THE VOORHIS VOICE A Liberal Voice of the Inland Empire September 2009 claremontdemocrats@yahoo.com www.claremontdems.org Editor: Laura Ditte Lo MEETINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS Our General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 29th at 7:00 in Porter Hall (Pilgrim Place). The evening will be dedicated to the memory of Werner Warmbrunn who passed away on July 19th and we will pay tribute to his life and contribution to the Democratic Club of Claremont. We will continue discussion of the Death Penalty Resolution and encourage our readers to visit the DCC website to review the content of the resolution. October 9 Luncheon will feature Claremont resident Mitch Avila who will speak on the topic of property. The club continues to meet at the El Ranchero Restaurant located at 984 W. Foothill Blvd. The luncheon begins at 12:00 and a Mexican buffet is served for $10.00 per person. The presentation will begin at 1:00 and conclude promptly at 2:00. SUPPORT FOR FOOD DRIVE CONTINUES Our summer food drive was an overwhelming success and we thank those who made the effort to collect can goods and drop them off at the Russ Warner campaign headquarters in Claremont. Food bank reserves remain low nationally and any monetary or real food contribution to assist those in need is greatly appreciated. Although the club's food drive is over, Temple Beth Israel is having its 10th annual Rosh Hashanah/New Year food drive and hopes to collect 1,000 bags of food between now and October 11th, the occasion of another Jewish Holiday, "Simchat Torah". The need is greater than ever! Those who would like to participate should drop bags of non-perishable food off at the T.B.I. building behind (west of) the temple, which is located at 3033 N. Towne Avenue (west side of Towne, south of Foothill, north of Harrison). SUSTAINABLE CLAREMONT The executive committee has agreed to join Sustainable Claremont at the Bronze level in order to join with local environmental activists in creating a more sustainable community. For details on Sustainable Claremont, please visit their www.sustainableclaremont.org. VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES Carolee Monroe This non-election year has been filled with events in which members of our Democratic Club of Claremont have participated, with one event yet to occur. Not only did we staff a well-attended booth as part of ClaremontUs July 4 festivities in Memorial Park where lots of pet RBa-RocksS were created, our parade entry, RDemocratic Stepping Stones to Change, Hope, and UnityS, with our members riding on Rudy MannUs truck received enthusiastic applause. Many thanks to those members who participated in our endeavor! We have arranged for 22 of our members to staff the Los Angeles County Democratic PartyUs booth during the L.A. County Fair, which runs through October 4. Located in Building 4, Space 4036, the booth is providing voter registration, Health Care information, candidate literature, and swag. Members who have worked or will work in the booth include: Ann Appley, Peg Linnehan, Carol Whitson, Laura Ditte Lo, Jose Sandoval, Beverly Sloane, Helen Young, Jesus Bueno, Bill and Yoshiko McClennan, Barbara Riley, Anne Koegel, Amelia and Fred Andrade, Megan Thomas, Rhodes and Lois Thompson, Gene Boutilier, Nancy Oostmeyer, Mel Boynton, Marjorie Heady, Ethel Benton, Bob Gerecke, Merrill Ring, David Levering, Loretta Arenas, Connie Weir, and the Monroes (Jack, Carolee, Murray, Marlena, and Gabe). Yet to need volunteers is the upcoming Village Venture Arts and Crafts Faire on Saturday, October 24 from 9 am until 5 pm. We will have a booth, Space 730, located on the north side of the parking strip on First Street, between College and Harvard Avenues. Our plans include registering voters, distributing candidate literature and health care fact sheets, providing swag, and engaging passers-by through a take-home goody bag. If you wish to volunteer a few hours, please contact Carolee Monroe at (909) 626-8122 or jackncarolee@verizon.net. RALLY SUPPORT FOR MARY CAENENPEEL Mary Caenenpeel, an incumbent candidate for Claremont School Board, is the only registered Democrat running for office. She is in need of phone bankers. If you can donate some time to phone banking for her campaign, please call Teddie Warner @ (909) 621-2580 or email @ tkwarner@verizon.net. If you volunteer, please let them know you are from The Democratic Club of Claremont. Needless to say, she also needs your vote. BAUCUS HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL Gar Byrum With the introduction, yesterday, of Senator Baucus's Health Care Reform proposal, the Budget Committee and the Senate has begun to seriously consider what the form and substance of whatJa final SenateJbill will look like. The Los Angeles Times has described the proposal as a possible template from which consensus may form. It has been described as a good starting point. For all of those interestedJin seeing what the billJmight entail one may google his proposal and see what it looks like by reading the 87 plus page statement. The initial take on how the legislation would be implemented is that a medical cooperative would be used as a vehicle for the uninsured. Senator Wyden has sought an amendment to the bill whereby everyone would be allowed to join a coop. It is clear that a public option built on a medicare model cannot pass Senator Baucus's committee. We shall soon find out whether or not our United States Congress has the courage to pass a Health Care Insurance Reform bill. J WERNER WARMBRUNN IN MEMORIAM WERNER E. WARMBRUNN, Professor Emeritus of History at Pitzer College and political idealist at large, died peacefully at home on July 19, 2009. He was 89. Werner was a man who found the world sometimes wonderful, sometimes tragic, but always fascinating. As a boy in short pants, he hitchhiked to the battlefield of Verdun and hopped a Norwegian freighter to see the fjords. His wanderlust never waned, carrying him around the world, and back to his favorite haunts: the Piazza del Campo in Siena, the Schnapps-stocked huts of the Alps, and the terrace at the Hotel Laguna. He matched his appetite for new places with a hunger for new ideas. He read three newspapers every morning and devoured the stacks of books that formed wobbly high-rises all over his study. According to his daughters, his brain was like prehistoric Google. Long after he retired from the classroom, he still loved to lecture. If you ever met Werner, you probably know his theories on peace in the Middle East, health care reform, and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire. Born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1920, Werner was the third child of David and Lilly Guckenheimer Warmbrunn. Following the rise to power of the National Socialists, he and his parents left Germany, immigrating to the Netherlands in 1936. Five years later he arrived in the United States, joining family members in upstate New York. After graduating from Cornell University, Werner taught at Putney School in Vermont for several years. In 1946, he married Joan Strong and a year later moved west to begin his graduate studies at Stanford University. While completing his Ph.D. in History, he also worked as Co-Director of the Peninsula School, Menlo Park. Later he became Foreign Student Advisor and Director of the International Center at Stanford University. From 1963-1964, he served as President of the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA). As Werner liked to say, he loved school and never left it. In 1962 he married his second wife, Ellen Croson, with whom he had two daughters. A couple of years later, Werner left the Bay Area for Claremont and the newly-founded Pitzer College, where he took on the positions of Academic Assistant to President and Associate Professor of History. In his later years, he established the Pitzer Archives to document the evolution of the college. He became a Professor Emeritus in 1991, but for several years he kept sneaking back into the classroom to teach "one last course." At Pitzer, he met Loretta Champ Fretter. They married in 1984. He often said that Loretta was the best thing college had ever done for him. Werner was the author of hundreds of interdepartmental memos, dozens of letters to the editor, and two books: The Dutch Under German Occupation and The German Occupation of Belgium. In recent years, he was active in the Claremont Democratic Club, serving as a senior author of The Claremont Manifesto, published in 2008. He was thrilled to live long enough to see Barack Obama elected to the White House. Although his love of history meant that he spent a lot of time thinking about the past, he was always looking toward the future. Werner delighted in seeing young children at play, so full of joy, curiosity, and potential. Werner is survived by his wife, Loretta Champ Warmbrunn; his daughters Erika Warmbrunn and Susan Warmbrunn; his step-children Linda Schone, Wes Fretter, Diana Davis, and Cynthia Fretter, and his grandchildren Andea, Breanna, Zach, Matt, and Lindsey. A video podcast of the Claremont Democratic Forum interview with Warner can be downloaded from our website. Memorial services will be private. Memorial donations may be made to VNS / Hospice of Southern California, 150 W First Street #270, Claremont, CA 91711. LAURA DENNISON DEDICATED ACTIVIST Laura Dennison, a longtime Claremont resident, died on August 6th at age 81. Dr. Dennison spent her early years in Connecticut and later attended Swarthmore College. In the 1970s she earned her masters degree and doctorate at Claremont Graduate School and was involved in the racial equality and anti war movements. She headed the Peace Operations Center at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena and was the first executive director at the House of Ruth. In later life, Dr. Dennison was a nature interpreter at the San Antonio Botanic Garden. Dr. Dennison was an active supporter of the club and attended meetings, stored furniture, and loaned her cell phone during recent elections. DISCLAIMER The Democratic Club of Claremont does not endorse any/all of the articles, stories, links, editorials, or products found in these e-mails or on this blog. All data and materials are for informational and educational purposes only. The Democratic Club of Claremont makes no and expressly disclaims, any representations or warranties, express/implied, in these e-mails or blogs, regarding the correctness, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, reliability of the text, graphics, links to other sites. Under no circumstances shall The Democratic Club of Claremont, its President or any other officers be liable for any damages arising from or in connection with the e-mails, blogs and materials contained herein. The views expressed in these e-mails and/or blogs are those of the authors, and not necessarily the views of The Democratic Club of Claremont. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORK IN 2009 Circle your choice: Lifetime $250 Patron $100 or more Contributing $50 Family $35 Individual $25 Student/Limited Income $5 Name: _________________________________________________________________________ Street Address: _______________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip: _____________________________________________________________ Telephone: _____________________ Email: _______________________________________ Occupation: _______________________________ Employer: _________________________ Please complete the above form and mail it with your check to: Democratic Club, PO Box 1201, Claremont, CA 91711 OR Access our website: www.claremontdems.org Select: Get Involved > Join Us (Complete the form. ThenI) Select: Get Involved > Donate to the Club (This will take you to the Act Blue website where you can pay your annual dues online.) Our Email address is claremontdemocrats@yahoo.com P.S. 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FEC #C00404319 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE DEMOCRATIC CLUB OF CLAREMONT President: Zephyr Tate-Mann 626-5566 Mann5566@verizon.net VP Organization: Gar Byrum 621-9730 garlandbyrum@aol.com VP-Education: Merrill Ring 626-8467 mring@earthlink.net Corresponding Secretary: Carolee Monroe 626-8122 jackncarolee@verizon.net Treasurer: Debi Evans 626-3411 Debi4change@aol.com Ex-Officio: Bob Gerecke 626-2858 gerecke@surfside.net Peace & Justice Liaison: Lois Thompson 621-2061 Rhodesth@verizon.net Webmaster: Ned Freed 625-7933 ned@mrochek.com Recording Secretary: Carol Whitson 629-7994 cwhitson@roadrunner.com Membership Chairman: Mike Davis 931-2568 Mddc52@gmail.com DCC Photographer: Darcel Woods Newsletter Editor: Laura Ditte Lo 621-7827 dittelaura@gmail.com