By TR Robertson Photos by Imelda Huerta
The Vista Historical Society hosted a luncheon on Saturday, where seven new members of the VHS Hall of Fame were inducted. The luncheon, catered by Mexico City Cuisine, was held at the Gloria McCellan Senior Center. Terry Moxley began the event by leading the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a Moment of Silence for the passing of VHS Board Member Spike Harvey and an Invocation. After the luncheon, VHS President Eleanor Hutchins welcomed those in attendance and introduced special guests, Vista Mayor John Franklin, Assistant City Manager Imelda Huerta, and District 2 Councilmember Jeff Fox, followed by North County Daily Star reporter TR Robertson, beginning introductions of the inductees.
First introduced were Robert Dalzell Williams and Mary Regan, speaking about Dal. He served on the Vista Planning Commission and as a City Councilmember. He also served on numerous other boards, was an adjunct instructor, refereed several sports, and was married and raised three sons. Accepting the certificate was his wife, Chris.
The next two inductees were selected from the Early Division category. Frank Thibodo was the head of Thibodo Construction Company and a well-known rancher, and John J. Rutherford became manager of Vista First National Bank in 1931, for over thirty years, becoming Chairman of the Board when the bank merged with a San Francisco bank.
In the Regular Division, first, Lois Vaughn Cavalier was inducted. Lois served as editor of The Vista Press in the 1970’s and 1980’s. She also wrote a book called Vista, containing over 200 historic photos. Terry Moxley introduced Lois.
Next, Sharon and Jack Larimer were introduced as Hall of Fame selectees. Both Sharon and Jack were long-time members of the Vista Historical Society, serving as Director and Secretary of the Board. They have received numerous awards from the city and Jack was selected for a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Vista Chamber of Commerce at the Heroes of Vista celebration. They were introduced by Russ Harvey.
The final inductee for the Regular Division was Janice Klafehn. Janice was introduced by Terry Moxley. Janice is a third generation Vistonian. She has served as a long-time volunteer for VHS and has used Past Perfect, museum collection and management software, to input data about VHS’s Museum collections and more.
VHS President Eleanor Hutchins encouraged those in attendance to volunteer for the Vista Historical Society functions and told everyone to attend the “Let’s Celebrate America” celebration at the VHS Museum also with a Classic Car Show on June 27th and the Vista Historical Museum Annual BBQ on September 19th.
For more information go to www.vistahistoricalsociety.com.
