-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This is a tribute to one of the most amazing women I have ever know. She influenced 1000s of peoples lives just a short distance from this site and was instrumental in the founding of YMCA Camp Osceola.
The Cache is a jar with a log and a very special momento inside. Some will know what it means many won't but it is something my grandmother worked very hard for.
“Foxie”
Costa Mesa Area Youth Program Pioneer
Alice Fox Ward, a pioneer in the formation of many youth programs in the City of Costa Mesa and surrounding areas, died on August 27, 2009, at the age of 90. She would have celebrated her 91st birthday on August 29, 2009.
“FOXIE” Original Professional Staff of the Orange Coast YMCA
In October of 1952, Alice was hired as the part-time Program Coordinator for the Orange Coast YMCA. Eventually this part-time job turned into a full-time job. Alice pioneered the YMCA Day Camp Program using the Orange County Fair Grounds. She directed Girls’ Resident Camping at Camp Osceola in the San Bernardino Mountains for 20 years. She was a YMCA White Ragger and led a committed Christian life. After a brief hiatus from the YMCA, during which her family hosted an American Field Service Student from France and she taught at Happyland Pre-school, she returned to the YMCA. She was active and contributed to the Capital Fund Campaign that built the Orange Coast YMCA Building. She pioneered Girl’s Gypsy Caravan camping, took sixteen delegations to YMCA Youth and Government in Sacramento; coordinated Tri-Hi-Y and Hi-Y programs which involved over 800 young people a year, in seventh through twelfth grades; was President of the Y’s Menettes, and pioneered the Indian Maiden Program. Upon Alice’s retirement from the Orange Coast YMCA, the unprecedented award of “Woman of the Decade,” was bestowed upon her.
She was born in Miloma, Minnesota, a tiny hotel and café at the junction of the Milwaukee and Omaha railroads, to Malcom and Della Reynolds. The eldest of three daughters and a son, she lived briefly in Spooner, Wisconsin, and Rock Rapids, Iowa, and was raised in Worthington, Minnesota, where she was an active student at Worthington High School. She joined her family after their move to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and met and married Francis Roy Fox. Their early married years spanned World War II.
In 1947, Alice and Roy moved their family, now including son, Don, and daughter, Mary Alice, to California, settling in Costa Mesa. In the summer of 1951, Alice and Mrs. Gary Fredrickson conducted a volunteer recreation program at the Costa Mesa Park. The Kiwanis Club donated $10.00, and the women from the community volunteered time to supervise. The “Globe Herald,” a weekly newspaper, gave a column a week for the purpose of educating the public on the need for supervised recreation. The next summer, the Parks and Recreation Program for Costa Mesa became a reality.
Alice was on the cusp when it came to mothers having a career. As a wife and mother of two, she pursued her education at Orange Coast College. This was in the days when classes were held in the former Army barracks. She not only earned her Associate in Arts Degree in 1952, she was President of the Associated Women Students; Editor of the Barnacle, the school’s newspaper; and played in the marching band. She earned a scholarship to Long Beach State, but her education was pleasantly interrupted with the birth of her third child, a son, Dennis.
Alice was a Den Mother for the Cub Scouts in 1951-1953, and attended the Scout Jamboree on Irvine Ranch (the current location for Fashion Island) in 1953. She was a Girl Scout Leader in 1954-1956. In 1952 she chaired the meeting that gave birth to the Girl’s Club and was an active mother in the Boy’s Club. In the early years of the Boy’s Club, the Orange Coast YMCA and the Boy’s Club cooperated in sponsoring several “Sock Hops” to fill the need that young people had to get together.
While pursuing her career she was active and served as President in both the Business and Professional Women’s Club and Zonta International. Alice filled the role of involved mother by being active in the PTA’s of the schools her children attended, including serving as President of the Everett A. Rea Junior High School PTA and on many committees at Harper Elementary School, Costa Mesa High School, and Newport Harbor High School.
Upon retirement from the YMCA, Alice worked briefly in food services for the Newport Mesa Unified School District. Then, one of the happiest people on earth worked at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. She worked in retail in New Orleans Square for ten years and square danced at night. Her love of the “Magic Kingdom” never waned. After retirement, she was active in The Golden Ears, the organization for retired Disneyland employees, serving as its President for two years.
Alice is survived by her three adult children Donald Roy Fox (Fountain Valley, CA), Mary Alice Carlson (San Clemente, CA) and Dennis James Fox (Lithia Springs, GA). Alice was very blessed with seven living grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren, her sister, Ethel Baarstad, and brother, Milton “Bud” Reynolds. Her husbands Roy Fox, Maury Gibbs, and Howard Ward; her sister, Mable Hendry; and her grandson, Dustin Fox, preceded her in death. She was an impeccable role model for all of her loved ones. Whether you called her Mom, Grandma, GG, Sis, Aunt, or Foxie, she touched so many lives personally and professionally, and she will be sorely missed for her positive attitude and loving support.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)