Wheeler, Lucy. Interview, 2023-04-02

Segment Synopsis: Interview of Lucy Wheeler by Tanis Brown and Charlie Colladay, April 28, 2023. Interview conducted at San Marcos Historical Society.

Segment Synopsis: Wheeler discusses moving to San Marcos after retirement at the age of 80 and discovering photography through classes at Palomar College. Wheeler also touches on what she did before retirement, and how she discovered her “gift of gab,” especially for interviewing others, through going to back to school at Nazarene College.

Keywords: Nazarene College; photography; Palomar College

Segment Synopsis: Wheeler discusses in more detail her coursework in photography and her return to college which she illuminates through an encounter at a skate park. Wheeler also discusses the art of interviewing in further detail, and recounts a lesson she learned along those lines from a photography class.

Keywords: Sam Hodgins; interviewing; skate parks; photography

Segment Synopsis: Wheeler discusses her concept behind her business card which states, “Connecting the dots,” and idea that originated from a man who worked with dementia patients and helped them connect the dots to their pasts.

Keywords: memory; dementia

Segment Synopsis: Wheeler discusses her work for a medical laboratory in 1965, and how she learned to view and love technology as a tool. Wheeler ties those lessons to what carried her through the pandemic.

Keywords: Control Data; Covid-19 pandemic; Sperry Rand

Segment Synopsis: Wheeler recounts being raised on a farm and San Diego County’s farming conditions. Wheeler outlines where her interest in documenting local farms arose during the pandemic, and discusses some of the para-farms’ farmers that she’s interviewed.

Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic; Joe Rodriguez; Neil Nagata; Primavera Orchard; Rodriguez Farm; San Diego Food System Alliance; Susan Cupaiuolo; Yasukochi Farm; cherimoya farming; family farms; para-farms

Segment Synopsis: Wheeler discusses the insights she’s learned about oral history and conducting a successful interview.

Keywords: research; oral history

Segment Synopsis: Wheeler elaborates on her plans to expand her oral history work to look towards the future of San Diego farming, her “energy budget,” and her priorities for her future. Wheeler wraps up by discussing what she has learned about using her “gift of gab.”

Keywords: future of farming; San Diego Food Alliance