MUSEUM MEETING DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF FREDERIC W. BOGY

/Frederic Whitting Bogy

The August board meeting of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley was dedicated to the memory of Frederic Whitting Bogy, prominent Toluca Lake- North Hollywood businessman. For his heroic service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, in the battles for Saipan and Iowa Jima he was awarded the Silver Star. The 4th Marine Division serviceman also earned two purple hearts in service to his country. Fred Bogy was only 16 years old when he enlisted in the military.

Mr. Bogy graduated from the Officers Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia during the Korean conflict. In 1952, he was assigned to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base in California, where according to the Toluca Times he “re-established, trained and commanded the Marine Corps amphibious reconnaissance unit for deep cover reconnaissance, demolition operations, and combat and rescue missions. In Korea, Marine Recon conducted covert operations up to 200 miles behind enemy lines. The training and many of the techniques Fred instituted in Marine Recon have been incorporated today in such Special Forces as the Navy Seals. Under Fred’s command the Marine Recon unit was instrumental in testing and developing the Gagnon-Cousteau Aqualung.”

A fifth generation Californian, Frederic Bogy grew to adulthood in Rancho Santa Fe. The Bogys were principles of the Toluca Lake Company, which was instrumental in the development of Toluca Lake and other east Valley properties beginning in 1923. Fred Bogy earned Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Southern California, where he was a charter member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, and elected to Trojan Squires and Knights, and Skull and Dagger, and was editor of El Rodeo (the University’s yearbook.)

According to the Toluca Times, “Fred was elected as the youngest-ever president of the Los Angeles Insurance Association, and was a member of the Underwriters Club for more than fifty years. For many years Fred was president of The Bogy Company, which – celebrating it’s one hundredth anniversary this year – remains the oldest continuously family owned insurance brokerage firm west of the Mississippi.”
Frederic Bogy was born on the 4th of March 1927. He died in Los Angeles on the 29th of July 2010.

GRADY ELLIS TALBOT - FOUNDER OF YOUR MUSEUM

Museum Founder Grady E. Talbot JD - Photo scanned by LeRoy Hunt for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley - 2008 (Click on image to enlarge)
It was 46 years ago when Captain Grady E. Talbot began flying in Viet Nam for the United States Air Force. He served three tours of duty there as a fighter pilot from 1962 to 1969. He flew F-100's. Captain Talbot flew on the first strike into North Vietnam in the Spring of 1965.
Prior to entering the Air Force he had served as a United States Marine in the Korean Conflict. On his return from Korea as a Marine, Grady Talbot enrolled in Los Angeles Pierce Community College. There, with students from both Pierce and Los Angeles Valley College, he organized the Phi Delta Psi Fraternity on October 13th, 1956. He served as the second president of that organization. After his graduation from Pierce College in 1958, he completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo in 1961.
On his return to the United States Grady worked as a stockbroker in Phoenix, Arizona from 1970 to 1973. From that year until 1986, Grady farmed in the Imperial Valley, near El Centro, California. In 1990, he completed his Doctorate of Law degree from the University of San Diego's School of Law. He was an active member of California State Bar until his recent retirement..
Grady was elected the first President of the reorganized Maple Leaf Society in the spring of 2004. The Maple Leaf Society is an alumni organization of the Phi Delta Psi that raises funds for community college scholarships.
He is a founder and member of the Board of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley.
He and his wife Alice live in Arcadia, California.
He was born on the 30th of November in Los Angeles, California