A Rag of Riches: The ‘Roar’ Gives Children a Voice

Nancy S. White’s small Manhattan Beach home is an unlikely place for a newspaper office.

But, then, “The Ocean’s Roar” isn’t just any sort of monthly community newspaper.

The oldest regular contributor hasn’t even cleared the eighth grade, although an “elderly” high-schooler does submit something once in a while.

And if local politics and community news are the staples of the community press, the “Roar” sounds a different voice.

It has drawings and cartoons, puzzles and word games, poetry, short essays, stories and personality sketches. Interviews capture everyone from professional athletes and LAX traffic controllers to the manager of a new Torrance restaurant.

Youngsters write about their teachers and families, sports, what makes them feel good about themselves, why drugs are bad, and how people are destroying the environment. Dinosaurs and pets are particular favorites too.

Historic events are sometimes given delightfully short shrift. In one article by a fourth-grader, Columbus is born, grows up, moves a few times, makes his deal with Ferdinand and Isabella, discovers America, and names the natives Indians--all in 12 sentences. Some historians require a couple of volumes to say the same thing.

Giving South Bay youngsters a place to publish their writings and art work, and allowing other children an opportunity to see what their friends have created, is what “The Ocean’s Roar” is all about.

White moved to Manhattan Beach from Chicago in 1985, where she was a writer and once published a similar children’s paper called the “No Name News.” “We could never decide what to call it,” said White.

White said her major goal is to make children feel good about themselves and their talents. “The child can see that he is a success,” she said. “Kids need self-esteem.”

She said the community has accepted the paper “in a very nice way.”

Many parents and school people seem to agree.

“The children enjoy reading it, seeing if their contributions made it in the paper, and the parents enjoy it too,” said Karren Davis, president of the Meadows School PTA in Manhattan Beach.

Jacqueline O’Mara, a teacher whose Hermosa Beach students have written for the paper, echoes White about publish and flourish. “If a youngster gets a feeling of a strong image as a writer, it affects his whole image about himself,” she said.

Shalee Cunningham, superintendent of the Hermosa Beach City School District, said the proof that children adore being in print is that they post the articles “in their bedrooms, up on their refrigerators, and in scrapbooks.”

White started “The Ocean’s Roar” on a small scale shortly after arriving in the South Bay. At first, it served one school in Manhattan Beach, then was expanded to cover all Manhattan Beach schools and was called “The Beach Beat.” Now, after concentrating largely on the beach cities and El Segundo, White is moving to distribute the free paper--and solicit student contributions--as widely as she can in the South Bay. Her first targets are Redondo Beach, Gardena, Lawndale and Torrance.

The copy is turned out on White’s home computer, and as publication nears each month, photographs and page paste-ups cover tables in her living room and dining room. Children come by to help.

A good supply of ads pays the $2,000 cost of publishing 9,000 copies a month, White said, but she receives no pay. “It’s a labor of love,” she said, although she would like to get some grants or corporate sponsorships.

The free paper is dropped off at schools, libraries and police departments. “I did all the deliveries myself, until two months ago, when my hip went out,” she said. “Now I have a delivery man.”

Frequently, the writings White publishes originate as class assignments. And she often asks youngsters to write about school events from their own point of view.

The young writers and artists are preschoolers through eighth-graders; the youngest contributor has been a 3-year-old, who does drawings. Work by special education children is also used.

Jacob Tedesco, an 11-year-old Manhattan Beach boy who has a Christmas drawing in the December issue, said he feels as if he “has a job” with the paper. “It’s fun to be recognized by all the kids at school.”

Bradley Correa, 10, of El Segundo does interviews almost every month for the paper. He believes he’s already well on his way to realizing his dream; he wants to be--a reporter.