Oceanside this year will witness the culmination of 50 years of physical growth. We have seen a modern city developed from the sage brush and uninhabited desert waste. In all of Southern California and especially along the coast we have remained the least spoiled from the ruthless hand of spoiled man as far as natural beauty is concerned. And after all, in a world reeking with the spirit of greed and gain, it is a tribute to the people who have so unselfishly guided the community during the past half-century.

Our best assets, in my opinion, are our natural geographical location and our climate perfection. If we can develop the true beauty that will correlate these advantages there is no finer future ahead of any other city.

If we will, we can establish our region as one of the outstanding seats of culture, beauty and the arts in the modern world. We must not think of Oceanside as confined to our city limits but as an area from which we can serve. We will soon witness the completion of the largest and finest astronomical observatory in the world at our rear door. We have had the Rosicrucian Fellowship for 27 years with students coming here from all over the civilized world. The Franciscan College and Children’s School at San Luis Rey provide learning in the ecclesiastical field of the present day. We must, by all means, retain and support our Junior College and High School system and work hard for its continued healthy growth. These are bone and sinew of our type of community.

Oceanside can logically attract a class of citizenry second to none if we but work hard to that end. We have the right surroundings for the educator, the artists, the musician, the craftsman, the writer and scientists. Our city is quiet, serene and beautiful, far enough away from the roaring city but near enough not to be remote.

One of the pressing needs right now is a convention hall where we can hold assemblages of the very people we wish to attract. Our setting on our magnificent beach is perfect. A percentage of those who come to visit us will want to remain permanently. An auditorium, properly constructed, and large enough to take care of a real convention would be a fine investment right now. Of course, the hall would be readily convertible into a ballroom for dancing, a theatre for production of plays and artistic presentations as well as serving as a hall for games and inside athletic events.

With the passing of the years, we have every right to expect a solid, substantial and steady growth in population. But there are all kinds of people. Oceanside can attain the heights in its own peculiar field if we will but take thought of the morrow. There is nothing to be gained in trying to compete on an industrial basis with the large manufacturing centers. We need a payroll to stimulate local trade that is true, but our payroll can be built from a much different type of production than that commonly accepted. Payroll income does not necessarily have to be derived from a glue factory or stock yards or coal mine. It can flow just as freely from money here and spent here from all over the world.

There is an attachment to Oceanside that grows on a person. It goes beyond pride in showing strangers our hidden jewel of a beach, our splendid street and water system and our rapidly growing business and residential section. I believe it is something that makes us really hate to go to the big city and be forced to stay a while. It is that certain something that makes us want to hurry back home. It is a magnet that draws us all back to our city by the sea “where life is worth living.” It is also in your neighbor’s heart and it is a spirit that amounts almost to fraternalism. May the next succeeding 50 years in Oceanside be eventful, inspiring and tranquil. 

— Ray Wilcox's "Spirit of Oceanside" address in 1938