Historical Perspective
The following contribution from Phyllis tells the early history of
Fraternal Spiritualist Church’s search for a location for their
church, how they were guided to the current location, and a little about
the massive restoration of Historical Landmark 170.
Historical Perspective
by Phyllis Chrisman
Welcome to the Fall edition of the Fraternal Spiritualist Church’s
Newsletter. What a glorious season this is- with the “nippiness”
in the air, fall colored leaves here and there and the general sense of
relief that the heat of summer is behind us.
To many of you, the formation of our Church facility is unknown and it
is, indeed, an interesting story. For many years, we had been searching
for church property and the board had visited numerous church sites, none
of which appealed to us. Previously, meeting in the Scottish Rite Temple
in Mission Valley, we had been looking for a church home for a period
of ten years. We had searched diligently, but no place seemed to have
the right atmosphere.
We were celebrating Jack Dobrin’s birthday and I was going in search
of a birthday cake at the small bakery on Adams Avenue (now a restaurant).
A “voice” kept saying to me, in the parking lot, what I thought
was “go to the store.” I finally realized that what the message
from spirit was trying to convince me to do was “to go next door.”
As I looked through my windshield, I saw that a “FOR SALE”
sign had just been put out on our property. The message continued until
I took action on what was being sent to me by spirit. I contacted Jack
Dobrin, our Church President. He and our Board all agreed that this would
be the perfect
The story behind the Kensington house, landmark No. 170 on San Diego’s
register of historic places, is that it dates back to 1910 and was one
of a few large Craftsman-style homes built in Kensington before the influx
of Spanish/Mediterranean architecture. The home served as a private home
until 1984 when it was purchased by Ronald and Judy Ridgway for conversion
to a restaurant.
One of the first occupants was Silas St. John, an old West pioneer who
was the first person to carry mail from San Diego over the great overland
route, also known as the Sante Fe Trail. After an active life as a miner
and Pony Express mail carrier, he retired in San Diego, living in the
4300 square foot house from 1913-1919.
Many people contributed to the present church abode. Dan Matticks helped
with his power tools. Gene Gault volunteered her incredible talent in
professionally designing the church’s interior, which is a thing
of beauty. Others involved in bringing about the necessary improvements
were Bob Gouckenour, historical house painting specialist, architect Steve
Davis, Realtor Sharen Gibson, and many church members. Our Church family
once occupied another historical San Diego structure- the Temple Beth
Israel in downtown San Diego. It was relocated to Presidio Park.
Our beloved Church president, Jack Dobrin, supervised the church renovation
every step of the way. We owe so much to JACK DOBRIN for the dedication
he showed and the love he had for our church and the religion of Spiritualism...
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