Some names stay with you forever. Alice Palicz was one of them.
I still remember the first time I heard her name, elegant, distinctive, and somehow timeless. I met Alice years ago through my partner Glen Cantrell while working on our first book. We met her at what was then The Carriage in La Mirada. She was about 88 years young and came striding toward us with remarkable energy, shaking my hand with a firm smile. When I remarked on how athletic she seemed, she proudly told me she fast-walked nearly three miles a day. That was Alice. Vibrant. Determined, and fully engaged with life.
From that moment, a friendship began that would last nearly 14 years, all the way to just months before her 102nd birthday. Every Christmas, almost without fail, a card would arrive from Alice — including one just four months before her passing. Both of our La Mirada history books were co-dedicated to her: Reflections from McNally’s Mirror and La Mirada: A Brief History.
Over the years, Alice shared stories that made history feel alive. She spoke of moving to La Mirada in 1953 and building a custom home with her family in the city’s first planned community, on its very first street Tricia Lane. I had the honor of visiting her in that home nearly 67 years later. Sitting with her was like stepping into a living archive of La Mirada.
As I was leaving one visit, Alice presented me with a gift that still humbles me – the pot roast pan she had used for her family since 1953. For the past five years, it has been my Christmas and Thanksgiving pan. It is irreplaceable.
Alice was also a scholar and public servant. When I served on the HPAC Committee, she gave a presentation on some of her favorite books, many over a century old. I still treasure several from her personal collection. She and her daughter Linda even created a replica edition for me of The Country Gentleman published in 1896. These gifts are priceless.
Yet what I treasure most were our conversations. She told me about catching mailbags from passing trains at the La Mirada depot in the 1950s, about her years at the post office, and about serving as La Mirada’s City Treasurer, a role she performed entirely as a volunteer.
Alice Palicz gave La Mirada her time, her wisdom, and her heart.
Alice, thank you for your friendship, your stories, and your devotion to this city. You will always be part of La Mirada’s living history. How fitting that a bench now bears your name at Neff Park, a place for future generations to pause, reflect, and remember the Grand Dame of La Mirada.
