Your Monthly News & updates
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Welcome to the third edition of our monthly volunteer newsletter!
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A Visit to Cabrillo: 1930s - 1960s
by Julieanne Fontana
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Hello, VIPs! Before I left the office on a Thursday in March, I decided to bring home a binder of oral histories conducted in 1986. That day ended up being my last before I began teleworking, and making my way through the oral histories has been both enlightening and enjoyable. The purpose of this oral history collection is to document the administrative history of Cabrillo - a topic that may seem dry, but has lots of gems. I have been treated to stories of Cabrillo National Monument’s early years: from visitors rushing to buy branberry tarts at the lighthouse tea room to the National Park Service’s first dive training class being hosted at Cabrillo along with many tales of community partnership and love for Point Loma. All of these stories make the park what it is today, and I wanted to share just a few highlights.
Imagine living in the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, not as the keepers did in the late 1800s, but as the Clifton and Mildred Rock lived in the 1930s and 40s. Starting in 1935, they greeted visitors from all over the country in their gift shop (in the parlor) and tea room (in the kitchen). In her oral history interview, Mildred recounts “I met people from all over the world. You know, they would come in and have a cup of tea or something, and we’d get to talking. And on stormy days, people would come out just to live through the storm in the lighthouse, because the wind howls around. We had a braided rug in front of the fireplace there, and they’d sit around on the floor and listen to it howl.” Some of the visitors were celebrities. Gladys Neuber, who worked in the gift shop, remembered that Anges Moorehead, Julie Andrews, Rod Cameron, Victor Jory, and Charles Lindbergh all visited Cabrillo. As Mildred Rock describes it, living in the lighthouse was very romantic for a young couple, but could also be quite inconvenient. They slept in what is now the children’s bedroom on the second floor, kept their clothes in closets in the gift shop room, and only had a bathroom in the basement!
During World War II, the park was closed to civilians, and when it reopened, the first National Park Service ranger was stationed at Cabrillo. The Rocks continued to run their gift shop in the lighthouse until 1955, and Don Robinson, the first superintendent, started as the sole federal employee on site in 1947. As you might imagine, he couldn’t run the place on his own and immediately looked for help from volunteers. (Sounds very familiar – Cabrillo still would not run without our VIPs!) He helped form the Cabrillo Historical Association (now the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation) to distribute literature and information about the park.
Ranger Robinson also started running public, educational, and youth programs. Hugh Smith, who worked as a laborer at Cabrillo in the 1950s, recalled being recruited to help guide school groups. He would make a quick change from his outdoor work clothes into professional clothes to teach students all about the explorer Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo and bring them to the top of the lighthouse. Certainly this sounds familiar, as well – at a small park we all have to be able to help each other out! Ranger Don Robinson was also a Boy Scout troop leader, and John Rebelo, Jr. (a past president of the Cabrillo Festival) fondly remembers campouts in the lighthouse itself and on the grounds. No adults would stay with the boys back in those days, and Rebelo recalled in the morning when Ranger Robinson returned “there were always a lot of accusations thrown around because he had all the candy for all the visitors there and it seems like the Boy Scouts always ate the candy and none of us would ever say who did it. But, it was a lot of fun, an awful lot of fun.”
The second superintendent of Cabrillo, Tom Tucker, oversaw some important developments at the park, including building of the 1966 (Mission ‘66 style) visitor center complex we have today. In an earlier design, the visitor center would have been a two or three story fort-like building, but it was later decided to go with our current design to emphasize Spanish Californian culture. Tom Tucker described how the building’s miniature plazas and broad overhangs over the walkways were designed to “bring back the feel of California haciendas.” In the 1960s, Channel Islands National Park was under the jurisdiction of Cabrillo, and this brought the very first National Park Service dive training to Cabrillo. Channel Islands rangers needed to be trained, and it was soon discovered that rangers from parks like Point Reyes National Seashore, Cape Cod National Seashore, and other marine sites around the country needed the same training. Cabrillo began hosting a diving program two times a year with 26 rangers from all over the United States.
Throughout all the oral histories, the interviewees discussed their own life stories, beginning in places like Savannah, Georgia; Pasadena, CA; Ajo, Arizona; the Azores, Portugal, or maybe just down the road in Point Loma. Their interest in Cabrillo National Monument brought them together to further the park’s mission to preserve and protect this place as employees, volunteers for the Cabrillo Festival, and politicians. All their stories weave together to paint a picture of what the park was like in those early years. Some memories are very familiar to us still: moments like enjoying the park for its peaceful environment or helping visitors to locate whales off the coast. Cabrillo National Monument continues to thrive and work towards our mission to preserve and protect this area because of these stories and our own. We are all a part of the tapestry of Cabrillo National Monument.
Ranger Julieanne
P.S. I am happy to share more information and notes about interviews for anyone interested!
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Before you get the wrong idea, the Weed Warriors did not take the weeds they pull and turn them into a dish to eat.
The Weed Warriors submitted recipes with the idea being that we had to use ingredients that we had in our own homes, since we couldn’t go to the store. Each submission has the name of the Weed Warrior, their nickname, a picture of a Weed Warrior specific plant species, and the individual’s thoughts on the “Stay-at-home” situation. This cookbook is useful at home, entertaining, and a learning tool for park invasive plants.
Enjoy the cooking. Submit photos of your dishes.
If you want to download the cookbook as a pdf, use this link:
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Speaker Series: “Fungi Rule the World” by Linh Anh Kat, Ph.D.
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Want to learn all about the world of microbes?!
Tune in on Zoom on May 14
th
from 10:00 am to 11:30 am to hear your new Chief of Resources Linh Anh Cat, PhD. present on her research dissertation!
Need practice using Zoom? CVA Setareh Nouriboshehri will be hosting Zoom office hours leading up to the presentation:
- Monday, May 11th from 10:00 am – 11:00 am
- Tuesday, May 12th from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
- Wednesday, May 13th from 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Drop in to say hi and practice using Zoom! Invitations for the office hours and the virtual event have been sent out separately through Volgistics.
Please contact Setareh if you have have any questions at
Setareh_Nouriboshehri@partner.nps.gov
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We have had some fun social media campaigns recently! One of our posts was re-posted by the National Park Service Facebook page and was viewed over 138,000 times!
Ranger Julieanne started a series titled Tips from a Lighthouse Keeper. A recent one asked viewers to t
ake a look at the list of supplies delivered to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse in 1885 and come up with a recipe using 4 items from the list and any items already in your home. Give it a try!
Ranger Amanda has been posting student art that was received for an art exhibit at the park.
Science Educator Sam has recently started a series called Scientists Speak, where she highlights the studies being done at the park.
Check us out:
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Safety Message
I hope that all are well, staying safe, and following guided measures of health and wellness as we proceed into this uncharted environment. It is amazing to me how many changes occur on a daily, or even hourly basis. We are seeing more messages about mental health as an important component of overall health – take care of yourselves that way as well as physically.
Park Closure – Until Further Notice
The park remains temporarily closed until further notice. We are monitoring conditions at numerous levels from the local San Diego County Public Health Officer orders, to the California State Public Health Officer orders and Governor Newsom’s goals, to the Secretary of the Interior and the White House guidance. All of these include strategic, measured, and phased approaches towards modified openings of the parks. A phased opening with the utmost priority for safety and well-being of all of those whom work at, and for, parks. Including all of you.
Some city parks and beaches have been opening on a limited basis, following specific County protocol for social distancing and sanitation at parks. I anticipate that the park’s first steps will be in keeping with this County protocol, following requirements as outlined by CDC, and from national guidance from the Department of the Interior; we are working on a plan that includes first opening the park grounds and restrooms. We are working on projects at the park towards this modified opening, which includes changes to our operations to better mitigate against the virus (e.g., different restroom cleaning requirements, modified vehicle use, facial coverings, physical distancing of staff and volunteers).
You may see a phrase of “adaptive recovery” that is linked with phased opening of parks. A phrase relaying the fluctuations and changes that are likely to be a part of park management for a while. The Governor referred to a “dimmer” approach rather than a light switch with only on and off. There will be a process where we slowly add programs and services back in, and then may need to step back to an earlier stage if community conditions warrant that. Thank you to everyone for your on-going patience as we proceed with navigating within this new environment.
I greatly look forward to seeing you all at the park at some point in the future. It may be a while, and we might all be wearing facial coverings for a while, however know that your concern and passion for Cabrillo National Monument, its resources, and the public are still shining through, and we all thank you.
Sincerely, Superintendent Andrea Compton
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Time to celebrate! Maintenance just hired three new seasonal rangers! Please virtually welcome Brendan, Timothy, and Andrew to our team. They will be focusing much of their time on Covid-19 related projects; ensuring that the park is safe for us when we all return. Thank you to Brendan, Timothy, Andrew, Matt, and Jay for this important work!
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Are you stuck at home with nothing to do? Do the corona virus blues have you down? Are you wearing your pajamas as you read this?! If this sounds like you...Wait, who are we kidding, this is all of us!
However, if you are bored and/or would like to serve Cabrillo National Monument from your couch, we have a couple of great opportunities!
Website Updates
We need folks go through our website and find areas that need changing or improvement. Spelling errors (hey, we're only human!), grammatical errors, content ideas, etc. If you have photos that you think would look better than any currently there, then by all means, please send those to us too!
Any ideas or suggestions can be sent to cabr_volunteers@nps.gov.
Mask Making
We need help making masks for staff and volunteers! If you are interested, please ensure they meet the following specifications:
- A sewn or unsewn cover secured with ties or straps around the head or behind the ears.
- Made from variety of breathable materials, such as fleece, cotton or linen.
- A solid color without wording, designs, or logos. ( I would suggest neutral colors in whites, browns, black, greys, darker greens to fit with uniform colors.)
If you make any masks, please let us know and we can arrange a drop off or pick up! You can contact us at cabr_volunteers@nps.gov.
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The natural resources at the park are still being watched over, even with the park closed. A couple of wildlife surveys have been completed for herps and bats. We have had quite a few collapses in the tidepool area, especially after a week of heavy rain (by Southern California standards). The peregrine falcon chicks will be banded at the beginning of May!
We are hoping to bring on an archaeological technician to help with cultural resources next month in June. And finally, please look out for our new Scientists Speak series on social media. The Science Communication team is hoping to bring the cutting-edge research being done in the park to VIPs and the public.
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The Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University has been a partner of the NPS for quite some time. They offer many engaging courses, some of which are free! Below is a list of some of the courses that are
currently free to take
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The Marine Protected Area Collaborative Network is asking YOU to get creative while in quarantine!
Did you know that Cabrillo National Monument has a Marine Protected Area? Find out more about marine protected areas and how to join in the fun by visiting
their website.
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Would you like to be featured for a VIP spotlight? For the next couple of weeks, CVA Setareh Nouriboshehri will be interviewing volunteers and capturing their service stories! If you’re passionate about what you do for the park and would like to participate in sharing your experiences, email us at cabr_volunteers@nps.gov!
Tune in to
VIP-Voice
every Monday for a new weekly spotlight.
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Don't Forget to Log Your Hours!
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