Old Town Report 6/22/17

Things happen quickly in Old Town. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

By Pam Fitzpatrick

I would rather start out each week’s column on a happy note, and digress later as needed.  But when one of my Old Town merchant friends gets scammed, that’s the first thing on my mind. I just sent out a group email to my business neighbors warning them of a new scam, which has already caught at least one merchant. Here’s how it goes: a person purporting to represent Southern California Edison calls a small business, often on a Friday or over the weekend. The call is a “warning” that the business will have no electricity for 48 hours because their location is scheduled for a meter box upgrade.

How nice of them to offer the warning, right? And, if being shut down for 2 full days without electricity is going to be a problem, the caller would like to offer a solution: if the business owner is willing to put down a $340 “completely refundable deposit,” then SCE will work to offer a more convenient schedule. Oh, and since there is no time for a check to arrive in the mail, they say, “I see you are near one of our payment centers” (in this case a Walgreens). All you need to do is run over and purchase a money card and make your deposit immediately. Isn’t that convenient? Well, it’s a total scam. SCE never calls customers and asks for payment of any kind, but the caller is being so nice and so helpful…. See why I’m angry?

Sharing information between ourselves is why staying connected in every way possible is so important. I try to get the email addresses of all new businesses, and I know the City of Monrovia is now adding the information they have to their new data base, but sometimes that’s just not enough.  So, newsprint, social media, the U. S. mail, and just plain face-to-face contact is essential to having a successful business here in Old Town. There is no one way these days to spread news and connect with friends.

I had a wonderful chance last Sunday to connect, face to face, with friends – many who I had not seen for a long, long time. The occasion was the 90^th birthday celebration of one of Old Town’s original business families. Betty Sandford and her sister, as Betty tells the story, not only worked with their father in the family business (I think it was a men’s clothing store), but they rode on a float every year in the Monrovia Day parade. There is a large, beautiful foamboard display in Crown Shoe’s showing a pictorial history of Betty’s family. To this day, Betty and her family remain property owners in Old Town, and in fact, they are my landlords at 412 S. Myrtle. They also own the Paint ‘N Play property and the historic Neville Building on the west side of the 400 block of Myrtle. So, at Betty’s celebration I reconnected with her kids and her grandkids and great-grandkids. What a lovely way to spend Father’s Day in the absence of having my own father to celebrate.

Speaking of our dad, I have to share (again) my favorite of his many words of wisdom: “When in trouble, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.” Dad, I took this to heart….

There is one exciting piece of news about a business opening: Grey and Cash (where Parchment used to be) on the west side of the 400 block of Myrtle, is projected to open on July 1. I spoke to one of the owners, Alfonso, and he was working inside this morning getting everything ready to serve breakfast and lunch along with tons of coffee and tea drinks.

And – don’t forget the free Traditional Music Gathering on Sunday, June 24 up at Library Park in front of the Fountain from 7-9 p.m.

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