Bob (blue shirt) and Irene Grant (to his right) celebrate their eightieth birthdays.

About twenty-five neighbors and block club members, young, old, and very young noted the last of summer August 23 with a community potluck. Something special at the event was the eightieth birthdays of Bob and Irene Grant, two of the block club's founders.

Van Buren banner marks the spot.

Barbecued ribs and chicken, potato salad, and homemade cakes were the order of the day on Sunday, August 23, 2009, as neighbors from blocks around gathered at the home of Leslie Evans and Jennifer Charnofsky at the corner of 27th Street and Van Buren Place for a neighborhood potluck. Sponsored by the Van Buren Place Community Restoration Association, the food and drink was plentiful, as block club members and other neighbors had a convivial afternoon. A special reason for the gathering was to celebrate the eightieth birthdays of Bob and Irene Grant, who have lived on the 2600 block of Van Buren Place since 1966 and were leading founders of the neighborhood association back in 1980. They got a big round of applause for their long years of service and just because we all love them.

Neighborhood prosecutor Jan De Andrade (second from left).

The block club provided the barbecue, from the excellent Phillips Barbecue restaurant at Crenshaw and Adams Blvd. In addition to Van Buren members Prett Galloway and two other leaders of the nearby Budlong, Juliet, and Catalina Block Club attended, two families from the World Impact Ministries who live on the block, and we had a visit from Jan De Andrade, deputy city attorney and the Neighborhood Prosecutor for the Southwest Division of LAPD. A good time was had by all.