Where are they now?: David Lewis (Class of 1969)
Q: Current occupation
A: Volunteer extraordinaire… Julian Cemetery, Pioneer Museum, Historical Society. Author… Last Known Address, African American Pioneers, Julian, California. (The last Known Address was a finalist for the 2008 San Diego Book Awards.
Q: What post high school education did you pursue?
A: AS at Palomar College in Industrial Arts and completed a quarter at California State Polytechnic College, San Luis Obispo before being drafted into the US Army. I was stationed in Hanau, Germany as a field wireman and artilleryman. Luckily never spent a minute firing guns, but laid a lot of communication wire. I did receive six letters of commendation, for outstanding performance of duty.
Q: Describe your career path and current occupation
A: Employed by the Karl Klaesson Construction Company as a Foreman/Equipment Operator, Owner/Operator of David R. Lewis Grading and Excavating, Mushet Enterprises as a heavy equipment mechanic/foreman, Patrick Engineering and Surveying as a designer/draftsman. While working for Patrick Engineering was a crewman for American Cities Racing League (ACRL)driver Peter Zarcades, for 14 years. Since 1999 I have been the historian for the Julian cemetery, and I helped do site mapping of archaeological sites for the South Coastal Information Center, administered by San Diego State University. Most notable are the Whaley House site in Old Town San Diego and the Nate Harrison site on Palomar Mtn.
Q: What JHS experience(s) helped prepare you for your future career?
A: Learning reading, writing and arithmetic. With those skills I was able to teach myself whatever I needed to know.
Q: Do you have a favorite high school memory you would like to share?
A: I had fun in high school. I wasn’t the best student in the world that’s for sure, but I enjoyed life. Wasn’t even worrying about being drafted.
A memory I have is I used to hang out in the library in the morning before school with a friend and she would write letters to her boyfriend who was serving in Vietnam. One morning they came and got her out of the room in the library and told her that her boyfriend had been killed. That’s when the Vietnam War got real.
Q: How did attending JHS help form the person you are today?
A: Going to a small school was just comfortable. My wife went to Mount Miguel and she didn’t know hardly anyone. I knew everyone. I was able to participate in things that I wouldn’t have been able to do at a bigger school. I was such a little guy.
Q: What are you most proud of achieving since leaving JHS?
A: I’m very proud of my wife and daughters. I’m also proud of what I’ve done with history and historical research. I mapped the entire cemetery and researched the people who were buried there, which took me about 10 years and over 9000 hours. My two favorite stories are about Drury Bailey and the Robinsons. You can read all about them in my book, African American Pioneers. (Both of my books can be purchased at the Julian Book House and at the Julian Pioneer Museum).
Q: What were you passionate about in high school?
A: Shop, welding and working on cars was how I spent most of my time.
Q: What are you passionate about now?
A: I have a new passion, I have changed my orchard. When I first took over the orchard, the apple and pear trees, which had been planted in 1896, were almost gone. In the 1960’s my grandfather planted additional apple trees and now I have a designated section of the orchard, which I call the B.F. Miller Heritage Orchard Conservancy (named after Benjamin Franklin Miller who built the house in 1896 and planted the orchard). This special orchard now contains 28 varieties of trees which were present in Julian between 1870 and 1910. The significance of those dates are the beginning of the town of Julian to when Julian celebrated its first Apple Days event.
Q: What obstacle(s) have you faced that have helped mold you into the person you are today?
A: I haven’t had any obstacles. I don’t consider the things I have come across in life as obstacles, just things that I’ve had to figure out and move past.
Q: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your high school self?
A: I have never planned my life, so I haven’t regretted very much. I keep moving forward. I do wish I had become interested in History earlier in my life. I would tell my high school self to ask people about their lives before they are gone and it’s too late. My grandpa actually knew Drury Bailey and the Robinsons’. I wish I had known to ask the right questions and record what he told me.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A: I’ll be right here in Julian. I can’t leave because I’m a slave to my own heritage. I’ll be enjoying more time with my family, volunteering and working in my orchard.
