"Dwarfed by The Trees" of Fairmont Park. (Robert Sirotnik)
Sunday Gazette: August 4, 2024
The Raincross Gazette staff is still off on an end-of-summer break; this issue was prepared for you before we went on break. We will return to work tomorrow, and the next issue will land in your inboxes this Wednesday, August 7.
Long-time readers know I'm no stranger to asking for help, so here I go again. For the last 16 months, I have been "working from home" at my mother's home in the Wood Streets to support her battle with Alzheimer's disease. She has now been in a fantastic assisted living facility for the last three months, and I need to move my desk out of her home by the end of the month. I am working to secure a proper office for our growing staff (more on that soon!) sometime in the next six months; in the meantime, I am looking for a small office with room for me to set up my standing desk to work from and thought I would check with our readers before renting an office in a co-working space. If you have extra office space you're open to sharing with yours truly, please drop me an email (justin@raincrossgazette.com).
Newell Parker: Setting Riverside’s Tone for Nearly a Century
From a young cornet player in Michigan to the revered organist of Riverside’s Mission Inn, Newell Parker’s life was a symphony of service, music, and community engagement.
Photo of Newell Parker on the Kimball organ in the Cloister Music Room (Author’s Collection)
Newell Parker started music lessons as a four-year-old in Port Huron, Michigan. Music turned out to be a significant part of the rest of his life, a span of over ninety years.
Newell was born on June 18, 1894, in Port Huron to George and Nettie Parker. He had two brothers, Russell and Floyd. The young Parker attended Port Huron High School and played the cornet in the orchestra and the city band. He graduated in 1911.
The family moved to Hollywood, California, in 1912, and Newell continued his musical career by studying voice, piano, and organ. He soon held positions accompanying well-known singers at concerts and playing for church services at the First Methodist Church at Sixth and Hill Streets in Los Angeles.
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A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
Welcome back from last week’s luminous light bulb play date. Did you light up your night with creative delight? Whether you wrote a warm and reflective poem, created complicated bulb art, or composed a catchy song while stealing intellectual property like a GPT, I hope you made something to glow about using everyday objects.
Just as light bulbs have illuminated our creative paths, this week, we’re turning our attention to another versatile and indispensable item: a roll of tape. Tape, in all its forms—from Scotch tape to duct tape to packing tape—is a staple in our homes and offices. It’s useful for mending, sticking, bundling, and crafting.
