By JAMES DUNNE Special to the Palisadian-Post Bel Air Bay Club repeated as champion of both the Conference and Championship Divisions of the California Paddle Tennis Conference, defeating both Beach Club and the Jonathan Club. Some 95 junior players between the ages of 6 and 16 from Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and neighboring communities competed in the summer-long beach paddle tennis conference. The Conference Championships were held last week at Bel Air Bay Club and a large crowd of parents and friends watched many of the finest junior paddle players in the country battle it out. ‘It’s one of the happiest days of the year,’ Commissioner Jimmy Dunne said. ‘About 70 kids having fun playing sports with their pals at the beach in sunny California… what could be better than that?’ Bel Air Bay Club won the Conference Division with 42 wins during the season, followed by Beach Club’s 35 and Jonathan Club’s 13. Beach Club Conference Champions included Chris Lords, Taylor Brandt, Rusty Barneson and Hugh Wilton, along with Devin Pence and Kevin Mekhitarian. Chris Lords flew in from Spain to capture his title. ‘You know what I loved the most? Watching our kids cheering on and encouraging each other. These matches are intense, but so friendly,’ said Roland Sunga, Athletic Director at the Beach Club. ‘These matches will provide memories that will last a lifetime.’ Bel Air Bay Club Conference champions included Drew Pion, Chase Pion, Preston Clifford and Cole Kahrilas. Ryan Calvert was one of the Jonathan Club Conference Champions. In front of a huge crowd, as music blasted in the background, the two veteran 16-year-old powerhouses from Bel Air Bay Club and Beach Club, Nick Angelich and Rusty Barneson, traded shots on Court 1 for the last time and it may go down as the greatest match in conference history. The two friends, having had numerous grudge matches for the past four years, egged each other on after their match for the conference singles title. ‘How many match points did you have against me? Eleven?’ laughed winner Rusty Barneson to his buddy after an exhausting finale. Barneson is also the starting setter for the Palisades High boys’ varsity volleyball team. Drew Pion of Bel Air Bay Club was in an incredible singles battle with Bel Air Bay Club’s Conner Page in the Boys’ 8s Division. ‘They had a marathon point that Conner lost,’ Sunga said. ‘The first thing that came out of Conner’s mouth was ‘That was a great point, Drew.’ That’s what makes this conference extraordinary.’ In the Championship Division, Bel Air Bay Club dominated play with a score of 106, followed by Beach Club’s 30 and Jonathan Club’s 23. Bel Air Bay Club Champion Division winners included Elizabeth Ryan, James Hargear, Chuck Black, MacKenzie Kalantari and Tyler Tabit. Jessie Lord was a Beach Club Championship Division winner. Carly Wagenbach, who competed for Bel Air Bay Club in the Girls’ 10s Championship Division, summed up the day… ‘When does next season start?’
Mosher Pens Red Sox Fantasy
Photo by Steve Galluzzo, Sports Editor
Last year’s American League Championship Series presented author Howard Frank Mosher with a strange dilemma. Though he has long been a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, Mosher admitted he jumped for joy when Aaron Boone hit his dramatic extra-innings home run in the seventh game to win last year’s American League championship series for the hated New York Yankees. With one swing, Boone had not only extended Boston’s World Series drought one more year (it is now 86 years and counting since the Red Sox last won it), he also may have indirectly saved Mosher’s career. “It was so ironic that I found myself rooting for my favorite team’s archrival, but I was afraid my book wouldn’t sell if the Red Sox went on to win the World Series,” Mosher joked Monday night at Village Books, the latest stop on a cross-country tour to promote his latest novel, “Waiting for Teddy Williams.” Mosher discussed his recently-published book with an attentive audience and presented a slide show entitled “Baseball and the Writing Life,” even though he confessed he detests slide shows “more than anything outside of George Steinbrenner.” In his presentation he explained the similarities between his two lifelong passions. “Baseball and writing are both about dreams and hope,” Mosher said. “Just as the World Series is right out there for any team to win every year, the next great American novel is out there for anyone to write as well.” Mosher said he learned the keys to being a good writer from one of his English teachers: “She hated kids and we all hated her. But she told us if you want to be a good writer you have to do three things. Write about what you know about, revise your work and read whatever you can get your hands on, especially the classics. And you know what? She was right!” “Waiting for Teddy Williams” is the story of Ethan Allen, a young boy from fictional Kingdom Common, Vermont, the spiritual home of the Red Sox Nation. After a mysterious drifter enters his life and begins to teach him the finer points of baseball, and when a new owner threatens the very existence of his beloved Sox, E.A. finds himself on the other side of the fence at Fenway Park, charged with breaking the team’s nearly century-old losing streak and taking them all the way to the World Series. “Howard is a great storyteller and his books appeal to young and old alike,” said Palisadian Bob Vickrey, the local representative for Houghton-Mifflin, the book’s publisher. “I think this book would make a great movie too.” The 20 or so people who attended Mosher’s book signing reflected the diverse appeal of his stories. Among the readers who left with autographed copies were Joe Rosenbaum (who plays on the PPBA’s Pinto travel team), who was celebrating his ninth birthday and Pauline Cowle, celebrating her 75th. “We are delighted to have Howard with us this evening all the way from Vermont,” Village Books owner Katie O’Laughlin said during her introduction. “He is a charming man and the characters he creates are so real. The story has a magical quality to it that’s both uplifting and extremely funny.” Mosher grew up a Yankee fan and remembered listening to his father (a Yankee fan) and uncle (a Red Sox fan) engage in heated discussions about who was better–Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams. “My dad would tell me ‘You tell your uncle that Joe D was the greatest player ever,’ Mosher chuckled. “Then my uncle would say ‘You tell your father Teddy was the greatest hitter of all time!’ They were sitting five feet apart but they wouldn’t talk directly to each other. I found it amusing to see two grownups arguing the way they did.” Mosher switched allegiances after moving to Irasburg, Vermont, with his high school sweetheart Phillis, who has been his partner in marriage for 40 years. “She told me if I could write a book about the Red Sox winning the World Series it will indeed be a fantasy,” Mosher joked. “When I was a freshman in high school, I developed a big wide swing because I wanted to be a home run hitter,” Mosher continued. “I remember striking out once and my coach saying ‘If you don’t learn how to make contact on that high hard one on the outside corner, you won’t amount to nothing. So I named the mythical manager of the Red Sox after my old high school coach.'” Mosher is nearing the end of a three-week tour across the country in which he has visited over 70 cities and he said Pacific Palisades reminds him of his hometown. “They both have that small-town feel,” he said. “But I love to travel. After spending a year straight at a desk, this is emancipation for me.” Mosher was on his way to Phoenix for several appearances the next day, but said if it was not for independent stores like Village Books, his titles would not sell nearly as well. “The big chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders carry my books but a lot of times they aren’t displayed prominently,” Mosher said with a sigh. “It’s places like this that keep me going.” Unlike many of his fellow long-suffering Red Sox fans, Mosher does not believe in the “Curse of the Bambino,” a label attached to the Red Sox after they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees following their last World Series championship in 1918. “I just don’t think they’ve ever been the best team in baseball since then,” he said. “They’ve come close a couple of times. They had that great series with the Reds in 1975 and they were only a pitch or two away against the Mets [in 1986]. But I’m not giving up hope.”
The Mantra of Mommy & Me
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Most Angelenos are familiar with the sight of people filing into yoga studios, mat under arm or slung over the shoulder in a cozy carrying bag. Add strollers to the mix and you have the scene at JIVA Yoga Studio, where moms gather for Patti Asad’s Mommy & Me class’an hour and 15 minutes of strengthening and toning exercises that includes parent-and-child bonding through massage, yoga, singing and dancing. ‘We touch on every body part, plus we have time to connect with our babies,’ says Asad, 33, mother of 6-month-old Gabriella. A Palisades resident, Asad has been teaching prenatal yoga as well as adult classes since the studio opened on Sunset in January. She started Mommy & Me two months ago, after she realized she couldn’t bring Gabriella with her to any yoga classes. ‘I developed a sequence [of yoga postures] and found what worked for strengthening my body,’ she says. ‘And I thought, ‘I have to give this back to mommies’.’ Asad recommends that mothers take about six weeks to recuperate before starting the class, which focuses on strengthening the body parts affected during pregnancy and increasing flexibility. She teaches basic postures that strengthen the hips, abdominal muscles, arms, glutes and quads, as well as the chest, upper and lower back, since nursing and carrying a baby can put a lot of pressure on those areas. Babies also benefit from the class as mothers gently move their infants into certain postures that loosen the spine, back and shoulder areas, and help prepare them for crawling. ‘Babies are born yogis,’ says Asad, who earned her master’s degree in education from the University of Miami. ‘We work their bodies to keep them flexible.’ According to Asad, a mother’s touch can provide her child with a healing energy. For this reason, at the beginning of class, moms rub their hands together to create heat and then place their palms on their babies’ backs to make a connection. ‘Your baby’s going to be your guide,’ Asad tells the 11 moms and one dad in her class on a recent morning. ‘Your baby’s going to tell you if you should be slowing down or speeding up your pace.’ As the parents begin on their hands and knees in cat’s tilt, alternately arching their backs and lifting their chests while they inhale and exhale, the babies lie on their backs on mats or blankets, watching them. Some moms take a break to hold or nurse their babies. ‘If they are fussy or need to eat, it’s okay, because everyone’s in the same situation,’ says Palisadian Jennifer Munakash, who took Asad’s prenatal yoga class and then started Mommy & Me with her son, Oliver, when he was about 8 weeks old. ‘Oliver loves the music and he loves looking at other babies.’ For parents like Munakash, Mommy & Me yoga is important because ‘I don’t have any help [to take care of Oliver] so it’s nice to get out and exercise and meet other mothers.’ Throughout the class, Asad plays a mix of songs, from the Beatles’ ‘Across the Universe’ and John Lennon’s ‘Beautiful Boy’ to music by Bob Marley and Ben Harper. Her soothing voice complements the music as she instructs parents on how to perform the various postures, and then walks around the room holding some of the babies so the moms can participate. ‘Patti’s amazing,’ says another Palisades mom, Eve Gottesman, who comes to the class with her 6-month-old son, Matthew. ‘She has a child the same age [as mine] and relates so well because she’s right in it.’ The children, who range in age from 6 weeks to a year, visibly enjoy watching their parents move into the different postures, and are especially captivated when the moms are on one knee with their arms raised to the ceiling, stretching their bones and abdominal muscles. Some of the children make squeaking and squealing sounds while others just stare quietly in awe. ‘Your babies are fascinated watching you right now because light is coming off your arms and fingers,’ says Asad, who wears a tank top with a photo of daughter Gabriella on the front. Later, she explains that ‘yoga teaches us we have a body of lights…there is a deeper light within us, and when we start to breathe and to dance, babies see that light.’ Much of Asad’s Mommy & Me yoga work was inspired by a book called ‘Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful’ by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, co-founder and director of Golden Bridge Yoga Center in Los Angeles. Asad has also taken classes with Gurmukh, who writes in her book, ‘Children born now are on the vanguard of the Age of Aquarius. Sometimes called ‘indigo babies’ for the deep blue of the aura they are said to radiate, these children are more aware and present an evolution in spiritual consciousness…Let our mission as parents be to help them reach their potential greatness.’ Asad says that ‘giving babies the gift of yoga is honoring that higher consciousness.’ The second part of her class is devoted mainly to the children, who, by this time, appear to be more active. ‘Let’s take advantage of our babies being more awake right now and sing with them,’ says Asad, who explains that ‘babies respond to and are stimulated by singing, dancing and moving.’ For the first song, the popular ‘Wheels on the Bus,’ parents place their hands on their babies’ thighs and move their legs together in a circular motion while they sing. Then, they use their legs to lifts their bottoms up and down, and from side to side. During ‘Open, Shut Them,’ moms clap their babies’ feet together and crawl their fingers up their babies’ chest. ‘Skin-on-skin contact is so important for you and your babies,’ Asad reminds the class. She teaches the parents how to use their thumbs to massage pressure points on the bottoms of their children’s feet. ‘You’re stimulating different nerve endings in the body,’ she tell them as they touch the tiny arches, heels and toe pads. While the children are lying on their backs, parents bring their babies’ toes to their noses, and then turn them on their tummies to do ‘heels to tush.’ Massaging their kids from spine to toes, the parents sing ‘The Itsy Bitsy Spider.’ ‘Mommy’s not that flexible,’ says Kimberley Goldman, who comes to Mommy & Me with her 4-month-old son, Nathaniel. ‘This is good for flexibility and a lot of the exercises we do in class, you can do with your baby at home.’ The four-year Palisades resident also says she was ‘dying for a class in the vicinity.’ After hearing about the class, Goldman’s neighbor, Gabrielle Brumbach, started bringing her daughter, Sydney. ‘It’s been my introduction to yoga,’ says Brumbach, who enjoys ‘getting out of the house with Sydney, getting a workout in and seeing different people and babies.’ As Asad lowers the lights, she instructs the group to stand up with their babies and form a circle. ‘This is your dance party with your baby,’ she says. ‘Let them see other babies.’ After some free dancing, the parents bend their knees and drop to a squatting position with their children in their arms, and then stand up, lifting their babies in the air. One-year-old Bella Popp likes the music and dancing best, though mom Eva says, ‘It seems like I should’ve brought her six months ago,’ noticing that Bella was more eager to play than the other, younger kids in the class who aren’t standing yet. At the end of the class, parents lie down with their babies, some of them nursing. Asad instructs moms to close their eyes to calm their nervous systems, and breathe with their babies. ‘Now matter how busy your schedule is, it’s important to lie down with your babies, nurse them and connect with them,’ she says. ‘Let go of tiredness, frustration and depletion. Breathe in vitality.’ They finish the class by singing ‘The Long Time Sunshine’ a soft, sweet Kundalini yoga song that quiets the babies. Patti and her husband, William, who is also an instructor at JIVA, married three years ago at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. Patti taught kindergarten at Marquez Charter Elementary School before she and William helped open and head up the yoga instruction at JIVA. Mommy & Me yoga is held Fridays at 11:30 a.m. at JIVA Yoga Studio, 15327 Sunset. Dads are also welcome. The class costs $15. Contact: 454-7000 or go to www.jivayoga.com.
Young Palisadians
ANDREW S. GIVNER graduated from Boston University School of Medicine on May 16. He is beginning his residency in emergency medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center. He is the first author of ‘Reimaging in Pediatric Neurotrauma: Factors Associated with Progression of Intracranial Injury,’ published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery in March 2002. Andrew received his B.A. in dramatic art from UC Berkeley and graduated from Windward School and Village School. o o o ETHAN B. TALBERT, son of Henry and Francine Talbert, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in communication from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on May 24. He will work as a production assistant for ‘CSI: New York.’ o o o PAUL T. CARTER, son of Marilou Terpenning, graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, on May 31. He received a bachelor of arts degree in economics. He is a graduate of Harvard-Westlake School. o o o ROSE LICHTER MARCK, daughter of Nick Marck and Linda Lichter, earned a bachelor of arts degree with honors from the College of Letters at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Crossroads High School. Rose’s extracurricular activities included photography and the Alternative Music Social Collective. ‘I just moved to Brooklyn, and I am trying to get involved with the editorial side of the publishing business,’ Rose said in an e-mail. ‘For the time being I am assisting in the organization, promotion, and production of the Jewish Music and Culture Festival (oyhoo.com) to take place in Manhattan in September. I plan to go to graduate school to study critical theory in a few years.’ o o o NOELLE AMOS, daughter of Christine and Ed Amos, has recently returned from a 10-day National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine (NYLF/MED), and participated in a National Youth Leadership Conference earlier in June. The NYLF/MED conference, July 17 to 26, introduced Noelle to a variety of concepts in public health, medical ethics, research and general practice. She got to look at a career in medicine from the inside by touring facilities and speaking with leaders in the medical field. Noelle will be a junior at Marymount in the fall. (Editor’s Note: Palisadian college graduate submissions are welcome, as are photos. Please make sure to include biographical information, including where the student attended high school, parents’ names, any honors or extracurricular activities and future plans. Photos can be prints or digital (300 dpi or better). Information can be e-mailed to features@palipost.com or mailed to 839 Via de la Paz.)
Erika Bates and Roger Pecsok Exchange Vows in Mexico
Erika Ann Bates and Roger Pecsok were married on January 30 in a Caribbean seaside ceremony in Cancun, Mexico. A reception followed the ceremony with a mariachi band entertaining. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. James Bates of Land O’ Lakes, Wisconsin. The bridegroom is the son of Marilyn S. Pecsok of Pacific Palisades and Thomas P. Pecsok of Castle Rock, Colorado. Roger’s grandmother is Mary A. Sanson of Aurora, Ohio, and Bonita Springs, Florida. Philip Pecsok of Pacific Palisades, the bridegroom’s brother, was best man. Former Palisadians Grant Wilson of San Francisco, Barrett Carrere of Venice and Brett Supernaw of Southport, Connecticut, served as groomsmen, along with Brian Drennan of Los Angeles and Tim Rote of Enumclaw, Washington. Stacey Ward of Denver, Colorado, was the maid of honor. Bridesmaids were Trina Hannon of Golden, Colorado, Christie Meyers of Lafayette, Colorado, Valerie Pipher of Frisco, Colorado, Mary Rice of Ft. Collins, Colorado and Peggy Frydendall of Batavia, Illinois. The bridegroom’s niece and nephew from the Palisades, Taylor Arden Pecsok and Ryan Thomas Pecsok, were flower girl and ring bearer. The bride graduated from Lake Forest High School, Lake Forest, Illinois and attended the University of Colorado and the University of Wisconsin at Stout. She is a sommelier and is employed by Amante Italian Coffee in Boulder, Colorado, as regional director of sales. The bridegroom graduated from PaliHi and the University of Colorado, where he received an M.S. in civil engineering with an emphasis on construction management. He is employed by Continuum Partners, LLC, of Denver as development engineer. The couple reside in Denver.
Daniel Nodar and Tahnya Gallio Announce Their Engagement
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gallio of Bend, Oregon, announce the engagement of their daughter, Tahnya Lea Gallio, to Daniel Paul Nodar, son of Mr. and Mrs. Rudy Nodar, longtime residents of Pacific Palisades. Tahnya spent her childhood in Rancho Palos Verdes. She attended Miraleste High School and went on to graduate with a degree in psychology from UC Riverside. She received her teaching credential from Cal State Los Angeles and is currently a second grade teacher at Richmond Street School in El Segundo. She has resided in Hermosa Beach for the past seven years. Daniel attended Corpus Christi Elementary School and Loyola High School. He graduated from USC with a B.S. in business administration and is currently a financial consultant. He returned to Pacific Palisades in 1998. An August 14 wedding is planned.
Jealousy, Romance Fill ‘The Winter’s Tale’
It is always a pleasure to attend a performance at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum and reacquaint myself with familiar members of the repertory troupe, who have undertaken yet another guise for the season. A decidedly family affair, the company’s related members’artistic director Ellen Geer and her extended family’and the entire cast work together like a drill team, and seem to be enjoying themselves all the while. The multicultural cast includes Theatricum company members Ted Barton, Alan Blumenfeld, Willow Geer, Larry Gelman, Abner Genece, William Dennis Hunt, Jim LeFave, Melora Marshall, Earnestine Phillips, and Jeff Wiesen. ‘The Winter’s Tale’ is one of two of Shakespeare’s plays (joining ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’) being performed on the Theatricum’s outdoor stage under the oak trees in Topanga Canyon. This year the company is participating in the National Endowment of the Arts project to perform Shakespeare in 26,000 towns and cities around the country. Throughout June, the company gave away 25 pairs of tickets per performance. In addition, they will use their NEA grant to perform in area schools. Historically, a winter’s tale was intended to amuse and distract those who lived in harsher climes and endured the inevitable dark, cold months. The story must be gripping and indeed, in Shakespeare’s tale, the story, while taking a few inconceivable turns, is filled with some of his most delightful rustic characters telling a good story. But, first the inconceivable plot. We in the audience must accept the king of Sicily Leontes’ jealousy, which is after all the catalyst that sets the entire story into action. Thoroughly unsubstantiated, his doubts of his wife’s virtue are fueled by his own delusions. Actor Jim LeFave has his work cut out, and he accomplishes his assignment with high scores. Storming the stage with rageful hurt, he imprisons his wife, refuses his newborn daughter, only to grieve inconsolably as he accepts that his foolishness has resulted in the death of his son and wife. Once set in motion, the plot does find itself wending its way to a tidy wrap-up, although Shakespeare must pull off his greatest stage legerdemain to effect the surprising climax. The dramatic descent of Hermione from her pedestal, coup de theatre though it is, is profoundly moving. Sitting in the rustic setting at the Theatricum Botanicum, the audience is inveigled to enter the realm of theatrical magic. We Merry Minstrels not only serenaded guests while we were waiting to enter the arena, the group continued moving us back to the 16th century with their richly rendered a cappella Renaissance music before the action began. One is willing to suspend disbelief because of the credibility of the characters and the beauty of its poetry. Shakespeare is at his best in this last of the comedies when describing exuberant young love between Florizel and Perdita or giving us Autolycus, played by Alan Blumenfeld, a 27-year member of the Theatricum Botanicum. Blumenfeld plays the wily pickpocket with just the right amount of over-the-top fun, dancing off into the audience with some further tomfoolery. Others of note are Hermione, whose speech to her daughter, whom she has never met, is moving in its understatement: ‘You gods, look down/And from your sacred vials pour your graces/Upon my daughter’s head! Tell me, mine own, where hast thou been preserv’d? where liv’d? how found/thy father’s court?…’ ‘The Winter’s Tale’ continues every Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. through September 26. Tickets are $14 and $25; seniors, students, and members of Equity pay $11 and $15; children ages 6-12 are $8; children under 6 are free. Audiences at the Sunday, September 19 performance are invited to participate in a pre-show discussion beginning at 2 p.m. The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley. Contact: 455-3723.
Selling a Piece of Rustic Canyon History
By FRANK LANGEN Special to the Palisadian-Post When I decided to join Mossler, Deasy & Doe almost three years ago it was to nourish my esthetic soul. In the last 30 years the company, which sells architectural and historically significant properties, has developed a loyal and international following. Owners of houses designed by masters of the past and present call us for our opinion on potential restoration and value. Weekly we are invited to actually walk through these works of art. Los Angeles provides us with a rich range of styles and has a plethora of architecture reflected by the diversity of its population. Last year I was asked to represent one of the original Uplifters log cabins at 36 Haldeman Rd. in the heart of Rustic Canyon. I knew the cabin but hadn’t spent time there since the mid-’70s, when it still belonged to women’s national tennis champion Dodo Cheney. Ironically, as a teenager I attended local tennis league meetings at her home. As I slowly walked up the road on an overcast day to reacquaint myself with the house, it reminded me of the rain forest and high country in Africa. I found the depth of field’the view of the canyon filled with mature eucalyptus trees against the California blue sky’breathtaking. Then as I walked through the front door, cool air enveloped me. My eyes focused immediately on the majestic fireplace built of river rock in the center of the room. It was obvious that this was a wonderful opportunity for some lucky individual to own and live in this piece of history. To me the house felt lived in, and not a museum. While the cabin is not a designated cultural landmark, the last two owners have poured their love and money into it. The main cabin and guest house over the garage were tastefully modernized and added on to by owner/architect Bret Thoeny in the late ’90s. The current owners continued to restore and lovingly landscape the surrounding grounds and hillsides with a wide range of local flowers and plants. They are moving because they have the opportunity to live where it is even more tranquil than it is here. As a realtor my challenge was to find a buyer who would preserve the cabin and at the same time not compromise the price for the current owner. Because of the size of the house (a 2-bedroom, 2-bath in less than 2,500-sq.-ft.), the $2,750,000 asking price was close to land value which also made it appealing to developers. Unfortunately, many architecturally worthy properties are sold for near-land value, often adding to the difficulty of finding the right steward. When I held the first public open house over a year ago, close to 200 individuals passed the threshold to get a glimpse. Stepping back in time, neighbors and potential buyers enjoyed the space and views while imagining who had celebrated and lived inside these walls. While it took some time, I am happy to report that it seems we have found worthy new keepers of the cabin. Escrow is scheduled to close later this month. I congratulate the new owners on their choice, welcome them to the neighborhood and invite them to enjoy the tennis courts and Monday night potluck dinners in Rustic Canyon Park. Personally, I am thankful for the whole experience. Every time I showed the cabin I was transported back to that happy time in my life. I will miss spending time there. (Editor’s note: Designated cultural landmarks in the Palisades area include: the Eames House on Chautauqua, the Kappe House on West Rustic, Villa Aurora on Paseo Miramar, the Bradbury House on Ocean Way, a Neutra house on Mabery Road, and the Uplifters Clubhouse in Rustic Canyon Park.)
Architect’s Focus: Rethink, Restore, Reuse
When Peter Devereaux’s firm, Fields Devereaux Architects and Engineers, finishes the restoration of the historicWill Rogers ranch house, you won’t notice a thing. That’s the golden rule for historic restoration, and FDAE are specialists in the field. California State Parks selected Fields Devereaux for the job with a phone call last October, but the deal wasn’t as casual as it may seem; after all, the firm has a sizable portfolio of historic restorations, including the El Capitan in Hollywood, the Green Library at Stanford and the Doheny Memorial Library at USC, all of which have received preservation awards, from the National Trust, the Los Angeles Conservancy and the California Preservation Foundation. Peter Devereaux, a Palisadian, is the principal and chief executive officer, overseeing the firm’s portfolio of projects and its 170 employees. One of the largest in California, FDAE is sort of a one-stop shop. With architectural and design engineering expertise, the company has partnerships with other firms, including I.Q. (Investment in Quality), which assists other architects with cost estimating and plan reviews; GreenWorks, a sustainable building firm; and Building Consensus, a general construction company. Devereaux, an Easterner by upbringing and schooling, found his way West, as so many have, following the opportunities. A native of the Philadelphia area, he graduated from Yale School of Architecture and was invited by the dean, Cesar Pelli’recognized as one of the 10 most influential living American architects’to stay and work at Cesar Pelli & Associates in Connecticut, which Devereaux did for a year. It was then the mid-1980s, when the economy was strong and the world at peace. Lured by the vigorous building spurt in Southern California, Devereaux accepted an offer from Edwin Fields to join his firm in 1985. ‘There was a lot of building going on, and it seemed there was a crane on every corner,’ Devereaux recalls. ‘I thought there would be many opportunities to design.’ And there were. From building condominiums to schools, the firm has been steadily expanding both in Los Angeles and farther afield to San Diego, Bakersfield and Riverside. The plan is to add new offices in Phoenix and Las Vegas. Over the course of his career, Devereaux has carved out an expertise in historic preservation and school design. He has built several facilities for the UC Santa Barbara campus and UCLA, and undertook much of the rebuilding at Cal State Northridge, which was severally damaged in the 1994 earthquake. Devereaux, his wife Sarah and daughters Jacqueline (a Louisville 9th grader) and Caitlin (a 7th grader at Corpus Christi) have made their home in the Palisades for the past 14 years. He has followed the news of the town’s ambitious civic projects, including the new gym and the library, and understands the intelligence of community involvement. ‘I get very excited about getting projects off the ground,’ Devereaux says, ‘and a big part of that is figuring out what the client wants and helping him define it.’ Not to be ignored are his skills in working with the challenge of balancing the wishes of the client or community and, in the case of public buildings, the often stringent government requirements. A good example is the public library in Park View Terrace, a semi-rural community near Hansen Lake in the northwest San Fernando Valley. Devereaux participated in workshops with the public and staff to collect information and ideas from stakeholders, and the design process was guided by frequent public review. The final product was cited by the American Institute of Architects as an outstanding example of an architectural design solution that protects and enhances the environment. To the layman, the building with its distinctively long east-west axis and handsome tower is aesthetically pleasing, but it is much more. A joint project with GreenWorks, the library is a model of a sustainable environment, where the air is clean, the temperature modulated and everything is energy efficient. Situated to take advantage of daylight, but no direct sunlight, about 80 percent of the building is naturally ventilated. Many of the construction materials are recycled, such as bamboo and cork flooring, and runoff water is captured and used for irrigation. Devereaux has broad experience building schools. Currently, the firm is designing a three-story elementary school for the LAUSD at Western and Third St. that will accommodate 600 children, all of whom will live within walking distance of the school. He has had conversations with LAUSD on the use of the Ambassador Hotel site, where the district is planning to build a high school in the densely populated mid-Wilshire area. A perfect example of the debate between historic preservationists and cost-analysts, the decision on the best use for the Ambassador site is still undecided. ‘The Ambassador could be adapted for a school,’ Devereaux agrees, ‘but I think I take the middle-of-the-road position, and am therefore hated by both sides. That building has more significance because of the events that took place there rather than for its architectural stature. It may be wiser to preserve pieces of it, such as the Coconut Grove, than to make LAUSD shoehorn the existing space into a learning environment.’ As the city becomes increasingly congested, more planning revolves around retooling existing structures. Devereaux is already engaged in the debate of redefining the neighborhood that downtown Los Angeles will become. With 3,500 units on his design boards in Little Tokyo and Chinatown,”really a drop in the bucket considering the size of Los Angeles”Devereaux still believes that the key is people not only working but living downtown. ‘Picking up the pace of building housing, that’s what’s going to make it happen,’ he says.
Welcome to Will Rogers’ Neighborhood
In the early 1930s, actor Will Rogers was the largest individual landowner in Pacific Palisades. In his ’50s at the time he owned over 400 acres, which included his ranch in Rustic Canyon, the west side of Chautauqua from Corona del Mar down to PCH, and over a mile of beachfront property that extended from Santa Monica Canyon to Temescal Canyon, and which is named after him. ‘Will also owned part of the Riviera and Rivas Canyon, as well as Evans Road and the land where Villa Woods, Villa Grove and Villa View are today,’ said local historian Randy Young. How Rogers came to own these properties is well documented by Young, who continues to work closely with the Rogers family to protect the actor’s main real estate legacy’Will Rogers State Historic Park. One-quarter Cherokee, Will Rogers grew up on his family’s 60,000-acre ranch in Oklahoma where he learned to ride horses and toss a lasso at an early age. His show business career began in his early 20s when he toured with Texas Jack’s Wild West Show. Called the ‘Cherokee Kid,’ he was known for his roping prowess. In 1915, while performing with the Ziegfield Follies in New York, Rogers was offered a job acting in silent movies, which is what brought him to California. He later appeared in talkies, and by the early ’30s had a contract to make three films a year for Fox Studios. In 1934 his career was at its height. ‘Will was really the first multimedia star,’ said Young. ‘He was busy writing both a weekly and daily syndicated newspaper column, entertaining audiences with his witty commentary on American politics, as well as being on radio and in the movies. After Shirley Temple, Will was the leading box-office attraction at the time.’ Rogers, who had the good fortune of working all through the Depression, wrote his column at his ranch house in front of a large window which looked out over the land that he was painstakingly developing. Known for his kind and generous spirit, he became America’s ambassador of good will, exemplified in quotes such as ‘I never met a man I didn’t like.’ Rogers had been living at his beloved Rustic Canyon ranch for less than a decade when, on a trip to Alaska with his friend Wiley Post, he was killed in an airplane crash in August 1935. Will Rogers’ Ranch Holdings In 1925 Rogers, his wife Betty and their three children (Will, Jr., Mary and Jimmy) were living in Beverly Hills when he made his first real estate purchase in the Palisades. Rogers bought 176 acres from Alphonzo Bell on the western slopes of Rustic Canyon, north of Beverly Drive (now Sunset). At the time there was only a narrow, hilly dirt road which led to a clearing, and the canyons beyond were densely covered with native chaparral. Rogers immediately had a mile-long winding road built up to the mesa, as well as a simple one-story weekend cabin, a roping corral, a temporary stable and a polo field. Delighted with his acquisition, in 1928 he announced that he and his family would make the ranch their permanent home. His crews went to work building a six-mile system of roads, five miles of bridle paths, and a nine-hole golf course. He eventually enlarged the house and purchased 60 more acres of land. In August 1935, on the Sunday before he left on his fateful trip to Alaska, he and Betty took a long ride around the ranch discussing the work that needed to be done while he was away. Rogers was always improving the ranch, which at that point consisted of nearly 240 acres. The massive landscaping alone had already gone through three stages. During the first stage (1926-30) rows of eucalyptus were planted along the roads and around all the corrals and fields. During the second stage (1930-32), large trees were planted in front of the ranch house and the lawn was installed. Then came the vine period (1932-35), when an arbor was built in front of the patio to hold the large number of climbers. Betty continued to live at the ranch after Will died, and in 1944 gave the buildings and 127 acres of land to the state for a park as a memorial to her husband. For a time the family retained the property on the western mesa overlooking Santa Monica Canyon, which later became the site of several architecturally significant residences, including the world-famous Eames house. This 60th anniversary of Will Rogers State Historic Park finds the ranch in the midst of a major restoration. While hikers can still enjoy Inspiration Loop Trail and picnic on the grounds, the ranch house and stable are slated to reopen early next year ‘and will look exactly as they did when Will and his family lived here,’ said Young, who along with the Rogers family is involved in every aspect of the restoration, from approving the new irrigation system to picking up a hammer to help rebuild the horse barn. ‘We have to be,’ he explained. While the ranch was donated to the state, it includes a ‘reversionary’ clause, which means that if the property is not restored, maintained and used as Betty Rogers intended it to be, it could be taken back by the family. While there have been problems in the past (most recently regarding the boarding of horses at the ranch), ‘right now things are going well,’ Young said. ‘I think Will would be proud of what we are trying to do here.’ Will Rogers’ Beach Quest In 1926, Rogers bought his first piece of beach property for $977,372. Dr. Charles Holmes Scott, founder of Pacific Palisades, and developer Robert C. Gillis arranged for the sale of 2,000 feet of beach frontage at the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon that belonged to the Pacific Land Corporation and the Pacific Palisades Association, which had both fallen on hard times. At the time a string of newly built beach clubs lined the sand from Santa Monica to the Palisades. Within two years, Rogers’ holdings extended both east and west along the beach at Santa Monica Canyon. He subsequently acquired the new Bundy bathhouse at the base of Chautauqua and entered into negotiations to purchase five acres of land that extended up the west side of the hill, opposite Vance Place. But Rogers soon found he had some formidable competition for the beach. By 1930 the State of California had acquired over a mile of beachfront, the result of a countywide study that encouraged public agencies to acquire as much unimproved beach property as possible while it was still available. At the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon, on a parcel of land purchased for public use from Rogers that same year, the state built one of the first ‘modern’ lifeguard stations’a two-story, tile-roofed facility with public restrooms and a food concession. However, Rogers’ development plans for his own beach property collapsed in 1931 when he tried, and failed, to have his land rezoned for commercial use. So he ceased payments, arguing that commercial prospects for his beachfront had been misrepresented to him. As a result of this action, he lost title to the bathhouse, but retained his beachfront, even though it was now of limited use to him. Interestingly, the zoning setback did not deter Rogers from investing in more beach property. Having once made a handsome profit on one particular piece of Santa Monica beachfront (which he sold to William Randolph Hearst for three times what he had paid so Hearst could expand the estate he had built for his mistress Marion Davies), Rogers later purchased a much larger parcel at the base of Temescal Canyon, which he saw as an investment in his family’s future, implying plans either for resale or eventual development. That anticipated transaction took place in 1940, in a land swap in which the Rogers family agreed to exchange their remaining beachfront property for a piece of land in downtown L.A. Sand for cement? What kind of real estate deal is that? ‘Well, as it turns out, a good one,’ said Young, who is currently writing a book on Will Rogers. ‘The family had the building they were given by the state, which was opposite City Hall on Flower Street, torn down and turned into a parking lot, providing much-needed cash for the estate. They sold the lot in the ’60s for a sizable profit. Will Rogers himself called real estate ‘the greatest game I ever saw. You can’t lose.’ Well, he turned out to be right on this one.’
