Elizabeth “Betty” Moffitt is always looking for ways to help people. Family, church and charity work are her life. This October, she will be celebrating both her 90th birthday and her 60th year as a member and volunteer at the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist on Atlantic Avenue.
“My grandmother is a very loving person. She does her best to help her family and her friends. She helped raise my sister and me. She gives to charity and contributes time to her church,” said her grandson Nick Dibs.
Canadian by birth, Betty made the trek to California with her family during the Depression era. “My father was laid off and his company closed. My dad had been in charge of ships that hauled wheat up and down the Great Lakes. He couldn’t get any work,” said Betty Moffitt. “We ended up staying on my grandmother’s farm for awhile. Then someone in California called with a job for him, so we headed to California.”
Betty’s family settled in North Long Beach and quickly became regular church goers at the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, which was then located on Market Street.
“My grandmother introduced my family to Christian Science. It’s been my life ever since. I went to Sunday school at the Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist and became a member in 1949. It takes some studying to become a member,” said Moffitt. “I went on to teach Sunday school. I also work in the church’s Reading Room whenever I’m needed.”
Betty met her husband Bob Moffitt at Jordan High School, where she was among the school’s second graduating class. Betty and Bob Moffitt married and had twins– a boy named Bob Moffitt and a girl named Betty Moffitt. The older Betty and Bob eventually divorced.
Betty worked at the Southern California gas company for 42 years. She was robbed several times while working as a clerk in the payment office, but that didn’t deter her from the job. She ended her career there as a customer service supervisor.
Throughout it all, she has remained an active volunteer, supportive family member and loyal church member.
“I have known Betty for over 30 years and, during that time, I’ve never heard her say an unkind word about anyone. If someone needed help or was bedridden she would stay with them night and day until they were able to do it for themselves. ‘No’ was not in her vocabulary if there was a need,” said fellow church member Joanne Garner.

In California Heights, there is a women’s group that has been active for more than 60 years, with members from all age groups and all walks of life. But you won’t find this club advertised in any local newsletter or posted on any bulletin board. In fact, originally you couldn’t even belong to the Neighborhood Group unless you owned a home in the Jotham Place cul-de-sac, or “the circle” as locals call it.
During WWII, the women of Jotham Place began meeting to wrap bandages for the soldiers. Jotham Place was still new then; the first homes in the circle were built in 1939, with most of the other homes following within the next few years. The women enjoyed their get-togethers so much that they continued to meet even after the war was over.
Charlene Hughes was invited into the group through her cousin, who lived in the circle. Locals will remember her husband Larry, a WWII submarine veteran, as the “waving man,” a name he earned by sitting outside their house and waving at people who passed by.
“It’s just hung together through the years. It’s once a month except during the summer. It’s a nice group to belong to. The original members were really close. They lived each other’s lives. They were a close-knit group for a lot of reasons. People were home then. The wives took care of the children. Everybody knew everybody. But all of the original people are gone now,” said Charlene Hughes.
Today’s members were either invited in by other members or live in the circle.
“The group started on Jotham Place and branched out through friends and relatives in the neighborhood. I think I’m the only one who still lives on Jotham Place, so it’s more of a neighborhood group now,” said Joanna Williams. “We get together at each other’s homes and talk and visit. It’s a chance to catch up and compare notes on what’s going on in the neighborhood. I don’t know if this is common in other places, but it’s sort of neat that there is some history here. We’ve all known each other for quite a while. Today we have 12 members, although for the longest time there were just six of us.”
Bob Seymour is the son of Gertrude Seymour, one of the original members of the group. He also married Joan Seymour, the daughter of original member Marjorie Reese, who lived on Walnut Avenue.
“There were about 18 women when the group started. The Neighborhood Group would collect 25 cents a meeting. If there was a birth or a death in the family, they would send flowers, and they still do that today,” said Bob. “They also saved up and went out to dinner once or twice a year. They used to go to Welch’s Restaurant, which was on the corner of Atlantic and San Antonio.”
Several other traditions came out of the camaraderie the Neighborhood Group created. During Christmas, everyone in the circle puts up decorations, some of which have been passed down from former owners.
“When we moved in, we inherited reindeers and Santa’s sleigh, and that was what our house was supposed to do. Our next door neighbor has snowmen. The people who don’t have a set can do anything they want, but almost everybody decorates,” said Joanna.
Another neighborhood favorite is the Fourth of July pancake breakfast.
“When I was about nine years old, my parents built a barbeque in their backyard. My folks started having a neighborhood Fourth of July breakfast, which we still continue today. When they sold the house, we asked the kids that moved in if we could continue to have the pancake breakfast. And they’ve been kind enough to allow us to do that ever since. We had 38 people attend this year. And it all started because of the neighborhood group,” said Bob.
94-year-old Leta Donkle is the oldest active member. Although she doesn’t attend every meeting anymore, she makes sure to go to the Fourth of July pancake breakfast.
“I moved into my house in 1968 and my next-door neighbor invited me to go. My husband and the other fellows would shoot pool when we had meetings. I enjoy the sense of community. I like the people. After my husband died, I was here by myself, so I was always glad to go and see them,” said Leta.
Neighborhood Group member Jan Deggendorf looks forward to the monthly meetings as well.
“I had never been friendly with my neighbors before. It’s a great way to know what’s going on in the neighborhood. The neatest part for me is getting to know all these women from different age groups,” said Jan.

Rachael Rifkin is a memoirist with a background in journalism. She can be reached at lifestories2day@aol.com or (310) 612-4183.

It took Long Beach resident Georgann Gall more than 30 years to get to Africa. She first applied for the Peace Corps at the age of 17, but there were a couple of stops she had to make before she was ready to go.
“I sent for Peace Corps information when I was right out of high school. I wanted to go to Africa. Who knows why we have an affinity for a certain place or a certain group of people? For me it’s always been Africa–the culture, the music, the art, everything. I just love it. But then life happened,” said Gall.
Gall married at 19 and then had a son. She went into banking and was a bank manager at American Savings on Ocean Boulevard for nearly 30 years. Then she divorced.
“I just never thought it was possible. It took my friend asking ‘If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?’ before I realized I could go. And that was it. I sold my house, quit my job and went to Africa,” said Gall. “Sometimes it’s a fear factor that prevents the idea from coming forward. But then someone else asks us a question that makes us confront it. I’ll never forget that person or that moment because it was life changing.”
Gall lived in the village of Ha Molapo in the small Southern African country of Lesotho. She worked with Ha Molapo orphans to start a garden so that the children could learn how to grow vegetables.
“There are so many kids living by themselves. A 12-year-old will be the head of a household with a 10-year-old sibling and a five-year-old sibling. This is how they live–this is how I lived when I was there–in a little mud hut with a thatched roof and no running water. But I had money so I could buy gas, propane and candles. They have to beg in the village for food, soap, candles and matches,” said Gall.
While she was in Africa, she befriended a boy named Sethunya. He was 12 when he started working at the garden. His English was so good she eventually made him a supervisor. The next day he came in with an attendance chart.
“I was impressed with him. He was very motivated. I started taking care of him and it was about a year before my service ended that I started the adoption proceedings,” said Gall.
Gall took Sethunya back with her to Long Beach in 2006 so he could get a good education. Last week he graduated from Polytechnic High School.
“He is 17 and graduating with honors. He is also graduating with 330 hours of volunteering time and the school only requires 40 hours,” said Gall.
Since being back, Gall has established Village Hope, a non-profit organization that assists the orphans of Ha Molapo, providing them with food, soap and clothing. In addition, she hopes to build a home for the children of Ha Molapo and provide them with computer training. She just recently left her banking job again to concentrate on fundraising for Village Hope full time.
“Once I have raised enough money, I plan to go back to Africa and stay there for the rest of my life. I love it there. Sethunya also plans to go back. He wants to go to the University of South Africa and get a teaching degree. Eventually he wants to work at the Embassy. I’m so excited,” said Gall.
For more information on Village Hope, go to www.villagehopeproject.org or contact Gall at glgall1@yahoo.com.

When looking for a place to live, a good neighborhood can be just as important as the number of bedrooms or the size of the kitchen. A good neighbor, on the other hand, isn’t something we seek; it’s something we hope for. Which makes finding a good neighbor somewhat like accidentally unearthing treasure in your own backyard–an unexpected discovery that adds a little more joy into your life.
Brayton Avenue residents Gerald “Gerry” and Deedra “Dee” Leiran have been adding a little extra joy into the lives of their neighbors for more than 30 years. On any given day, you will find them driving neighbors to their medical appointments or moving everyone’s emptied trashcans away from the street. On their early morning walks, they move neighbors’ newspapers from the sidewalk to the front porch.
“Their neighborliness started off quietly. Gerry had a power mower and when he saw my husband with a push mower, he would say, ‘I could just come over and do your lawn’ and he would,” said next-door neighbor Tessie Edlen. “My stand-out memory is of Gerry mowing the lawn and cleaning the front yard for neighbors whose son’s funeral would be bringing many visitors. What a dear man!”
For more than 12 years, neighbor Virginia Griffin has been on the receiving end of their generosity.
“They’re very delightful and helpful people. I’ve had to go to the hospital a couple of times, and they’ve been right there. They’ve taken me to the doctor and to the pharmacy,” said Griffin.
Patty Phoutrides’ parents have known the Leirans for more than 30 years.
“They are just wonderful people. The type of people you just want in your family. They are so giving and thoughtful. They are never imposing, never looking for any kind of thanks. I hope they never, never move,” said Phoutrides.
Gerry and Dee will be celebrating their 62nd anniversary this August and have three daughters. They met in Kansas, when Gerry was stationed at Fort Leavenworth after serving overseas in Seoul, Korea at the end of WWII.
“He was a blind date. I was 17 and my cousin and I were working at the telephone company. Her boyfriend was at the camp with Gerry. He brought Gerry down with him one night, and that was it,” said Dee.
They started off married life as tenant farmers. Gerry had already spent six years working on a farm when he was young. His closest neighbor had been two miles away. Dee was a self-proclaimed city kid.
“I’d never done anything like that before. My mother was sure I was going to get killed because I’d climb around in the hayloft to play with the kittens. I think I would have been happy if we had been farmers because I like to cook and I like canning. I like animals. It was hard work but it was fun,” said Dee.
Seven years, three kids and a grocery and fireman job later, they moved out to California and settled in a house on Los Coyotes Diagonal.
“My dad was out in California and was always talking about how nice it was. So we decided to come out to California. We stayed with my father for awhile and eventually bought a house on Los Coyotes Diagonal,” said Dee.
Gerry went back into the grocery business and Dee found secretarial work at the Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Later on, she worked for the Student Health Services office at Cal State Long Beach and Northrop.
They moved to their current home on a friend’s suggestion.
“My friend had just moved a block away from Brayton Avenue and spotted a house for sale with a dining room. She was always telling us we needed a house with a dining room. So we went to look at the house and decided to buy it right then and there,” said Dee.
Today, the Leirans are retired and Dee volunteers at a senior center. They are just grateful to be a part of such a caring and tight-knit community.
“We’ve been very fortunate on this street. Everybody likes everybody else,” said Gerry.
Dee never thought that their behavior was unusual or special.
“My mom was always good to people and I just figure that’s what neighbors are for. Neighbors should be good to each other and take care of each other. Look out for them. If they’re having a hard time, help them out,” said Dee.
Tessie, however, thinks it is high time that the Leirans were recognized for their dedication to the neighborhood.
“If something good or bad happens, they know about it and are ready to help. And here Dee tells me that everyone does this, but everyone doesn’t,” said Edlen.