Preserving Coronado history is one thing. Locating it is another. There is an ongoing process at the Coronado Public Library to locate as much visual Coronado history as is possible, and everyone is invited to participate.
Christmas came early to the library last week when Coronadan John William Hakes donated the contents of two family photo albums dating back to 1917. The photographs add immensely to the visual knowledge and history of Coronado.
The time gap between “then and now” is often the biggest challenge to researchers, historians and history detectives. Things disappear. People die and subsequent generations don’t recognize the value of the contents of those old boxes.
It’s rare that a suitcase or box of old Tent City photos, for example, will surface in 2015. And yet, pieces of history continue to pop up on the radar.
Mathewsons, Hakes, MacKenzies; these are all old Coronado families steeped in the history of the island. Hakes’ recent donation rang the proverbial carnival bell. He loaned the valuable images to the Coronado Public Library to scan into their permanent collection and preserve for future generations.
“I knew the old photo albums were valuable,” said Hakes, “But I didn’t know how valuable. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. Something in me said ‘keep them for my kids,’ but looking at the photographs, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by their historical significance.
“The library had a great solution,” said Hakes. “We still have the original images for my children and their children, but the library also captured those images, and now they have become part of an ongoing research project of great importance. I think my grandmother would be very pleased.”
Last year John Hakes turned up with a photo album from pre-1900 Coronado. In it were images of the ostrich farm, Tent City and the Hotel del Coronado.
The Hakes family has been living and playing in Coronado since the 1880s. John Hakes struggled with letting go of such old family keepsakes, but he was wise in how he handled that cache of images, which set the standard for this recent donation.
Hakes allowed the Coronado Public Library to scan the original images in high resolution so the library would have that historical evidence in their permanent collection.
The library carefully re-packaged the decaying images in archival plastic sleeves and returned them to Hakes along with a thumb drive that had all the images digitally scanned.
Among this latest batch of photos are never-before-seen images of the Society of Circus performers costume ball at the Hotel del Coronado. Candice Hooper of the Coronado Public Library has been able to link the images to an article that appeared in the SD Union March 17, 1918.
The article describes The Circus Ball as the first costume affair of the season. Guests were required to not just dress in circus attire, but to perform a particular stunt, which would not be told until the evening of the affair.
Guests came from Los Angeles, Pasadena and surrounding cities, and money raised went to benefit the Red Cross. An earlier society circus raised $2,641.21 for purchasing wools, surgical dressings and hospital supplies for the Red Cross.
The Hakes albums appear to capture two time periods. The first is from 1917-1920 (in which the circus ball is featured), and the second is from the 1930s. The photo albums belonged to Hakes’ late grandmother, Joanne Hakes.
There were also valuable images of Tent City, the Coronado Polo Grounds, sailing on the bay, wake surfing on the bay and the Hotel del Coronado. One particular photo captures the 1937 third grade class at Coronado School, shot by school photographer Herbert Fitch.
Additionally, there were extensive visuals of Camp Kearney, the Santa Fe Railroad Depot, and even rare photos of the U.S.S. Constitution, Old Ironsides, on her visit to San Diego in 1933.
“The Hakes family is part of the original fabric of Coronado,” said Christian Esquevin, Director of the Coronado Public Library. “We are honored to have these images in our digital collection as a way of preserving them for posterity, and we encourage others in Coronado and elsewhere to search through their family archives to further help us capture the rapidly evaporating essence of our past.”
Esquevin’s message rings loud and clear. Time is no friend to old photos. The library asks that everyone dedicate a day to exploring their family records to see what they too might contribute to this worthy cause of preserving and sharing Coronado’s fabulous history. This could include photos, old receipts or bills, newspapers, or anything else that sheds light on early Coronado.
At the risk of sounding redundant, it’s been said many times that Coronado has more history per square foot than anywhere else in the county. Researching and collecting that history is often a challenge, but gradually, pieces of the puzzle come together, and we know much more today about our history than ever before, thanks to people like John Hakes.
Pieces of history can be found in attics, basements, garages, grandmother’s old trunks and boxes, and even yellowed newspaper clippings. More often than not, the owners of these images don’t recognize their historical value. And yet, they aren’t willing to let go of them, choosing instead to emotionally label them as “family heirlooms,” and then put them back on the shelf.
There is often a more important story to tell in the background of these images – a story of Coronado’s vibrant history. The Hakes donations are significant enough that these digital images will occupy a special file called, “The Hakes Collection.” The bottom line is, you don’t have to give away your heirlooms. You just have to make sure they are safely copied and stored for generations to come. This is one of the great advantages to living in today’s electronic age.
You can visit the Coronado Public Library at 640 Orange Ave, Coronado, CA 92118. You can do much of your research from the comfort of your own home by going to www.coronado.ca.us/library/. To determine the historical value of your family photographs, contact Candice Hooper at the Coronado Public Library, at (619) 522-7390.
