VOLUME
SERVING CATALINA
98, Issue 36
ITS MAINLAND FRIENDS
every week -
since 1914
FI~|.Ay September 7, 2012
BRmEFS .........................................
Catalina Outrigger Channel
Crossing this weekend
The Catalina Channel Crossing,
U.S. Championship Outrigger
Canoe Race, will be held
Saturday, Sept. 8 and Sunday,
Sept. 9. See story, page 7
Cadman Memorial Sept. 15
The Jonathan Michael Cadman
memorial will be held at the Bird
Park on Sept. 15 from noon-lO
p.m. The public is welcome.
Honoring two veterans
Two of Avalon's recently deceased
veterans will be honored at 3
p.m: Sunday, Sept. 16, at "Club
Pete" at Pebbly Beach. Michael L.
Kennedy and Steven G. Shawver,
both veterans and members of
Veterans .of Foreign Wars Avalon
Post 4682, passed away last
month. Information: Call Tom
Campbell at (310) 808-7848.
Film Society to show
'Mariachi Gringo'
An advance screening of
"Mariachi Gringo" will be held at
7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8, in the
Hotel Metropole Conference Room
at 205 Crescent Ave. Suggested
donation: $10. For more informa-
tion. visit the Film Society web-
site www'.CatalinaFF.org.
New Museum exhibition
draws weekend crowds
A crowd gathered outside the
Catalina Island Museum Friday
night, Aug. 31, waiting to be the
first to see the exhibition about
the life of William Wrigley Jr.
and his unique vision for Santa
Catalina Island.
See story, page 5
Adult Basketball League
registation to start
Registration for the Fall Adult
Basketball League will be held
in the gym on Sunday, Sept. 9
between 2 and 5 p.m. Games
will be played on Monday and
Wednesday evenings from 8 to 9
p.m. and on Sundays from 3 to
5 p.m. For more information, call
Steve Hall at (310) 422-8093.
Kids at Play mark 20 years
Tuesday," Sept. 1t, Kids at Play
will begin its 20th season_with
a brand new lO-week session"
Students ages 7 through eighth-
grade will meet at'the first class
at Tremont Hall from 3:30 - 5 p.m.
There will be a brief parent meet-
ing to follow at 5 p.m. See page 6
Bravos Landscaping
Tournament Champions
It was a close game, but "when
it was ove~ the softball champi-
ons had earned the title. Bravo's
Landscaping defeated Straight
Up Builders by a score of 22-18,
respectively. See story, page 6
2012-2013 Teachers at Avalon~School include: Tanaya Arteaga - K8 RSP Teacher Juli Killpack - 2nd/3rd, Tina Newhard - 5th Lisa Oliver - 4th/5th, Hilda Rodriguez: 4th, A bert Gal o.- MS/HS Math,
J~mmy Guadagno - HS ELD, MSTHS drama, Devt Mason - HS Science. Kersten Scanlon - Speech. Other New Facu ty: Debra But er - nstructional Aide, Dagny Collie~- Counselor's Clerk.
• m
all
TWO PARAMEDICS WERE ed last week, the boy was injured Gencarella told the Islander he at first several people saw the
WITNESSES TO ATTACK THAT Saturday evening, Aug. 25, at the has kept in touch with the boy's bison. They kept what he called
LEFT 9-YEAR-OLD BOY GORED• Little Harbor campsite, father, a good distance from the bison,
By all accounts, the boy wasIn a Wednesday, Sept. 5, inter- forming a semi-circle on one side
BY CHARLES M. KELLY thrown several feet when the bison view, Stockdale said Gencarella of the animal. Then an adult with
attacked, last spoke with the boy's family a cell phone started taking pic-
The 9-year-01d boy who was Fortunatly for the boy, Mat-three days earlier. Stockdale said tures of some kids with the bison.
gored by a Catalina bison is ap- thew Gencarella, an off-duty Los that as far as they knew, the boy When the animal snorted and
parently doing better. According Angeles Fire Department para- was still in the hospital but was ea- turned toward them, the children
to two off-duty medics who were medic, and Zach Stockdale, aget to get out. ran away ladghing. Stockdale
present when the boy was attacked, former Army Ranger with medi- "It definitely could have been said the kids were 6 feet from the
he is still in the hospital but is ex- cal training, were both camping worse" Gencarella said. bison when it snorted.
pected to recover, in the area and witnessed the-at- According to Stockdale, the
In related news, Leslie Baer, tack. Gencarella and Stockdale The incident man with the cell phone then told
spokeswoman for the Catalina Is- did not know one another before Neither StOckdale nor Gen- the kids to approach the animal
land Conservancy, said there were the attack, but the two former carella wanted to blame anyone slowly.• It was apparently at this
no plans at this time to change the Army Special Forces men found for the accident. According to point that the bison decided to
policy that allows bison free range out they had a lot in common and Gencarella, the animal apparently_ leave. The 9-year-old victim was,
throughout most of the Island. have stayed- in contact with one wanted to leave, unfortunately, in the bison's path.
As the Catalina Islander report- another since. Stockdale, however, said that
Bison, Page 4
Catalina's facts, folklore and fibs
This Week: The ill-fated 'Around The Island' race of 1928
BY JIM WATSON girl, the clerk or the artisan or the
boy scout" for the off-season win-
Over the dozen or so decades ter months, Mr. Wrigley first set
that have passed since the town of up the local economy -to provide
Avalon first hung out its shingle non-tourism oriented jobs for lo-
as a tourist-resort, many valiant cal residents• Otir legacy of min'-
efforts have been made by those ing and quarrying, and our iconic
charged with attracting visitors Catalina tile manufactured at the
to the Island's shores to make the long-defunct Catalina Clay Prod-
town a year-round destination, ucts division at Pebbly Beach were
No •greater effort was expended the direct result of these efforts.
to achieve those ends than those During the 1920s, however, el-
instituted by William Wrigley Jr., forts to attract visitors during those
in the years following his purchase quiet, melancholy days of winter
of the Santa Catalina Island Com- began in earnest. Events such as the
pany, and therefore 99 percent of .Wrigley Ocean Marathon, hunting
the Island, in 1919. of wild goat, deer and boar as well
Before expanding on his at-as an intensive marketing program
tempts to attract the "tired shop were launched.
t.opt.-L ~1˘ st,~xcs: ~to.,~-i,tr
Whippets Thri.l(
i -]- S "
tn [ elt'est , l)°! t
Magazine cover
at left touts'the
The ill-fated
'Around The
Island' race of
1928. During the
1920s, William
Wrigley made
efforts to attract
visitors during
those quiet, mel-
ancholy days of
winter began m
- earnest. The race
of one of them.
Courtesy photo.
One such attempt wasthe Mott
Outboard Motor Sweepstakes
"Around the Island" race on Jan.
15, 1928. The event was named for
the master of ceremonies Major
Lawrence Mott of KFWO radio.
Despite being smack in the mid-
dle of winter, the month of Janu-
ary on the Island often features a
lovely string of days or even weeks
Watson, Page 9
