Our Laguna: Many remember The Walk to save Canyon

The Laguna Canyon Conservancy celebrated the 20th anniversary of “The Walk,” Monday night at the monthly meeting at Tivoli Terrace.

Always capitalized in Laguna, The Walk is credited with swaying Irvine Co. owner Donald Bren to acquiesce to the sale of the Laguna Laurel development, approved for 3,200 dwellings and a commercial area.

About half the folks at the meeting Monday raised their hands when asked how many were among the estimated 8,000 folks who made the walk on Nov. 11, 1989, down Laguna Canyon Road to the Tell.

Linda and James Rushing, who have owned Laguna Leather for 28 years, were on the conservancy board in 1989 and worked as volunteers for The Walk.

“I sold $2,000 worth of T-shirts in one hour,” she said. “They were only $10, and it was great that we had enough.”

She also was the sole twig on the telephone tree. James painted signs.

Gene Felder and Dennis Taylor wore their T-shirts to the meeting, and Felder passed out the original little green and white, diamond-shaped stickers seen everywhere in Laguna in 1989.

Beth Leeds came up with the notion of The Walk.

“I remember when she first came up with the idea in our living room,” son Clay Leeds said.

He, of course, went on The Walk, along with his mother who dressed up as the “Canyon Fairy.”

If Leeds was the originator, the late City Councilwoman Lida Lenney was the key motivator, said Harry Huggins, who signed on as the executive coordinator.

Huggins also prepared the slide show presented at the meeting from photographs, newspaper stories, videos and personal recollections that elicited sighs, laughter and applause.

He asked for 30 seconds of silence to remember the people who made the purchase of the Irvine Co. land possible, no longer here to enjoy the anniversary, including Lenney, Jim Dilley, Brian Jacobs, Jerry Burchfield and Ben Blount.

“Oh, yes, we went on The Walk,” Gigi Blount said. “I was moaning all the way about how far it was.”

Well, yeah. It took three steps for Gigi to match the stride of her 6-foot, 3 ½ -inch tall husband.

Huggins said Burchfield and Mark Chamberlain were instrumental in helping folks visualize the changes proposed for the canyon.

The Tell they created as a sculpture of the living history of Laguna Canyon Road, was the terminus of The Walk.

Signs played an important role in the opposition to the loss of open space to commercial development.

“Mine read ‘If the Berlin Wall can fall, so can Bren’s Wall,’ ” said Eleanor Henry.

The Walk began at the Festival of Arts Grounds.

Organizers were sure they would get more than 1,000 participants. An optimistic Huggins thought maybe 5,000 would show up.

“We were so impressed with 8,000 we just celebrated,” Huggins said.

Estimates at the time ranged from 5,000 to 10,000.

The clear message was “No development in Laguna Canyon.” And Laguna residents backed it up with a 79.86% vote to tax themselves to buy Laguna Laurel.

Becky and Joie Jones were there, as was former Mayor Bobbie Minkin.

“We were walking with Bobbie and Dick Minkin,” Becky Jones said. “Dick was a doctor and about every 12 minutes he stopped and took his pulse and Joie’s.”

Among other Walk participants at the meeting: City Councilwoman Verna Rollinger, who walked with her mother, the late Betty Swenson; artists John Rushing, who spotted his 20-year-old self in one of the slides, Patricia Turnier and Leah Vasquez, who still has photographs from the day; landscape architect Bob Borthwick; and Michael Phillips, a reporter at the time and now city environmental specialist.

Phillips’ fondest memory of the day: “The sight of all those people all headed down the canyon. It belonged to the people that day.”

Also: City Clerk Martha Anderson, a sign carrier; Sharon Larimer, who walked with her late husband, William; Ann Weisbrod, who had her daughter, Anya, at her side; Barbara Painter; and former Mayor Ann Christoph.

“No one knew how many were going to come and when we came out of the Festival Grounds, there they all were,” Christoph said.

Library Friends celebrate

About 100 library supporters attended the annual Friends of the Library dinner meeting at the Laguna Beach Woman’s Club.

“It is fitting that we are here tonight at the Woman’s Club since they have been involved with libraries since the 1930s, having founded over 400 free libraries and 4,655 traveling libraries,” said outgoing and incoming local Friends President Martha Lydick.

“Supporting local libraries continues to be a Federation of Women’s Clubs priority. I am thankful to [club board members] Anne Johnson and Peggy Ford for inviting us to have our meeting here,” she said.

Thanks also were extended to K’ya Bistro, which catered the dinner, and Carolann Tassios, who entertained.

The dinner highlight was featured speaker Marthe Cohn, who wrote a book about her experiences as a spy for France against the Nazi-occupation of her country.

“There are special people in this world,” Lydick said. “Marthe is an extraordinary woman, a brave woman, a true hero who risked so much when she was truly needed.”

Cohn acquired quite a following in Laguna, when she was the guest speaker at a Sister Cities soiree, held at the home of Dr. Gary and Betsy Jenkins, a member of the Board of Education. Sister Cities President Karyn Philippsen attended the Friends dinner for a second helping.

Major (his name, not a military title) Cohn escorted his wife to the dinner.

The meeting agenda included the introduction of two sisters whose poems were winners in the library-sponsored spring poetry contest: Avalon Greenberg, who won the second- to third-grade division, and her older sister, Lily, who placed first in the sixth- to eighth-grade category.

Also on the agenda: the election of officers and directors. All incumbents were reelected: Lydick, president; Sandy Hovanesian, vice president; Angela Irish, secretary; Ford, treasurer; Diane Connell, Diane Gonzales, Magda Herlicska, Dee and Karl Koski, Glenna Matthews, Nancy and Howard Pink, Randy Ray and Terry Smith, directors.

Lydick reported on library and Friends programs and accomplishments in the past year.

“Renovations at the library are going full steam — new lighting, new desks, new carpeting, new doors,” Lydick said.

“The children’s section is going to be magical with its undersea theme. Mark and Heidi Draper are donating $20,000 toward the children’s furniture.

“We are so thankful to our volunteers, the Drapers, the community, the city and our supporters for contributing to our library and this project.

“We’ve already given the county $75,000, and tonight we were going to present a check for $77,745 to Orange County Public Library representative Bob Genzel, but he was very tired and asked to be forgiven for not attending the meeting.

The library reopening is tentatively set for Nov. 23, Lydick said.

Among the guests at the dinner: Laguna Branch Manager Jennie Gassett, Children’s Librarian Rebecca Porter, author Sherwood Kiraly, a past speaker at the annual dinner, and his wife, jeweler Patti Jo Kiraly.

Also on the guest list: former Mayors Cheryl Kinsman and Wayne Peterson, City Treasurer Laura Parisi, Bonnie and Arnold Hano, senior sidekicks Pauline Walpin and Louise Buckley, Anita Razen, Marv Johnson, Lee Winocur Field, Kathryn Delp Dew and Maureen Killackey, a Friends member as of the dinner meeting.

And: Festival of Arts Board member Anita Mangels, Annette and past- festival board member Bob Henry, Laguna Beach County Water District General Manager Renae Hinchey and district Human Resources Manager Michelle Boyd, arts patron Bobbi Cox, Leonard and Nancy Joseph and Norway, a guide-dog-in-training that volunteers along with Nancy at the book shop.

OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; call (949) 380-4321 or e-mail [email protected]