PAT & CONNIE HUBBARD
REGULAR DIVISION 2023
Pat and Connie Hubbard have been an integral part of Vista’s social fabric and business community for more than 60 years, and they have a deep love for this wonderful town, its people, and its history.
They first met in 1957 at a dance held at the National Guard Armory in what is now the riverwalk area of Vista Village. Pat was working at the Quality Market on Indiana Ave, getting ready for the big move to Shop Smart, which was to be the first supermarket in north San Diego County. Connie was a high school bobbysoxer from Oceanside. When they got married two years later, they elected to stay in Vista and start their family here. And here they remained.
From the beginning, they wanted to involve themselves in what was then a small town of less than 10,000 people. They joined the Lions Club of Vista in 1959 and became two of the youngest members in the entire country; they helped start the Vista Boys & Girls Club; and they built a business - Hubbard’s Meats - that was known as much for its great customer services as for its excellent porterhouse steaks.
In those early days, they shared the commercial landscape with other family-run businesses, such as Dura Paint (Olinger), Peppertree Frosty (Villasenor), Paul’s Sporting Goods (Eskanazy), Shclhoup’s Department Store, McDougal’s Drug Store, and Austin’s Jewelers. It was hard to get lost in Vista back then, since the only two streets that mattered were Santa Fe Avenue and Vista Way. They owned the butcher shop for the better part of 40 years, and because it was a full-service market, it gave them a chance to socialize. The people who came into the meat store were friends first, customers second.
When they weren’t working, they traveled extensively. They were always happiest, however, during that last leg of the trip when they were headed back to Vista. It was and remains a hometown that follows you everywhere you go. They loved the climate here, the small-town feel, the Jacaranda trees and the tomato farms. But most of all, they loved the people. They still do.
When they sold the butcher shop in the 1990s, they weren’t ready to retire; so they became realtors, taking special joy in finding young couples their first house. They also increased their community involvement. Connie, for example, joined the Children’s Home Society. She also became a docent at Rancho Buena Vista Adobe, giving tours at what maybe the most interesting house in all of North County.
Perhaps most important, they raised a family of four boys who share their affection for this beautiful town - this city of strawberries and sunshine.
We are all older now. And as the years go by Connie and Pat seem more ingrained than ever in the history of Vista. When I walk behind the Vista Village Pub, I see the city mural painted there, and what of the scenes shows my dad and Grandpa driving an old style meat wagon it makes me so proud not just of them, but of this town. It is nice to live in a place that remembers the people who built it, brought it out of God’s rich earth and made it a postcard for everything right and hopeful about Southern California.
I had occasion recently to look at the current list of Vistans in the Hall of Fame and I was struck by how many of the names were familiar to me names like Amend, Brombacher, Delpy, Fields, Huntalas, McClelland, Mottino, Pinamonti, Rappaport, Shada, and Shadle. These are the people my parents grew up with in some cases learned from. These are the people who, along with my mom and dad, always said “yes”. They said yes to PTA meetings; yes to coaching basketball and baseball teams; yes the sponsoring food drives to Tijuana; yes to building parks and organizing parades. They would readily put aside their personal interests and do the work necessary to make Vista a great place to live and raise a family.