WHY
  On May 25th someone broke into the Patterson House Museum by forcing open a window thus breaking part of a window that had been restored at a cost of $300. They proceeded to go through the house and did further damage to some doors and broke some old milk bottles. Then on the 28th or 29th of May two panes of glass were broken on a window that had just been installed on the 26th by our contractor. The culprits appear to be youngsters under 12 years of age by the shoe prints they left on the window sill. We posted signs all over the community telling all what happened and the vandalism has stopped for now. We still have a question that keeps nagging at us. WHY? The Patterson House Museum belongs to all of us, young and old alike. We ask each parent to talk to their children about respect for others property. We also ask that if anyone sees people destroying others property to report them to the proper authorities.
    The society has been informed also that our friends at the Hemet Area Museum have been victims not only of vandalism but of a theft. The first incident was someone threw a chunk of asphalt breaking out a window of the old Santa Fe Station in Hemet where the museum is housed. Recently someone helped themselves to a pair of opera binoculars that had been donated to the museum. Again we must ask the simple question. WHY?

July Society Meeting to be Held at the Museum
   Our regular meeting of the society will be held on July 19, 1999 at the Patterson House Museum. We plan to open the doors at 6:00 P.M. and hold our regular meeting at 7:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. Be aware of two important matters. At this time there are no rest room facilities and no extra chairs. Please bring your own chair. Hope to see you there as we look at our rich history as a community and area.

Who We Are
     The Ploughshare & Pruning Hook is published bi- monthly by the Winchester Historical Society of Pleasant Valley. The sole purpose is the let the community and others interested in preserving our history a glimpse into our past, present, and future history. We can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 69, Winchester, California 92596-0069 or by phone at (909) 926-4039. Donations to help support this newsletter and other activities are tax deductible as a gift to charity. We also accept gift writings about our local history and will publish them as space permits. Guest speakers and displays are available upon request.
                                                     E-mail gregg@koan.com
The historical societies web site is: http://www.homestead.com/ winchesterCAhistory/home. html
Another way to get to the site, which may be quicker for you, is to do the following:
1. Go to http://www.homestead.com/
2. In the Homestead Directory  click on Clubs & Organizations
3. Next click on Community Groups and look for "Winchester California History" and by clicking there you will reach our home page.

Reunions a Great Success
    The society had a chance to display our history three times this past two months. The first event was the Alamos/Hyatt School reunion at Lake Skinner Park. This year they were able to meet in the now refurbished Alamos School. The County of Riverside and Metropolitan Water District have completed the first phase of converting the old school into a interpretive center for the nature preserve. Alumni and teachers from the schools gathered and stories and memories flowed. A marvelous BBQ was also part of the highlights of the day.
      The Pioneer Picnic was held on Memorial Day once again at Valley-Wide Regional Park in San Jacinto. We displayed our history once more and were able to talk with many of the people whose families settled here in the area. The turnout seemed down a bit from years past but that may be due to the fact the old coffee maker Bill Jennings has retired. Bill recently wrote his last column for the Riverside Press Enterprise and it appears gave up the coffee making duties as well.
    The last event is a result of the Pioneer Picnic. We have been invited to speak at the next meeting of the San Jacinto Museum Association. The talk will be about the relationship between the community of San Jacinto and Winchester. It should be quite interesting in light of what has happened recently here between the communities of Hemet and San Jacinto. They asked us to speak for 20 or so minutes which should also be a challenge for we all know how historians love to talk history.
Community Brochure Being Created
    A new community brochure is in the process of being created. The brochure will be available at local business establishments and is intended to promote the community and surrounding areas. We need short descriptive information from any organization or church who would like to be included in the brochure. Please send your submissions to the society or to the Winchester Homeowners Association, P.O. Box 122, Winchester, California 92596-0122. Groups we still need information from, as far as we know, are as follows:
          Winchester Chamber of Commerce                                      Veterans of Foreign Wars
          Veterans of Foreign Wars Lady's Auxiliary                  Winchester United Methodist Church
          Other Churches



"History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."        Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)  

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