It’s alive! Norman the werewolf resurrected in Altadena

In Los Angeles, you’re bound to run into some kind of local creature. Opossums, coyotes, mountain lions, and in the case of Altadena, a giant toy werewolf statue.

Tucked on the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Mariposa Street, the 8-foot creature goes by the name Norman Jr. He’s not too dissimilar from ones you’d find at Costco or Spirit Halloween, except Junior sports a shredded red flannel and a white T-shirt that reads, “We ❤️ Altadena.”

As you can guess, Norman Jr. wasn’t the first werewolf to sit on that corner. The original Norman was lost along with the home that tended to him in the Eaton Fire. Since January, the werewolf has become a symbol of resilience, hope — and normalcy — for a ravished community.

Norman, the original werewolf

The Fair Oaks House has been a sober home in Altadena since 2002, as part of the Jubilee Homes program for men in recovery from addiction.

The Rev. Tim Hartley is the executive director for Jubilee Homes and runs some of these houses, which are owned by the Church of Our Savior in San Gabriel. These homes don’t typically call attention to themselves — until the first Norman showed up.

“Probably five years ago, Sergio Flores, I love him, he was a resident up until the fire, but he decided to go out and buy this ridiculous, 10-foot Costco werewolf and put it up for Halloween," Hartley said.

Locals decorated and dressed the original Norman the Werewolf for the weather and holidays.

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Courtesy Tim Hartley

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Norman stuck around after Halloween. When the rainy season came, someone threw a raincoat on him — so on and so forth until he became a bit of an Altadena staple.

Hartley noted a local running group would stop by and take selfies with him, and when Halloween came around again, the trick-or-treaters would do the same. During winter, when Norman was dressed in a Santa Claus outfit, locals would leave Christmas cards thanking the residents.

After the Eaton Fire

Then the Eaton Fire struck. The Fair Oaks House burned down. So, too, did Norman.

“It was devastating because I love those guys, and that's their home,” Hartley said.

The 10 men who lived in the home all made it out safely. Their two cats did not, and the house was leveled.

Some of the men who lived in the house were relocated to other Jubilee Homes, while others moved in with family or got a place of their own, according to Hartley. As the organization continues to weigh the decision on whether to rebuild the Fair Oaks House, about a month after the fire, residents decided to resurrect Norman.

The men who lived in the Fair Oaks House survived the fire but lost their home, two cats, and their werewolf statue.

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Courtesy Tim Hartley

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Hartley said he called Costco and other stores but had no luck. After combing through eBay, they landed on the 8-foot werewolf who soon would be named Norman Jr.

The community was quick to embrace the new Norman.

 ”This one woman drove by, and her back window rolled down, and her daughter's in there, and her mom handed her a phone, and she took a photo. She says, ‘Thank you for putting up the werewolf,’” Hartley said.

He added that before they even finished assembling Norman, people were stopping by for photos and conversation. It wasn’t long before the news made it to local Facebook groups.

The community embraced Norman Jr. and thanked the residents for bringing him back.

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Joshua Letona

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LAist

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Pasadena Councilmember Jason Lyon, Hartley's husband, took to social media to share photos of Norman Jr.

“Everyone who knows him now sees him as a part of the movement to thrive and survive and emerge from the other side of the Eaton Fire stronger,” Lyon said. “There's a great kind of humor and levity and joy in it.”