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‘I Remember You! You’re the Dentist

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Memories of Pacific Palisades, Circa 1952-1970

Six women who all grew up in the Marquez Knolls area and graduated from Palisades High got together in March to plan their 40th high school reunion. Left to right, Liz Heald Lev, Janet Betts Dean, Roberta Ross Donohue, Tina Mollis, Suzie Bierman and Andrea Borden Roberts. Janet, Tina and Andrea all flew in from out-of-state for the long weekend of planning and memories. Liz, Suzie and Roberta still live locally.
Six women who all grew up in the Marquez Knolls area and graduated from Palisades High got together in March to plan their 40th high school reunion. Left to right, Liz Heald Lev, Janet Betts Dean, Roberta Ross Donohue, Tina Mollis, Suzie Bierman and Andrea Borden Roberts. Janet, Tina and Andrea all flew in from out-of-state for the long weekend of planning and memories. Liz, Suzie and Roberta still live locally.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

By TINA MOLLIS Special to the Palisadian-Post I recently became reacquainted with five of my grammar school girlfriends from Marquez Elementary (yep, Facebook). We had all attended Marquez, Paul Revere Junior High and Palisades High School (winter class of 1970), and for the most part, we hadn’t seen much of each other since graduation.   Our upcoming 40th high school reunion provided the impetus for a ‘pre-reunion,’ so we found a time where we could fly in and meet up for what turned out to be a glorious weekend. For three days we reminisced, laughed, caught up, walked around town (in the ‘village’), had a group professional photo taken, took drives, dined, laughed and yes’even cried a bit. We talked about how we all ended up there vis-‘-vis our parents.   In my case, my East-Coast parents moved from Coronado in 1952 when I was barely a year old. My father opened a dental practice at 859 Via de la Paz (later at 875 Via) and for most of my life we lived on Alcima near El Medio. When we took our reunion photo, the Palisadian-Post photographer asked me: What is different about the Palisades then and the Palisades now? Great question and one that gave me pause, as there are differences.   I had two immediate responses to his question: First, as kids, we felt very safe. From age seven and up, we could (and did) walk, roller skate, skateboard or bike to the village. We could go unsupervised all day long and play outside, go to the park, the Hobby Shop, the library or ice cream parlors. There were no nannies and our parents did not worry about our safety (even my strict Greek parents). On Halloween, we could go trick-or-treating all night (on those balmy Santa Ana evenings) without supervision. Groups of kids would collect grocery-sized bags of candy and walk into different neighborhoods for more loot.   In junior high and high school there were fun things to do during the day and at night. We would walk to the beach through the canyons and spend the entire day. At night we could meet up at the Bay Theater where there were hordes of kids out front. After the movies we could go to the Hot Dog Show, Will Wright’s Ice Cream or other locales. Some other favorite places were John’s Bakery, Leo’s Bicycle Shop, Buddy Ebsen’s Dance Studio, Anita Jeans and Dilly’s Ice Cream. The world was a safer place back then and, in this beach community, we could have lots of unsupervised, outdoor fun.   Second, Pacific Palisades was definitely a more affordable place to live and was home to people of all economic classes. Homes did not start in the millions of dollars. Yes ‘ we lived among celebrities/movie stars/industry elite (we saw and conversed with them in our markets and local stores; we went to school with their kids), but everyone was always friendly and pretty unfazed about it all. (I suspect they felt safer too ‘ I don’t remember any paparazzi.) You could own a home in the Palisades whether you were a mechanic, medical professional, gaffer, insurance salesperson, writer, actor, shop owner, musician, dancer or pilot. It was possible to live here as a homeowner or renter because it was affordable to more economic classes of people.   What I noticed now (and have been told by friends) is that homes get sold, torn down, and in their place stand huge mega-homes. It appears that the Palisades is unaffordable now to most people, but back then, we all lived here and enjoyed the small-town beach community feel within a large city.   During our ‘Marquez ‘reunion this spring, we did a lot of walking around town. One day, we went into a dress shop and while there, I was introduced to a woman whose name I recognized (I believed she had lived a few doors down from my old house). She was much older than me so I wasn’t certain, but when we started talking and I introduced myself as a possible old neighbor of hers she said, ‘Oh yes, I remember you ‘ you’re the dentist’s daughter.’ It’s funny how that comment meant so much to me. I couldn’t get it out of my head and have pondered why it resonated. I have concluded that it’s because I was quickly transported back to a time where people knew who you were and sort of kept track of you ‘ not in a meddling kind of way, but in a community kind of way. I thoroughly enjoyed this brief interlude with this woman who I barely knew then, but yet we knew of each other. There is a funny comfort in that and I wonder, does it even exist much anymore in our busy world?   Time has of course marched on and much has changed ‘ the Palisades along with it. Those in my generation are now middle-aged (how I hate that term). Some of us are parents, some grandparents, and our own parents are either quite old or have passed on. While I know intellectually that change is the one constant we can count on in life and that change is good, I cherish my memories of the ‘Old’ Palisades. When my father died in 1999, I went to the Post so they could put an obituary in the paper. I was met with the loving open arms of Roberta and a staff of professionals who wrote an entire article about my father and his life. That meant so much to me, and in fact I received cards from his old friends whom I had lost touch with. To be honest, when I graduated from PaliHi to start my life, I couldn’t wait to leave the Palisades. I was ready for adventure and returned only periodically to visit my father. I have since lived all over the United States and know I have had a great journey. I am married with a teenage daughter and have enjoyed bringing her back here for visits. I realize now that I took some things for granted back then and that I lived in the Palisades during a great time. As a child I faced much adversity (my mom died from cancer when I was 11). There were many people who helped me, and I don’t think I recognized that’How I lived in a community that was safe, that I could depend on, that knew who I was ‘ I was the dentist’s daughter. I am grateful that I grew up here when I did. Thanks, mom and dad, for moving here and to all the people in the community who made this a really great place to grow up. Tina Mollis lives in Seattle with her husband, Robert, and their daughter, Chloe.

Hal Boren, Jr., 85; Worked at Rand and Northrup

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Harold Eugene Boren, Jr., a longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, died peacefully on June 28 at Saint John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. Hal, as he was affectionately known, was 85.’   Born in Springfield, Missouri, on January 26, 1925, Hal was the only child born to Harold and Gladys (Hickman) Boren. He enjoyed math and science as a young boy, and frequently challenged the neighborhood firemen to board games such as chess and checkers. When he was a senior in high school, Pearl Harbor was bombed, leading to his decision to sign up for the Navy V-12 training program.’He enrolled at Purdue University, where he studied electrical engineering and obtained his master’s degree in physics.’ ‘   When the war ended, Hal was assigned to the Office of Naval Research in Washington, D.C.’ Here he met his future bride, Anne Herkalo, a secretary from Freeland, Pennsylvania. After a short courtship, they were married on February 27, 1954.’They made their home in Silver Spring, Maryland, and had three children, Patricia, Pam and Dave.’After leaving the Navy, Hal worked at Applied Physics Laboratory.’ Seeking milder winters and year-round sunshine, Hal recalled a visit to Long Beach during his Navy days and how nice California was.’The family ventured west on a cross-country road trip to California in 1961 and found paradise in Pacific Palisades.’Hal worked a few years at Operations Research Institute as a technical editor before being hired by The Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, where he was employed for 15 years.’Hal’s strong mathematical abilities and interests were well-suited for this job.’He worked on cost analysis and long-range planning, utilizing learning curve applications. ‘   Rand’s close proximity to his home allowed Hal to be an involved father and a baseball coach for his son at the Recreation Center in the 1960s. Hal was a baseball enthusiast throughout his life, and loved taking his family to the California Angels games in Anaheim and watching pitcher Nolan Ryan on the mound. In addition, Hal was a staunch UCLA Bruins fan, and especially admired and supported John Wooden and his basketball teams and program. A highlight of Hal’s life was having John Wooden accept his invitation to join his family for lunch.’   In 1976, Hal was offered a job at Northrop Corporation in Hawthorne, where he worked until his retirement in 1990.’During this time, he wrote a technical book entitled ‘Mathematical Principles of the Integral Learning Curve’ to help with manufacturing cost analysis.’ ‘   Upon his retirement, Hal and Anne bought a vacation condo in Lake Tahoe, where they enjoyed frequent visits from their children and grandchildren.’   Throughout his life, Hal enjoyed learning interesting science facts and figures.’He amazed his family and friends with his ability to remember these facts relating to astronomy, geography and other areas of science.’He could tell you the depth of Lake Tahoe or the circumference of the earth without missing a beat. He also enjoyed researching and collecting turn-of-the-century American pendulum clocks.’ ‘   Hal will be remembered for his gentle, kind, easygoing personality.’He loved talking to people, and enjoyed his daily Starbucks coffee visits, making new friends, and sharing his wealth of knowledge with others.’He was a sweet, loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend to all.’ Predeceased by his wife in 2008, Hal is survived by his aunt, Nora (Hickman) Caplan of Maryland; his three children, Patricia of Pacific Palisades, Pam (husband Rob Sharman) of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and Dave (wife Lianne Richelieu) of Redding; and five grandchildren, Paul, Lizzy and Sarah Sharman and Sean and Kaiya Boren.’   A memorial service and celebration of Hal’s life will be held at Our Lady of Malibu on Saturday, August 21 at 11 a.m. He will be interred next to his wife at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.’   The family appreciates the kindness shown to him by the nurses and staff at Saint John’s Hospital and Berkeley East Convalescent Center.

Edward Imhoff, 92, Longtime Palisadian

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Edward Imhoff, a 60-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away on July 15 at the age of 92.’   Born and raised in Bakersfield, Edward enjoyed a long career in the aerospace industry working for Douglas and the Hughes Aircraft Company. He was an avid hobbyist of cars, woodworking, painting and gardening.’He was known for his welcoming smile and a willingness to lend a helping hand to his fellow neighbor.’   Edward leaves behind his wife, Elain Imhoff; daughter Marian Foster; granddaughters Bridget Foster, Lisa Schofield and Wendy Litke; and great-granddaughter Marilyn Schumway.’   A celebration of Edward’s life will take place at Gates, Kingsley and Gates in Santa Monica at 11 a.m. on July 24. Donations in his name can be made to TreePeople.org.

Boyers’ Photos Are Taking Flight

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The lifelong Palisadian, a former music industry executive and children’s book author, boldly takes on photography as her third act.

“Mr. Louie’s Window,” a photo Sara Jane Boyers took in Seattle’s Chinatown, is among the images in the current exhibition “Summer Mix: Images by Members of LACMA’s Photographic Council,” on the Miracle Mile.

Sara Jane Boyers’ latest project, documenting the construction of a hilltop home in Malibu made of 747 airplane remnants, mirrors her own dramatic ascension to the ranks of serious photography. ‘I think with most photographers, their work is very much a reflection of themselves,’ she said during an interview in the Rustic Canyon home she and her husband, Steven, have shared for nearly 35 years. ‘I tend to have a certain reserve; it’s one of the reasons I don’t photograph people too often.’ Indeed, her work’particularly her decade-long pursuit photographing Chinatowns’exudes a sense of solitude and detachment, a provocative sort of emptiness. ‘I like the quiet moment,’ Boyers says. ‘A lot of my work is about peering in on a scene.’ The Chinatown series began in San Francisco 10 years ago when she was visiting colleges with her son, Morgan. She ventured into Chinatown early one morning armed with her camera and came away with some surprisingly rich images. ‘All of sudden, I had a focus,’ she recalls. Forty-five Chinatowns later, from a strip mall in Las Vegas to a cemetery in El Paso and an archeological dig of a once-populous Chinese community in Evanston, Wyoming, Boyers has a smartly honed body of work that will be featured in a show at Craig Krull Gallery next year. ‘I’m not looking for the exotic,’ says Boyers, who fondly remembers visits to L.A.’s Chinatown as a regular part of her childhood. ‘I view it as another part of American history; another aspect of the neighborhood.’ Boyers is well versed in the history of the Chinese and their immigration patterns in North America. Despite this, her meanderings through old and new Chinatowns are unstructured and all about chance: ‘What I know is different from what I photograph.’ Seattle stands out as an especially memorable shoot. After visiting a modern noodle factory filled with gleaming appliances, Boyers later stumbled upon Mr. Louie’s, a soulful storefront where inside an elderly man was making noodles by hand. ‘There was an ancient stove, some simple utensils and not much else,’ she says. ‘The scene had such emotional resonance.’ Boyers captured this ethereal moment in ‘Mr. Louie’s Kitchen,’ a photograph that has become a signature image in the series, along with ‘Mr. Louie’s Window,’ a shot of the exterior, where Chinese characters on a faded orange ‘paper sign animate an otherwise dreary, rain-soaked window. The latter is among the photographs in ‘Summer Mix: Images by Members of LACMA’s Photographic Council,’ an exhibition co-curated by Boyers that opened last weekend at the Creative Photography Workshops/Gallery on Wilshire across from LACMA. There’s a crispness and economy to Boyers’ visuals, qualities that come from years as a writer. ‘I’m so glad as a photographer that I was an editor first,’ says the author of several youth-oriented books including the award-winning ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,’ a volume that pairs poetry by Maya Angelou with paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Boyers wrote these books in the 1990s when her children, Morgan and Kate, now in their 20s, were teenagers. Inspired by them, she wanted to raise awareness about the art world among young people during a time when art curricula were the first to be cut from schools with strained budgets. ‘Whether as a follower, creator or collector, art is one of the most fulfilling pursuits,’ Boyers says. ‘It demands good critical thinking and is filled with intrigue and challenge.’ Her own exposure to art, particularly photography, came early to this member of the first graduating class at Palisades High School. Her father owned a photo lab in downtown L.A. After earning a bachelor’s degree in art history from UCLA, Boyers studied law at USC and went on to spend 20 years in the music industry as an attorney and personal manager of performers. Yet she never strayed too far from the art world. ‘I wrote a major paper about artists’ rights in law school,’ she says. Even the land she and her husband purchased back in the 1970s to build their current home boasts an art connection. It was sold to them by fellow Palisadians Charles and Ray Eames, the visionary husband-and-wife design duo. Despite her stated reserved, Boyers likes to laugh, often at herself, especially as it relates to ‘Gridlock,’ another current project that requires spending serious time on L.A.’s most congested freeways. ‘I’ll be listening to the news and realize ‘Oh, there’s traffic’ and become very excited,’ she says. Off she goes to find it, the slower moving the better to allow time to click and shoot from her car using a small Leica, a camera particularly associated with street photography. ‘All the while, I’m destroying my clutch,’ she says about the added challenge of driving a stick-shift car in the process. It’s the debris on the side of the road’a single high-heeled shoe, an abandoned surfboard. a crumpled newspaper’that catches her eye most often. Just as with the Chinatown series, she’s attracted to the abstracted details amid the chaos. Though the home in Malibu, one constructed from the salvaged and deconstructed parts of a 747 airplane, is much more of a spectacle to photograph, Boyers’ aesthetic approach remains much the same. ‘I’m interested in showing the wings and their interrelationships, both what’s intended and not intended.’

Rene Magritte Letters Enhance the Getty

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The Getty Research Institute has acquired an important group of letters and postcards from the Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte.   The group of over 40 autographed letters and postcards to the Belgian surrealist poet Paul Colinet documents Magritte’s life and career from 1934, about the time the two surrealists met, to 1957, when Colinet passed away. They number about 50 pages, and also include a telegram, a typescript copy of a letter, and eight letters and postcards from Colinet, all contained in a brown morocco binder.   The collection of letters adds to the already impressive archival holdings on Magritte at the GRI, and offers a valuable glimpse of Magritte within the context of both his personal life and career and surrealism’s spread into Belgium and beyond.   Magritte was born Ren’-Fran’ois Ghislain Magritte in 1898, in Lessines, Belgium. In the fall of 1916, he enrolled at the Acad’mie Royale des Beaux-Arts, but also began working as a commercial artist, an endeavor that intermittently afforded him financial stability for the next few decades. By 1920, Magritte had made contact with Marinetti and the futurists, and become fully involved in the Belgian avant-garde.   In 1922, he married Georgette Berger, and the following year he saw a reproduction of Giorgio de Chirico’s painting Le Chant d’Amour (1914), which triggered Magritte’s shift away from cubism, though his first full-blown surrealist paintings did not appear before 1925.   Magritte’s first one-person show took place in 1927, and he would achieve countless other solo and group exhibitions. His exhibition at LACMA, ‘Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images,’ featured illustrated letters from the GRI Special Collections, and encouraged a reconsideration of Magritte’s legacy by highlighting his importance to later artists.

Thursday, July 22 – Thursday, July 29

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THURSDAY, JULY 22

  Story-craft time, 4 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Suggested for ages 4 and up.   Campfire and marshmallow roast, 7 p.m. in Temescal Gateway Park, north of Sunset, and continuing on Thursday evenings this summer. The programs, complete with an interpretive nature program, campfire songs and activities, are free. Parking is $7.

FRIDAY, JULY 23

  Palisades Beautiful holds its quarterly meeting, 3 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Topics include the upcoming November tree planting and an update on the work of two summer interns. The public is invited to attend. Contact: palisadesbeautiful@earthlink.net and palisadesbeautiful.org.’   Humor columnist W. Bruce Cameron (‘8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter’) reads ‘A Dog’s Purpose,’ a first novel that follows the spiritual journey of a dog through four incarnations. Ten percent of the cover price of pre-sales only will go to Animal Alliance, a Los Angeles that rescues animals and helps low-income individuals keep their pets.   ‘Lost in Radioland,’ a 1940’s comedy presented by Theatre Palisades, plays tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. For tickets and information, call (310) 454-1970.

MONDAY, JULY 26

  Monthly meeting of the Pacific Palisades Civic League, 7:30 p.m. in Tauxe Hall at the Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz. There are three homes on the agenda as new business: 1214 Chautauqua (new two-story residence), 1118 Iliff (second-story addition), and 916 Kagawa (new two-story residence). ‘   Jacqueline Bridgeman, a former features writer at the Palisadian-Post, signs and discusses ‘The Lonely Sky: The Personal Story of a Record-Breaking Experimental Test Pilot,’ a recently re-issued book she wrote in 1955 with Bill Bridgeman, America’s foremost experimental test pilot, 7:30 p.m. at Village Books. (See story, page 12.)

TUESDAY, JULY 27

  Pajama storytime for children of all ages (parents and teddy bears welcome), 7 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real.   Temescal Canyon Association hikers will take the Backbone Trail from Will Rogers State Historic Park to Chicken Ridge. The public is invited to join. Meet at 6 p.m. in the front parking lot at Temescal Gateway Park for carpooling. Contact: (310) 459-5931 or visit temcanyon.org.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28

  Sunrise Assisted Living hosts a free Alzheimer’s support group on the second Monday and fourth Wednesday of each month, 6:30 p.m. at 15441 Sunset. RSVP: the front desk (310) 573-9545.

THURSDAY, JULY 29

  Story-craft time, 4 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Suggested for ages 4 and up.   Lisa Brackmann reads and signs ‘Rock Paper Tiger,’ a novel that takes readers on a wild ride through the world of online gaming, artists and international espionage in contemporary China. The author, who lives in Venice, has lived and traveled extensively in China.

Surf Spike Gold at Jr. Nationals

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Palisadians Power Manhattan Beach Club to Volleyball Title

MVP Steven Irvin tips the ball past two Outrigger blockers during the final set of the 18 Open Division championship match July 5. The Manhattan Beach Surf rallied to win, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13.
MVP Steven Irvin tips the ball past two Outrigger blockers during the final set of the 18 Open Division championship match July 5. The Manhattan Beach Surf rallied to win, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13.

When the chips were down at the USA Volleyball Boys’ Junior National Championships, Manhattan Beach Surf Coach John Beckwith knew he could turn to Steven Irvin and Robert Feathers–and the Pacific Palisades pair responded, leading their squad to the 18 Open Division championship July 5 in Austin, Texas. Beckwith, Irvin and Feathers all went to Corpus Christi back in the day. Now, they are taking their prep and club programs to unprecedented heights. Surf rallied from early deficits in the first and third sets to upset top-seeded Outrigger of Hawaii, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13, in the gold medal match and Irvin was selected Most Valuable Player of the tournament. “Without a doubt it helped having John [Beckwith] coaching us because I’m already so familiar with his style and I know exactly what he expects,” said Irvin, an outside hitter headed for Stanford. “We joked around with him when we fell behind, saying that it was our strategy.” The victory served as a measure of revenge for Surf players and their coach, for Beckwith was an assistant at Loyola High in the spring when the Cubs won their second consecutive CIF Southern Section Division I and state regional championships. Early in the season, however, Loyola had lost at the Best of the West Tournament to Punahou of Hawaii, which also defeated CIF finalist Mira Costa to supplant Loyola as the No. 1 ranked team in the country according to ESPN Rise. Since most of Surf’s squad consisted of players from Loyola and Mira Costa, and the Outrigger team was made up primarily of Punahou players, the significance of the rematch in Texas was clear: national bragging rights. “It was a huge deal for everyone on our team–not just those of us from Loyola but the Mira Costa players, too,” said Feathers, a middle blocker who is undecided on college but is considering USC, UCLA, Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego. “There was definitely a motivation to get those [Hawaii] guys back because they had beaten both of our teams. When we got to Austin we really came together and felt we were the best despite not being the top-ranked team on paper.” The championship was just as satisfying to Beckwith as it was to his players because he experienced the same thrill when he was their age. Beckwith, who grew up in the Alphabet Streets, was a middle blocker at Loyola and played alongside fellow Palisadian Curt Toppel on the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s 18 Open team that won the gold medal at the Junior Olympics in New Orleans. “It’s great to see Robert [Feathers] and Steven [Irvin] doing so well because I took the same track as them,” Beckwith said. Outrigger led 19-16 in the first set, but Surf came back to win it on a block by Kevin Donohue. In the third set, the Surf took its first lead, 13-12, on a kill by Vaun Lennon. Then, on match point, Christopher Heppell and Bryce Miller combined for a block… and the celebration began. “We only had 11 guys on our roster, which is very rare because most teams have 14 or 15,” Beckwith said. “Maybe that’s why we became so close-knit. Every player had an important role and felt like the team was counting on him when his number was called.” Joining Irvin on the all-tournament team were Feathers, Donohue and Miller. UCLA-bound Kene Izuchukwu, fresh off winning the Post Cup Award as the outstanding senior athlete at Palisades High, amazed both the crowd and his teammates with his 41-inch vertical leap and his array of thunderous spikes. “Kene made some plays that were just crazy,” Irvin said. “We’d be like ‘Did he really just do that?'” The Manhattan Beach club beat Envol Elite of Puerto Rico, 25-21, 25-21, in the quarterfinals and beat Pittsburgh Volleyball Club of Keystone, 25-13, 25-22, in the semifinals. “Kene [Izuchukwu] and I came over from the Pacific Palisades Volleyball Club,” Feathers said. “We were on different teams last year, but we made the switch to play with Steven this year for Manhattan Beach and it worked out.” Feathers, who lives minutes away from Irvin in the Highlands, has enjoyed quite a run over the last five club seasons (four with PPVBC and one with Manhattan Beach), claiming two golds, one silver and two bronze medals. Irvin, meanwhile, grew up in a volleyball family (his older sister Kelly and younger sister Christine both play indoor and beach and his father played on two national championship teams at UCLA). He played for PPVBC in ninth grade and joined the Southern California Volleyball Club as a sophomore before switching to Manhattan Beach. “There’s something special about winning for your school and in front of a huge crowd, but this is just as big because it’s a higher level,” said Irvin, who was named 2010 CIF Division I Player of the Year. “It’s pretty hard to imagine having a better year than this.” Two other Palisadians, Tommy Stoeckinger and Kyle Houge, were also on Loyola’s 2010 championship squad and both played significant roles for their clubs in Texas. Stoeckinger, who will be a senior at Loyola in the fall, led SCVC Quiksilver to the bronze medal in the 17 Open Division, defeating Piterres of Puerto Rico in the third-place match, 25-16, 22-25, 15-13. Houge led Pali Black 18 Kaepa to fourth place in the 18 Club Division, the division right below Open. The team posted a 7-6 record, falling to High Line of Southern California in a marathon semifinal, 25-23, 19-25, 18-16, then being edged by Spectrum 18s of Southern California, 20-25, 25-14, 15-11, in the bronze medal match. Another Palisadian who left Texas with a gold medal around his neck was Jackson Bantle, an outside hitter for the SCVC Quiksilver 15 Open team, which swept Southern California 949 Black in the final, avenging a 25-18, 26-24 loss earlier in the tournament. SCVC trailed 8-4 in the second set of the championship match, but Bantle served an ace to tie the score 10-10 and Quiksilver never trailed again.

Hill Cycles Through New Stage

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Palisadian Tom Hill pedals up toward the summit of the famous Tourmalet on his way to second place in his age division at the L
Palisadian Tom Hill pedals up toward the summit of the famous Tourmalet on his way to second place in his age division at the L

He may be 50 years old, but Tom Hill is hardly slowing down. The Pacific Palisades cyclist participated in the L’ Etape du Tour bike race–one of the stages of this year’s Tour de France–last Sunday and took the silver medal in his age group on the 113-mile route from the town of Pau to the summit of the famous Tourmalet. “This was my third time doing it and definitely the most difficult because we climbed 14,600 feet and previous years have been closer to 12,000 feet. The 98-degree heat was also a big challenge,” said Hill, who did the race in the Pyrenees in 2005 and in the Alps the following year. “After the last time (2006) I promised myself that it was too painful and I wouldn’t come back. However, this is also Lance Armstrong’s last Tour de France, so I wanted to be here for that.” The pros in the Tour de France will be riding the same course today, which is the 17th out of 20 stages in this year’s Tour. “Actually, our race was a bit longer since we took a different route before reaching the first climb,” Hill said. Hill was in a field of about 10,000 cyclists from 49 countries. His starting number was 3,941, so it took him three minutes of pedaling just to reach the starting line. The race is chip timed so you know your exact time at the finish. There were have check points along the way to make sure no one could take a shorter route. Only 6,888 riders finished because there were time limits set on the course and riders who failed to reach them in time were pulled out of the race. “I cramped up at Mile 70 and had to take a few minutes to stretch before continuing up the Soulor,” said Hill, who, along with his wife, got special Presidential passes to watch the final stage and finish in Paris on Sunday. “All three climbs had their own challenges. Marie Blanque was six miles long with an average grade of 7.6 percent with the final 2.5 miles at 13 percent, which really takes a lot out of you since it requires standing up a lot to pedal. The Soulor is 8 miles long with an average grade of 7.8 percent and seemed to go on forever. Then the final and most difficult climb is the Col du Tourmalet which is one of the most famous climbs in France. It’s 12 miles long with an average grade of 7.5 percent. We are climbing for 11 miles prior to reaching the base of this monster so it’s a long haul!” Hill finished the course in 8 hours and 15 minutes and admitted all of his pre-race training paid dividends. The fastest time in the L’ Etape was 5 hours and 59 minutes and the pros are expected to take five hours to finish. “I was very happy about getting second place in my age group,” he said. “I had trained hard prior to arriving in France, having competed in seven events that were 100 or more miles in California–including the King of the Mountain Challenge, which consists of three timed races, each of which is 100 miles long and climbs about 12,000 feet.” Like in the Tour de France itself, there were some accidents. Hill witnessed some bad crashes during the high-speed descents on the technical terrain of the narrow Pyranees roads. In the end, though, the satisfaction of finishing was worth the sweat. “Thankfully, the fans cheering all along the course keeps you motivated,” Hill said. “There are also hundreds of spectators on the Tourmalet that pour ice cold spring water on your head and back, which helps keep your body temperature in check and helps eliminate fatigue and cramping.” The Tour de France–including the same route Hill rode–is televised on Versus early in the morning and again in the evenings in the United States. “As of right now I can say I probably won’t do this event again just because it is so hard on the body,” Hill confessed. “The suffering on the climbs in the high heat is really difficult.” However, when it comes to competitive cycling, Hill has learned never to say never.

Blues Beat Rush, Clinch Playoffs

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Midfielder Christie Shaner and the Pali Blues will open the W-League playoffs in Vancouver against the Whitecaps on Saturday.
Midfielder Christie Shaner and the Pali Blues will open the W-League playoffs in Vancouver against the Whitecaps on Saturday.

It all came down to the last game of the season last Saturday night at Stadium by the Sea. The Pali Blues had to win in order to keep their hopes of a third consecutive W-League soccer championship alive. And win is exactly what the home side did with a resounding 4-0 victory over the Colorado Rush. That, combined with the Seattle Sounders’ 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps, clinched a playoff berth for the Blues, who travel to Burnaby, British Columbia, this Saturday looking to upset the Western Conference champion Whitecaps. Julie Bukh scored twice, fellow Danish midfielder Cathrine Paaske Sorenson added a goal and Stanford and United States U-23 national team striker Christen Press also scored for the Blues (3-4-3), who snapped a seven-game winless streak. The Blue Hat Club and Tony Danza’s Army were out in full force to support the hometown Blues. The Blues, a Pacific Palisades-based women’s club coached by Charlie Naimo, will play the unfamiliar role of underdog against Vancouver (6-0-4), which won both regular season meetings between the squads. The Whitecaps beat the Blues, 2-1, at Stadium by the Sea on June 19 (snapping the Blues’ 33’game unbeaten streak) and took the second game, 3-2, in Vancouver on June 27. Winners of back-to-back W-League titles, the Blues won their first W-League title in their debut season, beating FC Indiana 2-1 in the championship game in Virginia Beach on August 2, 2008. They repeated as champions by defeating the Washington Freedom Reserves 2-1 in Germantown, Maryland on August 7, 2009. For more information, contact Pali Blues General Manager Viva Ann Guerrero at viva@bluessoccerclub.com.

Anthony Doubles Up La Canada

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Blake Anthony won the boys' 16s singles and boys' 18s doubles titles at the La Canada Tournament last weekend.
Blake Anthony won the boys’ 16s singles and boys’ 18s doubles titles at the La Canada Tournament last weekend.

Palisadian Blake Anthony captured two titles at the 14th annual Tennis For All Junior Open in La Canada last weekend. The Southern California Regional Level 4 tournament featured top players from the L.A. area. In the boys’ 16s singles division, Anthony didn’t drop a set on his way to winning the 64-player draw. In the semifinals he beat fifth-seeded Alan Leahy, 6-2, 6-3, and in the final he beat third-seeded Joshua Kim, 6-1, 6-3. After winning the singles championship, Anthony played two doubles matches to win the 18s age division title. Anthony and his partner Jake Yasgoor, who are both 15 years old, won the 18s with a 6-1, 6-2 semifinal win over John Lee and Alex Wood, then upset top-seeded Gregory Lee and Adam Shapiro, 6-3, 6-3 in the final. The victory marked Anthony’s first 18s’ title and his fifth title this year. Next week, Anthony heads to Salt Lake City, Utah, along with fellow Palisades residents Alex Giannini, Robbie Bellamy and Spencer Pekar to represent Southern California at the USTA 16s Zonal Team Championships against teams from the Northern California, Hawaii, Southwest, Pacific Northwest and Inter Mountain sections. 
 * * * * * * * Riviera Hosts ITA Summer Circuit The Riviera Tennis Club was the site for last weekend’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association Summer Circuit event, a tournament featuring some of the nation’s top men’s and women’s college and high school players. Walker Kehrer, who grew up in Pacific Palisades and now plays at Stanford, advanced to the semifinals of the men’s singles draw, losing a marathon match 7-6, 4-6, 11-9, to eventual champion Daniel Faierman of Del Mar. After a first-round bye, Kehrer beat Tyler Gottshall of Loyola Marymount, 6-4, 6-2, in the round of 32; beat Chris Palacio of Palomar, 6-1, 6-3, in the round of 16 and beat Michael Sperry of Eastern Illinois, 6-2, 6-2, in the quarterfinals. Faierman beat Gary Parizher of Washington University, 6-2, 6-4, in Sunday’s final. Palisades High’s Alex Giannini won his first match before falling to Faierman, 7-5, 1-6, 10-3 in the round of 16. Kehrer and his longtime coach Ross Loel beat former Palisades High player Justin Atlan and his UC San Diego partner Hall Fess, 8-4, in the quarterfinals of the doubles. “It was a great tournament and we’re proud we got to host it,” said Pam Austin, Riviera’s Director of Tennis. ‘We love having the college kids.’ Alexandria Walters of Pepperdine defeated Alison Ramos of USC, 7-6, 6-7, 10-8 in the women’s singles final. Palisadian Caroline Richman, who plays for Amherst College, beat Julia Blakeley of Irvine, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round and lost to Kathryn Webb of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round. Richman and partner Kellen Alberstone of Bowdoin College lost to Roxanne and Sierra Ellison of San Diego State in the quarterfinals of the doubles draw. Walters and partner Anamika Barghava beat the Ellison sisters , 8-5, in the women’s doubles final.

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