‘MY CORONADO MEMORY’ by Susan Keith
Some of my fondest memories are the years spent working at the Coronado Flower Show. Emily Talbert and I were the co-chairs for the Wild Flower Section for a number of years. Toni Gaylord was a faithful volunteer.
Four or five groups would go out for the day covering all of San Diego County looking for wildflowers. The samples came from public and private land; we had permits to do the picking. Some groups would even spend the night in the back country to get an early start the next day.
Betty MacInnes, Trickie Clayton, Betty Wells and numerous others were our faithful pickers. Early on Saturday a well known botanist from National City would come and scientifically label all the species. After that, we’d sit through the open hours of the show. Breakfast was ALWAYS a hot dog from the Job’s Daughter stand and for dessert we would have their freshly made donuts.
Always a fun and exhausting time for all of us and it’s fun to think back on those memory-making days…
What’s YOUR Story? My Coronado Memory is collaborative project of the City of Coronado and the Coronado Historical Association in celebration of the City’s 125th Anniversary. We invite you to share your favorite memory at: www.mycoronadomemory.com.
Shown here (l. to r.): Long-time Flower Show volunteers Susan Keith, Toni Gaylord and Emily Talbert show off wildflowers gleaned from the back country. (Photo courtesy Susan Keith)