By Kate Robak
Calendar Editor
“Reflect on the Past, Give Meaning to the Future”, a community discussion on Dec. 1 at the Joslyn Center celebrated the 100th anniversary of the city of Manhattan Beach.
Mayor Wayne Powell and Mayor Pro Tem David Lesser welcomed attendees to the discussion. A video was shown from the leadership Manhattan Beach class of 2005, Bridging the Generations, which reflected on Manhattan Beach’s past. A presentation was given by Jan Dennis, historian of Manhattan Beach and resident for over fifty years, on Manhattan Beach’s past 100 years.
“I’m a sixteen year resident of Manhattan Beach, but I have learned so much more about our city through this event,” Manhattan Beach resident and attendee of the discussion Tony D’Errico said. “Seeing the start of out city and learning about the early history of Manhattan Beach was great during the leadership video at the beginning of the program.”
Robert Brigham, Russ Lesser, Beverly Rohrer, and Arthur Verge led a discussion about the history and past of Manhattan Beach, which was moderated by Steve Napolitano. The discussion included questions and comments from the audience about the past and present of Manhattan Beach.
“I thought the event went great,” Powell said.“For me one highlight was getting to be on the panel along with such a great group of people. I think we all had interesting stories about the history of the city and how it has changed. The centennial is very important as it helps us take the time to think about the past 100 years and the future. We need to think about what has made our city such a special place, such as the small town feeling, the friendliness of the people, all the people who contribute to make it a great place to live, and the environment.”
Body Glove provided lunch for the event. An expo of different community organizations were shown during lunch, including the Manhattan Beach Coordinating Council, and the Manhattan Beach Historical Society. After lunch, the afternoon session “Give Meaning to the Future” started off with separate discussion sessions with different topics. Attendees spent twenty minutes in each session and then rotated to the next.
“I thought the centennial celebration was very interesting,” Mira Costa junior Ryan Kuresa said. “Some good points were made during the discussion. I didn’t know so many people would be so involved in this event. It was nice to see old and new residents of the city so involved in the discussions.”
The program closed with an overview of the discussion groups from the Mayor’s Youth Council, who directed the sessions. The presentation of the groups included audience participation.
“This celebration showed me how it is possible for the whole community to get together to celebrate our centennial,” Mayor Wayne Powell said. “I learned that all of the diverse people that live in Manhattan Beach can get together to celebrate the history of our city. Some residents are new and some have been here from more than sixty years, but everybody still came together for this celebration.”
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