News from Along the Mission Trail

Latest News

January 25, 2024

The 41st Annual Missions and Presidios Conference, will be held in-person at Mission La Purísima and Mission Santa Inés on April 12-13, 2024. To read more about the conference please click here.

February 22, 2023

The 40th Annual Missions and Presidios Conference, held virtually from Mission San Francisco Solano on February 19-20, was a resounding success. To read more about the conference, including details about the keynote address and CMF award recipients, click here.

January 15, 2023

A Letter from the Executive Director

A new year always brings a fresh look at the road ahead. CMF enters 2023 with momentum following a multi-month strategic planning process and a successful past 12 months in the areas of fundraising, scholarship and our student field trip program. We're looking ahead with enthusiasm as we begin year 26 for the Foundation, and celebrate the 40th anniversary of important mission studies.

Members make up the backbone of our Foundation and important mission studies program. We believe that the value of CMF lies in our members whose gifts, talents, knowledge, experience and history have helped to build the combined organization. The success of CMF has always been, and will continue to be, a team effort. This year we encourage you to get involved in one of our committees, district tours and virtual conference. We hope you will continue to join us as we look to an in-person conference in February, 2024 at Mission La Purisima.

As is tradition, CMF will be hosting the 40th California Missions and Presidios Conference via zoom next month on President's weekend, February 17 and 18. A very distinguished group of presenters have been assembled through the efforts of our Scholarship Committee, We have Marie Duggan presenting our 2023 Keynote and an esteemed list of informative and talented presenters.

2023 CMF Members receive a special discount for the annual conference which is expected to be full of information and the latest research including the recently-completed 10-year project of Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz translating and assembling the many papers, letters and documents of General Vallejo. It's fascinating and reveals so much of our California history.

In April, we will host a tour in the San Diego Presidio District at Mission San Luis Rey, and in October we will tour Sonoma in the San Francisco Presidio District. We hope that these events will bring our members together to discuss ideas, share stories, learn about the missions and related historic sites, and enjoy each other’s company.

CMF currently initiated 3 committees at the end of 2022:

  • Scholarship Committee consists of scholars who will help with content for the Boletin, Conference, and historic web content.
  • Preservation Committee consists of historical architects who will serve as a resource for the missions and related historic sites by providing expertise, insight, and resources for preservation and restoration projects.
  • Event Planning Committee consists of those who can help locally to prepare for conferences, tours and events by offering suggestions, and making arrangements for rentals, meals, etc.

CMF plans to add more committees this year beginning with:

  • Marketing Committee consisting of members interested with helping CMF with social media, website, public relations, public service announcements, newsletters, etc.
  • Development Committee which is so important to the important fundraising making all of the CMF preservation and education projects possible.
  • Please consider joining one of our membership committees this year.
  • We are enclosing a registration form for CMF membership, for our upcoming conference and for the event tours at Missions San Luis Rey and San Francisco Solano.    

As I begin my 11th year as CMF executive director, I join our Chairman Michael H. Imwalle and the entire board of directors in thanking you for your dedication and support of the Foundation and Mission Studies.

Kindest Regards,

David Bolton

Executive Director

January 15, 2023

Knox Mellon Honored
Plaque Dedicated to Former Long-Time CMF Executive Director

Knox Mellon was a champion of historic preservation whether during tenures as the State’s Historic Preservation Officer, or during his eight years at the helm of CMF. As a show of recognition for his many years of service, the Diocese of Monterey dedicated a plaque in honor of Knox Mellon just in front of the Monterey Presidio Chapel, one of the state’s oldest buildings. It is a fitting location for an individual who has meant so much to the preservation of our California Missions and related historic sites.

Pictured: Carlotta Mellon is joined at the Monterey Presidio Chapel plaque dedication by Very Rev. Victor Ommar Solis, Pastor, and David Bolton

January 15, 2023

Mission Tours Planned for April and October
Mission Sonoma and Mission San Luis Rey Featured

CMF continues its mission tour series with visits to two historic sites commemorating anniversaries this year. Sonoma turns 200, and CMF will be there on site in October. Mission San Luis Rey turns 225 and CMF will be there in April. A pair of tours worth attending. Discounts for CMF members. Details on these two flyers.

Mission San Luis Rey Flyer

Mission Sonoma Flyer

January 15, 2023

CMF Student Field Trip Program Goes Statewide
All Aboard the Bus Now Serves San Diego and San Luis Obispo Counties, plus Bay Area

Entering its 17th year, CMF’s popular education field trip program, All Aboard the Bus, is now statewide. Additional donations in 2022 have it possible for the field trips to expand into San Diego and San Luis Obispo Counties as well as the Bay Area. These new areas join Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, greater Los Angeles including Orange County, and Monterey County.

With in-person field trips now allowed, students from a variety of Title 1 fourth grade classrooms can visit their local historic Mission site in person and also attend the virtual classroom field trip presented by CMF in March. Last year more than 30,000 students tuned in to the virtual field trip which has grown in popularity each year since its debut during Covid in 2020.

Additional details on the field trip program and registration information can be found on our CMF web site, californiamissionsfoundation.org.

October 28, 2022

Call for Award Nominations

Norman Neuerburg and Edna Kimbro

Nominations open for prestigious awards. Each year, California Missions Foundation is proud to continue the tradition of honoring members of our greater community who have excelled in the areas of preservation, research, scholarly work and dedication to our organization and the mission studies.

Nominations are now being accepted for two of CMF's most prestigious honors: The Norman Neuerburg Award and the Edna Kimbro Award. If you would like to nominate an individual or institution for consideration please submit a letter or email with "AWARD" in the subject box to nominations@californiamissionsfoundation.org with information that you would like the Awards Committee to consider. Deadline for nominations is Wednesday, November 23, 2022.

A list of previous award recipients and additional information on these awards can be found at www.californiamissionsfoundation.org/awards. If you have questions, please feel free to contact CMF's administrative office at 805-963-1633.

October 28, 2022

Call for Papers for the 2023 Conference

The California Missions Studies Committee of CMF has selected the theme for the 2023 CMF California Missions and Presidios Conference slated virtually for February 17-18, 2023:

“The History of Wine: Mission Sonoma 200 Years”

2023 will be the 200th anniversary of the founding of Mission San Francisco Solano, the 21st and final link in the Alta California mission chain, and the only mission established after Mexico's independence from Spain. In the first half of the 19th century, the Sonoma region became a hub of Spanish and Mexican trade, diplomacy and conflict with indigenous communities, the Russian Empire and the United States, eventually becoming the site of what came to be known as the Bear Flag Revolt, leading to the U.S. annexation of Alta California. Sonoma is also the historical birthplace of the U.S. wine industry with its roots in the mission experience bringing together indigenous, European and Latin American culinary traditions.

The theme of “The History of Wine: Mission Sonoma 200 Years” should be considered broadly. For the 2023 California Missions Conference, the California Missions Foundation's Paper and Publications Committee invites paper and panel proposals that explore topics related to Sonoma and Alta California's northernmost frontier as well as the role of wine and food in the area's indigenous, Spanish and Mexican past.

If you would like to submit a presentation for consideration for the upcoming 2023 California Missions Conference, please send the following via email to conference@californiamissionsfoundation.org: 1. An abstract of 100 to 200 words. Please Indicate if it is a single presentation (20 min including questions), or a panel session (60 min.) 2. Names of all presenters, affiliation(s), contact information (including e-mail) 3. Audio-visual requirements. Abstracts are due via email by January 5, 2023 to the attention of the California Missions Conference Program Coordinators: conference@californiamissionsfoundation.org.

September 24, 2022

Save the Date! CMF Announces 2023 Conference Schedule

The CMF Board of Directors is proud to announce details regarding the 40th Annual California Missions and Presidios Annual Conference presented by the California Missions Foundation.

The 2023 conference will feature historic Sonoma and the 200th Anniversary of the founding of its mission, San Francisco Solano. By popular demand, the upcoming conference will have both virtual and in-person components. The February Presidents Day Weekend virtual portion of the conference will include the traditional paper presentations, the CMF annual membership meeting, the 2023 Keynote Address, and the CMF Annual Awards. In addition, there will be two special afternoons. 

Click here for more information/registration.

September 24, 2022

CMF Remembers Queen Elizabeth's Visit to the California Missions

As the world continues to remember Queen Elizabeth II, CMF takes a moment to look back at her 1983 visit to Old Mission Santa Barbara. Fr. Virgil Cordano, O.F.M., the pastor at Old Mission Santa Barbara at the time, officially greeted Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Phillip, and President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan on the steps of the historic California Mission. He gave Her Majesty the Queen a tour through the Mission's sacred gardens. Queen Elizabeth II was in California as part of a 10-day West Coast visit that included a stop at the Reagan Ranch or "Rancho del Cielo," part of a Mexican mission lands grant. The Ranch was part of the sprawling acreage granted to José Francisco Ortega, the First Comandante at Spain's Royal Presidio at Santa Barbara. 

September 24, 2022

CMF Receives $500,000 Grant for Retrofit of Mission Santa Inés

Mission Santa InésAfter a grueling application process, the California Missions Foundation was today awarded its fifth Save America’s Treasures grant for a major project at a California Mission.

The $500,000 grant from the Interior Department’s National Parks Service is restricted for the important retrofit of the church at Mission Santa Inés.The California Mission Foundation is the only grantee in California to receive one of the National Parks Service issued Save America’s Treasurers (SAT) grants.

Read more about the grant in the September Correo.

August 20, 2022

CMF Annual Report

CMF has completed our 2021 Annual Report. Last year was full of challenges that propelled us to reach new horizons. We were able to fund 12 Mission Projects and saw growth in our "All-Aboard-the-Bus" Student Field Trip Program. You can view the full report by clicking the picture to the left or the button below.

Read the report here.

August 20, 2022

CMF/COX Partnership

CMF partnered with Cox Communications to release a 30 second Public Service Announcement that will run across a variety of television networks from July 2022 – October 2022 in San Diego County, Orange County, Los Angeles County, and Santa Barbara County. It highlights the missions in the Southern California area. CMF is creating these PSA's in an effort to draw tourism and support for the missions.

August 20, 2022

Mission San Gabriel Update

San_Gabriel_NewRoof_20210811Mission San Gabriel continues to make great progress with repairs to the Church two years after the fire in July, 2020. The recent restrictions made getting repair equipment and new materials more difficult and timely. The Mission hopes to re-open this fall. The Mission will host a "soft open" on Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11am with a Mass inside the Church to signify the closing of the Jubilee Year. Archbishop José Gomez will preside.

Next week the scaffolding is scheduled to come down. The windows are still being worked on and the pews will not return until the windows have been finished because large lift equipment is needed to reach the windows. The statues on the reredos have all been fully restored. The Wurlitzer organ had to be replaced due to damage as the fire began in the choir loft.

Fortunately, all repairs were covered by insurance after the deductible was met thanks to the Dan Murphy Foundation, The Shiley Foundation and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The total cost of the restoration of the Mission was $6.7 million.

CMF and Mission San Gabriel are extremely thankful and touched by the outpouring of support from those who stepped up to help the mission in this time of need.

The fire uncovered the original colors of the interior walls, and the church has been repainted to match its historic colors. The restoration will provide an entirely new experience. Separately, mission officials are using the opportunity to restore the reredos, which falls outside of the insurance claim. A fundraising effort is underway, and if you would like to contribute to the fund to restore the Mission San Gabriel Reredos, please click on the button below and indicate that your donation is for Mission San Gabriel.

Donate to the Mission San Gabriel Fund.

August 20, 2022

CMF Receives Major Bequest

CMF has received the second largest individual donation in our 25 year history. Long-time CMF member Madelon Louise Palma of Pleasanton, CA, bequeathed an unrestricted gift of $500,000 to the California Missions Foundation prior to her passing this past January. CMF is extremely grateful for this generous donation that serves as the lead gift in CMF’s Planned Giving Fund. This type of donation allows individuals to distribute a portion of their assets to their family members while also supporting the causes for which they have a passion. This approach creates an opportunity for individuals to paint a full portrait of their legacy. 

If you would like additional information on how to include the California Missions in your estate planning, please contact CMF Executive Director David Bolton.

June 15, 2022

Return of the Swallows Celebration at Mission San Juan Capistrano

CMF Executive Director David Bolton spoke at Mission San Juan Capistrano during the St. Joseph’s Day and the Return of the Swallows Celebration on March 19, 2022. The day included a bell ringing ceremony with Tushmal singers performing songs in the Acjechemen language, a mariachi band, flamenco dancers and Native American dances. Later in the day, there were basket weaving demonstrations, tours, and lectures.

June 15, 2022

CMF Membership and Student Scholarships

The Anthony S. Da Vigo Trust has donated 10 free CMF student memberships valued at $29 each. If you are a student and would like to qualify for a free CMF student membership, please email your name, address, phone number with a copy of your student ID to info@californiamissionsfoundation.org.

The first 10 students to sign up for a free membership with all of the completed information will receive the scholarship. CMF would like to thank the Anthony S. Da Vigo Trust for this generous donation.

CMF 2022 Memberships are still available through October 1. After that date, all membership purchases will be considered for 2023 Membership. If you would like to receive the 2022 Boletín, please be sure to purchase your general membership or higher level before October 1.

June 15, 2022

CMF Introduces On-Site Tours and Regional Mission Events

Presidio_Districts_MapWith the ability to now be on site, CMF is collaborating with each of the California Missions to again offer on-site experiences. Twice annually, CMF is planning on-site full day tours that will provide behind-the-scenes and informative perspectives of the California Missions. These on site experiences will complement the annual February Conference which will continue in its popular virtual format during Presidents Day weekend.

These tours will also offer regional opportunities for CMF members to gather, learn and network.

Things kick off this August with a visit to Mission San Luis Obispo as the historic site commemorates 250 years since its founding. In 2023, a pair of events are planned: spring at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, and fall at Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma.

Click here for more information.

 

February 22, 2022

39th Annual Missions and Presidios Conference

The 39th Annual California Missions and Presidios Conference "The Birth of a City: Mission San Luis Obispo 250 Years" was presented virtually February 18-19, 2022 with a day of pre-conference events and day of on-site tours in San Luis Obispo on September 2, 2022 with a special banquet and lifetime achievement awards the night before on the evening of September 1 at Mission San Luis Obispo. After last year's successful virtual conference, many were anticipating reuniting once again in person. The events lined up for 2022 provided the benefits of last year's conference with the traditional in-person gathering that we so appreciate and missed last year.

Read more about the successful conference!

February 18, 2022

CMF Award Recipients Announced

CMF is proud to announce this year's awards recipients, to be honored at the 39th Annual California Missions and Presidios Conference in San Luis Obispo.

2022 Neuerburg Award
Robert Jackson

2022 Kimbro Award
Martha Vallejo McGettigan

2022 CMF Chairman's Awards
Mission San Luis Obispo Docents
Robert Powers

Lifetime Achievement Awards
Dr. Robert L. Hoover
Dr. Daniel E. Krieger

December 20, 2021

CMF Announces Plans for 39th Annual California Missions and Presidios Conference

“The Birth of a City: San Luis Obispo 250 Years”

Following a great response this past year, CMF is returning its Virtual Conference on February 18-19, 2022, including a virtual day at Mission San Luis Obispo on Friday and virtual papers on Saturday. The theme for the papers this year is “The Advent of Mexican California”.
In addition, an on-site conference component is planned for September at Mission San Luis Obispo. Coinciding with the Mission’s founding day on September 1, CMF will host an on-site event September 1-2, 2022 including tours of La Loma Adobe, Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission San Luis Obispo. The September gathering will also feature an awards banquet and luncheon.

December 20, 2021

Theme Selected for 2022 CMF Virtual Conference - Call for Papers

The California Missions Studies Committee of CMF has selected the theme for the 2022 CMF California Missions and Presidios Conference slated for February 18-19 virtually:

“The Advent of Mexican California”

Click here for all the Call for Papers details

December 20, 2021

CMF Enhances Membership

CMF is offering enhancements to our membership program. In addition to our previously announced tours, CMF membership now will also include the option to join one of four regional chapters. These regional chapters will be aligned with Alta California’s four historic Presidio Districts: San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco. Moving forward, CMF members will have the option of signing up for regional events within their presidio district, or other districts if desired. This addition will allow members to be a part of the state-wide CMF community, while also participating in local and regional activities. Events at missions in each district will include lecture(s), networking, and tour(s).

Historic_Map

San Francisco
El Presidio Real de San Francisco
Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Rafael
Mission San Francisco de Asís
Mission San José
Mission Santa Clara
Mission Santa Cruz 

Monterey
El Presidio Real de Monterey
Mission San Juan Bautista
Mission Carmel
Mission La Soledad
Mission San Antonio
Mission San Miguel
Mission San Luis Obispo

Santa Bárbara
El Presidio Real de Santa Bárbara
Mission La Purísima
Mission Santa Inés
Mission Santa Bárbara
Mission San Buenaventura
Mission San Fernando

San Diego
El Presidio Real de San Diego
Mission San Gabriel
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Luis Rey
Mission San Diego
Northern Baja California

December 20, 2021

CMF Current Preservation Projects

CMF has been busy continuing its preservation, restoration and conservation projects at our California Missions and related historic sites. Thanks to the generosity of several of our supporter foundations, including the Field Foundation, the Linden Root Dickinson Foundation, and the Stauffer Foundation, we have been able to help fund the following projects:

Mission San Jose: Rain Gutter Replacement and Repair
The existing wooden rain gutter at the historic mission monastery has eroded. It is no longer serviceable and needs to be repaired and replaced. Mission San Jose has pledged $11,200 toward this $22,395 effort and is asking for help to meet this financial need.

Mission San Juan Bautista: Emergency Roof and Wall Repair
The mission continues to raise funds and work with the Archdiocese for this extensive repair project. 

Mission Carmel: Storage Racks
The mission is looking to purchase nice storage racks for many historic artifacts that are currently not on display, so they can be viewed by the public and made more accessible to historic researchers and scholars.

Mission San Luis Rey: Historic Kiln Project
The mission needs to repair and fortify the original brick and historic lime kiln at the mission. The foundation of the kiln has weakened and is jeopardizing the structure of the walls. The foundation must be fortified, and new adobe coating applied to save this historic utility.

Mission San Diego: Artifact Appraisal and Protection
The recent fire at Mission San Gabriel has led Mission San Diego to assess the value and vulnerability of their most precious artifacts and fine art treasures. They are requesting funds for an assessment of their collection. 

Mission Dolores San Francisco: Tule-Reed House Repair Project
The Tule-Reed House at the mission was originally funded by the Linden Root Foundation in 2006 for $9,000. It is a highlight of the student mission tour. The average life of this ancient Ohlone Indian dwelling was two years. After 15 years, the house is in need of repair.  

Mission San Gabriel: St. Gabriel Portrait Restoration
The St. Gabriel portrait at the mission started a repair in 2017 with a $10,000 grant from the Linden Root Foundation, but there is more work to be done to complete the painting restoration for the spring of 2022 when the mission will finally be able to reopen its doors. 

El Presidio de Santa Barbara: The Rochin Adobe Restoration
The 1853 Rochin Adobe House and city landmark is in extremely poor condition due to insufficient support. The 168-year-old redwood porch deck has disintegrated and is beginning to sag. The ground underneath needs to be excavated archeologically to make this repair. 

Mission San Buenaventura: St. Francis of Assisi Statue Restoration
Restoration and repair of the St. Francis of Assisi statue. Testing on the surface and removal of over-paint to restore statue to the original state. Repairs will be made to the areas of damage on the statue as well.

Mission Santa Ines: Lavendaria Trail Upgrade
The mission is looking to upgrade the outdoor trail to the Lavendaria that is cracked and causing a safety hazard.

Mission La Soledad: Chapel Wall Repair and Painting
The chapel walls need to be re-painted and cracks in the plaster walls need to be repaired. The original floral design will be preserved. The sacristy also needs to be repainted. 

Mission Santa Ines: Retrofit
The mission church walls and roof are in need of repair, strengthening and restoration to keep the mission safe from deterioration. Earthquakes and extreme weather have weakened the adobe over time and the mission needs to be retrofitted to keep this historic landmark standing and to keep patrons safe.

Mission San Antonio: Museum Artifacts
Several paintings at the museum at Mission San Antonio are torn and in need of restoration. The Holy Trinity and Thomas Aquinas paintings both need to be cleaned and repaired.

October 25, 2021

Preserve Mission Santa Inés

CMF is joining with Mission Santa Inés for a critical $3.6 million project to retrofit the mission. Together, we will be reaching out to engage everyone from the local community to the federal government to help achieve this historic goal. As one of the largest projects CMF has undertaken, we will need all hands on deck for this project. We are formulating a fundraising committee, but every gift will help.

Click here for more information, as well as images and video of the historic mission.

 

September 13, 2021

Mission San Gabriel 250 Years
Historic Church and Community Founded September 8, 1771

Mission San Gabriel, the fourth of the 21 California Missions and the start of the Catholic faith in the greater Los Angeles area, celebrates the 250th anniversary of its September 8, 1771 founding.

It has been a year of restoration and rebirth for this historic building following a devastating fire last July. But so much effort and so much support have allowed Mission San Gabriel to move closer to a full reopening. 

On Wednesday, Archbishop Gómez presided over an outdoor prayer service, as the community came together with the mission church as its background. The service included, among others, members of the local Tongva community, descendants of those who worked tirelessly to build the impressive mission.

“I was especially moved by the broad community support by the City of San Gabriel and the multicultural participation in the celebration,” said CMF Chair Michael H. Imwalle after attending the service.

In his remarks, the Archbishop of this country’s largest Catholic diocese, praised the joint efforts that contributed to the building of the mission and surrounding area: 

“It’s amazing that before the United States of America was founded, and five years before the Declaration of Independence, Catholics and native peoples were working together right here,” Archbishop Gomez said. “They developed a diverse community based on worship, agricultural and the arts.”

A massive fundraising effort began immediately after the July 11 fire that destroyed the church roof and caused smoke and water damage to the reredos and sacristy, and the upper half of the church walls. 

The Shiley Foundation made the first large donation, as the San Diego County organization stepped forward with a $100,000 matching grant to go toward offsetting the fire insurance deductible. The Dan Murphy Foundation soon matched the grant, and several others also joined the successful effort.

Experts were brought in to assess the damage, the historic fabricate, and devise a plan for the mission’s restoration. In late August, the new permanent roof was finished, and the statues and artwork have been undergoing months of conservation. Work still remains, but the mission is moving closer to its full reopening.

An equally massive overhaul and assessment occurred at the Mission following the devastating 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. Norman Neuerburg (pictured), along with Carol Kenyon and Patty West, worked for months on the retablo, artwork and statues.

View the video here!

 

September 13, 2021

California Missions and Presidios Conference 2022
Invite Your Friends Worldwide!

The California Missions and Presidios Conference will be virtual again next year with its base at Mission San Luis Obispo, as it celebrates 250 years since its founding in 1772. As usual, the Conference will be held over President’s Day weekend, February 18-19, 2022. So please, save the date!! Due to the virtual aspect, CMF would like to expand our outreach. If you know of a friend, colleague or group who may be interested in attending our virtual conference, please let us know at conference@californiamissionsfoundation.org and we will add them to the invite list.

September 13, 2021

CMF Launches California Missions Tours 2022

To continue offering an in-person mission experience, CMF will begin hosting mission tours next year. First up will be those sites that have or will be celebrating 250 years: Missions San Diego, Carmel, San Antonio de Padua, San Gabriel, and San Luis Obispo. The tours will be a special on-site missions experience with behind-the-scenes looks at the Missions and related historic sites, leading expert presenters, optional overnights, and food/beverage. Please email us if you would be interested in attending any of these special tours. 

Please email: events@californiamissionsfoundation.org with the name of the mission you are interested in visiting and the names of those who would like to attend. Tours will be determined by interest, so please respond if you are interested and we will continue to send along updates.

September 13, 2021

A Virtual Classroom
"All-Aboard-The-Bus"

CMF will once again be hosting our “All-Aboard-the-Bus” Virtual Student Field Trip for fourth grade classrooms across the state and the nation in February, 2022. CMF looks forward to hosting this interactive, academic, and historical program for students, introducing them to the mission story by a variety of experts who answer their questions live on air.

With more than 450 classrooms participating last year, CMF expects thousands of students to again participate in this school year’s virtual program via Zoom and YouTube Live from classrooms, auditoriums, and homes throughout the state.

 

September 13, 2021

Mission Santa Inés Retrofit Capital Campaign

Mission Santa Inés

CMF is partnering with Mission Santa Inés to embark on a $3.6 million capital campaign to achieve a critical retrofit to preserve this valuable National Historic Landmark. Mission Santa Inés is one of only three Alta California missions that have not yet been thoroughly retrofitted.

If you would like to donate to this important cause and help to preserve this mission for future generations, please click on the link below and designate your donation with the words: “Mission Santa Inés Retrofit”. The second link has more information on this important retrofit project as well as Mission Santa Inés history.

September 13, 2021

Boletín 2021

This year’s Boletín will soon be at the printers. It is another fantastic hard copy publication and this year will feature articles by: Richard Carrico “Kumeyaay Crime and Punishment in Spanish San Diego 1769-1826”; Ruben Mendoza and Jennifer Lucido “José Eusebio Boronda Adobe: The Changing Face of an Early Californio Rancho at Rincón del Sanjón, 1840-2021”; Kaitlin Brown “Subsistence and Economic Activities of the Chumash Community ('Amuwu) at Mission La Purísima Concepcíon”; Paul G. Chace “Silence, the Sovereign Kumeyaay Grand Language Conspiracy”; and Robert Jackson “The Convent Complexes of the Male Missionary Orders in Mexico City.” Also included will be a lead article on the recent fire, on-going restoration and 250th anniversary of the founding of Mission San Gabriel.

The Boletín is included in regular memberships and above and will be mailed out to these CMF members at the end of the year. Please join as a regular member or above if you would like to receive a chard copy of the 2021 Boletín.

August 11, 2021

The Roof Is On!

San_Gabriel_NewRoof_20210811

The Mission San Gabriel roof is finally complete. After more than a year of cleaning, removal, and restoration, the new roof has been installed at the historic mission, just in time for the 250th Anniversary of Mission San Gabriel on September 11, 2021. CMF would like to thank all, who through their generous gifts, were able to bring Mission San Gabriel back to life!

View the video here!

 

June 15, 2021

CMF Annual Report

The Mission San Gabriel roof is finally complete. After more than a year of cleaning, removal, and restoration, the new roof has been installed at the historic mission, just in time for the 250th Anniversary of Mission San Gabriel on September 11, 2021. CMF would like to thank all, who through their generous gifts, were able to bring Mission San Gabriel back to life!

March 29, 2021

Remembering Tongva Elder Julia Bogany

We would like to take a moment to remember Julia Bogany.  CMF was honored to present Julia with the 2021 Chairman’s Award at our annual conference presented virtually from Mission San Gabriel just over a month ago.  How soon things can change.  This past weekend Julia passed away leaving a legacy that stretches back to the Tongva at Mission San Gabriel.

CMF greatly appreciates all of Julia’s efforts to not only make our recent conference a success, but also for her many years of service in keeping alive the story and practice of her beloved Tonga community.  She will be greatly missed by many.

 

February 11, 2021

CMF Conference Kicks Off with Virtual Field Trip for Students

More than 12,000 Students Take Part in CMF's Virtual "All-Aboard-the-Bus"

California Missions Foundation, a Santa Barbara-based non-profit serving the 21 California Missions, offered a virtual field trip recently to fourth graders throughout the state. The virtual tour, featuring the native story, and several missions throughout the California chain, drew more than 12,000 students from Northern to Southern California.

CMF has a regular field trip program, "All Aboard the Bus", sending fourth graders on in-person visits to their missions. The program is in it 17th year, but due to Covid restrictions, CMF organized a virtual field trip and made it available to schools throughout the state.

"This was a great opportunity for us to provide a visual component on California history to students that, for the most part, are studying at home," said David Bolton, CMF executive director. "Keeping history alive for the next generation is so important. The response today was tremendous."

More than 12,000 students throughout the state participated in the virtual field trip.

Said Mary Dove, Vice Principal at St. Bruno Catholic School in Whittier, CA:

“This was a great introduction to the thematic unit – thorough and engaging! We are all so appreciative that you put this together. We have missed our field trip to San Juan Capistrano and this went a long way to easing that disappointment for our students.”

Said Robin Echt, a fourth grade teacher in Calabasas:

“This allowed history to come to life, provided context, and gave them a field trip experience they wouldn't otherwise have had.”

For more information, please contact CMF at 805.284.3986 or via email at info@californiamissionsfoundation.org

Click Here to View the Video

 

January 11, 2021

CMF Loses a Legend
Knox Mellon (1925-2021)

Former CMF executive director and one of the legends in California historic preservation, Dr. Knox Mellon passed away on Sunday, January 10, 2021 on his beloved Monterey Peninsula following a sudden brief illness. His dear wife Carlotta, who teamed with Knox on so many CMF projects announced the passing “with great sadness.”

Please click here to read the full article.

To donate to the Knox Mellon Memorial Fund please click here.

December 21, 2020

CMF 2021 Conference details Announced

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel

The unique opportunities that virtual conferences are providing is allowing CMF to expand the offerings for the upcoming 38th Annual California Missions and Presidios Conference slated for February 11-13, 2021.

Click here for all the details and to register

December 21, 2020

Call for Papers - CMF 2021 Conference

The year of 2020 has put our state through a major test of resilience. Who can forget the parish of San Gabriel Mission and the terrible fire that devastated its church on the eve of its 250th anniversary? And looking back over the past two and a half centuries of history, it is hard to think of any of the 21 missions that escaped some sort of catastrophe -- be it fire, flood, earthquake or epidemic disease. With this in mind, we have decided to appropriately recognize the various cataclysms in the theme for 2021 California Missions Foundation conference: "Destruction and Renewal: the Resilience of the California Missions."

Click here for all the details

December 21, 2020

CMF 2020: A Year in Review

What a difference a year ago makes...As an organization, we can look back at a successful Conference at Monterey and Carmel this past February. It was an upbeat start to a fresh year. Then, we move forward to March, 2020. Things changed so quickly.

And if the pandemic was not enough, we move to July and that tragic summer fire at Mission San Gabriel. Who can forget those images.

Sometimes it's a tragedy that really brings people together. It happened this past summer.

As social media filled with pictures and videos of a California Mission on fire, our communities were called to action. Preservationists, conservators, construction trades, philanthropists and so many others stepped forward to offer assistance. Whether expertise, offers of service or donations, the outpouring of support for Mission San Gabriel was remarkable. It gave everyone new life during a very difficult year.

CMF focused its efforts supporting the Mission and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in raising the one-half-million dollar fire insurance deductible. A lead grant from the Shiley Foundation to CMF kicked off the campaign. The Dan Murphy Foundation quickly followed with an equal grant. In the end, the Mission, CMF and the Archdiocese received a combined total of more than one thousand donations from individuals throughout the state.

The restoration work at the Mission continues. The statues are being cleaned, a temporary roof has been installed protecting the structure from winter rains, and scaffolding has been erected to stabilize the church. Paint samples are being taken from some of the exposed areas of the church's interior walls revealing historic colors. The vast museum collection has been taken off site for cataloging and conservation. Historic documents are being reviewed and cataloged by the Huntington Library. Soon, conservation work on the church's historic retablo will be underway, as will construction of a new permanent replacement roof. The Mission will commemorate 250 years since its founding on September 11, 2021. Save the Date!

December 21, 2020

Docents: Their Important Role

At every historic site, docents are vital to the experience, telling the story from Missions to Presidios, including Indians, Franciscans and Soldados. CMF board member Donna Friess volunteers as a docent at Mission San Juan Capistrano. She is chairing the committee planning the upcoming Docents Roundtable, and shares her story as a docent, "You are old but you are fast!

Click here to read Donna's article, "California Mission System Docents"

 

December 21, 2020

SBTHP Webinar by Dr. Marie Duggan

The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, stewards of the SB Presidio, Santa Ines Mission Mills, Casa De La Guerra and do much more, recently held a well-received webinar featuring Dr. Marie Duggan, titled "José de la Guerra's Commerce with Asia & Liverpool at Mexican Independence".

Marie Christine Duggan, Ph.D of Keene State College presented her new research on José Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega, the nephew of a powerful merchant in Mexico City. In 1798, his uncle put him in to California's supply line, probably to obtain otter hides for export to Asia. When Spain ceased to finance the colony in 1810, De la Guerra guided California's economy into trade with Manila, San Blas, Lima, Manila, Canton and Liverpool. This webinar was hosted by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.

Please click here to view the webinar.

September 18, 2020

CMF Seeks Interested Board Member Candidates

The CMF Nominations Committee is seeking individuals who are interested in joining the CMF board.

BECOME A BOARD MEMBER: If you are interested, please submit a CV with at least three references and a statement of why you would like to be on the board and how you would like to contribute to the mission of CMF by October 20.

The CMF board meets four times a year, twice via telephone conference call and twice in person rotating between north and south. One of the in-person meetings is usually held in conjunction with the Annual Conference. CMF focuses its efforts on fundraising to help preserve the California Missions and related historical sites, preservation, an annual conference, scholarship, education and outreach. CMF was founded in 1998, and successfully merged with the California Mission Studies Association in 2015.

CMF NOMINATING COMMITTEE PRESENTS THE FOLLOWING SLATE OF CANDIDATES:

Damian Bacich
Theresa Brunner
Stephen J. Farneth, FAIA
Dr. Glenn Farris
Donna Friess
Luis Gonzalez
Dr. Robert Hoover
Michael Imwalle
Kristan O'Donnell
Dr. Edith L. Piness
Ione R. Stiegler, FAIA

NOMINATE A CANDIDATE: If you would like to nominate a candidate to the CMF board, you must create a petition signed by at least 10% of the members. Currently, CMF has 145 members, so you would need 15 member signatures to nominate a candidate. Petitions must be received by CMF no later than October 20. Ballots will be mailed out in November and are due back to CMF on December 1. The results of the election will be announced by December 15.

Please submit your material to: nominations@californiamissionsfoundation.org

September 18, 2020

Boletín 2020

This year's Boletín will feature an essay by Russell Skowronek on the Copper Baptismal Fonts in Alta California, a piece on The Bourbon Reform-Era by Robert H. Jackson as well as a historical look at the Earthquake of 1812 that struck central California and its effect on the Missions. Martha McGettigan will contribute a rendering of how the second expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza to El Presidio del San Francisco led to the founding of Mission San Francisco de Asis.

The Boletín is included in regular plus memberships and above and will be mailed out to these CMF members at the end of the year.

San Guillermo after quake
Figure 2 Baptismal shell

September 18, 2020

Restoration Continues at Mission San Gabriel

In the early morning hours of July 11, 2020 fire tragically struck Mission San Gabriel. The mission roof has been completely destroyed, six statues suffered smoke and water damage, and the recently restored pews will need to be redone. The wall structures remain intact, as the fire fighters were quick to respond. However, wall stucco damage will need to be repaired. CMF was on-site soon after the fire and ready to assist with restoration expertise and financial help.

CMF is currently working with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Mission San Gabriel to raise $500,000 to cover the insurance deductible for the restoration. We have contacted donors and have a matching offer of a $100,000 donation, if we can find 2 other donations of the same size.

Click here to watch the a video of the fire and restoration at Mission San Gabriel

Pulpit
Stairs to choir loft
Nave toward altar from choir loft
Twisted Steel Beams from 93 Retrofit
The inside of the church after a four-alarm fire tore through the church at Mission San Gabriel destroying the inside of the 245-year-old building in San Gabriel on Saturday, July 11, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
San_Gabriel_Restoration_Screencap
Soot Statues
Cleaning

July 13, 2020

FIRE AT MISSION SAN GABRIEL
7-11
July 11, 2020

 

The Aftermath

As word continues to spread about the devastating weekend fire at Mission San Gabriel, historians, preservationists and concerned citizens from all walks of life are showing concern and compassion.

Images of the blazing fire and the destruction it caused sent shockwaves from California to Spain, many places in between and many places beyond.

It had been nearly 100 years since fire caused such damage to one of the 21 California Missions. But unlike the 1926 fire that burned Mission Santa Clara to the ground, this weekend's fast moving roof blaze at Mission San Gabriel left the walls standing.

Early Saturday morning, as firefighters were battling the Mission San Gabriel fire from inside the church, pieces of the roof began falling forcing the firefighters to move their efforts outside. The fire ravaged for sometime, starting in the choir loft and quickly moving through the wood roof to the front of the church and the roof area above the historic altar. The roof above the altar was the most stubborn to put out. It was a double roof, and firefighters struggled to keep the flames down. As a result, the area of the altar sustained the most water damage, and the condition of the church's historic altar and related statues is unknown.

 

Interior of Mission San Gabriel before (above) and after (below) the fire.

 

Mission San Gabriel's altar and statues were built by noted Mexican carver Uriarte. His works filled nearly half of the California missions but the altar at San Gabriel is one of the last remaining, according to historian and CMF Director Emerita Kristina Foss. The altar and statues are believed to have been crafted in the late 1700s and brought to the church shortly after the church's completion in 1805.

Natural disasters are not new to Mission San Gabriel. In 1987, the massive 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake caused major damage forcing the church to be retrofitted and the mission's altar and statues to be conserved. The conservation efforts were done by long-time CMSA members Norman Neuerburg, and Carol Kenyon and Patty West of South Coast Fine Arts. Structural engineer Mel Green coordinated the retrofit efforts.

The statues seen in the photo of the altar (above) include:

Our Lady

Saint Matthew

Saint Anthony of Padua

San Joaquin

Saint Francis de Assisi

And the mission's Patron Saint, San Gabriel Arcángel    

According to Patty West, the altar and statues survived the fire this past weekend but an assessment of their condition has not yet been conducted. "We are hoping they are only covered in black soot and smoke from the fire," she said.

The church has been red tagged by local authorities, and structural engineers were on site Monday analyzing how to stabilize the church walls.

Also inside the church at the time of the fire is a large painting of Immaculate Conception that hangs over the Baptistery. The painting had been put back in the church just this past week after having been removed for a multi-week restoration of the historic church walls to mitigate water moisture damage.

Regarding the Immaculate Conception painting style, Patty West said: " Where is Norman when you need him (referring to the revered preservationist). I know we lined the painting onto a solid support because all of the edges were missing and we had to inset canvas. The artist actually painted a faux frame onto the canvas. It was incomplete on the edges of the painted frame so, with Norman's help, we sketched in the outer details and i painted it in to blend with the original. Then we had to paint white around the outer edge to make it appear to be floating on the wall of the charge."

Kristina Foss added: "The painting is Lima School which features detailed, well-populated backgrounds and lots of gold leaf. It had an Incan influence versus the Aztecan sense of color and design that permeated art from colonial Mexico."

Noted historian and former Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Dr. Jarrell Jackman said that the mission roof at San Gabriel that burned this weekend was a later Victorian style and not the original style that the mission would have originally had. Many preservation experts are hopeful that the upcoming roof repair will feature a style more in line with the historic, original style rather than a later version.

Other items including the Stations of the Cross had not yet been returned to the church after being removed for the recent renovations. This helped save most of the mission's vast collection of colonial art and artwork. The items had been scheduled to be returned to the church this coming week in anticipation of next week's church re-opening following months of closure due to Covid-19.

"This is really the only good news to come out of this tragedy," said California Missions Foundation Executive Director David Bolton after visiting Mission San Gabriel Monday morning. "It gives everyone a ray of hope in this time of darkness."

On Saturday, word of the San Gabriel Mission Fire quickly spread throughout the state, and employees at the various mission sites began communicating, according to Janet Bartel at Mission San Diego. Father Tom Elewaut at Mission San Buenaventura, recently named Missions Director for the L.A. Archdiocese  and on the heels of playing a big role in calming his local Serra Statue protests, said that local authorities in Ventura had place two police cars in front of his misdion “as a precaution.”

Review of security cameras at Mission San Gabriel continues. An electrical fire has not been ruled out. According to those who have spoken to the alarm company, a series of alarms at Mission San Gabriel began ringing shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday morning, the last of which was the burglary alarm.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Arson investigators arrived at the mission Monday morning at 10 am to meet with mission staff. According to mission officials, the church has insurance, but the ultimate repair price tag is unknown. Tremendous fundraising will most likely be necessary, and CMF has set up a fund to assist the repair efforts at Mission San Gabriel. In addition, CMF has offered its assistance to Los Angeles Archdiocese officials.

Mission San Gabriel was founded on September 8, 1771 east of its present location. It was moved to San Gabriel in 1775. It took 26 years to build the present church. And following a massive earthquake and this devastating fire, it still stands today.

 

What Was Saved

Most of Mission San Gabriel's large collection of colonial period art and artifacts were miraculously saved as many items had been pulled out of the church recently in anticipation of the wall repair, and were scheduled to go back in to the church this week. Other items were housed or stored in the mission's museum that sits adjacent to the Mission church sacristy.

The Museum at Mission San Gabriel sits adjacent to the church sacristy
and was fortunately untouched by the flames this past Saturday.

Luckily, firefighters were able to stop the fast moving rooftop flames from reaching the museum thus saving the mission's large art and artifact collection, including the original Stations of the Cross painted by Juan Antonio a native Tongva from the village of Topanga.

The original Stations of the Cross painted by native Tongva Juan Antonio.

The stations are rare in that they were painted by a native Californian. Juan Antonio is one of only three known California indigenous painters from the Mission era.  Originally, he painted these Stations of the Cross for Mission San Fernando, but when that mission fell into ruin in the late 1800's, the stations were transferred to Mission San Gabriel's collection.

Mission staff and volunteers, including noted scholar Dr. Steven Hackel and Terri Huerta, were quick to help move the collection out of the museum early Saturday. All of the pieces, except those still in the church, have been moved to off-site storage following orders from Los Angeles Archdiocese officials.

Mission San Gabriel houses a large collection of colonial period art and artifacts.

 

Next Steps

Los Angeles Archdiocese officials are working with structural engineers on the best plan to stabilize the standing church walls. Once the walls are stabilized, the altar and related statues can be examined and treated. Noted structural engineer Mel Green, who oversaw the retrofit of the mission following the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, has been consulted again by mission officials regarding the rebuilding of the church roof. He has indicated to church officials that if everything goes well, the repairs could be completed prior to the scheduled 250th commemoration of the founding of Mission San Gabriel. The event will occur on September 8, 2021. Los Angeles Archbishop José Horacio Gómez toured the burnt mission on Saturday and Sunday, and said that he will do everything possible to make sure that the mission church is rebuilt prior to the 250th commemoration.

CMF has set up a fund to help rebuild historic Mission San Gabriel. If you would like to support the rebuilding efforts, please click this link and specify in the note that you would like your donation to go toward Mission San Gabriel's rebuilding efforts.

 

Another Historic California Mission Fire

Although earthquakes have wrecked havoc on California missions multiple times, devastating fires have been less common in modern times. Prior to this weekend's San Gabriel mission fire, it was nearly 100 years since fire leveled the rebuilt Mission Santa Clara.

This article appeared in the United Press Dispatch on October 25, 1926:

"Fire today destroyed one of California's historical structures, when St. Clare's church on the campus of the University of Santa Clara was burned to the ground.The fire started at 7 o'clock this morning in the Mission building, which was built in 1822 and the flames spread to the Muschall boy's chapel and several dormitories, which were badly damaged.Priceless relics, including the famous Spanish chimes and original paintings were lost.Students and priests risked their lives to save the mission's original crucifix.

The monetary damage was over $100,000."

 

July 11, 2020

Massive Fire at Mission San Gabriel

An early morning fire at Mission San Gabriel destroyed the church's roof and much of the interior, according to reports. The fire in the historic church broke out around 4 am, and fire crews were quick to respond, however the church was already overtaken by flames. The Mission, number four in the historic chain of 21 California Missions, was looking ahead to its 250th year commemoration in 2021.

Mission San Gabriel was established in 1771 and moved west to its present site in 1775.

Local media reports say that the fire caused the mission roof to collapse, and "the interior was gutted up to the altar with pretty much only the walls still standing". The initial effort was for firefighters to attack the fire from inside the burning church, but officials say that when pieces of the wood roof began to fall on firefighters, the effort moved to fighting the fire from outside. After the fire was extinguished, officials could not re-enter the historic mission church due to its instability. Sprinklers had not been installed in the roof due to its historic construction.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. The mission church had not been used for mass since March due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic.

"This is tragic news, and a shock to everyone," CMF Chairman Michael Imwalle said. "CMF will do everything possible to help mission officials rebuild this historic structure."

The mission was in the middle of major repair work inside the church in preparation for next year's 250th commemoration. The walls had been recently repaired following water damage and the pews had been redone. In addition, CMF helped fund roof repairs above the mission's museum, located adjacent to the church just beyond the sacristy. Another recent project was CMF assistance to repair and reenforce support for the church's historic bells.

CMF had scheduled to hold its 2021 conference at the Mission which sits just east of Los Angeles and served as a major crossing point for settlers coming into Alta California from both the Baja California peninsula as well as inland from Sinaloa and Sonora.

This is the first time a California mission has been closed and severely damaged since the 2003 San Simeon earthquake wrecked havoc and forced the closure of Mission San Miguel.

"It's moments like this that bring all of us together to help rebuild an important piece of California history," said CMF Executive Director David Bolton.

CMF has set up a fund to help rebuild historic Mission San Gabriel. If you would like to support the rebuilding efforts, please click this link and specify in the note that you would like your donation to go toward Mission San Gabriel's rebuilding efforts.

 

July 1, 2020

Recognizing the Feast Day of Saint Junípero Serra

We commemorate the Feast Day of Saint Junípero Serra each year on July 1. Saint Junípero Serra was a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary who lived from 1713-1784, founding 9 of the 21 California Missions from San Diego to San Francisco.

Click here to read about the Feast Day, as well as statement from CMF regarding the  controversy surrounding the Serra statues.

 

 

July 1, 2020

Missions Re-opening

San_Buenaventura_Mass

Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, Missions and related historic sites are reopening in different ways.  Several missions have resumed Masses, some have reopened their museums and are providing tours, while others remain closed.  Re-openings are fluid and we recommend contacting each location directly before scheduling a visit.

Mission San Buenaventura is currently open with restrictions (see photo).

 

 

 

July 1, 2020

CMF Unveils 2019 Annual Report

It gives the organization great pleasure to present our 2019 Annual Report. Each year the Annual Report provides the opportunity for CMF to acknowledge its contributors as well as highlight some of our preservation and education programs. Please click here to view 2019 CMF Annual Report.

 

 

July 1, 2020

Grant Deadlines Extended

We have extended our deadlines to apply for Mission and School Grants due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Mission grants are currently being accepted through July 31 and School Grants are being accepted through September 30, 2020.

Please click here for more information on how to apply:

https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/grants/, or email us directly at grants@californiamissionsfoundation.org.

 

April 22, 2020

Foods And Recipes Along The Mission Trail

David Bolton at Pozole Fest

As we spend a lot more time than usual at home, and as many are cooking in home more than ever, CMF Executive Director David Bolton shares some of his articles and recipes from a series of articles penned on the foods found along the Mission Trail: "Buen Provecho"!

californiamissionsfoundation.org/buen-provecho

 

April 22, 2020

CMF Opens 2020 Grant Window

CMF is announcing that we are now accepting 2020/2021 grant applications for preservation projects at our California Missions and related historic sites. Grant criteria, guidelines and applications are available on the CMF website. Please click here for more information on how to apply:
https://californiamissionsfoundation.org/grants, or email us directly at grants@californiamissionsfoundation.org.

 

April 22, 2020

CMF Partners To Provide Emergency Pandemic
Plans For Each Of The California Missions

CMF is joining forces with Hytrophy Reverse Disaster to provide customized disaster plans at no cost to the 21 California Missions upon request. Throughout the next few months, Hytrophy will organize, develop, segment, and implement a comprehensive disaster plan for each of California's individual missions. These plans will enhance safety measures for missions, historical sites, and rich collections of artifacts as well as patrons, staff members, and volunteers in the event of a pandemic or other emergency situation.

The customized disaster plans will be provided but not limited to the following scenarios: pandemics, evacuations, shelter in place, lock downs, wildfires, active shooters, and floods. In order to create individualized plans, Hytrophy disaster planners will conduct site visits at each mission in order to customize plans that are accessible for staff members, and volunteers to implement. As requested, Hytrophy will provide in-person trainings to key personnel from each mission. Plans will be accessible through mobile applications and, if requested, written copies will be physically stored at each mission.

"This partnership will help provide an important resource for our California missions, and will be a great tool as everyone comes out of this current pandemic," said CMF Executive Director David Bolton.

These emergency plans will include COVID-19 procedures and policies, and will also include a plan for evacuation, shelter-in-place, and lockdowns for other emergencies like earthquakes, wildfires, and floods.

"These custom disaster plans will cover the current COVID-19 threat, as well as those for earthquakes, wildfire, floods, and even mass shootings," said Hytrophy CEO Patrick Hardy, a former National Private Sector Representative for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency. "These disaster plans will give staff and guests the tools they need to stay safe and respond easily and effectively during any disaster."

Hytrophy considers preparedness, response and recovery as high priorities for any business. Its disaster planners have received the most elite disaster preparedness training in the world, including with such agencies as: FEMA, US Department of Homeland Security, American and British Red Cross, and the US Department of Energy.

 

March 16, 2020

Save the Date!

CMF staff conducted a 2021 Missions and Presidios Conference site visit recently at Mission San Gabriel and the nearby Huntington Library in Pasadena. We are continuing planning efforts there for the CMF Annual California Conference, set for February 12-14, 2021. Please Save The Date, more information will be distributed as final details are confirmed.

Bookmark the Conference Page to get the latest updates on the 2021 Conference!

 

March 16, 2020

California Missions Videos

Designed for you to enjoy during these times of limited contact and travel, please click, view and share the videos.  Video courtesy Cultural Global Media archives and music provided by our esteemed CMF member Dr. Craig Russell and vocal ensemble Chanticleer.

Click here to go to the video page

 

February 28, 2020

Another successful CMF Conference!

Recently, CMF presented the 37th Annual California Missions and Presidios Conference at Carmel and Monterey. Read about it and see pictures of all the award recipients here.

 

February 5, 2020

2020 CMF Annual Missions and Presidios Conference

Just over a week remains until the 37th edition of the California Missions and Presidios Conference, presented by California Missions Foundation, at Monterey and Carmel. This year's attendance has surpassed previous years, and the scheduled events will provide great entertainment, an excellent opportunity to network, and a weekend of valuable information and historical knowledge.

 

January 15, 2020

Commemorating 250

The acclaimed Boletín, journal of the California Missions Foundation, recently published the 250 Special Edition.  Commemorating the first 5 Alta California Missions: San Diego de Alcala - 1769, San Carlos Borromeo de Monterey - 1770, San Antonio de Padua - 1771, San Gabriel Arcangel - 1771, and San Luis Obispo de Tolosa - 1772.

Sharing a historical account of the founding of Monterey, Ruben G. Mendoza and Jennifer A. Lucido of CSU Monterey Bay wrote: "The Best Port One Could Desire" The Land and Sea Borne Quest to Establish the Real Presidio de San Carlos de Monterey, 1602-1770.  In this article Ruben and Jennifer review both primary and secondary sources bearing on the expeditionary evaluations of Cabrillo and Ferrelo (1542-1543), Cermeno (1595), Vizcaino (1602-1603), and the Sacred Expedition of 1769-1770.

Read the article

Digital version of the Boletín available in the CMF Store

 

December 12, 2019

2020 CMF Missions and Presidios Conference Details Announced!

 

Set for February 14-16, 2020, the upcoming gathering of Missions and Presidios experts, staffs, Docents and followers is shaping up to be another memorable occasion as we continue to commemorate the 250 most recent years of California history.

This chapter of our state's long history focuses on 1770 and the founding of Alta California's first capital: Monterey. It came one year after the first Spanish mission in our state was established at San Diego in 1769, and just before mission establishments at San Antonio de Padua (1771), San Gabriel (1771), and San Luis Obispo (1772).

CMF is looking forward to Monterey and Carmel as the 2020 conference locations and, as an organization, we would like to thank our upcoming hosts: Diocese of Monterey, Royal Presidio Cathedral of San Carlos, Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo, Cal State University, Monterey and Casa Munras as our host hotel and venue for CMF's Annual Saturday evening Awards Banquet.

Looking ahead to Presidents Day Weekend in February, CMF will welcome to Monterey and Carmel all conference attendees for an unforgettable weekend of valuable networking, information, entertainment and history.

Click here for all the details!

 

December 12, 2019

An Evening To Remember!

CMF Stages 250th Commemorative Concert in Monterey Royal Presidio Cathedral

In recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Carlos Presidio and Mission, CMF is joining forces with long-time CMF member Dr. Craig H. Russell for a magical evening of music:

Hymns, Processions, Masses, and Dances:

A Celebration of Monterey on the Occasion of its 250th Birthday

A lecture-recital by Dr. Craig H. Russell and Grace Seng, Emily Lanzone, Barbara Spencer, Kathryn Summersett, and Jessica George

In commemoration of the founding of Monterey on 3 June 1770 and the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi just a few days later, on June 12, Professor Craig Russell (and the professional musicians he has assembled) will explain and perform much of the same music heard at this auspicious occasion. They will delve into the communion hymns for Corpus Christi that were presented in the quadrangle that Serra had arranged outside, with the four communion tables defining the square's corners. The exquisitely lovely "¡O qué suave!" and "¡O Rey de corazones!" were most likely two of these hymns, and their lilting melodies, varied surface rhythms, clear phrase structure, and jaunty dotted rhythms are astonishingly "modern"-almost Mozartian!-demonstrating that the Franciscans had brought the most up-to-date stylistic trends to California's shores. Prof. Russell and ensemble also will delve into the sequences from Corpus Christi and Pentecost that Serra brought with him to Monterey. They were catchy, repetitive, and memorable-the perfect music to entice new listeners to follow the friars in their evangelizing zeal.

Also, Professor Russell and ensemble will explore the music of Juan Bautista Sancho, arguably the most sophisticated musician in North America in the early nineteenth century. After leaving his directorship of music at the Convent de Sant Francesc in Palma de Mallorca, he journeyed to the New World to adopt his new life as a missionary. By using manuscripts at Stanford, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, and San Fernando, Prof. Russell has reconstructed a performable edition of Sancho's gorgeous Misa en sol for two sopranos and instrumental ensemble. Vocalists Kathryn Summersett and Jessica George will sing the florid and virtuosic vocal lines, while violinists Grace Seng and Emily Lanzone, cellist Barbara Spencer, and baroque guitarist Craig Russell supply the instrumental accompaniment. As a worthy complement to the Sancho mass movements, the musicians will present various aria-like sections from Ignacio Jerusalem's mass settings found in the Santa Barbara and San Fernando missions: whereas Sancho almost could be mistaken for Schubert at times, Jerusalem is our equivalent of a Joseph Haydn. In truth, California (even in its earliest years) had a vibrant musical culture that in some ways approached the beauty, sophistication, and technical virtuosity of Mother Spain and other European centers. Craig and company hope to bring that beauty to life.

And no exploration of Monterey and Alta California in 1770 would be complete without a musical excursion or two into the secular repertoire. Using the manuscripts of Santiago de Murcia, Sebastian de Aguirre, Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz, and others, the ensemble will play a few top-40 hits that our founding-Franciscan brethren would have known by heart. Craig will play the spunky marionas, and the strings will play a fandango-the most well-known genre of the Mission Period.

 

December 12, 2019

2020 CMF Awards Announced

The CMF Awards Committee has selected the 2020 recipients for prestigious awards to be handed out at the 2020 Conference Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 15 at Casa Munras in Monterey. The CMF awards recognize individuals and organizations that have played a significant role in Missions and Presidios related organizations, CMF as a whole, and missions and presidios studies, research and service.

Alan S. Kemp - Norman Neuerburg Award

Brian Kelley - Norman Neuerburg Award (2018)

Mary Susa - Edna Kimbro Award

Mary Wood - CMF Chairman's Award

Joan Steele - CMF Chairman's Award

Carmel Mission Docents - CMF Chairman's Award

Dr. Knox Mellon - Lifetime Achievement Award

 

October 30, 2019

Fall Luncheon

The California Missions Foundation hosted a special Fall Luncheon at the oceanfront, Coral Casino to support the art restoration project of Old Mission Santa Barbara's historic Christ Paintings on Copper from the late 18th Century.

This group of copper paintings depict five stories of Christ: "Christ at the Well of Jacob," "Christ at the Home of Simon," "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem," "Christ Asleep in the Boat," and "Christ Walking on the Water."

This rare artwork was on display at CMF's luncheon alongside our beautiful California coast where Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first arrived in 1542. It was an amazing opportunity for many to help support the conservation of a more than two-hundred-year-old historic copper painting at Old Mission Santa Barbara.

The California Missions Foundation is honored to play such a significant role in supporting the conservation of these historic treasures at all of the California Missions and Presidios for the educational and historical enjoyment of generations to come.

Thank you to everyone that joined us on a beautiful October Midday, and to those who contributed to this meaningful conservation project.

 

October 30, 2019

California Missions 250 Tour Series a Great Success!

Commemorating 250 years of California Missions and Presidios, the California Missions Foundation is hosting a series of Exclusive Missions Tours.  This opportunity benefits our restoration and preservation efforts for the historic California Missions and Presidios.

CMF recently hosted the first Tour of the series on October 12-13.  It was a fabulous weekend featuring a rare overnight in the recently-refurbished courtyard rooms of Mission San Antonio de Padua, plus Mission tours at Mission San Luis Obispo and Mission San Miguel.

Check this off of your bucket list, an overnight at a Mission with a courtyard evening candlelight dinner!!

It was an unforgettable and unique experience that began with a scenic ride up the coast aboard the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, a champagne welcome at Mission San Antonio, a mission and museum tour led by expert Dr. Robert Hoover, a wine reception and attendance at a special Gallery unveiling of the Mission's new Field Gallery, a Four Nations Candlelight Dinner in the historic mission courtyard, and live entertainment by acclaimed mission era artist Craig Russell.  Day two began with a full breakfast in the Mission Hall and Sunday morning mass in the Mission Chapel.  The chartered departure led the guests to Mission San Miguel for a tour, then onto Mission San Luis Obispo where they were greeted with lunch and a presentation by mission expert Dr. Daniel Krieger. The trip concluded with a relaxing train ride home and personal home drop-offs, providing the ultimate door to door service.

Continue following CMF news and social media platforms for more upcoming Exclusive California Missions 250 Tour Series opportunities!

Please Save the Date! An overnight at Mission San Antonio with a courtyard candlelight dinner, October 10, 2020.

Click here to view photos from the event!

 

October 30, 2019

CMF Board Meeting at San Gabriel

California Missions Foundation board members and staff gathered recently at Mission San Gabriel for their final meeting of the year. Topics included Foundation grants, the upcoming Annual Conference at Monterey (February 14-16, 2020), the Boletín, Foundation outreach, new members and planning for the future.

The all day session included a tour of the Mission's historic church, completed around 1806, and the museum, located in the historic Padres quarters and today the holding place for one of the largest collections of mission era art and artifacts.

Mission San Gabriel, the third of Alta California's 21 missions, will be celebrating its 250th birthday in 2021. CMF will be holding its annual conference there that year as part of CMF's 250 Series.

September 10, 2019

EXCLUSIVE CALIFORNIA MISSIONS 250 TOUR SERIES

Commemorating 250 years of California Missions and Presidios, the California Missions Foundation is hosting a series of Exclusive Missions Tours.  Our first tour will be October 12-13, 2019.  For more information and to make your reservations, please contact the California Missions Foundation at 805-963-1633

 

July 16, 2019

250 YEARS
REENACTMENT COMMERORATES JULY 16, 1769

FOUNDING OF SPANISH ALTA CALIFORNIA

Soldados de Cuera, Native Californians and a Franciscan father depicting Saint Junípero Serra, came together on a hill high above San Diego - the original site of the first Mission and Presidio type garrison in Alta California - to commemorate what many call the Founding of California, exactly 250 years ago today.

Among others, the City of San Diego uses this date, July 16, as its official birthdate, and today, along with the rest of California, it celebrates its 250th Birthday.

Not only was Alta California's first Mission and Presidio founded on this date, but also came the official recognition of the adjacent ocean port and the seeds of a united California under the Spanish, and later Mexican and U.S. flags. The San Diego area Kumeyaay, and other native communities, also contributed greatly to the building of these historic buildings, and to the success of California.

"July 16 is an important date in California history," said David Bolton, Executive Director of California Missions Foundation, organizers of the California 250 Reenactment Ceremony. "On this date in 1769, Spain began its efforts to unify all of the people of this region under the California name and Spanish flag."

 

July 16, 2019

ALL ABOARD THE BUS

With the recent end of the school year, CMF successfully concluded another year of our All Aboard the Bus Program – our 14th year. Every spring, Title 1 fourth grade students from throughout the state board buses and head to their local mission to learn about California history first hand.

Through our AATB Program these elementary school 4th grade classes in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Monterey and Santa Barbara Counties are eligible to apply for a transportation grant allowing them to venture outside of the classroom and to take an adventure through history.

Feedback from a variety of teachers continues to indicate that these field trips help motivate students in the classroom for all of their studies. These field trips have proven to be a great learning vehicle throughout the state.

What the students are saying:

Miguel,age 8, from El Camino Elementary: “I loved going to La Purísima Mission, it was really cool to see all the old artifacts from the Spanish times.”

Stephanie, age 10, from Dominguez Elementary: “Going to the Santa Barbara Mission was so fun because it looks so beautiful and like a happy place, I liked the Rose Garden the best.”

Manny, age 8, from El Gabilan Elementary: “Going to the Santa Cruz Mission was really fun because I don’t get to go to new places a lot, the mission was really pretty and fun to learn about because it was something I had never seen before”.

Through these field trips students are able to understand the importance of preserving historic artifacts and buildings.  In all, more than 3,000 fourth grade students in Los Angeles, Monterey, and Santa Barbara Counties were able to visit their local mission or related historic sites via CMF’s “All Aboard the Bus” program.

The “All-Aboard-the-Bus” Field trip Grant Program looks forward to continuing to inspire future generations to pursue educational endeavors, and to take an interest in history, preservation and restoration of the 21 California Missions and related historical sites. We thank everyone statewide that have helped to make this valuable education program successful.

As CMF looks to the 2019-2020 school year, we would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, The Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, Upjohn California Fund, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, William J. Hannon Foundation, and Montecito Bank and Trust.

 

July 16, 2019

CMF’s EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECEIVES SPANISH KNIGHTHOOD

David Bolton, executive director of the California Missions Foundation and a 51 year resident of Santa Barbara, has officially entered Spain’s Royal Order of Isabel la Católica following an elaborate ceremony at the historic El Presidio Real de Santa Barbara.

In front of a throng of family, friends, and colleagues, Mr. Bolton became a Commander of the Royal Order, one of Spain’s highest civilian honors. Ambassador Javier Vallaure, Spain’s Consul General in Los Angeles, presided over the ceremony and presented Mr. Bolton with both the official Decoration signed by His Majesty, King Felipe VI, as well as the Medal and ribbon of the Royal Order.

“This is a truly great honor, and I share it with everyone that continues the effort to recognition Spain’s legacy in the Americas and to also help preserve the buildings, culture and traditions the Spanish people and their descendants have left on this side of the Atlantic,” said Mr. Bolton, who also serves as a board member for the Washington DC-based US-Spain Council and Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta.

Following the decoration ceremony in front of the El Presidio Chapel, guests were invited inside for a candlelight gala dinner. The event coincides with Santa Barbara’s Founding Week activities that mark the anniversary of the establishment of the Santa Barbara Presidio and town in 1782.

Click here to view the knighting ceremony.

 

March 20, 2019

CMF SELECTS LOCATIONS FOR THE NEXT FOUR
CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND PRESIDIOS CONFERENCES

Monterey to Host 2020; San Gabriel 2021, San Luis Obispo 2022, and Sonoma 2023

The CMF Board of Directors used the widespread upcoming 250 year commemorations throughout the state as it selected the next four sites for the annual Presidents Day weekend Conference of California Missions and Presidios.

Monterey, where the Portolá Expedition landed in 1770 after founding San Diego, was chosen to host the 37th edition of the CMF Conference next year in 2020. Monterey was the site of the first official Presidio in Alta California founded in 1770, and it is fitting for the 2020 CMF California Missions and Presidios Conference to be held in this historic city. Like this year in San Diego, scholars from the U.S. and abroad will come together to present on a variety of topics including presidios, missions and native Californian history.

In 2021, San Gabriel will be the site of the 38th Annual California Missions and Presidios Conference -- 250 years after it was founded in 1771. This mission, the fourth in the Alta California chain, eventually led to the founding of Los Angelesas it served as the departure point for the early families who created El Pueblo de la Reina de los Angeles.

In 2022, Mission San Luis Obispo will host the 39th Annual CMF Conference, 250 years after its 1772 founding, and in 2023, Sonoma, home to Mission San Francisco de Solano, will host the 40th California Missions Conference, 200 years after its founding in 1823.

 

March 20, 2019

2019 CMF AWARDS HANDED OUT IN SAN DIEGO

Richard Carrico receives Norman Neuerburg Award; Carol Kenyon the Edna Kimbro; and CMF Chairman's Awards go to Ignacio Felix Cota, the Docents at Mission San Juan Capistrano and Drs. Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz

During the Saturday evening Awards Banquet at the recent CMF Conference, a handful of honors were bestowed on a group of talented and dedicated individuals.

Long-time Professor at San Diego State University Dr. Richard Carrico, who is a devoted archaeologist and researcher of early San Diego native history, received the 2019 Norman Neuerburg Award.

Carol Kenyon, who has served on the CMF board since the foundation's inception in 2000 and who was one of the state's leading Mission art and artifact conservators, received the 2019 Edna Kimbro Award.

2019 CMF Chairman's Awards went to Ignacio Felix Cota, an active descendant of the early Portolá Expedition who spent years uncovering his family's history leading to the successful installation of San Diego monument recognizing the state's early founders; the Docent Society at Mission San Juan Capistrano -- a committed group that was instrumental in the founding of CMSA in 1984 and continues its important role today; and Drs. Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz, considered among the top scholars of early California Mission and Presidio history.

 

March 20, 2019

CMF OFFICERS CHOSEN

During the recent Conference, the Board of Directors of CMF met to discuss a variety of topics including preservation grants, sites for future California Missions Conferences, and also to install news officers for the Foundation.

By a unanimous vote, the following slate of officers were elected for terms ending on June 30, 2020:

Chairman
Mike Imwalle

Vice Chair
Dr. Edith Piness

Treasurer
Dr. Glenn Farris

Secretary
Mary Wood

March 20, 2019

2019 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND PRESIDIOS CONFERENCE
IN SAN DIEGO WAS A GREAT SUCCESS!

CMF Members, historians, docents and others who appreciate the California Missions and work to study and preserve them gathered recently in San Diego for the 36th Annual California Missions Conference.

Read all about it and see the photos here.

 

March 20, 2019

CMF SELECTS LOCATIONS FOR THE NEXT FOUR
CALIFORNIA MISSIONS AND PRESIDIOS CONFERENCES

Monterey to Host 2020; San Gabriel 2021, San Luis Obispo 2022, and Sonoma 2023

The CMF Board of Directors used the widespread upcoming 250 year commemorations throughout the state as it selected the next four sites for the annual Presidents Day weekend Conference of California Missions and Presidios.

Monterey, where the Portolá Expedition landed in 1770 after founding San Diego, was chosen to host the 37th edition of the CMF Conference next year in 2020. Monterey was the site of the first official Presidio in Alta California founded in 1770, and it is fitting for the 2020 CMF California Missions and Presidios Conference to be held in this historic city. Like this year in San Diego, scholars from the U.S. and abroad will come together to present on a variety of topics including presidios, missions and native Californian history.

In 2021, San Gabriel will be the site of the 38th Annual California Missions and Presidios Conference -- 250 years after it was founded in 1771. This mission, the fourth in the Alta California chain, eventually led to the founding of Los Angelesas it served as the departure point for the early families who created El Pueblo de la Reina de los Angeles.

In 2022, Mission San Luis Obispo will host the 39th Annual CMF Conference, 250 years after its 1772 founding, and in 2023, Sonoma, home to Mission San Francisco de Solano, will host the 40th California Missions Conference, 200 years after its founding in 1823.

 

March 20, 2019

2019 CMF AWARDS HANDED OUT IN SAN DIEGO

Richard Carrico receives Norman Neuerburg Award; Carol Kenyon the Edna Kimbro; and CMF Chairman's Awards go to Ignacio Felix Cota, the Docents at Mission San Juan Capistrano and Drs. Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz

During the Saturday evening Awards Banquet at the recent CMF Conference, a handful of honors were bestowed on a group of talented and dedicated individuals.

Long-time Professor at San Diego State University Dr. Richard Carrico, who is a devoted archaeologist and researcher of early San Diego native history, received the 2019 Norman Neuerburg Award.

Carol Kenyon, who has served on the CMF board since the foundation's inception in 2000 and who was one of the state's leading Mission art and artifact conservators, received the 2019 Edna Kimbro Award.

2019 CMF Chairman's Awards went to Ignacio Felix Cota, an active descendant of the early Portolá Expedition who spent years uncovering his family's history leading to the successful installation of San Diego monument recognizing the state's early founders; the Docent Society at Mission San Juan Capistrano -- a committed group that was instrumental in the founding of CMSA in 1984 and continues its important role today; and Drs. Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz, considered among the top scholars of early California Mission and Presidio history.

 

March 20, 2019

CMF OFFICERS CHOSEN

During the recent Conference, the Board of Directors of CMF met to discuss a variety of topics including preservation grants, sites for future California Missions Conferences, and also to install news officers for the Foundation.

By a unanimous vote, the following slate of officers were elected for terms ending on June 30, 2020:

Chairman
Mike Imwalle

Vice Chair
Dr. Edith Piness

Treasurer
Dr. Glenn Farris

Secretary
Mary Wood

January 10, 2019

2019 CMF CONFERENCE PAPERS SCHEDULE RELEASED!

Click below to download and print the Speaker Schedule for the 2019 conference.

Papers Schedule

October 27, 2018

REGISTRATION FOR 2019 CMF CONFERENCE NOW OPEN!

In February, 2019, the Conference events will be hosted at Mission San Diego de Alcala, the Serra Museum and original site of Mission San Diego on today's Presidio Hill (San Diego History Center), the campus of University of San Diego, and the San Diego Maritime Museum. See all the details here.

Register Online

Mail-in Form

October 27, 2018

CALL FOR CONFERENCE PAPERS

THEME SELECTED FOR 2019 CMF CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO

The California Missions Studies Committee has selected the theme for the 2019 CMF California Missions Conference slated for February 15-17 in San Diego:

Cosoy to San Diego: First Overland Encounters, California 250.
Commemorating California’s 250th Anniversary

The Committee explained that the selected theme does not rule out anything being presented for the period prior to 1769, but a large focus of the conference would be on the events of 1769.

For the 2019 California Missions Conference, the California Missions Foundation's Paper and Publications Committee invites paper and panel proposals that explore the events of 1769 in the mission lands of California. After millennia of sovereign land occupation by California Indian groups, the Spanish began to colonize Alta California beginning in 1769 with the establishment of Mission San Diego de Alcalá – the first official European settlement in our state.

The theme of Cosoy to San Diego: First Overland Encounters, California 250 should be considered broadly. Scholars from various disciplines can explore events leading up to 1769, events in 1769, and events after 1769.

If you would like to submit a presentation for consideration for the upcoming 2019 California Missions Conference, please send the following via email to Conference@californiamissionsfoundation.org: 1. An abstract of 100 to 200 words. Indicate if it is a single presentation (20 min including questions), or a panel session (60 min.) 2. Names of all presenters, affiliation(s), contact information (including e-mail) 3. Audio-visual requirements. Abstracts are due via email by November 15, 2018 to the attention of the California Missions Conference Program Coordinators: conference@californiamissionsfoundation.org.

 

October 27, 2018

SPECIAL 2019 EDITION OF BOLETÍN COMMEMORATING CALIFORNIA’S 250TH
EARLY PUBLICATION DATE ANNOUNCED

The CMF Publications Committee recently voted unanimously to move forward the publishing of the 2019 edition of Boletín to the spring, allowing this edition to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the first official Spanish settlement in California, the dedication of Mission San Diego de Alcala on July 16, 1769.

With this in mind, the Committee is looking for submissions that follow the above conference theme, Cosoy to San Diego: First Overland Encounters, California 250, and it is now accepting articles and article proposals for the 2019 Boletín.

The journal is a peer-reviewed academic journal that features the best of California Mission Studies from a wide variety of disciples.

The Boletín committee is also willing to entertain articles/proposals on any topic related to California's pre-statehood history. Generally, the committee is committed to accepting as many articles as possible, but there are restrictions on time and space for which the committee must account. In all cases, decisions to accept or deny an article/proposal will be based on the following criteria: Relevance to the conference theme, the Article's timeliness and/or distinctiveness, the Article's relationship to other articles (the Boletín should showcase the diversity of the field of mission studies. The committee will try to achieve balance by not accepting too many articles related to a particular region, discipline, or subject).

Interested authors should submit paper proposals by December 15 15, 2018. A timeline for completion of the articles will be established between the committee and selected authors.

Questions can be directed to the Committee at: Boletin@californiamissionsfoundation.org

Click here to see the style guide

 

October 27, 2018

CMF ANNOUNCES 2019 DOCENTS WORKSHOP DETAILS

Friday, February 15, 2019, 9:00-12:30
"Unraveling the Elements of a Good Story:
A Docent Participation Workshop"

California Missions Foundation is proud to unveil a special workshop for Docents from throughout the state on Friday, February 15 from 9 am -12:30 pm in San Diego. A kick off for the three-day California Missions Conference presented by CMF, this informative Docents Workshop will bring together active docents from several historical sites providing a platform for the exchange of information, ideas and networking.

The Workshop is free for all registered conference attendees, but an rsvp is required via the californiamissionsfoundation.org website under 'Store."

Some of the topics to be discussed:

  • Telling the complete story about the indigenous people, the Spanish and the Franciscan padres
  • Covering the 4th grade curriculum.
  • Story telling that enables our audience to image living in the early mission days
  • Using the proper language that is not insulting or offensive
  • Sources of Mission information
  • Training: how often and who does it?
  • Merits of each docent developing their own tour script instead of every one using the same one.
  • Ability to handle negative remarks, gracefully
  • How to show hospitality
  • How to handle crowds and the inability to have access to rooms

This special day for Docents will kickoff at 9 am with a guided tour of the original site of Mission San Diego de Alcalá at today's Presidio Hill. Participants will then transfer to the adjacent Serra Museum for the Docent Workshop.

October 27, 2018

 

MISSIONS CURATORS AND DIRECTORS WORKSHOP
RETURNS TO 2019 CALIFORNIA MISSIONS CONFERENCE presented by CMF

For the third straight year, CMF's California Missions Conference this coming February 15-17, 2019 will again feature a Friday Workshop for the Mission and Presidios Curators, Directors and Administrators. The Workshop will be held from 9 am-12:30 pm on Friday, February 15 at La Sala at Mission San Diego de Alcalá.

The CMF Missions and Presidios Workshop will focus on building conservation, Garden restoration and the NPS cultural landscape programs plus art care and conservation, fundraising, CMF Grants and a variety of topics that our historical sites coordinate tirelessly on a daily basis.

Besides the educational presentations, Mission and Presidio staffs will have the chance to discuss their common issues and engage in joint problem-solving. The conference has also regularly honored those who aid the Missions and Presidios with a Distinguished Award that will again be presented this year.

One of the important things to come out of the first two CMF Workshops was the creation of a detailed contact list for continued contact and networking. CMF keeps that list up to date today.

CMF's continued support of the Missions and Presidios Workshop will provide another top quality 2019 informative exchange as well as support for those charged with the day-to-day protection of the missions' and presidios' heritage of buildings, artifacts and cultural legacy.

July 1, 2018

2017 CMF Annual Report Now Online

The California Missions Foundation's 2015 Annual Report is now online and available to read. Click the link below to learn about all the exciting contributions CMF has made to the missions community in 2017.

2017 Annual Report

 

July 1, 2018

Call for Articles for the Boletín, the Journal of the California Missions Foundation

The CMF publications committee is now accepting articles and article proposals for the 2018 Boletín. The journal is a peer-reviewed academic journal that features the best of California Mission Studies from a wide variety of disciples. 

The committee is especially interested in articles that reflect the theme of the 2018 California Missions Conference: Partnerships. 

"It is always something we should promote and always something to strive for," said California Missions Studies Chair Mike Imwalle.

The Boletín committee is also willing to entertain articles/proposals on any topic related to California's pre-statehood history. Generally, the committee is committed to accepting as many articles as possible, but there are restrictions on time and space for which the committee must account. In all cases, decisions to accept or deny an article/proposal will be based on the following criteria: Relevance to the conference theme. The Article's timeliness and/or distinctiveness The Article's relationship to other articles (the Boletín should showcase the diversity of the field of mission studies. The committee will try to achieve balance by not accepting too many articles related to a particular region, discipline, or subject). 

Interested authors should submit paper proposals by July 15, 2018. A timeline for completion of the articles will be established between the committee and selected authors. 

Questions can be directed to the Committee at: Boletin@californiamissionsfoundation.org 

Click here to see the style guide

Conference and Publications Committee: Mike Imwalle, Chair, David Bolton, Maureen Bourbin, Mary Wood

July 1, 2018

20 Years of CMF

As the 250 anniversary of the founding of Alta California draws closer, the California Mission Foundation celebrates its own twenty-year history anniversary and its work with the California Missions and Presidios. Click here to read about a few of the hundreds of projects completed at over 25 Missions, Presidios, and Asistenicias.

July 1, 2018

CMF Embarks on Its 12th Year of Sending 4th Graders on Imprtant Field Trips to Their Local Missions

For the 12th consecutive year, the California Missions Foundation is sending fourth grade students on field trips to their local mission through its annual "All-Aboard-the-Bus" Field Trip Grant Program.

Read all about it here

March 20, 2018

CMF Board Elects Officers for 2018

 In accordance with the CMF By Laws, the CMF Board of Directors elected its officers for the current year during the winter board meeting held in conjunction with the recent California Missions Conference. Jim Lazarus, formerly the vice chair of CMF, was unanimously elected Board Chair. He will be joined on the CMF Executive Committee by newly-elected Vice Chair Alan Kemp, Secretary Dr. Edith Piness and Treasurer Mike Imwalle.

February 18, 2018

CMF Announces 2018 Award Recipients

The California Missions Foundation is pleased to announce its selections for the 2018 Norman Neuerburg and Edna E. Kimbro Awards. The awards were presented at our annual California Missions Conference which was held at Mission Santa Clara, February 16-18, 2018.

Two Norman Neuerburg awards were presented for 2018.

A 2018 Norman Neuerburg Award was presented to Mr. Brian Kelly, for his Mission preservation achievements as a volunteer project manager and construction coordinator for the Diocese of Monterey.

A 2018 Norman Neuerburg Award was presented to Dr. Iris Engstrand for her scholarship as a Distinguished Professor of History at the University of San Diego and her ongoing service to the Mission Studies community.

The 2018 Edna E. Kimbro Award was presented to Ms. Theresa Brunner for her preservation achievements as the Mission Curator at Mission San Rafael Arcangel, in addition to her invaluable organizational support for both the California Mission Studies Association and California Missions Foundation.

Brian Kelly
Considered to be the "Harry Downie" of his generation, Brian Kelly has served the Monterey Diocese for over thirty years as a trusted volunteer project manager and construction coordinator on a variety of construction, restoration and repair projects. The list of historic preservation and restoration projects Brian Kelly has helped to guide is impressive, including the seismic retrofitting of the Royal Presidio Chapel in Monterey, the Carmel Mission Basilica, Mission San Antonio de Padua, and Mission San Juan Bautista. Brian's effectiveness and passion for the Missions have led to the completion of projects which will continue to serve the public for generations to come.

Brian received his degree in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University and earned his MBA from Stanford University.  After serving in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, Brian began a career with Granite Construction Company as an Engineer. He would later become a Division Manager and a Vice President of the company. Brian retired from Granite Construction in the early 1980's to focus on community volunteer projects and personal development.

 

Dr. Iris Engstrand
In 2017, Dr. Iris Engstrand retired from the University of San Diego as a distinguished Professor of History, after serving California's academic and civic communities for nearly five decades. Iris completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in history at the University of Southern California and focused her professional career on the Hispanic Period in California and the Southwest.

Her special interests include 18th century Spanish scientific and exploring expeditions and the influence of the enlightenment on Spanish California. Iris's research on Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo led to her involvement with the San Diego Maritime Museum's reconstruction of the 16th century vessel San Salvador. Her community service, professional activities, publications and honors are too numerous to enumerate, but among these is the Royal Order of Isabel de Catolica, awarded by King Juan Carlos of Spain, for her outstanding cultural contributions.

 

Theresa Brunner
Theresa Brunner's devotion to Mission San Rafael Arcangel reflects her family's legacy at the Mission, which now spans five generations. Having established herself as an art historian and educator, Theresa assumed the duties of San Rafael's curator in 2005. Her many projects have ranged from overseeing the preservation of Saint Junípero Serra's vestments to coordinating the restoration of Indian baskets at UC Berkeley.

Theresa has also provided invaluable service to the Mission Studies community. She has orchestrated lecture series, special celebrations and exhibits for Mission San Rafael, both at the Church and at outside venues, such as the Marin County Civic Center. She has provided perennial support in organizing California Mission Studies Association's events. Theresa was the principle organizer for CMSA's very successful conference at Mission San Rafael in 2012. Theresa's most recent accomplishment as a volunteer curator was organizing the 200th anniversary celebration of the founding of Mission San Rafael Arcangel.

Theresa currently serves on the Board of Directors of the California Missions Foundation and is a former Vice-president of the California Mission Studies Association Board.

 

2018 Chairman's Award

A pair of CMF chairman's awards were also handed out during the 2018 California Missions Conference. Mechelle Lawrence-Adams, executive director of Mission San Juan Capistrano, and Derek and Valerie Sanders representing Linden Root Dickinson Foundation were recognized for their outstanding efforts in the area of missions preservation. 

The Linden Root Dickinson Foundation, a private family foundation, was started in 1990, with Mrs. Dorothy Linden Root and her daughter, Mrs. Joan Linden Sanders, as the primary benefactors and guiding lights. The importance of giving had been instilled in them by Mr. Ray Dickinson, father of Mrs. Root. The foundation has a variety of interest areas including education, historical preservation, children's welfare, relief funding, and social services. For many years, Linden Root Dickinson has provided generous funding for a long list of preservation and conservation projects throughout Alta California's Mission chain, and the foundation has been a valued partner of CMF.

Meanwhile, at Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mechelle Lawrence-Adams has carried out hundreds of programs, campaigns and endeavors to support a long term sustainability plan for this critically important California and Orange County landmark. Her 15 years at Mission SJC's helm as executive director, she has raised well over $10 million net working hand in hand with the Mission San Juan Capistrano Preservation Foundation, staff, volunteers, and community partners.  

Mechelle oversees a staff of 65 and volunteers of 305.  She has overseen the hiring and development of a museum and preservation team to ensure the conservation of over 40 historically paintings, including specifically finding a long lost, forgotten c. 1801 painting hidden for over 40 years. As the site's chief preservation officer she has enthusiastically led the Museum rooms' and exhibits' upgrades. Recognizing the importance of the future generation in ensuring the continued appreciation of the landmark, Mechelle has paved the way for successful, impactful, and measurable education programming. She is also deeply dedicated to ensuring the rich history that comprises the 240 year span of Mission San Juan Capistrano is inclusive and represents a wider array of perspectives, including those of family, female, Native American, padre, and soldiers. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for her preservation work in Orange County.

June 30, 2017

CMF Annual Report

The California Missions Foundation is pleased to publish the Foundation's 2016 Annual Report. Thank you to everyone that helped to make it a successful year. Read the Annual Report here.

 

June 30, 2017

CMF Grant Helps to Identify Unmarked Burial Site at Old Mission Santa Inés

A major project to determine if there are additional burials outside of the Old Mission Santa Ines walls was recently made possible by a CMF grant. After a two-phase effort that included both ground penetrating radar as well as a trained canine unit, historic burials were indeed discovered just outside of the current Mission cemetery walls and beneath ground where the Mission holds its annual summer Fiesta.
Long-time CMF member and Mission archivist Sheila Benedict has been reviewing the mission's burial records for more than decade and, in all, counted just under 2,000 names that were not marked in the present-day cemetery footprint. Based on her hunch, an institute team specializing in aged human remains was arranged using a grant from the California Missions Foundation.
In the end, a broad burial site, much larger than the current cemetery, was found. Ms. Benedict says that the origins of those buried is unknown, adding that they could be native Chumash, or a combination of Chumash and Spanish soldiers.
Both mission staff and Chumash tribal elders were on-site for the multi-day project. Any future marking or moving of the burials will be done with close approval of the Chumash, said Ms. Benedict.
The Chumash tribal chairman, Kenneth Kahn, told a local newspaper that "he appreciated the great working relationship the tribe and the mission have currently," adding "the Chumash Tribal Elders Council is mostly concerned with protecting the newly confirmed burial site."
"We've always understood that thousands of our people are on site there resting, and we want to make sure that we respect that and that any perimeters are respected as well," Kahn told the newspaper. "We know that a lot of activities take place on the mission grounds, and we want to make sure that there aren't any activities happening on top of the grave sites."

 

June 30, 2017

CMF Launches a Strategic Planning Process

On a bright morning in early May, members of the CMF board gathered in San Francisco. They came by car and by plane from all over the state and assembled in an office conference room on the Embarcadero. The purpose of this meeting was to begin the process of creating a strategic plan. Once completed, this plan will guide the activities of CMF for the next three years. For a plan to be truly strategic, it must attend to three distinct, yet interrelated concerns: 1) organizational structure, 2) stakeholder needs and expectations, and 3) measurable goals and objectives.
With these concerns in mind, members of CMF's board engaged in a day-long workshop. The core of this meeting was a SWOT analysis workshop wherein the group contemplated CMF's many strengths and engaged in critical reflection of its weaknesses. The group then explored potential opportunities and grappled with future trends that may threaten CMF's ability to meet its mission. Having gathered this information, the strategic planning committee will soon begin consulting with CMF members and key stakeholders to further this initial analysis.
Another important aspect of this planning process will be the study of similar institutions to get a sense of organizational models and success stories from similar institutions.
CMF can do anything, but it cannot do everything. The strategic planning process allows for an analytical and systematic examination of what CMF is and what it can be. Equipped with this information, the board, its membership, and key stakeholders, can develop specific and measurable goals prioritized to maximize CMF's efficiency and its capacity to meet its mission.
The Strategic Planning Committee expects to complete the planning process and to publish the strategic plan by early fall.

 

March 20, 2017

CMF Board Elects Officers for 2017

In accordance with the CMF By Laws, the CMF Board of Directors elected its officers for the current year during the winter board meeting held in conjunction with the recent California Missions Conference. Dr. Ty O. Smith, formerly the vice chair of CMF and the former president of CMSA, was unanimously elected Board Chair. He will be joined on the CMF Executive Committee by newly-elected Vice Chair Jim Lazarus, Secretary Dr. Edith Piness and Treasurer Mike Imwalle.
February 11, 2017

CMF Announces 2017 Award Recipients

CMF’s Mission Studies Committee has announced the recipients of its 2017 Awards, which will be presented during the Saturday evening Awards Banquet at Mission Santa Ines: researcher Marie Duggan (Norman Neuerburg Award), outgoing CMF board chair Wayne Donaldson (Edna Kimbro Award), dedicated Mission Santa Ines archivist Sheila Benedict (Chairman’s Award), devoted Mission preservation supporter John Jenkins (Chairman’s Award), and long-time CMF board member and mission preservationist Dr. Edith Piness (Chairman’s Award).

 

2017 Edna Kimbro Award Recipient

Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA
Mr. Donaldson was appointed by President Barack Obama as Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in 2010. He was formerly the California State Historic Preservation Officer serving two Governors from 2004-2012. He received his Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic University, Master of Science in Architecture from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland and has received his Masters in Public History and Teaching from the University of San Diego.  Donaldson is a former Chair of the State Historical Building Safety Board, past Chairman of the State Historical Resources Commission, past executive board member of the California Missions Studies Association and past president of the California Preservation Foundation.

He is an architect of innovative design, contractor, and author and has received several awards in preservation architecture including the National AIA Historic Resources Committee Fellow, the California Council, American Institute of Architects Award of Excellence and the Historic Preservation Award, and was elected to the AIA College of Fellows in 1992. Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA celebrates its 39th year practice in California, Arizona, and Nevada.

 

2017 Norman Neuerburg Award Recipient

Marie Christine Duggan
Dr. Marie Christine Duggan grew up in Berkeley, California and finished her education at the New School for Social Research in New York. Dr. Duggan studies how market forces shaped human lives in 18th century Spanish California and 19th century Mexican California. In 1995, Dr. Duggan located account books for nine California missions in Mexico’s National Archives, which were the basis for her 2000 PHD dissertation, Market and Church on the Mexican Frontier.  She received in 1997 the Norman Geiger Fellowship for research at the Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library and the Haynes Foundation Fellowship for Research at the Huntington Library. She analyzed the Santa Barbara Mission-Presidio accounts at the SBMAL, and the San Francisco Mission-Presidio Accounts at the Huntington.

In 1998, she received a fellowship from the Pew Program in Religion and American History at Yale University to analyze the De la Guerra business correspondence at the SBMAL. Quantitative analysis revealed the pattern of economic development in Spanish California, and showed the cessation of financing in 1810.  In 2005, she published “Laws of the Market vs. Laws of God” in History of Political Economy (HOPE) describing how the missionaries responded to the cessation of financing in 1810 by turning to international commerce in hides and tallow.

In 2016 she published in Pacific Historical Review “With and Without an Empire: Financing of California Missions Before and After 1810.” In 2012, she joined the Mexican Economic History Association (AMHE) and in 2014 the Iberian Society for the History of Economic Thought (AIHPE). She is currently writing a book: Piety and Profits in Alta California: Institutional Crisis and Change between 1769 to 1834, which situates California’s development in the context of the Spanish Enlightenment and Mexico’s trade with the Pacific Rim. She teaches economics at Keene State College in New Hampshire and is the mother of two children.

November 9, 2016

2016 Boletín on the Press and Soon to Be on your Doorstep

Fall is traditionally a time of harvest. As in past years, the CMF Publications Committee is busy reaping the scholarship that was planted during last year's conference and that has otherwise grown within our community of mission scholars and enthusiasts. This year's Boletín is at the press! The good folks at 360 Digital Books are again turning our digital file into a real life, hold-it-in-your-hand journal. Dues paying members at the Regular and Supporter's Circle Levels or higher should expect their copies to arrive in early December. Again, it has shaped into a quality publication. Here is a list of just a few of the articles to whet your appetite:

David McLaughlin, Twenty-One Missions - Hundreds of Historical Illustrations

Glenn Farris, Who Were the Likely Residents of the "Casas Para Familias" at Missions La Purisima Concepcion and San Juan Bautista?

Martha Ann Francisca Vallejo McGettigan, The Great Pageants of Mission San Juan Bautista: Bringing the History of California to Thousands

Robert H. Jackson, The Huatápera and the Sixteenth Century Franciscan and Augustinian Doctrinas among the P'urépecha of Michoacán

 

August 25, 2016

Old Mission Santa Barbara to Receive 2016 Preservation Award from CPF

The California Preservation Foundation has announced that Old Mission Santa Barbara will be a recipient of a 33rd Annual Preservation Award at a gala dinner in Orange County on Thursday, September 29. OMSB is receiving the prestigious award for the work performed under a Save America's Treasure's Grant awarded to the California Missions Foundation. CMF administered the three year project.

The award recognizes the extensive work at the Mission, both interior and exterior, which included repairs and painting of the Church's façade, repair of water damage in the convento wing, retrofit stabilization of the historic crypt, and the opening of the second story Rose Window.

The matching grant from the Interior Department and the National Parks Service was the final of four Save America's Treasure grants awarded to California Missions Carmel, San Miguel, San Luis Rey and Santa Barbara.

Tickets for the gala must be purchased by September 22 by visiting
www.californiapreservation.org

August 25, 2016

Mission San Antonio Continues retrofit Project

Following successful retrofit work on the Mission church, efforts have now been focused on the historic convento wing also in need of mandated retrofitting. Mission officials have made great strides toward their ultimate goal of retrofitting the entire quadrangle, but according to Mission Administrator Joan Steele, a lot of work and fundraising is still needed to complete the multi phase project.

"Currently we have reached a milestone: Completion of Phase II (the South Convento) of the Retrofit/Restoration Project is within sight (goal being mid to late October, 2016.)," said Ms. Steele. "Work on Phase III has already begun. Roofing tiles have been removed from the Western Convento wing and the preparatory work in the attic has commenced. Between the parish business, the construction work, the daily visitors and the Retreat Center guests, the Mission is a busy place!"

At Mission San Antonio de Padua during a recent site visit, CMF Board member Dr. Robert Hoover (left), Mr. John Jenkins of the Field Foundation (right), and CMF Executive Director David A. Bolton.

At Mission San Antonio de Padua during a recent site visit, CMF Board member Dr. Robert Hoover
(left), Mr. John Jenkins of the Field Foundation (right), and CMF Executive Director David A. Bolton.