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HOA NEWS OCTOBER 2025

Rules & Regulations Meetings

Forty-three park residents attended an all park meeting (top row pictures) on September 4, 2025 to go over the new Park Rules & Regulations that BSM sent to all residents July 30th Ryan Jasinsky held an all park meeting on September 8th where approximately 38 residents came to hear his comments. (bottom row pictures) Below is a letter sent to Ryan by HOA president Marge Lundberg September 16, 2025

Dear Ryan,

Thank you for giving Mountain Springs Mobile Home community the opportunity to discuss the new Rules and Regulations that were presented to the park via mail, letter dated July 30, 2025.

Approximately 38 residents attended the meeting you held on September 8, 2025. Also present was Martha O’Connell, GSMOL Regional Manager, Region 1, Zone A-1. Sitting at the front table with you were Nathan Howard, Manager of Operations and Development, Patricia Davis, Assistant Director of Property Management, and Elizabeth Nava, Community Administrator for Mountain Springs

Thank you for listening to the many residents who had complaints about the trees and the park deterioration in landscaping. You stated that in October you would be walking the park, meeting with SavATree Company and talking with the landscaping person. Please, if possible, report back to us your findings and your ‘next steps’.

As you were aware, 43 residents met on Thursday, September 4th to discuss the Rules and Regulations. Below are the items we felt needed clarification, removal, and/or compromise.

DOCUMENT REVIEW:

Definitions

Pg 1: C. Management Approvals: Last sentence switches from Community Management approvals to Community Owner’s approval. Needs to be changed to Community Management.

Section A: Standards for Mobilehomes, Mobilehome Lots, Accessory Buildings or Structures

Pg 5: 1. Utilities

(g) Solar Power System – was announced that BSM now allowing Solar systems. Just to clarify, it is the Law now, SB 1190 (Laird, Chapter 162, Statutes of 2024).

Pg 6: 3. Installation of New Central Air Conditioners: This is for a NEW, not a replacement unit. Was not clear to residents. Item should state is for new, not a replacement unit

Pg 7: 5. Raised Decks

(d) Screen rooms already present must be grandfathered in. Rain barriers are not permitted – thus rain gets in under the carpet and onto the wood underneath, rotting. Carport owners want to be able to put in rain barriers. Need BSM to research as to type that can do the job and is affordable to all. The request by one resident was for compromise. The barriers would be removed after rain season. You stated the home is not level if rain pools. What if the deck was installed off plumb? Leveling doesn’t solve that problem. Please consider researching for a product all parks could use.

Pg 8: 7. Awnings

Last sentence: The installation of new window awnings is not allowed. Window awnings reduce the sun’s effect on the temperature of the room. There needs to be the ability to install window awnings that meet the need of blocking direct sunlight into the room. Desks are often put at the window. Sitting at a desk with full force of sun limits the enjoyment within the home. Please consider researching and selecting a product all parks can use.

(a) Lattice – exterior drop shades not permitted to be attached to awning – with direct sunlight coming onto and into the home, drop shades are a necessary item to block the destruction of the heat. Research needs to be done to come up with the approved materials that are affordable.

Pg 9: 9.

Landscape Design

(a) Description of landscaping: 2nd paragraph 2nd to last sentence states ‘no artificial plants are permitted to be visible from the street.’ You stated at another park that artificial plants are permitted to be visible if they are in good condition, not faded. Tenants have right to live on deck and enjoy what they want to place there. Please revise statement.

(f) Potted plants: to choose arbitrarily the number three is without sense. As long as the tenant is keeping his lot tidy, there should be no restrictions on number. You seemed ‘hard nosed’ on this item. Why not five? It is just as arbitrary, but what harm is there in adding two more? Also, no plants on steps or base of steps. There are different sizes of steps. Also, already states can’t block entry, exit. Again, steps are part of homeowners’ home and they have the right to decorate as they desire.

(g) Statuary: to choose arbitrarily the number three is without sense. As long as the tenant is keeping his lot tidy, there should be no restrictions on number. Again, compromise with residence and add two more.

Pg. 10: 10. Yard Maintenance

(d) 14 day notice: Residents felt should read: Management must, not may, keep up landscaping of lots of mobile homes where tenant has expired and management is putting the home up for auction. Until that happens, it is their responsibility to keep the home in decent landscape condition as to not degrade the neighborhood. Currently, the office is stating they will do nothing, unless it becomes hazardous. Mountain Springs currently has two homes in that state. In the discussion, you mentioned relatives got upset because items were removed. There would be no removal of items. JUST maintenance! What harm is there in keeping the neighborhood looking nice!

Pg 11: 11. Mobilehome Maintenance

(j) This is not feasible. To have the homeowner bear the full financial responsibility to disrupt then to fix their landscaping for any public utility to come onto the property for their maintenance or installation. This statement and the following (k) must be struck from the document. You stated that this was the PUC coming in to change from park control to utility control, and that it was not going to happen in Mountain Springs. If so, please remove.

Pg. 13: 12. Lot Usage

(a) Bricks are a decorative item. Please remove from list.

(d) String lighting – not visible from street – totally removes pleasure from homeowner. Change to moving half way back.

(r) No Trespassing – This is an unenforceable ruling – without security detail or cameras.

Pg 16: 14. Fences and Retaining Walls

(f) cannot be locked with a padlock – residents need to lock gate at night for security reasons. This is a ‘hot’ item with our single women. Are you aware Todd was told to break a lock, thus damaging the gate, when a resident was away from the

home when he came to read meters. He could have returned the next day. What gives the management the right to cause damage just to read a meter? The office used to provide a calendar for the YEAR of the meter reading days. And it stated, have your gate unlocked!! The office now states, they are too busy to notify residents.

Pg 18: 16. Swimming Pools & Spas

Hot tubs should be allowed in the Immobile/garage section. There is no reason that they cannot be allowed.

Pg 18: 18. Windows – awnings and drop shades should be allowed. Research to find affordable quality and design that is allowable.

19. Right of Entry Upon the Lot – you added to the Law by adding phrase “inspecting the premises regarding compliance with the Rules and Regulations”. Residents have the right to privacy. The landscaping has been approved by Management, so no further interference is necessary. If Todd sees something way out of line when he is reading meters, he can report it. No other intrusion is necessary. Please remove the phrase.

Section B: Recreational Facilities and Common Areas

Pg. 18: 20. Recreational Facilities

(h) sales – we have had bake sales – remove the word ‘sales’.

Pg. 20: 22. House Animals

(g) No animal doors are permitted – revise to state can be in immobile/garage section. To restrict is to deny resident total use of fenced side yard. Many older pets have kidney issues and are given meds that make them have to urinate every 3-4 hours. A doggie door would be a must in those homes.

Section C: Standards for Conduct in the Community, Use and Occupancy of Mobilehome & Lot

Pg. 25: 36. Conduct

(a) 2) constitute a substantial annoyance to other Tenants, Residents, Employees or Management Contractors;remove Employees or Management Contractors from this item. AB 813 was a bill subsequently withdrawn, that weaponized ‘substantial annoyance’.

Pg. 26: 38. Community Safety/Security

(b) 3. Privacy: Filming – remove this statement from document. Civil disputes require evidence. Much of that evidence could be film of fencing, trees, etc.

Section D: Standards for Immobile Homes

Pg. 28: 43. Miscellaneous

Window awnings are not permitted – research for affordable quality that can be installed for sun protection.

Pg 29: 45. Concrete, Walkways and Driveways

Remove from document sentence regarding Tenant’s responsibility for costs relating to removal of landscaping for maintenance and repair of Community underground utilities. Grossly unfair. Also remove sentence relating to Tenant’s responsibility for cost of reinstalling landscaping because of maintenance and repair of Community underground utilities. Grossly unfair.

The Mountain Springs Homeowners’Association wishes to go on record by stating we believe many of the rules are unreasonable and as such enforcement could be risky.

END OF DOCUMENT REVIEW

Increased Responsibilities for Park Owners: “The 2025 California Mobilehome Residency law places greater responsibility on park owners regarding the maintenance and upkeep of park infrastructure. Must ensure that roads, water and sewage systems are well-maintained. Failure to comply can lead to penalties and legal actions initiated by residents.” Items discussed were: Roads in Garage section need work.

RV Community Fence in poor condition. Birch tree by 219 appears dead.

Lights on carport 1st street haven’t been cleaned. Dim at night because of dirt. Park landscaping not good. Only one person working on trimming, mowing, etc.

Thank you, Ryan, for reading this and, as Lito Caparas stated, please meet us half-way. Compromise. Sincerely,

Marge Lundberg HOA President Mountain Springs

The above letter was distributed at the September 8th meeting by Martha O’Connell.

The Cake Picnic

More than 1,000 people attended the Cake Picnic that is dedicated to the love of the dessert, the Free Press Journal reported. There was one simple rule for attendees: you were not allowed to enter the gathering unless you brought a cake with you. According to the New York Times, there were 1,387 cakes featured at the event where the sweet treats were displayed on long tables outside the Legion of Honor museum. Wayne

Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art opened on March 22 and ran through August 17, 2025, at the Legion of Honor. A Cake Picnic was held on opening day. The exhibition explored the artist’s reinterpretations of historical artists that inspired him. The exhibit explored Thiebaud’s fascination with art history, which is shown through his works.

Thiebaud famously described himself as an art thief, stating, “It’s hard for me to think of artists who weren’t influential on me because I’m such an obsessive thief. One thing I’m cranky about is that people don’t realize painting is one tradition. I hated dividing it. It’s like saying there’s something called California mathematics. The conventions of painting have always been the same, and they’re the same with abstract and realist painting.”

CAKE PICNIC™ was born out of a simple desire to eat a lot of cake. And be surrounded by friends. “In my earliest

daydreams of this event, it was a small and intimate picnic of maybe 15 new friends forming a circle at Golden Gate Park. Once we’ve formed our circle, we would take turns introducing ourselves and what cake we brought to the picnic. I had no idea this would draw such a crowd and that everyone would share my dream so passionately. For the love of cake, we must.” stated founder Elisa Sunga.

CAKE PICNIC is a gathering for the love of cake. It celebrates cake in all of its forms chiffon cakes, upside down cakes, Princess cakes, cake loaves, cupcakes, Russian honey cakes, meringue cakes, jello cakes, trifles, multi-tiered cakes, sponge cakes, butter cakes, and more. CAKE PICNIC brings communities and friends together for the sole purpose of breaking cake and enjoying the following butter and sugar highs. To be surrounded by as many cakes as there are humans is definitely something special, right? It is a moment in time where we come together for something truly sweet. It is a feast for the ages and you just have to be there.

March 2025: San Francisco CAKE PICNIC at the Legion of Honor. 1387 CAKES. April 2025: CAKE PICNIC at The Flower Fields (Carlsbad, CA). 318 CAKES.

You don’t have to wait for the next official Cake Picnic Tour to experience the magic, anyone can host their own version. All it takes is a gathering space, a few cakes, and a love for sharing. Whether it’s a small get-together with friends on campus or a community event at a local park the heart of a cake picnic is about connection and joy. Encourage guests to bring their favorite cakes homemade or store-bought lay out some blankets, and create a welcoming space where everyone can indulge and bond over something sweet. In the end, it’s not just about the cake it’s about the people you share it with.

Elisa Sunga

Million-Dollar Restoration Brings Back Evanston’s 1901 Oscar Mayer Mansion

The Gilded-Age was a good time period for architecture in Chicago. In the decades following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Windy City grew at a faster rate than most other major cities in the country. The city was an industrial and merchant giant, and millions flooded into the Chicago area seeking job opportunities that would offer a higher standard of living. Many famous names in the food and merchandising industries originated in Chicago: names like Wrigley, Sears, Field, Brach, and Oscar Mayer. And many of Chicago's wealthiest citizens built grand mansions for themselves, complete with elaborate ornamentation and exotic finishes.

Designed by the Swedish architect Lawrence Halberg and built in 1901, Mayer would not occupy the mansion until 1927. However, the sausage king remained in the mansion until his death in 1965. Like many other Gilded-Age mansions, the home borrows from European architectural styles.

Like many other Gilded-Age mansions, this one too fell into a state of disrepair for nearly a decade. J&S Home Renovations saw the beauty of what could be brought back and made a deal to purchase the mansion in 2015 for $1.1 million. Another nearly $1.5 million was poured into the mansion, restoring original brick fireplaces, elaborate moldings, radiators, stained glass windows, and original light fixtures, as well as removing a white, dated two-story addition at the rear of the building. Following the restoration, the 7,400 square foot brick mansion hit the market in May of 2016 for $2.95 million. It sat on the market for two years before selling in July of 2018 for $1.73 million. Eifler & Associates worked on the project: “The home was designed by Hallberg & Sturm and originally built for Oscar Putnam in 1901. Now known as the Oscar Mayer House due to his ownership from 19271965, the house was purchased by a development team in 2014 after sitting vacant for 10 years. The house was entirely renovated and included all bathrooms, kitchen, and mechanical systems. Windows were restored in accordance with State of Illinois requirements. The rehabilitation project was awarded a preservation award from the City of Evanston upon its completion.”

Throughout its history, Mayers Mansion has witnessed numerous changes in ownership and occupancy, each leaving its mark on the property and contributing to its unique character.

After being sold in the 1960s, the house was neglected, flooded, and covered in ivy. It was so wet to the bone that it was known as the Chia House because water was seeping through it in several places. IM Castenholz, a developer, recognized the possibilities of the home. Many of the original elements are still present in this place.

Real estate attorney Scott Hargadon had a different reaction when he and his business partner walked into this Evanston, IL, property The mansion, which was purchased in 1927 by the son of the founder of the meat processing company, had seen better days.

“This house had less curb appeal than anything I had ever seen,” recalls Hargadon of the first time he saw it in 2015. But inside, he was blown away when he saw that the original woodwork, hardwood floors, and even the elaborate light fixtures were all still in place. It was “a house that was literally frozen in time. No one had made bad improvements we would have to rip out,” he says.

A second-floor master suite was created by reconfiguring what had been several smaller rooms. The suite now includes a dressing room and opens to a private deck. A chef's kitchen was created on the first floor and features high-end appliances from Sub-Zero, La Cornue, and Bosch. A first-floor music room sits in the dramatic turret portion of the house.

The home now has four bedrooms on the second floor. There's also a library, two bedrooms, and a bathroom on the third floor, where the home’s original ballroom and billiard room have also been restored. Mayer would likely feel right at home in his redone mansion.

The Corinth Canal in Greece is a marvel of engineering that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf. Carved through solid rock, this narrow waterway spans 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) and dramatically shortens the journey for ships traveling between the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Completed in 1893 after centuries of planning, the canal features towering limestone cliffs rising up to 90 meters (300 feet) on either side, creating a breathtaking passage.

Though too narrow for modern large vessels, the canal remains a popular attraction for smaller boats and tourists. Its dramatic walls and turquoise waters make it a photographer’s dream. Visitors can admire the canal from bridges or even bungee jump from its heights for an adrenaline rush.

A testament to human ingenuity, the Corinth Canal is a must-see landmark that blends history, engineering, and natural beauty. Whether viewed from above or sailed through, it leaves a lasting impression.

Rare

– The Silent Ghost of the Eucalyptus Forest

Behavior & Traits

Strictly nocturnal, emerging only after dark to feed.

(A nocturnal acrobat cloaked in a coat of snow-white fur)

Habitat

Native to eastern Australia, from Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria.

Lives in old-growth eucalyptus forests, where tall trees provide both food and hollow dens.

Appearance

This rare white morph of the Greater Glider has pure, fluffy fur that almost glows under moonlight. Large, round eyes for exceptional night vision. Enormous, fluffy ears that pick up the faintest forest sounds.

A gliding membrane stretches from elbow to ankle, allowing it to soar up to 100 meters between trees.

Solitary and highly territorial, each glider maintains its own feeding and sleeping sites. Uses its gliding ability to silently navigate the canopy without touching the ground.

Diet

Feeds almost exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, making it a specialist herbivore. Has a slow metabolism to process its low-energy diet, spending long hours resting.

Conservation

Classified as Vulnerable, threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate change.

Dependent on mature forests with plenty of tree hollows for shelter.

Did You Know?

Despite its name, the Greater Glider is not related to sugar gliders it’s actually a type of marsupial possum.

With its ghostly white fur and silent aerial grace, the Rare White Greater Glider Possum is a true spirit of the Australian night.

She Earned Her Wings The War Way

In 1943, 22-year-old Elizabeth "Libby" Gardner sat at the controls of a B-26 Marauder bomber her hands steady, her eyes fixed on the horizon. She wasn’t an actress in a Hollywood set. She was a pilot, flying for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II.

Libby, from Rockford, Illinois, had already been an accomplished civilian pilot. But when the war came, she answered a different kind of call. She trained at Sweetwater, Texas, and graduated with Class 43-W-6, earning her silver wings. After graduation, she was selected for one of the most daring paths available to female pilots at the time: flying the powerful twin-engine B-26 Marauder at Harlingen Army Air Field in Texas. Only a handful of women ever did.

In one flight, Libby parachuted to safety from a failing plane earning her membership in the Caterpillar Club, an elite group for those who survived jumps from disabled aircraft. For a woman to earn that title in the 1940s? Almost unheard of.

When the war ended, she didn’t retire her wings. Libby went back to the skies, working for Piper Aircraft Corporation, where she had started before her service. She later married, became a mother, and moved to New York. But no matter where life took her, she carried with her the strength, skill, and pride of having served.

Libby Gardner passed away in 2011 at 90 years old. Her life is a reminder that courage doesn’t always wear a uniform or follow the rules. Sometimes, it climbs into the cockpit and rewrites history.

Santa Cruz Lighthouse – Meet an Amazing Woman

Adna Hecox was born in Michigan in 1806. He married Catherine in 1832, but she went to visit friends in 1834, and died of Cholera. He married Margaret in 1836, and worked at times as a Methodist minister, a carpenter, and a lead miner. Then in 1846 he was incapacitated by dysentery for seven months, recovered, then had frequent bouts of influenza, pneumonia and pleurisy. He determined to find a milder climate in California for his health.

In 1846, Hecox brought his wife and four children west, being bedridden part of the journey, then ending up in the middle of a war for California independence. His immigrant party hunkered down that winter with other settlers in the cold, damp, abandoned Mission Santa Clara. Lakes of stagnant water covered parts of the floor, and 14 people died of typhoid. Hecox was also sick, but preached the first Protestant sermon in California at a young woman’s funeral. Michael Lodge hired Hecox as a carpenter, to come to Soquel and repair the Castro-Lodge sawmill. The two men founded the state’s first temperance society, and Hecox organized a Methodist congregation in 1847. When the Gold Rush came in 1848, Hecox joined a party of eight who discovered the rich Hangtown Diggings. His wife Margaret and Mrs. Green in Santa Cruz, established a Sunday School containing the town’s first library. When Hecox returned to Santa Cruz, he convalesced for six weeks. He became a merchant, then was elected alcalde (judge-mayor), gaining the name Judge Hecox from his political career.

Hecox was elected Associate Justice of the Santa Cruz County Court in 1860, only to have his 6-year-old daughter Laura stricken with paralysis, reduced to stammering and walking with crutches. She was teased by other children, and preferred to keep to herself along the shoreline and tidepools, “talking to the ocean” they said, although perhaps she was practicing how to speak without a stammer. Her mother slowly taught her to read, and by 14 Laura could copy letters, but not write unaided.

That year of 1868, Laura met a Spanish girl on the beach, who gave her a seashell not from California. Laura searched in vain to find its local twin, and became more aware of the types of area seashells. She went to the newly-opened Santa Cruz Free Library at the back of a store under the Odd Fellows clock tower. The library was founded with the help of Dr. C.W. Anderson, a naturalist who’d walked across Wisconsin with Henry David Thoreau. Laura was thrilled when he gifted her a small book for identifying seashells, a book she read and re-read, while collecting shells that illustrated what she was learning.

As wharves filled the Santa Cruz harbor with cargo ships and steamers, a warning beacon was needed for Santa Cruz Point, which was either fog-shrouded, or buffeted by stiff winds along its craggy cliffs. A whistling buoy was placed offshore when visibility failed. Almus Rountree tried to tame the winds by planting a forest of trees on what is today Lighthouse Field. After a long career as a public servant, 63-year-old Adna Hecox was appointed the first keeper of the lighthouse in 1869, where he lived with his wife, 15-year-old daughter Laura, and 10-year-old son Orville. Laura and her father loved strolling the beach to find seashells for her collection.

In the summer of 1870, 10-year-old Douglas Tilden stayed at the lighthouse to visit his grandparents, 11-year-old Orville and 16year-old Laura. Tilden was accompanied by his 19-year-old teacher, Theophilus d’Estrella. Tilden had scarlet fever when he was 6 years old, which robbed him of his hearing and speech. D’Estrella was also a deaf-mute, who taught at the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley. Laura felt an instant bond with the pair, who taught her sign language, but also had her communicate with them through written notes. D’Estrella took an interest in her shell collection, as a naturalist and photographer.

According to a partly distorted account by a friend of Laura that appeared in the Battle Creek “Sunday Morning Call,” Laura fell in love with d’Estrella. That autumn as the vacation was drawing to an end, the two went out shell hunting. Laura slipped on the rocks and was knocked unconscious, bringing d’Estrella to her rescue, only to be caught by the tide as well and battered against the rocks. Adna Hecox witnesses this from the lighthouse, and came to help, fearing both had perished. Laura awoke, and in a panic, ran to d’Estrella’s lifeless body, a sudden dash that made her realize her paralysis was gone. To her relief, d’Estrella was not dead, and they maintained a close lifelong friendship, though never marrying.

Laura’s speech had improved as well. Although still limping, Laura would trail after her father, up-and-down the stairs to the cupola, to light the beacon at night, replace the small kerosene lamp halfway through the night, and extinguish the flame in the morning. She assisted him, cleaning, preparing instruments, following the timetables, and keeping logs.

With the beacon such a prominent sentinel guarding the harbor, it drew visitors to hike along the cliffs, for a friendly welcome at the lighthouse. Adna would show off the Paris-made Fresnel lens, a fifth-order array of curved prisms so powerful, it could magnify the small kerosene flame into a spotlight visible for 14 nautical miles. Laura’s modest childhood collection was included on the tour, drawing interest from some about local marine life, as well as receiving donated shells from faraway places. She also displayed fossils and minerals. Gifts from world travelers brought ethnographic items from Alaska, the South Seas and Indigenous California.

Laura carefully labeled and cataloged her items, expanding them into an educational display in multiple display cases. Her scrapbooks of information kept up with the latest knowledge and discoveries in the natural sciences, providing an archive for her studies, and the public’s. Even visiting scientists found her knowledge to be helpful, and by 1879 she was trading items or supplying specimens to people from across the globe. One was Professor A.G. Wetherby at the University of Cincinnati, whom she provided with numerous specimens of Ariolimax, or Santa Cruz banana slugs. In thanks, he named a variety of banana slug after Laura, making her the first academic banana slug!

In 1881, only 12 years after the lighthouse was constructed, the crumbling cliffs forced it to be moved inland of West Cliff Drive, at which time a small kitchen wing was added. Two years later, Adna Hecox became ill, and appointed Laura Hecox to take his place. He passed away soon after on March 17, 1883. Douglas Tilden continued to vacation at the light house, even completing a bust of his grandmother in 1885. Where Tilden was inarticulate of speech, he was eloquent in images, and became one of California’s leading sculptors. In 1887, he became friends with the son of the new owner of the estate next door, James Duval Phelan, just a year younger than Tilden. A lover of the arts, Phelan displayed some of Tildens sculptures on his Santa Cruz estate, and as San Francisco mayor, commissioned monuments from Tilden.

Laura Hecox has her lighthouse museum open three days a week, while continuing to expand her natural history collection, from one display case, to a room in the lighthouse, then several. Ed H. Fiske and Richard McGregor made an extensive study of central California birds, making an 1892 list of birds found within a 20-mile radius of the lighthouse. They donated their collection of nests, eggs, and stuffed birds to the lighthouse museum. Ralph Arnold was so impressed by her fossil collection, that he named a new species of fossil spindle snail in her honor. And examples of Douglas Tilden’s sculpture also filled the lighthouse. Soon her museum outgrew the lighthouse, becoming difficult to maintain. When the 1904 Santa Cruz Carnegie Library was built, the basement was left vacant in anticipation of their growing book collection. But Dr. Charles L. Anderson, the naturalist who started Miss Hecox on her road to studying local natural history, convinced Hecox to deed her collection to the city, to be housed in the library. He felt a library and museum go together well, providing both artifacts, and in-depth documentation. The Laura Hecox Museum opened August 31, 1905, to much acclaim. In 1911 this lifelong Suffragist registered to vote in a California election. She retired in 1916 and died at the age of 65 in 1919.

They were the unlikeliest of community pillars. Yet the judge with chronic illnesses, the lame natural history curator, the deaf sculptor, and deaf-mute teacher, were all giants beyond their disabilities. Around the millennium, the cove between the Lighthouse and Surfer Monument was dubbed “Laura Hecox Cove,” as part of a Placenames Program to highlight hidden history. For at her lighthouse museum, Laura Hecox was an amateur naturalist of international standing, a keeper of the light, and projector of enlightenment. Various Web Sites

The Lapham–Patterson House is a historic home site in Thomasville, Georgia. The house, was built between 1884-85 as a winter cottage for businessman C.W. Lapham of Chicago and is an excellent example of high Victorian architecture. It has a number of architectural details, such as fishscale shingles, an intricately designed porch, locally sourced long-leaf pine inlaid floors, and a double-flue chimney. Inside, the house was well-appointed with a gas lighting system, hot and cold running water, indoor plumbing, and modern closets.

Its most significant feature is its completely intentional lack of symmetry. None of the windows, doors, or closets are square. The house is a Georgia Historic Site and is also a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1973 for its architecture. It is also a contributing building in the National Register-listed Dawson Street Residential Historic District.

APeek Into Paul Newman’s Heart

On the set of "The Color of Money" in 1986, the production team prepared for Paul Newman’s arrival with all the usual arrangements, chauffeured transport, gourmet meals, wine budgets, and hotel suites. But before the first scene was shot, Newman called a meeting. One by one, he crossed off the luxury items he had personally negotiated into his contract. Then, he instructed the production accountant to reroute that portion of the budget to a nearby children’s hospital in Chicago. No announcements were made. No press release followed.

One producer recalled, “He told me, ‘If someone’s going to pay for wine, it should be for kids who’ve never had a fair chance.’” It was only much later that administrators at a Chicago children’s hospital reported an anonymous donation arriving during the very week Newman’s film was in production nearby. The hospital staff had no idea it came from the film’s lead actor.

Newman, already an Oscar winner by then, had nothing to prove. But behind the camera, he quietly reshaped what it meant to use influence. Colleagues noticed this pattern repeating through the 1980s. On multiple films including "Harry & Son" and "Fat Man and Little Boy" Newman requested top-tier perks, only to revoke them and reassign the money to pediatric wings, cancer wards, or neonatal ICUs in the cities where his films were shooting.

During the New York production of "The Verdict" in 1982, a similar event unfolded. His contract included a daily wine allowance and an exclusive dining service. Days before production began, Newman declined it all and sent word to the producers, “Transfer the savings to a hospital with sick children. They need it more than I need Chardonnay.” A few weeks later, a Brooklyn hospital reported receiving a donation that covered the cost of upgraded cardiac equipment in its pediatric unit.

Crew members began to catch on, but Newman always brushed off the attention. He had a habit of disappearing from wrap parties early, slipping away before anyone could toast him. Director Sidney Lumet once said, “Paul never wanted praise. He wanted purpose.”

He never stood at a podium to speak about these acts. There were no photo ops with hospital staff, no handshakes with children in front of cameras. It was all done through quiet action. He even asked his assistant to ensure that the checks were issued anonymously whenever possible.

During the making of "The Color of Money", Newman grew particularly close to a young assistant director whose daughter had recently undergone surgery at a New York children's hospital. When the man mentioned his gratitude in passing, Newman gently nodded and replied, “Good to know the right place got a little help.” It wasn’t until years later that the assistant discovered his hospital had been one of the donation recipients during the shoot. Newman’s humanity wasn’t confined to the camera’s gaze. He gave without showmanship, redirected resources without ceremony, and used his stature to benefit those who would never know his name. One cinematographer who worked with him in 1985 shared, “Paul understood that real impact didn’t come from applause. It came from doing something when no one was looking.”

His choices reshaped how some in the industry viewed their own power. A costume designer from "Blaze" remembered, “After seeing what Paul did, we started looking around our sets differently. What if we used our budgets to help someone?” Paul Newman lived like a man who believed decency mattered more than prestige. He saw wealth and fame as tools, not rewards. And in the quiet margins of his film career, he wrote a story that didn’t make headlines but changed lives. In the silence of canceled limos and untouched wine cellars, children’s lives were touched by a kindness they never saw coming. That was Paul Newman, humble in his giving and relentless in his compassion. Facebook

August Last Friday Supper Had a Birthday Cake

DearAbbyAdmitted She Was AtA Loss To Answer The Following!

Dear Abby, A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher and the other is a social worker in her mid twenties. These two women go everywhere together and I've never seen a man go into or leave their apartment. Do you think they could be Lebanese?

Dear Abby, What can I do about all the S*x, Nudity, Fowl Language and Violence on my VCR?

Dear Abby, I have a man I can't trust. He cheats so much, I'm not even sure the baby I'm carrying is his.

Dear Abby, I am a twenty-three year old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It's getting expensive and I think my boyfriend should share half the cost, but I don't know him well enough to discuss money with him.

Dear Abby, I've suspected that my husband has been fooling around, and when confronted with the evidence, he denied everything and said it would never happen again.

Dear Abby, Our son writes that he is taking Judo. Why would a boy who was raised in a good Christian home turn against his own?

Dear Abby, I joined the Navy to see the world. I've seen it. Now how do I get out?

Dear Abby, My forty year old son has been paying a psychiatrist $50.00 an hour every week for two and a half years. He must be crazy.

Dear Abby, I was married to Bill for three months and I didn't know he drank until one night he came home sober.

Dear Abby, My mother is mean and short tempered. I think she is going through mental pause.

Dear Abby, You told some woman whose husband had lost all interest in s*x to send him to a doctor. Well, my husband lost all interest in s*x and he is a doctor. Now what do I do?

Remember these people can vote, which probably explains the current situation in Washington, DC.

Pauline Phillips said her pen name, "Abigail Van Buren", comes from the Biblical figure Abigail in the Book of Samuel and the former US president Martin Van Buren

The Dear Abby column was syndicated by the McNaught Syndicate from 1956 until 1966, when it moved to Universal Press Syndicate. Dear Abby's current syndication company claims the column is "well-known for sound, compassionate advice, delivered with the straightforward style of a good friend. By 1987, over 1,200 newspapers ran the column.

Thanks, Saul Srour!