Down the Rabbit Hole: the Women of Talmadge #1 - Part 2

Since I last wrote about Mrs. Staggs, I have discovered a picture of her and a rendering of the Talmadge Tavern she owned and operated. These two photos are from November 7, 1926, San Diego Union Newspaper. I have also included an aerial photo from 1930 that shows a close up photo of the Tavern at the corner of Monroe Avenue and 44th Street. The original stone wall in this early photograph still exists today.

In addition to finding these photos, I also did some additional digging into Alma’s first marriage and two sons from that union. The findings were just as amazing as the first story I wrote about her.

Alma Gosselin (23) was married to Bernard Shackelford (20) in 1902, in Jackson, MO. They had two children, Alexander Bernard Shackelford, and Romaine Manuel Shackelford. Her husband, Bernard, was a telephone operator. By the 1910 U.S. Census, Alma and Bernard were no longer living together. He appears to have changed his name and married someone else in 1912.

Sadly, their oldest son, Alexander, died in 1918 of diphtheria. He was only 14 years old. Diphtheria was a common and often fatal childhood disease at that time.

Her second son, Romaine, followed in his mother’s footsteps and was a well-known San Diego restaurateur. He owned the Golden Lion in downtown San Diego, Romaine’s at 740 Broadway and Top’s Nightclub (Mel Torme and Dean Martin performed there). He also managed the Starlight Roof Restaurant at the El Cortez Hotel downtown in the mid-1950s.

Picture from the San Diego Union, August 7, 1958.

In 1962 he opened a Mexican restaurant called Romaine’s Restaurant Mexicano. This restaurant still exists at the corner on Taylor and Juan Streets in Old Town. Today it is called Casa Guadalajara.

Picture from San Diego Union, December 8, 1962

Once again, Alma has another example of tragedy followed by success. She was a battered woman who lost both her Talmadge Tavern to fire and her oldest son to diphtheria, yet she found love again in her 70s and her second son became one of San Diego’s most prominent restaurateurs for over 3 decades. The impact of Romaine Shackelford’s success is still experienced in San Diego today. Thank you Alma!