‘The only parade Lawndale has . . . is putting our youth on display’

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block is returning this weekend to where he began his law enforcement career more than 30 years ago.

On Saturday, Block will be grand marshal of the 1989 edition of the Lawndale Youth Parade, the big parade that Lawndale has been putting on for 30 years to salute its young people.

Officials invited Block because of his ties to the area. “He came here in 1956 as a brand-new deputy in the Lennox station,” which serves Lawndale, said Shirley Rudolph, chairman of this year’s parade. “I called him up, told him we wanted him as grand marshal, and he said: ‘I’m yours for the day.’ ”

The parade will step off at 10 a.m. from the intersection of Manhattan Beach and Hawthorne boulevards and travel north on Hawthorne. About 1,450 youngsters and adults are expected to march or ride horses and vintage convertibles. More than a thousand people will line the route. (The parade will be on the west side of the divided boulevard. The east side will be open to two-way traffic, according to the city.)

“This is the only parade Lawndale has, and it is putting our youth on display,” said Rudolph, who is also chairman of the city Parks, Recreation and Social Services Commission.

This year’s parade will have an added twist as the first event of Lawndale’s 30th anniversary celebration. The old agricultural community--where crops, sheep and chickens once shared the landscape with people--grew up after World War II, incorporating as a city on Dec. 28, 1959.

The parade lineup will include several Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, bands and drill teams from Hawthorne and Leuzinger high schools, players and coaches from 35 Little League teams and the Torrance Mounted Posse.

Adding to the color will be clowns, fire and police vehicles (including some antiques) and a float depicting a battleship, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

Dignitaries will include Lawndale City Council members, state Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), and three South Bay “misses”--Wendy Berry, who is Miss Centinela Valley; Anna Marasella, who is Miss Hawthorne, and Valencia Bilyeau, who is Miss Lawndale.

Two distinguished Lawndale children will join Sheriff Block as honorary grand marshals. They are Marisol Garcia, 8, this year’s Cystic Fibrosis Foundation poster child, and Danny Kramer, 4, a skateboarding whiz who has appeared on television in the United States and Europe.

Other honorary grand marshals are Sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Williams and Deputy Warren Asmus, who teach safety and drug and gang awareness. A ventriloquist, Williams works with his pal, Deputy Freddie, a puppet.

After the parade, a community hot-dog picnic will start at noon at the Civic Center. The event will include entertainment and presentation of awards for outstanding performances and appearances in the parade.

For its 30th birthday bash, Lawndale has lined up several other events, including a fall youth walk-a-thon to raise money for community organizations, display of historical memorabilia at the Fun Fair on Sept. 24 at the Civic Center, and a 5- and 10-K run in October.

On the actual birthday, Dec. 28, an open house is scheduled at City Hall. The next evening, a community dinner will be held at the Alondra Park Golf Course clubhouse.

Rudolph said 10 volunteers are working to put on the parade and the picnic, which are financed by the city and the Lawndale Businesspersons Assn.

“This parade has been going on for so many years that people just turn out for it automatically,” she said.

Last year, they turned out despite hail, rain and thunder, Rudolph said. That prompted the committee to move the parade this year from its traditional April date to May.

Added Rudolph: “Those rain forecasts this week had us worried.”