Eiler Larsen

Eiler Larsen (March 27, 1890 – March 19, 1975) was a Danish-born vagabond who was known as "The Greeter" of Laguna Beach, California. From the 1940s until the early 1970s, the shaggy-haired, heavily bearded Larsen grinning, waving, and booming "Halloo-oo-oo!" to visitors became a cultural icon for Laguna Beach tourists.

Larsen wandered in Europe, South America and across the United States before settling in Laguna at age 52. He worked as an occasional gardener, and adopted the daily habit of standing on a street corner to greet every car and passerby. Local patrons supported him with a rent-free room, free meals and other services. In 1964, Larsen was proclaimed Laguna's Official Greeter by the mayor. During his lifetime, Larsen was featured in paintings, postcards, photographs and sculptures.

Early life Eiler Unmack Larsen was born March 27, 1890, in Aarhus, Denmark, the son of L.M. Larsen and Thyra Vilhelmine Unmack. His father worked as manager of the city's poorhouse. said growing up among the poor was "this mixture of tragedy and baroque, macabre comedy" that gave him an early understanding of social problems and the dark sides of society. Eiler Larsen left Denmark to pursue what he later described as "my mission of friendliness."

Wanderlust Larsen alternated between a series of odd jobs and wanderlust. According to newspaper accounts, Larsen went to Siberia at age 19 as a representative for a Danish butter exporter. After a brief stint of mandatory service in the Danish Army, Larsen traveled to South America and hiked through Argentina and Chile. He first arrived in the United States at New Orleans, Louisiana, aboard a ship from Chile on September 29, 1916. Larsen went to St. Peter, Minnesota, where he attended Gustavus Adolphus College for a year. During World War I, Larsen enlisted on January 14, 1918, and served with the United States Army 8th Infantry. According to Larsen, a leg injury he suffered from an artillery shell in France resulted in his lifelong need of a cane.

After returning to the United States, Larsen worked as a Wall Street messenger before wandering the eastern seaboard.

He supported himself with occasional jobs of gardening and at a pottery business. In spare moments, Larsen pursued his lifelong habit of choosing a vantage point and welcoming people.

Larsen was featured in newspapers and magazines. He appeared on postcards, photographs and paintings. News stories described him variously as a living legend, In response to one well-publicized complaint in 1959, the mayor said Larsen could be the unofficial town greeter so long as he did not interfere with traffic. On February 14, 1964, after more than twenty years of Larsen welcoming visitors, Mayor William D. Martin proclaimed Larsen as Laguna's Official Greeter in a sidewalk ceremony that initiated the town's first Winter Festival.

Larsen continued his wanderlust for brief periods. In 1953, he left for a cabin in Idyllwild to become a writer, and returned to Laguna by the following year. One winter, Larsen walked to Palm Springs where it was warmer and began greeting people on a street corner there. Residents quickly complained and Larsen was escorted out of town by police to walk back to the coast. Each spring, Larsen hiked 30 miles over the mountains to attend the Easter sunrise service at Mount Rubidoux in Riverside. He often appeared at the Danish Days festival in Solvang, California, and once walked by himself in the Rose Parade.

Charity Although he had little, Larsen's practice was to give away everything because he felt others "need it more than I do." He carried a black satchel with candy, postcards and books to hand out. A voracious reader, Larsen spent his earnings on books – often deep science and psychology

Danes who knew Larsen compared his relationship with children to Hans Christian Andersen. He was celebrated in Denmark and met the mayors of Copenhagen and Aarhus, then returned to Laguna Beach after the six-week visit.

For the next several years, Larsen lived in a free room at the Hotel Laguna and continued his greeter duties. The Eiler Larsen Tribute Fund was created to supplement his World War I veteran's pension and pay for any needs. In 1971, suffering from the onset of bladder and colon cancer, Larsen was forced to retire. His friends moved him to the Beverly Manor convalescent home in Capistrano Beach, Dana Point, California.

Legacy

Two large statues of Larsen were erected in Laguna Beach. The first, titled Hello-o-o-o-o-o-o- How Ar-r-re You?, is a painted cement casting created by sculptor Charles Beauvais in the 1960s, that stands outside the Pottery Place along Pacific Coast Highway. The plaque is dedicated to the "...philosopher, gardener and friend of man who devoted all his spare time spreading goodwill and cheer..." The second, created in 1986, is a life-sized redwood carving by Guy Angelo Wilson that stands at a downtown corner outside Greeter's Corner restaurant, named in Larsen's honor.

During a ceremony in February 1964, Larsen's footprints were impressed into the sidewalk at the intersection of Coast Highway and El Paseo Drive by Laguna's Main Beach.

In honor of Larsen's contributions to the library, the City of Laguna Beach designated the short drive beside the city library as Eiler Larsen Lane.

Greeter tradition Larsen was the best known town greeter in Laguna Beach, an unofficial role dating back to Old Joe Lucas in the 1880s. Archer said he wasn't trying to be Larsen, "I'm only walking where he walked, keeping a tradition alive. It's a tradition that stands still until someone comes along and fills the bill." In later years, several other local people have attempted to become the town greeter of Laguna Beach. Michael Minutoli is the most recent and consistent person to take up the job of greeter. He can often be seen waving and dancing by the Larsen statue on Brooks and PCH.