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entire e-edition

FOURTH!
July 2016
INDEPENDENCE DAY THE CLAREMONT WAY
r
Leonie Caspe
Chuck Farritor
er
our
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C
Claremont
claremont-courier.com
CLAREMONT COURIER FOURTH OF JULY SPECIAL/2016
Let’s celebrate... INDEPENDENCE DAY THE CLAREMONT WAY
Grand marshals
by Mick Rhodes
Chet and Eileen Jaeger
.....................................
Speakers’ Corner
4
by Kathryn Dunn
Theme winner
3
by Mick Rhodes
Emma Gutierrez
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Anthem winner
by Sarah Torribio
Leonie Casper
Remembering Willard Hunter
......................................7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Honored citizen
Honored group
by Matthew Bramlett
Chuck Farritor
by Megan Bender
Claremont Educational Foundation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Your guide to the Fourth
Blue Ribbon
Where to go, when to go and how much
Florence Cohn
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
by Megan Bender
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
FOURTH OF JULY SPECIAL/2016
4
Chet and Eileen Jaeger: Grand marshals
C
hester “Chet” Jaeger is
truly grateful to be
named co-grand marshal, along with his wife of 70
years, Eileen, of Claremont’s
annual Fourth of July parade.
There’s a certain practicality
involved, he thinks. “They better not wait much longer,” Mr.
Jaeger said. “I’m 91, and she
will be 91 on Saturday.”
All joking aside, the Jaegers are
thrilled to be recognized.
“I think it’s quite an honor, really,”
Ms. Jaeger said. “We’ve been around
Claremont for so long, and have made
so many connections.”
You really can’t get much more
Claremont than the Jaeger family. Mr.
Jaeger has lived in the City of Trees
since 1931, when many of the city’s
namesakes were saplings. Ms. Yeager
has been in town since the couple married in 1946.
Upon arriving in Claremont after
their marriage, the couple had five children in short order, the youngest arriving before either of them turned 30.
“And then, of course, our children have
GRAND MARSHALS/next page
COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff
Chet and Eileen Jaeger have lived in the same home off of Alamosa Drive in Claremont since the 1960s, but have been in
the city even longer. Mr. Jaeger’s band, the Night Blooming Jazzmen, is a fixture in the annual Monday night Concerts in
the Park series. The couple will be the Grand Marshalls of this year’s Fourth of July parade.
grove town to what it is today. When
Mr. Jaeger arrived in 1931, the town
was “very small,” he remembered.
“There was an article in the
COURIER [back then] that said the
population of Claremont had passed
1,000, not counting college students,”
Mr. Jaeger said. “The police force,
when we got here, was one man with a
Model A. Just before we got here it was
one man with a bicycle.”
A
COURIER photos/Steven Felschundneff
The sign on the front gate of the Jaeger home indicates what can be found inside.
GRAND MARSHALS/from previous page
gone through all the schools,” Ms.
Jaeger said, “and we’ve been very active in their school activities, so that’s
kept us going for sure.”
“I got a kick out of it a few years
ago,” Mr. Jaeger recalled, “when the
grand marshals [of the Fourth of July
parade] were ‘longtime residents.’
They’d been here for 25 years,” he said
with a laugh. “I’ve lived here 85 years.”
The Jaegers are also no strangers to
Claremont’s Fourth of July parade, a
tradition in town since 1948. Mr.
Jaeger, a retired educator and still active musician, began performing at the
parade with various traditional jazz
bands, including the well-known Night
Blooming Jazzmen, in 1950.
Years ago the band would perform
prior to the parade in Memorial Park on
a parked flatbed truck, “then wait until
it was our turn to pop into the parade,
then we’d do that.”
One year the band’s 1928 International would not start, so Ms. Jaeger
had to quickly go home and save the
day with a tow through the parade route
via the family’s station wagon.
The Jaegers have seen Claremont
grow from a citrus- and college-driven
The Night Blooming Jazzmen will cap
off summer with a performance at the
Concert in the Park on August 29.
nd as the town and
their family has grown,
the Jaegers have taken
it all in from their home on
Alamosa Drive. They built
their rambling, ranch-style
house in 1964 with the help of
their kids, aged 10 to 17 at the
time.
Aside from a large contribution from
a framer, and piecemeal help on the
home’s fireplace, stucco, plaster and
mainline plumbing, it was a complete
DIY project. “It was really fun to build
the house,” Mr. Jaeger said.
Nowadays one of the couple’s grand-
5
sons, his wife and their two children,
ages three and six, live with them. It’s
been nice to hear the sound of small
children around the house, Ms. Jaeger
said. “Most of the time it’s great,” she
said. “To watch a totally new group of
citizens coming up is just amazing. We
have Facebook on the computer, so the
kids are constantly putting up their
kids’ activities, so we feel like we visit
with them every day.”
Claremont’s 68th annual Fourth of
July parade begins at 4 p.m. at Memorial Park, continues south on Indian Hill
Boulevard, west on Harrison Avenue
and concludes at Larkin Park. The
Jaegers will appear at the Garner House
prior to the parade at a reception with
city luminaries.
With Ms. Jaeger’s 91st birthday behind them—she celebrated on June
25—the Night Blooming Jazzmen will
enjoy closing out summer with a performance at Claremont’s summer Concerts in the Park series. The show starts
at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 29 at the
Memorial Park band shell.
—Mick Rhodes
[email protected]
Your Claremont Fourth of July from start to finish
T
he annual Claremont Fourth of
July Celebration has been a timehonored tradition in the city for
nearly 70 years. The celebration consists
of a morning 5K run, pancake breakfast,
opening ceremonies, festival and parade,
and ends with a bang at the fireworks
show.
Memorial Park is transformed as performers rove
the grounds, providing color and fun for people of all
ages. Stage entertainment will include a variety of
bands and entertainment, and there will be demon-
strations throughout the park, including clowns,
strolling bands and jugglers.
Enjoy a good ol’ fashioned pancake breakfast sponsored by the Kiwanis Club from 7 to 10 a.m. The
breakfast helps raise funds for a variety of organizations and programs supported by Kiwanis. Tickets—
going for $5—may be purchased at the booth. The
full breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, juice, milk
and coffee. Proceeds from the breakfast help support
AbilityFirst, the ReadMe program, Shoes that Fit,
Habitat for Humanity, the Monday Night Concerts in
the Park, Best BET and other youth and community
activities.
If still available, fireworks tickets will be sold in
conjunction with the breakfast and may still be avail-
6
able at the information booth at 10:30 a.m.
Handicapped parking and convenient drop-off is
available. Drivers with handicapped placards may
park on Eighth Street between Indian Hill Boulevard
and Yale Avenue. Additional parking will be available
on parts of Yale Avenue (signage will direct you).
Saunter through the booths gathered on the grass at
Memorial Park. To locate a vendor, peruse the booth
vendor list on page 11 of this edition and locate the
number and location on the festival map. The Independence Day Committee information booth will be
located just north of Garner House.
Should the need arise for first aid, a station will be
located on Yale Avenue, between Eighth and Tenth
Streets, just east of Memorial Park.
7
The history of the T. Willard Hunter Speakers’ Corner
U
sing London’s Hyde
Park Corner as inspiration, Reverend T. Willard
Hunter began the Claremont Independence Day Speakers’ Corner in 1977 to showcase the
constitutional right of free speech.
As a result, a variety of topics ranging
from politics and religion to current
events and history have graced the podium for nearly 40 years.
“Claremont didn’t just establish a
speakers’ corner, we acquired an orator.
And we inherited an orator in costume,”
the late Judy Wright said of her friend at
his 2009 funeral. “Mr. Hunter, unlike some
of the rest of us, didn’t just show up at Memorial Park in shorts and a shirt. Wher-
ever he was speaking, he arrived in period dress. When I think of Mr. Hunter, I
think of him as Lincolnesque.”
Perhaps best known was Rev. Hunter’s
34-hour 8-minute address delivered outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in
1982—a speech he again delivered in London in 1984. He set a Guiness Book world
record for that talk. Ms. Wright noted, “He
often recited from memory—The Gettysburg Address, Casey at the Bat, Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’
speech and The Declaration of Independence.”
In 1981, Rev. Hunter organized a 9-mile
walk from the San Gabriel Mission to
Olvera Street, retracing the final steps of
Los Angeles’ founding families.
Former mayor Karen Rosenthal continues the tradition by coordinating the
Speakers’ Corner each year. Ms. Rosen-
thal paid tribute to Rev. Hunter just after
his death at Claremont’s 2009 Fourth of
July celebration.
“Willard was our social conscience, our
mentor and our friend,” she said. “We were
very proud to have had him with us for so
many Independence Days. He was truly
a Claremont treasure.”
After graduating from Harvard Law
School, Rev. Hunter spent his early career
involved with Moral Re-Armament, a political movement that encouraged deference to honesty, unselfishness and love.
He and his wife Mary Louise Hunter, who
died in 2010, came to Claremont in 1959
after Rev. Hunter became the coordinator
of development at the then Claremont
Graduate School. Mr. Hunter, who lived
his final years at Pilgrim Place, died at age
93 on June 29, 2009. —Kathryn Dunn
[email protected]
2016 LIST OF SPEAKERS
10:50 a.m. Opening/Welcome
12:10 p.m. Kris Meyer
“Pray! Vote! Pray (1 Timothy 2:1-2)”
1:20 p.m. Douglas Lyon
“Remembering Independence Day”
11 a.m. Mayor Sam Pedroza
“Making Sausage Work in Claremont’s
Decision Making”
12:20 p.m. Larry Ruotolo
“Son of Prop 13”
1:30 p.m. Darlene Nicgorski
“If Not Now, When?”
11:10 a.m. Colin Tudor
“Declaration of Independence”
12:30 p.m. Beth Bingham
“We Are Their Future”
11:20 a.m. [open]
12:40 p.m. Martin McCleod
“Claremont’s Heritage”
11:30 a.m. David Estrada
“Mental Health Care: a Civil Right or a
Privilege?”
11:40 a.m. Ellen Taylor
“The Importance of Voting”
12:50 p.m. Marie Sleet
“Prejudice for the Planet”
1 p.m. Michael Keenan
“Our Mississippi Freedom Challenge
Before Us!”
11:50 a.m. Susan Allen
12 noon Carolyn Gonzales
1:10 p.m. Jim Belna
“Hubris and Humility in Civic Governance”
1:40 p.m. [open]
2:10 p.m. [open]
2:20 p.m. Dave Nemer
“Seeking Common Ground in 2016”
2:30 p.m. [open]
1:50 p.m. [open]
2:40 p.m. Merrill Ring
“Democracy in America”
2 p.m. Charles Gale
“Volunteers Make Things Happen”
2:50 p.m. Catherine Henley Erickson
“Fourth of July Poems”
8
Chuck Farritor:
Honored Citizen
W
hen Chuck Farritor was
young, he knew an old ranch
hand employed by his father
in rural Nebraska. That man, known as
Mr. Lewis, was a veteran of World War
1—“The war,” as Mr. Farritor remembers
people calling it back then.
“I would ride over to him on my horse and he
would turn around and look at you and cough,” Mr.
Farritor said, referencing the chemical weapons that
destroyed the lungs of many veterans of that war.
“And I wanted every way to get his story, but he
would kick his horse and be gone. You just couldn’t
catch him.”
Mr. Lewis was among the first people who taught
the young Mr. Farritor what it means to celebrate the
Fourth of July. Now, over 80 years later, the city of
Claremont will recognize Mr. Farritor during its
Fourth of July celebration, for which he has been
named “Honored Citizen.”
Even with this prestigious distinction, Mr. Farritor
remains humble. “I’m astonished,” he said.
Mr. Farritor spent time with the Merchant Marines
with his tenure spanning the tail end of World War II
to the onset of the Korean War.
Mr. Farritor found out about the Merchant Marines
after getting rejected from the Navy V-12 program in
1944. He noticed a recruiter phone number at a bus
station in Lincoln, Nebraska and called it.
“[The recruiter] says, ‘Get on a train right now and
Chuck Farritor has lived in the city for many years, volunteering with the police department and the
American Legion. On the Fourth of July, he will ride in the parade as the Honored Citizen.
get over here, we need you bad,’” Mr. Farritor remembers. “I said, ‘Well, I just failed a physical for the
Navy V-12 program.’ He said, ‘Don’t bother me with
that crap. We need you.”
After training, he was sent to the Aleutian Islands,
where he spent time on a ship during the tail end of the
war in the Pacific Theater. He decided to stay on board
after the war ended, and eventually found himself
thrust into the front row of the Korean War.
He stayed in the Merchant Marines until 1951,
when a harrowing accident changed his life.
Mr. Farritor was working on board when a tank that
was being pulled up on to the ship broke free from its
restraints and came swinging toward Mr. Farritor and
another sailor standing next to him.
HONORED CITIZEN/next page
HONORED CITIZEN/from previous page
He knew he had to act fast, or he
would be killed. “I just jumped overboard,” he said. “I did the one thing I
wasn’t supposed to do.”
Mr. Farritor dove into the cold water,
to an uncertain fate. His shipmate was
not as lucky—he was killed by the careening tank.
Mr. Farritor’s crew desperately tried to
get him out of the water, but he wasn't
holding on to any of the lines thrown to
him. He eventually submerged, and was
almost certain he was going to die.
“I was down to where it was absolutely dark, but I could still see the shadow
of the hull of the ship and the barge on
the surface,” he said. “And out of
nowhere comes this steel cable, right in
front of me. It was an absolute miracle.”
A sailor had thrown the steel cable.
Mr. Farritor was pulled back on board,
severely injured but alive.
Even now, after over 60 years, Mr.
Farritor becomes emotional when he
talks about it.
He was sent on a 40-day trip to Staten
Island to recover from his injuries, which
included a broken back. He spent a total
of six months in the hospital.
Mr. Farritor was wracked with guilt
and post-traumatic stress, blaming himself for what happened to his shipmate.
But his future wife Muriel and her mother, both of whom were nurses, were there
to help him.
“They talked me through it, and I didn’t know it was happening at the time,”
he said. “But it eventually went away.”
After he left the Merchant Marines, he
married Muriel and moved to southern
California—first to San Gabriel and then
to Claremont in 1952 to be closer to
Muriel’s job at Pomona Valley Medical
Center.
He has lived in the City of Trees ever
since.
Now, Mr. Farritor works as a Post Historian for the American Legion, where he
helped bring the story of Keith Powell, a
young Claremonter who was killed in
France during World War 1, to light. He
wrote a book in 2009, In the Gentle
Light of the Dog Star, which chronicles
his adventurous life.
As Post Historian, Mr. Farritor's duty
is to preserve the memory of those who
served—Keith Powell, Mr. Lewis and
the countless others who gave everything
to serve their country.
He points to an old panoramic photograph of a group of townspeople, including his parents, in front of a Nebraska
church that was taken at the onset of
World War 1. At the center of the photo
is a young soldier, holding an American
flag, who died in battle. The picture is indicative of how the cost of war can affect
an entire community.
“All of those people, that war was
their war, and they suffered,” Mr. Farritor
said. “So the Fourth of July has always
been important.”
—Matthew Bramlett
[email protected]
9
10
Don’t miss the Kiwanis
Club pancake breakfast
Map courtesy of the city of Claremont
Freedom
5000
njoy the beautiful tree-lined streets of Claremont as you
E
cheer on your friends or grab your own sneakers during
the Freedom 5000 run.
The course begins in Memorial Park and winds through the scenic streets of
Claremont’s Village, then on through the picturesque Colleges. See the course
map at left. Bib pick-up begins Sunday, July 3 from 3 to 6 p.m. and continues on
Monday, July 4 from 6 to 7:15 a.m., with the first 1K kids race starting at 7:30
a.m. The 5K run/walk starts at 8 a.m. Medals will be given to the first three in
each age division, and all children (ages 12 and under) who participate in the 1K
will receive a medal.
On Sunday, July 3 and the day of the race, registration is $40 for adults; kids
ages 12 and under are $20. Groups of 10 or more will be given a $5 per person
discount. All on-site registration will be done online and city staff will have computers on site to complete registration. There will be no registration forms.
Claremont resident Kathy Hatcher serves up a plate of hotcakes during the 2012
pancake breakfast hosted by the Kiwanis Club. The breakfast and Freedom 5000
run will once again kick off Claremont’s big Fourth of July celebration. Tickets are
$5 and include pancakes, sausage and juice or coffee. Bon appetit!
The Kiwanis Club of Claremont will
serve a pancake breakfast at Memorial
Park near the band shell from 7 to 10 a.m.
on the Fourth of July.
Tickets, which include pancakes,
sausage and juice or coffee, sell for $5 each
and may be purchased the day of the event.
According to the Kiwanis Club’s most
recent newsletter, “Pancake Man” John
Tarrant recently passed around the signup sheet soliciting volunteers to work one
of two shifts.
The Kiwanis Club meets each Thursday at 12:10 p.m. at St. Ambrose Church,
830 W. Bonita Ave. in Claremont. For information, call (909) 621-5011 or visit
www.claremontkiwanis.org.
11
Fourth of July Booth Line-Up 2016
1 City Council
2 Fourth of July Celebration Information
3 Claremont Police Department
4 CERT
5 Committee on Aging (COA)
6 American Legion
7 Claremont Lincoln University
8 Claremont Heritage
9 Active Claremont
10 University Club of Claremont
11 League of Women Voters
12 Claremont Museum of Art
13 Our Lady of the Assumption School
14 CHAP (Claremont Homeless Advocacy Program)
15 Democratic Club of Claremont
16 Claremont Progressives
17 Friends of the Bernard Biological Field Station
18 The Branch Christian Ministry (Calvary Chapel)
19 NAMI Pomona Valley
20 Love Claremont
21 Fair Trade Claremont at OLA
22 Claremont Presbyterian Church
23 Claremont Wildlands Conservancy
24 Tapestry Church Claremont
25 Mountain View Republican Club
26 Uncommon Good
27 Sustainable Claremont
28 CHERP
29 Citizens Climate Lobby
30 Solid Rock Church
31 Amnesty International
32 St. Ambrose Episcopal Church
33 Bike Parking and Bicycle Advisory Committee
34 Job’s Daughters (food)
35 CHS Wolfgang Hip Hop Boosters (food)
36 Ladies of Columbus (food)
37 Knights of Columbus (food)
38 Claremont Stars Soccer Club (food)
39 Girl Scouts of Greater LA-Colorguard (food)
40 Girl Scouts of Greater LA-Colorguard (food)
41 Claremont High School Theatre (game)
42 Inland Valley Repertory Theatre (game)
43 CHS Lady Wolfpack Girls Basketball (game)
44 Claremont Rotary Club (game)
Make connections, enjoy food,
games, music at Memorial Park
I
n the tradition of any good hometown event, the
Memorial Park festival features nearly 50 nonprofit groups providing food, information, games
and a wide variety of items for sale.
Information booths are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Food booths, which are manned only by nonprofit organizations, are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Children’s activities run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and
include a rock-climbing wall, an inflatable jumper, an
obstacle course, a wildlife show and carnival games.
About a dozen different nonprofit organizations, including the Independence Day Committee, provide
free games and activities for children.
Bandshell entertainment includes Blues & Fries
from 7:45 to 9:45 a.m.; Hank’s Cadillac from 10:30
a.m. to 12:45 p.m.; Ophelia’s Jump from 12:45 to
1:15 p.m.; and The Plustones from 1:15 to 3:30 p.m.
A wildlife demonstration will take place from 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m. The kid’s entertainment stage and roving
entertainment includes the Phiddle Harmonics Band,
Aunt Bee the Clown, Minh Tran the Magician, Uncle
Sam on Stilts, Petals the Clown and Dudes of 4Tune.
Get a good spot at the parade
T
he blankets and chairs will line
Indian Hill Boulevard days in advance. This year’s parade will
follow in the tradition of years past, with
hundreds of kids on bikes, dogs in carts
and folks on horseback as they all jockey
for position in what has become one of
the most popular events of the day.
The parade starts at 4 p.m. with our local police
and fire departments, followed by the crowd-pleasing kids on bikes. The parade winds west on 10th
Street to Indian Hill Boulevard, south on Indian Hill
Boulevard to Harrison Avenue, and then west on
Harrison Avenue to Mountain Avenue at Larkin
Park, where it disbands.
Map courtesy of the city of Claremont
12
PARADE LINE-UP 2016
Claremont Police Department
Los Angeles County Fire Department
Kids on Bikes
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles
Cub Scouts Pack 408
Claremont Lincoln University
Grand Marshals: Chet and Eileen Jaeger
Honored Citizen: Chuck Farritor
Honored Community Group: Claremont Educational
Foundation
Blue Ribbon Special Honoree: Florence Cohn
US Congress member Judy Chu
Assembly member Chris Holden
Claremont City Council
Theme Contest Winner: Emma Gutierrez
National Anthem Contest Winner: Leonie Casper
Citrus College Trustee Sue Keith, President Dr. Perri
CUSD School Board and Superintendent
CUSD Classified Member of the Year
CUSD Teacher of the Year
Claremont High School and El Roble Marching Band
Democratic Club of Claremont
Pitzer College International Programs: Chung Hsin
High School CAST
Claremont School of Theology
Goltz Judo
City of Claremont Park Rangers
CERT
YWCA Cheer Team: CYSC All Stars
American Legion Post 78
Kemper Avenue Family and Friends
The Claremont Irregulars
Claremont Manor
University Club of Claremont
iCan Shine Bike Camp
Sirena, Danseuse of the Orient
Daughters of the American Revolution
CHS Wolfgang Hip Hop Team
OLA School
Marshall Sirkin
Friends of the Bernard Biological Field Station
Priceless Pets Rescue
Habitat for Humanity Pomona Valley
Dee Ann Estupinian
Jim Skalicky
Pilgrim Place - The Mayflower
Pilgrim Place- Peace Vigil Committee
Matthew Magilke
CHERP
Karousel Kids
Claremont Little League
I Dream of Home Rescue
Larry & Georgiann Kostka
Uncommon Good
Middle Land Chan Monastery
Granite Creek Community Church
Toastmasters International
Giri Kusuma
Claremont Fastpitch
David Paul Tractor
13
Emma Gutierrez: Theme winner
E
mma Gutierrez had never even
entered a contest before winning this year’s name the theme
contest for Claremont’s Fourth of July
celebration.
Emma, a sixth-grader at Oakmont Elementary School, said she came up with
the winning theme, “Independence Day
the Claremont Way,” after prompting
from her fourth-grade teacher and some
help at home.
“When my teacher passed out the
paper, I just felt like maybe I should try
it,” Emma said. “I went to my mom and
I told her that I wanted to do it.”
Emma will be riding in a car in the parade, waving to the crowd. When asked if
she’d been working on her Rose Queen
wave, she laughed. “No, not yet. But I
guess I should get started!”
Along with riding in the parade, the 11year-old will receive recognition from the
city of Claremont for her contribution and
free tickets to see the evening fireworks
show and concert at Pomona College.
Emma is thrilled at the prospect of
being a celebrity-for-a-day. “Right away
when I heard it, I was super-excited,” she
said. “And then when I heard about all the
things I was going to get to do, and going
to get, I was so excited. It’s so cool!”
Thanks go out to a few folks, Emma
said. “I want to thank my mom and my
family and all my friends for being happy
for me.”
The youngster added that she was
looking forward to beginning sixth grade
in the fall, and that her favorite parts of
school were “recess and at the end of the
day, when we have art and computers. I
like when we do that.”
Claremonters can say hi to Emma at
Claremont’s Fourth of July parade, which
starts at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 4.
—Mick Rhodes
[email protected]
Emma Gutierrez, 11, created the slogan, “Independence Day the Claremont Way,”
and was selected the winner for the city’s annual Fourth of July theme contest.
Leonie Casper:
Anthem winner
L
eonie Casper will take her voice to
new heights when she sings the National Anthem during Claremont’s
annual Fireworks Show.
In March, the El Roble eighth grader vied against a
number of Claremont teens in order to nab the honor. She
impressed the judges with her rendition of “You’re a
Grand Old Flag” as well as her delivery of “The Star
Spangled Banner.”
To prepare for the audition, she listened to Lady Gaga’s
soaring version of the National Anthem, which the pop
star performed at Super Bowl 2016. While she found it
inspiring, Leonie opted to stay true to her own style, according to her dad Steve Casper, dean of the School of
Applied Life Sciences at Keck Graduate University.
“It was very classical—no frills, but technically
strong,” he noted.
Along with the chance to perform, Leonie has won
fireworks tickets for her family, which includes her 9year-old sister Tessa. She will also be recognized at the
pre-parade reception and have a special place in Claremont’s Fourth of July Parade.
An affinity for music and a gift for singing come naturally to Leonie. “She was one year old and making up
songs about butterflies,” her mom, Kornelia Casper, recalled.
Leonie’s growing acumen doesn’t come without work.
She takes weekly lessons through the Claremont Community School of Music (CCSM) with Kara Masec, a
ANTHEM WINNER/next page
14
COURIER photo/
Steven Felschundneff
El Roble student Leonie
Casper has been chosen
to sing the National Anthem during this year’s
Fourth of July celebration. Leonie has built up
a nice resume as a
singer, including performing in the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus
with the LA Opera.
ANTHEM WINNER/from previous page
a little nervous when she performs.
“I feel like if you’re nervous, it means you really
voice instructor skilled in both opera and musical theater.
care—you
want to do your best,” she said. “And after I
She has taken piano lessons at CCSM since she was 7.
start
singing,
I’m not nervous anymore.”
Leonie is also in the intermediate choir in the Los AnIt
helps
that
Leonie’s family is supportive of her purgeles Children’s Chorus. In May, she and 13 other young
suits.
Music
is
big in the Casper family. Kornelia plays
LACC singers performed in LA Opera’s production of
piano
and
enjoys
joining her daughter in car-drive singPuccini’s “La Bohéme” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilalongs
to
all
kinds
of music.
ion in Los Angeles. She made her operatic debut at age
Recent
favorites
include Adele’s heartfelt torch songs
7 with the Pomona-based Repertory Opera Company.
and
music
from
the
O Brother Where Art Thou soundLeonie is a soprano but at age 12, her voice is changtrack
like
the
Christian
folk hymn “Down in the River to
ing a bit. She said she and Ms. Masec are still toying with
Pray.”
The
ladies
also
enjoy
watching the performances
the pitch Leonie will employ on July 4.
on
America’s
Got
Talent.
Although not quite a teen, Leonie has already showTessa likes music too, but her favorite extracurricular
cased her singing at some exciting venues, ranging from
activities
are art, which she studies at the Village Art StuDisney Concert Hall—where the LACC joined the LA
dio
in
the
Claremont Packing House, and karate, in
Philharmonic for a performance earlier this year—to the
which
she
is
a green belt. Leonie gave karate a try, but
Santa Anita Racetrack to the Los Angeles Arboretum.
decided
martial
arts are not in her future. “I’m not a big
As she prepares to climb on stage once again, facing
fan
of
PE
at
school.
I’m on the sensitive side,” she said.
hundreds of people, Leonie admits she sometimes gets
15
Leonie, who is an A student and went to Chaparral, has
an interesting background.
Her mom Kornelia was born to a Polish mother and
a German father and raised in Berlin. Ms. Casper speaks
fluent German and Leonie is looking forward to taking
German classes when she’s in high school.
She has taken drama at El Roble, a class she feels improves her stage presence. It’s fun because her best
friend, who Leonie met at El Roble and who also performs with the Repertory Opera Company, is in drama
too.
Leonie’s dad Steve grew up in Orange County but
lived in Europe for several years. He worked in Germany
for a time, as a senior research fellow at the Social Science Center in Berlin. It wasn’t until he traveled to
Greece as part of a European Union studies program,
however, that he met Kornelia, a political science major
who was also in the program.
When Mr. Casper got a job as a lecturer at the University of Cambridge, the couple moved to England for
a time. Then, in 2003, they moved to California, where
Leonie was born. “He came home and I came to my new
home,” Ms. Casper said.
The family settled in Claremont, where they have
been very happy.
“I love that it’s a small community. There are friendly
people here,” Leonie said, adding that she always spots
people she knows around town.
Claremont may be home for the family, but Ms.
Casper sometimes misses her family in Germany.
Later this month, the family will head to Bavaria
where they will stay with Ms. Casper’s sister and her two
young daughters. Their itinerary will include a stop at
Neuschwanstein Castle, a 19th century palace that served
as the inspiration for the iconic Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland.
But first, Leonie will lend her pipes to the Fourth of
July celebration, where the fireworks will provide a
metaphor for the National Anthem’s “bombs bursting in
air.” There is nowhere she would rather be than at the
mic.
“I’ll love singing. We’ll see where it takes me,” she
said.
—Sarah Torribio
[email protected]
16
Claremont Educational Foundation: Honored Group
For the Claremont Educational Foundation, it’s all about
the kids. CEF was selected as the Honored Group at the city’s
Fourth of July celebration for its effort and support of local
public schools.
This year, the local nonprofit is celebrating 25 years of “protecting and enriching” education in the Claremont Unified
School District.
CEF started as the Claremont Educational Network, nicknamed EdNet, to support the school district in 1991 during
a recession. Back then and even now, the organization is led
by dedicated members of the Claremont community and parents such as Bob Fass, CEF’s incoming president.
As an alumnus of Sycamore, El Roble and Claremont High
School, he felt an obligation to give back and be a part of
the community effort, joining the organization before he even
had children. He has been on the CEF board of directors for
going on three years and has been a donor for seven years.
Mr. Fass said good quality schools is a big piece of what
makes Claremont so special.
“This is a community that really values higher education,”
he said. “Claremont is known for it.”
In order to make investing in the CUSD possible, CEF relies on more than 328 individual donors, 40 businesses partners and 2000 event volunteers, attendees and contributors.
Mr. Fass said it is through the goodwill of these individuals and business that support the foundation.
At the end of 2015, CEF awarded the school district
$199,600 to support elementary art and music programs and
HONORED GROUP/next page
The city selected the Claremont Educational Foundation as Honored Group. From left are President
Richard Chute, Co-president Nicole Oullette, member
Laura Muna-Landa and incoming President Bob Fass.
HONORED GROUP/from previous page
for implementation of the CUSD’s technology needs.
The organization also offers grants to schools and community programs and organizations to create engaging
learning opportunities for students. Grant recipients can
receive up to $2,000 per grant.
CEF awarded $1,000 scholarships for the 2014-15
school year to three Claremont High School seniors as
they moved on to college for work at hospitals and to
pursue music endeavours.
CEF also runs the SLICE of Summer Program. In the
summer of 2015, more than 1,000 kindergarten through
12th grade students participated in 100-plus classes. In
these summer classes, where no student is denied a spot,
kids can sign up to learn about math using Legos, take
culinary and filmmaking courses and even classes on Star
Wars.
“All these things that come into play into the summer
program don’t happen during the school year,” Mr. Fass
said. “But the kids are loving it and learning things on
the fly that support their time in school.”
For Mr. Fass, the success of CUSD starts with the community.
“This organization is truly exemplary of Claremont,”
he said. “It all goes back to the founding members of EdNet, people who are still involved in the community today as leaders.”
CEF is in year two of a three-year strategic plan, which
identifies priorities for grantmaking and targeted funding, and community engagement in education.
Mr. Fass said it is an honor to be a part of the growth
and development of this organization.
“Who wouldn’t want amazingly exceptional schools
for their kids?” he said. “We are able to help provide that.”
A 25th anniversary gala to celebrate CEF, its volunteers and donors is planned for September 24 at the Padua Hills Theater. Tickets will be available in August.
—Megan Bender
17
Clip out this concert and
movie-in-the-park
summer schedule
CONCERTS IN THE PARK
Co-sponsored by the city of Claremont and the Kiwanis
Club of Claremont, everyone is invited to the Monday
night concerts in the park. This year’s series will begin
Monday, July 11 and continue through September 5. Concerts are from 7 to 8:30 p.m. but arrive early with a picnic or purchase something yummy from the Kiwanians’
grill. Concerts are at Memorial Park, 840 N. Indian Hill
Blvd. The summer line-up is as follows:
July 11: The Ravelers (classic rock)
July 18: Smith (country/rock)
July 25: Cold Duck (‘70s/top 40)
August 1: Swing Cats (Big Band swing)
August 8: The Dogs (classic rock)
August 15: The Fab 8 (Beatles hits)
August 22: Boxcar 7 (blues/soul/R&B)
August 29: Night Blooming Jazzmen (Dixieland)
September 5: The Answer (classic rock)
MOVIES IN THE PARK
The Claremont Police Department sponsors familyfriendly movies in the park on summer evenings. Each
week features a new movie at a different location. Film
titles and locations are:
Tuesday, July 5: Hotel Transylvania 2 at Blaisdell Park
(440 S. College Ave.)
Tuesday, July 12: Norm of the North at Lewis Park
(881 Syracuse Drive)
Thursday, July 14: Charlotte’s Web at Wheeler
Park (626 Vista Drive)
Tuesday, July 19: Open Season: Scared Silly at
June Vail Park on Grand Avenue.
Tuesday, August 2: Inside Out at Memorial Park (840
N. Indian Hill Blvd.). August 2 is National Night Out,
so the In-N-Out trailer will be on hand. The first 550
Claremont residents to pick up tickets—available
starting July 5—from the police department (570 W.
Bonita Ave.) will receive a free In-N-Out hamburger with
chips and a drink. For information, call (909) 399-5411
or visit www.claremontPD.com.
FRIDAY NIGHTS LIVE
Sponsored by the Claremont Chamber of Commerce,
Friday Nights Live runs through October 28 from 6 to
9 p.m. Live music will be performed in the Public Plaza,
101 N. Indian Hill; Chamber, 205 Yale; City Hall, 225
Second St.; and Shelton Park at Bonita and Harvard. The
summer schedule is listed below.
Friday, July 8: Hound Dog Dave & the Meltones/Public Plaza; High Strung Band/Shelton Park; Los Whateveros/Chamber; Falls Like Rain/City Hall.
Friday, July 15: Marc Weller Trio/Public Plaza; Blue
Hwy/Shelton Park; Darby Ryan & Her Band/Chamber;
Mike’s Guitar World/City Hall.
Friday, July 22: Blues & Fries/Public Plaza; Balderama’s Big Wednesday/Shelton Park; Saloon No.
12/Chamber; Auburen Hinkernell/City Hall.
Friday, July 29: Ray MacNamara Band/Public Plaza;
Steve Rushingwind/Shelton Park; Talmadge/Chamber;
AMPS/City Hall.
Friday, August 5: The Dogs/Public Plaza; US 99/Shelton Park; Jack McCoy/Chamber; Random Spark/City
Hall.
Friday, August 12: Claremont Voodoo Society/Public
Plaza; Delta 88/ Shelton Park; Blues & Fries/Chamber;
Auburn Hinkernell/City Hall.
Friday, August 19: Amanda Castro Band/Public
Plaza; Vinyl # |/Shelton Park; RCR Band/Chamber; Jackson Family Band/ City Hall.
Friday, August 26: Dynamite Dawson, Public Plaza;
Brooks & Sons, Shelton Park; Adrienne Selina, Chamber; Mike’s Guitar World, City Hall.
18
Florence Cohn: Blue Ribbon Special Honoree
I
f there’s anyone who has mastered the gift of giving, it’s Florence Cohn. As one of Claremont’s honored citizens, Mrs. Cohn,
90, will receive the Blue Ribbon Special Honoree award at this year’s
Fourth of July celebration.
For at least 17 consecutive years, she gathered toys and hand-delivered them with a team
of volunteers to Navajo children in Kayenta,
Arizona.
The first eight years she originally noticed the
lack of quality transportation for the Hopi tribe
in Colorado and brought them bicycles so they
could get around. She later discovered a greater
need from the Navajo children and brought them
toys every December with a group of volunteers.
At one point in her giving career, the toys,
clothes and bicycles she collected were given out
to as many as 600 children. Mrs. Cohn managed
to enlist the help of all around her simply by
word-of-mouth and the generosity of family
friends.
She even brought members of the Kayenta
community to Claremont on several occasions
to be a part of Claremont’s July Fourth celebrations and had them pitch tents in her backyard
during their stay.
Her family has been a part of Claremont history for as far back as the 1950s when her husband Leonard Cohn coached the first ClareBLUE RIBBON HONOREE/next page
The Blue Ribbon Special Honoree for this year’s Fourth of July celebration is longtime resident Florence Cohn.
BLUE RIBBON HONOREE/from previous page
mont High School football team in 1949, as reported in
the COURIER.
Mrs. Cohn worked as a realtor in Claremont for more
than 50 years, a profession she saw as another way of
helping others by finding homes.
She was often very involved with helping her clients.
One one occasion, after a few clients fell into the pool of
their new home and she discovered they could not swim,
Mrs. Cohn made sure they received swimming lessons
so the incident would not happen again.
Mrs. Cohn said “it is a fun and nice thing” to receive
this recognition from the city, where she has raised her
family.
Retired and still in Claremont, she no longer makes the
trip to Arizona. However she is still very active as she approaches 91.
“I have one more major project to finish,” she said,
19
“I’m raising money to give the Salvation Army about
$500,000 in July.”
Mrs. Cohn even has plans to make sure she keeps on
giving when she is no longer around.
She struck a deal with Verizon to build a phone tower
on her property in Fallon, California that pays her $1,000
a month for the rest of her life starting in July. She plans
on paying the money forward to her 12 grandchildren,
who will get $1,000 a year.
“When I die in 10 years, or sooner,” she said jokingly,
“the money will still be coming in.”
In July, when some of that money comes her way she
plans on publishing her book called It All Started With
Lollypops.
The title was inspired from a trip she took to China
when she gave a box of See’s Lollypops to a group of
children putting on a Chinese New Year street performance.
Now, everywhere she travels she takes a box of lol-
Florence Cohn, seen here at her Claremont home in
a 2009 COURIER photo—just before delivering toys
to Navajo children in Arizona—was named the Blue
Ribbon Honoree for the Fourth of July parade. For
more than 17 years, Mrs. Cohn conducted a toy drive
to provide toys to children on the Reservation each
Christmas.
pops with her. The book is a collection of her life of giving, realty and traveling adventures.
Mrs. Cohn is one of three honored Claremont citizens
being recognized at the Fourth of July celebration before
the parade.
This year’s celebration is themed “Independence Day
the Claremont Way” and will start at 7 a.m. at Memorial Park.
—Megan Bender
ly-
A reminder of holiday
rules and regulations
Fireworks prohibited
As a reminder, the city of Claremont prohibits all
fireworks. People in violation of this law may be issued a citation. As an alternative, the city offers its
annual fireworks show on July 4.
Overnight parking for holiday guests
If you are having guests stay with you overnight
during the holiday weekend, please remember to get
an overnight parking exemption if they will be parking on the street.
The Claremont Municipal Code prohibits parking
any vehicle on a city street for more than one hour
between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Residents are
allowed three exemptions per month.
Overnight parking exemptions may be obtained by
visiting the city’s website at www.ci.claremont.ca.us
or by calling the Claremont Police Department. Telephone exemption requests will only be accepted between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily by calling (909)
399-5411 or (909) 399-5415.
Online exemption requests will only be accepted
until 3:30 a.m. the morning of the exemption request.
LED lightbulb giveaway at
city’s Fourth of July festival
Solid Rock Church will be giving
away hundreds of free energy-efficient
LED lightbulbs to residents at their
booth at Memorial Park during Claremont’s Fourth of July Celebration from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Solid Rock, which opened in Claremont in 2014, is offering free LED lightbulbs as a practical way to help the
community save money, use less energy
and preserve the planet. LED lightbulbs
are much more energy-efficient and
long-lasting than traditional lightbulbs,
which means saving energy and money
on your monthly electricity bill.
The LED lightbulb giveaway aims to
promote the Claremont Energy Challenge—Claremont’s bid to win the
Georgetown University Energy Prize, a
competition to reduce energy usage in
innovative, community-driven, longlasting ways.
Solid Rock is a multi-ethnic, inter-denominational, multi-generational family
with the intention to participate in the
discovery of discipleship. They have offices in downtown Claremont and meet
at a local school on Sundays.
For more information, call (909) 6245800 or visit www.solidrock.us.
20
21
Independence Day the Claremont way...
wouldn’t be complete without the annual fireworks show at Pomona College
Tickets, which are $8 presale or $10 at the door (if available), can be purchased at the
Alexander Hughes Community Center, the Chamber of Commerce, the Claremont Club, Rio
de Ojas, Vons and Wolfe’s Market. If it isn’t sold out, limited tickets may be available Monday, July 4 at Memorial Park.
Gates at the Pomona College Strehle Track open at 6:30 p.m, with a live concert featuring
the Silverados and the yearly Kiwanis barbecue—those folks sure are busy! After a heartwarming rendition of the National Anthem by El Roble eighth-grader Leonie Casper, families,
friends and lovers can cuddle up to watch the night sky lit up by such favorites as the Peony,
Girandola and Skyrocket. And keep your fingers crossed for the appearance of a smiley face
in the Claremont sky!
Map courtesy of city of Claremont
The city’s cool
zones are open
D
uring these hot and humid summer
days, are you keeping up with your
body’s water need?
Always hydrate before, during and after your activity or you may be at risk for dehydration. Early signs
of dehydration may include increased thirst, nausea,
dry mouth, headache and reduced fluid output.
Some moderate dehydration symptoms may include
extreme thirst, dry appearance inside the mouth and
lightheadedness. Also, don’t forget to take care of
pet(s) that may be doing the physical activity with you
or may be outside all day; their bodies need water just
as much as you as temperatures rise.
The city has established cool zones open to residents who need to escape the heat during heat waves.
The following locations are open:
• Alexander Hughes Community Center, located
at 1700 Danbury Rd. Open Monday through
Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays from 8
a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For questions, call (909) 399-5490.
• Blaisdell Center, located at 440 S. College Ave.
Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. For questions, call (909) 399-5367.
• Joslyn Senior Center, located at 660 N. Mountain Ave. Open Monday through Friday from 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. For questions, call (909) 399-5488.
• Claremont Library, located at 208 N. Harvard
Ave. Open Monday and Tuesday from 1 to 8 p.m.,
Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.,
Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. For questions, call (909)
621-4902.
For information on preventing heat-related illness,
visit emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heattips.asp. Call (909) 399-5490 for cool zone info.
22
Library offers slew of summer activities for kids, teens
T
he Claremont Library is
offering lots of free
events to help kids while
away those long summer days.
You can stop by to “Capture the King”
on Tuesdays, July 5, 12 and 19 from 2 to
3 p.m. when the library has chess and
checkerboards available for game-lovers
of all ages. Refreshments will be served.
The library invites you to take in Super
Arty-O-World on Wednesday, July 6 from
2 to 2:45 p.m. Kids who dig Donkey
Kong, Super Mario Brothers and Candy
Crush will enjoy this zany video gamebased magic show.
The Claremont Library will offer a
workshop, Paper Quilling for Teens, on
Thursday, July 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. The
event is aimed at kids ages 11 through 18.
Quilling is the art of rolling, shaping and
arranging paper strips to create decorative
designs.
Wildlife Wendy’s Tropical Bird Show
will come to roost at the Claremont Library on Wednesday, July 13 for two
shows, one from 2 to 2:45 p.m. and another from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. This live
tropical bird show features performing
parrots and other species and is aimed at
kids of all ages.
On Thursday, July 14 there will be another workshop, DIY Piñata for Teens,
from 2 to 3 p.m. It’s aimed at kids age 11
to 18.
If you have little brothers or sisters,
they may enjoy the Claremont Library’s
storytime sessions. Toddler storytime is
held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and again
at 11:30 a.m. Preschool storytime, for kids
age 3 to 5, is held Fridays from 11:30 a.m.
to noon.
You are also encouraged to sign up for
the library’s Summer Reading Program
anytime and start hitting the books. The
Claremont Library is located at 208 N.
Harvard Ave. in Claremont. For information, call (909) 621-4902.

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