El Segundo Going Under the Big Top for Anniversary

The tent is a powerful symbol of El Segundo.

In 1911, the first pioneers pitched their tents on the sand dunes surrounding the Standard Oil refinery. Six years later, after homes, hotels and restaurants had replaced the tents, the town was incorporated.

On Saturday, El Segundo residents will gather under a tent to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their city. The festival is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chevron U.S.A. parking lot on El Segundo Boulevard between Sepulveda Boulevard and Main Street.

The day’s activities will provide an overview of the history, traditions and music of the past 75 years in El Segundo. Photographs that document the history of the community will line the sides of the tent in exhibits sponsored by local businesses.

Outside, petting zoos, elephant rides and other activities for children will add to the carnival atmosphere.

Eileen Hunter has just completed a history of the area, which will be presented Saturday. The city was named El Segundo--which means “the second one” in Spanish--because it surrounded the second Standard Oil Co. refinery in California.

Later, when the influx of aerospace companies gave the city a more cosmopolitan air, it still remained geographically isolated by the refinery and Los Angeles International Airport, she said. That isolation allowed El Segundo to retain the Midwestern values of many of its settlers, Hunter said; she describes the city as “the last bastion of the Midwest on the Pacific.”

To Ed Bennett, an El Segundo native whose father settled there even before the arrival of Standard Oil, the community has stayed the same despite monumental changes happening around it.

“We came from the hand buggy to the Model T to the man on the moon to silicon chips,” he said. But despite the changes, “people and the children are relaxed” and part of a close-knit community.

Kevin Mortesen, who grew up in El Segundo, was drawn to those values when he decided to move back after graduating from college.

“My family has been here for a long time,” he explained. “When I come back it is always special.”

The entertainment schedule for El Segundo’s 75th anniversary celebration (all performances are beneath the tent unless otherwise noted):

11:15 a.m.: Ragtime duet of Bill Knopf and Kathy Craig

11:30 a.m.: South Bay Fireman Band (outdoors)

12:10 p.m.: The Jazz Band

1 p.m.: El Segundo Tappers and South Bay Fireman Band (outdoors)

1:20 p.m.: “Sounds of the 1940s” big-band music

2:30 p.m.: El Segundo Tappers

3 p.m.: Elvis impersonator Raymond Michael and South Bay Fireman Band (outdoors)

4:30 p.m.: Cake-cutting ceremony (outdoors)

4:45 p.m: John D’Isacco dance group

5:30 p.m.: Dayton Border’s Band