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Clairemont, California
Thursday, March 28, 2024

“Christmas in San Diego” the Book

Owning and publishing this newspaper I have over the past four years met and spoke with a lot of local people.  One such person is Bill Swank a long time Clairemont resident.  The more...

Clairemont’s First Baseball Team

By Bill Swank 60 years ago, San Diego Park & Recreation leader Chuck Hile organized and outfitted Clairemont’s first baseball team: The Clairemont Colonials. Mel Rizzo, 75, who still resides in Clairemont, was a hard-hitting catcher...


To all the fools in Clairemont, Happy April!

Did you know the east side of Morena Boulevard has been rezoned for a trailer park from Balboa to Milton? DeFalco’s will build a new grocery store at the bottom of Clairemont Drive. The...

Squaremont: Toasting an Old Friend

Have you ever received a St. Patrick's Day greeting card wishing you the luck of the Irish? Grinning Leprechauns, rainbows, four-leaf clovers and a pot of gold... Historically, the luck of the Irish meant bad...


Swank’s Take on Valentine’s Day

How many remember this verse from Janice Ian’s poignant recording, “At Seventeen?” "To those of us who knew the pain/Of Valentines that never came…" I remember putting Valentine cards into pink and red heart-covered boxes we...

Clairemont, 1954

Optimism on New Year’s Eve is a time-honored tradition. Optimism and opportunity are vital elements of our American dream and folklore. Martin Ridge was my history professor at San Diego State College. In 1949, Ridge and...


How Does Clairemont Celebrate Christmas?

In the 1950s, P.B. was cool. Clairemont was searching for an identity. Shopping centers in residential communities were cutting-edge in the Fabulous Fifties. South Clairemont had the Quad at Burgener and Clairemont Drive. North Clairemont...

Tecolote Canyon – Part 1

By Bill Swank The Kumeyaay people lived at the mouth of Tecolote Canyon for over 2,500 years. The name Tecolote Canyon appeared in 1845 on the first pueblo map of San Diego. By 1872, the San...


How did Clairemont streets get their names?

By Bill Swank In my January 2016 column, I mistakenly wrote that Burgener Boulevard was named after former U.S. Representative Clair Burgener. Thanks to eagle-eyed readers Adam Chimowicz and Jim Richardson, who each caught the...

The Heart and Soul of Clairemont

By Bill Swank When I began writing this column in 2014, my goal was to tap into the heart and soul of Clairemont. I've lived here for almost 60 years and frequently heard that Clairemont had...


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