San Diego: California's Cornerstone. By Iris H.W.
Engstrand. Tulsa: Continental Heritage Press, 1980. Illustrations. Index.
Chronology of Events. 224 pages. $24.95.
Reviewed by Susan B. Erzinger, Summa Cum Laude graduate in
History from the University of San Diego and current graduate student in
California history at the same institution.
How many San Diegans, native or otherwise, can profess
knowledge of the ghosts that inhabit the Whaley House in Old Town? Or have you
heard the story of Charles Hatfield who in early 1916 unloosed the dry skies
above the city from his rainmaker towers? By the end of January the man first
looked upon as a last hope for the city's relief from the drought was being
blamed for extensive flood damage.
Highlights such as the above are woven throughout the history
of San Diego. That history is as diverse as it is rich—from Juan Rodríguez
Cabrillo's discovery in 1542 to its present position today as the nation's
eighth largest city. But as Dr. Iris H.W. Engstrand asserts, San Diego is much
more than a city. A region separated from the rest of California by its
geographic features, it nevertheless is the cornerstone of that state's development.
San Diego: California's Cornerstone takes the reader on a
trip through time. He will be familiarized with the cultural development and
economic progress of the city. He will learn of the Indians who lived off the
chaparral and oak-covered land and of the first European ships they greeted in
1542. Father Junípero Serra, Pío Pico, Cave Couts, the Bandinis and Estudillos
will be introduced as more than names from the past. Along
with many others, such as Alonzo Horton, John D. Spreckels, and George Marston,
these have laid the foundation upon which the present rests.
Colorful personalities abound throughout the pages of Dr.
Engstrand's book. Jesse Shepard and the Villa Montezuma, Katherine Tingley and
the Theosophical Society, and all sports from sailing to football, San Diego has
never lacked characters and activities to give life a new and different twist.
The appeal of Dr. Engstrand's book stems from its simple and
straightforward approach. Not meant to be a definitive history, it is written
for the person casually interested in the city's past. San Diego's fascinating
growth can be seen in the chronological arrangement of the book. In the broader
span of history, the city is very young; in fact Alonzo Horton purchased
downtown San Diego for 271/2€ an acre only some one hundred years ago. Yet the
charm of its Spanish heritage has not been erased with the rise in real estate
prices. Streets, place names, and architecture retain the tradition of San
Diego's earliest settlers.
The region's past is not only another record unto itself. A
tremendous business boom hit in the 1880s drawing people from across the
country. In 1912 the I.W.W. rioted in the city and in 1926 Charles Lindbergh
contracted with Ryan Airlines for the plane that would carry him across the
Atlantic and into the headlines. Proud of its isolation yet not isolated—such is
the paradox that is San Diego.
In writing a narrative that is concise and comprehensible,
Dr. Engstrand portrays out city's past in both the spectacular and the normal. A
beautiful collection of photos likewise tell the story; from Luiseño Indian
women (1893) p. 14, to a picture of a 1910 Labor Day Parade in which women are
demanding "Equal Pay for Equal Work Regardless of Sex," p. 79, to color plates
of "the Chicken," our beloved Chargers, the Hotel del Coronado, and the Presidio
and Mission as they stand today.
This is a book which should grace the libraries of all San
Diego homes. A general knowledge of local history ties together past and present
and guides us toward the future. Such a knowledge brings with it a sense of
belonging. And as the Whaley ghosts might agree, San Diego is a nice place to
belong. After all, they're still here!
