Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 17, 2015 Grand Opening of Hogan Park Mayor Robert Pullen-Miles, center (in tie), Councilman Pat Kearney, on his right, Councilman Dan Reid, on his immediate left, and Councilman Jim Osborne, on Reid’s left, surrounded by Lawndale children cutting the ribbon at the Grand Opening of Hogan Park on Thursday, September 10. Photo courtesy of John E. Hocking, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Jim Osborne Enjoys History, Horticulture By Nancy Peters Making sure that family history is preserved is usually left to the genealogists. Ancestors can be traced by some families as far back as the descendants who arrived in America on The Mayflower or rode with Attila the Hun across the plains of the ancient world. Or in the case of Jim Osborne, history in the South Bay, which began for his family back in 1902, although his great grandfather did not purchase land in Lawndale until 1908 and became one of the first settlers. “My grandmother, Helen Buss, was 16 years old when her father moved the family, in 1905, from Chautauqua County, New York, to southern California,” Jim related. “However, it was 1902 when my great uncle found his way to California in where he operated a ranch in Compton. By 1906, the east side of what we now know of as Hawthorne Boulevard and present-day Lawndale was being marketed as ‘Lawndale Acres.’ So, you could say our family got in on the ground floor. My Great Grandfather, Adelbert Buss, bought directly from Charles Hopper, the founder of Lawndale.” Dairy farming was part of the family’s background in New York, so staying in that market seemed natural with the move. But future generations were steeped in the traditions of the expanding world. His grandmother met his grandfather, Albert Thomas, in 1926. For a short time, they lived in Buena Park, but soon moved back to the family ranch in Lawndale after his mother was born. “My grandmother was the founding Librarian of Lawndale, establishing the institution in 1913. She was also the first Postmistress in a storefront on the current location of the Lawndale Community Center. Before her formalizing the job, the mail would be left in a large hat on the counter. People would come in for a chat and sort through the hat’s content. She knew everyone who started everything in Lawndale. And she lived to be well over 98 years of age, so over her lifetime she saw everything change too!” Jim recalled. “She told us stories of so much of the development of the area. Lawndale, Lawndale Acres, Hawthorne, the schools, the way things were in the ‘00s, the ‘10s, the ‘20s. “But, of course, with the stories told by others, heard by others, and related by yet more people, the stories seemed to meld together into one big inaccurate story of Lawndale history. That’s why, in 2005, I decided to do the complete research, look through all the old records I could find, and try to set the record straight by writing the first history of Lawndale. The ‘green book’ is in the Library at the Civic Center. I wanted to make sure what actually happened during the years of each milestone were down in writing,” stated Osborne. “Since our family had all the old photos, record books, deeds, and the information my grandmother passed down I felt it was time to set the record straight regarding the founding of Lawndale. I thoroughly enjoy digging into the history and writing it down, hopefully for future generations to use on the 200th anniversary of Lawndale,” Jim said, chuckling. Osborne has lived in Lawndale his entire life. He is the second generation to graduate from Leuzinger High School after his Mom did so in 1945. His higher education is based in southern California. He graduated from El Camino College, got his Bachelor’s degree from Cal State Dominguez Hills, and also attended UCLA and UC Riverside for further credentials and accreditations, with majors in botany and horticulture, as well as interdisciplinary studies. Although initially Jim thought he would teach science full-time, his love for the environment, making improvements from the perspective of how to best care for plants, propagate the correct plant life, and how humans can learn to appreciate plant life, his career followed the path of his education in horticulture. He worked at the South Coast Botanical Gardens. Jim worked for the city of Torrance for nearly 20 years as a Public Works Supervisor. Before retirement he was the Superintendent of Parks for the city of Gardena. But, alas, his skills at communication could not keep him from the classroom. For more than 10 years, Osborne has been an instructor at El Camino College teaching horticulture. Able to use history of the area, Jim can relate to his students more than just plants. He is versed in what used to grow all over the south bay as well—oranges, melons, strawberries—on the very grounds where students live and work and attend school today. Always outspoken from his solid knowledge base in the history of Lawndale, Jim Osborne attended municipal meetings long before his election to the City Council in 2008. At one time he did serve on the Cable Commission, but his interest in the need for constant improvements all around the city of his ancestors led to suggestions from the people’s podium about maintenance, tree trimming, street improvements, and the general infrastructure of the city he calls home. “I can recall being a Boy Scout and carrying the California flag into the Council Chambers when there would be formal ceremonies back in the day and being so proud to be in that place. It meant a great deal to me when I was first elected to sit on the dais as a member of the City Council. “As we have made decisions as a City Council, I really feel such a sense of pride about what has been accomplished. We have been able to better control graffiti. Soon three new and improved parks will dot the city landscape. We have new street signs, which I think is one of the best things our Public Works staff recently completed. And the street improvements, repaired sidewalks and enhanced medians are other accomplishments for the city. “The rebuilding of the Library was such a special project given the family history with my grandmother being the first librarian in Lawndale. The construction of the community center, although it did take some persuading of ‘certain’ people, is such a great legacy for Lawndale,” Jim continued. “There is always more to be done. We have come a long way since the acres and lots of the Lawndale of my great grandfather’s time. We always have work to do as a city and as a City Council.” Jim Osborne is also a musician who riffs a mean Fender Stratocaster guitar. Most people who know Jim as the elected official, dressed professionally on the dais, were surprised by his skills during the first Lawndale Blues Festival a few years ago. Now, both he and his fans look forward to the sounds on the last Saturday in September (this year on September 26 at Jane Addams Park). A restorer of vintage cars, Osborne owns two. On any given sunny California afternoon, you may see him cruisin’ down Hawthorne Boulevard in either his 1958 Chevy Apache or his restored 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook. An avid traveler, Jim has visited the seven continents, including working at the scientific research station at Bellinghausen on Antarctica. But not even climbing the Pyramids or walking the Great Wall of China can take the place of Lawndale where Jim Osborne’s heart resides. His story is indeed steeped in Lawndale history. He fulfilled his family’s legacy, although Jim Osborne is far from any last chapter. With retirement there is more time for travel, to play music, and continue to discover more about his hometown. • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................7 Classifieds............................2 Community Briefs...............3 Film Review..........................2 Finance..................................5 Food.......................................8 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................4, 6-7 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 88˚/70˚ Saturday Sunny 91˚/70˚ Sunday Sunny 91˚/72˚
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