The History of Eastside

This narrative captures but a fraction of the rich history of the neighborhood we know as Eastside. I have mentioned just a few of the many notable and longtime residents and no one is left out intentionally. A larger and more in depth story will one day be written.

The original Eastside Neighborhood is made up of four small subdivisions, three of which were recorded in 1886 and one in 1887: Mingus and Overman Subdivision, Spencer, Higgins and Puls’ Subdivision, Kellogg and Sinclair’s Addition and Reece’s Addition.

One of four subdivisions that make up the original Eastside neighborhood.

Decades before the term “Eastside” was used, the area was largely referred to by the name of the subdivisions, i.e. “Reece’s Addition.”

Eastside was not a name used until 1948 when the Eastside Sewer Improvement District was formed. For decades the area had no sewer system and homes were without proper bathroom facilities, relying on outhouses.

In the 1930s and early 1940s it was called “Mexican Town” or “Spanish Village.” But Eastside is often referred to by long-time residents as “Posole” and that name is attributed to a woman who epitomizes the hardworking residents of Eastside.

1923 Map showing original boundaries of Eastside

Anita Cruz Romero came to the United States from Mexico in 1910 with her son Ralph Romero. Mrs. Romero was one of the first residents in the Eastside neighborhood and purchased property and lived in a home on Higgins Street in 1914. Romero was a widow and made a living as a housekeeper for affluent Oceanside residents. To supplement her income, she sold her home-made soup. According to Eastside resident Aurora Soto Badillo, Mrs. Romero placed her soup in a hot pot on top of a little red wagon and walked throughout the barrio, shouting “Posole, posole!”

Anita “Anna” Cruz Romero, right. Early property owner

Oceanside had a population of less than 400 persons in 1900, and the area what we know as Eastside had no homes or buildings erected and remained “unimproved.” However, by 1910 many of the lots were used for agriculture or small crops by area residents and landowners.

One of the first houses built was the Mayhew house that fronted Mission Avenue in about 1912. Two years later Anita Cruz Romero would have a house built on her Higgins Street property.

This house fronting Mission Avenue was one of the earliest homes built within the boundaries of Eastside and was owned by the Mayhew family.

The population of Eastside began to increase as Mexican immigrant families slowly begin to settle in what would be known as Eastside. The 1920 US census shows that approximately 14 Mexican families were living on or near Bush Street.

In 1930 Jemmie Berry Hayes was one of the largest property owners in Eastside. She was the wife of Fred Hayes, who was the son of John Chauncey Hayes, one of the earliest residents of Oceanside and a long-time realtor. Another large property owner was Anna Curran. She, too, was the wife of a realtor. These two women bought and then sold lots to many of the families that settled in Eastside over the years.

Early residents, settling in the 1920s and the 1930s, included Zeferino Nares, Ramon Sanchez, Victoriano Ruiz, Joaquin Vasquez, Atenogenes Magana, Jesus Valenzuela, Salvador Gonzalez, Santiago Gomez, Felipe Badillo, Jacinto Soto, Jose Lopez and others.

Guillermo Aguilera came to the US from Mexico in 1914 arriving in Oceanside about 1926. He and his wife Petra had ten children. He supported his large family by working in agriculture but also built several homes in Eastside even though he was missing a hand. They lived in a home at 402 San Diego Street, which he built.

By the late 1920s, the necessity for a proper sewer system for the areas outside of downtown Oceanside was evident. Eastside and other sections were lacking sanitary services. In the March 29, 1929 edition of the Oceanside Blade Tribune newspaper was this report:

WILL MAKE A SEWER EXTENSION.

Unsanitary conditions existing in a portion of the eastern part of the city where the subject of a communication to the city council from inspector W. P. Jensen at their meeting Wednesday evening.

It was stated that in that territory included in Spencer, Higgins and Puls Addition, Reese’s Addition, Wilder Tract, Wilson & Patton Addition, Mingus and Overman Addition, Kellogg & Sinclair Addition, portions of Butler, Groves, and Gleichner’s Addition, Boheim Tract, and Timken & O’Bear’s Addition, that the soil is of such character, underlaid by a hard pan, that the effluent from septic tanks will not penetrate and seep away, but remains on the surface and eventually creates an unsanitary and dangerous condition.

It would take two more decades for Eastside to have a sewer system in place. When it rained the septic tank systems and outhouses would overflow, filling yards and running down streets.

Muddy streets, Bush Street at San Diego looking East

In 1930 the first known Black residents moved to Eastside. Orange Hinkle and his wife Irene were renting a home on Lemon Street. His neighbor was Casimiro Soto, who was a property owner.

In 1938 John and Charles Etta Mann moved to 214 San Diego Street, the first known Black property owners in Eastside and long-time residents.

During and after World War II, the Black population increased due to the military and more job opportunities. Early Black residents were told to live in Eastside. C. R. Roberts remembered that his father was a railroad worker and they first lived on South Cleveland Street when his parents were told to move to “Mexican Town.”

The Eastside Neighborhood was segregated and separated in many ways. Eastside was separated from the rest of Oceanside by a large canyon or gully (now Interstate 5). In the 1930s their children, many of whom spoke only Spanish, were sent to the Americanization School on Division Street where they were immersed in English. Pete Magana recalled that teacher Mrs. Beth French was beloved by the students.

Americanization School on Division Street (designed by architect Irving J. Gill)

In 1939 the original St. Mary’s church was moved to Lemon Street. This became an important addition to the neighborhood for Catholic parishioners.

The Mission Market, on the corner of San Diego and Mission, was established in 1937 and was owned by Manuel Castorena, who purchased the land and a small house from Leslie Carter.

Mission Market at San Diego Street and Mission Avenue, 1937

Bartolome Chavez opened a bake shop as early as 1930 on the corner of San Diego and Bush Streets. This would later become known as the East Star Market and operated by sisters Marie and Lucy.

East Star Market owned by Marie and Lucy Chavez corner of San Diego and Bush Streets.

Ygnacio and Socorro (Duarte) Adame migrated to Oceanside from Michoacan, Mexico in 1926. They moved to the “Eastside” community, also known as “Barrio Posole”, and established a home at 408 San Diego Street. In 1945 they established the La Chiquita Market next door at 410 San Diego Street where Socorro cooked and sold fresh tortillas and tamales.

La Chaquita Market at 410 San Diego Street.

These markets were important to residents because the owners were their neighbors and they sold products that were desirable by the neighborhood and not available in other local stores.

Sterling Housing was a large Federal Housing development for the military and their families built in 1948. 648 units were built on 45 acres and was nearly the size of Eastside itself.

Sterling Housing was built just to the east of Eastside, with paved street, sidewalks and sewer system.

This military housing complex impacted the neighborhood with construction work, increased traffic, etc. But even though Sterling Homes was connected to a brand-new sewer line, Eastside was bypassed altogether leaving residents dismayed.

As the Black population continued to increase in Eastside, a need to congregate and worship became paramount. In 1945 the Friendly Church of God in Christ was established at 1015 San Diego Street.

Some of the congregation of the Friendly Church of God in Christ. Charles Etta Mann top right.

Walker Chapel AME was established in 1949 on Laurel Street. Two additional Black churches were founded in Eastside: St. John’s Missionary Baptist and Shiloh Church of God in Christ.

Walker AME Chapel on Laurel Street circa 1949

These four houses of worship attested to the growing Black population, and their roots in the Eastside neighborhood.

In 1948, Charles Etta Mann opened a restaurant at 214 San Diego Street. It would later become a small market which doubled as a meeting place for Eastside’s Black residents. (After her first husband’s death, Charles Etta would later remarry to Wesley Allen and most remember her as Charles Etta Allen.)

Mann’s Food Shop on San Diego Street, owned by Charles Etta Mann, first Black owned business in Oceanside

In 1948, Lucy Chavez, an advocate for the neighborhood formed the Eastside Association. At a city council meeting she argued that “east side” taxpayers had paid taxes on sanitary facilities for 20 years, but they still had no sewage facilities. She alleged that a fund that was once set aside for the work was used elsewhere.

In June of 1949 Joaquin Vasquez, president of the Eastside club, implored the council with the urgency and said that nearly every lot in the east side had “13 holes dug in it, and we can’t dig anymore.”

Higgins and Santa Barbara Street, dirt streets, outhouses and homes on cement blocks to help prevent mud and sewage in homes.

Even after a proper sewer system was approved and installed in 1949, three streets were left out, Dubuque, Shoshone and Marquette. These streets were largely inhabited by Black residents. Gilbert Woods petitioned the City Council in 1954 to get the needed sewer lines installed which was approved that October…. but they had to wait an additional five years for equal facilities!

Gilbert Wood and son. Gilbert petitioned for sewer system for last three remaining streets in Eastside.

In 1953, a new subdivision was built just northeast of the original Eastside neighborhood. 200 two-and-three-bedroom homes, built for military personnel and civil service workers at Camp Pendleton by the Mongollon Construction Co. opened that year. This new subdivision included sidewalks, paved streets and a sewer system. However, residents had to drive on dirt roads through Eastside to arrive at his new subdivision that was connected to their neighborhood. The dust and dirt construction crews and passenger traffic would fill the homes of residents, coat their vehicles and even the laundry that was left out to dry on clotheslines.

Map of Eastside, showing Sterling Housing as well as the “new” Eastside neighborhood (Lorreta, Kraft, Langford Streets and more.)

As late as 1954, the Eastside Neighborhood did not have paved streets or sidewalks.

Construction for Laurel Elementary School began in 1954, which opened in 1955. Prior to this, elementary students went to what was called Mission Road School.

Laurel Street looking west, Laurel School being built to the right.

Before Laurel School could be built the Kosaka house and farm had to be removed from the site. The Kosaka family had been interred in camps during World War II and settled in Eastside in the late 1940s. There were many Japanese families living in and around Oceanside before and after the War.

Eastside continued to diversify with addition of Samoan and Filipino residents. Florrie and Amio Faumuina came to Oceanside in 1958 and were among the early Samoan families to live in Eastside. Samoan families lived in homes in the “new” Eastside in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Junior Seau and his family lived in this home at 1424 Zeiss Street.

Faumuina family first settled in Eastside when coming to Oceanside.

In 1957 Eastside dedicated its own community center. It was noted that the building was “begun by a group of people – not officials, not councilmen, not rich men, not poor men, but citizens who lived in the neighborhood.” Residents took it upon themselves to build, plaster, pour cement and raise funds to make the center a reality.

In April of 1969 a groundbreaking was held for the new $300,000 Eastside Neighborhood Center. It would become the Balderrama Recreation Center.

At the request of the American G.I. Forum, the name of the park was changed by the city council on Aug. 9, 1967 from the Eastside Recreation Park, to the Joe Balderrama Recreation Park in honor of John “Joe” Balderrama who was killed in action during World War II on October 13, 1944.

Dedication of new Balderrama Recreation Center

Dedication of the new rec center was held in January 1970 with a diverse and inclusive program featuring “rock music, an Afro-American Club program, a karate demonstration, a Polynesian show and a program presented by the Golden Age Club.”

The Gobbi family opened El Charrito Restaurant in 1966 at 1426 Mission Avenue and about a year later moved it to 218 San Diego Street. This restaurant was a neighborhood focal point, much like the new recreation center, but it also brought customers from outside the boundaries of Eastside, for the authentic food and welcoming atmosphere.

In 1968 Roosevelt Campbell had this retail building built at 401-409 San Diego Street. It originally housed three Black owned businesses: The Progressive Barber Shop, The Progressive Café and the Progressive Beauty Shop.

401-409 San Diego Street, built by Black businessman Roosevelt Campbell.

Roosevelt Campbell and two other Black businessmen, George Mitchell and Oscar Culp, joined together to open GEBS and later CMC Furniture.

George Mitchell, top, Roosevelt Campbell and Oscar Culp

Along with community advocates such as Lucy, Marie and Joe Chavez, Eastside had a number of devoted residents including Concha Hernandez Greene, who became one of its most dedicated residents known for her community activism.

Isabel and Jesus Hernandez with daughters Julie and Concha on Bush Street 1950s

Pete Magana, born 1928, was a lifelong resident of Eastside. He founded the local chapter of the American GI Forum, a group comprised mainly of Latino veterans who raised scholarship funds for needy students. He was twice named Oceanside Citizen of the Year, first in 1972 and again in 1983. For 15 years he was the Laurel Elementary School PTA President.

Beloved Eastside resident and civic leader Pete Magana

Two of Oceanside’s mayors have roots in Eastside, Terry Johnson and Esther Sanchez, and Laurel Elementary School has a Hall of Fame which celebrates the achievements of Eastside students who have excelled, even in the hardest of times of inequity.

Refugio, Lupe and Baleria Magana and Genny Gobbi Magana making tamales at their hone at 306 San Diego Street, circa 1965

Eastside is a unique neighborhood with its own history within and apart from Oceanside. It reflects the diversity and tenacity of its residents, who were separated from a quality-of-life afforded others, but lived their lives in dignity and determination, often unseen, but who have their rightful place in our history.

The House on Shoshone Street and the Story of Frankie Elda Kidd

I want to thank Michelle Foster for contacting me about Frankie. Her quest for information became mine and I am grateful for the personal stories and photos she shared to bring this story to life.

In a rather remote area of Oceanside, tucked away in the northwest section of the Eastside neighborhood, was a small house on a dead end dirt road near Lawrence Canyon.

The house was built in 1944 and owned by Anna Curran, who owned no less than sixteen lots throughout Eastside, several of which had small houses that she rented out. The rent she collected was likely her only source of income as her husband William Curran had been arrested for the murder of a Marine in downtown Oceanside that same year. After a lengthy trial, Curran was found guilty, but deemed insane and sent to an asylum to serve out his sentence.

Residents of Eastside were largely Mexican immigrants, many of whom were laborers who worked in the fields of the San Luis Rey Valley and the Rancho Santa Margarita (now Camp Pendleton). The neighborhood was segregated and separated in four ways: Geographically it was separated from “downtown Oceanside” by Lawrence Canyon; Children of immigrants were separated from other students and sent to the Americanization School on Division Street where they were immersed in English; The neighborhood had dirt streets while most of Oceanside enjoyed paved ones; Eastside had no sewer system.

Although some referred to Eastside as “Mexican Town”, more than a dozen African-American families settled in the neighborhood in the 1940s.

Frankie Elda Kidd occupied one of Anna Curran’s tiny rental homes, at 1420 Shoshone Street. Frankie’s birth name was Alta (perhaps a variation of Elda) and “Frankie” may have been a nickname that she acquired. She was born in 1920 in Imperial County, California and as best as can be determined, she was the daughter of John Zainina and Martha Bartley.

In 1930 Frankie and her family were living in Merced, California, where her father was working as a dairy farmer. By around 1935 she was living with extended family in San Bernardino, California, where she attended high school.

While attending San Bernardino High School, Frankie met James Scott, a handsome young man from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The two married in 1938 but the marriage was short lived as they were living separately just two years later. In 1940 Frankie was living with cousins and working as a housekeeper for a private home.

James Scott, Frankie Elda’s first husband

In about 1943 Frankie embarked on her second nuptials to Alfred Selester Kidd. It would be her second of six marriages. She was likely introduced to Alfred by her older brother Vernon, as the two men were rooming together while living in Oakland. Alfred Kidd, a native of Louisiana, was working at the Navy Yard at Mare Island.

Frankie arrived in Oceanside by 1945. Did Alfred Kidd accompany her? There is no record of him leaving the Oakland area. Perhaps this marriage was just as brief as the first. What brought Frankie to Oceanside is unknown, but perhaps she came because of job opportunities. Due to the establishment of Camp Joseph H. Pendleton shortly after World War II began, Oceanside was expanding at a rapid rate.

Because of the remote location of Frankie’s home on Shoshone Street, any traffic (pedestrian or otherwise) would have been largely limited to residents who lived on the dead end street. However, apparently Shoshone Street was getting a steady stream of traffic, so much so that area residents took notice and began to complain, which prompted an investigation by the Oceanside Police Department.

The Oceanside Blade Tribune newspaper reported that Frankie Kidd was arrested on February 4, 1945 for operating an “illegitimate business” along with another woman, Mildred Clark. Later this particular business was classified as a “disorderly house” which is a polite term for a brothel.

It seems that Frankie’s “visitors” were mostly servicemen, many of whom resided at Sterling Homes, federal housing built for the military just east of Holly Street. (Sterling Homes had paved streets, curbing and sewers for its occupants in contrast to the neighboring Eastside community.)

Sterling Housing just east of the Eastside Neighborhood

What brought Frankie to this profession is anyone’s guess, but despite her occupation she was remembered by local residents as being friendly, beautiful and “could hold her own against any situation that could come up.”

After her arrest, Frankie asked for a jury trial and the case was heard on March 7th. The jury of five women and three men listened to what must have been riveting testimony which lasted all the way up until 10 pm. (However, many of the witnesses were servicemen and reluctant to testify.) The jury deliberated for two hours and found Frankie Kidd guilty as charged. Judge Parsons fined her $300, with $100 suspended. But even a $200 fine was a hefty amount, equivalent to over $2500 today). She also received 150 days of probation. Initially appealing the case, Frankie paid the fine a few days later.

While Frankie continued to live on Shoshone Street, she was known to frequent a small establishment which was located just steps from the back of her home. It was called “the Hangout”. Situated at the back end of 1415 Laurel Street, was a small trailer that was frequented by many of the local residents and was a popular spot for military men. Charles C. Jones applied to the city for a permit to operate a café “specializing in barbecue and chicken sandwiches” but it was denied. Despite the city’s rejection, the Hangout operated without a permit and was a popular spot offering food, drink and dancing, with a little bit of gambling thrown in. Frankie was a regular and it was there she attracted her “customers.”

Frankie Elda in later years at the Hangout *(photo courtesy of Michelle Foster)*

Although Frankie avoided any additional attention from law enforcement for several years, in 1949 she was arrested again — this time for a scuffle with another woman. On June 26th, Mary Morgan filed a complaint against Frankie for threatening her with a knife and a razor. Apparently Frankie had gotten too friendly with Mary’s husband George Morgan, and a heated argument ensued. After being taken into custody, Frankie requested a jury trial which was set for July, but on the day of trial, she pled guilty and was fined $100.

Mary Morgan playing cards at the Hangout *(photo courtesy of Michelle Foster)*

While the Hangout continued in popularity, as did Frankie, the raucous nature of this corner of Eastside changed when families began to populate the remote area of Laurel and Shoshone streets. Gilbert Woods purchased a lot just a few doors down from Frankie. In 1948 he had built a small home at 1430 Shoshone, where he and his wife raised their family. A cook in the Navy during WWII, his granddaughter Michelle remembers that he prepared and shared food with his neighbors, including Frankie, who was grateful for the kindness.

Gilbert Woods holding son *(photo courtesy of Michelle Foster)*

Another substantial change to the immediate area came when the Walker Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1949, one of the first Black Churches in Oceanside. The church was established at the behest of Johnny and Easter Foster, prior residents of Blythe, California. They wrote to the Church Bishop asking for an AME church to be established in Oceanside. Walker Chapel was built on the very lot that the Hangout was located, which remained standing and was still frequented by residents, even while parishioners attended services.

Original Church building of Walker Chapel AME in 1949 at 1415 Laurel Street. To the left is Easter Foster and the Rev. Jessie B. Browning; Far right Johnny Foster (photo courtesy of Michelle Foster)

Rev. Jessie B. Browning was the first pastor of Walker Chapel AME. Shortly after her arrival to Oceanside the local newspaper announced the following: “Rev. Jessie Browning, a lady preacher of the colored Methodist church and her colored singers will appear at the Nazarene Church Sunday evening at 7:30, in the Woman’s Club house, corner of Tremont and Third streets.”

While the Eastside neighborhood was within city limits by 1887 and a residential neighborhood since about 1910, it took decades for the City to pave the streets and to add a sewer system, well after other residential sections had these same “amenities”. But even when a sewer project was approved in 1948, Shoshone Street and the 1400 block of Marquette Street were left out. Gilbert Woods worked for a needed sewer system for this “forgotten” area and he distributed a petition which was presented to the City Council, who initially rebuffed his efforts. Finally in September of 1954, Gilbert’s efforts were rewarded when the City Council finally approved plans for the Shoshone Street Sewer project.

In 1954 Edward Anderson purchased the home at 1420 Shoshone Street in which Frankie had lived for several years, and built an additional home on the lot, situated behind the original house. It is likely that Frankie resorted to living in the Hangout.

Construction began for a new elementary school on Laurel Street, just northeast of Walker Chapel, which opened for students in 1955. The area once known for a “disorderly and illegal business” was now gentrified. Eventually even the Hangout would be reformed, or shall we say “redeemed” altogether when the Walker Chapel AME church included the small building into its own when they enlarged their church years later.

The little house that Frankie once lived in at 1420 Shoshone Street was destroyed in a fire in 1982. The fire was so hot it reached upwards of 400 degrees and melted the Plexiglass face shields of the responding firefighters. Smoke inhalation took the life of an elderly blind woman, Mildred Taylor, who could not make her way out. Owners Ed and Margarethea Anderson, who lived next door said they had no insurance on the structure as it “was too old.”

Edward Anderson and the Oceanside Fire Department at 1420 Shoshone Street.
The house where Frankie Elda once lived.

Frankie Elda married a man by the last name of Marshall but nothing is known of this marriage. She relocated to Klamath Falls, Oregon and married Eugene James Witherspoon in Reno, Nevada on January 10, 1953. The two divorced and in 1967 Frankie married Ezelle Spoon, a native of Texas.

After the death of Ezelle in 1992, she married Arlet Green two years later in 1994, in Reno, Nevada.

Frankie died June 17, 2002, but was not forgotten. Michelle Foster still remembers the stories her mother, Alberta Woods Foster, shared with her of Eastside, the Hangout, and Frankie. Perhaps Frankie walked in the path of sinners, but her neighbors, like the Good Samaritan, showed her grace and compassion.