Moments in Time| The Capistrano Dispatch

Moments in Time: Celebrating the History of San Juan Capistrano

By Jan Siegel San Juan Capistrano is truly a special place. Right now, the entire country seems to be fighting with itself. Everything seems to…

LIVING, SJC Living

Moments in Time: State Legislation Threatens Open Space

By Jan Siegel The city motto of “Preserving the Past to Ensure the Future” has never been more important than it is today. With all…

LIVING, SJC Living

Moments in Time: San Juan Capistrano Rebounds from Pandemic

By Jan Siegel We’re back! Yes, San Juan Capistrano—after 15 months of being shut down—is back in full swing. Even Swallow’s is open again—inside! City…

LIVING, SJC Living

Moments in Time: Establishing Alcohol Rules for Los Rios Restaurants

By Jan Siegel Next Tuesday, the city council will be making one of the most important decisions in its tenure. The council will be asked…

LIVING, SJC Living

Moments in Time: Happy 60th Anniversary, San Juan Capistrano

By Jan Siegel The year 2020 was certainly the year everyone would like to forget. Because of the pandemic, the city was in a lockdown,…

LIVING, SJC Living

Moments in Time: Days of Our Lives in SJC: Part 4

By Jan Siegel Sylvestro Morales was able to avoid capture. On August 20, he went to a cousin’s home near Rancho Santa Fe. He knew…

LIVING, SJC Living

Moments in Time: Days of Our Lives in SJC: Part 3

By Jan Siegel As the story continues, while Pablo Pryor was trying to draw up more maps, Henry Charles acquired 160 acres worth of “Valentine…

LIVING

Moments in Time: Days of Our Lives in SJC: Part 2

By Jan Siegel Editor’s note: This is a multipart series. The first part ran here. In 1866, Fr. Joseph Mut arrived as priest of the…

LIVING

Moments in Time: Days of Our Lives in SJC: Part 1

by Jan Siegel Editor’s note: This is the first in a multipart series. It was a dark and stormy night … no, not that story….

LIVING

Moments in Time: Holiday Traditions

by Jan Siegel One of the great aspects of the holidays is the food and the family traditions that go with each recipe. This year,…

LIVING

Moments in Time: Laws, Thankfulness and History

By Jan Siegel I am writing this prior to the results of the 2020 election, as well as before Thanksgiving. I hope that this article…

LIVING

Moments in Time: Change is Nothing New

by Jan Siegel At the moment, we are going through some very difficult times. But 100 years ago, we were going through even more changes…

LIVING

Moments in Time: Recognizing The Ecology Center

By Jan Siegel A dozen years ago, a young man came to San Juan Capistrano with a dream of making agriculture sustainable, usable and workable…

LIVING

Moments in Time: Our Community Has Survived Previous Disasters

By Jan Siegel The unintended consequences of disasters, whether it is drought, flood, earthquake or pandemic, is not new. Lifestyle changes will certainly take place…

LIVING