Pearl - Center for Creative Arts

09/01/2026

Join us at the Murrieta Museum on Saturday, September 12th at 10 a.m. for Part ll Presentation on The War begins and the Southern California Rebellion. By Murrieta Valley Historical Society's President, Jeffery G. Harmon. The Museum is located at 41810 Juniper Street.

08/31/2026

Post Office History Part 3
By Jeffery G. Harmon

The third postmaster was Robert W. Bollen. He served from June 14, 1889 to October 13, 1893. He moved the post office to his Notion Store located on 2nd Ave between B St. and Juniper. The store ad read: “The Post Office Store.”
“Robert W. Bollen came to Murrieta in 1885. He bought 20 acres, built a house, and planted trees and grapes. Mr. Bollen, elected Justice of the Peace in 1889, resigned to serve as postmaster. He was a wagon maker, a merchant, a farmer and a member of the Masons. By 1889, he had the Murrieta Notions Store and announced the opening of a Lodging House.” (Boyce)
Postmaster Bollen resigned as postmaster in October 1893 due to declining health. He died January 14, 1905 in Los Angeles and was buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery. He was a veteran of the Mexican American War.

Source: Murrieta: Old Town, New Town, A Community History by Mary Alice Rail Boyce.

08/22/2026

Every story has a beginning. 🚂

And finding the beginning of our train car took some digging. Thanks to research by Pearl board member Sabine, we now have the original 1927 blueprints!!! …even the interior finishes and inventory specifications.

Though the car would go through many changes over the decades, this was its first draft, so to speak.

Nearly 100 years later, we get to help write its next chapter. 👏👏👏👏👏

08/15/2026

We have the train. We have the story. Now we’re looking for the people who will help us bring it to life. 🚂

The Pearl Center for Creative Arts was named after my great-great-aunt Pearl (1870–1894), who married, moved to Ontario, California, and died of tuberculosis just six months later at only 24 years old.

More than 130 years later, Pearl’s story is still being told.

That’s at the heart of our mission: bringing family history and cultural arts to life.

And now, we’re bringing that mission aboard The Murrieta Train Project.

We’re working to transform a historic 90-foot Union Pacific dining car into a cultural arts center and museum in Murrieta, California—a place where family history, local history, art, storytelling, exhibits, and educational programs can come together.

We have the vision. We have the train. And we’re ready for the next chapter.

Who should I be talking to?

We’re actively seeking donors, philanthropic partners, foundations, and corporate sponsors who are passionate about family history, genealogy, historic preservation, cultural arts, education, and leaving a meaningful legacy for future generations.

Perhaps there’s a Pearl in your family, too—someone whose story deserves to live on.

If this mission speaks to you, or if someone in your network comes to mind, I would love an introduction.

Send me a message, tag someone below, or share this post with someone who might want to help us bring history aboard.

The Murrieta Train Project 🚂
Bringing family history and cultural arts to life.

08/14/2026

🎨 Calling all plein air artists! 🌿

The 19th Annual Ralph Love Plein Air Competition is back! Inspired by the legacy of beloved Temecula artist Ralph Love, this annual competition invites artists to step outside the studio and capture the beauty of Temecula en plein air — painting outdoors and drawing inspiration from select locations throughout the City. 🖌️☀️

Whether you’re a longtime plein air painter or looking for a chance to showcase your artistic talent, we’d love to see what you create!

✨ Register now: TemeculaCA.gov/Register
🎨 Activity #9030.201
📅 Canvases stamped: September 11–25
📍 Temecula Valley Museum | 28314 Mercedes Street
🖼️ Artwork on display: October 9–November 8
🏆 Awards Ceremony: October 24 at 1:00 PM

Registration is required before canvases can be stamped, so don’t wait to secure your spot!

Questions? Contact [email protected]

08/08/2026

🤩Still feeling inspired after Pearl’s first Author Spotlight event 💛

🙏Thank you, Kate Anger, for sharing the story behind The Shinnery and reminding us just how much inspiration can be hiding in our own family histories. And how to bravely write about those discoveries with compassion.

🫶And thank you to everyone who showed up, wrote, shared your one stories, and helped make our first author event so special. THIS is “why” I do what do. I love it.

So here’s to more stories, more creativity, and more Pearl Spotlights to come. ✨

08/08/2026

An interesting article … what do you think? 🤔

When David Pogue received a suspicious email from a man offering to sell his family a scrapbook and photo album that once belonged to his grandmother, he initially suspected a scam. But when the money was sent and the memorabilia arrived, it sent Pogue down a convoluted, eye-opening journey through an online network he hadn’t even known existed: People who find, sell, and collect strangers’ old photos.

The man who’d sold the Pogues their photos, Aaron Turner, is a 43-year-old archivist and digital sleuth in Lexington, Ohio. He pieces together an income from a few different kinds of archivist-related work. One of them involves buying vintage memorabilia, tracking down the descendants of the people in those photos, and then selling the stuff back to them.

Pogue asked Turner if anyone else ever found it a little gross to sell these families’ heirlooms back to them for a price. “I’d say 95 percent of people are happy,” Turner replied. “But yeah, sometimes people are like, ‘Well, why should I pay for something that should be mine anyway?’ They say, ‘You’re taking advantage of us,’ or ‘That’s extortion.’”

But inevitably, he says, some of those people pop up again a couple of weeks later. “They’ll be like, ‘Do you still have that album …?’”

Pogue explores the niche online subculture making money off family memorabilia: https://nymag.visitlink.me/45WwCU

08/08/2026

😍A not-so-subtle reminder at Pennypickle’s Workshop (one of the very places that inspired me to dream up a space of our own for art, history, curiosity, and community)…

💁‍♀️ I’m too impatient and excited to just sit and wait around for the magic to happen. So I make the call. Ask the question. Show up. Help where I can. I believe whole-heartedly in this crazy idea.

And yet sometimes being the magic is hard 😳… moving ONLY one step forward at a time feels tragically slow. But somehow, the light stays on, the magic keeps glowing… and signs like this are like fuel to my soul.

Because I admit it’s hard, you guys….🚂 We’re currently STILL trying to push through the next stage of our city permit application, which—no surprise!—is not exactly cheap. 😅 To be so close and yet still $1,000s short and a fee increase in July… I need help 😬

🎩🪄So if anyone knows a magician whose best trick is making money appear… this would be an excellent time to pull some funding out of a hat and get this show on the railroad. 💰🚂 🙏

🤷‍♀️Until then, Pearl will keep doing what she’s been doing: figuring it out, asking for help, finding the right people, and moving this train forward one step at a time. So grateful for all the support and pushing forward because of it!

🙏And maybe, someone will see this as their own personal sign or calling - and decide to step in and be a bit of the magic that we are missing. ✨🚂

communityarts

08/06/2026

The Murrieta Museum will be open today, Thursday, August 6th from 1-4 p.m. The Museum is located at 41810 Juniper Street.

Photo: FireRescue at the Grain Elevator on March 25, 1987 Gary Whisenand rescuing a boy that fell into the elevator shaft.
Photo by Staff Reporter Kelly Everett.