Yes Virginia, there is a Valley Center and it even has a little community news

From Robert Lerner, Valley Center Historian

Rainmaker exhibit opens at Valley Center Museum

Valley Center rainmaker Charles Hatfield in action.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of torrential rains and floods that nearly destroyed Valley Center and other parts of North County, the Valley Center History Museum has mounted a major exhibition titled “The Rainmaker” after the local man who was credited and later blamed for the destructive storms.

Multiple photos and memorabilia document the rains which fell during most of January 1916. In Valley Center alone, an avalanche of water isolated the community for two months, forcing supplies and food to be shipped by barge from Oceanside.

Charles Hatfield, who came to be known as the rainmaker, had a home and weather station in Valley Center at Woods Valley and Valley Center roads from where he concocted a brew of 23 chemicals which vaporized into the air after being released from a cauldron set atop a 20-foot tower.  He employed similar techniques at other sites. He died in January 1958, taking his secret formula to the grave.

The History Museum at 29200 Cole Grade Road is open  from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free.  For more information, visit www.vchistoryorg or call (760) 749-2993.  The exhibit will remain on view throughout 2016.

Dos valley Garden Club members in action.

From Sharon Grant, Dos Valles Garden Club

Garden Club talk on roses is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 12

Dos Valles Garden Club will present a talk by Gary Bulman, president of the San Diego Rose Society, on pruning roses and some new varieties that grow well in our area.

Bulman has been a member of the SDRS for more than 30 years and a member of the San Diego Master Gardener Association. He was bitten by the rose bug while living in Poway, and his move to Escondido allowed him to expand his rose collection to 300 roses.

Visitors to the annual San Diego County Fair Flower and Garden Show have seen many of Bulman’s winning roses displayed over the years. He is a consulting rosarian and, as such, helps novice growers increase their knowledge of rose horticulture.

Presentation begins at 10 a.m., followed by the club’s general meeting. The public is welcome to attend the monthly meetings of Dos Valles Garden Club, held the second Tuesday of most months at the St. Stephen Community Hall, 31020 Cole Grade Road in Valley Center.