Beckman Enters the 90s With a Smile

Arnold Beckman celebrated his Big Nine-O with 1,000 of his faithful employees at the Disneyland Hotel on Tuesday night.

And what did he do? Partied with the stamina of a 30-year-old, shaking hands here, flashing smiles there, dipping into filet mignon and birthday cake with gusto.

How did the founder and chairman-emeritus of Beckman Instruments, Inc. feel?

“Great! Like I did at 89!” said the nonagenarian with a laugh, striding into a special champagne reception for employees who were celebrating their 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th anniversaries with his company. “Really. I am so grateful to be 90 and in good health.”

The annual splash may be Orange County’s oldest gala. The event marked the 55th year that Beckman Instruments of Fullerton honored its true-blues with a recognition dinner.

In the hotel’s South Lounge, employees tipped bubbly and talked about their boss as they awaited his arrival.

“He is the finest man I’ve ever known,” said Allan Chisholm, a Beckman employee for 25 years. “I wish him another 20 years! He is the kind of man who, if he doesn’t know your name the first time around, he’ll know it the second.”

Charlie Vice wished there were more people in the world like Beckman, an inventor inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame two years ago. “Very few people leave a mark. And Beckman has already left several.” Among them: the pH meter, a device that measures acidity and alkalinity; the spectrophotometer, which measures light; and the helipot, used during World War II for radar control. “I mean,” Vice added, “100 years from now, who’s going to remember Charlie Vice? Probably nobody!”

Party hats and streamers covered the tables. And so did programs listing each long-term employee’s name. “Isn’t this great?” said Molly Moodyman, another 25-year employee. “I love to work at Beckman because it’s so pleasant. The people are so wonderful.”

And you can make good money at Beckman, Moodyman said. “If you stick it out, you can get what you want.”

In his closing remarks, Beckman, dapper in a dark blue suit and burgundy tie, told the crowd: “I hope to be back at the end of the decade and see how well you have carried out your obligations.”

Beckman will be honored at another bash later this month when Gavin and Ninetta Herbert stage a luncheon for 200 guests at their Casa Pacifica manse, once Richard M. Nixon’s Western White House.

Hi ho silver!: The cubed lamb with ginger and garlic delighted guests at Sunday night’s “International Dinner,” staged by the Protocol Foundation of Orange County. So did the cubed chicken whipped up with tomatoes and spices. And the tandoori bread.

But it was the Royal Khyber’s “Gulab Jaman” dessert that got guests gabbing. The deep-fried milk ball floating in sugar syrup was frosted with sterling silver paper.

“Hmmmmm, good for your health,” said the Hon. S. K. Lambah, consul general for India, dipping into the shiny concoction.

“It’s an aphrodisiac,” whispered restaurant owner Arun Puri, wearing an elegant black achkan , the stand-up collar jacket popularized by Nehru.

About 100 guests came (at an ultra-reasonable $35 each) to dabble in Indian food, raise money for the Protocol Foundation and listen to Lambah talk about his country.

“We are an ancient country,” he said, standing between flags of India and the United States. “But we have had a functioning democracy for 40 years. (George Bernard) Shaw said the United States and Britain were two countries separated by the same language. In a light vein, I would say the United States and India are two countries separated by the same political system.”

Additional points made by Lambah:

* The United States is India’s largest trading partner.

* India was the 10th country in the world to become industrialized.

* After the United States and the Soviet Union, India is the world’s largest resource for technological manpower.

And of course, India has the Taj Mahal. During dinner, Lambah was asked what he thought of Donald Trump’s new gambling casino by the same name. Lambah smiled. “There is hardly a comparison,” he said.

“The real Taj Mahal was built to symbolize a man’s enduring love for his wife,” said Lambah’s guest, Devender Singh of the India Embassy in Washington.

Also among guests: Fred and Eva Schneider, vice president of the foundation; Wes and Mary Jones, the foundation’s executive director; and board members Anne Badham with husband Bob; Annemarie Ballin with husband, Dolf; Bernice and Willard Hird; Pat and Carl Neisser; John and Kitty Rau and Elaine and Bill Redfield.