January 2026

Neighboring Anew

By Bridget Brewster
Posted: 05/02/2025

The Foothills Neighborhood Group, mostly comprised of Altadena and La Canada Villagers has been meeting for many years.  For the last several of those years, we’ve gathered on the first Wednesday of the month at the Altadena Golf Course Café.  

Like everything else about our lives, that changed on the night of January 7.

With almost all Foothills Villagers displaced from their homes, the need to gather became critical for us.  Claire Gorfinkel reached out to our co-leaders, Fritzie Culick and LuCinda Haagenson and invited the group to meet in her home.  As many as could get there, gathered February 5th in Claire’s warm and inviting home. As you can imagine, the conversation was centered around our experiences of the fire.

Fritizie Culick stated, “What has been vital about starting our neighborhood meetings again has been finding a place to meet!  Claire Gorfinkel offered her house right at the start, and again the second month. Then Barbara Madden suggested the Altadena Library, which was brilliant and it worked.” 

We will meet at the Altadena Library again in May and determine where we will continue as some are able to return to their homes.  We will also be exploring opportunities to meet at various restaurants and coffee shops in Altadena to lend our support as these once thriving businesses struggle to come back.

The Foothills Neighborhood Group is a thriving bunch of eclectic Villagers who truly enjoy being together.  “The enthusiasm of getting together one and all, old and new friends is a great aspect of our Foothills Group. I want to thank Claire Gorfinkel for graciously hosting us in her home at a time when we needed to be together.”