Great things can happen when people work together.

This past month College Area residents took part in several activities which aimed to build a strong sense of community by creating opportunities to get connected in our wonderful neighborhoods.

CACC members worked together to host College Area Clean Up Day in early August. It resulted in a great community service effort to spruce up major thoroughfares as well as neighborhood streets. Neighborhood parks and even parking lots received care, too.

Many partnering companies, organizations and individuals worked together to make it a fun and successful event. Many thanks to each of them.

The Rolando Community Council (RCC) also had a successful event during August which brought neighbors together for a really fun movie night in Clay Neighborhood Park (See separate story).

A joint activity of the CACC and the RCC was subsequently planned for the night of Sept. 8.

Organized with the help of the College Area Business District, this event was billed as a “night out” to dine at Terra American Bistro (7091 El Cajon Blvd), followed by a showing of Cry It Out at Moxie Theater (6663 El Cajon Blvd).

In October, we will share more about this community council collaboration and the fun opportunity to spend time with old friends and new, in support of our local neighborhood businesses.

Alvarado Estates

By KAREN AUSTIN

In recognition of our 75th Anniversary (1948-2023), our AE History/Anniversary Committee is helping to create opportunities for residents to celebrate together and learn more about the history of our neighborhood.

In mid-September we have a fantastic “tiki” garden party and home tour scheduled. The theme of the event is inspired by some of the architectural detail on one of our very special mid-century modern homes. According to the current owners, “it’s a custom ranch design with a low hip roof line and exaggerated overhangs to shorten direct sunlight and minimize rain directly to the windows. Roof dormers on the home have an Asian or South Pacific influence, which was popular here in San Diego from 1955 thru 1965.”

This spectacular home was designed by noted San Diego modernist architect, Richard George Wheeler.

Wheeler was the son of another prominent San Diego architect, William Henry Wheeler, and the father of James Wheeler, also an architect, in his own right. In fact, James Wheeler will be a special guest at the home tour party and will share about his father’s life and the legacy he left in Alvarado Estates when he designed this featured home and at least two others.

Later in September, another history event is planned to showcase a short movie that a resident made about the beginnings of Alvarado Estates and the subsequent decades.

It cleverly tells the story of the neighborhood through old photographs, newspaper clippings, aerial images, and video footage of both bygone days and contemporary experiences. Moviemaker Eric Poliak says it’s a work in progress, as he intends to add more footage as homeowners share about their interesting homes and the lives of those who have resided in Alvarado Estates during its 75 year history.

College View Estates

By JEAN HOEGER

College Area Clean Up Day on Aug. 5 involved six neighborhoods in the overall College Area, including our neighborhood of College View Estates.

As the College View Estates Association (CVEA) representative on the community-wide CACC board, I stationed myself at the church parking lot. Terri K. and Gary D. from our CVEA were also actively involved in the day. Terri and her walking crew placed event notifications on every CVE house and quite a bit of junk was removed from the neighborhood. The CVEA was a major sponsor for the event, contributing $300 to the project to pay for the handouts and T-Shirts.

A goal for day was to clean up Montezuma Road (pictured above), which is the common road connector for all our College Area neighborhoods.

Gary, his daughter Krista and their exchange student lead the charge and successfully picked up trash on the segment from 54th Street to Collwood Blvd. His crew frequently cleans up trash along Montezuma Road and he welcomes all to contact him to help out and have a chance to achieve this positive feeling and get to know more about your environment.

El Cerrito

Resident Profile

El Cerrito residents Katherine Sasseen, and Johnny Suzano Hipolito have been collaborating in life and music since 2005. They just released their second full length album in May 2023, called LESSONS OF THE STARS.

Katherine has been a healing arts practitioner for some 25 years, including massage therapy and teaching yoga at SDSU for 16 years. Johnny is a supervisor with the County of San Diego.

Katherine’s lyrics are layered with universal themes – life, love, heartache, sensuality, fun and soul-searching. Johnny’s music beautifully punctuates and complements throughout. Some use soft solo piano to accompany sweet lyrics, while rock-in guitar licks and drums are used in others. This is an album worth savoring one song at a time. Lessons of the Stars is streaming on most music platforms: iTunes, CD baby, Apple Music, YouTube, etc.

Mesa Colony

By SUSAN GRANT

The Harriet Tubman Village Charter School “Modernization Master Plan” was revealed to the Mesa Colony Community Group during its August neighborhood meeting.

Now that the children have gone back to school, Mesa Colony has shifted its attention to the only school within its boundaries, Harriet Tubman Village Charter School. At our meeting this week, we were able to enjoy a wonderful presentation by, Principal Ryan Woodard and Lisa LaGrone, Community Schools Coordinator, about the upcoming changes planned for the school campus.

The school has had a long history in our neighborhood and the 4 acre site is about to undergo yet another transformation.

It was one of the first schools in the area in1891 and was named “La Mesa School” after La Mesa Colony, a subdivision east of San Diego City proper. By 1911, the school was redesigned and enlarged by architect Irving Gill. The new school became “La Mesa Heights,” to reflect the new name of the community. Two more name changes came with the addition of more buildings and soon, in 1993, John Muir Elementary School became the school that we know today as Harriet Tubman Village Charter School.

So what started as a small rural school in the late 1800’s, has become a fantastic K-8 charter school that has an enrollment of well over 400 students.

Plans to expand and help the school meet today’s standards were started in earnest in Jan. 2015. The master plan was named the,”The Whole School Modernization Project.” In March of 2015, it was decided that input from the surrounding community, the school staff and San Diego Unified School District Administration was the best way to get everyone involved. By March 2016, after much consideration by staff and community, the plan was complete. But there was more work to be done. In 2017, the school’s new Principal, Ryan Woodard, as well as it’s staff and administration, worked hard to bring the school into “good standing” with the San Diego Unified School

District. Two short years later, in 2019, the master plan was approved and in 2022 over 40 million dollars was awarded for the “Modernization Master Plan.”

This plan really is a collaborative effort and addresses things like traffic flow, maintaining the historical buildings on site with interior renovations only, keeping the newly constructed joint use park and grass playing field, providing trees and shade structures and a new playground, adding air conditioning, improved security, a large multipurpose room/gym with lockers rooms for indoor sports and meetings, with both indoor and outside shaded lunch areas. Construction should take some 4 – 5 years given the phases that it requires to still maintain student enrollment and daily school functions.

This will be a new chapter for not only the school but the community that surrounds it.

We look forward to partnering with the school in the years to come, as it builds the leaders of tomorrow.