Palomar Mountain News

Just received a three page, hand written letter with history from one of the old-timers on Palomar.  It was written by Jim Dunbar’s mother a few decades ago.

Palomar was known as ‘Smith Mountain’ until 1901, after one of the early settlers.  Jim’s mother tells of her father and their family time on the mountain.  Some of you might have remembered John Leach’s sign above the door at their second cabin he built up on Crestline.

The tiny cabin is where Oliver Brown lived for many years on the south side of Crestline.  It is where Lee Baker lives now.  The three Dunbar brothers and their sister still own the family cabin down Pedley Valley Road built in the 1930’s. Jim invited me to go in their cabin for a pic of the sign hanging above the front door.

Oh my, they also owned Cedar Grove that is now park of the State Park?  What beautiful land.

Ok, you MUST keep reading to the very end!  Ah, Jim Dunbar, HSG – thank you for sharing!

Bonnie

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The John Leach Story

by Ruth Leach Dunbar

In the 1890’s a man named Smith came to Long Beach, California telling people about the beautiful mountain in North San Diego County.  The land could be homesteaded (a certain number of acres free if the farmer worked the land every year). My grandparents Samuel and Sarah Todd with 3 boys and 2 girls decided to go to the mountain with horses and wagon.  It took a week to go down.  One year the family decided to stay thru the winter.  Their oldest son stayed on their farm near Compton to take care of the crops.  They built a one-room log cabin and put in a nice garden.  Apple trees were planted; it was a beautiful place.  Minnie Todd and brothers went to the open-air school.  A bobcat jumped on Minnie one day and her oldest brother shot it.

Solomon Todd worked with Mr. Doane on building the West Grade.  Minnie went with her father to Doane’s house to get paid and they heard a mountain lion scream on the way.  When the family went down the mountain, they would cut a tree to drag behind the wagon so it wouldn’t go too fast.

When my grandparents died, the Todd family sold the property which is now Cedar Grove on the way to Doane Valley.  Later in 1926 Minnie took us (her two daughters Ruby and Ruth) up to the mountain for a camping visit.  We camped at Silver Crest.  Eventually she bought property on Pedley Road and her brothers built a cabin in the early 1900’s.

About the same time, John Leach moved out to Southern California from Youngstown, Ohio with two of his brothers.  It was so very cold in Ohio during winter.  He found work in the Orange Packing House in Upland, Cal.  Here he met Minnie Todd; they were married in 1907.  When the girls were very small, the family moved to Long Beach.

It was hard finding work.  John volunteered to join the Army in 1917.  Minnie started a small laundry business in her home, so she could be near the girls.  After the war John began a fish market at the base of LB’s 2 story pier.  They both worked very hard.  John wanted us to go to Business College & Minnie wanted the girls to go to college to be teachers.  Each parent had different ideas and they gradually grew apart.  John retired when he was fifty.

Times changed.  The depression came along in the early thirties and in March 1933 L.B. had a devastating earthquake.  Our home went off it’s foundation.  Minnie lost her home and a vacant lot.  John lost his drive-in-market.  (He had retired from the fish market earlier).  It was then Minnie asked John for a divorce and he went to the cabin on Palomar.  Minnie worked hard & Ruby and I went to college.  Later both girls were teachers.

Later John built the little cabin on Crestline Road.  He had a happy personality & made many friends on the mountain.  Many people had him open their cabins or look after the property.

He made a place for himself – a new life.  He loved to fish in Lake Henshaw and the Colorado River.  In 1936 John trapped a mountain lion at Pedley Valley, below the lake.  He shot it & when he put it over his shoulder, rigor mortis set in.  It jumped & he put that dead lion down fast.  In those days there was a warranty on mountain lions.

The years went by & John grew a beard.  As a young man John was quite handsome with black curly hair.  The beard looked nice and children called him “Santa Claus” when he was older.

John lived on Palomar for about 17 years.  The family have kept his name over the door in remembrance.  No matter what happened over the years, he was dearly loved and had many friends.

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When the envelope arrived with this letter from Jim Dunbar, my husband noticed it had his name followed by ‘HSG’.  Don wondered what HSG stood for.  I googled it but nothing came up, so I sent a message to Jimbo.  Here is his response:

From: James R Dunbar

A long story – Rush Limbaugh years ago met a man that owned 100 MacDonald’s in NY.  He had the letters, HSG on his business card. Rush asked him what HSG meant and was told he was the only person that ever asked.

Don is the only person in 30 years that has ever asked me.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE

True story,

Jimbo

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Gotta love it!!!

Bonnie

From: Cecelia Borland

The big 40 yard dumpster will be placed at the fire station on the 6th of September. It will be open for your donations of combustible trash, small appliances, etc on the 7th (Saturday) and 8th (Sunday) if there is still room. Generally the box is full by about noon on Saturday, so come early. We will not accept tires, paint, HazMat, Lg appliances, chemicals.

You access the dumpster from Summit Circle.  That is the road to the west, or left side of the FD.  Dumpster hours are 9 to 1 on Saturday and 1 to 5 on Sunday, pending space in the dumpster.

This is a free service but donations are welcomed.

Cecelia Borland

Old-fashioned fun awaits at the Palomar picnic coming up next Saturday! A very happy time was had by all watching the raffle (great prizes!!!) and all the kids having so much fun with the games and prizes.  Put on your thinking cap and look around and see what might be fun to donate to the raffle.

The fire department was there with a big truck for kids to climb on, there were a couple booths and a relaxing, enjoyable time hosted by the volunteers with the Community Center.

GREAT food, too!  Lots of mountain made choices to choose from.  Get out your favorite recipes or bring a bucket of chicken or whatever your heart desires.

From: Stacy Eriksen‎
August 21 ·

The Community Picnic is coming up on Labor Day Weekend! My husband and I will be hosting various games for kids with prizes to win. Come out and play with us! They are also still taking donations for the raffle, if you can donate anything to that. Hope to see you there!

Finishing up an escrow out on Conifer Road.  I’ve driven in and out quite a few times lately.  I’ve been so impressed to see the grooming done on this one mile+ road. I wish I had a before pic to show how that 8 to 10 foot ceanothus, scrub brush and cedars were totally chocking the road.  This fine work also gives a much needed fire break along the east side of Birch Hill and Crestline.

Phil Boczanowski,  the developer of the Conifer subdivision, also orchestrates the work for the road maintenance agreement that the properties through the gate benefit from.  He often has his heavy equipment on the mountain and is available to work on your property, too.

Carmel Valley Contractors, Forestry Division, Phil Boczanowski
760-742-8745
Excavator, Masticator, Bobcat, licensed and insured.

Contact info also available on the Fire Safe Council website under Local Resources.

Bonnie Phelps

This was the view from my desk recently.  The county road crews had some heavy equipment up grooming their easement along the sides of State Park, East and South Grade roads.  Fascinating to watch.  Cuts through the brush and scrub like butter!

We appreciate what they have done to make our mountain more fire safe.

Bonnie and Don Phelps

So much is happening in Real Estate!!!  I’ve planned this post since 4th of July Weekend when that pic was taken.  (Long may it wave!)  It has been so crazy busy getting cabins, homes and land ready to take those photos and market for touring new buyers.

Lenders don’t like pealing paint, so that is being taken care of up front for you at a several locations.  Lenders also require a ‘permanent source of thermostat controlled heat’.  Fireplaces and wood stoves don’t count anymore.  So, we have contractors, handymen and property owners installing several different types of very affordable options to satisfy that requirement.

Heavy equipment with a water tender and road base showed up to make a nearly 100 year old road, drivable without the risk of sliding into the ditch – again.  Tow truck time has happened twice since we started staging this property.  Triple A was called once, and the second time a helpful neighbor towed the visiting property owner out.  The road hadn’t been driven on in many years and the surface dirt became a powdery fluff.  It will be at it’s very best for the new buyers.

With all our wonderful rain this year, trees and brush have really grown fast so properties are being groomed to the Forest Service standards. I’ve learned over the years that it is better to do the cleanup prior to marketing.  “You never have a second chance to make a first impression”. It also gets those branches off the roofs, away from the chimneys and we get an A+ from the inspector to turn over to the new owner.  Most important, the insurance companies are more inclined to write the policy so we don’t encounter delays with closing escrow.

Click to see ‘Before and Afters’ on Staged to Sell.  I’ve sure had a lot of fun these past two decades but need to get new pix up!  Those four pages will give you a good idea of the transformation that can happen at your property, too.

Signs needed a dusting off and they are going up real soon. Lots of new offerings heading our way.

Meanwhile, do you have a property you are considering selling?  The past 21 years of being your Resident Realtor, I’ve always offered my part of staging as a free service.

Let’s connect on your goals and get your questions answered.

Bonnie Phelps, Realtor

For all your Real Estate needs since the beginning of the Century!

We only really have a handful of hot days on this beautiful mountain. But, when it is hot, it’s HOT.  After living on Palomar 21 years, we finally got a  mini-split with AC in our little apartment above the garage.

Two other companies that have installed up here gave bids.  They both did excellent work and owners are very pleased.  However, they were both so busy through the summer.  This is when you need it!  I found Mike on FB Marketplace and he came up a few days later.  After installation, I got a call from someone he gave a bid to in San Diego.  The man asked if were pleased. He said he was skeptical because Mike’s price was $3000 to $5000 lower than two other bids he’d had.  YES, we are nice and cool and very pleased.

Mike gave his license number and said they are insured.  858-220-0871

He also installs Central AC and heating systems, in addition to the mini-splits.

Here’s the disclaimer: We have no tie to the above and cannot guarantee the product, service or satisfaction. Yes, we were pleased with his work but you are on your own.
Bonnie Phelps and Family

In the middle of the heavy rains, we discovered two leaks in our roof.  We put some quick band aids up and had several companies gave us a bid.  However, as soon as it warmed up and nice weather arrived, they said they were booked way out in advance.  Knowing we could have summer thunderstorms, we were searching for other options. One of my clients had a roof installed at his new home in RB.  He was pleased with the work and passed on the name.

Apolinar “Pollie” Varona and his brother arrived and went to work.  He is willing to come to Palomar and they made it happen!  So nice to have on the job and we are so pleased with the results. His price also came in lower than other bids. Pollie and crew finished a Crestline cabin a couple weeks ago and will be back to do another mid month.

Here is a tip:  Don’t be tempted to just add a layer over what you have on the roof now.  I couldn’t believe the wood damage under our composition shingles in some areas; around the fireplace, in the valleys where we had some leaking and under the satellite and internet dishes (they are mounted differently now).  Pollie and crew does it all, so repairs happened without any delays.

Call or Text:  Pollie Varona 760-519-0697

Here’s the disclaimer: We have no tie to the above and cannot guarantee the product, service or satisfaction. Yes, we were pleased with his work but you are on your own.
Bonnie Phelps and Family

A few months ago, I met a painter working on a home up here.  I saw he was doing a great job.  He said he had been painting for over 30 years.  Another cabin needed his services so Humberto waved his magic wand.  Our place needed painting (several years ago!).  After all the rains stopped, his next mountain job was here. Humberto did excellent work.  He was here every day until complete, as he only does one job at a time.  Every inch of our exterior had great prep work, hidden wood rot repaired, and an excellent finish to really last through four seasons of strong winds and weather.  He is very professional and a pleasure to have on the property.  I’m going to miss him!

Right now he is finishing up another cabin transformation on Crestline.  If you would like him to pop by your place for an estimate, just call or text:

Humberto Martinez 760-419-0197

Here’s the disclaimer: We have no tie to the above and cannot guarantee the product, service or satisfaction.  Yes, we were pleased with his work but you are on your own. 

Bonnie Phelps and Family

All that wonderful spring rain really brought up a lot of thistles this year!  They are everywhere!  If you try to pick the pretty purple flower or happen to brush against the leaves, you will be pretty miserable.

Some areas it is against the law to have these thistles growing on your property.  Good news.  It is easy to get rid of them.  Use a shovel to lift the tap root out of the ground.  You can safely touch the root and put the plant in the trash or burn it in a campfire.  You’ll want to remove them as soon as possible.  If they go to seed, next year, they will really multiply.  Click for more info and Happy Shoveling!