BajaNomad

Old San Felipe Story 1947 on (Arnold's Del Mar Cafe)...

David K - 3-19-2005 at 12:26 PM

From the San Felipe web site: http://www.sanfelipe.com.mx/articles_stories/articles2002/ca...

I read this a few years ago, and am glad it is still online. I met Arnold (I was a kid) and remember he was a very friendly businessman. It was Arnold that told my parents and I about the Matomi canyon oasis and waterfall, in 1967. He made a note in our Lower California Guidebook map showing where to find it.

Here's the story by Arnold's nephew:

LOOKING BACK TO 1947

Greetings from Fullerton, CA.

I'm a former resident of San Felipe and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is a web page that I can look up information and the latest news! It's like being in touch with that wonderful community that I still feel part of. I want to thank and congratulate you for offering this opportunity to the rest of us to discover or re-discover as in my case, the wonders and achievements of this thriving little town. Allow me to present myself: My name is Alan Rene Camacho- Hellin, I'm presently a full time student at Fullerton College with an intended major in Environmental Analysis and Design.

This is my story:

My family settled in San Felipe in 1947: My grandmother Casey Hellin and my uncle Arnold Hellin (My mother's brother). They both raised my three sisters: Cynthia, Adrianne and Lidiette and myself after the passing of my mother Olga Hellin in 1964, when we went to live with them in San Felipe. Casey and Arnold were very hardworking and entrerprising people; They lived in North Hollywood were my grandfather worked for Universal Studios as a graphic artist before settling in San Felipe. After the onset of the Korean War, my grandmother decided to leave the US to keep my uncle from being drafted (A decision he always regretted, probably because he felt like a deserter) and after very humble beginnings with the opening of the first "Tortilleria" which sold corn tortillas to a population of immigrants of the state of Sonora and the south of Baja that were accustomed to the flour variety of tortillas.

Since they were trendsetters, they continued with the business until it picked up with new arrivals from the state of Sinaloa, where they consumed corn tortillas. In the meantime, Arnold was given a female piglet which he named "Ursula" and that pig grew so big with all the unsold tortillas, that on one morning, when (The low season called "Piojillo") was approaching, my grandmother announced thriumphally: "I got the solution for our economic problems, we're opening a restaurant!". When Arnold asked how she proposed to finance that venture since they didn't have the money, she told Arnold that she had seen in a dream the face of "Ursula" the pig, framed by a spoon and a fork.

Ursula had to be sold, to the dismay of Arnold because she followed him like a dog and recognized his whistle. But a good son as he was, raised within the strict catholic doctrine, he abided his mother's wishes. [I was told that he cried all the way to Mexicali (He was 19 years old)] where Ursula had to be sold. When they got to the place of sale, she refused to got off the truck and worker hit her on the snout with a shovel, breaking her front teeth and sending a gush of blood. Arnold seeing this had to be contained by the two friends that accompanied him from smothering the man!) This were the beginnings of a successful business enterprise: Arnold's Del Mar motel & cafe that for over 24 operated in which nowadays is the site of another successful business: The Rockodile!

Part 2

At the begining grandma Casey Hellin didn't know anything about the restaurant business, but being the entrepenur she was she went around this small pitfall as follows; everytime an american customer asked for a dish she didn't know how to prepare she would tell them " I'm sorry Sir/Madam, our cook is ill today and I don't know how to prepare your order, if you would be so kind as to step into the kitchen and show me how I'll be glad to do so!" the customer would look around at the three or four rickety tables in the place, knowing that she couldn't afford to pay a cook and with a knowing smile would follow grandma to the kitchen and so she would stand right next to the customer and learned the dishes the customer liked!(Pretty savy, don't you think? You can corroborate this story and many more if you vist George Limon at "GEORGE'S",he used to work for grandma's, also ask him for the whereabouts of Mike, another long time colaborator who owns a "campo" just north of town). As a matter of fact, George used "ARNOLD'S CAFE" logo on his menu wich is a Marlin being pulled out of the water and also printed on it a saying my mother Olga Hellin used :"A MEAL WITHOUT WINE IS LIKE A DAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE". Casey Hellin was a great asset for San Felipe, she was in very good standing in the political and business scene both in Mexicali (Where she also had another restaurant called "Los Pericos" on Zaragoza Ave. and "I" street during the 50's to offset the low season in San Felipe, but this story will come later!) She advocated and lobbied for the introduction of potable water in town, also for recognition and better services for the tourist industry by the municipal government, another person you may want to contact for more details about Casey's persona is Tavo Garcia's mother,"Dona Maria" at "Botica Sagrado Corazon" who knew her very well (You can ask Tavo to translate).

It is a shame that very few people recall her name nowadays, mostly because none of her family members have gone to the task to preserve her memory alive,until now. I would really like to see those memories brought to the fore, since they represent a valuable part of San Felipe's history.

MrBillM - 3-19-2005 at 05:35 PM

Having eaten many times at Arnold's over the years, I was sorry to see it go.
I had heard that they were put out of business by the Government because they were resisting losing land to the building of the Malecon. I have no idea what the actual circumstances were. Does anyone have a first hand knowledge ??

It was outside of Arnold's that I first saw a telephone ever inSan Felipe. We came out of the restaurant and here was this pay phone. It was like seeing an alien being. I was told that it was only for local calls within town. There was still only telegraph service to Mexicali and the U.S.

yankeeirishman - 3-22-2005 at 11:42 AM

These old stories are great! Thanks DavidK. MrBillM....what year was it when you saw the telephone?
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
Having eaten many times at Arnold's over the years, I was sorry to see it go.
I had heard that they were put out of business by the Government because they were resisting losing land to the building of the Malecon. I have no idea what the actual circumstances were. Does anyone have a first hand knowledge ??

It was outside of Arnold's that I first saw a telephone ever inSan Felipe. We came out of the restaurant and here was this pay phone. It was like seeing an alien being. I was told that it was only for local calls within town. There was still only telegraph service to Mexicali and the U.S.

What Year ?

MrBillM - 3-22-2005 at 04:32 PM

Good question. Events tend to blur together over the years, so I'm not really sure. It was sometime in the mid-70s.
I made an aborted Dirt Bike run intending to visit a friend at Alfonsinas in Gonzaga in 1976.
That trip aborted when I came over a hill just south of the Sulphur mines and crashed the bike, ripping the carburetor off the side of the engine. We had dinner that night at Arnold's after limping back in to San Felipe.
I had badly strained (thought I had broken) my collarbone and spent that night with my head c-cked to one side against my shoulder. Got a lot of strange looks.
For that reason, that night at Arnolds was memorable, but Quien Sabe ? During that time period Arnold's was about the only place we ever ate in the evening.
I do know that phone service to Mexicali and the U.S. had been established by about 1980/1981 although the only phone that could be trusted to work consistenly was the one outside the Telephone switching office.