It Started at the Cuesta Pool...

Joel and Angela Mansfield met in the 1960s in La Honda. He was  a lifeguard at the pool. She and her family spent summers at their family cabin in Cuesta.  As part of the choir at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church during the summer, Angela's mother played the organ, Joel played the mandolin and Angela sang.

 

Angela and Joel Mansfield

This year on July 29, 2012, the couple celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at Our Lady of Refuge with a blessing at Sunday Mass and a barbecue on the church grounds afterwards. Family and friends joined the local church community in celebrating the couple's 40 years together.

Although Joel and Angela Mansfield

Father Charles and the Mansfield choir

 have lived in San Francisco for most of their married life, La Honda has always occupied a special place in their hearts. Besides driving from San Francisco twice a month to provide music for Mass at Our Lady of Refuge, they have spent hours at other times cleaning and polishing, doing general repairs and helping out with fundraisers. Their children, who are now grown and living away from home, "grew up" singing and playing instruments with their parents at Our Lady of Refuge.

Back in 1973 Joel and Angela were asked to play regularly at Our Lady of the Pillar in Half Moon Bay, where they provided music for 17 years on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. But with three children they found their life growing more hectic and time in short supply and so they

The cake was baked and decorated by Angela's sister

decided not to make the weekly drive to Half Moon Bay from San Francisco. For many years now they have "commuted" to La Honda where the whole family and now just the two of them have played and sung at least two Sundays a month. For the past 20 years they have also provided music for the children's liturgy at their local San Franscico parish --the Church of the Epiphany.

Familly and community enjoying the celebration

True to their giving nature, the couple not only supplied the music on this day, they also brought  the food and planned the anniversary celebration--right down to games that were played after lunch.

They may not reside  in La Honda but they have certainly given much to our community.