June 3, 1998

Teach some geography without leaving town

I was supposed to be teaching some fourth and fifth graders at Fairmont School a bit of Pacifica history the other day. I enjoyed it. I hope they did, though I can't be sure if I did anything more than bore them stiff. I think I learned more than the kids. For one thing, the visit increased my admiration for teachers a good deal. I was there for an hour. They are there for the kids every day.

If you have kids in the elementary grades, I have a suggestion, based on that visit. Teach your kids a little geography and a bit of history. Nothing elaborate. Not about Patagonia or Moldavia or the Andes cordillera. Give them a tour of Pacifica. No need to leave town. No need to spend huge amounts on admission prices. And no need to do it all at once, or in the order I am laying out.

1. Take the kids to San Pedro Valley Park on a Sat. morning. If you can do it, hike in early in the morning, perhaps at sunrise. Walk quietly. Bring your field glasses, and look for bobcats, deer, birds, rabbits. Check the garbage cans for skunks. (I said carefulllly!) Stay long enough to stop by the visitor center when it opens.

2. Go to the corner of Beach Blvd. and Montecito. Look up at the Castle. Tell the kids the story of the lawyer Henry Harrison McCloskey, who built the castle 90 years ago. Tell them how it has served in various ways over the years, as Coast Guard hq in WWII, as a romantic home away from home for Sam Mazza. Tell them about Congressman Pete McCloskey, the builder's grandson.

Then look around and tell them something about the pier. Perhaps you can take them fishing. No license required.

Then walk along the promenade.

3. On a weekend, between 10 and 4:30 Sat. or Sun. take them by the Chamber of Commerce office in Rockaway Beach. Show them the skeleton on display, and the Gulf of the Farallones exhibit. Talk to Pam Jacobs, the weekend visitor center manager. Then take them down to the beach, in front of the Moonraker restaurant, and check out the artwork there.

4. Stop in at Plaça de Catalunya, at the corner of Crespi drive and Cabrillo highway. Read the caption on the statue of Gaspar de Portolá. Then discuss how Portolá discovered San Francisco Bay from Pacifica. Tell the kids how the modern sculptor, Subirachs, created the statue, and that it was a gift from the autonomous region of Catalunya in Spain to the state of California. Point out that Pacifica is the sister city of Balaguer, the home of Portolá. Perhaps you can tell the kids that the Catalan language, with as rich a history as Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or French, was not allowed to be spoken publicly under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

5. Take the children on a tour of Pacifica churches. Show them the Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Buddhist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Mormon and the rest. You may want to explain their differences and what they have in common.

These are only a few ideas. You might also introduce your children to our several shopping centers, to our various housing tracts, and to Pacifica's beaches, hills, creeks and the unofficial arboretum called Vallemar. After 35 years in Pacifica, Paul Azevedo continues to discover new fun things to do, and fun places to go without leaving this beautiful city by the sea.