May2007 - Willmore City

the
WilLmore
City
enterprise
T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E W I L L M O R E C I T Y H E R I T A G E A S S O C I A T I O n May 2007
M a y
1 6 t h
M e e t i n g
Our May meeting will be held on Wednesday May 16th at 7:30 p.m. at the Willmore Community Police Center
(910 Daisy Avenue).
Over the years Willmore City Heritage Association has received several grants and other support from the City of
Long Beach's Community Development Department through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
Grants for our historic street signage, trash receptacles, plaques, murals, tree plantings, neighborhood cleanups, as
well as funding for our Community Police Center comes to us through these funds.
At our May meeting, Alem Hagos and Sandy Palmer from Community Development's Neighborhood Services
Bureau will be presenting the Community Development Block Grant Action Plan for the coming year. During their
presentation, they will explain that the Action Plan is a planning document for the distribution of
CDBG/ESG/HOME funds and go briefly into the process. They will be soliciting public input which would be
placed into the document.
Input from our neighborhood for the Community Development Block Grant Action Plan is extremely important as
we receive so many benefits from it and it is extremely important that the City be aware that we do need funding for
these community services which contribute greatly to the continued improvement of our historic district.
Please join us on Wednesday May 16th.
A Code Enforcement meeting for all Block Captains will be held at 6:30 p.m.
W i l l m o r e
Jana Shields (left)
Robin Smallwood (center)
Irene Hecht (right)
Vo l u n t e e r s
R e c e i v e
Aw a r d s
WCHA Board Member Jana Shields and volunteers Robin Smallwood
and Irene Hecht recently received Community Service awards at the Long
Beach Community Development Awards Luncheon.
Jana is Director of the Friends' House Literacy Center, a non-profit
organization which helps provide English as a Second Language (ESL)
classes for the community. Irene and Robin have been volunteer tutors for
the beginning ESL classes held at the Willmore Community Police Center.
These classes have greatly aided the Spanish speaking residents develop
their basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. The classes
help them achieve their academic goals and enhance the opportunity to
obtain a better job. A total of 198 students have taken the classes to date
with approximately 328 hours of instruction. These tireless volunteers have
also initiated a number of other programs in the Drake Park area such as
guitar classes and summer programs for kids, a girls' club, numerous
neighborhood cleanups, Halloween Night Carnival, and Christmas Caroling
through the Drake Park/Willmore neighborhood, all of which have made a
difference in the lives of many Willmore families.
THE WILLMORE CITY Enterprise
T h e
Ve l a s c o s
a r e
M o v i n g
Sadly for us but happily for them, Zoot and Monette Velasco are leaving Willmore. Zoot has been offered a
wonderful position as Executive Director of the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. We've been trying to convince them that Fullerton is an easy commute from Long Beach but we haven't been successful.
They will be holding an open house on the weekend of May 26-27 (Memorial Day weekend).
Monette & Zoot at WCHA holiday
potluckl Dec. 2006
It's a perfect time to see their home if you haven't had the opportunity. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1907 house
with very interesting features. It has refinished hardwood floors and a new landscaped backyard with a
pond. The master suite (which used to be a separate apartment) has a walk-in closet through a secret passageway and a private bath. The guest bath has an imported Spanish marble shower, hand blown glass sink
and a red special-edition clawfoot tub. The kitchen has a restaurant sink and a restored antique stove. Go
check it out and steal some ideas for your home
Zoot and Monette have been active in Willmore from the day they moved in. Zoot helped obtain a grant
for an oral history project entitled "I'll Meet You at Drake Park" in which numerous long-time residents of
Willmore told stories of growing up in the area. Zoot has also worked on the May Day event at the
Bembridge house for the past two years, creating a new living history tour which involves meeting the
Rankin family in the year 1932. Zoot wrote the tour, directed it and helped produce a video of the tour in
high-definition DVD which can be viewed in the newly restored Carriage House.
Monette has been the driving force, along with Erik Sochin, in getting WCHA's website off the ground.
She has spent many hours helping with this and we really appreciate her contribution.
Zoot worked for 16 months as provisional director at Homeland Cultural Center. Much to the dismay of
the community, Zoot was not selected for the permanent director position and we knew that someone with his
talent would be hired away from Long Beach very quickly.
We asked Zoot what he has been doing since October and here's what he had to say:
"I left Homeland feeling good about my role there and that I had made a difference. I left feeling loved by
the community. I also had a feeling that the next job was going to be the right thing for me.
In the past 6 months I have been busy and having a great time. I produced a new show, "Token Cracker",
that was well received and well reviewed. The last show is May 20th.
I went back to performing and went to one audition- my first in 13 years- for a commercial. I got the job!
I shot a commercial for French television for Badoit bottled water. It was shot at a mansion on Mulholland
continued....
THE WILLMORE CITY Enterprise
T h e
Ve l a s c o s
a r e
M o v i n g . . . c o n t ’ d
Drive with great views and in a studio on green-screen. I got to dance up the side of a building on wires and
got stunt pay for it. The caterer was French and the food was amazing. I made a small fortune on the commercial for just a few days work. The casting agent referred me to an agent and said I could get a lot of
work. (Not too many older over-weight guys who dance well.) But I don't think I will pursue that. I will
send out the internet link when it airs after May 10. It will not be shown in the U.S. except at the film company's internet site.
I started my own business on the side doing children's parties on weekends.
"Camp Zoot" is progressing nicely and advertising will hit the markets in June. I'm training staff to run the
parties now. Go to www.campzoot.com to find out more.
I did some consulting work for my friends at Culture Shock LA helping them develop a new strategic plan
for their amazing work with youth in hip-hop dance. See http://www.cultureshockdance.org/csla/ for info.
They had a phenomenal show recently for 4000 of their closest friends- best show of the year!
I worked on the May Day event at the Bembridge house. We created a new living history tour meeting
the Rankin family in 1932. I wrote the tour, directed it and helped produce a video of the tour now available
in high-definition DVD.
In January, I finished the coursework for my college degree. I have been going to school nights for the past
three years to get my BA degree. I dropped out of college to be a performer when I was 19. On June 2, I will
walk down the isle to get my diploma with a Bachelors of Arts in Performance from St. Mary's College.
"The Gubernator" will be our speaker. June 2 also happens to be my 25th anniversary as an artist. On
June 2, 1982, I started my career as a full-time artist with a contract for that summer to do street-mime at a
new commercial development in town. I am so proud when I look back over my career!
The movie being made about me is still progressing. They have retitled it "Zoot". A new draft was delivered to the producers and we are awaiting status. To keep updated as it develops you can now see it on the
web. Go to: http://www.hollywood.com/movie/Zoot/3531460
And two weeks ago I GOT A NEW JOB! I start in June. I will be the Executive Director of the
Muckenthaler Cultural Center (http://www.muckenthaler.org/) in Fullerton. It is an amazing place with
amazing people. It is a former 1920s mansion of the Muckenthaler family who once owned all of Fullerton
when it was a citrus grove. It is set on 8.5 acres. The mansion is an Italian Renaissance building partially
imported from Italy- a former Tuscan villa enhanced with local tile work. The site includes a 300-seat outdoor amphitheatre, 2 art galleries, an art studio, a ceramic studio, three kilns, three landscaped gardens
where weddings are performed, a patio and rolling hills of parkland. It's in an upscale neighborhood, so I
won't have to wear a bulletproof vest to work anymore!
The job pays quite well with great benefits. It is a permanent position with a board of directors and staff I
really like.
I can't wait to get started.
Monette has continued with her job in Los Alamitos as production editor of magazines for IEEE. My new
job is only ten minutes from her job. I am also working very close to her parents' house, which is nice. She
has also taken over as one of the choir directors for her church (St. Anthony's) and works hard at that. With
our jobs both being in Orange County now, it makes sense to move closer to our work.
We are very blessed to have such a great life, great family and great friends. Thanks to everyone who supported me in this transition! It was your support that made what could have been a trying time for me, a fun
time full of creative adventure!
We may be moving but we will always remember our time in Willmore City as a great place with great people. We will miss you all when we move on to new challenges. "
Zoot & Monette Velasco
528 W. 8th Street
zoot626@hotmail.com
T
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The Brits Have an Answer to our Fencing Problem
I am a lifelong antiques collector, so it’s natural that I like Antiques Roadshow on PBS. The concept originated in Great
Britain, and channels 28 and 50 used to run Antiques Roadshow U.K. on occasion, so I watched it too. The biggest difference I
could see was the lack of weapons, especially guns.
One show in particular entranced me. The site was a port town in Northern England. The port seemed to be a half-circle
enclosed by bluffs.
The President of the local historic Society brought in two oil paintings he had found while rummaging around in the basement
of their building. He had no idea how or when they got there. I was blown away by the fact that they have their own building,
and have had it so long that they could lose track of what’s in the basement!
One of the paintings was a rendering of the port from about 1900. The painting shows a house at the top of the bluff, and
along the bluff is a fence. To understand this, you need to get out all your visualization skills. The fence had a foundation of
brick, with brick pilasters rising up every six feet or so. Between the pilasters was wooden picket fencing. I think the pickets
were sawn off straight at their tops - very plain and simple.
If you find your self wondering why this is so important, think: concrete block and wrought iron. Got it? If the wrought iron
were re m o v e d
A homeowner who prefers to remain nameless is thinking of putting pickets in front of her very plain wrought iron. It is probable that her skinny wrought iron wouldn’t show through the pickets.
The saddest thing about those concrete block and wrought iron fences is that they exist at all. A look at the Fireman’s Souvenir
Book of 1903 shows very few front fences in front of Downtown long Beach houses. When I moved here twenty hears ago, that’s
how I found Willmore - largely fenceless. I liked it.
Carol McCafferty
May Day Celebration a Huge Success
Congratulations and a big thank you to the May Day Committee for an enormously successful event. Approximately 300 people toured
the Bembridge House and there had to be double that many attending the events at Drake Park. There were May Pole and ballet folklorico dancers, arts and crafts, a health fair, story telling, free books for children and free hot dogs superbly cooked by Roz s team at the
Park Everyone had a great time. If you missed it be sure and mark your calendar for next year.
Ballet folklorico dancers
May Pole Dancers
Zoot performs magic tricks
Story telling by children’s author
Free children’s books
C
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C e l e b r a t i o n
Bembridge House Tours
W
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Volunteers at Bembridge House
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Living History Tour Cast
i i l ll ml o mr eo rC ae l e Cn d a a lr e n d a r
May 16th
Code Enforcement 6:30 pm
WCHA Meeting 7:30 pm
Willmore Community Police Center
May 18th
Concert - Chamber Music
Bembridge House
Call Long Beach Heritage for info
(562) 593-7019
June 20th
Code Enforcement 6:30 pm
WCHA Meeting 7:30 pm
Willmore Community Police Center
Willmore City Heritage Association
Business card size ad $50/year (10 month guarantee)
Please send business card with check
July 14th
Concert in the Park
Long Beach Comm. Band
Drake Park 4:00 pm
August
Summer Potluck
Date and Location to be
determined (Any
volunteers for location?)
The Willmore City Heritage Association is committed to the preservation,
protection and improvement of the physical environment and quality of life
in the Willmore City/Drake Park neighborhood.
Membership: Renewal______New______Phone:_______________
WCHA Board Members* - 2007/2008
Cheryl Perry, President*
436-2815
Name__________________________________________________
Ernie Villa, Vice-President*
436-6522
Sherron Leno, Secretary *
432-5140
Address________________________________________________
Jill Anne Black, Treasurer*
495-3377
City____________________________State______Zip__________
Erik Sochin*
435-1146
Email__________________________________________________
Jana Shields*
495-1729
General $20________________Student $10___________________
Patty Lund*
435-9606
Business $30_______________Senior $10____________________
Donations (any amount)
$___________________________________________
Please make checks payable to:
WCHA
PO Box 688
Long Beach, CA 90801
Donations are Tax Deductible
________________________________
Newsletter - Mark Perry
436-2815
WCHA Voice Mail
436-8611
Police Center Chair: Carrol Goddard
618-9507
Willmore Community Police Center
570-1146
1st District Council Office
570-6919
visit us at our website: http://www.willmorecity.org
THE
WILLMORE CITY Enterprise
The Goddard Group
Real Estate Brokerage & Property Management
Carrol Goddard, CRS
(562) 624-6240
email: Carrol@GoddardGroup.net
(562) 618-9507 Cell
(562) 624-6243 FAX
D R A K E L A N D C O M PA N Y
REDEVELOPMENT THROUGH PRESERVATION
RICHARD FEHR Project Developer
628 West 10th Street
Long Beach, CA 90813
Phone (562) 432-1090 Fax (562) 436-5306
Copies provided via the WCHA printing HQ
The May meeting will be held on
Wednesday, May 16th
7:30 p.m.
Willmore Community Police
Center
910 Daisy Ave.
Mark Your Calendar!!
WilLmore City
The
PO BOX 688, Long Beach, CA 90801
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