Siena Says

Mission San Juan Capistrano Book Report

siena — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:38:09 +0000

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

St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2010

siena — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:04:03 +0000

This weekend I was in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade. I got to ride my scooter and do a couple of wheelies and Jumps. At one of the streets, I did one wheelie and a group of people started cheering. So, I started doing them over and over again and finished it with a jump.

Every once in awhile, there would be poop on the road from the horses that were ahead of us. It’s funny because on the way driving to the parade there was a green jeep in front of us and in the parade they were were ahead of us. Then an even funnier thing happened! My friend, Grace, ended up right behind us! She was dressed as Betsy Ross, while her brother was dressed as an ARMY man and her friend as the Statue of Liberty.

The parade was really fun! My favorite part was when I listened to the San Diego Firefighters Emerald Society Pipe and Drums Band play bagpipes! It was loud but entertaining at the same time. Here’s a picture of me with some of the band and a video of them playing.

Siena with SDFF Emerald Socieity Pipe and Drum Band Members

Bagpipes are Awesome!

Here are a few more pictures from the parade:

Here’s me with some friends and some roller derby girls.

Clowning Around…

Getting ready to start the parade.

I had a really great time and finished the day climbing a tree.

By the end of day I was super tired. Next year I’m bringing a wagon so my Dad can pull me!

siena — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:40:47 +0000

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.