Guide to the White Deer Memorial Collection
MS 32
San Diego History Center Document Collection
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA, 92101
619-232-6203
January 10, 2017
Title: White Deer Memorial Collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 32
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.25 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1975-1979
Abstract: This is a collection of material retained by artist Margaret Price regarding the death of the beloved white deer of Mission
Hills in 1975, and records of the memorial established after its death.
creator:
Price, Margaret
Biographical / Historical Notes
Margaret Rose Taylor Price (1911-1992) was a local San Diego artist. Married to Herbert Price, she was the founding president
of the “Allied Craftsmen” art movement, and was involved in converting Spanish Village in Balboa Park to an artists’ enclave
after it was released by the Navy at the close of WWII. In the late 1970s, she became a part of the San Diego Museum of Art’s
project to conduct a series of oral histories with prominent San Diego artists and architects. She taught ceramics at San
Diego State University and the San Diego Museum of Art.
“Lucy” the white fallow doe was born in the San Diego Zoo. The zoo was overpopulated with deer at the time, so she was sold
along with a buck to an individual in Mission Hills. The deer soon escaped their confines. The buck was never seen again,
but Lucy became a local celebrity for the next 10 years. On Dec. 13, 1975, animal control received many calls about Lucy trying
to cross busy Taylor Street. She was shot with a tranquilizer dart by animal regulation officer Paul Coplin, and later died
due to an adverse reaction. After Lucy’s death, the public was outraged and an investigation was put into effect on the officer
who fired the deadly shot. Citizens raised over $800 for a memorial for the doe. A year later a monument was dedicated to
Lucy at Inspiration Point in Presidio Park. Designed by Charles Faust, the monument is three native rocks near a shallow drinking
pool.
Scope and Content
This is a collection of material retained by artist Margaret Price regarding the death of the beloved white deer of Mission
Hills in 1975, and records of the memorial established after its death. Materials include reports, correspondence, and petitions.
They document the activities of the officers involved in the shooting of the doe and a timeline of its death, letters from
community members expressing their anguish, and local efforts to establish the memorial.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by material type and subject.
Related Archival Materials
SB 28 Margaret Price White Deer Scrapbook
Preferred Citation
White Deer Memorial Collection, MS 32, San Diego History Center Document Archives, San Diego, CA.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Samantha Mills on January 10, 2017.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bates, Jim
Coplin, Paul
DiGrazia, Art
Miller, Judy
Mission Hills (San Diego, Calif.)
Presidio Park
White Deer Memorial
Box-folder 1:1
Official Reports and Correspondence,
1975 December 15 - 1975 December 29
Includes:
Necropsy, Officer Coplin’s statement, and letters regarding reports between Supervisor Jim Bates, the Chief Administrative
Officer, and the Director of Animal Control.
Box-folder 1:2
Correspondence: Condolences and Memorial Donations,
1975-1976
Box-folder 1:3
Correspondence: Condolences and Memorial Donations,
1975-1977
Box-folder 1:4
Correspondence: White Deer Memorial,
1976
Box-folder 1:5
Envelopes and Contact Cards: Memorial Planning and Donations,
1975-1976
Box-folder 1:6
Notebook: Memorial Planning ,
1976
Box-folder 1:7
Petitions for resignation of Paul Coplin,
1975
Box-folder 1:8
Petitions for resignation of Paul Coplin (copies),
1975
Box-folder 1:9
Newsletters: San Diego County Humane Society,
1975
Box-folder 1:10
Documents re: Coplin vs. Copley Press lawsuit,
1979
