There were a few more things to consider on the Calendar for Alumni events in 2009.Saturday's Alumni meeting covered some items of old business, recapping the past years events ranging from the labor-intensive efforts at the AA's snack bar during Lincoln's home football games, to the November 1st 95th Anniversary Gala event at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
There were lots of discussion points raised and comments made on what will be done in the future to improve areas that were considered below a desired level of achievement in the past, and a so few more approaches will be used to bring out the best level of quality as we move into the new year.
MEMBERSHIP CONSIDERATIONS
Our dues-paying membership procedures may need a change to enable a greater base of alumni to be able to fully participate in the voting process, since there are some present requirements that prevent that, cited by some alumni as a reason for refraining from a more active involvement. That's all to be worked out, again for the betterment of the organization, which will require changes to membership provisions of the bylaws.
SPRING ACTIVITY AT SANTA ANITA PARK
There will be another "Day At The Races" at Santa Anita Park on Sunday, April 19, 2009, continuing the annual event that brings us out for a nice afternoon at the famous local horse racing venue. The ticket price for the fundraising event that includes admission to the infield area and food, was announced as $25.00 per ticket, the same as last year. Ticket availability to be announced.
END-OF-SUMMER PICNIC
The Picnic is back, provided there are enough members in the organizing committee. The Summer Alumni Picnic that was held annually until it was suspended this past year so that more AA work resources could be focused on the Gala event that was held in November. The details of that event will be presented as the Picnic Committee assembles a list of volunteers to work on the date, location and other details. The event is one of the better opportunities for alumni to meet in a casual atmosphere for relaxing and eating with old and new friends and family members.
FALL DANCE
The Fall season will bring another dance event of a much more casual variety than we saw at November's Gala. This event is something that is planned to generate greater attendance with an anticipated nominal cost and the musical selections of a dance band and d.j. designed to maximize your enterainment value. That is still is in the planning stages, with committee membership in progress
2009 CHRISTMAS PARADE AND UPCOMING NEWSLETTER
A report on the Lincoln Heights Christmas Parade was presented with comments, and the Newsletter committee activity report was given. Amid a few other things suggested in content and delivery of the newletter, the question of email as a means to distribute information was presented, however, there was reluctance to commit to that mode based on stated reasons of often-changing email addresses and some other reasons that were not entirely clear to me.
The question of an Alumni Association web presence was raised by faculty guest, Ms. Collins, and was answered by noting that the AA has a section on the schools website, within which you can find it's information. Ms. Collins, was not aware of that, even with 10 years on the LHS faculty, which is something that belies the mistaken assumption applied to lots of things at LHS, generally. And that would be the widely-held but often inaccurate belief, especially in areas of content, simply that, "because it is there, everyone knows it."
The LHS website, by the way, is undergoing some changes at this time, the most obvious effect is that you can't get to the pages as of the meeting date. That condition is expected to be changed sooner than later, but that's only a hope since there's been no official word committing to any particular deadline, as far as I know.
LINCOLN'S BIRTDAY, FEBRUARY 12- 200TH ANNIVERSARY
There was a discussion prompted by the fact that this year marks the 2ooth anniversary of the birth of LHS's namesake, President Abraham Lincoln. The city of Redlands in San Bernardino County is the home to a Lincoln Memorial Shrine (http://www.lincolnshrine.org/)- a day excursion of the AA to this site is being considered, with any specific details still to be determined. Additional comments included making a field trip for students to attend, with some thought of using school bus transportation.
Historically, LHS remains one in which the history of its namesake has been largely a mystery to students, with the coming and going of Lincoln's Birthday passing without any noticeable recognition or event development happening each February. Such opportunities to instill some better knowledge of a major historical figure, President Lincoln, and, thereby provide a better perspective from which students to try improving morale and school pride.
The evidence of the opposite effects is commonly seen to exist by the presence of continued graffiti, other acts of vandalism and generally, by the lack of respect for the school facilities, demonstrated daily by the trash left after lunch and nutrition that somehow doesn't make it to nearby trash cans.
The school that you and I attended in the Vietnam Era and even up to the Gulf War era is long gone, along with most of the classes that we called "electives," nearly all on-campus shop classes and other vocational classes. The school service clubs of the past, like the Knights, Ladyes, and such, are relegated to the past, artifacts of a different time.
Different thoughts are connected with changes in society. Mention that we had "swats" in the discipline array and you will get a completely baffled look from students. Another notable reaction was from a teacher friend, also an alumnus, was absolutely amazement as I described the common practices of our days as students at LHS. He thought it to be more like something of a holdover from the Middle Ages in dealing with offenses. To him it was just barbaric. We thought it was pragmatic, except for the P.E. teachers where it should have been banned. Many of them had personality issues, often were bordering on insane in their zeal for swatting. Times change.
The February Lincoln's Birthday occasion provides the opportunity that has thus far slipped through our collective fingers at LHS, losing the opportunity that is variously called a "teaching moment," or, in this case, a sequence of moments. We need to work on changing this condition which can only benefit the students.
(Ed. Comment: Per my earlier report on the Supt. Cortines comments at the 1-13-09 meeting on LAUSD's budget crisis, it would be contrary to the spoken efforts, both those already taken and those planned, to reduce expenses to now see the District committing favorably to any request for that level of expense that this field trip would create. That is just a consequence of the severity of the budget situation. r.g.)
The Lincoln Memorial Shrine is located at 125 W Vine St., Redlands, CA, 92373, telephone: (909) 798-7632 about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, directly off the 10 Fwy, past the city of San Bernardino.
[Additional information: The Lincoln Memorial Shrine was built and presented to the City of Redlands in 1932 by philanthropists Robert and Alma Watchorn, not only as a tribute to Lincoln, but as a memorial to their son Emory Ewart who died from injuries suffered in World War I.]
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