Some Twelve Oaks History

Thank you to Mary O’Keefe for her Jan. 2 article on Twelve Oaks and the residents who will be relocated during the pending reconstruction of this long-standing senior living center.

As a past president of National Charity League of Glendale, I’ve followed the saga of Twelve Oaks Lodge from the 1930s when it was opened by the Verdugo Hills Sunshine League to its transfer to NCL and, in 2002, to the be.group, the company formerly known as Southern California Presbyterian Homes, and then to its rescue by NCL members and transfer to Episcopal Communities and Services (ECS).

The five-acre property was originally owned by James and Effie Fifield of Minnesota who spent many winters here. In the early 1930s, they formed the Verdugo Hills Chapter of the Sunshine Society in order to turn their home, already named Twelve Oaks Lodge, into living spaces for the elderly. 

James Fifield died in 1933 and after Effie Fifield’s passing in 1937, 12 rooms were opened to seniors. Several cottages, a large library, recreation room and a croquet court were also on the five acres of wooded parkland.

In the early 1960s, the Glendale chapter of National Charity League, formed in 1942 to assist needy elderly, became involved. Members had raised funds to build and operate a retirement facility of their own.

Instead, they offered more than $50,000 to the Sunshine Society to construct a residence hall specifically for women. It was to be named for True Aiken Stern who had initiated the project. NCL assumed full cost of construction and the building was dedicated in May 1964.

A few years later, National Charity League of Glendale took over operation of Twelve Oaks Lodge and the rest, as they say, is history.

Katherine Peters Yamada
Past President, 1990-91
National Charity League of Glendale