90 & still going strong

Although his official birthday is on December 31, on Sunday, December 28, 2008 a large group of friends and family gathered at the Poinsettia Pavillion in Ventura to celebrate the 90th birthday of Shirley Lorraine Spencer's father - Richard Baldwin.

Richard is a horticulturist of some renown with a special expertist in grass. He continues to hold the contract as the consulting horticulturist for the L.A. Coliseum. With football and soccer games, TV commercial shoots, monster truck rallies and and other huge events (like the Olympics) going on year-round, Richard advises the Coliseum on how to maintain and repair damage to its turf so it is ready for each week's big game or event.

He is seen here on one of his recent weekly trips to L.A. collecting grass samples from the Coliseum playing field. At age 90 he is still head and shoulders above others in his field. (OK, pun intended - but it's true.) They can't find anyone better.