Whittier

The Whittier Centennial Committee is trying to persuade former President Richard Nixon to speak at a Founder’s Day celebration during the city’s 100th anniversary. The Founder’s Day picnic on May 9, 1987, will culminate five months of events. Organizers of the centennial celebration said Nixon has not responded to the group’s invitation.

Nixon, who grew up in Whittier and eventually graduated from Whittier College in 1934, is perhaps the most famous individual to have lived in the city. Whittier was founded by Quaker farmers, who moved west and settled at the base of the La Puente Hills in 1887.