ISSUE NO. 14
OCTOBER 13, 2000
OUR 79th YEAR
http://RotaryClubofSantaMonica.org
Did you see the headline in the Los Angeles Times for Monday, October2?
It said WOMAN STUNG HUNDREDS OF TIMES BY BEES.
It indicated that the so-called killer bees from Africa, which have
been working their way toward us for the past two decades, have now
established at least one nest in this county. Our speaker will tell us about
them Friday.
According to the Times article, a swarm of the bees
attacked a lady at Lake Forest. The bees were disturbed when workmen removed a
panel from a building. Firemen had to put on protective clothing before they
could rescue her, and rush her to a hospital.
Cato Fystdal, the county’s agricultural
commissioner, is the man expected to control and suppress the bees, as well as
fire ants, another species that is likely to give us trouble soon. These
fierce ants, armed with stingers that can be dangerous, are now nesting in
parks and woodlands near us.
A third pest, a fungus, has been wiping out vineyards in San Diego
County, and is now becoming worrisome to Fystdal and grape growers as it turns
up nearer to this county.
What are the warning signs of these tiny enemies? What can we do to
guard against them? What should we do if we encounter them? What is Fystdal
doing about them?
He’ll tell us at Friday’s meeting.
At
our September 29 meeting, one of our newer members, Dodd Harris, paid $75
for praise he received in a recent article. (To change the subject slightly,
someone should be fined for listing him in our roster as a “restauranteur”.
There is no such word. He is a restaurateur.)
We’re
not sure what to say about the “riffraff” remark that his fine evoked. Maybe
that should have been worth another $100. Who are riffraff?
President John corrected David Bohn, and fined him $50 for inadvertently
changing Bob Baker’s name to Jim Baker while scheduling our
host-hostess dinners. Dave’s mistake was very small in proportion to the good
job he has done. We urge him to file an appeal.
Our newer Rotarians may not know that the host-hostess dinners were inaugurated
during Past President Dick Rice’s reign. The proceeds are used to fund
vocational scholarships. As a builder, I know how important it is for young
members of the craft to receive advanced training. One of my carpenters once
complained to me, “Gee, boss, I cut this board twice but it is still short.”
Our industry needs all the help it can get.
--- Lionel Ruhman
On
the southwest corner of Fourth and Marguerita in our fair town is a handsome
Spanish hacienda. It was built by Jack Michel’s younger brother, Bill,
who was a member of the club at the time. During its construction, some of us
noticed its resemblance to a certain fast-food restaurant. This gave Jack a
brotherly idea.
Jack
commissioned the art department of Edgemar Farms to construct a
four-by-eight-foot full-color sign proclaiming that “a giant new Taco Bell”
was under construction and would open soon.
On
a Friday afternoon when we knew brother Bill would be out of town for some time,
six fearless Rotarians met to install the sign. We mounted it on two-inch pipes,
and cemented it into the ground with concrete at the site of Bill’s home.
Neighbors
driving by skidded to a halt, aghast at this apparent violation of zoning laws.
Of course, we had alerted city manager and Rotary member Jim Williams that this
was a hoax, so he wasn’t unduly disturbed to receive a storm of protesting
calls. When he remained calm, neighbors tried to rip out the sign, but it was
too well installed.
Soon
after the Michels moved in, we arranged to serve tacos and beans at the Rotary
lunch, together with printed cocktail napkins welcoming all comers to the new
restaurant. Some Rotarians went so far as to phone the Michels’ home, ordering
food to go. We had a lot of fun teasing a good sport who was known for a time
thereafter as “Taco Bill”.
---Bill Fritzsche,
club historian
(One
of a series on club directors)
Erik
Jorgensborg thought he’d mapped out his future. It would be in teaching.
He earned his teaching credentials, and did teach for one year. But Fate had
other plans for him. Fate intended that he should manage a lumber company.
To that end, Fate kept him in the vicinity of Nancy Sievers. He and she were
born in the same hospital, delivered by the same doctor. Both went to the same
schools. They sat at the same table at Palisades High’s graduation night. But
in those years they were barely aware of each other. “I noticed her at grad
night,” Erik recalls now, “but she’d been going with someone else for
three years, so I didn’t give her much thought.”
Then
Fate nudged harder. During the year he was teaching, Erik happened to see Nancy
socially again, and heard that she was unattached. He asked her out. Romance
bloomed, and in due course they were married. Then, during Erik’s summer
vacation from teaching, he found a part-time job at the Fisher Lumber Company,
owned by Nancy’s father. He never left.
Even in the company, at first he didn’t seem fated to be successful there. He
started with the credit department, and allowed customers to run up $25,000 in
unpaid debts during his first year. But he studied legal collection procedures,
used them, and got back about $20,000 of the company’s money the second year.
He discovered, too, that the lumber business could be important in family lives.
One rainy night he got a phone call from a customer whose client’s roof was
leaking. At 3:00 a.m. Erik opened up the lumberyard, hauled out the needed
plastic, and helped cover the roof.
In 1985 Nancy’s father retired, and Erik became president of the company. In
recent years he has served as an officer of an association of two hundred
California lumber retailers, helping explain their business to lawmakers. “We
have full-time lobbyists like most trade groups, but we find that what makes a
difference is for our business people to go personally and talk to
legislators,” Erik says. “I’ve been to Sacramento five times and
Washington three times. Usually it helped. But not invariably. Twice we made
appointments weeks in advance with one California State Senator who didn’t
show up and didn’t even send an apology. However, many others listened to us,
and helped us.”
Erik has been a member of our club since 1997. Last year he served as chair of two standing committees. This year he was elected to a two-year term on the Board of Directors, where he supervises eight community service committees. Perhaps, if needed, Fate will give him a hand in these duties.