Ever been curious about all those names & dates stamped into our concrete sidewalks in and around North Park? 

Here's a website with a little more information about this phenomenon.  As pictured & discussed on this website, some present day developers are making an attempt to preserve these little pieces of history.

http://www.efgh.com/np/sidewalks.htm

These photos are of two company names in the sidewalks of my bl0ck; Griffith Company (9-26) and DR Daley (11-24).  Apparently the sidewalk on the east side of our street was laid 2 years after the sidewalk on the west...at least in certain areas.

I look at these names nearly every day, yet don't know much about who they represent.  While I couldn't find much out about Griffith Company, I did find a website for the Daley Corporation, which says the following;
"Daley Corporation is a General Engineering Contractor based in San Diego California with company roots extending to the early 1900’s, including a significant contribution to the early building of San Diego’s roadway infrastructure."

Hmmm...if sidewalks could talk!

I recently met a real true North Park native.  It was fun hearing her memories of growing up here in the 50's.  Joyce Abram was born in a hospital which once existed in North Park; I believe she said Mercy Hospital on Illinois Street (??) and moved into her family home on Gregory Street street in 1949.  She was 3 years old.  Her family still owns the house, which was a mere 4 years old when they bought it and moved in! 
She talks about what a wonderful life and idyllic childhood she had in North Park.  It was, as she puts it, "...just like the Ozzie and Harriet kind of families we watched on TV".  The neighborhood was filled with young families.  It was an innocent era with children playing in the streets.  McKinley Elementary was a top-notch school.  She remembers attending school and community events in the ampitheatre that used to be on the campus.  She attended McKinley from 1951-1958 and is thrilled that it has once again become a school to be so proud of.  Though she now resides in La Jolla, she has remained active with McKinley over the past 50 years.  She's done a great deal of work on behalf of the students and faculty there, including starting a foundation with private donations which eventually became the McKinley Parent Committee.  She's looking forward to the McKinley alumni reunion on May 1st.


She remembers fondly how North Park was the place to be.  Everyone who was anyone in San Diego lived in North Park, like local politicians and other movers and shakers.  As she says, "It was truly the center of the city."  University Ave was a vibrant area.  As a child, she often went to movies at the now restored North Park Theatre, as well as at another theatre that was located across the street.  She skated at the Palisades Roller Rink.  (Now The Palisades mixed use condominium building.)  She bowled at Aztec Bowl on 30th.  (So did I before the tore it down and erected condos.)  One of her teachers from McKinley used to routinely take the students to "Thrift Day" at the B of A; it was located on 30th where Cafe Calabria is now.  (She told me you can still see the vaults in there.)  Another teacher rewarded students for good behavior by taking them over to Carnations Ice Cream Store for, of course, ice cream.  (I think she said that was on University Ave.)  She remembers when the library on 31st & North Park Way was built, and what a huge event it was when Longs went in on University & 32nd.  She shopped for her school clothes at Penny's (where Pic-n-Save used to be) and at Schlass (now A&B Sporting Goods - still in the same location on University.)

At the little commercial corner of 32nd & Thorn she recalls the Pigley Wiggly Grocery Store and Roy’s Groceries.  The neighborhood kids bought their candy at Chris' Market on Myrtle & Boundary, which as most of you know, is still there today.  When Joyce was a kid they called it "Amelia's".  She was Chris' daughter and worked the counter.  There was another small market over by McKinley called Sterrett's Market (or something like that) but I was unable to dig up any info about it.

Thank you, Joyce, for sharing your memories.  It's a good reminder that North Park has so much interesting history.  It's one of the things that draws so many of us to the area.

There are many successful realtors in North Park, but none more visually prominent than my friend and neighbor, Mary McTernan.  You can't miss her distinctive pink cars, pink bus stop bench ads, pink open house signs, and sometimes the occasional pink billboard.  As a result of all this eye-grabbing marketing, my niece & nephew (6 year old Aylish & 8 year old Quinn) have invented the "I SEE MARY" game.  They asked me to share it here so that others can partake in the fun.  This activity has given them countless hours of entertainment around North Park.

Here's how it works:  Any person in the group, at any time, can start the game.  When they see Mary, they call out "I see Mary"...and game is on.  From that point on, each player gets 5 points per "sighting".  A 5 point sighting includes open house signs, bus stops, cars, etc. (Open house signs are fun because they show up in unexpected places.)  Once a player has called a sighting, no other player can get points from it.  The first player to hit 100 points wins the game.  (You'd be surprised how easily one can get to 100 points around here.)  The real prize, though, is seeing a real live Mary...in the flesh.  If you see the real Mary, you automatically win the game.  If you see her partner, Zee, you get 50 points!  (No offense, Zee, but it is the I See Mary game.)  If you see Mary while she's walking her dogs...well, you win the game and you get the satisfaction of seeing her cute little dogs.

If you have questions about more details of the "I See Mary" game, let me know and I'll ask Quinn & Aylish for clarification.  They're sticklers for the rules...when they can agree on them, that is.

Happy hunting.  And by the way...this game is fun for us grown ups, too.

Like many North Parkans, I've been looking forward to the new Fresh & Easy coming to the corner of 32nd & University. According to the banner on University, it will open sometime this summer. Since I don’t know much about the company (except that it’s a subsidiary of a British company; the UK-based retailer Tesco, the worlds 3^rd largest retailer) I wanted to learn a little more.

On February 9, 2006, Tesco announced that it planned to move into the US by opening a chain of small format grocery stores on the West Coast; Arizona, California, and Nevada…named Fresh & Easy.

I went to their website. Here are some of the things I read there which I liked: