Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

BETSY J. GREEN PRESENTES 2026 ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATION OF SANTA BARBARA SPRING LECTURE

The charming historic mansion of the American Institute of Architects Santa Barbara Chapter on Victoria welcomed members and guests to the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara Spring 2026 Lecture presented by author Betsy J. Green, who shared her experiences researching not only the history of historic houses but also the unique history of the family living in each home and sometimes forgotten secrets.

Her lecture was filled with valuable information on implementing the bevy of resources available to unfold the mystery of a home’s fascinating history, and included helpful listings with easy-to-use contact references for making a home history search complete with as little stress as possible. There are specific city directories, census records, vital records, voter registrations, and more available to make a home history search complete and during the lecture the author of “Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood” generously shared countless valuable short cuts to assist anyone on their home history quest.

Learning who lived in your home, finding visual clues like old photos in Online Newspapers, learning who the architect was or who built your house and collecting historic information through recommended research sources or through actual contact with former home owners or their descendants seems like it could be as much fun as unraveling all the details of a great mystery novel. “Thanks to the internet, it is now easier than ever to follow the paper trail and the people t rail for delving into a home’s history,” said Green.

The Q&A offered guests an opportunity to request specific information from the author, who shared facts on her first house search details in the Chicago area through some unique recent searches she has assisted on. Audience members appreciated details on locations of the organizations in Santa Barbara where they could obtain the specific history facts they required. Following the lecture guests were invited to mingle over refreshments on the patio, and visits with the author, attending members Rick Closson, Tom Jacobs, and additional attending AIA, and AHSB board members.

Betsy J. Green is a former staff editor of World Book Encyclopedia and associate editor of Reader’s Digest. She is a noted house historian who has been researching and writing about house histories for over ten years. She has taught house history research at adult educational programs throughout the Chicago area and has written nominations to list buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. She also gives presentations at libraries, historical societies and community groups. Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood is one of the Betsy J. Green Way Back When series of 14 books she has authored. Currently she also contributes regularly to several local news publications. For additional information or book purchase information Visit: www.betsyjgreen.com.

The Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara offers walking tours to experience the history of Santa Barbara’s past architecture in a unique and personal way, focusing on style, significant and historic buildings, aesthetics, past and present building usage, landscape and overall history. The tours are weekly year-round, and last two hours with a donation of $20 (children under 12 are free. Please go to site for details). For additional information please contact the Architectural Foundation at visit www.afsb.org.

6. Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood by Betsy J. Green

On Christmas Eve, the Trump administration quietly changed the rules that formally define what a postmark is and when it is applied (1). Under the new rule, the official postmark date reflects the first date the mail was automatically processed, not the date it was dropped in a mailbox. (2)

While this may seem like a small change, it could have a significant impact on important documents that rely on the mailing process, such as tax payments, voting ballots, or bills. Previously, whenever you mailed a letter, you could trust that the post office would give it an official date stamp reflecting the day the piece of mail was received.

JOE DELISE SHARES THE DETAILS ON “THE SHOCKING HISTORY OF ELECTRICITY IN SANTA BARBARA” AT SANTA BARBARA MISSION ARCHIVE-LIBRARY

Joe DeLise, Father Jack Clark Robinson, OFM, Executive Director SB Mission Archive-Library, and Sally Russell welcome guests to the SBMAL Series (Photos: Bonnie Carroll)

Have you ever wondered what Santa Barbara was like before electricity came to our city? Well, during a talk at Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library on “The Shocking History of Electricity in Santa Barbara,” Joe DeLise shared all the fascinating details on how and when Santa Barbara went from flickering gas lamps to electrical streetlights overnight.

A large crowd of interested community members and City of Santa Barbara history buffs gathered at

the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library on Laguna Street recently to enjoy the historic presentation shared by Joe DeLise on one of the most important modern miracles to positively affect Santa Barbara area businesses and residences. His detailed and very interesting talk was supported by countless articles from early news publications containing quotes of leaders of the day, as well as his colorized historic photo display. The series also included a break with refreshments and conversation happened, followed by a Q&A where knowledge on the subject was enjoyed by all.

During the Q&A DeLise was asked how long his preparation took for the series talk and how he joined the series talks at the Mission. According to DeLise “In 2022 I was encouraged by the late writer, historian Erin Graffy and her brother Neal Graffy, to pursue my interest in preparing and presenting a talk on the story of Santa Barbara electricity, with my colorized historical photos, and although it took some time I am delighted to have the opportunity to share the information I’ve created at this special series in the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library and greatly appreciate the encouragement I was given by two community members I respected so much.”

The well researched presentation, which was done with the assistance of DeLise’s partner Sally Russell, a professional editor and journalist, complete with colorized historic photos highlighting the brilliance offorward-thinking civic leaders like Charles Fernand and Walter Hawley, who changed the history of Santa Barbara on one foggy night in 1887, and where the 1901 power plant next to the Banos Del Mar complex became a “Pleasure Pier” complete with heated swimming pools. Back history on the locations of these first electric power plants and how they produced electrical magic on specific locations from the very beginning was shared, as well as early service problems they encountered, the cost of service and inventive methods implemented to address customer service problems in the early days were also addressed.

This was truly a fun and informative afternoon learning about the history of electricity in Santa Barbara, presented by Joe DeLise, a New Yorker for most of his life who instantly fell in love with Santa Barbara when he moved here in 2021. He spends much of his spare time learning the history of the area and “colorizing” old photos of the Mission, which you may have seen on the local website EDHAT.

Father Jack Clark Robinson, OFM Executive Director of SBMAL displays historic Mission DeLise colorized photo donated to the SB Mission Archive-Library during rhe Q&A.

Father Jack Clark Robinson, OFM Executive Director of SBMAL, who moderated the afternoon lecture, displayed a stunning Joe De Lise colorized photo of the historic Old Santa Barbara Mission that was donated to the Mission for display in the SBMAL collection. Father Jack also shared the upcoming series schedule for events through August 2026, which will include a presentation by Joan Coda, who will share details on two decades of behind-the-scenes stories relating to the Old Santa Barbara Mission Gift Shop.

Mary Louise Days, consulting historian, researcher, author, Past President of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, and current SBMAL Board Member congratulated Joe DeLise on his presentation.

As a valuable member of EQ25.org Steering Committee Joe DeLise created and donated the official colorized postcards for Earthquake 25 commemorative 100^th celebrations held throughout Santa Barbara during April and July 2025 leading up to the final event at the Old Mission commemorating those who were lost in the great quake on June 29, 1925. Last month the www.EQ25.org steering committee members were presented with a recognition certificate by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation at their annual awards presentation in the Santa Barbara Presidio.

Joe DeLise also enjoys photography, cooking, playing and teaching backgammon. In his former life, Joe was on the packaging & purchasing side of the cosmetics business, where he had the opportunity to travel internationally for companies such as L’Oréal and Unilever. For additional Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library series information please visit: www.sbmal.org.