Joe’s Place and Some Duarte Friends Create an Imaginative Urban Camp Experience for Lo2010-10-06cal Children
Kids enjoy a s'mores cookout with the help of Joe's Place friends and Duarteans Alan Cook and Stafford Barker (foreground).
Joe's Place owner, Joe Naylor gives kids a fishing lesson at the imaginary campout.
Brian Lister portrays a ‘49er and demonstrates gold panning to help encourage children to discover California's past.
Two years ago when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the California Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights he could not have imagined the lengths that a Duarte business and a community of friends would go to help encourage children to participate in outdoor activities.
In the spirit of the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Curiel of the Temple Sheriff’s Station recently arranged a field trip to the Santa Fe Dam for 25 children from South El Monte. Looking for a place to take them for lunch afterwards, he contacted Joe’s Place in Duarte.
Restaurant owners Joe Naylor and Lisa Magno quickly agreed then happened to mention the children’s impending visit to a few of their friends and patrons. What happened next is that in addition to providing free lunch to the group, Joe’s Place and friends decided to expand on the outdoor experience for the children. They created an imaginative campsite area behind the restaurant, complete with tent, simulated creek for gold panning, “fishing hole,” fifth wheel camper and “campfire” for roasting marshmallows for s’mores bars. And because no self-respecting campout experience would be complete without a scary story told around the campsite, Magno also had a spooky tall tale to share with the kids. Friends Alan Cook, Brian Lister, Stafford Barker, and Kyle Mathison set up the urban campsite, covering the backyard concrete with leaves and “planting” an imaginary urban forest with trees donated by neighboring business, Sophia’s Garden. “This was a totally spontaneous act of fun and adventure created solely for the enjoyment of children by a small group of adults. It was a joy to behold. Duarte truly is, as our street banners proclaim, ‘a kid’s kind of town, too’,” said Jim Kirchner,” chief executive officer of the Duarte Chamber of Commerce. Deputy Curiel said he was amazed and appreciative of the extra effort that Joe’s Place went to entertain the children. “We were just coming for lunch. We never expected anything like this,” he said.
The trip to Santa Fe Dam and Joe’s Place was just one of several recent outings that Curiel and his volunteers have arranged for children from the South El Monte community. The California Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights lists 10 rights for children. They are, the right to discover California’s past, splash in the water, play in a safe place, camp under the stars, explore nature, swim, play on a team, follow a trail, catch a fish, and celebrate their heritage. With the help of Deputy Curiel and Joe’s Place and friends, 25 children got to do all of those things in a day.
