The Valley Line: Thursday Club looks to both past and future
The bands have marched by, the music has faded and the fireworks are but a memory. It was another momentous Fiesta Days for La Cañada Flintridge. I hope you joined some of the many activities that occurred over the weekend.
I really loved the fireworks on Sunday night — they were the best ever. Thank you to the Allen Lund Company for underwriting this portion of the evening. It was truly an ooh and ahh display of beautiful colors lighting up the dark sky.
And I absolutely had to be in the park Monday afternoon for the launch of this summer’s Music in the Park series. Once again, Captain Cardiac and the Coronaries got everyone up on their feet and dancing. Members of the band walked out into the crowd to encourage hand-clapping, foot-stomping participation. One spectator lifted the sax player onto his shoulders and the music never stopped — quite a fete for both of them.
It was a good weekend.
The La Cañada Thursday Club is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. In May it dedicated its new fountain and patio garden in a lovely ceremony.
The beautifully tiled fountain was more than a year in the making and kudos go to the club’s Centennial Garden Committee, chaired by Joanie Bartoli-Porto, and the Community Relations Committee, chaired by Sue Tutt and Barbara Self, for making this dream come true.
Club members who also worked on these two committees included Gale Caswell, Jean Chubb, Miriam Phillips, Karen Poindexter, Joellen Yundt, Louise Beggs, Judy Cooper, Aline Kuhnle, Linda Pebsworth, Jody Platisa, Barbara Robison, Jane Rosell, Jacquie Townsend and Alma Tycer.
The official dedication of the fountain, named the Fountain of Hope, began with a welcome from the outgoing president Judy Cooper.
“We envisioned a soothing water feature on the patio to symbolize the club’s primary purposes: the promotion of friendship, encouragement, inspiration and hope among members as we journey together through life’s ups and downs,” Cooper said.
She was presented with a certificate of acknowledgment from Julianne Hines, district director for Assemblyman Anthony Portantino.
Judy then introduced the chairs of the two committees and they stepped to the rostrum to share their thoughts on the fountain that was inspired by the late Thursday Club member Carolyn Moffett.
Fr. Robert Gaestel, rector of the Anglican Church of Angels in Pasadena, blessed the fountain. Immediately after the blessing, members and guests at the ceremony released, from small white boxes, monarch butterflies that filled the patio with such beauty. The butterflies quickly found the flowers that were planted in the garden — it was a lovely picture.
Carolyn’s husband, Dave, and their son, Ken, daughter, Sharon, her husband, Michael Vinceri, and their children, Scott and Karlie, were present for this special ceremony.
The gathering ended with Cindi McIntosh-Behr, an accomplished bag-piper, playing “Amazing Grace” on the pipes. Cindi is a Thursday Club prospective member and is the piper for the Los Angeles British Consul General, Dame Barbara Hay.
At a luncheon before the fountain’s dedication, the new officers for the Thursday Club were installed. Gale Caswell, incoming president, said, “In the coming year, we will look to the roots of our organization to form its future. For those who wish to participate, we will explore further opportunities for service and philanthropy. Like the women who founded the Thursday Club 100 years ago, who sold war bonds and volunteered in Red Cross hospitals, we will have the opportunity to increase the bonds of friendship through working together in support of others.”
JANE NAPIER NEELY covers the La Cañada social scene. She can be reached at jnvalleysun@aol.com.