Letters to the Editor
Donate to Secret Santa to fill your heart and to offer others a Merry Christmas
Hello Laguna Beach friends, community and out-of-state donors,
Secret Santa is still going strong after 20+ years. The donation link is live, secure and completely transparent. It’s the same, secure online platform used by the Thurston & LBHS PTAs. You can click on the link daily to see how much has been donated.
If you prefer to donate gift cards, you can contact me and I will pick them up at your house and enter them into the live spreadsheet. Gift cards for grocery stores, gas and Laguna Beach restaurants would be amazing! Thank you.
This year, we will be doing a Secret Santa for 16 Laguna Beach individuals, plus one cat.
These are the 16 Laguna individuals we are helping this year:
–Laguna Beach goat herder Agotilio Moreno. He’s in Riverside now.
–Michael our Laguna Beach greeter
–Single dad and son
–Single mom with son at Thurston
–Single mom with daughter at LBHS
–Senior female (no family)
–Senior male
–Single mom with 2 boys at El Morro & Thurston
–Single college female at LCAD
–Single female with a cat who needs help with our vet Laguna Beach Veterinary Medical Center (who gives Secret Santa the rescue discount).
–(New) A Laguna Beach teen who was made fun of because of her clothes.
We have two money counters/in-kind donation counters this year, as we have a lot of people and one cat on our list.
As always, for full transparency, community “watchdog” Sheri Morgan will count the money with me and all donations given. Amy Graboske will be the 2nd money counter.
Pictures, receipts and total amount given to each family will be provided to all donors for full transparency.
The live spreadsheet is up and is updated daily for all the donations and in-kind donations for full transparency. I will email it to all donors.
A big thank you to everyone who has already donated and to this year’s business sponsors: Dr. Jeffery Briney D.D.S., gorjana, The T-Shirt Company at Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach Veterinary Medical Center, Laguna Surf & Sport, Sunless Love Spray Tanning, Clipa and The Stand Natural Foods.
Link to donate: https://secret-santa-2022.cheddarup.com/.
Celine Macmillan
Laguna Beach
Remembering back to some fun times in the ‘60s
In the late 1960s, teen street dances were held right where our new promenade is planned. They were sponsored by a youth committee made up of members from different churches. The group was an idea from Bob Cornelison, the priest at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
A stage in front of Klass Electric shop had a live band with power from the shop. The Laguna Beach Lumber Co. provided 4’ x 8’ plywood “walls” that were tied together in a zig-zag way at each end of the block which allowed the committee to have entry ways and be self-financed from admission dollars.
The dances were so popular the city council requested that the committee limit their promotion. One foggy night, Mayor Glenn Vedder got lots of phone calls because the fog seemed to trap the music and bother residents nearby and, on the hills, but the mayor had worked with the young people and the dances went on – closing at midnight.
I believe the Laguna Beach Police Department parked a car at one end of the block, and there never was a problem, in spite of the crowd.
At that time there was also an award-winning teen page in one of the local newspapers which was completely produced with teen writers and photographers.
Two wonderful memories of teens from the 1960s.
Roger Carter
Laguna Beach