February 2011 Journal Plus

OPPORTUNITIES CONFERENCE | JIM ROYER | MYL A COLLIER | SISTERHOOD

Journal PLUS FEBRUARY 2011

MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

KIMBERLY TIMBS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SLO HISTORY CENTER

Serving the entire SLO County since 1978

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Vicky Hall REALTOR®

Mary Rosenthal REALTOR® Single-level 3 bedroom, 2 bath home. Fully remodeled inside & out! Two fireplaces, nice family room, courtyard with water feature and landscaped yards. $545,000

Jennifer Hamilton Relocation Director

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Larry D. Smyth Broker

Nicely Upgraded, Los Verdes Park, singlelevel 2 bedroom, 1 ¾ bath PUD. New fireplace hearth and insert, new kitchen counters and appliances. $309,000

21 Santa Rosa Street, Suite 100, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 Conveniently located in the heart of San Luis Obispo.

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Janet Shaner REALTOR®

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I’ve known Al Moriarty since I started working at Cuesta College Student Services 12 years ago. Al was referred to me by a coworker to handle a retirement savings that was available at the district. I consider myself fortunate to have had Al Moriarty manage my finances. As a single mother with a 12-year-old daughter, and a one-year-old mortgage in SLO, I was in no position to engage in risky investments. Al personalized a portfolio for me that minimized risks and invested my money in a way that I was comfortable with.

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CONTENTS

14 Journal PLUS MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

The People, Community, and Business of Our Beautiful Central Coast ADDRESS

654 Osos Street San Luis Obispo California 93401

PHONE

805.546.0609

E-MAIL

slojournal@fix.net

WEBSITE

www.slojournal.com

EDITOR & PUBLISHER Steve Owens ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Erin Mott GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dora Mountain COPY EDITOR Susan Stewart PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Meinhold DISTRIBUTION Keith Malcomson

FINDING FAMILY

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JIM ROYER

SISTERHOOD

ADVERTISING Jan Owens, Kristen Hathaway CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Susan Stewart, Natasha Dalton, Hilary Grant, Joseph Carotenuti, Dr. Julian Crocker, Sarah Hedger, Maggie Cox, Deborah Cash, Kathy Smith, Julian Varela, Jeanne Harris, Janis Mayfield, Bob Huttle, Gordon Fuglie and Phyllis Benson Mail subscriptions are available at $20 per year. Back issues are $2 each. Inquires concerning advertising or other information made by writing to Steve Owens, JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE, 654 Osos Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. You can call us at 546-0609, our fax line is 546-8827, and our e-mail is slojournal@fix.net. View the entire magazine on our website at www.slojournal.com JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE is distributed monthly free by mail to all single family households of San Luis Obispo and is available free at over 600 locations throughout the county.

Editorial submissions are welcome but are published at the discretion of the publisher. Submissions will be returned if accompanied by a stamped self addressed envelope. No material published in the magazine can be reproduced without written permission.

Opinions expressed in the byline articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE. Cover photo by Tom Meinhold

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KIMBERLY TIMBS JIM ROYER MYLA COLLIER ROBIN LEMMER - FINDING FAMILY SISTERHOOD

HOME & OUTDOOR 18 20 22 24

OPPORTUNITY CONFERENCE PULSE HOME DESIGN DISTRICT FOOD / AT THE MARKET

COMMUNITY

26 28 30 31 32 34 36 46

SLO ART SCENE HUTTLE UP – Play On! OUR SCHOOLS Dr. Julian Crocker DOG NEXT DOOR HISTORY: Charles H. Johnson – part 5 HOSPICE CORNER / SUDOKU PUZZLE PALM STREET – SLO Councilwoman, Smith ALMANAC – The Month of February

BUSINESS

37 DOWNTOWN SLO What’s Happening 42 THE BULLETIN BOARD

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From the publisher Family and Cosmetic Dentistry

New Year New Smile with Lisa Van Mouwerik & Lisa Mills

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his month we give you a glimpse of the changes that are happening at the SLO History Center (formerly SLO Historical Museum). Our cover story features the Center’s Executive Director, Kimberly Timbs. You will be impressed with some of the innovative things she is implementing.

My brother-in-law Ed is a birder. He can identify every bird on earth and keeps a record of what, when and where he sees his next species. For more than 30 years I have teased him about spending so much time in the woodlands looking through binoculars. Recently he came to visit and added a Yellow-Billed Magpie to his lifetime list. It was the most excited I’d seen him in years. I also took him out to the Morro Bay Estuary and spent a morning viewing birds where I finally understood his passion.

Birding is big on the Central Coast. When I heard about Jim Royer and his “Green Birding” passion I had to find out more. You’ll enjoy his story inside.

Each month we love doing stories about people helping others and this month we have two good ones. The first is about the support group for Breast Cancer survivors, and the second involves an upcoming conference targeting poverty.

Finally, we had plenty of good comments on last month’s 25th Anniversary story on the Foundation for the Performing Arts (FPAC). Several of you asked us who wrote it. We forgot to give credit to Susan Stewart. Well done, Susan.

Enjoy the magazine,

Steve Owens

N\Ëm\ ^fe\ ^i\\e% Now view our printed calendar of events entirely online.

Visit our website today and find your way to the best seats in the house.

w w w . p a c s l o . o r g

upcom ing e v en ts Thurs.-Sat., Feb. 3-5, 8 pm Orchesis Dance Company: Shift

Saturday, Feb. 12, 10 am MET Live in HD: Adam’s Nixon in China

Saturday, Feb. 26, 10 am MET Live in HD: Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride

Saturday, Feb. 5, 8 pm A Night at the Mission Chamber Ensemble Concert

Friday-Sunday, Feb. 18-20, 7:30 pm Vagina Monologues

Saturday, Feb. 26, 8 pm Cal Poly Choirs & Arab Music Ensemble Concert

Saturday, Feb. 5, 8 pm SLO Symphony Classics III

Saturday, Feb. 19, 8 pm Lily Tomlin

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 7:30 pm Vienna Boys Choir

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 7 pm County Honor Band

Cal Poly Theatre & Dance Dept.

Cal Poly Music Dept.

SLO Symphony

Cal Poly Arts

Thurs., Feb. 10, 7:30 pm Russian National Ballet Theatre: Swan Lake Cal Poly Arts

Friday, Feb. 11, 8:30 pm Brian Regan in Concert

Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

805.SLO.ARTS Phone | 805.756.2787 Fax | 805.756.6088

WWW.PACSLO.ORG

Opera SLO

Cal Poly Women’s Programs

GALA

SLO County High Schools

Feb. 24-26, 8 pm Mar. 3-5, 8 pm Falsettos

Cal Poly Theatre & Dance Dept.

Opera SLO

Cal Poly Music Dept.

Monday, Feb. 28, 7:30 pm Monty Python’s Spamalot Cal Poly Arts

Friday, Mar. 4, 7:30 pm Saturday, Mar. 5, 3 pm Cal Poly Opera Workshop Cal Poly Music Dept.

Saturday, Mar. 5, 8 pm Cal Poly Wind Bands’ Winter Concert

Cal Poly Music Dept.

PEOPLE

History center’s executive director

Kimberly Timbs: cultivating the “Oh Wow” moments of historical discovery

By Susan Stewart

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n the Gothic Barrio section of Barcelona Spain, not so many years ago, a young woman found herself standing amid the typical European juxtaposition of the very old with the very new. Known for its narrow cobblestone labyrinthine streets and its tall gothic style architecture that dates to Medieval times, this barrio is the very heart of the old city. Among its many historic treasures is the spot where Queen Isabella once sent Christopher Columbus off on his voyage to what turned out to be the Americas, the spot that Kimberly Timbs had just stumbled upon.

“It was so exciting to be standing there, imagining what it might have looked and sounded like back then,” Timbs remembers. “All of a sudden those dull, boring [history] classes I was forced to take as a kid turned into something vibrant, alive, and experiential. I was hooked!”

As Executive Director of San Luis Obispo’s History Center since 2007, Timbs brings that same wide-eyed enthusiasm to her post, as well as a wealth of education, expertise, and new ideas.

Born one of four daughters in Riverside, California, Timbs says, “I was sort of the boy in the family; I played sports while my sisters were in high school musicals.” Her mother was a computer programmer, and her father drove the steam train at Disneyland, she reports matter-of-factly.

Timbs’ first love is art, and it was this passion that sparked her desire and determination to see in person the famous pieces she was studying. In high school, Timbs recycled cans, babysat, cleaned houses, and took a night job to raise the $2000 she needed to go on her first threeweek trip to Europe. By the time she was 16, in the summer between her junior and senior years, she had it.

“It was a crazy trip covering eight countries in three weeks, and I loved every minute of it,” said Timbs. “Since then, I’ve traveled to England for

grad school, and to Peru for an internship … the more places I see, the more curious I become about the story of that place and culture.”

Timbs earned her BA in Art History with a minor in Forestry from UC Berkeley. Next, she moved to England where she earned an MA and MSc in Conservation of Museum and Archeological Objects from University College London. She found her way to our county by way of her new husband, Norm Timbs, who graduated from Cal Poly and started his own company, Aero Mech Engineering, here. She applied for and won the top position at the History Center in 2007.

Since then, the Center has seen some significant changes, starting with its name and look. Formerly known as the San Luis Obispo Historical Society, the new signage and website now bear a new logo with the name History Center of San Luis Obispo County. Still housed at the old Carnegie Library, home of the County History Museum, the Center – including its young executive director, its board, and its dedicated volunteers – are committed to collecting, preserving, exhibiting and providing access to relevant artifacts and materials, to educate the public and preserve the county’s historic and cultural heritage.

The Center’s Wedding Dress Exhibit

Student visitors at the Center F E B R U A R Y

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PEOPLE Other changes include a newly revamped website with online archives and gift shop where visitors can purchase copies of historic photos; a renewed internship program hosting more than 20 Cal Poly and Cuesta students; and an ever expanding and better organized collections department. A number of grants have helped, notably one from the City of San Luis Obispo’s Promotional Coordinating Committee, who made possible the first in a series of podcast tours.

Now available online and as a free downloadable file, these innovative podcasts combine still photos of historic San Luis Obispo with narrated history, archival video footage, and interviews with living historians who “remember when.” The podcast can be viewed online at historycenterslo.org by clicking on Tours. Or you can take the tour with you on a hand-held device as you walk the downtown route. See then-and-now photos of such familiar downtown buildings as the Wineman Hotel, the JP Andrews Building, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, and the Creamery. Stand where the first fire station was built, where bullfights were once held, and where the city’s daily newspaper was started. Hear first-hand accounts of the old courthouse being demolished, one of the many public hangings conducted by the Vigilance Committee, and the devastation caused by the 1926 Union Oil Tank Farm fire.

“We are really proud of this collaborative effort among History Center and Heritage Shared staff [a website that celebrates the history and culture of the Central Coast], videographer Todd Peterson of Red Canary, and Verdin Marketing, who provided writing and public relations help. We are especially grateful to the City of San Luis Obispo for seeing the value of showcasing our city’s history in this interactive way.”

As the only full-time employee, Timbs has her fingers in just about every pie. She works in collections – cataloging, documenting, organizing, and repackaging objects to ensure their long-term survival while making them accessible to the public. She also works with exhibits, such as “Bells, Belles, and Beaux,” the recent wedding dress exhibit, and currently “The Catch: Stories of Local Fisherman.” She keeps these rotating constantly so that visitors always have a good reason to return.

“I don’t want this organization to be seen as a stuffy old museum full of old stuff about dead guys,” said Timbs. “We’re working hard to present County history in a fresh, vibrant, more modern light … so that young people will grow up excited and inspired to

Volunteers helping out

by the general public for wedding receptions and other social events.

“I never realized how passionate historians are,” said Timbs. “Our volunteer historians do the research, the writing, and therefore the discovery of the past, so there are a lot of ‘ahs’ and ‘oh wows’ involved. I love the excited look on their faces and the enthusiasm in their voices; it’s such a joy!”

Cataloging Scrapbook Collection

learn more about the history they are surrounded by, and to continue the tradition of memory and stories that are such a vital part of this community.”

Timbs depends on these valuable volunteers, interns, and board members to keep her ambitious agenda moving forward. In particular, she appreciates the full-time effort that History Center Financial Director Dan Carpenter has devoted to “…help us grow in new and positive directions.”

Timbs says she has never been anyplace (including Europe) where so many people are able to recall how many generations their families have been here, who can so easily tell the stories that helped to shape the place we call home.

Recalling the feeling that had so captivated her in a cobblestone square in Barcelona Spain, Timbs believes in cultivating that incomparable feeling in others. “It’s what we need to continue to work towards,” she said.

“More people having an ‘oh wow’ discovery with history.”

“I want to cultivate more storytellers out there in the community,” she says, “so that the History Center becomes a gathering place of memory and shared community identity.”

Future goals include the expansion of the Center. Timbs said that with so much history, there is limited space to tell it and looks forward to being able to display more items, perhaps by expanding into a neighboring parking lot. Work has already begun on the second of the remaining two podcast tours – this one on the colorful railroad district. A third segment will explore the hidden, “secret” world of old San Luis Obispo that held sway during the prohibition years.

The Hind Foundation recently gave the History Center a generous grant for the preservation of the Dallidet Adobe, the second site under Timbs’ purview. It was the adobe’s owner, Paul Dallidet (the last surviving son of pioneer French settler and vintner Pierre Dallidet) who was instrumental in the creation of the County Historical Society in 1953. When he donated his home, the nowhistoric adobe, a group of concerned citizens was motivated to create an organization that would preserve and protect it and other county treasures for the longer term. Over the years, volunteers have renovated and improved the gardens, which can now be rented

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jim royer sucker for sapsuckers, smitten by bitterns... the amazing world of a green birder

By Susan Stewart

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andering Tattler, Marbled Godwit, and Rhinoceros Auklet; Merlin, Gadwall, and Bufflehead. Characters from the Harry Potter series? Fanciful beings from JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth? Nope. These are but six of the 318 species of birds seen or heard by Jim Royer during his landmark 2010 Green Birding Year – the year he broke the North American record for most species listed during one year as a green birder. For the man sometimes called “bird” by his co-workers, it was a significant accomplishment, but not nearly as important, he says, as the connection he makes with nature every time he goes out.

“You have to get out and see things, do things,” Royer said. “More and more people don’t know what’s out there so, they don’t appreciate it. Once we lose that connection with the land, we lose perspective, and bad things can happen.”

Green birding is emphatically not about spotting green birds, or wearing green clothing, or listing only those birds with green in their names, says Royer on his website, greenbirding.blogspot.com. Rather, green birding is the act of observing, counting, photographing, or listing species of birds without using any gasoline. That means no driving to any of the sites; only walking, running, bicycling, or kayaking is allowed.

When the final day of 2010 ended, Royer had walked 348 miles, biked 3,634 miles, had

four flat tires, and lost 8 pounds on his many birding adventures during the year.

Born in the San Jose area, and raised in the small town of Campbell, California, Jim Royer found his way to the esoteric world of birding first through his love of all outdoor activities like hiking and backpacking, and then through his older brother, who was a volunteer bird-bander (a method of tracking birds and recording their flight patterns by placing metal bands on their legs) for several bird observatories in the Bay Area.

Royer attended Stanford University, where he earned his B.A. and M.A. in the mid-‘70s. He next earned a law degree from U.C. Hastings in 1984, and today runs a thriving criminal and civil law practice in San Luis Obispo. In the early 1970s, Royer’s parents moved to San Luis Obispo County, so Jim had a chance to visit the area often. After law school, he moved here himself because it was so geographically appealing and because his own hometown had changed so dramatically.

One of Royer’s first jobs was as an art teacher in the San Joaquin Valley. It was there that he became a member of the Fresno Audubon Society and began doing outings with them.

“It’s a really fun outside activity,” he says, “like an adult form of hide-and-seek.”

A quick look at Royer’s daily postings on his website testifies to his love of nature, birds, and his dog, Nike; to his deep and abiding respect for the environment; and to his writing ability. It’s a compelling and well-written site, embellished with photos and a liberal splash of humor.

On a post he titles “Fowl Day for A Christmas Count,” Royer describes the

Celeste, Alisa, Dylan and Jim Royer F E B R U A R Y

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foul weather that produced “… some good fowl (not an oxymoron) … two Cackling Geese … undoubtedly unpopular on the golf course due to the little surprises they leave scattered on the greens and fairways.”

Underscoring the important role that birding has played in his life is a story Jim tells about the birth of his daughter Alisa in 1978.

At the time, Jim and his wife Celeste were living in Ventura. The week Alisa was born, a rare bird showed up at a neighbor’s house and Jim was asked to come over and help identify it. Bringing a reliable reference book with him, Royer soon officially identified the tiny bird as a Xantus’ hummingbird, a Mexican species whose home is in Baja. It had never officially been sighted in North America, and since it’s not known for its migrating habits, there’s no telling how it got there. Coincidentally, the sighting occurred near the intersection of Via La Paz and Via Baja streets!

Jim and Celeste have two grown children, Alisa and Dylan, who share their father’s interest in nature. Alisa attends Stanford and is studying Earth Systems; Dylan attends Cal Poly in pre-law.

“As a family, we spent a lot of time in nature,” said Royer. “On one trip to Costa Rica, I bribed my kids into helping me spot local birds by offering them a dollar for every one they found that I could add to my list.”

For more than four decades, Jim Royer has been observing birds, leading treks, taking photographs, and writing about his experiences as a birder. He has served on the board of the now absorbed Kern River Research Center, and has led numerous birding

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From a lodge high in the Andes Mountains of Equador, Royer once rose at 3 a.m. and walked six miles to sit silently and wait to observe a “lek,” or mating ritual, for Cock-of-the-rock, a tropical bird with brilliant orange plumage and fascinating display behaviors. In Costa Rica, he had the privilege of sighting a Torquoise-browed Motmot that Jim says is the epitome of a tropical bird whose colors will “knock your eyes out.” And right in his own backyard, just two months ago, he spotted the Bar-tailed Godwit, a shore bird never before seen in this county, at the Morro Bay sand spit.

For Jim Royer, all the Harry Potter movies and JRR Tolkien books combined can’t hold a candle to that.

Great Blue Heron lunching

treks for the Morro Coast Audubon Society. Out-of-state trips include Hawaii, Costa Rica, Equador, Chile and Veracruz, Mexico where he once witnessed more than a million hawks at one time taking flight during their annual migration.

Sure, he’d like to experience one of those once-in-a-lifetime sightings of a truly rare bird in a truly rare place, but that’s not the end-goal.

Royer is more interested in cultivating an environmental conscience in others through this green activity.

“It happens to all of us,” said Royer, referring to anyone who spends a lot of time outside. “It’s hard to be involved in the outdoors without starting to care about the wellbeing of the wildlife and their environment.”

Morro Bay Brants

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Myla Collier:

Depicting Today through the Language of yesterday

By Natasha Dalton “Where the hand goes, the eye follows; where the eye goes, the mind follows; where the mind goes, the heart follows, and thus is born expression.” (Sanskrit writing) Long thick fabric hangings, which for centuries served as room dividers or wall insulators, became all the rage in the middle ages. By then, this textile art form known as tapestry became a true status symbol.

It was a must for monarchs to carry pieces of tapestry with them on their trips, exchange them as gifts, and to commission them for solemn occasions, even going as far as sending artists to the battlefields to make true-to-life sketches for the future woven heirlooms.

In those days, the weavers mostly worked as father-and-son teams, because their craft, both physically and artistically challenging, required extensive skills developed through a life-time of dedication.

The art survived the test of time and remains an element of décor that speaks of power and riches. From London to Mumbai, the world’s most elegant homes boast some exquisite pieces of tapestry,

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both antique and modern. But new times brought new interpretations of this old artistic tradition.

For one thing, today’s tapestry manufacturing is a vast industry where textiles are made on machines from sketches (called cartoons) produced by the artists who typically have nothing to do with the actual process of weaving, and the images are created in multiple copies. These innovations rendered a piece of tapestry more affordable, but deprived it of its uniqueness – making it less of an art-form and more of an item in a catalog for the home furnishing business.

However, there’re still artisans who continue the tradition of handweaving, and one of them is our neighbor, Central Coast resident Myla Collier.

“Today’s generation of Americans doesn’t know much about tapestry,” Myla admits. But the seventies, when she got started, was the time of tapestry’s triumph all over the world. Still, it wasn’t easy to get good at it, “because, even now, there are very few art schools in the US that offer formal training in this field,” Myla explains. “Americans often call tapestry what is, in essence, a needlepoint; many don’t quite understand that tapestry in its original form is a hand-woven fabric with imagery on it,” Myla comments. “Every time I am doing

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Myla with her husband, Bruce

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PEOPLE “I had an aunt who did a lot of dress-making and who taught me about it. Still, when I told her that I wanted to go into fashion, she gulped,” Myla recalls.

Nonetheless, right after finishing high school, Myla left her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio for an interview in New York, and was accepted at the Parson’s School of Design (now also the home of a popular TV show Project Runway). She eventually received her degree in Fashion Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY and later “worked there in sportswear design and textile marketing.”

As for tapestry, Myla learned it – at about the same time – almost by accident. She signed up for a class on weaving at the Craft Students’ League, where the only opening at the time was in the tapestry group. She went for it and was captivated by its cultural depth and the multiplicity of creative possibilities it offered.

a show, I have to bring my loom with me to explain to people how it all works,” she says.

Modern tapestry is quite different from the traditional Old World wall coverings of the kind you see at Hearst Castle or in history museums. Tapestry has evolved, adding new dimensions – sometimes literally! – to the old tradition of weaving.

Thus for Myla, an old madrone tree outside her son Gary’s condo in Southern California became an inspiration for a 3-dimentional piece of tapestry with applied crocheting added for depth.

In trying to capture the tree’s multi-tonal, deciduous, constantly exfoliating bark, Myla created a stunning piece where the light-burned sienna stripes, interwoven with the bright azure, form a pattern that at once mesmerizes and calms.

On one hand, “tapestry is an anachronism: it takes a lot of time to do,” Myla says. “But it’s one of the things that I really love about it – the process itself. I’ve never been to a psychiatrist,” she laughs. “My therapy is right here; I work out lots of my issues at the loom.”

Given a chance, people tend to gravitate towards trades and activities that bring forth their talents, and that’s what happened to Myla. Most jobs she’s had in life had to do with her desire to work with textiles.

In 1970 she moved to Los Angeles, and in 1974 married Bruce Collier, whom she met at the Sierra Club. “During the 1980s, while at home with our young son, I started my own business,” Myla says. At first she was selling hand-woven pillows and wall hangings to Los Angeles home furnishing retailers, but eventually switched to restoring Navajo textiles. “Textile restoration is a very difficult job,” Myla explains: “You have to match the yarn and the texture exactly.” She worked for art dealers and volunteered at the South West Museum in Los Angeles at a time when it was reorganizing and cataloging its collections. (“That collection has since been folded into the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles,” Myla comments.) “It really got to me then: wow! I am working on a piece of fabric that a woman created a hundred years ago!”

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And because of this enthusiasm, it’s hard to imagine Myla retiring. “I’ve been lucky,” she says. “I’ve been accepted at most shows I entered.” Still, there always seems to be the next show to work towards.

In her studio in downtown San Luis Obispo Myla holds weekly workshops, modeled after those given by Archie Brannon, a wellknown Scottish weaver and probably one of the last in the trade who went through a true apprenticeship. “I don’t mean to compare myself to Archie,” Myla says, “but I like the idea of a gathering where artists spend several hours together, making something new in a laid-back and friendly environment.”

“There’s always this question in our field: is it art or just craft?” Myla says. “I don’t know the answer to this question. What I do know is that when I am working on a piece, I don’t want to make something average, however skillfully done. I want to do something that’s really interesting. Something that you will want to keep looking at.” And she succeeds at it.

You can see some of Myla’s work at the Arts Obispo Valentine Show, Hearts Obispo 5. For details, call 543-9514 or visit www.mylastapestry.com

This work got her interested in anthropology.

She decided she “needed to learn more about the people who made these textiles.” This need prompted her to go back to school. “I earned a B.A. and M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from CSU, Long Beach,” Myla points out.

Now Myla and Bruce live in San Luis Obispo, and when she is not teaching, she’s working in her studio.

A real artist always pushes the boundaries of the familiar, and Myla keeps experimenting with new ideas. “There’re so many interesting techniques in this field!” she says. Recently she saw some work done by a Romanian weaver who learned shaped weaving in a folk school, and now she wants to try it, too. “I’ve done some similar things in the past,” Myla says, “and it will be fun to try it again. The older I get, the more fun I am having!” she chuckles.

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finding family

...an american adoption story

By Susan Stewart

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he name Lemmer leapt off the computer screen and into Robin’s consciousness like a 3D effect in a sci-fi movie. The town was right, the year was right, the name was right: Rita L. Fritz – said the first line of the obituary – the name of the birth mother Robin never knew existed until now. But it was the name in parenthesis – Lemmer– that was truly shocking. According to the paperwork finally given to Robin earlier that year, she now knew that Lemmer was also her birth father’s name. And there was more. The second line of the online obituary contained the names of three more Lemmers, the living children her birth parents had left behind.

As Robin scanned the rest of the obituary, her mind struggled to absorb the fact that the birth mother she’d been searching for these past six months was dead. What she had not expected was that her birth mother had apparently, if the obituary was to be believed, reunited with her birth father and had three more children with him. Somewhere out there, Robin had three full siblings to find. And a whole host of questions to get answered.

What happens next is a Lemmer reunion that reveals a tale even the movie-of-the-week crowd would have a hard time believing. It’s the story of two young lovers, their forbidden love, and the child they could not keep. It’s the story of that child, Robin, and the adoptive parents who believed an adopted child should never know her birth parents. It’s the story of a man, Alfred “Al” Lemmer, who died at the wheel of his girlfriend’s car at the age of 44, leaving behind two, possibly three women and their eight, possibly nine children to mourn him. And it’s the story of the Lemmer siblings, brought together after more than half a century.

Sealed records, old belief systems, and out-dated laws make it difficult for adopted children and their parents to find each other – but not impossible. Robin Hendry and her sister Toni Heritsch have spent hours researching, speculating, and unraveling the mystery surrounding the circumstances that led them to live separate yet eerily parallel lives for fifty years.

Toni and Robin at their first meeting in 2009

two of them began searching the Internet. Within 24 hours, an Internet search brought up the obituary that would lead to the discovery of Robin’s three full siblings in Wisconsin, three half-siblings in California and one half-sibling in Michigan. Classmates.com helped Robin locate her California relatives, all born prior to her birth in 1953.

Robin contacted the California Lemmers first and later that year, she and two of her California half-sisters, Terri and Lori, had a joyful meeting at Robin’s home in San Luis Obispo. They confirmed that they had three half-siblings in Wisconsin, but they didn’t know exactly where.

In February 2009, Robin was ready to meet them, and told the California sisters she was going to contact them. Excited and anxious, the California Lemmer siblings made the first contact with the Wisconsin siblings, and a day later Robin contacted them herself, the ice having been broken. Toni jumped on a plane as soon as she could and in April she and Robin met in person – a “reunion” 53 years in the making.

What is now known is that Alfred Lemmer and his first wife (name unknown) had three daughters between 1947 and 1950 (these are the California Lemmers, Robin’s half-sisters). The family was living in San Francisco when Al and his wife separated in 1952. Al met Rita Gregory that summer, and Rita became pregnant. Al tried, but could not secure a divorce in California, so he returned to Arkansas in an effort to get one there. The baby was born prematurely in 1953 and Rita named her tiny daughter “Madeline,” keeping Al’s last name of Lemmer. At the urging of her mother, and understanding the hardship of raising a child alone at that time, Rita gave the baby up for adoption and moved back to Wisconsin.

In 2005, when Robin was in her fifties, her adoptive mother finally told her that she had in fact been adopted and supplied her with the paperwork to confirm it. These documents gave her the name of her birth mother, the date and place of her birth, the name of her birth father, the date of her adoption, and the date it became final. Also included in the documents, drawn up on the letterhead of a prominent law firm, were some basic medical history, the story of how her birth parents met, and what led them to give their daughter up for adoption. The paperwork led Robin to believe that after her adoption, her birth parents went their separate ways. She was torn about finding her birth parents and stored the documents safely away, always wondering where they were, who they were.

In 2008, Robin learned that a co-worker, Mona, had adopted a child years prior. When Robin mentioned that she too had been adopted and in fact had paperwork with details, Mona offered to help, and the F E B R U A R Y

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The four Lemmer siblings meeting for the first time in Milwaukee, 2009.

PEOPLE A year later, Al returned to Milwaukee … and to Rita! They had three children—Toni, Niki, and Mark—between 1955 and 1958.

Al’s divorce from his first wife finally came through and he married Rita in 1958. But the marriage did not last. In 1965, Al and Rita separated and in 1966, Al died of a heart attack. He was found slumped at the wheel of car belonging to a woman believed to be his girlfriend on the coldest Milwaukee day in

mother claims she told her when Robin was a child. Suddenly years of doubts and odd feelings were explained: Why didn’t she look like anyone else in the family? And why did her cousins tease her about that? Why did she feel so drawn to the Roman Catholic church when she was being raised in the Jewish faith? Why was she treated so differently from her sister as they were growing up? And what about that suitcase that stood packed

A trip to Wisconsin last year held many healing moments for Robin, as well as many delightful surprises. recorded history. At the funeral, a mysterious red-haired woman was noticed lurking at the back of the church. To this day, all the Lemmers wonder if Al had yet another child with this new girlfriend, leaving a third family to mourn his death. Rita eventually remarried and died of cancer in 2004.

In February of 2009, Robin spoke to her sister Toni in Wisconsin for the first time, triggering an avalanche of “coincidences” and memories that explained the many mysteries they had each experienced as children.

Anxious to see pictures of her newfound sister, Toni watched in awe as a photograph of Robin downloaded inch by inch on her computer screen. “Oh my god,” she thought, “This is my mother.” Robin looked so much like Rita, that Toni was sure she was looking at a picture of her mother, not her sister.

Suddenly, a statement on her own birth certificate made sense. Toni was the first of three children born to Al and Rita Lemmer in Wisconsin, or so she thought. But on the line that said “number of previous live births to this mother” was the number one (1). When she questioned this, Toni was told there had been a child born before her but was admonished never to speak of it again, as it would “break her mother’s heart.”

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soothing resolutions, the Lemmers warn that not everyone should expect the same results.

“You may not find what you’re looking for,” Robin cautions. “You have to expect that not everyone will be happy to be united with you.

Some people may even question the motive behind the reunion.”

They understand that their story is not the norm, that not everyone feels compelled to find their birth parents or the children they gave up. Still, they are willing to help.

“Gather all the facts and approach the search like a scientist on CSI,” said Robin.

“For example, I knew the birth years of my half-sisters so I could then figure out what year they had graduated from high school.

Classmates.com did the rest. Write down everything you know and surmise different possible scenarios. When you have two facts from different sources that match, then you know you’re on the right track.”

with Robin’s things month after month beside the front door? Was Robin’s adoptive mother afraid that her birth parents might one day come to take her back?

While not all of these questions have been answered, a good many of them have. A trip to Wisconsin last year held many healing moments for Robin, as well as many delightful surprises.

During their visit, Toni and Robin discovered they not only share physical similarities, but have acquired many of the same habits and tastes despite the long distance that kept them separated for so many years. Photographs of Toni’s and Robin’s daughters show babies who look exactly alike. And today, after knowing each other for only two years, they feel like twins, finishing each other’s sentences and reading each other’s thoughts.

Toni took Robin to the two cemeteries in Milwaukee where Rita and Al are buried, bringing Robin a sense of enormous closure.

Toni also recalls the year the whole family of Wisconsin Lemmers packed up and moved to San Francisco when she was still in grade school. Could it be, they wonder, that Rita and Al went searching for the little girl they’d given up? If so, their search proved unsuccessful, and they soon returned to Wisconsin.

All eight of the Lemmer siblings – the three in California, the one in Michigan, the three in Wisconsin, and Robin – have taken to regular phone calls, emails, sharing photographs and the small historical facts of their lives. Only the one sibling in Michigan has yet to meet her half- sisters and brother in person. The others visit and vacation together, they introduce their children (now cousins) to each other, and they continue to revel in their new-found connections. “There is no doubt that we all come from the same father,” says Robin. “No doubt at all.”

In the meantime, Robin (Al and Rita’s baby daughter Madeline) was growing up with her adoptive mother and father and sister in northern California. Robin has no recollection of being told she was adopted until she was in her fifties, though Robin’s adoptive

Robin’s adoptive mother is aware of her discoveries. Though doubtful at first about the wisdom of adoptees searching for their birth families, Robin’s adoptive mother has come to accept it. And while their situation has resulted in happy reunions, mysteries solved, and

Toni and Robin and their families have become very close, visiting each other as often as possible and phoning, texting and emailing almost daily. The sisters are planning a cruise together in 2011. “This changed my life,” said Toni. “At last I feel whole and complete,” said Robin.

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PEOPLE

sisterhood

...breast Cancer survivors’ retreat

By Janis Wyman Mayfield

W

Retreat Percussion Session

e come from far and near–Sacramento, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Fresno, Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande, Los Osos. We are white, black, and Hispanic; old, young, and in-between. We are career women – teachers, business owners, librarians, secretaries, and insurance processors.

Most of us are mothers. We sport trendy clothes, business suits, hats, or athletic wear. Our hair is honey blonde, flaming red, jet black, mousy brown, silver gray, curly, straight, fuzzy, or gone. We twenty women who have never met, drawn together by a common journey, are sisters at first sight.

I am tired; my last chemo infusion was just four days ago. Still woozy and my stomach unsettled, I attend a Breast Cancer Survivors’ Retreat hosted by Enhancement, Inc., at The Inn at Morro Bay this gorgeous October weekend on the Central Coast. The sun sets with a blaze of color behind Morro Rock as we pull suitcases to ten comfy rooms at the edge of the water. We meet roommates and settle in. I like Paula. We discover that her niece knows my daughter. Paula is a children’s librarian, and I have taught preschool for thirty years, so we share much in common besides breast cancer.

We hike to The Inn’s restaurant for a beautiful, healthy meal together.

Afterwards we sit in a large tribal circle. We have stories to tell – for our healing and for others’ support. By the time my turn comes, I am exhausted and don’t share much. “That was short,” someone says. I explain about the four days since chemo and get nods of understanding.

As unique as the person telling it, each story reveals a different journey. Choices. Lumpectomy or mastectomy? Single or bilateral?

Genetic or random? Estrogen-receptor positive or negative? Chemo?

Radiation? How long? Both chemo AND radiation? Which oncologist? Alternative therapies. Healings. Metastases.

I learn the lingo. “How far ‘out’ are you?” We sound like an A.A. group; “Hi, my name is Jan, and I am seven months out,” and “I’m June. I’m twenty-eight years out.” We listen, we laugh, we cry. We talk of life beyond slash, poison, and burn. We discuss body changes in ways we would not share with many. These strangers, now sisters, understand.

Bald heads, unusual wigs, lymphedema sleeves, or scarred chests bother no one. We could strut around without prostheses unembarrassed. We tell each other how beautiful we are, and mean it. We speak somberly, reflectively, or humorously, but always honestly and from the heart.

On our way to yoga class, we encounter women from the Inn not associated with our retreat. They ask where we are headed, wanting to F E B R U A R Y

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PEOPLE grows everywhere. Marisa, our percussionist and teacher, enthusiastically demonstrates instruments from a variety of cultures. We learn to clap the syllables of our names before trying instruments – drums, sticks, shakers and five-gallon water bottles. We laugh and surprise ourselves with our rhythmic unity as we fill the chapel with the beat of fun.

Janis Mayfield with her collage

come, too. “You ladies seem so charismatic, so happy.” Yes. We are having great fun, and we deserve it.

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ing group, I keep on cutting and gluing. I’m addicted to fun, too excited to stop.

After a freeing, specialized yoga session with our teacher, Shoosh, we experience how members of our community want to support us. We collect information from the American Cancer Society, receive massages from lymphedema therapists, and sign up for a survivors’ rowing team.

During free time I work on my collage. Some take drumming again. Others write in journals, answering questions that direct thoughts about our journeys. Already involved in a writ-

The retreat brochure states: “Uninhibited expression of feelings and emotions through art may help to release the fear, anxiety and anger many cancer patients experience. … By relieving stress, the body’s immune system and, therefore, resistance to disease, may be heightened.”

We tell our stories, share meals, sing, drum, create, laugh, cry, and dance. We sisters who had never met, begin to heal.

Enhancement, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of breast cancer survivors with programs such as these retreats. For further information on future retreats or other programs, visit their website at www.enhancementinc.org. or call them at 805-771-8640.

Art. I love art, the reason I signed up for this particular retreat. We gather at large round tables heaped with scissors, glue sticks, markers, and magazines galore. Joanne, our sistersurvivor, nationally-known artist and retired art professor at Cal Poly, inspires us to express ourselves through collage. We each choose a unique handmade art journal from a colorful display. Scissors devour magazines like hungry alligators. “Louisa, here’s the hands you were looking for!” “ Who wanted a bald head?”

“There are good letters in this County Living.”

The scraps fly. Rosalie volunteers for trash can duty, trying to keep up with us. As books fill, we are enlightened by the stories they reveal.

After dinner we drive under starry autumn skies to a local bookstore with a small stoneand-glass chapel in back. All nearby businesses closed for the night, we have the whole space to ourselves. Inside, huge green foliage

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a new organization sponsors a new kind of conference

By Hilary Grant

T

ake-your-breath-away coastlines, charming downtown villages, vineyards known around the world.

These are some of the very best things about the Central Coast, but there’s another, undeniably darker side: one in every eight residents in SLO County is living in poverty.

Not just those homeless who survive on the street, this figure more accurately reflects the working poor – by federal standards, a family of four earning $22,056 per year or less.

Here’s another dispiriting County statistic: renters need to earn nearly $21 per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment here, but the average tenant makes less than half of that wage. Indeed, nearly 60 percent of those now without a place to live are in this position because they have recently lost their homes due to our tough economic times; additionally, the County’s general assistance program has seen a 25 percent increase within the last five years.

A one-year-old group called SLO Communities Bridging Poverty wants to change these numbers for good.

To that end, this all-volunteer, grassroots organization is sponsoring Opportunity Conference 2011.

While not open to the public, event organizers are looking for at least 80 volunteer “navigators” to attend.

These are defined as local residents who can assist conference goers in moving through the bureaucratic complexities of non-profit and government programs already in place for those living in poverty.

Four hours of training are required on the day of the conference, and navigators will also be provided with a resource handbook. These caring volunteers must also make a six-month commitment to at least one conference participant, and may be asked to work with up to three individuals.

Ruscki also hopes that navigators will use personal contacts to network for jobs that might fit the individuals under their tutelage.

The highlight of the day will be keynote speaker Donna Beegle.

Beegle should be just another statistic in a social worker’s file.

Growing up in a generational migrant labor family that followed fruit harvests in Oregon to Washington and California, Beegle is the only member of her family who hasn’t seen the inside of a jail or prison.

Leaving home at age 15 so her parents would have one less mouth to feed, she found herself at 25 with no husband, few job skills, and two children. But thanks to a pilot program that provided a much needed kick start to Beegle’s self esteem – “I learned I wasn’t the cause of my poverty” – Beegle first earned a high school diploma, then an associate of arts degree at a community college.

The free all-day event takes place later this month, and is also the first of its kind in California.

She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate in education, then taught speech communications at Portland State University, in Oregon, for eight years.

The group – made up of many community service employees from more than half a dozen agencies, including workers from the SLO Department of Social Services (DSS), Transitions Mental Health Association and the Food Bank Coalition – hopes to see about 175 persons attend.

Today, Beegle is a national public speaker and CEO of PovertyBridge, a new nonprofit dedicated to permanently changing the lives of people in poverty.

Each participant, living in poverty but seeking significant change, has already received an invitation. All are clients in at least one of the County’s social service programs.

The event is at Cuesta College on Saturday, February 26, from nine o’clock in the morning to four in the afternoon. No-cost transportation and child care are also being provided. Among other information, conference goers will learn about multiple training opportunities for good-paying jobs, advocating for their children, and even picking up a free outfit for that all-important interview.

“This conference is important because it’s a place where people living in poverty can make the connections they need,” says Evelyn Ruscki, program manager at DSS and chairperson of the conference steering committee.

“Hopefully, through baby steps within our community, we can become more tolerant and supportive of those who have found themselves on hard times, or have grown up in generational poverty.”

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Conference keynote speaker, Donna Beegle

HOME/OUTDOOR Evelyn Ruscki, Program Director of DSS and Lee Collins Director of DSS

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children who will be spending the day with us, as well as some food and venue costs,” she says.

“We’ll also gladly give donors as much visibility as possible, and for major donors, we will sing from the mountain tops!”

Lee Collins, director of SLO County DSS, adds that this conference might provide one more way to understand poverty – and then provide options for how to get out of it.

“Poverty has many roots,” says Collins, who will participate in the event and, growing up with a single mother in Fresno, was a child of poverty himself.

Beegle also created the navigator concept.

“Donna has literally been able to transform the lives of people who are living in poverty,” says Leslie McKinley, a SLO marketing consultant in charge of media and public relations for Opportunity Conference 2011.

“For those who truly want to improve their lives, and are willing to make profound changes to do so, Donna’s message, and her plan of action, is a moving one.”

With a conference budget of $40,000, McKinley says there is also still a need for cash donations.

“We’ll be providing gift bags for our participants, gift bags for the

“Many are born into it, while others have it suddenly thrust upon them,” he explains. “Those who have lived middle-class lives before becoming impoverished tend to have a better skill set that helps them to recover more quickly.

“But those who are born into poverty lack the experience and mentors that would help them emerge out of it. If we want to be serious about changing poverty, then those of us in social service work must be prepared to talk about the issue – and to urge on the solutions.

“We’re doing this at DSS. Now, we’re urging others to involve themselves in the discussion as well.”

To find out more about the first annual Opportunity Conference 2011, visit slopoverty.wordpress.com. Those wanting more information about becoming a donor or volunteer navigator should call Jan Knutson at SLO County DSS at (805) 781-1872.

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HOME/OUTDOOR PULSE

ready, set, go

By Julian J. Varela

I

t may be best to start this article with its overall theme in case you’re immediately annoyed with what I’m going to say. So here it is; maybe it’s time to stop over-thinking everything and just do it already. And even if you fall flat on your face en route, start again. Even if you decide to stop reading at this point it’s OK, you get the message. If however you’d like to read a little bit more go ahead, sit down, relax for a bit and then get ready to get started.

If memory serves me correctly I read a quote saying that “if you look back at the age of 50 and still see things the same way you did when you were 20, you really haven’t lived.” Most of us tend to live life fairly similarly day in and day out; breakfast, work, lunch, work, dinner and sleep (and hopefully a shower or two at some point in between). We’re taught to complete highschool, move on to college and do our best

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to land a nice paying career allowing us to set aside ample monies for the traditional great American dream and joys of retirement. For so many, this is what life is about.

I’m not suggesting that one should avoid the above, but I will entertain the idea that there is much more, so much more.

One of my closest family friends never ceases to surprise me. Married in her early 20s, she chose not to dedicate life to her career but rather to her family. It wasn’t until she was in her 40s that she decided to go back to school to pursue a law degree.

Fast forward five years and she was running a successful practice in family law and following her dream. Even after her husband’s unfortunate death 10 years later she chose not to slow down or stop living life. While continuing to work as an attorney she began taking classes at the local college in flower design, pottery, sculpting, you name it. Within a few years she found new love and is now married and more energetic than ever. This woman consciously chose to live life to the fullest and has continued to do so through experiential learning. She most certainly sees life differently now than she did in her 20s.

In my opinion, many individuals don’t live life to the fullest for three reasons: sheer laziness, fear of the unknown, or fear of failure.

If you’ve made as many mistakes as I have you’ll come to find that true learning is born from failures and success is a direct result of sometimes falling flat on your face and getting right back up again. General Chuck Yeager once said, “You don’t concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done.” Whether it’s finishing school, starting a business, reinventing your relationship, your dream of becoming a pilot or reinvigorating your health, it’s time to start.

Along the way you will encounter obstacles and may even fall flat on your face, but that’s no reason to give up. Thomas Edison said that “our greatest weakness lies in giving up.

The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Say it like it is Mr. Edison. As far as fear goes, I think it’s OK to be afraid because that’s where courage comes in. Courage means being afraid to do something, and still doing it anyway. Many people make the mistake of confusing laziness with other things.

Laziness is an interesting thing and a habit that almost all of us can let go of anytime we

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“If you look back at the age of 50 and still see things the same way you did when you were 20, you really haven’t lived.” want, but we choose not to. We blame our problems, especially in school, on our lack of intelligence – or stupidity. For example, if students feel unmotivated or lazy, they do not complete the required assignments for the class and then they blame their bad grades on their lack of intelligence. They believe that a bad grade was the result of not having the ability to understand the material and ignore the fact that their bad grade was totally the result of their laziness. The good news is that laziness is something everyone has the ability to control and overcome instantly. You can let laziness stand in your way, but it doesn’t have to. We create our laziness...so we can overcome our laziness!

Here’s what I know about you: You’re not lacking ability. You’re not lacking intelligence. But, sometime you’re lacking diligence. Here’s the bad news; it’ll take years to make an unintelligent person intelligent.

Here’s the good news; a person can become productive almost instantly. You can overcome your laziness right now!

I’ve talked a lot about goals I’d like to achieve over the last couple of years and honestly there are a few that have been hanging over my head. My goal during this next year is to stop talking about it and start doing it. I’ve said it a million times before but truly it’s the start that stops most people. So let’s start the year off right: stop talking about it and just do it already.

Julian J. Varela holds a Master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Julian co-owns Equilibrium Fitness and Equilibrium Fitness for Women. Contact Julian at Julian@eqclubs.com with questions or comments. Follow Julian’s blog at julianvarela.blogspot.com.

S L O IPNF EFTJHO EJTUSJDU

Use Indoor Plants to Brighten Your Home This Winter

By Statepoint Media

G

ot the winter blues? Or perhaps you’re looking to brighten the ambiance in a room.

Indoor gardens are an inexpensive way to lift your spirits, change your decor, and bring a little sunshine to short winter days.

And February is National Indoor Gardening Month, offering you the perfect opportunity to learn the basics to growing plants indoors.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started: Things to Consider Before buying up the garden section of your local home improvement store, it’s important

to decide what you want to grow.

House plants can grow under the relatively low light levels, but fresh herbs like basil and cilantro require a more direct sun or artificial light to thrive. And flowering plants like tomatoes and petunias require even more light – either a sunny window or grow lights.

Once you’ve decided what you want to grow, it’s time to decide on a space for your garden. Consider things like potential drafts, floor and shelf space, access to water and room for grow lights, if needed.

Growing herbs at home is an easy way to save money.

You should also consider how much time you have to nurture new life forms in your home. If you travel a lot or work two jobs, you may want to grow plants that need infrequent watering. If you’re retired or a homebody, you can stock your home with more plants of greater diversity.

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Even though the prospect of moving m future, you owe it to yourself to learn h living in your own home for man I P N F E F T J H O E J T U S J Dcarefree U Elements and Exceptions Just like their exposure to light, different plants need different amounts of water and types of nutrients. Slow growing plants need fewer nutrients and often less water. Fast growing plants like to be consistently damp. Trial and error and a bit of research will help in determining what’s right for the plants you want to grow.

Or you can use innovation to your advantage. For example, a product called the AeroGarden is a soil-free, indoor growing system that lets you grow anything from tarragon to tomatoes using liquid nutrients, energy-efficient grow lights and hydroponic technology that eliminates over- and underwatering. These technologies allow plants and vegetables to grow nearly twice as fast.

“Home-grown vegetables and herbs are great ways for families to save money,” says J. Michael Wolfe, President of AeroGrow, the makers of the AeroGarden. “So it’s even better that families can now grow their vegetables year-round.”

Plants that Grow Best Indoor planting requires some thought in terms of what to grow and when. For ex-

ample, you can “force” a variety of spring tients. Or you can grow more hardy plants bulbs to grow by chilling them for a few like cacti, aloe vera and spider plants. months before winter in. But most It’s sets a fact offor life that asRegardless we get of older, Pristine is fully what you grow, indoor garpeople, it’s easier to grow plants suited for become dens can bringtoo new life and licensed a feeling ofand ins indoor climates. some day-to-day tasks eternal spring. much to handle on our own. That All of our worke For flowering plants, some common favorites doesn’t mean you have to move away are carefully scre include African violets, geraniums and impa-

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24

HOME/OUTDOOR

at the market Winter Fruit salad with Pomegranate and Chia seeds

By Sarah Hedger

A

s we roll into February of 2011 we welcome an impressive amount of winter fruits and vegetables at the local markets. The amazing citrus comes to mind as my mom has an impressive citrus orchard where I find myself grazing and foraging whenever I visit. We are lucky to find citrus orchards prevalent on the Central Coast and many cyclists can attest to the glorious smell of citrus blossoms growing in the orchards while making the trek out to Lopez Lake. The other (often overlooked) fruit that is in more backyards than we tend to pay tribute to is the pomegranate. I have a hard time not thinking it is a bit ironic that we (as a society) often search high and low looking for the latest greatest supplement or superfood, while we have a pomegranate tree growing in the back yard. The antioxidant count and fiber content alone would leave us running to the nearest roadside fruit stand looking to buy (or sell) this amazing fruit.

February’s recipe is simple, beautiful, and impressively healthy. The simplicity is that most of us won’t have to go far for the ingredients,

perhaps even a trip around the neighborhood! The recipe for Winter Fruit Salad with Pomegranate and Chia Seeds is all the things our taste buds crave this time of year: crisp, fresh, tart, and sweet all at the same time. While it is simple to prepare with perhaps a couple of new ingredients, it is a great supplement to just about any diet and quite honestly, what I have been enjoying for breakfast lately. In deciding what recipe to share this month and tossing some ideas around with those I cook for and eat with frequently, the response was the same and with that it is time I give the chia seed a long overdue shout out. My interest was sparked after reading the book Born to Run and learning how the tribe of runners were sustaining themselves with small handfuls of the amazing chia seed. By now it might seem odd to you the same type of seed used to make the Chia Pet is being claimed to be one of the most impressive superfoods (high nutritional value with

The Beauty of Natural Stone...

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medicinal properties) we can get our hands on (and quite affordable).

Fortunately, it doesn’t even take a tablespoon of chia seeds to contribute their high levels of essential fatty acids (think a cup of flax seed’s benefits in a tablespoon of chia seeds), great soluble fiber, vitamins A, D, E, and K, and one of the highest amounts of Omega 3’s found in a vegetable source. The claims for the Chia seed run great with the likes of Andrew Weil being a strong proponent for their high amount of antioxidants while not needing to be ground (such as flax) in order for the body to absorb all it has to offer. While there is no question I could go on and on about this amazing source, it is only one of the beneficial ingredients in this Winter Fruit Salad. The pomegranate seeds and the grapefruit offer great juicy tartness while the oranges, pear, and honey balance with just the right amount of sweetness. Last but not least, the amazing little chia seeds offer a nice crunch to round out the palate.

Give this fruit salad a try and feel free to alter it to whatever you might have growing in your (or your neighbor’s) backyard. Enjoy!

Winter fruit salad with pomegranate and chia seeds For the salad: 2 Pomegranates

2 Navel or Valencia oranges 1 Red grapefruit 1 Apple (good and crisp such as Granny Smith or whatever smells best) 1 Pear ¼ c. Chia seeds 1 T. good, local honey

Update on Dental Care

Today’s Dentistry…

Going after life full-blast!

B

eauty is in the eye of the beholder, yes. And so is self-esteem.

The darkened tooth that drives on e i nd iv idu a l Dr. Dassenko crazy may matter little to another. You may have a space between your front teeth that, rather than distract from your appearance, is rather engaging.

A good cosmet ic dent a l practice considers your selfimage, as you see it. Fine cosmetic dentistry is not so much about creating “per fection,” but minimizing the defects that interfere with your personal success. Defects that may prevent a smile from coming naturally.

So dialogue between you and your dentist is key. You’ll carefully explain what you see that needs shoring up. And the dentist, after

consultation, translates that need into a realistic result.

And the translation can be breath-taking. New whitening techniques can brighten teeth visibly in a very short amount of time. A bond here, a bond there, reshapes a chipped tooth in a single visit. Porcelain veneers are a newer option for contouring front teeth.

Ou r practice believes in consult ation a nd eva luation before we begin. We get “inside your head” as far as we can to determine what treatment is best for you. We’re here to answer your questions—give us a call.

Pamela Dassenko, DDS practices cosmetic and family dentistry at: 1250 Peach Street, Suite G San Luis Obispo CA (805) 549-8483 www.DrDassenko.com

A Paid Health Commentary

Quarter whole pomegranates and remove pomegranate kernels into medium sized bowl (*warning – wear a dark shirt and doing this part of the process with the bowl sitting in a sink is not a bad idea as pomegranate juice likes to spray and stain).

Make sure not to let any of the pomegranate’s pale pith lining get into the salad bowl as it is a bit bitter and would not lend itself to a good tasting salad. Prepare the oranges and the grapefruit by cutting the peel off and then chopping the fruit into ½ inch pieces (if you have a cutting board that lends itself to being able to drain the fruit juices into the bowl, use it as the juices add great flavor to the salad). Cut the apple and pear into ½ inch pieces and add to the bowl with the pomegranates and citrus. Pour Chia seeds into fruit salad bowl as well as honey and give it a good stir. The salad is great enjoyed immediately or gets even juicier if chilled and eaten the next day.

Serve on its own or with some plain yogurt or kefir or fresh vanilla ice cream if you are feeling the need.

Makes 4 good servings of fruit salad. *Feel free to email me at sarahhedger@gmail.com if you have any food-related questions.

26

COMMUNITY

SLO county art scene Pecha kucha: speed dating for culture

By Gordon Fuglie

W

hen year 2000 dawned – back when we feared our computer clocks would internally combust our systems at 12:01 a.m. of the new millennium it seemed those folks who track changes in contemporary society noticed that our communications had quickened and multiplied.

They were right. Ten years later, the hunger for more and condensed information has spread from media mavens to all levels of society and gone global. Now everyone expects a cornucopia of “electronic fast food.”

While the Internet, Skype and video conferencing have added new dimensions to “face-time,” not to mention what Twitter and Facebook mean for “social networking,” we humans still like to be bodily among our flesh-and-blood species, gathering in a specific place with people we want to meet who share or complement our interests. But instant communication and our accustomed access to information have given us new expectations for such events: we want them to be stimulating, efficient and dynamic, and not just devoted to a single topic or expert.

Enter Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture.

Young architects with widely traveled educations and careers, they emigrated to Tokyo in 1988, living and working there for the past 22 years. Klein was born in Italy to German parents, schooled in France, educated in Britain. Her partner Dytham is British. In addition to their architectural practice, both teach and lecture around the world.

Accustomed to environments swirling with ideas and activity, they had grown weary of the typical academic architectural lecture – to its detractors a plodding 90-minute exercise in snore mongering.

Circumventing staid presentations, Klein and Dytham established a vibrant alternative for Japan’s international design community: the first “Pecha Kucha Night” in Tokyo in 2003. Further breaking with tradition, it was not held in a formal lecture hall, but in SuperDeluxe, a combination gallery, lounge, bar, club and restaurant, in the founders’ words, “a place of experimentation; a noisy thing; an intimate ballroom with wholesome food; a network of all sorts; a place to enjoy; a place to enjoy others.”

Pecha Kucha is Japanese for “chit chat,” or the buzz of conversation.

The more Japanese-y transliteration is p’cha-k‘cha; the less initiated usually say, peh-chah – (pause) – coo-chah. The format for a Pecha Kucha Night is simple: a series of presenters with creative projects, each of whom must adhere to a strict format of 20 projections, 20 seconds each. This structure keeps presentations concise, expressly moving through the evening’s program. Allowing for an introduction, each presenter is “on stage” for six minutes and forty seconds – for the audience, the cultural equivalent of speed dating. While its original presenters were mainly architects or designers, Pecha Kucha more F E B R U A R Y

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recently includes visual artists, musicians, scientists, a variety of professionals, as well as students trying out new projects. It also exposes presenters to new and more diverse audiences than if they sought out specialized outlets, e.g. architectural journals or commercial art galleries. Much to the delight of Klein and Dytham, the unorthodox Pecha Kucha Night caught on like wildfire and is now staged in more than 370 cities globally.

Central California is home to two Pecha Kucha collectives. One is in Fresno, a metropolitan area, and the other is in San Luis Obispo. The San Luis Obispo collective largely grows out of the Cal Poly Architecture and Art & Design departments. I spoke with Tom Di Santo, an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, who teaches design, theory, representation and “the implementation of sustainable principles.” Other affiliates are Eric Meyer, Catherine Trujillo, Vanessa Amerson, Brian P. Lawler, Enrica Lovaglio and Peter Steynberg who directs the Steynberg Gallery where the quarterly presentations are hosted.

Di Santo informed me that San Luis Obispo was the eighty-first city to join the league of Pecha Kucha presenters, and Steynberg pointed out that “SLO is still the smallest city in the world to host Pecha Kucha Night, and is our own ‘cultural karaoke’ event for bringing people together for a stimulating evening of very diverse subjects” – or “REAL social networking in the physical realm,” adds Di Santo.

He and his colleagues organized the first SLO Pecha Kucha event in October 2007 at the Steynberg Gallery (1531 Monterey Street), an ideal site since it already had presented cultural offerings along the lines of Tokyo’s SuperDeluxe. (The gallery also serves coffee, tea, beer, wine and various food items.) Since then, Steynberg has hosted thirteen “volumes,” or programs, four per year. A typical Pecha Kucha evening starts at 7:00 pm. Up to 8:20, informal conversations among the attendees are encouraged. At 8:20 sharp, or 20:20 international time, the presenters start showing their 20 images at 20 seconds each until the last one is finished.

In addition to architects, designers, artists and environmental sustainability speakers, SLO Pecha Kucha Nights have featured media art, performance art, dance and music, reflecting the pluralism of its mission, and the collective is looking forward to a lively 2011. For further information, the SLO collective may be reached at: pechakucha-sanluisobispo.blogspot.com; Steynberg Gallery: steynberggallery. com or 805-547-0278. The international PechaKucha web site is: pecha-kucha.org.

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28

COMMUNITY

Huttle up Play on

By Bob Huttle

“Music takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence, and whereto.” ---Ralph Waldo Emerson It’s New Year’s Eve and my wife sits by my side in the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly. She’s lovely in her holiday finery and wears my favorite necklace. I fear I’m a tad under-dressed for this occasion but I’m comfortable and pleasantly full after an early dinner on the patio at Novo. In front of us, the SLO Symphony is performing its very first New Year’s Eve concert and playing superbly. Musical Director Michael Nowak expertly stabs the air with his custom model TXR 6 baton (he informs us), the orchestra follows his moves in rhythm and in sync, professionals all. The elegant and world-class soprano, Maria Jette, is swirling the lyrics to the finest arrangement of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” I’ve ever heard. She’s from Minnesota, land of a thousand lakes and months of snow and ice, and I’m dumbfounded that this lady, with a honeyed voice like a warm holiday hot toddy who has regaled audiences world-wide, hails from the same state as professional wrestler and ex-governor Jesse Ventura. Go figure.

As the symphony continues to drape its musical comforter over us and the clock moves closer to the dropping of the ball in New York City’s Times Square (which we watch live on a huge screen), a bell begins ringing in my brain and I start to mentally form a list in my head and voila...I have the idea for this column. The list includes the following moments from my life: • Age 5 (perhaps my earliest memory): I’m in kindergarten and have been selected by my teacher to lead a parade for our school circus. As I march, I thump a big drum loudly and proudly.

• Age 9: My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Hayhurst, arranges for our class to attend the opera “Salome” (we called it “Salami”). I remember those voices causing goose bumps on my arms.

• Age 12 (sixth grade): My parents drag me to a high school marching band review and I am mesmerized by the drummers pounding away with blurring sticks on sparkling snare drums. I’m hooked; that’s what I want to do!

San Luis Obispo Symphony

full orchestra on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl. We play the Cat Stevens song as the Alvin Ailey Dancers bring the sun up and I’m certain I stop breathing for a moment.

• Age 30-something: I’m the drummer in the Monte Mills Lucky Horseshoe Band and we’re playing a Saturday night dance for the annual Mule Day Celebration in Bishop, CA. The boisterous crowd is up, concocting crazy western swing dance moves, looking like human pretzels, and having such a swell time, gosh darn it, and I realize something: it’s...the...music that’s propelling everything.

For me I guess it’s always been – and will always be – about the music. And I’ve concluded that it has been the PEOPLE along the way who have offered me musical moments that have shaped and helped me sing my own life’s tune. One teacher handed me a drum, another introduced me to opera. A yodeling cowboy farrier who strummed the guitar hired me to play country swing music for a bunch of mule enthusiasts and Cal Poly aggies and helped me appreciate and enjoy that “old time country swing” of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

• Age 24: I’m at the Music Center in Los Angeles to witness my first ballet. The music begins and...oh my goodness... a man comes leaping onto the stage like he was shot out of a howitzer and he bounds seven feet in the air and he’s doing impossible, gravity-defying jumps and spins, landing soundlessly and just when I think it can’t get any more impressive, a woman glides onto the stage, a human Venus, and she twirls flawlessly on her toe shoes, supported by the guy who was just leaping, and they are one together and I’ve never seen anything so exquisite in my life. And I always thought athletes only played sports.

• Age 28: “Morning Has Broken” on an Easter Sunday in L.A. and I’m behind the tympani drums (like SLO Symphony’s Ross Sears) with a F E B R U A R Y

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Bob with the Monte Mills Horseshoe Band in 1980

Bob at the drums at 15

COMMUNITY

29

Mid State Fair and other venues have brought us world-renowned musicians in stand-out performances. For me, the music just keeps playing and getting better. In 2011, why not dream a little; let’s bring in Yo Yo Ma, Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, the New York Philharmonic, Madonna, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, “Wicked” and the cast of “Glee.” There’s room here for everyone.

Bob at the drums at 13

Can you imagine life without music or musicians? Any music, any age, it doesn’t matter. Each of us loves the music we love and wouldn’t we find our lives incredibly empty and unfulfilled without it? Shouldn’t we appreciate, venerate, and thank those in all the arts who, as Plato says, “...give soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and [joy] to life and to everything”?

Here on the Central Coast we are blessed with musicians and performers who create music and dance to delight and enlighten us, music that civilizes us, music that, as Ralph

Waldo Emerson suggests, “whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder.” Here, there are passionate, inspiring teachers and performers who continue to elevate and promote the arts in lofty ways; would there were more. We have performance venues, inside and out, that capture and enhance the voices, instruments, and feet tapping out the beats.

In the future one can only hope that our community continues to experience and enjoy talented artists of all ages, styles, and levels of musical brilliance. In the past the PAC, Clark Center, SLO/Downtown Brew, Avila Beach,

Bob can be reached at rhuttle@charter.net.

He welcomes all voices but apologizes if he doesn’t respond right away. At any given moment he might just be off marching to the beat of a different drummer.

(For the record: In my November column about education I made the statement that “principals in the SLCUSD have been informed that, above all else, test scores are the #1 priority for each school site and that these need to improve annually.” I did not mean to imply that this was the only area of focus. I believe our educators, both in and out of the classroom, have their students’ best interests at heart and that a vast majority of them (educators) do superior work).

F E B R U A R Y

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30

COMMUNITY

Our Schools:

Predictions for the next decade

By Dr. Julian Crocker, County Superintendent of Schools

T

he beginning of a new year can be a time for predictions as well as resolutions. Since this year we are also beginning a new decade, I will make three predictions about issues that I think our schools will be facing not only during the next twelve months, but also over the next ten years.

Gary Sage –Trusted Insurance Advisor.

1. The Changing Nature of How Students Learn. At the end of World War II, thousands of GI’s returned home and took advantage of the “GI Bill” to enter college.

One of the results of this influx of older students was that the nature of both what was taught and how it was taught changed dramatically in response to the maturity and life experiences these “new” students brought to classrooms. Teachers reported that students expected that the content needed to be relevant to their needs, and teaching strategies needed to engage students and keep their interest high.

The result of this influx of “GI’s” forever changed the way that college classrooms were conducted.

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I think our elementary and high schools are facing an even greater challenge today as we respond to the changing nature of how our students learn. Specifically, the digital intelligence that characterizes today’s students is very different from the student of a few years ago. The technological competence and expectations that students now bring to school are forcing changes in both what and how we teach to at least the same degree that returning “GI’s” forced colleges and universities to change in the late ’40s and ’50s. The instant and universal access to information that is available to most students creates an entirely new role for schools and teachers. The ability of students to access information and to interact with it and with others instantly is very different from previous innovations.

If the teacher and schools are no longer the main sources of information about what is being presented in class, then what is the job of the teacher?

Journal PLUS

Now, more than ever, it will be the role of the teacher to present how to use this expanded access to information to solve problems and to use the information in higher order thinking skills such as analytical thinking, synthesizing information from multiple sources and making evaluative judgments.

These thinking skills have always been a priority for effective teachers and perhaps the access to information now provides support for these skills.

2. The Changing Role of the Federal Government with Local Schools. The past 10 years have seen an unprecedented increase in the influence of our federal government on local schools and school districts. Historically, the federal government’s interest in local public schools was primarily for specific groups of students, such as those living in poverty or those with disabilities, to insure that these students received equal educational opportunity. Now, through the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, all students are subject to federal accountability review. Virtually all schools are now measured and labeled as being successful or unsuccessful using a federal scale. In addition, the federal government has set a proficiency target for all students to reach by 2014. An interesting aspect of this increased federal involvement at the local level is that so far there has been general bipartisan support.

If this trend continues during the next decade, it is legitimate to ask what the role of local school boards is.

3. The Search for More Stable and Adequate Funding for California’s Schools.

Given the dramatic reductions in funding for public schools in California over the past several years, I believe there will be renewed efforts to change substantially the way our state funds its schools. California currently ranks near the bottom (most reports place us at 47th) of states in per pupil funding for public schools. The public continually indicates that it supports increased funding for schools and recognizes the link between an educated population and our economic advancement as a state. I think there will be interest in not only providing more resources for schools, but also in simplifying the complex rules that now govern school finance in our state.

Each of these issues is complex and I think will be with us for several years before coming to resolution.

COMMUNITY

31

THE DOG NEXT DOOR

BLAZE FIRES UP THE DANCE FLOOR

By Jeanne Harris

B

laze is a dog who loves to dance. He is a 9-year-old Swedish vallhund who performs and competes in the sport of Canine Musical Freestyle. Blaze and his dance partner and dog mom, Ivy Underdahl, have been dancing together for four years. They began their dancing career at a class offered by Gentle Touch Pet Training in Arroyo Grande.

Canine Musical Freestyle incorporates a variety of elements: obedience training, foot work, tricks, musicality, and an interdependent connection between canine and human.

The two move in sync as well as independently. In any given dance routine, Blaze and Ivy may tap toes together to the beat of the music then back-step away, keeping their eyes focused on each other while moving effortlessly to the rhythm of a song. As Ivy moves forward, Blaze weaves between her legs, circling her and repeating the maneuver several times as they glide across the floor.

Their spectrum of steps and movements is creative and energy-fueled.

During training sessions, Blaze employs obedience skills he has learned over many years.

He must follow Ivy’s hand and voice cues and implement tricks she has taught him specifically for the dance she is choreographing. It requires hours of practice, patience, endurance, and lots of treats!

Ivy describes Blaze as a born performer. He lights up, barks joyfully, and has a fabulous time whenever he prances onto a dance floor. Audiences reciprocate. Ivy enjoys nothing more than to look out at a sea of beaming faces, mouths agape and laughing, fingers pointing at the human-animal spectacle. Often people are moved to tears as they witness the sweet communion between the vibrant, funny-looking herding dog and his adoring partner.

ment Center. The dancing duo flawlessly performed a routine to “Singin’ in the Rain” and wowed a packed house. It was a thrill for both of them.

However, their performances have not always been so successful. During their very first performance in front of a large crowd at a local animal shelter fundraising event, Blaze decided it would be more fun to entertain the audience his own way. A large crowd was gathered in a circle around the dance area. Kids sat on the grass wiggling their feet as they ate hot dogs and drank soda. The music began and Ivy started their routine. But Blaze was so distracted by the people and the food that he forgot about Ivy. He wandered into the crowd smiling and wagging his tail, greeting children and other dogs, as if to say “Welcome, I’m glad you’re here!” The crowd howled with laughter. Ivy was mortified, but like a seasoned performer, continued the dance. In the last seconds of the routine, Blaze heard the music that cued his final move. He leapt to his position and finished with his usual flair. From this experience, Ivy realized that she needed to work with Blaze on ignoring distractions. She did that and he never abandoned a performance again.

When Blaze and Ivy aren’t dancing, they are involved in many other canine-human pursuits. They travel around the country competing in agility trials, herding events,

Blaze and Ivy performing photo by Greg Lugo

rally obedience, and nose work trials. Blaze has acquired over twenty titles in the wide range of sports in which he competes. His accomplishments are impressive. It is unusual for a dog to excel in so many different activities. But Blaze is driven and focused.

He loves to learn and have fun, and he and Ivy are a devoted team.

According to Ivy, as well as many others, including strangers, Blaze has a way of beckoning people to him. He locks into a particular person with his friendly gaze, wags his tail, nods his head and releases a short bark. It’s as if he’s saying “I’d like to meet you and show you my tricks,” or perhaps he’s saying “Would you care to dance?”

To learn more about Swedish vallhunds, and to view a video of Blaze and Ivy dancing, visit Ivy’s website at www.solborgfarm.com.

Over the years Blaze and Ivy have entered several Canine Musical Freestyle competitions and have earned two titles in the sport. But their favorite dance venues are at non-competitive dog events. The ultimate show was at the AKC Eukanuba Invitational at the Long Beach Convention & EntertainF E B R U A R Y

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32

COMMUNITY

history part 5

charles H. johnson

By Joseph A. Carotenuti

For all its twists and turns akin to a rollercoaster ride in the dark, the anticipated and unplanned events of his life propelled Charles H. Johnson forward as his quest for personal and civic advancement led to its inevitable conclusion.

Here’s the story.

After the death of his wife in 1866, the proto-ancestor of San Luis Obispo became a single parent to Albert (age 11) and Mary Florence (5). If familial duties were more demanding, civic responsibilities slowly eased as he was unsuccessful in his bid for the Town’s Board of Trustees in 1870. By then, his pivotal role in the establishment of the small community had been rewarded with the granting of a federal patent (deed) to the town and with Johnson as grantee in trust for the residents.

Even if Johnson had a beneficial business and civic life, the means of employing help – including care of his children by relatives in Monterey – the times must have been lonely. At 53, he began a new personal calling in marriage to Jennie W. Cox (38) on July 9, 1878. Jennie and her older sister Catherine “Kate” were born in New York and eventually migrated to California to

Charles Johnson enjoying the view of San Luis in 1910

teach. Both will receive more details in a future episode.

For Johnson, it was a substantially different marriage than his first to Isabel. The Cox sisters were of a different generation and eventually with Mary Florence were involved in the suffrage movement. The newly weds’ only child, Rodney Victor, was born in 1882 and is the common ancestor for the present family members. Possibly a new wife and son revived some political interests as Charles made an unsuccessful bid in the same year for the Board of Supervisors.

Besides a life as farmer, businessman, husband and father, Johnson was also a friend. It was not common for newspapers to use first names and a diminutive was quite rare; yet everyone knew “Charley.” His loyalty was nowhere better seen than at the unexpected death of William J. Graves in 1884. On a steamer bound for home, he died “alone with the hand of death upon him” of an apparent massive coronary. He was 54. It was a terrible loss to Johnson. He met Graves when the latter was Inspector for the Port of Avila while Johnson was the Deputy Collector of Customs in Monterey.

Born in Virginia, a veteran of the Mexican-American War, Graves married one of the daughters of Jesus de Pio Pico, was prominent as one of the few attorneys in the county, elected twice to the State Assembly, served a term in the Senate along with duties as a County judge and assessor.

“Fidelity to friends,” an “extremely courteous manner,” “princely generosity, ” and “indulgent kindness” are a few of the fond reminiscences by Johnson in a published eulogy.

A counterbalance to his sorrow was the marriage of Mary Florence – now 23 - to Herman Thorne Livingston a few months later. The newspaper related the “fair and accomplished” bride was marrying a descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Philip Livingston’s other descendants include many notable Americans including Eleanor Roosevelt and the Presidents Bush. The marriage ended suddenly three years later when the 27-yearold Herman died in El Paso, Texas – known then as the “Six Shooter Capital.”

Little is known of Johnson’s other son Albert who had little local notice until after his father’s death. The then 60-year-old returned home to contest the will. Johnson bequeathed $10,000 to his eldest son but left the rest of his considerable estate to his wife, Jennie, daughter, Mary Florence, and son, Rodney who had been managing the assets for years.

In the summer of 1891, with his children, Charles embarked on an extensive European tour taking a week to cross from New York to Ireland on the seas that at times “threw its white waves like sheeted ghosts” against the ship Britannic. Reminiscent of the journal to California he had maintained nearly a half-century before, Johnson also

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COMMUNITY told of a burial at sea. As for Ireland, “poverty and distress” were the result of the “whiskey curse.” It is assumed Jennie remained in California to oversee the Johnson enterprises.

When a barn on the corner of Walker and Pismo Streets burned down, the local Evening Breeze attributed ownership to Mrs. Johnson. A few years later, she once again is quoted as to construction being planned for yet more fire ravaged buildings on the corner of Chorro and Higuera. “Mr. Johnson’s health is not very good,” explained the newspaper.

When Myron Angel wrote a letter of recommendation for Rodney in 1911 to the California Society of Pioneers, he excused his friend from the task stating he was “feeble.” The elder Johnson – now 86 – was an early member of the organization.

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Such was Charles Henry Johnson whose rich and varied life with its joys and sadness combined to leave a shadow and legacy mostly unimagined by him. Besides the immortality of progeny, he also left an indelible mark on the community – only vaguely recalled in a few public places – that deserves both respect and remembrance.

During his long and productive life, Johnson knew many but little did he realize the generations who still benefit from his endeavors or hear the echo of his walk.

Charles Johnson’s second wife, Jennie and son, Rodney on their ranch in 1915, which is now part of Cal Poly.

The headlines were bold and the news coverage laudatory with the notice of his passing in early April 1915. Johnson had been a part of the evolving community for 60 years. He had served his family, State and community well and deserved to be remembered and laid to rest in peace.

It is always a bit presumptuous to write of another’s life. Most documents reveal little of character, and speeches are more of the mind than of the heart. Any life is more significant than the sum of its parts, the events of the day or the ongoing drama of existence.

Certainly, in retrospect, there are some whose days are more than the mere tolling of time until the silence of an end.

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COMMUNITY

hospice corner Choosing who provides Your hospice care – there is a difference

By Ron McEvoy

W

hat is a medicare-certified, statelicensed hospice agency in the State of California?

The state dictates the minimum requirements to be provided by a hospice team to include medical direction, skilled nursing services, hospice aide services, social services / counseling services, volunteer services, bereavement services and inpatient care arrangements. In addition, in California, the licensed agency must satisfy the state definition of “hospice:” a specialized form of interdisciplinary health care that is designed to provide palliative care, alleviate the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual discomforts of an individual who is experiencing the last phases of life due to the existence of a terminal disease, and provide supportive care to the primary caregiver and the family of the hospice patient.

If you consider yourself a lover of modern architecture, high end design, seamless construction or state of the art electronics then you must see this marvel. It is simply unlike any other house in the City of San Luis Obispo. Perfect location with the ideal climate. Very private. The owner spent $2500 per square foot on construction which can be documented.

See the web-site for additional photos and more information. Asking $1,350,000. www.2191santaynezave.com

Johnny Hough Owner / Broker

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If you or a loved one is in need of hospice care, and there is more than one licensed Hospice agency in your area, you do have a choice.

In our area, Hospice Partners, a non-profit agency that took over the San Luis Obispo County’s licensed Hospice Agency a decade ago, believes our community desires more than the minimum when it comes to hospice care. We are proud of the fact that Hospice Partners offers the most extensive hospice program in our community, and the one that is most chosen by physicians and patients for their end-of-life care needs. Why are we different? Well, let’s begin with our Hospice Medical Directors – we have four. All of our physicians have Board Certifications, one in Hospice and Palliative Medicine; one in Oncology Medicine; one in Internal Medicine; and one in Family Practice.

Our clinical Director of Patient Care Services, who oversees the entire clinical staff, is in the process of completing a Masters of Nursing/Nurse Practitioner, with a specialty in Palliative Care, at Vanderbilt University. Eight of our hospice nurses are certified in Hospice and Palliative Care. They demonstrate a tested and proven competency across the spectrum of hospice and palliative nursing and show a commitment to their specialty practice. One of our nurses is a pediatric hospice nurse. If a child is terminally ill, it’s much more comforting for the family and the child to experience the last days of life at home instead of in a medical center that is normally out of the area. The whole family, including siblings, has an opportunity to share in the care of the child. The pediatric nurse’s expertise is important when it comes to medication dosages and frequencies, which are different for children and infants than adults.

COMMUNITY When the sun goes down, hospice services do not stop at Hospice Partners. We have four hospice nurses who share coverage for the night shift. The night nurses are available to respond to the needs of the hospice patients and their caregivers when the rest of us are sleeping. It may be a simple telephone response to an inquiry from a caregiver who needs clarification on medications that are being administered to the patient; or, it may be a home visit in the middle of the night to respond to the development of new patient symptoms that require intervention and the possible use of additional medications. When a hospice patient dies, the nurse may be summoned by the family for assistance. Whatever the need, the night nurses are there.

Although the primary focus of our bereavement program at our Center for Grief, Education & Healing is for the families of our hospice patients, we have expanded our program and facility to meet the needs of the community. We increasingly are approached by local physicians, health facilities, schools and community members to offer bereavement counseling to those not affiliated with our hospice program, which our five counselors provide willingly. Our bereavement manager has recently become nationally certified as a Grief Counselor and we have expanded our services to accommodate those with sudden unexpected loss and complicated grief. In addition, we have two counselors with extensive training and experience in child and adolescent counseling.

35

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We have three Hospice Musicians, whose live music to our hospice patients is both comforting and therapeutic. An internal study indicates that patients experiencing visits from our hospice musicians are less agitated and require less medication.

Our Administrator is a Certified Hospice Executive and Certified in Hospice Administration.

Finally, Hospice Partners is preparing to open a nine bed hospice inpatient unit this spring to provide a warm and dignified environment when a hospice patient’s pain and symptoms cannot be adequately managed at home, and around-the-clock hospice nursing care is required. The environment will surround the patients with the comforts of home; loved ones are encouraged to visit as often as they like and may spend the night.

What does this all mean? It means that we strive to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive end-of-life care to the residents of our community. It means that Hospice Partners is the organization to turn to for end-of-life care. It means that there really is a difference in hospices.

This monthly Hospice Corner is sponsored by Hospice Partners of the Central Coast. Ron McEvoy is the Event and Media Coordinator and has been with Hospice Partners for eight years. For more information, call (805) 782-8608, or visit our website at www. hospicepartnerscc.org.

SUDOKU SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 43 F E B R U A R Y

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COMMUNITY

Palm Street Perspective times have changed

By SLO City Councilwoman, Kathy Smith

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y the date of this Journal PLUS issue, a new set of Council Goals for the City of San Luis Obispo will have been adopted to guide us through 2011-2013. Such occurred on January 29th at an all-day public session at the City/ County Library.

I can assure you...what emerged were not innovative, inspiring community projects you might envision while reflecting about the “happiest city.” Rather, they are practical, down-to-earth strategies for reducing and balancing the cost of government while maintaining the quality of life we have become accustomed to in our own SLO-Town.

I am honored to have been elected, once again, to serve the citizens of San Luis Obispo. Some will recall my service from 1994 to

1998 when I owned the Garden Street Inn and was Executive Director for the SLO County Literacy Council. I thank you for your vote and faith in my ability to “do what is right” in your behalf. I will do my best.

Times have changed since the ‘90s. The service offered at this time calls for examining all programs/efforts to find opportunities to cut our upcoming budget to the tune of $3 million dollars. Hopefully, in the process, we can find ways to generate new revenue as well.

Clearly, San Luis is not alone in being challenged to propose painful changes as to how we do business in government. And, in fact, we are more blessed than others because we have strictly adhered to the 20% reserve policy for many years.

I see two elements rising to the top in goals. Not incidentally, they are ones I emphasized throughout my recent campaign: • Head-of-household jobs accommodated through a greatly enhanced Economic Development effort. That is likely to include the cost of adding infrastructure to encourage development...as well as streamlining the process facing businesses as they consider location in San Luis Obispo.

• Fiscal integrity maintained by taking action to cut the percentage of the SLO City budget invested in staffing. With five organized bargaining units in government, a magic wand cannot be used to slash wages/benefits. A two-tiered system as well as sharing the cost of pensions will likely be on the table. We appreciate our professional, dedicated staff and seek to find common ground as we consider effective options.

While I truly don’t have a crystal ball, I know top goal consideration will have included neighborhood concerns, open space, Measure Y investments, public safety, Los Osos Valley Road and other traffic challenges, affordable housing, Downtown projects, public transit, Laguna Lake, concern for the homeless...and so many more.

Financially, the City of San Luis Obispo MUST address the more than 80% investment required to maintain staff. To behave otherwise would be to violate the public trust of voters in our community.

As we move forward in these challenging financial times, I encourage residents to offer their thoughts as we seek shared solutions to all San Luis Obispo concerns.

Kathy can be reached at ksmith@slocity.org.

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Downtown

Around

The Magazine of Downtown San Luis Obispo

Inside:

W h a t ’s U p New Business News

February 2011

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an interesting story and once you get what it’s reetings! We continue in our series of all about and how the game is played, you can looking at the committees of the Downtown always find a place to park and avoid pretty Association, this month the Parking and Access much getting a parking ticket ever again.

Committee—one of my favorites in that parking’s been at the forefront of issues in Downtown since think you’ll enjoy looking at the inside workings even before I came on board in 1995. Ah, Parking. of the parking system in Downtown SLO and I’m always amazed at the at the level of emotion learn about the committee that works closely with this word evokes in conversation and wonder if the City’s parking department to educate, manage, it’s peculiar to this area since I don’t really witness enforce, build and in every way deal with where the vein-in-the-forehead popping, eye rolling, face Deborah Cash, CMSM, you put your vehicle when you come Downtown. scrunching reactions to the subject in other towns Executive Director n the mid 1900’s, the City of San Luis Obispo as I do here in San Luis. The line that really kills installed the first parking meters for the convenience me is, “I got a ticket and I’ll never come Downtown of customers. Yes, you read correctly. When you have again,” though I’m also left completely speechless at the a busy downtown area, what soon comes to pass is that “there’s no place to park” complaint. Stay with me here. the employees of the businesses end up taking all the o question that getting a parking ticket is the ‘good’ spaces for themselves, leaving visitors to park in pits. There’s something about that turquoise (or the hinterlands. The idea of meters is management: to whatever happens to be the color du jour) envelope on provide the most centrally located spaces for nearby access the windshield that triggers a thumping in the chest. But to the core, with varying degrees of further-out access for such language! Such foot stomping! Such yelling at longer stays (such as the parking structures and 10-hour the parking services officer—which, by the way, is meters). The fee structure is also based on convenience NOT okay. With the recent state mandated increases in and, as with any enterprise, you pay more for premium. fines, it is agreeably very difficult to keep your cool. ducation is key because if you know about the ut armed with some knowledge and understanding zones, the rates and the programs, you can pre-plan about why we have parking meters and lots and zones your trip so that you end up in a parking place and fees and fines, you’ll likely find parking itself is quite

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On the Cover: Bring your honey Downtown for Sweetheart Night at Farmers Market on Thursday, February 10 for an evening of music,

flowers, a photo in the photo booth and table and chair seating to sit and sip a soda together. The romantic event starts at 6 PM on Garden Street. Contact Diana Cotta 541-0286 for more details. Photo by Deborah Cash

Sweethearts Night at Farmers' Market

February 10, 2011 6-8:30pm Garden Street The Photo Booth Experience Jan Walters Harpist Flowers & Special Treats Spend a special evening together!

For more information 541 0286 www.DowntownSLO.com

Come celebrate with the ones you love at Farmers’ Market

(805) 541-9922

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Palazzo Giuseppe Offers:

Weekend Brunch Starting @ 10:30 am

In addition to the NEW Lunch & Brunch Menu

Family Dinner Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 4:30 - close Traditional family dinner, large portions to be shared

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that is both satisfactory to your location and where you’re not likely to get a ticket or a heart attack.

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he committee works with the City to determine where the zones are designated, what the fees should be, what options are offered, the hours of operation, along with programs of alternative access such as free bus service for Downtown employees, bicycle parking, car and vanpooling, and even the new FunRide system whereby you can ‘borrow’ a car for a desired amount of time.

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ity liaison to the committee is Robert Horch, also designated as the Downtown Champion because who, along with his staff, knows the ‘streets’ better than he? The parking services department hears it all and that’s helpful in understanding what people are saying, thinking and ultimately needing. Serving in his role for seven years, Horch agrees with me that parking is really a great subject and thinks that the committee’s role of management is important because it contributes to the overall health of Downtown. Robert believes there’s passion in parking and he also thinks that new technologies such as accepting credit cards for metered parking will result in better acceptance by the public. “It’s all good,” he says.

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urrent chair Tom Swem, owner of Real Property Investments, and member of the Downtown Association Board of Directors, has chaired and/or served on the committee for 12 years. Initially, he says he joined the committee because, as a property manager, he felt that his insight to issues could “help in some way.” Swem says

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he is particularly pleased that parking management brings together the Downtown Association, the City Council and staff in achieving the best possible program. “Parking issues were one of the main reasons for creating the Downtown Association,” he said. “They continue to dominate Downtown development and day-to-day operations.” He recommends that anyone wanting to understand how parking and the City functions should give the committee a try.

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rchitect Mark Rawson agrees. “I’ve been working in the Downtown for many years and have been involved in Downtown construction projects—I’m interested in understanding better the things that make Downtown successful.” Rawson, serving for six years, says that long term planning and bringing diverse community viewpoints to the table are what he finds most interesting.

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oard member Pierre Rademaker’s been a committee fixture since the late 80s. “Parking and transit are key components of a successful Downtown,” he said. “Without convenient access, nothing else functions.” Rademaker says he most enjoys the challenge of anticipating future needs, such as the Palm Nipomo parking structure currently under review. He said he recommends joining the committee to anyone who’d “like to feel connected to the community and experience the results of their planning efforts.” His dream project? “A proper multi-modal transit facility located above Santa Rosa Street.”

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bout 12 years ago, the committee’s name was changed to include “access” because it became clear that getting people Downtown without vehicles was

Continued next page

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Thursday Night Promotions Committee continued from previous page as much a part of parking management as providing brick and mortar spaces. To that end, Mark Shaffer, Executive Director of Ride On Transportation, came on board to assist with programs including ride sharing and car sharing such as the newest—and highly popular—FunRide. Shaffer says these programs reduce the need for parking and help plan for a future where people can come Downtown without vehicles.

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needs of Downtown businesses, ensure customer convenience and mitigate traffic/parking congestion to maintain the ‘SLO’ atmosphere,” he said. Rivoire said joining the committee is a way to ensure “your voice will be heard and that your vision for parking Downtown will become a reality.” As for the future? “I dunno,” he says, but fantasizes a “Parking Day” where “parking spaces are temporarily turned into ‘parks’ to demonstrate what it would be like to have more green space Downtown.”

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randdaddy” parking committee member and former chair orgen Marshall, program manager Mike Spangler, who’s been on the of SLO Regional Rideshare, says committee since ‘before it was she joined the committee almost two formed,’ is likely off fishing in Cabo years ago to provide information and or skiing in Aspen, or whatever advocate for access and sustainable guys who’ve given more than their transportation to and within Downtown. pint of blood for a cause deserve.

She was particularly excited about I’ll conjecture here that Spangler the recent installation of a 12-slot has always had an eagle eye on bike rack on Garden Street that the health of the parking fund (an included a statistical study of consumer enterprise fund separate from the spending by those coming Downtown general fund and which currently is on bicycles. “Downtown is a rich solvent) and a concern for ‘staying and vibrant community,” Marshall ahead of the curve’ with regard to The Downtown Association Parking and Access said. “By continuing to make access having a sufficient parking inventory.

Committee meets the second Thursday of every to Downtown SLO without a vehicle Likely his favorite parking activity month in the Downtown Association office. more convenient, we free up parking was hiring ‘stealth elves’ who spaces for those who travel by car and Pictured here (l – r) are Tom Swem, chair, deposited coins in expired meters Morgen Marshall, Robert Horch, Mike Spangler, increase the number of people who one holiday season long past. While Phil Dunsmore, Pierre Rademaker, Mark Shaffer, can visit Downtown.” Marshall said his heart was in the right place, the the committee is great for anyone who Mark Rawson and Dan Rivoire. Photo by Deborah Cash activity is absolutely not condoned wants to “get involved of all aspects and has now morphed into a version of Downtown SLO” and she supports of ‘courtesy tickets’ whereby during the holidays, on occasion, the idea of creating a nighttime economy to create a new user a turquoise envelope will, instead of a ticket, include a friendly experience Downtown and increase revenue to the City. greeting and advise using the parking structure in the future. an Rivoire, executive director of the SLO County Bicycle or a committee with no budget, this group works hard Coalition, joined the committee in 2008, and among on a prickly topic—which is why they’re tops with me. other assignments oversees the Bike Valet program—a huge Stay tuned next month for an overview of the Economic success at Thursday Night Farmers Market and Concerts Activities Committee and see how hard so many people in the Plaza. He says he’s all about bike parking and was are working for you on all levels…around Downtown. also instrumental in the addition of bike parking on Garden Street. “Parking is essential for the economic vitality of or more information about parking zones, fees and Downtown. This committee strives to take into account the programs, visit www.slocity.org/ or call 781-7200.

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in the opening of the new Central Coast location here in Downtown SLO. General Pacific Properties deals mostly with residential real estate for families as well as property management. The company focuses its sales efforts mostly along California’s coast and uses online General Pacific Properties, a residential real as well as print media to reach potential estate company, is located at the intersection customers. Kues said General Pacific of Nipomo and Higuera streets upstairs over prides itself on the service they provide to Poster Markei. While General Pacific is new the customer, always making the customer to the San Luis Obispo area, owner Larry the top priority. She also added that their Krogh has two other locations in Southern office is full of go-getters, enabling them Melissa Kues, Realtor, Notary, CDRS California and says he plans to expand into to stay current with various technologies northern San Luis Obispo county as well as used in the real estate world and allows Santa Maria. Manager Melissa Kues runs the their sales team to stay ahead of the competition. General Pacific San Luis Obispo office and has worked in real estate for seven Properties is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. years, with family ties in the industry giving her a helpful boost.

Kues and Krogh have worked together for nine months and the By: Allison Platz two have built a successful real estate relationship, resulting

General Pacific Properties

Larry Krogh, Owner Melissa Kues, Realtor, Notary, CDRS 599 Higuera Street Ste. E (805) 844-9767 www.generalpacificproperties.com

42

THE BULLETIN BOARD Real Estate

Lynn R. Cooper Broker Associate Seniors Real Estate Specialist

Office: 805-543-7727 Fax: 805-543-7838 Cell: 805-235-0493 Home: 805-544-0673

711 Tank Farm, Suite 100 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 E-mail: lynn.cooper@sothebysrealty.com Website: www.wilsonandcosir.com

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slo fire department receives $10,500 donation Thanks to DiBuduo & DeFendis Insurance Brokers and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, the SLO Fire Department recently received a $10,500 donation. The donation will be used to conduct an onsite driver training class for fire engineers and truck company personnel. Last June SLO Fire received a new truck, with a 100-foot ladder. In anticipation of city growth over the next 20 years, the new ladder is built to access taller buildings. This training will allow the Fire Department to train their firefighters to operate a tiller ladder truck as required in the Fair Labor Standards Act General Duty Clause. “Without this class, the number of trained personnel available to operate the aerial ladder would be limited, therefore putting it out of service and making it unavailable for use during city emergencies and mutual aid requests,” said Fire Chief Charlie Hines. “We are grateful for this donation that will allow us to continue serving our community to the best of our ability.”

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SLO Regional Rideshare recently announced the launch of SLO County’s 511 traveler information service, a telephone and website application that provides information on real-time traffic conditions, bus trip planning, ridesharing and more. Commuters now have 24-hour access to plan their commute trip online at rideshare. org or over the phone by calling 5-1-1. Users can call 5-1-1 from any cellular or landline phone at no additional charge other than the user’s regular phone carrier contract charges. Rideshare.org and 511 provide real time traffic information on incidents and traffic hazards reported by the California Highway Patrol in SLO County and the City of Santa Maria. In addition, the website links to Caltrans live traffic cameras. With 24-hour access to these tools, commuters can avoid congestion by planning their commute before they depart.

Paso wine alliance gives $10,000 to la clinica The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance has awarded $10,000 to Partnership for the Children of SLO County in support of their non-profit children’s dental clinic, La Clinica de Tolosa, which was one of 13 North County Area charities to have been gifted, for a total of $68,000. The funding is a result of proceeds from the 2010 Wine Festival Wine Country Auction & Dinner held last May. It is part of the PRWCA’s commitment to give back to those who support their industry. For more information about the PRWCA go to www. pasowine.com, or call 239-8463.

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puma aquatics donates $9,500 to cancer center PUMA Aquatic Team has exceeded its goal of raising $9,000 for the Hearst Cancer Resource Center (HCRC) at French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC). The donation of $9,500 is the result of the club’s 3rd Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Swim Meet and Fundraiser. The team collected money through local sponsorships, entry fees, a silent auction and concession sales. PUMA has donated more than $21,000 to the HCRC since 2008, allowing many cancer patients and families continued use of the center’s free services. PUMA is a year-round competitive age group swim team with practices at four locations in San Luis Obispo County. It offers a variety of competitive programs for all ages and skill levels from novice through high school and national caliber swimmers.

THE BULLETIN BOARD

43

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Family History day for genealogical society The SLO County Genealogical Society is sponsoring a “Family History Day” featuring professional genealogist George Ott. It will be held at the IOOF Hall, 520 Dana Street, SLO, from 9-4, February 5th. The event is open to the public and there is no pre-registration. Registration begins at 9 with presentations beginning at 10 a.m.

Topics include: “Researching Your Ancestor’s Immigrant Origins,” “Courthouse Records,” “Overcoming Brick Walls,” and “U.S. Military Records.” Cost is $15. For more information see www.slocgs.org or call 805-785-0383.

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805.234.5081

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third annual culinary carnival fundraiser for homeless center in slo Knowledgeable local “foodies” are counting the days as the Friends of the Prado Day Center gears up for the Third Annual Culinary Carnival, to be held Friday, February 4th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel in SLO. The event will once again feature at least a half dozen gourmet appetizers carefully prepared by well-known local celebrity chefs, restaurants, bakeries and local wine and beer purveyors.

Festivities will also include a silent auction. All proceeds go to support day-to-day operation of the Prado Day Center. Tickets are $40 per person. For detailed information please visit www.sloculinarycarnival.com.

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new officers inducted to lead rams Recently the Retired Active Men Branch #2 transferred their annual leadership. Frank Lebens, (left) president for 2010, passes the gavel to Ted Ivarie (center), president for 2011 as Bob Wood, vice president for 2011 will lend his support for the new leadership.

rotary de tolosa members help needy children The Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa along with families and friends, gathered at Kohl’s in SLO and took 102 needy children on a shopping spree during the club’s 20th annual ChildSpree event. The Children were identified by their schools as children in need of warm clothes, jackets and shoes. Each child was paired with a Rotarian and received a $100 budget and a list of clothing needs from the child’s parents. Kohl’s charged no sales tax and also gave a 15% discount on all sales. Rotaract members, a division of Rotary, also brought extra adult and children’s coats from their Coats for Kids Drive to the event.

The coats were donated to other family members in attendance to take home. “This event really illustrates what Rotary is all about: Service Above Self,” said Rotary de Tolosa President Jeff Buckingham.

farm supply supports FFA

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Call 546-0609 for Advertising Information Dressing Windows in San Luis Obispo for over 35 Years

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Farm Supply partnered with Red Brand Fencing’s “Home Grown” initiative to provide financial support to local FFA chapters with fencing sales. For every new fencing order, $1.00 per roll is donated to the twelve FFA Chapters on the Central Coast. Six local FFA Chapters in Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, Templeton, Paso Robles and Shandon represented the Central Coast Chapters at Farm Supply.

John Slayton from Keystone Steel & Wire presented these members with a giant check and spoke briefly about Red Brand’s involvement with the National FFA Organization. Farm Supply enrolled in the program six months ago and has accumulated $1373.00.

THE BULLETIN BOARD

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slo symphony honors ben and Pat mcadams For over 40 years Dr. Brendan “Ben” McAdams has been one of the most respected surgeons and medical legal experts in our community. In addition to his distinguished career in medicine, Ben and his wife Kathryn (better known as Pat!) have played leading roles in supporting the arts in our community, particularly music and arts for children. Founding donors to the Symphony’s Music Education Endowment and members of the Virtuoso Society, the McAdams have been generous supporters of music education scholarships and sponsors of the annual Children’s Concert at the Performing Arts Center for almost twenty years. Their generous support has introduced thousands of children to the joys of live orchestral performances at our beautiful Performing Arts Center. Ben and Pat are also major donors, legacy members and Founders of the Performing Arts Center. They have been especially supportive of the special fund for acoustic upgrades in Harman Hall, making the sound of the Symphony in our hall better all the time. For all these reasons and more, the Symphony honored both Ben and Pat at the first-ever New Year’s Eve with the Symphony concert. Maestro Nowak handed the baton to Ben to conduct Auld Lang Syne at the close of the concert. We applaud and thank both Pat and Ben for their longstanding, generous support of SLO Symphony music education programs, concerts and scholarships, bringing the joy of music to so many for so long.

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Dr. McAdams leading the SLO Symphony on New Year’s Eve

realtors donate to prado day center The Scenic Coast Association of Realtors® Foundation (SCAR) graciously donated more than $3,700 to the Friends of Prado Day Center (FPDC) at the Realtors® annual holiday breakfast. Realtor® and Affiliate Members of SCAR hosted donation stations at six locations from Cambria to Los Osos. All their hard work and dedication paid off with a check for $3,758 being presented to FPDA, Co-President Paul Wolff and Board Member, Alex Gough.

Kim & Co. Salon and Day Spa 2103 Broad Street, SLO

Photograph by Mike Larson

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Video Surveillance Cameras Night Vision Cameras View on Cell Phone Wireless or Wired Lic# 943604

Dennis Gisler 800.660.3178 • 805.541.4488 • www.AdvancedPage.com F E B R U A R Y

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COMMUNITY Fire Safety Demonstration, Walking Smorgasbord, and Wheels and Windmills Car Show.

february Almanac

feb. 6, 1911: Ronald Reagan was born. In 1981, President Reagan said, “The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.”

By Phyllis Benson “I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.”

--- Bill Watterson

Groundhog day is February 2. If a groundhog floats out of his den with a canoe and paddle, look for six more weeks of rain.

the National league of Professional Baseball Clubs, known as

the National League, was founded in February, 1876. An early team called the New York Gothams became the San Francisco Giants.

Pundits say it is fitting that Ronald “The Gipper” Reagan’s birthday falls on Super Bowl this year.

super bowl xlv is on February 6. Our coach predicts streets

will be empty, store shelves stocked for the half-time rush, and fans rooting for the commercials.

valentine’s day is for romance. Barbara Bush said, “I married

the first man I ever kissed. When I tell my children that, they just about throw up.”

fresno writer Jay Trachman said, “The formula for a happy

marriage? It’s the same as the one for living in California: when you find a fault, don’t dwell on it.”

Q: Why is it so windy at Candlestick Park? a: Because of all the Giant fans.

player bob uecker said, “I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture.”

february is national heart month. Our doctor says walk more, eat less, and laugh daily.

Gym sign: Seven Days Without Exercise Make One Weak.

the chinese new year brings the Year of the Rabbit. The

symbolic rabbit means a year of peace and harmony, the easy and good life.

chinese proverb: A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den. proverb: Do not rely on a rabbit’s foot for luck; after all, it didn’t

dental health month is here. Dentists offer free toothbrushes and veterinarians offer doggie dental treats. They like those healthy grins.

february 1911: Flying enthusiast Fred Wiseman made the first

work out too well for the rabbit.

U.S. airmail flight sanctioned by a local post office. The Northern California flight covered 12 miles.

kumquats are a Chinese New Year tradition. The small gold fruit

wiseman flew his postal errand from Petaluma to Santa Rosa. His

february hosts pancake week. Start with flapjacks shaped

aquarius opens the February calendar. Aquarius, an astrological

with green leaves is a valued symbol. Eating the fruit ensures good fortune, prosperity and happiness. like rabbits and topped with kumquat marmalade.

solvang celebrates its 100th anniversary with year-long events. founded in 1911, Solvang offers the Yulefest Tree Burning and

Sonoma County-built biplane hangs in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. sign of the zodiac, is the water-bearer. Pisces, the sign of the fish, closes the month.

our cynic says all signs point to rain. Keep the kayak handy for shopping errands.

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