Live Oak Park to turn 100 years old

On a warm summer day, similar to the days we have been enjoying recently, a walk through Live Oak Park can be a transformative experience.

The gentle breezes flowing through the branches and leaves make a sound that many Fallbrookians would say soothes the soul.

When it's quiet and few people are around, you can get lost in the natural beauty that surrounds you – from the babbling creek to the thick, twisting trunks of the more than 100 Coastal Live Oak trees that are the stars of the park – there are few things more "Fallbrook" than Live Oak Park.

For those that grew up in the town, there have been picnics and birthday parties held there, public events, celebrations, remembrances, weddings and quiet moments away.

And it has been that way for a century – officially the park will celebrate its birthday Friday, July 17 – and in true Live Oak Park fashion, it will be a subdued affair because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The original centennial celebration plan was to host a two-day special event starting with a movie in the park event on Friday and culminating with family fun and interpretive activities on Saturday.

However, like so many events that were planned, the virus has put such celebrations on hold. Though the virus has quelled the celebration, which centennial celebration committee members promise to go forward with anyway once it is safe to do so, it seems almost appropriate that the park turns 100 in the midst of a pandemic.

When Live Oak Park was officially created in July of 1920, the world was emerging from the Spanish Flu pandemic that captured the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

According to a press release issued by the County of San Diego, Department of Parks and Recreation, "In 1919, the Chamber of Commerce of Northern San Diego County, led by President Ben Thorpe, voted to formally establish a park at Fallbrook's Reche Grove, in memory of George W. Houk."

Houk, a past president of the chamber and philanthropist, helped finance purchasing the first seven acres of the park with donors providing additional funds. Denver O. Lamb and his wife Lucy also wanted to save the magnificent oak trees, so they deeded the land between the two creeks to the Northern Chamber of Commerce, making a total of 10 acres suitable as parkland, which they said was "for the people."

After making improvements to the park, a dedication was held Saturday, July 17, 1920, complete with patriotic music, speeches, poetry and flag-raising. During the dedication, the park was named, with Live Oak Park coming out on top over choices such as Houk Memorial, Reche Grove, Fallbrook Grove and El Encino.

"Parks are the heartbeat of each community and Live Oak embodies this. The park is also the heritage gateway into Fallbrook," Brian Albright, County Parks and Recreation Director, said in a press release. "Live Oak Park is a place where citizens can find strength and natural rejuvenation."

In anticipation of this year's celebration, the county made many improvements to the park. Some of the improvements included replacing walkways, adding exercise equipment, new benches, restroom improvements and restoring two 1920 concrete tables.

One of the goals this year was to plant 100 trees and shrubs in the park with the Fallbrook Save Our Forest Committee, which began in January but has been put on hold, again, due to the coronavirus.

The county said that when temperatures drop in the fall the remainder of the trees will be planted with the help of community volunteers, including planting the 100th tree at a rescheduled centennial event that will include other local organizations such as the Fallbrook Historical Society.

Jackie Heyneman, a founder of Save our Oaks founded in 1972 and re-energized in order to save oak trees marked for destruction in 1992, has been out at the park planting some of the 100 oaks planned to replenish the park.

"My involvement with the park itself has been long," Heyneman said.

Over the years, Heyneman can tell you stories about saving trees and fighting the county to replace trees wiped out by floods in the early 1990s.

Mostly she remembers the moments when the community came together to maintain the park.

"It was on the television news, we had hundreds of people come, they painted tables, they painted benches, they painted walls," Heyneman recalled fondly. "They planted; we did a ton of work that day. It was the best thing ever because it was community people coming together to work on that park. And it was just terrific."

Sherri Lenfers is a member of the Live Oak Park Coalition and the centennial committee who grew up in Fallbrook and remembers having birthday parties and picnics at the park.

"I've been going there since I was a child, of course," Lenfers said. "I was born in Fallbrook, raised in Fallbrook. It's just always been a place to go for entertainment and summertime picnics."

Over the years, you could find Lenfers out giving tours to local school children as a docent.

"The trees are just gorgeous and there are so many things I've done – docenting for the coalition for the third grade students," she said. "There's just so many interesting things to tell the kids. That's always been enjoyable for me.

"When the kids come to the park, they don't know anything about what's there – like, there's a cork tree that the Reches imported from Spain. There's the scorpion trail. You can show them where the scorpions come out at night and try to teach them about those things. Poison oak, of course, is down there and then there are the trees where the woodpeckers put the acorns. There's just so much history there."

From the ancient oaks and mortar stones to memorial plaques and monuments, from old stone tables and a time capsule to a native plant garden and a marked walking course, the park has something for everyone.

There are yearly events like Arts in the Park and Bark in the Park that have educated and served thousands of children and pets over the years.

Going back in time, the area's oak trees were once a food source for the Luiseño Indians, who are believed to have spent time here as much as 1,000 to 1,500 years ago.

Inside the park, there are display boards detailing the history and describing the use of the "Indian kitchen" in making their food near an 18-foot-long mortar where the Luiseños ground the acorns from the oak trees.

Brothers Vital and Anthony Reche were the first permanent residents of the area and the 160-acre settlement, where they lived back in 1869, surrounds the park area. Known as Reche Grove, the brothers named the town that emerged as Fall Brook.

Later, when the town moved west to its current location, the grove was still a place for the community to gather for town celebrations.

That still rings true today, according to Brian Ek, Supervising Park Ranger at Live Oak Park.

"When it was first established 100 years ago, it kind of served as the cornerstone of the Fallbrook community and I still feel that is true to this day," he said. "It's a place for families to gather and for the community to come together."

While it is a time for celebration, Ek recognizes that preserving the park is so very important.

"This existing, old growth oak grove is rare," he said. "A lot of the trees that were here 100 years ago when the park was established, are still here today. We're working to preserve those trees as well as foster the new generation of oak trees to replace them.

"They are said to live for a hundred years and die for a hundred years. They all have a lifespan and once they, they go. By doing a lot of tree planting over the years and we've done a lot, especially this year, and we're really hoping to keep this park going for the same reasons I listed that were prevalent a hundred years ago."

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].