Every August the Vista Historical Society and Museum holds an Old Fashioned Pit Barbecue Feast. This year was no exception. On a beautiful sunny breezy day, barbecue enthusiasts young and old, gathered at the Vista Historical Society grounds. Recent improvements to the grounds were quite obvious. Four thousand square feet of new pavers were recently installed to cover the open ground on the property. Boy Scout Riley Grimshaw designed and built wooden benches to surround several trees for extra seating as his Eagle Scout Project. A wrought iron fence now encloses the perimeter of the grounds.
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Seasoned beef brisket and pork wrapped in burlap cooked to perfection for eight hours in the largest underground pit in North County. Both meats were mouthwatering, along with perfectly tender corn on the cob, coleslaw and beans.
All the meat and fixins’ were donated and prepared by Frank and Mary Lopez and their team of helpers.
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The afternoon began with dance lessons from the Ocean Wavers Square dancers showing everyone the art of square dancing, followed by the Working Cowboy Band who played country music and entertained the crowd for the rest of the day. The kids especially enjoyed the bounce house. Indian Joe Brewing donated two popular craft beers, Belgian Blonde w/ Vanilla and Luiseno Red Ale-Irish. Selected wines were also available to order along with free lemonade, cotton candy and popcorn to enjoy.
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Many desserts were donated and an Apple Pie Contest was held and judged by the Vista Fire Fighters. The contest winners were: 3rd place, Virginia Purcell, 2nd place, Norma Richardson and 1st place, Ron White. Many raffle items were available and the Grand Prize of four Disneyland passes was won by Jazmin Wray.
Western Cactus Enterprises donated all of the beautiful table centerpieces which were raffled off at the end of the evening, with funds going to the Museum. The Board of Directors and their volunteers did an amazing job and everyone went home anticipating next years’ open pit barbecue event in August 2018.
See y’all next year!
About Vista Historical Society and Museum
A vital part of Vista’s heritage is the Vista Historical Society’s Museum at Rancho Minerva, where staff and docents preserve and honor the past while serving the present.
Our new museum is in itself an imposing part of Vista’s history. It was built by Nick Huntalas, an indomitable Greek immigrant who came here in 1911 and dry-farmed acreage along what is now Foothill Drive. Ample water arrived in 1926, and there ensued a thriving community rich with groves and field crops.
By 1934, Nick and his wife, Bessie, had realized their dream home. It was constructed with adobe bricks fashioned from soil dug for the foundation. The imposing two-story home features a sparkling white exterior, a red tile roof, an 18-foot-tall living room ceiling and a number of inviting rooms that are now filled with memorabilia of early Vista and its dynamic residents.
Over the years, Vistans were warmly welcomed at Rancho Minerva for social events, and now it is the privilege of our docents to greet visitors and make them feel at home in this historic place
Vista Historical Society and Museum, 2317 Foothill Drive, Vista, 92084
http://www.vistahistoricalsociety.com
