June 2011 Archives
This is my great grandson Miles Tyler Turner Jr. at 6 months old, dressed as Mickey Mouse for his first Halloween.Submitted by Patsy Turner
Paramount
Paramount
"Santa, you're the best," says Sam on his first Christmas.
Submitted by Dianne Ewing
This is Dexter Draggoo. He was baptized on Feb. 27, 2011. His grandparents are extremely happy to have him as a new member of the church.
Submitted by Renee' Clark
Lakewood
Lakewood
This is my granddaughter Adelynn. She loves animals. These parrots are her uncles. She named them LaLa and LuLu. They get so excited wehn they see her.
Submitted by Sylvia Corral
Meet Samantha (Sammy) Ava Atkinson - born on St. Patrick's Day, March 2007 and Ariana Virginia Negrete, 6 months old, born June 2010. They are two of my reasons for the season. They bring me such joy.
Submitted by Gloria Atkinson
Bellflower
Bellflower
It took me four months to construct this Tun Tavern, the birthplace of the U.S. Marine Corps. in Philadelphia, Pa. Nov. 1775.
Submitted by Gregory Kelly
This is Michael Hibbard at 5 1/2 months. "Are you talking to me? Yes, Santa, I'm a good boy.
Submitted by Donna Russell, great Grandma
I am the proud grandmother of Grant Ramos. He is my favorite Santa. Who wouldn't want this Santa coming down their chimney on Christmas eve. It's to bad he isn't showing you his 15 teeth.
Submitted by Karla Ives
My cute 1-year-old great-granddaughter Tessa James found the ads in the Press-Telegram's Sunday paper very interesting.
Submitted by Marilyn Cable
Artesia
Artesia
Tyson and Sidney of Whitter enjoy helping Great Grandpa of Downey grow pumpkins, a product of their work.
Submitted by Eddie Baran
Three generations, Joan Muenzer, center, her daughter Vicky Stanton, left, a teacher at Prisk Elementary and her granddaughter Brianne Stanton, right, walked a 10K for breast and ovarian cancer in Long Beach in October 2010 in memory of Melva McRoberts.
Barbara Rubick and her children at a Memorial Bench Dedication at El Dorado Park Golf Course, April 16, 2010 in honor of her late husband, Mike Rubick. He received a hole in one at this site a few years ago.
Left to right: Tami Hurd of Rossmore, Robin Squires of Cerritos, Barbara Rubick of Cerritos, Debbie Hollihan of Indio and Scott Rubick of Sanford, N.C.
This photo was taken in 1934. It is a picture of a heavy gang working for Associated Telephone Company in Long Beach. They are left to right my brother-in-law, B.L. Brown (Brownie), the foreman Harry Courtney, Pop Summers in the white shirt, and my brother Loyd Kelley. This photo was taken during the Depression. The telephone company tried to keep from laying people off, so they gave them fewer days to work. Some would work the first of the week and some the last of the week.
The telephone company was as great place to work during the Depression and after the Depression. My husband Bill French worked there for over 30 years after he came home from World War II. It was called General Telephone Company then GTE today it is called Verizon.
I wonder what these "old timers" would think of the cellphones and iPhones we have now. How different it is today.
Submitted by Evelyn Kelley French
This is our 8 year old 13 lb little girl. All her friends call her Princess. She is independent and very well behaved. She loves her daily walks.
Submitted by Vanilla Harnish
Riley Krieger of Long Beach has accepted the position of mascot for the 12th Annual 4th of July Charlemagne block Party and Parade 2010.
This is our grandson Pvt. Mathew Kendall, graduating from Army Infantry basic training in Feb. 2010 at Fort Benning, Ga. It was an awesome feeling and a proud moment for grandpa Mike.Submitted by Mike and Joyce Prokop of Downey
No it's not a cake, but "The Tower of Babel." This is my latest project built from wet clay just like the babylonians did 4,000 B.C. I remember the Irish Nuns telling us of this Biblical passage as a 1st grader at St. Cornelius School at Wardlow and Bellflower Blvd. in 1956. This model took me six months to create. I have dedicated this to our beloved troops in Iraq where Babylon was situated.
Submitted by Gregory M. Kelly
These are my grandsons, Nicholas and PJ Wilborn now 10 and 12 years old. They lived in Culver City before the family moved to Atlanta, Ga. One of the things that they really miss about Southern California is going to the beach. I took this picture at Manhattan Beach during their last summer visit with me.
Submitted by Charlene Diggs
Compton
Compton
We bought this Laker uniform form our great grandson, Jai Bailey and when he put it on he stuck his foot out and said, "I'm Kobe."
Submitted by Stacy and Mary Furr
Seal Beach
Seal Beach
This is my cool pet, Sassafrass. In this picture she is asking "Hey guys, when is dinner going to be ready?"
This is our Cool Pet Winston. He is a 1-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He loves the outdoors and the camera.
Submitted John Ricard
This is my daughter Danielle Sonntag from Long Beach having so much fun. Just look at that smile.
Submitted by Ken Sonntag
This is Mel Guzman with a foul ball he caught at the College World Series Regionals. It was his first college game, and within a minute of waiting, a CSU Fullerton player hit the ball toward him. This is the third ball he's caught overall, and his father, who took the picture, has caught a few himself. Guzman vows to be a fan of college baseball for life.
Mel Guzman
Lakewood
Lakewood
Stephens Middle School students recently took a field trip to the El Dorado Nature Center. We had a wonderful morning hiking and exploring nature. These wonderful students are members of the Walking Club, Gardening Club or Spanish Club.Pictured are left to right: Martin Guerrero, Davis Sarabia, Mrs. Rebecca Robbins (Librarian), David Ruiz, Martha Ramirez (parent), Athzari Perez, Alexis Rodriguez, Alan Rodriguez, Ms. Breton (counselor), Ms. Pech (counseling intern), Miguel Mercado, Veronica Mercado (parent), Luis Regalado, Lucia Linares, Vonnae Williams (seated). Also in attendance, but not pictured: Maribel Guerrero (parent), Mrs. Cagnolatti (teacher) and Mr. Alba (teacher).
Submitted by Rebecca Robbins
Sean Simonet donated the toys he collected during his birthday month to The Interval House, which provides crisis intervention and assistance to victims and individuals at risk for domestic and sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking.
This is the second year that Sean has collected and donated toys for his birthday. The Interval House was thrilled to receive such riches for the children who have nothing. Sean would like to thank all of his very generous friends and family. You helped make a difference!
Submitted by The Simonet family
Del Amo Elementary School in Carson donates to Soles4Souls Shoe Drive for Japan. In April, some members of our Student Council sorted and prepared over 180 pairs of men's, women's, and children's shoes that our school collected for Sports Chalet's Soles4Souls campaign.
Submitted by Ms. Fa'auliulito H. Meni
5th Grade Teacher
5th Grade Teacher
Pictured are 135 QUEST 9th graders at CIMI in Catalina. Also pictured are 13 adult parent chaperones, two Millikan teachers, myself, Dave Poerschke and nine camp counselors.
QUEST is an established GATE program with a community of highly motivated, gifted, and talented college bound students. The rigorous curriculum includes accelerated, honors and five required Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The mission of QUEST is to provide a course of study which will engage, motivate, and prepare students for the competitive admissions standards of the UC system and other top universities throughout the nation.
Submitted Leslie Appel
Garden Angels
On a Friday morning in May a group of garden angels, disguised as freshman students from Valley Christian High School, descended on McKinley Elementary School. Their mission - to beautify our campus in time for Open House. The day before Director of Service Learning, Jeff Westrup, delivered a multitude of beautiful plants and flowers. After planting, and with a little time left over, the students from VCHS challenged Ms. Shearin's class to a kickball game. Of course the McKinley 5th graders showed the high school students what kickball is all about. Our students took the opportunity to ask the VCHS students about high school and they in turn discussed the importance of beginning a scholarly attitude in elementary school. Thanks to Mr. Westrup and the freshman student's from Valley Christian our campus looks beautiful and our 5th graders have made some new friends.Submitted by Christy Cleveland
Counselor at McKinley Elementary
Counselor at McKinley Elementary
Braden Ellis spent seven days in Washington D.C., sightseeing with his grandparents Steve and Darlene Lindner. Here he is at the White House on May 25.Submitted by Darlene Lindner
Alicia and Pat Moorehead of Long Beach, recently went on a trip to Central Asia; visiting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Here they are standing in front of the Turkmenbashi Mosque and Mausoleum in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan in Central Asia. It was formerly in the Soviet Union, but is now an independent country.
Samantha McCarthy of Long Beach, and Alan Lurie of Lakewood in front of the Tiber River in Rome, Italy on May 15. They enjoyed the sites of Rome for eight days, including a private tour of the Vatican Museum.Submitted by Samantha McCarthy
Bethany Lutheran School of Long Beach took an 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. One of their stops was the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The kids are standing in the Boeing Aviation Hangar.
Noelle and Riley Polmanteer joined Stanford Middle School students on their Science Adventure Spring Break trip to Orlando. One of the many adventures was visiting "Gatorland," where they got to hand feed live alligators.
Jack Mobers of Lakewood at the base of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah. This iconic arch is featured on the Utah state license plate. In late April, Jack and his wife Lynn visited several national and state parks in southern Utah.
Submitted by Lynn Mobers
It was the year 1950 when 2-year-old Anne Marie Holla and her parents left their homeland, Amsterdam Holland, to come to America. They settled in Long Beach. Now, 60 years later, Anne along with her husband Bob Ramirez, went back to her birth place for the first time. We had a wonderful visit with family and seeing the many sights of Holland. What a beautiful country.
In April, Jim and Carol Shoemaker of Seal Beach traveled to the Pyrennes Mountains of Northern Spain. Here we are in front of the Castle of Javier, the birthplace of San Francis Xavier, the patron saint of the Navarre Kingdom. The origin of the Castle dates back to the 10th and 11th centuries.
Rod Dennis and Donna Leslie-Dennis took the Hurtigruten Cruise up the coast of Norway on the ship MS Vesteralen from Bergen to Kirkenes, past the Arctic Circle to within 200 miles of the North Pole. Rod's brother, Larry Dennis, and his wife Lise-Marie from Texas went with them. Lise-Marie is originally from Norway.
We just recently celebrated my Grandma's 102 birthday on April 4. Happy 102th birthday Connie Cipriani.She is pictured here with her children and their spouses: Peggy and Dan (son) Cipriani, Barbara and Joe (son) Cipriani, and Vera (daughter) and Bob Bowman
Submitted by Caroline Luppino
Late afternoon April 1, 2011 a few retired Buffum Elementary School teachers gathered at the school for the solemn task of decommissioning the staff "Cowboy Bathroom." In 1990 the cowboy-theme staff restroom was established, complete with faux autographed pictures of cowboy stars, animal horns, western objects de' art, and a tee shirt from Bellflower Feed (the first unofficial sponsor of the, now defunct, Aerospace Technology Magnet). As the objects were removed and the bathroom returned to its pre-1990 status, one of the retirees was heard to say, "Now it is just a bathroom again, as Buffum School will soon be just a building."Pictured are left to right: B. Neel, S. Lahr, N. Mauger, S. Buckley, R. Joplin, and N. Wahlstrom
I was very excited to be one of the principal dancers in Helios Dance Theater's production of "Beautiful Monsters" at Cerritos Center for the Arts because I grew up in Los Alamitos and my family and friends are here. I started dancing at Long Beach Ballet when I was 5 and I've been in 20 "Nutcrackers" with the company. I also enjoyed competing on Season Five of "So You Think You Can Dance." On live TV there is so much to distract you, lots of cameras, people screaming (which I loved), and it's intimidating when you know millions of people are watching at home. On a live stage, because the theater is bigger and the audience is quiet, until the end of the piece, I can take myself deeper into my character.
"Beautiful Monsters," is about the beauty and terror of dreams, and it tells a version of the vampire myth. I am the mortal who gets bitten. I love my character because I can relate to her: sleepy and dreamy, strong yet vulnerable. I love my duet in the piece because of how romantic and emotional it is. I trust my partner so much that I do the entire piece with my eyes closed. I love that the show is about dreams because as a dancer my best dreams are about dancing, jumping higher than possible, and turning forever.
Submitted by Melissa Sandvig
This is my little friend, 6-year-old Jenna Martinez playing outside on a very windy Saturday afternoon.
Submitted by Jennifer Koh
Cerritos
Cerritos
Here I am venturing into Egypt and the famous pyramids at Giza. Little did I know that dissent was growing like a dark cloud and chaos looming like a thunderstorm waiting to break.
Submitted by Diana Lejins
Sr. Irma Gomez's Farewell Party
Wearing a black veil is Sr. Irma Gomez, MSSET (Eucharistic Missionarie of the Most Holy Trinity). She is surrounded by parishioners of St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Cypress at her Farewell Party on May 22. The message on the cake, donated by Dee Logan, said: "We love you. We'll miss you. May God bless you." Since Sr. Irma is an accountant with banking experience, she is returning to Mexico City to serve as assistant to the financial officer of her order.Submitted by Edna Ethington
The culmination of a long and hard fought season for the Beach Futbol Clubs Girl U10 team ended on March 12, 2011 where they became the Sports Authority State Cup Soccer Tournament Champions in the President's Division. The tournament started with a 41 team bracket playing over the course of several weeks. The team, coached by Richard Perez, played eight games, scoring 15 goals, giving up only five goals, with a total of five shut outs. Go Beach!!!Pictured from left to right: Front row: Natalie Almeida, Sara Rubinelli, Faith Ells, Analisa Gjonovich, Saige Simean; Back row: Biffy Tosti, Amaya Gonzalez, Coach Richard Perez, Kara Buono, Lauren Garcia, Rebecca Didonato, Lindsey Kellog, Skylar Herrera
Submitted Jill Rubinelli
Good news, good kids! "United for Others": United Water Polo Club of Los Alamitos held a shoe drive to help the victims of the Japan disasters in March. The players gathered about 400 pair of shoes which Sport Chalet Corporation will ship directly to Japan. The club conducts a quarterly "United for Others" campaign with a focus on giving back to our local and global community.
Submitted by Susan Shey Dvonch
Cub Scout Pack 208 of Lakewood, enjoying a day of Space travel on a trip to the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey.
At the "Art of All Ages" fundraising event on May 5, in addition to "grownup" artists lending their talents to support quality early childhood education programs at Comprehensive Child Development (CCD), many "emerging talents" were included in the art making for a good cause. Funds raised from the sales of artworks will directly support needed classroom supplies and the fresh food served to children each day for breakfast and lunch.Children, as young as 3, diligently worked over several weeks to create nearly forty paintings, sculptures, and imaginative abstract art. With gentle guidance from teachers the boys and girls later worked in their own way, inspired by the artwork they'd seen in books and on the walls of their Centers. Using "found" and recycled materials such as twigs, cardboard tubes, pieces of foam they brought to life a variety of objects of all sizes, shapes, colors and textures, even three-dimensional scenes. It was a creative lesson in recycling and giving new purpose to everyday objects.
Pictured here is 4-year-old Juan Cerritos, who said he wanted to paint a picture of the ocean after seeing one in a book. That is how he learned to hold his paints "like an artist in a picture." He attends preschool at CCD's New Harbor Vista Child Development Center in Wilmington. In addition, CCD has three centers in Long Beach, and one in San Pedro, serving more than 500 children of low-income working parents.
This is our Molly, an animal rescue from the Long Beach Shelter. It is amazing how this little bundle of fur has brought so much joy into our home. She has one of the most loveable, sweet dispositions and has added a new richness to our family. Here she is pictured with my granddaughter, Shari, 15.Submitted by Gloria Sirotnak
This is my cat Redferd. He is 13 years old, loves to talk with others and can't wait to see who made the Readers Page, so he can show-off. He weighs 19 pounds and loves to mingle. He hopes his picture is printed so he can brag to his buddies at home.Submitted by Mary Duessent
This is Harvey, our very well behaved 12-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, enjoying himself at a Long Beach concert in the park last summer. He gets a lot of attention from strangers wherever he goes.
Submitted by Gary Norman and Yvonne Place
This week the staff and students of Bethany School in Long Beach, honor our dedicated secretary Janice Fisher.Jan has been in Christian education, for 25 years and is well known in the Long Beach community.
She was born in 1948 in Elwood City, Penn. Her family moved to Inglewood, CA in 1951.
When her husband Bob (Robert William Fisher) completed his Army service in 1970, they relocated to Carson.
Ms. Fisher was a stay-at-home mom for 16 years raising her two sons. In 1986 she was asked to be a bookkeeper for the Nazerene Church Preschool in Long Beach, where she served as bookkeeper for 21 years. For some time she was also the secretary for Nazerene.
When her husband died, she moved from Nazerene to right around the corner at Bethany Preschool where she has been the secretary for nearly four years.
Ms. Fisher said, "To be able to work with the children and their families has been such a blessing."
She was known to regularly tell her husband, "If I had to work in the real world, I wouldn't want to work. To work around Christian people is the best!"
Ms. Fisher, thank you for your dedicated service
We love and appreciate you. We thank God for sending you our way. God Bless you for all you do for us
Bethany School staff and students
Tyler Barnett
Tsipporah Christopher
Jared Grimes
Rajan Hoyle
Morris Jackson
Students from eight area high schools were recently awarded nearly $14,000 in scholarships from the memorial fund of Star Achievers Dollars for Scholars, an affiliated chapter with the parent company, Scholarship America.Each year scholarships are given in memory of pre-teen Adrienne J. Dugas and Rev. Henry Ford, longtime pastor of St. Mark Baptist Church in Long Beach. In their own way, both made a positive difference in the lives of those they came in contact with.
Adrienne was a 12-year-old honor student at Artesia's Faye Ross Middle School, active in band and girl's basketball, when she died suddenly from a brief illness in 1992.
Rev. Ford was the Pastor of St Mark Baptist Church from 1964 until his death in 1987. He was devoted to Long Beach and serve in many areas including Chairman of the Poly High Redevelopment Project Area Committee and President of the United Ministerial Alliance of Long Beach.
In 1993, the Dugas and Ford families collaborated and founded the Star Achievers Dollars for Scholars. The motto adopted by the Star Achiever's Chapter, "If I can help somebody along the way, then my living will not be in vain," epitomizes the short life of Adrienne and the life of Rev. Ford.
This year marks the 19th year Adrienne's parents, Edmond and Lenora Dugas and Rev. Ford's widow, Arbedella Ford, have given scholarships for more than 150 college-bound high school students.
Recipients of this year's scholarships are: Cera Smith, Tyler Barnett and Tsipporah Christopher of Cerritos High School; Rajan Hoyle, Rebekah Oragwu, Anthony Welch and Taijhe Kelly of Poly High School; Christopher Odudu of Mayfair High School; Jared Grimes of Wilson High School; Morris Jackson of Norwalk High School; Violett McClay of Jordan High School Marcel Jones and Tierra Moore of Lakewood High; and Alvinisha Joseph of Pacific Palisades High School.
The Star Achievers is grateful for the continued financial support of family, friends and corporate sponsors: Southern California Edison, Employees Fund of Boeing California and The Chesterfield Home Depot.
Marcel Jones
Alvinisha Joseph
Taijhe Kelly
Violett McClay
Tierra Moore
Christopher Odudu
Rebekah Oragwu
Cerritos residents Stan and Nancy Winters and Donna and Craig Wybenga visited Italy in June 2010. The Winters celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary on the day the group visited the Vatican in Rome. They proudly displayed the Press-Telegram which covered the Lakers' NBA Championship.Submitted by Nancy Winters
This photo was taken at the tunnel to the black bridge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We, J.T., Cyndee and John Monts of Lakewood, had just hiked seven miles with 30 pound packs from the south rim of the Grand Canyon down the South Kaibab trail. We dropped 4780 feet in elevation and it took us just under seven hours to get here. At the top of the canyon it was 21 degrees and when we arrived at the bottom it was a nice warm 74 degrees. The Press-Telegram came with us the whole way.
Submitted by Cyndee N. Monts
Renee Sullivan parlays her nickels at the Gold Strike Casino in Jean, Nevada.
Roxann Davis of Seal Beach and her sister and brother-in-law, Jerrilynn and Ron Sleeth, of Naperville, IL, visited Abraham Lincoln's New Salem Village near Springfield, Ill.
When in Boston it is considered a crime to bypass Fenway Park on a game day, so Joanne Spencer of Seal Beach, Cheryl Spencer of Long Beach, and Bonnie Hofmann of Lakewood stopped in to watch the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 while on a visit to Massachusetts in April. We sat quite close to the Green Monster and enjoyed the enthusiastic center field bleacher crowd!
Jaylee Williamson of Long Beach enjoys a beautiful morning at Mount Rushmore during a road trip with her parents.Submitted by Jay Williamson
Kimberly and Mikaela McClure from Long Beach enjoying spring break at Epcot in Orlando, FL during the annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival presented by HGTV.
Randy Gordon and Nancy Becker at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece prior to a seven-day cruise of the Greek islands.
Spring break 2011 trip to Lake Lopez near Arroyo Grande, CA. From left to right: Sarah Zuelke, Melissa Gamarra, Shane Zuelke, Kaitlin Cornejo, Zachary Cornejo, Tyler Zuelke, Dylan Zuelke and Nicholas Cornejo. The Cornejo and Zuelke families have traveled together since the kids were toddlers and Melissa Gamarra is an AFS foreign exchange student from Paraguay. Submitted by Jeffrey M. Cornejo, Ed.D.
Millikan High School
Millikan High School
Millikan sophomore, Marlena Trafas, spent her spring break visiting her older sister, Vanessa, a student at UC Santa Cruz, where they enjoyed a fun day at the beach on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
Cathy and Bill Nicholson of Long Beach left immediately after the Long Beach Grand Prix and spent one week in Carcassonne, France. This photo was taken in front of the famous Carcassonne Castle which may have been the inspiration for the Disneyland Castle. 
Frank Djie took a trip of a lifetime with his sweetheart-wife Carlyn, to Israel. Here he is floating on the Dead Sea. Non swimmers cannot drown; everyone floats, as long as he keeps his head up. Our Press-Telegram was dry for this picture. This large salt lake is the lowest spot on earth, 1290 feet below sea-level; measuring 48 by 11 miles across. Its oily feel is due to its high (30 percent) solids contents in the form of salts. We highly recommend the Crowne Plaza, Dead Sea Hotel. Dr. James Borror, former senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lakewood lead our trip.
Our son Nathan (holding the newspaper) was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma in May of 2010. Today he is cancer free!! On May 6 to 12 of 2011 our family was able to go to Disney World through the Make A Wish Foundation. Here we are at The Magic Kingdom. Pictured are Rob and Kari, Nathan, Tyler and Gracie Verhoef.Submitted by Rob and Kari Verhoef
Girl Scout Troop 4383 from Long Beach after bridging ceremony from Juniors to Cadettes. The 5th graders walked over The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Mother's Day weekend 2011. The troop has been together since 1st grade and have had lots of adventures together. This was the highlight of their accomplishments. Congratulations Girls!
Pictured left to right are: front row; Sarah and Rachel back row; Georgia, Isabella, Makena and Caroline.
Submitted by the Girl Scout Mom's
Blake and Vicki Christian. Blake is the President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Long Beach (2011-2012). Here they are at the New Orleans International Conference from May 19 to May 26. Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Long Beach represent the largest Service Club in the world with over 1.2 million members in virtually every country and large city in the world. Long Beach Rotary has over 320 current members. Rotary District 5320 has the largest number of attendees at this year's conference. Rotary Clubs throughout the world focus on local, national and international public service.
