The Lunden, Hayward & O’Connor firm made a major push for exposure in the early part of the 1950s, listing their firm and their members’ experience in a locally distributed trade manual. The firm completed several structures for the City of Los Angeles in 1951, including the Hyperion Treatment Plant, a power and blower building, and a filter, drier and fertilizer storage building. In 1953 the firm finished an addition to the Hospital of the Good Samaritan Los Angeles, followed by work on Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California. That same year, they designed the Los Angeles Gas Distribution Building and made additions to the Edwards Air Force Base. The following year they constructed John A. Sutter Jr. High School and the Los Angeles Health and Receiving Hospital Building.

Throughout the 1950s Roger greatly expanded his participation and membership in local organizations. He maintained his association with the Pasadena Artist Associates and the Twenty Club, but also joined the Pasadena Society of Artists, Pasadena Art Institute and the Los Angeles County Museum Association. He became a member of Town Hall, the University Club, the American Physical Society, the Southern California Chapter of the American Optical Society, the Operational Research Association and the Leslie Briggs Discussion Club.

Though he stayed active and involved himself in a dizzying array of activities, 1954 seems to be the year that Roger experienced more serious issues with asthma, a condition that would plague him to varying degrees for the rest of his life. Perhaps as a result of his asthma, Roger quit smoking after averaging around 40+ cigarettes a day for over twenty-five years. Personal mention of his asthma began to surface openly around this time in his letters to friends and associates, and he and Betty began spending a considerable amount of time and energy attempting to identify the source of the problem. The couple implemented drastic alterations in their living conditions, and Roger made numerous visits to various medical professionals, with few promising results:

“After six months of dosing and dieting, Dr. Procter and I are both discouraged, and Friday next I will try an allergist to see if he has any ideas.”