Romance Reigns at Childrens Chain Ball
We all know it: Sometimes nothing goes right. Carlotta Keeley was feeling the pressure in the “magical, beautiful gardens” of Louise and Tom Jones’ home in San Marino, the former John McCone estate. “I’ve been here a couple of days,” the ball chairman confided the other evening while the 360 beautiful young people--the Members of the Childrens Chain of Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles--danced the night away.
She, her committee and L.A. Party Design--everyone--had labored so hard that Keeley wanted to thank them, including the three board members of the hospital there--Bonnie McClure, James Galbraith and Tom Jones, the newest member. She added: “My husband (Rusty) doesn’t remember me!”
She was gushing a bit; what she graciously concealed was that the round cloths for the tables of 10 had all arrived in the wrong color, had been sent back for exchange, and somehow the driver got lost, and the cloths were thrown on the tables with silver and china, flowers and place cards only minutes before guests sat down to dinner at 9:45.
It was one of the nicest garden parties. Romantic couples entered under white trellises. Among the most romantic were Susie Woods and Norman Barker, former chairman of First Interstate, who are announcing a November wedding. More were ebullient Kathy O’Kane and her husband, Brian; Sam and Cynthia Coleman; Ann and Robert Ronus; Pat and Bill Stinehart; Jeff and Pat Hudson; Nancy and Jim Birdwell; Cynthia and Hank Yost; Richard and Susie Miller.
From there, it was down the long driveway, through the hedges, around the roses, by the gazebos and the pool, under the oaks for a fun evening. Davis and Patty Pillsbury met Peter and Casey McCoy: “Do you remember me?” Mrs. Pillsbury said to McCoy. “I was Patty Fitzpatrick at Beverly Hills High School.” Of course, he did.
Conversing, too, were Walter and Kathy Rose, Chris and Raymond McLaughlin, Jim and Clare Webb, Elayne and Tom Techentin, Mary Ann and John Sturgeon, Dave and Holly Davis, Joan and Pierce Graves, Jim and Tink Cheney. Tally and Bill Mingst chatted with Jim Young about their upcoming trip to visit their son at Colorado College, while Brook Young greeted patronesses with Nancy McCullough and Jody Lawler.
One of the liveliest tables surely was that of Sally and Michael Frawley. The conversation spanned politics, religion, real estate--all the goodies Emily said you weren’t supposed to discuss in polite company. Joining in were Mary Louise Frawley with Geoff Strauss, Dudley and Eileen Callahan, Bruce and Nancy Milner, Elizabeth and David Hasbrouck (who bought dozens of raffle tickets).
Childrens Chain has parties once a year. The rest of the year, members, individually and in small groups, stage children’s fashion shows, cooking demonstrations, luncheons, teas and sales to raise funds.
LIBER BARK: Daniel J. Boorstin’s keynote speech at the dedication of the Claremont Colleges’ (Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona, Scripps, Claremont University Center and Graduate School) new $7.6-million library complex was all the talk at the tented dinner party which followed on the library lawn. The retired librarian of Congress had addressed the crowd on “America: Discovery, Invention or Creation?” The consensus was that creation ultimately has the edge in importance--at least so thought the numerous trustees of Claremont’s six colleges who were invited to the dinner.
At the dedication, Ronald L. Olson, chairman of the Board of Fellows of the Claremont University Center and Graduate School, welcomed the huge crowd; Frank L. Ellsworth, president of Pitzer College and chairman of the Council (of presidents) of the Claremont Colleges, discoursed on libraries and their origins: “The earliest recorded use of the word, in accordance with Roman tradition, is that of ‘liber bark,’ that is to say, the bark of trees which was used in early times as a writing material.” John D. Maguire, president of CUC and Graduate School, recognized donors. Also in the spotlight, Patrick Barkey, director of the Claremont Colleges library system.
The library, a renovation and melding of Honnold and Seeley W. Mudd libraries by architect Maris Peika, doesn’t have a name yet, but that, too, was being chatted about by the crowd, including Dr. Kenneth and Vivian Baker (the Harvey Mudd president is retiring, and they’ll be moving to North Carolina), Peter Gold, Dr. Chadwick Smith, Ida Crotty, Linda and James Dickason, Henry and Judy Duque, Joan Hanley, Donald and Marilyn Henriksen, Wilson and Carolyn Lyon, Katharine and Frank Miller, Helen Pashgian.
SOCIAL FLURRY: Former U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain Walter Annenberg and his wife, Lee, have been in town and there’s been a flurry of socializing. Among those hosting luncheons and dinners, big and little, are former Atty. Gen. William French Smith and wife, Jean; Marion Jorgensen; former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican William Wilson and wife, Betty; Ruth and Tom Jones; Armand and Harriet Deutsch; Fran Stark.
ESCALATION: Leonard Goldberg, president and COO of 20th Century Fox Film Corp., will be honored at the 24th annual Humanitarian Award Dinner (entertainment industries division) of the National Conference of Christians and Jews on Wednesday in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton. . . . The Junior League of Los Angeles hosts high tea at the elegant Fremont Place home of Mollie and Ragnar Qvale on Monday to announce the latest plans for the eighth annual Los Angeles Antiques Show in December. . . . The Pasadena Art Workshops celebrates its 40th birthday today. Honorary chairmen of this happy family event are Curtis and Lawrence Giesen. It was their late father, Rowe S. Giesen, along with Fran Jeffries, Adelaide Hixon, Ted Behr, Susan Caldwell and Jane Olson, who continued the innovative art program for children after the closing of the Pasadena Art Museum workshops. Joan Palmer heads the birthday party with Wendy Munger, Louise Henry, Ted Behr, Dianne Magee and others.
LET IT RAIN: A very few raindrops fell on the driveway of the San Marino home of Dr. James and Marilyn Zumberge on Tuesday evening, but not enough to dampen the sparkle for the USC Publishers’ Supper honoring Herb Klein, vice president and editor-in-chief of Copley Newspapers and a USC trustee. (“His office has more cardinal and gold than the USC bookstore,” quipped fellow trustee Carl Hartnack.”)
Los Angeles Times Publisher Tom Johnson and his wife, Edwina, co-hosted the affair, which drew Helen Copley, chairman of Copley press; Neil Morgan, editor of the San Diego Tribune; Dan Ridder, publisher of the Long Beach Press-Telegram, and his wife, Frani; Don Miller, president of the Los Angeles Business Journal; Bertram Winrow, publisher of the Daily Breeze; Libby Clark, Los Angeles Sentinel food editor, and Virgil Pinkley, former editor of the Los Angeles Mirror, and his wife, Beth. Jess Marlow, new 5 o’clock anchor at KNBC (he’ll still do the 11 o’clock cover story), arrived post-duty with wife, Phyllis, who’s redecorating their new house.
USC provost Dr. Cornelius Pings and his wife, Marjorie, skipped out a few minutes early to catch a plane for South Bend, Ind., and the inauguration of Father Monk Malloy as new president of Notre Dame.
Former Health Education and Welfare Secretary Robert Finch, Hartnack (Roberta was at home entertaining eight for dinner because they confused their dates), and Johnson praised Klein for his sense of fairness, his humor, his drive and enthusiasm, which he executed not only as a Daily Trojan sports editor and a reporter of Easter egg hunts for the Alhambra Post Advocate, but also for his roles as White House communications director, 1969-73; vice president of corporate relations for Metromedia, and as an editor.
Said Klein: “The most fortunate thing that happened to me at USC was that I met Marjorie.” She’s his attractive wife.
