Our volunteers are taking a well deserved break for the holiday season. We'll see you all when we reopen on Saturday, January 10th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the La Mesa History Center and McKinney House Museum.

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate. This is a c1940s shot of Grossmont High School's Christmas Pageant Feast Scene. The pageant was introduced in 1925 (some sources say 1926) under the guidance of teacher Eva Quicksall. It ran through 1988 and was wildly popular. If you were ever in the pageant share your stories. #grossmonthighschool #merrychristmas

SANTA SPOTTED OVER LA MESA!
Fear not, a little bit of rain can't stop Santa from his deliveries.
This shot caught him crossing over Lookout Ave (now La Mesa Blvd) just east of Spring Street, c1938.

Here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season.

La Mesa History Center

From the La Mesa History Center Board of Directors to you, wishes for a wonderful holiday. (Any guess where and when this was taken? It is a photo of an actual card from our collection. We can't resist the chance to play #WhereisitWednesday )

50 Facts about the La Mesa History Center #49: Our Volunteers!
Did you know that the current volunteer rate for California is $40.14 per hour according to the Independent Sector 2025 Value of Volunteer Time Report? Based on that rate, if we look at the time donated by our archives and museum volunteers and our Board members for baseline operational activities, our volunteered time this year comes out to $52, 984.80! That number exceeds the LMHC's FY25-FY26 operating budget by several hundred dollars. It also does NOT include the tremendous amount of time that our volunteers give in support of our Home Tour, Roundtables, community events and yard/house maintenance and upkeep. Without our volunteers, we simply could not have survived and thrived for the past fifty years. As 2025 draws to a close, a special shout-out to Char, Jim, Julie, Don, Kevin, and Jim for their weekly commitment to support our archives and to Karen and Janis, our McKinney House docents.

Where is it Wednesday? Certainly some of you remember this one. Where is/was it and what do you know about it? #lamesahistory #WhereIsItWednesday

50 Facts about the La Mesa History Center #48: Our Members!
As we approach the end of 2025 and the end of our 50 Facts series, we would like to take a moment to highlight our members! Without our members, there would not be a La Mesa History Center. This past Sunday, December 14th, between 40 and 50 LMHC members gathered at the McKinney House for our annual Holiday Open House. This event dates back to the earliest days of the organization (See Fact #24 for more on the Holiday Parties!) and are great opportunity for the membership to gather, share stories, fill up on tasty treats and build community. Thanks to everyone who attended!
Not a member yet? Check out the LMHC website at https://lamesahistory.com/membership/. Membership levels start at just $25/year!

Where is it Wednesday? Can you guess where this is/was in La Mesa? What do you know about it? #whereisitwednesday #historypuzzles #lamesa

50 Facts about the La Mesa History Center #47: Collection Highlight - Textiles
The La Mesa History Center has a wide variety of textiles including home goods (kitchen towels, sheets, tableclothes, etc.), rugs, quilts, and clothes for men, women, and children. Our men's clothing includes several military and postal worker uniforms from the 1940s and 1950s. In terms of women's clothing, we have several wedding dresses that were part of an exhibit in 1991. These include Katherine Lutes' 1902 dress and Elizabeth Chapin Porter's dress from 1879.

For the past few months, we have been very fortunate to have a SDSU student, Cordelia S., who is specializing in textiles, working with our collection for an independent study project. Cordelia has been reviewing our women's clothing collection, noting dates and methods of production (homemade vs mass-produced), as well as modifications and alterations that occurred over time.