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Historical Society signs lease

VISTA — The Vista Historical Society hosted a lease-signing ceremony at historic Rancho Minerva on Jan. 26.
The historic home, located at Foothill Drive and San Clemente Avenue in Vista, will be leased by the Vista Historical Society from the city of Vista.
Built by Nick Huntalas in 1933, the house was a center of social life for the Vista community for several decades. Huntalas, a Greek immigrant, began dry-farming 420 acres of oats and hay in 1909 along what is now busy Foothill Drive. He married Bessie Papsino, also a Greek immigrant, in 1916, and the couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at Rancho Minerva.
The two-story home is comprised of adobe bricks with a white exterior and red tile roof and features an 18-foot-high living room ceiling. Much of the original landscaping design remains as it was when Rancho Minerva was built.
Several photographs and original items from the home were donated to the Vista Historical Society at the annual Christmas Tea hosted by Ted Huntalas, son of Nick and Bessie Huntalas and a lifelong Vista resident.