Fallbrook Historical Society announces annual awards

FALLBROOK – The Fallbrook Historical Society held its annual Open House on June 3. Guests attending learned what the historical society has accomplished in the last year as well as its future plans. President of the Fallbrook Historical Society board Roy Moosa also announced the new name of the historical complex, The Fallbrook Heritage Center.

Historical society docent coordinator Scott Atkins made the presentations of the group's annual awards: Pioneer of the Year, Vintage Business of the Year and Member of the Year. The event was held in the Donald J. Rivers Interpretive Center aka “The Barn”.

Pioneers of the Year

Jessie Lincoln Lee was 9 years old and her sister Donna Lincoln Boren was almost 3 years old when they came from Wyoming with their parents and three other siblings to live in Fallbrook in 1937. Their first Fallbrook home was at the corner of Main and East Mission "It was the height of the Great Depression but we didn't think times were hard because everyone was in the same boat," explained Jessie. "Our father had a huge vegetable garden beside the house and we fed vegetables to half the town during those days," Donna added.

Their father, Robert Lincoln, worked for the WPA at first, and helped build Lindbergh Field and the Lilac Tunnel that brought water to Fallbrook. He also helped build the beautiful rock work at the Fallbrook High School, pushing a wheel barrow. Their mother, Opal Lincoln, who had suffered from kidney stones swore that she got her health back by eating olives in Fallbrook. Opal died two days before her 100th birthday in 2004. She retired after 31 years with the Naval Weapons Station and Camp Pendleton and was a past president of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary and was active in the Fallbrook Angel Society, American Legion, Moose Club, Boys and Girls Club and the Fallbrook Historical Society.

Jessie and Donna are the two surviving members of the Lincoln family, a family that has been actively supporting Fallbrook for 80 years.

Jessie Lincoln Lee

As a morale builder for the troops during WWII, Fallbrook High School girls would occasionally attend dances and enjoy "geedunk" (ice cream) at Camp Pendleton. Sometimes, the Marine Corps Band would play for dances at the Fallbrook High School cafeteria. At one such dance, a sailor named Jack Lee from Mississippi asked Jessie to dance. "That was all it took," said Jessie They married in the historic First Christian Church which still stands at Mission and Fig after she graduated, and settled in Fallbrook.

Jack first worked under the GI Bill 52/20 program, which was $20 per week for 52 weeks, operating a tractor. He later went to work for Don Radmacher at the Chevron station in town. When he heard that the Mobil station at Fallbrook and Main was up for lease, Jack and Jessie went to Mr. Mapes at the Bank of America and borrowed $1,500. They were in business! Jack ran the gas station and Jessie kept the books while raising their two daughters, Shirley and Donna. They later ran a Shell station in Vista but came back to Fallbrook when a Richfield station was built at Main and Elder.

Jack later worked in Fallbrook for the school system for 19 years. He planted the trees at the La Paloma School on Heald. Jessie worked in Dr. Boren's dental office for 16.5 years. In 1986, Jessie and 16 other ladies formed the Fallbrook Quilt Guild. She has made many beautiful quilts and is still quilting and attending meetings. Jessie has supported Fallbrook in the Twenty-Thirty Ladies, The Women's Club and the Rotary.

Like Jessie, both of her daughters were married in the Fallbrook historic First Christian Church. Daughter Donna Roberts lives in Wyoming and her daughter Shirley Fleming still lives in Fallbrook. "I knew it was my home," said Jessie, "my only home."

Donna Lincoln Boren

Donna recalled her first and second grade teacher, Mrs. Owens, at the Fallbrook Union Elementary School, now called Mae Ellis Elementary, after their principal. Mrs. Owens was known to be a tough teacher and Donna got her hand whacked with a ruler on the first day of school for not following directions while coloring. "We learned to pay attention and everyone loved Mrs. Owens," Donna recalled.

When Donna was 12, she and her sister Bonnie and other friends went "moonlight" horseback riding at night through Live Oak Park area. "You probably wouldn't do that today," she said. "Growing up in Fallbrook was special then, always safe and fun."

Donna met Neil Boren in the summer before her Freshman year at Fallbrook High School. Neil's family had settled in Rainbow in the 1920's and Donna remembers her friends thinking of Rainbow as, "the sticks." Neil had attended the one-room schoolhouse in Rainbow through 8th grade. They dated all through High School.

When she was 16, Principal Jobe let her leave school 2 weeks before the start of vacation so that she could work a summer job at a Yacht Club on Harsen Island, Michigan. He told her parents it would be a wonderful experience for her and he was right.

After graduation, Donna went to work at Camp Pendleton briefly, and then worked for State Farm Insurance in Fallbrook. The train was still running through town then and sometimes the train engineer would pull into the station, blocking Alvarado Street. He would then go in the back door of the State Farm Insurance office to chat with Donna, until a car would sound its horn and the engineer would have to move the train. "The insurance office wasn't busy and there wasn't much traffic on Alvarado then, so no one seemed to mind very much," she recalled.

When Donna and Neil were married in 1953 they moved to Burbank in Los Angeles County, where Neil worked in aeronautical engineering. They had four children, Greg, Brian, Bonnie and Sheldon. In 1962, Neil decided he wanted to be a dentist. It took 8 years but after graduating from USC, the family moved back home to Fallbrook where Dr. Boren opened his dental practice.

Donna served on the Satellite Welfare Board and the Beautification Board. She was also on the Board of Directors for the Rancho Santa Fe Women's Club as the North County Representative. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Fallbrook Angel Society for 35 years.

In 1978, Donna and Neil hosted a fundraiser at their home, with the help of Bud Roberds the Band Director, to gather donations for instruments for the High School band. That event was so successful that they arranged similar subsequent fundraising events at larger facilities.

The following year they presented Director of Bands Mark Davis generous contributions totaling $12,500 to be used for band uniforms. To thank them, their names were added to a perpetual plaque in the band room.

Dr. Boren passed away in 1991, but Donna and two of her sons, Greg and Brian still live in Fallbrook. "I couldn't imagine growing up any place else," said Donna.

Vintage Business of the Year

Roll Equipment Repair and Welding has been a fixture in Fallbrook for over 50 years. The company was established in 1962 by C.W.Roll, who opened his first shop at 123 East Alvarado Street, next to the railroad easement. When C.W. first started, he was mostly working on engine swaps, and was fabricating dragster chassis for Dode Martin who was working for Dragmaster out of Oceanside.

In 1965 Roll Equipment moved locations from the (Triangle Shop) on Alvarado Street to 1236 East Mission Road where it remained until moving to the current locations at 733 East Mission in 1985. Over the years, the business evolved to doing equipment repair, fabrication, general welding, proto-type work, structural steel and pretty much anything that has to do with metals and design.

In 2000 Mike Roll, who had worked at Roll Equipment since childhood, took over the day-to-day operations which he currently manages.

While continuing to work on equipment repairs, welding, fabrication and proto-type work, Roll Equipment has expanded into the business of design, fabrication and installation of architectural and structural steel for customer home, industrial and commercial buildings all over Southern California.

While Roll Equipment does work all over Southern California, what they enjoy the most is work for the Fallbrook Community.

Roll Equipment is an excellent example of a local business with the staying power and expertise to make Fallbrook proud.

Fallbrook Historical Society Members of the Year

Bruce and Carolyn Ganoe spent their working lives gathering skills and experience that now, in retirement, they are using to care for the Society's two unique historical buildings. Here is their story and why they have earned the honor of being named Members of the Year.

Carolyn Frey and Bruce Ganoe met as juniors at the Oceanside Carlsbad High School because they sat next to each other, alphabetically, in English class that year. They dated briefly through high school but after they graduated, Bruce went to Rice University in Houston Texas while Carolyn attended San Diego State University. Carolyn later moved to Virginia and worked at the Pentagon They visited each other when they could, and the day after Bruce graduated from Rice they were married.

Bruce became a Naval Officer and was eventually selected to be the Aide to Admiral Phillip Snyder at the Bremerton, Washington Naval Shipyard. He was responsible for overseeing ship overhauls and refurbishments, and was the Public Information Officer for all matters under the Admiral's authority. During those years, Carolyn was caring for their growing family which eventually included four children, Allyson, Julie, Phillip and Melissa.

After completing his military obligation, Bruce entered the private sector, later working on the Atlas Missile program in San Diego for General Dynamics in the Astronautics Division. All of their children grew up in San Diego. He finished his career in Tucson as Vice President overseeing the Tomahawk Missile program. Upon retirement, the Ganoe's wanted to return to the West Coast and found Fallbrook to be the perfect place.

In Fallbrook, Carolyn became active with the Live Oak chapter of the Questers, an organization that adopts projects to preserve and restore historic places. She wrote a grant request to refurbish the kitchen in the Historical Society's Pittenger House, once owned by Civil War Medal of Honor recipient William Pittenger. She brought Bruce in to install bead board on the walls.

"As we worked on the project and saw the results, I was itching to move on to the dining room and then to the rest of the house," said Carolyn. They joined the Historical Society and have spent the last 11 years completely renovating and meticulously staging the Pittenger House with period furnishings.

When a grant to paint and repair the outside of the house fell short, the couple personally guaranteed that the work would be completed, and it was. "Doing the Pittenger House has been a true labor of love," Carolyn said. "I have enjoyed every minute of it."

When the Historical Society acquired ownership of the 1886 Fall Brook Reche School, Bruce wrote a grant request for painting, wiring and repairs. He managed the refurbishment project and budget onsite every day until completion. He continues to work on further enhancements, such as making the building accessible to persons with disabilities.

Carolyn was asked to outfit and stage the schoolhouse in time for the grand opening to the public. "Preserving history adds to the fabric of a place, and to the people," Bruce explained. "It enriches us."

The Ganoe's volunteer as Docents at the Museum and spend countless hours in pursuit of the goals of Historical Society.

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