Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

This Memorial day we at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park honor and remember the men and women of the armed forces who gave their lives for their country.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is hiring seasonal interpreters! The Seasonal Interpretive Staff member is responsible for assisting with the efficient operation of the Interpretation & Education Programs at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. This includes but is not limited to staffing the Visitor Centers/Museums, interpreting outdoor exhibit areas, leading tours, and generally supporting the educational, interpretive, and volunteer management programs. Visit ...our CalCareers website to learn more: Park Interpretive Specialist (college education required) https://www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic//JobPosting.aspx Park Aide (no educational requirement) https://www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic//JobPosting.aspx For further information regarding this position, please contact Megan Suster at (619) 405-0222 or [email protected].

This Jewish American Heritage Month, we invite you to join us in celebrating the Jewish community in the San Diego region. Although Louis Rose was perhaps one of the most prominent Jewish settlers in Old Town, he certainly wasn’t the only one. Please enjoy as historian Donald Harrison describes the lives of other important Jewish settlers as they relate to the First San Diego Courthouse. As part of our commemoration of Jewish American Heritage Month, we invite you to learn more about the Jewish settlers that decided to call Old Town San Diego home, and the significant sites that still remain part of the historic landscape of the park. Visit our website for more information: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30558

This Sunday (tomorrow) from 10am-1pm, members of our Fiber Arts Guild will be demonstrating a variety of spinning techniques on the veranda of La Casa de Machado y Stewart (marked with a yellow star on the map.) Stop by and say hi!

Here is an update on the California State Park closures due to the COVID-19 surge. Remember to call ahead if you would like to visit any of the Southern California State Parks to see what is closed in your area. For more information, please visit www.parks.ca.gov/FlattenTheCurve

Though we would typically be commemorating the Battle of San Pasqual at nearby San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park this weekend, we hope you enjoy our Virtual Battle Day Event. Featuring an 18-minute documentary on the battle, plus additional videos, articles, and books, plus youth educational materials like lesson plans, hands-on activities, and more, there is something for everyone to enjoy this year. Take a look, and stay tuned for the documentary premiere this morning!

Interested in wandering around San Diego’s historic landmarks and seeing what it would have looked like around here in the past? Old Town San Diego State Historic Park got mentioned in a Day Trip article by About Town Magazine that showcases some interesting sites around San Diego that can help you visualize just that. https://abouttownmagazines.com//your-very-own-founders-day/ Where are some of your favorite places to go around San Diego when you are feeling nostalgic for "the old days?"

Episode Two of our ghost story series has arrived! Hopefully we didn’t scare you too much last week, and we’re excited for you to see this week’s installment. Make sure to stick around for our final episode next Friday and try to stay in good spirits until then.

In case you feel like walking around a more rural State Park this weekend instead of coming to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, our sister park will be open for walking and seeing living history in the outdoors! San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park is right next to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park and has plenty of walking trails to enjoy. Make sure you bring your face covering, social distance, and enjoy!

Come see us on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays as we open select outdoor areas around the park! The Seeley Yard (featuring the Blacksmith Shop, Woodshop, and Donkey Corrals) and the garden area of La Casa de Machado y Stewart are open from 10am to 4pm on these days. Staff members will also be stationed on the porch of the Robinson-Rose Visitor Center, where the public can go for further information about park programs and museums, and adjacent restaurants and shops. All of these areas will require face coverings and safe, physical distancing to remain in effect. We hope to see you on a Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday sometime soon!

As October starts coming to a close and we get closer to November, we here at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park begin thinking of Día de los Muertos. Since we won’t be able to have an in-person event this year, we thought it might be nice to remember our deceased loved ones in a new, virtual way. Instead of our chalk graveyard, this year we want all of you to help us create a digital graveyard with tributes to your loved ones. Let your imagination and artistic side run wild and send a picture or scan of your loved one’s memorial to [email protected] by October 28th and we will put them together into one big digital tribute we will share on our social media during Día de los Muertos. We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Our first ghost story video is here! The story of Yankee Jim Robinson has been told since the 1850s, and now you can see how we tell it. Starting this week, we’ll be posting videos about ghost stories that take place in the park on YouTube and right here on Facebook each Friday of the month! These videos are meant to be enjoyed by the whole family, so make sure to get everyone settled in front of the screen when they’re available. Happy Haunting.

Today is the anniversary of the San Diego Union newspaper that started in our very own San Diego Union Building in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park! The first edition of the newspaper came out on October 10, 1868 and included this poem on the front page. Since we have been spending a lot of time at home recently, we thought this poem might make you smile. Isn't it funny how some things change over time while others seem to stay the same. In case you have some problems r...eading the photo, here is a transcription of the poem: "Make Home Beautiful Make your home beautifulbring to it flowers; Plant them around you to bud and to bloom; Let them give life to your loneliest hours Let them bring life to enliven you gloom, Make your own worldone that never has sorrowed, Of music, and sunshine, and gold summer air; A home world, whose forehead care never has furrowed, And whose cheek of bright beauty will ever be fair Make your home beautifulweave round its portal Wreathes of the jessamine and delicate sprays Of red fruited woodbine, with gay immortelle, That blesses and brightens wherever it strays, Gather the blossoms, tooone little flower, Varied verbena, or sweet mignonette, Still may bring bloom to your desolate bower, Still may be something to love and to pet. Make your home beautifulgather the roses That hoard up the sunshine with exquisite art Perchance they may pour as your darkness closes, That soft summer sunshine down into your heart! If you can do so, O make it an Eden Of beauty and gladness; remember, 'tis wise: 'Twill teach you to long for that home you are needing, That heaven of beauty beyond the blue skies. Make your home beautiful; sure 'tis a duty; Call up your little onesteach them to walk Hand in hand with the wandering angel of beauty: Encourage their spirits with nature to talk. Gather them round you, and let them be learning Lessons that drop from the delicate wings Of the birds and the butterflyever returning To Him who has made all these beautiful things. Make home a hive, where all beautiful feelings Cluster like bees, and their honey-dew bring; Make it a temple of holy revealings, And love its bright angel with "shadowing wing." Then shall it be, when afar on life's billows, Wherever your tempest-tossed children are flung, They will long for the shades of the home-weeping willow, And sing the sweet song which their mother had sung."

Can’t find anything to watch? Already binged everything? Tune in for some good old-fashioned ghost stories about our very own Old Town San Diego! Starting next Friday, October 16, we’ll be posting videos about ghost stories that take place in the park on YouTube and right here on Facebook each Friday of the month! These videos are meant to be enjoyed by the whole family, so make sure to get everyone settled in front of the screen when they’re available! For now, we hope you enjoy the trailer for the series.

Thanks to all the California State Parks Junior Rangers who have registered so far! Your program materials are being sent out this week, so keep an eye on the mail. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time! This FREE dual language program is an exciting chance to get outside and explore your backyard, neighborhood, community park, or Old Town San Diego State Historic Park! All self-guided programs can be completed in our park or in any other safe, outdoor space nea...r you. This program is designed for ages 7-12, and all participants will need adult supervision and consent to register. Each program is offered in both English and Spanish. Check our webpage for more info and instructions on how to register! Programs start in October and run through the fall. Once you get your logbook and badge in the mail, complete the pledge video to officially become a Junior Ranger! https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30442

Are you ready to become a California State Parks Junior Ranger at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park? This FREE dual language program is an exciting chance to get outside and explore your backyard, neighborhood, community park, or Old Town San Diego State Historic Park! All self-guided programs can be completed in our park or in any other safe, outdoor space near you. This program is designed for ages 7-12, and all participants will need adult supervision and consent to register. Each program is offered in both English and Spanish. Check our webpage for more info and instructions on how to register! Programs start in October and run through the fall. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30442

Thanks to all who attended the premiere of our virtual Fiestas Patrias video earlier this week! While we’re sad we won’t get to celebrate with you this weekend and create new family memories, we hope you enjoy this creative "glimpse into the past" of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. To learn more about this important event--from historical videos to opportunities for additional reading to digital lesson plans for all grade levels to join in the fun--please visit our website at https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30430. This video is generously supported by The Boosters of Old Town San Diego (BOOT), Wells Fargo, and NWB Imaging.