always been happy at heart for years, get up with her husband first thing in the morning.

Carmen Castaneda: And I would be singing.

And he would say, "What are you seeing with--for?

What's the matter with you?"

[laughing] And I'd say, "Well, I'm happy."

Ken: Carmen has a story.

And more than that, she is a story about women in the workplace at a time when they made all the difference.

Seth Mallios will join us with his discovery of a little memorial in San Diego.

Doesn't get a lot of notice.

You have to know where to look for it at a place where students gather and from it draw inspiration.

Shakur Jackson: History tells all types of different stories, and every story has a message.

And you can take that message and apply it to your own life.

Ken: Plus, a quiz about this San Diego manufactured car that almost was, a couple of them that really did fly in the sky, things you've sent in this time for the show's show-and-tell, and can you guess the year when these faces were in the news, when the home team was making history, almost, and we said goodbye to an historic local landmark, and more stories too, all of them true, about San Diego.

male announcer: Ken Kramer's "About San Diego," the history and people of the area we call home.

Here's Ken Kramer.

Ken: From the Veterans Memorial Garden in Balboa Park, it is "About San Diego."

And this place is a story, as you will see.

But it is a very, very busy show.

And we're going to get started right away as we go across town to celebrate some aeronautical engineering.

It's a fun story about San Diego.

Ken: Why don't we start this time right here in a little park with a walkway at the corner of Maple and Albatross Streets?

And may I introduce you to Waldo, Mr. Waldo Waterman, San Diego born aviator and inventor in the 1930s of an actual flying car.

male: Coming out of the garage, it's an automobile on its way to a hangar to become an airplane.

Ken: Yes, a car with a Studebaker engine that motored through traffic, but then it had an additional feature.

You see, with its detachable wings, it could take to the skies.

male: A flying coupé.

Ken: The Waterman Arrowbile, it was called.

There really were several of them built before the Depression grounded his flying car project.

And I must tell you, it was just one of his accomplishments.

He put together all kinds of private aircraft, Waldo did, including a bi-winged glider back in 1909 when he was at high school in San Diego, but his flying car fascinated the world, of course.

So that's Waldo Waterman and his Arrowbile.

But his wasn't the only flying car idea to come out of San Diego.

male: These buildings that you see here are the work areas for more than 20,000 Convair employees, designers, engineers, craftsmen.

Ken: It's the late 1940s.

It's after the war.

And a couple of aeronautical engineers working in a hangar at Convair bring this flying car into the light of day.

Right then it probably didn't create much worry in Detroit, but it was just a concept.

A little more time, a little more streamlining, and take a look.

This is 1947.

Behold the Model 118 ConvAirCar.

Pretty sleek and stylish.

The idea for this San Diego flying car was pretty simple.

You make a lightweight car with a sunroof, and then separately you build a flight section, the wings and aircraft engine and propeller.

That part stays at the airport when you drive away.

Controls for the flight section come down through the sunroof so as soon as you're connected to the wings you can fly your car.

Convair bought the idea from its two employees Ted Hall and Tom Faulkner, who now have the resources of a major aircraft manufacturer behind them.

And the company built 12 cars and a half dozen flight sections.

There were stories written around the world about this new automobile with its wings that you kept at the airport.

So what happened?

Convair wanted military contracts.

It was slowly getting out of the consumer market and it stopped building commercial planes eventually like the Convair Liner and the ConvAirCar.

As for what became of the Flying cars themselves, well, one of the ConvAirCars crashed in the mud flats at Chula Vista when it ran out of fuel, but nobody was hurt, and the last one went on display at the old Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park until the night of February 22, 1978.

The whole museum burned completely.

Everything inside was lost, including the only remaining Convair flying car.

And what about San Diegan Waldo Waterman's Arrowbile?

There is one preserved at the Smithsonian and something else here in San Diego attribute.

Back in that little park right near Maple and Albatross, park named for Waldo D. Waterman, there's an historical marker on the spot overlooking the canyon where he flew that bi-winged glider back in 1909 and some pictures along with the story of his flying car.

And while it may be that neither of these cars became the soaring success that the San Diego inventors imagined, they still took flight.

And someday in the someday when flying cars are common as Corollas, here's hoping history notes that fact about San Diego.

Here's a quiz.

You might know the answer if you watch us every week.

Let's see.

It's about San Diego cars.

Part of the old Convair Aircraft Plant was leased in 1949 to a company that wanted to build this snappy, little car.

It never made it into mass production, but it did have a name.

And what was it?

Was it The Bonita, The Coronado, or The Del Mar?

Wasn't The Bonita.

It was the Del Mar, introduced on Valentine's Day of 1947 as a quality car for the person of average income, 49 horsepower, cost $1,120.

Oh, the company said orders were pouring in so fast they'd have 150,000 Del Mars on the road by the end of that first year, but they didn't.

They only had one to display, or maybe there were two.

But if after all these years you knew that, you know a lot about San Diego.

♪♪♪ Ken: Let's go back in time now to when it seemed like the entire city of San Diego was focused on just one thing and women were going into the workforce, taking jobs in the defense industry, working in factories.

What was that like for them?

Well, we found a woman who can give us a first-person account.

Ken: It's a special day to gather around and consider please Carmen Castaneda's story, and a San Diego story it is.

Carmen: I was born right behind Petco Park.

There was all houses there.

Ken: Lived on 17th Street and then 18th, went to Sherman Elementary School, worked at the family's Mexican restaurant on Market Street.

No.

She absolutely remembers prohibition, no alcohol allowed.

Agents went from door to door.

They came to her house too.

Good thing they didn't look in the pantry.

Carmen: So they came in and they looked around.

And the pantry looked like a bathroom door.

So they never went in there.

And my dad had a big barrel of the moonshine in there.

Ken: Family memories, some Mexican traditions, little things she's kept through the years.

Carmen: Here's the rolling pin that my dad made for me.

When I first got married, he said, "You have to make tortillas every day."

And I did.

Ken: She was a wife, a mom.

And something else about Carmen, something happened in her young years, something that is very much a part of Carmen's San Diego story.

male: We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin.

The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air.

President Roosevelt has just announced.

[explosions] Carmen: But that was scary, you know, because they could bomb us anytime.

Ken: We were a war target not just because we were a navy center but because here at Consolidated Aircraft, which came to be known as Convair, airplanes for the war were being built by the hundreds.

The factory humming.

male: We may not say how often, but all record propane construction are being broken here and at other plants throughout the country.

Ken: You know the big port of San Diego building we see today?

That was production headquarters built rock solid, designed to take a direct bomb hit.

Pacific Highway was covered in camouflage netting so that from the air it looked like an empty field.

Able-bodied young men either had more essential jobs or they were drafted.

Now, one thing about Carmen, growing up she was the only girl.

She had six brothers.

Carmen: You know what?

They taught me.

They taught me how to fight like a man.

[chuckling] Ken: Carmen was fearless.

She went to work at Convair doing what was considered to be a man's job.

Like thousands of other female defense workers, she was a Rosie, Rosie the Riveter.

♪ All day long, whether rain or shine, ♪ ♪ she's a part of the assembly line.

♪ ♪ She's making history, working for victory, ♪ ♪ Rosie, rrr, the Riveter.

♪♪ Ken: It isn't clear who came up with that title for the millions of women who took up jobs in shipyards and defense plants.

They did welding, electrical work of all kinds, operated heavy machinery, made munitions, or like Carmen who went right into a factory full of men and started building airplanes.

Carmen: So then they put me with 30 men, but then they started drafting the men, you know?

So they started getting more women.

Ken: She actually did Operator Riveter, and then got shifted to electrical work inside the planes.

Carmen: And I learned how to solder the wires and build the harnesses.

And they were big harnesses too.

And we had to learn every number by heart by color.

Ken: She memorized every wire and exactly where it went.

Carmen: After a while, we routed the wires inside the plane from the wings to plane and the cockpit.

Ken: Rosie the Riveter is an iconic image.

Over the years it became a symbol of feminism and equal rights, of fearlessness.

It even ended up on a postage stamp.

I don't know if Carmen sees herself in this old poster, but I kind of do.

Carmen: And I always was proud of my work, you know, and the good it was doing.

Ken: Oh, and one thing more.

Remember I said this was a special day?

When we talked with her, Carmen was turning 100 years old.

So happy 100th, Carmen.

Thank you for your service and your strength and for sharing with us your story about San Diego.

Ken: By the way, there is a connection between Carmen's story and the place where we are right here in Balboa Park.

This is called the Veterans Memorial Garden.

It's 1 acre built right in front of the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center.

And this air garden part of it features a bronze statue of a B24 Liberator, an essential bomber that was used during World War II.

It's exactly 1/6 the size of the real thing and it's pointed toward where Consolidated Aircraft was, where the majority of B24s were built during World War II, and where Carmen worked.

And beside the Veterans Center itself is a small rose garden dedicated to Rosie the Riveter.

♪♪♪ Ken: All right, time to officially introduce you now to someone you may know because he's helped us out through the years with a lot of stories here on "About San Diego."

Seth Mallios is an historian, he's a professor of anthropology at San Diego State, he's director of the South Coastal Information Center.

His résumé is a mile long.

And from time to time, he's going to be joining us here to tell us of his own discoveries, some of his own stories about San Diego.

Here's Seth.

Seth Mallios: Check it out.

We're here at a serene escape from the classroom for students.

It's one of the most popular locations on campus.

There are turtles, koi fish, and plenty of greenery to keep you cool on even the hottest day here at San Diego State's Scripps Park.

But there's something that can get lost in all the tranquility and beauty here.

In fact, you have to make your way to the back patio of Scripps Cottage to locate this small plaque.

Often overlooked, this military memorial tells a story with a very personal tie to the Vietnam War.

Seth: So this sycamore tree, 35 feet tall, is the Freedom Tree.

And this plaque was put here in '73 and it is dedicated to Lieutenant Colonel Charles J. Scharf and all POWs and MIAs.

Seth: So who was Charles Scharf?

To help us find out, we're taking a short trip to Hoover High School where we're going to meet a senior named Shakur Jackson.

Shakur: Oh, yeah, a lot of this stuff is very familiar.

Like the colors, they never changed.

Seth: His many extracurricular activities include basketball, track and field, and theater, but Shakur has a passion for studying history.

Shakur: History tells all types of different stories, and every story has a message.

And you can take that message and apply it to your own life, and that's very motivating as a student, to want to live up to that.

Seth: Over time, Shakur has noticed something special on the Hoover campus.

It's a military display in the main office that he walks by every day at school.

Shakur: Every time I look at that military exhibit, I have a deep respect for the names that I see.

They were students at high school, they had just graduated, and they went right into serving their country.

Seth: Within the larger exhibit, Shakur spotted a frame honoring Charles Scharf.

There is Charles Scharf's senior photo.

He excelled at math and science, enjoyed architectural drawing, and played baseball.

To Shakur, Charles Scharf's story along with the others in the exhibit are an inspiration.

Shakur: So I have deep respect for them.

And, you know, it's very heartwarming to see that at Hoover High School.

Seth: And he's not alone.

Over at San Diego State, Elisa East feels the same way.

She cherishes campus memorials, including the one at Scripps Park.

Elisa East: When I was a undergrad, I spent a lot of time in that space.

I didn't know it was the Freedom Tree, I didn't even know it was military connected, but I always felt very gravitated.

Seth: Elisa, a US Army veteran herself, is now the interim director of SDSU's Military and Veterans Programs.

She knows firsthand how important military monuments are, especially at a place like this.

Elisa: I would say that it makes veterans feel welcomed and like their service and what they did matter because they see those markers even from wars that are well before them.

Seth: After graduating from Hoover, Charles Scharf attended San Diego State where he majored in economics and was a member of SDSU's Air Force ROTC.

During the Vietnam War, he was a member of the 47 Tactical Fighter Squadron.

He and his navigator were on a mission over Hanoi when they were shot down.

Both men were reported missing in action.

Answers finally came in 2006 when his remains found in excavations at the crash site were identified.

Charles Scharf's remains and mementos were buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

He was posthumously promoted to Colonel and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart.

All that may not be on the minds of students in such a beautiful place, as his memorial often barely gets noticed, but he is remembered by Elisa East and Shakur Jackson.

To them, this living memorial at San Diego State is especially important, as it honors something larger than Charles Scharf.

It is for all service people who are prisoners of war or missing in action.

So when you next find yourself on the San Diego State campus, drop by Scripps Park and enjoy some time in the shade and even pick out your favorite turtle, but before you leave, stop by the Freedom Tree, take a moment to think about Charles Scharf who gave everything, including his life.

This memorial and to whom it is dedicated must not be forgotten, marking a memory that will be a lasting one about San Diego.

Ken: Seth Mallios, thank you.

All right, time for something we haven't done in a long time.

Let's see if you can guess the year.

When were all of these things true about San Diego?

[crowd shouting] Ken: It was a year that saw one of the largest protests in San Diego history.

Fifty thousand people calling for immigrant rights marched from Balboa Park to the county administration building.

On the city council, Kevin Faulkner, Tony Young, Donna Fry, and Ben Wasel were reelected without a runoff.

Housing averaged four-bedroom home in San Diego, $642,200; in Encinitas, $778,000.

The cost of gasoline shot up as high as 3.14 a gallon, but by the end of the year settled at 2.68.

One of the headlines that year was, "Uh-oh, we are now number eight."

San Antonio, Texas now had a bigger population with 969 more people, but the Union Tribune went on to assure us that we still had the Pacific Ocean, a world-famous zoo, and Major League baseball and football teams, which in this year, see if you can guess which year, we're doing pretty well.

male sports announcer: Your San Diego Chargers!

Ken: The Chargers went 14 and 2 before losing in the divisional playoffs and the Padres with manager Bruce Bochy finished in first place before losing in the National League divisional round.

Okay, a little obscure, but it was the year the Whaley House in Old Town turned 150 years old plus 1.

And much to the distress of historical preservationists that year, it was a dramatic end for the Hotel San Diego, a downtown landmark since 1914.

It was blown up to make way for a new federal courthouse expansion.

And-- male sports announcer: It's the World Baseball Classic from Petco Park in San Diego.

Ken: it was the year of the very first World Baseball Classic in the Championship game.

male sports announcer: And that does it, strike three.

Otsuka gets to save.

The celebration begins.

Ken: Japan beat Cuba 10 to 6 at Petco Park in San Diego.

So take that, San Antonio.

But can you guess in what year?

It was 2006.

And if you thought that, you definitely have my admiration for knowing a lot about San Diego.

♪♪♪ Ken: It's your time of the program now.

This is where we all get to see the bits of memorabilia, pictures, and fun things that you have sent into the show.

Is there a place that's gone away now but you have something that preserved it and takes us all back to when it was around at another time in San Diego, streets, houses, transportation, airports, restaurants, or just the way we lived back in the back then?

If it's yours and it's okay to share, send it to the show, and we might show it on "About San Diego" like right now.

Ken: Okay, to start, I have never seen anything like this.

Taken in 1959, here's a priest with a group of San Diego meter maids at a blessing of their motor trikes, thanks to Tom Giaquinto and the San Diego Police Museum.

North Park, corner of 29th and University, here it is today.

But if you could go back almost a century, what would it look like?

It would look like this.

Jarrell Reeves was at a swap meet and found a picture of street traffic and the Humpty Dumpty Market.

Humpty Dumpty, competitor of the Piggly Wiggly, which is pictured here.

And see the handbaskets shoppers are carrying?

Well, the owner of the Humpty Dumpty chain noticed that once those baskets got full, customers would head for the checkout and go home.

So he invented the much bigger rolling shopping cart.

One more from Jarrell, looks like it might have been taken from the other side of the street, man maybe looking over at the Humpty Dumpty.

Love the way people dressed to grab a sandwich.

Remember our story about East San Diego, a completely separate city, had its own city hall, own police department and everything in the early 1920s right where City Heights is today?

Well, Rick Deloria sent us this photo of his great grandpa with a fine vehicle of the East San Diego Truck Company, truck nicknamed Hot Lips.

♪♪♪ So many random things we get.

You just never know.

Like Primo Carnera here, super strong man, wrestler, movie star, but what he mostly was was a big and sometimes controversial wrestler and knock-you-out world heavyweight boxing champion for a time in the 1930s.

♪♪♪ So that's Primo Carnera.

And here, more than a decade later, photo from Mark Harris, his dad took it, meeting of the Sons of Italy at Benny's Italian Restaurant across from the Spreckels Theatre.

His mom was at the far left, and at the head of the table, there's Primo Carnera in San Diego.

No indication what he had for dinner at Benny's, but Primo was a giant of a man who had had said for breakfast typically had a quart of orange juice, two quarts of milk, 19 pieces of toast, a loaf of bread, and a half a pound of Virginia ham.

Our story about El Carrito and Barrio Logan, restaurant built 80 years ago inside an abandoned streetcar and still around.

Carolina Santana told us how small it is inside.

Carolina Santana: It's literally like--it--you could probably expand your arms from end to end and you could go like this and touch both walls.

Ken: The streetcars used to go right past that spot on Logan Avenue and all over town.

1920s and '30s San Diego electric railway streetcars had the city covered.

Martha Demurrers send us some photos; Pacific Beach, and on the way into downtown from La Jolla, and a ticket.

Normally was 10 cents to ride, but three rides get a triple ride ticket for a quarter.

By the end of 1949, the streetcars were gone.

♪ Take the last train to Clarksville.

♪ ♪ Now, I must hang up the phone.

♪ ♪ I can't hear you in this noisy rail station, ♪ ♪ although I feel lonely.

♪ Ken: And the "Last Train to Clarksville," song by The Monkees.

You know of them, 1960s pop rock group created for television?

Well, John Thomas reminded us that on September the 11th, 1966, The Monkees made a helicopter visit to the train station at Del Mar, which for that occasion was renamed Clarksville.

It was a promotion sponsored by an LA radio station.

Pictures appeared in "Tiger Beat" magazines "Monkee Spectacular."

The group sang a couple of songs, then headed back to LA with a lot of lucky radio contest winners on the train from Clarksville.

♪ Take the last train to Clarksville.

♪ Ken: And that's it for this time in this episode of "About San Diego."

If we do happen to meet around town, we do savor your very kind words, and we appreciate the fact that you tell others about the show.

If you'd like to see any of the segments that you saw on this broadcast again, just simply go to KenKramerTV.com.

We also have some merch there.

If you want to advertise that you are a fan of the show, we appreciate that too.

Until next time and as always, I'm Ken Kramer.

Thank you for watching and for caring "About San Diego."

Bye-bye.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ announcer: Support for this program comes from the KPBS Explore Local Content Fund, supporting new ideas and programs for San Diego.