KPBS TV AND KEN KRAMER TO AIR
TWO NEW CORONADO SEGMENTS
Ken Kramer is seen here interviewing Colonel Richard Kenney about his memories of the shipwreck
Monte Carlo that now rests buried under the sand at South Coronado Beach. Photo by Joe Ditler.
CORONADO One of the most popular television shows about San Diego County is “Ken Kramer’s About San Diego,” currently airing on KPBS-TV. The series has presented stories of the people and places that define San Diego and Coronado for more than 30 years.
Kramer, who has earned a reputation as one of San Diego’s greatest historians and TV news reporters, recently produced two segments for his prime time television show involving Coronado people and events.
The first show airs at 8 p.m., Thursday, May 24, and talks about the shipwreck Monte Carlo. Kramer interviews Colonel Richard Kenney, who, as a young boy, recovered silver dollars from the shipwreck.
The floating gambling casino Monte Carlo, above, crashed on South Coronado Beach New Year’s Day, 1937. The owners were never identified and so the wreck has remained there all these years. Below, remains of the wreck can be seen after a series of winter storms depleted the sand. Photos courtesy of the Coronado Public Library (above) and Joe Ditler (below).
The second Coronado segment airs at 8 p.m., Thursday, May 31, and is about the venerable old ferryboat San Diego, and its recent demise at the hands of a demolition crew. He interviews Coronado residents at the Coronado Public Library, and features the current Library exhibit on, “History of the Coronado Ferryboats.”
The ferryboat Ramona, above, operated the Coronado-to-San Diego run from 1903-1931. Here she is preparing to offload foot and bicycle passengers, an automobile, and a horse-drawn wagon. Below, the ferryboat San Diego is photographed from the deck of the ferryboat Crown City, circa 1960s.
Photos courtesy of the Coronado Public Library.
“I believe that there is more history per square foot in Coronado than anywhere else in San Diego County,” Kramer has said many times, and again on a recent visit to the island.
Kramer is creator, producer, and host of the television series that has aired for more than three decades on commercial and Public Radio and TV. “Ken Kramer’s About San Diego” has been honored with numerous Emmy and Golden Mike Awards, as well as recognition from teachers groups, SOHO, City Of San Diego, San Diego Historical Society, Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club, Radio Festival of New York and The Voice of America.
In proclaiming “Ken Kramer Day” in 2008, The County Board of Supervisors described Kramer and the show as “ more valuable to San Diego History than any two or three of our local museums combined.”
For more information, or to view past episodes of “Ken Kramer’s About San Diego,” visit www.kenkramertv.com. The Coronado episodes will repeat after the initial showings, and those times will also be available on the website as well.
