Ben Lee Properties — July 2024 Newsletter

Issue: July 2024  |  Cheviot Hills & Beverlywood, Los Angeles

This Month's Article

By Ben Lee T he actual and original Cheviot Hills, an open expanse of land peppered with a series of mountains located between Northumberland and Scotland, doesn’t share too much in common with its namesake and our neighborhood here in Los Angeles.

One is a suburban enclave of homes that straddles a bustling metropolis while the other has no residents unless you count birds.

Both are pretty, offer natural hikes, breathtaking vistas, and have been respective battlegrounds.

Although our somewhat petty neighborhood squabbles pale in comparison to what our ancestors had to deal with in 1388.

The bloody Battle of Otterburn in ancient Cheviot Hills was so brutal, it’s rumored that thousands of English and Scottish soldiers fought but only 110 survived.

And one more major difference between these two lands: our neighborhood is a mere baby compared to its British counterpart.

Those hills are hundreds of thousands of years old whereas ours just celebrated its 100th birthday.

That’s right, our own Cheviot Hills just celebrated its centennial and what a celebration it was!

If you were lucky enough to attend, you would’ve witnessed firsthand a party that befitted such a lovely guest-of-honor.

Sponsored by the Cheviot Hills’ Homeowners Association, I was particularly struck by the selfless effort these volunteers put forth.

They had nothing to gain other than putting on a really nice party for the neighborhood.

Held at the small Circle Park that joins Club to McConnell and open to everyone, families streamed into the area, most of them walking or riding their bikes, to check out all the party had to offer.

There was a handful of musical acts (I wasn’t on the program but when I was asked to jam for a few songs on my harmonica, how could I resist?), a pleasant selection of food trucks and activities for the kids like balloon animal creations and face painting.

At one point we all actually sang, ‘Happy Birthday’ to our town after which one of the organizers passed a tray of homemade mini-cupcakes around to each of the celebrants.

It felt like a real throwback kind of party in the best possible way.

Midway through the festivities, I was invited onto the stage and was thanked along with the other sponsors of the event.

Real estate agents are generally pretty reliable sources of funding for these fun types of neighborhood functions and this was no exception.

Most of the names you’d recognize were there but since we are usually at our respective Open Houses most weekends, it was a rare departure to spend a Sunday afternoon out in the sunshine of Circle Park with colleagues exchanging shoptalk and pleasantries.

I created a limited edition Centennial Celebration baseball cap to commemorate the event and I loved looking out into the crowd seeing so many people wearing one (see back page for more details on how you can get one, too).

The guest of honor was temporarily overshadowed by another esteemed well-wisher who took the stage to wish our community a very happy birthday.

Mayor Karen Bass shared some brief remarks, acknowledged her loyal connection to our town (hello, Hamilton High Class of 1971 grad!) and acknowledged the crowd’s enthusiasm for supporting such a sweet and historical occasion.

It was a really nice day and as one neighbor put it: the best time the Circle Park had ever seen.

Someone floated the idea of having a party like this more often and to utilize the green space for festive functions all year round, not just once every 100 years.

Perhaps when the organizers recover from this major production, they’ll be up for creating a future Fall Festival, Winter Wonderland and Spring Fling.

But until those dreams become realities, I hope you’ll be inspired to join the Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association (https:// cheviothills.org/).

It’s all voluntary and the dues are only $100.

In exchange you receive important safety information pertaining to the neighborhood, support security professionals patrolling the area, you can vote in elections that affect you and your home.

You may also get a free ice cream cone at the next Centennial Celebration.

On behalf of my family who enjoyed the event immensely, thank you to the Board Members of the CH Homeowners Association for a really special day and Happy Birthday, Cheviot Hills.

Featured Listings

Community & More

Beverlywood happenings By Godfrey Harris B efore he passed away in 2021, my father-in-law (and long time Cheviot Hills resident), Michael Harris wrote a series of books pertaining to Los Angeles’ Westside.

Now that Cheviot Hills has turned 100, this might be a great time to pick up a copy of one of his books and learn about the history of our neighborhood and outlining areas.

Filled with archival photos and colorfully written vignettes, the books are interesting reads that will appeal to the local history buffs in your life.

Westside Stories By Ben Lee T hank you to all those who entered to win a $50 gift card to Sam Rubin’s favorite hamburger stand: The Apple Pan.

We had an unprecedented number of entrants (clearly everyone else loves it, too!).

Congratulations to Randi Sunshine. You are the lucky winner this month!

For July, we are giving away a custom made, one-of-a-kind Cheviot Hills Centennial Celebration cap!

These were created for the big party in the park and we have a few left.

If you would like to show some community pride (and live locally), simply email me: ben@benleeproperties.com and write “cap” in the subject line.

Let me know your address and how many caps you’d like and someone form my team will drop it off for you.

Inventory is limited but we’ll give them away until we run out.

Enjoy! Raffle By Lilli Lee T hank you so much, Sari Goodman, for offering to host the last neighborhood Ladies’ Wine Night.

Everyone had the best time and these gatherings are only getting bigger and better!

The next Wine Night will be hosted by Cheviot resident Karen Leonard and will be on August 8.

If you’ve never been, these are casual get togethers for local ladies to meet neighbors and connect with one another.

It’s a different crowd every month, everyone’s invited and ages span the decades.

If you would like to be added to the evite, please send me an email: lillijlee@ yahoo.com and I’ll send you all the details!

June Wine Night By Ben Lee C heviot resident Melissa Levy will be leading another dogfostering workshop and we hope you’ll attend.

Fostering is a really nice way to temporarily rehome a dog who might otherwise be euthanized.

If you’re nervous about how to get started, perhaps you’ll attend this next workshop on July 21 and get all your questions answered?

It’s a really nice thing to do for our fourlegged friends and hey, it doesn’t hurt having a dog around when it comes to protecting your home, too.

This is a real win-win! Save a Life!