By Helen Ofield, Historian to the Board, Lemon Grove Historical Society
Photo: Roberta Bulling, Education Chair, Lemon Grove Historical Society
March 27, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove's third graders have set a record: 142 entries in the 2023 Treganza History Essay Competition--the largest number in 33 years, or since Dr. Amorita Treganza launched and endowed the competition in 1990. She was also a founder of the Lemon Grove Historical Society (LGHS) in 1978, which annually sponsors two history competitions for third and eighth grades.
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By Helen M. Ofield, Treasurer/Historian to the Board
Lemon Grove Historical Society
May 9, 2022 (Lemon Grove) -- Belated Mother’s Day greetings. We hearken back to 1909 and the 1920s and 1930s when our ancestral mothers led the charge in Lemon Grove as members of the Forward Club (because they were forward-thinking), a name later changed to the Women's Club when they joined the national Federation of Women's Clubs. By 1922 the women had built and paid for their own clubhouse. You've done the math. That clubhouse is now 100.
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February 26, 2022 (Lemon Grove) - They left nothing to chance. Starting in 1842 when the first "Tregensoes" (later, Treganzas) crossed the Atlantic to America and a new life, the family left the starting gate (Cornwall) with many of the things that make life worth living: Art, Writing, Music, Crafts, Agriculture, Architecture, Anthropology, Ethnography, Medicine, Research, Business, Education, International Relations, and above all, a sense of adventure and faith in the future.
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Update: this exhibit has been cancelled due to COVID-19. Organizers hope to reschedule it at a later date.
By Helen Ofield, Treasurer/Historian, Lemon Grove Historical Society
Photo of Mike Norris by Ife Babatunde
January 15, 2022 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society (LGHS) will observe Black History Month with a solo show,Mike Norris: A Retrospective, on view Feb. 1 through Apr. 30 on Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and weekdays by appointment for groups of six or more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Parsonage Museum, 3185 Olive Street, Treganza Heritage Park, Lemon Grove.
The exhibition honors the work of a noted African American photographer, whose work is characterized by drama, movement and deep humanity.
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Exhibition of Norris’ photography will be displayed in February at the Parsonage Museum
By Helen Ofield
Photo credit: Mike Norris, by Ife Babatund
January 6, 2022 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society (LGHS) increased its talent pool, effective Jan. 1, 2022, by appointing Mike Norris Photographer-in Residence.Norris joins Kathleen Strzelecki, Artist-in-Residence, and Robert Stuckey, Videographer-in-Residence, both well-known for their work in portraying and documenting American history.
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By Helen Ofield, Treasurer/Historian, Lemon Grove Historical Society
October 25, 2021 (Lemon Grove) - The touring arm of The Old Globe Theatre is on the road again after nearly two years of lockdown. Fans are thrilled. The Lemon Grove Historical Society, the City of Lemon Grove and the Lemon Grove School District and adjacent high schools have joined forces to welcome Globe For All to Treganza Heritage Park on Nov. 10 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. for a free, outdoor performance of Shakespeare: Call and Response.
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September 3, 2021 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Historical Society invites you to savor a gala dinner with live Flamenco dancers on Saturday, October 9 at 5:30 p.m. in the H. Lee House courtyard, 3205 Olive in Lemon Grove. The event celebrates Treganza Heritage Park, the new name of the cultural landscape that includes H. Lee House and the Parsonage Museum.
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June 6, 2021 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove Historical Society President Laura Hook was surprised when she was invited to a customer service event at Union Bank’s new location at 3285 Lemon Grove Avenue – and left with a $2,500 check.
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May 5, 2021 (Lemon Grove) – May is National Preservation Month. The Lemon Grove Historical Society invites you to take a stroll around town to visit Lemon Grove’s beloved preserved historic structures.
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By Helen Ofield, Treasurer and Historian, Lemon Grove Historical Society
Photos Credit: Lemon Grove Historical Society
On Dec. 4 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, LGHS "reindeer" and Santa will join City staff for a drive-through holiday festivity in Treganza Heritage Park (the 23rd Annual Holiday Bonfire). Roll down the car windows to hear the caroling and receive candy canes.
November 28, 2020 (Lemon Grove) -- Volunteers in the Lemon Grove Historical Society (LGHS) labored in record heat in September and October and, now, in calmer sun and cooler temperatures in November. Back on Nov. 28 for the fourth session, missionaries from Lemon Grove's Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will join with volunteers from Helix High School to continue rejuvenating the grounds in Treganza Heritage Park, home of the Parsonage Museum, 3185 Olive Street, and the adjacent H. Lee House, 3205 Olive.
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July 5, 2020 (Lemon Grove) -- Since Miller Dairy's founding in 1926 and its demise in 1985, Lemon Grove has looked back at its noble agrarian past and its unique persona as an urban-rural enclave, and wiped away a few tears — because once there were cows. As recently as 1983, 300 cows roamed the 16-acre Miller Dairy smack in the middle of town.
You could see, hear and smell the cows of Miller Dairy everywhere. At dawn, you heard them lowing in their stalls as the Miller sons, Ralph, Ed, Pete and Bill, milked each Holstein. At dusk, you heard the jangle of cow bells as the herd walked back into the barn for a repeat performance.
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Treganza Heritage Park renaming also honors history of humanitarian Lemon Grove doctor
Photo: Roberto Alvarez at the far right in the third row
Courtesy: California State Library (1928)
By Kathleen Connell
February 10, 2020 (Lemon Grove) -- A City Council discussion and unanimous resolution to rename City Center Park to Treganza Heritage Park opened an unexpected floodgate of memories about the diverse history of Lemon Grove, and a too-often-forgotten national Latinx farmworker landmark legal victory.
Desegregation of US schools is usually attributed to the landmark 1954 legislation, Brown vs. The Board of Education. In fact, the first successful desegregation challenge occurred at Lemon Grove in San Diego’s East County. Roberto Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District, a legal challenge known as the Lemon Grove Incident, occurred in 1931, in the agricultural town of Lemon Grove. Helen Ofield, past President of the Lemon Grove Historical Society, mentioned the historic win in passing to the City Council, in support of the park’s name change.
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January 9, 2019 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society (LGHS) has been selected for the 2019 Best of Lemon Grove Award in the Local Business category by the Lemon Grove Award Program. LGHS is a 501(c)(3) non profit educational organization established in 1978 that has honed its outreach and marketing skills in all media for public benefit.
Each year, the nationally syndicated award program identifies companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success locally and regionally to enhance the positive image of small business through service to their patrons and community. These exceptional companies help make the Lemon Grove area a great place to live, work and play.
The award managers work exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and adjacent advertising and marketing groups in order to recognize the contributions to the U. S. economy by businesses and organizations like LGHS. Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2019 Lemon Grove Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Lemon Grove Award Program and data provided by third parties. Recognition is given to those companies that use their best practices and implement programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
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November 30, 2019 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Historical Society invites you to Christmas Open House on Dec. 6 from 5-8 p.m. Santa will be in the H. Lee House. You can tour the museum and also buy books at the Parsonage Museum before enjoying the city’s annual bonfire.
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September 13, 2019 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Parsonage Museum on Sept. 21 from 2 - 4:30 p.m. in Civic Center Park between Main and Olive Streets, Lemon Grove.
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August 15, 2019 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society and the Lemon Grove Library will unveil Christy Hale's new, bilingual book, "Todos Iguales/All Equal," exploring the landmark 1931 desegregation case in Lemon Grove's lone grammar school. Written as an original corrida, the book is geared to all ages, but especially to youngsters.
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By Helen Ofield, President, Lemon Grove Historical Society
May 27, 2019 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society (LGHS) has announced the winners in the 29th annual Treganza History Essay Competition for Grade 3 and a special recognition in the 9th Annual Robert "Bobby" Carroll History Essay Competition for Grade 8, both in the Lemon Grove School District.
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April 25, 2019 (Lemon Grove) - The Lemon Grove Historical Society continues its free "History Alive" series with award-winning historian Alexander Bevil on May 2 at 7 pm in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove.
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April 2, 2019 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove Historical Society president Helen Ofield will present the dramatic story of the infamous Mattoon Act, 1925-1940. The program will be held this Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. in the H. Lee House, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove,
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By Helen Ofield, President, Lemon Grove Historical Society
February 13, 2019 (Lemon Grove) - The Lemon Grove Historical Society continues to honor Black History Month with a free performance by the great Martin Luther King, Jr. Choir on Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Lemon Grove Library, 3001 School Lane. Artistic Director Ken Anderson will lead this remarkable ensemble of soaring voices in a program of sacred and secular music and punctuate various songs with historical background. If you haven't heard the choir, you are in for a major treat.
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February 5, 2019 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove Historical Society will hold a fireside chat this Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. with Dr. John Warren, publisher and editor of San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, covering San Diego’s African-American community. His presentation is titled “Things I Remember” with eye-opening observances of events past and present.
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By Helen Ofield, Lemon Grove Historical Society President
January 14, 2019 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society continues "Meet the Author" on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. in the Lemon Grove Library, 3001 School Lane, when Dolores Van Rensalier Warren details the remarkable story in her new book, "Bridge Street to Freedom."
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December 29, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- "History Alive" continues on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove, when historian Alexander Bevil recalls in words and pictures the horrific crash of PSA 182 in North Park in 1978. Bevil is known for his exemplary research and ability to relate historical events with immediacy and startling detail -- in this case the story of an unexpected crash that laid waste an urban neighborhood, killed 144 and left "memories that will never go away."
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November 12, 2018 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Historical Society presents Globe for All, a free performance of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Wednesday, November 14th. The production is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Alvarez Auditorium (next to the Lemon Grove Library), plus a free dinner will be offered at 5 p.m.
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By Helen Ofield, President, Lemon Grove Historical Society
August 28, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- A new series from the Lemon Grove Historical Society honors businesses founded in Lemon Grove in the past 40 or more years, including those that moved on to become major national brands. The series kicks off on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Lemon Grove City Council meeting, Community Center, 3140 School Lane. Businesses will be honored at each city council meeting through June 19, 2018 in honor of the city's 40th anniversary of incorporation.
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May 28, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove Historical Society is screening the fourth and final episode of "American History: Secrets of the Dead" on May 30 at 6 p.m. in the Lemon Grove Library, 3001 School Lane.
The society’s president, Helen Ofield, says of the film, “’The 14th and 15th Colonies’will cap our journey back in time to relearn what we thought we knew about our country. Take Episode Three, ‘The British are Coming.’ Devastating. After a gifted Mandingo child, Francisco Menendez, grew up to be a multilingual leader of the only free Black settlement in America (among the Spanish of La Florida), and survive multiple enslavements, the marauding Brits laid waste St. Augustine, driving Menendez to load his people into open boats and row across the ocean, where they vanished forever. Some audience members were in tears at the loss of this unknown community in our history, and the loss of an unbelievably courageous man.
The public is invited to viewthe last episode and applaud Jesus Benayas, president, House of Spain, who brought the series to the library.
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April 13, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society will host a series of free, entertaining, and informative events in Lemon Grove during May including film night, an author booksigning, a Holocaust survivor, a family business recognition, and Parsonage Museum tours.
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“I may not get there with you.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one day before his assassination in Memphis.
By Helen Ofield, Lemon Grove Historical Society president
March 11, 2018 (Lemon Grove) -- The Lemon Grove Historical Society will continue its Remembrance Project on Apr. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Lemon Grove Library, 3001 School Lane, to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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September 24, 2017 (Lemon Grove) - The Lemon Grove Historical Society will hold the annual Pam Glover English High Tea on Oct. 8 from 2 - 4 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove, in support of the 2018 Treganza History Essay Competition for Third Grade in Lemon Grove Schools. Tickets are $25/person for a lavish, four-course high tea, party favors and door prizes.
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September 21, 2017 (Lemon Grove) – On Oct. 5 at 7 p.m., the 40th season of "History Alive" continues in the H. Lee House, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove, when Roberta Bulling and Prabakar Mahalingam (photo), leaders of the Baha'i faith in Lemon Grove, present the fascinating story of this major religion and its links to U. S. history.
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By Helen Ofield, Historian to the Board, Lemon Grove Historical Society
By Helen M. Ofield, Treasurer/Historian to the Board
By Helen Ofield, Lemon Grove Historical Society
Exhibition of Norris’ photography will be displayed in February at the Parsonage Museum
By Helen Ofield, Treasurer/Historian, Lemon Grove Historical Society
East County News Service
By Miriam Raftery
Source: Lemon Grove Historical Society
By Helen Ofield, Treasurer and Historian, Lemon Grove Historical Society
By Helen Ofield, Lemon Grove Historical Society
Treganza Heritage Park renaming also honors history of humanitarian Lemon Grove doctor
By Helen Ofield
By Miriam Raftery
By Helen Ofield
By Helen Ofield, Lemon Grove Historical Society
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