VILLAGE NEWS LA JOLLA
LA JOLLA’S PREFERRED SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
San Diego Community Newspaper Group
Scott Appleby & Kerry ApplebyPayne A Tradition of Success and Service
858-775-2014 • tscottappleby@aol.com
DRE#01197544
www.SDNEWS.com Volume 16, Number 2
Chaos at the Woman’s Club
Teenage tales
Past presidents air accusations during recent press conference BY CLAIRE HARLIN | VILLAGE NEWS Accompanied by accusations of unjust secrecy and conflicts of interest, a group of past presidents and members of the La Jolla Woman’s Club is calling for open meetings and a thorough audit of the nonprofit organization, which is funded in large part by rental fees and serves as an exclusive social space for weddings and other gatherings. Calling themselves the Committee to Preserve the Legacy of Ellen Browning Scripps, the former Woman’s Club presidents have no intention of filing suit as of yet, but with the help of attorney Steven Haskins, called a SEE CLUB, Page 4
Bishop’s School student Bay ByrneSim has documented and is sharing stories of what it was like to be a teenager in La Jolla from the community’s beginnings to the present day with an exhibit at the La Jolla Historical Society. DON BALCH | Village News
High school student chronicles stories of teen life in La Jolla BY CLAIRE HARLIN | VILLAGE NEWS Harle Montgomery, 92, remembers the 1920s in tranquil La Jolla, when the population was just reaching the quadruple digits and automobiles began taking to undeveloped coastline roads. All the cars were Model-Ts — black Model-Ts, that is — so her dad painted his car bright pink, and she found it “most embarrassing
learning to drive the only pink car in La Jolla.” Montgomery’s memory is one of many that has been collected by Bishop’s School student Bay ByrneSim in her effort to document and share stories of what it’s like to be a teenager in La Jolla from the community’s beginnings to the present day. ByrneSim SEE TEEN, Page 2
Bathing beauties (from left) Lucille Hunter, Charlotte Messenger, Anita Churcher, Dorothy Wooster, Helen Getsinger and Myra Smith pose in traditional beach attire at the Children’s Pool in 1921. A strict dress code was enforced at La Jolla’s beaches in the 1920s. COURTESY OF THE LA JOLLA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
On being a teenager in La Jolla in the 1920s: “Finally I got up in the seventh grade in the La Jolla Junior-Senior High. We had 350 students there. Not all of them were La Jolla people because they didn’t have a junior high school down at a place called Pacific Beach. We called it Pumpkin Beach. The kids came up to La Jolla on the electric trolley. The guys in my class elected me to be the one to keep the Pumpkin Beach guys in their proper place.” Gene McCormick “Jean Shafer and I were swimming and we had great fun and so we swam out to the barge … We suddenly got the idea that we would pull off our little top dresses and that we would swim in our Annette Kellermans — in our tight suits — and oh, we thought we were devils. We came back to the beach laughing and giggling and thinking what would they say if they knew we swam in our Annette Kellermans — not in the nude, mind you!” Marjorie Hutchinson “There were no banks in La Jolla. There were no doctors living in La Jolla … We depended on San Diego for almost everything. It meant going backward and forward very frequently on the trains … I think the fare was only 15 cents … It’s more practical to live the way people in La Jolla live now, but it isn’t as fun.” Dr. Joshua L. Bailey, Jr. Oral histories courtesy of the La Jolla Historical Society
‘Avatar’ actor found his passion at UCSD BY CLAIRE HARLIN | VILLAGE NEWS Dileep Rao, who plays scientist Max Patel in “Avatar,” began school at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in the early 1990s as a premed student, but the self-described “theater rat” discovered he had a different passion. Rao, who also plays a key role in “Inception,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is evidence that UCSD is not just a breeding ground for renowned scientists, but stars of Dileep Rao the entertainment industry as well. The Los Angeles-born actor revisited UCSD Tuesday evening, Sept. 21, to address some 5,000 incoming freshman and transfer students as part of the university’s yearly inaugural dinner at RIMAC Field. “He wants to let students know they are the authors of their own book,” said UCSD spokeswoman Christine Clark. “He believes students can create their own path and he had a very transformative experience at UCSD.” Rao still has a strong relationship with the university and keeps in close touch with former professors such as Steven Adler, co-chair of the campus Convocation Committee. It was in Adler’s acting classes that Rao developed a passion for theater. Adler, who also teaches classes in stage management and the films of Woody Allen, said Rao possesses “deep convictions about both the power of an education and his own experiences at UCSD.” Other notable UCSD alumni who have made it big in the entertainment industry include Ricardo Chavira, who plays Carlos Solis on “Desperate Housewives,” Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown and “King of the Hill” creator Mike Judge.