Another library for Rocky Point! - 4/2003

The weekend of April 11-13, 2003 found Catalina Rotarians back in Rocky Point, Mexico. On Friday the 11th, a Catalina contingent attended dedication ceremonies for the library of schools Club de Leones and Articulo 115 Constitucional (the two schools share the same building). This is the eighth elementary school library to result from the partnership of Catalina Rotary and Club Rotario de Puerto Peñasco. On Saturday, the Catalina group spruced up the school with some painting and grounds keeping. Saturday evening was devoted to fellowship, with a party at the beachfront home of one of the Puerto Peñasco members.

Check out these before and after pictures of the new library!

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Playground for disabled is Rotary project - June 10, 2003

By Carmen Duarte
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The Catalina Rotary Club is spearheading a project to install a $300,000 playground for children with disabilities at Jacobs Park on the North Side.

As its Centennial Project, the club chose to design and build a playground accessible to children with special needs so they can integrate and play with other children, said Barbara Kiernan, who heads the project's fund-raising committee.

"An area of emphasis for the club has always been on youth, and we wanted to consider a permanent project for this community," said Jeff Nordensson, Catalina Rotary Club president.

"This is a terrific project and it will be difficult to raise the money given the economic situation, but we have a great start and we are putting our money where our mouth is."

Nordensson has a personal interest in the project, he said.

"Children are finding it difficult to enjoy some of the things kids do because of a handicap. This project has hit home with me because my older brother had cerebral palsy, and when I was a young boy I spent time pushing his wheelchair. I remember the difficulties," Nordensson said.

The club, which has nearly 120 members, has committed to raising up to $100,000. City Councilwoman Kathleen Dunbar is contributing $100,000 in a Back to Basics grant from Ward 3, and on June 2 the Tucson City Council agreed unanimously, 7-0, to give $42,000 to the project.

Colorful playground

The international club celebrates 100 years of service in February 2005 and the Catalina Rotary Club set that as the target date to install the colorful playground at a northwest section of Jacobs Park, 3300 N. Fairview Ave., said Kiernan, a University of Arizona faculty member with the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.

At the playground, children wearing leg braces will fit comfortably in swings and be able to walk without sinking into the ground like they do at playgrounds with gravel, wood chips and sand. Children using walkers or in wheelchairs can gain access to the playground and its stations by using ramps instead of having to leave their equipment behind and crawl around the area.

"It will be a wonderland with bright colors, mirrors, sounds and it will be rich in texture for children to feel with their hands," said Kiernan.

The playground is modeled after one in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. These types of playgrounds are rare in the United States, Kiernan said.

Project would aid park

Thousands of children with physical and developmental disabilities in Tucson have nowhere that allows them unrestricted access to play and interact with children of all abilities, Dunbar wrote in a memo to the City Council. The project also would help revitalize the park, which is located in a high-crime area, and help give it back to the community, she wrote.

After surveying Tucson-area parks, Kiernan said, Jacobs Park was chosen for the project for several reasons. Among them:

* It has more than 3,000 square feet to accommodate the playground.

* It is a district park where children from across the city participate in sports.

* It is on a bus line.

* It has handicapped parking accessibility near the proposed site.

Organizations or businesses interested in donating or volunteering for the project can contact Kiernan at 620-0420 at the Scottish Rite-UA Child Language Center, or at bjk3@mindspring.com.

Barbara Kiernan and Jeff Nordensson stand in an area of Jacobs Park where a playground for disabled children will be built.
 A.E. Araiza / Staff

Shane's Inspiration, in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is the inspiration for the planned Tucson playground. www.Boundlessplaygrounds.org

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Catalina members help KUAT-TV bring in the money - June 8, 2003

Catalina Rotary members pitched in to help KUAT-TV raise funds during the public television station's June fund drive. Catalina members answered phones and took pledges from 10 AM to 2:30 PM. Over $8,000 was raised during this time period.

The Catalina Rotarians who took part in KUAT's June fund drive: (standing, from l to r) Trappeur Rahn, Dick Stein, Tom Kittle; (seated, from l to r) Roger Radcliff, Tom Sundt.

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Eulogy for James R. “Bob” Mockbee, Lt. Col. (Ret.)

by Joy Mockbee

I’m going to try to talk about my father today and to remember a little bit about his life.  It’s hard for me to know where to start – I’m sure I could talk for hours and only touch on a fraction of the things I’d like to say.   In case I don’t get any further than this, I’d like to say that he was a wonderful man, who touched many people in his life.  He will be missed by many.  I know he’d like us to all come together to celebrate his life rather than mourn him.

For those of you who knew him, you know he always liked to talk, so don’t worry, I’ll keep this shorter than he would.

My dad was born on a farm in the rolling hills in Kentucky in 1920.  When his mother was in labor, his father left to go get the doctor.  They didn’t make it back in time, so my dad’s mom was alone when she gave birth to him.  His birth was representative of many parts of his life – he faced adversity but was able to survive through it, and even thrive.

He grew up on the farm, helping to plant and harvest tobacco and raising horses.  He remembered when the neighbors bought the first radio and everyone would go over to their place to listen to it.

When he was older, they moved into town, the small town of Falmouth, which he always considered home.  He had many friends and, due to his sense of humor, was infamous for instigating trouble.  One of the teachers once asked her class to write an essay on who they would most like to be, and one of the other kids wrote, “Bob Mockbee”, much to the disappointment of all the teachers.  Every time my Dad told this sorry, he’d get a good laugh out of it.

After he graduated from high school, he decided to serve his country by joining the military.  He was committed to doing something positive for his country and others in the world.  He frequently wrote letters home that showed his dedication to his family as well.  You can see one such letter posted on a display board in the reception area.

He served in World War II, first in Ecuador and then in India.  He saw a lot of horrible things, including friends going down in airplanes and an ammunitions ship exploding in harbor, killing many civilians.  He became commanding officer of his unit at a time when many of those under his command were older than him.  It was a challenge but one that he met well.

After the war, he returned to Falmouth, where he met and married my mom, Marcella.  He went to college and sold insurance for a while and they had their first child, Monty.  He then decided to re-enlist in the military as an officer.

Their first assignment was to Tucson, and their second child, Melody, was born.  They fell in love with the desert and mountains that would later become their second home.

My dad had a long military career of 25 years, during which they were stationed at many different places, including Alaska and Germany.  He attained the rank of Lt. Col. and received many awards.  He was always involved with jobs working with people, whether it was developing innovative leadership training or managing personnel.

After retirement, he didn’t take it easy for long before going to work for the American Red Cross.  In the Red Cross he did many different things, including disaster response management, helping the homeless and disabled, coordinating blood drives, helping people find lost relatives.  One of my earliest memories is of him getting a call in the middle of the night that there had been a mudslide.  He got up immediately to go set up shelters for those who had become homeless as a result.  He eventually became the executive director of the Glendale chapter of the American Red Cross.

My dad experienced many hardships throughout his life, perhaps the hardest being the death of my brother in a car accident when he was 21 years old.  I was born later that same year.

My dad retired from the Red Cross when I was 8 years old and the family moved to Tucson.

Even after he retired, he was active and hard-working.  He spent many hours organizing a retiree physical program at the base, was active in the outreach program here at St. Pius, did many volunteer activities with the Rotary club, and attended neighborhood meetings.  He was always very involved with my activities – going on Girl Scout outings, being president of the PTA, attending track meets, carpooling my friends and I around town.  He was a staunch Catholic and always made sure we never missed Mass on a Sunday or Holy Day.  He was instrumental in giving me a sense of passion for social justice, for working to make the world a better place.  He would always speak out, even against popular opinion, in order to defend those who were marginalized or disenfranchised.

My father was devoted to his family.  He spent a lot of time with us, taking us places and doing fun activities.  Almost every night he and I would go for a bike ride –he’d smoke his cigar while we rode.  We’d go around the neighborhood when we were here in Tucson or out to see the horses in the fields when we were in Kentucky.  Of course, we’d always make numerous stops to talk to people along the way.

Although my father spent much of his life working and concerned with large issues, he also appreciated the small things.  He taught me to love the environment.  We’d go for walks up to Bear Creek and through the desert by our house, always stopping to look at the little things – the roadrunner’s nest, the seeds of barrel cactus fruit, shiny mica in the sand.  I used to think he was crazy because he’d sit out on the back porch and look at the Catalina Mountains.  I always asked how he could just sit and look at something that doesn’t move and he’d reply that the mountains aren’t motionless – they are always changing with the light and are always different.  Now I realize that’s true and I always think of him when I see the Catalinas with the light shining on them in a particularly beautiful way.

Perhaps most importantly, he connected well with people.  He always would take the time to stop and talk to people.  He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to laugh and to make others laugh.  He loved to do crazy things – wear goofy pants, drive flashy cars, ride bikes backwards.  Last night one of our neighbors told me a story about when her sons saw Dad riding his bike backwards sitting on the handlebars.  They wanted to try it and she had to tell them, “that’s something only old men can do”.

The last few years were difficult for him, as he began to care more and more for my mom as she developed Alzheimer’s disease.  But he did it with a lot of love and maintained his sense of humor until the end.  Even his last few days at the hospital and at home at Handmaker’s he was making jokes and sharing laughs with his family and friends.

I really want to thank you for coming and thank you for all the love and support you have given to him, and to our family, over the years.  I hope that we can all continue to hold our memories of him in a special place in our hearts and to do what he would want us to do – to live a life filled with family and friends, helping others, sharing adventures, and having lots of laughs.  Thank you.

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Simplified Grant boosts Catalina Rotary library project - September, 2003

Catalina Rotary’s World Community Service Committee recently applied for and received a simplified grant from District 5500 in the amount of $3,000. The money is earmarked for the Puerto Peñasco Library Project, a joint venture between Catalina Rotary and the Rotary Club of Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Sonora, Mexico.

As a general rule, elementary schools in Mexico have no books or libraries. Thanks to the collaboration of the Catalina and Puerto Peñasco clubs, Rocky Point has become the exception to this rule. The two clubs have already provided the funds and labor needed to install libraries in elementary schools throughout Rocky Point.

The latest and last library on the agenda provides the greatest challenge. It will be part of a brand new school, to be called the Rotary Club School. Like the school, the library building needs to be built from the ground up. The two clubs will share the eight thousand dollar construction cost (Catalina-$4,500; Puerto Peñasco-$3,500) and provide the labor to paint and decorate the building. They will also sponsor a teaching methods seminar to help all Puerto Peñasco teachers refine their skills.

After construction, the $3,000 simplified grant will be put to use to provide books, furniture, curtains and signs.

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Catalina Rotary Installs Adirondack Hut #8 on Mt. Lemmon – October 18, 2003

On Saturday, October 18, Catalina Rotarians finally got the chance to erect the club’s eighth Adirondack Hut at the Camp Lawton Boy Scout Camp on Mount Lemmon. The project, long-delayed by this summer’s Aspen fire, took place under warm and sunny skies. The site chosen by camp officials was conveniently close to the main parking lot, allowing the trailers with materials and supplies to back right up to the work area. Another plus was a nearby electric outlet, which permitted the group to work to the natural sounds of the forest instead of a noisy portable generator. The Mount Lemmon Café, which miraculously survived this year’s blaze, provided lunch (a “Smokehouse Sampler” sandwich, potato salad, and of course, their famous homemade pie).

Thanks to Doug Jones for overall leadership of the project, to Tom Kittle for storing all the materials at his business and to both Doug and Tom for hauling the equipment and materials up the mountain. Thanks also to Tucson Water for donating bottled water and to Eugene Carter for snapping some photos.

Participants were: Doug Jones, Tom Kittle, Manfred Fodor, Irv Mindes, Michael Butterbrodt, Eugene Carter, Matt Matthewson, M., Steve, Michelle and Stephanie Craig and their cousin Ryo Harashima, and Wes Hendrick.

Here are some scenes from the day’s construction:

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Rotarians aid Pima County Special Olympics – October 25^th, 2003

Volunteers from Catalina Rotary traveled to Fiesta Lanes to lend a hand with this year’s Pima County Special Olympics Bowling Competition. They spent the day scoring and serving as lane monitors. Volunteers included: Dick Stein, Steve Pender, M. Craig, M’s daughter Stephanie and cousin Ryo Harashima, Roger Bivens and his wife, Karin.

Dick Stein reports that the club is committed to helping at the Special Olympics Track & Field competition in March, 2004.

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Catalina Rotary Family Picnic – October 26^th, 2003

Catalina Rotarians, their families and friends feasted and socialized under sunny (if breezy) skies at Jacob’s Park on Sunday, October 26. The event was a Family Picnic organized by the club’s Fellowship Chair, Tim Harris. Jacob’s Park was chosen because it will be the site of Catalina’s Centennial Project, a unique playground specially designed for children of all abilities.

Here are some photos of Catalina Rotarians enjoying the day and the fellowship:

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"Breakfast with the Beasts" is a roaring success - November 1, 2003

Catalina Rotarians, friends and family gathered bright and early on Saturday, Nov. 1 to attend "Breakfast with the Beasts" at Reid Park Zoo. The event was organized by the club's Family of Rotary committee, chaired by M. Craig. After a continental breakfast, the group went on a "behind-the-scenes" guided tour of the zoo. The tour included a visit to the zoo kitchen to see meals being prepared for the zoo animals (the children didn't think the dead mice, beef heart and little fish looked or smelled very appetizing). The group also visited the animal health center (we viewed x-rays and played “guess the animal”); the tiger exhibit (got to see the tigers up close and personal-keep those hands out of the cage, please!) and the giraffe exhibit (where many of us got to meet and feed one of the residents, named Dallas).

Here are some scenes from the tour: