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Just As It Was...and Still Is
May/June 2018
By Jokie Tolentino
Many San Diegans, especially backcountry residents recognize the virtually unchanged Santa Ysabel Store at the crossroads of highways 78 and 79. When visitors first enter the general store, which SOHO restored inside and out, colorful and appealing merchandise catches the eye. Then they spot many antique items lining the upper shelves, adding more to the old-time charm.
Hanging on the north wall near the front door are six original Santa Ysabel calendars. For businesses like the Santa Ysabel Store, calendars served as a year-long advertisement and business card. These historic calendars were donated to SOHO by the J.R. McDaniel family, who owned and operated the store during the 1940's and 1950's.
 The Santa Ysabel Store as it looks today |
 The store's dazzling cowgirl calendar from 1955 |
 A restored light fixture, original to the store |
 The Howe scale for weighing feed |
 Historic mailboxes now hold small merchandise. |
Suspended above the center-aisle display table is an original gas light fixture from the 1890's when the store first opened. SOHO has restored, electrified, and displayed this piece in a prominent spot as well as provided a period appropriate shade.
The feed store side of the buildings holds the original Howe scale, used to weigh oats, grain and other feed products. Patented in January 1870, the Howe scale was most likely manufactured by the Brandon Manufacturing Company in Brandon, Vermont and installed by D.L. Hoover.
In both the main store and the feed store where today antiques and vintage goods are sold, visitors notice two c. 1900 rustic redwood pieces of furniture, secretary style with numerous cubbyholes; these are the original mailboxes from the Santa Ysabel post office. When the post office operated within the store, it was located in a small enclosed area at the front. As the number of Santa Ysabel residents grew, so did their mail. By the 1950's, the post office had outgrown its small space and had moved across the street, where a realty office is now located.
Today, visitors can shop, have a friendly game of checkers, and enjoy the ambiance that these original pieces add to the authentic experience of the Santa Ysabel Store.
Photos by Jokie Tolentino
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