Stephanie Duarte
Staff Writer
La Verne residents and dignitaries gathered at the Los Angeles County Fair Sept. 15 for the city of La Verne’s day at the Fair.
The event was part of a series of Community Days developed by the fair to celebrate cities in its surrounding areas. La Verne’s day included various activities such as a horse race dedicated to the city and a community expo.
Perhaps the most popular event was the community parade featuring local community organizations, high school bands and five community heroes.
“Having La Verne Day at the Fair is a special chance to highlight the contribution our heroes do for the community,” Mayor Jon Blickenstaff said.
Michelle Demott, marketing manager for the Los Angeles County Fair, described the process of selecting the heroes.
“After the City of La Verne selects its heroes, the Daily Bulletin puts out a call for nominations of an additional hero,” she said.
Louise Townsend was the community-selected hero and well deserved the honor. She has been teaching free swim lessons to neighborhood children and adults for over 38 years.
Her community service days began with a growing concern for children drowning in household pools.
“Her volunteering has definitely been motivated by children,” said Barbara Townsend, Louise’s daughter. “She has always been my No. 1 fan.”
Louise Townsend laughed when trying to remember exactly how many children and grandchildren she had. After giving up, she looked to her daughter for help. The counting began. The grand total: eight children, 21 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.
As a 52-year La Verne resident, Louise Townsend has seen many groups of children grow up. In addition to teaching swim lessons, she has led Girl Scout troops and taught Sunday school classes.
“Oh yeah, I’m qualified,” Louise Townsend said about her current ability to teach lessons. “Come over to my house. I’ll turn you into a swimmer!”
The Fair awarded three types of honors to the other community heroes.
The Jack Huntington Pride of La Verne Award went to husband and wife team Norm and Marlou Faustini for their combined volunteer contribution of more than 746 hours to the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol organization.
Frances Divine, 83, received the Outstanding Older American Award for dedicating 619 hours to the City of La Verne. She is known for never saying no to a job and always arriving to each job well-dressed and with a smile.
The Jim Scranton Pride of La Verne Award went to Dave Zylstra for community leadership as a sports coach, community board member and his involvement with the Bonita High School Beautification Project.
Other VIPs at the fair included Miss La Verne Sarah Davis, a senior anthropology and religion major at the University of La Verne.
Since winning the Miss La Verne pageant in March, she has been actively involved with the City Council and various city functions.
All community heroes and dignitaries became the most popular people at the fair as they rode in various cars and chariots in the 35-minute community parade.
“The city of La Verne’s day at the fair continues to grow every year,” Demott said. “This year we have two floats and over 30 entries.”
Many residents came out to support their favorite organization, from cheer squads to girl scouts.
However, for kids, rides were still the main focus.
“I love the rides,” said Kaitlyn Malarkey, 8. “They’re fun.”
“We’ve seen everyone we know here,” said Kelly Malarkey, La Verne resident.
“It’s a great way to bring the community together.”
Stephanie Duarte can be reached at duartes@ulv.edu.
Stephanie Duarte
