Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAboutA 1987-12-14 COMMUNITY ACCESS BOARD0 0 COMMUNITY ACCESS ADVISORY BOARD December 14, City Hall Council 5:30 p.m. 1987 Chambers R CE IV ED CITY OF LYNWOOD CITY CLERKS OFFICE DEC 111987 AM PM AGENDA I. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS A. CALL TO ORDER B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE C. ROLL CALL D. MINUTES - November 16, 1987 II. SCHEDULED MATTERS A. UPDATE ON HISTORY OF LYNWOOD Comments: PROJECT Attached is a draft script for the history of Lynwood Tape. This draft contains only ideas and possible narration. As Barbara from Hintz & Balvin interviews guest speakers, the script will change and be completed. B. COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS /INFORMATION Comments: Once Hintz & Balvin has completed their research on the History of Lynwood, many photographs will have been collected and information gathered. These should be organized into a display for citizens to enjoy and to promote our videotape. Staff suggests sharing this duty with the Community Affairs Commission. C. FUTURE PROJECTS Comments: Discussion of future projects. III. PUBLIC ORALS IV. ADJOURNMENT COMMUNITY ACCESS ADVISORY BOARD Minutes for the Meeting of November 16, 1987 The regular meeting of the Community Access Advisory Board of the City of Lynwood, California was held on November 16, 1987 in the Council Chambers of the City Hall. (The agenda was duly posted as prescribed by the Brown Act) Chairperson Mary Wright called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. Members in attendance were Mary Wright, Rev. C.C. Coleman, Ann Fields and Bill Cunningham. Absent was Randy Williams. Staff present were Don Fraser and Carol de Jesus. Chairperson Mary Wright indicated a minor error on the minutes of October 19. Date for the next meeting should read November 16 instead of November 17. It was moved, seconded and carried to approve the minutes with the above noted correction. MATTERS A. American Cablesystems Mr. Vic Pastorelli, General Manager for American Cablesystems and his representative introduced themselves to the Board and outlined the functions and goals of the company. The American Cablesystems is a 9 yr old company. It went public in 1977 and merged with Continental Cablevision , the 3rd largest cablesystem (parent company) a year ago. It took over Rogers two months ago. The goal of the company is to create some excitement from community cable t.v, through workshops and outreach programs. Currently they have just finished the shooting of the entire football session; did a Liberty Day video production for City of Bellflower; they are talking with the school district regarding teaching a video class that eventually will lead into the development of high school talk show. Future plans of the company is to be able to actually bring political issues to people. They plan to touch on important issues such as programs featuring political persons (councilpersons, financial officer, etc) debate; set up of local programming featuring city meetings or city election, etc. 0 0 The studio (which will remain in Lynwood) will be doing public access and they will pick up the schedule where Rogers left off. They plan to have a training program for Lynwood residents who would be interested in local programming so that after training, the local resident can be a resource person to do access. Mr. Pastorelli indicated that the company's role is to act as a liaison between the city and the public and to educate the public of what is available through the development of a community channel that people will be conditioned to use. Basically, they will do things as a company but if there are good programs for example in Compton, they will try to involve Lynwood since they run operations at three different locations. According to the rep from American Cablesystems, Publicity is a great means of getting the public involved. the City of Bellflower prints up flyers which indicate where programs will be aired, and these flyers are left in stack at the City Hall. Mr. Pastorelli added that advertising can be through tailored pages on guides. Channel 36 of Bellflower shows what programs are coming up through means of a scroll. Mr. Pastorelli summed up their approach to customer services as ff: 1. Having the operation local, the company feels it can serve people better. 2. Upgrade system to single cable with 53 channels - this will replace the present dual cablesystem of A & B with 42 channels on each side (B being almost empty and character degenerated). with the expansion to 53 channels in a single channel system, service will be more effective. 3. Change converter boxes that are currently generating big problems. 4. Creative communicating with customer ( use of pre - calling and post - calling as an evaluation tool after new installation) prevents phone traffic. B. Update of History of Lynwood Project Mr. Fraser expressed disappointment on by Hintz & Balvin. There was a lack of concepts and time line for shooting. suggested that when Hintz & Balvin send board would like to take a look at it Fraser. the script submitted specific programming Chairperson Wright their report, the and discuss with Mr. C. Future Projects: 0 Chairperson Wright broached the possibility of getting the Compton College involved in local programming. She mentioned that Compton College has a department that is doing video production and it would be a great opportunity for Lynwood to be involved with the College since some Lynwood residents attend Compton College. COMMISSION ORALS Chairperson Wright asked the American Cablesystems to help in promoting the Lynwood school by contacting Dr. Clark. Commissioner Cunningham mentioned that Santa Barbara has a good advertising system of giving out tourist information. On a continous tape shown on a local channel, the program features different businesses such as eateries, hotels, etc. that tourists can go to. Commissioner Coleman asked that the cablesystem do a location shooting of their December 5th Prayer Breakfast Meeting at St. Francis. He further said that Lynwood school has an expensive video equipment which is not being used. There is a fellow who can use it but the school hesitates to lend the equipment. He plans to call the school and find out this status. Commissioner Field asked what procedure to follow when someone wants an individual program done by the cablesystems. Chairperson Wright explained that normally, the programs of things that come up through the year are preauthorized; all requests should be coursed through Mr. Fraser. If request is. done on a timely basis, it can be presented to the board. If two requestsCome in, the first one will be given priority unless the other deals with the city government. Commissioner Wright further suggested that an annual calendar of upcoming events be established. Due to the upcoming holidays, the board approved the meeting of the access board be held on December 14 instead of the regular third monday of the month. The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. • A History of Lynwood Draft Script VIDEO AUDIO NARRATOR Lynwood, California a community of bustling boulevards, tree lined streets and parks Where neighborhoods and industry meet and find a home Those who live here today are a very real part of a of a chain of people and events that reach back in time For long ago in the beginning all of this was marshland Grass trees and the Gabrielano Indians who hunted and fished It wasn't until 1542 that the explorer Juan Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain And not until two hundred years later that the Franciscans founded their missions It was at one of these, near Monteray, that Don Antonio 0 0 Maria Lugo was born in 1775 He's important to Lynwood because he received several land grants awarded by the Spanish Crown It's on part of this land that Lyn- wood now stands He turned his land, which totaled some 29,000 acres, into a thriving cattle ranch Though Don Antonio and his family lived in the Pueblo de Los Angeles, ten miles away, he also had a home on the rancho When this land was ceded to the United States in 1848 as a result of the Mexican American War, Don Antonio retained ownership Two years later, California joined the Union When Don Lugo died in 1860, the year the Civil War began, his land was divided among his five children The part that was to become Lynwood was deeded to his daughter Guadelupe COLEMAN (Long Reach & Sanborn) L 0 Where I'm standing was part of that original area Guadelupe Lugo, of course, ultimately sold the land and it eventually came into the hands of Charles Sessions, who ran a dairy just about where I am standing here at Sanborn and Long Beach Blvd He called the dairy Lynwood,after his wife's maiden name, Lynne Wood NARRATOR Most of the early buildings in the area are long gone now, but one still remains here in Hamm Park The Abbott House was built in 1889 by John Abbott for whom Abbott Rd was named It has seen many lifestyles and many changes over the years ELLEN WEBB (Interview with her about her childhood memories of Lynwood in the early days ) (BACK UP SCRIPT WITH OFF CAMERA NARRATOR) Like many of his neighbors, Sessions was a farmer who raised alfalfa, grain and sugar beets which 0 he hauled to the beet dump on the railroad siding in a huge wagon drawn by a team of horses They used to compete to see who could bring in the biggest load NARRATOR Of course, when the Abbott house was built these streets were just country lanes Long Beach Blvd was finished just in time for the first Model A Ford in 1910 People used to drive down to the beach on Sundays COLEMAN (In front of old depot) Yes, people have always traveled to or through Lynwood At one time it was known as Half Way City because it sits just between so many other major areas People used to be able to take the Big Red Cars of the Pacific Electric Railway all the way from Los Angeles to Santa Ana and stop in Lynwood along the way This old depot is a lasting reminder of that era 0 Eventually the railway closed and the depot became a restaurant then a bus depot then a taxi stand Now it awaits a new home just as people were thinking of new homes back in its hayday. 1913 AMELIO MGRGA (At Constitution Park) It was right around here in Consitution Park in 1913, that two enterprising real estate developers pruchased 800 acres of what is now the main part of town This was an up- and - coming area They had an eye to subdivision The location was good, the climate was great and there was free water Before long, the Lynwood Company was born They called their first tract the Modjeska Tract Lots sold for $400 to 800 dollars Business lots for $600 Promotors offered free transportation and lunches to all comers NARRATOR 0 0 The venture was mildly successful but.in 1918,the company closed up and donated their offices for use as a city hall for the citizens who were just becoming interested in forming their own city COLEMAN (In front of old city hall) Lynwood was officially incorporated as a city in July of 1921 Our first city hall doesn't exist any more e This bulding was our second city'` ; ` R hall now it houses the Board) r °' of Educatio In those early days we had an all voluntary city council of eager citizens who set to work building their new city With police, fire department and, of course, schools EVELYN WELLS (At Woodrow Wilson) (Talks about history of education) (BACK OP NARATION) The first school house, built in the 1880s, had just one room and all the grades were together Then the Lugo School, a two room structure. was built in 1895 Later, in 1917, it was replaced W by Woodrow Wilson School Today, Lynwood has 26 public and private schools COLEMAN (In front of church) (Talks about religion in Lynwood) Religion has played an important role in Lynwood's life from the early times to today In the early times much of the social life revolved around church activities . . and today, there are no less than 38 churches In a city of under 5 square miles NARRATOR Along with cityhood, the 20s brought much growth to Lynwood The News Tribune, a new Chamber of Commerce, and shops began to crop up along Long Beach Blvd Lynwood could even boast of having the narrowest building in the world, according to Ripley's Believe It or Not! It was 9 0 5 feet wide and 135 feet long Located on Long Beach Blvd , it long since made way for other buildings Of course, the era of the 20s ended with a event felt in Lynwood as well as round the world RUBEN ANDERSON (Talks about his memories of the Depression and the 30s ) (Alternate script) ( The year 1929 began the depression years The city did what it could to help the most badly hit by pro- viding work such as cutting weeds at 40 cents an hour By 1933, Lynwood was beginning to shake off the effects of the Depres- sion but another shock was in store!) RUBEN ANDERSON (Continues with memories of the quake of 33 ) (NARRATOR ALTERNATIVE SCRIPT) At 5 45 on Fri evening, March 10, 1933, when most residents were just sitting down to their evening meal, an ominous rumbling could be heard It was followed by the heart - stopping sounds of falling bricks and timber as the most disastrous quake of the area hit with vicious force It left in its wake a city covered in debris and without gas, electricity or water Lynwood was placed under Marshall Law and the Auxiliary of the American Legion set up a relief station and fed hundreds COLEMAN (On Norton Street) After the depression and quake things began to look up and one of the interesting tales told about the 30s is that Amelia Earhart kept her plane in a large red barn here on Norton Ave She'd take off from a dirt runway nearby And if she had looked down on Lynwood, she would have seen a lot of growth EMELIO MORGA (In front of 7th Day Adventist building) By 1938 growth in Lynwood was at a pitch New homes for nearly 400 families stores school improvements, a Masonic Temple and a brand new $40,000 Post Office And right here, on Imperial Highway, the Seventh -Day Adventists completed this 36 acre project The Adventists have also held camp meetings in Lynwood since the 30s NARRATOR Just as things seemed to be getting back on track World War II came along In a way. the war brought out some of the best in Lynwood DAVID LITSINGER: (By the cannon) (Talks about WW II memories ) (BACK UP NARRATION) Citizens rallied around the war effort Air raid sirens were installed and civil defense became a daily fact of life 9 i People planted Victory Gardens in their back yards Lynwood had been in the Rose Parade since 1936 but in '43 the float carried a message urging people to buy War Bonds NARRATOR In 1945, Lynwood paid tribute to to the young warriors who would not return and welcomed those who did Many of them would make Lynwood their home COLEMAN (In front of Jerginsons) Lynwood's motto in those days was The Best Place to Live Best And those boys must have believed it! Population more than doubled between 1940 & 50 And Lynwood attracted industries such as Western Gear, Kargil. Manchester Tank and Helen Grace Candies The St Francis Medical Center opened its doors in 1945 Today it is still the largest private hospital in California and helps patients with the most up -to -date equipment and treatments As well as being the largest single employer in Lynwood, it is also nationally famous for its Nun Rim to raise funds for the hospital NARRATOR Yes, the 40s and 50s found Lynwood a City on the move A new Civic Center. Community Center. the Natatorium. where thousands of youngsters have enjoyed themselves As well as new schools, better roads and police and fire protection. DAVID LITSINGF.R ( ) (Talking about the 50s) (Back up narration) Lynwood in the 50s was a family place A good place to grow up A Saturday night would find you going to the movies at the Arden Theatre followed by a visit to Hamms Ice Cream Parlour. or The Clock 0 There was the Christmas parade, still a part of our life here, Just like the Fourth of July ceremonies Lynwood didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the country, either! COLEMAN (By All American City sign) (Or possibly John Bjork ) In 1961 came the jewel in Lynwood's crown She received the coveted title "All American City" as a city which typified the" American Way of Life " Governor Fdmund G Brown spoke at the celebration banquet and President John F Kennedy wired his congratula- ions to Lynwood NARRATOR The 1960s brought new challenges for the city Along with the death of Pres Kennedy-and the war in Vietnam, 0 0 the new proposed Century Freeway was being discussed pro and con! JOHN BJORK (At Frw construction site ) (Talks about the Century Freeway issues) (Backup narration) The freeway path created a corridor of condemned houses right through the center of town The buildings continued deteriorat- ing for the 7 years of court liti- gation from environmentalists and later delays by the State It became a dangerous eyesore in the minds of many In 1979, the court order delaying the Century Freeway was lifted Though construction has been slow in coming, it is now well under way NARRATOR In the sixties, the freeway and other issues became part of a complex situation that led to many changes in Lynwood's makeup Ann Field remembers ANN FIELD (In front of her home) (Talks about the problems and changes during the 60s Including decline in property values, blacks having difficulty buying homes, change in population makeup, etc (NARRATOR BACK UP SCRIPT) Actually, several events happened simultaniously The Freeway left a corrator of unsightly, condemned buildings right through the town Due to the freeway's delay, a proposed shopping center development fell through and left a large cleared area And a long overdue change in the law made it so that people couldn't refuse to sell to a minority Because Lynwood is a nice place to live, since then, many minorities have chosen to live here COLEMAN Today's Lynwood is a thriving home to business, industry and a diverse blend of citizens Each of whom brings something wonderful to this city And new, wonderful things ready to happen every day MAYOR PAUL RICHARDS: (At City Hall) (Gives inspiring wrap -up) (Bank up narration) We are an industrious, fun loving hard working city A multi - racial, multi - lingual truly All American City of the next century And one that intends to remain A City Meeting Challenges