‘Goofoffers’ did what came naturally

Gay Wassall-Kelly

“Goof” is a slang word for stupid or silly person. Well, there were

no stupid people in the group of men that was formed by Dick Richard

at his Richard’s Lido Market in Lido Village in 1956.

In 1948, Richard opened his market, an unusually plush supermarket

for those days. Most predicted it would fail within 90 days. Instead,

the market (Pavilions today) grossed $1 million in the first year of

operations.

In 1956, Richard decided that the flower shop (inside his market)

would serve the community better as a coffee shop. He also noticed

that while all the women were shopping in his market, their husbands

were in the car, waiting.

“Those guys are lonely and need some place to go in the morning,”

Richard said. “Let’s have them meet at our coffee shop.”

Richard wanted it to be very informal.

“The club had no dues, no rules, no purpose, strived to accomplish

nothing, thus ‘Goofoffers,’” said Don Donaldson, a retired boat

builder from Newport Beach.

Local dentist Irving Laby and bank president Ned Hill headed up

the newly formed Goofoffers.

“Well, there was one requirement: Ned Hill would hold a mirror

under each potential member’s nose,” said Wally Ziglar of Corona del

Mar. “If you fogged up the mirror, you were a member.”

George Grupe of Newport Beach remembers the first day that the

“old men’s club” met.

“I walked in with about five other men where coffee was only 10

cents [with free refills] all day for us guys,” he said. “There were

no women. The thing grew so fast we had to get the Mug Shop in Corona

del Mar to make cups for us. Each mug had our name on it, with a

picture of a man sitting at a desk with his feet up “thinking” about

making money [goofing off].”

Ziglar recalled, “You would begin every day in this small town

atmosphere, exchange jokes and talk politics. Oh, the chef was also a

big draw. We only knew him as Steve, and could he ever create

dynamite scrambled eggs with cheese and sausage. Plus, there was a

fresh bakery in the market serving fresh rolls and muffins.”

Art Gronsky joined just before the market closed, “because I was

so busy with my fishing boats at Art’s Landing,” he said.

“John Wayne was a good customer of mine,” Gronsky said. “I told

him he ought to come and goof off. We had a cup made for him. He came

two or three times, but the last time, his cup had been stolen. He

got mad and never came back.”

Over the years, some say there were more than 1,000 men, a who’s

who’s of Newport Beach, including President Richard Nixon, Theodore

Robins, David Rose, Bill Woodruff, Daily Pilot Boating Editor Almon

Lockabey, Harry Babbit, Andy Devine, Al Forgit, G.T. Gunderson,

George Hoag II and Dick Lane.

When Richard’s market closed in the late 1970s, the Goofoffers

moved to the Cannery for a while. Two ladies joined them, but sat at

separate tables as Goofofferettes. The group got smaller with natural

attrition. Some were said to have been meeting at the Omelet Parlor

in Costa Mesa.

Jim Duda of the Lido Diner contacted George Grupe in 2002 at the

request of the owners, Roger Stangeland and Fritz Duda, offering the

diner for a Goofoffer reunion.

Well, on June 24, the tradition of “Goofoff-ing” started again,

with Grupe, Donaldson, Gronsky, Ziglar, Lou von Dyl, Les Jones, Bob

Shanks, Gib Walker (an original member), Reg Thatcher, Bill Kelly and

some gals (the Goofofferettes). There are plenty of women in this

group, and they don’t sit at a separate table.

Every Monday morning from 7 to 9 a.m., about 20 working or retired

people meet, some with their original cups. Jokes and politics are

still at the top of the conversation list, but Newport Beach

reminiscing comes close behind.

* LOOKING BACK runs Sundays. Do you know of a person, place or

event that deserves a historical Look Back? Let us know. Contact

James Meier by fax at (949) 646-4170; by e-mail at

james.meier@latimes.com; or by mail at c/o Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay

St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.