Path of True Love Leads South

Love swelled across the “Orange Curtain” on Wednesday as couples from Los Angeles County trekked south for marriage licenses after being greeted with apologies and closed doors by striking public employees.

Phyllis Bates, 37, and Leonard Johnson, 49, of Carson beamed with relief as, five minutes before closing, they waited to pay $61.50 for a license at the century-old brick Old Courthouse in Santa Ana. They had been turned away earlier from clerk’s offices in Los Angeles and Norwalk.

“We’re so happy Orange County is open. Otherwise I’d be frantic,” said Bates, who will marry Johnson before 135 guests Saturday in San Pedro.

Elka Villarino and Javier Diaz, both 27, also tried to get a license Wednesday in Norwalk. They were told to head to Ventura or Orange County as public agencies across Los Angeles County grappled with the widespread walkout.

“We barely made it here,” Villarino said.

By day’s end, Orange County clerks had issued 131 marriage licenses, more than double the 62 licenses issued Wednesday of last week. Clerks performed 25 marriage ceremonies in a private corner under a framed Norman Rockwell print.

Orange County Clerk Gary Granville said he shifted workers to help with the load after getting a warning call from the Los Angeles County clerk’s office. An additional five employees processed about 3,000 documents--mostly property documents--driven down from Los Angeles. The documents must be returned to Los Angeles County offices for formal recording.

“We’ve had no extra expense today, but we’re keeping track of the time,” Granville said. “It’s no big deal really. It’s awfully tough when you close services down to the people who paid for it. We’re just trying to help.”

Bates, who works for a title company, said employees got calls Monday warning of the impending strike but she didn’t realize it would hit so close to home.

“We had to get the license today,” she said. “Believe me, I am so relieved.”