into high gear.

What makes the Fourth of July in Coronado so special is the sense of community as residents and visitors celebrate the nation’s birth. That community spirit continues during summer with the Coronado Promenade Concerts in Spreckels Park. If you haven’t caught an act yet, pack a picnic and join the party. The 50th anniversary lineup is a crowd-pleaser.

Speaking of anniversaries, July marks six months since we published our first issue of Coronado 365. We have been working hard to expand our website content, and our complete calendar of events is quickly becoming the go-to site for things to do in Coronado. We also have restaurant listings and more. Check it out at coronado365.com.

In this issue, we look at simple ways we can help the planet, from installing a shelter for native bees to protecting the turtles in South Bay from harm while boating. We also talk to filmmaker Jill Bond Sawhney. She is documenting how climate change is affecting sustainable farming in Mexico and the lessons we can learn to make agriculture and food more earth friendly.

As always, we hope you look forward to reading this month’s issue.

(Subscriptions are available if you don’t live in town.) Grab your copy and head to the beach or a café. After all, the weather is perfect and summer is here.

Carpe diem, IN BLOOM THIS MONTH: Milkweed Leslie & Martina

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Contents J U LY 2 0 2 2

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COVER STORY

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MADE IN CORONADO

Kathleen McCabe's art quilts resemble paintings made with a patchwork of fabric.

FEATURES

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LAND OF OZ

Author L. Frank Baum returned to Coronado year after year to spend winters away from Chicago.

20 BUZZ WORTHY

Backyard shelters help support population of solitary, native bees, essential for pollination.

30 NATIVE BOUNTY

Filmmaker documents Mexico's sustainable culinary scene and the effects of climate change.

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DEPARTMENTS

28 DID YOU KNOW?

Coronado beach's golden mica.

36 LOOKING BACK

This month in Coronado history.

38 BEACH AND BAY

Threats to local green turtles in South Bay.

ON THE COVER "A Quiet Moment"

by Kathleen McCabe

42 BEACHCOMBER

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHLEEN McCABE

46 MILITARY

Snowy egret.

Plaza project at First Ashore monument.

LISTINGS

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4TH OF JULY EVENTS

44 LOCAL RESTAURANTS

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CORONADO

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PUBLISHER Now and Then Publishing LLC EDITOR Leslie Crawford CREATIVE DIRECTOR/MANAGING EDITOR Martina Schimitschek COPY EDITOR Rose Wojnar CONTRIBUTORS David Coddon, Michelle Delaney, Catherine Gaugh, Amy Steward, @coronadobeachcomber

WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT JULY 2022 » VOLUME 1 » ISSUE 7

CONTACT editor@coronado365.com or (619) 435-0334 ADVERTISING To advertise, contact Leslie Crawford at leslie@Coronado365.com or advertising@Coronado365.com CORONADO 365 is a division of Now and Then Publishing LLC, 830 Orange Ave., Suite B, Coronado, CA 92118 Copyright ©2022 Now and Then Publishing LLC

Visit us online at Coronado365.com

All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Coronado 365 is available nationally. For subscriptions go to Coronado365.com or email subscriptions@coronado365.com

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No place like

Coronado For 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz' author L. Frank Baum, city was a winter paradise

By DAVID L. CODDON

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otable American writers who’ve stayed at the Hotel del Coronado include Henry James, Upton Sinclair, playwright Tennessee Williams and Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss). But L. Frank Baum, the author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” is perhaps most associated with the historic beachfront resort.

Baum’s winter respites at The Del, most of them between 1904 and 1910, were working vacations. During his monthslong residencies at the hotel, he wrote three of his 14 “Oz” books — “Dor-

othy and the Wizard of Oz” in 1908, “The Road to Oz” in 1909 and “The Emerald City of Oz” in 1910 — as well as part of a fourth, “The Patchwork Girl of Oz,” eventually published in 1913.

Only in 1906, did Baum and his wife, Maud, not spend their winter in Coronado to escape the cold of Chicago. That year, they traveled to Europe and Egypt.

And one winter, between 1908 and 1909, the Baums rented a home on nearby Star Park Circle instead of staying at The Del. The Star Park house was owned by Coronado resident George Gay and

« L. Frank Baum is best known for writing "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," but the author also penned more than 40 other novels plus hundreds of poems.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES LIBRARY

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DAVID L. CODDON

Baum designed a chandelier for the Crown Room at the Hotel del Coronado. It bears a resemblence to the crown worn by the Cowardly Lion in William Wallace Denslow's illustrations in the "Oz" books.

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dubbed the Gay Cottage. It still stands today, with a doormat embossed with the Wicked Witch of the East’s stockinged feet and the lyric “Ding Dong …”

Baum was born in central New York state on May 15, 1856, and lived in South Dakota before settling in Chicago. Prior to finding success in 1900 with the publication of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” Baum went through numerous careers, including journalist, manager of a theater company and founder of a baseball club, according to reports.

The couple, who had four sons, first visited Coronado in 1904, initially attracted by the climate. The Coronado Historical Association possesses a collection of “The Baum Bugle,” the official journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club. A “Bugle” article titled “The Coronado Fairyland” recounts an interview Baum gave to the San Diego Union in 1904. “Those who do not find Coronado a paradise,” Baum told the newspaper, “have doubtless brought with them the same conditions that would render heav-

LESLIE CRAWFORD COLLECTION

Frank Baum rented a house on Star Park in 1906 for his winter residence. The home was owned by Coronado resident George Gay and dubbed the Gay Cottage.

en unpleasant to them did they chance to gain admission.”

It’s little wonder that the Baums would make Coronado their yearly winter vacation spot. “They must have never experienced anything like it,” said Gina Petrone, heritage manager at the Hotel Del. There are no photographs of Baum or his wife or son Kenneth (the only one of the sons who traveled with his parents to Coronado) on the Hotel Del premises, but much is known about the winters that the

author spent there. Baum’s daily writing regime reportedly was from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., after which “he spent the rest of the day on leisure,” Petrone said.

His leisure activities included golf, sailing on Glorietta Bay and archery. (The Historical Association has a photo, available for public viewing upon request, that shows Baum with his archery companions and another of him reading to a group of Coronado children.)

While at The Del, Baum was great

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

L. Frank Baum works include “The Woggle-Bug Book,” "Father Goose: His Book," and "Sky Island." W. W. Denslow illustrated the original "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Baum found success as a writer with "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," published in 1900.

friends with the hotel manager, Morgan Ross, about whom he wrote a poem. According to Petrone, Baum stayed in several different rooms at the hotel throughout his vacations.

“It’s so wonderful to sit there and think this is where he wrote,” Petrone said about

one of the rooms where Baum had stayed.

The hotel is explicitly referenced in one of the children’s books Baum wrote under the pseudonym Edith Van Dyne, titled “Aunt Jane’s Nieces and Uncle John” and published in 1911: “The Major smiled benignantly when he reached his appoint-

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ed room in the magnificent Hotel del Coronado, which is famous throughout the world. ‘This,’ said he, ‘reminds me of New York, and it’s the first thing that has since I left home.’”

Whether the Hotel Del or Coronado itself directly inspired Baum’s work up until the time of his death in 1919 is a The Hotel del Coronado's registration ledger from Jan 11, 1905, shows the signatures of Frank Baum, Mrs. Baum and their youngest son, Kenneth Baum. The elder Baums were checked into Room 48, while Kenneth had Room 47.

COURTESY OF HOTEL DEL CORONADO

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subject of continuous speculation among academics and Baum fans alike. One of his characters, the Woggle-Bug from “The Woggle-Bug Book,” supposedly sprung from a meeting Baum had on the beach with a Coronado child and her description of a sand crab.

Baum’s best-known and documented connection to the Hotel del Coronado is his contribution to the Crown Room.

“He thought the lighting in the dining room could be improved, and he designed it,” Petrone recounted. The resulting crown chandelier bore a whimsical resemblance to the Cowardly Lion crown in “Oz” books illustrated by William Wallace

Denslow. That original chandelier can only be seen today on guided tours of the hotel.

In addition to the “Oz” books, Baum wrote more than 40 other novels, numerous short stories and some 200 poems.

One poem, his 1905 “Empress of the Sea,” praised Coronado for “her tropic palms,” “her brilliant flowers” and “the songbirds sweet that warble in her bowers.”

It was a magical place for him to which he would return even after moving with his family to Hollywood in 1911 and a home they called Ozcot. ■ David L. Coddon is a freelance writer.

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4th of July events 7:30 to 10 a.m.

Pre-Parade Entertainment.

Orange Avenue.

10 a.m.

73rd annual Independence Day Parade.

Orange Avenue.

12:30 to 2 p.m.

Adrian Empire demonstration and San Diego Star Wars Society Photo-Op. Star Park.

2 p.m.

Navy Leap Frogs Aerial Demonstration.

Coronado Golf Course, 17th Fairway.

4 to 5 p.m.

Patriotic concert, Coronado Concert Band.

Spreckels Park Public Kids Concert, Katleen Dugas performs Disney Songs.

Coronado Golf Course, 16th Fairway.

5 to 8:30 p.m.

Public concert, Liquid Blue Coronado Golf Course, 16th Fairway.

9 p.m.

Fireworks.

Coronado Golf Course, Stingray Point.

Soundtrack on KYXY Radio 96.5FM

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» MADE IN CORONADO

Setting a scene Quilter Kathleen McCabe captures moments of life with pieces of fabric

By MARTINA SCHIMITSCHEK

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s a quilter, Kathleen McCabe carefully sews and layers fabric pieces together. But her creations are not your grandmother’s quilt.

Although McCabe’s craft is based in the centuries-old quilting tradition, her art is best described as painting with fabric. With a mosaic of pieces, McCabe creates landscapes, portraits, florals and succulents that are not draped over a bed but hung on the wall.

The fabric artist has exhibited nationally and internationally including in China, France, England, Australia and Brazil. McCabe, who is a Coronado native, has an art degree in applied design from San Diego State University. She was on the board of the Visions Museum « "Mothers and Daughters" catches a moment at a family gathering. Kathleen McCabe (above right) made the quilt in 2020.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATHLEEN MCCABE

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COURTESY OF KATHLEEN MCCABE

McCabe made "Jubilation" in 2014 for the Studio Art Quilt Associates Celebrating Silver exhibition. The quilt is 57 by 44 inches.

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PHIL IMMING

McCabe works in her home studio. She usually finishes three or four quilts a year.

of Textile Art when the organization first secured the space in Liberty Station in San Diego.

When she’s not quilting, McCabe enjoys gardening and spending time with her husband, Phil Imming, also a Coronado native and cofounder of the Coronado Concert Band. McCabe is also writing her memoir. She took time out of her busy schedule to talk about her fabric art.

Q. How did you get started with quilting?

A. I’ve always sewn, ever since I was little. I made clothes, and when I was in high school, we embroidered our jeans.

Then when my children were little, I started making pictures with fabric. I taught

myself. I got books from the library, and I tried things.

The first portrait I remember making was in 1981. It was a portrait of my family.

It was almost like little paper dolls standing together. I come from a big family. I’m one of nine children, and so it was a lot of us in that portrait.

Q. How would you describe your art?

A. It’s quite clearly quilting because it’s three layers attached by thread. Some people might call it mosaic. I call it raw edge applique. I do it like a mosaic or a jigsaw puzzle. I’ve always done art quilts. In my opinion, traditional quilting is a completely different skill set with geometric designs and matching points and corners.

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COURTESY OF KATHLEEN MCCABE

"The Journey," part of the "Girl in Hat" series and finished in 2016, has been exhibited at the Visions Museum of Textile Art in Liberty Station in San Diego.

There are a lot of rules, and I’m not a rule follower.

stable, and I move the quilt around underneath it. It’s called free-motion quilting.

Q. What’s your process?

A. I always use my own photographs.

When I find one I like, I put it into Photoshop and I mess around with it. When I get something I love, I turn it into a grayscale, and I print it life-size and use that as a template. I use almost exclusively commercial fabrics — mostly cotton. I don’t dye my own fabric.

I have what is called a mid-arm sewing machine, where the sewing machine is

Q. What are you working on now?

A. I’m working on a succulent right now. It’s a diptych. It’s a succulent in my front yard that I really like. I started doing succulents about 2012, and I’ve done quite a few of them. I just really love how the light and shadow play on the leaves.

Sometimes they become abstracted.

I am also doing a series of quilts based on my trips to Guatemala that use mostly hand-dyed fabrics. I was there in February

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this year. It was my third trip. Two of the quilts use exclusively Guatemalan fabric.

Others are scenes from Guatemala. I have about eight now. Every so often I make some more. I’ve made about four this year.

I have a couple more on my list.

Q. Do you feel fabric art is underrepresented in the art world?

A. It is very underrepresented in the fine art world. There’s a website called saqa.com (Studio Art Quilt Associates). It shows some of the best art quilters in the world. That stuff will just blow your socks off. There’s an effort to have more exposure for fiber art and we’re making a lot of

headway.

Most of the shows that SAQA arranges are not at quilt shows; they’re in museums and art centers.

And there are several quilt museums in the United States. One is Visions.

They do some great stuff.

Q. What’s the best advice you have received regarding your art?

A. Just to keep at it and keep doing what I love.

Q. What do you love about Coronado?

A. I love the small-town feel and the weather. You can’t beat the weather. ■

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Creating a buzz

ASHLEY SALAS

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Shelters give solitary native bees, essential for pollination, a home

By MARTINA SCHIMITSCHEK

C

andace Vanderhoff wants to help save the planet one bee at a time.

The licensed architect designs, builds and sells shelters for solitary native bees.

The wood structures, which should be placed in a sunny spot in a garden, provide a clean, safe place for female bees to lay eggs.

While honeybees, with their buzzing hives, usually get all the attention, solitary bees make up 90 percent of the world’s bee population. They are essential for pollinating plants. Solitary bees, which are native to their region, are about 60 percent more effective at pollinating than honeybees, which came from Europe with the first settlers. In the United States, native bees pollinate about 75 percent of all fruits, nuts and vegetables.

“Native bees are gentle. They don’t have a hive to protect,” Vanderhoff said. “Males don’t even have a stinger.”

The United States has about 4,000 species of native bees. In San Diego County alone, there are

« A female solitary bee pokes her head out of a bee shelter tunnel as she builds her nest. » A SoloBee tower can be home to more than one bee. Solitary, native bees often build nests in close proximity to each other.

COURTESY OF CANDACE VANDERHOFF

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COURTESY OF CANDACE VANDERHOFF

Candace Vanderhoff does all the woodwork at SoloBee's Lemon Grove workshop.

700 recorded species of natives, and more are still being discovered. Globally, there are approximately 20,000 different species of solitary bees.

Vanderhoff said she knew nothing about solitary bees until someone gave her a bee house in 2013. She set it in her

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yard in her South Park home and bees soon moved in.

After learning more about these native varieties and the threats of habitat loss and pesticides, Vanderhoff founded SoloBee in 2015. In conjunction with the shelters, Vanderhoff wrote “Zoe the

“Native bees are gentle.

They don’t have a hive to protect.”

CANDACE VANDERHOFF

SoloBee” to teach children about solitary bees. (The book, along with the shelters, are available at solobee.com.)

Kelly Purvis, senior management analyst for the city of Coronado, bought a bee shelter at this year’s Coronado Flower Show, where Vanderhoff had a booth.

“We have lots of flowers in our backyard, and bees are, of course, important to the flowers,” Purvis said. “I also liked

the idea of the children’s book and bee house as an ‘event’ I could share with my grandson. He checks it every time he comes to visit.”

SoloBee, which has sold about 3,000 bee houses to date, combines Vanderhoff ’s love of building things with her passion for helping the planet. She also holds workshops where participants can build their own shelter.

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COURTESY OF CANDACE VANDERHOFF

Candace Vanderhoff has made approximately 3,000 shelters for solitary bees since founding her company in 2015.

Her decision to start the business is part of her life’s journey following her heart.

After traveling and years working in various building-related jobs in her home state of Michigan, Vanderhoff, who had long dreamed of becoming an architect, packed her belongings and headed to Los Angeles to attend the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1995 at the age of 35.

She found the school environment tough as an older female student and decided to take a break after two years. A professor told her of a position to teach architecture at a Jesuit boy’s trade school in Micronesia. She took the job. Her cur-

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riculum was to teach the students how to build a block house with a tin roof.

“I soon realized that these concrete blocks would be destroying the local culture,” she said, because her students were from small islands where families lived in indigenous houses made with coconut posts and thatched roofs. The concrete block houses would disrupt the social hierarchy.

She spent two years in Micronesia living on different islands, teaching and also studying indigenous architecture through fellowships. Visiting the atoll of Kapingamarangi, which is only a few feet above sea level, Vanderhoff realized this tiny piece of paradise — inhabited for

more than 1,000 years — could soon be underwater.

“These are the people who are going to be underwater because of our extravagant consumer culture,” she said. “I came back from Micronesia and decided I was only going to do things good for the planet.”

She completed her degree in architecture, moved to San Diego, worked in the green building industry and founded RainThanks & Greywater, which she still operates. The company specializes in grey-water systems and rain-catchment products.

SoloBees required a new skill set for Vanderhoff.

“I learned that woodwork is all about jigs. I kept refining the process,” she said.

Vanderhoff ’s goal was to make bee houses that are practical for the bees and beautiful in the garden. Some use mahogany and come with solar lights and copper tops. The shelters, which range from $69 to $299, all have multiple tunnels where bees can nest.

The tunnels, which are at least 5 inches deep, mimic a wood cavity in nature.

The female bee, which lives six to eight weeks, spends her life collecting pollen and laying eggs. Each egg is laid on a nest of pollen and walled off with clay. One bee can lay up to 35 eggs and fill three tunnels, Vanderhoff said.

The shelters are made in a workshop in Lemon Grove. It’s the same space where Taylor Guitars made its instruments when the company first started out. That connection and a mutual respect for each other’s businesses led to a partnership

COURTESY OF CANDACE VANDERHOFF

Upcoming models will have plastic glass sides through which people can observe the nest-building process and incubation period.

What: Build a Native Bee Shelter workshop Where: Emerald C Gallery, 1331 Orange Ave. When: 10 a.m., Aug. 13 Cost: $75, including presentation and material Information: solobee.com or (619) 807-9193

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A leafcutter bee, which is a type of solitary bee, carries pollen on the underside of its belly, creating a bright gold behind that's easily recognizable.

where Vanderhoff uses Taylor’s discarded wood pieces.

SoloBees now operates with 95 percent recycled material, which includes packaging for shipping. Vanderhoff gets 50 percent of the wood for the shelters from Taylor Guitars, the rest she sources from the community, keeping an eye out for properties where fences and decks are being replaced.

Shelters are reusable year after year but need to be cleaned once the outer clay wall has been broken and all the young bees are gone. “Wait a week or two and drill it out to clean,” Vanderhoff said. “If you don’t maintain the shelter, you create

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a parasite trap. Maintenance is critical.”

The shelters have recently undergone a redesign. Instead of tunnels, the new models have grooves with plexiglass sides so the nesting and incubation process can be observed. In the smaller shelters, the core can be pulled out of the shell to see the nests; the larger models have doors. (The new models are available on Kickstarter at the SeeBee Shelter campaign as of June 25. The link is available on the SoloBee website.)

“The best thing you can do for the planet is build a native garden,” Vanderhoff said.

“Here I have a chance to make something beautiful and help the planet.” ■

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Did you know?

CORONADO’S GOLD SAND is caused by mica, a shiny silicate mineral found in granite and other rocks. It washes down rivers from the mountains of Mexico, ending up in the Tijuana River and running into the Pacific at the Tijuana River Estuary. Micafilled silt is picked up by the Silver Strand Littoral Cell, a circular current that flows from south to north along the coastline, traveling several miles south of the Mexican border to Point Loma and back out to sea. The current picks up the sediment from the river mouth and carries it up the coast, depositing it on Coronado Beach. ■ HAIKU Gold glittery sand Shiny and beautiful On Coronado beaches - Leslie Crawford

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LESLIE CRAWFORD

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Heated topic Docuseries explores effects of climate change on Mexico’s sustainable food industry

A

By CATHERINE GAUGH

ward-winning filmmaker Jill Bond Sawhney is in Baja California, wrapping up “Ingrediente: Mexico,” a six-episode docuseries on the rich culture of Mexico, its people, history and food traditions, as well as how these communities are confronting chronic water shortages and hotter days caused by climate change.

Baja’s Guadalupe Valley, known for its expanse of wineries, is the last tour stop in this more than two-year journey. It has been a hectic time for the filmmaker, as her production team prepares the first episodes for broadcast by the end of this year on PBS and Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell us about the inspiration for this series, which turns the “farm to table” concept around to “table to farm.”

A: My husband, Ajay Sawhney, and I have a second home in Ensenada, and we got to know chef Drew Deckman and fell in love with his restaurant in the Guadalupe Valley. It’s on rural and remote ranchland, completely outdoors; the cooking is done over a wood fire, and all the food is locally grown or caught.

He is dedicated to using local, sustainable ingredients.

We could learn a lot from what community leaders in Mexico are doing to support small local farms and fisheries. They

« Chef Drew Deckman cooks traditional food at Kinich Restaurant in Izamal, Yucatán.

COURTESY OF JILL BOND SAWHNEY

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“…there are many climates and many

more food traditions among the indigenous communities, and so much beauty and history everywhere.”

JILL BOND SAWHNEY

have created co-ops to help their farmers and fishermen to market and package local goods for sale.

People need to understand how hard these farmers and fisherman work; they break their backs to subsist and to serve their community.

Q: That isn’t what farming seems like here, at least for people in the highly populated areas of the country.

A: Agribusiness in the U.S. has crushed small farms. Our food comes long distances. This is where the celebrity restaurant chefs can use their popularity and their strong voices to educate people on local sustainability. They can say, ‘I am sorry, you want salmon, but salmon is not on the menu. Salmon does not live in the gulf.

We serve only what swims in our ocean or grows in our fields.’

Once we had the idea to explore the sustainability of different regions of Mexico, we asked Drew to be the host of a series about it.

Q: Where did you go and what did you find?

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A: Most people know that Mexico’s crops are coffee, cocoa, tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. But there are many climates and many more food traditions among the indigenous communities, and so much beauty and history everywhere — in Puebla, Veracruz, Tabasco, the Yucatan, and settlements in the state of Mexico, which is where Mexico City is.

For example, a lot of Africans were brought over as slaves during the Spanish occupation to work in the sugar cane fields, so there is a huge African population in Veracruz. After a two-hour drive south of the city, we met with the indigenous cooks in the area. Besides sugar cane, they tend to fields of different varieties of squash.

Q: How is the drought affecting the small farmers?

A: It effects every farmer every day. And climate change is making it so much hotter.

In Mezcal, the agave plants were flowering four months early, instead of the end of April. It has a grave effect on the pollination process of harvesting the pineapple – that’s what they call it – from the agave by a certain time to make mezcal.

COURTESY OF JILL BOND SAWHNEY

The film crew searches for octopus maya in Progreso, Yucatán.

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COURTESY OF JILL BOND SAWHNEY

Jill Bond Sawhney with famed potter Maestro Joe Garcia Antonio in Oaxaca.

Q: I understand that the March 2020 COVID-19 outbreak happened while you were filming at Deckman’s restaurant in Baja, but rather than head home to Coronado, you stayed and witnessed how the shutdown affected this specific place in time. That must have been an extraordinary experience, because no one knew how long the pandemic would last.

A: We had no idea what to expect. We had done some of the filming when the border closed. Our film crew members went home to Mexico City or Puebla, so it was just my husband and me with the camera. We filmed as Drew packed up

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the restaurant, and how he and his wife, Pauline, reorganized it into a community kitchen. They fed 200 people, their staff, local fisherman and their families every single day, and paid the staff as long as they could.

There was no takeout, no tourists, no customers at all. We saw his stress, the anxiety; it was incredibly personal.

Then, in July (2020) everything started to reopen, but slowly. There were very few Americans.

Q: COVID-19 seems to be lingering on, now in the third year. Have you encoun-

tered any issues with it recently?

A: We had to be careful. Our team is made up of eight or nine people; if one got sick and went down, we all would. But not one person got sick. We took all the precautions, regular testing and masks.

Q: That documentation of real-time history during COVID led to “Ingrediente: A Restaurant Uprooted,” which was featured in the 2021 Culinary Cinema presentations at the Coronado Film Festival. Where can people watch it?

A: It still is shown on PBS and is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Q: After “A Restaurant Uprooted,” you were able to return to the six-episode series concept you planned before COVID came along.

A: We returned to it in the fall of 2021. We have been working hard on a hyper schedule because we’ve already decided we are going to do a Season Two. We want to keep going forward.

We left Coronado just recently, after eight years there. We are full time in Ensenada and just about always on the road in Mexico.

Q: You said you drove from place to place for eight, and sometimes 12 hours at a time. Did you have any concern about your safety?

A: I felt 100 percent safe all the time. Now, just like in Chicago or Philadelphia, or other big cities, I would not go out by myself at night, and there are some areas just to avoid.

We were treated with respect, love and care everywhere we went. The Mexican people we have met are wonderful. ■ Catherine Gaugh is a freelance writer.

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» LOOKING BACK

THIS MONTH IN CORONADO HISTORY July 1, 1935 The Navy’s air squadron VS-4B was commissioned as a scouting squadron. But there weren’t any planes on North Island, so a bottle of champagne was broken over the handlebars of the squadron bicycle.

July 1, 1982 The California Coastal Commission issued a permit to the state Department of Parks and Recreation for development of an overnight camping site at the Silver Strand beach.

Camp Howard was closed with the establishment of the Marine barracks in Balboa Park.

July 9, 1968 Ground was broken for a 90-bed, four-story Coronado Hospital building with an adjacent 23-bed extended-care unit. The new hospital, which was completed in two years, was built directly behind the old hospital on Soledad Place.

July 11, 1901 The board of directors of the Coronado High School decided to discontinue the school because of the low enrollment and no graduating class.

The school had 15 students.

July 16, 1936 Camp Howard in 1914.

PICRYL

July 6, 1914 The 4th Marine Regiment arrived in San Diego Bay and encamped on North Island. The regiment, under the command of Col. Joseph H. Pendleton, followed the camp naming precedent established in 1911 and named the encampment Camp Howard after the incumbent naval commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, Rear Adm. Thomas B. Howard, On Dec. 22, 1914,

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It was reported that there was no opposition to the city of Coronado’s request for permission to build a two-lane subaqueous tube to connect Coronado to the mainland. The Department of War issued a permit and the Public Works Administration planned to cover 45 percent of the construction costs. The balance would come from revenue bonds. A freeholder charter had to be passed

by Coronado voters to issue the bonds. It was a very controversial election, and the charter lost by 35 votes, ending the construction of the tube.

July 20, 1917 The Army’s Aviation School at North Island Naval Air Station was officially named Rockwell Field to honor 2nd Lt. Lewis Rockwell, a young pilot killed in a plane crash in 1912 at College Park, Maryland. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in 1907, Rockwell was the fourth commissioned Army officer to die in an aircraft mishap. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

PICRYL

The USS Bennington in 1891.

July 21, 1905 At 10:10 a.m., the USS Bennington, anchored in San Diego Bay, was rocked by a boiler explosion. Of the 197 men and officers stationed on the ship, 66 were killed and almost everyone else aboard was injured. Many vessels immediately came to help with recovery and rescue including the ferry Ramona. Any doctor who could be reached arrived at the docks to provide aid.

July 23, 2004 The USS Ronald Reagan cruised into San Diego Bay to the cheers of thousands who welcomed the

1,092-foot-long carrier to its new berth at North Island Naval Air Station. In her first public appearance since her husband, President Ronald Reagan, died six weeks earlier, Nancy Reagan said, “Ronnie would have loved the sight of this great ship coming into his beloved California.” Reagan received a standing ovation from the crowd of 5,000.

July 26, 1956 Roy Rogers, famed movie cowboy, rode his outboard motorboat to top honors in the first outboard races held on Glorietta Bay. More than 12,000 spectators lined the bay to see the daylong races, which were sponsored by the Coronado Fiesta Committee and the San Diego Outboard Motorboat Club, as part of the local Fiesta del Pacifico program.

July 27, 1917 Congress passed the Condemnation Act, taking the 1,232-acre North Island from John D. Spreckels to use as a site for a permanent military aviation school and base. Spreckels had planned to develop North Island with homes and businesses. He sued the federal government, winning a settlement of $5 million, plus interest.

July 30, 1935 Lt. Frank Akers made the first blind instrument landing onto the USS Langley from North Island. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. ■

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» BEACH AND BAY

Turtle trouble Entanglement, boat strikes threaten endangered animals in South Bay

By AMY STEWARD

S

ea turtles have been around for more than 100 million years. It’s no wonder they are a symbol of longevity. Turtles also symbolize patience, wisdom and endurance. Sadly, today sea turtles are on the endangered species list.

Many people are surprised to learn there are 60 to100 green sea turtles in South San Diego Bay at any given time.

Before the South Bay Power Plant in Chula Vista was decommissioned in 2010, it created a whirlpool of sorts in which turtles liked to dwell.

After the plant was shut down, scientists worried the turtle population would decline, but this proved not to be the case.

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In fact, the South Bay green sea turtle population has risen in recent years due to an increase of protected turtle nesting beaches in Mexico.

Adult females migrate to these beaches every two to three years to lay their eggs.

Returning juveniles mature in South San Diego Bay for several years before embarking on their own sojourn.

San Diego is an important habitat for green sea turtles, which have been recorded in the bay since the mid-1800s. South Bay, which is shallower than the central and northern parts of San Diego Bay, has lots of eel grass beds and is designated as the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

RICHARD CAREY | DREAMSTIME

Green sea turtles can live for about 70 years. Females do not reach maturity until they are at least 25 years old.

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STEVE HYMOND | DREAMSTIME

Pollution in the bay and speeding boats are the biggest threat to the endangered green turtles living in San Diego's South Bay.

But while the area’s turtle population has increased, they are facing numerous threats.

The biggest threats to turtles in the bay are entanglement and boat strikes, said Dr. Jeffery Seminoff, head of the Marine Turtle Ecology & Assessment Program with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center, who studies sea turtles worldwide and in San Diego Bay. Sea turtles are increasingly at risk with the proliferation of marine debris in the bay. A green sea turtle died in May after it became entangled in an anchor line abandoned on the bay’s bottom. The large male turtle, which was foraging on the sea floor, became ensnarled and was unable to reach the surface to breathe and drowned.

NOAA partners with Sea World and the

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San Diego Unified Port District to help injured turtles, but, Seminoff said, “We need everyone thinking about what is going into the storm drains, taking care to properly dispose of trash and recycle, and obeying the speed limits in the bay when boating to protect the turtles that inhabit South Bay.” Speed limits are posted specifically to protect the turtles, but boaters tend to ignore them. “To protect the turtles,” Seminoff said, “people need to slow down.”

These endangered animals also face other threats. Pesticides and heavy metals from industrial runoff are causing acute health problems. Most regional turtles have elevated white blood cell counts, which is associated with an immune response to fight disease.

Another big threat to sea turtles is climate change. While gender in most

HOW TO HELP THE GREEN TURTLES IN SOUTH BAY • When you see a sea turtle, do not approach it.

• Become a citizen scientist and let NOAA know where you sighted the turtle. Use a latitude/longitude app on your phone and send the information about your sighting to swfsc.turtle-sightings@noaa.gov. Be sure to include information about the weather, water temperature and location.

• Participate in beach cleanups along San Diego Bay and in your neighborhoods.

Everything flows to the ocean.

• Stop using single-use plastics. Plastic bags mimic jellyfish, a favorite food for turtles.

Each year, 11 million metric tons of plastics enter the ocean, while an estimated 200 million metric tons circulate in the world’s oceans.

TRACY TEMPEST/ NOAA PERMIT #18238-08

The remains of a drowned turtle are examined in South Bay.

other species is established during fertilization, a sea turtle’s sex is established after fertilization by ambient temperature. Warmer incubation temperatures produce female hatchlings, while cooler temperatures produce males. This is called temperature sex determination.

“We are witnessing the feminization of sea turtles with only one in four sea turtles now being male,” Seminoff said.

The concept of a turtle carrying the world on its back has been seen in mythology in cultures for millennia, from China to India and among Native Americans. Humans must now step up to carry some of the weight to protect this incredible species. ■ Amy Steward is president of Emerald Keepers.

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» BEACHCOMBER

THE SNOWY EGRET (Egretta thula) is a small, white heron, which is easy to identify by its yellow feet. Coveted in the 19th century by the hat industry for their beautiful plume feathers, snowy egrets were once decimated to dangerously low levels.

The graceful birds, protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, are now to a point where they are considered common again. Snowy egrets forage for food in shallow waters, often using their feet to disturb prey in the silt. Their diet ranges from fish, crabs and frogs to snails, lizards, bugs and even small rodents. They are migratory birds in some parts of the country but are found year-round along the California coastline and to the tip of Baja California. ■ Class: Aves Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae Genus: Egretta Species: E. thula

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Snowy egret

CORONADOBEACHCOMBER

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.

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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

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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 Islander — Coming Soon 1015 Orange Ave. (619) 437-6087 Lil’ Piggy’s Bar-B-Q Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 522-0217

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

Subway

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

1001 C Ave. (619) 435-8110

Panera 980 Orange Ave. (619) 437-4288 Parakeet Cafe 1134 Orange Avenue (619) 675-0104 Parakeet Juicery West 1138 Orange Ave. (619) 537-0018

1330 Orange Ave. (619) 435-8272

Swaddee Thai

Tartine

1106 1st St. (619) 435-4323

Tavern

1310 Orange Ave. (619) 437-0611

Tent City

1100 Orange Ave. (619) 435-4611

The Henry

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

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

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

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

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

Poke123 1009 Orange Ave. (571) 221-4649

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

Rosemary Trattoria

Village Pizzeria

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

Saiko Sushi

Village Pizzeria Bayside

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

Serrano

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

Ferry Landing 1201 1st St. (619) 435-1225

120 Orange Ave. (619) 537-0054 116 Orange Ave. (619) 435-0868 126 Orange Ave. (619) 319-5955

Spiro’s Greek Cafe

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

Starbucks

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

Stake Chophouse & Bar

960 Orange Ave. (619) 437-8306

1031 Orange Ave. (619) 762-1022

Trident Coffee

942 Orange Ave. (619) 509-7118

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

1206 Orange Ave. (619) 522-0449 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

1309 Orange Ave. (619) 522-0077

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LESLIE CRAWFORD 46 Coronado365.com

» MILITARY

Place of reflection Committee hopes to create plaza, information panels for First Ashore statue

By MICHELLE DELANEY

T

he “First Ashore” monument, unveiled on Veterans Day 2016 in Glorietta Bay Park, commemorates the elite men of the Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams of World War II. Now, a group of retired Navy SEALs would like to improve the area immediately surrounding the statue.

The monument features the “Naked Warrior,” the nickname for the frogmen who swam into enemy waters wearing only face masks, swim trunks and fins.

The First Ashore-Naked Warrior Enhancement Project committee wants to create a plaza surrounding the statue so the area can be better utilized for events as well as to spotlight the history of the

Coronado-based Underwater Demolition Teams, or UDTs, and SEALs. “Coronado is the perfect location for such a monument. It is the headquarters of Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the West Coast SEAL teams and Special Boat Teams,” said committee member Don Crawford, who is a retired UDT and SEAL team member.

The project, which the committee hopes will be completed early next year, would move the existing sidewalk and benches to create a plaza with stone benches and a flagpole adjacent to the Naked Warrior.

Five etched, polished-granite exhibition panels will be designed to form a semicircle around the monument plaza and trace

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A rendering of the proposed plaza at the First Ashore monument.

the history of local Naval Special Warfare units.

Naval Special Warfare has an extensive history in Coronado.

At the end of World War II, the majority of UDTs returned to Naval Amphibious Training Base (now Naval Amphibious Base) Coronado. The teams were downsized and two UDTs remained based in Coronado.

During the Korean War, the Coronado-based UDTs conducted a variety of missions including demolition raids, countermine operations and reconnaissance for the Inchôn landing, an amphibious landing that reversed the tide of the war.

To meet the need for an unconventional maritime force, SEAL Team One was established in Coronado in January 1962. SEALs were critical during the Vietnam War, conducting counterguerrilla missions in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam.

In 1983, all UDTs were redesignated as SEAL teams or SEAL delivery vehicle teams. Today, there are four SEAL teams stationed in Coronado. Members of local

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SEAL teams served in Kuwait, the Gulf War and Afghanistan.

The First Ashore monument is one of four bronze-cast Naked Warrior statues by sculptor John Seward Johnson II. The first monument was erected in Fort Pierce, Florida, in 1988. Subsequent installations — in Coronado, Oahu, Hawaii and Virginia Beach, Virginia — were cast from the same mold. Each statue is mounted on a horned scully, blocks on concrete with protruding steel beams that were placed near land to damage the hull of any ship coming ashore.

The monument has become a touchstone for Coronado's SEAL community and a place where residents can reflect on Navy service members, said Crawford, a historian of Naval Special Warfare.

“Coronado history and Navy history are intertwined. The historical significance of those First Ashore will be highlighted with the enhancement project but even more importantly, it will provide a desirable place for Coronado residents, military and visitors alike to gather in an educational and historic setting,” he said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was estimated to cost $300,000. Partial funding has been secured and the group is hoping to raise an additional $110,000.

Because the monument is on city land, the city of Coronado will oversee the project.

Contributions are managed through the nonprofit Navy Seal Foundation. For more information or to donate, go to firstashore.org. ■ Michelle Delaney is a freelance writer.

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