EDITORIAL: The Destruction of American History...Are there any Lines Left to Draw?

UPDATE 9/14/2017: The "Destroy American History" movement continues unabated. As I originally predicted in this article, it would not be long before the venerated Fr. Junipero Serra of Alta California colonial history would be the next to be destroyed. See the section in this article below titled "Spanish Colonial Era Worship Must End".  For more information on Mission San Luis Obispo, reference this article. On La Purisima Concepcion, reference this article. 

On September 12, 2017, the familiar statue of Saint Serra which appears at most of the 21 California missions has been decapitated and defaced with red paint, and sadly covered over with a black burka sack. You can read about the article in the SLO Tribune by clicking here. Most historical statues scattered around America have gone largely unnoticed by the public, until this criminal movement to destroy them got started. I hope that others love history as I do, whether deemed "good" or "bad", and want images of our past preserved. Otherwise, how are we different from the Taliban and ISIS, who destroyed ancient and amazing works of historical art during their brutal occupations, never to be seen again by the world? Those in the "destruction" business would not appear to have a moral compass to consult. Sad indeed.

Above: Putting in a new adobe floor at La Purisima in the "Master Weavers Quarters". What an honor for me to touch California history.

CALIFORNIA: La Purisima "Blue Willow" China from Mission Era Discovered!

*****UPDATE 12/5/2017: OPEN HOUSE AT HEARST CASTLE! We got the opportunity to attend the annual holiday Open House at Hearst Castle at the invitation of our son James. We were able to casually stroll around the ground floor of the main "Castle" building, which includes the main kitchen and the grand dining room. Both of these areas provided the opportunity to photograph Phoebe Hearst's Blue Willow "China". After writing this article, I was extremely excited to view these china patterns for myself. The 2 photos are below - enjoy.  

Figure A: Hearst Castle Kitchen display of their Blue Willow China. It can't be seen in the photo, but there is a glass pane separating us "tourists" from the China, so we can't touch it or get an "up close" photo of it. 

Figure B: I was able to get a bit closer to the Blue Willow setting in the enormous dining hall. I was still 6 or 8 feet away from it, and could only get this marginal photo with bad lighting. Likely that this particular Blue Willow China from "Gilman Collamore" of New York was made in the 1920's. Note that this version of Blue Willow is both scalloped and gold-trimmed!