presents Oceanside’s
INDEPENDENCE DAY
PARADE
Past ~ Present ~ Future
10:00 am Saturday, June 29th
OceansideParade.com
Grand Marshalls Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
parish in its midst, the Old Mission Montessori School , the Franciscan friars, the cemetery and the retreat center. “They all function independently as well as interdependently,” she said. It’s been a couple of years, at least, Sullivan said, since the Montessori school’s float had been in the parade and, at first, no one was quite sure where it was stored. “A scavenger hunt” through all the mission outbuilding failed to disclose its location. Finally, Sullivan said, it was discovered stored at the business, Doherty Concrete, of one of the parents who had been active at the school and is donating his truck for the float. The mission church reopened June 15 after being closed for more than a year during a $3-million seismic retrofit required by the state for public buildings of unreinforced masonry, like the adobe mission.
Picture of Mission and its ruins, circa 1890 (scanned picture from Bob Melbourne’s collection) Fr. O’Keefe and Friars from Zacatecas, Mexico rebuild the abandoned Mission from 1892-1912
This year, the Grand Marshal of Oceanside’s annual Independence Day parade is not a person.
committee planning the parade, because the city is celebrating its 125th anniversary and the mission its 215th.
Instead, it’s the oldest institution in the city – Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, established in 1798 as a Spanish outpost among the Indians.
The Rev. David Gaa, executive director of the mission, readily agreed to participate. In fact, she said, “he is really excited” to be riding in the Grand Marshal’s vehicle.
Maureen Sullivan, spokesperson for the mission, said that it was asked to be the Grand Marshal by the MainStreet Oceanside
Actually, Sullivan said all the mission’s many components will be featured in the parade: there’s the old mission itself, the Catholic
Circa 1950- aerial shot, shows the newly added Seminary School (now the Retreat Center) as the outer quadrangle
San Luis Rey de Francia, named for St. Louis King of France, is the largest of the 21 California missions which run from San Diego to Sonoma north of San Francisco. The missions, coming up from Mexico, were founded to Christianize the Indians and to establish a Spanish presence in California where the Russians were beginning to colonize in the northern part of what now is the state. San Luis Rey, because it is the biggest, is called “the King of the Missions” and is a national historic landmark.
John Steiger and dedication of Mission Bell
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More than 25,000 people a year visit the mission . A field trip to San Luis Rey is required of many fourth graders.
The Rev. Antonio Peyri was put in charge of the mission from its founding on June 13, 1798 to his departure in January of 1832. During that time, the mission became the largest building in California and its grounds were home to 3,000 Indians and 50,000 head of livestock with large sections of lands under cultivation of grapes, oranges, olives, wheat and corn.
The public may enjoy much of the mission, including the church, the museum, a gift shop and the cemetery, with graves dating back into the mid 1800s. The lavanderia where Indians bathed and the waters used for cultivation has been excavated and also is open to the public.
After Mexico’s revolution from Spanish rule, ending with success in 1821, the missions were to be maintained for a decade and then handed over to the Indians.
Soon the mission, which previously housed a seminary, will become home to the Franciscan School of Theology, which is relocating from Berkeley and affiliating with the University of San Diego.
However, secular administrators managed to gain title of large portions of land for themselves.
“We expect 20-30 friars,” Sullivan said.
Annual Christmas Concert
So, after more than two centuries, life is still vibrant at Mission San Luis Rey, the Grand Marshal of the 2013 Independence Day Parade. Story and photo by Lola Sherman. Historical photos provided by Mission San Luis Rey.
From 1847 to 1857, the mission was used by U. S. personnel like Gen. Stephen W. Kearny, Kit Carson and the Mormon Battalion. Still, ranchers dismantled much of the mission for their own building materials. President Abraham Lincoln, as one of the last acts before his assassination, signed a document returning the mission to the Catholic Church. That document is stored at the mission. A replica is on view in the mission museum. Even after its return to the church, however, the mission remained abandoned until a group of Franciscans led by the Rev. Joseph Jeremiah O’Keefe came to restore it from 1892 to 1912. The restored mission still is under the ownership of the Franciscan Friars.
Front of Mission with entrance monument
Friars working in the fields, circa 1895
Dia de los Muertos- altar display under the historic arches
PARADE LINEUP DIVISION A Scout Pack 751 USMC Color Guard 1st Marine Division Band Oceanside Fire Department Assault Craft Unit -5 Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton Grand Marshal Mission San Luis Rey Knights of Columbus 3162 Rocky Chavez 76th Assembly District Mayor Jim Wood Deputy Mayor Jerry Kern Councilmember Gary Felien Councilmember Jack Feller Councilmember Esther Sanchez Gary Ernst, City Treasurer Oceanside Police Depart Officer of the Year American Heritage Girls, Troops 786 and 605 Tri City Medical Center KOCT MainStreet Oceanside Ronald McDonald & Friends 101 Café El Camino Marching Band Mohsen Oceanside Sea Lions Club Oceanside Harbor Day Queens DIVISION B Kiwanis Club of Oceanside Corvettes in Motion Firewater Saloon/Pier View Pub Bessie’s Café Scouts of St Mary Star of the Sea #769 Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation North County African American Women’s Association San Diego Golden Retriever Meetup Group California Highway Patrol Curves Oceanside San Diego Humane Society and SPCA Dad’s Hot Dogs Friends of Oceanside Parks Oceanside Parks and Recreation Oceanside Manufactured Homeowner’s Alliance, Inc Oceanside CERT Boy Scout Troop 752 of Oceanside Ca SNAP and the Neuter Scooter Veterans Association of North County VANC American Legion Riders Post 146 American Legion Post 146 American Legion Auxiliary Unit 146 Oceanside
Cub Scout Pack 7146 The Chosin Few Women Marines Association California 7 Military Order of the Purple Heart, N SD Cty Chapter 493 American GI Forum Oceanside Memorial Post 10577 VFW DAV TriCities Chapter 95 Fan of the Feather United States Submarine Veterans The Flagman.Org “Splash” Friends of the Oceanside Public Library Oceanside Public Library Bookmobile North County Cobras DIVISION C Oceanside Elks Lodge Cub Scout Pack 756 San Diego House Rabbit Society Oceanside Republican Women’s Federated Fairmont High School Marching Band North San Diego County NAACP Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside Tanya’s Dance North Carlsbad County Lions Club North San Diego County Lions Club Al Bahr Tin Lizzie & Clown Parade Unit Girl Scouts of Oceanside 652 Waste Management of North County Herca Solar, Inc. Kaplan College First Christian Church Fil-Am Cultural Assn of North San Diego County Por Siempre Car Club Oceanside Unified School District S & R Towing Tri City In-Line Hockey Soccer Club of Oceanside 7 Celtic Nations Pipe Band
Oceanside Chamber Kelly Street Cooperative Garden Classic Chariots North County Health Services Fit 4 Mom North Coast Rotary in Oceanside Escondido Mounted Posse Ocean Hills Country Club That Boy Good TOWizard DIVISION E Oceanside High School Band & Color Guard Toastmasters Perks Detailing North County Trade Tech High School Mom’s Club of Oceanside Oceanside San Dieguito Masonic Lodge #381 Order of the Alhambra Ben Ziri Caravan #218 Friendly Sons of St Patrick Oceanside Red Hot Hatters North Coast Vette Club Mark Paul John Global Nations Pageants Goldie the Clown Camp Pendleton Mechanized Museum Oceanside Firefighters Association This parade line-up may not include entries received after the June 7th deadline and is subject to change.
DIVISION D Pacific Marine Credit Union Oceanside Turkey Trot William E Walker North County LGBTQ Resource Center Dan Purcell Miss Pride of Vista Pageants (Pride of Vista Lions) Maui Wowi West Coast Minis Miss Vista Scholarship Pageants Democrats of Carlsbad/Oceanside Club Sons and Daughter of Pearl Harbor Survivors Baton Twirling USA
MAJOR DONORS
THANK YOU
COMMITTEE
Mossy Nissan Oceanside
...to our crew of smiling volunteers. Without your help there would be no parade!
Jan Gardner, Chair Cheryl Martini Mary Milew Terence Webster Kim Fontes Chris Gow Mary Ann Thiem
Tri-City Medical Center
Pacific Marine Credit Union Buchanon & Associates Cotton Patch Union Bank Friends of Oceanside Parks The Super Dentists Anonymous Military Order of the Purple Heart Manning Alterations & Dry Cleaners Ron Burton Hatter, Williams & Purdy, Inc. William E. Turner Laverne Sykes Jeff and Terri McClain Richard Mohrlock, DDS Kinane Events
...to the Marine Corps Mechanized Command Museum for providing vehicles for the veteran’s groups in the parade. ...to the Cathey Family for your support of the parade and downtown Oceanside. ...to the North County Cobras for your donation of bottled water for our volunteers. ...to S&R Towing and NK Towing for providing vehicles for the parade. ...to the downtown residents and businesses who graciously host the parade each year. ...to the City of Oceanside employees who work tirelessly in the background to provide the support services that make this parade possible. ...to the Friends of Oceanside Parks for providing many of the U.S. flags seen in the parade today.
For MainStreet Oceanside: Rick Wright Cathy Nykiel Kathy Hamman Gumaro Escarcega
JULY 13
AUGUST 3
Celebrate Oceanside at 125 Gala Formal dinner and dancing. 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm Oceanside Civic Center Plaza www.OceansideChamber.com
Beach Clean Up All are invited to attend a beach cleanup at the Oceanside Pier. Meet at the south side of the Pier. Volunteers are encouraged to bring your own reuseable bags, buckets, bottle and gloves. 9:00 am to 11:00 am Oceanside Pier Sponsored by San Diego Coast Keeper www.sdcoastkeeper.org
JULY 14
JULY 3 Oceanside’s 125th Anniversary Celebration Ceremony Official ceremony recognizing the 125th Anniversary of Oceanside’s cityhood. Gather at the Civic Center Complex at 300 North Coast Highway for presentation of the colors, proclamations and presentations, plus entertainment and refreshments. 11:00 am Oceanside Civic Center 300 N. Coast Hwy 125th Anniversary Fireworks Display Look toward the center of the city at 9:00 pm on Wednesday, July 3rd to watch a special fireworks show to celebrate Oceanside’s 125th Anniversary. More details will be made available on the City website as the date approaches. www.ci.oceanside.ca.us
JULY 4 Star Spangled Sunset Market By popular demand, MainStreet Oceanside’s popular weekly Sunset Market will fill the downtown streets on July 4th with the sounds of live music and delicious hot food from around the world. Over 140 vendors will be selling unique items from around the world. Dorothy’s KidZone will feature a variety of activities for the little ones. Extended Hours 2:00 pm to 9:30 pm Corner of Pier View Way and Coast Hwy 760-754-4512 www.SunsetMarket.com
JULY 13 Oceanside History Walk The Oceanside Historical Society features Downtown History Walks on the second Saturday of each month beginning at 9:00am during the summer. Your tour guide will be Oceanside native and 101 historian John Daley. The walks begin at the Oceanside Civic Center Fountain at Coast Highway and Pier View Way. Walks are free and open to everyone and are pleasantly paced so folks of all ages can participate. The tour takes about 2 hours. 9:00 am - 11:00 am Oceanside Civic Center Fountain 300 N. Coast Hwy 760-439-1319
Course of the Force Just in time for the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International convention, Course of the Force will host its second annual “Conival” in Oceanside at the Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater on July 14th. The festival is where fans can celebrate their love of the Saga with live entertainment, expo booths, giveaways and more! Noon - 6:00 pm Junior Seau Amphitheater www.courseoftheforce.starwars.com
JULY 19 Concert in Rancho Del Oro Park The Mar Dels will play on Friday, July 19th at Rancho Del Oro Park (Mesa Drive/ College Blvd) starting at 6:00 pm. PreShow entertainment starts at 5:00 pm. Food vendors will be on site. Bring a blanket or a beach chair and enjoy this popular San Diego County Dance Band – hits from the decades!!! Enjoy time with family and neighbors at this popular event! This event is co-sponsored by the Friends of Oceanside Parks! 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Rancho Del Oro Park 4701 Mesa Drive 760-435-5041 www.ci.oceanside.ca.us
JULY 19 - 28 The Star Theatre Company presents HAIRSPRAY This smash-hit musical, winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical is piled bouffant-high with laughter and romance– and enough deliriously tuneful songs to fill a nonstop platter party. It’s Hairspray! Live on the STAR stage, in living color! Matinee and Evening Shows Full schedule and tickets available at www.StarTheatre.biz 402 N. Coast Hwy 760-721-9983
JULY 27 The Museum Ball Returning to the Oceanside Civic Center Plaza, the 2013 Museum Ball will be an elegant black-tie dinner dance under the stars. Guests will enjoy a spectacular evening of dining and dancing complete with a silent and live auction. 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm Oceanside Civic Center 300 N. Coast Hwy 760-435-3721 www.oma-online.org
AUGUST 10 Oceanside History Walk The Oceanside Historical Society features Downtown History Walks on the second Saturday of each month beginning at 9:00am during the summer. Your tour guide will be Oceanside native and 101 historian John Daley. The walks begin at the Oceanside Civic Center Fountain at Coast Highway and Pier View Way. Walks are free and open to everyone and are pleasantly paced so folks of all ages can participate. The tour takes about 2 hours. 9:00 am - 11:00 am Oceanside Civic Center Fountain 300 N. Coast Hwy 760-439-1319
AUGUST 17 - 18 World Bodysurfing Championships The 37th Annual World Bodysurfing Championships will be held adjacent to the Oceanside Pier. Approximately 350 - 400 bodysurfers from around the world compete in their respective age divisions for trophies and prizes. Vendors will be featured with product booths on the strand. Schedule to be announced Oceanside Pier www.beachsport.org
SEPTEMBER 2 84th Annual Labor Day Pier Swim This is an annual fundraising event held by the Oceanside Swim Club, a non-profit organization. The event consists of a pne mile swim around the Oceanside Pier. 7:30 am - 11:30 am Oceanside Pier 760-458-4101 www.oceansideswimclub.com
THURSDAYS ALL YEAR ROUND Oceanside Farmers Market Pier View Way east of Coast Highway 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Oceanside Sunset Market Pier View Way west of Coast Highway 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm 760-754-4512 www.SunsetMarket.com
Saturday, June 29th
Tri City Medical Center presents Oceanside’s Independence Day Parade Please join us for the annual Independence Day Parade as it makes it way north on Coast Highway from Wisconsin Avenue to Civic Center Drive (just past City Hall). Come see floats, bands, walking groups, cool cars and much more. Our theme this year is “Celebrate Oceanside! Past - Present - Future”. The parade starts in front of the 101 Cafe (Coast Highway at Wisconsin Avenue) at 10:00 a.m. and works its way north with the first unit of the parade reaching City Hall around 10:15 a.m. Running time from beginning to end is about two hours. Viewing of the parade is available from the sidewalks along the entire route. Spectators are encouraged to bring folding chairs. The highest concentration of viewers will be on the north end of the route past Seagaze Avenue. For more information, please visit www.OceansideParade.com.
North County Cobras vs. San Diego Thunder Kick-off 2:00 p.m. The North County Cobras are North San Diego County‘s very own minor league semi-professional football team. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the Western Conference in the LCFL. In 2009, the Cobras won the Western Conference Championship and the National LCFL Championship. The Cobras will be playing the San Diego Thunder at Oceanside High School’s beautiful new athletic field. Kick-off at 2:00 p.m. Presented by the Oceanside High School Boys and Girls Track and Field Team. More information at NCCobras.com.
Wednesday, July 3rd
Oceanside’s 125th Anniversary Celebration Ceremony 11:00 a.m. This will be the official ceremony recognizing the 125th Anniversary of Oceanside’s cityhood. Gather at the Civic Center Complex at 300 North Coast Highway for presentation of the colors, proclamations and presentations, plus entertainment and refreshments.
125th Anniversary Fireworks 9:00 p.m. Look toward the center of the city at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3rd to watch a special fireworks show to celebrate Oceanside’s 125th Anniversary. More details will be made available on the City website as the date approaches. www.ci.oceanside.ca.us
Thursday, July 4th
STAR SPANGLED
Concert and Movie at the Amphitheater 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The First Division Marine Band will kick-off Independence Week with a free concert at the Junior Seau Amphitheater.
Star Spangled Sunset Market 2:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Then, as the sun sets over the bandshell, the movie Bring It On will be screened. Released in 2000, many of this movie’s climactic cheerleading competition scenes were filmed right in the very spot where the movie is being shown. www.OceansideRec.com
By popular demand, MainStreet Oceanside’s popular weekly Sunset Market will fill the downtown streets on July 4th with the sounds of live music and delicious hot food from around the world. Over 140 vendors will be selling unique items from around the world. Dorothy’s KidZone will feature a variety of activities for the little ones. More information at www.SunsetMarket.com.
MAINSTREET OCEANSIDE Preserving and Promoting Downtown Oceanside Since 2000 STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS Rick Wright Roseanne Kiss, Chair Executive Director North County Printers Kim Heim Sylvia Spiva Director, Special Projects Pier View Market Gumaro Escarcega Kirk Harrison Main Street Program Mgr Harney Sushi Kathy Hamman Tom LeBus Office Manager Seaside Financial Services Cathy Nykiel Max Disposti Sunset Market Manager North County LGBTQ Marni Rigger Resource Center Vendor Liaison Forrest Heyden Beecher Young Asylum Surf and Skate Crew Chief ADVISORS Howard LaGrange Visit Oceanside Tracey Bohlen City of Oceanside David Nydegger Oceanside Chamber of Commerce
701 Mission Avenue Oceanside, California 92054 (760) 754-4512 info@mainstreetoceanside.com www.mainstreetoceanside.com
Camp Pendleton Mechanized Museum’s vehicles are always a crowd pleaser The museum is housed in a large building opened in 1946 as a depot for troops coming to the Marine Corps base by train. They were issued their equipment there. At one time, from the late 1800s, the tracks were the main line north from San Diego, through Fallbrook. They were flooded many times and moved many times, King said, until they finally were abandoned in 1993. But some tracks remain by the side of the building – with two vintage military rail cars attached. At one time, the building also served as a morgue, King said. “There are a couple of refrigerated areas,” he said. It became the Mechanized Museum in 2002, and King’s been the curator both before and after his 2009 retirement from the service. “We use donations,” to run the museum, King said. “We don’t have a budget.” Master Gunnery Sgt. James King , USMCRet, has no trouble getting volunteers to drive vintage vehicles from the Mechanized Museum aboard Camp Pendleton in Oceanside’s annual Independence Day parade, scheduled for June 29 this year. He said he’ll probably put 14-17 vehicles in the parade. “We have the biggest group,” he said. On a regular basis, he may have fewer docents at the museum, where he’s the curator, but the volunteers are many for the parade because “they love to drive our stuff,” King said. Some of the vehicles weigh as much as 197,000 pounds and need a Class A license to drive because they are not “tactical” vehicles any more, he said. The vehicles may be seen at the museum as well. A part of it is open to the public five days a week. The other part, where the mostexpensive vehicles reside, is open only by pre-arranged tour. But there’s plenty to see in the public portion.
For instance, there is an all-terrain prototype vehicle that looks a bit like a many-footed (or in this case wheeled) monster of some sort. It was great, King said, for plowing through rice paddies in Vietnam. “Only seven were made,” he said. “and this is the only one left.” In the area exclusive to tours are a World War I ambulance, built in 1913, and a Model T Ford, refitted to perfection, even to the canvas top. A lineup of motorcycles sits next to a “duck,” a vehicle which drives on dry land and then plunges right into the water carrying troops or cargo. Veterans from the famous Chosin Reservoir battle in Korea will ride in the duck during the parade. And there’s a fire engine once belonging to the Camp Pendleton Fire Department. Besides what’s in the museum building, there’s a back lot full of tanks and other vehicles awaiting King’s personal mechanical touch, although he has assistants who work on the vehicles as well. “I have every type of mechanical background,” he said. Some vehicles provide parts for others.
The museum is undergoing about a month of renovation, but then is expected, King said, to reopen to its regular hours of 8am to 4pm Monday through Thursday and 8 am to 1 pm on Fridays. It can be reached by traveling through the main gate – after checking in with the guards, of course – and driving about 12 miles straight ahead. The building is on the left past the airfield. Story and photos by Lola Sherman.
Downtown neighborhood looks forward to hosting annual parade “send off” Nykiel said residents are reminded a week in advance of the parade’s approach. “It’s always the Saturday before the parade, everyone knows,” she said. The neighborhood is referred to as Seaside now.
Once a year, the residents of four streets east of Coast Highway wake up in the morning to the scenes of a parade being organized. They may not be able to leave their driveways. But the organized chaos will be over by noonish. The City will sweep their streets, MainStreet Oceanside will clean their streets, and they’ll do whatever leftover pickup is necessary themselves. MainStreet sponsors the annual Independence Day parade, scheduled this year for June 29. The parade starts at Wisconsin Street and Coast Highway at 10 a.m. but the staging can begin as early as 6:30 a.m. and last until 12:30. Some of the pre-parade staging is done on Coast, according to Cathy Nykiel, coordinator of the event for MainStreet, but some of the units will spill over onto one block of Leonard, West, Stanley and Eucalyptus streets between Coast and Ditmar Street.
But Kristi Hawthorne, president of the Oceanside Historical Society, said it was developed in the mid 1920s to early 1930s as “Plumosa Heights” and still contains the concrete streets and old-fashioned light fixtures. Hawthorne said Leonard Street was named for the son of the developer, B. C. Beers. Resident Robyn Goodkind describes it as “a unique haven of quaint and historic homes dating from the early 20th Century. There is a rich diversity of architecture -- ranging from Craftsman to Spanish Revival to MidCentury-Modern to California Ranch and beyond. “Similarly, the Seaside neighborhood enjoys a diversity amongst the residents who live here. My neighbors and I cherish this human and architectural melting pot. ”On any given morning, you’ll see Seaside residents walking their dogs along the wide tree-lined streets, enjoying the ocean air and various gardens. One of the most desirable traits of this neighborhood is that each home and garden is distinct from the other. And in the evening, you’ll find us lingering on porches enjoying sunset and ocean views.” As for any inconveniences wrought by the parade, Goodkind said. “Seaside residents are happy to be home to the parade launch. “It’s a joyous and patriotic event in which neighbors take much community pride. “If there is a bit of inconvenience or the
need for post-parade clean-up, residents assist quietly and without complaint -- for we appreciate the joys of living so close to downtown. The best part of parade day for us -- we don’t have to drive anywhere to enjoy it!” Another longtime Seaside resident, Anne-Marie Maxe, said “everyone in the neighborhood is happy” to help out with the parade. “We feel good. “It’s a time to celebrate our nation, our freedoms. It’s a great thing.” “I just think it’s cool,” Maxe said. “It’s a time to be very festive and take part in that.” Story by Lola Sherman. Photos by Dave Thomas.
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