By Mary O’KEEFE

On Friday night the Friends of Rockhaven held a fundraiser that went back to the basics. Since the 1950s, Tupperware parties have been a fabric of America so it seemed a perfect way to raise funds for the historic woman’s sanitarium.

Nurse Agnes Richards opened Rockhaven Sanitarium in 1923 exclusively for women with “mild mental and nervous disorders.” After serving the community for over eight decades, Rockhaven was closed in 2006 and in 2008 the City of Glendale purchased the property. Since then plans for the former women’s facility have been in limbo. Originally planned as a public park and library, the property became a victim of a downturned economy. Most recently Glendale City Council approved a company, Gangi Design LED, to develop the site. The company, which has the support of Friends of Rockhaven, has proposed a plan to build small retail shops and create an open park area with a restaurant that can host educational seminars on food and gardens.

Rockhaven has also been awarded a place on the list of the National Register of Historical Places.

Throughout the year Friends of Rockhaven fundraise to help support their efforts to preserve Rockhaven.

“Tina [Kugler] came to me and offered us a fundraiser,” said Joanna Linckhorst, member of Friends of Rockhaven.

Tina Kugler had been thinking about becoming a Tupperware sales representative for a while and thought this would be a great way to sell the product and help a good cause, Linckhorst added.

Those in attendance were offered products that were specific to fundraising as well as traditional items.

This is just the latest in a series of fundraising events for the group. The next is a Dream Dinners event. For $34.99, a donor will be able to assemble three meals to take home from Dream Dinners located at 4121 Pennsylvania Ave. Those wishing to support Rockhaven can do so on three separate dates: today, March 9 at 6 p.m., March 10 at 11:30 a.m. and March 11 at 11:30 a.m. During the event, $10 of each order will be donated back to Rockhaven. Those interested in participating in the fundraiser are asked to RSVP online at http://dreamdinners.com/LaCrescentaCA, click “Order” in the second banner at the top and choose the March date on which you wish to participate. The password is Rockhaven. For more information on the event email LaCrescentaCA@DreamDinners.com or contact (818) 957-1499.

Brownie Wise

By Mary O’KEEFE

Tupperware began selling its product, invented by Earl Tupper, in 1946. The products did not sell well in the world of retail in the beginning, but then came the first Tupperware Home Party in 1948 and sales took off, according to www.tupperwarebrands.com.

By 1951 the Tupperware home parties were so successful that the company stopped selling in retail stores. And the woman behind the planning and marketing was Brownie Wise, the first VP of Sales for Tupperware.

Wise knew how to market to women and she was a powerhouse of information and organization. Tupperware parties were marketed to women as a way for them to raise their own money, to raise enough to even buy their own car.

Wise was an innovator. She first purchased a set of Tupperware bowls at a retail store and brought it home. Impressed by the product, she invited her friends over to share her new find and told them to do the same. Through her leadership, she became part of the Tupperware Company. She not only gave women an opportunity to make money but also empowered them to become a real business force. They could work their way from consultant to manager then, through their diligence, move up to distributor. At that point they would have their own office and a network of managers and consultants. From this business plan, Wise grew her team to 20,000 sales people in just three years. She even wrote a book titled “Know how! The guide to make money with Tupperware.”

So the Tupperware parties were not just a “cute” way for women to get together; it was also a well thought out business plan to help all women involved, an example of women pulling women up the ladder of success one rung at a time.

  Mary Okeefe