Siena Says

Mission San Juan Capistrano was the 7th mission created by the Spanish between the years of 1769 and 1823 in what is now California. The Spanish built their mission settlements near Indian territories so that they could convert them to Christianity and use the tribes to help build the missions. Today, the Mission San Juan Capistrano is often associated with the swallows who visit the mission every summer.





Photograph by Bicvan T. Brown, copyright 2007.




The History of Mission San Juan Capistrano


Two of the most important men that helped create the mission system were Fray Serra and Fray Lausen. Fray Serra was in charge of Alta California, know as “New Spain” when the Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded. Fray Lasuen was put in charge of the Mission system and Fray Serra died and made many building and farming improvements.


The first attempt to build Mission San Juan Capistrano, lead by Fray Lausen, was stopped by an Indian attack that killed several people. A year later, Fray Serra returned to the area, selected a new site and started building the mission.


Mission San Juan Capistrano took many years to build and required that the local tribes and missionaries work together to overcome hardships. The missionaries taught the Indians better ways to do things. The Acagchemem tribe helped to build the mission. Both groups had to deal with problems caused by pirates, disease, natural disasters and cultural differences.


After an eleven year war between the Spanish government and the people of “New Spain”, the missionaries won their freedom and formed Mexico. The Mexican government wasted the Mission’s resources until the U.S. government took control of the land after a war with Mexico from 1847-1848. President Lincoln returned control of Mission San Juan Capistrano to the Catholics in 1865 after California became a state.




The Native American Tribe and Natural Resources



The largest group of Native American Indians that lived in the area where the Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded were from the Acagchemem tribe. The lifestyle of this tribe was based on their environment and living off the land. Like many other tribes in Alta California, the Acagchemem lived in small villages near a source of water. This tribe settled in the area where the mission would eventually be built because it was close to the ocean and two rivers. The ocean and rivers provided fish and clams for food as well as shells, glass and rocks for weapons. These weapons were also used to hunt the many animals in the area such as deer, birds, rabbits and quail.


There were also a lot of oak trees and cactus in the area. The acorns in the oak tress were a large source of food for the local tribe. “Once the acorns were collected, the women had to take special care in preparing them in order to remove a natural poison that would cause sickness or even death. After shelling the acorns, they crushed the nuts into flour. Then they cleaned the flour 10 times. Once the flour was clean, the women used it to make soups, cakes and bread.” (1) The forest and coastal location also provided wood, bark, grass, and reeds for making clothing, weapons, baskets, canoes and huts know as “wikiups”.



Taken from p. 46 of Missions and Missionaries of California by Engelhardt, Zephyrin (1920).


The Acagchemem Indians first tried to fight the missionaries but were no match for the guns of the Spanish soldiers. Some of the Indians were happy because the missionaries taught them how to make arts, crafts and better tools. Others were upset because the Spanish brought over a lot of new sicknesses and disease. The daily life at the Mission was not very good for the Acachemem. They were forced to work hard, couldn’t leave the mission and didn’t like being controlled. When the missionaries fought the Spanish Government for their independence, the Acachemem worked extra hard to help the soldier of “New Spain” only to be treated by slaves by the new Mexican Government.




The Mission San Juan Capistrano Today


By the late 1800’s the Mission was in ruins. Today however, the Mission San Juan Capistrano is being restored.

Photograph by Robert A. Estremo, copyright 2005


The mission is now known for many interesting facts including the “Mission Grape”, the Criolla that was first planted there. The first wine produced in California was produced at the Mission’s winery.


The Mission is a very popular place to visit. “About half-a-million visitors, including 80,000 school children, come to the Mission each year. And, while the ruins of “The Great Stone Church” (which was all but leveled by an 1812 earthquake) are a renowned architectural wonder, the Mission is perhaps best known for the annual “Return of the Swallows”. (2)


These birds have built their summer homes at the Mission for centuries. “Unless they have been delayed in their flight from Argentina by an unseasonable tropical storm, they return to build their mud nests at San Juan with a dependability that allows major television and press schedule of a media event for March 19th.” (3)




Bibliography


(1)Edgar, Kathlenn J. and Edgar, Susan E.
The Missions of Californa, Mission San Juan Capistrano
The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
New York, NY
2000


(2)Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Juan_Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano
February 15, 2010
Wikimedia Foundation
February 15, 2010


(3)Foster, Lee
Beauty of the California Missions
LTA Publishing Company
Portland, OR
1990

My Chocolate Year




Author: Charlotte Herman Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Main character: Dorrie Meyers Background(s): Sidewalk, school, house, backyard, and store





Favorite part:
When the flour went all over the kitchen when she was trying to make brownies, because the flour went everywhere and I enjoyed thinking about the way it would look.
Another favorite part was when Dorrie and her friend, Sunny, tried unsuccessfully to make chocolate gum.


“My Chocolate Year” is a book about a 10-year-old Jewish girl,Dorrie, who in 1946 was looking for a recipe for a cooking/essay contest called “Sweet Semester”. The event is held at school every year by the Fifth Grade teacher, Miss Fitzgerald. She tells the class at the beginning of the year, so that they have all year to plan a dessert that they make themselves. They also will need to include the recipe and an essay about why they decided to make it. This year was special, because it was the first year that it would be photographed and written about in the Chicago Daily News paper!


All that Dorrie knew was that she wanted to make something chocolate. However, after many failed attempts, she put the project aside for a while. Her Jewish cousin, which they thought was lost in the war in Europe against the Germans, arrives and she forgets all about planning for “Sweet Semester”. Then, one day, her mother asks her what she is going to make. She has no idea what recipe to choose. Her long-lost cousin, Victor, hears about this and gives her just the right recipe to use which he used to make at his family’s bakery before the war. It is a recipe for peppermint chocolate sticks and they have great fun crushing up the peppermint.


After inspiration from a movie, Dorrie has an idea to help the orphans in Germany. She asks her teacher if it would be okay to have a jar where guests of the Sweet Semester event can make cash donations to help the children that need food and clothing. Her teacher agrees.


Finally, the contest day arrives! She sees Melvin’s Superman cookies all decorated in red and blue and believes that she now has no chance of winning. When they announce him as the winning recipe, she is not surprised. Each person reads their essay and when it is Dorrie’s turn, she talks about her cousin, Victor, and how he gave her the recipe from his favorite candy before the Germans took him and his family away. She wrote about him hiding and living in a camp and being the only one in his family to survive. She hoped that the fun they had making the peppermint sticks this year had helped create happy memories to replace the sad ones. At the end of the contest, they announce that she is the essay winner and she is so happy that she jumps for joy! Everyone is there to celebrate with her, including her cousin Victor. As the photographer takes her photo, she pulls Victor into the picture with her.


I hope that when people read this book they are inspired to help others the way Dorrie did.

“My Life in Dog Years” by Gary Paulsen
Book Review

“My Life in Dog Years” is a book about a man named Gary and many of the incredible dogs he has rescued throughout his life. Each chapter is dedicated to the special memories he has for each of his “best friends”.
My favorite story was about a dog named “Josh”, a Border Collie with a black-and-white shiny coat. Josh was very smart and seemed to think like a person. He liked to herd people as well as animals! He was still living out his 18 years at the side of the author as he finished writing this book.


The toughest dog was a mix of just about everything and Gary named him “Dirk”, after a tough guy he saw in a movie. Gary first met Dirk when he was a young man being chased in an alley by bullies. Gary had climbed down a fire escape and heard a mean growl. He was carrying his dinner, so he threw half of his hamburger towards the noise and ran. The bullies caught up with him and, just as they were about to beat him up, Dirk bit the biggest bully and they all ran off. After that day, Dirk followed Gary everywhere they went, although he walked about five feet behind him, and Gary was never bullied again.


The funniest dog was an enormous Great Dane named “Caesar” who was as big as a car! He would play “get the kitty” in the house when Gary’s wife was gone, knocking over furniture and anything in his path. One morning, Gary took him out and, all of a sudden, the kitty ran past! Caesar dragged Gary through his neighbor’s yard and down the street and halfway through town trying to “get the kitty” when Gary realized that he was still in his robe and underwear!


Caesar also had a lack of control around hot dogs. Once, he broke out of a parked car he was in, and hovered over a little, tiny girl holding a hot dog. As Gary watched from far away, fearing the little girls entire arm would be slobbered, Caesar delicately took the hot dog and moved on to the next person. From that moment on, Caesar was loved by the entire neighborhood.
Some of these stories will warm your heart and make you laugh, while others might make you cry with joy or sadness. Either way, you will want to read this book over and over again.


Here is a poster I made to go a long with this book report.

My Life in Dog Years Poster