LA Y Team Member Newsletter

Congratulations to our October Team Members of the Month! Your dedication, talent and inspiration have not gone unnoticed! The following team members have been recognized for exemplifying the Y's Core Values while using their role, influence and insight to pursue positive change at the Y. You are shining stars!

Michael Munoz (Weingart ELA Y)
Oscar Rodriguez (West Valley & Mid Valley Ys)
Sheldon Gibson (Association Teen Development)
Christian Hinojos Garcia (East Valley Y)
Andrea Aguilar (Southeast Rio Vista Y)

Would you like to recognize someone for the great work they're doing? Nominate them for the November Team Member of the Month!

Windy days, darker mornings and holiday decorations lining the shelves at Target...Fall is in full swing! Just over a month into the season, Halloween is one of the most popular, and profitable, holidays of the year. Whether you buy from Amazon or make it at home, Halloween costumes let us honor our heroes, walk in the shoes of our favorite celebrities and sometimes, discover a hidden side to our personalities. If you're knee-deep in Halloween costume prep this week, we'd love to see what you're working on!! If you're without a costume and need some inspiration, there's always Google. According to the site, it's the classic Halloween costumes that are most searched for this year with "Witch", "Spiderman" and "Dinosaur" rounding out the top 3. Email your costume photos (in-process or completed) to us or tag us on Instagram @people_ymcala.

Want a fun way to do something active outside while showing your support for one our Ys? The West Valley Y's 9th annual Community Run for the Valley will be held on Saturday, November 5th, from 8am to 12pm and is a great way to get moving while connecting with your Y friends! In addition to the run, our friends at WV will also be hosting a wellness event with activities and resources plus some fun, interactive inflatables. Register using the code YSTAFF22 (caps sensitive) and get 20% off of your registration fee. Please register before November 2. For more information, please contact Gary Ocampo at GaryOcampo@ymcala.org.

While every neighborhood has great yard haunts featuring the latest spooky decorations, many say that the LA is actually home to many real-life haunted spots. Check out the list of LA's most infamous haunted spots below and if you've been brave enough to visit these (or other) haunted spots, let us know if you can vouch for any of the tales below.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel -Legend has it that the ghost of Marilyn Monroe still haunts her old stomping grounds. In a famous mirror in the lobby, visits take pictures and claim they can see Marilyn’s reflection above them. On the 9th floor, some have said that you can hear the late actor Montgomery Clift practicing on his trumpet. Clift lived in suite 928 for three months while filming From Here to Eternity.

Comedy Store - It's been said that the basement of the club was a notorious spot where many uncooperative hooligans were taken down. If you're able to get close enough, you can see a hole in the stairway that's large enough to fit a gun that was able to be aimed at someone going up or down the stairs. Employees have claimed to hear voices, cries and even snarls coming from the basement. After years of denying the ghost stories, the Comedy Store is now embracing its storied past and has started offering tours of the haunted basement.

Griffith Park - In the late 1800s, wealthy land owner Don Antonio Feliz died suddenly from small pox. According to the legend, Feliz's beloved 17-year-old niece Doña was cheated out of her uncle’s will and subsequently put a devastating curse on the land and its owners. Since then, the land’s deed holders have experienced untimely deaths and other ill-fated moments. Griffith J. Griffith, the land's last owner who donated over 3,000 acres to the city of Los Angeles to create the park, went to prison for assault with a deadly weapon after shooting and maiming his wife.

Pantages Theatre - When Howard Hughes owned the infamous Pantages Theatre, he built a door that connected his office directly to one of the theater balconies, where he would go to think in the dark. Many have said that Hughes’s ghost, a notorious workaholic, can be seen in his former office on the second floor.

Culver Studios - The studio complex where legendary films like Gone with the Wind and Raging Bull were filmed was built in 1918 by silent movie pioneer Thomas Ince. Ince died in 1924, after falling ill on newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst’s yacht during a dinner cruise. Some say that Ince’s ghost still shows up for work at his beloved former studio and can be seen and heard walking through walls and criticizing studio management.

The Del Monte Speakeasy - This basement bar below the Townhouse restaurant in Venice was a true speakeasy during Prohibition. In the 1920s, the speakeasy kept the alcohol flowing via underground tunnels, which are now used as utility corridors. Some say former proprietor Frank Bennett, who owned the bar from 1972 until his passing in 2003, still haunts his favorite corner booth, across from the bar.

Yamashiro Restaurant - Legend has it that the ashes of former property owner Thomas O. Glover are buried in the inner garden courtyard and that he still watches over his property. Rumors surround the silhouettes of a man and woman seen strolling the family-owned property and visitors have claimed to hear the unexplainable sound of crashing plates.

Queen Mary - When WWII began, the Queen Mary was drafted into service as a ferry ship, carrying thousands of troops into battle areas. The beautiful ship was stripped of her chic facade, painted a camo grey and dubbed the “Grey Ghost.” After years of service in war, the Queen Mary was eventually sold to a tour operator and sent to retirement in Long Beach, where she’s been a floating hotel and event spot since 1967. Many areas of the ship including the second class pool deck and engine room 13 are said to be haunted.

Cobb Estate/ Haunted Forest - Avid hikers will recognize this spot as the Sam Merrill trailhead, “a quiet refuge from people and wild life forever”—so reads the dedication on the cobblestone gate of the Cobb Estate. Ghost hunters, however, know this location as the "Haunted Forest". Many have reported unexplainable noises on the staircase, sightings and the feeling that they’re being watched in the dimly lit forest.