Calabasas historian recognized for volunteerism

By Michael Picarella Acorn Staff Writer

Flo Klein

Calabasas historian Florence "Flo" Klein, who recently turned 90, is flying high. A wing of the future Calabasas Library will be named in her honor. Calabasas city council members recognized Klein and her volunteerism during last week’s meeting.

Former Calabasas Mayor Karyn Foley appointed Klein as the city historian in 1992. Since then, she’s kept a thorough record about Calabasas by collecting articles and photographs from newspapers pertaining to the city and its people. To date, she’s filled almost 40 notebooks with clippings.

"There are certain tributes that deserve to be presented while they can be enjoyed by a recipient," said Calabasas City Councilman Barry Groveman during last week’s council meeting. "Flo Klein, in her 91st year, has earned that privilege."

Groveman commended Klein for her public service and then announced that a future library wing will be known as the Flo Klein Historical Records section.

Klein has lived in Calabasas since before the city incorporated in 1991. She’s been in this area for more than 30 years and she loves it here. She came to live here from Cleveland, Ohio.

"I didn’t miss Cleveland for a half hour," Klein said in an interview.

Klein has worked as a secretary for Royal Typewriter, is a mother of two children, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She’s also a writer who’s written poetry that’s been published. Klein had a column and was editor of the newsletter for Calabasas Village Mobile Estates, off Mulholland Highway.

Klein loved to read even as a girl, she said. During the Depression, she read almost every day. These days, Klein said, she especially likes to read about Calabasans.

"I love to talk about people in Calabasas," Klein said. "Nobody knows who they are and all of a sudden you see a picture of someone who’s either an author or an actor or they did something wonderful, and they live in Calabasas. That’s what I like."

Many years ago, she started cutting out articles from newspapers if the stories had anything to do with Calabasas. She saved them in notebooks, she said, and the city council in 1992 noticed her efforts.

"I used to go to council meetings all the time because I was on the traffic committee," Klein said. "We didn’t have commissions in those days, we just had committees. Anyway, I was at a meeting and I went to the bathroom and when I came back, everybody was applauding."

Klein said she thought everyone was clapping due to something that had happened while she was gone. It turned out that the council had appointed her as the city historian.

From its very beginning, Calabasas had been given a gift. City Councilwoman Lesley Devine called it a "living history."

"It is the only living history of our city that we have and we have compiled," Devine said. "(Klein) has laboriously cut out every article, put everything together, and has the foresight to know that what you think is just the ‘throwaway information of 1991’ is really the history of the city."

In addition to her historical work, Klein was instrumental in bringing to Calabasas Dial-A-Ride and the more recent Access Paratransit services, which are taxi-like services paid for by L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, offered to those who are functionally disabled. Access Paratransit provides a van or sedan within three quarters of a mile from any public transit stop in L.A. County for those who qualify. The program previously wasn’t available to residents of Calabasas Village Mobile Estates.

For more information about the Access transit service, call (800) 827-0829 or log onto the Internet and go to www.asila.org.

Klein has always been a giver. When she lived in Cleveland, she said, she’d organize parades on her street for the Fourth of July. She brought her neighborhood together on other occasions, too, she said. But she also brought her energy and love for community to Calabasas. Klein has become a sparkplug of the city, according to Calabasas City Councilman Dennis Washburn.

"We hope that you continue to energize our community," Wash-burn told Klein during last week’s session.

Others also spoke of Klein at the council meeting.

"We’ve enjoyed from you your volumes of clippings and flyers, and it really will be an asset to future generations," said Calabasas Mayor James Bozajian. "I know I’ve relied on it heavily myself."

Calabasas Mayor Pro Tem Michael Harrison told Klein, "As much as you love the city, Flo, we love you."

Calabasas library commissioner Ellen Pangarliotas spoke on behalf of others in the city. "The library commission and the friends of the library and the library systems and services staff want to honor Flo tonight," Pangarliotas said. "We thank you for everything you’ve done. The library is a better place with (your) historical collection."

Klein said she was honored by the recognition she received by the council and the community.

She promised to continue her work.

And she hopes it’s contagious to younger people so that Calabasas never forgets its past.