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NAPA in Session!
The meeting was convened by President Joe Curran in room Valley west at the Holiday Inn Hotel in beautiful San Diego, California on July 4th ‘84. The agenda of business was dispensed with in jig time.
The Great Foul-up, Alas!
Newspapers have missed the boat. While they are concentrating on another convention up the coast in S.F. here in Gale Sheldonland the big convention is taking place. The dramatic misinterpretation of our assets and income had the budget committee in a frenzy. The working fund was depleted this year and our working fund is now zero. Look for $10 dues. Hang Hamilton and Segal, and the labeling of our working balance as income. Those two blokes can’t even read an incorrect financial report.
Exclusive report by Harvin Figal.
How the West was One
An ad in the hotel’s house magazine advises of “San Diego’s only New York Deli – Come in and enjoy the 20-page menu for breakfast, lunch & dinner.”
Our comment: More ketchup for the pork chop, please; this is going to take some time.
NAPA West Enters the Scene
by Ann Vrooman
May it never be said that NAPA West had a humble beginning. Rather, it started out with a gentle roar from the sleeping Lion it had always been. While the Beast had merely dreamed, there were Californian Ajayers meeting here and there, socially. George Freitag, Harold Ellis, Carl and I met in the mountains at Wrightwood where we had cabins in the snow and talked of NAPA. I was corresponding with Olive E. Reed, editor of The Yodler. She published my early pieces. I had attended an exciting meeting at Larry and Winnie Redmon’s Riverside home a year before the formation of NAPA West. Lea Palmer, Manuscript Bureau Editor for so many years, and her husband, had come from Canada, and Emerson Duerr was there with his dear Blanche.
However, the nuclear gathering to unite and be heard as a voice with purpose occurred finally at the home of Glenn and Sally Engebretsen, near the Pacific shore in Playa del Rey. Glenn edited Galley West. (Actually our title NAPA West, is a spin-off.) The Reverend William Boys, about-to-be-president of NAPA, was giving a lecture at UCLA relative to his experience in Africa, and had contacted Glenn. Bill Boys really got the spirit moving. Virginia Baker, Official Editor of the NA ‘69 – ’70, a “spirit-mover” of the laity, also attended from Salt Lake City. Twenty people present rose to the occasion and things “looked up” in more ways than one.
A paper printed at the meeting under date of March 28, 1971 was entitled So. Cal. Types. Bill prodded us all toward a trip on the NAPA Queen to dock at the Marietta convention. Once off the boat and into his swing as prexy, Bill Boys managed to keep things moving way back here. Dick Baughman agreed to be Temporary Editor to launch NAPA West. He secured a board meeting room in a bank at Santa Ana for our first official meeting. A big crew showed with brown bag lunches and got to work. Members contributed a dollar and were granted 20 square inches of space in the first issue. Baughman, Vrooman, Willat, Duerr, Sheldon, Oden and Ellis were published. One page was “Klutterman’s”-nee Duerr.
In spring of 1973 NAPA West came out with a larger and more professional format which has remained since. Printers have taken turns to make unique and beautiful covers. There was a lovely enclosure in issue #17 Spring, 1979 by Henry Jolly of Canada adding much color. Vignettes were occasionally inserted by Ann Vrooman, depicted by drawings of local characters by Gale Sheldon.
Editors of NAPA West are elected each year. Many of its members have become stalwarts in the National and continues to grow. May we continue forth with sound purpose, great style – and that gentle roar!
Here’s the rest of the convention attendees: J. G. and Eva Wood, Hyman Bradofsky, Ken and Helene Monson, Bill Boys, Virginia Arnold, Len and Nelda Sledge, Eric Julie, Ian and Joshua Boys, and last to show were Anna Olsen and Karen Adelsek, NAPA West’s intrepid globetrotters. Oops – forgot some – Gale and Ruth Sheldon, Laurence Hines, and Bill and Elza Gordon. Willis and Dorothy Hutchison visited with us.
There are so many interesting conversations going on in this room that it’s difficult to choose a group to join. One thing is sure: I no longer feel sleepy. – Elaine J. Peck
What a novelty to be surrounded by so many others of similar interests! This is my first NAPA convention and I hope it won’t be the last. Matching faces to names I have been reading in print all these years has been quite a distinct pleasure. – Woody
Our most genial host, Gale Sheldon, conducted the auction sale of printing goodies which produced a tidy sum for the treasury.
Only one thing to find fault with at this convention – it’s tough to choose only two special programs from six exciting ones listed. – Elaine J. Peck