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Volume XXII, Issue 7
February 2018 • Peninsula 3
RPV Residents
PENINSULA
Volume XXII, Issue 7
February 2018
P A L O S V E R D E S P E N I N S U L A M O N T H L Y
Do you change your automobile oil and filter? If you do,
call EDCO your trash/recycling hauler and arrange for a
free pickup. Then, place your used oil in a tightly sealed
container and your filter in a sealed ziplock bag. EDCO
will pick them up and drop off a free oil recycling kit that
contains a 15-quart drip pan, empty 1-gallon container,
funnel, shop rag, cardboard floor mat and information
on used oil and filter recycling. Call EDCO at 310-540-
2977 or go to www.rpvrecycles.com.
Composting Workshop
Sat. April 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Hesse Park, Fireside Room
Document Shredding Event and
Electronic Waste Roundup plus
Free Mulch Giveaway
Sat. April 21 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
RPV Civic Center, 30940 Hawthorne Blvd
(for RPV Residents Only)
Household Hazardous Waste Roundup
Sat. April 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
RPV Civic Center
For More information on Used Oil Recycling, go to:
1-800-CLEANUP
For Weekly Household Hazardous Waste Disposal
(including Sharps, Used Oil and
Electronic Waste Disposal) go to:
Gaffey SAFE Center
1400 N Gaffey St, San Pedro, 90731
Phone: 800.988.6942
Open Every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
ON THE COVER
“Arctic Sunset” by Albert Operti,
who accompanied Admiral Robert
Peary Sr. on the first Arctic
expeditions. The sketch is among
a collection of travel sketches on
exhibit next month at the
Palos Verdes Center.
PROFILES
18 Spotlight on the Peninsula
by Ryan McDonald Joy Nicholson’s critically acclaimed
novel “Tribes of Palos Verdes” is adapted for the big screen
with stars Maika Monroe (“Labor Day”), Cody Fern ( “American
Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace”) and
Jennifer Garner (“Alias”).
22 Travel sketches
by Bondo Wyszpolski Before there were cameras, there
were sketchbooks, which travelers used to memorialize their
travels. A collection of sketches from the Vanderlip family, as
well as contemporary sketches by local artists will be featured
in an exhibit next month at the Palos Verdes Art Center.
Boulder of dreams
by Stephanie Cartozian First, Dean and Kara Herbrandson
collected boulders that they stored wherever the boulders
would fit on their Palos Verdes Estate property. Then they figured
out the boulders could be used to build their dream garden.
Lin’s Peninsula people
by Chalice Lin Chalice Lin grew up regretting having missed
the opportunity to spend a day at the amusement park with her
grandfather in Taiwan. Her word and photo portraits of over 50
Peninsula seniors are a way to compensate for her childhood
error.
Beef, Japanese style
by Richard Foss Since the centuries old ban on eating cows
was lifted in Japan, the country has made an art of barbecue.
Yamaya Japanese Wagyu & Grill is the first American outpost
of a Japanese restaurant specializing in beef.
Major Langer remembered
by Kevin Cody Attorney Major Langer is remembered as a
bigger than life figure, with a heart to match.
HIGHLIGHTS
DEPARTMENTS
6 Peninsula • February 2018
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36
54
56
12 Morgan’s Jewelers “A man and his watch”
18 Malaga tree lighting
40 Shrivers’ Arty Party
58 Special Children’s League affair
64 Peninsula Symphony with the Asia America
Youth Symphony
44 Peninsula calendar
57 Around and about
65 Home services
STAFF
EDITOR
Mark McDermott
PUBLISHER
Stephanie Cartozian
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Mary Jane Schoenheider
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Richard Budman
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Daniel Sofer (Hermosawave.net)
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IN ESCROW
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February 2018 • Peninsula 9
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L
Morgans Celebrations are Bar None
Author visit and holiday fare
Morgan's Jewelers celebrated a new book by Matt Hranek titled, “A Man
& His Watch.” The book details the emotional attachment between
watches and their owners. The cover features the famous Paul Newman
Rolex Daytona, which broke all records when it sold at auction for over $17
million. It was a man’s night of whiskey and watches. On another evening,
Morgan’s Jewelers hosted a holiday party with a top shelf bar, hors d’oeuvres
from PV Catering and a harpist to set the holiday mood.
PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE CARTOZIAN AND
PROVIDED BY MARSHALL VARON
1. Dean and Kara Herbrandson.
2. Guests showing off their highcalibre
watches.
3. Guest with her son showing off
the new emerald-colored Day Date
Rolex.
4. Irv and Lenore Levine, Marshall
Varon and Shintia Lynch.
5. Elie Massoud and Abbe Vargas.
6. Guest with his new edition of A
Man & His Watch alongside author
Matt Hranek.
7. Elie Massoud and Colleen
Conradt.
8. A photo of Paul Newman’s
watch inscribed with “Drive Slowly”
by his wife Joanne Newman.
9. Nicole and Ron Connor.
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12 Peninsula • February 2018
Ralph Moore, Priscilla Hunt and Craig Leach
Our Heartfelt Appreciation
Ralph Scriba
Torrance Memorial Medical Center wishes to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of the 34th Annual Holiday Festival which
raised millions for the medical center's Donald and Priscilla Hunt Tower.
Emmanuel and Ofelia David
Jack Baker, Craig Leach, Richard Lundquist and Mark
Lurie, M.D.
Lisa Hansen and Barbara Demming Lurie
Julie and Jackson Yang
$100,000+
Billee and John Gogian
Donald and Priscilla Hunt
Major and Cathy Lin
Joelene and Bill Mertz
Loraine and Ralph Scriba
Jackson Yang Family
$50,000+
Sam and Rose Feng
Melanie and Richard Lundquist
Oarsmen Foundation
$25,000+
Ayne and Jack Baker
Emmanuel and Ofelia David
Michael Greenberg
Sunrider International - Drs. Tei-Fu
and Oi-Lin Chen
Ellen and Patrick Theodora
Torrance Memorial Medical Staff
Patricia and Gerald Turpanjian -
TF Education Foundation
$15,000+
Cindy and Paul Campbell
COR HealthCare
The Graziadio Family
Keenan HealthCare
Warren Lichtenstein and Steel Partners
Marina and Roman Litwinski, MD
Nixon Peabody LLP
Sodexo
$10,000+
Diana Cutler
Bryce Fukunaga, MD and Jenny Luo, MD
Shirley and Chih-Ming Ho, MD
Carole Hoffman
Marilyn and Ian MacLeod
Roxanne and Ramin Mirhashemi, MD
Laura and James Rosenwald
Rick Rounsavelle, DDS and
Kirsten Wagner, DDS
Alfredo and Beatrice Sheng
Kay and Sam Sheth
Timur and Janice Tecimer
Marshall Varon
Cathy and Michael Wyman, MD
Roy Young and Teri Kane
$5,000 - $9,999
Sandra and Tim Armour
Association of South Bay Surgeons
Jennifer and Brad Baker
Cindy and Paul Campbell
Eric and Anna Mellor, MD
Morrow Meadows
Murray Company
Owens & Minor
Pacific National Group
Tiffany Rogers, MD and Karen Seymour
Laura and Marc Schenasi
The Teague Family
Torrance Emergency Physicians
Torrance Memorial Radiology Group
Torrance Pathology Group
Sara and Keri Zickuhr, MD
$1,000 - $4,999
2H Construction
Betty and John Abe, MD
Christy and Jay Abraham
Nicholas Acosta
AD/S Companies
Anesthesia Medical Group
Jeanne and Fikret Atamdede, MD
Lori and David Baldwin
BCM Construction
Peggy and Cliff Berwald
Nadine and Ty Bobit
Marcia and Ken Boehling
Pam and Larry Branam
Brigante, Cameron, Watters &
Strong LLP
Trudy Brown
Ann and David Buxton
Linda and Zan Calhoun
The Cam Family (Vinh, Judy, Wilson
and Melody)
Joan Caras and Family
Bryan Chang, MD
William and Ellen Cheng
Ron Cloud
Sandra and Thomas Cobb
Francine and Phillip Cook
Kate Crane and Honorable Milan Smith
Pam Crane
Randy and Luke Dauchot
Digestive Care Consultants
Beth Dorn, MD
Sally and Mike Eberhard
EMCOR
Thyra Endicott, MD and Jonathan Chute
Regina and Dan Finnegan
Deanna and Lenny Fodemski
Food Fetish
Robert Gaudenti
Gelbart & Associates
Teresa Gordon
Marnie and Dan Gruen
Laurie Inadomi-Halvorsen and
Greg Halvorsen
Lisa and Steve Hansen
Harbor Post Acute
Cindy and Richard Harvey
Teresa and Saffar Hassanally
Heritage Rehabilitation Center
Eve and Rick Higgins
Mary Hoffman and Bob Habel
Terry and Joe Hohm
Daniel Hovenstine, MD
HUB International
Karen and Chris Hutchison
James & Gamble Insurance
Kathy Kellogg-Johnson and
Brian Johnson
Judy and Parnelli Jones
Vince Kelly
Heather and Rick Kline
kpff Consulting Engineers
Sherry and Ian Kramer, MD
Judy and Craig Leach
Patti and Thomas LeGrelius, MD
Jacquie and Joe Leimbach
Charlotte and Russ Lesser
Linda and David Lillington
Tracy and Amy Livian
Lomita Post-Acute Care Center
Pat and Rich Lucy
Barbara Demming Lurie and
Mark Lurie, MD
Kristy and Eric Maniaci
Allison and Rick Mayer
McCarthy Building Services
Jimmy McDonald
Kak and David McKinnie
Drs. Lisa Humphreys and
John McNamara
Medline Industries
Brian Miura, MD
Keith and Amanda Murphy, MD
Sheila and Ben Naghi, MD
Lisa and Eric Nakkim, MD
Jeff Neu
John and Serena Ngan
Diana and Steve Nuccion, MD
Corinne and Randolph O'Hara, MD
Jacinto Orozco
Maureen and Mario Palladini
Payden & Rygel
Michele and Robert Poletti
Adriana and Greg Popovich
Leslie and Todd Powley
Department of Radiation Oncology
Kelly and Chris Rogers
Nancy and Michael Rouse
Marge Schugt
James Scriba
Connie Senner
Alex Shen, MD Family
Monica and Sam Sim
Laura and Tom Simko, MD
Debra and Gerald Soldner
South Bay Gastroenterology
South Bay Orthopaedic
South Bay Plastic Surgeons
Spierer Woodward Corbalis & Goldberg
Rose Straub
Helen and Pasquale Theodora
TMPN Cancer Care
Yuki and Jeff Tom
Torrance Health IPA (THIPA)
Torrance Memorial Neonatology Group
Torrance Orthopaedic Sports
Torrance Pathology Group
Voya Financial
Susan and Bill Weintraub
Cynthia Williams, MD
Mary and Steve Wright
MAJOR IN-KIND
BENEFACTORS
Choura Events
G.S. Gaudenti Brothers
Morrow Meadows
Redondo Van & Storage
Rolling Hills Flower Mart Studio
The Zislis Group
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Thank you to all our donors.
3330 Lomita Blvd., Torrance, CA 90505
310-517-4703 - www.TorranceMemorial.org
Tribal
by Ryan McDonald
In “The Tribes of Palos Verdes,” there’s darkness amid the sunshine as Medina (Makia Monroe) and her brother Jim (Cody Fern) move to the peninsula from the
midwest with their family. Photo courtesy IFC Films
‘Tribes of Palos Verdes’ is a beautiful but flawed take on the Peninsula
Brendan and Emmet Malloy’s latest film, “The Tribes of Palos Verdes,”
had a high bar to clear, and the fault is their own. As far as cinematic
takes on surfing localism go, it would be hard to top a four-minute
deleted scene from “Fair Bits,” the Malloy Brothers’ Taj Burrow-centered
surf movie from 2005.
The skit centers around Donavon Frankenreiter and Ben Stiller — disguised
in a fake moustache and trucker hat — who post up in a beach-front
carpark, channeling Laurel and Hardy as they ape their way through the
finer points of localism. They growl “No photos!” and clumsily wrench a
camera away from a mom and daughter out for a stroll. They clutch latemorning
Budweisers while talking down the surf, which, in passing shots,
looks absolutely firing. (The spot is never named, but the footage suggests
a certain Ventura County beach break with a reputation for violence). And
they harangue a series of passersby who include Burrow, the late Andy
Irons, and the Malloy Brothers themselves. “More like the motherfuckin’
Marx Brothers,” Stiller mumbles from the lot as one of them threads a spitting
barrel.
It’s hilarious, and it dramatizes the way hateful surfing locals are almost
always clowns, as suitably brought down with a pie in the face as a vengeful
exposé. This lesson, though, is often forgotten in the brooding “Tribes,”
which snaps and turns with a seriousness that never quite feels earned.
The film follows teenager Medina (Makia Monroe), who moves with her
family from the midwest to Palos Verdes. She encounters a sterile, superficial
community that enforces manicured uniformity by municipal ordinance,
and is so cloistered that the football stadium lacks lights, Medina
tells the audience, “because locals didn’t want anyone from out of town
there after dark.”
Medina launches this voiceover critique less than 15 minutes in, but it is
already fairly clear what kind of ideas the movie has about Palos Verdes.
Peninsula residents watching the movie will notice a fair share of Easter
eggs, but they are unlikely to be thrilled. Over the course of the film, Medina’s
family tumbles downward like stones off a cliff, and it all seems to be
the fault of the Hill and the people living on top of it.
As a finely etched portrait of the Peninsula, forget about it: “Tribes” dispenses
with subtleties, like the existence of four different cities and an unincorporated
area in favor of generalizations about the whole darn
landmass. In interviews, the Malloy brothers have instead characterized the
film as a look at the darker side of coastal Southern California, a place that
tries very hard to be perfect. The idea is not quite an original one, but there
are enough piquant moments to make one wonder whether people will
groan at the movie for what it gets wrong, or squirm for what it gets right.
“Tribes” is an adaptation of the 1997 young-adult novel of the same name.
In most reviews, the book carries the ambiguous descriptor “semi autobiographical,”
and in the years since its publication, Peninsula native Joy
Nicholson’s tale has found a comfortable niche between cult classic and
mainstream success. Its frank depictions of drug use and parents behaving
badly have endeared it to teens typically bored by reading. But the real lure
of the story, for coast-dwellers and landlocked alike, is surfing.
The “Tribes” of the title carries several meanings, but the most prominent
reference is to the Bay Boys — or “Bayboys” in Nicholson’s truncated style
— the crew of surfers that for decades have been accused of keeping people
out of the water at Lunada Bay. As in the headlines, the Bay Boys of the
film are buffoonish cro-magnons, who hold their territory with a mixture
of intimidation and violence. (A lawsuit in federal court against several alleged
Bay Boys is pending; last February, a judge declined to certify it as a
class action.)
This protectionist behavior, of course, is also a great way to make something
desirable. Not long after moving in, a mysterious noise at sunset lures
Medina out of her bedroom. She climbs to the top of her family’s ranchstyle
home, and realizes that it is a crew of surfers hooting each other into
16 Peninsula • February 2018
waves. (In the film and book, the family home is posited as resting directly
above Lunada Bay; according to an article in the Los Angeles Daily News,
most of the film was actually shot just over the San Pedro border.) Entranced,
she procures a surfboard by flashing a schoolmate, then repeats
the process to get one for her beloved twin brother Jim. The Bay Boys
ridicule Medina, which only seems to embolden her.
The film devotes little time to the arduous process of learning to surf,
which is a shame because the Malloys are so talented at shooting in the
water. They are responsible for some of the best surf movies of the young
millenium, including “Thicker than Water” and “Brokedown Melody.” The
surf scenes that are included are gorgeous, with a fluid grace that often
eludes non-surfing directors, who tend to drown the action in slow-motion
and noise.
Jim and Medina are wary of the Bay Boys, who appear to tolerate them
because their home fronts the break. But while Medina seeks her own
peak, Jim becomes part of the pack. Jim is played by the Australian actor
Cody Fern, who looks like he enjoys his role more than anyone else in the
movie. Rangy and feral, he manages to pull off a character who is somehow
both stoned and angry for much of the movie. (Here is one voice for casting
him in any film adaption of Kem Nunn’s “surf noir” books.)
Meanwhile, their mother Sandy — an anything-but-matronly Jennifer
Garner — struggles to fit in. In an early scene, she goes to lunch at a country
club with some local women. They all order salads with dressing on
the side, while Sandy picks out a cheeseburger and fries. The scene initially
feels like a heavy-handed attempt at using food to contrast Sandy’s midwestern
authenticity with the West Coast shallowness of Palos Verdes
women. The audience soon learns, though, that it is difficult to trust anything
that comes out of Sandy’s mouth. (The movie mostly ignores the
book’s exploration of Sandy’s compulsive overeating.)
Jim and Medina’s father Phil (Justin Kirk), drifts away from his unstable
wife, and is absent for much of the movie. A serial philanderer, he becomes
a walking cliche after shacking up with his real estate agent, an underused
Alicia Silverstone. Silverstone, in reality a proud PETA member, gets in a
winking joke when she chides her son from a previous marriage for bringing
up the evils of factory farming during a country club luncheon.
The film’s one-dimensional depiction of Palos Verdes’ women, though,
is pervasive, and is the laziest aspect of its storytelling. (This is, in fairness,
a limitation of the source material: sophomoric narration is the price you
pay for a story told from the perspective of a high schooler.) Some of the
best scenes come when the film actually bothers to interrogate the Stepford-wife-in-sandals
stereotype it has erected. Sandy, dabbling in a real estate
relationship of her own, discusses an arsonist torching homes on the
peninsula, and crudely announces she wishes someone would burn the
whole place down. The Realtor, hurt, gets up from the table and says, “But
Sandy, these people are my friends.”
With dad gone and mom acting like a child, Jim descends further into
the Bay Boys cult he once ridiculed. Medina does her best to pull him out,
but she is ill-matched against the lure of drugs and belonging. By the time
Jim is bashing in the face of a hapless dad who dared to try to surf the Bay,
his fate seems pretty much sealed.
It’s a credit to the filmmakers that they don’t bash us over the head with
the parallels between keeping unknown surfers out of the ocean, and keeping
unknown people out of Palos Verdes. The Bay Boys and the plastic
adults never seem to cross paths. Indeed, it’s unrealistic how ignorant the
country club women seem of surfing altogether. The audience is left to
wonder what the well-respected men and women really think about the
ones doing the dirty work.
Whether you resent them, love them, or deny their existence, the Bay
Boys attract attention because they represent a heightened version of the
separation that makes surfing so alluring. More or less since “Gidget,” surfing’s
mystique has come from all the ways it is inaccessible: to squares at
work during dawn patrol, to flatlanders living far from the beach, and to
people whose bodies are not accustomed to piloting fiberglass over moving
water. Belonging to a tribe can promote a sense of connection, but it’s only
meaningful if some people are left out. And nothing says “exclusive” quite
like telling even the willing and able-bodied to take a hike.
The Tribes of Palos Verdes, from IFC Films, is available for streaming online.
The film is rated R, with a run-time of 1 hour, 43 minutes. PEN
February 2018 • Peninsula 17
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L
Malaga Cove Tree Lighting
Deck the halls
With the generous help of PVE city personnel, Realtor and resident,
Virginia Butler along with John Polen of Premier Bank of Palos
Verdes, the Malaga Cove tree lighting tradition was upheld again in
2017. “It was a systematic, old-fashioned, community effort,” said Butler.
“We all got together and made it happen.” Santa Claus was on site
to grant last minute wishes and the bank provided hot cocoa, libations
and finger foods to keep the revelers reveling.
1. Ruth Gralow and Santa Claus.
2. John Polen and Mario Santoyo.
3. Nicholas and Charly Sandoval and
Santa Claus.
4. Jeremy and Alex Hudgens.
PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE CARTOZIAN
5. Karen Elston with her dog Chaka
and local children.
6. John Vandever, Virginia Butler and
John Polen.
7. The tree lighting.
8. John Vandever, Arleigh ‘Gene’
Dotson and Kim Hall.
9. Shari Campbell and Santa Claus.
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18 Peninsula • February 2018
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Clothing items worn by a female eskimo, sketched by Albert Operti.
Courtesy of the Explorers Club of New York
Sketch of Villa Narcissa by Daniel Pinkham of the Portuguese Bend Artist Colony.
The Birth of an Idea, or, From Spark to Sparkle
Portuguese Bend artists to show sketches and finished work at the Palos Verdes Art Center
by Bondo Wyszpolski
Until roughly the mid-19th century, when cameras emerged to do the
job for them, painters and other visual artists carried sketchbooks
and an assortment of pens, pencils, and pieces of chalk. Some artists
worked quickly and some took their time, but the ultimate goal was to preserve
the idea or the inspiration and then to rework it under usually more
favorable conditions (and, yes, many artists work this way today).
There are exceptions to the above. One, what were formerly deemed
working sketches later were elevated as artistic masterpieces in their own
right. John Constable is a good example of this, with J.M.W Turner being
yet another. Two, when we get to the waning years of the 19th century and
the vogue for plein air painting (Impressionism by another name, perhaps),
the “sketch” and the finished work were often one and the same.
For several years, Katrina Vanderlip has been hosting a painting week at
Villa Narcissa, high on the hillside in Portuguese Bend. Villa Narcissa is a
11.5-acre estate and also the remainder of Frank Vanderlip’s personal holdings
in the area. Lest we forget, in 1913 Vanderlip acquired 16,000 acres on
the Palos Verdes Peninsula. In layman’s terms, that’s a lot of Dodger Stadiums
(the latter, with parking, encompassing a mere 352 acres).
The painting weeks that Katrina oversees attract numerous participants.
These often occur in the spring, and the one last year had some involvement
by members of the Portuguese Bend Artist Colony, in particular Daniel
Pinkham. The next painting week is scheduled for April 2-7. (In connection
with this event, high teas are scheduled for three Sundays in March at Villa
Narcissa: a Mad Hatter Tea Party on March 11; an Opera High Tea on
March 18, with UCLA opera students performing arias; and a classic Parent-Child
High Tea on Palm Sunday, March 25. Please email katrinavanderlip@yahoo.com)
A sketch is a diamond in the rough
And so we come to “Capturing a Vision,” an exhibition opening on March
16 at the Palos Verdes Art Center, which was conceived by Katrina as a
means not only to highlight the annual painting week at the Villa, but to
focus attention on the Portuguese Bend Artist Colony and specifically their
preparatory designs in advance of their completed canvases.
Or, as Katrina herself explains it, “A sketch allows you to capture a vision,
an idea, or an impression that you can use to create a final artwork.” And,
she adds, “A good sketch becomes a powerful tool and stands on its own as
art.”
The artists in the Portuguese Bend Artist Colony include Rick Humphrey,
Steve Mirich, Kevin Prince, Tom Redfield, and Amy Sidrane, plus Daniel
and Vicki Pinkham. One gallery will contain and pair preliminary sketches
alongside finished oil paintings.
A second gallery will exhibit preparatory sketches for jewelry, wood carving,
costume designs for UCLA opera productions, and a sketchbook never
before displayed by Albert Operti who, among other accomplishments,
served as the official artist for Robert E. Peary during his Arctic expeditions
in 1896 and 1897. Operti’s sketchbook is being loaned by the Explorers
Club of New York. (“The Explorers Club connection,” Katrina says, “is that
I have been accepted as a member this year [and] can go as an artist to
record expedition sketchings. My grandfather Frank Vanderlip helped raise
funds for Perry's last expedition to reach the North Pole and was given a
polar bear rug on their return.”)
Another highlight of the show is Operti’s wall-sized sketch on cloth called
“The Last Meal,” depicting George W. De Long and his officers prior to their
departure for Siberia from the Arctic in three small boats after their ship
became trapped in ice. Some survived, many did not.
Katrina Vanderlip, as an artist and art scholar, inherited the sketchbooks
of her great aunt, Clover Cox, the elder sister of Narcissa Cox Vanderlip,
Sketch exhibit cont. on page 24
22 Peninsula • February 2018
Small, subtle, and gently magnificent
Angel wings and peacock feathers: Sketches for jewelry by Marianne Hunter
A Portuguese Bend jeweler crafts works of art and beauty
by Bondo Wyszpolski
The first sketchbook Marianne Hunter shows me dates back to 1977,
but she’s been making jewelry for half a century so perhaps there’s
an earlier sketchbook or two lying close by.
The word “exquisite” is often overused, same with the word “sensibility,”
but if there are better ways to describe the work and the person I’m sitting
down with I don’t know what they are.
Married to the equally talented and skillful woodcarver William Hunter,
Marianne may be described or defined in some circles as an artisan or
craftsperson, but what she creates is never mere handiwork. The finished
pieces, mostly pendants or brooches, are thoughtfully designed, almost storyboarded
in some cases, visual and non-visual poetry with many of them
bearing poetic titles.
Elaborate praise goes only so far. The jewelry needs to make an appearance,
the preliminary drawings as well. Her influences are many, some not
so surprising, such as the Viennese Secessionist and the French-Belgian
Symbolist styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with Art
Nouveau and in particular René Lalique.
“Lalique is my jewelry hero,” Marianne says, “because his artwork was
so finely wrought and so exquisitely detailed. And also incredibly inventive.
He used materials that nobody used before him in fine art jewelry – tortoise
shell and bone and wood. Materials that weren’t considered valuable and,
therefore, ‘No, this can’t be a part of a fine piece of jewelry.’” But the naysayers
were proved wrong, weren’t they?
In her earliest days, Marianne Hunter worked primarily in grisaille, that
is to say, in black and white, and her subject matter was curtailed in the
realms of fantasy and myth. Her husband, thankfully, nudged her out of
that self-confined way of thinking, and into new territory. “So, now I’m all
over the map,” Marianne says, “but I feel that’s the reflection of a curious
mind.”
It’s a curious mind that we are funneled into by way of her sketches.
Items were numbered, what metals were used were dutifully noted. “When
you look through these,” Marianne says, “you can start to see different areas
of development where I’ve got themes going.”
In the early years she was making about 50 pieces a year. They were small
and the smithing was relatively easy. “And then as I went on I came into
contact with so many more materials.” More choices, then, requiring more
deliberation.
And where does she find her ideas?
“The way I draw is partly whatever it is I’m thinking about at the moment.
So that comes into my work. And I’m interested in anthropology and
I’m interested in dance and I’m interested in other art forms. I really like
other cultures; and I love fantasy, all kinds of fantasy and mythology.”
There are stories with fairy tale themes as well as pendants and brooches
with African or Australian undercurrents. One prominent design that occurs
in numerous permutations are her Kabuki Kachinas, as she calls them.
“They ended up being my signature work. I can tell any kind of story in
these figures. I can go anywhere I want with them reflecting how I feel
about that. They’re everything from, really, art nouveau to very stylized
and modern.”
It took her, Marianne says, 50 years to get to Japan. “And it was everything
I imagined and more. Walking into some of the older buildings that had
been maintained, or down the street in the older towns, was like walking
into a woodcut.” The appeal is understandable. Peter Quennell called Japan
“a universe of half-tones and subtle hints.”
They speak, she listens
Sometimes a gem will remind her of something, Marianne says. In that
Hunter cont. on page 25
February 2018 • Peninsula 23
Original sketch of Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary by Albert Operti, from which
a life-size portrait was painted. Courtesy of the Explorers Club of New York
Sketch exhibit cont. from page 22
Katrina’s grandmother (and the grandmother of Katrina’s siblings, Kelvin,
Narcissa, and Henrik). A sketch by Kelvin Cox Vanderlip, Katrina’s father,
showing the Villa Narcissa cypress allee in the early 1930s is being included,
in addition to sketches of the Villa Narcissa entrance hall by Denis
Berteau and various mural sketches by nearby resident Steve Shriver.
Notable, also, are the jewelry designs, coupled with the finished pieces,
by Marianne Hunter. Please see the accompanying story.
Katrina Vanderlip’s new children’s book, “A Tale of Twin Peacocks,” will
be available for purchase. As a girl, Katrina was taught illustration by Ted
Geisel, that fellow better known as Dr. Seuss.
What was, and what could have been
A companion show, “Inhabit: The Olmsted Brothers on the Palos Verdes
Peninsula,” is to occupy the third gallery. The Olmsteds were hired by
Frank Vanderlip to study and evaluate the vast tract of land he’d purchased.
They did a thorough job, and the exhibition, in the words of curator
Hilarie Schackai, “casts a spotlight on the crucial process of visionary translations
from rough settlement and natural environment into a manifestation
of cultural splendor. It presents formidable and meticulous early
surveys, planning sketches, and other documents – topographical surveys,
water analyses, road studies – that in their glorious abstraction are more
than technical artifacts: they are virtual art objects in themselves.”
The person who knows the most about Frank Vanderlip’s history, before,
during, and after the land on the peninsula was acquired, is Palos Verdes
Estates resident Vicki Mack. Her book, “Frank A. Vanderlip: The Banker
Who Changed America,” is a panoramic view of the man and his vision
for developing the area from Portuguese Bend to Malaga Cove. It was a vision
interrupted by that little bump in history called The Great Depression.
Capturing a Vision: The Portuguese Bend Tradition, curated by Katrina
Vanderlip, paired with Inhabit: The Olmsted Brothers on the Palos Verdes
Peninsula, curated by Hilarie Schackai, opens Friday, March 16, from 6 to 10
p.m., with Palos Verdes Wild! a farm-to-table and foraged feast with Chef
Paul Buchanan of Primal Alchemy Catering. The seasonal produce as well as
the wild ingredients are entirely from local sources. Tickets, $125. The Palos
Verdes Art Center is at 5504 W. Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes. (310)
541-2479 or go to pvartcenter.org. PEN
24 Peninsula • February 2018
Left, Marianne Hunter’s sketch elaborating on an orphan medal designed by
René Lalique in the aftermath of World War I. Right, her completed work.
Hunter cont. from page 23
inch or half-inch cloud an idea for a piece may emerge. An opal, for example.
“That’s one of the things I’m good at,” she adds, referring to her ability
to extrapolate an image or part of a story. One grouped set of stones that
she shows me reminds her of photographs taken from the Hubble telescope:
“An expansion of galaxies and the beautiful colors in space.”
“And also, by this time, the titles have become poems. I make no claim
as to how good the poetry is, but it’s heartfelt. It’s just a longer title; it’s
the way I feel about the piece.” And now, because the exactitude of her
work has led her to create just 18 pieces a year instead of the previous 50
a year, “I have a lot of emotion left over. So it ends up in the poetry.”
It’s not just the physical work that is taking more of her time, Marianne
says. The decisions about the physical work are taking more time as well.
Some of that pre-planning is made by what her trained eye conveys to
her brain. She has boxes of different materials, tiny stones and other objects
she may have saved for years, even decades, waiting for the right setting
or the right context. Like sifting through patterns to see what plays with
or against something else. “And I just keep moving them around on the
bench until I find the things that [go together].”
She says at one point, as she shows sketches and photographs of recent
and past work: “I love these materials. It’s a real indulgence for me to be
able to do this.”
In Tucson, each year, sellers gather to display their wares. Booths, tents,
every place imaginable. Marianne used to be a regular. But now?
“I don’t have good self-control,” she confesses; and since she already has
so much material on hand, in addition to crafting less than 20 pieces annually,
“I just get myself in big trouble, so I don’t go to Tucson anymore.”
But some of her favorite dealers make house calls as they pass through
California. She’ll patiently look through everything, the high-end stones as
well as the less expensive. One just never knows…
Meanwhile, the jewelry-making continues.
“I like doing commissions as long as I know that the person who’s placing
it is familiar enough with my work that they know they like it, and they
trust me.” That’s the key; she doesn’t want a client who starts telling her
how to design something. First she’ll gather all relevant information from
them, so that client and artist are on the same page. “And then I do a drawing
to scale before I finish the piece so that I get an approval.”
Recently she’s been bidding on and collecting orphan medals made in
France during the aftermath of the First World War to raise money for the
orphans of the French army. Specifically the one designed by Lalique.
There’s something in the somber quality that strikes a chord with Marianne,
and with each medal she’ll add a little here, there, to enhance its
poignancy.
She shows one, and it’s a real beauty. Quiet, subtle. And we’ll use that
word again: exquisite.
“I keep one piece a decade,” she says, “and I’m thinking of keeping that
one.”
How do we describe these little works of art? So small, and yet how
firmly they resonate through time and space.
Marianne Hunter’s jewelry and sketches will be on display at the Palos
Verdes Art Center from March 16 through April 22 in Capturing a Vision:
The Portuguese Bend Tradition. PEN
February 2018 • Peninsula 25
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We Live, Work & Play
Garden of stone
by Stephanie Cartozian
Photos by Tony LaBruno
An aerial view of the Herbrandsons’ final work of art, which encompassed a few stops and starts along the way. (Photo by Carlo Zanella, DHP Multimedia)
After collecting stones and boulders for more than two decades,
Dean Herbrandson and wife Kara finally found something to do with them
Dean and Kara Herbrandson celebrating Dean’s 50th birthday on Flag Day,
when the backyard landscaping was only a few months old. (Photo by Adam,
Treasured Moments Photography)
Dean Herbrandson had a
penchant for collecting
boulders and for decades
scouted the hill to uncover just the
right ones. For what? He did not
know. But he credits his wife Kara
for her infinite patience as he had
these enormous monoliths
dumped off for years on their
Malaga Cove driveway and in their
side yard.
“I used to drive my pickup truck
around as far back as the 2000, collecting
stones as big as I could lift.
I wouldn’t stop until the truck almost
bottomed out,” Dean said.
Later, he would bid on even
larger stones, some fossilized with
whale vertebrae and other sea
creatures, or plant material. He
would bid against contractors and
architects for the most awesome
earthly specimens.
“I was into these rocks for about
$10,000 and still hadn’t ascertained
how to utilize them.”
All along he assumed the rocks
would be cut and made into something
like stepping stones, but he
later learned that PV stone doesn’t
peel back like an onion, but is like
chalk and disintegrates when cut.
This discovery led to new concepts
on how to proceed with his treasure
trove.
Herbrandson graduated from
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a
degree in mechanical engineering.
He builds drone engines. Herbrandson
Engines is based in
Lawndale and specializes in designing
and manufacturing drone
mechanisms for military use. His
father Dale started the business.
“At work he’s Dale and at home,
he’s dad,” Herbrandson said. In the
‘70s, his dad built a 2 cylinder engine
that had very good vibration
resistance. This was a crucial enhancement
to previous drone models
because his drones could hold
a camera without vibrating, enabling
them to take sharper photos.
His drones were used for reconnaissance
during the Vietnam War
and the Gulf Wars.
30 Peninsula • February 2018
The custom designed fire pit has inverted
sides so that guests can cozy
up close to the fire on cool evenings.
Backyard quandary
Dean and Kara’s 1950s Spanish style Malaga Cove home is across the
street from the Malaga Cove Library on Via Pinale, where the outdoor
summer concerts are held June through September. The previous owners
had raised their family there and wanted another family to enjoy what
they had. Other contenders included contractors who wanted to raze the
property and turn it into a behemoth. The Herbrandsons won the sellers’
hearts and minds with their plan to raise their family there. After the home
was purchased they made improvements to the electrical system, foundation
and plumbing.
“When we looked at the house, there was a lamp in every corner because
none of the light switches worked,” Dean said.
The backyard was dirt with winding stone walls that were uneven and
in disrepair.
“In the backyard, you couldn't get out of your own way to see over the
roofline and what was layed out before you. There’s the ocean and Malibu,
King Palms and these idyllic concerts in the park, but we couldn’t see any
of it,” Dean said. “We started putting chairs on top of trash cans trying to
get some height in the back to see what laid before us and how high we
had to go to see it.”
The idea for creating a usable outdoor environment started to take hold.
When Dean and Kara were dating, they found they both enjoyed the outdoors
and often went on garden tours. Originally, they hired some high
profile landscape architects to help them design their dream outdoor environment,
but quotes ranged upwards of $650,000 to accomplish their
rough plan. To create a patio environment with poured cement or concrete
blocks required casans, per the city regulations. When the first contractor
went down 12 feet, he hit bedrock. To continue with the project, they were
going to have to go down another 12 feet into the bedrock with multiple
casans, which made their plan cost-prohibitive. The project sat dormant
for two years.
“Our son would take his dirt bike in the backyard and gun it, to the chagrin
of our neighbors. We knew we had to find other footing to proceed.”
The couple has two sons, Brett, 21, and Erik, 17.
John Feldman, of Ecocentrix Landscape Architecture, came through with
some solutions. Instead of using cement, they brought in stone imported
from India that was hand cut onsite and layed down in a terraced pattern,
maintaining lots of little enclave gardens and places to enjoy varying van-
These weighty stepping stones imported from India, lead up to a bistro lighted
perch that’s high enough to view concerts in Malaga Park, the ocean, Malibu
and neighboring parklands.
February 2018 • Peninsula 31
The backyard perch looks out over the roofline and landscaping.
tage points. The stones had fluctuating thicknesses, which had to be accounted
for when laying them on the ground. Instead of bringing in new
soil, they moved soil and repositioned it to build height in the rear, enhancing
the scope and breadth of their home’s perch. This improved the views
of the ocean, the concerts and the rural parklands bordering the property.
There used to be a water pump on the hillside above the property that
would pump water up to a reservoir close to La Venta Inn. The pump is
long gone, but parts of the stone structure remain. There was a time, Herbrandson
reflects, when the parkland’s hillside was green and there was a
stream that was home to frogs that would ribbit through the night. There
is still a teeming natural habitat here. They stopped trimming the palm
Changing leaves lead up the terraced pathways to a Sapote tree where bees
live year-round.
fronds when they realized that they served as a habitat for owls who made
these trees their home.
The Herbrandsons worked for two years to create a botanical experience
rich in color regardless of the season.
“We like bugs. We wanted a garden that attracted them,” Dean said.
The Sapote tree planted by the previous owner is abuzz with bees except
for the one month out of the year where it loses its leaves. Their garden is
full of native plants that require little water. The Peninsula peacocks are especially
fond of the succulents.
“We have to plant new succulents every week. The birds eat all the leaves,
and when they can’t get a firm grip on the plant anymore, they yank out
32 Peninsula • February 2018
The PV stones collected by Herbrandson himself fit together like a puzzle and are home to a wall of
succulents.
the whole thing by its roots,” Dean said. There are Winter Lavender, Beach Cannas, Crepe Myrtles,
Aloe Vera plants with orange blooms, and double and single Trumpet vines, all amidst a perfectly
contoured outdoor environment that has individual rocks fitted together like a puzzle. Some
of the boulders Dean collected serve as resting places. Others, including the boulder with the fossilized
whale vertebrae, create the feeling of a sculpture garden.
The couple’s goal was to create an outdoor environment for entertaining that stretched to the
very top of the property. This proved to be no easy feat. Each one of the slabs of stone from India
weighed 300 pounds. They were brought in on pallets. It would take a whole day for three workers
to make one or two steps. The end result is the Huntington Library gardens meets Hollywood’s
Greek Theater – in Palos Verdes. PEN
The slabs from India were handcut onsite and dovetailed
to enhance their strength and natural beauty.
February 2018 • Peninsula 33
Lin’s seniors
Destabelle, 76, at Wayfarers
Chapel, where she has frequently
performed. Photo by Charlice Lin
Over the past year, Charlice
Lin has interviewed and
photographed 54 Peninsulans
over the age of 75. “Foregone,
but not forgotten,” an exhibit of
those interviews and photographs
opened Jan. 14 at the Peninsula
Center Library and will continue
through Jan. 31.
The project is the result of the remorse
the Rancho Palos Verdes resident
felt over an unfulfilled
promise to her paternal grandfather
when she was 10 and visited
him in Taiwan. He offered to take
her to an amusement park, but she
told him “another time” because
she wanted to go shopping with
her cousins. Her grandfather
passed away from cancer soon afterwards.
Lin hopes the exhibit will inspire
people to reach out to their families
and loved ones, often. To learn
more about her project, visit Charlicelin.com.
Following is the first in a series
of Lin’s senior profiles that will appear
in Peninsula magazine.
-Editor’s note
by Charlice Lin
Anne Stallone left Long Island,
New York, when she
was 17 to attend American
University in Washington, D.C. In
1963, shortly after President John
F. Kennedy spoke at her commencement,
she moved to California.
After five years spent raising
her daughter Dawn on her own,
she married Ray Destabelle.
Peninsula seniors who participated in Charlice Lin’s photograph and personal
history project gather at an exhibit of her stories and photos at the Peninsula
Center Library. Photo by Stephanie Cartozian
Destabelle, now 76, plays tennis,
mahjongg, the guitar, and the piano.
She performs throughout Southern
California with the Pennyroyal
Players, a musical group she established
in 2003. The group has raised
over $130,000, all of it donated to
charities. Destabelle also plays
piano at the Torrance Memorial
Hospital.
Destabelle chose Wayfarers
Chapel for her photo because she
has played guitar there on multiple
occasions. The chapel symbolizes to
her all that is beautiful and wonderful
in the world.
Anne’s message for the world:
“Find your personal happiness, and
then do what you can to bring
peace to our very troubled world.
Each one of us can do that. Find a
way.” PEN
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February 2018 • Peninsula People 37
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L
The Shrivers’ Annual Arty Party
Artists Extraordinaire
The slogan is “Come one, come all’ to the Shrivers’ annual gathering
in their Tuscan style courtyard, once called the Farmstead. Jean,
Charlie and Steve Shriver were the gracious hosts who opened their
iconic home to over 25 different local artists who displayed their works
just in time for gift giving for the holidays. While the original oils on
canvas were displayed on easels throughout, there were also ceramicists,
jewelers, and artists of every medium, many who come annually. Guests
park in gravel lots to shop and drink wine with their Portuguese Bend
neighbors.
1. Marty Redfield and her dog Mattie,
Tom Redfield and Joan Wright.
2. Don Christy and Nic Vaughan.
PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE CARTOZIAN
3. John White, Jean Shriver and Fred
Shriver.
4. Harpist and flutist entertained.
5. Meredith Grenier and De De Hicks.
6. Bernard Fallon.
7. Stephen Mirich, Steve Dair and
Bernard Fallon.
8. Emily and Tim Vaughan, Tracy England
and Bob Mennig.
1
2 3
4 5
6
40 Peninsula • February 2018
30 Year Anniversary
The Palos Verdes Flower Talking Clock donated by
Michel Medawar and his family, celebrated its 30th
Year on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Your clock reminds you of its presence every
time you wind it. If the accuracy of the clock is
not what it used to be, or the chimes are not as
strong or rhythmic, or maybe it just stops; that means
your clock is talking to you and telling you that its endless
life is in jeopardy.
It is imperative to maintain and service your clock
regularly. Oil gets old and dry forcing the train of gears
to work twice as hard to accomplish their goal. This results
in damage that drastically shortens the life of a
fine timepiece.
Michel Medawar has been extending the lives of
timepieces for over sixty years as his father did sixty
years before. He is the inventor of the first talking clock
in the world. He is a graduate from Patek Philippe in
Geneva, Switzerland, The Theod Wagner Clock CO. in
Zeeland, Michigan. Call him so that he may come to
your and offer you a free estimate for servicing your
clock. Or bring your wall or mantel clock to out store
to see our showroom and receive the same complementary
diagnosis.
We are located at 810C Silver Spur Rd., in Rolling Hills Estates, Ca.
90274. Or call us at (310) 544-0052
Open 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Tuesday - Saturday
810C Silver Spur Road • Rolling Hills Estates • CA 90274
Call 310.544.0052
42 Peninsula • February 2018
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• Full Service Contractor
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• Cabinets
4203 Spencer St., Torrance, CA 90503 (310)214-5049 • www.pevelers.com
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eventcalendar
CALENDAR OF COMMUNITY EVENTS
Compiled by Teri Marin
You can email your event to our address: penpeople@easyreadernews.com
All submissions must be sent by the 10th of each month prior to event taking place.
On Going
Peninsula Seniors
Weekly and periodic activities. Call the Center for more information (310)
377-3003 or for Peninsula Newsletter for Active Seniors go to: pvseniors.org.
Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Days
Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. Enjoy nurturing seedlings and help plants grow for
habitat restoration projects. Must RSVP 48 hours in advance. Sign up at:
www.pvplc.volunteerhub.com
Mother’s Day essay contest
St. John Fisher School and Sam Pheng of Modern Jewelry Mart are hosting
an essay contest for first through eighth students on “Why mom deserves a
diamond.” Eight gemstone prizes for each grade will be awarded, along with
a diamond for the grand prize winner. For more information call Modern Jewelry
Mart at 310-517-0308.
Friday, January 26
Picasso at the
Lapin Agile
The clever off-Broadway hit from comedian/writer
Steve Martin imagines
Albert Einstein and Pablo
Picasso meeting in a Parisian bar
one evening in 1904, just before
each man introduced the work that
would make him famous. Tickets
$30-$70. 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays;
2 p.m. Sundays. Through Sunday,
February 4. Norris Theatre, 27570
Norris Center Dr., Rolling Hills Estates.
Saturday, Jan. 27
Trail Watch Training
Richy Stores is Einstein and
Andrew Puente is Picasso in
Picasso at the Lapin Agile at
the Norris Theatre Jan. 26
through Feb. 4.
Become a Trail Watch Volunteer and make a difference on the trails. 9 a.m.
– noon. Ladera Linda Community Center, 32201 Forrestal Dr., RPV. Sign up
at pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
Rock the Garden
Live family musical performance in the Amphitheatre 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Also,
through January 31 a selection of trails will host a special “mix-tape” to mix
up your post-holiday walk. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Included with garden admission.
South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes. southcoastbotanicgarden.org.
Native Plant Sale
At White Point Nature Education Center, noon – 2 p.m. Plants sold on firstcome,
first-serve basis. 1600 W. Paseo del Mar in San Pedro. For more information
call (310) 541-7613.
Sunday, January 28
Whale Fiesta
This fun-filled family event, co-sponsored by Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and
the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society, celebrates marine
mammals and the migration of Pacific gray whales along Southern Califor-
44 Peninsula • February 2018
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eventcalendar
nia's coast. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro. For
more information, see: cabrillomarineaquarium.org.
Rock the Garden
Live, family friendly DJ sets provided by VOX DJ in the Amphitheatre, 11 a.m.
to 3 p.m. Free with Garden admission. South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300
Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes.southcoastbotanicgarden.org.
Wild & Scenic Films
An exciting selection of adventurous and inspirational films about nature presented
by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. 4 p.m. Hermosa
Beach Community Theater, 710 Pier Ave. Hermosa Beach. Tickets $15 at the
door, $10 at www.pvplc.org or (310) 541-7613.
Wednesday, January 31
Hesse Park Lecture Series
Liz Cantine returns with Crooners and Song-birds as dancers and singers
beckon back to the golden age of music and entertainment. 10:30 a.m. Liz
Cantine is a professional dancer, director, choreographer and instructor. Hesse
Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., RPV. pvseniors.org.
Thursday, February 1
Wine, cheese & chocolate
Palos Verdes Historical Society presents resident Dana Graham speaking on
the history of the Neighborhood Church and the building’s original owner J.J.
Haggarty. 7 to 9 p.m., seating space is limited. Please RSVP (310) 373-6018.
Suggested donation: members $15, non-members $25. Malaga Cove Library
Lower Gallery, 2400 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates.
Saturday, February 3
Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
First Saturday Family Hike at George F Canyon. 9 a.m. Join a naturalist guide
to discover wildlife and more on an easy hike with amazing views. Free. All
ages welcome. 27305 Palos Verdes Dr. E., Rolling Hills. For more information,
contact (310) 547-0862 or RSVP at pvplc.org, Events & Activities.
Outdoor Volunteer Day
At Alta Vicente Reserve, 9 a.m. – noon. Help restore this unique canyon habitat
home to many threatened and endangered wildlife species. 30940
Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes. Sign up at pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
Volunteer Greeter Training
This one day training prepares volunteers to lead outreach booths at special
events and nature walks to help connect the Land Conservancy with the community.
10 a.m. - noon. Land Conservancy Office. Sign up at http://pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
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www.webmortgagefunder.com
609 Deep Valley Drive, Suite 200, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
46 Peninsula • February 2018
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eventcalendar
Sunday, February 3
Tidepool Wonders
Explore the rocky shore at low tide with Cabrillo Marine Aquarium 3 to 4:30
p.m. Gather at the aquarium’s John M. Olguin Auditorium for an informative
slide show, followed by a walk led by Aquarium Education Staff to the nearby
tidepools. Free; reservations required for groups of ten or more. Children must
be accompanied by an adult. Non-slip shoes and outdoor clothing recommended
for navigating the slippery, rocky shore. Also held Saturday, February
10 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday, February 11 from 12:30 to 2
p.m. 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro. (310) 548-7562 or
www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org.
Thursday, February 8
Needle Artists
Chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild will hold its monthly meeting, 10
a.m. The program will be “Coeur Hearts,” a design which can be stitched on
your choice of ground fabric and thread color. Call 424-224-9254 for further
information. Meeting held at Ports O’Call Restaurant, 1200 Nagoya Way,
San Pedro.
Saturday, February 10
Volunteer Trail Crew Training
Join the Trail Crew for monthly field practice in trail assessment and repair
techniques. This will give an overview to the 50-hour certification training program.
9 a.m. - noon. Land Conservancy Office. Snacks, refreshments and
good company provided! Sign up at http://pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
DAVID FAIRCHILD PHOTOGRAPHY
"Its Like You’re There All Over Again"
310-483-5090 WWW.DAVIDFAIRCHILDSTUDIO.COM
Guided walk
Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
at Vicente Bluffs Reserve. Follow
the bluff top from Point Vicente
to Oceanfront Estates, an area containing
restored coastal sage scrub
habitat. 9 a.m. Great location for
sighting whales. This is an easy
walk. Free and open to the public.
For more information, contact (310)
541-7613 ext. 201 or sign up at
www.pvplc.org/_events/Nature-
WalkRSVP.asp. 31501 Palos Verdes
Dr. W, Rancho Palos Verdes.
Outdoor Volunteer Day
At Alta Vicente Reserve, 30940
Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos
Verdes, 9 a.m. – noon. Help restore
this unique canyon habitat home to
many threatened and endangered
wildlife species. Sign up at
http://pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
Stories, Songs and More
At White Point Nature Education
Center, 10 -11 a.m. Share the joy of
storytelling with your children and introduce
them to the beauty of the natural
surroundings. Retired Children’s
Librarian Carla Sedlacek shares stories
and activities featuring nature
themes, exciting props and songs.
Free. 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, San
Pedro. RSVP at: www.pvplc.org.
48 Peninsula • February 2018
SOLD
Dana Graham specializes in Palos Verdes, where he has lived since 1947, the last 33 years as one of
Palos Verdes’ leading Realtors. Dana got into the business to be the kind of Realtor he wanted
but couldn’t find, and he still is, from knowledge of the market, the history and nuances of Palos
Verdes, contract negotiation, construction, financing, and more. You will get Dana’s personal attention
to all aspects of your transaction (no assistants, secretaries, or coordinators). He is in the Top 10 (out of
thousands) in Palos Verdes’ listings sold. See his website at www.DanaGraham.com or, better yet, give
him a call at 310 613-1076. He will answer the call himself.
SOLD
Dana Graham
#1 Berkshire Hathaway Agent in PV in 2014
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman's Circle
Prudential Legend
33 years experience
310 613-1076 (cell)
Palos Verdes Resident Since 1947
DRE #00877973
Night in Old Cuba
Cuban-style food, casino games, music, dancing,
piano bar, cigar lounge, live and silent auction, opportunity
drawing, no host bar. Dress casual or
Caribbean style. Tickets $95 through February 9;
$100 at the door. Presented by Temple Emet. At the
Automobile Driving Museum, 610 Lairport St., El
Segundo, 6 - 10 p.m. Contact Karen Greenberg at
310-266-7567 or kgreenberg@socal.rr.com.
Sleeping Beauty
Get swept into a world of kings, queens, fairy godmothers
and storybook creatures, as the treasured
tale of Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” comes alive
for two performances only at the Norris Theatre.
With exquisite costumes and a lavish set, the production
includes more than 30 distinguished
dancers from the nationally acclaimed Atlantic City
Ballet, and features special appearances by fairy
tale favorites Puss-In-Boots and Little Red Riding
Hood. Performances are 8 p.m. and February 11
at 2 p.m. Tickets $45 for ages 17 and under, $55
for ages 18 and over. For more information or to
purchase tickets, call 310-544-0403 or visit
palosverdesperformingarts.com. 27570 Norris
Center Drive, Rolling Hills Estates.
Tuesday, Feb. 13
Shrove Tuesday
St. John Fisher's Women's Council will hold its annual
luncheon in Barrett Hall. Guest speakers include
a priest and two residents from Homeboy
Industries, a gang intervention program located in
Boyle Heights. $25. Refreshments at 10 a.m.,
speakers at 11 a.m., lunch at noon. 5446 Crest
Rd., Rancho Palos Verdes. For information call Gail
Capers at 310-377-6164.
Thursday, Feb. 15
South Coast Rose Society
Monthly meeting. Social hour begins at 7 p.m. with
refreshments. Speaker is being kept secret because
it’s so special. The public is welcome and for further
information, please see them on Facebook! South
Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Boulevard,
Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Friday, February 16
Beauty and the Beast
“Be our Guest,” and experience the enchantment
of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” live on stage at
the Norris Theatre, weekends through February 25.
Presented by the highly-acclaimed youth theatre program,
the Palos Verdes Performing Arts Conservatory.
Show times for the student-cast production are
7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m.
Sundays, as well as a 2 p.m. show on Saturday,
eventcalendar
February 24. Tickets are $15 for ages 17 and
under, $30 for ages 18 and over. For more information
or to purchase tickets, call 310-544-0403
or visit palosverdesperformingarts.com. 27570
Norris Center Drive in Rolling Hills Estates.
Saturday, February 17
Outdoor Volunteer Day
At White Point Nature Preserve, 9 a.m. – noon.
Help beautify the native demonstration garden and
surrounding habitat. 1600 W. Paseo Del Mar, San
Pedro. Sign up at www.pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
Guided Nature Walk
Visit White Point Nature Preserve and attend a naturalist-guided
hike. Enjoy coastal views and learn
more about the plants, animals, restoration area
and more! 9 a.m. 1600 W. Paseo del Mar in San
Pedro. Meet at the information kiosk between parking
lot and Nature Center. For more information call
(310) 541-7613 or RSVP at: www.pvplc.org,
Events & Activities.
Sunday, February 18
Peninsula Symphony
Celebrate the symphony’s 51st season. Doors open
at 6 p.m. Pre-concert lecture by Maestro Berkson
(members only) at 6:15 p.m., followed at 7 p.m.
50 Peninsula People • February 2018
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by the concert. Concert and parking are free. Redondo Union High School
Auditorium, 631 Vincent Street in Redondo Beach (PCH at Diamond). For further
information, please call the Symphony Office at (310) 544-0320, e-mail
us at music.pensym@verizon.net, or visit our website at Pensym.org.
Wednesday, February 21
Birding with Wild Birds Unlimited
Explore the birds making a home in the restored habitat at the beautiful White
Point Nature Preserve. Binoculars supplied for beginners. The program is free,
all ages welcome. 8:30 a.m. 1600 W. Paseo del Mar in San Pedro. RSVP at:
www.pvplc.org, Events & Activities.
Saturday, February 24
Cactus Wrens
Learn to help monitor rare Cactus wren habitat. Birding experience desired,
but not mandatory. 8:30-11:30 a.m. Alta Vicente Reserve, 30940 Hawthorne
Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes. Sign up at http://pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
Capturing rain water
Learn how easy it is to conserve and use water in your home. White Point Nature
Education Center, 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, San Pedro, 11 a.m. RSVP at
https://pvplc.org/_events/WhitePointWorkshopRSVP.asp.
Outdoor Volunteer Day
At Native Plant Nursery, 9 a.m. – noon. Nurture seedlings and grow shrubs
for habitat restoration projects all around the Peninsula. Reservations required.
Sign up at www.pvplc.volunteerhub.com.
Native Plant Sale
At White Point Nature Education Center, noon – 2 p.m. Plants sold on firstcome,
first-serve basis. White Point Nature Preserve located at 1600 W. Paseo
del Mar in San Pedro. For more information call (310) 541-7613.
DARs to celebrate
The public is invited to join with members at El Redondo Chapter, Daughters
of the American Revolution’s 53rd annual Colonial Luncheon. Have lunch with
Ben Franklin and hear about his adventures and challenges in forming a new
nation. 11 a.m. Event benefits veterans, active military and provides scholarships.
Los Verdes Golf Club, 7000
W. Los Verdes Dr., Rancho Palos
Thank You
For Your
Vote!
ON CALL
24 HOURS
7 DAYS
52 Peninsula People • February 2018
2013
Sunday, Feb. 25
Organ concert
The Neighborhood Church hosts visiting
French-Canadian organist Isabelle
Demers, who has enraptured
listeners around the globe with her
spell-binding performances. A native
of Québec and a graduate of the
Juilliard School, Ms. Demers is
Organ Professor and Head of the
Organ Program at Baylor University
in Texas. 4 p.m. in the ocean view
sanctuary of the Neighborhood
Church, 415 Paseo del Mar, Palos
Verdes Estates. Tickets are $20 and
may be purchased in the Church Ofeventcalendar
Verdes. $50. Reservations must be
made by February 10. For information
or reservations contact Maureen
Drew at 310-534-2222 or mrdandco@sbcglobal.net.
eventcalendar
fice Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. or by calling (310) 378-9353
ext. 1005.
Wednesday, February 28
Birding with Wild Birds Unlimited
At George F Canyon presented by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy,
8:30 a.m. Explore the birds in nesting season making a home in the
canyon. Free, all ages welcome. 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rolling Hills
Estates. RSVP at: www.pvplc.org, Events & Activities.
Mac Users Group Meeting
Admission is free. All Mac/iPad/iPhone users and potential users are welcome.
6:30 p.m., Beginners Q & A. 8 p.m., presentation on Mac OS High
Sierra. See sbamug.com for more info, or call 310-644-3315. Email:
info@sbamug.com. Lomita VFW Hall, 1865 Lomita Blvd.
Sunday, March 4
Music in the Garden
The Peninsula Committee Los Angeles Philharmonic hosts Music in the Garden.
Young musicians will be showcased with performances by Peninsula High,
Palos Verdes High, Redondo Union High, Ridgecrest Intermediate, South High
and Narbonne High students, to name a few. Festivities will also include Philharmonic’s
Music Mobile, face painting, drum circle, food for purchase and
more. Noon to 4:30 p.m. Great musical fun for all ages. Tickets are $25 for
a Family Pack (up to two adults and five children), or $15 per adult and $5
for youth. Benefits music youth education. South Coast Botanic Garden,
26300 Crenshaw Boulevard, Palos Verdes Peninsula. For more information,
please visit pclaphil.org or email pclaphil@gmail.com. PEN
February 2018 • Peninsula People 53
Seven tasty meats
Yamaya general manager Masahiko Koyanagi. Photos by Brad Jacobson (CivicCouch.com)
The Japanese’s relatively young tradition of eating beef is gloriously celebrated at Yamaya
You wouldn’t know it from the number of Japanese steakhouses that
have been popping up around town, but the Japanese are relatively
new at eating beef. The overwhelmingly Buddhist country banned
most cattle consumption in the year 675 and only legalized it in 1868. When
it was announced in 1872 that the Emperor himself had eaten beef and
lamb, resistance to the practice fell. Still, most of the population ate beef
only rarely until the 1960s.
The style of Japanese barbecue most celebrated now is yakiniku, a variant
on the grill-your-own Korean barbecue style. There are differences that fit
the culture, with sauces that are less pungent so the focus is on the natural
flavor of quality beef.
A restaurant in Torrance offers a particularly authentic version of this
cuisine. Yamaya Japanese Wagyu & Grill is the first American outpost of a
Japanese restaurant chain that features the Japanese wagyu breed of cattle
raised in Oregon by traditional methods. They’re fed a natural diet and allowed
to live longer than commodity cattle. The more mature animal has a
richer flavor.
The restaurant in the eastern corner of the mall at Crenshaw and Pacific
Coast Hwy. has a demure frontage and a neat and modern but slightly
anonymous interior. The only unusual element is the industrial-size exhaust
fans that hang above every table to vent the smell of cooking beef. They
work well and are surprisingly quiet, so it’s not like having dinner under a
running aircraft engine.
The menu offers the expected variety of grilled beef but also some noodle
soup, shabu-shabu, and sukiyaki entrees that are portioned for two people.
While these looked intriguing, my companion and I wanted to try as many
different items as possible, so we ordered a seven-item combination
yakiniku dinner and a bowl of bibimbap stone pot rice for main courses.
This was preceded by appetizers, and the three I most wanted to try went
a bit beyond my companion’s comfort zone. He doesn’t usually like raw
fish or meats, but gamely decided to try mentaiko (spicy salted caviar), top
sirloin tartare, and salmon marinated in Japanese rice vinegar with onions.
The salmon was the most conventional item, lightly pickled fish with a
little sweetness and a little vinegar tartness. In typical Japanese fashion they
left the good ingredients to speak for themselves, the flavor of the fish delicately
enhanced.
The other two items had more art and less nature in the combinations.
Mentaiko is made from the eggs of the Alaskan cod fish, called Pollock,
which are salt-cured and blended with chili peppers. The flavors are strong
but balanced, the texture a bit weird and slightly pasty, and it is often used
as a flavoring in noodle dishes and soups but sometimes eaten alone. This
was the first time I had tried it by itself, and while it was interesting I like
it better with spaghetti.
The beef tartare was a cylinder of shredded top quality raw beef per-
54 Peninsula • February 2018
fumed with sesame oil and topped with a raw egg yolk. Small portions of
toasted garlic, shredded scallion, and pine nuts accompanied it, and added
little bursts of flavor and texture. The meat itself was rich and full of flavor,
and the condiments made it an experience that was simultaneously primal
and civilized. If you are at all open minded about flavor and enjoy the taste
of beef, try this – you may be surprised.
The manager, a pleasant fellow named Mr. Koyanagi, had helped suggest
our menu selections and also asked about our beverage preferences. They
have many premium sakes and shochus here but the wine selection is limited,
with only one red wine by the glass. We had tried some shochus with
our starters, but preferred wines with the main course. Mr. Koyanagi mentioned
that he had some bottles that didn’t appear on the list, and offered
a Beaujolais that worked nicely with the meaty flavors to come.
While we nibbled our starters a server fired up the grill in the middle of
our table, which had gas for heat along with charcoal for flavor. When the
first items were demolished he brought the beef, an array of seven different
cuts of meat, attractively presented. A few slices of zucchini, onion, and
pepper were provided too, but this dinner was all about the beef. Five
types were presented unseasoned. One had a sprinkling of sesame seeds
and salt, and one was marinated with soy sauce, sesame, and chopped scallions.
We were encouraged to grill each type rare and take it off before it
became tough.
What followed was a thoughtful carnivore’s dream meal, an exploration
of the flavors and textures of beef. I don’t have room in this article to rhapsodize
about all seven, but suffice it to say that we were engrossed in analyzing
each type. Was the buttery richness of the short rib more enjoyable
than the more fully flavored top sirloin cap? How did that compare with
the ribeye or the chewier tongue or chuck flap tail? Did the flatiron steak’s
marinade and scallions make it the best palate cleanser between unadorned
cuts, or did the marinated flank steak wrapped around a rice ball do that
better? It was a challenge to put our thoughts into words as we savored
each piece.
When we had devoured the beef we had the bibimbap to finish things.
Like yakiniku style cooking, this dish of rice heated in a stone bowl has a
Korean influence, but with the accent on natural flavors rather than high
seasonings. Beef, vegetable, and seafood bibimbaps are offered, and since
we knew we would be in beef overload we decided on vegetable. The rice
had been quietly sizzling and developing a tasty crust as we ate the beef,
and when we mixed everything together there were crusty bits where the
rice and sauce had cooked next to the bowl. The crisped rice with root vegetables,
bean sprouts, and spinach were a fine finish to the meal.
Mr. Koyanagi surprised us with a dessert, steaming cups of dashi soup
with citrusy yuzu added. We’re used to desserts being sweet instead of
umami-laden and scented with seaweed and bonito, but it was strangely
compelling.
Dinner for two with a bottle of wine and two shochus ran $140, remarkably
reasonable for a meal of this caliber. Yakiniku is the style of dining
for people who really want to savor good beef. Yamaya’s preparations of
quality meat hit the balance of simplicity and sophistication. The Japanese
came to eating beef late, but they’ve made up for the lost time.
Yamaya is at 2529 Pacific Coast Hwy., Torrance. Open 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
and 5:30 – 9:30 p.m. Tue-Sun. Parking lot, wheelchairs OK, beer, wine, shochu,
and sake served. Menu hakatayamaya.com. (310) 257-1800. PEN
TRUSTS, WILLS, PROBATE
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Attorney At Law
655 Deep Valley Drive, Suite 125
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
(310) 544-2255
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February 2018 • Peninsula 55
Barney’s Beanery
Here at Barney’s we've got our full newspaper-sized menu available as well as 40 beers
on draft. Daily and weekend specials and a great Happy Hour Mon - Fri, 4pm to 7pm.
ALL DAY Happy Hour on Monday! We offer free wifi and always have the TV's tuned
to numerous sporting events, in case you want to settle in for a long lunch or dinner.
Either way, we are here for you so come on in and enjoy!
100 Fisherman’s Wharf, Suite H, on the Redondo Beach Pier.
(424) 275-4820 www.barneysbeanery.com
V ilicich
Watch & Clock
Established 1947
Celebrating
Our
70 th
Anniversary!
(310) 833-6891
We Buy
Watches!
714 S. Weymouth Avenue
San Pedro, CA 90732
Not affiliated with Rolex USA
in remembrance
Neighbors, legal community
mourn for Major Langer
by Kevin Cody
On the first day of shiva, following Major Langer’s burial, the guard at
the Rolling Hills gatehouse asked one of the arriving guests, “Who
was this guy? I’ve never seen so many people come to pay their respects.”
At noon that day, Jan. 4, over 1,000 mourners attended the Rolling Hills
attorney’s burial at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.
“I lost track of all the dignitaries at the services. People flew in from all
over the world. It was something to see,” recalled friend and colleague Jim
Hall.
Langer and Hall met at their children’s preschool over four decades ago.
They and their wives Shirley and Marcie, had dinner almost every Sunday
at Fu Yuan Low. They celebrated Christmas Eve dinner together and were
scheduled to be together on New Year’s Eve.
But on Friday, Dec. 29, Langer, 75, was fatally shot by a recently dismissed
law partner. According to witnesses, John Mendoza, 58, of Redondo Beach,
arrived that afternoon at the holiday office party for Langer’s Long Beach
law firm. Mendoza, Langer and partner Ronald Beck went into the firm’s
conference room to discuss Mendoza’s dismissal settlement, which sources
described as “generous.” According to Hall, who spoke to Beck after the
shootings, Mendoza became verbally confrontational and then fired a handgun
at Langer and Beck. Langer was fatally shot in the back. Beck, a Rancho
Palos Verdes resident, was wounded in the leg. After shooting his former
partners, Mendoza fatally shot himself.
Both Mendoza and Langer were prominent personal injury attorneys.
Mendoza was a frequent legal commentator on Los Angeles television and
radio programs.
Langer represented many high profile clients, including actress Pamela
Anderson. He also represented several Rolling Hills neighbors in the 1987
Portuguese Bend Flying Triangle Landslide case. Langer spent days on horseback
riding across the otherwise inaccessible slide area, taking notes and
photographs to support his argument that the slide was caused by faulty
water pipes. The 14 month civil trial, believed to be the longest civil trial in
California history, resulted in a $17.6 million judgement in favor of his neighbors
whose homes were damaged in the slide.
Langer’s legal successes enabled him to devote his leisure time to tending
his Rolling Hills property vineyard. But his motivation, Hall said wasn’t success,
but justice.
“One of his early cases involved an eccentric Long Beach woman named
Misses Rose, who claimed the neighborhood kids were taunting her. Most
attorneys won’t even return calls from the Misses Roses of the world. But
Major took her case and won a judgement in her favor against the kids and
their parents,” Hall said.
In addition to his wife Shirley, Langer is survived by daughters Jessica and
Alexis, son Ryan and grandchildren Bobby and Zelda Sousa. PEN
Attorney
Major Langer
took pride in
the vineyard
he maintained
on his Rolling
Hills property.
Photo courtesy
of Jim Hall
56 Peninsula • February 2018
Beautify Lunada Project
The Beautify Lunada Bay (BLB) Project is an initiative sponsored by Lunada Bay
Homeowners Association (LBHOA), City of Palos Verdes Estates (PVE) and Palos
Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
(PVPLC). The goal is to revitalize the
bluff tops along Lunada Bay using
drought tolerant, native landscaping
through a phased multi-year program
and to provide an outdoor classroom
for elementary school students where
they can sit outside and learn.
The LBHOA has been working alongside
the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land
Conservancy and a professional
landscape design firm, Dudek Habitat
Restoration, to develop a realistic
budget and execution plan. The plan calls for $88,650 to complete Stage 1 construction
and planting, and an additional $22,500 for 3 years maintenance,
water costs, and volunteer training. Once the project has been firmly established,
maintenance and water costs will decrease significantly.
There has been some controversy amongst residents, some who prefer to leave
the Bluff and adjacent space in its natural state. Visit lbhoa.org and blb.lbhoa.org
for more information.
Los Cancioneros
Los Cancioneros Master Chorale is a non-profit organization of mixed chorus that
performs in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County under the direction of
Artistic Director, Allan Robert Petker. The association offers musical scholarships,
community concerts and an opportunity for the public to enjoy the musical arts in
the South Bay. Its repertoire ranges from classical to modern and their performances
around&about
Los Cancioneros holiday concert, above, celebrated the Latin culture and
included carols and lullabies from the Southwest along with holiday
melodies from Spain and Central America. The Chorale ended the
evening with playful favorites including Guaraldi’s jazzy “Peanuts” classic,
Christmas Time is Here. Visit www.lcmasterchorale.com. Photo by Jeremy
Brunson
are limited to only four per year. Generally the concerts are held at the Armstrong
Theater in Torrance. Their next concert is on March 18, 2018 called Celebrating
Music, a classical concert.
New children’s book release, A Tail of Twin Peacocks
“Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) was a friend of my family’s when I was growing up”, shares
author Katrina Vanderlip. “He taught me how to illustrate at age 6 and now 6
decades later, I have finally finished my first children’s book completely written and
illustrated by me, yet inspired by my early interactions with Geisel.” She further explains
that after her father Kelvin Vanderlip passed away, she remembers a trip to
Geisel’s home overlooking La Jolla beach. “This was a time before computers and
he (Geisel) carefully figured out each color separately for his illustrations and explained
it all to us. From that time on, I had always wanted to create a children’s
February 2018 • Peninsula 57
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L
Special Children’s League
Diamond Anniversary
The Special Children’s League hosted a holiday boutique fundraiser at the Palos Verdes
Golf Club. The group has helped children with disabilities for the past 60 years. President
Joyce Komatsu observed, “There is a greater recognition and acceptance of individuals
with special needs, with more attention given to their abilities rather than disabilities.”
But she added that more work needs to be done. Among the festive holiday vendors were
Abbracci Medical Spa, Kendra Scott Jewelry and Social Butterfly Designs. There was a nohost
bar and lunch included a Brown Derby Chopped salad followed by a flourless chocolate
cake topped with fresh berries for dessert. The Diamond drawing awarded the lucky
winner a stunning 18kt white gold, diamond necklace valued at $3,000 and a First Prize
drawing included a two night stay at the Montage Beverly Hills.
PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE CARTOZIAN
1. Stephanie Hughes and
Catina Gonzalez.
2. Michele Dahlerbruch,
Julie Patterson and Tracy
Lazarus.
3. The luxe table
centerpieces.
4. Jill Pasant, Virginia
Butler and Janis Farran.
5. Dr. JJ Levenstein, Joyce
Komatsu and Cristina
Ferrare.
6. Linda Marlo, Janis
Farran and Linda Igo.
7. Ellen Schuchert, Sally
Hill and Lynn Densmore.
8. Joyce Komatsu, Linda
Igo and Ann Cooper.
9. Jan Sharpe, Jacqueline
Glass and Robin Haney.
1
2 3
4 5
6
7
8
9
58 Peninsula • February 2018
ook myself.” Being a fraternal twin with a brother and having grown up in Palos
Verdes where peacocks are ubiquitous, Vanderlip’s book was a natural story having
been evolving for years in her mind. Mixing memories with her vivid watercolor
pallette, she brings the story to life. The book is about adventure and growing up.
Gabriel the white peacock is an angelic character in the book who is heartwarming
and sage and looks out for twins Leopold and Cleopatra as they progress
through different stages of their lives. The debut of the book will be at the PV Art
Center beginning on Friday, March 16 for the Capturing a Vision Exhibition. To
obtain signed copies of the book beforehand, please email
Katrinavanderlip@yahoo.com.
Newest Eagle Scouts honored at the Court of Honor
Boy Scout Troop 378 of the Greater Los Angeles Area Council proudly announced
its newest Eagle Scouts, Brent H Usui and Matthew Y. Usui, both 18, at an awards
banquet, on January 3 at St. John Fisher Church.
Brent and Matthew are seniors at Palos Verdes High Schhol and join their brothers
Jeff and Ryan in earning the rank of Eagle Scout.
Brent’s Eagle project involved designing and building a hexagonal indoor bench
made of maple wood for the Children’s Ministry at South Bay Community Church
(SBCC), the church where Brent and his family attend. In addition, Brent designed
and built the storage closet area for the High School Legacy group of SBCC,
which included making wooden shelving, storage closets and a guitar rack.
Brent has actively participated in engineering and research projects through Jisan
Research Institute and Palos Verdes High School, which included presenting at the
11th Annual International Green Energy Conference in Anchorage, Alaska in May
2016 and participating in observational studies of wildlife in the Galapagos Islands.
Brent’s hobbies include playing the guitar and the ukulele.
Matthew’s Eagle project involved building the gate and portions of the dressage
horse arena at Ernie Howlett Park located in Rolling Hills Estates. Matthew chose
to do his project at Ernie Howlett Park because he spent many memorable hours
playing Little League there. Matthew’s project required many volunteers to help dig
around&about
out and replace decaying posts, custom build and paint sections of the fence and
gate that were damaged to allow the local community to safely enjoy the beautiful
dressage riding arena.
Outside of Scouting, Matthew is a member of the Palos Verdes High School Varsity
Volleyball team, Team Rockstar Club Volleyball team, and earned 1st team honors
in the Bay League. Matthew also played on the Palos Verdes High School Varsity
Basketball team. Matthew is active in school leadership as a member of the Palos
Verdes High School Principal Advisory Council and as the student representative
for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Matthew also enjoys being
a staff writer for Trade Winds, a student-run Palos Verdes High School literary magazine.
Brent Usui. Photos provided by
David Seo
Matthew Usui.
February 2018 • Peninsula 59
60 Peninsula People • February 2018
around&about
Journey of the Endeavour and David Benoit
The Peninsula Committee Los Angeles
Philharmonic presented its 2017
fall fundraiser alongside the historic
Space Shuttle at the California Science
Center’s Samuel Oschin Pavilion.
Performing under the wings of
the Endeavour was Grammy nominated
jazz pianist, composer and
producer, David Benoit, conducting
the Asia America Youth Symphony.
The concert included original composition
of Benoit’s called the “Journey
of the Endeavour” which also
accompanied the shuttle to his final
and permanent home here in Los
Angeles. There was gourmet hors
d’oeuvres, fine wines and dessert
served at this iconic event, in part,
sponsored by Malaga Bank,
Kinecta Credit Union and the California
Science Center.
Photo provided by the Asia America Youth
Symphony
M-80s debut
South Bay cover band
M80s made their debut
performance this past Saturday
at Torrance’s Hey 19
Public House. Singer Dave
Carr and band, which includes
members of South
Bay favorites Crow Hill
Band and One Digit
Down, had a packed
house on their feet from
start to finish, playing all
the rock and pop hits from
the 80s and late 70s. For
more about M80s, visit
www.M80sLA.com.
(L-r) Mike Rubin, Jeffrey White, Dave Carr,
Brian White, and Dave Donson are the
M-80s. Photo by Jason Flynn
William J. Wickwire, M.D.
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February 2018 • Peninsula People 61
Highest Quality at a Fair Price
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LIABILITY INSURED • WORKERS COMPENSATION
Casey Lindahl - Founder & President of Lindahl Concrete Construction, Inc.
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Phone: (310)792-2090
February 2018 • Peninsula 63
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L
Benoit, Asia America Youth Symphony
perform Journey of the Endeavour
The Peninsula Committee of the LA Philharmonic celebrated its 65th anniversary
with a performance by the Asia America Youth Symphony, directed by
Peninsula composer and conductor David Benoit. The concert took place under
the wings of the Space Shuttle Endeavour at California Science Center’s Samuel
Oschin Pavilion. The concert showcased Benoit’s newly completed composition,
“Journey of the Endeavour,” which was accompanied by footage of the retired
space shuttle’s journey from Los Angeles Airport, through the streets of Los Angeles
to the Science Center. Over 350 guests attended the performance and afterwards
enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, craft beers and premium wines. Sponsors
included Malaga Bank and Mr. and Mrs. Allan Frew.
PHOTOS BY GREG SIERVELD AND VAL NOGUCHI
1. Ken Phillips of Calif. Science
Center and Sue and Allan Frew.
2. Jann Feldman, Marian Hall and
Lu Takeuchi.
3. Tom and Sandy Cobb and Rolf
and Judy Sannes.
4. David Benoit conducting under
wing of Endeavour.
5. Event Committee (back)
Cheryl Graue, Linda Whitson, Kei
Benoit, Denise Clement, Sue Frew,
Judy Sannes, Marian Duntley and
Marian Hall. (Front) Jann Feldman,
Lu Takeuchi, Darlene Vlasek,
Karen Gotlieb, Nancy Ceja, Jane
Beseda, Alicia Maniatakis, Tammy
Kolodny and Joann Deflon.
6. Lu Takeuchi and Jann Feldman.
7. Riner Scivally on guitar, Jean
Strickland on flute and Paul
Gormley on bass.
1
2 3
4 5
6
7
64 Peninsula • February 2018
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ELECTRICAL
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February 2018 • Peninsula 65