I moved to California in 2003 with my husband, who was ill, to be near our daughter.
I now live with my beloved Shih Tzu, Harry, in the house on Madison Avenue my
daughter bought in the late 1980’s. Through many visits before 2003 I realized the
charm and appeal of Santa Venetia and the “Presidents” enclave. These past five
years I found myself actively trying to preserve the beauty and comfort of the area,
especially to honor Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision for his magnificent Civic Center and
its surrounds.

The name “environmentalist” wasn’t around in the early 1960’s, but my passion for
preserving beauty, whether country or town, began then. We had bought a wreck of
a 17th century cottage in England, near Winchester.  The proposed way to bring
electricity to the house was by five new telegraph poles across fields and in the view
of a 12th century chapel! After many persuasive discussions and inspections the
electric company agreed to share the cost of putting the service underground.

My husband was a submarine officer in the Royal Navy; opportunities for volunteer
work were many and in different places. ( gray lady at the submarine base at New
London; various Sunday schools, altar guilds, and on the RNLI committee in
London.  

I was a realtor for 19 years in an historic town in Conn. where my son, his wife and
two teen-age children live. I’m a keen gardener, many birds are a joy in the garden, I
enjoy reading “history”, walking Harry in the Lagoon Park is a delight, and I wish I
had more time to finish my needlepoint.
MARY LOU KING
Santa Venetia Neighborhood Association