AC_1965_Web

185 AN T I OC H CO L L E G E C L A S S O F 19 6 5 5 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y B O O K V I N C E N T culvert building,which I could have told them first thing and suggested I return as a teacher. Classroom teaching was never an interest. Before law school, short time at sea as a merchant seaman, some- thing I did later return to, as once the salt water is in your veins and traveling is an interest, the call of the sea can be irresistible. Also found time to spend many months try- ing unsuccessfully to learn Hebrew and successfully picking citrus fruit on an Ulpan-kibbutz in Israel. I was noted with the best penmanship and worst accent. Settling into night law school, worked first in the U.S. Court of Appeals law library, and then be- came the law librarian for the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, fin- ishing on graduation as a law clerk for the chief judge. Not ready to settle into practice, took a couple of years with a friend opening “The Soap Bar” in Camden Passage, the Angel, London.An uncle manufactured our custom designed soaps, lotions,and shampoos from his California laboratory.My Saks-34th co- op retail experience was invaluable. The shop looked good, mentioned in Vogue as a must, and then sold the for- mula rights, returning to California, with a self-designed M.B.A. Took some time to manage my mother’s campaign for City Council here in Richmond, but to no avail, as women still had their place, but not for too many years, as times have changed. Go Hillary! Time at sea again. Returned and soon bought, restored and con- verted to offices a Victorian house on the border of the village trian- gle (town square), in the business district of Point Richmond, an area that soon became the first historic district in the nation. So, with an of- fice vacant, it was time to put out the shingle and settle to the prac- tice of law. Doing so had the benefit of not having to fill out a tedious résumé. Relying on contacts in the mar- itime unions, I soon found a niche practice of serving civilian mariner employees of the federal govern- ment.My work included civil service employment protection, disciplin- ary, security clearance adjudica- tion, equal employment and injured worker’s systems. Other contacts helped with businesses contract- ing with the government. This was much more rewarding than my ini- tial experiences with a messy fam- ily divorce and the grueling crimi- nal justice system. Realize, I didn’t have the training or interest to be a social worker for these stressful situations. The law is said to be a jealous mistress, and not wanting to be en- snarled, and having avoided mar- riagehood, I soon found spare time for other needs in my city. A chance encounter with a friend told me the community the- ater here needed some volunteer extras owning their own cowboy boots, which I did, for a forthcom- ing play. I also had acting experience as one of the many walk-on extras in the 1962 summertime production of “Guys and Dolls” in the brand new college amphitheater.The local the- ater, The Masquers Playhouse, was doing a melodrama, written by a member, so that there were no royal- ties to pay.The saved money would help in meeting the down payment for their campaign to buy the build- ing and avoid disbanding after 30 years. Now 30 years later, I still con- tinue to help with their fundraising. The mortgages for the theater and an 8800 square foot warehouse nearby are fully paid. For 20 years, I’ve orga- nized the huge annual garage sale in front of the theater as well as about 100 nearby houses participating and giving 10% of their proceeds to the theater. Advertising in 30 northern California papers, the sale brings thousands to town on Memorial Day. Across from the theater, on the same day, in the tiny park, I started the successful Fine Fiddle Festival, with all-day live music, not amplified, as a place to park your spouse while you shop. Found that I was better on the sidewalk, wearing a sandwich board displaying the offerings of the yearly raffle than as an extra. So for the last 20 years, before two of each year’s productions, I can be found treading the sidewalk, sell- ing to the line waiting to enter the theater. Can self-direct, write my own sales script, design the raf- fle tickets, choose their color, and wear clothes to match:“better sales through color-coordination,” is one of the more corny lines, but gets both a laugh and a sale. And that tiny park across from the theater needed serious atten- tion. Many of us raised funds for replacing the pedestal statue and raised borders for Indian Statue Park. Someone had the idea of “naming a brick.”A core of us, over two years, hand embossed 2200 names in wet bricks before they were kiln fired. That idea raised a lot of money, but never again such a chore. Did learn how to sell a brick, and this came in handy recently, with cajoling to pur- chase by the alumni work project, alumni board, San Francisco alumni chapter and board of trustees with named bricks for the plaza in front of A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z