Uplifters Centennial Turns Back Time

The Contents of a 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Were Revealed

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

An air of anticipation hovered over Rustic Canyon Recreation Center on the morning of Tuesday, May 30, as a “surprise” was in store for all who attended The Uplifters’ Centennial Celebration to see what was inside a box buried 100 years ago.

Senior Recreation Director Paige Barnes opened the ceremony by singing the national anthem as the American flag was raised in front of the historic facility, after which more than 10 dozen people filed into the newly restored library, anxiously awaiting the contents of a time capsule that was placed in the cornerstone precisely one century earlier by members of the Uplifters Club.

“A hundred years ago the Uplifters planned for us to be here today, so on this day we honor their spirit of commitment, frivolity and fellowship,” Barnes stated. “I’ve had the pleasure of serving at Rustic Canyon for the last seven years and so much of what we worked for has been about this unveiling.”

With that, Barnes introduced English TV and film director Jon Amiel, who joked he was “appalled” to learn they needed him there at 9 a.m., long before the traditional 4 p.m. tea time. Amiel recited the Uplifters Creed, which was written by Uplifter and “The Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum.

Next, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning composer and conductor Thomas Newman, a lifelong Rustic resident, acquainted the audience with pianist and songwriter Ben Lusher, who played and sang “The Builder,” a song American composer Charles Wakefield Cadman wrote for the dedication ceremony 100 years ago.

Among the items placed in the box were every hymnal (song book) used by the club, a list of Uplifter members and a copy of the club’s history, penned by founder and “The Grand Muscle” Harry Haldeman, grandfather of Watergate conspirator H.R. “Bob” Haldeman.

Established in 1913, The Uplifters met regularly at the Los Angeles Athletic Club until purchasing a 120-acre ranch in 1920, and the cornerstone of the Spanish-style colonial clubhouse with tennis courts, swimming pool, trap shooting range, amphitheater, picnic grounds and dormitories was laid three years later.

Rustic Canyon Advisory Board Member Veslemoey Zwart, held up a framed photograph of her mentors—the late George Wolfberg (Pacific Palisades Community Council chair emeritus and namesake of Potrero Canyon Park) and local historian Randy Young—that she vowed will be hung on a wall in the building as a reminder of “what good public servants look like.”

Young stepped to the podium and provided historical context to what all those in attendance were about to witness.

“This park has always been a wondrous place,” Young shared. “When my family moved here in 1954, it was a shadow of its former self. It was exciting and scary at the same time. That bust of Will Rogers [Young pointed to the bronze sculpture staring at him from across the room] scared the hell out of me.”

Young explained that there was a pipe organ, antique furniture, foliage “all over the place,” and “hidden rooms for me and my friends to explore.”

“You didn’t know what was real or not,” Young continued. “It was mysterious … a great place to grow up. Like ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ everyday. Our family decided to make a book, and we interviewed all these great Uplifters who told magical stories. Today we’re going to look at one of those relics they spoke of.”

Now 70, Young was only 6 months old when his family moved from Aderno Way to a house on Latimer Road, and he was as eager as everyone present to pry open the metal box and see what was inside.

He lifted the lid to reveal dust, tiny paper fragments and one fist-sized clump of rock appearing to subsume several coins. Young promised that the rock would be analyzed and the findings revealed during the center’s annual Rustic Nights event September 30.

After the ceremony, guests were invited to mingle, drink tea, and dine on sandwiches and fresh desserts in the multi-purpose room.