22 January 2013 City Employees Club of , Alive! History Housing Family Day Picnic by Hynda 22 Comes Alive! Rudd City Archivist Housing hosted annual summer picnic. (Retired) and l Tales From the City Archives l Club Member Story by Jackie Causillas, Club Counselor; a dessert contest, where numerous Housing Photos by Angel Gomez, Club Member staff members submitted their favorite recipes. Services Manager The kids were occupied with lots of activities. n Aug. 11, Housing They had a potato sack race, The Lacy Legacy, Oheld its annual water balloon and egg tosses, a Family Day at the Park three-legged race, a Hula Hoop Continued Picnic at Elysian Park. Employees contest, a dance contest, and a brought their families and friends couple of piñatas to keep a smile The vastly influential and pioneering of all ages to celebrate the festivi- on their faces! ties. Executive staff, Managers Lacy family of Los Angeles is charted General Manager Mercedes and Division Heads Rushmore from 1887 to the present. Marquez began the celebration Cervantes, Helmi Hisserich, Anna by welcoming attendees and Ortega, Roberto Aldape and Greg William Lacy in 1927. Part 2 By Nicholas A. “Nick” Curry gave the blessing before everyone Kung, along with fellow Housing started to eat. Everyone had their Manuel Bernal, personnel and family members, Photos courtesy Security Pacific National Bank and Gabriel Cemetery. fill and some even came back for Director of Major Projects, joined in on having a watermel- Herald Examiner collections, Los Angeles Public Richard Lacy was president of the seconds. The day started with a Club Member. on eating contest. All who par- Library Photo Collection, Christina Rice, Acting softball game in which players ticipated quickly realized that eat- Senior Librarian; and courtesy the author Appleton Land and Water Company; direc- tor of Security First National Bank; vice presi- had the chance to represent their ing watermelon with their seeds s stated in the first part, the William dent and director of Holly Development Co.; respected Divisions. Assistant without using their hands is not ALacy family of Los Angeles began in director of the Electrical Products Corp.; General Managers Roberto Aldape as easy as it seems! GM Mercedes 1830 with the birth of William Lacy Sr. and, at the time of his death, director of the and Greg Kung both cheered and Marquez helped in determining He was an architect, farmer, retailer, inn- Oceanic Oil Co. His clubs and associations played with their teams to show who won the messy contest! But keeper, banker, manufacturer, oil pioneer, included the Club, the Los Angeles everyone that they, too, had the if you asked me, everyone was a gold miner, volunteer fireman and founder Athletic Club, the Nidwick Country Club, the competitive edge and spirit! winner! Thank you all – for being of Lacy Manufacturing Co., which in 1887 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the As the celebration went on team players! began its original business of sheet metal Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and The throughout the afternoon, there Special thanks go to Lorena Aguilar for her assistance in pro- manufacturing and building steel pipes and Merchant and Manufacturers Association. In were numerous events going on. Ericka Peden, Housing ducing this story. tanks. It expanded into building heavy plate politics, he was a Republican. He was sur- There was a chili cook-off and Systems Group. metal, boilers, petroleum refinery stills, vived by his five daughters: Helen Fitzpatrick, storage tanks, water work appliances and Marjorie Williams, Florence Smith, Constance the like. William Lacy was a “mover and Hayes and Eleanor Hanna. shaker.” He had two sons, William Jr. and The Lacy legacies are reflected in Lacy Richard Henry. Park within the city of San Marino, which Part I ended in 1908, with son, Richard, was once first known as Wilson’s Lake and and his wife, Maud, a niece of Sir William later as Lake Vineyard and subsequently Sullivan of the famed English comic operas, named Lacy Park in April 1940, following Gilbert and Sullivan, living in South Pasadena the death of Maud Lacy. with their family of one son and five daugh- Along the same line, Richard’s father, ters. The 11-acre estate has since been subdi- William Lacy Sr. built a vacation home in vided into an upscale single family residential 1888 in Pacific Grove, California on the From left: Nell Dizon, Management Analyst neighborhood with the original mansion of Monterey peninsula. The house is now From left: Vicki Thanaski, Phuong Pham, Liseth Romero, and Mary II; Roya Babazadeh, Director of Compliance approximately 7,000 square feet still intact called the Green Gables Inn and currently Arredondo. Division; and friend. and maintained as a single family residence used as a bed and breakfast inn. currently facing 1460 Avonrea Rd. in San Marino. In June 1932, William Lacy Jr., Public Works mentally distraught and in greatly diminished health, took his own life at age 67. Richard assumed the presi- dency of the company. William Jr. was an important leader in business and a Join the man committed to the building up of early Los Angeles. He was involved in numerous issues affecting the growth of the City. His last contribution led a drive for the building of the Colorado Pioneer Partial view of William Lacy’s residence, a two-story Queen River Aqueduct, which became a real- Anne-style home on near Griffin Avenue in Lincoln ity in 1941. He did not live to see his Heights. It is believed the house no longer exists. (Photo dream come true. As a matter of inter- undated.) est, William Jr. and his family lived in Toastmasters an English Tudor mansion in the Hancock The Puente Hills oil interests, along with Park section of Los Angeles, and in 1949, the family’s Chino oil refinery, founded in 1892, The Public Works family sold it to the renowned entertainer, were sold to Shell Oil Co. during the mid- to Nat “King” Cole. late 1930s. The management of the Lacy Pioneers Toastmasters Club In January 1940, Richard’s beloved Maud Manufacturing Co. was assumed by the died of breast cancer at age 68 and was two sons of William Lacy Jr. (William and interred within the Lacy family burial plot at Walter) in 1942, and ultimately ended up in Wednesdays San Gabriel Cemetery along with their only bankruptcy in 1966, due to overexpansion. son, Richard William Lacy (a mechanical In 1971, Fred Lacy, son of Walter Lacy and 12:05 p.m. engineer), who died in 1927 at age 33. grandson of William Lacy Jr., revived the 1149 S. Broadway, 6th Floor Due to declining health, Richard Lacy company in Wilmington under the new Conference Room 6004 stepped down as San Marino’s first mayor name of Lacy Oil Tools Company, which in early 1942. His last public appearance he continued to own and operate in 2010, was at the June 1945 gala homecoming of at the age of 81. And, one last legacy is the Gen. George S. Patton Jr. (1885-1945) on wonderful residential community of San Club Members: Gain confidence in your public the front steps of the San Marino City Hall. Marino that Mayor Richard Henry Lacy so speaking and leadership skills. The Public Richard died of a heart attack at his last effectively promoted during his long and Works Pioneers Toastmasters Club meets residence, the Huntington Hotel, on July 3, successful tenure in that capacity. each Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. at 1149 S. 1945, and is buried in the family plot at San Broadway in the sixth floor conference room 6004. Guests are welcome. About the Author Joining the Toastmasters is inexpensive, In part two, Nick Curry completes, for the time being, the monu- educational and fun. If you have any mental history of the William Lacy family. questions concerning Toastmasters, Nick is a phenomenal Southern California historian. He loves chas- contact Ivan Gerson at (213) 485- ing and compiling biographical family manuscripts of the following: the Dohenys; the Bixbys of Long Beach; the Spreckels; the William 1169 or Dominic Buenaventura at Randolph Hearsts; the Henry E. Huntingtons; the J. Paul Gettys; and Nick Curry (213) 847-0593. the E.J. “Lucky” Baldwins. Toastmasters International is a nonprof- Nick’s publications with others include: Rivers in the Desert; Dark Side of Fortune- it, worldwide organization that helps its TOASTMASTERS The Triumphs and Tragedies of Edward L. Doheny; the 75th Anniversary Celebration members develop their public speaking of the Biltmore Hotel; Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles Centennial publication; and leadership skills. The Public Works Bullocks Wilshire publication; The Culture Broker: Franklin D. Murphy biography; and For more information: Pioneers Toastmasters Club belongs to Privileged Son: The Chandler Family of the . Area 43 of Division D in the Downtown Ivan Gerson: (213) 485-1169 Thanks, Nick, for your contribution to Alive! – Hynda Rudd Los Angeles area. Dominic Buenaventura: (213) 847-0593