Heritage Events 1 President’s Message 1 Contact Information 1 Heritage Corner 2 Volunteer Informtion 2 Upcoming Events 2 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Jacob Jesson, an early Pharmacist; Horace C. Woods, a Civil War vet; Archie Mitchell, aviation pioneer and staunch advocate for an international airport in Ontario; Dr. Idris Briggs Gregory, Ontario’s first woman doctor; and Kezzie Monroe, an early Ontario Librarian. If you’ve never been to this annual event or have been hesitant to attend it, let me assure you that it has nothing to do with Events. Join us! August 7-Monthly Board meeting. September 11-Monthly Board meeting. September 15-By invitation of CCMA we had a display table at their grand re-opening. September 25-Special Board meeting held to finalize the upcoming cemetery tour. October 9-Monthly Board meeting. December 7-Ontario Heritage will have a booth at the annual “Christmas on Euclid” event which runs from 9 am to 3 pm. There will be classic cars, food, entertainment, vendors of all kinds, police & fire displays, kids attractions, etc. Stop by our booth and say “hi”. December 11-Monthly Board meeting. December 25-Christmas Day! 2013 Heritage Events 4th Annual Historic Cemetery Tour is a Success!! It was a beautiful Saturday morning and our annual historic cemetery tour was very educational, interesting and fun!. Our five actors all did a wonderful job portraying early citizens of Ontario. Their period clothes, antique props and use of vintage pictures were all wonderful representations of the time period. All in attendance learned about President’s Message 4th Quarter 2013 ONTARIO HERITAGE BOARD Petrina Delman Richard Delman Randi Campbell Louise Melton Glenn Anderson Rudy Zeledon (ex-officio) Debra Porada City Council Liaison Ontario Heritage P.O. Box 1 Ontario, CA 91762 Phone: 909-984-6558 Website: www.ontarioheritage.org Email: [email protected]Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ ontario.heritage Halloween, ghosts or goblins. Much research is done to accurately and respectfully portray these early settlers of Ontario. Next year we will pick five different Ontario citizens to be depicted and encourage you to join us on this walk back in time at beautiful Bellevue Memorial Park. The Annual Historic Cemetery tour is always held on the 2nd Saturday of October October 12-Our 4th Annual Historic Ceme- tery Tour held at Belle- vue Memorial Park in Ontario. November 6-Monthly Board meeting. November 9– General meeting and potluck held in an Ontario his- toric home for Ontario Heritage members and volunteers who helped with the historic ceme- tery tour.
Transcript
Heritage Events 1
President’s Message 1
Contact Information 1
Heritage Corner 2
Volunteer Informtion 2
Upcoming Events 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Jacob Jesson, an early Pharmacist; Horace C. Woods, a Civil War vet; Archie Mitchell, aviation pioneer and staunch advocate for an international airport in Ontario; Dr. Idris Briggs Gregory, Ontario’s first woman doctor; and Kezzie Monroe, an early Ontario Librarian. If you’ve never been to this annual event or have been hesitant to attend it, let me assure you that it has nothing to do with
Events. Join us!
August 7-Monthly Board meeting.
September 11-Monthly Board meeting.
September 15-By invitation of CCMA we had a display table at their grand re-opening.
September 25-Special Board meeting held to finalize the upcoming cemetery tour.
October 9-Monthly Board meeting.
December 7-Ontario Heritage will have a booth at the annual “Christmas on Euclid” event which runs from 9 am to 3 pm. There will be classic cars, food, entertainment, vendors of all kinds, police & fire displays, kids attractions, etc. Stop by our booth and say “hi”.
December 11-Monthly Board meeting.
December 25-Christmas Day!
2013 Heritage Events
4th Annual Historic Cemetery Tour is a Success!! It was a beautiful Saturday morning and our annual historic cemetery tour was very educational, interesting and fun!. Our five actors all did a wonderful job portraying early citizens of Ontario. Their period clothes, antique props and use of vintage pictures were all wonderful representations of the time period. All in attendance learned about
Halloween, ghosts or goblins. Much research is done to accurately and respectfully portray these early settlers of Ontario. Next year we will pick five different Ontario citizens to be depicted and encourage you to join us on this walk back in time at beautiful Bellevue Memorial Park. The Annual Historic Cemetery tour is always held on the 2nd Saturday of October
October 12-Our 4th Annual Historic Ceme-tery Tour held at Belle-vue Memorial Park in Ontario.
November 6-Monthly Board meeting.
November 9– General meeting and potluck held in an Ontario his-toric home for Ontario Heritage members and volunteers who helped with the historic ceme-tery tour.
Several people have asked, “When did Christmas on Euclid begin? What is the history of the Nativity Scenes?” We’re happy to answer both questions.
In 1922 a tree growing in the old city hall park on south Euclid Avenue and Emporia was decorated by Ontario firemen with 125 colored electric lights, 900 square feet of cotton batting for a snow effect, and 2200 feet of decorations.
In 1928 the Chaffey band under the direction of Fred Wilding, along with two glee clubs, directed by S. Earl Blakeslee presented Christmas programs for the community. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce had printed the familiar Christmas carols for handouts to the public.
The merchants in Ontario in 1930 planned an early Christmas present for shoppers. On November 24th the stores were decorated and a plane circled over the Bank of America (now the Beauty College building located on the
Continued on Page 4
Logan’s Candies
125 W. “B” Street, Ontario
Phone: 909/984-5410
Graber Olive House
315 E. Fourth Street, Ontario
Phone: 800/996-5483
Historic Euclid Avenue Nativity Scenes
From now until New Year’s
From “G” Street to “D” Street
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Closed
January 26-Potluck. All are welcome! Interested in learning more about his-toric Ontario? Join us for an afternoon of good company, conversation and tasty treats.
March 22-Historic Downtown Ontario walking tour. Our ever popular tour is back and is always a hit!
May 3-Spring fundraising event at a prominent historic venue. Have fun while sipping wine and raising funds for our Historic Preservation Grant program.
Page 3 4th Quarter 2013
Ontario Heritage Membership Form (June 30, 2013 to June 30, 2014)
Membership Categories (For the 2013 Calendar Year)
o Individual $25.00
o Senior (62 years) $15.00
o Family $40.00
o Family-Senior $30.00
o Corporate $250.00
TOTAL ENCLOSED $_______
I am interested in:
o E-mail Alert Network
o Volunteering at Events
o Other (specify) ____________________________________
Mail with Your Check Payable To: Ontario Heritage
Or sign up at : P.O. Box 1 www.ontarioheritage.org Ontario, CA 91762
In an effort to keep dues low, most communication will be
via email, so providing us your email address is vital.
SAVE THIS DATE!!
GET INVOLVED IN YOUR
COMMUNITY!
December 21, 2011
3rd Annual Nativity Scene
Community Music Festival
Time: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Meet at the Band Stand at Euclid Ave.
&“C” Street in Ontario
View the historic Nativity Scenes, lis-
ten to or sing along to music at the
Band Stand and enjoy free coffee &
hot chocolate. Bring your own chairs.
Advertise your preservation-minded
business here!
Vargas was contacted by the committee in late 1959. They inquired as to the cost for building scenes of biblical life size figures for display on Euclid Avenue. The Ontario Kiwanis Club paid for the first Nativity tableaux. Shortly thereafter, the Soroptimist Club donated the second scene for the Christmas season of 1959.
The first scene built, “Nativity” cost almost $1,500 and the second scene, “Shepherd’s Adoration” cost $1,304.50.
Vargas was helped by his wife and two well known scene painters. Wooden cutouts were made by Vargas to plan for each display. In this way he could bring the best qualities into play when working on the actual display. The wooden display cases were built first by the California Youth Authority. Vargas took a personal interest in setting up the first displays.
Over the years, the Committee and community have placed ten additional tableaux on display during the Christmas season, bringing the total number of tableaux to twelve. In 1980 citizens and organizations donated funds to have Mr. Vargas place a plastic-type finish over each of the biblical figures to “protect them for a lifetime”. .
northeast corner of Euclid and B Street). A red-clad figure dropped from the plane and landed on the roof of the bank. All watching this spectacle were surprised and delighted when no other than old Saint Nicolas called a merry greeting to all. Santa tossed number slips to the crowd that gathered. The slips were then exchanged by merchants for gifts they donated.
In 1958 the Reverend Paul Kennedy of the First Christian Church along with several other community leaders formed the “Christmas on Euclid Avenue Committee”. Their goal was to plan programs that would bring back a traditional respect and meaning for the celebration of Christmas. The committee was later renamed the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.
The Committee visited San Diego to view a series of scenes on display that were designed by well-known artist, Rudolph Vargas (1900-1982). He was an immigrant who escaped religious persecution in his native Mexico. He was discovered by Walt Disney Imagineering and put to work modeling the plaster figures of history and fantasy displayed in the theme park.
He also worked extensively at Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte adorning walls and the chapel with religious scenes like the Nativity and Crucifixion.
Heritage Corner (Continued from Page 2)
Page 4 4th Quarter 2013
The funds to upkeep the figurines are earned through the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s craft fair every year with over 10,000 people attending this one day event to pur-chase homemade crafts.
****************************
Ontario Heritage is working together with the Nativity Scene Committee. You too can become involved in helping to restore the Nativity statues and crèches. Tax deductible dona-tions are being accepted by :
