Tuesday, January 12, 2010

R.I.P. Bill Grundy and Harriett M. Wieder

Newport Beach historian Bill Grundy died on New Years' Day. He founded the Newport Beach Historical Society and was an Orange County Historical Commissioner. The Daily Pilot's story about his death states that "As a sales manager for the Irvine Co. from 1967 to 1969, Grundy helped develop Linda Isle and personally sold off all the lots on the island. ...Linda Isle was once known as Shark Island, named for the sand sharks that used to swim offshore. It was always a sore point for Grundy that the Irvine Co. re-named the island after heiress Linda Irvine, the granddaughter of James Irvine II. ...Grundy was born Feb. 20, 1924. His father, Gordon Milton Grundy, was the first doctor in Newport Beach and was credited with saving the city from the 1918 influenza epidemic."
I'm sad to say that Orange County's first woman Supervisor (1979-1995) and former Huntington Beach mayor (1976) Harriett M. Wieder has also died.
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She was born Harriett Pulvers in Toronto in 1920, and grew up in Detroit. In 1941, she married Irving “Irv” Wieder, and they soon moved to Los Angeles. They had two children, Lee and Gayle. Becoming active in the community, Harriett eventually found her way onto the staff of L.A. mayor Sam Yorty – the beginning of her career in public service.
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Over the years, Harriett championed such issues as the environment, health care, domestic violence prevention and public safety.
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I thought I'd post a few of the better images of Harriett from the Orange County Archives' collection. The image above shows her with the Huntington Beach float at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival, around 1980. The photo below shows her as a newly minted County Supervisor in 1979, attending the dedication of a mural in Stanton.
Above: Passing the ceremonial gavel as Tom Riley becomes the Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Jan. 1994.
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Below: Harriett, some guy who squints/blinks every time a flash goes off, and the (then) recently appointed Judge Nancy Stock, in the late 1980s.

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