1946 Rabbi Yerachmiel and Rachel Loebel

(Editor’s note: In this ongoing series, we have now profiled 62 Pacific Palisades couples who have been married 50 years or longer. If you haven’t yet alerted us to your marriage, please do so by phone (454-1321, ext. 29) or e-mail: editor@palipost.com. If you have already communicated with us, please be patient; we haven’t forgotten!) Yerachmiel and Rachel Loebel first met as teenagers in a children’s home in Switzerland during World War II, where they had both made their way after escaping from Nazi persecution. “The boys and girls were separated and we hardly ever spoke to one another. The first time we spoke was when Rachel and I visited a sick child at the same time,” says Yerachmiel. Born in Germany, Yerachmiel in Plauen and Rachel in Karlsruhe, they each came to Switzerland via France, with the help of the French Jewish underground. Rachel’s mother and Yerachmiel’s father perished in the Holocaust. After the war, the two emigrated separately to Israel. Yerachmiel, who was reunited with his mother and sister in Israel, attended Kol Torah Rabbinical School in Jerusalem. He and Rachel met again at the kibbutz in Kfar Saba, that Rachel had helped to establish, and fell in love. They married at the kibbutz at age 19 on December 10, 1946. After a few years living and working on the kibbutz, they moved to the town of Magdiel, north of Tel Aviv. Two of their children, Jacob and Batsheva, were born in Israel. In 1954, they emigrated to the United States, and Yerachmiel graduated from Connecticut State College with a master’s degree in child psychology. Their youngest child, David, was born in New Jersey. Yerachmiel was a rabbi for conservative congregations in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Rachel was a homemaker and raised their three children. In 1978, the couple moved to Santa Monica to be near their daughter Batsheva. She is now the director of Temple Akiba Nursery School in Culver City. “When children are small, they go where their parents are. When they are adults, we go where they are,” says Yerachmiel. For 10 years, Yerachmiel worked as the school liaison for Vista del Mar, an institution that helps emotionally handicapped children. “I was helping to find proper school programs for some of these children, to mainstream them.” Since his retirement in 1988, Yerachmiel has taught a Talmud class at Chabad of Santa Monica. Rachel volunteers at Santa Monica Hospital. They have been living in the Palisades since 1991 and are active at Chabad of the Palisades. For their 50th anniversary, the couple had a “double celebration,” first in Jerusalem, visiting their son Jacob and his wife Yochevet. The second one happened in the Palisades, a surprise party with friends and family. “My beloved wife Rachel has stuck with me through everything,” Yerachmiel says. “It pays to stick together, to celebrate your 50th anniversary.” He attributes the secret of marriage as being considerate of one another. “Each one puts the other person before himself.” The couple have 11 grandchildren-six who live in Jerusalem, two in Connecticut, and three in the Palisades. “I thank our friends and family, thank God we have many, and we hope they all get to celebrate 50 years too,” Yerachmiel says.

Janet and Henry Walther, residents of the Palisades for 31 years, announced the engagement of their daughter, Kristin, to Steven Chapin of Santa Monica at a recent dinner party held at their home. The bride-to-be attended Marquez Elementary, Paul Revere and graduated from Palisades High School. At USC, she doubled majored in fine arts/studio arts. Currently, she is building manager of a full-service office building in Santa Monica as well as being active in community service in Santa Monica. She sits on the advisory board of the Santa Monica Historical Society, Santa Monica College and the Santa Monica YMCA. Chapin also graduated from USC and is president and CEO of Vision Internet, a Web site design firm in Santa Monica. The couple plan an April 3 wedding at the Bel-Air Bay Club.

Holly Anne Davis, daughter of Judi and Tom Welch and John and Padric Davis, married Blaine Michael Parker, son of Pam and Dennis Hightow and Monica and Dennis Parker, on September 20 at the Bel Air Bay Club. The bride grew up in the Palisades, where she attended St. Matthew’s and Brentwood School. She graduated with a degree in sociology from UC Santa Barbara. She is now a mortgage banker with Washington Mutual Bank in Walnut Creek. The couple met while attending UC Santa Barbara. Several of her bridesmaids were childhood friends from the Palisades, including Courtney Lynch, Anne Savage Burwell, Laura Temple Brau and Susan Godfrey. Her maid of honor was her sister, Jill Davis McArthur. The bridegroom grew up in Danville, where he attended Rancho Romero Elementary and Monte Vista High School. He graduated with a degree in geography from UC Santa Barbara. He is also a mortgage banker with Washington Mutual. His best man was Jon David. Groomsmen included the bride’s brother, Eric Davis, the groom’s brother, Brett Parker, and Eric Marlin. The couple honeymooned in Maui and live in San Ramon, California.

Listening to Inga Neilsen sing on her new CD of love songs sends one right into the reverie of the live moment. It’s almost as good as hearing her in the intimacy of a club and, as luck would have it, Neilsen, a longtime Palisadian, is performing songs from her new album “Love Me With All Your Heart” on Thursday, February 5 at the Gardenia in Hollywood. Neilsen wraps her big voice around lyrics and sends them out as if they were intended for you alone. Even with songs that have become other artists’ signatures, such as “Over the Rainbow” or “Send in the Clowns,” Neilsen offers her own personal style, complemented by musical director Lee Lovett and his jazz ensemble, who will also be appearing with her at the Gardenia. Musicians, who Neilsen says “often don’t like singers,” have responded to her work. “While we were recording the CD, Larry Dougherty, who plays tenor saxophone and flute on the album, was in the sound room with his eyes closed, listening to the playback of ‘When Your Lover Has Gone.’ ‘Boy, can this gal sing,’ he said.” Neilsen started her career at the age of 8, winning a scholarship to the American School of Dance in Los Angeles. In high school, she was involved with the a capella choir and the dance club. By 19, she was singing and dancing in shows in Las Vegas, Japan, and Hong Kong. She took time off to raise her son, but several years ago decided to rekindle her first love. “The reopening of my career started with Didi Presents at Mort’s,” she says. From there, she began to sing in clubs and cut her first CD, “Keys to the Heart.” But her big break came when she was hired to perform in the Palm Springs Follies, a Broadway-type show of music and dance performed by “hard-core professional, first-rate performers…who just happen to be old.” While Neilsen, 62, was the youngest of these troupers, she says that she was working as hard as she ever has. After appearing in The Palm Springs Follies as a featured singer for three seasons, she is back in town and performing locally. Her new CD offers a variety of material, including “Love Me With All Your Heart” in English and Spanish. While her music is not of today, Scott Elsworth of KWXY in Palm Springs plays it every weekend. “You give a ballad to a 19- or 20-year-old singer and they don’t know what to do with it,” he says. “They have to have lived a while.” Dinner at the Gardenia is served starting from 7 p.m. For reservations to the dinner/show, contact (323) 467-7444. The album is available at any show at which Neilsen performs, also at Hollywood Sheet Music, 7777 Sunset Blvd., (323) 850-1075, or from the artist at 454-4272.

As any professional will tell you, the face of photojournalism has changed dramatically with the advent of the Internet and business is as competitive as ever. One such professional is the Palisadian-Post’s own staff photographer, Rich Schmitt, who makes his living finding the right shot and finding it quickly. “I sometimes shoot for the various wire services,” Schmitt says. “Time is a factor when shooting for them. You have to get the shots they expect and transmit the photos via e-mail to meet their deadlines. Photojournalism today has a lot to do with quickly moving photos up on the wire. Either you move it, or you lose it to the competition.” Whether shooting a last-minute picture for the Post or rushing to meet deadline for a daily publication, Schmitt brings a sense of professionalism to his craft. Though he is constantly seeking the perfect shot to describe a game or event, he admits fortune favors the bold: “Luck has a lot to do with photojournalism and capturing a great moment. I believe this is true to a certain degree. However, you can’t wait around to get lucky and expect a great moment to come to you. More often than not, you have to go find it. Sort of like digging for gold. And this means working harder for your shots, being persistent, trying different angles, and keeping on the move. I sometimes find that the harder I work for my shots, the better the pay off.” Like most in the industry, Schmitt started with a basic Nikon camera but now uses a high-end digital camera, technology which provides him virtually unlimited space and the ability to erase what he doesn’t like. But even the best equipment needs a trained eye working behind it. “When on assignments, it’s extremely important to thoroughly know your equipment inside and out,” Schmitt says. “You should try and understand as best you can the subject you’re shooting. You try to work quickly and stay focused, trying to get the shots as long as it may sometimes take. This helps get the results that are expected of you.” Schmitt’s most-admired photo journalist is Harry Benson, who shot for Life, People and Time magazines in the 1960s and 70s during the Beatles’ heyday and also brought to life tragic images of Bobby Kennedy’s assassination. “A crucial factor I’m finding in photojournalism is access,” Schmitt says. “Sometimes you are only as good as the access you have to a subject or event. Similar to a coach who may only be as good as the players on his team. Then again, what good is access if you don’t know what to do with it or how to use it?” Rich and his wife, Courtney, who accompanies him on many shoots, reside in West L.A.