By Donald H. Harrison
EL CAJON, California — Sunbelt Publications Inc. published the first of the six books I have written so far. It was the biography, Louis Rose: San Diego’s First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur. In the event that you haven’t heard of him, he was the man for whom Rose Canyon, Rose Creek, and the Roseville section of the Point Loma neighborhood were named. The Robinson-Rose Building in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is another reminder of his legacy.
The book was published in 2005 — sixteen years ago — but given that it deals with the life of someone who lived from 18o7 to 1888, for someone unfamiliar with San Diego’s history, it is as fresh as if it were published yesterday. Now, Sunbelt Publications is reducing the amount of books they have in stock and is offering a copy of my book for free to the first 50 people who ask for it at their warehouse at 1250 Fayette Street, El Cajon. Given that the books still retail in some stores for $19.95, I’d day that is quite a bargain.
I’ve been asked on more than one occasion what prompted me to write that book. Back in 1989, I owned a public relations agency called The Harrison Enterprises, which was contacted by Historic Tours of America about the possibility of joining them in creating Old Town Trolley Tours of San Diego. The contact was made because my PR Agency at the time was handling the San Diego Cruise Industry Consortium, for which I served as executive director. The folks at Historic Tours of America met me in Miami Beach at a convention sponsored by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and invited me to visit their headquarters in Key West, Florida, where they operated not only a trolley, but also the Conch Tour Train, and an aquarium. (Later they would also take over management of the Truman Little White House, where the 33rd U.S. President used to vacation during his nearly two terms.)
Part of my duties in establishing Old Town Trolley Tours of San Diego was to write the first script based on historic research. The more I read about Louis Rose, the more curious about him I became. He served on the City of San Diego’s first Grand Jury, on its nascent School Board, as a member (and sometimes chairman) of the City Board of Trustees, and was a member of the first County Board of Supervisors. While researching, I found a curious fact. Books about the growth of San Diego gave fleeting, at best, attention to the Jewish community. And articles about the growth of Jewish institutions in San Diego barely mentioned the municipal circumstances surrounding their establishment and growth.
I realized that I could tell both stories — that of the early City of San Diego and that of the budding Jewish community — through the eyes of Louis Rose. For years thereafter, I began collecting every tidbit I could about Rose. I visited numerous archives, read minutes of public meetings, examined land records, and retraced Rose’s life journey. It started at his birthplace in Neuhaus-an-der-Oste, Germany, and continued to New Orleans, where he arrived as an immigrant in 1840, and then through Texas and New Mexico Territory by covered wagon, to his eventual arrival in San Diego in 1850. That was the same year that California became the 31st State of the Union, and when San Diego became a charter city.
Writing that book was a joy and a learning process that motivated me to write other books about local Jewish history. In order of their publication, they were Schlepping Through The American West: There is a Jewish Story Everywhere (2015); Waxie: An American Family Business Success Story (2016); 77 Miles of Jewish Stories: History, Anecdotes & Tales of Travel Along I-8 (2017); Schlepping and Schmoozing Through San Diego County, Vol. 1, City of San Diego (2019); and Vol. 2; Suburban Cities and Towns (2019). Currently, I am researching another book, which in a similar format to 77 Miles of Jewish Stories will focus on tales of Jewish life in neighborhoods close to the Interstate 5.
Sunbelt Publishing specializes in books about the American Southwest, so in addition to my volume about Louis Rose, you may find others of interest and immediacy on their free shelves. Additionally, Sunbelt offers many more titles for sale. It’s a wonderful place for people who love to browse and to read. The warehouse and attached offices are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For directions or more information, contact Sunbelt at infor@sunbeltpub.com or call (619) 258-4911.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com