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MAY 7, 2010
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JEAN GILLETTE Small Talk
Life gets sweeter around birthdays I have had a very sweet week. It was my birthday week, which never hurts, and I scored not one but two gorgeous cakes. One was tasty chocolate with a picture of Johnny Depp on it. Even at my age, that’s sweet. The other was actually a giant Boston-creampie cupcake covered with dark chocolate. It was the kind of thing you want to eat all alone, in the dark, all-atonce-without-hardly-chewing. I didn’t, but I gave it serious thought. Another enormous source of sweetness came from all the amazing little hugs, birthday serenades, an eight-foot poster and a zillion hand-made birthday cards I got from those adorable little ones that come through my elementary school library. That kind of sweetness could soften up a marble statue and I grab it at every opportunity. The cards are my annual treat, saying things like “Happy birthday to the world’s best librarian — who is turning 13,” and one with “The Big Book of Birthday Cakes” drawn on the front. It’s even funnier when you realize that 13 is just about as old as they can imagine anyone being. But my sweet tooth, which is that of a 300pound pastry chef, got quite a workout midweek in my delicious, yearly task as judge at the fifthgrade Gold Rush Days piebaking contest. I’ve been invited to the task for three years and it has usually averaged about 20 entries. You would be astounded at the very palatable and often-attractive creations these little fingers whip up. As one or two always look like they were truly baked over an open fire, hence we have an award for authenticity. To everyone’s shock, this year, the pies on the table totaled 43. As the junior cowpokes circled nervously around, I munched and savored, reviewed and rechecked, getting just a little dizzy in TURN TO SMALL TALK ON B14
Tony Hawk ramps it up for festival f I feel like “I my kids are spending too On May 23, the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce’s A Sporting Life Health Family Festival will take place at the Oak Crest Middle School Upper Field from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Skateboarding legend and Encinitas local Tony Hawk is the feature performer. He will be one of the many world-class athletes participating in the event. Hawk took some time recently to answer questions about his involvement with the event and his feelings about the importance of healthy living. For more information about the A Sporting Life Health Family Festival and a complete list of athletes set to appear, activities, ticket information and more, visit www.asportinglife.org. Q. What made you want to get involved with the A Sporting Life Health Family Festival event? Tony Hawk: To support the city of Encinitas and to raise awareness about staying healthy, especially through sports like skateboarding. Q. As a world-class athlete, how important do you feel it is to educate today’s youth about nutrition, diet and exercise? Tony Hawk: It is paramount to becoming a healthy adult. The No. 1 cause of cancer in today’s
youth is childhood obesity. I want to encourage kids to get out there and be active in whatever interests them (even if it is different). Q. What role has healthy living played in your life and now in your own family members’ lives? Tony Hawk: I watched my dad eat unhealthy foods most of his adult life and he suffered greatly from it. It made me want to stay healthy even if I am no longer skating professionally (which keeps me healthy by default). If I feel like my kids are spending too much time on the computer, playing videogames, or watching television, I will take them outside and do something active like swimming or playing games. Q. As a young skater growing up in North County, what decisions did you make that you feel helped shape your success? Tony Hawk: Staying active and focused in my chosen activity. Even though skating wasn’t globally popular, I had plenty of support in North County. If I had lived somewhere else, I would have probably been discouraged and given up. Q. Discipline plays a big role in all top athletes’ careers. Can you explain how discipline has factored ON BOARD Legendary local skateboarder Tony Hawk will be the feainto your success? ture performer at the A Sporting Life Health Family Festival on May 23 at Tony Hawk: I refused Oak Crest Middle School’s Upper Field. Courtesy photo
much time on the computer, playing videogames, or watching television, I will take them outside and do something active.”
— Tony Hawk
SKATEBOARDING LEGEND
to give up on a goal (like learning a trick) even at the expense of injuring myself. I had to realize my potential no matter what. Q. What advice do you have for youngsters who aspire to achieve success similar to what you and your peers have achieved? Tony Hawk: Don’t give up. Setbacks and discouragement are simply challenges to see if you have what it takes to persevere and succeed. Stay healthy, stay active and enjoy yourself.
Woman recalls what Carlsbad life was like in the 1920s By Lillian Cox
CARLSBAD — It didn’t matter that it was November. When Louise Getze, 11, and her older brother, George Jr., 13, arrived in Carlsbad in 1926 they couldn’t resist the temptation to run into the surf with their clothes on. After all, the ocean wasn’t something they saw in Andover, Ohio. Their father, Dr. George Getze, scolded them and said they could never go in the water again. He was
LONGTIME
LOCAL Mrs. Louise Getze Curley moved with her family from Ohio to Carlsbad in November 1926. Her father, Dr. George W. Getze, was Carlsbad's first practicing physician. She and her three siblings marveled at other wonders they experienced for the first time including the ocean, horn toads, roadrunners and alligator pears (avocados). Photo by Lillian Cox
overridden by their mother, Florence. Getze moved his wife and four children to Carlsbad to set up shop as the town’s first practicing physician. He built a home at Fourth Street (now Jefferson) and Grand Avenue. His first office was at State Street and Grand Avenue, on the first floor of the building that is currently home to the Caldo Pomodoro Restaurant. “Daddy decided that if you were a doctor you needed to live downtown,” recalls Louise Getze Curley, now 94.
COMING TO CARLSBAD The family of Dr. George W. Getze, who became Carlsbad’s first practicing physician when he settled in the area in November 1926. From left, George Jr. 9; James, 1; Florence Getze; Eleanor, 3; and Louise, 7. Circa 1923. Photo courtesy Louise Getze Curley
“When he started it wasn’t THE DR. IS IN Dr. George W. easy. He sat in his office a Getze served in the Army Medical lot. Then people (in Corps during World War I. Raised Carlsbad) realized they had in Ohio, he came to appreciate their own doctor.” California’s beauty when he Soon Getze’s practice arrived in the Presidio in San flourished with patients Francisco, escorting wounded troops via rail and sea from from affluent businessmen Europe. Photo courtesy Louise to Hispanic families who Getze Curley were the backbone of
Carlsbad’s agricultural industry. “There were a lot of Hispanic children born George W. or Jorge,” Curley said. In addition to the ocean, Louise Curley marveled at other wonders — horn toads, roadrunners and
alligator pears (avocados). It was also the first time she had ever seen Hispanic people. “I thought they were the most beautiful people I had ever seen,” she recalls. After the first day at TURN TO CARLSBAD ON B4