Fifty years ago, R. Buckminster Fuller obtained the patent for his most famous invention’ the geodesic dome, and this month the U.S. Postal Service will issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the legendary American inventor, architect, engineer, designer, geometrician, cartographer and philosopher. Fuller lived in the Palisades from the late ’70s until his death in 1983. Fuller’s papers are archived at Stanford University, where the first-day-of-issue ceremony will be held on Fuller’s birthday, July 12. Hailed as ‘one of the greatest minds of our times,’ Fuller was renowned for his comprehensive perspective on the world’s problems,’ said Anita Bizzotto, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, U.S. Postal Service, who will dedicate the stamp. Scheduled to join Bizzotto at the ceremony are Fuller’s daughter, Palisadian Allegra Fuller Snyder, professor emerita, Dance and Dance Ethnology at the UCLA, and Dr. Buzz Aldrin, astronaut, Gemini 12 and Apollo 11, among others. “What excites me is the opportunity to introduce many new people to him and get them asking questions about who he was and why he deserves a postage stamp,” said Fuller Snyder, a Palisades resident since 1963, whose parents were frequent visitors to the Palisades before moving here themselves. “He really felt that we had the know-how and the technology to really make life better for all humanity,’ she said. ‘He talked about doing more and more with less and less. He felt that the trends were possible in so many directions, that we had the tools and material to build a lightweight and inexpensive home that would provide more than adequate real shelter for people. Most of the issues that are central now’energy, sustainability, education’he explored very early on. He tried to urge us to know about them, when people weren’t paying attention to them at all.” The stamp artwork is a painting of Fuller by Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965). The painting, which originally appeared on the cover of Time magazine on Jan. 10, 1964, depicts Fuller’s head in the pattern of a geodesic dome. Geodesic domes and a number of his other inventions surround Fuller, including the Dymaxion Car, the 4D Apartment House and several objects and models that reflect the geometric and structural principles he discovered. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, in 1895, Richard Buckminster Fuller belonged to a family noted for producing strong individualists inclined toward activism and public service. ‘Bucky,’ as he came to be called, developed an early understanding of nature during family excursions to Bear Island, Maine, where he also became familiar with the principles of boat maintenance and construction. Fuller served in the U.S. Navy from 1917 to 1919, where he demonstrated an aptitude for engineering. He invented a winch for rescue boats that could pull airplanes out of the ocean in time to save the lives of pilots. Because of the invention, Fuller was nominated to receive officer training at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he further developed his abilities. In 1926, when Fuller’s father-in-law, James Monroe Hewlett, developed a new way of manufacturing reinforced concrete buildings, he and Fuller patented the invention together, earning Fuller the first of his 25 patents. Fuller’s lifelong interests included using technology to revolutionize construction and improve housing. He designed the Dymaxion House, an inexpensive, mass-produced home that could be airlifted to its location; the Dymaxion Car, a streamlined, three-wheeled automobile that could make extraordinarily sharp turns; a compact, prefabricated, easily installed Dymaxion Bathroom; and Dymaxion Deployment Units (DDUs), mass-produced houses based on the silo shape. The word ‘dymaxion’ was coined by store advertisers and trademarked in Fuller’s name. Based on the words ‘dynamic,’ ‘maximum’ and ‘ion,’ it became a part of the name of many of Fuller’s subsequent inventions. In 1927, Fuller made a now-prophetic sketch of the total earth which depicted his concept for transporting cargo by air ‘over the pole’ to Europe. He entitled the sketch ‘a onetown world.’ In 1946, Fuller received a patent for another breakthrough invention: the Dymaxion Map, which depicted the entire planet on a single flat map without visible distortion of the relative shapes and sizes of the continents. After 1947, the geodesic dome dominated Fuller’s life and career. Lightweight, cost-effective and easy to assemble, geodesic domes enclose more space without intrusive supporting columns than any other structure, efficiently distribute stress, and can withstand extremely harsh conditions. Based on Fuller’s ‘synergetic geometry,’ his lifelong exploration of nature’s principles of design, the geodesic dome was the result of his revolutionary discoveries about balancing compression and tension forces in building. Fuller applied for a patent for the geodesic dome in 1951 and received it in 1954. Beginning in the late 1960s, Fuller was especially involved in creating World Game, a large-scale simulation and series of workshops he designed that used a large-scale Dymaxion Map to help humanity better understand, benefit from, and more efficiently utilize the world’s resources. After being spurned early in his career by the architecture and construction establishments, Fuller was later recognized with many major architectural, scientific, industrial, and design awards, both in the United States and abroad, and he received 47 honorary doctorate degrees. In 1983, shortly before his death, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, with a citation acknowledging that his ‘contributions as a geometrician, educator and architect-designer are benchmarks of accomplishment in their fields.’ Stamps will be available at U.S. Post Offices throughout the country commencing July 13.

”Liz Armstrong, a member of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), will speak at the Palisades AARP meeting on Wednesday, July 14 at 2 p.m. in the Palisades Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. The public is invited and refreshments will be served. ”Armstrong, a native of Los Angeles, has lived in Pacific Palisades since 1970. She married Chuck Armstrong in 1948 and they raised three children. Their gay son, Jeff, died in 1993. ‘Having a gay family member and getting to know many gays and lesbians brought our family profound understanding,’ said Armstrong. As a member of PFLAG since 1990, she has experience that includes board membership and speaking in Los Angeles schools and colleges. ”Armstrong’s community service has included the League of Women Voters of L.A. since 1957; the L.A. City Planning Commission, 1968-1973; L.A. City Board of Airport Commissioners, 1973-1984; Town Hall of California; and Palisades Parents Together. ”The meeting will also feature musician and dancer Ellen McFadden. ” Chapter spokesperson Byrna Holtzman would like to remind Palisades residents that the local AARP chapter ‘is related to the national organization relative to its rules and regulations, but has its own board of directors and plans its own programs. We charge $10 a year for membership, but reduce the fee to $5 from July to the end of the year. The national AARP has its own membership charge and gives you a membership card.’ ”’All indviduals 50 or older are eligible for membership,’ Holtzman continued. ‘Our chapter meetings are diverse in nature, with special lectures, entertainment, local community leaders discussing local problems and agencies providing helpful information. ”’We also offer affordable and interesting day trips every three months which have proven to be very popular.’ ”

The Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce invites residents to enjoy huge discounts at participating stores and restaurants during the 7th Annual Village-Wide Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, July 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ”’Walk throughout the village and delight in the ocean breeze and friendly atmosphere while exploring hidden treasures,’ suggested event co-chairs Roy Robbins of Roy Robbins Gifts & Stationery and Denise Martinez of Boca. ”The sale offers visitors an opportunity to browse through the eclectic shopping community and find anything from ladies’ sportswear, men’s wear, formal evening wear, lingerie, vintage clothing, children’s clothes and toys, antiques from around the world, eye wear, cosmetics, books, gift shops, ceramics and jewelry created by local artists. ”Businesses promoting this popular event include: ”American Cancer Society/The Discovery Shop; Bentons The Sport Shop; Boca Man; Boca Woman; Collections Antiques; Elyse Walker; Fernworks; Gift Garden Antiques; Intima Lingerie; Ivy Greene for Kids; Jane De Lys; Marc Michel Eyewear; The Nest Egg; Paliskates; The Prince’s Table; Quiznos Subs; Roy Robbins Gifts & Stationery; and Terri’s Caf’

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Arnie Wishnick spent the week before the Fourth of July parade answering callers, most of whom wanted to know if the parade would actually take place on a Sunday. So when he got a call from a new resident asking if there was anything happening on the Fourth and where she could go to see it, he was refreshingly amused. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘where do you live?’ ‘On Toyopa,’ she answered. ‘I don’t think you’ll have to go anywhere,’ Arnie said. ‘Just open your curtains about 8:30 in the morning and you’ll see about 3,000 runners streak by, and then about 3, you’ll see marching bands, twirling batons and pups on parade.’ ‘What a great town I live in,’ she marveled’an exclamation that punctuates attitudes about the parade all along the route, from newcomers and veteran flagwavers alike. This ebullience is the result of an easy formula. It’s the beat. The beat of the drums, whether from military cadets, Highlanders or bands, sets the pace for all the parade participants as they make their way from Via de la Paz to the Palisades Recreation Center. The beat activates the flag teams, the dogwalkers and provides a flourish for the politicians and organization leaders as they are introduced along the way. This year there were 21 musical groups including six drum-and-bugle teams. We all love to sing along with the patriotic brass, but these drum-and-bugle teams, which customarily focus on field shows, brought a style of marching and stance that is quite different from the traditional marching bands. Decidedly not Sousa, these instrumentalists favor a jazzy contemporary sound choreographed with twirling, hurling banner stunts. ” When the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps, dressed in their purple Samurai visors and flanked by a flag team draped in shades of saffron and moss green, stopped to catch their breath, the crowd shouted for more music and banner gymnastics. For the parade watchers, the music is a big part of the party. Indeed, Omar and Mildred Salmassy received an extra special serenade for their 50th anniversary, which they were celebrating on the lawn in front of their house on Toyopa. One band broke off from the route, crowded onto their grass and executed a riotous drum salute for the couple, who have lived in the Palisades since 1967. The ranks of our own local Oom PaPa Band swelled this year to a record size. Thirty-one musicians plus marchers and flag bearers brought the total to 50. Once again, this was a family affair, with fathers and sons playing together and longtime children-turned adults like Martin Hudson participating. Hudson has been playing trombone in the band since high school and is now married with children. Tasha Wenger-Bialer didn’t miss the gig, her 7th, despite having baby Boris just two months ago. She taught herself to play the alto sax and participates in other bands around L.A. Spoiled by the constant beat, we only regret the dry spells that occurred throughout the parade. Coordinating and maneuvering large bands is a strategic challenge. We understand this, but recommend that next year the musical groups be staggered evenly throughout the lineup. The bagpipers, for instance, were bunched together at the start of the parade, and just when you wanted music to help entertain you when the parade came to a halt, there was none. With all the red, white and blue outfits and the colorful music, the parade reached a high mark Sunday afternoon, and now we have 51 weeks to think about next year’s parade and how we can make it even better.