EL SEGUNDO HERALD August 16, 2018 Page 3
A Celebration Luncheon for the
Roaring 90s Club of the South Bay
Story and Photos by TerriAnn Ferren
It was a warm day when I popped into the
First Christian Church at 2930 El Dorado
Street in Torrance and joined the fun of a
Celebration Luncheon for the Roaring 90s
Club of the South Bay. Things were jumping
when I arrived. Members were checking in
at the front table with volunteers Sharmone
LaRose and JoAnn Koester, then finding their
seats and catching up with friends.
Volunteers Lou Samson, Lori Bonnet and
Debra Bostwick were busy in the kitchen,
plating the luncheon for the hungry guests.
Overseeing everything was Lynn Brennan,
founder of the Roaring 90s Club. “We
have our sponsors who help us cover this
and we rely on community support,” she
said. If you would like to join, or become
involved donating your time or treasure to
this wonderful organization, simply call
310-542-6081 or visit the website www.
solutionsforseniorliving.com.
“This club is 14, going on 15 years old,”
said Lynn. “We started in Redondo Beach
at the Senior Housing Casa De Los Amigos.
We started the 90s Club of Redondo, but
we expanded it and made it the Roaring
90s Club of the South Bay. We did have a
club in Long Beach, which we are going to
activate again very soon. So it is spreading.
As you can see it, they love it.”
This club is thriving. Many who are in their
80s and 90s have lost friends, and this group
provides a way of meeting new friends with
the same life experiences and memories. “Two
years in a row we have received community
awards,” said Lynn. “That is nice. I host
Senior Living and it is on daily on Channel
28, Torrance access channel, and it is Channel
36 if you have Frontier. It is also around the
South Bay and Southern California. Now we
have a YouTube channel. It is called Senior
Living So. Cal.”
Toward the front of the room I talked with
several Roaring 90s members who, quite
frankly, didn’t appear to be in their 90s at all.
I met Sandra Kramer, who graduated from
Mira Costa High School in 1955; Patti Joy
Neal, who teaches adult tap dancing at the
Torrance Cultural Arts Center’ Sherry Van,
who has danced professionally here and in
Chicago; and Mary McGaffin. “A friend of
mine brought me and I am in training,” said
Mary. I found out you may join the Roaring
90s club even if you are a young 85 years old,
but you still have to wait until you are 90 to
become a full-fledged member, so to speak.
Around the opposite side of the table sat
Sally Ann Macaluso (from New York), who
has only been a member a couple of years.
Next to Sally Ann sat Don Sturges and Pat
Ramsey. Don and Pat attended Redondo
Union High School together, graduating in
the class of 1943 and they have been friends
for most of their lives.
I then spoke with Rita Catalano, age 94,
and Margaret Shuler, who is nearly 97 years
old. “This is one of the happiest times of my
life, here together with the 90s. The most
important thing is to stay positive,” said
Margaret. Rita added, “We are all telling
each other how much slower we are than
we used to be. It takes twice as long to do
anything!”
Barbara Willett joined in the fun because
she accompanies her mother to the event and
told me, “My mother met Lynn Brennan when
she watched television in El Segundo and
she said that this looked like a fun group. So
we joined the Roaring 90s as she was in her
80s, and Lynn said she was ‘in training,’ but
now she is a full-fledged member.” Barbara’s
mother, Eunice Smith, will be 90 in July.
Next I bumped into Lois Jones, who had
to leave right after lunch because she told
me she needed to head to a rummage sale.
“I worked it all day yesterday and next week
I will be 97,” said Lois with a big smile, “I
am 100 percent independent. I don’t know
how come. Nothing’s changed yet. People
are always trying to help me, but I say, ‘I
am fine – just leave me.’”
A special treat at the luncheon was
entertainer extraordinaire Clarence Ulrich,
member of the 60s group The Drifters,
(L-R) Sharmone LaRose, JoAnn Koester and Lynn Brennan.
Volunteers in the kitchen Lori Bonnet and Debra Bostwick.
Letters
Couldn’t See Movie
A big thank-you to the El Segundo
Rotary Club and Chevron for another
successful Movie in the Park! Our granddaughters
had a great time with everything
with the exception of one thing the people
that decided to sit in front of us with their
high back chairs. As a suggestion for next
year, maybe a designated area for those
inconsiderate people?
– Thank you.
Susan Allen
Duane Plank Letter to Editor
on Scooter Rentals
I enjoyed Duane Plank’s letter on Aug 9,
but worry that he is now limited to 250 words
in the letters instead of his prior access to a
weekly column. He does seem to miss the
point of why billionaires would flood cities
with helmet-less electric scooters. It is a
form of Darwin’s survival of the fittest rule
designed to thin the human heard. The big
concern of the billionaires is how to maintain
control over their private security force when
money becomes worthless in the “coming”
apocalypse — global social unrest following
any one of the popular doomsday scenarios:
nuclear war, overpopulation, global warming,
asteroid strike, incurable viral pandemic, or
robots taking over. Earning billions does not
bestow wisdom and does not require common
sense or morality. That is why some cities are
putting these scattered scooter temptations on
hold and evaluating the safety and quality of
life issues relating to them before deciding
whether or not to allow them. I support El
Segundo following the examples of Beverly
Hills, Santa Monica and other cities in temporarily
halting scooter rentals to address the
safety and quality of life issues the scooters
raise and determine either conditions under
which they will be allowed or ban them entirely.
– Kip Haggerty
Scooters
Well, well...All it took was a scathing
letter to the editor from an aging NIMBY
bitter-man to get those obnoxious scooters
removed from Mayberry. Power of the pen!
My next mission: Attacking the incredibly
self-obsessed folks who incessantly walkaround
town with their heads-down, playing
on their phones, doing their best not to speak
with anyone.
– Duane Plank •
Police Briefs
National Night Out a Big Success
On Tuesday, Aug. 7 from 5 to 8 p.m., the community came out to Library Park for National Night Out, hosted by ESPD. The festivities
included Dunk-A-Cop, a Beatles tribute band, face painting, kid-print, defensive tactics instructions, train rides, obstacle course, bounce
houses, photos with McGruff, giveaways and more. The photo above was taken at the K9 and Pink Patch booth. Photo/Content: ESPD
El Segundo Police Department
Offers New Hiring Bonuses
Due to recent and impending vacancies, the
El Segundo Police Department is now offering
generous bonuses to attract police officer and
cadet applicants. On June 25, the El Segundo
City Council approved a resolution to offer
the following bonuses to applicants:
1. Lateral Police Officer Hiring Incentive:
The lateral officer incentive will be $25,000
awarded to successful candidates, paid at the
time of hire. To qualify for the cash incentives,
the lateral applicant, must:
See Police Briefs, page 4
Douglass
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See Roaring 90s Club, page 10