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SOHO President's Message
September/October 2017
By Jaye MacAskill
 People often ask me, "What can I do to help support SOHO?" I love this question, so I tell them there are many ways, but first, please become a SOHO member! Membership is the essential first step in making a firm commitment to SOHO's mission. If you are reading this message and aren't a member yet, no worries. Click HERE and join right now!
Becoming a SOHO member is no doubt the quickest and easiest way to demonstrate how much you care about historic preservation in San Diego County. Of course, donating money, property or real estate, and volunteering are extremely important to SOHO's success.
Buying gift memberships for friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, clients, a favorite teacher, a repair person who saved the day, and so on is another great way to provide extra monetary support while spreading the word about SOHO's advocacy and preservation efforts, events, and landmark sites to visit.
Not everyone has the financial means to donate or to buy gift memberships, or the time available to volunteer, but there are still plenty of other worthwhile things you can do to show allegiance to SOHO. Here is a short list off the top of my head of five small but powerful ways to help:
- Repost and share SOHO's social media posts. Whether the posts are about pressing preservation issues, or educational and fun events taking place at one of our historic sites, we can definitely use your help getting the word out!
- Stay on top of preservation issues by reading this and future issues of Our Heritage News online. This way, when the opportunity arises, you will be able to educate those less knowledgeable about what is going on in the city and region. You might even be able to counter and set straight some of the unfortunate misinformation spread in the local media and by the uninformed public.
- Perhaps you have friends or colleagues you think would enjoy and benefit from reading this bimonthly newsletter. You might forward this issue with your personal note as a friend of SOHO.
- Respond to SOHO's "calls to action" by contacting your local government representatives to urge them to support historic preservation options. Each Preservation Action Alert, which members receive by email and appear in all of SOHO's social media, includes precise information on the issue, what you can do, and links for officials to contact.
- Learn about historic preservation issues that affect millions of people, whether they realize it or not: affordable housing and sustainability. These days, two of the biggest battles we preservationist face are:
- The demolition of perfectly good, older housing stock in the name of creating "affordable housing," which almost always ends up being more expensive to rent than what preceded it, and
- The phony excuse that newer buildings are more environmentally friendly. Clearly, as the bumper sticker says, "The greenest building is the one already built."
This is by no means an exhaustive list; in fact, I just thought of one more inexpensive and easy thing you can do to help. Donate your unwanted antiques and vintage wares to the Feed Store - Antiques & Such at the Santa Ysabel Store to help support SOHO's backcountry operations. (Read about the new ways SOHO is serving that area's residents and visitors at our historic sites in another article HERE.)
As a thrift store addict myself, these two stores under one historic roof (at the crossroads of state Highways 78 and 79) have a very special place in my heart. You can even do what I do: Once you've cleared out some valuable space at home by dropping off your donations at the SOHO office in Old Town or in Santa Ysabel, head right on out there and buy more stuff!
When it comes to donating unique and beautiful objects, the generosity of our members seems to know no bounds. In Santa Ysabel, you'll be surprised at the variety and quality of items for sale, and, of course, new donations keep arriving. During this glorious fall season, what could be more exciting and rewarding than hunting for antique treasures in one of San Diego County's most historically significant 19th century adobes?
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