Virginia Borgen, aka “Chris,” formed Villa Caliente Enterprises in 1968 to sell memorabilia commemorating San Diego’s 200th anniversary and California’s bicentennial, shifting into souvenir production in subsequent years. The business’ main product was miniature replica El Camino Real bells, which were manufactured in Mexico and shipped to its headquarters in La Jolla, California. Borgen corresponded with gift shops and stores all along California’s famous stretch of highway and marketed the bells in connection to California’s history. Villa Caliente Enterprises went out of business in 1979. Villa Caliente Enterprises is representative of Borgen’s entrepreneurial ambition. Borgen handled business correspondence, selected and created the advertisement and promotional materials, kept detailed financial records, collected historical references material that pertained to her merchandise, and organized the international shipping of her product from Mexico to several California sites. The collection consists of Ms. Borgen’s business records for Villa Caliente Enterprises. This includes receipts and bills for most of the years the business was in operation, as well as a list of buyers. Additionally, the collection contains various correspondences pertaining to its day-to-day operations, including manufacturing, shipping, and customer relations. Promotional correspondences and advertisement materials, such as ad mock-ups, historical reference material, photos, and original ink sketches/photographs by artist Richard McConagy, are also included. Finally, the collection contains supplemental research on the Camino Real's history from Max Kurillo, a local historian.