At the July 25, 6pm meeting, Lynwood Club President – Elect Victor Gomez, called the meeting to order. (President Gudiel Crosthwaite arrived too late to call the meeting to order.)
Two guests from Rotary District 5280 were introduced to include Karen Greenberg, Assistant District 5280 Governor. Karen reminded Lynwood Rotary members that the District 5280 Governor, Ms. Melody, will attend the next meeting Thur, noon, Aug 1. (Club officers must arrive at 11:00 am for a meeting with the District Governor, before the regular meeting starts at 12 Noon.) Daniel mentioned the Free Summer Concert event and distributed flyers for the Fri 7pm – 9pm Latino Band performance at Avalos Community Center in Ham Park on Atlantic Ave. Also he displayed two custom T-Shirts that will be for sale at the Rotary Tables in the National Night Out Event on Tue, Aug 6, to be located in the front lawn of the Lynwood City Hall. One T-Shirt has a photo collage by Daniel and by Plaza Mexico staff to Plaza Mexico Director, Mario Cardenas. A second T-Shirt has a colorful design with the words “Straight Otta Lynwood.”
Daniel introduced the speaker, Illu Johnson, author of a book about the history of Lynwood. The book was published by the Arcadia Book Publishers. This is a well-known series of books on histories of cities and histories of important groups and events in history. He noted he was pleasantly surprised to see that this Lynwood history book was authored by well-known member of the Lynwood city staff, Illu Johnson, in the Department of Recreation and Community Services.
Illu’s Power Point presentation included many memorable photos of people and places relating to the early history of the City of Lynwood. (Fast forward, due to memorable images and references to early settlers, Illu agreed to come back soon for a second presentation from his book on the history of Lynwood.)
Illu explained that it is good for our community to know our roots. His research included accessing data from the central library of the LA City Library network of branches throughout the LA Region. Starting with references to historic persons, Illu mentioned Don Lugo. In the history of Spain, the Spanish conquers settled California and very large ranches were the origin of property ownership. Names that some of us have heard, include the Sessions family, Jay Jay Willard, Jim Morton, Perry Brent. Also reference to the dairy industry, and the woman Lynne, whose family was part of a major diary. Hence the name Lynn Wood. The Sessions family helped incorporate Lynwood. Two prominent bankers were from the Slauson and the Huntington families.
Memorable photos include farm structures and some businesses along Long Beach Blvd. Also of flooded areas from rains and as overflows from the Los Angeles River and from the San Gabriel River. (Before the rivers were encased in concrete by the US Bureau of Engineering, starting in the late 30’s.) Of interest, were photos of buildings that have not changed in appearance over the years. For example, there is a house at Carlin & Atlantic, that is one of the original homes and today, has not changed. Also the United Methodist Church and the Church by Plaza Mexico, The Church of the Nazarenes, has not changed since their original construction. Also, the big trees along Joseph and Agnes streets, have a long history. Unfortunately, some memorable structures no longer exist, such as a theater along Long Beach Blvd. Another interesting reference is the origin of the name for our city to the north: South Gate, a reference to boundary of farm lands in that area.
A memorable comment from Illu is that he attended a meeting of graduates from Lynwood schools in the City of Anaheim. And he noted everyone was ethnically white! In preparation for Illu’s second presentation, Daniel suggests that Rotary members drive around Lynwood to think about changes that have occurred over the last 100 years. Also, some reference to the dramatic changes in the ethnic makeup of this part of Los Angeles County. And also some reference to the Pacific Electric Railway System in Los Angeles County, with particular reference to the PE Station that was part of Lynwood, and the rail system that extended north to what is now downtown LA and downtown Long Beach.
Daniel Miller Public Relations/ Community Outreach Lynwood Rotary Club