She's 86. She's 28. They love their hang time as the wallpaper queens of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES -- Ask Reita Green the Wallpaper Queen what makes a successful wallpaper hanger and she'll tell you it's practice, patience and believing in yourself.
"You can't be upset if it's not working right away," said the 86-year-old, who has been hanging wallpaper in and around Los Angeles for more than half a century. "You just pull the paper back and put more paste on it. It's not an art that is wham, bam, thank you, ma'am."
Since 1960 the former dancer and actress has run her own wallpapering business — lugging buckets, ladders and a folding table from her car to her clients' homes by herself, well into her 80s. But a few years ago, even the Wallpaper Queen had to acknowledge that eventually she might need some help.
"I was getting older, so I started keeping my eyes open for somebody," Green said. "I knew the universe would help me when it was the right time."
And then in 2020 she met Beverly Pate — a warm young woman 58 years her junior, who exudes patience, kindness and a can-do attitude. Within months Pate had become Green's partner in wallpapering, her protégé and
