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COMMUNITY Committee’sWork Set the Standard


Vista’s Beautif ication Process Began in 1965 Written by Lois Cavalier, Vista Historical Society


The Vista BeautifulCommittee was


created by a unanimous resolution of the VistaCityCouncil on Aug. 18, 1965. Less than two years later, on June 6,


1967,CommitteeChairman Elva Dawson strode proudly intoCouncil chambers to present theGrand Prize plaque she was presented at the “Countdown forColor” Los Angeles Beautiful awards luncheon. Vista competed with 300 other communi- ties, and the return home was tri- umphant. The award was presented before sev-


eral hundred guests at the Los Angeles County Arboretumby Frank Bonelli, chairman of the Los AngelesCounty Board of Supervisors. The honor made the top front page headline of The Vista Press in a city that then numbered 20,800 residents. Over precedingmonths, Vista Beau-


tifulmembers had rallied adult and youth service organization as well as businesses and individuals. They did it all -- cleanup drives, Litter


Nell Cunningham of Vista Beautiful holds the design she and her husband, Edward, created for welcome signs that were placed at five major en- trances of Vista.


Alerts andWeedWars, and the choosing and planting of hundreds of trees.New city weed abatement and litter ordinances backed up their efforts. The firstmeeting of the committee, in


September 1965, was led by retiredU.S. ArmyCol. Frank E.Gillette. This city


councilman and latermayormaster- minded the creation of the beautification group, and, in 1968, was named “Man of the Year” byCaliforniaGarden Clubs, Inc. Committeemembers agreed that their


Creating Your Pathway To Recovery


Dr. Susan Trueblood Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #49022


       


335 Main Street Vista, CA 92084 susantruebloodmft@cox.net Telephone: 760-330-0166


12 VISTA MAGAZINE


primary objectives were to oversee or- ganized cleanup campaigns, select trees and planting sites, and generally pro- mote pride in landscaping among busi- nesses and homeowners. In the late 1960s,


www.maintainyourrecovery.com


the SoroptimistClub transformed into a serene park the for- merly bare corner near the railroad tracks at Santa Fe Avenue andWest VistaWay. Rotarians donated $1,000 to- ward the walkway that runs along what


Parks & Recreation Director Janis Perry and staff member Gary Hover cheer on children who are helping with a 1971 clean-up campaign sponsored by Vista Beautiful.


is now Vista VillageDrive adjacent to the former VistaHigh School; public vote unanimously named it Rotary Lane Park- way, as it still stands today. In August 1970, longtime Vista business


owner Abe Shelhoup donated 150 of nearly 600 Indian laurel trees to be spaced 20 feet apart fromSanta Fe Avenue toCitrus Av- enue along what is nowMain Street in downtown Vista. The trees were planted in time for the


gala celebration on Sept. 1, 1970, of the re- alignment of the VistaWay and Santa Fe Avenue intersection. NellCunningham, another longtime


www.vistachamber.org


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