Free Speaker's Series
Hosted at the RB History Museum located at the Bernardo Winery
13330 Paseo del Verano Norte
San Diego, California 92128
Upcoming Speakers
February 14, 2026 11 a.m.
The Lighthouses of San Diego
Karen Scanlon, Volunteer at Cabrillo National Monument
Karen Scanlon and her twin-sister, Kim Fahlen, tend the lenses at the Point Loma Lighthouse. They are also co-authors of the book, “Lighthouses of San Diego,” which will be the subject of Scanlon’s February talk.
For more information call 858-775-5788
Recent Speakers
Visions Museum of Textile Art.
Ann Olsen and Gretchen Rhoads
Presented January 10, 2026
Watch Video on YouTube
Presidio de San Diego: Excavating Southern California’s Lost City
Richard Carrico:
Historian, archeologist, Lecturer in American Indian Studies at San Diego State University
Presented November 8, 2025
History of Firefighting in San Diego
Charles Gilson, Kane Fiedler, Mike Colafrancesco:
San Diego Firehouse Museum
Presented October 11, 2025
San Diego’s Surfing Heritage
Jim Kempton:
Executive Director of the California Surf Museum
Presented September 13, 2025.
The Judgement of Paris
Matilda Parente:
wine appreciation expert
This 1976 competition between the wines of California from the state’s emerging wineries and the long-established top wines of France shocked the world and established California wines as worthy of global recognition.
Presented Aug 9, 2025
Video Not Available
The Hotel del Coronado Renovation
David Marshall:
President of Heritage Architecture and Planning
Presented July 12, 2025
Explore Medieval Spain Through the Life and Adventures of El Cid.
Javier Gonzalez-Meeks, Professor of history at Grossmont College
Presented June 14, 2025
Video Not Available
Art Conservation and the Work of the Balboa Art Conservation Center
Dr. Elizabeth Salmon
BACC conservators specialize in the preservation and technical study of works of art and cultural heritage of all types
Presented May 17, 2025
Descendants of Early San Diego: Preserving Our Heritage.
Fred Grand: President, San Diego Old Town Chamber of Commerce and Director of Community Engagement for Descendants of Early San Diego
Fred is a direct descendant of both an original Spanish colonial soldier and a member of the Kumeyaay Nation of Indigenous people.
Presented April 12, 2025
The Redress/Reparations Campaign and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
Kay Ochi:
President of the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego,
The talk details the years-long campaign by Japanese Americans against their incarceration during World War Two.
Presented March 8, 2025
Video Not Available
USS Midway Freedom Park
Lara White:
President U.S.S. Midway Foundation
Presented February 8, 2025
“The Fruitful History of San Diego County”
Dan Simpson:
Certified Professional Arborist, 45 years with San Diego Zoo Horticulture Department, 20 years as adjunct instructor at Cuyamaca College Horticulture Department.
“Our county has a rich history from a variety of fruit crops,” says Simpson. “This is a brief overview of that history and impact on our development.”
Presented January 11, 2025
Past Programs from Previous Years
Click on a Month Below to View Video on YouTube
2024
November 9, 2024 – The History of Japanese Americans in San Diego (Video Not Available)
Linda Canada, former archivist and past president, Japanese-American Historical Society of San Diego
October 12, 2024 – Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center (Video Not Available)
Robert Holton, Docent
September 14, 2024 – Demystifying Aztec Culture
Javier Gonzalez-Meeks, Professor of history at Grossmont College
August 10, 2024 – The Sugar King of California: The Life of Claus Spreckels
Dr. Sandra Bonura
July 13, 2024 – A Willow Tree Becomes a Forest – The Story of Hop Lee (Video Not Available)
Dr. Russell Low, Retired radiologist and former medical professor at Sharp and UCSD
June 8, 2024 – Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park (Video Not Available)
Rick Evans, Docent
May 18, 2024 – Monsters On the Loose: The True Story of Three Unsolved Murders in Prohibition Era San Diego
Dr. Richard Carrico
April 13, 2024 – Searching for Calle Judeo: Old Town San Diego State Historic Park’s Forgotten Street of Pioneer Jewish Merchants
Alexander Bevil
March 9, 2024 – The Allure of the San Dieguito River Valley
Christopher Khoury, San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy
February 10, 2024 – Behind the Mask
Javier Gonzalez-Meeks, Professor of History at Grossmont College
January 13, 2024 – USS Midway Carrier Museum
Brian Butler and Steve Walker, Longtime Midway Docents
2023
November 11, 2023 – The Nate Harrison Historical Archaeology Project
Dr Seth Mallios, SDSA anthropologist
October 14 – Ghost Stories of San Diego County (Video Not Available)
Marilyn McPhie, Storyteller
September 9, 2023 – The History of San Diego Through Music
Many Stings Musical Group with Jamie and Chris Burns
August 12, 2023 – The 130,000 Year-Old Cerutti Mastodon Site
Tom Demere, Curator of Paleontology, San Diego Museum of Natural History
July 8, 2023 – A Brief History of San Diego’s Chinese-American Community and the San Diego Chinese History Museum
Jacinta Wong, Executive Director of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum
Michael Yee, Historian and Author
June 10, 2023 – Black Vacqueros
Javier Gonzales-Meeks, Assistant Professor of History, San Diego Miramar College
May 20, 2023 – Block112: The Untold Story of San Diego’s Working Class in the 1880’s
Cindy Stankowski, San Diego Archaeological Center
April 8, 2023 – The Railroad Project that Never Happened
Bruce Semelsberger, The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum
March 11, 2023 – Dan Rios Photographic Collection (Video Not Available)
Alexa Clausen, The Escondido History Center
Sean Visintainer, Cal State San Marcos Library
February 11, 2023 – The History of Oceanside
John Daley, Co-founder and board member, Oceanside Historical Society
January 14, 2023 – Resources for Historic Research at the San Diego County Archives (Video Not Available)
Aditi Worcester, County Archives Manager
Kiera Sullivan, Archivist and Record Manager
Val Handfield, Assistant Recorder/County Clerk
2022
November 12, 2022 – The Sikes Adobe and the San Dieguito River Park: Our Natural and Human History Saved (Video Not Available)
Leana Bulay,Senior Interpretive Ranger, San Dieguito River Park,
Blanca Drapeau,Interpretive Ranger, Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead
October 8, 2022 – The Latest On Our Past: New Discoveries from the Harris Site
Richard Carrico, Instructor of American Indian Studies, San Diego State University
September 10,2022 – Hidden Treasures in the San Diego City Archives.
Samantha Ely, Archives Program Manager
Anne Miggins, Deputy City Clerk
June 11, 2022 – From Measures to Missiles
Vincent Rossi, Historian and Author
May 14, 2022 – Brewers, Bootleggers and Bosses: Women in San Diego Brewing History
Judith Downie, Retired Special Collections and History Librarian at Cal State San Marcos
April 9, 2022 – The Floating City at Sea
Jean Harris, A veteran navy officer and longtime docent at the U.S.S. Midway Museum,
March 12, 2022 – Rancho Guajome and its Cast of Characters
Ron Quirk, Ranger at Rancho Guajome
February 12, 2022San Diego’s Forgotten Empire: The Legacy of John Diedrich Spreckels
Sandra Bonura,Author
2021 – Speakers Series on Hold
2020
SPEAKERS SERIES PUT ON HOLD
February 8– Native Sons of the Golden West
Luke Bramon
January 11 – The Story of Wilderness Gardens County park
Jake Enriquez
2019
October 12- Rediscovering the Historic MiraMar Restaurant and Hotel
Annemarie Cox
September 14 – The History of Indian Gaming
Ethan Banegas
August 10 – The La Jolla Atlas and Map Museum
Richard Cloward
June 8 – 10,000 Years: Prehistory of the San Diego Region
Cindy Stankowski
May 18 – The Mexican War – How It Shaped Two Nations (No Video)
Blaine Davies
April 13- The Kings Highway
Max Kurillo
March 11- Rancho Bernardo Study of Healthy Aging
Linda McAvoy and Gail McLaughlin
February 9- History of the Bernardo Winery
Ross Rizzo Jr.
January 12- Prayer and Politics: The Hawaiian Revolution
Dr Sandra Bonura
2018
September – Louis Rose, San Diego’s First Jewish Settler
Donald Harrison
July- What Rock Art Tells Us About San Diego’s Original Residents
Greg Erikson
June- Old Town San Diego: Living History
Greg Giacopuzzi
May- 1915 Point Loma Road Race
D.A. (Mac) MacPherson
April- History of San Diego Trolleys
Douglas Mengers
January- USS Midway Museum
Steve Walker and Brian Butler
2017
October – The Poway Midland Railroad
Chuck Cross
September – The History of Water Development in San Diego
Garry Butterfield
August – Local History Stories for Children
Marilyn McPhie
July – Palomar: Bridge to the Stars
Mark Carlson
May – SD County Agricultural History
Eric Larsen
February – Times were tough but pioneers were tougher.
Marilyn McPhie
January – Flights to Oblivion, Flights to Fame, The New York to Paris Race
Mark Carlson
2016
November – A History of Wine and Wine Making in San Diego County
Richard Carrico
October – From Daguerrotype To Digital Images – How to Preserve, Protect and Share Your Photographs
Susan Hill
September – The Bounty of Poway’s Farms
Mary Shepardson
July – Los Californianos is dedicated to preserving the heritage of early Hispanic Californios in Alta California
George Grey
April – San Diego County’s gem mining activities
Jeff Swanger
January – San Diego Toy and Doll Museum
Rex Ballard
2015
October – Hiking around San Diego
Tom Leech
September – Contributions Made by the Women of Vista
Jack Larimer
Director of the Vista Historical Society Museum.
July – Evaluation, valuation and care of precious works of art and artifacts.
Jennifer Garey
Museum Director
June – Background of the Escondido History Center
Wendy Barker
Executive Director, Escondido History Center
May – Significance of Native American placenames in our region.
Richard Carrico
April – Origins of the San Diego County fair, which has been in existence since 1880.
Linda Zweig
March – Story of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Faye Jonason
Museum Division Officer MCB Camp Pendleton.
January – The story of the Californios
Bonnie Martland