Kiwanis move after 51 years

The last time the Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club needed a change of address form, Lyndon B. Johnson was president of the United States. The Vietnam War was still in its early stages. In St. Louis, the Gateway Arch was completed, while in Los Angeles, the Watts race riots boiled over. The minor-league San Diego Padres played their home games at Westgate Park while just a few miles to the east, construction workers broke ground on the future site of San Diego Stadium. The Beatles released their “Rubber Soul” album, and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” made its television debut.

The year was 1965. The G.A.G. Kiwanis Club (alliedgardenskiwanis.org) had been meeting at the Purple Cow Restaurant during the first few years of its existence, but the diner changed names and ownership several times. The Purple Cow, located at 6160 Mission Gorge Road, became the Chuck Wagon, then the House of the Beefeaters, then the Seven Nations Restaurant. Meanwhile, the Allied Gardens Recreation Center had been constructed, breaking ground in 1961, on the former site of two broadcasting towers belonging to the Marietta Broadcasting Company. The towers were relocated, the land was leased (and later purchased) by the city of San Diego, and the new Recreation Center was built.

In 1965, G.A.G. Kiwanis moved into the Gardens Room of the Recreation Center and remained there for the next 51 years; twice renovating the room, including a 1985 expansion to its current seating capacity. We were given access to the kitchen, storage space, and a seat on the Rec Council — the governing body of the Allied Gardens Recreation Center. As other clubs in Division 21 moved from place to place, meeting in restaurants, churches, hotels, and even the San Diego Zoo, G.A.G. Kiwanis enjoyed more than half a century of remarkable stability.

Thursday, Nov. 3 marked the dawning of a new era for G.A.G. Kiwanis, as we made our move officially to Brothers Restaurant on Waring Road, squarely in the heart of Allied Gardens. Brothers is owned and operated by Kathy Coleman, who has graciously opened her doors to our group and created a special breakfast menu for Kiwanis members and our guests to enjoy.

As we embark on the next phase of our club’s history, we can look back on our many years at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center and be thankful for the hospitality we enjoyed there. We hope that our new partnership with Brothers will keep us going for another 50 years.

—John Crawford, Vice President, Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club

Library woes

In 1999, my family and I moved to San Carlos. My son was 4 years old and my daughter was 7 years old.

At that time, as now, a sign was posted at the corner of Jackson and Golfcrest, announcing that San Carlos would soon be getting a new library. We moved from Point Loma, which had received a nice new library.

Well, my son is now about to turn 23 and my daughter is 26 years old, with two kids. So, we are now hoping that our grandchildren will be able to experience the new San Carlos library someday.

The city of San Diego decided to build a shrine of a library downtown and have forgotten about the community libraries. The heart of the library system is with the community libraries.

I am requesting that the Mission Times Courier investigate and conduct interviews on the status of San Carlos and other communities getting new libraries.

Pretty sad that the town I grew up in of 3,000 people, now has a nice modern library, yet America’s Finest City has libraries that are over 50 years old.

When we moved to San Carlos, the whole family was excited in 1999 that we would be getting a new library just a few blocks from our house.

—Ray, San Carlos

[Editor’s Note: The San Carlos library issue is once again coming to a surface and there has been movement on it so look for coverage in upcoming issues of the Mission Times Courier. Also, stay tuned to upcoming agendas of the Navajo Community Planners, Inc. for meetings with the library as an item.]

New group forms for Del Cerro beautification

The Friends of Del Cerro is a newly formed nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the community for everyone living and working in Del Cerro. Our goal is to bring people together and create a sense of community by advancing social, education and arts activities and supporting existing programs with the same mission. We also want to invest in making Del Cerro more safe and beautiful by establishing a maintenance assessment district.

We are working with the city and the community to generate a plan to enhance the planning and maintenance of Del Cerro’s public spaces. The Del Cerro Maintenance Assessment District Formation Committee as part of the Friends of Del Cerro is requesting your attendance as property owners to the Community Improvement Meeting to help shape the future of the Del Cerro Community. The meeting is Thursday, Jan. 12, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, 6299 Capri Drive, Del Cerro. Proposed beautification details and additional background information will be provided.

Also, please visit FriendsofDelCerro.com and complete the informational survey on the
home page. Your input is needed and important in determining the types of landscaping improvements you would like to see in Del Cerro. The deadline to complete the survey is Dec. 20 and the results will be presented at the Community Improvement Meeting. For questions or assistance, please email [email protected] or call 619-888-9140.

—Mark Rawlins, Friends of Del Cerro chair