Rockhaven Sanitarium: Gracious Past and Uncertain Future
TGHS invites you to view a documentary on Rockhaven Sanitarium, one of Glendale's greatest and least-known treasures. Beginning in 1923, Rockhaven provided dignified care for mentally ill women. Owned and operated by women, it was groundbreaking both in women's history and in the history of the treatment of mental illness. This beautifully filmed and produced movie lovingly details the story of Rockhaven Sanitarium, from its vital past to its current abandoned present.
Joanna Linkchorst, President of Friends of Rockhaven, will introduce the 25-minute documentary and provide additional insights about this remarkable treasure. Following the film will be a Q&A with Joanna, local historian Mike Lawler and award-winning writer, director and editor John Newcombe.
Date | Time | Registration
Thursday, June 10 | 7 PM
About Joanna Linkchorst
Joanna Linkchorst is a lifelong Crescenta Valley Resident. A mother of 2, wife of one, she serves on the boards of the Los Angeles Breakfast Club, The Women's Civic League of Glendale and assists the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley. She is a founding member and president of the Friends of Rockhaven.
About Mike Lawler
Mike Lawler first became fascinated with local history when as a child, he dug holes in the dirt of his backyard looking for remnants of the past. That fascination for local history has led him to authoring several works on the history of his community, along with a popular newspaper column on the same subject. He was the president of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley for over a decade. In his community, he is considered the authority on local history. And he still can’t pass by a hole in the ground without at least taking a glance.
About John Newcombe
John Newcombe is an award-winning writer, director and editor based in Los Angeles. He has written and directed both narrative and documentary films, edited innumerable videos, and written a number of screenplays.
John also writes and storyboards the nationally syndicated comic strip Zack Hill. Launched in 2003, Zack Hill appears in over 75 newspapers and can be viewed on websites such as Comics.com. Prior to creating his own comic strip with editorial cartoonist John Deering, John wrote for Archie Comics, Inc., working with famed comic book artist Dan De Carlo.
John’s historical documentary, Kenilworth: The Suburban Ideal, won top honors from the Illinois Association of Museums. Other award-winning historical documentaries include Winnetka Story, Indian Hill Club, and Rancho La Canada.
His first feature film Best Man in Grass Creek won a number of awards, including the Crystal Heart Award from the Heartland Film Festival, Best Comedy from the Flagstaff Film festival, Best Comedy from the Santa Clarita Film Festival, and was an official entry in film festivals around the world, including the Montreal Film Festival and Cairo Film Festival. The film is regularly aired on TV in China, Brazil and many other countries.
John wrote and edited the documentary Turning Points, a sweeping overview of church history. Originally created for the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism in Cape Town, South Africa, it continues to air on TV overseas.
While in film school at Regent University in Virginia, John wrote and directed the award-winning comedy Lovestruck, which won the Judges Award from Vanderbilt’s film festival, an Academy Award for Student Films Mid-Atlantic Region, and was an Official Entry at the Virginia Film Festival and the Chicago Film Festival.
John is currently working on two documentary film projects, a history of the Flintridge Riding Club, and a documentary about jazz legend and film composer Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible, Dirty Harry, Bullitt, Cool Hand Luke).
John lives with his wife and son and two dogs in the foothills of Los Angeles.