Glenbrooke News

Elk Grove, Calif. - The Cosumnes Community Services District will dedicate its 85th

park in Elk Grove in honor of Jim and Nula Fales on June 10th, 2010. Fales Park is

located at Old Calvine Road (Power Inn Road) and Auberry Drive, near Monterey Trails High School.

The Cosumnes CSD will be celebrating the family’s dedication to Elk

Grove’s education community.  Gil Albiani, CSD Board of Directors member, will officiate at the ceremony. The dedication will also feature statements and remarks from other dignitaries who will recognize the family for their contributions to the community.

Fales Park will include a play area for children 5 years old and under, as well as an area

for children 5-12 years old. The park will also include picnic areas with shade structures

and barbeques.

The Cosumnes CSD received a grant of $50,000 from the First 5 Sacramento

Commission for the construction of the 5 years- and- under play area at Fales Park.

The First 5 Sacramento Commission is part of a statewide program created by voters in

1998 to support the healthy development of children up to age 5, the empowerment of

families and the strengthening of communities.

The Fales played significant roles in Elk Grove’s education community, beginning with

Jim and Nula Fales. Both were born and raised in Pennsylvania and met when Jim took

a teaching job in Warren where Nula lived. After they married, they lived in Warren for

six years during which time they had two daughters, Lisa and Susan. Jim had always

wanted to live in California after spending some time there when he was in the Navy

during WWII.

After looking for jobs from San Diego to Sacramento, Jim was hired as a counselor at

Elk Grove High School. Two more children were born to them, Jimmy and Annie. Once

all of the children were in school, Nula went back to school herself and earned her

Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Sacramento. Jim, in the

meantime, went from counseling to vice-principal at Elk Grove High. Later in his career

was asked to start the first continuation high school in the Elk Grove Unified School

District, William Daylor High. Later, Jim started Las Flores, an independent-study

school. He was known as, “the Father of alternative education.”

Nula received her adult teaching credential and was hired to teach ceramics for the Elk

Grove Unified School District. She taught in several convalescent hospitals and

became quite interested in working with the elderly. When a movement was started in

Elk Grove to build a senior citizens’ center, she got involved and even helped in the

construction of the building, working in the background to keep it moving forward. After

the Senior Center opened in 1983, she became the first director and also taught

ceramics.

After Jim retired, they spent much of their time in Mazatlan, Mexico. For several years

they spent their winters there after Nula retired. Their family grew as they added seven

grandchildren, Mallerie and Kaylie Niemann, Sam and Mac Iliff, Nico Peruzzi, and Noah

and Zachary Fales. Jim passed away in 2007 and is missed greatly by his entire family.

About the CSD…

The CSD was created in 1985, and in 2010 is celebrating its Silver Anniversary. The

CSD serves an estimated 169,000 south Sacramento County residents in a 157-square

mile area. Its award-winning parks and recreation services – including the operation of

85 CSD parks – operate exclusively within the Elk Grove community. It provides fire

protection and emergency medical services for the cities of Elk Grove and Galt and

unincorporated areas of south Sacramento County