Page 8 May 20, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Robert Strock from front page
Many of Strock’s current proposals address
a cross-section of better farming practices and
permanent housing solutions. For example, his
foundation bought a parcel of land in Palmdale,
which they are turning into a regenerative
farm. This farm would be able to house 150
homeless individuals and simultaneously offer
the opportunity to learn cutting-edge farming
techniques in a practice the UN has declared
the future of food. In addition, it would be
able to feed the city of Palmdale.
One of his newest proposals looks like
housing through the use of accessory dwelling
units (ADUs). The idea follows that a
resident could opt to have a tiny home added
to their backyard, where an eligible and
highly-screened person may live and learn
regenerative farming practices, feeding both
themselves and the main household. The
government would provide a stipend to the
landowner, helping to pay off a mortgage
while providing a safe place for an unsheltered
individual.
This all sounds well and good, but what
about the idea of “Not in My Backyard”? Or
that the homeless simply won’t change? Or
that the vast majority are dangerous?
There are many misconceptions when it
comes to homelessness. One of these is the
idea that the homeless don’t want help. While
a small percentage may refuse current options,
there is currently a waiting list of thousands
of eligible recipients who signed up to receive
help and are waiting their turn.
Strock considers this idea to be a bias that is
part of a larger misconception that the less fortunate
are lazy, less motivated, and less intelligent.
He sees this as a symptom of a greater societal
illness, which he refers to as wealth addiction.
“There’s an illusion,” he writes, “that intention,
lack of effort, and inferiority dominantly cause
homelessness, rather than a combination of systemic
barriers and less fortunate circumstances.”
This belief that hard work is the only thing that
stands in the way of financial success
“eliminates variables like birthplace, social
connections, race, and lack of opportunity,
education, medical care, and alternative places
of living.”
Currently, he does not believe that enough
viable options are being offered to unhoused
citizens, and he is working on trying to remedy
that situation.
To purchase or renovate a hotel for an
affordable living currently costs between
250-400k per living unit. According to quotes
from tiny home manufacturers, units with a
full bathroom, bedroom, and kitchenette run
about 20-25k. The impermanent nature of the
motel and shelter model can leave occupants
feeling unstable and does not provide a strong
foundation of trust and ownership.
Strock proposes separate communities based
upon the needs of the unhoused individuals,
with access to medical professionals best suited
to help with specific problems. According to
him, this would help build a better community
for those struggling with similar problems. This
might look like small families moving into a
community or veterans living in a neighborhood
with specified counselors at the ready.
So how can you help? The first and biggest
step is to recognize your own personal
biases and educate yourself. This can look like
reading Strock’s white papers or reaching out
to him directly at the Global Bridge Foundation,
which is 100% a nonprofit (he and his
partner David Knapp fully fund themselves,
along with a nonpolitical “friend board”). It
can look like consuming content sponsored
by his foundation, such as Community First!
and their podcast “The Missing Conversation.”
It can also look like writing a letter to your
local representative asking for positive change.
Having been a featured speaker at the UN,
writing a book, and continuing to learn every
day, Robert Strock hopes to speak soon with
governor Newsom and mayor Garcetti about
solutions to the current growing crisis. Homelessness
is a complicated and deeply human
issue requiring more education and reading
than one article can provide.•
Another example of a tiny home located in the Community First! Village in Texas. An example of a home in a newly housed community like Strock proposes, located in Austin, TX.
Elmer the Eagle from front page
their positive effect on the ESHS community.
“Elmer the Eagle is a great tribute to the history
and long-standing tradition of our athletics
program,” he emailed. “The young kids love
the image when they come to games, and it
is a part of what makes El Segundo so great.”
While the Landreth graphic renderings inspire
students, fans, and faculty, the somewhat
real-life Elmer and Ethel mascots continue to
make spirit-lifting, in-person appearances at
ESHS sporting and special events. Emailed
ESHS activities director Robin Espinoza: “Elmer
and Ethel are alive and well and makes
an appearance at every Homecoming parade
and halftime show! Anytime two Eagles are
out, it is Elmer and Ethel! Students rotate and
volunteer from the student body to wear the
Eagle mascot costume. Many students jump
at the opportunity to wear it and have fun
walking around at football games.”
Landreth, a gifted artist who was a sign and
house painter by trade and passed away in
2010, also completed a second large mural on
the roof of one of the campus gyms, some say
twice, which was viewable by those jet setters
descending onto the LAX airport landing strip.
He also created other graphics paying homage
to the ESHS mascots, but alas, his rooftop gym
mural was weathered away by its continued
exposure to the elements.
Landreth’s high-school graphic artwork was
extremely popular in the community in the
early ’70s, with a Main St. sporting goods
store printing up and selling T-shirts with the
fierce-looking Elmer on the front. Dorothy
Landreth, the matriarch of the Landreth family
that had five students graduate from ESHS,
has lived in town for more than 70 years. She
said that Charlie was always “very interested
in promoting sports and other activities at the
high school.” When he was selected by the
graduating Class of 1972 to use his talents to
paint on the gym wall, he grasped the artistic
opportunity, because he was “fascinated by
the Eagle.”
Colleges, high schools, and even middle
schools have rallied around mascots for decades.
According to the internet, the mascot name
“Bulldogs” is the most popular mascot nickname
for many institutes of higher learning. And
Bulldog happens to be the moniker selected
to represent the El Segundo Middle School.
Charlie Landreth and wife Dorothy had five
children graduate from ESHS: Karen (class
‘63), Cheryl (‘65), Terry (‘68), Brent (‘73),
and Debbie (‘74). Debbie Landreth-Brown is
an ESHS Hall of Fame inductee for her athletic
accomplishments in the sport of volleyball.
She became a collegiate All-American at the
University of Southern California and joined
Team USA at just 17 years old. She was a
captain of the 1980 United States Olympic
team that was forced to boycott the Russian
Olympic games. She has spent a 30- year
career as head coach of women’s volleyball
teams at Arizona State University and then
the University of Notre Dame. Currently, she
is the athletic director at Saint Joseph’s High
School in South Bend, Indiana, and is planning
to ride off into the retirement sunset in
the next month.
Smith tells the story of a meeting with
Landreth-Brown seven years ago. “In 2014,
Debbie visited ESHS, and I happened to run
into her. I was a bit starstruck since I had
looked up to her as a young, aspiring athlete.
When she walked in the gym,” Smith said,
“she was immediately thrilled to see one of
her dad’s murals was still on the wall. She
asked me if I would take a photo of her, and
of course, I did. She also shared with me
about a second large mural he completed - the
huge golden Eagle on the domed roof of the
South gym - that was damaged due to years
of environmental wear.”
Smith, who has taught PE at the high school
for more than two decades as well as coaching
volleyball, said that “Earlier this year our
South Gym had some renovations, and in a
meeting, I overheard some discussion about
painting over “Elmer.”
Smith said she did not want to see Elmer
the Eagle, a part of ESHS history, be canceled
and painted over.
Continued Smith: “I quickly had some
stickers made and did a shallow dive into
the background of Elmer to create a story to
accompany the sticker and gave them to the
staff on our first day back to in-person school
a few weeks ago. I have also housed a stack
of stickers at Richmond Bar & Grill to pass
out to anyone who might have an emotional
attachment to the image (my sticker lives on
my water bottle that I carry with me 24/7),”
Elmer the Eagle. Photos courtesy Rainy Smith.
Elmer the Eagle Sticker.
she said. “I figured that Richmond Bar and
Grill is a good place to leave them, considering
the new owner was one of my students.”
Added Debbie Landreth-Brown, noting
that the mural was a gift from an early ’70s
graduating class. “I do not know if the classes
still do that sort of thing or not, but “back
in the day,” the class would typically donate
something (a bench, tree, picture, etc.). My
dad was a gifted artist and sign painter and
loved doing projects like these, but his main
line of work was as a painting contractor. He
painted many, many houses in El Segundo
(inside and out!).
“A few years after the Eagles in the gym,
he painted a huge golden Eagle on the outside
roof of the gym. It was really cool. However,
due to being outside and exposed to weather,
it did not last as long as the Eagles painted
inside the gym!”
Smith was happy to do her part in remembering
and promoting Elmer the Eagle. “I just
really wanted the school to know the history
behind this piece of art and not view it as
something that needed to be removed,” she said.
So, the next time you traverse to the Richmond
Bar and Grill for a burger and a beer,
you might want to inquire about a gratis Elmer
the Eagle sticker.
El Segundo Eagle Strong! •