St. James Hall Gets a Fresh Coat of Paint

Did you know that this beautiful structure was once the local USO? Back in the 1940’s the military realized they needed a place for the young men serving up at Camp Callan and the local community to meet socially. I wonder how many young couples got their start here at 776 Eads?

The building was purchased by St. James by the Sea and was used for many years for church activities such as youth group, receptions and the famous “White Elephant” sale that La Jollans still look forward to each year!

[slider_pro id=”6″]I have particularly fond memories of this structure. I helped my mom, Ellen, back when she chaired the White Elephant sale….she would often ask: “Honey, would you mind going over to so and so’s house and picking up a sofa for me sweetheart”. I built up a lot of muscle due to that annual sale! We also used to have a huge youth group meeting in the main room every Wednesday night with lots of spaghetti and then discussions…it was the best!  We even celebrated my parents (Tom and Ellen Peek) 50th wedding anniversary with 200 people here.

We painted it in 1986, back when it still had the original siding and windows from when built. Sometime in the 1990’s the structure was extensively updated inside and out. We got the fun project of re-painting the remodeled structure in 2007,  both inside and out, to give it a fresh new look it has today.

Recently around 2010, the facility was leased by the church to an event coordinator who named it “The Cuvier Club” to service weddings and other receptions.