Home | Online Store | What's On The Island | Rentals | What's Happening | Pictures | Local Specials |
Fun Facts | How To Find Us | Follow Us on Twitter | Island Breeze | Links | Lost and Found

October, 2006 Volume 8 Issue 5

BALBOA ISLAND CALENDAR
FRIDAY OCT 6 FRIDAY NIGHT STROLL 7pm—9 pm, Marine Avenue
SAT. DEC 2 CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING—Fire Station—Marine Avenue
2:30 pm—4:30 pm Santa, Carolers, Snow and Lots of Fun
SUN DEC. 10 BALBOA ISLAND HOME TOUR 2006
11 am - 4 pm
Tickets on sale at Let’s Go Shopping on Agate Avenue, Sandpiper, Martha’s Bookstore, Even Sisters and Island Home on Marine Avenue
WED. DEC. 13— NEWPORT HARBOR BOAT PARADE
SUN. DEC. 17 Starts at 6:30 pm at Collins Island—Finishes around 8:30 pm at the Balboa Island Ferry.

SHOOTING THE BREEZE.  .  .Carolyn Carr
This past month I turned 60 years old.  I am part of the baby boom that they are always talking about in the media.  Coming to this milestone made me stop and take a look at what has happened over the past year on Balboa Island and in my life. 
We are losing a whole generation here on Balboa Island. A year ago Jim Jennings passed away.  I miss our historian and have been collecting stories about him and printing them in the Island Breeze this year.  If you have any stories to share with us, please let me know at Island Flooring, 118 Agate Avenue, 949.675.3456.
We also lost another Island fixture—Hal Holleman and his wife Renee. What a love story that is.  They met when Hal was 14 and Renee was 12.  Hal and Renee were high school sweethearts who married in 1944 and lived on Balboa Island for 47 wonderful years.  They left Balboa Island just 12 days apart.  Their Memorial was a wonderful event held at the Renee Holleman tennis court at the Palisades Tennis Club exactly 3 years to the day after it was dedicated to Renee who was a passionate tennis player.
I knew Hal from the volunteer work he did and I will miss his smile and hello at the post office every day when I go to collect my mail.  He always made me feel special.
Another Island fixture was John Werlie.  Mr. Werlie turned over the daily maintenance of the Balboa Island bulletin board to Mike Kamps in 1997 when he first fell ill.  I believe he said he had been doing that volunteer job for over 20 years at the time.  Mike and I thought that was pretty crazy.  Now that Mike has been doing it for almost 10 years and loves the job—he doesn’t think it is crazy at all.  Balboa Island grows on all of us. 
Mr. Werlie’s granddaughter, Allison, is married to our local Mac Computer expert and Island Breeze advertiser Tom Koch. Tom was nice enough to bring me biographical material on Mr. Werlie from which I generated an abbreviated story of an intriguing life.
Virginia “Bootsie” Montalbano.  A young life cut short.  Another love story.  Bootsie met her husband Mark in her teens and they drifted apart—marrying others and raising families—only to be reunited and live a happy, prosperous life on Balboa Island.  Bootsie will be missed by all her friends and neighbors who loved her infectious, happy smile and the willingness to be there for all who needed her.
It has been a sad year in many respects, we will miss these people who are gone—it makes me appreciate those around me, and as my landlord Mr. Kelly used to say when he was in his 90s —
“Any day you wake up on this side of the turf is a great day!!!”

image
JIM’S STORIES
This month our story comes from the Internet, from Vicki Tamoush.

My story about Jim Jennings is short, but sweet:  I read about his book on historic Balboa Island and decided to contact him to order copies as Christmas gifts for my family and also for a friend in England who spent some wonderful days on the Island with us.  When I called Jim for the first time a couple of years ago, he immediately spoke to me as if we had known one another for years and he started telling me some of his own stories about the Island.  It turned out that we had been neighbors for a year when I was in college and rented a duplex with three other college friends on Marine Avenue.  We girls lived upstairs in the house next door to Jim’s 76 station and of course he lived just a couple of houses down from there.

In that phone call with Jim, I was delighted to hear him reminisce about the years when the area was less developed and had a different feel to it.  We remembered together when Plummer Court was demolished to make way for the Caribe Balboa and how much fun the original bumper cars in the Fun Zone were.  We talked about Balboa Bars, and how nice it is to be able to duck into Hershey’s Market to get a cold bottle of pop on a hot day.  He told me a fascinating story about a gentlemen who had rented a unit behind the market who became a local version of Howard Hughes, having stashed a considerable amount of money in his apartment by the time he passed away.

Over the course of several conversations, Jim suggested that he could autograph his books before sending them to me.  I was grateful that he would take the time to do this and he made note of the names of each of my family members.  They were thrilled when the received these signed copies of his book at Christmas!

BE WILLING
By Ralph Marston

Be Willing to learn and a teacher will appear.  Be willing to work and numerous opportunities for making a valuable, positive difference will come your way.

Your willingness is a key that unlocks life’s abundance.  Your willingness helps open your eyes to, and prepares you for whatever you are willing to be or do.

Your willingness is not merely what you say it is.  True willingness resides in the deepest part of who you are.

Be willing, and you will gain access to whatever you need to get the job done.  Be willing, and you will find a way.

Many things seem out of reach only because you imagine them to be.  Have the courage to be sincerely willing, and the impossible can become real.

Be willing to make a difference in each moment, and your world will overflow with possibilities.  Be willing to experience a life of richness and fulfillment, and that is precisely how it will unfold.

BALBOA ISLAND BULLETIN BOARD
Rent—A—Granny—Caring “Balboa Island” Granny wants to assist you with your after school Child Care needs in the safety of your own home.  After school bus pick ups, homework assistance, light meal/snack preparation, coordinate household activities, run light errands, tailored to the needs of your family.
For availability please call 949.673.6510.

Balboa Vinyl Fencing—Neighbor Scott Christie installed beautiful, custom made vinyl fencing around his house at the corner of Onyx and Balboa Blvd.  Soon neighbors started asking where they could get a similar fence.  This created a new business for Scott and his brothers. 
If you are interested in having a custom made fence for your house stop by, look at Scott’s fence, grab a flyer and then call 949.678-2909

Underground nuclear testing, defoliation of the rain forests, toxic waste . . . Let’s put it this way:  If the world were a big apartment, we wouldn’t get our deposit back.—John Ross


NEW BUSINESSES ON THE ISLAND . . . HIDDEN TREASURES

image

Located where Seaside Cottage used to be, at 329 Marine Ave. near the entrance to Balboa Island, Hidden Treasures lives up to its name in a myriad of ways.

Owners Lance and Edie come from different cultures—he is a local boy who grew up on the Balboa Peninsula and in Corona Del Mar.  Edie is from Thailand. 

They have taken their visions and combined them to come up with an eclectic blend of what they call Island Polynesian Décor.  Paintings, candles from Hawaii, furniture with an Asian flair, Beachy rugs and signs, custom shell centerpieces—these are just a few of the intriguing items on display. 

Art by local artists fills the walls—many of the scenes you will recognize and love.  Lance is going to have art shows every 2-1/2 months.  Their shop will definitely fit in the Marine Avenue home décor street that seems to be evolving.  More choices are always a good thing.

Edie wants everyone to know that she will design a gift basket from any item or items in the store and deliver it locally for you.  Now that is my idea of convenience!!  And you couldn’t ask for a friendlier delivery person.  I really enjoyed my morning with her and Lance. 
Call them at 949.675.6675.


image
ISLAND LIGHTING
Damon Burris and Mike McCluer are back to make your house beautiful for Christmas.  Damon had moved to beautiful Fresno, but found the attraction of Southern California and his family to powerful to stay away.  So he is BACK—and helping Mike with the lighting again this year.

These are the guys who have won awards for the Busby’s and others on the Island—so sign up quickly to be first on their list and have your Christmas lights up in time for the judging which takes place early in December—the dates have not yet been announced.  Watch for them on the entrance to the Island and in the BIIA Newsletter—the Island Bridge. 
Call Mike and Damon at 949.903.9018


image
JOHN WIRLEY
John Werlie was the manager of Hershey’s Grog Shop from 1940—1977.  Originally from Chicago, John came to live with his aunt Veronica in Huntington Beach. John got a job working at Thrifty Drugs and then took a “temporary” job at Hershey’s .
John was drafted and fought in North Africa and Italy during World War II.  The highlight of his wartime experience was guarding Marlene Dietrich.  He and his friend Bob were MPs who got that plum assignment—Marlene nick named them “Frankie and Johnny.”
In an article written by local columnist, Peggy Mercer in 1996, John’s memories of the early Island were highlighted.  Movie stars such as John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart were common on the Island and there was an honor system at the Village Inn, where regulars would come through the back door before business hours began, help themselves to a drink or two, and leave—and then pay later.  This was a different world.
In that same article, Dorothy, John’s wife, is quoted as saying, “People watch out for each other here and go out of their way to be caring and supportive of friends and neighbors,” - that aspect of Balboa Island hasn’t changed one bit!!


TIPS OF THE MONTH
Vegetarian Diets have Lots of positive effects:
According to a recent research conducted at the University of Chicago, switching to a vegetarian diet is as or more helpful as buying a hybrid car.  The study concluded that an animal-based diet accounts for significantly more fossil-fuel use than a plant-based diet, and emits more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  The practice of raising animals causes greenhouse gasses even more dangerous than carbon dioxide, primarily methane and nitrous oxide.  And eating locally grown food is even better for the environment—so try one of our local Farmer’s Markets.
People who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight that people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet.  The vegan dieters lowered cholesterol more and ended up with better kidney function.  Participants said the diet was easy to follow because there was no measuring portions or calorie counting.  The vegan dieters lost 14 pounds on the average and 43 percent were able to stop some of their medications or lower the dosage.


KEEP THOSE OLD CELL PHONES COMING TO ISLAND FLOORING—We have now donated 5 large boxes to Phones4Life—every phone is a life saved!  Now it is also illegal to trash them.

FAX AND COPY AT ISLAND FLOORING
We have a new high-speed copy machine.  We can now copy large and small quantities, color copies and fax.  Come in and try out our service.

JUST A REMINDER—SEND US YOUR STORIES OF JIM JENNINGS—They will be printed in the Island Breeze and eventually made into a book by Jim’s son, Jim Jennings, Jr.  Thanks. 



ISLAND STYLE
118 Agate Avenue
Balboa Island, CA 92662
949.675.6511

Gongs And Wind Chimes from Woodstock Chimes.  What Beautiful Sounds they Make.

imageimageimageimageimage





image

LICENSE PLATE FRAMES*
BALBOA ISLAND
LITTLE BALBOA ISLAND
NEW PORT COAST
BALBOA
CORONA DEL MAR
CRYSTAL COVE
BALBOA PENINSULA POINT