The recent 85th anniversary of Point Loma High School (PLHS) has ignited interest in the history of the Peninsula area — and a now-deceased teacher at the school was instrumental in providing residents with a glimpse of earlier times in the area. “Here’s to you Point Loma …” is a new 95-minute DVD offering a visual retrospect of local life several decades ago. The DVD is being made available through a local museum foundation, and features priceless images of former Pointer students and city scenes, accompanied by period music. Credit for the unique footage goes to Caroline Crosby, an iconic teacher of girls’ physical education at PLHS for decades. Known as a tough educator, Crosby taught Spanish dancing and hula to her students — something she is shown demonstrating on film. “She was an eccentric lady, but clearly loved her students,” Reynolds said. Crosby carried bulky movie cameras throughout her career, capturing images of life on the Pointer campus and in a simpler time throughout the growing city of San Diego. While the high school and its activities are the focus of the documentary, life in the community shares much of the visually fascinating spotlight during its captivating journey into the bygone era covering roughly 1948 to 1965. Crosby, now deceased, donated many reels of 16mm and 8mm film to the Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation, where she was a founding member and served on the board of directors. That’s where Paula Reynolds and Barb Franklin come in. Reynolds and Franklin examined the aging films and found them in very fragile condition. “The first thing we did was have all of the films restored and transferred to digital format,” said Reynolds. “This preserved the images and ensured they would retain their original beauty.” Then the real work began. Over the course of a year, the two women, neither of whom were computer savvy, set about editing the footage. They attempted to provide a general overview of the many events Crosby had filmed throughout the city. These included such diverse events as the annual Portuguese Festas, San Diego harbor scenes, an early Cabrillo Festival and the school’s pom-pom squad — “The Lomanettes” — performing and greeting U.S. Navy ships returning from the Korean War. There are two graduation ceremonies shown at the former California Western University campus amphitheater. “There’s even some surprising footage from Lane Field,” (the Padres’ original downtown stadium) Reynolds said. On campus, there are scenes of baton-twirling beauties, Crosby’s physical education classes dancing, the school band, Homecoming queens in convertible Cadillacs, parades and football games with leather-helmeted players on dirt fields. “It was just amazing to see how many school and local events Miss Crosby attended with her movie cameras,” said Franklin. “We had so much fun putting this project together. “We would like people to experience the same joy we had in making the DVD,” Reynolds said. “Point Loma has so much history to offer.” Fort Guijarros was the name of the original Spanish cannon battery built in 1796 at what is now Ballast Point. It was used until the 1830s, then abandoned. During the 1860s, Yankee whalers moved in and used the fort as a location to process their catches. In the 1890s, however, the U.S. Army came in and covered the entire fort with fill dirt in order to build new gun batteries above. The dirt, however, acted to preserve the original fort, and museum members, with the permission of the U.S. Navy, began excavating the site in 1981. These all-volunteer excavations and research continue in efforts to better understand the history and mystery of Point Loma’s past. The group’s annual membership drive will be held in March. Contact the group for additional information. The DVD can be delivered in time for the holidays, Reynolds said, suggesting interested buyers contact her personally. The online museum store also offers five different prints by artist Jay Wegter depicting scenes from the history of Ballast Point, T-shirts and key chains. “HERE’S TO YOU POINT LOMA …” • Available from: The Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation • Cost: $20, with proceeds going to the museum group and Point Loma High School • Contact: Paula Reynolds, (619) 224-2194; visit  www.fortguijarros.com, or e-mail [email protected]