Date: Tuesday, April 15

Time: 7:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m.

Place: Drake Park Community Center

10th and Maine Please join us for announcements of events to come,

updates from Long Beach Police Department, and a free raffle—this month a free haircut and style from SWAG by Holly, and a dozen organic, fresh, Willmore City eggs. This is a casual way to meet your neighbors and find out more about our wonderful neighborhood!

We are happy to welcome this month’s presenter, our neighbor and friend, Michelle Molina of Millworks Long Beach, who will be speaking about the Press-Telegram and Meeker-Baker projects, that have become the new home of Molina Healthcare. Join us and learn about the challenges and rewards of adaptive reuse and how these beautiful buildings have been saved for a new chapter in their lives.

We hope to see you there!

By Terry Beebe

I was born October 23, 1944 and brought home to

a recently purchased 1860 Queen Anne Victorian at

11 Rockview Ave. in North Plainfield, New Jersey. I lived there until we bought it from my parents in

1967. My two sons were born in 1969 and 1971 and

were raised there as well.

My first entrance into politics came when I was on

the Board of the North Plainfield Library and elected

to the Charter Study Commission which recom-mended and changed the government from a Weak

Mayor Council system, to a Strong Mayor form of

municipal government. I also served on the Board of

Adjustment and various other committees. At some

point the Borough Council decided to put a zoning question on the ballot regarding businesses, offices

and apartments, which would have affected my home

By Isaac Salgado

Originally from New York, I came to California and

was attracted by its energy and cultural diversity.

Although a chef by trade, with over fifteen years of experience, my natural entrepreneurial spirit en-

ticed me to spearhead my own commercial and resi-

dential carpet cleaning and stone restoration busi-

ness, Rug'It, over four years ago. However, my love

for cooking keeps me in the kitchen, and is an out-

let for my creative side, from fruit and ice carvings,

Isaac continued on page 4

WCHA members elected 2 new Board members for

the coming year at its March meeting. Terry Beebe

and Isaac Salgado join returning members Kathleen

Irvine, Jim Danno, Patty Lund, Hulean Tyler, and

Jenny Sersion. We are grateful to all the Board members, new and old, for the generous dedication

of their time and efforts on behalf of the Willmore

neighborhood. WCHA continues to be a strong and

active neighborhood association thanks to the tire-

less efforts and wonderful leadership of its Board

and the enthusiastic participation of all its mem-bers.

Cheryl Perry

Terry continued on page 4

2

By Carol McCafferty

(with some additional research by Kathleen Irvine)

I heard on KPCC that Safeway is going to put itself

on the market due to low stock prices. The item in-

cluded the fact that the chain is nearly a hundred

years old. All of which got me to remembering Safe-

way’s history in Long Beach. Originally opened by Sam Seelig in 1911 in Down-

town Los Angeles, on March 15, 1925, the Los Ange-

les Times noted a change in management and an-

nounced that the company would now be knows as

The Safeway Stores. In 1926 it merged with Skaggs

United Stores, originally based in Idaho. Over the next few years a number of other stores were ac-

quired, most notable among them, Piggly Wiggly. By

1930, there were more than 1400 stores in ten west-

ern states. By 1935 the Piggly Wiggly name had

disappeared from most operating areas, except in Washington. As the suburbs were built and car

ownership expanded, the corner market began to

change. Slow to join the “super”market trend, Safe-

way operated hundreds of older, smaller markets

that were a fraction of the size of the new ones. Los-

ing market share, the chain began to “modernize” and expand their stores. Never really regaining a

foothold in Southern California, Safeway sold most

of its stores to Vons in the 1980’s and pulled out of

the Los Angeles markets altogether.

Although it has not been a familiar sight in South-

ern California for decades, according to the Long Beach Public Library archives, there were several

dozen Safeway markets in Long Beach, which was

listed as “District 2” for the chain. Among the inter-

esting articles listed from the Press Telegram are:

“Safeway opens super-market tomorrow at 737 Pine Ave. September 5, 1935”, “ Safeway buys site for

new store at 4th and Cedar, market will take

$40,000 investment March 24, 1940”, “New Store,

910 E. Broadway, Safeway to celebrate inaugural

opening. March 28, 1940”, ‘Safeway’s new store on

Pine, - a celebration for the opening of Safeway Mar-ket at 714 Pine Ave. modern in every department.”, “

Safeway celebrates new store opening at 311 W. Pa-

cific Coast Hwy. January 23, 1942”.

In Willmore City, old City Directories indicate that

the present Jed’s Market at 10th St. and Daisy Ave.,

originally opened up as a Safeway. Since it is a twenties building, it must date from the beginnings

of the chain. Of more than passing interest to me is

the fact that the market at Fourth and Pacific was

still operating as a Safeway in the late 80’s—long

after it had disappeared in other locations. The last

Pictured here is Safeway Market No. 276 ("California's Leading Grocer"), located in a two-business brick building at #30 Market Street. Three male uniformed staff and one man wearing street clothes stand in front of the store. Nextdoor at left in the same building is

Doty's Department Store (owned by Florence Doty), at #32 Market Street. Nextdoor to the brick building is a vacant unpaved lot where one automobile is parked. Market street fills the immediate foreground.

The interior of a Safeway store meat department is shown here. Several uniformed em-ployees pose behind the counter. Large cuts of meat hang above the counters. One wom-an in street clothes is also behind the counter at left. One employee in a long apron is also visible at right. A customer wearing suit and straw hat stands at the marble and glass meat counter across from the employees. At far left on the counter is a large cash register. Behind the register is a Farmers and Merchants bank calendar, displaying July first. Several signs advertise Wilson’s Ham. Other visible signs read, “Cashier,” “For Rent Unfurnished;” and “Puritan.” Safeway had several dozen locations in Long Beach. This store location is uncertain.

Grocery continued on page 4

PLACE: Long Beach

DATE: April 11-13

TIME: various The 40th Annual Toyota Grand Prix features the

Indy Car Series with Scott Dixon, Marco Andret-

ti and Graham Rahal on the 1.97 mile, 11 turn

street circuit.

www.GPLB.com

PLACE: Drake Park DATE: May 3

TIME: 1 p.m.—4 p.m.

A family fun experience with a May Pole, music,

children’s crafts, Ballet Folklorico, book givea-

way and health fair www.willmorecity.org

PLACE: James Republic at the Marriot

500 E. First St.

DATE: April 6—May 4

TIME: 4:30 p.m.—7:00 p.m.

Celebrate Long Beach Farm to Fork Cuisine http://dinnerbellseriesapril.bpt.me

PLACE: Downtown Long Beach DATE: May 3

TIME: various

Family-friendly bike related events with food,

Craft Beer, children’s activities and live enter-

tainment. www.downtownlongbeach.org

PLACE: Queen Mary

DATE: May 10

TIME: 11:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m.

Grillmasters from around the world compete for

the title of West Coast’s Best BBQ. Music, games, awards and BBQ!

www.queenmary.com/bbq/

PLACE: Catalina Island

DATE: May 17

TIME: 6:00 p.m.—10:00 p.m.

12th Annual journey to the past in the Art Deco

Casino Ballrom on Catalina Island. Music from

the 1920’s and 30’s in Deco opulence. www.adsla.org

3

4

and many other historically valuable residences and

businesses. I recruited many neighbors and we de-

feated the BOA Zone, thus beginning our designa-tion as a National Historic Neighborhood. Unfortu-

nately one zealous developer tore down a beautiful

Georgian Colonial home during the process – but it

was the only that one was lost!!

I taught for 21 years in nearby Warren Township

and thanks to Facebook (I love it!) recently found that many of my former students were classmates

with our WCHA Board Member, Patty Lund – it’s a

small world!

In February of 1986, I came with my partner at the

time, to visit his sister in Santa Ana, and fell in love with sunny Southern California. I turned around

and sold my beloved home to a wonderful young

couple who loved 11 Rockview as much as I had. I

initially moved to Irvine and bought a home at 21

Liliano with the proceeds from my New Jersey

home. I started teaching at South Gate Middle School in 1989, and there found a very special, dear

friend, in Ernie Villa. Thus began my initiation into

Long Beach.

Now I live in an awesome Victorian California Cot-

tage on Daisy ( a lot of my furniture is from my home in New Jersey), loving Long Beach, the people

and the neighborhood's varied amenities more each

day. I walk almost everywhere, thus maintaining a

healthy lifestyle, as well as meeting more and more

special Willmore City residents. You will find me at

543 Daisy, most of the time on my front porch, en-joying the wonderful Long Beach climate and the

sights and sounds of the City.

I am humbled to have been elected to the WCHA

Board, and promise to be responsive to everyone's

needs. Namasté, Terry

Terry continued from page 1

to a home-made dinner or even a ginger bread

house! As a business owner I’ve had the opportuni-

ty to meet and make new friends, and enjoy that flexibility to spend time with the family on week-

ends. This has become more exciting with a new

addition. I and my wife, Mariela, welcomed our first

-born child, Noelle, into our lives last May.

I am a proud supporter of local businesses, com-

munity improvement projects, and events. My last big project was the Gingerbread House Booth at the

WCHA event, Winter in Willmore. I built a ginger-

bread scene that was raffled off, and helped literally

hundreds of children, and their families, decorate

gingerbread men and houses. I am very sociable and straight forward by nature,

and can be found in community meetings, at net-

working events and/or servicing your local busi-

ness. I enjoy meeting and helping my neighbors

because I believe in being of service to the commu-

nity. I look forward to serving as a Board Member with the Willmore City Heritage Association.

Isaac continued from page 1

article listed in the Long Beach Library archives is

dated from March of 1973.

The market at 10th St. and Long Beach Blvd., now a Superior Market, was operated by Safeway under

a name I can’t recall. What makes it interesting is

that at some point that store became known as the

“Devil’s Island” of the chain in Southern California.

Aggravate a manager and you could find yourself

working at the 10th St. location. I know it sounds like an urban legend, but it’s not. I got it from the

manager of the 4th St. store, whose wife’s classroom

was down the hall from me. I checked it out with a

Safeway clerk who lived at the time (and still lives)

in Willmore. I guess Safeway didn’t think too much of the neighborhood in those days! Editor’s note: I think we’re all glad that “Devil’s Island” no longer exists—or at least at that location! Thanks to groceteria.com and the Long Beach Public Library for history and pictures!

Grocery continued from page 2

5

By Jim Danno

In my opinion, there is nothing more beneficial to a

neighborhood than tearing down borders—physical or otherwise - that separate us, and adding connec-

tivity.

Over the last few years, The WCHA has made this a

primary goal. Beginning with removing physical

barricades at the 7th St. onramp of the 710 freeway and replacing them with trees, flowers and benches,

The Willmore Heritage Garden was created as a

place for friends and family to gather, and has con-

tinued with expanding the Garden and the creation

of the new Children’s Gateway Garden at Cesar

Chavez Park. Just recently there was a groundbreaking for The

Tot Lot, a new tiny children’s play area, that will be

added to Loma Vista Park, with the support of

Mayor Bob Foster, Vice Mayor Robert Garcia and

Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine. The pro-ject involves the installation of a play structure with

slides for children ages 2 to 5. The park irrigation

will be upgraded, two dead trees with be replaced,

damaged fencing will be repaired, two new benches

will be installed, and a rubberized surface will be

added. Along the edge of the LA River we have Cesar

Chavez Park, The Willmore Heritage Garden, The

future Tot Lot at Loma Vista Park and Drake Park.

Now all we need to do is connect all of these wonder-

ful parks and open spaces to create something truly

useful. I would like to see the bike path through the

Jergins Pillars at the Willmore Heritage Garden com-

pleted so that it connects south along the LA River

Bike Path to Chavez Park and the Broadway

Bikeway, and north along the LA River to connect Drake Park and the Tot Lot at Loma Vista Park, and

eventually the future Daisy Bikeway. By connecting

along the back side of all these green spaces, it will

allow bikers, skaters, joggers and pedestrians to

travel safely without the worry of street traffic or

scary underpasses. Long Beach has done a fantastic job creating won-

derful parks, bike paths, and open spaces now it's

time to connect them all together.

Concept for Connection

6 10% off $20 worth of dry-cleaning!

John McGinnis

President, Board of Education Long Beach Unified School District

Among the three big changes affecting schools in

our neighborhoods, Common Core State Standards

(CCSS) has received the least attention. Well, at

least in Long Beach Unified where they’re being so successfully implemented.

Last month, I discussed Local Control Funding,

which is moving full steam ahead at all schools with

parent and community involvement. Next time, I’ll

discuss Measure K and specifically its impact on Renaissance High School for the Arts downtown.

This month, CCSS is the subject. You may have

read how controversial CCSS became in New York

or other regions of this state. You haven’t heard

much in Long Beach because our teachers and ad-

ministrators have been successfully implementing the new standards for the last three years. In fact,

many school districts across the country now seek

advice from Long Beach on how to do it.

So first, what are standards? A standard

measures what a student should know or be able to do at any grade level. For example, at what grade

should a student know the state capitols? At what

grade should a student be able to divide one frac-

tion by another? Setting grade level standards for

various subjects helps determine if a student is

learning at a progressive rate. The new standards are “Common” because 45

states have adopted them. They’re “Core” because

they are only the essential standards all states

agreed to. Each state can adopt more, as California

has. Why are they controversial? They are more challenging in terms of the critical thinking skills

measured in reading, writing and math. And the

“measured in” part, the testing, is always controver-

sial. But it’s worth doing and Long Beach, as usual,

is doing it very well.

To learn more, visit these sites: www.lbschools.net/Main_Offices/Curriculum/

Common_Core/

Google: Long Beach schools common core

www.npr.org/2014/03/18/291166780/q-a-a-crash

-course-on-common-core

Google: npr crash course common core

www.npr.org/2014/03/18/291172134/as-common-core-tests-approach-so-does-a-sea-change-in-

schools

Google: npr common core tests approach

7

Kathleen Irvine, President &

Newsletter Editor (562) 612-0639 kathleen@willmorecity.org

Jenny Sersion, Vice President (310) 710-8456

jennyphoto@verizon.net

Hulean Tyler, Treasurer (562) 755-4640

huleantyler@yahoo.com

Patty Lund, Secretary (562) 435-9606 patty@willmorecity.org

Jim Danno, Outreach (818) 266 7110

jim@willmorecity.org

B Terhune Beebe (Terry) (323) 605-3126

terrybeebe@verizon.net Isaac Salgado (562) 972-9778

rugitcleaning@gmail.com

Ph. 562-435-9606

Visit us at our website and on Facebook:

www.willmorecity.org

www.facebook.com/pages/Willmore-City-

Heritage-Association

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1st District Council Office 562-570-6919

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