The problem with Rosarito's whale
Sharks like the fat, orcas like the liver
Mike Madriaga 3:29 p.m., Sept. 16
Unforgettable: Long Ago San Diego
Ethel Tulloch Banks: union leader and healer
Strong woman in the "jungle days" of the San Diego post office
Ethel Tulloch Banks believed in miracles. For years she fought for miraculous changes at her workplace — and may have lived one herself. Tulloch was a clerk at the San Diego Post Office. In January ...
Let’s Invade Mexico! Outbreaks of Filibuster Fever: The Flamingo Filibuster
Part two of two
“The appetite grows with eating.” Many in the late 19th Century applied the French proverb to an insatiable urge to filibuster: to conquer foreign territories with private armies. If appetite grows, then Captain John H. ...
Let’s Invade Mexico! Outbreaks of Filibuster Fever
Part one of two | Jump to Part 2
In the last half of the 19th Century, aliens eagerly crossed the U.S./Mexico border — into Mexico. Burning with what historian William B. Scroggs calls “filibuster fever,” they felt entitled “to swallow up every few ...
At a certain point, the Cupeño stopped looking back.
This land is mine: The Cupeño removal of 1903, part four of four
The wagons came at sunrise. Over 40 teams passed through the barb-wired gate and lurched up the dirt road to Kupa like a giant snake. They came to drive the Cupeño from their land. Stacked ...
Against the Inevitable
This land is mine: The Cupeño removal of 1903, part three of four
Tents and campfire smoke signaled the end for the Cupeño.
In search of the unwanted
This land is mine: The Cupeño removal of 1903, part two of four
U.S. government didn’t fool Cecilio Blacktooth.
The blackest of crimes committed against Warner Ranch Indians.
This land is mine: The Cupeño removal of 1903, part one of four
Visitors to the Indian village at Kupa were often struck by the silence. No loud voices, no sudden shouts. Even children played quietly. A stillness spread from the bowl-shaped Valle de San Jose below, past ...
Langtry Comes to San Diego
Part two of two | Read part one
The first time her acting company toured the West Coast, Lillie Langtry skipped San Diego. That flea-bit Podunk wasn’t up to snuff. In 1888, she booked May 4 and 5, at the Louis Opera House, ...
The Jersey Lily comes to San Diego
Part one of two: Becoming an actor
When the world’s most beautiful woman came to town.
Little man with a big gun
The Strange Case of Mr. Wallace Leach, Part Two
Wallace Leach barged into the Occidental Hotel bar with a broken nose and a powerful thirst. He was in San Francisco on business, he said, but was out for revenge. He came to hire a ...
The Strange Case of Mr. Wallace Leach
Part One: “Circular Insanity”
The sun over Coronado said 3 p.m. Wallace Leach bumbled out the side door of the Horton House bar and shielded his eyes from the glare. Though a snappy dresser — he was one of ...
Hurlers and the behind in Lockling Square
Boys of summer, 1880 edition
Bay City’s taking on The Resolutes today at Lockling Square. As the players warm up, some shout encouragement, but most stand stiff. They toss and catch the ball with affected grace, as if posing for ...
History out the corner of your eye
Place, people, and change with Asian Story Theatre’s Stories of the Sun Café
Asian Story Theatre’s Stories of the Sun Café runs three performances through the weekend of June 27-29. Written by Kent Brisby, who researched the subject with Joyce Teague for two years, the piece is the ...
Those damn beehives!
Hattie Ada Dougherty granted a license to burn
Back in 1888, Hattie “Ada” Dougherty had a ranch between Japatul and Sacatera, southeast of Alpine. She wanted to clear some land for ploughing but couldn’t. Her neighbor, an old, unnamed man had some of ...
