This is an intriguing story which was written in a setting of over sixty years ago, during the Korean War by a sailor who was serving there on LST 840. Memories sometimes are short, however, during this journey, this sailor, the author of this story, kept a meticulously oriented journal, including many important facts and events throughout his cruise. This helped immensely in the writing. Fortunately, the author was an amateur photographer and was able to present and enlighten the text with numerous related pictures of engaging activities at that time. One of the chief duties of LST 840...

Where the Turf Meets the Surf entered horseracing lore after the 22nd District Agriculture Association (DAA) established a 241-acre fairground at Del Mar that included a stadium and one-mile oval racetrack in the 1930s. The venue gave an enterprising trio the impetus to bring thoroughbred racing to the San Diego County coast. The Del Mar Turf Club was led by Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby, Pat O'Brien, and Bill Quigley. A DAA contract to hold a 55-day annual racing season was secured, and on opening day, July 3, 1937, the velvet-voiced "Der Bingle" greeted the first patrons at the gate. Racing...

Many villages of native Luiseno Indians were originally located in San Jacinto Valley. When Spanish explorer Don Juan Baptista de Anza of Tubac, Arizona, passed through this area in 1774, he named it San Jacinto, which translates to St. Hyacinth. After Spain ceded the area to Mexico, the Estudillo family of San Diego received a land grant in 1842 that included the San Jacinto Valley, and the settling of immigrants from the east soon followed. The City of San Jacinto was= incorporated in 1888, but two major earthquakes in 1899 and 1918 destroyed all of its brick buildings, which were never...