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Father’s Day is on the way and here’s a quick history fix for Dad.  The books are available from AMAZON and local bookstores. Each book has 38 stories originally published in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Topics include San Diego people, the military, schools, water, sports, crime, scandal, and more–all illustrated with historic photographs.

Save the date. On Monday, November 14, I’ll be at the Point Loma/Hervey branch of the Public Library to share some great stories and photos from my books San Diego Yesterday and The Way We Were in San Diego.

Ever been here? If love you local history, genealogy, or rare books, this the place. Here’s a 30 minute tour. But consider it just a preview. Then come visit us on the 9th floor of the Central Library.

Eyewitness accounts of early San Diego are a treasure. The 1872 diary of J. A. Shepherd, the quiet bookkeeper of city founder Alonzo E. Horton, provides a fascinating first-hand look at “poor, isolated San Diego,” as the young town struggled to find success in its obscure corner of the United States.

On Friday afternoon, May 17, I’ll be at the San Carlos Branch Library for an illustrated lecture on the history of the San Diego Public Library. Join us at 2:00. Here’s a flyer for the talk:

Jubilation greeted the opening of the Sweetwater Dam in the spring of 1888. On the heels of the great land “boom of the eighties,” National City and the south bay reveled in the completion of an engineering marvel, the tallest masonry arch dam in the United States, which created San Diego County’s first large reservoir of water–an essential key to the region’s growth and prosperity.

The story of Building the Sweetwater Dam.

Here’s a mystery image from a collection of Spreckels-era transit records.  Anyone recognize the date and place?

Did the Spanish explorer Francisco de Ulloa meet his demise near San Diego in 1540? Did he leave behind a fortune in gold and silver, buried somewhere near San Luis Rey?

Last Friday I did an interview on the mystery with Edward Sifuentes, who writes for the North County edition of the UT.  Here’s the uncut video: http://bcove.me/8p1x65zj  No preface or introduction, I’m afraid. Just a chat with a reporter with the camera running.

This Saturday morning I’ll be giving a talk on the treasure mystery at the Oceanside Public Library, at 11:00.