Barbara Pflaumer brings neighbors together in Windsor Village
Barbara Pflaumer
Barbara Pflaumer is the friendly neighbor everyone seems to know. With her ready smile and community-minded spirit, she was destined to become the heart of Windsor Village that she is today. But really, it was her dogs that helped her meet people when she moved to the area 30 years ago.
Her first dog, Kaiser, was a big hunting dog and, right away, he was very popular in the neighborhood. Pflaumer would take him to Harold Henry Park and throw a tennis ball high in the air, and he’d jump and get it. “The kids loved him and would line up to throw the ball. It was really how I got to know people,” she said. After Kaiser’s long, happy life, Murphy, the dog lover’s next dog, kept up the tradition of being a friendly, neighborhood mainstay. “I do love dogs and children,” she said.
Pflaumer never planned to move to the West Coast. She grew up in Philadelphia, as one of four children born to parents who had a great love affair for their entire 40-year marriage. After triple majoring in art history, pre-law and English at New York’s Elmira College and the University of Pennsylvania, she found a job as a municipal bond trader. “I made a lot, but didn’t like it,” she said. Fortunately, six years later, she made a change and was hired to work the Xerox machine at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The go-getter worked her way up to doing directed research and, after three years, was hired to work in the press office, where she stayed for 10 years.
In 1994, Pflaumer was scouted for a job at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). She headed the communications and marketing team for three years before leaving to start a business called Museums Without Walls with a business partner. The two helped small- to medium-sized museums deal with crisis management. Pflaumer returned to LACMA as the vice president of communications and marketing when her business partner moved home to the U.K.
Pflaumer said goodbye to LACMA in 2011. But before retiring, she served for six months as the interim vice president of The Music Center.
Ten years ago, Pflaumer joined the board of the Windsor Village Association. Laughing, she told us that at the first meeting she attended, she went to the bathroom, and when she came back, she learned they had elected her president. “We do it very differently now,” she said of her informal candidacy. This November will mark a full decade of Pflaumer serving as president of the Windsor Village Association.
When asked how the neighborhood has changed, Pflaumer surprised us. “I think the sense of community has expanded a bit in a good way. People are much more interested in participating than they used to be,” she said. And the board has made a real effort to be involved with the neighbors. Block parties, potlucks and movies in the park, which are hosted three times a year, have done a lot to foster a sense of community. “It’s been wonderful for people to get together and [to provide opportunities for them to] really get to know each other.”
With Pflaumer at the helm, the board also organizes two park cleanups yearly and an annual gathering in the park to provide residents a chance to meet, hear from and speak with the area’s police captain. City representative Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky came to the most recent gathering in June.
Pflaumer’s major disappointment has been losing the fight against the residential 800 Lorraine project. The concern is that the recently approved seven-story building is not in line with the character of Windsor Village and is not in compliance with its Historic Preservation Overlay Zone.
“I’ve been to three city meetings voicing our concerns. If the building was not so tall and if it included underground parking for its tenants, it would not be an issue,” she said.
Pflaumer is working hard to help the area she loves retain its neighborhood feel. “It’s such a wonderful community. People love this neighborhood — with good reason,” she said. The crown jewel of Windsor Village, in
Pflaumer’s opinion, is Harold Henry Park. She walks there daily, especially because, now that she’s retired, she has lots of “side hustles,” as she calls them.
Pflaumer dogsits for many local families; so she’s out and about at Harold Henry Park and on Larchmont Boulevard. “I love that I can’t walk around without running into half a dozen people I know,” she said. And the people she knows are grateful to have her in their lives. Multiple young couples in Windsor Village have been able to go on date nights because of Pflaumer. “I am very sympathetic to young families. Childcare is so expensive, and I think it’s important that couples get a chance to get out without having to worry about the cost of a babysitter. And, I like kids, so it’s nice for me,” she said.
In her free time, Barbara participates in two book clubs, cooks for friends and is currently organizing her high school’s upcoming reunion. She’s like the energizer bunny. And Windsor Village is fortunate she happened upon this area when fate brought her out west.
Category: People