In Memoriam Beate Feigenbaum Kanter November 5, 1950′ June 28, 2004 Your gift of charity and your wonderful laugh are with us daily. We miss you. Your family and friends.
Grazing Goats: Friends or Foes?
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
A small herd of seven goats grazed contentedly last week on a hillside behind Fire Station 23 in Los Liones Gateway Park. They were in between jobs, according to their owner, Palisadian Linda Schilcher, who’s using them as a brush-clearing business serving hillside property owners in Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Malibu. Schilcher said she fenced in the animals on a tiny plot of land because she was desperate for a place to put them. There they feasted on the surrounding vegetation for three days before park volunteers discovered last Thursday that the goats had stripped three oak trees. “The poor oak trees have been completely denuded,” said Palisadian Maria Bane, who was weeding and watering with fellow volunteers Norma Spak and Carol Leacock when she met Schilcher, who told her the goats were nearby. “I said to myself, ‘I hope she put them in an area that’s only grass. Once we got there, we screamed. [The area where the goats were located] enclosed three oaks that we had planted and I, personally, had watered for six years.” Bane said that they contacted the State Park officials immediately. Later that day, Schilcher was issued a citation for illegal grazing on public land and ordered to remove the goats, which she did with the help of Palisadian Monica Gilsanz, an 11-year-old helper. “I didn’t know that the volunteers were beautifying that area; I thought it was a marginal area,” said Schilcher, a Pennsylvania native who lives in Marquez Knolls. She was featured in the Los Angeles Times last August when some of her neighbors complained that the goats, who were sleeping in a trailer in front of her house, were becoming a permanent fixture in the neighborhood. Schilcher argued that the trailer was temporary until she could find suitable open space for the animals. “Generally, they move from contract to contract,” Schilcher told the Palisadian-Post. She said that her herd, now a business called Great Grazing Goats, has had steady contracts since April, clearing brush on hillsides along Earlham, Friends, Lombard and in Mandeville Canyon. So when Schilcher once again found herself in a bind with no open space on which to park them, she said she went to Will Rogers State Historic Park and asked if she could have her goats clear some park land in exchange for a temporary plot. The answer was no. Schilcher said she was told that the park “had a mechanical contract for the areas that needed to be cleared” and that “they knew which plants were under protection.” She added, “I still didn’t admit to [the supervising ranger] that I had put the goats on state parkland already.” Schilcher knows she was in the wrong at Los Liones and understands why she was cited. “It’s an infraction, not a misdemeanor,” she said of the citation. “I suspect it will be quite a serious amount of money.” According to Bane, Schilcher told her that she had permission from the fire department to have her goats there. “I said, ‘The fire department doesn’t own any property there, it’s parkland.'” A spokesman at Fire Station 23 confirmed that they have no authority over that land. Ironically, the day Schilcher moved her goats from Los Liones, the herbivores landed another contract. Currently, they are grazing on private land in Mandeville Canyon. “I’ll bring them out for the Fourth of July parade,” said Schilcher, noting that they will ride in her brush-covered trailer so that they’ll have plenty to eat while on the route. She also plans to double her herd this week by buying eight to 10 more goats from the Pierce College farm. “I’d like to save as many as I can [from slaughter],” she said. Most of her current weed-eaters, which she either adopted from the East Valley Animal Shelter or bought from the Chino Livestock Market, are does, with the exception of two wethers (neutered males). Breeding bucks omit a powerful smell. Schilcher is pursuing a Potrero Canyon contract, in which she envisions “three visits of four weeks each by about 20 goats’in February, June, and September’to clear dangerous brush in the first year.” The goats would rest and sleep overnight onsite. “The value of goat grazing is that they don’t uproot or kill trees unless you leave them in one area too long,” argued Schilcher, who trained with a goat-milk farmer in Pennsylvania before coming to California. She added that goats are quiet and leave no gasoline or oil spills, as compared to motorized mechanical methods. “We thought the goats were great,” said Palisades resident Deborah Phillips, who hired Schilcher’s goats to clear 200-300 ft. of her Potrero Canyon property, just off Friends St., in late April. “They do a really good job and they fertilize the land.” Schilcher currently charges five cents per sq. ft. (Her telephone is 573-0124). Phillips’s husband, Dr. Jerry Bloore, had heard about Great Grazing Goats from one of his dental patients, and needed to clear “land that we don’t use but that the fire department expects us to keep clear for fire hazards,” according to Phillips. So, they decided to use this form of brush clearance because “it seemed much more ecological” than the mechanical method. Phillips added that Schilcher was “nice, sweet and conscientious,” and when the goats got out a couple of times, she responded immediately and secured the fencing. Schilcher provides homeowners with a local emergency number to call, plus she only works in the local area so that she can respond to such problems. “We’ve just got to be sure that the fences are secure; that’s the real art of it and work for me,” said Schilcher, whose goats were subsequently hired to clear several other plots of private land in the Friends St. neighborhood. However, the volunteers of Los Liones would argue that goats also pose a danger to desirable vegetation. Said Maria Bane: “The grass [in Los Liones] was hardly touched. [The goats] ate the oak trees and willows.” She will continue watering the oaks in hopes of reviving them.
Car Fire at PaliHi
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Last Thursday at approximately 1:30 p.m., just before the Temescal Canyon High School graduation, an arson-suspected fire erupted in a black 2004 Escalade ESV that was parked in the lower lot at Palisades High School. There were no occupants and no injuries. Two adjacent vehicles were damaged: a white 1996 Volvo 850 and a gray-and-blue 1987 Nissan Sentra. Firefighters from Station 69 in the Palisades responded to the fire. It was quickly put out, and after some preliminary investigation, firemen determined that the cause of the fire was arson. The fire is currently undergoing investigation by the L.A. Fire Department arson unit. The fire damage to the Escalade was extensive. The entire interior was burned out, the seats were burned down to the frame, the roof was warped from the heat of the fire, and the windows all melted away. Surprisingly, the front and undercarriage of the car were in very good shape. The engine block was almost completely intact, and the hood only had some minor paint damage on the upper edges. The tires were all intact, including the spare mounted on the underside of the back of the vehicle. The Temescal Canyon High School graduation was part of graduation ceremonies for nearly 100 continuation schools in the LAUSD, and more than 1,000 students were in attendance in the football stadium.
Town Readies for Runners, Parade and Fireworks
From the early-morning Will Rogers 5/10K races through the 2 p.m. parade to the evening fireworks show at the high school, Pacific Palisades will offer an enviable Fourth of July celebration on Monday. This issue of the Palisadian-Post contains our traditional 24-page supplement (and 12-page wrap) previewing the parade, which begins following the arrival of Carey Peck’s skydiving team on Sunset at Swarthmore. Also, our sports section provides 5/10K details as well as previews of the Kids’ Fun Run and the YMCA Youth Triathlon. In addition: Early Parade Chairs Nixed “The Bureau of Street Services has asked that I remind the community that no spectator chairs or benches should appear along the parade route prior to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 3,” said Monique Ford in City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski’s office this week. The crackdown on “early-bird” chairs began last year when the City warned that “Street Services will remove all obstructions placed on City property prior to the agreed-upon time whether they are attached (chained, tied or roped) to any public object or not. All confiscated items will be available for pick-up on or after July 7 at 1479 Stoner Ave., West L.A. with valid I.D. and only after making an appointment with the inspector (by calling 575-8479). Any items not picked up by July 30 will be destroyed.” 11th Year for Patriotic Pups Participants in the Patriotic Pups brigade, a parade tradition since 1995, are encouraged to call Marilyn Haaker (454-6430) to sign up. Dogs must be comfortable in the company of horses, people and other dogs, and be completely under the handler’s control. The group will gather beforehand under the trees at Palisades Elementary and will set out relatively early in the parade. Sunset Closure Sunset Boulevard will be closed off to through traffic beginning about 1:30 p.m., at which time drives can detour easily via Albright (taking Hartzell or Via de la Paz north off Sunset). Free shuttle buses are available adjacent to the parking lots at Palisades High and the Presbyterian Church (corner of El Medio). Ralphs Closed All Day July 4 Ralphs Market, normally a 24/7 operation, will once again close at midnight on July 3 and not re-open until 7 p.m. on July 5. This will allow the parking lot to be used as a staging area for all the parade equestrian units and will keep traffic away from the parade route. “Silent Lies” Benefits Parade Palisades author Mary Lee Malcolm wants to help support the parade and her favorite bookstore. For every copy of her novel “Silent Lies” sold at Village Books on Swarthmore during the month of July, she will donate $10 to the Palisades Americanism Parade Association. Malcolm, an award-winning short story writer and freelance journalist, has written a page-turning historical adventure as her debut novel, taking the reader from Budapest to Shanghai across four turbulent decades. Contact: www.silentlies.com
Local College Graduates
LAURA CONLEY, UC San Diego Laura Conley, daughter of Bryan and Mary Conley, received her M.D. degree June 5 at a ceremony at UC San Diego. Her grandparents, Scott and Dorothy Libbey, have lived in Pacific Palisades since 1952. Her sister, Sarah Conley, lives with her husband Roman Beck and one-year-old son in San Diego. Laura attended Corpus Christi School and graduated from St. Matthew’s Parish School, from Marymount High School (1994), and from UCLA in 2000 with a degree in psychology. Laura’s internship begins shortly at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Her residency next year, also at UCLA, will be in family medicine. EDWARD GRUBB, Bucknell University Edward M. Grubb, son of Michael and Ruth Grubb, graduated May 22 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Edward is a 2001 graduate of Palisades Charter High School. CHARLES MONTZ, Brown University Charles Robert Montz, son of Donna Shoupe of Pacific Palisades, received a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy, magna cum laude, from Brown University on May 29. KENT McINTOSH, University of Oregon Kent McIntosh, son of Jennifer and Jim McIntosh, graduated in June with his Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of Oregon. McIntosh attended Palisades Elementary and Village School, and graduated cum laude from Brentwood School in 1993. As a member of local Troop 223, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. McIntosh received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Duke University in 1997 with a major in English. While at Duke, he became director of Project Wild, an outdoor wilderness program offered to Duke students. Following graduation, McIntosh became an Outward Bound Instructor, leading ‘at risk’ groups of adolescents in wilderness experiences. While in graduate school, he has led kayaking trips on the Columbia, Green and Rogue Rivers, as well as rivers in Maine and Canada, and has paddled Class V rapids. Kent’s thesis topic is ‘Academic, Behavioral and Functional Predictors of Chronic Problem Behavior in Elementary Grades.’ He will be performing postdoctoral research at the University of Oregon in the next academic year. JONNY KOHL, University of Colorado, Boulder Jonny Kohl, son of Sue and Jon Kohl, graduated in June from the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He is the brother of Courtney, David, Kristin and Gunnar Kohl. Jonny graduated from Loyola High School in 2001, where he played varsity volleyball. Future plans other than surfing are unknown.
John Keys Pipes for LAFD
John Keys is exactly the kind of man you’d be proud to know: kind, dependable, giving and interesting. For 30 of his 32 years as a paramedic for Los Angeles County Fire Department, he’s been the sole department bagpiper. For 17 of those years he’s been a stalwart at Station 69. ‘He’s a legend in the fire service,’ says Ted Acquirro, secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association. In the late 1970s, Acquirro was on a committee to improve the Fire Department Memorial. In Joseph Wambaugh’s ‘The Onion Field’ there was a description of a bagpiper playing at the services of a slain police officer: ‘The wail. Clear and piercing. Eerily distant at first. I knew it was coming but still I started trembling when I heard it. Back, back, up on the hillside he was. The solo piper. That solitary piper. Playing that ancient plaintive dirge for clansmen killed in battle.’ Ted thought a bagpiper would add an air of dignity and distinction to the memorial and sent out a plea to the membership for one. If he could find a piper, he would be continuing a 150-year U.S. tradition of pipers playing at funerals that had started with Irish immigrants. When the Irish first came to the United States, they encountered massive discrimination. The only jobs they were allowed to hold were dirty or dangerous as firefighters or policeman. Irish firefighter’s funerals always had a bagpiper as was the custom for Irish funerals. It wasn’t long before that tradition was adopted for non-Irish firefighters as well. Keys was the only person to respond to Acquirro’s search for a piper. He has played at every annual Fire Memorial service since. While the names of all the firefighters who have died from the 1800s to the present are read, John stands on a hill behind the site and plays ‘Amazing Grace’ over and over until all the deceased have been recognized. He admits that where he’s standing, he can’t hear the names, and has to be cued when to stop playing. Shortly after the first memorial service, Keys started playing at individual firemen’s funerals. Acquirro notes that for over 20 years, Keys did it on his own.’He never took a penny or accepted any form of payment. If someone gave him something, he would donate it to the Widows and Orphan’s Fund.’ Acquirro explained that in order to play for funerals Keys would take a day off from work or use his vacation time. About 10 years ago, the department realized all Keys had done and started providing his transportation, as well as covering for him at work. Currently, the department is actively looking for another bagpiper to replace Keys, who is scheduled to retire in three years. Keys started playing the bagpipes when he was 14 or 15. Although bagpipes were a family tradition, trumpet was his first instrument. He played trumpet and tuba in high school and went on to major in music at Cal State L.A. After college he served with the U.S. Naval Reserve and was stationed in Germany where he was with the intelligence security group monitoring the Russian missile system. After his stint in the military, he worked on an ambulance for Los Angeles County for a year, before joining the Los Angeles Fire Department as a single-function paramedic. At the time, people trained solely as paramedics or solely as firefighters. The Department has now shifted so that most of their staff are trained as both. For the next few weeks, when he’s on vacation, he’ll be teaching at the Seamus MacNeill’s California Summer School of Piping in Carlsbad. The school is run through the College of Piping based in Glasgow, Scotland. The camp takes all levels of pipers and they have students from as far away as Japan. Whenever Keys plays, he dresses in the appropriate attire. Scottish shoes, called Gillie Brogues, have top-notched openings with extra long shoe laces that wind around the back of the knee socks and tie, allowing loops to hang in front. Garters, called flashers, have small cloth rectangular pieces and are placed on the socks to hold them up. Knee socks can be different colors. Keys likes to wear his green ones for St. Patrick’s Day, and black for funerals. Since kilts lack pockets, bagpipers keep their wallets in a Sporran, a small purse. Key’s first piping teacher sold him his kilt, a WW II Combat tartan from the Cameron Highlanders of Canada, consisting of eight yards of medium wool. When representing the fire department he wears the regulation black dress shirt, black tie, and badge. The hat, called a Glengary Bonnet, is also black with a fire department badge on it. In England, it’s customary to wear a small wreath around the badge on the hat. John said he couldn’t find one, so he improvised by substituting the wreath displayed above a Cadillac door lock. ‘It’s from PEP Boys.’ One Saint Patrick’s Day, he was playing at Brentwood School, dressed to the hilt, when an emergency signal came from the Mandeville Canyon area. Keys explains, ‘I ran a call in my kilt. The firemen didn’t care, the patient didn’t care, the emergency room technicians didn’t care.’ Living in Oceanside with his wife Maureen and his son Johnny, who’s a sophomore in Rancho Crista High School in Vista, Keys also collects old firefighter memorabilia. He owns a 1924 Seagrave Fire Truck as well as several vintage firemen’s helmets, and a collection of firefighter badges that date back to 1886. He plans to donate them all to the Firefighter’s museum in the’Old Fire Station 27′ in Hollywood. The Fire Department bagpiper has gone to funeral services all over Southern California. He usually plays the escort in with the song ‘Going Home.’ If there’s not a graveside service, he’ll play ‘Amazing Grace’ as the coffin is escorted out. If there’s a graveside service, at the Flag Folding ceremony, he’ll play ‘Fleurs of the Forest,’ a haunting Scottish melody. When asked how he deals with the sadness, his eyes mist and he says, ‘If it gets too emotional I can’t stay in there. I can’t do my job.’ He pauses and then adds, ‘I don’t normally sit in the services.’ Four Corona fire department fighters were killed in a plane crash several years ago, and Keys broke his tradition by staying. He said one of the widows spoke, followed by a tape of the deceased’s four-year-old saying good-bye. ‘It affected me for a long time.’
Engagements and Weddings
Skylar Little and Christopher Meinhardt Are Married at the Firestone Vineyard Richard and Paulette Little of Pacific Palisades are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter, Skylar Martine Little, to Ryan Christopher Meinhardt. The wedding was a sunset ceremony on October 8, 2004, at the Firestone Vineyard in Los Olivos. The bride, 27, is a Palisades native, having attended Palisades Elementary, St. Matthew’s, Marymount High School, and graduated from UCLA. She played three years in the women’s professional soccer league (Washington Freedom), and currently works for Show the Love, a jewelry design company in the Palisades. The bridegroom, 30, was born and reared in Jefferson City, Missouri, and graduated from the University of Kansas. He is director of marketing for G.A. Gertmenian and plans to return to school in the fall for an MBA. The couple honeymooned in Tahiti and now reside in their first home in Westchester with their two dogs. Craven and Silverman Plan July 17 Wedding Kimberly Craven, formerly of Pacific Palisades, and Ryan Silverman are engaged and will be married at the Bel-Air Bay Club on July 17. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Linda McCann and step-daughter of Joseph J. McCann, Jr. She was born in New York City and moved to Pacific Palisades with her parents in 1979. She attended St. Matthew’s and studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City after graduating from Westlake School for Girls in Bel-Air. She was presented in the National Charity League’s Debutante Ball in 1985. After the School of American Ballet, she joined the Pennsylvania Ballet Company. A dancer, singer and actress, she has performed in four Broadway shows and had leading roles in ‘Swing,’ ‘Mama Mia’ and ‘Movin’ Out’ in Los Angeles. The bridegroom, son of Glenda and Gary Silverman, was born in Grande Prairie, Canada. He attended Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, Alberta, for his theatre arts degree and North American Institute of Technology in Edmonton, where he studied radio broadcasting. An actor and singer, he has performed extensively in Vancouver, had the lead role of Sky in the U.S. tour of ‘Mama Mia’ and played Tony in the European tour of ‘West Side Story.’ He is currently the lead in ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ and will be the understudy for the lead role in ‘Wicked’ in Chicago. The couple will live in New York City after their marriage. Patrick Hasselbach, Christine Strom Plan August Wedding in Colorado Bill and Gale Hasselbach, formerly of Pacific Palisades and now living in Monument, Colorado, announced the engagement of their son, Patrick, to Christine Strom. Daughter of Richard and Kathleen Strom, also of Monument, the bride-to-be received a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Colorado at Boulder and works at the University Hospital in Denver, Colorado. The bridegroom attended Palisades High and graduated from UC Berkeley. He a computer consultant at Entersolve Solutions in Boulder, Colorado. The couple will be married on August 13 in Breckenridge, Colorado and will reside in Denver. Scott Rognlien and Maia Peters Exchange Vows at Descanso Gardens Scott Rognlien, son of Bruce and Marleen Rognlien of Pacific Palisades, and Maia Peters, daughter of Holly and Jim Peters of Texas, were married on May 29 at Decanso Gardens in La Ca’ada. The bridegroom grew up in the Palisades, attended Canyon Elementary School, Brentwood School, and graduated in June 1993 from Northwestern with a bachelor’s degree in performance studies. In 1997, he studied for a year abroad in London and at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England. He returned to England after college and completed a graduate program in acting at the Webber Douglas Dramatic Academy in London. He returned to Los Angeles in the fall of 2000 and met Maia soon after that at a mutual friend’s Halloween party. Scott choose to propose to Maia on the Palisades bluffs overlooking the ocean, one of his favorite spots. Maia Peters grew up in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in theater and acting. Both have been very active in L.A. Theater, while maintaining regular (day) jobs. Together, with some other fellow actors, they have launched a new theater company called The Next Arena.
Ann King, 72; Prominent Advertising Art Director
Ann King, a well-known advertising art director and graphic designer, died June 13 at her home in Topanga, after an extended battle with cancer. She was 72. A former resident of Pacific Palisades, King worked for more than 35 years in the advertising, art and design communities in Los Angeles. She spent 15 years as an art director at Foote, Cone & Belding during the 1970s when FCB was the largest ad agency on the West Coast. She won numerous ad industry awards, notably for her work on behalf of United California Bank and the U. S. Forest Service, where she helped make Smokey the Bear one of the best-known advertising icons in America. King also worked on the Carnation account while at Erwin Wasey during the 1960s and was with the ad firms Campbell & Wagman and Kresser/Craig during the 1980s and ’90s. Most recently, she ran her own graphic design studio and was a member of Topanga Canyon Gallery, which exhibited her paintings, some of which were abstractions based on her experiences battling cancer. Born in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1932, Ann was the daughter of Roberta Tremayne and Richard Stiefel, a prominent surgeon. She attended school in Battle Creek until her junior year, when she went to The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York to study art. Her art education continued in New York City at the famed Parsons School of Design. She married David Barker King of Battle Creek in 1954, and their daughter Laura was born in New York in 1958 and their son Trevor in 1962, after the family moved to Pacific Palisades. Laura and Trevor attended Palisades High School as well as Crossroads School. Divorced after 13 years, King continued her art education at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, which led to her entry into the advertising industry at a time when it employed only a handful of women at a professional level. She quickly rose to the top of her field. As an art director, King was known for her exquisite taste as well as her ability to bring concept to design. In recent years, she designed catalogs for some of the most prestigious private schools in Los Angeles, including Harvard-Westlake and John Thomas Dye. In 1990, King purchased land in Topanga Canyon and built a home there that was featured in Architectural Digest in 1995. She is survived by her son, Trevor, of Brooklyn and by her brother, Richard, of Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Her daughter, Laura, died in 1998. King was affiliated with St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades where she served on the Vestry from 2003-2005. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to St. Matthew’s, attention Ann King Memorial Fund or to the Wellness Community in Santa Monica.
Barbara Donahue, Former Co-Owner of Woodbury’s
Barbara B. Donahue, a 45-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away June 10 in her home. She was 77. Born in Kansas, Barbara moved to the Palisades in 1960 and was a former co-owner of Woodbury’s on Sunset. She taught herself how to paint and worked in a little studio in the attic of her home, painting mostly landscape and still life. She is survived by her second husband, Thomas Donahue of Pacific Palisades; daughter Linda Salisbury of Sylmar; son Robert L. Leis of Pacific Palisades; sister Martha Wright; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held yesterday at Gates Kingsley mortuary in Santa Monica. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Barbara’s name to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, 1875 Century Park East, Suite 1460, Los Angeles, CA 90067.
Staying Cool Under Pressure Became Diana Grubb’s Trademark
PALISADIAN-POST CUP AWARDS
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Diana Grubb’s value to the teams she plays for is not always reflected on the stat sheet. What stands out most are not her numbers, but rather the way she plays and the innate ability she has to lift her own level of play and that of her teammates when it matters most. Those winning attributes have served Grubb well at Palisades High, where she received the Palisadian-Post’s annual Post Cup Award last Friday as the school’s outstanding senior athlete. Grubb earned All-City honors in both volleyball and soccer, following in the footsteps of her sister, Charlotte, who won the award in 2003. ‘When my sister won, that’s when I first started to think about whether I might be able to win it too,’ Diana recalls. ‘I called the next day to tell her and she was so happy for me.’ But while she participates in the same sports as her sister, Diana plays different positions. On the volleyball court, Charlotte was a middle blocker while Diana is a setter like her older brother, Edward, himself a 2001 Pali alum. And on the soccer field, Charlotte played midfield while Diana is primarily a defender. ‘At first I felt some pressure to live up to the standards my sister set but it was good for me,’ Diana admits. ‘And eventually I learned to distinguish myself from her. We each have our own personality and we have different strengths.’ Perhaps Grubb’s biggest challenge in volleyball last fall was having to adjust to a new head coach for the fourth straight year’not an easy assignment for a player responsible for running the offense. ‘A setter has to be the leader on the floor,’ she says. ‘So of course it helps when you know the system inside and out. It’s not easy when you’re trying to implement new plays all the time.’ Still, Grubb provided leadership on a young team that was talented but not as mentally tough as that which had won the City title her junior year. In her last high school match last November, Grubb had 20 assists, seven digs and three aces. Grubb went through a phase where she liked volleyball more, but Pali’s run to the City finals in March rekindled her passion for soccer. ‘I love playing both sports, but for different reasons. Volleyball is exhilarating and you have a lot of on-court energy whereas soccer is very physically demanding but not quite as intense every second.’ The hardest aspect of being a two-sport athlete for Grubb was the quick transition she had to make from one to the other. Because the Dolphins advanced to the second round of the City Section playoffs, volleyball overlapped the start of the soccer season, meaning she had no time off in between seasons. But like every other obstacle Grubb has faced in high school, she took the transition in stride. ‘I actually liked going right from one to the other,’ Grubb says. ‘We fell short in volleyball so I was really motivated to do well in soccer, especially knowing it was my last season. That first soccer practice was the hardest. It took about a week and a half to get used to it, but I adjusted pretty well. It helped that I was already in shape from volleyball.’ Though it struggled at times during the season, Palisades’ soccer team hit its stride in the playoffs and advanced to the championship game for the first time in the program’s history. Grubb was one of four senior starters and her steady play was vital to the Dolphins’ success. ‘If I had to pick one memory that stands out I’d have to say it was beating Granada Hills in the semifinals in soccer,’ Grubb says. ‘It was a huge upset because they were seeded much higher than us. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that game, yet we somehow found a way to pull through in the end.’ Grubb’s positive attitude and ability to rise above the competition have served her well not only in athletics, but in the classroom as well. She walked out of Mercer Hall with more than just her Post Cup plaque’she also received the Rose Gilbert Woman Scholar-Athlete Award as well as three other scholarships. Asked to name her favorite classes at Pali, Grubb cited Mr. Van Loo’s Environmental Science and Ms. Hataishi’s Math Analysis. ‘I’ve been ready for the next step since the end of soccer season,’ Grubb says. ‘But when I reflect on my time here, what I’ll miss most are the people and the sports.’ Though her high school career ends with tonight’s graduation, Grubb is looking forward to college life at the University of Connecticut, where she hopes to play club volleyball and soccer. ‘I wanted to go to college on the East Coast and when I took a tour, I loved the school spirit there and the campus is beautiful. I’m excited to be a Husky.’ And if the success Grubb enjoyed as a Dolphin is any indication, the Huskies are lucky to get her.
