Photos from the Vault

Modern Photography, Polaroids, instamatics and Super 8

David Middlecamp — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:55 +0000

Advertising for Instamatic, Polaroids and Super 8 cameras at Grant’s in San Luis Obispo October, 30 1968.

How can you make photography any easier than this?
One camera makes instant prints. An electric eye, electronic shutter and image-sizer with viewfinder frame. Not sure what any of that does but it sure sounds cool, especially when you put it in the Professional-type carrying case.
Another costs less and loads easily with flash cubes and film cartridges. Small enough to pack for easy traveling.
Home movies? Just $154 to get a Bell & Howell Super 6 movie camera and projector with forward, reverse, still and rapid-rewind (400′ reel sold separately.)
Stop the technology train, I’m ready to get off.
Except now cell phones can do all these tasks in a smaller package and they make phone calls. OK a cell phone can’t make a print, but you can send the images to a printer pretty easily.
And a bunch of other stuff.
But if you really want one of these antiques they can be found at estate sales.
Buy now while savings are greatest.

Camp Roberts Rodeo, Camp San Luis explosives, World War II week by week

David Middlecamp — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:41:29 +0000

Even a break in training for war could be deadly as seen in this excerpt from a May 10, 1943 story.

German troops were surrendering in Tunisia May 10, 1943 in this newspaper headline from the Telegram-Tribune.

Col. Hank Partin, of the Lemoore air base, was saved from death or serious injury yesterday in the Camp Roberts rodeo by the quick action of Dogie Davidson, a merchant marine, when he was thrown by an enraged Brahma Bull.
As the bull came out of the chute, partin was tossed and fell to the ground with his breath knocked out by the fall. As the bull turned to charge him, Davidson working at the chute, grabbed a blanket and tossed it over the bull’s head in on motion, stopping the bull in its tracks and saving Partin from the sharp horns of the bull as more than 15,000 spectators looked on.

At Camp San Luis post ordnance officer Capt. L.W. Tondro lost his right hand in an accidental explosion while he was destroying duds at the artillery and mortar range. Several shells went off at the same time.

Gen. Francisco Franco of Spain and Pope Pius offered to negotiate a peace with the western allies while allowing the Axis to continue fighting Communist Russia. The Allies had their eyes on invasion of Europe and were in no mood to negotiate as Nazi generals began to surrender in North Tunisia.

Cuesta College builds a campus

David Middlecamp — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:50:58 +0000

Cuesta College was moving to new buildings in 1976 after early years in World War II surplus buildings.

Cuesta College celebrates 50 years this year and the first major milestone was when voters approved bonds to finance building a brand new facility to replace the 30-year-old wood frame military barracks. This story is from June 5, 1976.

Story by Kay Ready
Buildings—once whitewashed enlisted men’s quarters for Camp San Luis Obispo, now paint-chipped and showing their age—still indicate signs of College campus life.
A weathered black insignia on one dilapidated building reads “Student Offices,” but a quick look inside dusty, cracked window panes reveals nothing but emptiness.
Everyone’s moved.
Cuesta College’s new $22 million home, now two-thirds complete, is a creek and deserted airfield away from the old.
County voters, who approved the new campus into existence in 1970 and 1974, have watched it grow alongside Highway 1, between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. In 1970, it boasted only of brand new tennis courts. In 1976, it’s more than a dozen brick and red tile buildings strong — and still growing.
Buildings and parking lots encircle what looks like a giant, newly planted patio. The grass has sprung green between cement walkways; but tiny saplings still have not shed protective wooden cages and groundcover still rests in clumps in beds of redwood bark.
A few years down the road, there’s promise of shade trees and groundcover aplenty.
The campus will be formally dedicated Thursday, June 10, during 1976 graduation festivities. County residents will get their first eye-opening look at buildings and services they’ve financed, during a grand-scale open house celebration.
From 2 to 4 p.m. students will lead tours of classrooms, laboratories, the planetarium, bookstore, cafeteria and physical education facilities. There will be music and art exhibits, and refreshments in the new cafeteria.
The Cuesta Jazz Ensemble, in a farewell appearance before its July trip to the International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, will entertain from 4 to 5 p.m. And dedication ceremonies will share the commencement spotlight from 5 to 6 p.m. at the outdoor student assembly center.
More than 400 graduates will be honored, following ceremonies, during a reception from 6 to 7 p.m.
College president Dr. Merlin Eisenbise is proud of his new campus.
“From those first few hundred students, faculty and staff who set up school in the barracks of Camp San Luis Obispo amidst mud puddles and gopher holes — to the thousands now attending classes in the new, modern campus — Cuesta’s appearance has changed dramatically,” said the man who’s been at its helm since 1964.
“The basic campus is not complete, but…we think it is time the total community takes a look at what it has achieved.”

Cuesta College Tug-of-War 1968

David Middlecamp — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:57:41 +0000

A tradition from the early days of Cuesta College sadly no longer practiced. Published October 12, 1968.

NOT HARD TO TELL WHICH SIDE WON Cuesta College frosh triumphed.
©Michael Raphael/Telegram-Tribune

Frosh gutty — Sophs muddy

Mud, mud everywhere, especially on the sophomores—the result of a tug-o-war between Cuesta College’s freshmen and sophomores, with the younger set winning both dirty battles in a two-game series.
Both class presidents got into the action—Mike Gallagher, leader of the sophomores, and Randy Carter, slender and gutty boss of the frosh.
The frosh reversed the trend of last year when the sophomores twice bested the freshmen n spring and fall matches.
Even the girls joined, some not exactly dressed for the occasion. Such as Karen Henry, a cheerleader, and two other coeds dressed more for an afternoon tea than a muddy romp in the specially dug and watered arena.
The proceedings delighted everyone including the several hundred students and instructors, gathered around the mud pit. Even the losers were quite gracious about it, offering handshakes around after the awesome battle.

Cuesta College sophomores got pulled into the pond.
©Michael Raphael/Telegram-Tribune

Vocational training in 1968 at Cuesta College

David Middlecamp — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:15:13 +0000

Instructor George Rumore shows data tabulator to Patricia Rager, Dorothy Sauldsbury, Larry Fiscalini, Mike Hamers at Cuesta College. ©Michael Raphael/Telegram-Tribune

In honor of Cuesta College’s 50th birthday a few posts this week from the Cuesta file.
Today a lot of technical schools advertise in heavy rotation on television. However many of those programs are offered at local community colleges for less money than a for profit school and often these instructors have good insight into the local job market.
Many of these jobs will require ongoing training as the years go by and systems and technology change. If your business is still using punch cards and data tabulators you may want to head back to school and learn a new skill.
The original captions [with the addition of "at Cuesta college"] are published with the photos, copy editors writing captions in 1968 sometimes called college age women, girls at the time. Classes were still being held on the old campus, drafty World War II era Camp San Luis Obispo buildings. The classic 1968 technology, hair styles, clothes and glasses make these photos an interesting record of the time.
On November 2, 1968 Michael Raphael wrote about the college students that wanted to be into the work world in two years:

One-third of Cuesta’s students enrolled in vocational training

One of every three regular students at Cuesta College is there to learn a trade.
These students are not bent on getting the four-year college education and the bachelor’s degree that goes along with it.
They want to lear how to be skilled auto mechanics, electronics technicians, nurses and secretaries. And they want to learn these skills in two years.
The still-fledgling Cuesta College offers a wide variety of vocational courses that lead to regular junior college Associate in Arts degree.
The major vocational offerings are automotive technology, business education, electronics, metals technology and nursing.
And the school also offers a group of vocational subjects for workers in the community who want to improve their understanding of their own jobs. Tese subjects include fire science, police science, real estate, correctional science and conservation.
Walk into an auto class and you might find instructor Ed shields, backed by a roomful of auto parts and repair equipment, lecturing a class in “Internal Combustion Engines.”
In later semesters, the prospective auto mechanic moves into the study of power trains, fuel and electrical systems, brakes, engine diagnosis and late in his two years at Cuesta he will get into the study of special auto problems.
The electronics student begins with basic electricity, then moves into electronic fundamentals, vacuum tubes and semi-conductors, and from there he goes into the various kinds of elementary and advanced circuits with a little “mathematics for electronics” thrown in as necessary background.
The nursing program, headed by Juanita Booth, provides the background for a student to become eligible to take the state examination for the nursing license.
A total of 58 students are enrolled in the Cuesta nursing program, brought about, school officials say, by demands of the community.
The nursing program covers the fundamentals of nursing, nursing care of children, care of adults, maternal nursing, nursing care of infants and nursing care of mental illness.
Dr. Frank Martinez, Cuesta’s assistant superintendent for educational services, said a major portion of the nursing program involves actual clinical experience.
It is an expensive program, he said, because there never are more than 10 students to a teacher.
The metals technology department, headed by james W. Hazzard, covers welding, metallurgy, machining and sheetmetal, and metal fabrication.
Business education at Cuesta covers a wide variety of subjects, including accounting business law, typing, business machines, business correspondence, office procedure, advertising, shorthand and marketing.
One of the up-and-coming vocational subjects is data processing.
“We have a couple of theory classes and three simple machines in data processing —a puncher, a sorter and a tabulator machine.
“We hope to get more sophisticated equipment and eventually one of the cheaper levels of computer,” Martinez said.
One of the interesting things about vocational students, Martinez said, is that many of them get jobs and wind up their Cuesta careers before they finish their two years of training.
And the director of counseling and guidance, Cynthia Perkins, said the converse often is true.
Some students come into the vocational program, find out how well the can do in college and decide to expand their horizons into four-year college educations and in some cases, they go on to get their master’s degrees or doctorates.
The vocational training leaders at Cuesta are kept abreast of the needs of the community through a series of advisory committees, which meet one or more times a year to study the curriculum and recommend whether it should or should not be changed.
The nursing committee, for example, includes Victor Farrell, administrator of the county hospital; Dr. H. Howard Kusumoto, county health officer, and a group of practicing doctors and nurses.

Girls are learning how to run business machines at Cuesta College. ©Michael Raphael/Telegram-Tribune

Dance regulations wanted in San Luis Obispo, World War II week by week

David Middlecamp — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:03:11 +0000

High spirited young men heading off to war didn’t always make the best neighbors.
From May 20, 1943 Telegram-Tribune

Citizens Demand Action of Policing of Dance

The San Luis Obispo city council last night acting on a request contained in a petition signed by 36 citizens, arranged with civilian and army authorities that the Saturday night dances at the Labor Temple on upper Monterey be closed at 11:45 p.m., and that extra police patrols be employed to prevent recurrences of the strongly worded complaint.
“We feel that taxpaying residents should not be subjected to the outrages and indignities that we have suffered in the past few months. Any action you may take in this matter will be greatly appreciated,” said one of the letters that accompanied the petition.

Solution Sought

The council, in an effort to take immediate action on the complaints had Orville Sherlock, operator of the dances brought before it to explain his side of the complaints and to work out a solution.
Lt. W.J. Cullenmore, Camp San Luis Obispo provost marshal, was also at the meeting and promised to see that the area near the dance hall is cleared of soldiers by 12 midnight.
The petition and accompanying letters, were signed by nearly 40 residents of that area who said that their property had been littered with bottles and trash, their gardens had been trampled, clothing had been stolen from their back yards and that men had even tried to force entrance into their homes.

Action Demanded

Mayor Fred C. Kimball, calling for immediate action, said that he was sure that the allegations were true to a great extent because of the number and character of people who had signed the petition.

Headlines from the April 20, 1943 Telegram-Tribune.

Southern Pacific during World War II

David Middlecamp — Fri, 10 May 2013 06:56:28 +0000

Southern Pacific ad from the Telegram-Tribune newspaper June, 9, 1942.

Southern Pacific Railroad did not often apologize but in 1942 they ran a series of ads explaining the changes on the line. As World War II increased demands for moving troops and material across the country the road had to make choices. They explained that the old timetables would not be followed. Victory Trains now had priority. The railroad bragged that they had invested $145,000,000 in improvements during the depth of the Great Depression but at times there was more to carry than the line could manage.
The advertisement was signed A.T. Mercier, preident of the Southern Pacific Company and the tag line was “The Friendly Southern Pacific.”
National Train Day is this Saturday, May 11th, 2013. For more detailed information click here.

The original shopping center for Atascadero

David Middlecamp — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:19:08 +0000

1917 Grand opening of the Mercantile/La Plaza building in Atascadero. It was behind the present day fire station. Photo courtesy the Atascadero Historical Society

Edward Gardner Lewis and wife Mabel bought the 23,000 acre rancho that would become the colony of Atascadero for $850,000 in 1913. The utopian dreamer, land speculator and publisher envisioned a new city.
By 1915 a tent city sold the subdivided lots and was the place for people to stay while building their homes.
The Mercantile/La Plaza building in Atascadero was part of the civic center of the colony. It was designed by St. Louis, MO architect John J. Roth.
This grand opening photo dated March 3, 1917 shows a mixture of horse drawn and gasoline fired buggies landscaping was still incomplete.
The building housed 70 guests in Atascadero Inn on the top floor and by 1919 a world-wide co-op called the Rochdale program supplied groceries for the community. There was also the home of the post office, movie theater, hardware, jewelry, clothing, furniture stores among others, and two elevators.
Originally all commercial business in Atascadero was restricted to this one building. With almost 42,000 square feet it was the Wal-Mart of its day. The only exception was made for an automotive garage down the street.
In 1922 E.G. Lewis, town founder and president of the Colony Holding Corporation, sectioned off nearby land to be developed commercially but soon he would lose control of the colony during bankruptcy. Some local merchants found restrictions onerous established themselves on the state highway, setting the template for the town we know today.
In 1926 building was sold and remodeled as hotel throughout, hosting a second grand reopening of the building now called the Atascadero Inn, ten years after it was built. The building would not survive to 20. The Atascadero Inn was destroyed by fire September 13, 1934.
Ironically the site today is behind the downtown fire station and also is where part of the Fine Arts Academy are located. All that remains is a small rose garden behind the fire station.

Photo courtesy the Atascadero Historical Society
Information from “Atascadero, The vision of one-The work of many” by L.W. Allen

McPhee University Union under construction, Cal Poly 1968

David Middlecamp — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:48:01 +0000

Cal Poly campus just before Poly Royal in April 1968. The University Union building was under construction, the Performing Arts Center was a lawn an Perimeter Road was a road.
circa April 25, 1968 © David Ranns/Telegram-Tribune

Origins of Halcyon, CA and Temple of the People

David Middlecamp — Wed, 01 May 2013 02:01:41 +0000

Paul Ivey will deliver a presentation based on his book “Radiance from Halcyon” a history of the Temple of the People. The program will take place Friday May 3 at 6 p.m. Meet at the IOOF Hall in Arroyo Grande at 128 Bridge Street (across from McLintock’s). Admission is free with a donation request in support of the South County Historical Society.

spherical triangle design of Temple of People has religious significance in Theosophy.

On March 12, 1977 Telegram-Tribune reporter Linnea Waltz wrote about the history of the community:

Halcyon temple work began with 1875 plan in New York
By Linnea Waltz
Staff Writer
Those halcyon days became reality in 1903 in San Luis Obispo County when followers of the Wisdom Religion — and an integral part of it, the theosophical movement — settled on land purchased south of Arroyo Grande by Temple of the People.
The temple named the community Halcyon and the Golden Rule became the most important law governing the conduct of the residents.
One of the first activities was the creation of a pottery studio and school, and, at first, a small printing establishment. The Halcyon Book Concern still is active. The temple’s magazine, called “The Temple Artisan,” has been published since the start.
The Temple of the People in Halcyon is the international headquarters, and its membership has spread throughout the world.
Guardian in Chief of the organization, and spiritual leader in the community, is Harold Forgostein, a retired art teacher from Morro Bay High School.
He is the fourth guardian of the temple since it was founded in 1898 by Francia A. LaDue and Dr. William H. Dower in New York. The first was Ms. LaDue followed by Dr. Dower, the Pearl F. Dower.
The temple is a direct continuation of work authorized in New York in 1875 by Madame Helena P. Blavatsky. Her work and its authority eventually became the co-responsibility of the two organizing founders.
Temple literature explains Wisdom Religion as “a world-old body of spiritual lore.” Temple teachings are that the history of man shows the appearance regularly in larger cycles of years of an avatar — or Christ — who epitomizes the influence of good on mankind. “For most men, the last recorded appearance of the avatar was 2,000 years ago as Jesus of Nazareth,” the teachings say.
“The 2,000 year cycle of this reappearance among men is the reason for the temple organization in 1898…and the realization of His presence has become a daily assignment of each temple member…And it is thus that He incarnates, heart by heart, mind by mind, until his presences is one day known from His highest to His least component.”
Forgostein explains the Temple of the People as “a philosophical, religious and humanitarian society.”
Foundation stones for the organization are religion, science and economics, but “the temple is not now nor was it ever a commune or cooperative enterprise,” the temple literature advises. “…Its reason for being is and always has rested on the inviolability of the Golden Rule.”
The objects, or goals, of the temple are fivefold:
1. To formulate religious truths as the fundamental factor in the evolution of the human race, but not the formation of a creed.
2. To set forth a life philosophy in accord with natural and divine law.
3. To promote the study of sciences, and the fundamental facts and laws on which they are based, for the extension of our belief and knowledge from the known to the unknown.
4. To promote the study and practice of art on fundamental lines, showing art is in reality the application of knowledge to human good and welfare.
5. To promote knowledge of the true social science, showing the relationship between man and man, and man Good and nature.
Even the temple structure has meaning. Triangular in shape, it is a symbol of deity, or the higher self, and of the trinity of God powers running through all systems of religion.
It is this triangular approach that allows no short cuts, for temple teachings say…”The only path to progress is based on service to mankind, the common good indicated by the Golden Rule.”

Harold Forgostein lights candles on altar.