Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 16, 2011

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 16, 2011 

Sierra Madre’s Mater Dolorosa & Its Meditation 
Gardens Open to the Public on Good Friday, 
April 22 Photos and story by Chris Bertrand

The magnificent grounds of Sierra Madre’s Mater 
Dolorosa Catholic Retreat Center will be open to 
the public at two times on Good Friday, April 22. 
From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. the gardens and grounds 
will be available for private reflection and prayer. 
At noon the gates will be closed. Later, at 4:30 until 
dusk, Passionist clergy, staff, board members, and 
volunteers will direct public devotions and prayer 
of the Stations of the Cross, according to Fr. Patrick 
J. Brennan, C.P., Retreat Director, and Elizabeth 
Velarde, Administrator. 

Over the years, this once a year, public event has 
grown to draw up to 2,500 visitors of all ages to 
this, one of the largest privately held parcels of 
property in the community. Many say that just 
driving through the Mater Dolorosa gates, one 
can feel that the space here is sacred ground and 
the perfect place for quiet reflection. The gates at 
the northern end of Sunnyside Avenue open wide to reveal a long avenue of overarching trees 
flanked by extensive open meadows. 

When I visited again this year, the meadows glowed with an almost iridescent shade of spring 
green, benefiting from the much needed rains of the past months. Slowly one ascends to the 
collection of buildings tucked up against the mountain. It really becomes a journey each time I 
have entered these gates. I cannot but be taken aback by this place, causing me to pause, if only a 
moment, to take it all in, even when it’s for a secular event.

Set in the beautiful foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the many acres of Mater Dolorosa 
definitely give one a feeling of stepping away from every day life. Located adjacent to Bailey 
Canyon Park and trails, the vistas, the mountains, the natural vegetation and the extensive 
cultivated gardens are breathtaking, causing one to revel in the beauty that abounds here. 

The outdoor Stations of the Cross were constructed over 50 years ago by a former Sierra Madre 
mayor, Bill Schiltz, whose son was a member of the Passionist religious order here. The Catholic 
tradition calls out fourteen different points in this journey to Christ’s crucifixion, naming it the 
“Stations of the Cross”. These stations are set into the densely treed hillside, and one travels 
approximately the same distance walked by Jesus on the road to Calvary. 

Several other garden areas will also be open to the public that day. The recently completed 
gardens surrounding a statue of St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionist religious order 
are located at the northwest corner of the property. Here, a shaded perch allows one to sit, reflect 
and view nearly the entire LA basin far below. The succulent gardens include many varieties of 
plants with low water requirements, yet lots of texture and color. 

The garden of Mary’s Seven Sorrows is the only area separately gated from the abundant wildlife 
that shares Mater Dolorosa with its human occupants. Inside the beautiful wrought iron gates, 
the trumpet vine is brilliant with its huge yellow bugle-like flowers, and four of the nine water 
features peacefully gurgle. A magnificent, life size bronze statue of Christ and his mother is not to 
be missed. A wistaria pergola encircles the garden, and the heat followed by rain of the last weeks 
has quickly brought the purple flowering vines to eye-popping flower. 

If you plan to visit Mater Dolorosa on Good Friday, April 22, Velarde calls attention to a few 
points. The terrain is moderately steep, so wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring a jacket against 
the evening chill, a flashlight, as there is minimal night lighting, and an umbrella. Plan to begin 
your visit in the chapel where a short history and reflection will be offered to each group of about 
40. 

Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center 700 N. Sunnyside Avenue

Sierra Madre, CA 91024 626-355-7188 www.MaterDolorosa.org 

CIVIC CLUB AUCTION HELPS FUND CLUB 
PHILANTHROPIES…AND IT’S FUN! By Bill Coburn


Fr. Pat Brennan, at Mater Dolorosa 
gardens’ Stations of the Cross, built over 
50 years ago by a former Sierra Madre 
mayor.

Auctioneer Anita Thompson

Last Saturday, April 9th, I had 
the rare privilege of attending 
the annual Civic Club Auction 
Luncheon. I say rare, because I 
was one of only three people of 
the male persuasion in a room 
of nearly three hundred people, 
and the other two were working 
the event as bartenders. While 
women have the opportunity to 
attend this event every year, it 
is a rare occasion when a man 
attends, and I thank Phyllis 
Chapman who invited me to 
attend as her guest. I walked 
away from this auction very 
impressed by the Club and its 
members, and the fun, efficient 
method in which they raised 
money to help fund their 
philanthropic endeavors. 

I arrived at La Salle High 
School a little before noon, and 
was greeted at the door by Civic 
Club members who somehow 
figured out that I was a guest 
of someone before I even 
told them. The walls of the 
cafetorium had been decorated 
beach style, reflecting the theme 
for this year’s event. 

Just past the entry tables were a 
couple tables with half a dozen 
packages that made up the 
“opportunity” drawing entries. 
Each item had a container in 
front of it into which those 
who purchased tickets could 
place their tickets to enter the 
drawing for that particular 
item. I bought a dozen tickets 
for $5, and entered three in the 
drawing for a Tommy Bahama 
beach package, featuring 
beach chairs, beach towels 
and more. I put another three 
into the running for a visit to 
Disneyland’s legendary Club 
33, and the remainder went into 
the container that ultimately 
had the most participation, 
a free Kindle, which was 
eventually won by this year’s 
Older American of the Year, Pat 
Alcorn.

Across the way on the same side 
of the room was another table 
filled with silent auction items, 
many of them works of art. 
And throughout the luncheon/
auction, several members of 
the Club walked around the 
hall selling tickets for a drawing 
to win a money hat, with $250 
cash! 

On the opposite wall at two 
identical stations were tables 
filled with numerous salads, 
honey baked ham, and poached 
salmon. Next to these tables 
were other tables stacked 
with homemade cupcakes for 
dessert. Each member signed 
up to bring one food item, 
either salads, breads, meats, 
or dessert. Lunch is included 
in the $25 ticket price, as are 
the wine bar and coffee/punch 
table. There were all types of 
salads, including Caesar, green, 
fruit, several types of pasta 
salad, ambrosia, shrimp salad 
and several others. I did not 
walk away hungry!

The buffet was handled in 
a very orderly fashion, with 
tables from each side of the 
room being dismissed to the 
buffet a few at a time to reduce 
time spent standing in line. But 
it was after lunch that the real 
fun began.

Auctioneer Anita Thompson, 
who has performed that duty 
since “sometime in the 80s, I 
think,” explained the procedure 
for the “Chinese Auction” to 
the women (and me). At each 
seat was a ping pong ball and 
a brightly colored tropical fish 
“bidding paddle.” Both items 
had the same number written 
on them. Bidders were to 
bring their ping pong ball to 
the auction table and place it in 
the spinning drum, and retain 
their paddles. On each table 
were two plastic buckets. When 
Ms. Thompson had described 
for the ladies what an auction 
item consisted of and what the 
approximate value of the item 
was, she would then designate 
a bid price. Anyone who 
wanted to bid on that item was 
then to place the bid amount 
in the plastic jar, and hold up 
their paddle to signify their 
participation in the bidding for 
that particular item. 

Once all the bids were placed, a 
ball was pulled from the drum, 
and the number was called out 
to the crowd. If the person with 
the paddle that matched the 
ball number was participating 
in that item’s bidding, they 
won the item. If not, they let 
the auctioneer know that the 
number was a “no-bid” number, 
and another ball was pulled and 
that number was then called 
out to the crowd, the process 
repeating until a winner was 
found for each item. After each 
item, the balls were returned 
to the drum for the remaining 
items.

The part that was amazing to 
me was that the bid amount for 
most of the items was either fifty 
or seventy-five cents! There 
were a couple that were a dollar, 
and even one item that was 
$1.50, but the majority of the 
items could be had for a bid of 
less than a dollar, even though 
the values were generally in 
excess of one hundred dollars 
each! The beauty of it is, 
that because the bids were so 
low, nearly everyone could 
participate in nearly every 
auction, and because nearly 
everyone had a stake in every 
auction, the room was buzzing 
with excitement. But they could 
do so without having to spend a 
lot of money, even if they won. 
Because most of the people 
participated in the bidding for 
each auction item, the Civic 
Club still reaped a generous 
financial reward – if 2/3 of the 
300 people bid on a $.75 cent 
item, the Civic Club made $150 
on that item – because all of the 
auction items are donated.

All Civic Club members are 
responsible for finding auction 
items, and this year, there were 
27 Sierra Madre businesses 
and 22 out of town businesses 
that contributed items. The 
committee that puts on the 
auction decides what goes 
where – if it’s an opportunity 
item, a silent auction item, or 
a Chinese auction item. This 
year, Halcyon Koerber and 
Taylor Nestlerode were in 
charge of the auction items. 
It takes weeks and weeks to 
assemble, and sometimes re-
assemble, all the donations into 
the pretty baskets auctioned off 
at the luncheon. 

Jean Coleman and Karma Bell 
were co-chairs of the event, 
with twenty-three women 
volunteering (of the nearly 100 
active Civic Club members) 
to take on a given part of the 
luncheon, from taking charge 
in the kitchen, to creating 
centerpieces, and blowing up 
balloons. Each Club member 
is responsible for working a 
shift the day of the luncheon, as 
well. Students from LaSalle and 
Alverno assist to keep the event 
moving along, earning service 
hours for school. All this is done 
to help keep expenses down 
so the Club can raise as much 
money for its philanthropies 
as possible. Last year the Club 
gave away nearly $20,000, 
funding educational awards, 
helping to fund the Senior 
Lunch Program, Concerts 
in the Park, Huck Finn Day, 
Halloween Window Painting, 
the Library, Little League, 
Girls Softball and much more.
But my favorite part of the 
auction was when auctioneer 
Thompson announced the 
second (of two) auction items 
that were “freebies,” no bid 
required. After waiting nearly 
an hour, I finally heard her call 
number 204! So if you see me 
getting a lube, oil and filter 
at Moe’s Automotive, or a car 
wash at Faschings Car Wash, 
or attending an event at the 
John Anson Ford Theater, you’ll 
know that I have the Civic Club 
to thank for it.

PIRATES WITH A HEART OF GOLD HELPING TO LAUNCH THE 
PIRATE SHIP AT REESE'S RETREAT.

All the actors at the Sierra Madre Playhouse's 
Fairy Tale Theatre are residents from Sierra 
Madre and outlying communities and they love 
kids. That's why they spend their Saturday mornings 
performing six different interactive productions 
for kids of all ages. It is a real high to 
see all the kids in the audience thrill when they 
hide Dorothy from the wicked witch, dance with 
Prince Charming in Cinderella, hop on the lily 
pads with the Frog Prince and become pirates 
on Long John Silver's crew. It's even more fun for 
the actors and the kids when they get to meet up 
close after the show for autographs. It's magical.

 Knowing that, it is easy to understand why the 
cast in Treasure Island jumped at the chance to 
be part of the opening ceremonies for Reese's Retreat. 
It was meant to be. The playground is, after 
all, a pirate ship. An amazing place where kids of 
all ages and abilities can live out their pirate fantasies 
together, and go on imaginary adventures 
just as actors do.

 On April 30th, opening day, all the children who 
come will not only meet Pasadena’s Mayor and 
play in the amazing new playground but they will 
also see Treasure Island. They will become part 
of Long John Silver's crew without leaving their 
seats. After the show they'll meet the characters 
and get autographs on souvenir programs. Long 
John Silver himself will share his treasure by giving 
a gold coin to each child on his crew.

 Make sure to mark your calendars and come out to this certain to be funtastic event: 

Reese's Retreat Grand Opening

Saturday, April 30 9:00am to 1:00pm

Treasure Island performance at 11:30am - free admission 

Southeast corner of Brookside, east of Rose Bowl Aquatics Center


Sierra Madre Police Blotter

During the week of Sunday, April 3RD, to Saturday April 9TH, the Sierra Madre Police Department 
responded to approximately 376 calls for service. See crimereports.com for updated information. 

Tuesday, April 5th: 

11:37 PM- Possession of Marijuana/Hashish for sale, 100 blk. S. Baldwin Ave. 

An officer stopped a 24 year old Temple City motorist for a Vehicle Code violation and 
found him to be in possession of 66.6 grams of marijuana, $1,224.00 U.S. currency and an 
electronic digital scale. The officer arrested the driver and took him to the Pasadena jail for 
booking. 

Wednesday, April 6th:

7:16 AM- Residential Burglary, 100 blk. W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Two women, dressed 
in Indian attire, entered the Eastwicke Village store with a baby in a stroller. One suspect 
distracted the owner by placing items on the counter while the second suspect went inside 
the owner’s attached home via a connecting door. The second suspect stole a wooden 
jewelry box containing a gold necklace with 8 sapphires, a pearl necklace, a 24 k gold and 
coral silhouette necklace, a hand painted pin in a gold setting, a jade necklace, and other 
women’s rings. The loss is valued at $18,600. 

 

Friday, April 8th:

1:18 AM- DUI Alcohol/Drugs, Michillinda Ave and Orange Grove Ave. An officer 
stopped a 19 year old Pasadena driver for a Vehicle Code violation and determined that the 
driver was under the influence of alcohol. The officer arrested the suspect and took him to 
the Pasadena jail for booking.

9:17 PM- Disorderly Conduct/Drunk in Public, 70 blk. W. Sierra Madre Blvd. An 
intoxicated 48 year old Pasadena man was running through the parking lot of the Buccaneer 
Bar. Officers arrested the man and took him to the Pasadena jail for booking. 

Saturday, April 9th:

11:46 AM- Battery Against Current/Ex Spouse/Cohab-Non Cohab, Camillo St. Officer 
were dispatched to a disturbance between a woman and her ex-boyfriend. The woman and 
man were arguing at her house when the man threw a phone at her and left. The victim 
called the police who responded and arrested the 28 year old Pasadena man for battery. The 
suspect was booked at the Pasadena jail.