The Lemon Grove Historical Society takes pleasure in announcing the election of its new president, Roberta Bulling, whose wide-ranging interests and professional skills bode well for the growth of Lemon Grove’s leading cultural institution. Bulling will hold office through May 31 when elections for new board members will be held.
Bulling was born in Pasadena and grew up in Arcadia, where seeing the Rose Parade in person was an annual New Year’s Day event for her family. Her parents instilled a love of music and reading in all four of their children.
Her widowed mother moved the family to Costa Mesa in 1962. After graduating from Costa Mesa High School, Roberta studied at San Francisco State College, ultimately completing her education at San Diego State College with a B.A. in fine arts and humanities, and an M.A. in education.
In 1969 Roberta married Chilean immigrant Pedro Bulling. The bilingual couple raised three children in Spring Valley and Lemon Grove, residing in the latter since 1978. All of their children attended Lemon Grove schools and graduated from Mt. Miguel High School, where they each played instruments in the band and orchestra. Family history came full circle when one daughter had the honor of marching with the Mt. Miguel Matador Band in the Rose Parade.
Roberta taught English as a second language and basic reading skills to adults for 22 years in the Sweetwater Union High School District’s Adult Education Division. For 16 years she taught several grades, as well as reading in English and Spanish in the Chula Vista Elementary School District.
As a teacher and volunteer for Laubach Literacy, she has taught reading skills to students ranging from pre-kindergarten to senior adults.
She led the creation of “Mariposa Lane,” the delightful butterfly and floral mural painted by art students at Literacy First Charter High School and her Bahá’i Junior Youth Group to connect the Golden Avenue Extension and Camino de las Palmas neighborhoods. The project exemplifies her interests in the visual and performing arts, and promoting culture and education to help build community.
