Members of the Pacific Palisades Historical Society thanked Dr. Roger Woods with a copy of ‘Pacific Palisades: From the Mountains to the Sea’ for designing and fabricating a new trash container to match an existing one on Founders Oak Island. Volunteers from the Society maintain the little island in the 900 block of Haverford, close to Pierson Playhouse and the historic Aldersgate Lodge. They regularly empty the trash, prune and water, and replace the shrubs when needed. Because the California oaks are fussy about water, most watering is timed and watched. When the large oak, under which the Pacific Palisades was founded in 1922, eventually died, the Society and Gene R. Dreasher nourished its small offspring. Later the Society provided benches and paths, and planted some typical native shrubs. Now, the trunks of these oaks are more than a foot in diameter. The Landmark Society marked this site in 1955, and it became a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Site in 1966 before it was deeded to the Historical Society in 1973 by Lelah and Townley Pierson, longtime local realtors. An official plaque marking the site’s historic importance was installed in 1993. Currently, the little park is a quiet reminder of the trees and shrubs that once covered the rolling mesas of the village area. The town’s history is brought alive in the illustrated book ‘Pacific Palisades: From the Mountains to the Sea,’ by Betty Lou Young and Randy Young, available at Village Books on Swarthmore and the Palisadian-Post office on Via de la Paz. People are encouraged to visit the Historical Society’s Web site at www.pacificpalisadeshistory.org.
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