The Rotary Club of Solvang is piloting a Santa Ynez Valley Leadership Program for residents who aspire to leadership roles in municipal government, public agencies and not-for-profit organizations. This is in response to requests for such a program like Lompoc, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County have had to develop community leaders for 30-plus years. 

This program is not a copy of the other ones. It was developed by Ian Jacobsen and a Rotary Club advisory committee to tailor it to the needs of the Santa Ynez Valley community. The benefits to participants are greater community leadership skills and knowledge, greater self-confidence as a leader, and a network of other prospective community leaders.

The Santa Ynez Valley Leadership Program is scheduled for a total of eight sessions on Saturday mornings, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., running Sept. 11 through Nov. 13 (With no class Sept. 25 and Oct. 23. The program is open to residents of the Santa Ynez Valley. Participants will learn through classes and workshops, reading assignments, and participation in a team project. There is a $100 participation fee for all eight classes. The deadline to register is Aug. 27.

For more information on the program, overview of the learning modules, and for an application form, go to www.solvangrotary.com 

The program is endorsed by the Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Buellton Rotary Clubs, and local Chambers of Commerce. As with all Rotary programs, it is nonpolitical and nondenominational.

Ian Jacobsen, president of the Rotary Club of Solvang, is the author of “Leadership at Your Fingertips: Proven Ways to Handle Your Challenges.” He is a graduate of Stanford University, and is a certified management consultant elected a Fellow to the Institute of Management Consultants in 1997. His prior work experience included management positions with corporate and educational organizations, and founding his own consulting company in 1983. Jacobsen’s specialty is coaching managers to become more effective leaders. His clients have included high-technology companies, service organizations, city and county governments, and educational institutions.

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After more than a year of shutdowns and many events being canceled or postponed, the Fourth of July parade is back this Independence Day, being sponsored by the Solvang Rotary Club. 

“We are looking forward to getting people back together and celebrating our Independence Day with a fun parade,” said Allan Jones of Solvang Rotary. 

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. with a theme of “God Bless America,”.

“The route takes a slightly different, more intimate path, through downtown because State Highway 246 is not available to us this year.  Instead, the parade will begin at Alisal Rd and Oak St, travel north to Copenhagen Drive, west on Copenhagen to 2nd St., south on 2nd St. past the Solvang Festival Theatre, then east on Oak St. back to Alisal Rd.,” parade chairman Steve Palmer explained. “There will be a convenient detour in town around the Parade route with road closures starting about 10:00 am.  Hwy 246 will remain open to through traffic.”   

The Grand Marshals of the parade will be local first responders, in honor of their hard work and fortitude during the last year of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Check-in and staging for the parade will start at 9 a.m. at the 300 block of Alisal Rd and extend to Alisal Mesa Rd, and Lot 72. Announcing and judging will take place in front of The Copenhagen House at Copenhagen Dr. and 1st St. Deadline to enter is June 30.

Following the parade there will be a barbecue in Solvang Park, corner of First Street and Mission Drive, and the Rotarians ask that people patronize local shops and restaurants to help support local business. 

The fireworks, usually organized by the Santa Ynez Valley Rotary Club, is not happening due to time constraints, but the organization will be helping with the parade as will the other Rotary Clubs from Los Olivos and Buellton, Jones said.

If any business or organization wishes to have an entry in the parade visit the Solvang Rotary website at www.solvangrotary.com and download the application.

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With the COVID-19 virus altering life the community, many residents have found themselves unable to provide basic needs for themselves and their family. In turn, local nonprofits have stepped up and are working hard to meet the huge surge in demand, but with the loss of many nonprofits main revenue stream – thrift stores – many of these organizations are also struggling.

However, the four Rotary Clubs in the Santa Ynez Valley – Buellton, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang – have united together contributing a total of $33,500 to local nonprofit organizations. The nonprofits selected are doing outreach in the community, feeding hundreds of people daily with prepared meals and produce bags. These include home bound seniors and children out of school. These organizations also help getting medications delivered, sewn masks and other needs. 

Ten nonprofits received funding are Atterdag at Home, Bethania Lutheran Church, Buellton Senior Center, Los Alamos Senior Center, Ranch Church, Recovery Outreach, Solvang School PTO, Solvang Senior Center, SYV People Helping People and United Boys & Girls Club.

Rotary believes in the adage of “Service Above Self.” Every Rotary Club has 5 Avenues of Service where they are tasked with serving their community as well as helping with International projects. The power of Rotary is profound with its commitment to eradicating polio around the world. 

Rotary International has grown to 1.2 million members comprised of professional and business leaders in over 35,000 clubs in 200 countries. In the Santa Ynez Valley, there are 100 Rotary Club members in four clubs; Buellton, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez Valley and Solvang. These clubs are part of Rotary District 5240. For more information or to learn how to get involved, go to the district website: www.rotarydistrict5240.org

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By Raiza Giorgi

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Downtown Solvang became a sea of red, white and blue on the Fourth of July as people dressed in America’s colors and waving flags lined the streets to watch the annual Independence Day parade.

Spectators cheered and stood for the color guard from American Legion Post No. 160 as it began its march down Mission Drive. Next came the American Legion riders on motorcycles, honking and waving to the crowd.

“This was one of the biggest crowds we’ve had for a while in Solvang, and it was a wonderful day to see friends on the floats and make new friends with whomever sat next to you,” said Tracy Farhad, executive director of the Solvang Conference and Visitor’s Bureau. “Solvang Rotary did a great job organizing the parade.”

This year’s parade, with the theme “We the People,” had 76 entries that included Grand Marshals Rutledge “Putty” Mills and his wife Carol.

Putty Mills was directly involved with NASA’s Apollo missions, training astronauts after building the prototype of the Lunar Rover for the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that first landed on the moon, when astronaut Neil Armstrong said those famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

One of the two prototypes Mills built is stored in the barn at his home in Santa Ynez, and it rode on a trailer in the July 4 parade.

Other popular entries in the parade included the many equestrians with the Los Charros group, including one of their riders doing rope tricks.

Children eagerly ran out to pick up pieces of candy and also to get soaked by the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School water polo team. Those same children also loved the bags of baby carrots handed out by Veggie Rescue.

Judy Adams pulled her Jersey cow, Dolly, who had an American flag draped over her.

The Atterdag Village of Solvang shuttled some of their residents to places along the parade route, and when its float came by, those residents cheered and hooted.

The Wildling Museum and NatureTrack partnered up and walked along with a nature theme.

The cast from PCPA’s “Million Dollar Quartet” included Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis. Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, who got a lot of cheers as they drove by.

The festivities kept going after the parade with a barbecue hosted in Solvang Park by the Solvang Rotary Club and a free concert.

Later in the afternoon the Rotary Club of Santa Ynez sponsored the annual festival at Mission Santa Ines, which included bounce houses and games for children, beer and wine booths for adults, and concerts by several local bands before the fireworks capped off the day at 9 p.m.

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The Solvang Rotary Club inducted five new members on June 18 with the help of District 5240 Governor Sandi Schwartz.

“As you embark on your Rotary journey, you will surely discover the true meaning of our principal motto: Service Above Self,” Schwartz told inductees Scott Martin, Bonnie Jacobsen, Yoli De Young, David Gassaway and Carol Anders.

The new members were given several framed certificates, badges, Rotary International pins and a coin depicting a wave with the words, “Be The Inspiration,” which is this year’s Rotary International theme.

Martin is a returning member, having served previously in the club for 12 years in the capacity as president and club foundation president and as assistant district governor twice.

Jacobsen is a retired K-6 teacher and was a student teacher supervisor at San Jose State University during her career. She volunteers at the Solvang Library and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

De Young is a small-business owner and is known in the Santa Ynez Valley as the “Pie Lady.” She has raised substantial funds for the Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church with her pie and baked-goods sales.

Anders is also a returning member, having served previously in the club for two years, working as a planner of the Hollywood Revisited Rotary fundraising event. She is a retired nurse, a volunteer of the SYV Cottage Hospital Auxiliary, and a member of the French Maids, who sell catered events raising funds for charity.

Gassaway is the new city manager of Solvang and a former community development director for the city of Indian Wells near Palm Springs.

The Rotary Club of Solvang meets Tuesdays at 7:15 a.m. at the Alisal Ranch Grill. For more information, go to solvangrotary.com.

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Rutledge “Putty” Mills of Santa Ynez has a special affinity for space travel and a special pride in his country.

After serving in World War II, he was directly involved with NASA’s Apollo missions, training astronauts after building the prototype of the Lunar Rover for the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Mills shows pictures of the moon that were taken during test landings of unmanned rockets.

This year, he and his wife Carol will be the grand marshals for the Fourth of July Parade through Solvang.

“The choice of Putty and Carol was easy. They represent a local tie to the past of America’s Greatest Generation and their sacrifices and innovation, and the current generation that has continued the incredible technological advances to further our exploration of space,” said Steve Palmer of the Solvang Breakfast Rotary Club, which organizes the parade.

“We were so honored to be chosen as the grand marshals. This holiday is the most important, as we get to take a day and honor the people that created this great country, and those over the years that have improved it,” Mills said.

While looking back at the age of 96, he also looks forward.

 “I look up at the sky and think out of all the millions of planets in the universe, how can we be the only life forms. It seems to me that there very well could be other versions of life, and I wonder what they are,” Mills said.

He also is amazed that the country has gone in a matter of 50 years from putting a man on the moon to talking about the possibilities of putting someone on Mars.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that first landed on the moon, when astronaut Neil Armstrong said those famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the morning of July 16, 1969, and four days later Armstrong set his foot on the moon. More than half a billion people were watching on television, according to NASA.

Aldrin soon joined him and uttered his simple but powerful description of the lunar surface: “magnificent desolation.” Then they explored the surface for two and a half hours, collecting samples and taking photographs.

The pair left behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and a plaque on one of the Eagle lander’s legs. It reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind

But before the three Americans could land on the moon, other Americans had to plan, experiment and test new technology for years.

As a part of the development team of the Lunar Rover Module, Mills had to overcome extraordinary engineering challenges and exercise creative ingenuity to solve a multitude of known and unknown variables to create a vehicle for exploration of the moon’s surface, Palmer added.

One of the two prototypes Mills built is sitting in his barn at his home in Santa Ynez. He trailered it in last year’s Fourth of July Parade, and he is hoping to have it up and running for his year’s parade.

He also knows that in today’s world of rapidly advancing technology, young people are often unimpressed when they see his rover prototype.

“Armstrong was right when he said it was the beginning of a new age. I just am so honored to have been a part of history,” Mills said.

Mills was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia in 1923 and remembers making the long trek across the country after his parents decided to opt for warmer weather and moved to Santa Barbara on the advice of a friend.

When he graduated from Santa Barbara High School during World War II, Mills applied to be a fighter pilot. At the time, most kids idolized fighter pilots and Mills was ready to take the two-day test to become one of them.

After his tour was over, Mills was assigned to landing test shuttles on the moon with Saturn V rockets. It took 10 tries until one landed.

“During the flight, the rocket took pictures that were sent back,” Mills said as he showed the original photographs from the project.

When the idea of the moon rover project was proposed, a design by Boeing won. Then it was subcontracted to SB Research of Goleta. Mills ended up moving to Flagstaff, where the rover testing would be done on rocky desert terrain that was similar to the surface of the moon.

He worked closely with Gene Shoemaker, who was a renowned geologist and astronomer who trained the astronauts for their geological activities.

As Mills was taking the designs from Boeing and creating the prototypes, they estimated the costs of building it to be near half a million dollars.

“Being a conservative man … I put together most of the supplies from my surplus military catalogue,” Mills said.

“I built two of them that the astronauts trained with, with surplus military supplies that cost about $2,000 each. NASA paid more than $40 million for four rovers that went up,” Mills said, proud that he had saved the government so much money on the prototypes.

With a 90-day turn-around for the prototypes, he got them built in 89 days, he laughed. He also stayed to train astronauts Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, Jim Irwin and Dave Scott to drive it.

The batteries to power the electric vehicle had to be made of silver zinc, which could stand up to extreme conditions. Everyday lead-based batteries would not work in extreme cold. Mills also made gear reductions because the rover could travel only at low speeds.

“The rover was in one-sixth of our gravity, which meant it had to go really slow in order to stay on the surface,” he said.

Thinking back over his time and influence on space travel, Mills said he was proud to be called for the assignments. As a kid who never graduated from college, he is a self-taught engineer and still studies 40 hours a week.

He’s also proud of his country.

“I can remember being a kid and loving the sight of the fireworks. I get this special feeling every time I see them, and I’m thankful we get to come together as a community and country to share it,” Mills said.

4th of July Schedule

Solvang residents and visitors will celebrate Independence Day on Thursday, July 4, with events being held throughout the day. Here is the schedule:

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — Free concert by Santa Ynez Valley Wind Ensemble at the Solvang Park Gazebo.

11 a.m. — Fourth of July parade sponsored by the Solvang Rotary Club, featuring floats, horses, vehicles and more. The parade begins at Santa Ines Mission and then proceeds down Mission Drive, Fourth Place, Copenhagen Drive and Alisal Road, ending back at the mission.

Noon to 2 p.m. — A barbecue sponsored by Solvang Rotary Club will take place in Solvang Park. There will be hotdogs, hamburgers, linguiça and meal combos including chips and soda ranging from $5 to $7 per meal. The T-Bone Ramblers, a local band, will provide entertainment.

2 p.m. to 3 p.m. — Free concert by the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale featuring Americana, traditional and patriotic music at the Solvang Veterans Memorial Hall.

2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. — Gates open at 2 p.m. at Mission Santa Inés for festivities that include food booths, wine and beer garden, and kids’ activities including a bounce castle and face-painting. Local performers will take the stage at 5 p.m. to provide entertainment until the fireworks begin.

Admission is $10 per adult and free for children ages 7 and under. Free admission will also be granted to active-duty military and their dependents with ID. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or in advance at Solvang Friendship House (880 Friendship Lane in Solvang) or Hometown Insurance (186 W. Highway 246 in Buellton).

9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. —Fireworks show, sponsored by the Rotary Club of the Santa Ynez Valley, will take place in the fields at Mission Santa Ines.

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Even though Kevin Connor isn’t a veteran, his military jeep is — and he feels a sense of duty to keep it running to honor those who have served. He and his wife have been a part of the local Flat Fender Friends group for more than 10 years.

“It’s a great opportunity to honor our veterans and give people a look at history and what the jeep came from,” Connor said.

Flat Fender Friends founder Dennis Beebe restored his 1942 Ford GPW (jeep) after he bought it from a used-car lot in Buellton.

The Flat Fenders are veterans and non-veterans who have an affinity for restored military vehicles. They are widely seen in the valley’s many parades and other events and will be driving in the upcoming Fourth of July Parade in Solvang.

“Our biggest gathering is typically the Fourth of July parade, as we love driving our veterans and seeing the patriotism,” said founding member Dennis Beebe.

Beebe, a retired Air Force colonel, said the group has been around for about 15 years. They have lovingly restored jeeps and more recent military vehicles that have seen service from World War II to Afghanistan.

Beebe acquired his 1942 Ford GPW (known as a jeep) from the used car lot next to Olivera’s in Buellton. It had been covered in putty and didn’t even look like a military jeep. Beebe started researching military vehicles and talking to people about how they should look.

“Our other founding member, Bruce McBroom, literally pulled his jeep next to mine and we measured where the holes should be so we could mount the spare tire and other hardware distinctive to them,” Beebe said.

Jeeps were the primary light transport vehicle of the military during World War II and the post-war period. They were shipped overseas and used in all areas of combat because they were off-road-capable and lightweight, Beebe said.

“A lot of the vehicles you see in our area never actually went overseas because the vehicles they shipped over were left there when the wars ended. The ships would transport the military servicemen and women home, not the jeeps,” he added.

“A lot of people think that they are all Willys Jeeps, but people forget that a lot were actually made by Ford. Ford was reluctant to make something designed by someone else, and they gave their Jeeps subtle differences,” Beebe said.

Beebe noted that the jeeps and other vehicles that people see in local parades are from a range of wars. Some were used during World War II, such as one that belonged to founding member Jim Axtell. Although his was never used in the war, Axtell bought his jeep brand-new from the Army. Axtell sold it to McBroom, and Beebe stores it for him.

“I told Jim he can be a member as long as he can climb in and out on his own,” Beebe laughed. “To this day he still can, and he just turned 100.”

Another one of their members, Herman Pfauter of Santa Barbara, was a teenager in Germany when he saw the Allied jeeps rolling through his village. He instantly feel in love with the American vehicles, and he has the largest collection of anyone in the group. Now in his 80s, Pfauter has found a home for some of his jeeps by donating and building a structure for the Estrella Warbird Museum in Paso Robles.

“We even have a member that lives in France. Fabian Libre has a jeep and contacted us to be a part of the group. He named his ‘Kunk’s Klunk’ after Jim Kunkle’s P-38 he flew in World War II during D-Day. He even let Jim drive it when he was in Normandy for the 75th anniversary,” Beebe said.

A few of the members have jeeps from the Korean War, Vietnam War and more recent Humvees.

“We don’t have a lot of requirements to be a part of our club. There’s only three, maybe four, rules,” Beebe laughed. Those rules are no dues, no newsletters, no regular meetings and no uniform.

To get more information, email Beebe at dennis.beebe@comcast.net.

July 4 parade

The grand marshals of this year’s July 4 parade, with the theme “We, the People,” will be Putty and Carol Mills. Putty is a member of the Flat Fender Friends, and we will have a story about the couple in our July 2 issue.

The parade, sponsored by Solvang Rotary, will start at 11 a.m. at Mission Santa Ines. It will go down Mission Drive to Fifth Street, left onto Copenhagen Drive and back to the Mission. To be a part of the parade, visit the Rotary’s website at www.solvangrotary.com and send in an application form.

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The Rotary Club of Solvang will hold an evening of music, food and wine on Saturday, April 13, to raise funds for projects supporting youth, seniors, and others in the community.

The event will begin at 5 p.m. in the courtyard of the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum. Dinner will be served with fine wine and musical accompaniment from the JSH Jazz Quintet, featuring vocalist Courtney Lemmon. There will also be silent and live auctions.

The cost is $100 person including wine, dinner and music. Cocktail attire with something warm to cover up is recommended.

Tickets may be purchased by calling President-Elect Ellen Albertoni at (805) 325-9078.

Film about art for social change to be screened in Buellton

“Little Stones,” a documentary about women who use art for social change, will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at Standing Sun Winery in Buellton.

Admission is free. Food and wine will be available for purchase.

Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Sophia Kruz, “Little Stones” weaves together the personal stories of four women artists from around the world, who dedicate their lives to empowering women and survivors of gender-based violence through their unique art forms.

This showing is co-sponsored by Santa Ynez Valley Community Action Alliance and The Acorn Project and is made possible, in part, by funding from the Santa Barbara Gives! project.

Standing Sun Winery is at 92 Second St. in Buellton. For more information, contact Stacey Thompson at thompsonarttherapy@gmail.com or 415-606-7756.

Hancock exhibit creates mysterious dream world

With vintage paper, hand-built wooden boxes, and found and repurposed objects, a new exhibit by artist Michael Long gives a glimpse of some mysterious Santa Barbara scenes, some that exist only in his mind and some inspired by local landmarks.

The exhibit, titled “Some Assembly Required,” will show through April 18. 

Long, who has taught at Peabody Charter School and the Westside Boys and Girls Club in Santa Barbara, has been assembling salvaged and recycled materials as a focal point of his work for the past 30 years.

Long will speak about his artistic process, thoughts and inspiration for his work, and answer questions, during a Foxworthy Talk Series from 6 to 7 p.m. on March 28.

For more information on the artist, visit www.michaelevanlong.com. For more information on this exhibit or the gallery, visit www.hancockcollege.edu/gallery.

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Eight local projects received Santa Ynez Valley Beautification Awards recently from the Solvang Rotary Club.

The annual event at the Alisal Ranch Grill celebrates and awards local commercial, residential and public properties that have been built, remodeled or renovated and finished in the prior year.

At the awards ceremony, owners, managers and representatives from each of the properties described their distinct projects and gave credit to the architects, contractors and craftsmen who made their projects award winners.

This year’s Santa Ynez Valley Beautification Awards winners are:

– Best Shopping Center Rebuild: New Frontiers Marketplace and First Bank in The Merkantile, Solvang

– Best Restaurant Remodel: The Stone Cow, Solvang   

– Best Coffee Shop Remodel: Pony Espresso, Santa Ynez

 – Best Commercial Remodel: Baker’s Table, Santa Ynez

– Best Commercial Renovation: God’s Country Provisions, Buellton  

– Best Professional-Use Remodel: Johnson Family Dental, Solvang

– Best New Industrial Construction: Tilton Engineering, Buellton  

– Best New Residential Construction: Massie Residence, Solvang

For more information, visit solvangrotary.com.

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The Solvang Rotary Club honored seven local construction projects at its annual Santa Ynez Valley Beautification Award Program on Feb. 27 at the Alisal River Grill.

This event recognizes Valley residences, commercial and public properties that have been built, remodeled or renovated and finished in 2017.

Rotarians said it was difficult to make a selection from the large number of nominees, but seven projects were honored representing Solvang, Los Olivos and Buellton.

• Representing Solvang: Leonardo’s Ristorante and Pizzaria, best new restaurant construction.
• Solvang Alisal Cottages: Best new commercial residences
• Representing Los Olivos: Mattei’s Tavern, best historical renovation
• Palladino Residence: Best new residential construction
• Representing Buellton: Flying Flags RV Park & Resort, best commercial park improvement
• Sideways Inn: Best hotel remodel
• Buellton City Hall: Best public landscaping

Owners, managers and representatives from each of the properties had a chance to speak about their journeys through their projects with PowerPoint presentations showing before, during and after photos. They also enthusiastically credited the architects, contractors and craftsmen that made their projects winners.

The Solvang Rotary Club meets every Tuesday at 7:15 a.m. at the Alisal Grill, and guests are always welcome. For more information, go to www.solvangrotary.com.

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