90th Birthday Stories & Memories
For Pat's recent 90th birthday celebration, many friends sent stories and anecdotes about Pat.
From Janet Jacobson Chillingworth
Happy 90th Birthday Pat!! It's such a pleasure to join in the celebration!! I have so many fond stories to share on this page. Growing up as a neighbor to you and your family was such a treat! I was positively influenced by your creativity just by being in your home, playing with Marguerite and Tom and taking part in the activities you planned for us. One of my clearest memories is of the playhouse you built outside in the lot between our homes Painted on the outside (in italic script no less) was this description: "This is the house that Bud built; Pat painted; Marguerite mauled; and Tom tinkered." It was a delightful place where we spent many a day. I also loved the slide and ladder built on the outside of the playhouse. I can still visualize the inside of your home with so many interesting "artifacts." Your interesting egg collection; the works of art lined along the wall down the staircase to your art studio; and the inspiring art studio itself, where you designed the long awaited Christmas cards, many of which my parents framed and now hang in my own home. Little did I know that when I grew up, I too, would share your love of calligraphy and have my own business using this form of art. Thank you for nurturing the creative side of my life through all the activities I did with Marguerite and through the activities you provided for us as children. The ones I remember most are going to Barnsdale park, art lessons at the Pasadena Museum of Art, fun birthday parties and the renaissance faire in your backyard. I loved how you decorated packages and the colors you used were so pretty - pick and orange are what I remember. I was always amazed at how artistic my gifts looked from the outside and how the gift itself inspired artistic growth, such as oil crayons or a drawing pad with colored pencils. Probably one of the most special things about knowing you is that we share the same birthday! July 20th is our day!! You always made me feel that you were excited that we were born on the same day. We lamented that our astrological sign was named "Cancer" and then joked when it was changed to "Moon People" after the moon landing in 1969. Year after year, no matter if we had seen or talked with each other, we would send each other a card (mine is coming, by the way!) and we would try and make it as funny as possible! I love your sense of humor and your enjoyment of a good joke! I'm so happy we have kept in touch and that I have the privilege of celebrating with you on your 90th birthday! What a treasure you are! Thank you for touching my life! Have a great day and an amazing next year!
Love,
Janet Jacobson Chillingworth
From Kaitlin (Evans) Bell, "Ad Hoc Member of the Topping Clan"
I spent much of my childhood hanging out with Marguerite at the Topping house and it was always fun taking trips in Pat's Jeepster! The only thing I thought odd - Pat would never drive on the freeway, something almost unavoidable in Los Angeles! Yet, Pat managed to get around town and we got to see sights off the beaten path on our travels to downtown L.A., museums, art shows, and the like. And, of course, the Jeepster got lots of looks from the people we passed along the way providing us with opportunities to smile and wave! It was always an adventure!
From Nancy Campbell*
A very happy, happy birthday to a friend for oh so many years! You inspired me, coaxed me along in learning, encouraged me to work in the inception of the Society for Calligraphy. It's been such a pleasure and honor to know you for all these years! Love to you.
*Ed.: DON'T MISS Nancy's remarkable contribution of the story of the founding of the Society for Calligraphy in Los Angeles on the page here
From Tim Evans
Dear Mrs. Topping, Though I know as an adult I might be welcome to call you "Pat," I'm more familiar with the term of respect from my childhood, when the Topping House was the coolest and most fascinating location in Eagle Rock. Here on the Topping's walls were incredible artwork and a creative vibe that seemed like a cloud that enveloped the house and reached out to the street. Here was where I could have a sleepover with my buddy Tom, where bedroom walls were painted with murals from Sgt Pepper, and where a garage contained not only the coolest automobile ever made, but also contained a wealth of fascinating material from which various experiments could be conducted. Tom and Marguerite were the most interesting kids in the neighborhood, each with their own unique take on the world, fostered by their mom's intelligence, creativity and unfailing sense of humor. On one memorable afternoon, Tom had introduced me to an unusual discovery of his own, in which a baking funnel full of flour, when connected to a bicycle pump, could pump a huge cloud of powder into the air. Then, when a lighter was struck above the funnel, the flour would ignite, creating a massive and dramatic fireball. And just when Tom lit the largest and most dramatic fireball of all, his mother stepped into the garage. We were ordered out of the garage and I was sent home in disgrace. But the next day Tom told me he had begged his mom not to tell his dad, and she agreed not to, and thus all was well (except of course, for Tom being forbidden access to any baking supplies). Mrs. Topping's grace in the face of a possible fatal explosion was something that always stuck with me - I appreciated her stern concern for our safety, her refusal to publicly embarrass Tom in front of me, her decision to keep the misdeed to herself, and her seeming knowledge that, somehow, this act really was a creative and unusual use of household implements. Also, she never told my mom. The Toppings and our family have been linked for decades. One generation of Toppings and Evanses were together from First Grade at St. Dominics, through high school at Eagle Rock and Immaculate Heart, to becoming regular readers and occasional subjects of The Boulevard Sentinel. Mrs. Topping and my mother have connected over the years in everything from calligraphy classes that Mrs. Topping took with my mother, to the occasional movie that Mrs. Topping and my mother still enjoy. To me, Pat Topping represents intelligence, creativity and wit... in a generation that didn't always appreciate such things in a woman. It is an honor (and an education) to have known her and I wish her a joyous, creative and fun-filled 90th birthday.
With much love,
Tim Evans
From: Marguerite Topping
I have told so many parents this story about my mother's thrifty ingenuity, and many have adopted this tactic for successfully fending off plaintive pleas for a pet by their very young children.
I really, really, REALLY wanted a cat. But I was around five years old and my brother was a year younger and there was no way that we were ready for the responsibility...nor was my mother, who had plenty of other responsibilities.
So Mom set us a test to see if we were up to taking care of a pet. She placed two sponges -- the plastic type, that came in a bag of about a dozen, in various bright colors -- on two saucers in our bedroom. She poured enough water on the sponges to dampen them. Mom told us that if we could keep the sponges wet for a week, she would consider getting us a cat.
Of course, by the end of the week, the sponges had dried and curled up, but this is a great way for parents to placate kids demanding pets.
Our first cat, Daisy Belle, was not to join our family until over a year later. Poor kitty! We were still not very ready, but she managed to survive our childhood and all her kittens from her single litter (including sweet Sam and Mathilda, born on Easter when Daisy Belle was barely two). She passed away when I was in high school.
