< The Latest 2025-08-30T19:38:34+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Sat 08/30 12:38pm PST | Anissa Rivera
As labors of love go, this is a great and groovy one.
After the Eaton fire was contained in Jan. 31, stories about what was burned and lost in Altadena reached Brady Lock, senior programs coordinator for Morro Bay Recreation Services. Even though he was 208 miles away, Lock still remembered the area well. His first teaching job was in La Cañada Flintridge.
“It really struck me when I saw the devastation, especially the loss of the senior center,” he said.
Altadena Senior Center, a community staple on Mariposa Street for more than 40 years, burned to the ground during the fire. Its services were later moved to Loma Alta Park in Altadena. The Eaton Fire burned for 25 days, killing 19 people, scorching 14,021 acres and destroying more than 9,000 structures.
Lock approached the board at Morro Bay Senior Center about rallying round their Altadena counterparts and a plan was hatched for “A Night in Greenwich Village,” a coffeehouse fundraiser.
Ray, a senior who organizes local “open mic nights” at a Morro Bay wine bar got on board, rounding up singers for an exclusively ‘60s playlist (think Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul and Mary.)
The June event, complete with guests in hippie attire and ready-to-party attitude, raised more than $6,400 for the Altadena Senior Center.
“I was hoping to raise about $1,000 but the senior community got behind the cause and fundraising effort by buying tickets, making monetary donations, as well as contributing artwork and jewelry (to be sold),” Lock said. “It truly was a special event and really showcased our true colors.”
Both senior centers have about the same number of members, at 900 strong. Representatives of Morro Bay Seniors Inc., the nonprofit that runs senior programs in the city, said for a small town of 10,000, they have the largest membership and best participation in activities anywhere in San Luis Obispo County.
For evidence of that generosity, of course, look no further than their donation to Altadena’s senior center. Lock said his members felt especially empathetic after learning Altadena’s seniors have had to scatter to other centers around the San Gabriel Valley after the fire.
The Morro Bay seniors threw a celebratory lunch when Peggy Taylor and Dale La Casella from Friends of the Altadena Senior Center drove four hours north to collect the big, in literal and monetary sense, check. The money will help buy equipment and pay for activities for the rebuilt structure, according to officials from the Friends.