In a lockdown state, county and city, it’s important to give the current crisis some historical perspective. 

I was researching soldiers from San Pedro who died in World War I when COVID-19 hit the news. In the deluge of reporting since then, the devastation wrought by the Spanish flu epidemic (“pandemic” was not used at that time) in 1918-19 has been largely overlooked. Several San Pedro doughboys died from it (it was soldiers serving overseas who brought the virus to America), but I had no idea how large a toll it had taken on San Pedro’s civilian population. Fellow San Pedro Today columnist Angela Romero earlier described how the epidemic impacted San Pedro generally, but in my research I was struck by the immediacy of the reporting and just how many homes were struck by tragedy.

San Pedro’s population in 1920 was a little over 23,000, not counting the servicemen at Fort MacArthur and the submarine base. A Dec. 11, 1918, story in the Daily Pilot (before it merged with the News) said the county health office estimated there had been 3,000 cases in San Pedro. Total number of deaths in the three months from early October to the end of the year, when the first wave of the epidemic was at its worst, are not recorded, but the Daily Pilot named 40 people who died from either the flu or the effects of the resultant pneumonia in that span; another 27 were reported dead at the densely populated Japanese village on Terminal Island. A Daily Pilot article said, “Death has laid so heavy a hand upon this community as to impress all with the grave seriousness of the visitation of influenza. So many are ill that even the listing of the patients would be impossible.

“Several who passed away had been stricken down in the vigor of youth, and a number of the victims were infants.”

One of the more macabre stories involved Fort MacArthur. A Nov. 6, 1918, article listed the names of 16 soldiers who had died from the flu, all between Oct. 31 and Nov. 4. All of the victims were from out of state; they had arrived at the fort already sick.

The severity of the contagion and the horror it wrought was illustrated in the number of deaths within families. An Oct. 21 article reported, “Mrs. Helen Lucille Parkinson, formerly Miss Carter, an attache of the News office, died of influenza, the death being peculiarly tragic in that it followed that of her brother Robert so closely that a double funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon.”

There was a joint funeral on Oct. 29 at the Wilmington Cemetery for five San Pedrans, including Lucy, wife of Carlo Sima of 383 9th St., who died on a Sunday morning, and their 14-month-old daughter Anna, who died the following morning; and siblings who also died a day apart, Lucy, age 4, and John Joseph, children of Joseph and Theresa Zangara of 544 9th St. The fifth person buried that day was Matilda Camelio, 32, who left three children besides her husband. Another victim listed in the same article was Antonette Briganti of 285 8th St., whose husband had died of pneumonia 15 months earlier. They left five young children.

One of the early victims was Newell Orland Anderson, 19, the oldest son of N.O. Anderson, a San Pedro pioneer. A 1916 graduate of San Pedro High, Newell was stricken while attending USC as a member of the Student Army Training Corps, anticipating service in World War I. Two months later, the Andersons’ only remaining child, Horace, Newell’s younger brother, died of influenza after entering a YMCA radio school in Los Angeles. The Anderson Memorial Senior Citizen Center on 8th Street was built by the Andersons five years later in honor of their two sons.

Not unexpectedly, just as with COVID-19, there was a severe economic impact. An Oct. 25 article reported, “Business in the canneries and fish markets continues slack, principally on account of the prevalence of influenza among the various crews. It is estimated that four out of five boats are laid up.”

A follow-up story on Nov. 9 under the headline, “Fish Scarce Because Fear Ends Fishing” said, “The disease seemed to attack a large proportion of fishermen. While it was at its height, a number of men following the sea died, including Japanese, Italians and Austrians [Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time], who constitute the bulk of the fishing crews.

“The result has been that the Austrians and Italians stopped fishing. They were afraid to go out lest they be stricken when far from shore. The Japanese, more stoic, and believers in fate, did not stop fishing. They have been bringing in yellowtail, but the fish that ordinarily are stopped by Austrians and Italian crew, simply ceased to be received at the wharf, and the boats remained idly swaying at their piers.”

A sad coda to the epidemic occurred on Dec. 18 with the death of Evelyn Holbrook, 7, from diphtheria. She was the only child of George S. Holbrook of 544 Santa Cruz St., who was one of San Pedro’s early victims of the Spanish flu, dying Oct. 23. Under the headline, “Little Girl’s Sad Xmas Wish Comes True,” the Daily Pilot reported that just days before dying, Evelyn had said, “I wish I could be with papa on Christmas! I know he would get me a lot of toys.”

It’s a sadness many in San Pedro can relate to today.  spt

For weeks on end, we read and heard about the toll of COVID-19, all while wearing masks and gloves and standing in line staring at empty store shelves.

It all seemed to be happening somewhere else, to somebody else. When it finally hit home, it struck like a thunderbolt, within ten days taking two of San Pedro’s leading sports figures, two men inextricably linked to each of our town’s high schools.

I never met Joe Radisich, who died March 25 at age 86, but I worked at the News-Pilot during his heyday as Mary Star’s football coach, writing headlines as his “little school that could” defied all odds in beating much bigger schools time and again. And working at the Daily Breeze, where the News-Pilot was published, during that time as a composing room foreman was Larry Robertson, who died April 4 at age 72. 

Coach Radisich was older and in poor health before contracting COVID-19, but Larry was fit and healthy when he was infected. Ironically, Larry may have contracted the virus doing what came naturally for him, helping others. In retirement, he and his wife, Faye, both worked at the cruise terminals, where he assisted passengers on and off the ships, and there were infected passengers at the time. Both were graduates of San Pedro High—Radisich in 1954, Larry in S’65—and both impacted the community they loved.

I worked with Larry for 20 years as a copy editor for the News-Pilot and Daily Breeze. A year after I left Copley for the L.A. Times, I bought a house in the same neighborhood as Larry and passed by his house regularly, stopping often when I saw him working in his yard or in the garage to catch up on the latest news. More recently, he became an integral part of the San Pedro High Athletic Hall of Fame, which honored his father posthumously in 2017. Before joining me as a committee member, Larry and his sidekick, Leon Carr, were mainstays in raising funds for the hall, selling those ubiquitous 50-50 tickets just as they did for years with the Pirate boosters.

Years before I knew Larry, I knew his parents, Jim and Mary, through their friendship with my parents. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, when my dad needed plumbing help, he always called Jimmy, who was a longtime employee of the Harbor Department. Jimmy was a real handyman; the brickwork he did for my parents still stands at their house. Jimmy also was a well-known figure in the community through his volunteer work with youth sports and the elderly. He was San Pedro’s Citizen of the Year in 1996, the year he died, also at a young age, 74. San Pedro High’s Alumni Field now bears his name. And it was Jimmy, a S’41 San Pedro High grad and treasurer of the Pirate boosters for 13 years, who started the 50-50 sale at Pirate football games. Larry was living proof that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Larry also was proud of his local roots. The last time I saw him, he loaned me a worn copy of Ella Ludwig’s classic 1927 tome, History of the Harbor District of Los Angeles, which includes his great-grandfather John W. Robertson, a San Pedro pioneer. It was only fitting that John’s grandson Jim ended up meeting and marrying Mary Trittinger, whose father was the Point Vicente lighthouse keeper from 1930 to 1945.

This month’s column was going to be about the Spanish flu’s effect on San Pedro in 1918, the year John Robertson came to San Pedro, when death struck tragically and randomly and shrouded the town in sorrow. It is hoped the numbers who die from COVID-19 may never approach what happened a hundred years ago, but the pain for friends and family of loved ones we’re losing now remains the same.

SILVER LININGS?
It’s difficult seeing anything good coming from the COVID-19 pandemic, but some lifestyle changes have been positive.

The most obvious is the enforced bringing of families together. I’ve never seen so many couples out walking together, often with babies in strollers, older kids on bikes, dogs on a leash. It’s heartening, but let’s face it: When the pandemic ends and the parents are back to work, the “old normal” returns. In the meantime, with the lockdown in effect, you can actually drive around town without hitting a traffic jam. But then again, there is no place to drive to.

 I’ve also been impressed by the creativity shown by so many people in the hilarious memes permeating social media. Pluto the dog on YouTube has been a constant source of joy through these troubling times, a good reminder that laughter is indeed the best medicine.

With the rat race put on hold, it also seems like people are being nicer to each other. Maybe it’s because there is no reason to hurry anymore, but people seem to be more patient and understanding and actually polite. It’s refreshing; those random acts of kindness have moved off car bumpers into real life. Take Cathy Michalak of Eastview: She made a batch of sourdough starter and used the Nextdoor app to offer it to her neighbors. 

A subsidiary benefit that will remain and impact many lives has been the discovery in the States of the wonders of the bidet. I hate to credit the French with anything, but it beats waiting in line for toilet paper at Costco. spt

Over the past weeks, we’ve all wondered when we’ll “get back to normal,” to life as it was before COVID-19. At the same time, some question whether we should settle for the “old” normal. Maybe we should aspire to come back better, smarter, stronger, and more resilient than before.

We could use this time to plan for change and growth. But how would we learn to do that? When has a crisis been managed and turned into strength and stability? 

For the best examples, we could look to the longest-running, most successful R&D and innovation lab in the history of the world: Mother Nature, the earth herself. Since long before man, nature has constantly played and replayed cycles of growth, stability, crisis, reorder, and rebirth.

Nature only knows how to grow, respond, and adapt to the circumstances around her. Whether it’s meteors, ice sheets, earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, or humankind, nature meets challenges, evolves, and thrives. She will repeat these cycles long after we are gone.

Science tells us so. From the 1950s to the 2000s, ecologist C. S. Holling blended the study of nature with systems theory, simulation modeling, and social sciences to develop several new scientific ideas, one of which was called the “adaptive cycle.” With apologies to the great scientist, the adaptive cycle can be over-simplified to describe how nature adapts to crisis and survives. The practical application of the model is that it illustrates how human institutions can respond to challenges and thrive, as well.

The adaptive cycle is sometimes graphically described as the “infinity symbol.” Imagine an element of the natural world traveling through that figure. As it sweeps up from left to right, nature is growing and thriving. It is stable, conserving itself, and all is well. As that natural element gets to the top of the right-hand curve, it is in some circumstance of significant change, whether from fire, drought, flooding, or the like. The theory tells us that while in crisis, nature can be rigid and unchanging, or it can begin to respond (termed “release”). If rigid, it breaks and dies. If responsive, it is malleable, capable of change, and survives. By responding to the circumstance, it heads toward a moment of “breakthrough,” developing innovations by which it reorganizes and restructures itself. Now it heads to the second, left-hand curve of the symbol. This curve represents the moment of adaption when nature changes itself or its behavior in a manner to allow it to interact with its changed circumstance and live. Once adapted, the element of nature is back to where we started and in a stage of growth, then stability. We know from the model that it is also readying itself for the next crisis and adaptation. Through this cycle, nature is resilient.

One can see how the adaptive cycle has been applied to study and improve the resiliency of systems that we create: businesses, governments, churches, social structures. Each of these can have periods of growth and stability. Each invariably faces critical moments of challenge that require a response. We are at one of those inflection points now. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to those who contract the virus, to their families, and to the millions who suffer financial harm in the lockdown. The terrible effects of the virus cannot be overstated. But, as in nature, this is a crisis that followed a period of stability. Now we are in a “time out” and have a chance to respond. We can hang on to “normal” as it was before. But that might be the “rigidity” mistake of the adaptive cycle. Or we can break down old ways of thinking (the “release”) and promote an environment for breakthroughs that lead to innovations and adaptations. The most pressing innovation will be a vaccine; but it could also be a reformed healthcare system, new housing policies, stable job markets, stronger social networks, or an equitable economy. Or all of that.

As I write this, it’s Earth Day, April 22. I’m looking southeast out my home office window on a cloudless, warm, spring day. The clean, clear air allows a view down the main channel of the harbor, to the breakwater, past Angel’s Gate, and on to a peaceful, blue Pacific. It is as if the ocean is saying “Watch me, here’s how I respond; see the challenges that lay ahead; adjust; embrace the chaos of change, find something that works, and go with that. Once you’ve figured it out, use your resources well, but don’t get complacent; you may need to do this again.”

 I am sure she’s right. spt 

It was a couple of years ago when I tried to convince my dad to try Meals on Wheels. He was not fond of the idea at first. He had macular degeneration and was losing his vision. He lives an hour away from me, and since he was not driving any longer, he did not frequent his normal restaurants. His eating seemed sporadic when I inquired with my nosy-yet-caring-daughter’s interest when I called him.

I wanted to respect his independence, but we needed to make a few changes. So I signed him up for Dial-A-Ride so he could get out on his own and eat at his favorite restaurants. I took him grocery shopping and most importantly, he agreed to try Meals on Wheels. He quickly went from being a skeptic to a fan. Now two years later, Meals on Wheels has been something my dad not only looks forward to but counts on. For me, it has relieved so much stress, wondering what and when he is eating. Each delivery has fruits, vegetables, a hot meal, and a sandwich for later.

 Watching firsthand how Meals on Wheels has made such a positive difference for our family motivated me to get involved with the local Meals on Wheels in San Pedro. I am now volunteering as a member of their board of directors and couldn’t be more impressed with the community support received during these challenging times. Restaurants and businesses, some who are struggling to stay afloat themselves, came together in San Pedro fashion to make sure people who were homebound and elderly were not only fed but had great food to eat. Restaurants and organizations like Babouch, Angel Gown, Alpine Village Market and Restaurant, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Pedro, Polly Ann Bakery, Community’s Child, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Grab and Go meal program, Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, Christian Care at Mary Star of the Sea, Supervisor Janice Hahn, and so many more have contributed food, masks for volunteers, and funds.

The Meals on Wheels program is not only about access to healthy food; it is also about older adult well-being. When a person receives food from a volunteer, many times it is the only person they will see all day. Volunteers get to know the people they are delivering food to, and it builds community for those who are often unable to leave their homes. Participants in the program who have pets also receive free pet food delivered once a quarter through their AniMeals program. Meals on Wheels also serves individuals with disabilities or those who’ve had a recent hospital stay.

Food security is often associated with individuals who are living in poverty. However, that is not only the case, unfortunately. There have been cases of seniors living in San Pedro who are well-dressed and live in nice homes with empty refrigerators and bare pantries. Sadly, the appearance of a well-put-together person does not automatically translate into being a well-fed individual, as other issues can come into play, creating obstacles to good nutrition.

San Pedro Meals on Wheels was founded in 1972 and has served 1.5 million people; it has a rich history serving our community and is looking forward to growing even more. The kitchen they use was built in 1950, and efforts are being made for upgrades. In addition, Meals on Wheels is in discussions with Willenberg Career & Transition Center to receive produce from their garden. The LAUSD center provides vocational training for students with disabilities. Meals on Wheels is also making plans with local nonprofit Green Girl Farms to help bring healthy produce to more people in San Pedro.

There are many ways to be involved with Meals on Wheels, such as volunteering, donating, or asking the seniors in our families and neighborhoods, “What did you eat today?” spt

This unprecedented COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic has obviously had a tremendous impact on all of our lives but especially for those who have lost loved ones. Meanwhile, a much more persistent crisis has taken hold – one that has been here for decades but has grown and come to the forefront due to the economic crisis that has paralleled the current health one. 

Even before COVID-19, “food insecurity” had become an ever-increasing health crisis as the growing number of working poor families in our community and country had grown exponentially over the past 10 years. Long before this pandemic, far too many families were barely making it even with two incomes, due to the realities families with minimum wage earners face. What happens when one lives paycheck to paycheck and an injury/illness requires a visit to the doctor or one blown gasket cripples one’s transportation to that job, or when a family emergency requires missing a couple of days of work? What happens when the unemployment insurance runs out and there is nowhere to find work or the work found leaves parents “one paycheck away” from not having enough food to adequately feed their children?

On the world stage, the hunger outlook is even bleaker. “While dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic, we are on the brink of a hunger pandemic,” David Beasley of the World Food Programme recently told the United Nations Security Council. “There is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of COVID-19 than from the virus itself.”  He cited conflict, an economic recession, a decline in aid, and a collapse in oil prices as factors likely to lead to vast food shortages and urged swift action to avert disaster.

At the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor, we have seen our families struggle for years to provide adequate food for their children, but never more than today. In response to this growing hunger crisis, since schools closed in mid-March, we have now established seven “Grab & Go” food distribution centers in the greater harbor area. On March 23, with only one center open, we served 87 meals and snacks. On April 20, as I am writing this column and sponsoring seven locations, we are now serving 2,800 meals and 2,800 snacks daily (and those numbers are growing). The need for basic food allocations that almost all of us take for granted is overwhelming at times. What we have in our pantries and freezers would probably feed 20 food-insecure families for a week. I’m not trying to make any of us feel bad about that; it’s just a fact which sadly highlights the huge food disparity in our own community.

Besides our daily meal and snack distribution program, we are also partnering with donors and vendors to 1.) provide 300 families a hot meal weekly––about 2,000 dinners in all; 2.) distribute “staples” (bags of beans, rice, canned goods, etc.) to needy families for the weekend; and 3.) due to the tremendous generosity of San Pedro native son Chuck Ursini, we are distributing over $100,000 of Vons gift cards per week to needy families. If you are interested in donating to this growing effort and need, please visit our website at bgclaharbor.org. 

Food insecurity will still be here for thousands of our neighbors and millions of Americans after a vaccine is found to combat COVID-19. Daily lack of food is the largest health crisis facing too many of our neighbors today and tomorrow. I thank all those already providing food support, but so much more needs to be done at a local, national, and world level. We can either rally around solutions, and thousands of children could subsequently go to bed nourished in the days and years to come, or we can rally around excuses, and those same children would go to bed hungry. Which option will we choose? spt

Even though you are home, do you feel a little homesick for “normal?” We are collectively experiencing an exile from normal. We are not unique. Past relocations, displacements, disorienting or disappointing events have made everyone feel homesick for normal at some point. But now everyone, and I mean everyone in the world, seems to feel this together…apart.

 One of the great motifs in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures is that of exile and homecoming. From Adam and Eve’s exile from the garden to Israel’s exile to Assyria to Judah’s exile to Babylon to the church’s exile from Jerusalem, this theme of exile is returned to regularly in describing the very human experience of “this is not normal” to “finally, we are back to normal.”

The last book in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) is Malachi. He writes about 100 years after the exiled people of God returned to Jerusalem. Picture it with me. The temple is rebuilt. The walls are secure again. The farms, business trade, religion, and politics are all open and buzzing again. People are gathering freely. The exile experience is a distant memory.

One day, this experience will be a distant memory for us. We will say, “Remember 2020? What a year!” But a century after the exile, Judah had forgotten all the lessons of exile. Suffering itself is tragic. Loss of life. Sickness. Economic ruin. Depression. All of these are grief-worthy in their own rights. Purposeless suffering is the only thing that is worse. The God of the Bible is well acquainted with silver linings, the theme of this issue. Some people of faith might even say God is the cause of silver linings. Purposeless suffering is suffering with no silver lining. The God of the Bible is the God of exile and exodus, of death
and resurrection. Talk about silver linings!

The way Malachi delivers his prophetic message to the forgetful people isn’t in direct accusation or preaching at his audience. He uses the oldest teaching trick in the book—questions. Malachi asks 22 questions in his 55-verse book. God asks questions. People respond. And vice versa. In this short book, there are six disputes between God and his people, and God shows no intention of giving up. God is not disinterested or passive. God shows up, even when the people are picking a fight. Malachi’s God doesn’t have a last straw—no ‘give up.’

 One day, we too will be post-exile. We will be “open for business.” But will we be happy? Will we have recognized any gift or purpose from this season? This message of Malachi has a direct point. The city, temple, marketplace, and nation might be open and even restored to some former state, but that is not the ultimate goal. God’s got his eyes on a different prize: heart restoration and relational reconciliation (Malachi 4.5-6). If we get back to “open for business” without restored hearts and reconciled relationships, the good exile will have been wasted. Silver linings are real but can easily be forgotten. I encouraged our congregation, now online, to reflect on the following questions with their family or friends.

What is a good thing you’ve seen come out of this exile? A silver lining? Are there any old commitments that you are calling into question? Commitments you hope not to take up again post-exile? Have you experienced an evaluation of what is most important to you during this time? Have you found yourself saying, “I will never take _________ for granted again”? 

Finally, I don’t want to let this article pass without offering a blessing to those who have experienced any kind of loss during this season. May the Lord lift up his favor upon you and give you peace.  spt