Newsletter No. 4: Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History

HENRIETTA ROSE GRAVESTONE—Tremendous progress has been made in our plans to place a memorial on the unmarked grave of Henrietta Rose, daughter of San Diego Jewish pioneer Louis Rose. Louis Rose Society members Robert Baum, Norman Greene and Donald H. Harrison braved 98-degree weather on Friday, July 22, to drive to KRC Rock in Lakeside to pick out a boulder suitable for use as a tombstone on the unmarked grave of Henrietta Rose. Generously contributed by the natural-stone-and-boulder company’s owner, Jerrry Sebby, the boulder weighing over 1,000 pounds appeared too heavy to be hauled in the bed of Baum’s El Camino, so Greene called Dr. Paul Thomas, M.D., to the rescue. Thomas drove his three-quarter ton truck to the sweltering site. After workers under the supervision of manager Ian Hudson loaded the irregularly shaped stone into the bed of the truck, the foursome of Baum, Greene, Harrison and Thomas caravanned to the Mount Hope Cemetery. They were met by cemetery manager M. David Lugo and staff members Kevin F. Jiampa and Chuck Warren. Using a map and a tape measure to determine the location of the unmarked grave in which Henrietta had reposed since her burial in 1957, Jiampa marked the exact site with small red pennants. Warren, operating a skip loader, unloaded the stone from Thomas’ truck.  A short time later, the stone was placed in vertical position above Henrietta’s head. 

THE ROMANCE OF THE STONE—Dr. Paul Thomas helps direct a KRC Rock employee to load a  boulder into bed of his son Mark's truck. At Mt. Hope Cemetery, the stone is admired by, from left, Norman Greene, M. David Lugo, Thomas, Robert Baum, and Donald H. Harrison.  At right the boulder sits awaiting a plaque at its eternal place of honor in an old portion of Mt. Hope Cemetery.

The stone is located in a historically interesting cemetery neighborhood. In the same section are the graves of the Marston family, who contributed so much to the understanding of San Diego history, as well as the grave of George Cowles, after whom Cowles Mountain in the eastern portion of San Diego is named. Here too is buried J.W. Huggins, who took his humor with him to the grave. Within view from Henrietta’s grave is the obelisk towering over the grave of Alonzo Horton, who rivaled Louis Rose in trying to get people to move to a town site alongside San Diego Bay.  Nearby is the monument for C.P. Noell, a friend of Rose’s who fought in vain against the greed and avarice of fellow members of San Diego’s Common Council of 1850. 

HENRIETTA'S NEIGHBORHOOD—In the same section as Henrietta's stone is that of J.W. Huggins, who couldn't resist
explaining his exact medical condition.  One can look from Henrietta's section to the obelisk marking the grave of 
Alonzo Horton, whose development of downtown San Diego proved more popular than Louis Rose's 'Roseville' town site. 

On August 9, 2005, the San Diego School Board—on the motion of John DeBeck and second of Katherine Nakamura —unanimously agreed to permit the placement of the school district's logo on Henrietta's gravestone.  The emblem will join those of the Louis Rose Society, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the San Diego Education Association in tribute to Henrietta's life and career. De Beck had prepared the following written statement for fellow trustees Nakamura, Luis Acle, Shelia Jackson and Mitz Lee.

TO: Members of the Board of Education
FROM: John de Beck
DATE: August 1, 2000
SUBJECT: HENRIETTA ROSE MEMORIAL

  The Board of Education received a request from a representative of the Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History to allow the use of the San Diego City Schools logo on the gravestone of Henrietta Rose.
  Henrietta Rose was the daughter of San Diego's first Jewish settler Louis Rose and a teacher for 45 years in the San Diego Unified School District.  Miss Rose was first appointed to a district teaching position in 1895. Her long and varied teaching career included assignments at Sherman Elementary School and Roosevelt Junior High. She retired from Roosevelt at the conclusion of the 1939-1940 school year and shortly thereafter became treasurer of the retired teachers club. She was also active in the Masons, as was her father Louis Rose, and achieved the top honor of "Worthy Matron of Southern Star, Chapter 96, of the Eastern Star."  
  Her father Louis Rose was an early pioneer and the first Jewish settler in San Diego. A former school board trustee and grand jury member, Mr. Rose is considered the founder of the Roseville neighborhood in San Diego. Mr. Rose started the first tannery in Southern California and later sold Rose Canyon which became the site of the Rose Canyon Brick Company.
  The graves of the Rose family have been relocated throughout the years at different cemeteries in San Diego. Miss Henrietta Rose was eventually buried near friends at an unmarked grave in Mount Hope Cemetery. The Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History has obtained a headstone for Miss Rose's grave and would like to recognize her long and dedicated career with the San Diego Unified School District by including the school district logo, years of teaching, and schools on the legend.
  At the August 9, 2005, Board meeting I will move that the Board approve the placement of the San Diego Unified School District logo on the gravestone of Henrietta Rose. If you would like to have further information about the history of Miss Rose or the Rose family please let me know. Your support is very much appreciated.

Don Harrison spoke at the board meeting, sketching in some more details of the planned plaque. The plaque  will mention that Miss Rose also taught at Roseville and Middletown Elementary Schools, neither of which still stands today. The plaque incorporating the four logos is now being designed in the Los Angeles area by the Karman Ltd. sign firm owned by Louis Rose Society member Andrew Cooper. We will set a date for a ceremony after the design is sent to a bronze plaque-maker and we have an estimated completion time.  So stay tuned!.

CONTRIBUTIONS MADE EASY—Did you know that you can not only send a check to the Jewish Community Foundation for the "Louis Rose Fund," but that you also have the option of making your contribution by credit card?  Simply telephone the Jewish Community Foundation at (858) 279-2740 and ask for Cynthia Zena in the Foundation's finance office. She will take the donation information from you. And yes, you can still make a contribution by sending a check to the Jewish Community Foundation at 4950 Murphy Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92123.  Either way, please be certain to make it clear that the contribution is for the "Louis Rose Fund."
                       
SAN DIEGO JEWISH HONOR ROLL—The program allowing every Louis Rose Society household or business to honor a past or present  member of the San Diego Jewish community has been gaining wide acceptance, and, in fact, has helped to grow our membership, which now stands at more than 100 households.  To date, more than 60 honorees have been selected.  See http://www.jewishsightseeing.com/louis_rose_historical/honorees/honorees.htm for an up-to-date list.  If you haven't already named your honoree, please do so now and we shall put up a web page in that person's honor. In that way we will build an on-line encyclopedia of San Diego's Jewish community.

STEERING COMMITTEE SEEKS MEMBERS—To date, the steering committee members are: Don Harrison, acting president and history committee chair; Norman Greene, government relations committee chair; Arlette Smith, community relations chair; Dr. Peter Levine, grants/ fundraising chair, and Gail Umeham, administrative secretary. Other positions on the steering committee remaining to be filled include the chairs for the Arts Committee, Membership Committee, Events Planning Committee, and the Jewish Community Liaison Committee.  Please, if you are interested in serving, contact Don Harrison at (619) 265-0808, or sdheritage@cox.net.

LOUIS ROSE POINT PICNIC—For now, the Sunday, September 25th, picnic at Louis Rose Point at the foot of Womble Street in the Point Loma area still is scheduled for 4 p.m., but we wish to raise a cautionary note. So far, we have not been able to get access to the area and we are not certain if construction schedules at the site will permit access.  So there is a chance, probably at this point better than 50-50, that we might have to reschedule the date.  Of course, we will keep you posted on that too.

UNITED JEWISH FEDERATION NOTICE—Our thanks go to the UJF which,  in its e-mail newsletter for this month, sent out the following notice 

Become a Charter Member of the Louis Rose Society 
A community program is underway to build a monument to Louis Rose, San
Diego's first Jewish settler, at the city-designated Louis Rose Point
(foot of Womble Street in Point Loma). Organizers are trying to
collect 3,000 contributions of $36. To become a charter member of the
Louis Rose Society with right for you to honor a Jewish San Diegan on
the organization's website, write a $36 check to the Jewish Community
Foundation, 4950 Murphy Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92123. Please mark
the memo line of your check "Louis Rose Fund." More info:
www.jewishsightseeing.com/louis_rose_historical/louis_rose_historical.htm