When asked how she first came to Coronado, Peggy Golden forms a smile during a brief pause and delivers her statement as though offering a fresh baked cookie, “I discovered Coronado on my honeymoon in 1956.” Her late husband, Bill, had just finished his first year of law school and had reserve duty in Coronado. They took advantage of the extended stay and desirable locale to vacation for a honeymoon. Two years later they came back to live as permanent residents. Such is a familiar sentiment among long time Coronadoans and Peggy is no exception. It’s been 47 consecutive years since 1965 that she has lived in Coronado and as her story unfolds on a crisp, clear, sunny “winter” afternoon it’s easy to understand why she claims, “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
Raised in a small, insular town in Iowa, she recognized the complimentary value of the Coronado community as a great place to raise a family. “This is the ideal place. It’s a safe place to raise a family but yet you have the benefits and access to a city.” When she first moved to Coronado in 1958 she had a young son, Michael, and a baby, Timothy, on the way. Then, there was a brief move back to Iowa during which time Bill set off to pursue politics and she had her daughter, Maureen. Five years later, they couldn’t stay away and returned to Coronado for good. Once settled back “home” she had her youngest child, Molly. All four kids attended Sacred Heart parish school through 8th grade and then went on to attend and graduate from Coronado High School. “The schools have always been good here. We’ve been very fortunate to have the quality of public education we have in Coronado,” and Peggy believes the statement still holds strong. When asked how she spent her time during the years her children were growing and in school, “Well, when you have four children…I did volunteer work. Volunteer work is good. The normal things you do as parents when your kids are in school…the parental support…everything from cooking hot dogs at lunch, working at Sacred Heart and the library. I did a lot of work in San Diego with the Children’s Home Society, the San Diego County Bar Association, The Assistance League and the San Diego Opera. Those were the years when the opera would send performers to the schools and they would have little skits that they did to introduce the children to the opera.” As a lover of the arts and an artist and gardener herself, it was important that her kids be exposed to the benefits of creative culture. With Timothy and Molly both being born at Coronado Hospital, all four children receiving sacraments at Sacred Heart Church and subsequently matriculating through CHS, each spent their formative years in Coronado. One of the greatest benefits of a small town for kids is the independence she says, “I want my children to be able to ride their bikes to school, I want them to ride to scouting, I want them to have the independence to take themselves. Opportunity, experience, consequences – that’s the sequence. Kids learn a lot.”
She shares a story about her oldest son, Michael, selling newspapers outside of church in junior high. Being that the town is so small, the man who had the business of filling the newspaper machines took notice and approached Michael about a job. For years he would ride his bike to the base at 4:30/5:00am every day of the week and stand in front of North Island and sell to the customers as they would drive onto the base. On Sundays he would go around and fill all the machines in town with papers. As he grew and got into high school he pulled his brother, Timothy, into the business. The big truck would come from San Diego and deliver all the papers to the garage of their home. Peggy remembers, “Michael and his brother would sit there and stuff the special bulletin inserts into all the papers. Yesterday’s printing had to have today’s news.“ She continues, “These are the experiences children could have here. They could have jobs because you knew who was hiring them, you knew who they were going to be working for, and it was much safer.” Though none of her kids can make the current choice to reside in town, they all have a strong connection to the community and make it back whenever possible.
One of the great stories of Coronado history Peggy shares is how her late husband, Bill, took the personal initiative to preserve the great sense of community in Coronado and keep the beaches accessible to all residents and visitors. During the years their children were growing they would often take them down to the beach to play. It was at the time the Shores were being constructed that plaques were inserted into the beach access sidewalks claiming private property.
The thought of restricted access to the wonderful, public beach really bothered their family. She recalls a conversation, “I remember [Bill] came home [from the beach with the kids] and he was talking about these signs and he said ‘I am gonna go to the office, I want to do a little research’, I could tell he was deep in thought.” In the name of their kids, those thoughts turned into action about the same time that the California Coastal Commission was instituted. A lawyer by trade, Bill fought the restriction and won. The case was settled out of court. “There was a third of the town that hated us, a third that applauded us, and the other third of the town couldn’t care less. Human nature I think it is called.” As a result, the hut at the main entrance of the Shores and the public parking were put in place and remain to this day. Another reminder of the victory is a small, rectangle cutout and re-pour of concrete visible in the sidewalk at the top of the left corner, off of the first access road cul-de-sac, where one of the plaques was removed. Though it seems like a lifetime ago, she still walks across the path every once in awhile and smiles.
Life in Coronado continues to keep her smiling. Married to Tom Golden since 1989 her face lights up when asked how they met. “It was dancing. A friend wanted us to meet.” Professional dancers came to one of the big hotels in San Diego for ballroom dancing. On a Sunday night a dancing exhibition was held at the Hotel Del. A friend “knew that I liked to dance and she knew that [Tom] liked to dance. She had matchmaking in mind from the beginning.” After that first night, “the only thing I knew was that I wanted to see him one more time. Six months later we married.” They married at Sacred Heart Church on January 7, 1989 and held the reception at the Officer’s Club on the Amphibious Base. They live in the house they built together that same year and can’t imagine living any place else. “Living my life out here, I was a daily tennis player and I gardened. When my kids were little I would get them off to school, I’d take my tennis racquet…and drive down to the tennis center. So, then after tennis, go to the grocery store, go home and garden.” She continues by sharing a fun story about her gardening, “I loved to garden. Back in 1987 I won the trophy for the best garden in Coronado. That is one of my big claims to fame. It was called ‘The Best Garden’ and the judges in 1987 were from San Diego. They didn’t just judge your home front, they judged your whole lot…front, back, sides, everything.” The trophy at that time was called the Kate Session’s trophy for The Best Garden. They gave her the trophy to keep for a specified period of time and the club told her they wanted her name to go on it. What they did not say was that she was responsible for putting her own name on a plate on the trophy. When it was time to pick up the trophy and hand it over to the next winner her name was never engraved so, it was left blank as if she had not won. “Don’t ever be prideful, because if you are prideful things like this happen,” she laughs. Along with the garden club, she and Tom stay active in several, local organizations such as The Coronado Hospital Foundation, Meals on Wheels, Sacred Heart Church and the Assistance League of San Diego. Peggy also loves to paint.
After sharing paintings and walking through the garden, bathed in sunshine in December, Peggy says she wouldn’t change a day of her Coronado life. Even with changes over time in traffic, building and increases in population she states, “It’s all a matter of degree.” The benefits of raising a family and living here far out way any recent changes. Viewing the way your own children parent their children is one of the great joys of family. They’re good people and it’s very rewarding. I have great joy for their accomplishments and their character. If I were young and raising a family I would still choose Coronado. It’s one of the best places to raise a family…you’ve got water, water, base, base…and before the bridge it was great because there was no other way off the island. We chose this community because we had been privileged to know – we knew the value of it.
