Poway

Images of America: California

by Jeff Figler

The area that would become Poway was once the roaming grounds of the Diegueno and Luiseno Indians, several hundred years before the appearance of the Spaniards. It was also a pasturing place for mission stock, a ranch area for adventurous white settlers, a potential railroad stop that never materialized, and today is a diversified, thriving "city in the country" located within San Diego County. The story of Poway is one of many cultures, of many changes, and of many triumphs. Today it is a very desirable city in which to live, raise families, and send children to school; it is home to about 57,000 residents glad to have found the pleasures of living in Poway.

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2007

About the author

Jeff has authored over 600 published articles about sports, pop culture and historical/presidential collecting. He is a former sports columnist for the St. Louis Dispatch, STL Today, and has written for the San Diego Union-Tribune. In addition, his articles appear regularly in SportsBusiness Journal, Basketball Times, The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles, Collectors Journal, Sports Collectors Digest, and other magazines in the collectibles field. He has been the Collectibles Editor for Hall of Fame Media and has been a syndicated radio talk show host through Sports Byline, heard by millions of people in 173 countries on the American Forces Network. Jeff is also a popular presenter for Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

Jeff is also a Professionally Certified Sports Memorabilia Appraiser, and is affiliated with the Appraisers Association of America (AAA).

Jeff is also a world-class collector. He and his wife, Linda started the Figler Museum, a part of the Figler Foundation, in 2006. The Figler Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization benefiting research for the treatment of cancer, heart disease, speech and hearing disorders, as well as youth-related medical conditions.

Some items in the Figler Museum are a Honus Wagner baseball card (considered the “Holy Grail” of sports cards); the Action comics #1, the comic book in which Superman first appeared in June 1938; the spectacles worn by John Lennon on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album; the original script of the film Casablanca; and a handwritten letter by every U.S. president from George Washington to Barack Obama, including a rare William Henry Harrison.

Jeff and his wife live in San Diego, St. Louis, and Bearsted, England.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hundreds of years of Kumeyaay-Ipai people living in this valley and you devote five pictures and a tiny paragraph. Not a single person of color in any other photos. This book is a history of White Poway.

[Micah Siegmund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting backstory on Poway, although it seemed limited to more recent development at the expense of going deeper on Native American history of the area.